#my fave father and son duo making an appearance

[theweathaa]

Trent, slamming his hand on the counter: I need a drink.

Hendo: He wants apple juice with no sugar added.

[penwieldingdreamer]

The best Award is at home

So in honor of Keanu’s appearence and presentation at the Oscars last night I’ve decided to give you guys a bonus oneshot to the “Best Friend”-series. It will be a repetitive pattern, so I hope you’ll like it. If you want to be added to the taglist let me know. Have fun reading

Warnings: loads of fluff and sweetness, extra long

Words: 3136

Masterlist

Keanu was just about done putting the bow tie on, dressed in his black tux, when you walked into the bedroom. He was going to attend the Oscars for the first time in a while and you felt that slight nervous energy he gave off. Ever since he had gotten the invitation to attend and present Best Screenplay, he was excited and there was nothing else on his mind...well, besides the birth of your third child that is.

When you had felt the first contraction, Keanu was up and out of bed like The Flash. Hastily he dressed and woke his mom Patricia, who had agreed to stay with your kids until they could come to the hospital. You never would have believed, that his mother would like you, a woman younger than him by a good shot and with a kid that wasn't even his. But when she saw the love for you shining in his eyes, you both knew it was going to last a while.

At the hospital you were brought to your room, your husband never far from you and making sure you had everything you wanted. The time, when you gave birth to your first daughter, Keanu was present as well. He sat next to you, holding your hand the whole time through and taking it like a man when you squeezed his hand hard due to the contractions. It was a long night, but worth it all as your daughter was laid into your arms. You watched the actor carefully, tears brimming in his eyes as he looked down at the still wrinkly and bloody baby, but the smile on his fave was everything to you. In the heat of the moment the dark haired actor leaned in and kissed you, like he had never done anything else. Still shocked you hadn't been sure what to do, but now you were married with three kids and the best husband you could want for.

“You sure you don't want to come with me?” your husband asked you, lovingly stroking the dark hair of your newest family member. Ella had been born three weeks ago and with the baby weight still on your hips, you hadn't felt to confident to attend with him.

With a smile you shook your head, looking at his molten brown eyes so full of love. “I don't. Your mom's a great substitute for me and she's got a better form than me right now.” you joked, laying a soft kiss on his neatly trimmed beard.

“You just gave birth, darling.” he told you, giving you a stern look when you mentioned your figure, knowing the harsh beauty ideal of Hollywood. “You're not supposed to be like a stick when you pushed out this wonderful little thing only a few weeks ago.” Keanu laid his fingers under your chin and closed the distance between your lips, pressing his own on yours in a gentle kiss.

Once he moved away you turned your eyes down to the sweet angel sleeping in your arms. All the commotion in the house today didn't bother her at all. Ella was just like your other children, sleeping even in the loudest surroundings. “Still, I wouldn't feel good out there.” you started, feeling his hand on your shoulder. “My hormones are going crazy, I'm crying all the time and blotchy everywhere. My breasts are huge and if I can't get Ella fed I'm leaking. It would be so embarrassing.”

“Oh, my darling, you'd still look beautiful.” Patricia came into your bedroom, pulling you into a tight hug. She was dressed in a white tux and didn't even look like her age, a trait her son had inherited from his mother, too. With a smile you leaned into your mother-in-law, making sure to not squish your baby girl between you.

“Thank you, Patty, but this time you both enjoy it.” you softly commanded. “I guess there'll be a next time when I am good enough to walk the red carpet.”

“Will you shut up about this?” he stressed, pulling the jacket of his tux down again and making sure the cuff links were fixed. “I married you after you had Ava and you think I'd not want to show you to the world.”

Patting his cheek, you kissed him. Knowing he wanted you to be there, but you couldn't take the scrutiny from everyone right now. Not with the way you were feeling at the moment. “I love you, baby. Have fun out there.” Keanu kissed you again and stroked Ella's dark tuft of hair.

“I love you, too. I'll try to call before the kids have to go to sleep.”

Nodding your head, you walked down the stairs to the hall. Eric Gabriel told your husband and mother-in-law to stand by the window and photographed them. Jeanne Yang was so proud of herself as she stood next to you, beaming from ear to ear.

“He looks really handsome.” she said, clapping her hands as mother and son posed for the camera. “You know, I would have found something great for you to wear, too.”

With a smile you patted her shoulder. “Thank you Jeanne, but with the little one I'd rather sit this one out.”

The stylist returned it and clapped her hands, signaling the duo that it was time to leave. Keanu came over to you for the last time that night, kissed you and the kids goodbye, his mother doing the same. Standing in the door way the three of you waved at them and the limousine drove off. Now you'd just have to turn on the TV and wait for your husband and his mother to walk down the red carpet.

»¤«

“Calm down, darling, Y/N will be fine. It's not the first time she is alone with the kids, she can handle it.” his mother patted his leg as she saw it moving nervously up and down.

Raking his fingers through his hair, knowing his mother was right, but he couldn't help the nervousness that swelled in his belly. “But now it's three kids and not just”

“Kim and Karina are with her, so is her mother.” Patricia grabbed his face and made him look at her. “She is not alone. Remember when you told me about her?”

Nodding his head as best as he could, Keanu watched his mother's face turning from stern to loving again. “You told me that you've met that incredible woman, alone in a new city and pregnant. I knew you were going to fall for her the moment you said that and you knew it, too. Just like you knew it with Jenny.”

Tears gathered in eyes, but he wouldn't let them fall. Jenny was the love of his life, but somehow Y/N had snuck into his life and into his heart. She had the ability to heal his broken heart and give him back the smile he had thought he lost the day his baby and Jennifer died. Now he had a family, three wonderful kids and wife to call his own. “You're right, mom.” His mother grinned at him, raising her eyebrow and the actor rolled his eyes. “As always.” he added, earning a kiss to the cheek.

“Y/N can do it, she's going to be fine. Besides you'll be home with her later tonight.” the costume designer smiled. “And now let's get out, we're here.”

The car door was opened and instantly one of the crew asked both of them to move along. They were ushered along the red carpet, photographers and fans gathered on the sidelines and everyone that was important in the business posed and strutted along the way. Every step of the way, Keanu made sure to keep his mother by his side before they were asked to pose in front of the cameras.  

He linked his mother's arm with his own, making sure everything was all right with her and posing for the fans and photographers, occasionally giving them a wave or a bright smile. “I told you it was going to be fine. We should have fun tonight.” Patricia whispered in his ear, earning another smile from her son.

»¤«

“Mommy! Mommy! Look there's daddy and granny.” Ava cried and pointed to the TV where the reporters just announced the arrival of Keanu and Patricia. They posed for the cameras and smiled.

“Dada.” Charlie, your three-year old went to the TV and clapped his little hand against it. Your mother smiled rocking Ella in her arms while Kimm, your sisters-in-law sat next to you, laughing at the excitement the two older children showed when they spotted their father.

“They're so happy.” Kim acknowledged, sipping the wine you had opened for the three guests in your house tonight. Karina was still in the kitchen and fixing chips and dips for all of you, when she spotted her older brother on the TV. “He looks hot.”

“Oh your mother does, too.” your own mother commented, earning laughs all around. She always had an open mind to your love life and the fact that Keanu was older than you didn't bother her. Your mother was happy, as long as you were happy with your choices. And by the smile grazing your lips whenever she saw you, she knew that your life was the best you had so far. “You all got your looks from her.”

Smoothing down the black locks that were growing out on Ella's head, she grinned at the two older kids who were still glued to the TV waiting for the next time their father would appear. And just as Karina sat down next to you with a bowl of chips and grape juice for you, Ryan Seacrest announced your husband and mother-in-law. You shushed everyone and leaned forward, watching him smile as he commented on the chaos of the Red Carpet. The reporter asked him about Toy Story 4, the movie you had watched together with your kids. They absolutely loved it, even though their father wasn't seen anywhere.

