#s watches legends of tomorrow

[thelvadams]

they removed the sutekh studio hand in tales of the tardis 🥲

[majorproblems77]

Happy birthday Chosen

Writing I did for myself. Thought I'd share it with you all. :)

Sky was a sentimental guy, all of the links agreed on that much. Always going out of his way to make them smile or give them comfort when they otherwise wouldn't have had it.

So when the conversations of birthdays came up no one thought anything of it. Each one of them had something different from lighting cakes on fire to giving favourite foods, getting to choose destinations or just getting to have a day to rest. Each one of the links had a different way of celebrating.

The rest day sounded like Sky's favourite version if he had to admit.

"I always choose to go to my private island so the crew can have a day to relax! We dont get that way very often, but they love it!" Wind smiled, counting something on his fingers. "But my birthday isn't for some time yet."

"What about you Sky? What do you people do for birthdays?" The captain smiled over the fire towards the Skylofitan, who placed a hand to his chin.

"Well, we gather the town. And our loftwings gift us with a feather Before we get things from other people."

"Your loftwings moult?"

"Yeah? They are about the same age as us, normally to the day. And they shed only a few feathers twice a year. On their birthdays and six or so months later."

"I'd have thought they would all shed at a time of year. Like my cat does. So much fur..." The captain shuddered while the rancher laughed.

"Captain you have a cat? You never told me you had a cat." The captain nodded

the skyloftian chuckled, "You'd think, but imagine the amount of feathers that would litter skyloft of that was the case."

The captain thought about it, "That's surprisingly nice of the goddess."

The skyloftian pulled his bag from behind him, pulling out a singular red feather. "You guys have seen me wear this. And it's got two purple feathers near the top of it."

The group nodded. Hyrule, who was sitting beside the skyloftian looked closely at the feather as it shifted across the skyloftians hand.

"Those purple feathers belong to Zelda's loftwing. It was her gift to me last year." He smiled looking off to the side slightly. "Iris even picked the ones for me herself. It was very sweet of her." The skyloftian smiled down at the feathers. Carding them through his fingers.

"When is your birthday anyway Sky? We've all figured out ours but not yours?" Legend asked, knocking the skyloftian's shoulder as he looked beside him.

"Oh, thats nothing to worry about."

"Skyyyyyyy. Tell ussssssss." The sailor stood up and walked over to the skyloftian flinging his arms around him from behind. "Or I'll bug you all night about it."

"We have a different calendar to you, even if I told you you wouldn't know when it was."

"All the more reason to tell us Sky!" Hyrule knocked the skyloftian, "I know we haven't got much and this journey is a tough one. But it'll be good to know!"

The skyloftian sighed. "From my assumptions, and watching how the sun moves, it's today?" Gasps went across the group as they all sat upright. A chorus of words ran across the team.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Sky!"

"Come on now chosen!"

"You could have told us!"

"We've had a busy day. That last battle took it out of us. I wanted to make sure you were all okay."The skyloftain smiled raising a hand behind his head only to find the sailor still gripping him. Now even tighter.

"I dont believe a word of that." Sky looked up to see Time looking intently towards him. "Tomorrow we are absolutely doing something, No questions asked" Time smiled.

"But we are less than a day out from the ranch Time. I wouldn't want to keep us."

"Who said you were keeping us." Time turned to the group, "Tomorrow is a rest day. We will make our way to the ranch the day after. Now get some rest all of you."

Sky nodded and stood up, the sailor still firmly attached to him. chuckling he flung his arms under the sailor's legs to carry him on his back and walked them over to their bedrolls. Placing the sailor down before he himself lay down to rest.

The following morning was bright and cheery. The sun shone warm and bright through the trees.

The camp was bustling with activity. Everyone was awake and working to pack up as quickly as they could.

All apart from one, and they planned to keep it that way.

Sky was resting soundly on his bedroll. Having fallen asleep quite quickly the night before.

"Okay Twilight, It's about an hour to the ranch. You reckon you can carry him?" Time asked, Flinging the rancher's bag across his shoulder.

"I've got this. Let's get him into an actual bed." The rancher raised a hand, signalling the captain who nodded. Pointing into the trees to the wide space of Hyrule field. Before coming over.

"Wild has gone on ahead, he should be about done by the time we get there if we walk quickly."

"Then let's go!" The sailor bounced over, smiling wide. "This is going to be the best birthday present ever for him."

The skyloftian was lifted and placed onto the Rancher's back, arms wrapped around his neck and sailcloth wrapped around him.

The walk was uneventful, as the team made they're way across Hyrule field into the ranch.

Malon and Wild were waiting at the door when they turned into the ranch. Malon smiled and waved, opening the door for the rancher and following him in to help get Sky into a bed.

"Pumpkin pie and soup. Ready to go when he is. Did you guys get here alright?" Wild looked over the team briefly, who gave nods of encouragement.

"We did." The captain said, "Now I'm going to get this bag down I forget how much Sky actually carries."

As he walked inside. wind called out to him, "Dont forget to put the master sword in with him. He gets nightmares without it!"

The captain waved in acknowledgement as he walked into the ranch house.

"Wonderful, now it's time for the presents. four, there's a forge, that me and malon use to make new horseshoes. Will that be enough for you?" Time smiled pointing across the field where the sight of a small smithing table could be seen.

The smith nodded, looking in the same direction "Anything works. Legend, Wind and Hyrule. You guys are with me." He pointed to each of them in turn before looking to Time. "Do you have steel?"

"We do. We should have had a shipment recently. And Malon's sent Talon to the town to grab some gemstones."

"good. I'm going to need a few hours." Time nodded as the small team turned away walking towards the forge around the side of the horse field.

"Now we keep Sky asleep."

"Leave that to me." Time pat the blue ocarina on his waist, "There's that melody he plays a lot. And I think I've learnt it."

With tasks in hand, each group want to do their respective tasks.

When Sky awoke it wasn't to the sun gently kissing his face, but he could hear the gentle melody of Zelda's lullaby gently floating through his ears.

Reaching out in front of him he found Fi's blade, a gentle smile drifting across his face he reached out for it. when his hand contacted something soft.

The sailcloth. Right. tucking it into himself he smiled.

He felt. Well rested, for the first time in a long time.

"Afternoon."

Afternoon?

Afternoon!

"Wha..?" He shot up quickly taking in his surroundings. this was the ranch, How had they gotten to the ranch? When had they?

"Hey... relax, we decided to let you sleep in today." Time stood up, walking over to the bed as he offered a hand. "the others have something to show you."

He took the offered hand. "Sorry for sleeping in..."

"It's no bother. Twilight carried you here. We thought it would be nicer for you to sleep in an actual bed." He directed Sky out of the room and downstairs.

"Happy birthday Sky!"

The first thing he saw was a flash of blue as two arms enveloped him.

the sailor...

"come on! We've got some stuff for you!" He said, pulling at the skyloftians's arm as he was walked into the room. a small pile of boxes on the centre table.

"Come on Come on Come on!"

Various gifts were handed to him as excited voices sounded. He got an enchanted ring from legend, a small pressed flower from Hyrule. A drawing of crimson from Wind, and a new sword sheath band from Warriors, Time and Twilight.

"Sorry, you couldn't be home for crimson to give you a feather. But. We made you this." Four stepped forward, holding a small box. "We all worked on it. thought you could use it for your woodworking?"

The skyloftian looked towards the smith before looking down at the box.

Lifting the lid he found a silver blade the same size as the carving knife. It was a relatively short blade with a small indent made into the blade itself. Inside lay a singular red crystal, the Handle of the blade was wrapped in a leather grip. A beautifully simple blade. he held it up to the light above him.

Then he traced his thumb over the guard. And found the taletale feeling of a rachis. The guards, fashioned to look like feathers were wide enough to be practical while also looking beautiful. The detail in their design almost made him want to not use the blade.

Though inspecting it further he discovered it a perfect sharpness for his woodwork. So that idea might be getting scrapped.

"I... This is beautiful." He smiled. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

The smith smiled, the veteran and the traveller beside him. "Happy birthday Sky."

And Sky smiled.

[nutty1005]

3 Xiao Zhan.

Original Article: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/7YZimnoaGOkx-vTeiPyckg Original Author: 智族GQ Translator’s note: The article will be published in the February 2024 Issue of GQ

Xiao Zhan: Clear goals, accepting results

01 Relaxation

The studio was by the Huangpu River in Shanghai, Xiao Zhan was wrapped in a black down jacket, he had took off his shoes, and sat cross-legged on the corner of the sofa, looking very relaxed. The filming came to an end for the time being. Although he had been working continuously for more than 7 hours, there was no trace of fatigue on his face.

This is a face that attracts attention all the time. A few months ago, the studio released a Xiao Zhan’s birthday photoshoot, and keen-eyed netizens immediately noticed that his face had “became rounder”. In order to play the character of Guo Jing in the movie “The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Hero”, which was directed by Tsui Hark, Xiao Zhan gained weight before joining the group, his cheeks were no longer so thin and his figure was obviously more buff. In the photographs, he had a stubble and the vicissitudes of life were slightly visible on him.

Strictly speaking, “The Legend of the Condor Heroes: The Great Hero” was Xiao Zhan’s second movie. There were many previous classic versions of Guo Jing’s character, and the pressure on him was obviously visible.

On the day of the cover shoot for “GQ”, Xiao Zhan got up very early to go for a run. He could not help but think, my God, I am going to lose muscle mass again after sweating so much. He debated whether to continue, and finally decided to run for 30 minutes. When the time came, he remembered that body fat would start burning after 30 minutes, so he ran for an additional 10 minutes.

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All of these is for work. “Actually, I don’t want to run. Running will lose muscles mass, but I have to run to reduce swelling.” After the filming, he planned to do weights training no matter how late it was. An actor’s self-discipline is to be always ready to shape his image for the character, but he must also strictly control his diet and manage his body shape. Xiao Zhan regards both as professional standards and expects himself to do so

Before meeting, I thought Xiao Zhan would be very cautious about interviews. To my surprise, Xiao Zhan had a rare sense of relaxation, answered all questions, and was even humorous. When mentioning that actors should observe characters in life, he commented on the sitting postures of several people present; when asked what things he did not expect after joining the industry, his answer was that he could not eat whatever he wanted like his high school classmates.

The interview lasted for almost two hours, I became curious about what kind of experience it had been for Xiao Zhan, who had been under immense attention in the past few years. Xiao Zhan said instead that he had forgotten this matter frequently and it did not cause him a lot of trouble in life, the most “cruel” thing might have been “being unable eat as much as you want”.

“I will still sneak out to ride my bike, take a walk, and do a City Walk. There was only one time when I was recognized after walking in a alley for 5 minutes. I also mingled into the cinema and watched a movie. No one will care about you, really. After leaving the Internet, many things will be solved easily. Sometimes it seems like what is before our eyes is the world, this is a misunderstanding, but yet we cannot avoid this misunderstanding, so there is no way around it.”

There were so many things he especially wanted to do, such as taking the subway and going shopping. “I will really squeeze onto the subway, perhaps tomorrow, it’s so normal, I used to take the subway every day.” For Xiao Zhan, this was the life he really wanted. The voices of social media no longer bothered him, “After all these years, can I still live if I’m still bothered? (laughs) It’s really just fine.”

At this stage, Xiao Zhan is very satisfied with his living situation. “I have a job, a life of my own, and an audience that likes me. I have nothing to be dissatisfied with.”

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02 Becoming an Actor

To a certain extent, Xiao Zhan’s sense of relaxation stems from his increasingly clear goals. The voices from the external world no longer bothered him, he is clear about what he wants and what he do not want. Now, he is doing more subtraction for himself. In the past two years, he had rarely appeared in variety shows, taking the career of actor as his most important goal at this moment.

In 2023, 3 television dramas starring Xiao Zhan broadcasted, and each character was a challenge for Xiao Zhan. During the interview, Xiao Zhan said many times that he was “under a lot of pressure”, and he said this almost every time when reviewing every stage. But his tone was light, without the heaviness of complaints, more like a post analysis and summary, the reasons were often specific and objective: the first time he came into contact with performing without props, the first time he took on the leading role alone, the first time he acted in an modern drama…

“Where Dreams Begin / The Youth Memories” was a script that Xiao Zhan particularly liked. He liked stories about that generation very much, as a child he watched some television dramas such as “Once Upon a Time in Beijing” and “Happiness as Flowers”. When he mentioned the 1970s and 1980s, he felt that it was sunny and bright, it was colorful. Many people said that Xiao Chunsheng was a perfect character, but to Xiao Zhan that happened to be his greatest flaw, he thought this character was very interesting and wanted to give it a try. Xiao Chunsheng was a young man from Beijing, hence how to express the character’s imposing manner and speak authentic Beijing dialect was a big challenge for Xiao Zhan, who had lived in Chongqing since childhood.

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The Shi Ying character in “The Longest Promise” was aloof, because he did not want to let down everyone’s expectations for his ancient costume appearance, Xiao Zhan tried his best to lose weight before joining the group. “‘The Longest Promise’ was a script I got in 2020. It had the most complete character and most delicate emotions from the scripts I could choose from, it was also very logical and self-consistent, it was my best choice.”

“Sunshine By My Side” was a script that Xiao Zhan has been exposed to for the longest time, starting from the end of 2019. Although Sheng Yang in “Sunshine By My Side” closely overlapped with Xiao Zhan’s pre-debut career, but for him to move his life as a designer to the screen and act in a natural and convincing manner, he did not have confidence. “Modern dramas and life dramas are really unfamiliar fields.” Initially, he was too eager to finish his lines and memorized them completely, but when he said them, it made people think that no one in real life would speak like this, later on he discovered where to break the lines and which words to emphasize in modern dramas, and the logic was actually very strong.

In the past few years, he had acted as a soldier, a doctor, a designer, and a Beijing youth. There were no special considerations, and they all happened naturally. He rarely acted in recurring roles. But when choosing a script, Xiao Zhan would not deliberately avoid themes that he had acted in before, instead he will just put himself in the audience’s perspective to feel whether he could be moved by it.

In 2021, Xiao Zhan starred in the theater play “A Dream Like a Dream”, playing the role of Patient No. 5. On the day of the premiere, many topics related to theater appeared on Weibo hot searches, becoming a phenomenon-level event in the theater circle.

