#one time i got subtitles that said “ we stopped translating there will be no more subtitles for the rest of the episode”

[watermelonstick]

"but i'm gonna do it anyway sweetheart"

[angelphonia]

Okay, I've been binge watching the Stop!!Hibari-kun anime and I've got some thoughts I need to let out.

Firstly, watching the anime makes me appreciate the Manga a hundred times more. Sure, the Manga had its problems, mostly the racism and the casual homophobia jokes and transphobia, but you could save stuff from it, like that even though there were homophobic jokes there was a gay woman who wasn't mocked because of her attraction to Hibari, or that despite the transphobia Hibari was never outright shown as being wrong by being herself.

Now, the anime does a lot of things I dislike. Firstly they make Kosaku's reactions be way more negative than in the Manga. While yes, he reacts negatively he is also seen blushing a lot when Hibari flirts with him. I may need to read the Manga for fourth time, but I also don't remember Kosaku constantly mentioning Hibari is a "guy" everytime she did anything.

There is a lot much more racism in the anime. There were problems with this in the Manga but it just feels way more present in the anime.

This one doesn't bother me too much, but I'm pretty sure the chapters do not align with the Manga, but again, this doesn't bother me.

I also noticed way more incest jokes, I don't care about them. Also the Seiji chapter where he falls in love with one of Hibari's bullies when she's 15 and Seiji is around 25/30 is very questionable. Again, this is a work of fiction so while I was like "why isn't this seen wrong?" I wasn't really uncomfortable. I do gotta say that in the Manga when the Japanese mob grown manchild son asked for Hibari's hand in marriage, it was inmediatly said he was 28 and Hibari was super taken aback. This doesn't happen in the anime, his age is NEVER mentioned. I can't quite remember, but I am sure Hibari also doesn't go on a date with him.

Oof, but here we go with the thing that has bothered me the most. The REALLY bad erasure of Jun's story. They absolutely took away her lesbianism, making it seem as if she was only interested in Hibari because of her volleyball abilities. They also totally changed the episode and made Jun be deeply ashamed of her family, that while in the Manga she was a bit embarassed it wasn't a main focus. In the Anime it was, even making her leave the volleyball club, which is crazy to me. Oh, and I'm NOT forgetting that they made Hibari enjoy getting gropped in the bus, when in the Manga she was clearly just disgusted by it.

I haven't finished it yet, may edit this post with more complains. Positive things? I'm sure Seiji and Sabu didn't have names in the Manga, so now they have identities. They try and give them more backstory, even adding an eye scar to Sabu, which was appreciated. Hibari's voice is absolutely the cutest. I liked the wrestling episode. Oh, the episode with Hibari's mother and her father was a delight, she didn't express this much emotion in the Manga, so actually seeing how she feels was great, and her end interaction with her father was adorable.

Can't remember anything more rn. As a side note, I've developed a little crush on Sabu and I'm gonna draw him. Hope you enjoyed my rambling!

EDIT:

Remembered the Honda thing. In the Anime he almost reaches his 1000 girls flirted with, but with one it is half a girl. In the Manga this was because he looked at a 5 year old by accident and she fell in love, while in the anime they made it so he flirted with a new half. For those who don't know, new half is an old Japanese term for transgender people, mostly trans women who were post op. In the subtitles this is translated as crossdresser, which I don't like. This isn't the first time this term is mentioned, in the spartan son episode, he calls Hibari a new half, which Kosaku tells him to not do. In another chapter there is a trans woman, and she refers to herself as New half, which again is incorrectly translated to crossdresser for some reason.

Even then there was some sort of minimal knowledge of trans people, not only with this, but in the Manga the addition of Genkijirou being a canonical trans man in hormones. Eguchi was aware and while his first idea was to make Hibari a feminine man, it obviously end up with her being a trans woman.

[thedawningofthehour]

<33 Thank u for all the wicked references, Fai, I flexed some of them afterwards

oh YES AIGHt the movie was an experience.

(We were watching it in German, but all the songs were in OG English with German subtitles. Characters were switching voice-actor mid-sentence, sometimes multiple times, while they talk between lyrics.)

It was also trippy af, because the song‘s German subtitles had NOTHING to do with the actual English text the characters were singing. It was like, an entirely different narrative going on in the bottom half of the screen.

During the opening scene, where the entire village sings how happy they are that the witch is dead and how they won’t cry for her, my date reacted, very loudly like: “Oh, she was their healthcare CEO“ And at the end of the song he was leaning to me whispering something like: “Bet that scene was for that CEO they shot in the US“

(It’s ok, its all good, he has big abs)

I noticed that the characters were using the wrong grammar ??? and I was like (whispering): “Am I having a seizure, or do they use gibberish words?“ and someone next to us was like “That‘s British english“

(This makes it sound like there‘s a lot of talking in German movie theaters. That is true, we talk exclusively in there)

The movie is also insanely gay?? Like more than I thought

Like at the end, when the wizard offers Elphaba a place in his castle, he says: “Oh yeah, and your girlfriend can also stay“ and Idk whatever what was happening in the bottom half of the screen for most of the time, but the subtitle translator was shipping them so hard

I loved it, 10/10 experience, defying gravity slapped so hard, the goat was precious!

I'M SO GLAD YOU LIKED IT AND HAD A GOOD DATE. I HOPE YOU GOT THE LEVEL OF SEXUAL ACTIVITY YOU WERE EXPECTING.

Also, lmao, yeah that was basically us in the US. They're trying so hard to set him up as a dangerous terrorist while literally everyone is donning Luigi hats and going "why stop at one?" The bourgeoise should really be listening to us instead of doubling down on their bullshit, because they were just shown that we're getting to the point where they either change their shit or we break out the guillotines, and so far it looks like they're choosing guillotines.

Oh, I didn't even think about this, but the movie utilizes a lot of 'Ozian' language. It's kind of a linguistic quirk, they tend to Big Mama-fy a lot of words and make it very superfluous and silly. I imagine that's hard to get through translation.

I loved Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard, like he meets them and is immediately like "well I have two gay daughters now." He played the role very differently from a lot of Wizards I've seen, but I think he did wonderfully. (no pun intended) He was kind and dadly in a disarming way, which I think is very important for the character. He's conniving and self-serving, yes, but Madame Morrible is the real manipulator. The Wizard' is charismatic and good at presenting himself the way he wants to be seen, and he's smart enough to know what will serve him in each situation.

Soup I wasn't lying when I said this movie was everyone's gay awakening in the 2000s.

[schismusic]

THE DISCOGRAPHY PRINCIPLE, Episode 5: Fugazi, or: People in high places are in on the kill taker

This is the first and only episode of the series that has a subtitle actually originating within the discography of the band it's discussing. More precisely, this sentence is in the packaging to a 1993 album called In on the Kill Taker, originally meant to be an EP produced by Steve Albini, local hero (you may recall him from Episode 2 of this very same series). At one point the band simply couldn't seem to stop producing new material, and collectively decided the new songs needed a more "produced" sound. So they split ways with Steve Albini right before his big breakthrough producing Nirvana's In Utero. The reason why I picked a sentence within Fugazi's work instead of turning to the usual postmodern shortcircuiting techniques is that Fugazi exist outside of any other reasoning, exclusively and crucially on their own merits and terms. There is no other band like Fugazi.

Think about it: upon reviewing any post-hardcore influenced band, no self-respecting professional reviewer after 1998 will ever compare them to Fugazi directly, even when they'd be right in doing so. There are a number of euphemisms to soften that comparison: maybe At the Drive-In (whose best record by far also happens to be their most Fugazi-inspired, as well as one of my favourite records ever), perhaps Refused if we're feeling exotic and we forget how firmly their tongue is lodged in their cheek at all times. Nobody touches Fugazi unless it's about Fugazi, and even then it's basically a given — they are either the best band ever or somewhere up there. If you don't know Fugazi, that might sound a bit too heavy-handed, and perhaps even get you to feel some aversion to Fugazi, until you listen to the records and realize "oh God, they were right". Here is where I, personally, realized that was the case for me:

Fugazi's superiority, at first, seems to lie within their internal policies and politics, their choices to sell any of their work and tickets exclusively below a certain price and to specifically push for all-ages shows, their strict code of ethics concerning relationships with fans and recorded music producers: no merch, no branding, no nothing, the point was first and foremost to make punk music with an attitude for research and dynamism and a social/political edge that wasn't afraid to tackle any subject matter in any manner that was felt necessary, all the while remaining firmly against (against discrimination, against violence, against a number of mainstream ideal models of conduct and thought). All else was window dressing and as such to be avoided. The Steve Albini debacle, if we want to call it that, ended up with Steve Albini's respect for the band skyrocketing — their ability to make such a decision with a producer already in ever-growing demand (who was himself eager to work with them) meant they were for real, they cared for the music much more than they did the publicity, and plain and simple had thought about what they did hard enough to know how to serve the songs. But that's exactly the main point: there's plenty of bands who don't care about the publicity and there's plenty of bands who try to make socially engaged music and there's plenty of bands who don't do social media. But how many of these bands are Fugazi — that is, how many have a track record this good?

I keep thinking back to this one thing that Francesco Farabegoli once said about Waiting Room in this here piece (Italian only, but I'll translate the relevant part, don't worry). For reference, Waiting Room not only is the first song on Fugazi's first EP, it's also the first song Fugazi ever wrote according to internal chronicles of the band, so it's got to sound a little bit surprising to those of you not in the know when FF writes that the song "lives within this paradox by which despite it not being the best song ever recorded by Fugazi, it's still the best song ever recorded by anyone". Hard to believe until you hear it, then you'll know what I mean. If I had to pick a favourite Fugazi song, that'd probably be Instrument, which I conveniently linked up at the beginning, and which neatly lines up with the fact that In on the Kill Taker is the one Fugazi album I have personally spent the most time with. In case you're wondering, a couple other picks might be Caustic Acrostic and Cassavetes — another cool thing about Fugazi is that they love their cinema. This might be the place where I first heard the name of John Cassavetes, as a matter of fact. But Waiting Room? There's simply no way to beat that as a first impression, and I get the feeling they might have known.

But by far what drives me to Fugazi the most is the very clear sense of linear, constant progression you get listening to their music in the release order. There is a core concept ("like the Stooges with reggae", in the words of Ian MacKaye) and then there are innumerable applications of said concept: its most stripped-down variant — of course the most solid, because it's the most rehearsed and strongest rooted — gets progressively more articulate and confident; but it reaches a breaking point, which the critics usually correlate to Steady Diet of Nothing; the band is able to rebound by slowly exploding that form, making it somewhat more articulate and chiselled; from In on the Kill Taker onwards everything turns more dynamic, the arrangement finds a community of intent and expression that transcend the base form and culminate of course into a record that simply chooses to refuse all further articulation. Ironically enough, that record is titled The Argument, it came out in 2001 after three years in the works — a very long time, the longest in the band's history — and then the band were so forward-thinking as to pioneer yet another dearly-beloved of post-hardcore bands all around the world: the term "indefinite hiatus".