“So Keanu, you recently became a father again, how are you doing?”

He smiled that smile you fall in love with every day anew, waving his hand towards the camera. “It's amazing. I love my kids and our little baby is just” he stroked his beard trying to think of what to say. “I wouldn't change it for the world, my wife and my children are everything.”

His mother watched him, her eyes alight with love for her son. “All three kids are a blessing to us. My son is the happiest I've seen him in years.”

“And who's on diaper duty at night, you or your wife?” Ryan asked with a grin on his face.

The dark haired actor grinned and pointed at himself, which was true when he was at home. “Usually it's me, Y/N has the kids during the day so I offered to take the night shifts.”

Nodding his head the reporter turned to Patricia, asking her about the upcoming Matrix movie and if she already had insight on them. Your mother-in-law laughed and shook her head, she only knew about the three other movies, to which Ryan commented, that Keanu had trained her well. A bit embarrassed he only muttered a 'yeah' and thanked Ryan. Before they left your husband turned again, kissing his fingers and waving at the camera. “I love you guys.”

Ava and Charlie both raised their hands and threw kisses at the TV, a gesture they had picked up from their father, while you sat on the couch, feeling the tears of joy and love filling your eyes. With that, the duo of mother and son moved along on the carpet and inside the theater, waiting for the show to start.

»¤«

The ceremony was just how Keanu remembered all those years ago. Filled with old and new faces in the business, he watched the show unfold with jokes, live performances and presentations for each category. He, too, was supposed to present the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay together with his former co-star Diane Keaton, who he had been working with on Something's Gotta Give. He was excited and nervous at the same time. When it was time for him to go, Keanu leaned over to his mother and let her know that he would be backstage.

Patricia smiled and handed him his phone. Y/N had given it to her, because she already knew her husband would want to call and make sure everything was going fine. He took it and thanked her, placing a soft kiss on her cheek. “I'm just going to say good night to the beans.”

“Do that, darling, I know you already miss them.” his mother grinned and pushed him out of his seat.

Returning the grin, the dark haired actor made his way backstage, his brown eyes alight with happiness. Diane was already there, talking with other co-stars from previous films and part of the backstage crew. When she saw him, the older actress waved him over.

“Keanu, dear, how have you been?” she asked once he had joined her side, pulling her into a tight hug. “I'm so glad you could come.” Diane added, patting his tux clad shoulders.

The actor returned her smile. “I'm great and I'm really happy to be here again, without Y/N, my wife, I wouldn't be.”

“Oh really?” the actress inquired, watching him with a raised eyebrow.

He nodded his head, raking the fingers of his free hand through his longer hair. “Yeah, she actually threatened me to come here or I'd have to sleep in the guest bedroom for the next four months.”

“She didn't.” His co-star giggled, putting her hand over her lips to suppress the oncoming laughter. “She sounds like she's keeping you on your toes.”

With a grin, Keanu shook his head. “Actually, we complete each other. I wouldn't change it for the world. My wife and our kids are the one thing I need.”

Diane smiled, already knowing his past and softly patted his arm. “Do you have pictures of the rascals? I mean the last time we really met it was for the movie and it's been a while since then.”

“Sure.” He pulled out his phone, looking for the recent pictures of Ava, Charlie and Ella. It was the week after you were able to leave the hospital and the first thing he did when you all got home was take a picture. The four of you settled on the large couch on the patio, Ella in your arms and Ava and Charlie sitting next to you, beaming at the camera.

The older actress smiled, pointing out at the children. “Are all those yours?”

“Well genetically speaking only Charlie and Ella.” he motioned to the boy and the baby in the picture. “Ava is Y/N daughter, her boyfriend left her when she told him she was pregnant, but well, we fell in love and I've raised her as my own. Besides she doesn't know anyone else, her real father didn't want her.”

“You have a beautiful family. Is Y/N with you tonight?” Diane would have wanted to meet the woman that finally stole Keanu's heart but she saw his smile fade a bit.

He scratched at his beard, clearing his throat before he continued. “Unfortunately not. I would have loved to introduce you, but Y/N feared with her only giving birth three weeks ago, she wouldn't make a good form on the carpet.”

“Oh, that's really unfortunate, but tell her that it's the most natural thing in the world. Y/N shouldn't feel bad about it.”

Pecking her cheek, Keanu thanked her, holding up the phone again. “This reminds me that I wanted to make a quick call before we have to present.”

“Well than, go on and maybe we'll meet up some time.”

Nodding his head, the dark haired actor moved along to a corner that was a bit secluded and quieter than the rest. He took his phone and dialed your number, hoping it wasn't too late. After the second ring you answered, instantly switching to the FaceTime function on the phone so you could see each other.

Ava and Charlie were the first ones to appear on the screen, waving excitedly as they saw their father. “Hi daddy!” “Dada!” He missed them already and waved at them like he did every time he was away filming.

“Hey bubble beans, what are you still doing awake?”

That's when your face came into view behind them. “Hey, baby. I promised they could stay awake until you presented and then they'd have to go to bed.”

“Okay.” he nodded his head. “I'm due to go out on stage, so wish me luck.”

“You'll rock it, baby.” you grinned at him. “You know that every woman is in love with you and every guy has a secret crush on you.”

Laughing, Keanu shook his head at your comment, but deep down he knew you were right. “So, is everything all right at home?”

Leaning back, you took the phone and showed him around the living room. His two sisters sat on one side and his mother-in-law on the other side of you. “We're all great. As I said, once you're done the kids will head off to bed and I'll be waiting for your return.”

“It shouldn't take us too long with how fast the ceremonial parts go, I guess around one in the night or something.” he told you, scratching absentmindedly at his beard. “I try to get back as soon as I can. Mom will be probably tired, too.”

“I'll wait for you.” you declared. “Tell Patricia she looked really great on the carpet, even mom thought so.”

“Mom looks hot, brother dear, and so do you.” Kim called, having gone to the kitchen to get herself something to drink.

You saw the blush creeping onto his cheeks and smiled at him. “You're adorable baby.” In the background you could hear someone calling him. “You gotta go, I know. I'll be waiting.”

“I love you, darling.”

“I love you, too. Ava, Charlie say good night to daddy.”

A chorus of Good Night was heard over the phone and with a last wave and I love you's he ended the call, ready to get this show over with so he could return to his family at home. All theses people that were winning may be able to take an Oscar home, but the best award was sitting in his home waiting for him to get back.

@a-really-bi-girl​ @meetmeinthematinee​ @fanficsrusz​ @ladyreapermc​ @ficsnroses​

[goldenkamuyhunting]

Quick outline of the changes in Golden Kamuy Vol 20

Here is a general outline of the more relevant changes that take place in Vol 20 compared to the magazine. Note that as usual I won’t dig into minor changes unless they seem to be relevant for the plot or characterization (or I really like them).

We spend a moment on the cover, which sees the return of Sugimoto on it.

Sugimoto has appeared already on two covers in the past. I tend to think the next one will be Asirpa, Tsurumi will appear on the one of Vol 23 and Ogata on the one of Vol 27 as in the past they rotated in a regular manner.

Said this I also expect Golden Kamuy to end with Vol 28, in short to have as many volumes as the chapter of Matthew’s gospel... though this might be just me. Honestly, if this were to be wrong, I don’t expect it to go past 29/30 volumes. Considering the magazine version is already at vol 23 we’re getting close to the end... ;_;

It’s also worth to mention that the backcover this time doesn’t have JUST Asirpa like the previous Sugimoto cover but Asirpa AND Ogata, Ogata taking Asirpa away from Sugimoto, in a clear reference to what happened in Vol 19... although during it Ogata was a lot less calm and confident than he looks in this cover, as if this scenewas seen in Sugimoto’s vision... and it’s worth to mention in the cover Sugimoto is trying to pull out his bayonet to likely kill Ogata with it, as he had attempted to do in their first meeting and as he likely considered to do in the hospital when he learnt Ogata would die.