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Silver sequin embellished suit ERL, black wide-leg trousers Heliot Emil, black deconstructed embellished shorts Egonlab

On acting in “A Dream Like A Dream”, Xiao Zhan hesitated for a long time. There are many reasons for his hesitation: he was from Chongqing, he was not from a professional background, there is no NG in theater plays, it would last for 8 hours, “Dream Like a Dream” was also very famous, and there had been many classic versions of Patient No. 5 prior. But after reading the script, Xiao Zhan felt that he must perform in it.

Theater play is a very pure thing. Dozens or even hundreds of people gather in a space to tell a story, this is an experience that film and television cannot bring, hence Xiao Zhan yearns for it. He began to maniacally memorize his lines, and enclosed himself in Tangshan to rehearse intensively with the entire group for more than a month, grinding out one scene after another.

“I was very nervous for the first performance. I am still nervous now when I think about it. When Gu Xianglan rang the bell, I shuddered.” The instant the light hit him, Xiao Zhan felt that everything had stopped, he could not see the expressions of the audience under the stage and there was only white left in front of him.

Xiao Zhan adjusted his breathing and began to speak his lines. The director said that the actors in the opening scene controlled the rhythm of the entire story, so every time he said that line, Xiao Zhan was most nervous. As he spoke, he would gradually forget about his nervousness, and after he was done speaking, he would let out a long sigh of relief, and think, ah, it has finally ended.

Once, towards the end of the first half of the performance, Patient No. 5 went on stage to find Gu Xianglan with a painting and an address, and had a long monologue. Walking to the middle of the stage, Xiao Zhan’s mind suddenly stumbled. He could not remember the beginning of the next line. After hesitating for about 1.5 seconds, he chose to skip that word and continued. The audience should not be able to tell the difference, he thought. He could not remember that word even until the end of the performance.

“I couldn’t remember it even when I got to the lounge, so I flipped over the script to take a look, so it was this word.”

“Which word?”

“A very common word, for example, pure drinking water, I was thinking what kind of drinking water? Distilled water? Tap water? Boiled water? I just couldn’t remember it.” Xiao Zhan replied.

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Acting is a domain with very profound knowledge. Xiao Zhan said: “I have only scratched the surface so far.” When filming “Sunshine By My Side”, the co-actors were all experienced actors, and in terms of acting skills, Xiao Zhan was still very immature, tended to be over forceful and left traces of performance marks. He told himself to “be less pretentious”, feel everything the other party throws at him with his heart, and respond honestly.

Xiao Zhan once expressed that he had difficulty understanding many characters due to his limited life experience. He had discussed this issue with his seniors, “Everyone has two opinions. Some people will say that of course you have to go through it, without experience, you don’t have a image, how can you portray it? All that you act is fake. Also, there is a voice saying that everything can be resolved by technique.”

Xiao Zhan’s own answer is, “Act more and be exposed to all types of genres” and “cooperate with more good teams, actors and directors.”

“To be honest, what I can do now is to act what my thoughts can reach, it is really difficult for me to act something that I have no concept of at all. Maybe in the future, through a work or cooperation with more good directors and actors, my confusion can be solved. I look forward to this day coming soon.“

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03 Decluttering

Relaxation is a side of Xiao Zhan, he can balance some of the pressure, but there is a part of it that is difficult for him to resolve. Xiao Zhan does not sleep well. “It’s very difficult for me to fall asleep, and I sleep very lightly, there will be situations where I don’t feel rested after sleeping, which affects my state the next day.” This would happen especially when he just joined the drama group and would be in a state of high nervousness, he would often dream about filming on set, but the filming did not go well.

When he would go to different cities, Xiao Zhan would bring the same type of pillows and quilts. “I will bring anything that can help me sleep well.” He had also tried aromatherapy lamps, lavender essential oil, various products that could make him fall asleep when applied on his body, medicinal spray on the pillow that could make people fall asleep, melatonin and meditation music. In the end, he found that the best things that made him sleep well were sleep masks, earplugs, and not looking at his phone, “because I know that once I look at it, I won’t sleep, then I might as well get up.”

Not long ago, Xiao Zhan found an old book “Decluttering” at home. That was recommended to him by his ex-company boss when he was working as a designer. The concept of organizing life described in the book made Xiao Zhan start to rethink what he wanted and what he should give up.

Xiao Zhan has a particularly obstinate side to his character, “If it’s something I insist on and I think that is right, it will be difficult to convince me.” For example, when he decided to be an actor, he did not want to do anything outside of being an actor, “You come and force me, then let’s debate. No one is right or wrong, the team is also doing this for your own good, since isn’t it a good thing to have a lot of work? But for me, I have to subtract because some things are really not what I want.”

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Xiao Zhan’s acting experience began with a story about “an older commoner chasing dreams in the entertainment industry”. He participated in the talent show at the age of 24, learned dance from scratch, debuted as a boy band, acted in online dramas, played supporting roles in theater movies, until 2019 when he became popular, Xiao Zhan also became a star that attracted attention.

When you decide to do something, you must try your best to do it well. This was what Xiao Zhan has been taught since childhood, when he was in junior high school, his family bought him a mobile phone. When he first started texting, he often used spaces to replace punctuation marks, his father then said to him sternly, “What about the punctuation marks? Why is there no period at the end of the sentence?” From that time on, Xiao Zhan was very concerned about punctuation marks.

Xiao Zhan had been competitive since he was a child, and he was not willing to miss any opportunity when it came to things he could control. When he was taking the bus to school, he would worry about the person on the bus who was asleep and would missed the stop.

For things that he could not control, he would remind himself not to force them and learn to accept them. Until then, do what he could.

When asked which drama Xiao Zhan obtained with his own hard work, Xiao Zhan’s answer was surprising. He said: “Every one.” Before becoming famous, he auditioned for many dramas, and also experienced being replaced after entering the final round of auditions and even trialed the drama in costume. Now, of course, scripts would be handed over, but Xiao Zhan would always tell himself that people only had intentions and could hand them over to many people at the same time. If he found one he really liked, he would take the initiative to meet with the director to explain his understanding of the character.

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Xiao Zhan believes that it is important to have a correct attitude

Xiao Zhan’s growing up environment was no different from that of many born in the 1990s. Mother and father would go to work, grandmother would cook at home, and he would go to and from school every day. If he did not do well in the exam, he would be beaten. After dinner at 6:30 every night, the children would ask him downstairs to play hide-and-seek, wooden figurines, and throw sandbags, as he talked about these, he was very happy. These ordinary little things seemed so precious now. Xiao Zhan said that he was very grateful for the first 23 years of his life before his dream adventure in the entertainment industry. “I cherish it very much, I think it is good.”

He thought that if he had not entered the entertainment industry, he would have lived a life like his classmates and friends, accompanying clients for meals every day, going home and staying up late to catch up on designs.

“Being seen” is a happy thing. No matter how busy he was at work, Xiao Zhan never complained, “If you have a job, then work hard.” “While filming “The Oath of Love”, he was also recording the variety show “Our Song”. During the intervals while waiting for scenes, he would hum softly with his earphones on. The other actors would come over curiously, and Xiao Zhan would smiled sheepishly, explaining that he was practicing the song he was going to sing in the evening. “I don’t have time, I really don’t have time.” At that time, work occupied almost all of his life.

Xiao Zhan rarely takes the initiative to give himself a holiday. “It’s not realistic,” he said flatly. When he was most tired, he could fall asleep just sitting on the set.

This year, Xiao Zhan had a sense of urgency regarding “acting inexperience”, “compared with some seniors, they have already acted in many works in their thirties.” Xiao Zhan knows very clearly that his acting could not improve in leaps and bounds just from one drama, “this might be hard for it to happen to me.”

He once thought about whether to be an actor with a personal style or an actor that the audience would like after watching it. His answer was the latter, “everyone may not be your fan, or even not particularly interested in you, but when you know that he has a drama on and you might want to watch it because his dramas are pretty good. I want to do that, that’s my current goal. Whether or not I can become the level of the actors I like is a long way to go, take it slowly.”

“Making more dramas and cooperating with more good teams, this is just the one goal at the moment, I won’t consider other things for the time being.” Xiao Zhan said.

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Q&A About Acting

GQ: When did it become clear that you wanted to be an actor? Xiao Zhan: When the public started paying more and more attention to me, I wanted to say, why can’t I do it? I think I can. Sometimes I waver and feel it’s so difficult. Why can’t I do it? For example, when it comes to lines, why are they just not good? Why can’t I speak as well as the others? Is it because I’m from the South? I don’t think so. Then I think, so how can I speak well? I can do it, give it a try.

GQ: In your opinion, what are the professional standards for actors? Xiao Zhan: First of all, having excellent professional skills is an unavoidable topic. You can have a non-professional background, but you must have excellent professional skills. This is what I want to do and what I’m currently doing. I feel like I’m not enough, too far behind. After having excellent professional skills, attitude is very important and whether you love it or not is also very important. If you only view it as a job, you may not be able to go very far. But if you really love it, you will cry for it and laugh for it. This may be the motivation for you to persist. Also having a strong body (laughs), I used to not feel tired when I was in my twenties, but now I will feel very tired after staying up late. This is a terrible thing, it is important to have a strong body, this is your foundation.

GQ: When acting in which character or drama did you feel recognition for? Xiao Zhan: At the beginning, when I was working on “The Wolf”, I was under a lot of pressure, the acting teacher would give me a lot of advice and guidance, and I would constantly subvert my acting method every day, it was a period of confusion. After you got over it, you would find that you have grown, and when you started acting again later, you would gradually find a little bit of feeling, and then you would get over it step by step, this was a cumulative process. I feel that I have too little acting experience. Compared with some of the seniors, who have accumulated many works in their thirties, my current works are still too few and I have not accumulated enough.

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Black printed shirt Egonlab Black jumpsuit Zickness

GQ: Do you feel worried? Xiao Zhan: Yes. Because I think (improving acting skills) is a cumulative process. You can’t take a big step with just one movie. This is hard for that to happen to me, so I have to keep filming, and to keep filming good dramas, don’t waste yourself

GQ: The 3 dramas broadcasted in 2023 stretched from ancient costume to era dramas and urban dramas, what were the considerations? Xiao Zhan: Actually, there were no considerations, it just happened naturally, there were no deliberate avoidance of themes I had acted in before, it’s just (selection) by reading the script. When the scripts were handed to me at that time, I felt attracted to a certain script at the moment, so I chose it, it just happened to be a theme that I had never acted in before.

GQ: Do you feel tired from acting in ancient costume dramas all the time? Xiao Zhan: There are many types of ancient costume dramas, don’t have to separate them into ancient costume dramas and modern dramas, it’s nothing more than sticking on a wig and changing clothes, actually the core is the same, but the outer shell is different.

GQ: Once the drama you filmed airs, will you follow it? Xiao Zhan: I won’t follow them, but I will watch them, I will choose the big scenes that I care about and watch them, counts as me looking for problems for myself.

GQ: Will you watch with the scrolling comments? Xiao Zhan: I used to do it really, and I felt very entertained, laughing and joking with everyone, but now I won’t do it.

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GQ: What kind of character do you want to play now? Xiao Zhan: If I could choose, the best would be the ones I haven’t tried before. I need freshness. If I ask you to do the same thing every day, you will be bored.

GQ: What kind of actor do you want to be? Xiao Zhan: I want to be an actor that the audience can like.

GQ: Have you not already done this to make people like you? Xiao Zhan: No, no, I think it’s far from enough. I once thought about whether to be an actor with a personal style or to be an actor that the audience likes just by looking at you. Currently I want to be an actor who makes the audience feel good. Everyone may not be your fan, or even not particularly interested in you, but when you know that he has a drama on and you might want to watch it because his dramas are pretty good. I want to do that, that’s my current goal. Whether or not I can become the level of the actors I like is a long way to go, take it slowly.

GQ: Who are your favorite actors? Xiao Zhan: Many, for example Zhou Xun has always been my favorite actress. I recently watched her movie (“Across the Furious Sea”) and it was really great.

GQ: What are your career plans in 2024? Xiao Zhan: Making more dramas and cooperating with more good teams, this is just the one goal at the moment, I won’t consider other things for the time being.

White backless suit with fringe Jacquemus

Q&A About Life

GQ: Do voices on social media bother you? Xiao Zhan: It doesn’t bother me. After all these years, can I still live if I’m still bothered? (laughs) It’s really just fine. It’s fine as long as I am clear about what I am doing. Every time you make a choice, you must clearly know what you are doing, what you have to give up, and what you have to do. So, it’s fine, maybe the team has more troubles.

GQ: Is your personal life unaffected? Xiao Zhan: Very normal! I can go out for a bike ride and a stroll. When you’re walking down the street, no one really cares about you. It’s really not what everyone imagines. Then I walked around freely.

GQ: Are those escape moments for you? Xiao Zhan: Moments of relaxation. Why do I need to escape? I am also in the third dimension, where should I escape to, this is my life, I am the same as everyone. There are many things I particularly want to do, such as squeezing onto the subway and shopping in shopping malls, which are very similar to when I was in school, and maybe I will do them in the future.

GQ: Do you miss the ordinary life very much? Xiao Zhan: It’s not that I miss it, it’s that I think I should do it, this is living. I will really take squeeze into the subway, perhaps tomorrow, it’s so normal, I used to take the subway every day. To me, there’s nothing I can’t do, so what if you discover me? Say hello and leave. It’s just that I don’t want to cause confusion, trouble, or bad reactions to everyone.

White backless suit with fringe Jacquemus

Q&A About Personality

GQ: You haven’t appeared on variety shows in recent years. Is this a conscious choice? Xiao Zhan: Because it’s not suitable, with my personality, being in a variety show is too tiring, I would want to take care of everyone’s feelings, which would make myself very tired. Since I know that it would be this result, then I might as well don’t do it.

GQ: What was your original intention in entering the entertainment industry? Xiao Zhan: I really broke in mysteriously with confusion. The talent shows I used to watch would interview the top contestants, how did you get to this point? The contestant would say that I accompanied my friend to participate in the selection, but my friend failed and I was selected. When I was a child, I thought these things were far away from me, but when it came to myself, it’s really like this, and I think it’s amazing. I entered the idol competition, then I got here and that’s it. Very amazing, life is very interesting.

GQ: What things have you not thought of before after joining the industry? Xiao Zhan: It is a very cruel thing to not be able to to eat freely. When I see my former high school classmates who already have children and have put on some weight, I will sigh, I also want to eat freely like this. Their living status makes me feel that if I had not chosen this path at that time, maybe we would all be the same, we have to socialize and stay up late to catch up on designs, you don’t know how tiring it is to do design, but life is like this and there is no other way.

