#it's about to get super french with some special posts later... ;)
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britishchick09 · 7 months ago
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the rewrite's ponr-esque song is 'promise your love to me', which translates to 'promettez moi votre amour'. yet it's also 'promets-moi ton amour'! :o
at first i was really confused... until i found out that 'votre' is formal and 'ton' is informal! it adds another layer to uncovering don juan's deception! ;D
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beebee18 · 10 months ago
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My life?
Chan x Reader
(Inspired by @cheeseceli )
Super self indulgent (had a dream about it)
Reader speaks English and Hindi. (She's me)
Genre; Major fluff, curious Chan, whipped Chan.
Summary; When Chan feels like he could indulge in nicknames but not Korean or English, something else...
Would LOVE some feedback, it's my first piece to ever be posted on here. Thank you for reading 🎀
Main masterlist skz masterlist
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He loved listening to you speak Hindi/Urdu. He thought it sounded sweet from you. True you did speak Hindi softer than English, you just thought that the language is 'softness' personified.
So when you were on your phone with you mom, he sat down beside you smiling to greet you. You smiled back and kept speaking into the phone now thinking to cut the conversation short as Chan was finally home, at 2am mind you.
"Accha maa abhi rakhti hoon, raat ke 2 baj rahe hai idhar." You say into the phone
(Okay mom I'll hang up now, it's 2 at night here.)
"Haa beta, so jaana and tell Chan I said 'Hi'." She says.
(Okay baby, go to sleep...)
"Haa bol doongi, love you." You says lastly, your finger hovering over the screen to end the call.
(Yes, I'll tell him...)
"Love you mere jigar ka tukda." With a kiss into the speaker she hangs up as you turn to face Chan.
He looked at you with awe and a little preplexed.
"Bed?" You asked getting up and stretching, looking at him for response.
"Bed." He nods taking your hand and leading you to cuddle you to death. (probably)
Next morning was something else...
"I want to call you something in Hindi, like a nickname. " He says from the dining table chair, as you prepare breakfast.
"Is there a special reason?" You ask plating the French toast now.
"No reason, I just want to." He says pulling you into him, smushing his face into your chest. You giggled at him.
"Okay" You replied, moving back to sit down next to him.
(Later)
"What about 'love'?"
"Pyaar."
"Princess?"
"Rajkumari."
"Angel?"
"Pari."
"I don't love any of them." Chan whined, looking up at you from his head placed on your lap. Doe eyes on complete display with utter annoyance glazed over them.
"You don't have to use them Channie, just call me 'baby' or something. I really don't mind." You assure him, not wanting to make him feel worse.
"But you call me 'jagi' sometimes and it makes me feel all tingly. I wanna do the same." He says, a little sad.
"Oh, what did your mom call you last night? Right before she hung up." He says sitting up straight and turning to you.
"Jigar ka tukda?" He nods violently at your words.
"Chan that means 'piece of my liver', it's not very endearing when it's translated but it's the sweetest thing in Hindi. Also, that's more of a parent-child nickname." You say as his expression turned from excited to grossed out to sad, again.
"Do you think we'll find something cute in animals?" He asks clearly determined to find a suitable name to call you.
"Maybe, I don't know." You shrugged.
"Bunny?"
"Khargosh...nope."
"Agreed, pup?"
"I'd rather you don't call me that at all."
"I was just teasing. Butterfly?"
"Titli."
"Why does it sound weird?" He asks as his face scrunches up.
"You're just saying that cause all you hear when I say it is 'Tit'." You giggle pinching his cheek.
"I do." He laughs, a light blush covering his neck.
"Let's pause this topic here, I'm hungry." You say to him pouting.
"Let's go out, I know this dude, that is an a-mazing chef." He gets up from the sofa pulling you up with his hand in yours and walking towards the door.
A few minutes later you were inside the cuties dorm.
"So by 'going out' you meant the dorms?"
"I meant, anywhere but home."
"And by 'a-mazing chef' you meant Minho?"
"Yep." He pops the 'p' at the end, kisses your temple before informing you that he's gonna go annoy Felix in his room.
You sit down beside Seungmin and Jeongin on the sofa as they play Mario Kart, very focused.
They greet with smiles and nods and hums.
You don't say much either as they seemed engrossed and you didn't wanna see them whine about loosing because of you later at lunch.
"Lunch is served." Says Minho standing in the middle of the dorm in an cartoonish voice.
Everybody settled on the dining table, Minho began to describe the meal he had prepared as the maknaes looked impatient to dig in.
Jeongin taking a bite as soon as Minho finished so everyone could start eating, earning an eye roll from Minho making Chan laugh a little.
"Jaan, could you pass the salt."
You pass the salt to him before fully processing what he said and freezed...
"What....did you call me?" You look at him, a little shocked but also curious.
"Jaan, do you like it?" He asks, looking at his plate, a little shy now as the boys were looking at you both in interest.
"Do I like it?? Channie that's like the best nickname anyone could ever use!!" You smile the widest with a blushing face and kiss his cheek while hugging his side, almost falling down.
He hugs you back of course (saving you from face-planting) laughing to himself.
A gagging sound from Seungmin brought you back to reality, as you looked around you saw a smirk from Felix.
"Did you use Google?" The first thing you asked as soon as you were out of the cuties dorm as your curiosity got the best of you.
"I didn't, jaan." Be says glancing at you with a proud smile before looking back to the road.
Everytime he used it, it felt unreal.
Did he even know the meaning. Of course he did. He wouldn't use such a word all the time without knowing the meaning right?
"Do you know what it means?" You ask, wondering how he found out about it if not for Google.
"Yeah, means you're my life." He answers grinning wide, glancing at you again to gauge your expression. You looked just about ready to be a ripe tomato wanting to melt away.
"How do you know it?" You couldn't just leave it, he could've seen it on the internet somewhere, Hindi wasn't exactly an unpopular language.
"Okay fine, I called your mom and she said she didn't have any but your dad always uses the word for her, so I asked her for the meaning." He says parking the car and coming around to open your door for you.
"So now you're besties with maa?" You snicker at him and walk towards your apartment door.
He's right behind you, his hands on your waist walking into the flat with you and kicking the door closed behind him.
"Can't blame me jaan, you're besties with my entire family." He says kissing your cheek and plopping down on the sofa, patting the space next to him.
"Hayee meri jaan, mera to dil aa gaya." You say kissing him and snuggling in his chest.
(My life, you've got my heart)
"I'm too tired to look for the meaning today. Let's sleep." He says kissing the top of your head and leading you to the bedroom.
"Old man needs his sleep." Seungmin's jokes rubbing off on you was not something Chan was pleased about as he mumbled a 'sure old woman' before pulling you into bed, into his chest to waft away into dreamland.
"Jaan, meri jaan." A soft whisper left his lips before kissing your temple and falling into a deep sleep.
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whoslaurapalmer · 8 months ago
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twin peaks but it happens in 2010. laura palmer have iphone etc etc
this ask has been haunting me since i saw it last night oh my god okay okay so
i wanted to lead with laura being an influencer but no one was quite influencing in 2010 yet. but the point here being that i think she posts a lot online and cultivates her online image very carefully (very soft, carefree, excited teenager) and has a LOT of followers on everything and always gets a ton of likes. bc it's laura, she's so beautiful and special and popular, of course everyone is following her, of course everyone is liking all her posts to get a piece of her
she has a twitter (laurapalmer93) where she posts a lot of pictures with little captions like.......'morning donuts at the diner!!' with a picture of the donuts and a milkshake or a Coffee To Be An Adult, 'can you believe this guy? <3' with a picture of bobby making a face (or even.........dare i say it...........doing the dougie), a picture of donna and james with '<33333333' (modern emojis were just getting really big then but i myself was not a big emoji user in 2010 yet, so neither is laura), 'don't tell ;)' with a picture of her holding a cigarette (of course everyone still smokes in the high school bathrooms).
one time she gets away with posting the lyrics to if i die young by the band perry (IF I DIE YOUNG! BURY ME IN SATIN! LAY ME DOWN ON A BED OF ROSES!) (FUNNY WHEN YOU'RE DEAD HOW PEOPLE START LISTENING!) bc it's a popular song. it raises a few eyebrows but it's a song and it's laura. how seriously do you take teen angst, even among your friends? that's just what laura does. what's there to really worry about, huh? (the song was released in may 2010 but let's say the lead up to her death is in 2010)
on facebook she posts a lot of volunteer stuff. school dance photos, which she helps organize. buy some cookies to support the french club!! she's very involved with student council, and she organizes the group halloween costume. her facebook is filled with photos of her with other people, but not really any of just her. she doesn't post a lot of statuses, but they're usually about homework or tests or 'feels like summer!' towards the end of the school year. she's friends with her parents. she definitely takes ap classes.
she has a private vent twitter (lostinthewoods) with zero followers that she uses as a diary bc she thinks it'll be safer than having it physically written down. her childhood lisa frank diary with the tiny lock and glitter gel pens that she kept in her bed post went missing, after all. her vent twitter is filled with sooooooo many tweets bc this was still the 160 character limit days and she would just post and post and post especially late at night. (she definitely has string lights in her room.) she is a MASTER of using her phone with no one seeing -- she has the layout absolutely memorized. she was only caught texting in class once and of course the teacher let it go.
bob/leland finds her passwords and breaks into the vent twitter and leaves her horrifying tweets she sees later, instead of the back and forth they have in the diary and leland ripping the pages out.
i think she has a third twitter, for sex, but i'm not sure if that tracks for the time period? (snapchat wasn't a thing until fall 2011.) or like a forum sort of thing? i think it's still super easy for laura to sneak out, even in an increased security camera world. there's still a lot of stress on the, yknow, ~secret unexposed underbelly of the world especially in a time of more eyes on everything~ in the 2010s.
meanwhile, james posts music a lot on facebook, and also acoustic covers of songs. like. yknow. HEY SOUL SISTER. donna loves the original pusheen stickers. they record the picnic video on her flip video camera. mike loves icanhascheezburger, and he jailbreaks his phone. audrey gets really into audrey hepburn quote posting, Aesthetic France, black and white photos, berets, has a photography phase and carries and actual camera bc it's Vintage. she's an early tumblr user. no one else in school has a tumblr yet, so she feels very cool but also very lonely about it.
harry has very little understanding of social media, however cooper is very into all social media, he finds it delightful. he enjoys a good cat video. he looks through all of laura's photos, her tweets, facebook videos, and i think there's, honestly even more of a feeling of tragedy bc of how much more physical evidence there is available of laura's life, lingering fingerprints, last tweets, last posts, passwords to put in and information to see, cold blue computer light, the even worse voyeurism in people expecting so much of your life to be online, in watching it play out online, in the image laura created for herself online to be the person people expected
donna rereads laura's twitter in the dead of night, just over and over again. goes back through their texts. so much of grief has become so much more public with social media and using it as a teenager, and there's this back and forth in donna of not posting anything and then posting the most miserable statuses about losing her best friend.
i know i should get deeper into the investigation but i keep thinking instead of how laura definitely gets a 20/20 special. it's probably definitely called 'the secret life of the american teenager.' (bc there was that show on at the time with the same name) elizabeth vargas visits twin peaks, is appropriately grim, there's a lot of b roll of the town and the woods but without the grace of twin peaks' cinematography. they play up the creation of a narrative big, as they always do on 20/20. the revelation of her 'double life' is at the halfway mark and simultaneously not discussed enough and overestimated. 'laura palmer was your average, everyday teenager -- she liked horses. cats. she got good grades, was homecoming queen, had a boyfriend on the football team. she volunteered on weekends. she had her whole life ahead of her. or was there more to the story than anyone knew? was there a dark side to the all-american girl?' oh, it's agonizing. the trailers play up a lot of potential spooky woods stuff that isn't followed through on in the actual episode.
now 20/20 prides itself on getting the story right, so i feel like it's.........i feel like they have to say it's leland at the end (and they definitely never get into anything about bob). but i also think, for some reason, it could easily have a 'we never found the killer' ending. especially re: s3........the thing is, i feel like laura's death particularly is the kind of thing that shows up on 20/20, but the rest of the circumstances would've ended up on like the unsolved mysteries website (the last revival ended in 2010, before the netflix reboot in 2019) (especially with WELL OUR FBI AGENT WENT MISSING). and there's so much online to put together in a website about it, there's so much for people online to dig into who have never even been to twin peaks, to think they know a town and the people in it and the girl who died even if it's just literally THE MOST DISGUSTING VOYEURISM IN THE WHOLE WORLD i just think there's such a. horror in that. people have the most, just, enraging takes when they get involved in a Murder That Happened Somewhere Else. people thinking they alone can figure out a mystery they've never seen, they can of course see something no one else has. and it's different than the people in the town ignoring it -- i think a lot of the secrets in twin peaks stay the same, no matter the time period, so of course it's still, a terrible dying town killing the people in it, maybe even quieter than it is in the original, some new infrastructure but old buildings, not all of them occupied anymore, ANYWAY -- like of course yes people in the town ignore the same amount they did in the original, all small towns bury things. but just bc the town itself isn't paying attention doesn't mean that some rando online is going to know more, no matter how much they think they will. there's like an entitlement to details of a murder, an I Must Be The Hero, The Savior, bc i'm on a fucking reddit thread about it
now i have zero (0) idea of how medical science and forensics work, but i have to assume there have been some advancements in the field between 1989/1990 and 2010/2011. the town still rushes the funeral, but would albert have been able to find anything else sooner? what is it he would have found to point to leland sooner? oh........dna testing, maybe? would he be able to find out about leland right away? there's more of a sense of urgency, maybe less of a slowness between events, even more of a shattering horror. maybe leland goes missing in an attempt to cover things up. hmmmmmm.
final note -- cooper gets called mulder as a nickname bc the x files happened as a show in this universe.
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macaron-n-cheese · 9 months ago
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What's Hornblower + what's it about? It looks interesting
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Special interest mentioned ong!
Ok! So Hornblower is a miniseries and book series about the British navy from the French Revolution through the Napoleonic Wars (miniseries is only to the middle of the Napoleonic Wars) following the fictional character Horatio Hornblower! :33333 The original series is by C.S. Foster and is 11 books long! This time period is one that I'm not super into but these series is soooo good. I've always had a little interest in naval history so I find it very fun!
All the characters are very likable and there is never a dull moment. I can't exactly put my finger on why, but it is a bit like TURN but on the high seas and the characters are more likable. It is also a bit like Pirates of the Caribbean but no magic and no cringe (hooray!), the series is good all the way through! If you like James Norrington from PotC then you will like Hornblower. However, a lot of characters die which is sad, don't get attached. There are a lot of jokes making fun of France which is kinda silly.
I never have seriously kinned a character until now: The protagonist Horatio Hornblower is spectacular. He is a little silly guy little blorbo. He gets into shenanigans (war). The shenanigans seriously make me giggle sometimes. OH OH and he is good at playing the card game whist. :) and he's a little autistic (and we love that), every jokes goes over his head...autism creature incarnate!
I'm not integrated into the fandom quite yet but there is a little one here on Tumblr! I have some posted with the Hornblower tag, at least. Here is a link to the series on Internet Archive is anyone is interested in watching it! :)
This ask made my day thank you. Woah this post is kinda long.
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umichenginabroad · 5 months ago
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Let the games begin: The Last Hurrah :(
Week 10
It’s our last full week here! Time really flew by and I can’t believe that I’ll be back in Michigan soon. To make the most of it, we stayed booked and busy to cross things off our San Sebastián bucket list. For the remaining days of our research, we also had a lot to finish up for final presentations. No more afternoon naps, we had to make this final rally count!
My week technically started on Tuesday due to the unfortunate bus situation from over the weekend (read last week’s post for that experience). I went to the beach to soak up some rays and then Jayashree and I went to this restaurant called The Yellow Deli. Maybe this is a hot take but I would say that this became one of my favorite spots to eat in all of San Sebastián, even though it doesn’t specialize in pintxos. It was mainly the vibe of the place that we enjoyed the most since it was like a funky woodland medieval tavern. The cheesecake and hot cider were a perfect combo of pure delish. Mateo always raves about the cheesecakes he eats everywhere he goes but I think he’s really missing out on this one.
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On Wednesday we went to La Mamma, our favorite pasta place, since Izzy hadn’t been yet. This time, Deidra decided to try a new dish and I’ve honestly never seen someone experience that much anguish over food before. At first, she said it had a little bit of a kick to it but that didn’t seem to phase her yet. As time went on, poor Deidra started to crumble and it was obvious that the spice was winning. Sweat, tears, and hopefully not blood went into Deidra persevering like a champ through her pasta. Very proud of her for that effort, and I would show a pic of the aftermath but she’d probably kill me if I did so here’s us before Deidra’s five stages of grief:
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Bataplán Thursday! At long last we got Izzy and Diego to go to the club with us for one last night out. The funny thing is that Diego kept trying to convince himself to not go but this guy ended up being the life of the party. The club life in Spain starts late and goes on into the wee hours of the morning which is definitely not for the weak. Even though we had work Friday, it was worth it to have fun with the group and do round two of arm wrestling yet again in Bataplán. Later on in the day, we got ready for one last trip which is special because of the…
Olympics!