We then move to the colour page.

It’s no new illustration, it was the cover for chap 205, ‘Cinematograph’ which will be in the next volume. Not one of my fave covers but it can be fitting considering the plot of the last chapters of this volume.

The downside of it is that we lose the colour cover of chap 193. I wonder if Noda will use it later.

It’s worth to note though how Noda drew for chap 193 a new black and white cover.

Always in regard to covers, the cover of chap 191 now is used as background for the summary.

As usual the volume presents a cute summary.

And now let’s talk of extra pages and panels which are added to the story.

Same as in past volumes the new pages seems to have the purpose to expand scenes that already were in  the magazine version so we can better understand what’s going on.

Note I’m not going to add them all but only those which are plot relevant (or that I particularly like).

Let’s start with chap 191.

Maybe nobody noticed it but volume pages are longer. This allows us to better see Shiraishi’s expression as he buries Kiro.

Asirpa’s expression as Shiraishi says Kiro was too serious for his own good is also redrawn (and they added some background behind Tanigaki, Koito and Tsukishima).

Tanigaki’s dialogue line about Inkarmat reporting how Kiro told her Wilk had changed is cut as Noda had added some panels in the past volume with Sugimoto telling this to Asirpa.

This allows Noda to expand the scene in which Sugimoto tells Asirpa Nopperabou told him he didn’t kill the Ainu, to which she replies ‘really?’ when in the magazine version she just looked down sadly.

Noda shortened the scene in which Sofia unbury Kiro to say her goodbye to him to add one in which she joins her men, even though it was too late to save Kiro.

It should hurt her horribly.

We go on. At Noboribetsu Noda added a Kikuta panel with the man saying something. No idea what but I love Kikuta so enjoy him.

We go to Chap 192.

The inside of the ryv is now more detailed and Ogata looks a little better... as in his bandages seem cleaner than in the volume version. Also Noda gave him a fur cover which matches with the one has in the othe scenes.

Sure the cloth placed against his eye is still not perfectly clean but the one in the magazine seemed much dirtier.

On the opposite side Tsukishima looks worse, his lips chapped now.

Noda expanded Sugimoto’s reply to Asirpa’s question ‘what are you going to do, Sugimoto? Will you cooperate with Tsurumi?’

We jump to chap 193.

As said before the color cover is removed and Noda drew a black and white new cover for the chapter.

When Kikuta notices the man with the eyepatch, the guy looks much worse than in the magazine and Ariko doesn’t turn toward him as well but looks at Kikuta. Noda also changed a little Kikuta’s expression in the following panel.

Ah, it’s not really relevant but Noda changed a little how one of Toni Anji’s men look so as to help differentiate him from Toni Anji’s other man. I’m not going to post all the scenes in which he looks different but here you can get a glimpse of him and compare him with how he previously looked in the magazine.

Noda took better care of Ariko’s mother, drawing her in action instead than still as a statue.

(and yeah you also get a glimpse of Kikuta as he says ‘the sound of geta’ as Noda redraw him)

Noda also made more clear how Kikuta removed the eyepatch (you can now see him moving something above his left eye and said eye widening and also being visible although Kikuta’s face is darkened when Toni shoots him) and Noda also drew better Toni shooting at Kikuta.

Let’s go to chap 194.

A lot more fog is added in almost all the scenes better showing how it was hard to see something in it for Kikuta and Co. No idea why but the Nikaido panels have now him looking in the opposite direction and there are minor redrawing here and there.

Overall though there is no terribly relevant change.

Chap 195 presents only one small yet relevant change.

In it it’s Ariko who volunteers to go after Toni while Kikuta remains with Usami, when in the magazine version it was Kikuta who told Ariko to go after him.

To chap 196 we go.

Ogata is confirmed to look as bad as in the magazine version in this chapter, as to imply his conditions has worsened quite a bit.

There are some minor redrawings here and there but nothing terribly relevant (still enjoy Kikuta looking more awesome... yes, if you hadn’t figured it out yet I’m partial to him).

And now we reach Chap 197 and things turn interesting.

While Asirpa remains very distressed at the idea Ogata might die...

... and we have no explanation whatsoever regarding to the Russian doctor’s odd behaviour, we get a lot of changes in regard to how  Koito and Tsurumi’s first meeting went because the volume version changed it A LOT. Not only Tsurumi’s face isn’t kept in the dark for as long as it was in the magazine but Koito definitely isn’t the well mannered kid we met in the volume version but a real bonbon, spoiled, bossy and angry, much more fitting of the personality he’ll have as an adult. Tsurumi also will show here he’s not going to let a young boy bully him.

Again Noda have someone slap some sense into someone else.

While the scene can look violent it’s clearly for Koito it was catartic. He knew he was acting like an asshole and he likely did so because he wanted to draw attention on himself but, as he says also in the magazine version, his father won’t scold him. So fundamentally Tsurumi hitting him for his bad behaviour gave him the attention he wanted and makes tematically sense with how he pointed out his father didn’t scold him.

After that fight Tsurumi’s kindness also likely made more of an impression on Koito.

It’s also worth to mention Tsurumi is freakingly strong. Remember how Ogata warned Sugimoto he shouldn’t try to block Koito’s first strike, the info box informing us it should be dodged at any cost? Well, Tsurumi blocks it with his arm and breaks Koito’s ‘sword’ (actually the cane of a poor man Koito took using his status).

So we move to chap 198.

The panels post Koito’s kidnapping are expanded. Now it’s more obvious Koito’s tricycle is in front of the consulate. Many panels are also expanded but, overall, I couldn’t detect relevant changes.

So we reach Chap 199.

The whole run in the tricycle is expanded, the chase between the Kidnapper (Kikuta) and the duo Tsurumi/Koito senior is now longer and Tsurumi gets to show off more and even express his Tsurumisexuality on two women passing by.

The destruction of the tricycle is now in a spread page, Koito senior calling for his son in another, below him the background of the Goryokaku.

And so we reach the last chapter of the volume, chap 200.

Interesting enough Noda removed Tsukishima leaving the room when they hear Koito senior calling for Koito making the scene entirely a Koito-Ogata one.

Tsukishima will remain present, we can see his hat when Ogata ties Koito, meaning he heard Ogata saying Барчонок ‘Barchonok’ (ボンボンが ‘Bonbon ga’ "pampered little rich boy’“).

This means it was clearly Tsurumi the one who knocked out Koito senior, showing us again how Tsurumi is actually quite strong but this also tells us that when Koito will mention the word Барчонок ‘Barchonok’ Tsukishima probably felt very, very uncomfortable about it as he might have understood from whom Koito might have heard it... while in the magazine version Tsukishima knew nothing about it and Koito could hope Tsukishima was actually the kidnapped who used it (unlikely, not only it’s Ogata the one with a bruised nose but ‘black hat’ was shorter than ‘white fedora’ and a much better fighter, all things that match with Tsukishima).

By the way, not only Ogata’s nose is confirmed to remain bruised (so yes, it was him the one who rubbed Koito’s back) but now we can see the number on their shoulders, which in the volume version wasn’t clearly visible although the bands showing their ranks still aren’t present.

It’s also worth to mention Noda expanded the meeting between Tsurumi, Koito and Koito senior when Koito has enrolled in the army.

No idea why they say but they discuss again how Koito was saved. I’ll say Tsurumi succesfully has managed to make Koito senior feel in debt.

Ogata’s escape is also expanded, with Sugimoto trying to shoot at him more than once. None of the shoots is remotely close to the horse as Sugimoto was clearly aiming above it, to Ogata. Not that he gets him.