It's much easier to say this than it is to split up for real, but what else were Fugazi supposed to do? They are still friends, they simply don't feel the band has anything more to say at this present time. Plus it's not like they stopped making music altogether — everyone of them has their own projects, their own things and most importantly their own life. I guess it's a matter of realizing that at one point you've reached an end, or that it would take too long for something to actually carry on in the proper manner. And I get it. Shutting up sometimes really says more than a hundred words, in that even absence implies non-presence (or past presence, in this case), it creates longing, it creates an empty space to be filled by whoever feels up to the task. In other words, I'm pretty sure something as big as Fugazi never really dies, and I think they too think so. "That is not dead which can eternal lie"…

[atztranspm]

Hongjoong PM 2 : 07/18/23

(This ones different since hongjoong didn't send any messages he just did a live. I'll just describe what he said during the lives)

He said hi welcome and then he said he wanted to do a quick live before heading somewhere. He saw a lot of comments asking if he was tired or if he slept. He said he was well rested and that he wasn't tired. He got a comment asking about the necklace and he responded say that he had returned the necklace back to the stylists (if you go back to my previous hongjoong post, he did a live where he realized he did take off the jewelry from that day) the live seemed to be running more smoothly for him then yesterday. He was able to read and see all the comments from atiny today.

Someone asked about what had happened to his nyamnyam cheeks (bread like cheeks) he seemed to have lost weight on his face but he said he didn't know either 💀 he eats well so losing his fluffy edible cheeks was confusing to him to

Anyways, he said he had a schedule today and he wrapped up well

He said he wants to sing a song for atiny (in the future) he was looking through songs that were recommended by atiny and saw this one song that caught his eye and moved his heart. He wants to sing that song but he didn't say which one. I think he's gonna surprise us with it someday. We'll see

He said that that he's been listening to aimyons marigold a lot these days. It was another song that had been recommended to him and he had been listening to ever since.

He ended the live and started the second one

I think the comments had stopped working for him cuz he said that he could see them clearly again.

He went back to continuing what he was saying before. He was just looking at all the songs atiny had recommended and saw that one song that he really liked and it was touching to him so he might sing it for us soon.

He spoke a little about ateez and their stages. He said they'll work hard to give good stages and bring enjoyable performances to atiny.

Atiny in the comments kept asking if he had been sleeping well or if he was tired and he said he was full of energy. He said that he was thankful to atiny and his parents for caring about him and if he was resting well. He told us not to worry and that he was indeed getting good sleep and was well rested.

Be spoke about his parents. He said his mom and dad would always ask him if he's getting good sleep. He didn't speak to his mom today but he was gonna call her after getting to the studio but he did a live instead (he's in the studio during the live) he speaks to both his parents often and even alternates talking to them on the phone. One day he'll call his mom, the next he would call his dad. He asks them to put him on speaker sometimes since theyre next to each other and so he can speak to both at the same time. (Their relationship is so precious. He seems pretty close to his parents and that's so cute. Stan a man who love his parents) he spoke about the. For a little before deciding to close the live

He said we worked hard today and that he loves us. Then he struggled to end the live again <3

(He spoke a little in English through out the live cuz he saw how atiny in the comments were struggling to understand with out subtitles or auto translations on both the live and the messages so he said he would try his best to translate a little. Yall I really love him, he's such a comfort to me <3)

[itwoodbeprefect]

music shuffle game 🎵

rules: shuffle your ‘on repeat’ playlist and post the first 10 songs, then tag 10 friends to do the same.

i was tagged by @eg515, thank you!! <3 for a change of pace, i'm getting around to this one within six months. 🎉

จัาเก่ง (slipped your mind) - F.HERO, tilly birds - tilly birds!! [everyone nods because they understand that i've said enough]

too sweet - hozier - ironically, this is the one song in the finished list that's not from a thai singer or group, and that's largely because it's been on repeat because for months now i've been struggling to figure out how to approach one particular starsky/hutch plotbunny that's mostly vibes in my head. and which originally sprung from similar scenes in two different thai movies (that's the ironic part).

แรงอีกนิด (sadistic) - project jasp.er - what can i say? i enjoy a cliché boyband debut with a bad boy song, i think the concept of gmmtv assembling an idol boyband consisting solely of halves of established BL actor pairings is as interesting, clever, and potentially problematic (and dare i say subversive?) as it is a plainly funny yet perhaps inevitable bussiness move, and finally. it's hilarious to me that i'm not even purposely following anything joong archen does but i do know for sure that the MV for this is the third seperate time he's been seductively tied to a chair for a project. people at gmmtv sure do love tying that guy to chairs. he's only been with the company a little over three years, so that averages out to one chair he's being tied to every year.

secret - perth - speaking of bad boy aesthetics and BL, well. here we have the current (and perhaps forever) on screen partner of the s in jasp (it's an acronym) doing the same thing.

teedee tada - diamond narakorn - i think, on some level, that nobody should ever get to be even a little bit famous until they're at the VERY least, like, twenty-three. i worry about what the entertainment industry does to people and i worry about young people even more. however. diamond is so so young (19) and so so talented, and when he danced to this with lego (18) of LYKN (another boyband) they were fully just, like, displaying a level of skill and stage presence that many people in their industry who are closer to twice their age could only dream of.

เสนอตัว (Ooh!) - pp krit - no one in these spaces is doing quite what pp krit does, and he does it so well. after several of his music videos i think that every dystopian landscape belongs to him now, actually.

แม่เกี่ยว - palmy - look! i've listened to an album or two, and i liked it, but i don't think any of her other songs will ever make it to my on repeat list. this one, however, may still be stuck for the foreseeable future.

stand by หล่อ - new country / นิวคันทรี่ - i love this one because it's fun, but also because hearing it reminds me of how much i love the english subtitles for their MV. they're clever! they translated the wordplays in ways that make them work in english while keeping the same type of corny joke, and! it still rhymes!!! (a donut has a hole, when can you and me be whole? nonsensically perfect! stand by ror/on mute, stand by lor/on cute? INCREDIBLE. and so on.) new country songs genuinely have some of the best translation work in their subtitles i've seen in any thai media i've watched, and why! for what reason! < not something i'm asking to make them stop, i'm just happily baffled.

เอาเลยมั้ย (let's try) - khaotung thanawat - iconic! probably still my favorite original soundtrack for any gmmtv series ever, and dear god, have i watched a lot of them by now. i think this may also be the song that's been in my on repeat list the longest, not just out of these random 10, but out of the whole list.

เพื่อนผมเกมได้ไง - TaitosmitH - the most fun song i've ever heard about pleading with a police officer not to arrest your friend because he's such a good guy and his wife just died and his son has polio (and you've got bribe money). also though: taitosmith!! [once again everyone nods because they understand that i've said enough]

i will tag @localsealboy (entirely of my own volition, with zero hints) @redgoldblue @the-arya-silvertongue @theartichokesarepurple, @smileylover99 @actingcamplibrarian @wenceslas @girlonastring @spaceradars @msbeeinmybonnet, and anyone who reads this and feels like it. with no pressure, of course! (and no need to do anything except post song titles. i just have things to say.)

[hotarutranslations]

Lots of News In Taiwan!!

Evening

Not just for the people of Taiwan,

It seems that many articles and videos have arrived to, Everyone in Japan as well���

Press conferences on special stages, A press conference with a lot of reporters, We really got to do this,

Since a lot of the articles have been published,

I'll gather them on a blog!

Translator Note: there are 40 articles Ayumi pastes and they are all in Chinese (I cannot read Chinese). Please go to her blog directly to read them if you would like! Link to her blog is at the end of this post!

Hold on that's a lot more than I had expected😂😂

I pasted all of the information, that was compiled so,

(I put the links and titles together to make it easier to read..)

While pasting it, In the middle I thought, Huh? Its not ending? and I got anxious⚠️ lol

(I'm sorry if this isn't everything because I forgot to post it..)

Although this is a lot!!!

With Morning Musume '24, About the Album, About the live viewing on 12/6, About being the store manager for 1 day at the collab cafe, And about holding the pop-up shop,

Also,

We talk about Rairi wanting to overcome bubble tea🧋

Taiwanese shrimp mayo has pineapple in it, and we talk about how it was surprising but delicious🍍

I talked about how I'm glad I came before I graduated🕺

And about how my photobook was shot in Taiwan,

…that's what was published, Thank you very much for the many articles🗞

For 3 newspaper companies, it was also published on paper🗞 That's amazing, I'm happy🗞

From there I,

Just wanted to understand the titles, so I thought about translating and reading them but,

There were also subtitles in the thumbnails on YouTube,

It seems like "first job one time job of my life", has the meaning of "first part time job in my life"⚡️

Today was the day, Where w were the store managers for the day at the collab cafe☕*°

With our names on the aprons, We provided todays limited sweets plate to the fans (about 40 people)🧁

But everyone, Even with the cute sweets in front of me,

I was being told "Ayumin is cute",

ALso the 3 of us talked a bit, As we were talking, Since everyone stopped eating their sweets, We were like, lets eat our macaron allll together💮ྀི💮ྀི

This kind of event was fresh!!

It was a day that was like a 1 day experience, because we were overseas🎈

All of the fans in Taiwan, You conveyed your loved beyond the language barrier, Feelings of love is the same around the world-- I was able to feel that☺️🫶🏻

This is my 5th time going to Taiwan, including for my photobook..

When I first went, it was for the 2012 world handshake event!!! I was first year since joining!!!

So for myself, Coming again like this before graduating, For the first time with my juniors, I'm happy I came to Taiwan🪽

I certainly hope that Morning Musume, Will have a concert in Taiwan again!

(picture)

Self introduction, Thank you, Thank you for your support, Please, It was delicious, Cute, Is it Cute? Welcome, Looks delicious, Its delicious, Bubble tea, Fukumura Mizuki, Kudou Haruka, Ikuta Erina, Oda Sakura,

I remember that I said that☺️🫶🏻

I've returned home! I'm home------

Morning Musume '24 Ishida Ayumi Graduation Commemoration "Graduaton Memorial CD"🍀

Preorder Deadline is November 22nd🍀

Photobook On Sale🤍

see you ayumin <3

[mortallyclearwonderland]

Top 10 Worst Polish DUBs

As I said in my previous posts about the top 10 best Polish dubbings I don't think there are any true terrible Polish dubbings where every single person is bad. But there are a few badly voiced characters. But let's start this list with one and only, the myth the legend. . .