Friday afternoon we boarded the bus to Bordeaux, about four-ish hours away to go see an Olympic soccer match. I’ve never watched an actual match in person before, so I was really excited to see all the hype and wear my San Fermín fit again in support for the one and only ESPAÑA! We did a lot of exploring the city before the game and found that it was super cute with highlights being castle gateways, a ferris wheel, mini arc de triomphe (nearly every european city has one for some reason??), and a reflection pool. To fuel for the game, we had an energizing lunch courtesy of the huge carrefour market in the city center. You can get a rotisserie chicken, roasted potatoes, and a dessert for like €5?? We then made our way to the stadium on the crazy packed and sweaty tram, then finally made it in and got our dream picture with the mascot of the olympic games: Phryge the French Hat. 
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Our seats were in a good spot pretty much right in front of the goal. Earlier in the day, I had bought a spanish flag to wear like a cape and to wave around during the game. As honorary spaniards, all of us had to represent and we. didn’t. disappoint. After every goal we were putting in the WORK to do the chants like our lives depended on it. Spain won 3-1 against the Dominican Republic and I like to think that we were a tiny part of causing that win to happen. I feel like before this game I didn’t really understand what made people so crazy about soccer, but being in the stands in person changed that perspective for me and I had a fun time! At the end of the day after having the sun blast down on us in the stands, we were collapsing. Refueled at a Canadian restaurant where I tried poutine for the first time and it was pretty tasty. Then, ended up back at the reflection pool where Izzy and I went on a rampage of splashing each other to the point where our pants were beyond soaked and I had to wear my flag around me like a skirt. ‘Twas a good end to a good day!
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Next week will be my final reflection post, so come back for my last blog ever, tears already! :(
Olé, olé, olé!
Emily Dobao
Biomedical Engineering
IPE San Sebastian, Spain
August 2nd, 2024
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menuandprice · 2 years ago
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BJ’s Happy Hour
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BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse is a fast-growing chain, serving some of the best appetizers, beer, and entrees. From deep-dish pizza to wings and gourmet salads, they’ve got something for everyone to enjoy. If you’ve ever been to a BJ’s restaurant, you know how stacked their dimly-lit, full bar is. In fact, it’s one of the key attractions for customers who love booze and sports. And with a bar like that, there have to be drink specials, right? Here’s a look at the latest BJ’s Brewhouse happy hour deals.
BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse Happy Hour Specials in 2020
BJ’s offers customers killer happy hour deals every single day of the week. In fact, two happy hours take place during the course of an evening at BJ’s Restaurant. These offers only apply when seated at the bar and during select hours of the day. Monday through Friday, happy hour takes place from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., as well as Sunday through Thursday from 10:00 p.m. to close. That’s no shortage of time to catch a game or sip on a post-work cocktail. Now, let’s get to the good stuff.
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Current happy hour specials include: - $3 Domestic Bottled Beer - $4 BJ’s Signature Handcrafted Beer - $5 Dark Horse Wines and Call Drinks - $6 BJ’s Brewhouse Burger - $6 Select Appetizers - 1/2 Off Mini Deep Dish Pizzas - $1 Off Guest Draft Beers And if you’re not in the mood to head out for happy hour (or can’t because, you know – pandemic), BJ’s has you covered with carryout options. You can get bottles of wine starting at $10, 6-Packs of BJ’s Handcrafted Signature Beer starting at $8.95, and Growlers of BJ’s Handcrafted Signature Beer.
Daily Specials
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BJ’s two happy hours aren’t the only times you can save money. There are even more weekly deals on food and drinks throughout the week. Take a look! Monday - Half Off Large Pizza – BJ’s Favorite Pizza, Gourmet Five Meat, Pepperoni Extreme, Vegetarian, BBQ Chicken, Classic Combo, Chicken Bacon Ranch, Great White, Sweet Pig, Half and Half, and Build Your Own Deep Dish Pizzas. You can also get Tavern Cut pizzas (thin crust), like BJ’s Brewhouse Classic, The Italian Market, Spicy Pig, Garlic Chicken Pesto, and Old Country Tomato Basil. - $5 BJ’s Brewhouse Margarita Tuesday - $3 Pizookie – A giant chocolate chip cookie with two scoops of vanilla ice cream on top. - Half off wine Wednesday - $10 Loaded Burger with unlimited French Fries. Burger flavors are Bistro, Mushroom Swiss, Hickory Brisket and Bacon, Bacon Guacamole Deluxe, Crispy Jalapeno, Bacon Cheeseburger, and Classic. - $4 Handcrafted Signature Beers Thursday - 1/2 Rack Slow Roasted Baby Back Ribs for $14.95 - $5 Call Drinks
Other Offers
- $6 Take Home Entrees – If you spend at least $9.95 on food during your visit to the restaurant, you can take home a pre-made entree to heat up later, including options like Deep Dish Ziti, Grilled Chicken Alfredo, Spicy Peanut Chicken with Soba Noodles, Jumbo Spaghetti and Meatballs, Fire-Roasted Barbacoa Chicken, and Vegetarian Turmeric-Cauliflower and Quinoa. - Five-Course Legacy Beer Dinner – A special event where registrants can try exclusive beer tastings along with a delicious five-course meal. - Movie and a Meal – Some restaurants are partnered with local movie theaters and sell discounted tickets. It’s the perfect way to get a deal on a dinner and movie date! - $3 Delivery Fee + No Service Fee – Order lunch or dinner through the BJ’s website or mobile app, and you can get a discounted delivery fee on orders $19.95 or more. - Buy $50 in e-gift cards, get $10 bonus card – No need to leave your home to get a gift for the next special occasion. Just visit the restaurant’s website to get an e-gift card. We won’t judge you if you keep the bonus card for yourself. - Family Bundles for $44.95 – If you’re feeding the whole family, BJ’s has a ton of options that will satisfy everyone. From steak to ribs to salmon, these 4-person meals are filling and super delicious. Food and drink specials may vary by location. To learn about even more ways to save money at your favorite restaurants, check out our Fast Food Restaurant Coupons page. The post BJ’s Happy Hour appeared first on Fast Food Menu Prices. Read the full article
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darhak · 2 years ago
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Yo! Any advice for DMing?
There’s not a single way to DM, but this is how I do it:
(Also sorry for my English, I speak French and doing my best)
THE« PLOT »
-Don’t make a story... create problems instead. The players create stories by solving those problems, you shouldn’t make a storyline in your head. Vague ideas sure, but it’s not a novel and those ideas probably won’t happen
-Nothing is set in stone. If you planned something the player don’t know, you can always change it for something better later.
-You know major plotwists « this character is in fact this PC father!!! » « the questgiver is in a fact a werewolf trying to put the blame of their crimes on the party » And try to foreshadow them subtly during multiple sessions. Create secrets to discover, it makes the interactions more fun
-Improvise adapt overcome. Don’t plan too much in advance. You don’t have to build a whole world. Start with a city, a village... have a rough idea of how everything is linked in the world, then expand the horizon between sessions when the characters explore new places.
-Give them multiple simultaneous problems to deal with. Big and small, some with deadlines, some with huge stakes, that just need kindness or ambiguous morals ....They’ll have to choose and consequences will ensue. They won’t feel railroaded to a single thing to do. Railroad is okay. BUT give them something they can do in multiple ways. They have to know they have to do something (quest, heist, find an object...) but the real question is « HOW » and the players will find out.
-Put some elements you’re not sure what you’ll do with it yet. It’s an open door for cool plotwists. For example the players find a mysterious red key. You don’t know what I’ll be yet, but at one point it’ll be super relevant and the players will think you’re a genius
-MAKE IT PERSONAL. Link the problem and twists with the players backstories. Make sure they want to solve the problems not because « it’s for the greater good » but because it’s personal.
SESSION BUILD (DM SCREEN)
In a single session I make sure there’s always:
-Backstory related elements for at least two characters
-They discover/learn something new
-Roleplay potential (dramatic or fun)
AT LEAST two of those:
-Combat, Puzzle, Infiltration, Escape, Heavy roleplay
Then I do:
List of my main problems and some important lore info
List of unique places I can drop (special tavern, a strange upside down river, a broken caravan...)
List of random NPC, city, shop names
List of loot I can drop
2 random and casual events happening linked to the world around them (A beer contest, the paladins are helping to repair the temple, the lizarfolks are making a ceremony to their decreased leader that the party killed, the army is recruiting more soldiers...ect)
Printed possible stats blocks and main encounters
COMBAT
Negociation didn’t work, Roll initiative
Oh boi, this one is tricky but so simple at the same time. I’m not a master at balancing encounters, so I wont help you with that, but I have few tips to make them interesting
(Click to read more this post is getting long)
- They can meet their goal by different means than killing (fleeing, capturing someone, show their superiority, winning a contest, stealing the artifact, rescuing someone, gaining enough informations...ect) Combat isn’t always about killing. Players need an actual goal.
-Try to bring variety to the fight. The party is climbing a wizard tower, they have to fight their way trough while he’s blasting them from above. Then the combat changes when they reach the top and face him. Another example. They fight a priest on the sea, and few round later they see a huge tentacle hit the ship as the priest summoned a young kraken....They fight criminals on the street. Suddenly the guards arrives, and start attacking the bandits and the party, not knowing which one are the real criminals. Can the party convince them?
- Terrain twist... You have 2 rounds left before the cave is full of lava flooding the place, suddenly a trees falls in the middle of the battlefield, there’s mist everywhere so it’s hard to see... Make terrain with covers, terrain with dangers... TERRAINS.
WOW FACTOR
(Those applies better in a real life setting instead than online)
Music! Music is perfect for ambiance
Lights: leds, dimmed light with fake candles... go wild
Giving them parchement/papers and physical items when they find “clues”
Costumes!
COMMUNICATION
Communicate to your players, 
What do they want? 
Are there subjects they are not comfortable with? 
How long a session should be?
What kind of campaing do YOU want (yeah you’re part of it too haha)
Yeah that’s pretty much it. Remember: everyone is different and the important part is to have fun!
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l-a-l-o-u · 4 years ago
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ohh i haven’t done one of these in ages!! @sabertoothwalrus​ (check her out, gr8 content) tagged me in this art thing
Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 8 (ish) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome work!  
1 - Korra with Raava staff
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this was super fun to finally draw!! i had this idea of an AU where benders use staffs to control their element over 3 years ago (i think) and its great to finally see it beyond random doodles i did in class back then. i really want to design some other staffs too at some point!
2 - Just some gays in a field
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This might be the only thing I posted this year that wasn’t fanart... I rarely get motivated to draw original stuff but I somehow finished this one. yeehaw
3 - BoTW Midna
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a little before Age of Calamity came out, i started a new BoTW file and as i was replaying & thinking about the Lore, i kept thinking about the love of my life, Midna Twilight Princess..... and for like a week i was obsessed with the idea of a Midna reincarnation showing up in the sequel. my Midzel loving ass immediately shipped this dumbass teen version with Zelda, of course,
4 - My tabaxi child
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I started playing D&D regularly this year!! it’s one of my favorite things about 2020!! i absolutely love this character too, druid is my favorite class so far and playing an impolite 13 year old with a bad french accent is SO funny. every other player immediately adopts them its great
5 - The background map & front page art for the Critical Role Wiki
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I finished catching up to all of CR earlier this year, and since i had a tendency to zone out and miss stuff, i would look up a ton of stuff on the wiki, and i always thought it looked so bland! it was still using the default theme and i thought it deserved something nicer. so i decided i would just Do That Myself! and since then i started editing the wiki super regularly, it’s one of my main hobbies now (ranked 19th out of the wiki editors babey)
the map i can’t take full credit for, as it’s only a traced version of this map. the original wasn’t big enough to fit the wiki, so i thought, why don’t i just. ya know. trace over the entire thing by hand. that way i could also decide on the colors and font, etc (plus i love drawing lots of lil tedious details). later on i also made this graphic to put on the front page! both of these had to be WAY downsized to fit the wiki formatting but at least i can share the full size files on here
6 - “Human” Raava 
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idk who remembers but I used to be OBSESSED with the AU where Raava looked like a human, and became younger as she lost power. i suddenly wanted to redraw the concept after all this time and reworked my old design a bit. twas fun
7 - The unfinished Pearl/Rose comic
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in the end I only colored this single panel, but i did post the first 8 pages (which is as far as i got) of an old comic idea from over a year ago. its kinda crazy how hard it is for me to post unfinished stuff.. but in the end i’m glad i did. its very validating to read the tags on that post and see how many people got mad/sad after reading it hehehe
8 - Mighty Nein redesigns
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i started this series of character sheets almost exactly one year ago! so far i only finished Jester and Beauregard (altho i need to update with her winter outfit), but i’m actually nearly done with Caleb, idk why i haven’t posted it yet... in my heart i believe that one day i’ll finish them all. but that might be 5 years from now. special shoutout to all the other CR art i made this year!! i actually got featured in the slideshow a couple times which is pretty unreal
Honorable mention -  New Nameless designs
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this is the only one i posted, but i actually spent quite a bit of time this year developping a webcomic idea. i made a good amount of concept art and wrote a lot about it. it still feels way too ambitious for me to consider starting the webcomic any time soon (i want to make at least one other comic before) but the idea really grew this year!! anyway this is Nameless and her funky animal companion, they are travelling around a fantasy continent and uncovering mysterious lore
im blanking on who to tag uhhh @officialrocketjumper​, @cadetheespeon​ and @butchlinkle​
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When I saw 'Romanians' mentioned in your last post I had a wtf moment cause I have only watched the movies and I don't think I've ever noticed their existence. Regardless, I just had to read the wiki page and it is hillarious to me cause coincidence or not they seem to be named after the psychopathic ruler 'Vlad the impaler' and his cousin 'Stefan the great'(he might have murdered more people than his cousin known as the impaler, but you know he is great). Also, what do you think of them? Sorry for the rant...
You have no idea what you’ve unleashed.
I love the Romanians because they are, hands down, the trashiest, weirdest, lamest, loser vampires in Twilight canon. 
Just, these two are so hilariously beautiful.
First off, while Meyer undoubtedly named them with Vlad Tepish and Stefan the Great in mind, the Romanians are actually much older. We don’t have exact dates, but we know the Romanians (then presumably the Dacians), held great power over their territory for a thousand years before the Volturi had truly established themselves. After the Volturi took on and won against Amun’s coven in Egypt (and took the grateful Demetri off Amun’s hands making Amun still bitter thousands of years later) they waged war against the Romanians and won. (Vlad and Stefan are still very bitter but give us the silver lining of “oh yeah, well, we’re only partly petrified. SO TAKE THAT STUPID VOLTURI!”)
Vlad, Stefan, and Vlad’s wife were the only survivors. The Romanians, being one of the most evil and trashy covens in Twilight, decided to take on Volterra by amassing an army of 100 vampires. Hilariously, they had poor timing, this is a decade after Aro acquired Jane and Alec. The entire army is defeated in a second, Vlad’s wife is murdered, and by 810 AD, it’s just Vlad and Stefan.
They’ve remained losers the Volturi don’t take seriously ever since. Every decade, Demetri pays them a visit to remind them that yes, the Volturi does remember them and can find them any time they want to. Even more hilariously, Vlad and Stefan take this very seriously, and are constantly on the run from the Volturi, never aware that the Volturi actually don’t care. At all. 
Point being, given these guys, first it’s entirely likely their original names are not Vlad and Stefan. We see many of the vampires of the ancient world periodically change their name. We have Chelsea and Demetri, who are canonically acknowledged as having done this. Given when and where they were born, we can assume Marcus and Caius were not originally Marcus and Caius. Similarly, we can assume Aro’s name was originally far longer as well.
None the less, it would be just like these two to name themselves after these Romanian human warlords, one of whom serves and the inspiration for the modern vampire myth in Europe. And then, insist, of course, that the human rulers were actually named after Vlad and Stefan, because the humans still worship them, you know.
They’re going to be back on top any day now, you’ll see. 
That’s another thing worth getting into. The Romanians are evil. I’m not exaggerating this, of all the vampires in Twilight, they are the most appalling (and this is including James, Maria and the southern war lords, Joham... well not Joham, he’s a special brand of evil). These guys had a thousand year reign of terror in Dacia. Humans were butchered seemingly by entire villages, they made humans their slaves and demanded worship and sacrifice. When the humans periodically tried to overthrow them, they slaughtered them all, presumably placed their heads on spikes, and used them to taunt those few surviving humans.