Dark red blazer Gucci

GQ: How has choosing this path changed you? Xiao Zhan: Maybe I lack a lot of life experiences, in this regard, my classmates and friends are far better than me. They have experienced real things. There are no cameras facing you, no lights, you are living your own real life.

GQ: Are you an emotionally stable person? Xiao Zhan: Comparatively, more, stable. But once it hits some points, I will become very unstable.

GQ: For example? Xiao Zhan: Just… some things that cannot be said, haha. Maybe when something incredulous happens, you will think, what are you doing, or, when something happens that normal people would not do, I will become very angry. Maybe it’s some privacy issue, if this point is breached, I will go “berserk”. Everyone has their own boundaries, and some people have no sense of proportion, I will just stay away from these kind of people. But when the boundaries are broken again and again and the bottom line is touched, I will get very angry.

Dark red suit jacket and trousers both Gucci

GQ: You once said that you have a particularly tenacious side to your personality. What do you mean specifically? Xiao Zhan: Principles, I am a very obstinate person, if it’s something I insist on and I think that is right, it will be difficult to convince me. For example, if I want to be an actor and I don’t want to do anything other than being an actor, if you come and force me, then let’s debate. No one is right or wrong, the team is also doing this for your own good, since isn’t it a good thing to have a lot of work? But for me, I have to subtract because some things are really not what I want.

GQ: Do you have a perfectionist side? Xiao Zhan: I just want to do it well, and do my best in the current moment. Maybe the result is not good, but what can I do, this is all I can do.

GQ: Can you accept failure? Xiao Zhan: I can accept. I might not have been able to accept it a few years ago, but 32-year-old Xiao Zhan has learned to accept this (laughs).

White backless suit with fringe, white leather loafers, both Jacquemus Black suit trousers Bianca Saunders

[ancha-aus]

Gifted Drabble - NewAgeAU - Sorrow Night and Hopeful Morning

Okay. So. A little bit different :3

As some of you have probably noticed by my reblogs. @spotaus is making their own version for a younger Nightmare with adult gang. kinda inspired by RealAgeAU (clue the name) and well. There is no way i could NOT play with it. Just a tiny bit :3

So here we are. A tiny gift for my friend :3

*-----------------------------*

Ccino rubs his face as he leans against the wall. Thankful the day is finally over.

Calling it stressful would have been an understatement. It had been pure panic when Nightmare had just started throwing up goop in the middle of lunch only for more to melt away from him.

Ccino had been shocked to see someone he recognized at the end and had been frozen.

All in all, they had been very lucky that it had only been them and Nightmare's knights. Ccino does not want to know what kind of damage control he would have had to do if more people had seen it.

Horror had been the first to react. He had easily picked Nightmare up, or more easily as he had shrunk, and taken him to Nightmare's private study.

Ccino had quickly ordered some maids to clean the mess and leftover lunch. Stating there was an emergency that required the king's full attention.

Ccino had reached his study and gone inside to find Nightmare just staring at himself in silent shock. His knights all looked unsure what to do next and Ccino had quickly ordered them to stand watch outside.

He is still very thankful that Nightmare had named him leader of the house which meant that while in the castle Ccino called the shots after Nightmare.

In the end? Nightmare seemed fine. Even the cracks in his skull had been old and healed. Ccino still adviced the now young again king to take things easy and rest before he rushed out to make sure everything is still quiet.

It took a while and some more creative lies but people now just think Nightmare is preparing for an emergency mission adn that everyone is too leave him be.

Ccino sighs as he walks towars his own chambers, located in the nicer part of the castle. A reward for his loyalty and service which had been given to him long ago.

Ccino is ready to sleep. It is much later than he normally retires and tomorrow will be just as if not busier day.

He walks down a hallway when he notices some flickers of light under a door. huh. He follows the slight light and finds the source to be Nightmare's study. None of the knights outside it this time. probably on their usual rounds around the castle.

Ccino knocks twice and waits. silence from beyond the door.

Ccino frowns and leans close to the door to listen "My liege? Are you still in here?"

More silence before a quiet come in sounds from the room. Ccino steps inside and finds Nightmare behind the large desk. Many papers and scrolls covering it as he looks from one to the other.

Ccino frowns as he walks over. Nightmare glances at him before looking back at the covered desk "I thought you would be asleep by now?"

Ccino feels his teeth tug upwards towards a smile "And I thought the same about you... I thought i told you to rest?" he stops by his side and glances at the desk.

It is all old script on the old prophecy and legends concerning the apples. That disasterous ritual that must have ruined many lives.

Nightmare rubs his socket, he looks tired "I need to figure out what happened... what went wrong... Nothing. Nothing ever spoke about the apple taking the power given back. It never spoke about anything concerning it." he points at some script "It speaks about the apple given the ability to gain power. to gain more magic like its own. I thought that that was the tentacles and stuff. But they are gone and nothing speaks of it disappearing!" he puts his skull in his hands as he stares down.

Ccino can't help but just stare at his king. Actually seeing how small nightmare now looks behind the desk. in the chair made for a king who had been given power by the ritual.

Ccino frowns as he sits on the arm rest and waits.

Nightmare glares at the text "It doesn't say... it doesn't tell me how to fix this... how do i fix this? how will people react to this?! my standing as king is already shakey. How will they react to their king now being a child?!"

Ccino remembers the screams of pure agony when Nightmare first ate the apple. How he had fallen to the ground as the magic started to reform him in front of everyone.

Ccino thinks he doesn't want nightmare to go through that again. but first "You are tired nightmare."

Ngihtmare shakes his skull "I just need to figure this out and... and find a way to... to turn it back again."

Ccino nods "or. you go to bed." he stops himself from rubbing the much smaller skull. a thing he used to do when he babysat Nightmare when he had still been younger before the apple. "Sometimes things look worse at night than they really are." Nightmare glares at him and Ccino grins "I mean it. It is because we get tired and our mind grows tired. We aren't able to think rationally anymore and react more from our emotions. You need to get some sleep and you can try thinking about it again in the morning."

Ngihtmare frowns but sighs as he nods. Ccino helps him clean his desk a little before walking him back to his room.

Finding Cross outside. standing alert and waiting. He spots them and gives the usual guard bow "My king." Cross gives Ccino a nod before he stands alert again.

Right. Ccino will need to figure out what to tell the knights. none of them know nightmare like this and Ccino is worried they may end up leaving or worse.

Nightmare disappears into his room and Ccino turns to leave towards his own.

"Are you sure it is him?"

Ccino stops and turns back to Cross. Cross is frowning at him.

Ccino nods "I am."

Cross frowns "How?"

Ccino rolls his eye lights "Because I know Nightmare. Something i thought you four would by now as well." and he leaves.

Ccino hopes that with the slight dig it will compele their competitive sides to stick around and figure out how Ccino knew. Get to know this version of nightmare and see he is still the same guy. just smaller and younger.

Ccino gets back to his room and sighs as he lays in his own soft bed. He ends up laying awake for a while as his mind worries about everything that could go wrong.

eventually he falls asleep. his sleep fitful.

--

His alarm goes off early, before the sun has risen even. Ccino groans and rubs his sockets. shit this is why he tries to go to bed on time and leave the last night cleanup to others.

He yawns as he gets ready and dressed for the day before making his way towards the kitchen.

The castle has two kitchens. one is for the preparations of the large meals. which includes parties and the meals for the servants. The other, much smaller kitchen, is for the more private meals.

Ccino gets there and gets out some cooled dough which he starts to knead and prepare. he makes thin sheets of butter and layers it carefully with thin layers of dough.

Ccino had quite a few priveledges but also duties. one is that he is one of the few who is allowed to prepare food for nightmare unsupervised. his knights are the other ones.

nightmare is still worried and afraid of a betrayal and ccino had worked hard to gain his trust and faith.

The layers are complete and Ccino looks through the fridge for some filling. he grabs some raspberries before he notices some chocolate. crap he will need to figure something out for Error as well. make sure they don't lose their royal mage over this slight change.

Ccino will make some special chocolate croissants later and bring those to him as he shares the news. butter him up wiht sweets and reassure him that nothing has to change about Error's job and position. the teen really likes chocolate so Ccino hopes that is enough.

He rolls the layered dough around the raspberries in nice little croissant shapes before putting them in the stone oven to bake. in the meantime he peels some pears and oranges with care before cutting them into nice pieces. he puts it on the plate and grabs some milk from the fridge and fills a glass. Nightmare will have to start drinking and eating things to help his growth and healing. just in case he needs to recover after losing the corruption.

the croissants are ready and ccino plates them, leaving a few to the side for himself to eat later, before making his way towards the chambers.

He quickly spots cross and nods in greeting. Cross however stops him and smiles "I will bring his breakfast inside. I am sure you are busy." and he glances to the side.

Ccino frowns at the guard. strange. the don't normally offer that. much prefering to let ccino deal with having to wake up nightmare for the day.

Ccino studies the guard and notices that cross looks a bit nervous for some reason.

Ccino makes sure to look unimpressed "I much prefer to make sure he eats a bit before i continue with my duties." and he waits.

Cross looks more nervous but sighs as he steps aside. clearly giving in.

Ccino frowns at him before he opens the door and quietly steps inside. his voice is barely above a whisper to start with "good morning my liege."

Then he sees it.

Killer is asleep in Nightmare's bed as he holds the other protectively. a book open by his side. Ngihtmare lays rolled up and is holding unto killer's shirt tightly.

Ccino shoots cross a look and cross looks highly embarressed "Night- I mean. our king was nervous and just wasn't falling asleep. I got worried and wasn't sure what to do so i called Killer because he was here the longest. Killer wnet inside and he and nightmare spoke softly before killer just laid down with him and grabbed a book to read with nightmare. They fell asleep aroudn the same time and i just dind't want to interrupt their sleep as night- our king looked like he needed it badly." Cross looks to the side and mutters "I know i should ahve called you but i knew killer was awake and i knew you would be asleep by that point so.... yeah."

huh.

Ccino walks over to the bed and places the tray with food down. he sits down carefully on the bed and ignores the threatening aura that killer puts on. killer no doubt woke up to someone getting near and is ready for a fight.

instead ccino very carefully nudges nightmare "nightmare?"

nightmare gives a sleepy mumble before shooting him the stink eye. heh. Nightmare never was a morning person.

Ccino grins "I am sorry my liege. Do you wish to remain asleep for a bit longer?"

ngihtmare consider it for a moment and yawns before answering "Yeah."

Ccino nods "Very well. I will make sure that you have no appointments today in that case. your breakfast is here for when you want." he gets up and waits for a moment to see Ngihtmare hum sleepily before going back to sleep. leaning heavily against one of his trusted knights.

Ccino looks up and nods to killer beofre going towards the door.

Cross is still looking down embarressed. Ccino shoots him an amused look after the door closed "You cna just tell me next time. I could have prepared his breakfast later." he crosses his own arms.

Cross frowns and looks to the side "it is just... we are guards and guards shouldn't be this close and it is disrespectful."

Ccino raises a brow "You aren't just guards. you are his knights. his personal knights. of course he is going to trust you four above anything else. It is your duty to be there for him and protect him. The fact he is now a teen and may rely more on your four for emotional support as well is something none of us expected." he sighs as he says the next sentence "something we will obviously need to discuss as well. see if you four are okay wiht it and extra duties that come with this change, however long they may last and-"

cross glares "we don't mind!" he cringes and glances at the door before making his voice quieter "we know things are different and well things will change but just because he is now younger doesn't mean we aren't loyal anymore."

Ccino stares at him before grinning "good. honestly. much better. I was already worried i would have to figure out if there was another position to put you four back in instead of personal knights. deknighting is very looked down upon and could hurt nightmare's reputation. but if you four are still up for this and will remain loyal? well, all the better."

Cross looks shocked before nodding and going back to standing guard

ccino gives him a look "Who is going to switch with you?"

Cross mutters but answers eventually "Dust should be here soon."

Ccino nods "good. make sure to rest before you try any training. you have been up all night and standing the whole time." he gives him another look before turning and wlaking away.

He has quite the list of tasks for today to work through. formost is making sure nightmare cna just rest today. At least the knight situation is mostly stable and already taken care of.

As ccino had told nightmare the night before. sometimes the things that were scary in the night turned out to be just fine in the morning.

[ivystoryweaver]

Spectre

A Moon Knight Halloween Love Story

Event #5: House at the End of the Street

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Event #5 Summary: There’s a glaringly big issue. You’re dead and you really want your partner. In every way.

Pairing this chapter: MK system x f!reader

Word count: 3.5k

Content: angst, a reminder that this fic is nsfw, mdni! p in v, mentions of oral and other very suggestive thoughts and talk, all the yearning, ghost probs (no body), language, probably inaccurate DID (show based)

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PREVIOUSLY on "Spectre"...

Jake’s eyes were fluttering closed, his head dropping to the pillow.  “I’m so tired, but I don’t want to go to sleep.”

“Why not?” you asked, blinking innocently.

“Because...” another sigh, “I’m afraid that when I wake up, you’ll be gone.”

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"Spectorr!" Barney called over the usual Triple B's morning bustle.

The door's bell jingled as Jake pushed his way inside. He tipped his hat, greeting the oblivious owner, as Barney summoned him down to the side register. "Usual?"

As Jake bypassed several other customers, Barney noticed not only the flat cap, but a particular jacket and black gloves.

"Buenos dias," Jake flashed a grin.

"Mr. Lockley," Barney grinned. "Apologies. I'll get those hash browns started right away."

"Gracias," Jake shot back with a chuckle.

"Haven't seen you in a while, kid. How you doing?" Barney asked sincerely, getting to work on Jake's café au lait.

"The answer to that question is the fact that I'm here, Barn," Jake shrugged.

"Right, right," the older man nodded, his dark eyes shining with sympathy. "Still...how you holding up with things? Marc said he's having some trouble sleeping. Worried about you boys."

"I would tell you, but you would probably think I'm crazy."

"Whoa, now," Barney cautioned, "Your girl didn't let you talk like that. I'm not about to either. What's going on? Haven't seen Marc in here for days."

Jake wasn't really the care-and-share type. But Barney had a way of disarming everyone.

Besides, Jake wasn't exactly a pretentious fellow. He had nothing to hide.

Leaning in over the counter, Jake glanced around him and lowered his voice. "You believe in ghosts?"

Barney folded his thick arms over his round tummy. "You for real, Lockley?"

"I saw her. Talked to her. So did Marc." He kept his voice just loud enough to be heard over the hiss of the griddle and the bustle of morning customers.

Barney's eyes went wide. "You serious?"