The Lector! For some of us, it's a nostalgic part of childhood others have no idea what I'm talking about. A lector is a person who does all the characters' voices. In the past, all movies were dubbed but then the Soviets attacked, brought communism, and having a one-person dub was cheaper. Communism is gone (hopefully forever) but lectors stayed thanks to the nostalgia, many people just got used to them. Now we can choose whether we want to watch the original with subtitles, the original with lector, or dubbing. I will say this, there are movies and shows where it works and where it doesn't work. The most surprising aspect of a lector is that it's not only him/her talking but you can still hear the original audio in the background. At first, it sounds weird and it is but it has its benefits. Thanks to it you can still enjoy the original performances while understanding what's going on. It helps with learning other languages. And it's fun watching the differences between the translation and the original because they're not word for word the same. It's like watching two movies at the same time. It also gives off the feeling like you're being told a story which can be very atmospheric. As if your grandpa or dad is reading you a bedtime story, especially when the lector's voice is so beautiful, warm and nice. Movies where it works are ''Home Alone'', ''AntZ'' and ''Corpse Bride''. The worst implementation of a lector was ''My Hero Academia''. There are too many characters talking over each other and the lector can't keep up with the dialogue while maintaining his ''lector'' voice. Let's all be glad we can so many ways to watch movies.

2. ''Totally Spies'' was on the list of the top 10 best Polish dubbings, so what's it doing here? Similar to how English voice actors changed since the 6th season because the show changed channels, so did the Polish voices. And while it's quite gearing change, especially if you grew up with the original cast the new voice actors do a good job and you can get used to them.

Except for one!

Mandy. Remember how I said I hated high-pitched voices? Well her voice actress has taken it to 11! I know Mandy is supposed to be an obnoxious and annoying character but that doesn't mean her voice has to be like nails on the chalkboard! I heard the same voice actress a couple of times but not for so long and not so loud. And her laugh. . . I had to stop episodes and take breaks from watching because I couldn't listen to her anymore. The previous 5 seasons I finished in about a week. I still haven't finished the last one because I dread listening to Mandy again. And now I have to get used to the new voices again. Let's hope the new season gets the old cast back. Or they might change voices for the third time. One thing's for sure, they can't be worse than Mandy from season 6. Right?

3. Steven Universe, more precisely Peridot. Her VA sounds too old. I know Gems are supposed to be thousands of years old but from the way Peridot acts and looks she's more of a teen/young woman/older woman but not a grandma! And I hate how they didn't translate ''Homeworld''.

4. Toad from X-Men Evolution. He's voiced by Jarosław Boberek, one of the best VAs in Poland, King Julian, an icon but he just doesn't fit the character. He emotes perfectly, he's funny, and fits his personality. But that's a voice of an old man coming from a teen boy. If he was in his 20s I could believe it or even if he was drawn to look more mature like other boys, but as is, it's just awkward.

5. Like I said there aren't many bad Polish dubbings (in my opinion), so from now on I will list problems and mistakes which happens in almost every dubbing but are still annoying. This one occurs mostly when translating but it can also happen in the original. I call it ''different episode, different voice''. It usually refers to the background characters. Their roles are so small that they don't have one VA but just any random person who was in the studio and had time to say one or two lines. It's usually fine when watching a show on TV but when you binge-watch it you start to notice or even when you just have a good memory and know they sounded differently. Sometimes it's so bad that they change voices during the episodes. It becomes even more distracting when a seemingly small, one-off character becomes more and more prominent. It's not always the translators' fault, they can't read in creators' minds. But after some point, when a character is sure to stay and be a permanent part of the show, more consistency would've been appreciated. Some of the examples include ''Gravity Falls'' and ''The Amazing World of Gumball''.

[thequeenofsastiel]

Not Me Episode 5 Review

Let's take it from the top:

So this may just be a cultural thing, but I don't know why White sees Eugene and Gram hugging and infers that they must be in a romantic/sexual relationship. I have plenty of male friends and I hug them all. Is there more of a taboo on men and women hugging platonically in Thailand? Or perhaps in Russia, given that White spent a huge chunk of time there? Speaking of which, shouldn't White have at least a mild Russian accent at this point?

Todd's weird smirk when White calls very much gives off a "look it's the guy I'm manipulating" vibe. I feel fairly confident at this point that Todd is working for Tawi. He's way too interested in what the plans of Black's gang are. Plus the fact that he knows about what happened to Black while no one else in Black's life does makes him extra suspicious. Why is White not suspicious? Who IS this dude to him? Oh, and, given this:

I'm starting to wonder if Todd has feelings for Black. And that perhaps his flirtatiousness with White wasn't about manipulating White, but because Todd couldn't help himself. Not that him having feelings for Black would preclude him working to take down Black's gang. Especially if Black rejected him.

White's temper tantrum upon seeing Namo sleeping next to Sean was a beautiful thing to behold. Every time we've seen White be aggressive and rude so far it's when he's been trying to pretend to be Black. But this time it was all White, and Gun did an excellent job at showing us the difference between the two. There was no cockiness, no being upset about something that White clearly doesn't want to be upset about. There was true anger in him, and the difference was palpable.

This was such an interesting moment for both of them. White can't make sense of Sean's behavior, and Sean can't make sense of his. The vulnerable and desperate look in White's eyes when he asks what Sean wants from him not only is (almost certainly) another departure from Black's normal behavior, but the question itself is one Sean has probably been avoiding asking himself. And for White, I think the question is also aimed at himself. What does he want from Sean? Why did seeing Sean sleeping with Namo upset him so much?

So I just went to look up the name of Gram's class friend because I couldn't remember it, and she wasn't even listed among the cast despite the fact that she's appeared in 3 out of the 5 episodes that have aired so far, which makes me wonder about her existence. It's clear that her purpose is to be the mouth of the government. I suspect she needs to be there so that the show will be allowed to exist. But she isn't listed amongst the cast. So I have to wonder if her presence was added later, because the show was too radical. Thus far nothing that she's said or done has had any impact on the plot or characters. You could remove her and the show would make the exact same amount of sense.

Anyway, the only reason I wanted to know was to say that the translation of the topic they were discussing wasn't clear enough for me to form an opinion about it and that annoyed me. Normally I don't get annoyed when subtitles aren't great unless they make the show entirely incomprehensible, but I really want to understand what they're talking about here.

We got some more of Gumpa's Chekov's Gun boot camp training. And look, maybe I'm just a scaredy cat, but it feels like having your group risk their lives by jumping across a not insubstantially large gap between buildings when it's not necessary is a mistake.

I can't lie, when Gumpa said "YOLO" I could NOT stop laughing for way too long.

Either this is a bad translation or I'm just missing something, but I don't get what he meant by this.

Given the fact that Gumpa didn't seem surprised at all by White's fear, and how quick he was to dismiss Sean and Yok's concerns about "Black" I think I have to agree with those who think Gumpa knows. Though admittedly, given that he knows nothing about White, and the fact that the gang is doing very illegal things, I have to wonder why he's helping White instead of ratting him out. If I was in his position, my first thought after realizing that Black had a twin who was impersonating him would be to wonder what had happened to Black. So does Gumpa know that Black got beaten up somehow? And if he does how can he be certain that White didn't have a hand in it? I don't know, nothing about his behavior makes sense, whether he knows or doesn't.

I was deeply unimpressed by White telling Gram that if consumers don't like the prices of the goods they're buying that they should just produce their own. My dude. Come on. And what did he mean by "If Tawi follows the law, then his actions are not wrong from a legal point of view. But when it comes to morality and justice, we need to demonstrate it and let society decide." Demonstrate it in what way?

Well, it looks like White has blown his cover with Gram too.

Ngl, I love Yok, but I think I would find his giant smile upon rediscovering me more than a little unsettling. Still, the two have really good chemistry.

I like how when the cops came, Dan's immediate thought was that he couldn't let Yok get caught.

It's not entirely astonishing that Dan is/was a cop. Sometimes you only see how messed up something is when you're in the midst of it.

Obviously the people who attacked White at the end were the other members of the gang(though I'm not sure whether Gumpa was a part). It does make me wonder about the promo though. How does White convince them to let him go? Does he reveal himself? Or is this just another boot camp training exercise?

Idk what it is, but I didn't like this episode as much as previous ones. I think it's because this episode had fewer "call out the corrupt government" moments and more "the corrupt government defends itself" moments. But I can't really judge the show for this. I know what they want to say, and if they have to let the government have its say in order to get their point across, then I can't begrudge them for making that bargain.

8/10

[capesandshapes]

All You Had to Do Was Stay (Post Reveal/ Pre Relationship) (1/4)

Thanks to LNC for the title!

Summary:

Three years ago, Marinette revealed her identity to him. Three years ago, he promised to wait in a hotel room for her. Three years ago, she opened the door to find it empty.

Now she's expected to play nice with him, since she's the maid of honor and he's unfortunately the best man. But old habits die hard, and old feelings die harder.

"This is a wedding, not a death march, Marinette."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Things that need to be done before Alya Cesaire could marry Nino Lahiffe:

1. Designs combining both Martinique culture and Réunion style needed to be made for the whole wedding party. Everyone should get to have a say in what they wear.

2. The video of Alya dancing overenthusiastically to the cupid shuffle needed to be removed from Lila Rossi’s Instagram, lest Nino’s nana see and wonder what type of woman he’s marrying.

3. The cake tasting needed to be had. Marinette needed to make sure that her parents didn’t go overboard and keep the couple for the whole night. Even if Alya was practically their daughter. Even if they begged. Even if papa cried.

4. A totally unique and unreplicable combination Bachelor and Bachelorette party needed to be planned.

And, lastly… The most difficult of all:

5. Marinette somehow needed to be able to stand in a room with Nino’s best man, Adrien, and hold a conversation for more than five minutes. Even if, three years ago, he found out her identity, left Paris, and broke her heart.

“Easy,” Marinette groaned, sinking further into her barstool as she closed her notes app, her head touching the counter of the bar. She’d already crossed off the top two of the list items, and yet…

“I’m not asking for a miracle,” Alya began, obviously knowing what she was thinking about. She was the one to ask Marinette out that night, wanting to find out her progress… and also to check in on her wellbeing. It was obvious that she felt bad, she knew how things went between the two and how Marinette originally thought they would go. But she couldn’t just ask Nino not to have Adrien be his best man. “Five minutes, that’s all I’m asking. Just five minutes in a room together. You quickly plan the bachelorette party, since we know that you’re far too organized not to, give him the run down, and then leave. Back to your life, back to doing whatever it is you do now.”

“Sit at home. Alone,” Marinette supplied.

Alya grimaced. “It’s for the best that Luka got married, Marinette. You couldn’t keep playing that game. All that kiss and tell was gonna kill you some day.”

Marinette groaned, somehow sinking further into the wood of the bar. Anymore and she’d become part of the grain.