When they lost power, they made an army a hundred vampires strong, which given what we see of the newborns in Seattle (who were only around twenty and still far too large to control), probably wiped out several large settlements in eastern Europe. Didn’t matter, just as long as they got rid of the Volturi.
And they miss those glory days dearly.
They actively reminisce about in Breaking Dawn to an oblivious Bella, who is just so happy these very important and impressive Europeans are here to help her beautiful daughter and so impressed they they’ve been fighting the corrupt Volturi for thousands of years (which is another bit of hilarity we’ll get into). You know, when/if the Volturi fall, the Romanians will be the first in line to rape the women and enslave us all. Good times, good times.
But back to them being trash people.
Vlad and Stefan are utterly destitute, their entire coven is destroyed, and yet they still insist they’re a Big Fucking Deal. Not only that, but just their every action is beyond weird. They talk in unison like Fred and George Weasley, they’re these ridiculously tiny men dressed as stereotypical vampires, and they show up out of nowhere on your doorstep saying, “So, hear you’re starting an insurrection against Volterra, Carlisle, we want in” (While Carlisle, I’m sure, just dies a thousand times inside). 
They then talk to Bella all about how they fight the corruption of the Volturi. What is the corruption, you ask? Well, the Volturi drove them out of their kingdom and liberated the human slaves. Then they imposed this stupid law where you couldn’t eat humans in broad daylight. Then when the Romanians tried to invade Italy they killed them all.
The Romanians will expose the Volturi’s crimes here and now. They stand for justice, peace, and Renezel--Renpunz--Renesmee. (The Romanians decidedly do not come for Renesmee, they hear about Carlisle’s army through the vampire European rumor mill, which just shows how out of hand it all got because now Carlisle’s amassing an army to protect the immortal child his son made. They show 0 interest in Renesmee.)
They give me serious McPoyle vibes.
More, beautifully, everything they touch becomes tainted.
Laurent, another beautiful loser character, starts life as a French courtier in Versailles. When he’s turned into a vampire, he assumes the vampire world works like Versailles. It works nothing like Versailles.
He seeks out those vampires with the greatest power.
Well, vampires in general are cannibalistic homeless nomads who care nothing for power.
This brings him, beautifully, to the Romanians. They insist to Laurent they’re super cool and powerful, Laurent believes them, but either Laurent eventually clues in or realizes something’s not right here. So, he goes to seek out the real power, the Volturi.
Unfortunately, Laurent is a loser, the Volturi is not court, and Aro has no need for some lackey trying to get in his good graces. Plus, Laurent hung out willingly with Vlad and Stefan. And anyone who does that...
So, Aro goes, “Ew, no, leave.”
Laurent is convinced, even when canon rolls around and he’s sunk so low as to hang out with James and Victoria (also loser vampires), that Aro will call him back any day now.
Aro never does. Laurent is eaten by untrained sixteen-year-old shape shifters.
But yes, point being, I imagine that in this modern era the Romanians would have a Go Fund Me for purchasing the blow torches they’ll use to destroy the Volturi once and for all. They also have a YouTube channel which is unintentionally dungeon porn, in which they cover their heads in bags so as not to be recognized, and talk about the good old days in thick Romanian accents. It’s a very popular YouTube channel, nobody understands why they wear so much body glitter.
Oh, right, Bella.
Bella is so beautiful with these guys. So, in Breaking Dawn, Bella actually takes the Romanians seriously. They’re all I describe above and more, they’re not hiding it, they’re full McPoyle (including the taking over the world built). Jake even tells Bella he finds them weird as hell. Bella thinks they’re great.
No, really, she thinks they’re great.
They tell her how they enslaved all the people in their territory, demanded tithes, and would eagerly do so again as soon as they get the chance and she stares at them with wide eyes and thinks about how cool all these vampires who came for precious Renesmee are. (Which, funnily, they actually all came either for Carlisle, because he has a billion friends everywhere, or else as a power grab like the Romanians, or both in Amun’s case. It’s the weirdest, most beautiful, mixture of people.)
Bella has her moments, but loving the Romanians has got to be a top ten for her. My explanation is that she’s so high on vampirism and Renesmee that this is all just great for her. LIFE IS WONDERFUL!
EDIT: I could no longer abide my spelling mistakes, I also edited a bit for cleanliness.
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fruitcoops · 4 years ago
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A Coops Sid's date. Pure fluff
Coops Wedding Part 3 is here! Post-wedding food (finally) and heading home together. Sweater Weather credit goes to @lumosinlove, as always <3
Preparations II Part 1 II Part 2
TW for flirty Coops
Sid’s was quite empty for a Thursday night in the summertime, which Sirius was eternally grateful for as they headed to their usual booth, slinging jackets over their chairs and tangling their legs together under the table with identical sighs of relief. Remus reached across the tabletop and laced their fingers together, tracing the lines of Sirius’ palm without looking away from his face.
His once-perfect bowtie hung loose around his neck, crooked even when untied; Sirius tugged one end, skewing it a bit more. “Cutie.”
“You are,” Remus said with a slight smile.
Just as Sirius was about to fire back with something equally sappy and romantic, a shadow fell over the side of the table. “Hey, guys, what can I get for you?” Nate asked as he dug his notepad out of his apron. “The usual?”
“Sounds great. How’ve you been, Nate?”
Nate shrugged. “Not bad, not bad. The summer rush is helping me save up for grad school, which is nice.” He gestured to their suit jackets with his pen. “Special occasion?”
“Yeah, we just got back from a wedding,” Remus said casually.
“Really? Whose?”
“Ours.”
Nate’s pen clattered onto the table as his jaw fell open; he glanced between them, speechless, and Sirius bit his lip to hold down his laughter. “You—your wh—you got married?”
They shushed him in unison and he held both hands over his mouth. “It was a small ceremony, just friends and family. We’re waiting to see how long it takes the media to find out.”
“That’s incredible,” Nate whispered, sniffling. “Oh my god. Fuck, congratulations.”
Sirius grinned, feeling the happiness bubble up in his chest again. “Thanks, man. It’s still sinking in, to be honest.”
“No, yeah, absolutely.” Nate shook his head for a moment before picking his notepad back up with a quiet huff. “Jesus. This is amazing. Pizzas are on the house for the newlyweds, okay?”
“Aw, Nate, you don’t have to—”
“It’s restaurant policy,” he interrupted, already moving toward the kitchen. “I can’t break the rules!”
“That’s not a rule,” Remus muttered as Nate disappeared behind the swinging doors. “That kid’s about to get the nicest tip of his goddamn life.”
“Mhmm.” Sirius guided Remus’ face back to him with a finger under his chin and kissed him slowly, sighing at the softness of his lips. He tasted like champagne, with a little bit of sweetness left from the wedding cake. “Sugar.”
“Is that a new nickname?” Remus asked as he transferred some weight to his elbows for a better angle.
“Could be. D’you like it?”
“Hmm.” A warm palm covered the side of Sirius’ neck. “It’s not bad. ‘Sweetheart’ works fine for me, though.”
“How about ‘husband’? ‘Husband’ sounds pretty good. Mon mari.” Remus blushed and tilted his face to the side, rubbing their cheeks together for a moment. “Quoi? C’est bien?”
Remus rolled his eyes, but he was hiding a smile. “You know I’m weak for the French.”
“I do.” Sirius kissed the inside of his wrist lightly. “Hey, that’s the second time I’ve said that today.”
“Yeah?”
“Yep. First time was better, though.”
Remus laughed and pulled him in for another kiss, combing the pads of his fingers through the curls just above Sirius’ ear. They stopped when the kitchen doors creaked open, but kept their foreheads together until Nate arrived with their food.
“Enjoy,” he said, practically glowing with excitement as he handed them napkins and utensils. “Congrats, again. I’m really happy for you guys. Have an amazing night.”
“Will do.” Remus smiled as he hurried back to the register, then reached for a slice of pizza and practically shoved the entire thing into his mouth. “Fucking hell, this is good.”
Sirius groaned in agreement, letting his eyes fall closed as the soft crust warmed him from the inside out. “This is the best part of my day.”
“Is it?”
“Yep. We’re married, we’re done with the party, and now there’s actual food to eat.” He held his fingers up to count. “Checking all my boxes.”
“Good point.” Remus stole a piece of pepperoni off one of his slices and Sirius made a noise of protest, only to pull a face when Remus set a bit of pineapple on the edge. “What? It’s a fair trade.”
Sirius glared playfully at him over the next slice, then hurried to catch the long string of cheese that slid free from the rest of the slice with a muffled yelp of distress.
“Do you need a hand?” Remus asked, clearly amused as he passed him an extra napkin.
“Uh-uh. I got it.” It took a second, but Sirius managed to get it all into his mouth without snorting pizza sauce through his nose as they both broke down laughing. “Another successful mission.”
“You’ve got pizza grease on your lip,” Remus said, reaching over to dab at the corner of his mouth with a napkin.”
“Thanks, love.”
They ate in relative silence for a few minutes, too focused on the hot food that they could finally enjoy without interruption; Sirius glanced at the wall clock and was astounded to see they had made it over ten hours since their last proper meal. No wonder he was so hungry.
“It felt weird sleeping alone last night,” Remus remarked once their plates were clean and Sirius wasn’t in immediate danger of getting hangry.
“I know, right?” Under the table, Sirius ran the side of his foot up Remus’ calf. “Super strange. We haven’t slept separately in months.”
“Mhmm.” Remus’ pupils dilated, and he was pretty sure it wasn’t just from the low light. “It was fun staying the night with the cubs, though.”
“Yeah?” Sirius pressed a little harder on the inside of his knee and Remus gripped his napkin.
Amber eyes flickered around the restaurant before settling on Sirius. “Baby. What are you doing?”
Sirius shrugged. “Nothing.”
“Really?” Remus raised an eyebrow and Sirius’ breath hitched as a hand squeezed the top of his thigh.
“I think we should head home.”
“Good plan.”
Thanks to Nate and his made-up rules, there was no bill to settle, but they left a tip anyway and made sure to say goodbyes to the familiar staff as they headed back to the car. If Sirius let Remus go through the door first for the express purpose of coping a feel without being seen by the other patrons, that wasn’t anyone’s business but their own.
“You are such a—” Remus’ teasing insult was cut short by hands curling into the front of his shirt and pulling him over the console as lips connected to his own in a far less chaste manner than before. “Well. Alright, then. Home?”
“Home,” Sirius confirmed, grinning as he started the car. It was impossible to not feel smug when he managed to bring that particular shade of pink to Remus’ neck and ears. Despite the anticipation in his stomach, he took the longer route, watching the shining lights of the city turn Remus’ face every color of the rainbow. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Remus glanced over and rested his temple on the window, tracing a small circle on the back of Sirius’ hand; a small smile tilted his mouth in that perfect, off-center way. “We’re married. That’s super fucking cool.”
“It is,” Sirius laughed. His cheeks were starting to hurt in the best way. “I’m never going to get tired of hearing you say that.”
“And I’ll never get tired of saying it.”
They reached the house a few minutes later, and Sirius’ heart leapt when he saw the front steps. “Wait!” he called, scrambling out of the car and grabbing Remus around the waist before he could go to the front door.
“What?” Remus asked, looking mildly alarmed until Sirius swept him into his arms. “Wh—really?”
“Please?” He pressed a quick kiss to Remus’ nose, then another to his forehead, again and again until Remus was laughing too hard to speak. “Please, please, please—”
“Okay, okay!” He draped his arms around Sirius’ neck and held on tight as he walked up the steps. “Do you have the keys?”
“Back pocket.” Remus reached around to get them and Sirius jumped when he felt a light smack as well. “Oh?”
Remus just kissed his cheek and unlocked the door, pushing it open with one hand. Hattie was having a sleepover with the Dumais’ for the night, thankfully; Sirius shuddered to think of what would happen if she collided with his legs in this vulnerable state.
“Ready?” Remus asked quietly, snuggling closer against his chest.
Sirius took a deep breath and stepped over the threshold, careful not to knock Remus into either side of the frame. He had crossed that little line a thousand times, maybe a million, but as they entered the dark house in dance-wrinkled suits with matching rings on their fingers, he felt a new chapter in the story of their life open up. The first of that particular volume, in fact.
He had the feeling it would be a good one.
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marimopeace · 4 years ago
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there's a limit on how much you can be an isekai intellectual...
a bunch of analyses have been popping up before me all day so i wanted to throw my hat into the ring. all love to ppl who are exercising their creative minds + ppl like geoff here who just talk about these things because of fan interest but i feel like there reaches a point where exploring the "types" of isekai is pointless? i've seen ppl list out the different types of villainess revenge isekai or fantasy mmorpg isekai but eh why fit them all into separate boxes like that?
i think it's easier to think of isekai as a "type" (genre) of itself with only two categories: 1) a focus on isekai (lit. another world) 2) tensei (lit. to be reborn). this allows for a variety of applications and thus tropes that ppl see so many trends of!
with isekai - in another world
you see everything from:
pure fantasy (inuyasha, digimon wait maybe not the best example but in my childhood mind i count digimon as pure fantasy, fushigi yugi)
mmorpg inspired fantasy/adventure (.hack//legend of twilight, sao ugh, log horizon, overlord (LOVE OVERLORD!)
otome game-esque worlds >>> this is where it gets complicated with "villainess routes" since i admit there are multiple villainess tropes but this is why it's nice to not think of this as a "sub-type/genre" bc it frees you from those complications! (the saint's magic power is omnipotent, the white cat's revenge as plotted from the dragon king's lap soso cute!, the savior's book cafe in another world, i'm a villainous daughter so i'm going to keep the last boss wait i can't remember if she's reborn in this one lmaooo see this is why rules make everything hard)
with tensei storylines - being reincarnated/reborn in another world as *insert character/role*
you see...
the same tropes!!
pure fantasy (a returner's magic should be special, reminiscence adonis, the lady and the beast, light and shadow, i can't think of a manga off the top of my head for this ah)
mmorpg inspired fantasy/adventure (so i'm a spider so what i stan kumoko so hard, her majesty's swarm, can't name another off the top of my head ah i hate lists shorter than two things...)
self-insert based games/novels (fiance's observation log of a self-proclaimed villainess, who made me a princess, death is the only ending for the villainess, the villainess wants to marry a commoner, honestly games vs novels are different applications but i'm not in the headspace to try to remember a bunch of both lol)
*insert line break to give random ppl a break from scrolling but tl; dr just enjoy things for what they are no need to micro analyze*
similar variations occur in both genres (if ppl want to be super technical i guess i'm arguing that isekai itself is a massive genre that has the "another world" subgenre and "reincarnation" subgenre tl; dr) so i think it's honestly a huge pain to try to separate all these trends into so many different types of stories. for me personally it's easier to not get overwhelmed by this gigantic umbrella of "isekai" that spans light novels, manhwa, manga, and mobile games by just stripping each story down into its trademark tropes (aka character archetypes, story structures) and slapping "oh this is a person going to a world that's not ours" and "this person gets reborn as blank in another world". none of this "omg this power fantasy is such a this kind of isekai moment" or "there are 14 different types of villainess revenge stories and this series fits into this" bc AH labels! limitations! circle-jerks via ppl trying to compartmentalize everything and sound smart for leaving a comment on story analysis instead of ooh-ahhing over a character's face! dividing things into light novel manga vs manga vs korean manhwa ft. female characters!
the last bit is mainly why i feel frustrated by ppl's insistence to group everything?
the video linked at the beginning of the post (honestly good video essay, i enjoyed it, i just kept thinking in my head the whole time "marimo these are tropes do not take the genre talk literally") has a baby comment thread talking about "korean isekai manhwas" as a genre featuring nothing but reincarnated villainess' and i can't.
like i cannot acknowledge that as a genre of any sort. the energy i felt reading through some of those insights takes me back to 2012 when all yt americans discovered k-pop and deemed all korean music k-pop from then on! (ppl still do this now, yes you are seen and don't talk to me pls i don't like you. k-pop is korean pop music and nothing less and nothing more. take a few seconds and try to parse apart aspects of korean culture instead of slamming everything into a monolithic label that has the letter k and a hyphen.) it feels so odd to see a bunch of young ppl on ig and tiktok acknowledge korean media that happens to be in the form of a webtoon as "oh stories all about young girls becoming villains in stories they made/played" bc it feels so reductive u.u
(positionality disclaimer that i'm praying isn't actually necessary: i am a 3rd-generation korean of japanese descent do not fite me i am exhausted irl of ppl asking for validation/verification bc massive shove off.)