Jake shrugged again. "Told you it sounds crazy. Why do you think Marc's not sleeping? Why do you think I'm here?"

Right then, Jake's order came up. "Figured it was for the café au lait." Barney winked, handing over the to-go hash browns and beverage. "On the house."

"You're a legend, Barn," Jake gave a little salute.

Taking his bag and disposable cup, he ventured back out into town - the town you'd loved so much. It was typically Marc and Steven walking these streets, living in daylight. Jake enjoyed the dark - his car, the noise of the city - the mystery of it.

But he loved you more. So an adorable bungalow in this little town was the life for him.

But now you were gone.

Today, he would work Marc's hardware store shift. He didn't mind. Hopefully Steven would show up for his library shift tomorrow. Sitting in a silent environment filled with old books was about like watching paint dry, at least for Jake.

He had a pleasant day working with his hands. He half expected to hear from one of his alters in various shop windows, but his walk home was quiet - adorned only by jack-o-lanterns, oversized cobwebs and the crunch of leaves under his boots. Then he happened upon the "Mystic Delights and Other Charming Novelties" shop, where Ms. Marjorie was waiting in the doorway, as usual.

"Lovely evening," she called. "Mr...Mr. Lockley, isn't it?"

Jake removed his hat and pushed his fingers through his hair. "Don't think I've had the pleasure, Ms..."

"Ms. Marjorie," she returned. "I'm an acquaintance of Mr. Grant. I won't keep you if you're busy. Just wanted to say hello."

Jake nodded, intrigued by the strange old woman. "I'll, uh...I'll tell Steven you say hi. Nice meeting you."

"He told me a little, you know - about her. I'm sorry for your loss."

Jake normally wouldn't discuss his home life with strangers but he knew how to read people. Kindness lingered behind her eyes. The corners of those eyes crinkled with a sympathetic smile. "Goodnight, dear."

Jake nodded. "Buenas noches, Señora."

A bluster of wind swirled around Jake as he pulled his cap back over his curls.

The rest of the walk home was uneventful. Even Mrs. Nockles didn't magically appear to force a conversation. No, Jake walked all the way to Elm Street without incident. He thought he might eat a little something and then take a nap before working in the city tonight - both jobs.

He wanted to get back to the things that were his: the car, the darkness.

And he wanted to see you. He half expected you to be sitting on the bed once he climbed the stairs to the bedroom to change clothes. Even after a shower and that nap he was so interested in - nothing.

He finally got dressed to head out to his actual job, pausing at your front-porch-photograph hanging outside the bedroom in the hallway.

"Te amo," he whispered, swiping one finger over your pictured hair before pulling on his gloves.

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The next morning, Steven woke up late. Not surprising, given that Jake was out most of the night.

You were there, perched on the end of the bed. You had become aware of yourself - conscious - while they slept. You watched your partner resting, longing to talk to him. And wondering if you would be seen once they woke up.

Steven saw nothing.

You followed closely behind him as he brushed his teeth and got dressed, sighing in defeat as he walked out of the bedroom, pausing by your picture in the hallway.

"'Mornin' my love," he softly greeted. "Miss you so much today. Almost feels like you're here. Guess I was a bit too hard on Marc. Might be going a bit bonkers myself. Thought I saw you in the window the other night."

You rose (floated?) to your feet, wishing with all your non-corporeal form that you could run to Steven and shake him.

"Steven, I'm here!" You called out. "Wait, please, I'm right here!'

But he left. You couldn't follow. You could never follow. Anytime you tried to leave the room you only ended up back in the Dark Place.

It happened a lot. It was like it took a lot of focus and energy to stay in this room.

Steven came home tired and oblivious. Ms. Marjore and Mrs. Nockles had invited him in for sandwiches, but he could barely keep his eyes open. He never lifted his gaze to find the bedroom curtains rustling. And of course, he couldn't see you there, waiting on the bed.

But the following morning, Marc did.

Steven had fallen into bed by 7pm, and Jake was exhausted from fronting. They slept all night, leaving Marc feeling quite refreshed.

Rubbing his eyes, he sat up in bed only to see you there on the end, waiting for him.

"Oh shit," he hissed, in surprise, running his hands over his face to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. By this point, he expected you to murmur some tortured nonsense and float out the window. But you scooted closer, seeming quite yourself.

"Marc?"

His dark eyes blinked and then narrowed, scrutinizing you for a moment. Was he dreaming?

Your head dropped in defeat when he failed to answer. "You can't see me," you lamented.

"Sweetheart, yeah. I can see you. I see you."

Your head snapped back up, making your hood fall down. "Marc," you breathed. "Hi..." You weren't sure what to say. You didn't want to scare him again.

"Hey," he softly returned, pulling back the covers to slide closer to you. "Don't leave, okay?"

"I won't," you quickly assured him, momentarily distracted as your eyes flickered down to his bare chest, trailing down his soft tummy, over the tantalizing bulge hidden by black boxer briefs. The thin fabric barely wrapped around his thick thighs.

Ahem.

"You’ve been gone. I missed you," you told him, eager to have a real chance to talk to Marc. "I'm so sorry I was scaring you. I wasn't trying to."

"I know, baby," he quickly nodded. "It's okay. I just..."

Your gazes locked.

His dark eyebrows shifted as he studied you quizzically...almost hopefully. “Jake said you talked to him for a while. That you seemed…clearer.”

You nodded eagerly. Feelings were still strange to you, but you were sure you felt relieved that Marc wanted to talk with you. That he wasn’t so traumatized by your presence.

He scooted closer - so close that, if you had a living body, your thighs would have been touching. His eyes studied you so carefully, with such tender regard, you were almost certain he wanted to kiss you.

“Is it true that you can’t leave this room?” He asked you, his voice tinged with sadness.

You chewed where your lip used to be, thoughtfully. “Yeah, I don’t think can leave. Not that I can remember.”

On instinct, he reached for your hand, but came up empty.

“Marc, I…I’m sorry.”

“‘S okay, baby. Not your fault.” He granted you a tender smile, but pain lingered behind his eyes. “You really weren’t downstairs the other night? In the living room, in my chair?”

Your eyebrows shifted in confusion. “I was sitting in your chair?”

“No, I was,” he explained. “You were sitting…well, on top of me.” Marc scrubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

So cute.

“I was sitting on top of you in your chair?” You repeated, blinking innocently. “What was I doing on top of you?”

Marc chuckled sheepishly, his dark lashes kissing his cheeks as his gaze dropped.

“Jake said you saw me naked,” you went on. “Was I naked, on top of you?’

This was too adorable. Marc Spector was blushing. “I, uh…I had too much to drink, I think. Probably a dream.”

“Was it a good dream?” You whispered, drawing his gaze back to you.

Marc peered at you openly now, his eyes locking on to yours. “You remember the seventh inning stretch?”

Oh, that.

Marc used to watch baseball games in his favorite chair. Occasionally, you watched too. Sometimes you were upstairs writing in your loft. Eventually, you would venture down and ask Marc how much longer til the game was over. He would always promise you he’d come upstairs during the seventh inning stretch - which, on television was simply another commercial break.

If Marc ever needed any convincing, you would simply appear in the living room wearing nothing. Once you had his attention, you would climb on top of him. Sometimes you were sure Marc pretended to ignore you just a little too long for the express purpose of you crawling on top of him in that damn chair and giving him a good ride.

You had a lot of good times in that old chair.

“I guess it had to be a dream,” he reasoned, pulling you from your reverie. “Damn good one.” Then he repeated something Jake had said. “You’re still so beautiful.”

You...swallowed? Your eyes fluttering down to Marc’s perfect, full lips, which he was presently moistening with his tongue.

What was going on? You were dead and he was very much alive. What kind of a ghost had…desires?

You were staring. Blatantly.

There were definitely more important issues than attraction right now, but Marc couldn’t help the way he responded to you. He loved you as much at this moment as he ever did when you were alive.

“Marc, I… it’s probably not fair to you, for me to be here like this. I mean…I still love you. But you…you should - "

“Do not say I should move on,” he warned, tearing his eyes from yours. “Don’t even think it.”

You found yourself speechless for a moment, which concerned him. Maybe you would become confused again, and disappear.

“Baby, I’m sorry. I’m not mad, just - don’t go yet, okay?” His voice broke as his eyes shone with moisture. “Don’t leave me just yet.”

“Hey, I’m here,” you soothed, drifting to stand in front of him. Peering down at him earnestly, you wondered how a dead vapor of a woman with no pulse and no heartbeat could feel such a burn in her chest - such a gut-wrenching longing.

You were presently dead. That was a fact. Which meant you were haunting Marc. If you kept this up, it would only hurt him. He would never be able to move on. But before you could figure out how to express your concerns, he beat you to it.

"I'm worried about you," Marc quietly confessed, his fingers toying with the vapor that was your hand. This small action both soothed and electrified you somehow.

“About me?”

“Yeah,” he whispered. “Jake said you don’t know where you are, or why you’re not with your parents. I’m so sorry.”

You didn’t answer - your face simply twisted as it was prone to do when you were carefully thinking, or sometimes, writing.

Marc would often find you in your loft, staring at a blank screen, your precious face twisted in thought.

“You’re stuck on a detail, right?” He would sweetly interrupt.

It was always true. You knew the outline of your story - where you wanted to go, but you would fuss over the details of the overalls your character wore, or how a strand of hair fell. Marc would help you zoom out and keep your eye on the big picture. Get the rough draft down. Be objective.

Steven would go through first and second drafts with you. He could spot continuity errors or suggest the slightest detail to brighten a paragraph.

Jake didn’t work with you too often, but he would take your manuscripts out at night with him and read them in his car. Jake always had a emotional suggestion. Even though you wrote children’s books, he would ask questions about their motivations.

“My 3 editors,” you would call them. You took their suggestions quite seriously, sometimes to the bewilderment of your actual editor.

Marc’s voice softly pulled you back to the present moment. “Sweetheart? You’re drifting away.” Peering down at him, you saw his eyes wide and worried.

“Marc?” You whispered. “Did I…was I gone just now?”

“No,” he confirmed. “Just quiet for a few minutes. I thought you might not come back for a while.”

A smile warmed your face. “No, I was remembering. It was…nice.”

After that, you and Marc got back on track - discussing the darkness and where you might be - why you weren’t at rest. You talked through some theories. Maybe this was the afterlife? Your bedroom - the place where you lived so much life, ate so many breakfasts-in-bed, sweetly conversed while moonlight streamed through the window.

Where your lover had held you in his arms, on his chest while you slept. The place filled with passion, heated lovemaking - night after night, tangled together in the sheets - the heavy length of him inside you…the press of his hips pinning you to the mattress.

The thickness of his thighs caging you in as you took him into your mouth, or the mess of dark curls between your thighs first thing in the morning.

Steven’s soft whimpers against your breast as he would suck you there.

The way you would pull Jake into bed by his tie at 4 am, end up with his gloved fingers stuffed deep into your pussy and his flat cap on your head. The tie would eventually secure your wrists to the bedpost and then you were in for it.

There wasn’t a thing you wouldn’t try with your partner and you loved every second of it.

The filthy words Marc would breathe on your neck as he would take you from behind.

He loved to find you half asleep, waiting naked for him to finish the baseball game. He would slide under the covers and pull you close - kiss a trail down the side of your neck as your legs fell open for him. Thick fingers slid between your folds to find you wet already.

Marc would lazily roll your clit between his thumb and finger -that sensation alone elicited lust filled moans that would make him instantly hard. You were already coming by the time he slid inside you, cupping your mound - pushing you down into his upward thrust.

This is how he fucked you for the last time. You whimpered and moaned and begged for more. So he gripped your hips hard enough to bruise, pulling you up on all fours. Standing on his knees, he slammed into you from behind, but you wanted it harder. Harder.

You came again, blinding hot pleasure making you shriek as your back arched and your cunt gushed hot and wet all over him. He gathered you close as you murmured his name, begging him to stay inside you until he was hard again.

You fell asleep hot and wet and joined, and he slowly, deeply fucked you awake as the sun rose for your last day on Earth.

So maybe this was heaven.

You heard Marc calling your name once more.

“Sorry…I was remembering again.”

“I know, sweet girl,” he choked out. Looking down at him, there on the edge of the bed, you realized his cheeks were flushed and he shifted with the slight discomfort of a man with an erection.

“You were talking about the last time we were in bed together. In detail. Like...writer's detail.” His dark eyebrows shifted curiously. “You don’t remember?”

“I…said all that out loud?” If you had an actual face, it would feel hot right now. “Shit - I’m sorry. I guess I was just wondering if a place with so many good memories could be…heaven.”

This sobered Marc a little. Pushing off the bed, he…readjusted himself before raking a hand through his hair. He paced over to the window, giving you a delicious view from behind, before he whirled on his heel, back to you. “Lot of good memories, yeah.”

You eased over to him, reaching out. All you wanted was to feel his arms around you. When you came up empty, you saw his beautiful eyes moisten as his throat bobbed.

How could this be heaven if Marc was sad? And how could you share any more of those precious or salacious moments if you couldn’t touch him?

You just gave him an erection, for fucks sake.

"I'm happy, you know," he said softly, "if you drift to a good memory instead of the dark. It's...not something you need to apologize for. I'm glad for it."

"But you're sad," you whispered fervently. "I'm hurting you. Just by existing, I - "

"No," he hissed. "Don't say it's better if you're gone. Please just...don't fucking say it."

"But, Marc, I - "

The way his eyes flashed gave you pause.

"I better not list the house for sale," he murmured, mostly to himself. He ran his hand over his chin thoughtfully before finding your gaze once more. "I'm not gonna leave you here."

A breath you would never actually breathe caught in your chest, where your lungs should be. "You were going to sell the house?"

His head dropped, almost shamefully. "Babe, I...I'm not like them - Steven and Jake. I don't...adjust to things. I can't look at your pictures the way they do, or even talk about you..." He sniffed as his voice cracked with emotion. "This house isn't the same without you in it and I thought...I thought I would just - "

"Run," you interjected. "You thought you would run. Because Marc Spector thinks he can run faster than his pain, or punch it out of someone else."

He physically withdrew as your words stung him. It was delivered with more candor than you intended.

"I don't mean to judge you, Marc. I'm sorry, I..."

"No, you're right," he admitted. Marc knew what he was. He was just...made wrong. "Steven loves it here. It's his home. And Jake's at home anywhere his car is. Or we are. Steven and me. But I...I can't...can't seem to get myself together. Shit."

He shook his head, tearing his fingers through his hair. "Listen to me. What the hell am I even talking about when you're the one who..."