“Plus, Juleka’s in a better mood with you now,” Alya said, obviously looking at the other young woman as she undoubtedly danced on the floor with Rose. Marinette’s habit of coming back to Paris and making out with her brother had obviously put a strain on their relationship, even if Luka insisted that things weren’t committal and he was totally fine with only seeing her twice a year. “Who knows, maybe Nino will have a handsome cousin and you’ll fall madly in love.”

Marinette raised the side of her head to cast Alya a glare from one eye.

Alya didn’t falter. “So, he’s back. After spending three years in New York, Milan, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. I get it, it’s life changing, it’s world ending, it’s all the things you don’t want and more—especially after how things ended,” Marinette groaned, Alya carried on, “but, you know who else is back? Max, Rose, unfortunately Lila, and Kim. Good old Kim. All your friends, everyone who you’ve known for years, everyone who has missed you as you flitted in and out of Paris! Sure, you found out that Adrien was Chat Noir, went to his hotel room, thought you were finally going to get together, and then opened the door to find it empty—but you know, life happens! And when you least expect it, it keeps going on and on and on and on!”

Marinette turned her face back to the wood.

“I really did try to get Nino to change his mind,” Alya said flatly. “I begged.” Marinette doubted it, but…

“Why couldn’t he just stay in New York?” Marinette mumbled.

“Because Nino is his best friend.”

“Why couldn’t Nino go to New York,” Marinette said, “or Adrien done a zoom call for the wedding.”

Alya snorted. “Okay, that’s it,” she said, grabbing Marinette’s arm. “Adrien’s landing today, nothing’s going to stop it, you just have to clear your head and power on.” She leaned into Marinette’s view as her friend finally turned her head, insistently stating, “you were Ladybug for god’s sake. Even if no one else knows it, you do. I do. You gotta suit up, lovebug, and face the day, lest another evil butterfly come flying by.” Never mind the fact that there hadn’t been an Akuma in years.

Not since Gabriel Agreste was arrested.

Marinette rolled her eyes, finally lifting herself off the bar.

“There’s my girl,” Alya said. “Now, finish your dirty shirley, order another drink, and come do karaoke with me. I’m a hundred percent certain that I saw Say You’ll Be There on the song list, and you know that I’ve been singing Spice Girls since I was in diapers.”

--------------------------

Marinette stumbled into her apartment at one am. Not drunk, she didn’t get drunk, not out in public at bars. In friends’ apartments, maybe. She was still a bit tipsy which was, in its own way, dangerous. But she could fight through it, maybe.

Kicking off her heels, she looked at it, the studio she called home and had once been so proud of a few years back, the same studio she’d lived in ever since she was a fashion design student. The same one in which she’d left Chat knocking on her balcony door when she struggled to stay asleep, and eventually relented to let him in time and time again before he knew who she was.

“Someday, I’m going to move,” she grumbled, beginning to pull the bobby pins from her hair. She wouldn’t, of course, not for a long time. Rent-controlled apartments were rare, and while she pretended that the history that practically stained her hardwood floors was something she would rather forget, she was a nostalgic young woman. She’d be there for at least another five years, or until she was finally well and truly over Chat.

Five years would probably come first.

She passed by the photos washi taped to her walls, the ones where fourteen-year-old kids gave toothy smiles and eighteen-year-old young women gave winks while leaning into blond young men. If she was so concerned about history, she’d have to get rid of those first.

She sighed, finally removing the last bobby pin from her hair and letting it fall down her back, placing the black pin in one of the many bowls around her apartment placed for that very reason. Adrien would be in Paris by then, she was sure. He was probably sound asleep in the Agreste mansion.

“Welcome home, kitty,” she said sarcastically, beginning to climb the steps to her lofted bedroom, a space that was not unlike her childhood room.

This wasn’t how she expected things to be.

Of course, this wasn’t how anyone expected things to be. If you asked anyone, they told you how the story ended. Ladybug and Chat Noir finally got together, they were hiding in Paris somewhere, they were in love. They probably had kids, a dog, a hamster—normal jobs and normal lives. That was what the people of Paris wanted. She thought that that was the ending they would get.

She thought that when she went to the hotel room that night, he would be there. She thought that he was happy to know who she was. She thought that he loved her.

She thought wrong.

Marinette always thought wrong.

She thought she could get over him. She thought making out with Luka was a solution, one that she could keep trying every time she went to Paris. She thought that she would miss Adrien more than Chat, the promise of love more than sitting in her bed and watching subtitled anime while he mouthed the English translations.

By now, she thought she’d be waking up to someone else. That maybe she’d have a steady life, someone to wrap their arms around her in the morning.

Adulthood hits hard.

“Adrien Agreste,” she said, flopping back in her bed and pulling open her phone. She wasn’t above social media stalking.

There he was. Gold hair, tanned skin, too many muscles to know what to do with. Landed in Paris four hours ago, his Instagram posted a picture of him with his arm around Nino. His eyes were still kind, his smile still flawless. Her heart still pounded.

“Jerk,” she muttered, letting her phone fall down beside her. “I didn’t need you anyway,” except for all those times she did. Like when she put the earrings back in the box and said goodbye to one of her closest friends. She could have used him then.

She could have used him a lot of times.

Her eyes stayed glued to the ceiling, her chest rising and falling with every breath. There was no sound, no doting kwami, no laughter from her parents, and no Alya playing with her hair. Just her.

“Now I’m going to see you and fall in love with you all over again,” she said, wishing she could steel herself against the inevitable.

[habitual-irony]

Epik High — “Catch” English lyrics

The official English translation can be found in the CC subtitles of the visualizer. Mine is, in places, more of a word-for-word translation of the Korean.

I cannot complain though, ‘Cuz they know That even if they poke me, It’s just a waste of time.

I can never lose. What you haters gon’ do? (What you gon’ do?) Doobi-doobi-doo. I don’t make the rules. (You’ll never catch me) putting on a noose. (Amen) God is real; I’m the living proof. Wishing that we fail? That’s a delusion. Epik High, new shit to make your car sound good.

It’s all time high. Baby, I’ve been on one My whole life, pupils blown wide. It wasn’t easy, but I did it. I’m not just self-made, but handmade— Success made with my hands. They all pick out my personality that they’ve never seen. My MBTI is IDGAF. Said you used to support me? All right, thank you very much And fuck you.

I cannot complain though, ‘Cuz they know That even if they poke me, It’s just a waste of time. K, thanks though, Oo oo oo. Bye bye, so be well. Bye bye, don’t gotta see me out.

Even if I go a little slow, Even if I stop, out of breath, Even if I fall for a moment, You’ll never catch me. Don’t worry ‘bout me. Even in the darkness, I’ll shine like a diamond. You’ll never catch me.

(We’re back!) Even if we bet failure, We’ve got better odds of winning than you who’s picking fights. Covering your eyes is just obscuring your path. You follow by stepping in our footprints. When we’re going downhill, we slide on the clouds. We take a Flying Nimbus over hostility, opportunity, and jealousy. Even when we trip and fall to the ground, We dance within despair, like boom boom pow. Like my road’s been determined from birth, see me. Been friends with the stage for 20 years. It’s lighter than ever, the weight on my shoulders. At last, music isn’t my job, but my pastime. I’ve forgotten the weariness of life— Lost in happiness, your sense of reality breaks. Even if indifferent time covers over the memories, We’re still on an all time high.

I cannot complain though, ‘Cuz they know That even if they poke me, It’s just a waste of time. K, thanks though, Oo oo oo. Bye bye, so be well. Bye bye, don’t gotta see me out.

Even if I go a little slow, Even if I stop, out of breath, Even if I fall for a moment, You’ll never catch me. Don’t worry ‘bout me. Even in the darkness, I’ll shine like a diamond. You’ll never catch me.

Call me When you’re feeling down. Before you hit the ground, I’ll be there to catch you.

Call me When you’re feeling down. Before you hit the ground, I’ll be there to catch you.

Call me When you’re feeling down. Before you hit the ground, I’ll be there to catch you.

Baby, When you’re feeling down, I’ll always be around To catch you when you fall.

I cannot complain though, ‘Cuz they know That even if they poke me, It’s just a waste of time. K, thanks though, Oo oo oo. Bye bye, so be well. Bye bye, don’t gotta see me out. (Catch.) (Catch.)

[struggle-but-its-all-ocean-floor]

My baby Jungkook, I love you so much!!! He looked so pretty with his hair straight and tucked behind his ears during the dance rehearsal <3. I've realized I don't really like it when they curl his hair, like during the WC performance. Obviously, he looked good, but the wet, stringy hair look is a disservice to his beauty imo.

I didn't know he doubled the chorus in Dreamers. I think the lead vocals in the chorus were originally the part he had to do in a falsetto because it was too high to do in full voice, but they eventually used his backing vocals, which were in a lower register, as the chorus? It sounds much better that way. I think Jungkook made that song his own. The guide was cool, but his voice is funner and nicer to listen to.

He mentioned the members, as is the Bangtan tradition. He thought they'd all perform together but, nope, it was just him, poor baby. It's cute that he said the members watching him gave him strength first, and only after mentioned Army. BTS love BTS the most <3.

I loved the episode so much. I missed him!! I love behind the scenes of the recording process and dance practices. He gave a lot of input for the performance! The parts in the performance where he greets Fahad in the main stage and then they each step down to the side stage, where Jungkook dances, and meet back up in the main stage in the end, were all him. I thought the formations were great and they were all him! He had the idea to do the choreo along with the dancers too! I think he wanted Fahad to dance with him as well, poor guy. He doesn't realize that even "simple" choreo is hard when you don't know how to dance haha. He's a really great, consummate performer. I love that he insisted on having his translator tell the dancers they were all so cool and that he couldn't dance half as good (not true though!). He really respects and appreciates all artists (it reminds me of the time he stopped to watch a street performer in Malta and applauded and gave her a tip once she finished playing, or how he covered Fahad's parts in his recent live even though the karaoke instrumental didn't include them). Also, I knew the dancers were much better than they looked during the WC and I was right. They put those poor guys in ugly, restraining outfits and I don't think they could move very freely.

Of course Jungkook wasn't fully satisfied with his performance, but he did a great job! So far, he was probably the least nervous member to be performing alone though, but J-Hope had a whole setlist, not just one song, and Jungkook, truth be told, has more experience doing big stages alone (eg. We Don't Talk Anymore with Charlie Puth, plus all the times he takes the stage first as the center of the group). Still, he only realized he was nervous when the stage ended haha. He was like, "Army were more nervous than me", but then realized he'd been nervous too. That happens to me a lot.

Anyway, we finally got behind the scenes of the Dreamers recording and the Qatar performance! My day is made <3 I missed Jungkook so much. I know he's been doing lives, but I can't actually watch them live (and definitely not with subtitles), and I can't, for some reason, watch them on Weverse either. I love hearing his thoughts and seeing him in high definition too, which doesn't really happen in his lives...

