#she's more used to the director's bs than she wants to admit okay

[tvckerwash]

a yet to be fleshed out scene from my ct lives au is more or less just ct going "I cannot believe I have to go on a mission with these 2 strangers whom I don't trust in the slightest because my former teammates mercilessly slaughtered all of my boyfriend's teammates so now his boss doesn't think he's qualified for field work anymore"

[squishybuttercup]

Nam Jaejoong

28 years old - Genius - Slob - Bookworm

@simvicii​ Alex’s Bachelor Challenge

(NOTE: Under the cut is LOOONG story with his earlier life containing tw violence and depression. If you’re okay with that content, I hope you take the time to get to know Jae.)

  Backstory:

Jae was orphaned when he was 10, and he had been keeping to himself mostly ever since then. His family had gone through series of tragedies, but most of those things do not make sense to a child. When he was 6, his older sister was diagnosed with Leukemia. Their parents’ relation started to strain as they struggle to earn money for his sister’s treatments and for their basic needs. They worked multiple jobs, and took turns in taking care for their children, but Jae was mostly overlooked. Both of them had to stop school, and so their only activities at home were reading and house chores (which eventually Jae had to do most as his sister’s condition worsened). Their parents were barely home, and when they were, all they would do is fight (screaming at each other and throwing things around the house). Eventually, his father stopped coming home. Without enough financial aid, medical treatments for his sister halted. She died when Jae was around 9 years old.

After years of struggles and pain, his mother was pushed to a point of experiencing depression. Again, a child wouldn’t know what to do in his situation. After all these things, the worst was yet to come for him. Robbers came to their house one night, and his mother tried to fight them of from stealing what is left of their savings. Jae rushed to help her but one of the robbers attacked him, all he could remember was a sharp pain on his face before he passed out (This resulted in him having a scar on his face). He woke up in a hospital bed, wherein a police officer broke the news to him, his mother was killed in the robbery. The orphanage has sent him from foster families after foster families. Jae spent most of his time on his own, reading books and trying experiments (when he has resources). He had a hard time at school because most kids and teachers just saw him as a weird kid. When he was 17 his genius potentials were noticed by their school principal who decided to give him a test, wherein if he passed he is then qualified to continue on to college despite him stopping school for a few years.

After passing the exam, Jae was then introduced to a couple willing to adopt him even though he is almost in legal age. The couple were both middle-aged doctors, who never had a chance to have a child of their own. They think that he will fit right in their household, and he did like it there. He had access to a library with a lot of medical books, a comfortable bed, and supportive guardians. During his time spent with them and in college, he slowly started to open up to other people. It was a little awkward for him at first to call them “mom” and “dad” but he got used to it.

For his bachelor’s degree, he took up BS Psychology. His course was a big part of how he was able to help himself heal and to also attend therapy. His social life also started to grow as he participated in different organizations that are about healthcare and environment preservation. When it comes to his dating life, well, college girls and boys don’t usually take interest on someone who has his face buried in a book. He went on a few first dates, but none of those developed into anything serious.

He did of course still spend most of his time reading, especially fictions which are fantasy genre since that was his interest when he was a kid. Jae was usually submerged in studying; this applies to all kinds of topics ranging from social issues up to medical discoveries. Whenever this happens, he tends to ignore the random papers, candy wrappers, water bottles littered in his room so his mom describes him as bit of a slob. (Their housemaid confirmed this).

His motto in life is “Keep Learning”. He values individual growth and always finds ways on self-improvement. He tried out sports during this time too, which are basketball and tennis. They were fun for him but they didn’t exactly become his favorite activities. But his experience did help him realize that hobbies aside from reading are important as well. This was how he developed the habit of jogging every other day, and he also tried going to the gym but that didn’t work out for him so he opted for exercising at home instead.

Jae entered medical school when he was 22, and he originally planned to pursue being a General Practitioner. But during his third year, when he had to choose his field of specialization in medical practice, he chose to focus on being a surgeon. Furthermore, his goal is to be a neurosurgeon.

When it comes to family bonding, they genuinely enjoy discussions related to their field of expertise. His dad is a Physician and his mom is an OB-GYN. But medical field aside, they enjoy watching action movies together. They also go out to eat ice cream during summer, and their favorite food to eat during winter is ramen.

  Right now, at age 28, he has finished 2 years of internship. He is currently evaluating his life and his goals in life.