breaking news! korean manhwa...is just as multifaceted as japanese manga...bc how can comics as an art-form not have multiple genres...huh such a shocker?!?! same likely applies to media in other parts of the world like chinese manhwa and french comics--not my place to explain either of those i just know those industries exist bc of wakfu and donghua shows by Tencent.
at the end of the day it's not like analyzing any kind of isekai is wrong--absolutely not!! i think it can be super fun to think about how isekai elements complicate a story (MCs trying to go back home, ppl from the og world, reincarnation plot-twists) or maybe even bash a series for including some kind of other world element when they could have just written a super fun fantasy.
insert marimo's brief ramble that hey you can get sick of truck-kun's hitting disillusioned guys who happen to be super duper smart or girls who happen to be master chefs/craftsmen but transporting a fully-grown being into a fantasy setting is the ultimate cheat code for making mundane modern technology seem cool and overpowered, and being reincarnated as a fully grown person in a world with a pre-made story/game set-up completely bypasses the need for an author to slowly flesh out world-building in a natural progression so isekai is actually a really smart writing tool it's just that there are some series where the author didn't use it well at all and it's cheesy or clearly isekai was misused as a vehicle for character/story development and it was pointless *DEEP BREATH OUT*
in this essay i will argue...lol i am such a culture studies major!! if i were an english major i would be talking all about writing but here i am having a side-tangent about world-building via someone being reborn wow i love this for me (don't get me started on when an author has someone reincarnate as a baby and the story is mostly them having warm fluffy moments with their family--typically father figures--and getting lots of powers i could and would and probably will rant about east asian toxicity)
but anyway am i crazy????? like yes for being passionate about the technical use of a word like genre (i am a scorpio rising let me be fussy pls) but i don't think it's a lot to ask for ppl to not unironically see "villainess revenge isekai" as the definition of korean manhwa.
idk as someone who resonates with why japanese isekai is so popular domestically + why a lot of korean manhwa feat. the same tropes (it's not for great reasons lads it's actually depressing tbh) i'm just starting to feel kind of pained by the generalization and need to separate "cute japanese girl in an otome game"/"japanese boy finds a harem in another world" from "korean girl dies and comes back as a villainess" bc they are just! applications to the same story device!!
recommendations for any who makes it this far down below <3
// also gladly recommend any of the examples i've listed in the above rant as i've read/watched all of them and adore them v much! //
save me princess
super refreshing fantasy manhwa ft. a princess and her ex-boyfriend having to save the world!
the beginning after the end
an AMERICAN web novel turned into a comic (but see it being not korean/japanese doesn't really matter when you just consider isekai as a genre...isn't it nice to not overthink it?) ft. a super-powerful wizard king reincarnated into another world and starting from scratch--gives mushoku tensei vibes but huge twists!
the reason why raeliana ended up at the duke's mansion
love love LOVE this story--read the title and you'll learn how this girl reincarnated as the character raeliana in a book gets married to a duke!
trash of the count's family
such a good novel!! a guy gets reborn as a lazy oaf and he takes the hero of the story under his wing...plot twists come up later on!
this time i will definitely be happy!
v good and refreshing for a shorter series! she's been reborn 3 times and remembers every time the hero's stabbed her in the back, and now she just wants to break up with him!
silver diamond
older manga but v good adventure w intrigue! a boy who loves plants get sucked into a desert world with demonic lizards and a mysterious bodyguard by his side. shonen-ai not BL but wonderful vibes nonetheless + great side characters!
the princess imprints a traitor
adore everything in this from the world (not in that way this society makes me so angry) to the machinations at play and the dynamic between the fl and ml
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gale-gentlepenguin · 4 years ago
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Gale Reviews: Miraculous World Shanghai: The Legend of Lady Dragon
Spoilers below.
-OH some lore!
-Wow for Shifu, his students got bought out.
-OMG ITS THE JERK IS THE GUY AT THE END OF THE NY SPECIAL. Interesting
-BABY FEI!
-HE DIED! WTF
-She got robbed. So she failed badly
-Like the intro to this. Damn its crisp
-So Marinette is living her best life right now. Love that ladybug and chat noir bonding.
-Marinette gotta deliver a gift to the post office for her uncle.
-ADRIEN IS IN SHANGHAI!
-Marinetter got a lot of information on Adrien, some of which I'm question means of which she acquired. XD
-So Marinette realized she could use the gift delivery as a chance to maybe meet up with Adrien. That isn't really that bad. Its actually really clever.
-Gorilla is best boy.
-Adrien just wants to spend time with his dad. F*** YOU Gabriel.
-Oh damn! Gabriel has the Prodigious! And apparently its more powerful than the miraculous? WTF. Nooru knows about this
-Gabriel of course sucks and won't listen. Because Gabriel is a desperate whore.
-what do you MEAN 15 years ago? Gabriel how deep is this evil hole
-Marinette honey no, I love her. but wow. Her parents are so happy tho.
-Marinette's parents are the best. STOP SALTING THEM.
-Her uncle is so happy to see her.
-Marinette, APPRECIATE YOUR UNCLE!
-I love The uncle.
-Gabriel is such a jerk. Adrien just wants to spend time with him.
-Oh wow the restaurant looks great.
-CHENG LORE! ALSO SABINE IS SO CUTE AS A KID.
-SABINE'S REAL NAME IS XIA PING! I am so happy to know this!
-He is making good points. She could get lost.
-Marinette tracking him. also Kwami speak all languages. Neat
-I just realized... did neither ladybug or chat noir tell each other that they are out of Paris?
-Adrien out with his dad (Gorilla) for walk is precious.
-PROTECT GORILLA HE IS A BEAN!
-Oh Gabriel being a jerk. what else is new?
-How does Gabriel know about this all? I am so confused.
-Fei is back. She is strong. Also She is a kind person.
-Oh no... she is actually trying to rob people.
-Oh she can disguise herself.
-And GABRIEL STILL SUCKS
-PLAGG is still Plagg. I missed seeing plagg.
- So if Marinette had stayed at the restaurant and chilled with her uncle. ADRIEN WOULD HAVE SHOWED UP. This is what happens when you are TOO THIRSTY!
-Marinette found him.
-and Fei just robbed her. Like HOW DID MARINETTE GET ROBBED SO EASILY?! Marinette is confirmed easy mark.
-Marinette she just robbed her don't help her
-and marinette just realized she is LOST IN SHANGHAI!
-Oh damn Fei is kicks butt.
-Adrien is so happy Marinette is in Shanghai! Thats so sweet. The Uncle ships it. The Bird ships it.
-Adrien you are a sweet bean. But I want to sock you for calling her just a friend.
-HOLD UP, HOW CAN GORILLA HAVE AN EAGLE action figure. Isn't this special suppose to take place between season 2 and 3? I am so confused.
-Marinette is lost, and she is lost.
-ADRIEN BONDING WITH HIS FUTURE IN-LAWS
-Adrien just confirmed she is always late.
-The old lady trying to help. Thats so nice.
-Fei, that guy is the d-bag that screwed over your adoptive dad!
-Guy is such a d-bag
-So Fei was being a jerk.
-Oh they are trying to return the necklace.
-Oh Fei speaks French, how convenient
-Fei feels guilty. GOOD
-Goriila is a bean.
-OH THEY ARE WORRIED.
-ADRIEN GONNA SEARCH FOR HIS FRIEND! YES! MARICHAT TIME.
-Chat noir transformation remix! Nice.
-They are making the police efficient here.
-Well Fei is gonna keep feeling guilty about this.
-Chat noir making Parisian heroes look good.
-Fei is gonna feel super guilty about this.
-THE PARROT IS SENTIENT!
-They found the earrings.
-Fei is pissed.
-Tikki found Marinette.
-Fei got fast hands
-Fei redemption arc now.
-OH NO, THE GUY REALIZED IT.
-Fei gonna fight them.
-THE GUYS FROM EARLIER!? They are great.
-Chat noir calling ladybug out of concern for marinette. So cute.
-Gabriel is such an a**hole. He remembered Marinette but not his own son.
-Fei revealing origins now. Oh damn.
-The guy is the one who ruined everything.
-Liar revealed. What a shock (not)
-So this guy is gonna be akumatized. Well he is a jerk. Gabriel knows how to pick em.
-FEI! KICK HIM AGAIN!
-King Money?! NICE NAME.
-Oh damn King Money looks boss as heck.
-Ladybug is finally here.
-I saw that sigh. You love your kitty Ladybug.
-That ladynoir is so strong.
-Fei is pretty boss.
-Oh no! THEY GONNA OPEN THE VAULT.
-I love that vault. The cave looks sweet.
-The guy realized it, kind of a smart man.
-What was Hawkmoth planning for 15 years?!
-Oh damn that power! Oh snap.
-The dragon guard look sick.
-Hawkmoth pulling a baller move with that. Like "B**** I aint fighting your guardian."
-Ladybug on the scene.
-Fei unlocked the power.
-WOW LADY DRAGON LOOKS REALLY COOL. And the Renlings looks kind of cool. Prodigious seems interesting.
-Renlings, the spirits of Human values. And, most of them look better than the Kwami, except plagg. Plagg is the best.
-Oh wow so they have neat requirements.
-SHE CAN SHAPE SHIFT! AMAZING
-I WANT THE PRODIGEOUS
-Only noble people can use the dragon.
-Revenge aint noble
-CHAT NOIR TO THE RESCUE!
-HE AKUMATIZED THE DRAGON GUARD GUY!
-Yan Woshi! OH DAMN, HAWKMOTH BE PLAYING FOR KEEPS!?
-This akuma maybe one of the best ones yet.
-HE LOOKS SO COOL.
-PLOT TWIST! HAWKMOTH ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT HIS SON FOR ONCE! I am shook.
-HAWKMOTH GOT THANOSED. So Hawkmoth cares instantly loses. XD
-"Is that good news or bad news?" Chat noir, you are right. But thats your dad
-RUN ITS NOT GODZILLA!
-Ladybug and Chat noir getting their butt kicked.
-Fei also getting wrecked.
-Zag confirmed furry
-Fei just left them high and dry.
-And Chat noir is dead! ANGST.
-Ladybug gonna talk some sense into her.
-The mascara smeared. Thats real sadness.
-Cue power of friendship talk.
-Fei saves her with the power of friendship.
-dragon v. dragon fight!
-Oh I like this lucky charm.
- Yaloshi is his name now? (these subs are confusing)
-Oh snap, the power of team work! And fighting in the belly of the beast.
-THAT LADYNOIR HUG.
-They tied up the guy.
-Fei should have killed the guy.
-Meishi is adorable.
-I LOVE THIS LITTLE CONVERSATION. THEY ARE GONNA PRETEND TO RACE. and then show up later.
-Oh fei, marinette AND Adrien are celebrating his birthday. Thats cute.
-They BOTH SAID IT! I Cant even! (also I see you Adrien, you aint slick)
-The boys crushing on Fei.
-Adrien has such soft looks for Marinette.
____________________________________________________________
So overall. The beginning was a tiny bit cringe, but not as bad as the trailer made it out to be.
I really liked Fei. She grows on ya. And I liked Lady dragon. I liked the renlings
I will say it is a better special in terms of Lore and plot than the NY special. It was lacking in the love square interactions that I wanted. But they were still cute when they had them. I do think there are a few plot holes, like Eagle being an action figure. WHEN DID THIS SPECIAL TAKE PLACE. (Edit, found out it was an animation error, NVM)
Also, now the elephant in the room? Was the special racist?
The answer is, no.
It wasn't racist, so we can all calm down about it?
So I give it an 8/10
The lore being my favorite parts.
138 notes · View notes
jubilantwriter · 3 years ago
Text
It All Began with a Big Crash
(AO3)
Summary:  It's the one year anniversary of Boyfriend and Girlfriend's growing relationship, and Boyfriend absolutely, totally, DID NOT forget that today is that special day. And yet, that one single DID NOT FORGETTing leads to a domino effect, resulting in quite possibly one of the best nights of their lives.
After all, what's the point of a performance if no one's having fun during it?
Word Count: 7154
(A/N:  Happy 1st Anniversary of Friday Night Funkin’!  I literally wrote and edited this all in one day.  Got home at midnight, started writing, and then I posted it at 10 am, took a nap, went to work, AND NOW I’M HERE ON TUMBLR :D  Anyway, FNF has been a big comfort for me these past months, so it’s only fitting that I put myself through hell to get this little bit out.  I hope you all enjoy!)
\\\\
Now, Boyfriend isn't a forgetful man.  This thought crosses his mind as he stands up abruptly after paying for his lunch and racing for the door.
"Be-!"
"Eep!"
CRASH .
But sometimes things... slip from his mind, and while he's not one prone to panic, THIS is something worth panicking over.
"-EP.  SHIT.  SORRY!"
"My dishes!"  A blonde server kneels on the ground, surrounded by the clumsy carnage created by Boyfriend inadvertently crashing into her on his rush out.  She glares accusingly at him as the boy jogs in place.  "Again, really?!"
"Sorry, sorry!"  He waves his hands in front of him before looking over his shoulder.  "I'll pay for the dishes and shit uh, later!"  He dashes out the door as she calls out behind him.
"That's what you said LAST time!"
Well, last time he was dirt poor, but now that he's pretty famous around town, he's actually got the moolah to pay for damages!  So yeah, next time!
...Is what he meant to tell her, but he's already busting into the conveniently placed flower shop, panting as he looks around wildly for help.  The florist in question glances at him completely unbothered by his entrance.  
"Forgot an important date again?" she quips, staring back down at her phone as she drapes herself over the counter.
"BAP!" he says defensively, because he DIDN'T forget!  It just... slipped his mind a little.  In his defense, he'd gotten so used to being with Girlfriend that it felt ... normal!  Like they've been together for YEARS and being with her just felt so right, and every day was the greatest day of his life because he had her by his side.  So yeah, maybe the days slipped past him in a blissful sort of way, like when he gets super focused on his music or some arbitrary task, and the hours slip by and suddenly it's the next morning!  It's kind of like that, but with a girl who makes him smile and laugh and forget that life is supposed to be difficult and hard, and not fun and invigorating.  And to think they've only been together for a year...
...A year.
...Wait.
Shit.
SHIT.
He's doing it again!
He bustles over and slaps a fifty on the counter.  "Bop!" he announces in a rush, tapping his fingers impatiently as the florist holds it up to the light. 
With a low whistle, she puts it back on the table.  "Wow, you're really going all out this time, huh?"  Before Boyfriend can respond to her sarcasm, the florist calls out to her partner in the back.  "Flower!  Miku's lil bro is back at it again, dropping a fifty and hoping for the best."
"Again?"  A husky voice makes its way over as a familiar bush of thick hair pops out from beyond the doorway.  "Boyfriend, you should know by now that apology bouquets are at least a hundred."
"Ba- skida- AUGH!  It's not an apology bouquet!"  He stomps his foot, irritated to break out the English but knowing full well it’s a matter that needs clear communication.  So not really a waste of words, just a waste of energy on two ladies who will give him shit regardless of the noise he makes.
"Oh yeah?  What's the occasion?"  The taller florist - Lily, hilariously enough - leans forward with a smirk as Flower keeps her deadpan stare.  
"It's for my anniversary!"  He crosses his arms and harrumphs as Lily whistles again.
"Damn, and you didn't invite us to the wedding?  Harsh."
"No, not that-!  Ugh, you know what I mean."
"Do we?"  Lily and Flower exchange a look before Lily's smirk widens.  "I dunno, you don't give us the dirt anymore.  Remember when you'd come in here all the time, red in the face trying to get apology bouquets for that one boy?  What's his name-"
"Pico," he answers, a bit flustered as the memories rush through his mind before shaking his head, "and he liked them all, by the way!  But this isn't about him-"
"No, it's about your new girl, right?"  Flower cuts in, leaning against the doorway with a bored expression.  "What's her favorite color?  It's not green, is it?"
"It's red, and please can you make it quick?  I dunno when she wants us to meet up, so...!"  He flashes them two thumbs up and is about to bounce, but Lily grabs the collar of his shirt with a chuckle.
"Not so fast, dumbass."  She pulls him back to the counter as he whines pathetically.  "You really think a fifty is enough for an anniversary bouquet?"
Oh no.  He starts to sweat, feeling his wallet tremble in fear.  They're doing it again.  "What do you mean?"
"What do I mean, Flower?"  Lily turns back to the shorter florist as the other makes a thoughtful hum.
"One hundred, at least."
"Yeah, at least one hundo."  Lily holds her hand out.  "C'mon, cough it up, shorty."
This is beyond unreal, but at the same time, it is completely expected from people who teased him relentlessly since he was a kid.  "If it wasn't for Miku, you guys wouldn't even be here!"