Koito is shown coming out of the hospital on unsteady legs as Sugimoto wishes for Ogata to come back so he can fucking kill him though his gaze here is a little more normal.

In short Ogata didn’t put Koito completely out of service but, between the blow at his head and Ogata’s kick Koito was definitely not in his best shape.

As far as I’m involved the worst part is that nothing is explained about the Russian doctor who first didn’t want to have anything to do with them as his hospital was full, then realized they were Japanese and was threatened by Sugimoto into going with them EVEN THOUGH HIS HOSPITAL WAS FULL AND HE CLEARLY WAS BUSY, and once he sees the poor shape Ogata is in, decides to bring him to his hospital going so far as arguing with them, even though before being threatened he didn’t want to help them.

Then he perfectly smoothly acts as if Ogata is about to die, not even a drop of sweat on his face, before we discover that it’s highly possible he was being threatened by Ogata? That or there’s more and we hadn’t been told yet?

Hard to say, it’s possible Noda just wants to handwave this but really, it’s weird and it’s not addressed at all.

Anyway the volume ends here.

Ariko and Kikuta do the thanks.

...and the spoiler for the next volume is the cover of chap 210. I’ll be evil and let you check which one it is if you don’t remember it. :P

Anyway that’s all. I recommend everyone to get the volume as, as usual, it’s much better than the magazine version.

[its-all-ineffable]

TUA 1x01 Review: ‘We Only See Each Other At Weddings & Funerals’

The opening scene got me hooked immediately! Kudos to the young girl at the pool, she’s absolutely brilliant at conveying a sweet, innocent romance and then the fear of suddenly and unexpectedly giving birth! The girl and guy are a very cute couple, and I kinda wanna know more about them. And the concern that the guy shows when the girl doesn’t surface immediately after she’s jumped in the pool is so sweet. Also, those women in the pool are hilarious! They all scream in horror when they see the girl start to give birth in the pool and the next scene they're crowded around her, patting her hair and holding her hand! I do feel sorry for the girl though - I personally headcannon that she’s Vanya’s mother. They’re in Russia, as we can tell because they’re all speaking Russian, and Vanya is a diminutive form of the Russian (among others) name Ivan. It’s just an idea, but I like it!

Pogo’s VO (though of course, we don’t know it’s Pogo at this time) is nice - he’s got the kind of soothing and authoritative voice that makes you feel like everything’s gonna be okay. Nice bit of exposition too! ‘HE GOT SEVEN OF THEM’ hahahahaha!! Love the overdramatic text on-screen! Also, ‘Picture Book’ by The Kinks fits so nicely in this scene, the lyrics are a beautiful juxtaposition for the ‘family’ that they become and all the actors manage to walk perfectly on the beat. The swinging arms from Reginald though - every inch the pompous idiot we love to hate already! Though the nannies have some pomp and swagger too. Imagine how weird it’d be to see the Monoply man walking down the street followed by 7 women in the same outfit with prams though? The small, ridiculous moments make the series!

The intro to the siblings is one of my favourite moments in the entire series! It’s beautifully acted and edited and the music is perfect. When we see Vanya for the first time, the blue lighting she’s framed adds a sense of melancholy too the scene, and perfectly sets her up as a lonely woman and an outsider. Ahh, Tom Hopper! And his butt scratching! Love Luther’s intro, Vanya still playing the slow, melancholy music, emphasising that he’s lonely too. Bless him. As we move to Diego, bass, guitar and drums join the violin, which I love, as it gives the music a more dangerous and frantic edge to showcase what sort of person Diego is. Also, what a badass rip-off Batman with a Robin mask! Go Diego! Then we have Allison, appearing in that frankly stunning dress! The violin gets a solo her, possibly to emphasise her fame? Love how gorgeous and stylish she is. Those paps get on my nerves though, the fucking assholes. The music switches again, to a more sombre violin melody for Klaus, indicating his BAG of trauma. The music changes are very cleverly done. Also, the “I believe in you! You, not so much.” - instantly my fave!! And his outfit is on point! And, I just noticed that when the clinic worker says “Stay sober.”, Klaus just shakes his head! 

Then we go back to a nice, slow violin solo, indicating loneliness. Poor Luther, stranded on the moon all alone. Though, he’s the only one that finds out about Reginald’s death directly?! The others all find out from the TV, or in Allison’s case, the paps! Who’s the favourite son?! Also, those paps? Twats! Insensitive twats! Ugh! Moving on - love the rock version of ‘The Music of the Night’ that starts playing when Klaus gets resuscitated! It works so well with the scene and his manic attitude. The way he high fives the paramedic makes me laugh every time though! I love Klaus, can you tell? A very solid introduction to Klaus’ character, to all of them in fact. The finish with Vanya’s sad sounding solo is a beautiful end to the scene. Also, when the lights go off and we have the establishing shot of the theatre, Vanya looks so small and alone. I just want to wrap her in a hug and tell her that everything will be okay. The way she says “Dad” as well, so soft and sad, gets me. Bless her tiny heart, she’s so cute! Ellen Page is such a brilliant actress, portraying sadness, loneliness and shyness at the same time. 

The way they show the passage of time through the photographs is really clever - a brilliant idea! The way we see 2 pictures, then suddenly one kid is missing and we get shown the solitary painting of Five, then we see 2 more pictures, after being shown Ben’s statute? Cleverly done, and deepens the mystery of the missing numbers! Moving on again - the house is a brilliant set and so well-designed. Mom’s intro, with her staring into nothing is weird, but we know right from the get go that this is weird. Another mystery! And the actress who plays Mom is so pretty! Just had to say that! Love her outfits too! 

The reunion - when everything starts to go to shit, though of course, we don’t know that yet. The way Allison is cloaked in shadow on the stairs as she comes towards Vanya - like she’s a threat? Very clever. Also, the tone that she says “You’re actually here” in, bitchy much? But, siblings I guess! I don’t know, I don’t have any. The hug is nice though, and Allison makes more of an effort to interact with Vanya than the rest of them. FUCK OFF DIEGO, with you’re “You don’t belong here!” Stop being an asshole to tiny, adorable Ellen Page! The beginning of my dislike for Number 2, I’m afraid. Sorry, Diego fans! Not happy with him atm! Allison sasses him though, go Allison! And the way she re-assures Vanya. Bless! 

Luther, WTF are you doing sneaking around? Hmm. Ah, and here comes the tense brotherly banter between #1 and #2. It’s pretty funny, but you can smell the rivalry a mile away! And Luther, just forget the monocle. Forget it! Jeez! Loving Diego’s sass though, very good at low blows isn’t he? And finally, the famous book - I’d read it! Looks interesting. I kinda want to know what she says in it, don’t you? And there’s Pogo! Is it bad that when I first watched this, I wasn’t even surprised to see a walking, talking monkey reach out to hug Vanya? Welp, I feel like that says something about me. I liked him straight away, he’s so kind to Vanya and his voice is very soothing. I don’t know okay, it just is?! 

The backstory isn’t exactly subtle, the whole “How long has it been since Five disappeared?”, but it works. The whole interaction between Vanya and Pogo, when they talk about Five, makes me so sad for Vanya. The way she said “I used to leave the lights on for him” tells me that they had a pretty close bond before Five up and left, even when I first watched the show. It just made me feel for Vanya’s character more, she’s so sweet and she clearly misses Five a whole lot. 

They all seem to wander round the house a lot, don’t they? Memories I suppose. The flashback scene here cemented my hatred for Reginald, it takes 2 seconds to say goodnight to your kids!! Fucking dick! Also, looking at the kids breaks my heart even more - Ben and Five are looking at Reginald all hopeful, Klaus clearly knows Reginald doesn’t give a shit, leaning against the doorframe with a ‘I don’t care’ expression on his face, Vanya hiding in the background, slightly separate from the rest of them. They break my heart. Great acting from the kids btw! And the way Ben looks back at Reginald, still hoping, and Luther guides him away - aww!