“I’m working as an intern in the same hospital where my parents work. But I decided to take a small break from that for now. I am passionate about my career, but I’m also the kind of guy who dreams of having his own family. And uhm.. I’ve been thinking that I’m not getting any younger, and now more than ever I want to take this shot at love. I talked it out with my parents, because they’ve always been supportive of my career, and they said they want what’s best for me, and that I’m the one who knows that. I’m going to admit that the idea of my own family also terrifies me, but I also know that with the kind of person I am now, I’m going to be a responsible and loving father/husband.”

The reason why Jae is even able to make this choice, despite the well-known fact that doctors are busy as heck, is because of his security in his workplace and the support from his parents and friends. The hospital he works on ensures not only the best care for its patients, but also to its workers. The board members and all staff are aware of Jae’s capability as a doctor and treats him with high regard even though he’s only an intern so far. He had a discussion with the Director of the hospital before he started internship, to which he expressed his intentions and wishes regarding his working hours incase he decides to start a family. The Director is a good friend of their family, and one of the few people who knows about his past. Which is why he has made arrangements for Jae, with the knowledge that he will still be able to work his best.

Jae doesn’t really know what to think of fate or coincidences, but just during the start of his break, he saw “The Bachelor: Alexander Goth”. He wasn’t one to have crushes immediately on someone, more so on someone he hasn’t met. But boy did Alex leave an impression on him. The more he read about him, his interest in him develops and he hopes to get to know him in person someday. He deeply respects Alex’s work as an author, and he’s pretty excited to read his works!

“I’m entering this challenge and I view it as me spending time with possibly the love of my life. When it comes to what I look for in a relationship, I want someone I can grow with. People are so obsessed with finding their Perfect Match, and most of the time they just look for someone who is completely compatible with who they are at the moment, and worse they only want these ideal soulmates. I think that it’s important for partners to respect, trust and love each other. But they should also be aware that people continuously change overtime, and that as partners they must grow together and always choose each other.”

  Here is a CAS picture of him where his scar is now visible:

squishybuttercup’s notes: hi love!! I know that your aim with this challenge is to have gameplay-centered legacy. But the reason why I wrote this much detail about him is for you (and alex) to get to know him well. Gameplay-wise he can just work as doctor in the sims world and be one of the two best dads in the sims world. Also Jae isn’t the type of person who shares his life story away, so I imagine him telling Alex himself about that part ^_^ I’m super excited for this and I hope Nam Jaejoong gets picked! Anything else not mentioned here you may ask me or opt to have your own interpretation I don’t mind as I am literally offering him to be in your game ajsdfsjkl this also means i acknowledge that you might change his looks to fit your game’s aesthetics. also ily :p

[neneyne]

Okay, but I never really loved GotG movies because they were full of sexist racist shit. First movie romance’s felt so forced, Gamorra’s focus so “she needs a hero uwu”, second movie treatment of Mantis made me boil. It was just racist piece of shit writing (constantly calling her ugly, making her look stupid and naive, extremely mean-spirited towards her etc). Constant uncomfortable sex jokes, dirty humour, using gendered slurs etc. Rocket was a complete ass out of nowhere. That brothel scene just made me so fucking uncomfortable

The only reason I used to praise the second movie is because the first movie was just so mediocre that at least focusing on Gamorra and Nebula’s relationships, doing a decent good/bad father/son theme felt like a giant improvement. But in reality, it was just bare minimum that other Marvel movies do much, much better

People say that “he changed, he’s not like this anymore” but cut that BS - no he hasn’t, yes, he is. We all know that, the signs have been there all along. But because he makes your favourite popcorn flicks you’d rather pretend it’s all lies because you care more about your entertainment than admitting he is a rapist-wannabe n paedophile creep. You want your conscience sleep tight and keep your “guilty” pleasure, so you try to convince yourself and others and it’s all okay. Ignorance is bliss, after all

Good riddance, GotG, and James Pedogunn, I’ll stick to better movies and better cast and better directors

P.S. Yes, Chris Pratt was also always a creep btw, Jurassic World made me realize it

P.P.S. “Mistake” is putting on a black shirt on a hot sunny day, not making paedophile and rape jokes. “Mistake” implies accidentality, well-meaning ignorance or poor grasp of situation. In what world do you live where an adult 41 yo crusty white man doesn’t know that (joking about) himself raping little kids is bad?

[veryangryhedgehog]

“Good, Old-Fashioned Snooping,” an Ede Valley story by Hedgehog.

Mike’s first few weeks at St. Adelaide’s had been a little hectic, to say the least. First, there was the fact that he had to abruptly adjust to an entirely different lifestyle. Then there were the classes, which were much more difficult than their public school equivalents; he’d just coasted through those with solid Bs. But most taxing of all were the numerous mysteries of the school.