"We're only here because of convenience, please."  Lily snorts as the boy continues to struggle.  "So you aiming for an apology bouquet or an anniversary bouquet?"
"Just cut me a deal, please?  For old time's sake?" He clasps his hands together and bats his eyelashes.  "I'm still that cute little kid who used to pretend to be like Miku!  Who could forget good ol' Mikuo?"
"One hundred."  Flower cuts off the potential reminiscing and steps up to the counter.  "Or it's an apology bouquet."
Grumbling miserably, Boyfriend digs around in his pocket and manages to snag something.  He pulls out his hand and counts out four quarters.  Quietly, he puts it on top of the fifty.
Flower and Lily both look at it silently.
"...Well," Flower begins, slowly taking the money, "I did say one hundred."
Roll with it roll with it roll with it-
"Yeah, and uh, four twenty-fives makes one hundred, right?"
"What, are we speaking French now?"  Lily asks with a sneer.
"No," Boyfriend begins, blinking slowly, "pretty sure we're speaking English." 
"Oh my god."  She slaps her hand over Flower's.  "We are not doing this."
"I gave you one hundred," he argues, sweating miserably as he turns up the confidence.  
"He did give us one hundred," Flower agrees.
"You are not giving this to him.  You know he didn't even plan this!  He's too stupid to pull a slick move like that!"
Boyfriend just smiles and gives them a double thumbs up.
"It's not like anyone else is gonna be coming in to give us another job."  Flower hums and stows the money in the register, much to Lily's chagrin.  "And besides, if I get bored making it, I'll just take a nap."
"Flower-!"  Before Lily can protest even more, Flower disappears into the backroom, no doubt to either work on the bouquet or take that nap.  Lily turns back to Boyfriend and glares, jabbing a finger against his chest.  "Be back here in a few hours.  You're taking whatever the hell she makes for you, stingy little bitch."
"That's all I have on my person!"
"We accept credit and debit."
"I have bills to pay."
"You're such a little-!"  Lily makes a strangling gesture with her hands before grabbing and shaking him.  "You better give this girl a helluva anniversary."
"I'm trying!"  He backs up and shoots the tall florist finger guns before vacating the premises.  Okay, one thing down.  Next: chocolates.  Easy-peasy.  What place sells heart-shaped boxes of chocolates and other cutesy, anniversary items?
Boyfriend makes a beeline for the local grocery store and spends only a total of thirty minutes there, making the proud purchase of a box of chocolates, a little teddy bear holding a heart, and even a balloon that says, "I Love You".  Score!  Damn, he's doing great so far.  And it was such a quick purchase!  Maybe Miku's friends could learn a thing or two about making quick sales instead of harassing him over every little thing.
What's next, what's next...
A place for dinner, right!  Girlfriend loves the local bar.  Great food, a nice atmosphere, open mic nights, a server who's familiar with them...
A server that he crashed into and made her drop all those dishes to the floor... like that other time he did it to her and held up the service for a sizable amount of time...
He gulps.  Hm.  She's probably still mad at him too.  But uh, huh.  He's not sure what to do.  Maybe, maybe...
He takes out his phone and dials a familiar number.  It rings only twice before a gruff, annoyed voice answers on the other side.
"I'm busy, the fuck you want?"
Without missing a beat, he gets on his metaphorical hands and knees.  "Pico, can I ask a favor, please please pretty please?"
"Wow, English.  Must be desperate."   There's a loud crash on his end before Pico's voice yells at a pair of playful, young laughter.  "Hey- hey!  Watch it!"
"Pico, so uh, could you-?"
"Hey- give me that!"   More raucous laughter fills the line as Pico sighs.  "Sorry, Bee, don't think I can help ya today.  I was supposed to just watch these two kids 'til Lila came back, but then I got a call from a pal who needs help at her joint and- Skid, Jesus fucking Christ -"   There's some shuffling and a grunt as a playful squeal rings a little too close to the phone.  Pico continues as though nothing happened on his end.  "-and so basically I'm double booked for the night."
"Oh, okay."  He tries not to let the disappointment seep into his voice, but another sigh from Pico suggests that he heard it regardless.  
"Look, I'm real sorry, wish I could help, but a line's formin' and I can only do so much."   Pico grunts and a soft thump is heard.  Two voices chatter away distantly in the background, but Boyfriend focuses solely on Pico.  "Why?  What happened?"
"Well, today's me and Girlfriend's anniversary, and I wanted to take her out but-"
"Can't figure out a place to take her?  C'mon man, you- Jesus, you two, slow down, I'm comin'- you already know one."
"Yeah, the bar but-"
"What, ya worried about 'bout lines or somethin'?  I know it's busy and shit, but I'm sure Serv will get ya guys' a table easy.  It's just you two, you'll be fine."
"Okay, but-"
"Oh my GOD, what the HELL is THAT?!"  
A faint, childish voice answers Pico's horrified question as Boyfriend listens in.  "That's Moloch!"
"...MOLOCH?"
A roar sounds from Pico's side of the phone call.  The voice - uh, Skid, was it? - laughs excitedly.  "Yeah!  He's our friend!"
"He lives in Skid's attic!"
A demonic voice nearly blows out Boyfriend's eardrums.  "GET ME OUT OF HERE!"
"...Does your MOM know about this?!"
"Sorta!  She thinks he's a rat."
"Hey hey HEY, back OFF-!  Sorry, Bee, I'll call ya later!"  
The last thing he hears is another roar before the line hangs up.  Pico will probably be fine - he's handled worse after all, and even Boyfriend's faced off a demon or two!  Maybe three, if that Lemon Man those two kids were friends with counted as well.  Man, demons are just everywhere, huh?
...Speaking of demons.  There’s one demon he really should be focusing on.  Like getting their dinner date set up at her favorite bar in town.  Even though he’s probably on that bar’s shitlist for knocking over their number one employee again .
But Girlfriend really does love going to that bar, and if it's for her...  Fuck it, he'll suck it up and take whatever Server-chan's got against him.  He'll just challenge her to a quick rap battle, win, and THEN they can have a nice dinner!  Yeah, that's what he'll do.  Lily's words replay in his mind as he walks off to his apartment to change into something nicer.
"You better give this girl a helluva anniversary."
Fuck yeah he will.
"Damn, after all these years, you still can't tie a tie."  Lily frets over his outfit as she helps him tidy up a bit.  A colorful ribbon now decorates the box of chocolates, tying it together with the teddy bear with the balloon also tied around its wrist.  He grabs the tied together present after she rolls his sleeves up to his elbow.
"Bouquet?" he asks hopefully as Lily dusts off his shoulders for the hundredth time.  
She huffs and shakes her head, blowing a stray hair out of her face.  "You're lucky Flower didn't take a nap halfway through.  It's her best work so far!  All for the low, low cost of $51, tax not included."
"There's tax?!"  He almost falls over, but Lily grabs him by the collar of his dress shirt.
"Chill out, we'll charge it to Miku's account."
"Oh, thanks."  He swats away her hands when she tries to tuck in the other half of his shirt.  "Fuck off, it's part of my style!"
"What, being sloppy?"
"The ladies love it."
"Your lady deserves better."
"But I'm the best there is!"
"Oh, God," Lily groans as her expression falls into despair.  "Egotism really does run in the family."
"Enough about the family ego," Flower pipes up, her hands full with a large, beautiful bouquet.  "These flowers need to be appreciated."
"Holy shit."  Boyfriend takes the entire bouquet, admiring the reds, pinks, and whites.  There's a smattering of small, lavender flowers here and there, making the other colors pop.  "Roses!" he points out, the only flower he recognizes.
"Yup, and there's also lilies, alstroemeria, and-"
"Don't waste your breath," Lily cuts in, covering Flower's mouth before she can list them all out.  "He won't remember any of the names."
A disappointed sigh escapes Flower, so he gives her the biggest grin he can muster.  "Yo, I still think it's hella bomb to look at.  I really think she'll love it!"
Flower perks up a bit, a small smile forming on her usually stoic face.  "...Cool."
"Alright, get outta here."  Lily shoves him back to the door with a grin.  "You got a hot date, yeah?  Go give her the night of her life!"
"Yeah!"  He waves to the pair before leaving.  "Gonna have a great night at the bar!"
Lily's smile falters as Flower's smile immediately disappears.  "...The what?"
"See ya!"
"Wait, Boyfriend!  You're taking her out to the fucking BAR?!"  
He doesn't have the time to turn back and answer Lily, so he goes along his merry way, bouquet clutched tightly against his chest with the bear.  Hopefully the incident from earlier today has been swept away.  He really doesn't want to have a rap battle with Server-chan, but if he has to...
"Boyfriend!"  A sweet, melodic voice pulls him from his thoughts as he looks over to see his beautiful, wonderful Girlfriend.  Her iconic look now sports a sleek, black jacket reminiscent of her mother's own jacket.  It looks stunning on her, and a soft, longing "beep" escapes him as she giggles and kisses his cheek.  "Hey, hun.  Happy anniversary!"
"Happy anniversary!"  He holds out his gifts for her to take, and he delights in her unabashed joy as she takes them.
"Oh!  This teddy bear is so cute, and these flowers are lovely!"  Another giggle escapes her as she points at the bouquet.  "Roses!"
"That's what I said!"  They both share a laugh before her smile settles into something soft and relaxed.
"Now I wish I got you something too..."  Girlfriend pouts a bit, but he kisses it away with a grin.
"Hey, don't sweat it!  Lemme spoil you for the night instead."  He offers her his arm, and she happily loops hers with his.  They walk into the bar together and are met with a familiar face standing behind a podium.  Despite being the hostess, Cassette Girl keeps her iconic cap on as she notices them and greets them with a lazy smile.
"Wooow," she drawls out, giving Boyfriend a knowing grin.  "Back again so soon?  And after that huge fuss you made."
"Fuss?"  Girlfriend gives Boyfriend a curious look.  
"Uhh, beep bah."
"Didn't tell her about your mishap, huh?"  Cassette Girl raises an eyebrow and shakes her head.  "Well, if you wanted to know, Serv got it figured out.  Called in a favor last minute, and luckily he was nice enough to help out."  
"Sorry about that," he says sheepishly, and Cassette Girl merely shrugs.
"It's whatever.  Not the first time you messed her up real good.  And besides, you're not even the first person to make her crash and burn for a hot minute."  
"Is this still about the fuss you guys are talking about?"  Girlfriend looks between the two as Cassette Girl chuckles.
"Yeah, but don't worry about it.  Lemme take ya to your seats.  Bar or nah?"  
"Nah, it's our anniversary date today!"
"And you guys are spending it here?”  She pauses for a second in thought before shaking her head.  “Alright."  Cassette Girl takes it in stride and seats them near the miniature stage.
"Oh, is it open mic night tonight?"  Girlfriend sits down, already excited for the night as Cassette Girl chuckles and hands them the menus.
"Nah, originally we had a band booked tonight, but their back-up vocalist got injured, so they called it off last minute.  It's gonna be a quiet night instead."
"Aww."  The pout on Girlfriend's face lasts only a second before her smile returns.  "Oh well!  Sometimes quiet is nice too."
"Right you are.  Anyway, your waiter will be with you guys in just a sec, so take your time.  We're not too busy tonight, so feel free to cause more havoc."  She flashes a grin before walking back to her station.  
Girlfriend waves goodbye and turns back to Boyfriend with a smile.  "Cassey is so nice!  I wish we could talk to her more."  
"Maybe we'll catch her on the street one of these days."  He cracks open the menu, perusing the contents before deciding on getting his usual.
"Maybe!  Should I try something new tonight?"
"Wouldn't hurt."
"But I don't know what to get..."
"Maybe we can ask the waiter?"  He looks around for their supposed waiter, but all he sees is an unimpressed Pico standing at their table.  "Oh!  Pico!  You're dressed like a waiter!"
True to his observations, Pico is dressed similarly to Server-chan; a black long sleeved shirt replaces his usual green sweater, and a pair of black slacks replaces his usual beige cargo pants.  The only splash of color on his outfit is the bright orange apron that all servers seem to wear as per uniform, and it absolutely clashes with Pico's own bright, red hair.  
"That's because I am the waiter, dumbass."  The bite from his remark is lost from the tired slump of his shoulders, and the ginger begins to resemble Server-chan with each passing second.  "At least for tonight.  She called me in for a favor, and I agreed to help."
The conversation from earlier today pings in Boyfriend's memory.  "Is this what you meant when you said you were double booked?"
"Yeah.  Told me some blue-haired douchebag steamrolled her on his way out, and she ended up breaking a whole buncha dishes.  She went out to go replace the whole set, so I'm coverin' for the rest of her shift while she takes care of it.  Now that I think about it," Pico fixes him with a stern, knowing glare as Boyfriend shrinks under his sharp eyes, "I kinda already know about a certain blue-haired douchebag."
"I'll pay her back, I promise."  
"You fuckin' better."  Pico looks over to Girlfriend and offers her a tired grin when she waves cheerfully.  "Hey, Red, he treatin' ya well tonight?"
"Yup!  He got me chocolates, a bear, a balloon, AND a bouquet!"
"Really spoilin' ya there."
"Only the best for Gigi, right?"  He nudges Pico playfully, the earlier irritation already melting away from his expression as he rolls his eyes and ruffles Boyfriend's hair.
"Yeah yeah.  Ya guys ready to order?"
Pico takes their orders and departs quickly, the couple watching him disappear somewhere in the bar as their collective thoughts gather on one thing only.
"Mm, Pico should wear uniforms more often, huh?"
"It definitely looks flattering on him."  They both hum before taking sips from the water Pico had set down earlier while taking their orders.  With no ginger to distract them, Girlfriend's attention centers back on Boyfriend as she smiles.  "Thanks for taking me out here for dinner!  I know it's not easy for us to go out on dates since my parents still hover, so I'm really happy that we went out like you planned!"
"Oh yeah, totally."  His easy grin hides the absolute panic he had for the entire half of his day when he realized he had nothing planned.  "I wish I could treat you out for something better, but nothing else is really happening around this time of year-"
"Except for Spooky Month!"  Two voices pipe up out of nowhere as the costumed duo surprise the couple.  
"Oh, goodness, hello!"  She laughs as Skid and, uh, Pump?  Stand by their table looking curious.  "How have you two been?"
"Okay!  Mr. Pico has been babysitting us since Mom's been busy with her work stuff."  Skid bounces on his heels as Pump looks up more calmly.  "We wanted to introduce him to Moloch, but..."
"He didn't like him too much.  He said Moloch is more scary than spooky."  Pump sticks his tongue out and laughs.  "Silly Mr. Pico!  He does not understand that Moloch is our friend!"
"Moloch?"  Girlfriend hums as bobs her head in thought.  "That name sounds familiar.  There was a demon that went missing months ago by that name..."  
"Oh, weird!"
"Moloch came to us months ago too!  But now he stays in Skid's attic."
"It's like a sleepover every day!"
"That sounds like fun!"  She giggles as the kids bounce around her.
Boyfriend watches with a smile before remembering that “double booked” thing that Pico mentioned earlier.  Were these the kids he was watching when Boyfriend called…?  "So why are you guys here?  If Pico is supposed to be babysitting you guys, but is working here instead..."  Boyfriend wonders how Pico manages to balance so many jobs at once.  He himself can barely handle the one!  
"Mr. Pico said that he didn't trust Moloch and wanted us to stay somewhere safer."
"Which is weird, because Moloch is our friend!  But it made him happier, so we came here with him."
"It's boring here, so Pump and I have been teaching lots of people how to spooky dance!"
"Oh?"  Girlfriend indulges them and smiles as they crowd closer to her.  "Can you show me too?"
"You don't know the spooky dance?"
"We should show her!"
"It goes like this!"  The pair of children do a little dance for her, and a happy laugh escapes her as she watches.  Boyfriend leans back and enjoys her happiness as the kids continue to chat with her.
"That looks like fun!"
"You can do it too!"  Skid tugs on her hands, and it's enough to get her to stand up.  "Just hold out your hands like this-"
"-and then you move like this!"  The two of them demonstrate one more time before looking at Girlfriend expectantly.  It takes her a few times, but the kids are surprisingly patient and more than happy to show her as many times as she requests until she gets it right.  The sight of her having so much fun melts his heart, and he sighs as he watches her enjoy herself.  
"Damn, look at you, meltin' into the table."  
Boyfriend nearly slams his face against the table, making Pico guffaw as he puts their meals on the table.  "Dude!"
"What?  Just spittin' facts.  Hey!"  Pico's hands come to rest on his hips as he glares at the kids.  Both Girlfriend and Boyfriend exchange a look, hiding their amused grins behind their hands as Pico takes on his caretaking role.  "Skid, Pump, what did I say 'bout botherin' the customers?"