And back to the present - “Where’s the cash Dad?” Klaus!! XD The gigantic, adorable smile Klaus has when he sees Allison, and he immediately goes for a hug is so sweet! I get the feeling that Klaus genuinely cares about his siblings, but he masks a lot of his true feelings. That could be interesting to explore in a fic. The hug is very tense though - Allison recoils from him and awkwardly pats his back - as if she’s too good for him? Clearly not sure how to feel about him. Klaus in this scene is great, and was already my favourite at this point when I first watched. Though Allison does snort at his jokes, so perhaps they were close once? I want more Allison and Klaus interaction is Season 2! They could be an amazing duo! 

And then Luther ruins the moment, with his “Get out of his chair.” Jeez, Luther, lighten up? Also, this is the first time you’ve seen them in years and that’s your opening line? Way to go big boy. I do love Robbie in that cropped shirt though, and the coat is awesome! Allison, I see you laughing at Klaus! I see you! Also - how the hell did that box fit in his trousers?! XD I’ll leave you be Luther, ‘cause you’re taking the piss out of Diego and it’s funny. Though I’m slightly uncomfortable. Allison & Luther stare at each other with so much longing, and I just...ugh! Also, I know this whole Patrick & Claire situation is supposed to make us feel sympathy for Allison, but immediately saying “shit” when you hear that he got custody, like - don’t judge? It could be a good thing? Don’t assume that Allison didn’t do anything wrong. Sorry, just, the bias. And so begins my dislike of Luther!

The tense silence in the sitting room. Family’s, am I right? Also, Klaus steals every scene he’s in, especially in that skirt! “And here we go,” Preach Diego! Here comes the family dysfunction. Also, how does no one laugh at Klaus? Can you imagine how many bloopers there must be? C’mon Netflix, give me! The family dysfunction is strong, though. “Sober up.” - it’s not that fucking simple Luther! There’s a long hard road to sobriety, even after withdrawals, so just shut up and leave Klaus the fuck alone, yeah? You are part of the problem, the reason why Klaus is the way he is. Just...can you tell I dislike Luther a bit? 

And here’s Diego, who I also dislike, but at least he actually addresses Klaus like he’s a PERSON! So, I like him slightly more. And Luther totally suspects Diego of killing their father. None of the other siblings, just Diego. You can see it in his face. “I’m just gonna go an murder mom” I love Klaus so much! XD And the way they all file out while Luther stands there like an idiot...

The whole flashback scene, to the bank, is AMAZING, all the kids are great and its a great way of showcasing all their powers (bar Klaus’) and what they had to experience. Also, we get some Five and Ben content! Yay! Five’s sass immediately endeared me too him. Poor Ben “C’mon Ben”, Jeez Luther, do you ever stop being an ass?! And there’s Kenny’s mom, running out the bank! Poor Ben again, he clearly hates his power and using it. And being covered in all that blood. Also, can we talk about Klaus leaning on Five when they get outside?! And Five lets him?! I want more Klaus and Five in Season 2 as well, pretty please? And then here comes Reginald, telling Vanya she’s not special. Great parenting strategy asshat! Also, “six children”, GET FUCKED REGGIE! That reporter made me laugh though, the “Are you concerned about the welfare of the children?” one. Nope, no he is not. Take them away from him please! 

Those posters, in the hallway outside the bedrooms, fuck, they’re disturbing! G is for gouge? Fuck me. And here we are, the ‘A+L’ locket. Slightly weirded out by it. Also, love the symbolism of the siblings being scattered throughout the house all in different rooms. Shows how fractured they are at the moment. 

AND NEED I SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE MASTERPIECE THAT IS THE DANCE SCENE?!

“Daddy?” Klaus, I can’t even...XD What was with the fire extinguisher as well? Darling, I love you, but really? “Yeah, get behind us!” cough*toxic masculinity*cough! Now is not the time to try and be the alpha male Diego. Also, Klaus seems to have the most common sense - “I vote for running!” - yep, great idea! Common sense, folks, from the super high medium! Five’s entrance is pretty great though, but I’ll just say this - if it was my sibling that I hadn’t seen for 17 years? I’d be hugging him so tight, regardless whether he likes touch or not. Just saying. I like how we have Five falling right back into the family as if he were never gone, as if him being 13 isn’t a big deal, the banter is great. I also like how he doesn’t look at his siblings at all, and then he looks up for the first time since being inside, and it’s to compliment Klaus. Such a small yet sweet moment in the series. Underappreciated, I feel. Five doesn't seem like the type to give compliments often. The “Well you would if you were smarter”!XD 2nd favourite sibling, here we come! This whole kitchen scene was a great setup for the sibling dynamics. 

The elusive Ben is finally mentioned again. Creepy statue though. I love the fact that they all have big black umbrellas, and then there’s Klaus, with his little plastic one with pink trim! Diego again with the impeccable comedic timing “He was a monster”. And Mom is adorable, I love her so much. Here we go with Luther & Diego again, I guess. “Who’s the alpha male? I’m the alpha male!” Jeez. AGAIN? You 2 ever even tried being nice to each other? The fight scene is pretty cool though, the choreography is really well done. I love how we see them act more like a family here too, Vanya pulling Mom back and Klaus shoving Five out the way. Adorable! Allison’s got some deadpan! Like it. Diego, why are you such a dick? Especially to Vanya? She was trying, is trying, and you just...I’m so done with you and Luther. And y’all just gonna leave Klaus out there alone? Nice. Predication...

This training scene, reinforcing how AMAZING Reginald Hargreeves is as a parent! The tattoo scene too. Poor tiny little Klaus and Allison huddled together, and Ben, Luther and Five looking so scared/nervous. The way Vanya is left out - again - and draws her own tat. These poor abused kids guys! I just wanna hug ‘em all! Also, watching your kids sleep? Not creepy at all! And back from the flashback, Vanya leaving because she keeps being treated like crap. You know in nature programmes, when the baby animals bully the runt of the litter out? Yep. Loving the way Pogo is looking out for her though, clearly he cares about her a lot. Better Dad than Reggie! And no one notices she’s gone, that’s nice.

Love the entire kitchen interaction between Five, Klaus, Diego and Allison. Family banter again! Oh wait, they did notice Vanya left, they just didn’t care? Brilliant. Great family. Also, does Diego always need to be such a prick to his sisters? Asshole. Though I like the way he treats Klaus - he lets him hitch a ride despite knowing that he could leave without him, and listens to him more than the others do. Though you can see David trying not to laugh at Rob’s ‘hippo’ line in the scene. God, he seems like so much fun! 

The scene at Griddy’s is just, simply awesome. Love Agnes, she’s so sweet. Five’s fake smile has me in hysterics every time though! The tow truck driver is very nice, buying for a ‘weird kid’ he doesn’t know. The fight scene, again, is perfect, and the juxtaposition of the upbeat tune “Istanbul Not Constantinople” in the background, just...chef’s kiss! Poor Five didn’t get his coffee though. The quest for Five to have a decent cup of coffee begins! Aidan is a phenomenal actor too, absolutely brilliant! Love the tightening of his tie as he walks away, the cocky little shit!XD Poor Agnes.