"You're grieving," you spoke softly. Sweetly. "There's no right way to do it. You're not wrong to need a change. You're not wrong to be angry. I know I am."

Marc nodded, feeling awful for somehow making this issue you were having about his pain. Pathetic. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart. What can I do?"

"Marc, hey...look at me?" You wanted him to stop for a second and just be with you. He complied, the pain he felt pulling the corners of his mouth down. The wrinkle you used to smooth away with your fingers appeared between his thick eyebrows.

"Take it easy on yourself? For me?"

Easier said than done.

"And...and maybe don't sell the house just yet?" You barely managed that request in a choked whisper. "If this is the only place I am besides the dark, and...and you guys leave then, I'm afraid - "

"Of the dark," he solemnly concluded. Reaching for your hand again - pointless, though it was, he made a vow. "Baby, look at me. I will never leave you here alone. Never. I promise you."

You nodded, certain you could feel a warm reassurance washing over you. "Thank you. I love you so much."

"I love you too. Always."

Next

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

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[skrunkly-baloongis]

Four Bastards of the Yan-pocalypse play Animal Crossing: New Horizons:

Jack

John Doe

Alan

Ren/[Redacted]

Note: This is just my opinion and please dont take it seriously lol. Also, I wrote all of this while sleep deprived so if none of it makes sense, sorry lmfao ;w;

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

Jack:

Favorite villager(s):

Would probably be Pietro or Goldie. Pietro due to the clown look and how cute he is, and Goldie because she's so sweet.

Favorite Activities:

I could easily see him as a very helpful person. Helping Guliver and Gulivarr, helping Harv with Reese and Cyrus, and easily befriending villagers left and right. He probably really likes the cooking mechanic of the game, as food is a universal love language. Extra points if you cook right along with him. Will probably cry if you gift him anything.

Favorite NPC's:

I'd say either Harv or Timmy and Tommy. Harv because of how sweet he is, and Timmy and Tommy because of how cute and endearing they are (just like you!)

________________________________________

John Doe:

Favorite Villager(s):

You probably saw this coming from a mile away, but Coco, Kiki, and Jitters. Coco because he likes her look, Kiki because she's black like his hair and she's pretty cool, and Jitters because...well...Just look at the dude lol

Favorite Things to do:

When it comes down to this, I honestly think Doe would be fine with whatever. I think he would like fishing and finding fossils just so he could run up to you and go "HEY LOOK AT THIS IT REMINDS ME OF YOUUUUUU" and it's legit an oarfish lmfao. He also probably wears a custom design sweater you made of his irl sweater in game.

Favorite NPC's:

I think he would like how cracked out Blathers looks. Just a nervous little mess of a man. I think he would like that. Either that or he'd really like Flick, specifically when Flick tries catching a bug and failing. (Then he can "Show this lizard boy how it's done").

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

Alan

Favorite Villagers:

Lmfao roast me all you want but Apollo all the way baby. Apollo, Dobie, Fang and Fauna. Apollo, Dobie and Fang because he thinks they look cool and likes interracting with them, and Fauna because she reminds him of his Doe-Eyes!

Favorite Things to Do:

A legend at material gathering. Need some wood? Bro he's out the door with his little axe ready to swing for you. Fishing? This man has enough fucking fish to fill three museums. You have to beg him to stop. He likes watching you go about your business as you talk to villagers and do whatever. He especially likes it when you bring him small gifts! Whether it be a new axe, fishing rod, or (his most recent favorite) ungodly ammounts of freshly cooked soup, he will cherish it like no tomorrow and be sad if he has to empty his pockets due to lack of storage.

Favorite NPC's:

I could see him really liking Cyrus. Both work well with their hands and are pretty talented at it! I could also see him liking Brewster as well, just for his kinda chill vibes. Plus, getting coffee with you would make his day!

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

Ren/[Redacted]

Favorite Villagers:

For Ren, I would say he would like Judy, Chelsea, and Merry. Honestly any cute villager! Especially ones that remind him of how cute he thinks you are! For [Redacted], Muffy, Kabuki and Lucky! [Redacted] has a stark difference from what Ren enjoys, opting for more darker and creepier villagers.

Favorite Things to Do:

Given his (both Ren/[Redacted]'s) hacker occupation, he really loves modding the game! Dont worry about your switch being bricked, he's got you covered. He'll add in things ranging from old villagers, to even new gameplay mechanics just to see what could happen. In regards to vanilla animal crossing, he really likes seeing what you're up to. He's the type to collect shells and flowers for you and leave them outside the house as gifts. Similar to Jack, he would probably melt through the floor if you left him something.

Favorite NPC's:

Flick would probably be one of his favorites. He's so cool! Just look at him! Another favorite would be Kicks because of how cute he looks, and because he can buy you stuff from him lol.

[casp1an-sea]

FANDOMS

if anyone actually reads all this, I’ll be impressed

Tv show themes through the years playlist

I colored the ones I cared most about in each section if none are colored it means I care about the things in that section equally.

Star Wars:

Original Trilogy 

Prequels 

I dont consider myself a sequels fan but I am obsessed with HUX and Kylux and basically anything first order

Rouge One

Star Wars Legends

Star wars Infinites

Star Wars as written by William Shakespeare 

Star Wars Clone Wars

The Bad Batch

Star Wars Rebels

Andor 

Mandolorian 

Obi-Wan Kenobi Series 

Star Wars Visions 

Tales of the Jedi 

Tales of the Empire

Anything Lego Star Wars 

THE ACOLYTE (may it rest in piece)

—————————————————————————

Marvel:

the movies (I’m not caught up yet) 

Falcon and the winter soldier 

Loki (not caught up) 

Wanda Vision

Avengers Assemble (literally so weird and silly) (not finished with season 5)

spider verse

Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies

Andrew Garfield, Spider-Man movies

—————————————————————————

Musicals/Plays:

Newsies

Bye Bye Biride

Christmas Carol

Wonka

Little mermaid

Shrek

Wizard of OZ

Anything goes

Sponge Bob

Beauty and the Beast

Guys and Dolls

Hamilton

Six

The guy who didn’t like musicals

twisted

ride the cyclone

Les Mis

The lighting thief (not finished)

into the woods

Kinda bat boy (HOLD ME BAT BOY TOUCH ME BAT BOY)

Gatsby

Romeo and Juliet

Macbeth

—————————————————————————

Games:

Zac McKraken and the Alien Mindbenders!!!! (Literally the best game)

Twisted Wonderland (read through book 6)

Ultimate Shark Simulator

Hogwarts Mystery (not caught up)

KOTOR (not caught up)

Star Wars Asault Team

Minecraft

Jedi Fallen Order (not finished)

—————————————————————————

Anime:

MHA (stopped watching mid season 4 only really care about Iida)

OHSHC

BSD

Angels of death 

Darling in the franxx (only really care about Goro)

Saki k (haven’t seen season 2)

—————————————————————————

Minecraft SMPs:

EVO

Dream SMP (not caught up)

Empires SMP

X Life 

After Life 

New Life 

Rats 

Pirates (not caught up) 

Trafic Light/Life Series (I only watch Jimmy, Joel, and Martin’s POVs)

—————————————————————————

2000s Kids shows:

MLP G3 and Friendship is Magic

Wild Kratts 

Octonauts 

TMNT 2012

Odd Squad 

imagination movers

Dinosaur Train

Lego Friends (The og version)

Monster High

Ever After High

Avatar the Last Air Bender 

Sofia the first

Elena of Avalore

dinosaur train

—————————————————————————

Weird Sci-fi and Fantasy Shows:

Doctor Who (only on the 4th Doctor) 

Read All About it 

H2O Just Add Water 

Wolf Blood 

Fragle Rock

Mako Mermaids (only watched season 1)

Alien Surfer Girls/Lightning Point

Thunder Stone 

Girl From Tomorrow 

Ocean Girl 

Sparticle Mystery 

Elephant Princess (featuring Liam Hemsworth) 

Eerie Indiana 

Girl’s World

House of Anubis 

A girl named Jo (not sci-fi or Fantasy) 

Hardy Boys Nancy Drew Mysteries (not sci-fi or Fantasy) 

Blue Water High (not sci-fi or Fantasy) 

The Prisoner 

Spell Binder 

Just Add Magic 

Maddigan’s Quest 

The Next Step (not sci-fi or Fantasy) 

Return to Jupiter 

Rocket’s Island 

Parallels

Silver Sun (not caught up) 

—————————————————————————

Disney Plus Telenovelas: 

Violeta 

Soy Luna 

Bia 

Intertwined 

O11CE

L-Pop

—————————————————————————

Misc fandoms and shows:

Harry Potter (not caught up, I do not support J.K. Rowling or read the books) 

The Tick (og cartoon version) 

Monk

The Outsiders (movie, book, and 90s Tv series) 

Alex Rider (the show not the books) 

Wild at Heart (never finished) 

White Collar 

National Treasure Edge of History 

The Lodge

Descendants 

Z-O-M-B-I-E-S

Gilligan’s Island

NCIS New Orleans

Hell of a Boss

Hazbin Hotel

Heart Stopper

OFMD (not caught up)

Julie and the Phantoms 

Disney in general 

Tinker bell

—————————————————————————

Book series: 

Percy Jackson (currently only read the lightning thief)

The Final Six 

Horizon 

Thea Sisters (when I was little) 

Chronicles of Narnia

Wizard of Oz

The black stallion

Series of unfortunate events

The Outsiders

The Waterfire Saga

[jadetheblueartist]

I have lil questions about spiders web widens!

Does Frida mainly live in the Hotel or the Battle Nexus (I would assume the battle nexus would have lodging)? And if she lives down in the hidden city would Frida be allowed to sneak up to the surface? Or does Big mama keep her close at all times?

Also is it known to the public that Frida is Big Mama’s daughter?

Alsoooooo is there any lil fun fact(s) you’d like to share about Camille?

Hi, Moo! Thanks for the questions ^^ this was a really well timed ask bc I was thinking about all of these today so yay

This was very long so imma put a cut hahaha

1. So. What I’ve been thinking so far is that Frida (and Big Mama) would live in the hotel. I believe that one room with the lava lamp to be hers, as I’ve probably mentioned before but let’s just pretend I didn’t. But today I was watching “Battle Nexus: New York” and at the end, after the shredder attack, the entire hotel crumbles to the ground. I did not notice this before so unless it’s in the last two episodes that I plan on watching tomorrow, I guess they won’t be living there during SWW? I think they would be almost done rebuilding but would be in an alternate place probably. Mama’s web of resources is quite expansive so they probably will have some place else I’ll figure out the details to later.

When she was an active participant in the Nexus, Frida would have lived there. This was probably several months, but at the point of the story, she’s a couple years retired from the Nexus. Not by choice (though she would have chosen that), Big Mama just felt she was getting too much attention and didn’t want her to develop an ego.

Wherever their new living space is, it probably is in the Hidden City, but Friday doesn’t get the opportunity to roam. Her job is to assist Big Mama, and Frida is a bit of a workaholic. Never leaves her side except for when Mama sends her on errands. Big Mama has quite the hold on her, but it can’t stop Frida from taking an extra second to people watch… she has quite the interest in them.

2. Frida’s public image is a bit choppy. She’s a sort of legend in that not many people know much about her and lots of info seems to conflict. Many know Big Mama has a child- it’s in her name after all- but they can’t often put a face to the child. She grew up around the hotel but didn’t do much apart from her studies. Then once she got to an age Mama deemed old enough to fight, she became known as a warrior and eventually a champion. Once she had proved herself (or really, once Mama felt threatened by the amount of attention Frida was getting), she retired from the Battle Nexus and began her duties at the Hotel. She became known by the other staff members as “Big Sis”- no longer the child they had seen grow up, now a seasoned killing machine. Once the opportunity arose, Frida became Mama’s assistant until it was her main and most important role. When she makes appearances in public, her masked persona is known for her strength and brutality. When she is unmasked, she is the daughter of Big Mama- prestigious and powerful. Very few know the true extent of who she actually is. And wow this is getting long…

3. Hehehe I was just wanting to mention this ^^ I don’t think I’ve discussed Camille’s mystic abilities. In SWW, there is a distinct difference between mystic stuff and the Hamato ninpo. What Frida uses is her ninpo; Camille has had no such luck with ninpo stuff though (being alone for most of her life and all that). She does, however, possess a knack for mystic stuff and has some “natural” mystic powers. I say natural bc it’s as natural as it can be when you were made in a lab.

So first, she has psychometric precognition and retrocognition. That means when she can see the future or past (specifically relating to the individual) when she touches people. This results in her greeting people by just grabbing their faces (“I know more stuff the closer I touch to their head”). It’s not consistent though. For instance, it doesn’t always happen. She may touch someone and get nothing then do it again and oh wow so many visions all at once. She also can’t tell if it’s future stuff or past stuff which leads to lots of confusion.

Second, it’s not an innate power but Draxum taught her a telekinetic spell which is one of the few things she managed to remember from that time. She has the spell running almost constantly bc it’s very convenient and plays into her fighting style a lot.

[parallax-polysemy]

🎭Backstory (and notes)🎭

Part l - Debut

The girl, an abandoned orphan, lived without knowledge of her origins or destination after the group she had lived with disbanded, and after she left the cruel excuse for an orphanage until she encountered a small group of people. From a distance, she watched a black-haired lady with a double ponytail, gracefully moving across the stage like a butterfly. Despite donning various masks, they did not hinder her laughs and cries during her performance, captivating the audience even from afar. The butterfly leaped in front of her, then flew back up. Then, she remembered that she was watching the performance from beneath the stage from her large cage. As if she would ever be able to see it from the perspective of a normal audience member. But as usual, she continued to watch the performances for countless days, but she remained an audience member, never stepping into the spotlight. After one of the shows ended, she asked the lady if even just once, if she could perform up there like she had seen. With a smile, the black-haired lady handed her a mask. "Why not? You are 'Milana’, now. Go, it's time for your debut." As the curtain, serving as the fourth wall, was drawn, the stage remained dimly lit, revealing an unsettling black void. Though wearing a mask, she knew the audience could see and hear her. She kept recalling the woman’s performance, imitating her movements, voice, and demeanor. "You've done very well for your first time." “But my performance... Was not perfect." "That is a minor hiccup, but not a problem as long as nobody notices the difference... By the way, we are leaving tomorrow, so for as long as you want, you are Milana, and you can make her whoever you want her to be." Seiun wanted to say something, but the lady affectionately rubbed her head, effectively making her forget whatever it was that she was going to say. "Not many people care about you like we do, We're just a small group of very good people, and we don't have grand aspirations of becoming famous in the cosmos... It brings me joy to meet someone like you who will remember even a insignificant character named Milana... Don't cry, you can keep this mask. Now it's yours, Milana Suvi." Seiun nodded. "When you don this mask, you have the power to become anyone and no one... If you truly aspire to be an actor, don't limit yourself to this small stage. Set your sights on the larger world and explore new horizons."