"Uhh..."  The two kids freeze in place, looking at each other before looking at Pico.  "Don't?"
"And what are you two doin'?"
"Bothering your friends!"  Pump grins as Skid nods in agreement.  "They are not customers, right?"
A puff of a laugh escapes Girlfriend as Boyfriend nudges Pico.  "Yeah dude, we're your friends, not customers.  We should get a de-"
A glare is enough to silence Boyfriend, but Girlfriend's composure quickly falls apart as a fit of giggles escapes her.  Pico ignores her as he focuses his attention on his two charges.  "They're still customers."
"But it's boring here!"
"Yeah, it's too quiet.  You said there'd be music!"
"But there's no music, except for the soft elevator music."
"But that's boring too."
Both boys pout as Pico sighs and massages his temples.  "Look, I didn't know the band would cancel today.  After I'm done here, we can do something fun , okay?"
"Like getting candy?"
"Yeah, like gettin' candy."  The two kids cheer and run off somewhere before Pico can stop them.  "Hey-!"
"Damn, Pico, I didn't think you'd be good with kids."  Boyfriend snickers as he eats a fry, watching as Pico sighs for the umpteenth time.
"You call that bein' good with kids?"
"It's better than I'd ever expect outta you."
"Rude little bitch."  Pico snatches a few fries and chomps on them, ignoring Boyfriend's protests.  
"When do you get off, Pico?"  Girlfriend spins her fork around in her pasta before feeding the first bite to Boyfriend, keeping her eyes on Pico as the ginger hums thoughtfully.
"Technically nine, but I gotta watch the kids 'til ten.  That's when Lila comes back from her shit."
"Do you wanna come over for movie night?"  She looks over to Boyfriend who nods in agreement.  Pico laughs and shakes his head.
"Ain't this supposed to be ya guys' anniversary date?  Why the hell am I bein' invited?"
"'Cause it's more fun when you join us!"  Boyfriend pipes up, making his eyes go wide with hope, knowing how much of a sucker Pico is for his puppy dog eyes.  Like he predicts, Pico grumbles and looks away, a slight blush to his cheeks as he tries to regain his composure.
"Touchin', but nah.  It's y'all's day.  It's not my place to interrupt."  
"You wouldn't be-!"  A ringtone goes off in the middle of her sentence.  Girlfriend pauses, taking her phone out as her smile vanishes.  "Oh, just a minute."  She leaves the table quickly as she answers her phone with a faint, "Hi, Daddy..."
"Hm."  They watch her go outside before Pico turns back to Boyfriend.  "I hope you have somethin' really good planned for tonight."
"Well, I don't have anything planned, per se-"
"Oh for fuck's sake-"
"But!  Movie night is gonna be a thing!  Or, was."  Boyfriend frowns, not liking how it was her dad who called her.  Knowing him, he could be asking her to come home earlier than planned, ruining their romantic movie night.  "I was gonna play it by ear, y'know, in case something like that happens."
"Fair."  Pico crosses his arms and fixes Boyfriend with a stare.  "So how are you gonna save this night then?"
"Dunno yet."  Boyfriend bites his lip and scratches at the table.  "Like I said, I don't have much planned, so like..."  His eyes wander over to the stage.  A keyboard is the only instrument present on the stage alongside the stereos.  He blinks slowly at the sight of it, a hum low in his throat.  
"What?  Ya suddenly got an idea?"  Pico follows his gaze and whistles low.  "Gonna sing a love song?"
"What?  No."  A pause.  "Maybe.  I dunno."
"You dunno?"
"I don't really have a song lined up."  But it would be perfect.  She loves it when he sings.  Or raps.  Or does anything really.  And she did seem a little disappointed when she found out that there wasn't going to be a show tonight...
"You're a rapper," Pico supplies easily.  "Just freestyle."
"But I don't have any beats."  Which is true, unless he gets some help.  His eyes wander up to meet Pico's gaze.  "...Can I ask a favor?"
"Shoot."
"You still beatbox?"
And Pico smirks.  "Only if ya got a plan."  
Boyfriend looks around the bar, his eyes landing on the Spooky Boys and Cassette Girl.  Music flows behind his eyes as he maps out the beats and flows on the spot.  Fingers tap out the rhythm he wants to follow, and Pico taps his foot in tandem.  "I think," he says, watching as Girlfriend comes back into the bar with a gloomy look on her face, "I've got a plan."
Pico leans forward, and Boyfriend quickly whispers it to him before shooing the ginger away.  When Girlfriend takes her seat, Boyfriend takes it upon himself to buy some time for Pico as he keeps Girlfriend's attention on him.
"Something up?"
"Oh, it's just Daddy."  Her frown deepens, and Boyfriend can feel his heart drop from the sight.  She shouldn't be unhappy on their anniversary - of course her dad would ruin things for her.  "He wants me to come home early, says he doesn't want me to stay over too late since he doesn't trust you to keep your hands to yourself."
"Tch.  Your old man needs to lay off."  From the corner of his eye, he sees Cassette Girl wander to some backroom, only to reappear with a few more coworkers as one of them takes over her position by the podium.  Pico follows her next, helping her set up a couple of mics as she tests out the keyboard.  The noises catch the attention of the patrons, including Girlfriend as she turns in interest at the ruckus.
"What's going on?  Oh, is there a show happening after all?"  A small smile forms on her lips as she watches the prep.  "I wonder who they managed to get!"
"Yeah, I wonder."  Boyfriend lets her watch them for a second longer before taking her attention again.  "So how long can you stay out?"
"Mmm, at most, maybe an hour?  Daddy's imps will come and pick me up, regardless of where I am."  She puffs her cheeks out, which would normally be cute if she wasn't so distressed.  "Mommy was okay with me spending the night!  But Daddy won't even let me stay before midnight, so that ruins movie night..."
"Hey, don't worry about it.  We can always have movie night whenever."  He reaches over and takes her hand, giving it a firm, comforting squeeze.  
"But today was supposed to be our day."  She frowns again, holding onto his hand as she sighs softly.  "We were supposed to have a nice night doing whatever we wanted.  And now that's going to be ruined because my dad is being... himself again."
Random beats start playing.  It takes them both by surprise as they turn around to see Pico messing with... some kind of pad?  Is that a launchpad?  Cassette Girl shakes her head and points to some buttons before Pico nods and- ah.  So he didn't steal it from someone.  Clearly, it was Cassette Girl's own device.  
"What are they doing?"  Girlfriend watches with more interest as the two kids clamber onto the stage, Pico talking to them softly as they nod along to whatever he's saying excitedly.  He wags his finger like a metronome, and the boys both follow its movement before nodding furiously as he grins and pats the tops of their heads.  As Pico looks up from the boys, he meets Boyfriend's gaze and gives a small nod before standing up.
"They're getting a show ready for you."  Boyfriend grins when Girlfriend looks over to him bewildered.
"What do you mean, for me?"
"Heeeellloooo, everyone!"  Cassette Girl speaks into the microphone with her familiar drawl, getting the patrons to quiet down as they watch with rapt attention.  "Now, as you know, our booked gig for tonight ended up cancelling, but at the very last minute, we managed to snag another performer instead!  You may be familiar with his bright blue hair and obnoxious voice," a rumble of laughter rolls through the crowd, but he takes it all in stride as he waits for the intro to end, "but he's gotten pretty famous throughout these parts for his amazing freestyle rap!  Dedicated to his lovely Girlfriend of one year, we have Mr. Boyfriend, here to perform for one night only!"
"Boyfriend?!"  Girlfriend's eyes widen in excitement as he stands from his seat, grinning confidently as he winks to her.  It's not often he gets to perform for the sake of performing, so he wants to make this the best performance she's ever seen.
"You better give this girl a helluva anniversary."
As if he wasn't.
He takes the offered microphone from Cassette Girl as she takes her place behind the keyboard.  
"Heya, folks!"  He waves out to the crowd as the people who recognize him from his many rap battles cheer him on.  Girlfriend cheers from the crowd, for once enjoying the show as just a normal person, instead of being in the thick of it.  "Like Cassey said, this show is dedicated to my Girlfriend.  I started this whole career for her, and if it weren't for her, I never would have found this flow in my life.  I love her more than any song can convey, so I hope a show's worth of songs can get the message along.  Now are you ready to get funkin' lit?!"  
The crowd erupts into cheers as Girlfriend stands and cheers the loudest, her smile wide and bright as she pumps her fist in the air.  They wait for the crowd to calm down before Pico starts his beatboxing.  The beat begins slow, the notes sounding familiar as recognition settles on Girlfriend's features.
"Yo," he begins, holding the microphone close to his lips as he gets into the beat, "it's the remix."   Pico's beatboxing continues before Cassette Girl joins in with her keyboard.  The beat plays from the launchpad as the beatboxing ends, and that's his cue to start rapping.
"Don't look complacent, wearin' those rags, you ain't adjacent.  Lookie, I'm fly, and you look basic.  Look in her eyes, and I feel like takin' it for the win."   He meets Girlfriend's gaze with a grin as he waves his hand back and forth, pumping the crowd up as he continues to rap.
"Her dad be evil, no twin.  Skin purp' like the Sprite, sippin'.  He open his yap and you wouldn't believe it's the sound of an angel when he spittin'."   At Pico's cue, Skid and Pump join in with a chant of, "Go man go!  Go man go!"   They keep it up as Boyfriend continues to rap, the energy high and exciting as he performs for fun.
"Even though he look like a demon, hold my blue nuts as I battle for the takin'.  Of this girl, I just wanna hold her hand.  Look in our DM's and it's like candy land."   Boyfriend kneels on the stage and gestures for Girlfriend to come closer.  Without missing a beat, Girlfriend makes her way over, her head bobbing in time to the rhythm as she smiles blissfully.
"Yo, I really can't bust when her evil ass dad tryna make my ass be grass.  So I got one shot, learned to spit real hot, and it might just go like this."   As he takes her hand, he pulls her onto the stage and the Spooky Boys go quiet for his next lines.
"I don't mean no disrespect, but there's something about her I can't let go.  Baby, you know that I love you, even though my balls are blue."   The joke gets a giggle from Girlfriend, and it takes all his willpower not to stop rapping just to kiss her right there.
"I want to spend my life with her, even if her dad is evil or some shit.  Now spit it like this: we gettin' freaky on a Friday night, chyeah!"  The crowd goes wild as he scoops Girlfriend up in one arm, cradling her against his body as he continues to rap.  Her arms wrap around his neck as she leans against him, warm and happy in his embrace.
As she should be.  
The Spooky Boys return with the chant, pumping the crowd up some more as they cheer loudly with the rap.
"I just want to hold her tight, chyeah!  Her hair, her eyes, her thighs, yeah.  If I die, it'll all be worth it.  Just to get a chance to show she's worth it!"  He sways with the beat, watching as the crowd gets into the performance.  Besides him, Cassette Girl is grinning, nodding her head to the beat as she plays the mellow tunes on her keyboard.  Pico meanwhile focuses his attention alternating between beatboxing and playing the right beats on the launchpad, all while paying attention to the song and directing when the boys start and end their chant.  Despite the amount of tasks on his shoulders, he holds himself high and proud, enjoying himself with a smile as he moves with the beat.  Even the kids are enjoying themselves, bouncing on the spot and watching Pico intently for his cues.  A part of Boyfriend wonders if they're even paying attention to the lyrics or if they're too engrossed in the beats and sounds coming from the keyboard and launchpad to even care.
Not that it matters.
All that matters is that they're all having fun .  He looks out into the crowd and sees smile upon smile as they're all enjoying themselves to the music.  This.  This is what performing is all about.  The energy, the enjoyment, everyone losing themselves to the music and forgetting their woes and worries for even just a minute-
That's what makes it all so worth it.
He raps the chorus one last time before letting the beat peter out, Pico ending the song with his beatboxing increasing in tempo before ending it abruptly.  The crowd continues their cheers as Boyfriend yells into his microphone.
"You guys ready for more?!"
There's no doubt in his mind that he will absolutely be banned from the bar after this show, just with how rowdy the crowd is getting.  But it's all worth it in the end as he nods to his friends to play whatever beat that comes to mind.  He'll come up with the lyrics on the fly, all of them dedicated to Girlfriend as he sets her down and holds her tight to his side as they sway together.
He doesn't know how long they go for.  All the hype and excitement pushes him to continue, and when he looks over to see if Pico or Cassette Girl or even the boys look just a little tired, he's surprised to see them too excited to even consider taking a break.  The night is filled with raps filled with jokes and love as the clock finally strikes ten.  
Time to end the show.
"Alriiiight, everyone!"  Cassette Girl takes the microphone back from Boyfriend, panting slightly as she gestures to the crowd that grew during the performance.  "Unfortunately, that's it for this show!  Thanks for watching, hope you enjoyed your meals, and please, come back again when we host another gig or open mic!"  The crowd applauds as they all bow.  Cassette Girl pats his shoulder with a grin and turns back to help Pico clean up.  Girlfriend clings to his side, giggling and burying her face against his neck.
"Ohhh, that was so much fun!"  Her giddiness makes him laugh as he hugs her tight, covering her face in kisses as he breathes for the first time since the performance began.
"Did you enjoy yourself?"
"Are you kidding?!"  She laughs and picks him up, twirling them together in a circle before cuddling him midair.  "That was the most fun I've had in ages!"
"I'm glad," he admits, relief washing over him that their night was a success after all.  "Sucks we didn't finish our dinners though."
"I can get boxes for them."  Pico shows up next to them, both kids curled up in his arms as they cling to him.  "Or, uh, I can get Cass to get 'em for ya."
"Aww, are they tired?"  Girlfriend sets Boyfriend down to take a look at the kids.  "They did a really good job tonight!"  Skid lifts his head up, a tired but bright smile on his face as he giggles.
"That was fun!  I wanna do it again, Mr. Pico!"
"I'll think about it.  Remember what we promised before the show?"
"No repeating the bad words around mom," both boys respond, although Pump's words are muffled against Pico's shirt.  He chuckles and nods towards the couple.  
"I gotta get these kids home.  You guys get some rest too."
"We will."  Boyfriend stretches, feeling worn out from the show.  
"See ya."
"Bye, Pico!"  Girlfriend waves as Pico walks off, the two kids waving from Pico's arms.  "He really is good with kids, even if he won't admit it."
"He's always been protective of them."  They both hum, the thought sobering them a bit as they watch the ginger disappear in the crowd.  "We should visit him later and make sure he's okay too."
"Sounds like a plan."  Girlfriend smiles and takes his hand, swinging their arms between them.  A waitress comes by quickly, helping them pack their barely eaten dinners and shooing them out of the bar.  As they leave, Boyfriend passes by Server-chan, her expression still looking exhausted as their eyes meet.  But despite this, she smiles when she sees him, and he hopes she had fun too during his show.
He and Girlfriend walk for about five minutes before a limo pulls up beside them.  She sighs and turns to hug him tight, her face buried in his shoulder before she kisses him softly.
"Thanks for the lovely night," she whispers, soft and tender as the warmth from her cheek seeps through his shirt.  "It really was the best night of my life."
"I'm glad then," he whispers back, pressing a kiss to her temple.  "'Cause I'm gonna make sure I make every night the best night of your life from now on."
She giggles, pulling herself away reluctantly before climbing into the limo.  He watches as it drives away into the night, leaving him alone.
The night air is cold and brisk, but he finds himself warm regardless.  A smile wide and bright on his face as he stuffs his hands into his pockets, a tune coming out in the form of a whistle as he walks home.
What a night to remember.
19 notes · View notes
xpeachesncream · 4 years ago
Text
off the grid | four
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summary: it was as simple as swapping places with a stranger from across the world to get away from everything back home. that is - until you meet Jimin. things become more complicated as he unfolds a new chapter in your life that you were initially trying to avoid.
pairing: reader x pjm
genre: post-college au, christmas/holiday au | angst, fluff, smut (to come)
words: 3.0k
chapter warnings: slight cussing, possible inaccurate depiction of transportation, events and whereabouts in South Korea since i only did my research thru the internet, flirty, sweet jiminie so pls tell your heart to be still
> series masterlist <
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"Y/N." Jimin whined. "Just stay still for 2 more seconds, please." Jimin laughed at how much you were fidgeting as he rose his polaroid camera. He quickly snapped a photo of you sitting on the ground, in the middle of the white birch tree lane.
"I'm so happy I'm here!" You squealed as you stood up and dusted yourself off. Jimin had taken you to Nami Island for the day, being that you had talked all night about the infamous gingko trees and how beautiful they looked in pictures. Unfortunately, since it was winter, the trees barely had any leaves left, but you didn't mind. You were just happy to be there.
"Okay, come on. There's still so much more to see." He led the way with you following behind him. You continued to walk through the remaining tree lanes before heading over to the gardens and the petit french village.