My baby, I'm so proud of you <3

[babymetaldoll]

The morning after (Spilling drinks on my settee part 2) Spencer Reid/Reader

Requested: Yes! it’s my first request! thank you, anon!! 

Prompt: Hungover Spencer has to face Reader after she caught him drunk, puking outside her house. He also has to face Morgan’s teasing after he confessed he was in love with Reader.

Pairing: Spencer/Reader 

Warnings: none 

Category: Fluff

Word count: 1,9K 

Part one here

Masterlist 

.

If it had been up to Spencer, he would have never left his bed that day. As soon as he opened his eyes, the headache that hit him made him realize that was going to be a long day. A long and shitty day. 

He sat on his bed slowly ‘cos the whole room was spinning. He was still fully dressed, why? There was puke on his shoes and pants… and a Gatorade on his nightstand? He was confused, he didn’t leave that there, right? no… maybe? he didn’t really remember. Why was he still dressed? he didn’t remember. How did he get home? he didn’t remember

- “Shit!”

Until he did. 

There was a flash of embarrassment, guilt, and nausea on his face, suddenly it was all coming back. 

- “Shit!”

That was the only word Spencer could use. He had gotten drunk, confessed to Morgan he was in love with (Y/N), he had actually tried to…

- “Shit!”

Maybe alcohol had managed to unplug a part of Reid’s brain, ‘cos apparently, “shit” was the only thing he was able to pronounce, at least for a few minutes.  

All the embarrassing memories of the night before kept coming back to his mind, they were fragments of someone else’s life he was watching from outside. It was all too humiliating. (Y/N) saw him puking outside her house. He was outside her house ‘cos he wanted to know why she had been out on a date with a guy from a dating website. He had told Morgan he loved her, and nearly cried. 

Spencer Walter Reid was doomed, and he knew it. It was going to take a lot of courage, patience, and Gatorade to go through that day. 

His cellphone kept buzzing, but once he realized it wasn’t a case, but (Y/N) and Morgan trying to reach him, he ignored it the whole subway ride to work. He couldn’t even read, his brain wasn’t working, he couldn’t concentrate at all. He just wanted to disappear forever. What had he done? how could he ever face (Y/N) after what happened? And what if Morgan had already told everyone what happened? of course he had, Reid thought, and his red cheeks were now purple. 

Humiliation was written across his face and his stomach tightened as he set foot into the bullpen. He took a quick look around and sighed relieved. Apparently, there was no one else there yet, the whole place seemed empty, although there was a fresh cup of coffee with extra sugar on his desk, a grilled cheese sandwich, and a chocolate frosted donut with sprinkles. 

That could only mean one thing. 

- “Hey, how are you feeling this morning?”- Spencer froze in panic and turned around very, very slowly. His heart was beating so fast, he was sure (Y/N) could listen to it. She was waving at him with a shy smile on her face. She didn’t look mad, or uncomfortable. She looked… worried. 

- “H… he… hey, (Y/N)-” he stuttered and waved. He knew he had to say something- anything- but nothing seemed to come to mind. He was literally speechless. 

- “How are you feeling?”

- “G… g… good, I’m good, I’m ok”- Spencer wanted to slap himself. He was humiliated already, but his behavior wasn’t making it any better. He had to put his shit together somehow.

- “I’m glad”- she sighed relieved, rubbing his arm sweetly, and her touch made him shiver right away. He tried to smile at her, but he was left speechless again. It was a painful scene to see. 

- “I was worried sick, you didn’t pick up your phone earlier”- Reid just nodded and looked down.

- “I got you the best recipe to cure your hangover, coffee of course, and I filled half the cup with sugar, just the way you like it”- the way (Y/N) stuck out her tongue and giggled, hypnotized him.

- “I made you a grilled cheese sandwich, I don't know how many times you've woken up feeling like shit after a party, but I'm pretty sure I’ve got a lot more experience than you, and greasy food always helps me coming back to life.”

Spencer nodded, trying to follow the conversation, but his brain was still malfunctioning and his head was pounding sharp and heavy. 

- “And your favorite donut 'cos you need extra sugar”

- “Thanks”- his voice was a sweet whisper. (Y/N) looked at him worried and rubbed a hand on his arm gently again.

- “Are you gonna tell me what the fuck happened last night?”- the painful grimace on Spencer's face was enough.

- “I'm just worried something bad happened to you “

- “No, no, no”- he shook his head frenetically and regretted the movement immediately. His head was killing him- “I just couldn't handle my drinks, that's all.”

- “Are you sure?”- lying to profilers could be the hardest thing on earth.

- “Yeah, yeah”

- “Good, I was worried you were going to call in sick…”- there was a short silence between them, they just stared at each other and sighed. 

(Y/N) couldn’t stop thinking he had called her “Buttercup” and didn’t know how to ask him to do it again, and again, every day. And Reid had no idea what to do next. So he just said the first thing that came to mind.  

- “Did you know hangovers are estimated to cost $148 billion each year due to hangover individuals calling in sick to work or performing poorly on the job.”  

- “Pretty boy!!”

Derek’s voice walking over them made Spencer’s heart stop in fear, he just waved at his friend with his less expressive smile - the one (Y/N) called “frog face”- and just prayed to whatever god that might exist, that Morgan wouldn’t embarrass him more than he was already. 

- “How are you feeling today, kid?”

- “I’m ok, thanks” 

- “You are lucky there’s no case, yet”- Dr. Reid nodded and looked around, trying to find a way to run away from Morgan and (Y/N). 

- “Nice breakfast”

- “I thought he was going to need extra energy today”- the young woman smiled proudly- “And when are you going to explain to me what happened last night? why did you let him get that drunk?”

Morgan knew (Y/N) was going to be mad at him, so he just looked at Spencer and waited to see if he had made up any lie already 

- “I… I told you, I just couldn’t keep up with Derek”

- “Yeah”- his friend immediately supported his lie. Which wasn’t a complete lie- “I pushed Reid to drink at my pace, and I guess pretty boy ain’t ready to drink like a man.”

On a regular day, Spencer would have hated that last comment, ‘cos he was sick and tired of his friend treating him like a toddler. But under those circumstances, he just nodded and tried to stay calm. 

- “And why were you outside my house?” 

- “We were looking for a cab, started walking… and Reid remembered you live close to the bar”- Spencer’s eyes opened wide at those words- “And he wanted to stop by.”

- “No I didn’t”- Reid knew he would lose in a fight with Derek, but he was willing to give it a try and punch him if that successfully stopped him from talking.  

- “Kid, you were drunk, you don’t remember, but you wanted to stop by and see (Y/N)”- the girl looked at Reid and bit her lips

- “Is that so? you got drunk and started thinking of me?”

Spencer couldn’t speak. He felt his hands shaking, so he hid them in his pockets and tried to come up with anything, literally anything to say. But he had nothing.  

- “Yes, pretty boy wanted to see you…”- Morgan just smiled, tapped on Spencer’s back, and walked away chuckling. He knew Reid needed a push to open up to (Y/N). Maybe this was what he needed. 

- “Why did you think of me?”- (Y/N) was now intrigued and excited. Drunk Reid was a whole new side of her friend, and the fact he had dragged Derek to her house when he was intoxicated gave her a little hope. Maybe he liked her too, the way she was head over feet for him.

- “I…”- Spencer was chocking with words, he turned around, grabbed the coffee, and took a sip of it. 

- “You?”

- “I don’t remember”- disappointment was written all over (Y/N)’s face. They just stared. Spencer drank his coffee and the girl simply sighed. 

- “I see”- he could read there was something there, but he didn’t want to get his hopes high. He was sure (Y/N) could never feel the same way he did. Right?

- “Can I ask you something?”- he whispered- “Why didn’t you tell me about the dating website?”

Now (Y/N) was embarrassed. She couldn’t take her eyes from her friend’s as she kept thinking about what to say. How to lie? 

- “It wasn’t important, Prentiss forced me, I didn’t want to do it”- she simply confessed and smiled- “Why?” 

- “I don’t know, it was weird, I thought… well…”

- “You know I tell you everything important”- (Y/N) wanted to make sure Spencer understood that the date had meant nothing. 

- “And… are you planning to do it again?”

- “Never”- the smile on her lips was so honest, Spencer’s heart was relieved- “So, tomorrow’s Saturday, got any plan?”- those words, they were music for his ears. 

- “Actually, there is a Russian horror movie festival tomorrow night, they’ll be showing Solaris, Viy, and Lyumi”

- “Original Russian, I presume”

- “But this time I’m pretty sure there will be subtitles”- (Y/N) pouted disappointed.

- “Bummer, I like when you have to translate the whole movie for me”- and she meant it, having Reid whispering every word in her ear for two hours was the closest she had been to heaven in her entire life. The young doctor chuckled with a huge grin and turned to his desk again. 

- “Usually, translation doesn’t represent the intention behind the dialog…”- Reid was full of it and he knew it, but he had nothing to lose and lot to win- “So if you want, I can still whisper the English version for you”.

Those last words left his lips as quickly as possible, ‘cos he was embarrassed. 

- “Then it’s a date”- her smile was bigger than imagined when she turned around and started walking to her desk. 

Was it a date? why did she say that? Reid tried to stay cool and not overthink everything, but it was Reid, which meant it was hard, nearly impossible. Overthinking was his thing. 

He wanted to go out on a date with (Y/N), but… was that actually a date? what if he brought flowers for her and she didn’t mean “date” as a date but just as two friends going out together? that would be mortifying. 

(Y/N) didn’t know if Spencer had thought she wanted it to be a real date. She did, she just didn’t know if she was asking or if he had or… 

Yes, they were both excellent overthinkers. 

- “Hey, honey”- if she was already embarrassed and anxious about using the word “date”, she could always make it worst.

Spencer turned to look at her he took a bite of his sandwich. 

- “It was really sweet last night when you called me Buttercup”- Reid nearly choked. He had completely forgotten about it, and suddenly he felt the urge to run and hide. But he couldn’t even move. He couldn’t even swallow the food he was chewing 

- “You had never called me by a nickname before…”- she bit her lips and took a deep breath- “I loved it… in case you want to use it again.”

Spencer nodded and watched his best friend walk away to get herself a coffee. He could feel someone else’s eyes on him from across the office. Morgan winked at him and nodded. 

- “Nice, kid”

.

[tundrainafrica]

Hi, I saw antis picking on this ship with arguments like“Levi finds her annoying/he hates her”. Funny thing is that I started shipping them when I noticed how Levi, despite his annoyed look, would stick around Hange and take the initiative to tease her, again and again. I like Moblit and Petra, but I can't see Levi teasing P or Hange teasing M. To me Levi and Hange have one of the most intriguing relationshiship. They kinda carry the vibe of when Harry Met Sally.

You are so right. I hate it when people say that Levi hates Hange. Where in canon has Levi ever shown that he hated Hange? Sure, he gets a little annoyed at her but who doesn’t get annoyed at people.