Part II - A Dilemma

As one of the few Living Shadows, the girl lacked the freedom to choose. She was bound to live her life according to the dictates of the mask, as “puppets” were mere vessels for the masks. According to their legend, the longer a “puppet” dons a mask, the higher the chances of the puppet acquiring a soul, resembling a true human. The longer a puppet dons a mask, the more they begin to forget who they were without it until all that is left is the persona of the mask. However, as she had no interest in staying human, being a puppet was not an unfavorable choice for her. She dutifully obeyed the commands of the mask, despite the risk of attracting pursuers, as defying the mask proved to be challenging. Movement was a crucial aspect. By the will of the mask, she needed to smile sweetly when happy, hold her forehead while crying, grit her teeth when angry, narrow her eyes when jealous, and make a scene when in despair. There were also signature gestures, such as raising her eyebrows slightly to face others with the left side of her face, and raising her hand to express love, although she had to lower it later, as slightly biting her lower lip was the way to convey her true desires. Voice was another aspect. Depending on the situation, her voice needed to be cheerful when happy, mellifluous when expressing lyrical emotions, calm and assertive when making statements, strained when harboring hatred, and sorrowful when filled with grief. Remarkably, she managed to sustain this way of life for years, seamlessly blending into her surroundings and even becoming a playwright. Nobody ever suspected that she wore a mask. However, she couldn't help but wonder if there existed another type of "mask" in the world — perhaps someone wearing such a mask would laugh when seeking revenge, shed tears when smiling, remain silent when raging... And speak the most sarcastic remarks with the utmost calmness. Naturally, she couldn't do this due to the will of the mask, but as a playwright, making her characters on stage act like this was easy for her. One morning, the doorbell rang, but it wasn't her usual delivery person at the door. "Dear Miss Milana, I wonder if we could have a chat?" "We have read your latest work, and we're curious if you know anything about the 'Mask'..."

Character Story: Part III

The girl realized that she must be under some kind of curse. Why else couldn't she feel any stimuli? Her sense of pain, taste, and smell were all intact, yet she was unable to react to them. Naturally, she couldn't experience joy, anger, sadness, or a range of emotions. She could only strive to observe others' reactions in various situations to understand their feelings, and then attempt to copy them. Or somehow find or make a new mask... "...How would you feel if you were drinking a cup of bitter tea? How would you drink it?" Although tied to the chair and immobilized, the homeless man on the left made an appreciative gesture and nodded. The girl in the middle immediately cried and shook her head in denial, while the madam on the right wrinkled her nose in disgust. "What if you were in an extremely cold hut, with only this cup of tea at hand?" Naturally, the man nodded. The girl cried for a while and then reluctantly accepted, while the lady still reacted in disgust. She continued to change her scenarios and ask questions day and night until her interviewees passed out. She would send them home and seek out new targets for her "interviews." During that time, the small town's inhabitants all had the same nightmare. They found themselves trapped in a place where a faceless young girl politely asked them questions, and they had no choice but to answer. They could only provide responses repeatedly until the young girl meticulously finished recording every detail on paper masks, one after another. Whenever a mask was filled, it was replaced by another. This nightmare was soon replaced by another, as residents claimed to see porcelain masks flying through the air in the middle of the night. The masks would talk to each other, faintly glowing before eventually disappearing, resembling sparklers in the night sky. They appeared every night, as if they were residents living in the shadow of the town. In a dark basement, a young lady remained unaware of this bought of fear throughout the town. She had gathered enough information about people's nuanced emotions and their perceptions of different things... To make more masks. She firmly believed that although she possessed no emotions, the masks she created had flesh and blood. She even believed that one day, they would become real beings.

Part IV - View

"There are a few versions that are particularly popular." When Seiun arrived at Lupin Bar, she admitted her deeds. "Liking and believing are two different things, but people are more likely to believe in their favorite stories." "Lies? Come on, I'm not trying to tell a grand story or fabricate an eye-catching experience... I'm wholeheartedly exercising my imagination for my own sake. I imagine various lives, seek excitement, and then recreate them as best I can, and pump the brakes on my imaginative balloon just a second before it bursts." "Seriously, having a script is far from enough. First and foremost, I must wholeheartedly believe that the character I'm portraying truly exists. Then, I need to imagine the other stories where the character would appear. I always need extra information to make their motivation logical and emotional." "And only then will I feel I can grasp the essence of the character without being influenced by others. After all, when I encounter other people, I won't know what they want until I know who they are. Sometimes, you simply like the appearance of a character, and sometimes, you just want to experience it for fun. I do that sometimes, too." "And of course, there are those who play solely for the sake of gain or to be regarded in that way, hoping for unimaginable wealth, status, or power... Anyway, what I'm trying to convey is that in such an environment, who but myself can guarantee that I won't stray from my intended path and become a character in someone else's story? Nobody! That's why I have to tirelessly imagine and immerse myself in the act." "No, I'm not denying it... It's truly addictive to me. The more I imagine, the more I get absorbed in those characters, the wonderful and tragic situations I create for them, and the emotions they experience in those circumstances..." "Sure, I used to think about that kind of life... Joining a troupe, becoming an actor, traveling to unknown places for performances, creating a character with my own name on it... But then, one day, I had a sudden realization!" "If you want to perform, is there a stage more captivating than your own life?"

IMPORTANT NOTES

A Important thing to remember while reading her story is that almost all of it is symbolic or one thing means another thing.

•Firstly almost none of this is how its read

•its almost all a metaphor for something because I’m delusional. Her story needs a some thinking to fully understand it too.

•The group mentioned in the beginning is the Sheep

•Due to the fact that she and Milana are technically the same person, a lot of memories of things that specifically happened to MILANA have been fused to Seiun’s mind, making her believe that those things are her own personal memories. If that makes sense.

•Some people who have known Seiun for long enough would/are probably aware of her split personalities or that she and Milana are the same person, because once you’ve seen/heard enough of her and interacted enough with them, you’d be able to connect the dots like the corresponding memories, them sharing close appearances and more. Currently, Nakahara Chuuya, Osamu Dazai, Yuan and Shirase of The Sheep, and Aster Chase are the only people who know, but they play along with it because of the possible risks.

Seiun views the world as a metaphorical stage, where people "perform" by simply being who they are. The woman Seiun watches isn’t literally performing on a stage; Seiun just perceives her actions as a performance because of her own perspective.

When Seiun watches from "beneath the stage" or from a "cage," these terms represent her situation as a 15 to 17-year-old girl living in a large wooden box in an alleyway. She’s been through a lot, and she’s observing the woman, who is aware of Seiun’s presence and intentionally "performs" where Seiun can see her.

When Seiun asks the woman to "perform too," she’s really asking if the woman would take her in and teach her how to fit in with normal people, hoping to escape her current life. The woman, who is actually Misteln, agrees to help because she was the one who helped create Milana—another identity for Seiun.

The "curtain" symbolizes the shift that happens when Seiun puts on the "mask" of Milana. Once she adopts this new persona, the world becomes dark and scary, but she remembers how Misteln and others acted, which guides her.

The talk of "masks" refers to the different personas Seiun adopts. When she "dons the mask" of Milana, she’s taking on that persona. This is metaphorical, but also somewhat literal, given her abilities to switch identities.

EXPLANATION ABOUT MILANA (@summer-lantern) AND SEIUN -

Seiun is Milana's original, true self—her core identity beneath all the masks and layers she presents to the world. However, Seiun has adopted the persona of Milana so frequently that Milana has effectively become her default identity.

To others, it might seem like Milana is the real person and that Seiun is just an alternate persona she occasionally takes on. But in reality, it's the opposite: Seiun is the genuine self, while Milana is the constructed persona that has taken on a life of its own. The key is that Seiun is always present, but she’s acting as Milana, even though it appears that Milana is the primary identity. People around her just haven't realized this truth yet.

TAGS:

@paintedgrilledcheese

@dazai-mackerel

@myluckymoon

@i-brought-the-heat-back (나는 네가 이해하지 못하는 이것에 너무 많은 시간을 보냈어 😨)

@my-taintedsorrow

[lovetgr76]

Catherine & Jackson

S1e6 Follies

S1e6 Follies

Standish, Ho, Guy, and Harper are still at the Smithfield café.  They call in information about the kidnappers vehicle, but realize they’re not able to do much more from there.  Harper and Guy take off in the direction the kidnappers vehicle, while Ho and Standish set off to find Lamb, using Ho’s tracker. 

Roddy and Catherine are seen approaching Lamb’s vehicle with Lamb and Cartwright inside. Ho knocks on the glass directly in front of Lamb’s face.

How the fuck did you find us? – Lamb

Roddy grabs the tracker from Lamb’s tire well to show him.

Well, put it back.  It’ll come in handy if it gets nicked. - Lamb

They haven’t cuffed us.  You must have the photographs. – Standish

Yeah. We checkmated Taverner. – Cartwright

Were you planning on telling us? – Ho

No, I was enjoying not seeing you. – Lamb

Where are Min and Louisa? – Cartwright

Well, Ho tracked out a way to track the kidnappers.  Min and Louisa are chasing after them. – Standish

My orders were pretty clear. Do fuck all! You’ve let two Slow Horses tear off in a doomed attempt to try and not make things worse. – Lamb

*you’ve LET two Slow Horses… as if she was left “in charge” of the Slow Horses in his absence.  Or that the others would immediately obey her requests/demands on his behalf!*

I didn’t let them.  Jackson, they’re autonomous beings. – Standish

I just hope they only get themselves killed and don’t set an orphanage on fire.  Keep tracking that van.  Let me know if it so much as changes lane. – Lamb

Think they’re headed here – Taverner  is speaking to a “dog”… while walking outside where Lamb’s parked.  Lamb sees her and drives up to her and Duffy… Taverner is looking at Standish and Ho left standing in the street.

They’re headed to Harwich. – Lamb

How did you know? – Taverner

Black used an old legend to hire a van.  Ho accessed the van’s theft locator. They’re on the A12.  Nearest port is Harwich. Standish and Ho will give you all the various.  I’m off for a kip. – Lamb

Lamb drives off while glancing into his rear view mirror while River asks if he’s not really going to go to bed; Taverner is seen marching straight over to Standish and Ho, who are standing in the middle of the street, followed by two of the dogs.

*My observation here is that Lamb keeps glancing at the mirror where Standish is approaching Taverner.  I believe this is because he is concerned that Taverner, as mentioned last episode, will use his secret(s) about Partner as leverage with Standish, and get her to turn.  Now, we know that Standish will ask, be denied, and then make her dramatic exit – but again… this is my personal headcanon as to why he’s shown looking at them in this scene.*

You have something for us? – Taverner

That’s the van’s plate number and the ID for the theft locator – Ho, as seen handing papers to Taverner, who is making her way next to Standish.

They’re going after the kidnappers, aren’t they? God, men are such boys.  – Taverner

Ma’am, while I appreciate you offering to include me in your circle of sisterhood, I’ll have to decline. Unless you want to fulfill the promise you made and tell me what you know about Parner’s death? – Standish

That ship sailed, Standish, when you pulled a gun on one of my Dogs. Just think, if you’d returned my call, you’d be back at the Park tomorrow. - Taverner

And why on earth would I want that? – Standish

Taverner walks back to her vehicle.

Standish pulls Ho around and walks away… in need of her dramatic exit.

Roddy. – Standish

What? – Ho

Shut up and keep walking. – Standish

Where? – Ho

Slough House. – Standish

No, but that’s – Ho

I know it’s the other way, Roddy, but I was in dire need of a dramatic exit. – Standish

Ho looks back to see if Taverner is watching.

Do Not Look Back!  That’s just what she wants. – Standish

Taverner is shown watching them walking away, as Standish planned.

Jackson and Cartwright are seen driving down the road while on the phone with Roddy who informs them that the Van is 20 miles ahead of them, Min and Louisa 10 miles ahead of them.  Standish is seen standing behind Ho as he explains he was nearly able to hack into the Park’s feed.  Jackson tells him to stop talking, but Cartwright asks about Sid.  Lamb grabs the phone out of Cartwright’s hand and throws it in to the backseat.

What the fuck? – Cartwright

Standish is seen picking up the phone in surprise to the call disconnecting like that.

Lamb attempts to be sensitive and explains that Sid is gone. Cartwright is visibly upset.  Lamb tells him to count himself lucky, explains that he’d lost a baker’s dozen by Cartwright’s age.  How it was after the wall came down.  How he hasn’t forgotten any of them, and he wouldn’t forget Sid.

Besides, she was the only one of you - - Lamb

Who wasn’t complete shit. Yeah, Yeah. You - you’ve said that. – Cartwright

Lamb is seen smirking to himself a bit here.

Any rate – moral of the story is, get used to death.  Cause you’re gonna see a lot more of it.  And if that scares you, then open the door and roll out now.  – Lamb

Slow Horses save the day… and are seen returning to Slough House.  Jackson enters first to find Standish and Ho watching the news about how the kidnapped boy was saved by an MI5 operation.  Lamb lights a cigarette.

Well, I suppose well done, us. – Standish, said while looking quite proud of the team. Jackson is seen heading out of the room.

I’ve got a bottle of wine in the desk if anyone wants to celebrate. – Harper.  Jackson turns around at this…

Celebrate? What? – Lamb

Well, we saved him. – Harper

How? You - - You were useless – Lamb

I tracked the van. – Ho

Yeah, to Harwich, where the Dogs were waiting for him.  Thanks to me squeezing Lady Di. – Lamb

Yeah, well, I actually did save him. Whilst he was being shot at and threatened with an axe.  – Cartwright

The kid saved himself, with a rock. – Lamb

I just love these team talks, I really do. – Cartwright

Lamb fights off a smile before declaring Come on, everyone. Back to Work!

It’s Saturday. – Standish

Then everyone piss off! – Lamb

Harper and Guy consider a drink but decide to postpone and meet later for a date.  Roddy and River discuss Sid and the fact that there is and never was a Sid Baker in Mi5, so that lil mystery is left hanging.  Jackson is seen reviewing the photos of Taverner and Black at his desk.  He says “All right.” Into the telephone, and puts the folder in a plastic bag.  River is feeling feelings in his office when Lamb is seen leaving the office, and going down the stairs.  Duffy pushes Reporter guy in front of a bus.  Jackson Lamb is seen leaning against a stone structure, when Taverner walks up from around the corner.