"Wait, this is so pretty." You gasped, instantly posing in front of one of the colorful replica houses. Jimin snapped his picture before you decided to capture some footage for your instagram and snapchat stories.
"I'm really glad you're enjoying this."
"I hope you are too."
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Because you've probably been here thousands of times. You must be tired of it." He shook his head and pouted.
"Nope." He chuckled. "Absolutely not."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Huh." You scratched your head. "Like Disneyland is a huge staple of LA but I'm tired of it." He shrugged.
"I don't know, this is probably a little different. We're not really waiting hours in line for rides in a super packed amusement park. Plus, waiting under the scorching hot sun? No thanks."
"Very true."
"I just enjoy being out and exploring, even if that means doing it over and over again with you. I don't mind." You smiled. The feeling you felt being around Jimin, the butterflies - you couldn't explain. It felt new, yet unreal, almost like you had to pinch yourself to remember this was actually reality. You were living it right at this moment. How could he exist as the pure, wholesome angel he was? You had no idea, and it caught you off guard every single time.
But you were scared, because when this is all over, what happens? You and Jimin go back to living life before you even knew the other existed? That'll suck.
Fuck that. You weren't trying to think of that now.
"I really do appreciate you taking me around."
"It's nothing." He flashes his pearly whites. Majority of the time, you're running to pose for the camera, already feeling completely comfortable in Jimin's presence. He took you through the village and through the gardens, where you strolled slowly side by side. His arm brushed against yours a couple of times, and you couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to experience a super affectionate and flirty Jimin. The thought kind of intrigued you. What if you were reading too deeply into this? What if he was just really nice and didn't have feelings for you like that? What if—"Y/N." You heard him call your name as he looked down at you and laughed. "Did I lose you?"
"No, sorry, I'm just taking it all in." You chuckled.
"No, that's okay. I was just saying that Jungkook fell into the bushes over there." He pointed at the shrubs.
"Wait, what?"
"He tripped and couldn't catch himself in time so he fell in there. It left an indent." He laughed.
"Are you guys always chaotic when you go out?"
"What, us? Never." He smirked. "Seriously, we aren't. But we do have our moments." His smile instantly fell when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. "Speaking of—" He quickly flashes you his phone, showing Taehyung's name on the screen. "Mind if I pick this up really quickly? Just in case the boys need me to bail them out."
"No, go for it." He smiled toothlessly before picking up the call. You both continued to walk slowly while he spoke to Taehyung on the phone. He began to laugh, his cheeks tinted with a rosy color. He rose his voice and groaned playfully, which was followed by a ton of 'okays,' 'shut ups,' and 'ughs' before finally telling Taehyung he had to go and that he would see them later. "Is everything okay?" You giggled.
"Yeah, they're just being a pain in the ass." He cleared his throat. Little did you know that Taehyung and Seokjin just spent the last couple of minutes teasing the hell out of him about you. "So, the guys wanna head to the ice skating rink tonight and told me to bring you along. Only if you wanna go, of course. No pressure."
"That sounds fun! I'll come. But, I have to warn you. I'm not very good at ice skating."
"It's okay, I'll be there. Taehyung isn't either, nor is Hoseok. I've had to hold them a couple of times." You laughed. "I'd definitely rather hold onto you than them." He quickly looked at you, realizing he let that slip out without catching himself. He felt his cheeks get hot due to the embarrassment that overcame him, but instantly felt relieved when he saw you smile and laugh at the statement. He definitely meant it though. 
"I'll be sure to not be a piece of work tonight."
"Ah, you'll be okay. I believe." The rest of the time at Nami Island was spent walking through the the rest of the garden and going through the Gapyeong Rail Park on a two-seater bike. The view was spectacular and you honestly couldn't picture doing this with anybody else. At the end of the ride, Jimin took you to get some hotteok, which was just the snack you needed after the activities and walking you had done on the island. Before leaving, you saw a musician singing at the entrance while playing his guitar. There was quite a crowd, so you gently pulled Jimin to your side to stand and watch with you.
"He's really good." You clapped quietly to yourself as he wrapped up a song. "You should go sing up there!"
"I don't sing, though."
"Really? So all those times I've heard you, you weren't singing?"
"Mmm, nope. Don't know what you're talking about."
"Please?" You pouted and clasped your hands together. Your pouty face was becoming a huge weakness for him, making it incredibly difficult to say no to you.
"Y/N, I-I don't even know if he's--" You rose your hand and dragged him to the front. You signaled to the musician that Jimin wanted to sing. Jimin politely asked if he could sing a song, which the musician happily stood aside to let him take over the mic. Jimin showed him a song on his phone and asked if he could somehow strum along to the tune. He began to sing We Don't Talk Anymore - Charlie Puth x Selena Gomez, which had your heart skipping a few beats. His voice was the most angelic thing you have ever heard and he looked so fucking good singing. At the end, he smiled sheepishly and thanked the crowd and musician before waddling back over to you. "I hope you feel special."
"Me?!"
"I obviously don't like to put my singing voice out there, but I knew it'd make you happy."
"Why not? You have such an amazing voice."
"I don't know, it's just a fun past time for me. Nothing serious."
"Well, I really like it and I wanna hear more of it." He chuckled and nodded.
"I'll see what I can do."
"Jimin." You whined.
"No promises, princess." He shrugged. "Race you to the car?" He flipped the switch and began to run off before you could even respond. You ran as much as you could because running definitely wasn't your thing, but eventually you made your way to the car, where Jimin was catching his breath.
"See, look at you. All tired from that unnecessary effort." You laugh.
"Good race." He high-fived you before unlocking the car. The ride back would be about 2 hours, so you both would be making it just in time to meet his friends at the ice skating rink. You had fallen asleep without realizing, with Jimin smiling and silently laughing to himself as he glanced over. He made sure the car was warm and comfortable enough for you, before taking one more glance at you. He didn't know how someone could be so effortlessly cute, and it's crazy, because before you came around, he was fine minding his own business. He wasn't looking for love. His last relationship ended a year ago, and he had just been taking it day by day with the boys. No negativity on his end, no bad blood, nothing.
Then, you came along. You came along and changed things for him. Quick, too. He couldn't even explain it, even if he tried. He just knew he had become undeniably attracted to everything about you and he didn't give a fuck about anyone or anything else.
"Y/N." Jimin gave you a gentle squeeze on the arm. "We're here. Are you still okay to ice skate?" You opened your eyes and fixed your position in the passenger's seat, catching his concerned facial expression.
"Yeah, I'm okay." You gave off a good stretch just to fully wake yourself up. "Shoot, I didn't even realize I fell asleep."
"That race to the car really did it to you." He laughed, making you playfully hit him on the arm. Getting out of the car, you both had to walk quite a bit before finally seeing the ice rink in view. The first person you spotted was Taehyung, but he was speaking to another tall gentleman, who was dressed in a plain white tee, light denim jacket, black distressed jeans and black chucks. He had on a black hat, where the brim covered his face pretty well.
"Jimin-ah!" The unknown gentleman yelled as he held his arms out, in which Jimin openly accepted. They hugged each other and patted each other on the back before Jimin turned to playfully smack Taehyung on the arm as his greeting.
"Hey Y/N! I'm glad you came along." Taehyung engulfed you into a hug.
"I can't miss out on ice skating!" You chuckled.
"Y/N, this is my Jin-hyung." Jimin stepped aside as Jin also held his arms out to hug you.
"Nice to meet you, Y/N." He caressed your back as you pulled away. "I'm surprised you're not sick of him yet." He tilted his head towards Jimin.
"Eh, he's not too bad." You joked, watching Jimin shake his head and bite onto his bottom lip. "Where's Jungkook?"
"Buying a snack with Hoseok." Jin replied as he dug his hands into his pockets. "Which reminds me, did you want to eat now or later Y/N?"
"It doesn't matter to me, whenever you guys want."
"Are you okay to hold off until after ice-skating?"
"Yeah!"
"Hey, why don't you ask us?" Taehyung nudged him, making him shake his head.
"It's simple. You guys don't matter. Only Y/N does." Jin winked at you.
"Stop flirting, hyung. It'll make Jimin ma--" Jimin grabbed Tae by the shirt and pushed him against the wall, pretending to beat him up. You bit your lip to prevent yourself from laughing and smiling too big, but you heard that for damn sure. As the two stopped playing and made their way back to you and Jin, Jungkook finally made it back with another gentleman dressed in a black beanie, black and white track pants, a black fitted hoodie, brown coat and sneakers. How in the hell were Jimin and all his friends so damn good looking?! You couldn't understand it for the life of you, but you sure as hell weren't complaining.
"Y/N! Jimin-ssi!" Jungkook yelled as he waddled over to you and hugged you before making his way to Jimin.
"He always calls me like that." Jimin murmured as Jungkook swung him around. Jin laughed and pointed at how ridiculous the two looked on the side.
"Y/N, Hoseok." Jin took the initiative to introduce you while Jungkook and Jimin continued to play around.
"Hi!" Hoseok waved and smiled sweetly. "You can call me Hobi."
"Nice to meet you." You tucked a strand of hair behind your ear.
"How was Nami Island?" Hoseok walked by your side as you followed the group to get your tickets and skate rentals.
"Fun! It's beautiful."
"Isn't it? I'm glad you were able to go with Jimin. It's definitely a must."
"Yeah, he's been taking me to a couple of places already. I appreciate him enough." Hoseok smirked.
"You two are cute."
"Need any help?" Before you could respond, Jimin interrupted as he walked over, already on his skates. You bent over to slip the skates on, doing your best to tighten the laces as you tied them.
"I think so." You tried to get up, but instantly stumbled on your own two feet, causing Jimin to hold your wrist.
"Woah there." He laughed and held your hands to help stabilize you as you tried to stand. "Good?"
"Yeah, I got this, no biggie." You chuckled nervously. You held onto his arm as he walked you into the rink, where Taehyung slowly took his time to try and get used to the feeling and Jungkook was already skating freely. Jin was accompanying Hobi on the side, giving him words of encouragement to get him to let go of the wall.
"Okay, take it slow and hold onto the wall until you get a feel for it." Jimin stayed by your side as you tried to get your two feet to work properly in the skates. It didn't feel too bad, but every time you got a little too excited, you squealed and clung onto the wall due to your skates betraying you. Jimin laughed and held out his hand. "Come on, you can do this Y/N." You grabbed his hand, your legs stiffening without the support of the wall.
"Ah, Jimin!" You yelped. "Please don't go too fast!"
"We're going a whopping 3 miles per hour. Maybe even less."
"I am not that slow!"
"Highly debatable." He laughed. "But it's cool because you'll become a pro in no time." He reassured you and pointed. "See! We're getting faster. Progress." You started to get the hang of it, releasing the stiffness as Jimin continued to coach you through alternating the movement with your legs. Sooner or later, you were feeling a little more comfortable as you held onto his hand and kept a solid, slow and steady pace.
"I got it!"
"Wanna try to go alone?" At this moment, Jungkook appeared in front of you, holding his hands out, signaling for you try and skate to him alone. He nodded and reassured you, watching as Jimin slowly released his hand from yours. You stood there in a slightly bent position, afraid to move an inch.
"Y/N, I promise you'll be okay! Come to me." Jungkook said. You practiced the movements you had just done not too long ago and quickly grabbed his hands as soon as it was in reach. Because of the abrupt movement to rush over, Kook had to hold onto you to make sure you wouldn't fall, making Jimin laugh.
"So cute." Jimin said as he bent over to grab his stomach while laughing. "Y/N you don't need to rush, we aren't going to leave you."
"I'm just scared!"
"You're doing great! Look at Hobi, he hasn't even left the wall. The kids are skating around him." You laughed as you began to slowly skate on your own, eyeing Hoseok and how frightened he looked while hugging the sides and damn near doing the splits trying to move from point A to point B. Jin had obviously given up on reassuring the guy, leaving him to do whatever he pleased to do at this point. You had gained more confidence as time went on, skating on your own with Jimin popping by your side every now and then. It made the hour and a half go by rather quickly, but you all were starving by the end of it.
The group decided to walk down the street to a nearby boba cafe that apparently also had really good rice bowls and snacks. The walk wasn't too bad, but your jacket wasn't thick enough to mask the cold. Jimin had taken notice of you shivering, peeling off his coat without hesitation to put on your shoulders.
"Here." He says as you grab the coat to wrap it around you tightly.
"Aren't you cold?"
"I have this cardigan on, I'll survive. I'm used to this." He smiled down at you. Entering the cafe, you all had ordered your food and drinks and sat on the barstools near the wall. Jimin stood in front of you, while Jungkook and Hoseok sat on the remaining stools next to you. Jin and Taehyung pulled up some chairs from a nearby table, and you all had faced each other to talk about the day and everyone's whereabouts. Not to mention, there was a whole Hoseok roasting session due to his performance on the ice today. Jin had discussed his plans for his late birthday celebration coming up and demanded ever so politely that you grace him with your presence.
Getting home later that night, you felt exhausted to the bone. But, you had a ton of fun and really enjoyed spending more time with Jimin and his friends. The loft was quiet, only bringing in sounds from the cars out on the nearby streets. You revisited your photos and videos from the day, smiling to yourself at the memories you were able to capture, especially of Jimin enjoying himself and having fun with you.
[Y/N] 11:38: I know I say this time and time again, but I really do appreciate everything you've been doing for me, Jimin.
[Jimin] 11:39pm: You're welcome, cutiepie. Glad you're enjoying yourself. Get a good night's rest for me. I'll see you tomorrow.
youtube
Alexa, play: Good Company x Mahalia
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judyhopps934-mt-zd · 4 years ago
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Thoughts on Miraculous New York: United Heroez
Warning: Spoilers! I am back! Also, this is my 700th post, so yay!
The new intro is so cool! I stan! Will it be the same for the Miraculous World Specials (ie. Shanghai)??
Mr. Pigeon? Akumatized for the 51st tims?!?!?!?! I thought he moved on from pigeons and went with rats?!?! (Timetagger anyone????)
The Spacesuits! So cool! (By the way, its the purple potion).
Ladybug and Chat Noir are very autonomous, trust connected from their bond, and super efficient! (You will see where this comes into play later on.) Ladybug could have not gotten a better partner than Chat and she says this herself.
The rose scene after defeating Mr. Pigeon! I loved it so much and its better than expected!
Oh Marinette, didn't you say you have moved on from Adrien? I think her heart has yet to catch up with her brain, which takes time. Time will tell...
Tikki is visibly annoyed with Marinette saying she will move on and yet act like she still has a crush on Adrien. First of all, that is the fandom's mood. Second of all, be patient. Time will tell...
The sock puppet film was adorable. And apparently famous in NY amongst the Queens students (thank you Zag for including another NYC borough!)
Miss Bustier is pregnant?!?!? Wait...IS SHE IS MARRIED?!?!?!? Whether she is married or is seeing someone, this is still shocking (unless her prefix in the French version is Mrs.)
Poor Mrs. Mendeleiev. The class was less than satisfied with her being their chaperone. I know she is not the fun teacher, but she still has feelings and I know she is a nice person. People tend to judge and despise teachers based on them being fun or not, which is unfair. But karma comes after the class since throughout the trip, she becomes the teacher they think she is. What? She could have been fun.
Lila was not welcome in New York to begin with. At least she won't be causing any problems on the trip (though I wish she went to Antarctica).
Marinette has done more for Adrien in this episode than in all three seasons when she promised him that she will find a way to convince Gabriel to go to New York. I guess her deciding that he is "just a friend" has allowed her to do more for him than beforehand.
But she still collects pictures of him, so we will keep quotations on "friend". Or we need to give her a break (Alya I am looking at you). We'll see as we go on.
I am happy Nathalie is alive, though I am not happy with the fact that she showed Gabriel the Eagle Talon Miraculous. And he plans to go to New York. And that this is the only reason he lets Adrien go to NY.
Speaking of which, the Miracu-class showed up to his place, with Marinette being the spokesperson to yell at Gabriel Agreste's freaking face. Good for you Marinette for fighting against Gabriel. Though you did not have to put up a long fight, which while shocking, is also worrisome.
Adrien was understandably sad to not be able to go to NY. Kagami seems happy about it though. Maybe too happy...
Yes, I know that Kagami and Adrien are potentially dating (Battle of the Miraculous ending anyone? *sobs in Adrienette stan*), but it still pains my Adrienette stan heart though when she kissed him.
Of course Chat Noir will be sad to see Ladybug go. But she brings this cute cat buzzer and seeing him play with the buzzer was adorable. Ladynoir anyone?