And the fact that he’s visibly showing his annoyance and he’s constantly picking on her, making jokes and messing with her shows that he’s comfortable more than anything right? 

And Levi is generally a crass person with a resting bitch face. I don’t think he has ever approached ANYONE with an A grade customer service attitude. And when he approaches Hange, he just looks like an asshole because of his RBF but when he talks to Hange, I feel like with the way he approaches her is just notably more crass because that’s generally how he is and he’s just more comfortable being himself around her. 

And he doesn’t even look angry 90% of the time he talks to her? It’s just an RBF. I mean this is how angry Levi looks like and every time Levi’s angry it’s always for good reason. 

Like for example when his comrades almost die. 

Or when they actually die. 

He just has an incredibly crass way of speaking. He has no filter or at least doesn’t bother to employ it and Hange just takes the brunt of it. And doesn’t that just mean he feels no need to filter anything?  

Sure he says things which seem insulting but has he ever said something below the belt to Hange? His humor towards Hange is incredibly tamed that most people would interpret it as friendly banter especially if they got it from a close friend right? And maybe that just means he doesn’t think to low of her at all that he would say shit like that. 

And we’ve seen how Levi insults Nile or the Military Police or the rich people calling them pigs. It isn’t beyond Levi to be incredibly offensive even as a joke. 

I mean look at his jokes?

“Eren, this is still better than getting dissected by people like her right?”

The Cockroach Scene?

“Just one kick would have been enough to blast it to bits.”

And obviously the famous: 

“The abnormal titan is over here scene.” 

But really our soft boi just wants her attention. Look at him. 

Come on, the rock scene?

“Is staring at rocks some depressing new hobby of yours?” A.k.a “Stare at me. Not the rocks.”

Does Levi look angry in any of them? Honestly the interactions are so endearing. 

None of the jokes are below the belt at all? How is this hate?

And fudge, while I’m watching Levihan interactions again. I found a little gem. 

When Hange gets injured in season 3, we get this scene. 

Can I just say, the English subs in the picture above are kinda wrong.  

The English sub translates it as above while the Japanese translation is: 

「アルミン、モブリットお前たちはハンジを外に連れ出せ！」

Which literally translates to “Armin, Moblit, GET HANGE OUT OF HERE!”

Levi is just so fucking worried about Hange here man. I mean sure of course he was thinking about the safety of Moblit and Armin too but in the Japanese dub, the focus of the orders he gave was an injured Hange’s safety. He was probably panicking while the cave was falling on them that his first thought was Hange’s safety and he would have ordered anyone to get her out of there. It just happened to be Moblit and Armin there. 

And why are the English subtitles depriving us of more Levihan crumbs??

I’m gonna stop rambling now but thanks for this ask man. I happily ended this stressful week watching Levihan vids lmfao.

[goldentournesol]

Mon Cher

(Spencer Reid x Reader)

Part 2 of Mon Lapin

The one where Spencer and Reader finally go on a date after pining over each other for too long. (Reader owns a French bakery)

Length: 2.6k

A/N: tooth-rotting, cheesy FLUFF! thank you to everyone who requested a part 2, i wasn’t going to write it but y’all--i think this might be my favorite thing that i’ve written so far!

masterlist

Spencer knew that across many cultures, pink lilies represented love, admiration, and compassion. All things he wished to convey to Y/N, so it really wasn’t difficult to pick a bouquet of pink lilies for her. His heart thumped against his ribcage as he neared the bakery where he told her he’d meet her. He hoped he wasn’t too forward with her yesterday, but he was getting antsy. Despite seeing her a couple times a week when he was in town, it was never enough just to chat casually. He wanted to lose himself in conversations with her. With all his ambition for knowledge, he couldn’t think of a subject he wished to memorize more than everything she is. 

He cleared his throat and made sure his tie was as straight as it possibly could be before pushing the glass door of her bakery, the chime of the small bell reaching the corners of the store. His eyes swept across the familiar scenery, but she wasn’t there. He approached the counter nervously.

“Hey, Marissa. Is Y/N here yet?” He asked her coworker and she beamed upon seeing him.

“Hey! She should be here any minute. I kind of forced her to go home to get ready and all, it’s really hard getting her out of the bakery!” She laughed and Spencer nodded, smiling, grateful for the extra minutes he needed to compose himself. 

He found Y/N’s dedication to her job endearing. He glanced down at the bouquet and adjusted the flowers in an attempt to find something to do with his hands instead of tapping nervously against the counter. Why was he so nervous? She wouldn’t have agreed to the date if she wasn’t interested. Well, then again, he didn’t really give her an option. Was that the wrong decision? 

Just before he could spiral into his thoughts any deeper, the bell chimed again, causing him to turn to face the door. The air evaded his lungs as soon as his eyes settled on her, an occurrence Spencer didn’t think happened in real life. He’s read about it, sure, but he never thought he’d ever experience it. She strolled in, a dark emerald dress flowing with her movement. Spencer had to remind himself what the function of the respiratory system was when she approached him. 

“Spencer?” She spoke softly, realizing that he hadn’t said anything. He blinked, snapping out of his daze with a prominent blush. 

“Y-yes. Hi, sorry, um,” he paused, a bashful, sheepish grin overtaking his face, “you look beautiful, Y/N.” She mirrored his smile, cheeks reddening as she glanced at the bouquet of flowers in his hand.

“Merci, mon lapin. [my bunny] You look just as dashing as ever. I see you remembered the lilies.” She sent him a sly smile. He had forgotten about the bouquet in his hand under her intense gaze. He nodded, his arm extending the flowers to her. She graciously accepted them and immediately buried her nose in the center of the bouquet, emerging with a smile that could make Spencer’s knees buckle if he wasn’t careful.

“They’re beautiful, thank you. Give me one moment.” She scurried off into the kitchen of the bakery and returned with the largest cup she could find. She settled the flowers in their new home before picking one out of the bunch and securing it to one of the bobby pins near her left ear. Spencer was positive he resembled a love-sick puppy as he took in the sight. Marissa was pretending to wipe down a table in the background, but really she was fawning over the two lovebirds. 

“Shall we?” Spencer managed to speak, gesturing towards the door. 

He tried to contain his grin as he stared at her ethereality. She smiled up at him and nodded, taking one last look at Marissa before she left. Her coworker sent her a teasing look and waved goodbye. Spencer offered his arm to Y/N as they stepped into the chilly air. She gladly took it and beamed up at him. He tried not to focus on the way his arm felt tingly with hers around it.

“I’m so glad we’re finally doing this, Spencer.” She spoke and he nodded.

“Me too, Y/N. So, I wasn’t sure what you liked so I settled for a reservation at an Italian restaurant. Would that be okay?” He tried to swallow his nerves.

“Yeah, that’s perfect!” It didn’t really matter, she knew she’d go wherever this man asked her to go. 

The nervous energy in the air was lighthearted and it made her feel like she was a teenager going on a date for the first time again. They caught each other up on their lives as they walked. Both of Y/N’s hands ended up around Spencer’s arm and he found himself relishing in her warm touch as well as every little squeeze she gave when she got excited about something she was saying. He wanted to pay attention to the direction they were walking in, but it was too damn hard with the way the lamp lights reflected in her irises. He’d almost walked right past the restaurant.

“Oh, we’re here.” He laughed lightly, leading her to the entrance and they were seated immediately.

Dinner went smoothly. She’d known that he was an interesting man, but he made it so easy for her to get lost in him, what he was saying, his eyes- oh man, those eyes. She knew all about eyes being the windows to the soul, but she didn’t know how one man’s eyes could possibly convey so much emotion. She watched him talk about his work family and his real family, although not in great detail. They were so captivated by each other, the waiters had to make noises with either their throats or mouths to get their attention.

Once they were out of the restaurant, they continued walking down the same street, still deep in conversation about a topic probably wouldn’t interest anyone else. Spencer hadn’t really planned the night out, he didn’t know what exactly she would like, so he decided he’d let the leaves fall where they may. All he did know was when she giggled, his heart skipped a beat. Suddenly, they stopped in their tracks and she let out a loud gasp.

“Oh! You know what I just remembered?” Spencer stared at her curiously, “There’s a tiny theater up ahead that plays some really cool foreign films, you probably know about it. I know the owner, she texts me whenever they add a French movie. Tonight they’re playing one of my favorites, Les Parapluies de Cherbourg! [The Umbrellas of Cherbourg] Oh, you would love it! Would you like to go? It’s totally fine if you have something else planned, though.” Spencer grinned at her excited nature and nodded eagerly.

“Are you kidding? I always have to beg my friends to come see foreign films with me, I’d love to go.” Spencer couldn’t believe this was happening. They arrived at the theater soon and she was disheartened to hear that they didn’t have subtitles for the movie.

“It’s okay! I don’t mind if there aren’t any subtitles.” Spencer said once he saw the smile dissipate from her face. He hadn’t had the heart to tell her that he’d already seen the movie before anyway. The gleam in her eye was much too precious when she spoke of the film.

“Are you sure? I can probably whisper-translate to you, uh, i-if you’d like.” She stated somewhat shyly, a blush creeping up to her cheeks.

“I’d like that.” Spencer smiled as he realized that the roles were usually reversed and he’d usually be the one whisper-translating a movie to someone.

And so they sat in the small theater, arms tangled in each other over the arm of the chair between them. She had one hand on his bicep as he leaned the top half of his body closer to her. They were probably sitting closer than they normally would have sat, but she used the excuse of whisper-translating to her advantage. She felt a strand of his caramel hair tickle the tip of her nose as her lips whispered in his ear. Spencer fought to regulate his breathing every time she came near. He was glad he’d seen the movie before because he was sure that if this had been his first time seeing it, he’d have absolutely no clue what was going on. She also fought to resist the urge to press her lips to his clean shaven jaw--and basically everywhere else. 

The movie ended before they knew it and they could finally see each other in the gentle light of the theater. Spencer turned his face to send her a grateful smile just to find her face inches away from his. His eyes involuntarily flickered down to her lips. The same lips that were by his ear a few moments ago. She smiled back softly and they enjoyed the closeness for a short moment before Spencer shyly broke eye contact. They broke apart, both blushing from head to toe. Both far too shy to initiate anything. He cleared his throat before standing from his seat. Y/N followed him out of the theater.

“So, did you like it?” She asked as they stepped out, noticing that the streets were a lot darker and quieter than they had been prior to entering. It must have been late. 

“Yeah, I loved it.” Spencer said, almost breathlessly, but he wasn’t talking about the movie, of course. She grinned with triumph and courageously slipped her hand into his as they walked back in the direction they came from. He took it one step further and laced their fingers together. She swooned over his smile. 

An aggressive gust of wind suddenly washed over the two of them on the sidewalk, which made them instinctively close their eyes to brace themselves against the dust in the air. She only opened her eyes as she felt the lily in her hair slip out of its secure place from in between the prongs of the bobby pin.