The intro to Ben is funny, and cleverly placed so that it doesn’t feel forced, it just fits with the story of the episode. Also, Diego’s a dramatic bitch. But he cares about Klaus. So, we’ll see, I guess. A nice little interaction between 2 brother (3, sorry Ben!) that love each other. Nice to have a moment of the siblings being, ‘normal’, for want of a better word. Vanya and Five interaction, yay! “Rapists can cimb” - Five, no!XD Funny, but...Anyway, I like the relationship between these two. The way he comes to her and trusts her the most and lets her touch him and clean his wound. I love it. The flashback to Five hurts, because he really was just a kid then and I feel so maternal about that...I’m not the only one, right? Aidan’s phenomenal acting again. I love the cliff hanger of the world ending in 8 days. Got me hooked. Also, Van’s response is perfect - “I’ll put on a pot of coffee.” I love you Vanya! XD

Alright, I know it was long, but it’s over now. Thanks for reading all of it, if you did. I don’t know when I’ll get around to the 2nd episode, but hopefully it’ll be soon. Hope you all enjoyed my ramblings! x

[ahgapride98]

JINYOUNG’S MEMORY LANE 🍑🧡

The fourth post of the series ‘Memory Lane: Got7’ is dedicated to The Nation’s First Love, one of the best actors in the world (you can totally see how un-biased I am, right? 😂) and mother of Got7: Jinyoung!

Park Jinyoung (박 진영) was born in South Korea the 22nd of September, 1994. Known by the ahgase fandom as Jireongie, Pepi or Park Gae (Wang Gae Park Gae forever!), Park Jinyoung has been gracing us with his singing, dancing and acting skills since 2012.

Born in a loving family, Jinyoung spent his childhood surrounded by the unconditional love of his parents and two older sisters. Even though we don’t have a lot of information about his childhood or pre-debut life, it is known that when he was young, he mostly played with dolls instead of other toys that are more “suited” for boys (this is thanks to his sisters 😊).

Also, we know that he graduated from Kyunggi High School, where he was the president of his class (we love a responsible boy). In a TV program, he said that he still stays in contact with his homeroom teacher, because she is the one who guided him to become who he is today (thank you very much Jinyoung’s homeroom teacher, ahgases own you a lot! 😭).

But he wasn’t just a responsible boy, he was also a really good person. Some time ago, a boy that went to the same high school as our Prince revealed that even though he was bullied and an outcast, Jinyoung would get his friends to sit and eat with him so he wouldn’t feel alone and left out. This boy said that he felt really thankful for what Jinyoung did, and that he was a really good hyung (it seems clear that our boy has had a heart of gold since he was young, no wonder why people love him so so so much 💛).

Jinyoung once commented that since he was a child he wanted to be a singer but never did anything to achieve his goal, until one day his dad told him that he would not be anything in life. That hurt him so much that from then on he decided to prove his father wrong and show him that he could become whatever he wanted (his dad was a bit harsh, but his words surely served as motivation for our boy, so... thanks?).

So, our Jinyoung started to practice dancing and singing, and signed up for JYP’s Open Auditions in 2009 where he tied with JB for first place, officially making him a JYP Entertainment trainee. There, he trained for 2 years and 6 months before debuting.

However, while he was preparing for his idol debut, he appeared in a few dramas along with JB. He first made his acting debut in KBS2’s “Dream High 2”, and then appeared in the drama “When a Man Loves”.

Finally, on the 20th May 2012, he made his debut as a member of the duo JJ Project (along with 🌴) with the song ‘Bounce’ (I can hear Yugy, JJ Project’s fan-club president, singing his heart out to this song, it was the bop of the century!).

What I didn’t mention before was that Jinyoung and JB have been friends since before being JYP trainees, making this one of the reasons why they decided to audition together for JYP Entertainment (my JJ Project feelings, they’re so cute! 😭). At the auditions, they attracted the attention of the public through their exceptional talent, and that’s why they debuted together.

Even though his stage name tight now is Jinyoung (thanks to his parents), I have to highlight that the reason why Jinyoung originally debuted under the stage name “Jr.” was because he shares his real name with JYP Entertainment’s founder, and therefore J.Y. Park himself wanted him to be a younger version of himself (I kinda prefer our boy to have his real name tbh 🤷🏻‍♀️).

Jinyoung not only debuted as part of JJ Project back in 2012. On the 16th of January 2014, Pepi debuted along the rest of the members of Got7 with the song ‘Girls Girls Girls’ (I have to say that style wise, he didn’t look that bad, but the colored green eyeshadow was a bit to much for me 😂).

This was the continuation of his dream alongside JB (his longtime friend) and 5 new brothers who would become his “sons” over time, because he is known as the one who takes good care of them. Therefore, he is the mom of the group (our “mommy” Jinyoung has a rough life taking care of the kids).

It’s been 7 years since his debut, and our Jinyoung is known as a super hard worker, not only for dancing and singing, but for acting. He starred in the web-series “Dream Knight” along with his fellow Got7 members in 2015 (confession time: I find the drama cringy to watch, but I love it so much I’m sure it’s become unhealthy). He acted in “My Love Eun-Dong” in 2015, where he got a huge amount of praise from the public, other drama directors and actors. He acted in “The Legend of the Blue Sea” in 2016, where -once again- he received tons of praises and offers form different directors. He acted in the JYP drama called “Magic School” in 2017 together with 2PMs Nichkhun and Park Yoon. And also, he acted in the movie “Snowflakes” (also known as “A Stray Goat”) in 2017, where he made his debut as a movie actor.

Currently he is filming his new drama called “He Is Psychometric” (2019) along with Shin Ye Eun (a really talented JYP actress, and gorgeous too 😊). This is the first time our Jinyoung has a leading role in a drama, and I seriously can’t wait for it to aired and be swept out of my socks and see my wig flying to South Korea.

But he has not only shown his talent in acting. He has become an amazing composer for the group, creating songs full of meaning and feelings like ‘Face’, ‘My Youth’ or ‘Thank You’ (you know, the ones that make you think and cry all at the same time, aka my fave songs 🤣). Jinyoung has said that he finds inspiration in ahgases’ love and his own life experiences, and I can only aspire to be half as talented as he is one day (probably that won’t happen, but at least I have him to be by my side🥰).

Going back to JJ Project for a little bit now. After 5 years since their debut, these boys made a comeback in July 2017 with the song ‘Tomorrow, Today’ from the album ‘Verse 2’. You can definitely see how our Jinyoung has changed over the years, and how much he has matured. The songs he composed for the album are full of feelings and are relatable to everyone. He said that ‘Verse 2’ was meant to be an album that could help people going through a hard time to not feel alone, as they could easily relate to the lyrics of the songs (my honest un-biased opinion: THE ALBUM DESERVED A FUCKING GRAMMY!)

In this 7 years he has achieved many things. He first debuted with his longtime friend JB (🌴) in JJ Project, then debuted again in Got7 and became the mom of the group (and somehow married JB, as he is the dad of our babies), acted in many dramas and finally starred in one, opened his Instagram after Got7’s first win, composed and wrote many songs for the group’s albums, went on a World Tour (he blew me a kiss in the Paris Concert, your girl almost dies right then and there!),etc.

It’s clear that he is a really talented person, and I’m so happy he debuted again with Got7. He truly is an essential part of the group (just like the rest of the members) and I can’t imagine a better mommy for the group.

Also, I have to apologize to all of you for being missing for such a long time, and not post as I planned to (this series would have been finished by now if I had sticked to my plan). I’m a college student, and for the past month or so I had to study for my finals (good news, I have passed all of them: YAY ME! 😊). But I’m back now, so I’ll keep posting for this series.

Another thing I wanted to add was that, if you are curious about my experience at the concert, I can make a separate post on it, and show my pictures and videos (I have a clip of Jackson dancing ‘Paradise’ in front of me that is pure gold), and also talk about how it was.

That being said, I love you all ahgases! I hope you have an amazing year! (I’m a bit late, I know... sorry 🌝).