Diana – Lamb

Jackson – Taverner

Well done. Managed to keep the name Alan Black out of the headlines.

The exchange is made – Taverner gives Jackson a file and takes a file at the same time.

Never existed. You mean Dermot Radcliffe, Son of Albion. – Taverner

Hassan didn’t overhear anything that might poke holes in that? – Lamb

Possibly. But his student debt’s been cleared, and his comedy club is about to receive a large anonymous donation. – Taverner

Do you know what boils my piss? – Lamb

Taverner makes a face but doesn’t speak.

Is that you won.  Boy saved, you get to look like a hero.  Made your boss look like even more of a hero. – Lamb

What are you gonna tell Standish about what’s in that file? – Taverner

*just to note* this is intentional… he got his secret file, Taverner got hers, but still she asks him “what are you gonna tell Standish about what’s in that file?”  to me this indicates that this file is not just the exchange of information, but at the center of his relationship with Standish.  This is woven throughout the books/series – and part of what makes their relationship so interesting to me.  Little by little we learn about his and her versions of who and/or what Charles Partner… really was.  And I think it’s spoken out loud here because it IS the only weakness we are privy to in regards to Lamb, and Taverner knows it.*

Lamb shrugs.

And the photos on Cartwright’s phone? – Taverner

Deleted – Lamb

Can I trust you on that? – Taverner

Can I trust you didn’t make a copy of this? – Lamb, said as he begins to walk away

I’m assuming you don’t want Struan Loy back. – Taverner, who remained standing where she was.

Well, you put him in a very difficult position, Diana. Betray me, get back to the Park.  Or don’t and be cast into the wilderness. – Lamb

He betrayed you, so wilderness. – Taverner

Fuck Yeah! – Lamb

And River Cartwright? – Taverner

Lamb is seen listening but does not respond and walks away.

Lamb is seen coming up the stairs with the file in his arm.  He gets to his floor and sees that Standish is still in her office, light is on, movement is seen behind the frosted glass.  Lamb goes into his office, pulls out the file “EYES ONLY” sticker on top. Opens it to review the internal report on Charles Partner’s death, the pictures of Charles Partner, Catherine Standish, and Jackson Lamb are seen before he buries it in his desk drawer behind other files and a bottle of whiskey.

Now Jackson has his jacket off, is seen in his shirt, about to put a cigarette on his mouth, sitting on his sofa, in his office. He lights the cigarette and sits back placing his feet upon the table in front of his sofa, arms out, head back. (the sound of opera music as found blasting in Charles’s Partner’s house is heard slightly increasing in volume)

Standish is seen in her office, pacing, we see her memory of walking into Partner’s home, bringing him his suit, we hear the voice of Diana Taverner telling her that there are things Lamb hasn’t told you.  She remembers finding the body and the sensation of wanting to run away.  She finds herself running out of her office and into Lamb’s office.

Lamb is seen with his arms out and head back, slowly lifting it as Standish walks into his office purposefully.

Standish is fiddling with her belt and keeping her head down trying to make it clear that she wants answers.

What was Taverner going to tell me? – Standish

For fuck’s sake. It’s – It’s Saturday. Haven’t you got other people’s cats to steal? – Lamb

What aren’t you telling me about Charles’s death? – Standish

Nothing – Lamb, he tried…

I don’t believe you.  I should have read the signs.  Should I? – Standish

Lamb says nothing, just looks at her… with pity?! / concern…

Standish is seen suffering with her memories.

Tell me.  What don’t I – Standish

I gave him the gun. – Lamb, … looks uncomfortable, but tries to maintain his composure

Why? – Standish

Lamb is shaking his head

Because he asked for one – Lamb

Lamb looks away

And he was my friend. (Standish is seen listening, as Lamb continues) This was after the Wall came down. Cold War scores were being settled.  And he told me he’d seen some old unfriendly faces. I thought he was being paranoid, but … you know, what if I was wrong, and he ended - - Lamb.

Lamb is seated and looks up to Standish’s face, as if to check if she’s buying this.

Standish is listening, looks into Lamb’s eyes maybe… but says nothing.

Well, it threw my mojo off.  Put a dent in my armor. I – I didn’t want to be in the field.  I wanted to be a civilian even less.  – Lamb, again he looks up at her before continuing his story and looking visible uncomfortable discussing these particular memories.

So… this is why I asked for this place. – Lamb, shrugs and leans back, arms over the back of the sofa.

Somewhere where I could run out the clock. Nothing matters and no one gets hurt. – Lamb, who is looking up at Standish’s face.

Standish says nothing but appears to be grateful for Lamb opening up about Partner and what … happened… at least according to Lamb… at this time.

Lamb looks uneasy under her observation and starts to bite at the inside of his cheek.

Oh, come on.  One of us has to leave the room now. – Lamb, looking up at Standish.

And I’m just too fucking tired. -  Lamb

Standish finally walks to the door, but pauses before leaving his office.  Lamb is seen looking at her as he hears the door open.  She says nothing, just looks at him for another second, before turning to leave, closing the door behind her.

With Standish gone, Lamb lays down on the couch while smoking a cigarette. The sound of water rushing is heard and we see Partner’s bathtub filling.  Partner turns on his opera music and makes his way to the bath.  Partner slides into the bath and has his eyes closed when we an arm in a black suit, with black gloves on push Partner down into the water.  Partner is surprised and flailing in the water, comes up and instinctively gasps for air, mouth open wide so that the gun can be fired into it.  Jackson is seen grimacing next to the tub, trembling and visibly shook as he places the gun in Partner’s hand, backing away slowly. Jackson is seen exiting the building, removing his gloves and sits into a parked car where David Cartwright was waiting for him.

Is it done? – the OB

Yeah.  And so am i. – Lamb

If they find out… - the OB

Lamb looks at the OB in utter disbelief!!

How would they find out David?  It’s just you and me in this car? – Lamb

They are rather good at their job. – the OB

Well I hope for your sake, they don’t – Lamb

The OB is seen driving off while Lamb heads off on foot. Jackson is seen with eye closed… they open and the weight of what he’s done seems to weigh on him.  He takes a drag off his cigarette and shakes some ash off onto the floor… Theme music starts… S1 is over!!!

*just wanted to wrap up S1 since I started it lol - I will go ahead and work ahead and after S4 wraps up will continue with S2-S4! As always, your thoughts, comments, feelings and ideas are so very much appreciated! ♥

[alicewritingstories]

Whumptober Prompt Fills Part 9: Breath

~Also on AO3~

No. 15: “I don’t need you to help me I can handle things myself.” | Makeshift Bandages | Suppressed Suffering | “I’m fine.”

No. 24: “I’ve got a head full of chemicals; mouth full of ridicule.” | Goodbye Note | Neglect | “I thought they were with you.”

No. 31: “I thought that I was getting better.” | Emptiness | Setbacks | “Take it easy.”

Warning: Brief mention of alcohol use, chronic cardiac and respiratory issues, internalized ableism

Central character(s): Sky, Twilight

As the stars were coming out and the last echoes of the Picori Festival's fireworks display were fading away, the Chain started to drift back together at their chosen campsite in the forest. Tomorrow they would travel on to visit Four's grandfather - Four had gone on ahead with his father to give him some time with his family before his other family descended on them - but tonight would be spent under the stars as usual.

The chatter among the little group was lively as they compared their experiences. Warriors was flushed and slightly giggly, relaxed after the entire bottle of something alcoholic that he'd drunk during the fireworks. Wind, meanwhile, couldn't stop showing off the beautifully-crafted knife he'd won, tripping over his words as he admired it and related his triumph in a quoits-throwing contest.

Twilight heard Legend drop the good-natured observation in Warriors' ear that the young hero really shouldn't have been allowed to join contests alongside ordinary children, but he agreed as Warriors said sleepily that it was good to see Wind act like a child for once.

"What did you do with Sky, Twilight?" asked Wild suddenly, looking up from where he was laying out ingredients for dinner.

Twilight looked at him in confusion. "Me?" he asked and looked over at Time, who was also looking confused.

"I thought Sky was with you, Wild," said Time. "I was about to ask you the same question."

Twilight blinked. "I thought he was with you," he said. "Didn't you go looking for souvenirs for Malon and Sun?"

Time shook his head. "I thought he was going around the food stands with Wild."

"I didn't see him after we separated," said Wild, sitting back on his heels. "I thought he went to watch the horse races with Twilight."

Out of all their Hyrules, Four's was one of the safest, but that didn't mean a missing hero was something to be ignored. Time eased back to his feet with a soft groan and started putting his just-removed armor back on, saying, "He's probably fine, but let's go and check. Wind, Twilight, and Legend, check north, south, and east respectively; I'll take the west. Return in an hour even if you haven't found anything. Hyrule and Wild, stay here and finish setting up camp."

"Shall I check the elixir supply?" asked Wild seriously.

"I hope we won't need healing, but it's worth knowing. Likewise, Warriors, I hope we won't need you to be sober." Time chuckled as Warriors shot him an unfocussed look that he probably intended to be irritated. The remark lightened the anxiety that had been starting to thread through the air, but didn't take it away entirely and as Twilight set out into the darkening forest, heading for the south side of the town, he could feel it twisting somewhere in his gut. He was sure Sky hadn't followed him when he set out through the busy streets, following the sound of hoofbeats and cheering. He really thought he'd heard the other hylian agreeing when Time had said he was going to find a gift for Malon.

What if he'd been wrong and something had happened to Sky when he was separated from the group? How long had he been missing?

Twilight tried to push down the worry. If one of them was going to disappear for a few hours, this was one of the safer places for it to happen. Most likely they'd find that Sky had simply lost track of time or forgotten the rendezvous.

It wasn't like him to have forgotten, but it wasn't impossible in all the noise and excitement of the festival.

And was it more or less likely than that something had happened? There had been no sign of so much as a keese anywhere near the town, but it wouldn't be the first time a member of the Chain, taken unawares, had fallen victim to hylian enemies of one of his brothers. Four had as many enemies as any of them with the exception of Wild and Warriors, who had significantly more.

Twilight gritted his teeth. A crowded festival… someone would have noticed the fight Sky would have put up if attacked.

He was sure he'd gone alone to look at the horses.

He was sure Sky hadn't come with him.

He was sure that if something had happened it hadn't happened right behind him.

His thoughts were interrupted as he caught a familiar smell on the breeze and saw something white gleaming in the forest ahead. Perfume and a white sailcloth. With a gasp of relief, he broke into a jog, calling, "Sky!" as he saw the figure of his brother in the dim light, sitting on a tree stump, leaning his elbows on his knees.

Sky looked up and waved as Twilight heard the wheeze on his breath and realized how fast he was breathing.

"Sky," he said more seriously, crouching beside him. "Are you OK?"

Sky nodded, his hand to his chest, the wheeze more pronounced as he sat upright. "Fine. Sorry, I… know I'm… late."

He couldn't even make it through a sentence without losing breath.

"Are you hurt?"

"No. I'm fine. This happens… sometimes. The damp… makes it worse." Sky forced a grin. "And I made… the mistake… of dancing."

"I didn't know you danced," said Twilight.

"I love dancing." Sky coughed and wheezed. "Unfortunately. Used to be… easier."

Twilight nodded. He wasn't sure what was going on, but said, "Do you need anything?"

"Just to rest." Sky shook his head. Twilight thought he looked pale, but as he propped himself on his knees again his breath seemed to come a little easier.

"OK. It'll be a bit before anyone really worries, so take it easy."

Sky nodded, laying a hand on his chest and wincing. "I thought… I was handling… it. It was fun… to dance again. Even… alone."

"Hey, take it easy. You don't have to make excuses to me and you've not got the breath for much talking, so just say what you have to."

Sky nodded.

Twilight patted his shoulder. "Is this… a new problem?"

"Since… my adventure. Well… mostly."

"OK, tell me the rest later." But he couldn't help asking, "Is this why you can't run as fast or far as the rest of us?"

Sky nodded.

"Why don't you tell anyone that?"

"I'd rather be… made fun of… than treated… like I'm broken."

Twilight started to argue, but remembered he was supposed to be calming Sky down and letting him catch his breath.

Slowly, Sky's breathing steadied and quietened. He sat up and pressed two fingers to the pulse point in his own throat, then nodded.

"OK, I'm all right now," he said. "Let's go."

Still, when Twilight offered him an arm he accepted it to get up.

"You can tell them you found me asleep somewhere," he said with a small smile as they started walking.

"I'll tell them no such thing," said Twilight. "Nobody acts like Time is broken. Nobody's going to think less of you because sometimes you can't breathe right."

Sky shook his head. "I can manage. There's a reason you've not seen me that bad before. But if everyone knows my lungs are always heavy and my heart doesn't beat properly any more…"

"We already know you can't run as far or as fast. What do you think will change from knowing why?"

Sky scowled at the ground.

"If you really want, we can still tease you about being slow and sleepy, but -"

Sky jutted his chin proudly. "But you'll keep a better eye on me to make sure I'm OK? Keep a wing over me in case I fall?"

"Just like with Four when it's cold."

That hit home. Sky sighed, bowing his head. Twilight heard the last of the wheeze.

He put an arm around his shoulders. "Listen, you don't have to tell anyone anything you don't want to, but I'm not lying for you and I think you should tell the truth. Nobody thinks less of you for having scars from your adventure, any more than they do of Wild or… or any of us. It doesn't matter that yours aren't on the outside. Nobody will think you're broken or useless or anything else."

Sky was silent for a long moment, then he said, "I'll think about it."

Twilight hugged him gently and they walked on.

[romaine2424]

For the Love of WIPs (Drarry style) Part 2

The following list is for those Drarry WIPs that I'm currently following. I'm sure there are more and if you have a fav I don't have listed then please share share share. The fics listed I have high confidence will be completed given the authors past performance and they are being updated regularly. It is one of my qualifications of taking on a WIP, has the author finished their previous chapter fics? I do take a chance now and then, especially for new authors. I got sent an anonymous ask this morning that I'm going to respond to later today or tomorrow about WIPs and why they are an underrated/hidden area of fic.

Okay enough of me nattering.... Drarry WIPs under the cut!