“No!” She gasped and Spencer quickly -and ungracefully- leapt to catch it before it flew too far. She laughed as he turned to face her with a pleasantly surprised expression, almost in disbelief that he actually caught it. He approached her again and gently returned the lily to its rightful spot just above her ear. He moved a stray strand from her face and she gazed up at him with a certain type of adoration. His hands moved to cup the plumpness of her cheeks as they relished in each other's tender gazes. She let her hands rest right under his ribs and pulled him impossibly closer.

“You are so beautiful.” He whispered, his breath washing over her face. He felt the skin under his fingertips warm up.

“Merci, mon cher.” [my dear] She whispered back, a definite level-up from mon lapin. That he did know the meaning of.

Spencer grinned slightly before finally leaning down to close the gap between both their lips. It was gentle and sweet, neither of them rushing it. To many onlookers, they were just a young couple sharing a kiss on the sidewalk in the middle of the night. To them, it was a silent declaration. A statement that conveyed more emotion than any of the thousands of words that existed in all the languages they spoke between them could. Y/N found herself following through after Spencer reluctantly pulled away for air. She stopped herself, blushing profusely at her involuntary movements. He only grinned wider in response before stepping back and grabbing her hand again.

“Let me walk you home.” He told her as they began walking again.

“Actually...the night doesn’t have to end yet, if you don’t want it to, I mean.” She smiled up at him.

“I don’t want it to, what do you have in mind? Everything’s closed down.” Spencer pointed out.

“Um, I might know a place.” She said in a teasing manner with a slight smirk, “The owner and I go way back.” She giggled.

“Oh really now?” Spencer played along, laughing.

“Mhm, we’re practically like this.” She laughed as she crossed one finger over the other on her free hand to represent a bond.

She unlocked the door to her bakery and pulled him in, closing the door again behind him. Before Spencer could even register what was happening, she had grabbed a hold on his tie to gently guide his face back to hers and enveloping his lips with her own. Spencer responded immediately by wrapping both arms around her waist securely. The kiss was significantly more passionate than the first, but just as sweet. She pulled apart first and bit her lip sheepishly.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it.” She admitted and Spencer stood in a daze. 

She giggled and moved away to turn the lights on, but only some. The soft light illuminated the empty bakery and he realized then just how beautiful the place really was. Or maybe he thought everything would look ten times more beautiful after a kiss like the one he’d just received. The thought had extended to her, of course. Spencer didn’t think it was possible that she could look any more beautiful. But there she was, in all her glory, proving him wrong as each second passes.

“Come with me, I have something to show you.” She hooked her pointer finger around his and dragged him to the kitchen. He was in awe as he took in the sight of all of the kitchen appliances. It wasn’t a large kitchen, but it was oddly spacious and organized. 

She smiled wide at his reaction, “This is quite literally where the magic happens. Ooo! Come look, I made these right before I left, Marissa must have taken them out of the oven before she locked up. They’re for tomorrow.” She pulled him to a tall bakery rack and he spotted his favorite treat, pain au chocolat. She took one off the tray and gave it to him. It was still warm on the bottom. He couldn’t hold his excited grin back as he took a hefty bite out of it. She giggled as she watched him close his eyes dramatically.

“I’m truly at a loss for words, Y/N. They’re so good. How do you get them right every time?” He asked with fascination and she propped herself on the counter of the kitchen, taking one for herself.

“Well, it took time and effort to perfect the recipe, Dr. Reid.” She giggled, biting into it. “I can show you how to make them one day. Maybe our next date?” She looked at him hopefully and he nodded eagerly.

“Yes! You can finally show me how to make pain au chocolat.” He tried to imitate her accent, he really tried. She burst out laughing at his cuteness.

“Pain au cho-co-lat.” She emphasized, separating the syllables.

“That’s what I said! Pain au chocolat!” He laughed, although the pronunciation was still slightly off.

“Alright, close enough.” She giggled again as she pulled him closer, locking her legs at the ankle behind his waist. They’d have plenty of time to perfect his accent later.

“Embrasse-moi, mon cher.” [Kiss me, my dear] She whispered. 

Right then, he thanked himself for having the foresight to brush up on the language enough to do exactly what she asked. 

Half-eaten pains au chocolat were long forgotten.

Mon Lapin (part 1)

[cybernaght]

Guardian rewatch: episode 7

The world’s most amicable mugging continues in this episode, as Shen Wei waits for Zhao Yunlan to spring into his defence as his personal knight in shining armour. Or, as the official subtitle of the episode states:

I kid you not. Here’s the original with the alternate translation.

I am once more very much not mad at it. 

I say that Shen Wei’s mugging is amicable, but that is of course is before one of the “gangsters” tries to grab at his Pendant of Pining. “It’s not something that you people can touch”, he states, easily restraining the man’s wrist. He’s not losing his composure just yet, but his warrior’s stance is showing, and he comes pretty close to breaking cover.

Thankfully, this is when Zhao Yunlan shows up to intervene. Hearing him approach, Shen Wei’s first priority is hiding the Pendant of Pining. His second priority is straightening his collar and tightening his tie. Shen Wei may be in a middle of an attempted mugging, but he’d be damned if he allows Zhao Yunlan to see him dishevelled. Come to think of it, it’s kind of hilarious that Shen Wei’s attempt at pretending to be a poor helpless human includes being completely nonplussed by being attacked. Surely freaking out a little would be an infinitely less suspicious choice. 

Yunlan politely but firmly pushes the professor aside, and Shen Wei waits patiently next to the wall, neatly folding his hands the same way he did at the unpleasant councillor meeting in the previous episode. 

Here we finally see that Zhao Yunlan is pretty impressive in hand to hand combat. This man may not have a sword, but he can easily knock two dudes out with three moves. Again, this is a very short, but pretty damn flawless little piece of choreography. Zhao Yunlan’s fighting prowess is even more accentuated with a gleeful adrenaline-filled grin he breaks into after he’s done. I understand Shen Wei’s endless desire to protect the man he’s devoted to, but, honestly, it’s nice to see Zhao Yunlan not really needing protection - not against simple street crime at least. 

Shen Wei proceeds to calmly dust off his discarded briefcase. Zhao Yunlan proceeds to retrieve the other man’s watch from the ground and then passes it on. With physical contact. Should I be obsessing over how their fingers linger together for a second? Maybe not. I am doing it anyway. 

“What a coincidence”, deadpans Shen Wei, who knows for the fact that the other man is tailing him, and causes a delightful burst of faux outrage in response. 

“What are you implying?”, Zhao Yunlan asks innocently, deflecting further by inquiring whether Shen Wei thinks he staged this little rescue mission. He follows it with “Only you’re allowed to be here this time of night?”, which I choose to read as, “Really, Shen Wei. Why do you think you should have a monopoly on stalking in this relationship?”

As the two are distracted by the low key flirting, one of the muggers makes an opportunity attack on Zhao Yunlan. Shen Wei is alarming Yunlan to this with genuine worry, but does not lose his composure enough to intervene.  

We are treated to another excellent three moves, which are block-break-backfist. Well mixed sound helps, but Bai Yu does look very good as well. The footage does not appear sped up at all, but his movements are fast and crisp, he’s engaging his whole body, everything lands well angle-wise, it’s appropriately safe... Again, I cannot fault this at all. Bai Yu is not physically strong, and this just goes to show that you don’t need a lot of muscle to look like you can be an effective fighter. I don’t want to go into long detail on western media’s obsession with unrealistic physical standards in action media, but suffice it to say that it’s an unhealthy and pointless aesthetic choice which has nothing to do with reality of combat performance - as this scene clearly illustrates. (Look. As I said, stage violence is one of my jobs, and I’m a curvy woman who spends a lot of her time with insecure young actors and drama students. I have opinions.)

Having fended off the attack, Zhao Yunlan exaggerates the situation with the proverb “talking too much will get you killed.” Shen Wei is obviously distressed over his choice of words, but he looks down to hide it. 

At this point the two decide to go home instead of getting the street criminals off the street. 

Zhao Yunlan follows Shen Wei into his flat, pretending very loudly that he has not seen this place before. He is trying way too hard. And there is a touch of a naughtily feline glimmer in his eyes, because he is probably still on that adrenaline rush: his heart would be pounding, senses elevated, brain basking in a pleasant sharpness akin to a sugar rush, when everything is a little bit too saturated. And an attractive mysterious man he just saved is asking him to stay. Zhao Yunlan’s going to have even less brain to mouth filter here than he usually does. 

Shen Wei is getting a first aid to kit to treat Zhao Yunlan’s injuries. It’s anyone’s guess why the self-healing Envoy needs a first aid kit at all - it lives in a Tupperware box as well, suggesting that it’s been assembled and organised by hand rather than store bought. 

Sitting down, and tucking his tie in (because neatness is everything), Shen Wei prepares to administer a mysterious ointment to Zhao Yunlan’s bruise, and states that this is him giving Chief Zhao an opportunity for interrogation. I bet he has got a lie prepared for any question, because this situation has definitely been pre-planned. 

Instead of probing the other man, Zhao Yunlan offers him a job. Shen Wei’s answer is a firm no, which he utters without even a second hesitation. To Zhao Yunlan, this clearly reads as a rejection, as his face crumbles. 

He livens up however, when Shen Wei hurries to add that this is not a denial of help or cooperation. Zhao Yunlan is right to ask why he would take the job then case; this is an entirely reasonable question. I’m guessing, Shen Wei’s reluctance comes from his unwillingness to compromise Hei Pao Shi’s position, rather than an attempt to prevent Zhao Yunlan from getting involved in the cosmic shitstorm which is currently brewing: as the Lord Guardian, he’s gonna get right in the middle of said storm either way. 

“You just move in and didn’t invite your neighbour over for some fun?”, Zhao Yunlan asks.

Laying it on really thick, I see. 

Shen Wei blinks disbelievingly, as if to say “did he just…?” then recovers enough to huff out a laugh.

“My mistake. Next time, I’ll properly invite you.”

Zhao Yunlan snaps his fingers in delight, visibly vibrating with joy. In his head this is Yunlan - 1: Xiao Wei - 0. 

As Shen Wei starts to apply the mysterious ointment, Zhao Yunlan flinches, and Shen Wei is genuinely taken aback by an idea that he might hurt this man. He is so preciously startled for a second, shedding ten thousand years in an instant. I am never going to not be impressed by Zhu Yilong’s ability to switch into Baby Shen Wei mode in a matter of seconds. 

“I didn’t expect you to have such skilful hands.”

Zhao Yunlan’s charm attack truly is unrelenting, and Shen Wei looks up with such a fragile hope in his eyes. He has lived a long time now, and he has learned to maintain thick walls around himself, but he is still incredibly affected by Kunlun’s shameless flirting. 