[liunaticfringe]

(via Lucy Liu Shares Her Fave ‘Elementary’ Episodes Ahead of the Final Season – TV Insider)

As Elementary begins its seventh and final season, the modern-day Sherlock Holmes and Joan Watson (Jonny Lee Millerand Lucy Liu) are still in London, sleuthing for Scotland Yard. (His fake murder confession last season — to clear innocent Watson — forced him to leave NYC.)

When a member of their inner circle in the U.S. is gravely wounded, the duo must figure out how to get Holmes back there. While fans can look forward to a reunion with Det. Marcus Bell (Jon Michael Hill, above right, on a future case with Miller and Liu), we asked Liu to look back at a few of her favorite episodes (available on Hulu and Amazon Video).

"Step Nine" (Season 2, Episode 1)

Sherlock and Joan go to London to help his old pal Inspector Lestrade (Sean Pertwee). Liu remembers filming while the city awaited Prince George's birth — the episode's rail station location could have been shut down at any moment due to its proximity to Kate Middleton's hospital: "There were [already] souvenirs of them in every shop!"

"Paint It Black" (Season 2, Episode 22)

Liu directed this episode, in which Watson is kidnapped by mobsters. She recalls Miller and Rhys Ifans (as Sherlock's brother, Mycroft) being wonderfully intense — and then hilarious between takes, joking about craft services being better in the States than in the U.K.: "That day, we happened to have a lobster roll truck!"

"The Past Is Parent" (Season 4, Episode 1)

As Sherlock suffers the consequences of his heroin relapse, his devious father, Morland (John Noble), makes his first appearance: "Working with John always elevated your performance," gushes Liu, adding, "He was always so sweet and engaging to my son — a true gentleman."

"Give Me the Finger" (Season 6, Episode 6)

Miller's direction of this hour, involving Japanese gangsters, a missing prosthetic finger, and nuclear secrets, impressed Liu. As did its sumo wrestlers: "Seeing them just hang out on the sofa, relaxing between setups, was truly a sight you don't see every day!"

[gentil-minou]

I GOT YOU FRIEND

Mouse Trap by @overworkedunderwhelmed

When a certain smitten kitten presents a new Miraculous to his clever classmate, the trap was sprung...

It was only a question of who exactly would be caught.

Listen I'm a sucker for multichat but also I just love seeing Adrien fall in love with Mari a million times and come to terms with loving the same girl who is actually one.

Multiple Second Chances by @thewritewolf

When something goes wrong with the miraculous of the main duo, they each choose a hero to take over for them while Marinette tries to make things right. Of course, with so many former heroes now compromised, they can't let old guardian rules drain their pool of heroes even more.

A Snekmouse story.

I love identity shenanigans and these two are just amazing. It's been a while since I last read it but it was one of the first I read when getting back into the fandom and I was not disappointed

A Man of Action (Figures) by Talik_Sanis

The first mass-produced Chat Noir and Ladybug toyline is about to be released to the public.

Alya is not enthused about the Chat Noir figure. It's a piece of junk, but he's just a side-kick after all.

Marinette is not enthused about Alya, Lila, and most of her class. Chat is a hero; he's no-one's side-kick!

Adrien is not enthused by the fact that his second favorite hero is never going to be turned into a perfect petite piece of posable plastic. Where is he going to get a Multimouse figure?!

And Gabriel is not enthused by his son's defiance.

Starts out as fluff, but it's really a story about Adrien coming to terms with his father's abuse and his love for Marinette.

This fic has just one more chapter and it's honestly one of my fave's for discussing Adrien's abuse via the hands of his dad, but ALSO there is some wonderful Adrien crushing on Multimouse hehe.

(RATED M) Mouse Trap by Queen crowner (Taitai83)

Several weeks after she rescued Chat from akumatization, MultiMouse has to make another appearance. Maybe if she and Chat can get past the initial awkwardness, they might find they're exactly what the other needs.

A MultiChat smut fic.

Listen I started reading this because of fun kinky times and it actually became very emotional and I love the interactions between characters. The smut is an added bonus but it's just a really sweet story. BDSM themes and there's a prequel that may not be be up people's alley, but you don't need to read that to enjoy this one.

ML Fic Recs - Love...Square? Hectagon? Octogon??

Happy Friday! I’m back with yet another rec list! As usual, I’m trying to rec fics you might not have read before, going off of AO3 kudos. You can find my other rec lists on my blog at #jennarecsml

If you enjoy these, please reblog so more readers can find these awesome fics!

The love square is already a crazy concept, but now with the addition of Aspik and Multimouse – well, there are even more fun crazy dynamics for writers to play with. And I love every bit of it! So, here are some of my favourites that play with the expanded love square.

this love is a tangled web by @bugabisous

When Ladybug and Chat Noir decided that they should switch things around with their temporary miraculous holders in order to throw Hawkmoth off, they couldn’t have predicted the tangled web they would weave.

Series. Snekmouse? Well, it’s the equivalent in that they know each other’s identities but of course don’t know that the other knows. It’s even more fun with them using different miraculouses, giving us Dragon!Adrien and Snake!Marinette. Plus there’s some multichat content early on, which is a nice precursor to the way Adrien falls for Marinette in this new dynamic. Absolutely great identity shenanigans in this one.

Bad Week by @ominousunflower

Adrien’s long and horrible week ends with a stinging rejection–until he sneaks out as Aspik and runs into an unexpected face.

“Hey!” a voice yells from behind him. “What are you doing—I—I mean, who are you?”

Aspik whirls around and finds himself face-to-face with…Multimouse?

With a frown, Multimouse glances at the jump rope wrapped around her waist. Untying it, she grips one end and weakly whips it toward Aspik. It flops on the ground in front of him like a wet noodle.

“AH,” she says. It somehow sounds like a question. “Um. An akuma?”

One-shot. Snekmouse! And then we get actual Aspik/Multimouse! It starts with Marinette trying to ask Adrien out on a date, only for it to go horribly wrong when she sees that he’s upset and takes it back and Adrien takes it as a rejection and concludes she would only go out with him out of pity. I feel bad for him but also it’s HILARIOUS. 

Me, My Best Friend, and Her Cat by @ladyofthenoodle

Ladybugs aren’t known for being particularly sneaky. Good thing this Ladybug has a fox in her corner, watching her back.

(And giving Ladybug’s love life a nudge along the way. Maybe more than a nudge. In Alya’s defense, Ladybug can use all the help she could get.)

Multi-chapter. Multichat (as well as Ladynoir and Adrienette). This is a beautiful Marinette & Alya friendship piece where Alya figures out her secret identity early on and helps her. And honestly it’s worth reading just for that alone. But it also plays with the love square in really fun ways (Alya’s a ladynoir shipper over adrienette), with some quality multichat content.

“I have a plan.” by @emsylcatac

Marinette probably should have thought twice before joining the fight as Multimouse instead of Ladybug.

Alya, suited up as Rena Rouge, wished she knew where on earth Ladybug and Chat Noir were when they needed them.

And Adrien really, really wished the two heroines would just leave him alone so he could transform.

One-shot. Adrimouse! Okay, this one is already pretty tumblr famous thanks to the amazing comic that preceded it. But I’m still going to rec it! Because Adrien and Multimouse flirting is amazing, the dynamics are fantastic with Rena Rouge in the mix, and it���s freaking hilarious!

For You (I’d Break All The Rules) by snugglebuttkitten

MultiMouse finds herself visiting Adrien Agreste on a Nightly Basis

One-shot. Adrimouse! There’s some great hurt/comfort here, and also a sweet and slow developing relationship. This is just really cute and I love the dynamic and it’s worth a read!

Second Chance Number 12,496 by @11jj11

Adrien, now wielding the Snake Miraculous as Aspik, has been stuck in his time loop of Second Chances for weeks now trying to save Ladybug, and he just needs a moment to rest.

Set during Desperada.