Adrien is stuck with this dilemma: NY or Ladybug? Poor sunshine boy was shocked to hear this news. He initially chose Ladybug and wanted to stay and alert Ladybug about the new situation, but Plagg was like "FREEDOM! GO AFTER IT! BESIDES, YOU CAN USE YOUR SPACESUIT TO RETURN TO PARIS IN THE EVENT OF AN AKUMA!" Seemed like a good plan...initially. (Plagg, I am after you...sorta).
Of course Marinette will miss the bus, but Luka?!?! They either trying to remind me of Miracle Queen or Luka is superhuman for being able to show up to her place and peddle so fast that they caught up with the bus. Pains my Adrienette heart once again to see her kiss him, but he does have a point about her needing some clarity in NY.
Then we have the plane scene. Poor Marinette was panicking over sitting next to Adrien (really now universe?!). There was more to the scene: from the AC trouble to the seat reclining at the wrong time to Adrien placing the luggage in the compartment (not in that order exactly). It was somewhat cringeworthy then seeing that Marinette went to swap seats with Mrs. Mendeleive (though she only did it when Alix whined).
Note to self: DO NOT SIT NEXT TO MR. DAMOCLES IN AN EIGHT HOUR FLIGHT. He is not very conscious about personal space as he took over Marinette's seat when he was asleep and woke Marinette up. And sleeping with a bucket of popcorn? Really?
If anyone has ever been on a plane, turbulence is common, and Marinette's experience with the Bathroom is very relatable. That's why I only go in an emergency.
Adrienette watching a sunrise! (Or sunset? They are not too clear on this, especially since they arrive at the hotel at night, but everyone was asleep on the plane). And get this: Adrien complimenting Marinette and hugging her tightly! (Just a friend now, huh sunshine boy?)
Alya and Nino are a mood when they say that they love their friends, but they wish that they could express their love to each other (Operation: New York).
Alya, did you really have to tell Marinette that NY is the city of love? Thank you for making her feel even nervous.
TechnoPirate and the United Heroez everyone! (By the way, Alya needs a chill pill because she was WAY too excited to be rescued by the United Heroez. And the Owl Mr. Damocles? Really?!)
Note to everyone who does not live in NYC: no, there is not a superhero for every job.
Ladybug and Chat Noir are exceptional superheroes, but Marinette and Adrien cannot open or walk through automatic doors, which is funny and kind of sad. Peoples, your saviors of Paris.
Sabrina has her own story peoples! She is given her own love interest from Astoria! I love them! And how he invited her to the rooftop party.
Alya, do you really have to tease her and Marinette at once. "Maybe you will make a "friend""
Aeon, I agree: Marinette and Adrien are made for each other. But you sound like Master Fu in Stoneheart. Are you secretly Master Fu???
The feeling is mutual Chloé. Marinette and Alya do not want to be your roommate as much as you don't want them to be yours. And I know you do not want to be there in the first place (my city is beautiful btw).But I am happy you did not rat them out for going to the rooftop party.
When they hid from Mrs. Mendeleive, Marinette and Adrien ended up in Jess(Sparrow) and Aeon(Uncanny Valley)'s room.
Magic hotdogs!
Remember the Hotdog Scene I posted over a week ago? That really was Adrienette and it was better than before, with them floating up and dancing to the song from Despair Bear! Yes! Best scene so far!
Doorman! I want him to be my college professor!
Okay, I know I am desperate to see Marinette and Adrien get together, but really Alya, Nino, Jess, and Aeon? Put them in DANGER?!?!? I cannot.
So Marinette and Adrien are put in danger and actual danger. Danger: Jess and Aeon simulating a dangerous situation. Actual Danger: Hawkmoth in New York having akumatized TechnoPirate and make him break into the museum to get the Eagle Talon. Oof.
Then where my Ladynoir heart wears off: Ladybug and Chat Noir seeing each other in NYC to save their civilian selves. They have seen Paris being destroyed by a sentimonster, with Chat supposed to be there and call Ladybug.
Uncanny Valley and Sparrow see Ladybug and Chat Noir in action and decide to be like them because they do not have that same freedom. Look, I feel them, but I still think they should have called for the United Heroez. Plus, cool transformations!
Remember the whole thing about "autonomous, trust formed by their bond, and super-efficiency"? Yeah, that was Sparrow saying that. But Ladybug and Chat Noir are now currently lacking the last two because of the whole "Chat you are supposed to be in Paris" ordeal. Well, you are generally right Sparrow, but now they have their own issues.
Of course, the new lack of trust (and Ladybug making her anger verbal) has affected their ability to fight TechnoPirate inefficient. So much Chat cannot defend himself and while trying to free himself...
HE CATACLYSMED UNCANNY VALLEY!!! This took a dark turn as this is the first time he cataclysmed a "person" (though she is an android, but still a person by standards. I mean Majestia was understandably very upset and I get it).
Majestia punching TechnoPirate into multiple NY buildings: woah.
Ladybug manages to fix everything, but two problems arise:
1. Knightowl wanted to take away their Miraculous and reveal their secret identities. They are now somewhat fugitives in their eyes for almost killing Uncanny Valley.
2. We see the limitations of Miraculous Ladybug. While Ladybug repaired NY, she was unable to repair Paris and the damage caused by the Robostus sentimonster. Which not only indicates that the Miraculous Ladybug cure only repairs the damage created by a specific villan, but that they have to be present. Here, there were too late.
Here is where my Ladynoir heart shatters: 1. Marinette sobs over how she was unable to repair Paris and felt horrible about how she failed them, and 2. Adrien renounced Plagg because of what happened to Uncanny Valley AND for disappointing Ladybug. Then, he runs off and Marinette sobs over losing Chat Noir. It was very sad that I wanted to cry.
I know this part is still very sad, but can I say that Tikki and Plagg are cute together in Marinette's purse? Poor timing? Moving on.
Aeon and Jess are disciplined by Majestia and Knightowl for disobeying their orders and for straying from their mission: protect the French class.
Are Majestia and Knightowl together in their civilian life? And Aeon and Jess are sisters?!?! I stan.
Here's the thing: I like how the special stayed true to this part of the Miraculous Comics. There, we find that Knightowl is a woman (which you can find out from this scene or at the end). And i just stan her relationship with Majestia.
Also, how dare the writers forget the Miraculous Comics! Sure, they might be different entities, but still: how dare they let the United Heroez forget about the power of the Miraculous Cure! I know that Chat Noir should be more careful about his cataclysm and Majestia has a right to be upset, but still: they had a deadly plan set in the comics to defeat a villan and called on Ladybug to cure the millions of dollars in damage. But hey, to each their own.
Also, somewhat unrelated, but Julerose appeared in the beginning and I am here for it!
Gabriel kidnapped TechnoPirate and akumatized him again while giving him the Eagle claw jewel to liberate people from their fears or other factors. Oof.
The kwami for the Eagle Miraculous is relatable. We would all wish we had our previous owner and fear about our power going into evil hands, right?
Now back to Adrien and Marinette, my heart breaks to see Adrien having to go back to Paris because Gabriel delcares NY as "too dangerous". YOU ARE THE FREAKING DANGER THOUGH! YOU MADE TECHNOPIRATE DANGEROUS AND RELEASED HIM FROM DANGER!
Marinette decides to go after him, but falls over from the bike she borrowed due to the rainwater as she begs him to stay.
And peoples, the moment we waited for three seasons (sorta): Marinette finally utters the words "I love you" when referring to Adrien. Too bad he got too far for him to hear her.
Also, who was going to get her off the road when she broke down? Is that her form of closure?
The United Heroez are now under the Liberty Eagle Miraculous' influence, which made them go haywire. Huh. So Jess and Aeon now have to save them with the help of the French Superheroes!
So Aeon was able to uncover that TechnoPirate is akumatized and using a Miraculous through her scanners. I stan her!
Also, she was able to recognize Marinette is Ladybug and Adrien is Chat Noir. And we have a reason to explain why everyone is blind: there is a quantum mechanism in the suits that makes them unrecognizable when compared to their civilian form in the eyes of humans. She can only figure out their identities since she is an AI android. So our theory about everyone having a reason to be blind is correct AND we can cut everyone else some slack. Please.
Marinette confessed that she needs Chat Noir. This was what we wanted to hear after all that has happened: what she said in the beginning, but now in the most genuine form. I have no words other than that this is heartwarming and heartbreaking.
Adrien was worried over Ladybug's disappointment, but Uncanny Valley is amazing in the sense that she recorded Marinette's genuine words, which inspired him to come back.
Plagg, you literally make light of everything. He literally made faces in front of Uncanny Valley because she can't see him. I can't.
Ladybug and Chat Noir's reunion healed and broke me. It was so emotional as Ladybug expresses how worried she was and how she missed him and Chat explaining while admitting his mistakes.
Time to take down TechnoPirate while using Doorman's powers to take the Eagle Talon and freeing everyone. The fight scenes are epic per usual, this one especially.
TechnoPirate counting down the time was alarming, but also funny as he makes light of it.
Hawkmoth, you would have been to blame for the World War III because of your ultimatum, not Ladybug and Chat Noir.
They missed the countdown, but Majestia stops the rocket and sends it to the sun. What the hell?! What if the sun exploded?!?!?!?! (I dunno? It was an atomic bomb for starters?)
So TechnoPirate is defeated and the United Heroez apologize for misjudging our Parisian superheroes and decide to no longer treat their children like kids.
So Paris for the first time in forever needs to undergo actual reconstruction, but Nadja is somewhat forgiving as she mentions that they needed to help the United Heroez and save NYC, where Hawkmoth also was. Hope there are no hard feelings?
Marinette had the idea of having the banner saying hello to Adrien, which he watched on the plane. So nice of Marinette the class to do such a nice thing for him.
Chloé, we might have somewhat forgotten that whole Miracle Queen stunt, but I am glad to see you enjoyed NY even if you will not admit it.
There are more Miraculous around the world. At the end, we need to fear Hawkmoth. Also, there are more Miraculous guardians and I am glad to see Jess convince one of the Guardians to create a new team of next generation superheroes
Overall, the New York special did not disappoint. We got Adrienette and Ladynoir (even if we know that Lukanette and Adrigami are also a potential reality, though good news for the shippers). We also saw the New York superheroes. Though there are some points that really surprised me (ie. The Ladynoir trust fight and Uncanny Valley dying temporarily and Paris being destroyed), I enjoyed watching the special.
I am worried about the Love Square, especially with Marinette though, but that is for another post. To sum up, we know what happens in NY stays in NY, but since the season 4 synopsis mentions Marinette struggling to find time to tell Adrien her feelings, I think that the Love Square is not 100% dead, but I am not too sure. Oh well, let's leave that for tomorrow.
I stayed up for another hour or so, so I will sign off. In the meantime, go ahead and watch it on an Instagram Page or on Disney Channel or wherever you can watch the special because I will tell you this: you will not regret it! (I watched it twice and will watch it again tomorrow!)
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abacus-and-paper-money · 4 years ago
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Comet Theory Thursday: Character Analysis; Helene Bezukhova
It was a reeeeally close vote this week but Helene won out! Thank you to everyone who voted ^^ I did an extra long one this time! Content under the cut!
Character Analysis: Helene Bezukhova*
*(It’s important to note that this is ONLY an analysis of Great Comet!Helene, not W&P!Helene, as I have not read the book yet.)
Elena “Helene” Bezukhova is without a doubt, one of the most complex and layered characters in Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812. Both smarter and nastier than her brother Anatole, Helene is a cunning woman who knows how to wrap people around her finger. So much so that she’s been dubbed “The Queen of Society.” Everything that Helene does is intentional. (Possibly with the exception of her bad French.) Almost Every. Little. Thing. Right down to the way she carries herself. The tone of her voice. The things she wears.
However, underneath the master manipulator, there’s a little soft spot. If only a small one. For her brother, and maybe even for Natasha. But more on that later. First, let’s talk about Helene herself.
I believe that Helene is the smartest character in Great Comet, or possibly second-smartest, it’s a tough call between her and Dolokhov. But I digress. The point is that she’s incredibly smart. Seriously, if she was a D&D character, she’d have the Wisdom and Charisma stats maxed out, which is a deadly combination. That was another tangent, sorry, bear with me here.
So, how does Helene get people to like her? Like I said before, it’s a combination of everything. It’s all intentional. First, her voice. Helene slurs her voice slightly, possibly because she’s a little drunk, but possibly just to evoke the feeling of intoxication in others. (Not even to mention Amber Gray’s insanely gorgeous singing)
Next, how she carries herself. Helene has a very fluid way of walking, interspersed by some occasional harsh movements. Watch her in The Opera, prancing around with her head held high as she’s introduced. Almost like a snake, with her graceful foot, but then a sudden movement of her arm or head. (Like how she raises her glass in The Duel.) Additionally, Helene is very expressive with her arms, often reaching out towards people, and/or gesturing to them with both arms outstretched. She does this a lot with Natasha.
The things she wears. Helene is always seen in the highest of fashion. Feathers in her hair during The Opera, the high waistline that was so in style in the 1810s, and high-quality fabrics from all over the world. She wears green throughout the whole show (I made a wholeass post about this so I’m not gonna restate all of it here.) Her CONSISTENT wearing of green gives her a ‘thing,’ something visually iconic. Think like Ariana Grande’s ponytail, or Heather Chandler’s red scrunchie. No matter what, you can find Helene in green.
And finally, how she interacts with others. Helene is a master of hyping people up. And because of all the aforenoted things, she makes you feel special and important like no other could. You’re being told how beautiful you are by the queen of society. That’s gotta be like the biggest confidence boost possible. She gets you to love her by making it seem like she loves you. Of course, we also can’t discount Helene being the seductress that she is, her unashamed sexuality makes her seem yet more confident. And confidence is widely regarded as the most attractive quality in a person. Not even just sexually or romantically attractive, attractive in all ways. People want to be around confident people, especially people who make them feel confident too.
Alright, now that we’ve got that covered, let’s look deeper into Helene’s actual character. Like how she is as a person and shit. Her flaws, her redeeming qualities, her soft spots. I’m not going to pretend that Helene is a super great person or anything, she’s #3 on my asshole ranking, but she’s certainly not two-dimensional either.
First off, and most obvious of her redeeming qualities, Helene clearly loves her brother. They appear to be very close. They’re the classic double-trouble siblings. Throughout the play, she’s not even acting in her own self-interest, she’s helping Anatole win over Natasha. Although the “Thought of throwing them together” does amuse her. We can see her being protective of her brother in ‘Find Anatole,’ where Anatole is devastated, as he’s just been chased off by Marya for being an absolute SCOUNDREL and therefore unable to pick up or even see his beloved Natasha. “Anatole, come Anatole, Anatole hush, Anatole.” She reaches out with both arms, then and embraces and comforts him while they sit on the stairs. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a total asshole, but Helene seems to truly love and care about him. She also hypes him up to the audience while introducing him in The Opera, kinda being like ‘hell yeah that’s my brother he’s fucking stupid but cool af’
But then, we obviously get to the other side of this. Helene plays people like a fiddle, with no thought of how other might be affected by her actions. She’s actively hostile to Pierre, who she only married for his money in the first place, telling him to keep drinking during The Duel because she knows it’s dangerous for him. Also in The Duel, she somehow manages to get Pierre and Dolokhov, people who are FRIENDS, to duel over her. While it’s way more about honor than her love, it still happens. There’s really nothing anyone gains out of this, so it really seems like she set this up for her own amusement. After the duel takes place, she comments “What can I say? It’s a gift.” In response to Anatole saying that she “Certainly brings out the beast in men.”
There’s a possibility that she genuinely likes Natasha as well. She compliments her even before Anatole shows up. She probably compliments everyone, but still. I don’t think she’d bring over a wholeass evening dress and give away her pearls to somebody she didn’t actually enjoy hyping up. Also, the thing with the dress swishies near the end of Charming is fucking adorable and I will stand by that until I die.
Unlike Anatole, Helene seems to be aware that she’s kind of a dick, and like she enjoys that. She might consciously choose to keep being an asshole for a number of reasons. Like maybe she feels inadequate, though that doesn’t seem the most likely. Maybe she feels like she should make use the ‘gift’ she has. Maybe she’s afraid of being hurt (Again?) and has resolved to stay one step ahead of everyone else. Maybe she has a hard time controlling herself and her actions (ADHD?) so she controls other people just to have control over something. Maybe she’s just a shithead. You could make arguments for all of these, and I’m sure for other things too.
So, all in all, I love Helene. She’s an incredibly interesting character to analyze, and I hope you enjoyed reading this. I might dive even deeper in the future, if that’s something people want. Hope you enjoyed this very special (late) Comet Theory Thursday! (Friday) As most of you know, yesterday was my fifteenth birthday, so that’s why I didn’t get it out earlier- thanks for bearing with me! New topics to vote on will be up a few minutes after this gets posted!
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