Continuing his charm offensive, Zhao Yunlan gets so distracted by trying to further impress Shen Wei, he unwittingly reveals that he knows the layout of this flat. And realises what he said. And hopes that the other man had not noticed, adorably brushing his nose in embarrassment. 

He dug this one out for himself, and Shen Wei is far from mortified: he is pleased to have caught the other man out. Zhao Yunlan flails, and Shen Wei quite literally is failing to wipe a smug smile off his own face. 

He’s not even really waiting for an explanation. He’s just happy to win this round. There is even a little “yeah sure let’s pretend I believe you” tilt of the eyebrow, when Yunlan finally comes up with something that sounds as a reasonable excuse. 

After his massive blunder, Zhao Yunlan tries to leave again. Shen Wei stops him, again, and there is no limit to how slyly Zhao Yunlan turns around, followed by a hind of disappointment when all he gets is an ointment, and not, you know, an opportunity to have a good look around Shen Wei’s bedroom. 

Shen Wei is left alone in his flat in a state of utter emotional overload, stroking the Pendant under his shirt. 

Let’s disregard for a second the fluctuating length of the chord the Pendant hangs on (is it between his collar bones or in front of his breastbone? Pick one!), and just appreciate the pining. Shen Wei is going through a lot of feelings since his Kunlun’s returned into his life, and sometimes computing is not an option. 

In the next scene, the muggers are discussing Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan, calling them both too formidable to even attempt an act of revenge against them. Definitely a wise idea. Unfortunately for them, they immediately get attacked by… something.

Spoiler alert: no, it’s not a bear.

It’s the White Shirt Day at the SID. Chu Shuzhi is the only one not participating. In this scene, we discover that Lin Jing likes a horror web novelist called Lai Su - which will be very convenient for the case at hand. During their conversation, Wang Zheng alerts he team to the new case, asking for the whereabouts of their boss. Zhu Hong’s reply is that who knows which old pal the man is hang out with. As we never see him having any friends outside of his job, I choose to believe that he is probably hanging out with Shen Wei; quite possibly exploring the layout of his bedroom. Especially considering how good his mood is as he strolls into the office announcing that he is going to buy a feast for everyone.

Unfortunately, the feast has to wait. Zhao Yunlan, Chu Shuzhi and Xiao Guo head towards the crime scene, which is the very same alley the mugging took place the night before. 

“Based on my experience, he died from freezing.” 

There has never been a more apt reason to use the phrase “no shit Sherlock”. 

Apparently, there is a cctv camera trained right on this very particular dark alley. Which implies that the muggers were even less professional than they appeared to be at the beginning of the episode. Mysteriously, the footage fails to show the actual monster who attacked the poor unfortunate street criminals. It did, on the other hand, capture Zhao Yunlan’s dashing rescue of Professor Shen.

Zhao Yunlan can’t exactly stop his team from rewinding the footage, so he is just left squirming as those around him gape at him spending time with Shen Wei in the middle of the night. 

“You... and Shen Wei? This late at night?”

Chu Shuzhi’s transition from disbelief to a knowing “ah” via a mischievous smirk is particularly amusing. 

The following afternoon, Zhu Hong appears in Shen Wei’s office, laptop in hand. She is quietly furious at being given this task; as I imagine it is very awkward indeed to be a laptop carrier for your crush’s crush. The entire scene she will be alternating between glaring, rolling her eyes, pursing her lips, and glaring with even more venom. 

After Shen Wei gets over his initial bafflement at technology, he realises that Zhao Yunlan is video calling him in order to ask for his expertise on the current case. For the most of this scene the call looks like some sort of fake generic video conference software, apart from some shots on the SID side which very obviously show a pre-recorded footage being played: with a pause button, and a time stamp, and everything.

Shen Wei is in full trolling mode when he educates the SID team on all the types of bears that could have attacked the victim. He tasted this feeling of outsmarting Yunlan the night before and it’s too sweet to let go. Judging by the fact that Da Qing, who is by Zhao Yunlan’s side, is falling asleep during this conversation, we can guess that it’s been going on for a while. 

Zhao Yunlan knows that Shen Wei is trying to prove a point here - he will not be bullied into being a consultant. So, Zhao Yunlan changes tactics, and asks Shen Wei for clues as a friend. Shen Wei assures Zhao Yunlan in turn that he would never hide anything important from. The magnitude of this particular lie is immeasurable, unless Shen Wei considers turning himself into a literal suicide bomb inconsequential. Which, to be fair, he might do. 

Finally, Da Qing wakes up and suggests that the suspect is a Youchu (translated in subs a “secluded beast”). He is not correct, but it is important that we know what those are, because we’ll see them in a couple of episodes - so it actually makes sense to write them in here. 

Shen Wei instantly comes forward, fishes a relevant file out of his drawer, and educates the team on that particular monster. Zhao Yunlan relates that he is familiar with those, and that he knows Hei Pao Shi fought them before in nearby cities. 

Existence of aforementioned nearby cities will remain a beautiful enigma, which will never be explained. Seastar will remain very much a Little Prince-sized planet. 

At this point Zhao Yunlan gets a call about the other mugger being found, and Shen Wei tells him in a rush that he does not think those two men possess Undergrounder qualities. 

When asked however what those qualities are, he does not elaborate, and, after a thick silence, Zhao Yunlan sighs in resignation and finally lets Shen Wei off the hook, assuring him that he knows not all Undergrounders are monsters. He knows - of course he knows - that Shen Wei is hiding stuff. He knows the other man is somehow invested in the Undergounders, and is probably is one himself.  Once again he chooses to trust him absolutely. I know it feels like I say those words every single episode, but this is also the choice Zhao Yunlan makes, deliberately, every single episode. This conversation will leave Zhao Yunlan very cranky for the remainder for the case, but his willingness to keep giving Shen Wei concessions is actually really sweet. 

Shen Wei asks, perhaps, impulsively, that Yunlan shares his findings with him, because he is curious who the culprit is. It makes, as ever, little sense for him to do so considering that he would find it out anyway as Hei Pao Shi.

After completing her mission, Zhu Hong leaves in a huff. She did not say hello and she does not say goodbye either. Shen Wei tries to wave amicably, but aborts the gesture.

He does not yet know - and will not find out for quite some time - why Zhu Hong feels so antagonistic towards him. 

Next stop: the hospital ward with a now insane criminal. Portrayal of mental health issues on this show is... interesting, by which I mean terribly stigmatising. I would have understood if this was a magic-induced psychosis, but I don’t think that’s the case at all. 

Lin Jing realises that the case sounds very much like the web horror novel he likes. It sounds insane, but Yunlan hears him out. The scientist goes into great detail over the author, revealing that he was a leader of his fan club at some point, and detailing several murders from his recent novel that appeared to have have happened in reality.

The team moves on to scout the author’s - Lai Su’s - house, with Zhao Yunlan being the one to approach it. He then proceeds to summon his team via a non-existent radio. 

Look. There is no mouth piece on this jacket. There is no earpiece in his ear. There are no wires. None of the team have radios. None of them even look like they are listening to radios. (Trust me, the “please shut up for a second, someone is speaking into my ear” is a recognisable look). Guardian’s writers/directors. Mah dudes. If you can’t afford radios, just make him do a non-verbal signal, seriously. Same effect, with much less silliness, and no continuity issues. 

Before the team enters the house, we see Ya Qing in crow form for the first time. Even without the benefit of hindsight, it’s easy to recognise that the crow will become narratively significant because she is animated, and this show would not waste its very scarce and rapidly depleting CGI budget in vein. 

We also know that the crow is a Yashou because Lin Jing starts talking about Zhu Hong at that exactly moment. Guardian is many wonderful things - it’s dramatic, breathtaking, heart-wrenching, and poignant - but subtle it is not.

Inside the house, they discover a secret room, which Lai Su is hiding in, and we finally get to meet our unfortunate culprit. 

It is very peculiar how mean-spirited this episode seems to be. The web novelist in question is shown in an unequivocally negative light. He is a coward hiding behind a blanket, a weirdo living in a secret room, a glutton stuffing his face with snacks and drinking wine. He is shown as too vain to stop chasing clout even when he suspects that his novel is leading to people dying. He writes for attention and money rather than out of genuine artistic expression. He is a whimpering mess, begging Lin Jing on his knees to speak to the Chief on his behalf. Even if we consider that moral of the story (as stated later in Guo Changcheng’s diary note) is “internet bad”, this insistence of making Lai Su so unmistakably despicable is baffling. The series is based on the web novel. What kind of message is this sending about its origins?  

On the bright side, I suppose it is nice that part of this episode not revolving around Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei’s relationship is actually rather Lin Jing-centric. So far, he was mostly there for occasional tech support and countless shots of him of screaming at a computer, but here we get to know more about him, and he goes on a little emotional journey of his own - meeting his idol and being distraught by the author not living up to expectations. It is always so disappointing to see creators you admire being imperfect, or downright unpleasant, and it’s easy to sympathise with Lin Jing’s discontent. 

Zhao Yunlan’s modus operandi has always been intuition. Looking at the author, he knows that he must be responsible for the murders, and also knows that he could not possibly have been. For once it is actually Xiao Guo who suggests the solution: multiple personality disorder. Or, magical multiple personality disorder, as it is the case. We see this click with the Chief, and he genuinely praises the young man. 

Back at the house, Lai Su is deciding to stop the murder spree by writing the demise of the homicidal protagonist of his novel. This is his ultimate redemption, which also leads to his untimely death by the hands of the monster who lives within him and is manifested through his writing. 

The team asks Zhao Yunlan what was going on with this strange case. They won’t get an explanation; but Shen Wei will. 

Zhao Yunlan, as promised, drops by Shen Wei’s office late at night to tell him all about the case. He concludes that Lai Su must have had Undergrounder blood in him, with his power not manifesting until now. Zhao Yunlan sounds rather remorseful as he stipulates that the writer could have lived a long happy life despite his origin and abilities, had he not started unknowingly abusing his powers. This Zhao Yunlan is miles removed from the man who vowed to catch every Undergrounder, and we can see Shen Wei infinitely moved by this man’s empathy. 

This, I think, is the very moment Shen Wei starts to fall in love - not with the man who was Kunlun, or the man who will be Kunlun, or the man who resembles Kunlun - with Zhao Yunlan, Lord Guardian, Chief of Special Investigations Department, with all his incessant flirting, and sharp edges, and pointed questions, and endless understanding. 

In the final moments of this episode Zhao Yunlan shares a dark premonition that something truly terrible will happen in their city. 

He has no idea how right he is. 

Next up: Episode 8: The Morning Porridge 

——

This conversation happened with my partner as I was working on this recap:

Me: … I am two scenes in and this is how much I’ve typed up already. 

My partner: Honey! I know you’re Russian, but War and Peace has already been written.