One-shot. Laspik! I think we were all gutted by Desperada, and this absolutely has a bit of that gut punch, but also I love the hurt/comfort here (although the hurt is amplified by the fact that he’s only like halfway through all the cycles, like DUDE.) 

The One Where Marinette Knows Who Ladybug Is by bifieri

Chat Noir wants to bring back Multimouse. Ladybug doesn’t. A little white lie told to keep him off her tail lands the two at odds- and Ladybug closer to finding out her Kitty’s identity than she’d prefer

fair warning I wrote this at 3 am and didn’t edit it at all so it’s very much trash but I just had to make this idea reality

Two-shot. Multichat. This one plays with the ridiculousness of all the lies these two needs to tell in order to protect their identities, and it’s ridiculous and fun and, as always with these kinds of identity shenanigans, leads to a reveal.

But What About Multimouse? by @trainsinanime

Ladybug and Chat Noir discuss his favourite topic: Bringing back Multimouse.

One-shot. Multichat. It works out well that Chat’s favourite topic is bringing back Multimouse because Chat talking about bringing back Multimouse is my favourite trope! Ladybug is such a tease in this and I absolutely love it. It feels so in-character and they’re so playful and it’s just fun!

Enough by @apopcornkernel

Adrien feels inferior when he notices a difference between how Ladybug treats Adrien/Aspik compared to Chat Noir.

One-shot. Laspik. This one is kind of angsty, but it doesn’t stay that way. I don’t want to give away too much, but the ending kinda punched me in the face and I desperately wish there was more.

The following fic is amazing and absolutely worth reading, but does feature sexual content, so minors beware.

I Dream of Mousey by @lyramae-archer

Chat is tired. More tired than ever before. How is a cat supposed to get some sleep when there’s a beautiful mouse in all of his dreams? A story in which Adrien gets some revelation on the love of his life. For MultiMouse Appreciation Week 2020.

Rated M. Multi-chapter. Multichat! Chat goes a little crazy with thoughts of Multimouse, and it’s gorgeous and hot af. @lyramae-archer does an excellent job of characterizing how Adrien starts to fall for Marinette after her stint as Multimouse, and boy does he fall hard. Add in some steamy dreams and an identity reveal and WOW. 

[attract-mode-collective]

My Greatest Regret

[illustration by Katie Skelly]

I recently celebrated my 40th birthday and many have enjoyed pointing out what a milestone that is. So perhaps not surprisingly, I’ve been in a reflective state of mind; as hinted at many times by now, the past 365+ days have not been an easy haul. Regardless, I’ve managed to survive, thanks to the support of some amazing human beings that I’m proud are my friends, plus a new gal pal recently entered the picture, who has also been a source of strength.

Times have been tough, yet that’s the case for many folks out there, so I honestly can’t complain. But because I’ve been particularly unlucky in certain regards (tho everyone also loves to observe how it’s a miracle that I managed to get a new girlfriend in the midst of some legit harrowing circumstances), I can’t help but wonder if things could have been… you know… different.

Looking back, far too many instances come to mind, in which if I had only just shut up and drank the Kool-Aide, life would indeed be easier better (talk about being cryptic, I know). Yet I still have little in the way of regrets. Well, except one. Which has haunted me for seemingly my entire lifetime. Largely due to the fact that it happened many years ago, when I was very young and not at all wise. Nevertheless, I still should have known better...

I was around 11 at the time, between grades 5th and 6th if I'm not mistaken. It was summertime, and at that point in my existence, I had zero concerns. Except for what games would be available whenever I swung by the local grocery store with my dad; up front, near the checkout lanes, was a little section for movie rentals and an even smaller one for NES games. On one such afternoon, I was dropping off Blaster Master and hoping for Bionic Commando to finally become available. Luckily it was.

Generally these transactions happened at the end of food shopping; while my dad waited in line to pay, that’s when/where I returned the previous week's entertainment and found something for the one ahead. Because I knew what I wanted and snatched it up in a heartbeat, I thusly had time to kill until dad showed up (the video rental section, in addition to being the place to satiate his appetite for Charles Bronson flicks, was also where lottery tickets were dispensed, which he always picked up before heading home).

So while flipping through the photocopied instruction manual that came with the game, I noticed a rather meek and somber pair approach the rental section; a boy, a few years shy of my age, and his mother, who appeared skinny, frail, and above all else sad looking, much like her son. The boy had business similar to what I had just wrapped up; he was returning a game, Life Force to be exact, a treasured part of my collection back home. So it was a safe bet that this kid enjoyed himself, but unfortunately, too much of a good thing can lead to trouble; the rental clerk informed the boy that he had held onto it for too long and thusly had to pay a late fee. A whole $2.00.

The child was immediately overcome by intense sadness, with “Oh God, I screwed up… I really, really, REALLY screwed up” clearly written by his facial muscles. Whereas his mother’s expression was completely stone cold at first, to the point that one might have assumed that she either didn’t care or was perhaps even deaf. But a few seconds later, her head slowly rotated 45 degrees, like an amusement automaton getting ready to start a most dreaded of routines. The eyes slowly moved from the bearer of bad news to the bringer of bad news, with a look that was at once glassy and faraway, yet still somehow focused and piercing nonetheless.

After a brief yet simultaneously protracted amount of silence, the mother finally addressed her offspring. With quiet disappointment and heartbreak in her tone, accompanied by a tiny dash of betrayal in each and every word, the following was spoken: "Jonathan, you said you would return the video game in time. How could you let this happen? Please Jonathan, explain this to me." It was as if their fates were forever sealed; with those two dollars gone, the last two dollars they had to their name, mother and child would now be forced onto the streets, with every meal from this point forward coming out a garbage can.

Will there be a succulent looking turkey waiting for them at dinnertime, the kind you see in a video game, as health a pick up? Okay, the first instance of such a thing that I can recall is from Streets of Rage, which would be a thing for several more years, but work with me here. Anyhow: no Jonathan, that’s only in video games, whereas him and mom are part of the real world, where they’ll be eating actual garbage later that night and for the rest of their miserable lives. About a half dozen other Dickens-esque scenarios ran across my mind, all while the the rental clerk just stood there, looking at the pair unsympathetically. More than likely she had seen this before already, perhaps from the same mother and son combo?

For God's sake, it's was only two f’n dollars. Hell, I was hardly a rich kid and even I had that amount kicking around in my pocket. I could have easily paid the late fee and saved both mother and child from that moment of pathos, yet… I simply did not. Instead, I just stood from afar, trying not to stare at such misery too intently. I blame my father? He always told me not to get involved. Speaking of, when dad finally showed up, he decided to forgo the purchase of lottery tickets or see what new movies had arrived, because he wanted to be home in catch the opening of Star Trek: The Next Generation (the previews indicated a Deanna Troi, whom he had the hots for, so he didn’t want to miss a single second).

So I was unable to witness how the situation between the mother, her child, the somewhat bored/annoyed clerk, my fave NES shmup, plus a two dollar late fee that I could and should have paid was eventually resolved, if at all. Nor did I ever see either of the duo ever again; I lived in a small town, where you ran into the same folks over and over again, but not those two. As such, I often wondered what ever happened to them; more than likely the mom sold off her son’s NES to pay for bus tickets out of town, since they had broken local laws yet again (meaning, this isn’t the first and only time the kid was late returning a video game) and had to make another hasty exit.

Everything I imagined happening next all had the kid becoming a total sociopath, due to all the outlandish and desperate things he had to resort to, in order to get his hands on a controller, since video games were no doubt forever banned at home. Some of them have him becoming completely unhinged, upon experiencing the follow-up to Life Force; lord knows I was pretty disillusioned by all the slow down in Gradius 3. Though whatever the case, I feared that his life might have been… you know… different if I had just coughed up the two bucks to cover his late feel. Just wondering “what if” puts a pit in my stomach. Thus the greatest regret in my life.