Lets start with the tease I left yesterday... the 2 A/B/Os

To Hold You in the Earth's Unholy Din (5/9, 36K so far) by @hoko-onchi-writes. Summary:

“Prince Draco.” The sound of the guard’s voice sent a shiver through him. “You may speak,” Draco said carefully. “I apologise.” Potter’s voice had an aching edge of sincerity to it, none of the snark from before. “An Alpha isn’t able to control who… responds to his scent.” Anger flared in Draco’s chest. How dare this guard make some assumption about what Draco could sense? “Apologies are for equals. You’re less than nothing to me, guard,” Draco spat. “Don’t you dare assume otherwise. You’ll speak only when spoken to, or you’ll find yourself exiled from this kingdom without a sickle to your name.” “Yes, my prince.” My prince. His voice, rich and dark. His scent, musk and spice and loamy earth. It wasn't proper for a guard to smell that way. To make Draco's spine draw taut as a bowstring, to kick up sparks in the pit of his belly. Like a promise. Like a calling. Draco wondered if the guard could smell him. If he could feel Draco's body responding to his scent, wanton and ready. Slick. He cast the guard a final glance, chest tight and cheeks hot. Draco needed to rid himself of this guard. And soon.

Comment: *anyone got a fan?* whew! Prince Omega!Drarry is so much fun in this fic. He's spoiled rotten, but, yet, has had his wings (figuratively) clipped from experiencing much of life outside of the castle since he became of age. He's a prized royal omega and Lucius is about to marry him off, but there's a problem. It's that Alpha guard Harry Potter who is so stoic in keeping watch over Prince Draco's safety. And, oh, he smells delicious. Draco is so horrible in teasing Harry and their banter is priceless when it happens. Harry having to throw Draco over his shoulder to get him to behave and to safety is the absolute best. There's so much lovely worldbuilding along with relationship entanglements with Draco's Beta friends, Blaise, Theo, and Pansy. The sexual tension of this fic is off the charts! Go read and enjoy!!!!

2. A Dark and Savage Magic (5/9, 63K so far) by tessacrowley Summary:

They say that the earliest spells were cast without wands, that they were bargains made with the earth. They say that the magic was theoretically limitless, equal only to the price the caster was willing to pay, strong enough to move mountains and reshape the sky. They say that omegas were pioneers of that magic, its scholars and its stewards. But that was many thousands of years ago. Ages have come and gone since the last of the druids drew breath. Their knowledge, and their power, has slipped from history to legend, from legend to myth. Omegas are now an underclass, and druids a relic of an idealized but unattainable past. Draco Malfoy, an omega himself, has a natural skill in the old magic that will do him no favors.

Comment: While the 1st A/B/O was fun and sexy, this one is oh so dark. The warnings are strong! The omegaverse lore has been built into potterverse. This is all from Draco's POV and we meet him when he is quite young and already frustrated by the limitations put on him for being an omega. They are not prized in this world...at all... Narcissa is one, too, and Lucius is a strong Alpha. Lucius is an arse!!!Because Omega's can't inherit, a sister is born a year later, an alpha. She is given many of the traits canon Draco has. Each chapter is a retelling of a canon book, but from Draco's perspective and experiences. Somethings change and we're given detailed storytelling in these parts, and others that don't are skimmed over. It's integrated and done beautifully. Harry comes into this story at the school robe fitting. He is oblivious not only to magic and the magical world but also everything omegaverse. And while he's an alpha, his true underpinnings of being kind and sticking up for those who can't shines through. I love this fic. I know next week's chapter is supposed to be the darkest one (plenty of dark stuff has already happened) but I still can't wait to read it. Tessa is such a master storyteller.

3. Mother (18/20, 65K so far) by @pixiedunhoff Summary: Despite some rather unconventional aspects of Draco’s newly developed style, she remained a romantic traditionalist.

Sequel to “Moonlighting. (22/22, 77.5K complete)” Both fics make up the Draco Malfoy and the GenderBend Blend Series. I'm currently reading Moonlighting but I wanted to add Pixie's works in here as Mother is doing so well by snippits I've seen from others and am so enjoying Moonlighting! I have a strong love for fem!Draco, and Pixie has her characterization nailed. Draco has hidden this other side for a very long time, but when the genderbend blend becomes available, Draco takes it out for a spin. One pub owner/bartender is very in favour. Again, I really enjoy Pixie's writing style. The characters act and talk very real, which draws you into her incredible story.

4. Follies of an Ornamental Hermit (9/15, 54K so far) by @mallstars and illustrated by @itsphantasmagoria. Summary:

Potter still wasn't looking at him. Instead he faced the windows, watching the snow and the sunless sea. Behind the welcome desk, standing tall amidst the wisdom and glistening magic, Draco controlled the spheres of restless light and the flustered books, all with gentle flicks of a wand that had once served Potter without a beat of hesitation. If Potter were to look, Draco would be ready. He had a right to be here. The library was his, if only after hours.

Comment: Okay, I have to admit, I'm only 2 chapters in but have looked at all of the illustrations! LOL Each one of Draco's outfits is so fricken' amazing! I'm savoring this one to catch up on when I know I have a day without interruptions. I'm a speed reader, which means I skim sometimes and Mallstars' writing is so beautiful, that I don't want to rush through it. But, I also know, that this one is so highly popular means you WIP lovers are already hooked on it.

I hope you find some time to enjoy these fics as much as I am!

I also have a small list of WIPs that haven't been updated for years and years, but, hey, if I can go back and finish my 2 WIPs from 15 years ago, there is always hope.

Thanks for you indulgence!

Rom

[short-wooloo]

Since mando s3 comes out tomorrow, it's probably a good time to remind y'all that none of the legends stuff is canon to it.

Now you'd think the fact that these works don't apply to a TV show made years after they were officially declared non canon (not that they canon to the movies/tcw anyways) would be simple to grasp, but no, I still see constant mention of Jaster the mandalore, the true mandalorians, the war between the true/new/death watch mandos, etc etc in context of the Mandalorian

Speaking of which

Factions:

There are only two major mandalorian factions in canon, the death watch and New Mandalorians, the true mandalorians are not a faction, because they're legends, they do not exist in Lucas SW, their source means they do not apply to didney SW/didney eu, and they are not mentioned in canon/canon eu, ergo they do not exist

And the NM/DW were not rival factions (and honestly calling them "factions" is a bit of a misnomer, they'd be better described as coalitions since they themselves are compromised of a number of groups/factions) in the Civil War, the New Mandalorians existed during the war, but they weren't so much a faction fighting in the war as they were a political reform movement born in respone TO it, the war was largely fought between different clans/alliances of clans for control/power, the New Mandalorians' rise to power came not from conquest, but from a movement of Mandalorian people and groups (including warrior clans) sick of the self destructive, authoritarian, violent old ways, and wanting change, would rally around Satine Kryze

The death watch is a reactionary regressive movement of mando conservatives angry that they lost the war and appalled that they can't be violent murderers anymore who determine who's in charge by fighting to the death, and they insist that this adherence to the "old ways" makes them "real mandalorians"

And that brings me to something else

What makes someone a "true mandalorian" in canon?

As I said, the "true mandalorian" faction does not exist in canon, but you will still here different mandos throw around the phrase(s) "true/real mandalorian", this is a case of the "no true scotsman" fallacy, every mandalorian considers themselves/their group as being the "right" way to be a mandalorian and anyone who doesn't follow that way is wrong and ergo is not a mandalorian, and the only ones who don't buy into this nonsense are the New Mandalorians because they're the only adults in the room and realize it's all really stupid

And lastly we have Jaster, much like with the broader history of mandalorians, I see people attributing Jaster's legends biography to his canon incarnation, when-as we have already established-legends would have no bearing on canon, because they are two different universes (and also Jaster's only "appearance" is in a canon show, made years after the legends stuff was pushed aside)

The canon facts of Jaster are:

He exists

He's Jango's adopted father

That's it, he doesn't even appear in person or is mentioned by name, his "appearance" and existence in canon is down to a quick Easter egg in another language

Now elements of his legends story could become canon, but I want to stress, THAT WOULD NOT MAKE THE LEGENDS SOURCES CANON, because that's another thing I notice, "new SW content makes a nod to or recanonizes something from legends? Fans start thinking that makes a legends thing canon", and that's not how it works, things from legends can be brought over, but they are being/will be retold in a new way for canon, the version made for canon is the canon version

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 02/05/2024

The Great Weed

Season 1 No Album Release (Read More)

Ripped by toonlink

Chat, I'll be real - It's been a long day for me today. Lots of shit just didn't want to work. I had a bigger post planned, but it'll have to wait for tomorrow. Sometimes, you just gotta return to the simple stuff. That simple stuff is what Season 1 of SiIvaGunner is filled with - but if there's anyone who could make the simplest of concepts work, it was toonlink. Dr. Soulja, by the very same ripper, still stands as one of the most effective rips on the entire channel, but for my money...The Great Weed is where it's at. Delightfully simple, yet never fails to put a smile on my face.

As I've clarified with many of Season 1's rips in particular, its important to remember that these videos were uploaded before SiIvaGunner as a concept was really known at all to the wider internet. Wheras today we see a lot of rips made far more to impress with their quality rather than to solely catch viewers off-guard, a la Sweatpants Select and Luna, mi Amor - in 2016, the novelty of the surprise was CORE to the rip-making process. Gags like Live and Ooooooooooooooh worked so well specifically because of how innocuous they appeared - the video looks like any other YouTube upload of Live and Learn would, and the featured joke only kicks in deep enough into the rip to where the average listener will have tabbed over to another window. But what makes rips like The Great Weed work so well, part of Toonlink's pioneering magic in a way, is how the joke only served to enhance the listening experience in a way that's still incredibly funny.

Much like the aforementioned Live and Learn, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker's The Great Sea theme is one that surely sits as a nostalgic core memory to many - the music to exploring the vast seas of a flooded Hyrule dominates much of Wind Waker's playtime. It has such a majestic opening, such a way of putting you at ease right away...and then, right as you're lulled to tranquility, you notice the additional backing instruments, you notice them increasing in volume - and before its had time to sink in that something's wrong, the video changes to the coolest fucking thing you've ever seen. It's of a bunch of people sandboarding (that is, snowboarding in the sand!!), taken directly from the video "Dank ass sandboarding son". The reason for said video reference is of course the song used, I Smoke Weed by Chrome, being featured therein - but the way its used in The Great Weed gives the song and attached video an entirely different vibe.

Because like, as I said, it's that atmosphere and vibe attached to and created by The Great Sea that's made it such an enduring tune, and it somehow manages to work that magic in here as well. That sort of "relaxed majesty" to the theme takes a video and song that, otherwise feel almost like they're trying a bit *too* hard to be cool, and effortlessly turns it into something so joyous, fun in the most playful way possible. The mashed-up-with song's declarations of smoking weed go from sounding almost boastful, to sounding playfully self-congratulatory - does that make sense to anyone else? There's just such whimsy and fun to The Great Sea as a theme, paired with the video depicting an equally great sea of sand and the people who explore it for fun, it transforms the vibe of the entire video into something you just can't help but smile watching.

It's the kind of rip I've sent to countless friends in my time, the kind of joke everyone can understand. Without having ever heard I Smoke Weed, you've likely heard The Great Sea theme in a YouTube video here or there at one point - and you understand just how funny the mix of majestic sailing music paired with DANK SANDBOARDING is - althewhile admiring just how dank that sandboarding do be. Its hardly the most meaningful rip visuals out there, nowhere near something like i love(d) you - but god it makes the bit land so much harder. Those visuals were an amazing way to introduce the joke to unsuspecting viewers 8 years ago, and even in today's SiIvaGunner-aware landscape, it helps in keeping The Great Weed as a super entertaining experience. And whenever I DO manage to catch people off-guard with the rip, using it to introduce the channel to new friends, it brings just as big a smile to face as it brings to theirs.

Oh, by the way: shoutouts to the Raft Ride rip lmao for unintentionally referencing this rip seven years after the fact. Seeing that during the Raftmageddon may honestly have been the main factor for me deciding to cover this rip LOL.

[roseredsnow]

Anyway on a fun lighter note here's some canonically asexual (and a couple aromantic) characters.

DC

Connor Hawke - Confirmed in comics last year, also confirmed to be alloromantic.

Roshanna Chatterji - Confirmed ace in "The movement" comics, also implied aro due to context.

Spooner - Confirmed in episode 10 season 7 (If I remember right) of Legends of tomorrow, also implied aro due to context.

Star Wars

Vernestra Rwoh - Confirmed aroace by Justina Ireland, there was also a line in book implying.

Leox Gyasi - Lines in book and I'm assuming from the article Claudia Gray expanded somewhere.

Vi Moradi - Elizabeth Schaefer explained that it was Delilah S. Dawsons idea

Sola Nabberie- Confirmed by E.K Johnson implied in book

Obi-Wan Kenobi - Implied bi (or pan) and/or araoce in Padawan

Other TV shows

Abbi in the impefects - Said in episode one and mentioned again later

Florence in sex education - Haven't watched it but heard the clip

Todd in Bojack Horseman - Same again

Marvel

Gwenpoole - technically the words haven't been said but apparently she's been seen with an ace flag during marvel voices pride

Nadia Van Dyne (my favourite) - Confirmed aroace and quorioromantic on twitter by Unstoppable Wasp writer Jeremy Whitley, also apparently by Sam Maggs but I haven't seen that.

And last but not least Yelena Belova - Confirmed by Devin Grayson because you should not be able to take back confirming an identity.

Also heavily implied throughout "Pale Little Spider"

[puppetsoftomorrow]

tagged: @barbarawar - thanks so much!!

last song: i have on repeat been listening to this cover of "i want to be a cowboys sweetheart" from the voice bcos its so fun and bouncy!!

favorite color: pink!

last movie/show: the great british sewing bee!! after literaly Years i have persuaded my wife to watch this show and she's loving it. if you love cosy bake off vibes, wonderful contestants and some Adorable outfits, i cannot reccomend this show enough!

sweet/spicy/savory: sweet! i have Such a sweet tooth

relationship status: i have a fiancee, no idea when we're going to get married so i call her my wife woo

last thing i googled: 'new york state houses' for house ideas for a fic i'm writing lmao. they were cute!

current obsession(s): umm lots of things, legends of tomorrow always, storylines about clones, hama bead ideas (i think y'all call them pearler beads in the US?), new years resolutions and also writing. i wish i could be writing every minute atm

tagging: @yourlocalegotisticalqueerishere, @frosty-the-killer-doll, @tafkarfanfic @heywhereisperry @nonbinary-alien25 and anyone else who is bored rn!