At first, he’d just done some casual research, looked some stuff up on the internet, asked teachers for info, that kinda thing. But as he learned more, more and more questions began to appear in the inner folds of his brain. So then he’d moved to “real research”. He’d actually convinced Jilli to go to the library with him, survived an encounter with Abigail “four-eyes” Hodge, and gathered several old, dusty tomes to peruse.

He’d learned a lot of interesting things from those books. St. Adelaide’s had been a mental ward back in the 1800s, before finally being shut down for good in the ‘40s, he’d known that much already. The official story was that it had been abandoned for years afterward, but Mike had found several sources—only one of which had been a shitty site that hadn’t been updated since 2002—that pointed to the buildings being used as a government research facility of some kind in the ‘50s, presumably to combat the Soviets. He read some crazy ramblings by a conspiracy theorist about creating “Paragons of the Future,” but that seemed way too farfetched, whatever it even meant.

Regardless, the land was finally reopened as a school for Gifted Youth in the ‘70s, and had remained so to this day. Unfortunately, every source he’d found had failed to mention the founder of the school beyond a few off-handed references, which wouldn’t have seemed odd except that every article, website, and book avoided the subject like clockwork. Searching for the Director directly did nothing either, and this only made his thirst for knowledge worse.

And then, one afternoon, Doug stumbled into the room without warning practically carrying Jilli. Something was clearly wrong. She looked just like Doug did when he returned from his sessions. But of course Doug didn’t tell him anything, just shut them both in his room and locked the door. Though Mike couldn’t hear any specifics, he couldn’t miss the sound of sobs that reached his ear through the thin wall.

Mike had known for a while that he had no shot at Jilli. That had been made abundantly clear the morning he opened his door to use the sink only to see Jilli brushing her hair with only a striped bra to cover her thin waist. And she certainly hadn’t spent the night in his room. He was pretty sure he would have noticed. But still, he cared about her, as a friend, as a person. And so he worried.

That worry quickly turned into obsession. There was something going on at this school, and now it had been made personal. It wasn’t just about solving a mystery now, it was about saving his friend. Correction: friends. Doug was neck-deep in it too, whatever it was, and Mike was the only one who could save them. He was the only one that they didn’t expect.

Doug later confirmed that Jilli had indeed been subjected to a session, but he refused to say more. “It doesn’t matter, Mike.”

“But it does!” he argued. “We can help her!”

“I said, it doesn’t matter!” Doug nearly shook with anger, or was it fear? “I hate it just as much as you, but there’s nothing we can do, okay? Nothing unless you want to end up dead, or worse.”

But Mike found himself increasingly undisturbed by that idea. He hardly slept, staring at his computer screen until the wee hours of the morning as he ventured into increasingly sketchy parts of the internet to find anything at all that could help him. It was difficult work. Many sites were just mad ramblings by unstable individuals, or conspiracies about Atlantis and the lizardmen who had taken over the government. But gradually, a bigger picture began to emerge.

The more he looked, the more plausible it seemed that St. Adelaide’s had in fact, actually been a government facility all those years ago, at the height of the Cold War. Info on what really went on in there was thin, most of the recovered documents had been highly redacted. The facility had been dedicated to something called “Project Paragon”. There had been many experiments, but it seemed as if only one had been successful: a singular flower, a Buttercup, and had received the codename “Paragon Alpha”. Why they were experimenting on flowers of all things, Mike had no idea.

He thought that maybe he’d understand more if he had any knowledge about the Cold War. So he wandered out of Dunsany and down to the library, which he was surprised to find was locked. The problem was that Mike was so distracted by his thoughts that he didn’t actually realize this fact until about two minutes of pulling at it.

Just when he was about to turn around and go back to the dorm, the handle turned and the door creaked open. Abigail peeked her head out, and blinked at him, glasses eschew.

“Mike?” she asked. “What are you doing here? It’s two o’clock in the morning.”

Mike blinked. He hadn’t even realized it was dark out. “Is it?”

Abigail nodded hesitantly. “Are you alright? You... don’t look so good.”

Running a hand through his tangled hair, Mike couldn’t answer. He had no idea how alright he was on a scale of alrightness. The world seemed like a big confusing box with a bunch of colored squares. What in the world were they called? “I... I’m fine,” he answered instead. “I need-n-need a book.”

“A book?” she raised an eyebrow. “At this time of night?”

Rubix cube! That’s what it was. Wait, no, Mike, focus. “Wait,” he realized a second later. “What are you doing here at this ti—“ but he was cut off as she opened the door.

Victor was standing in front of Abigail’s desk, cheeks flushed, hair disheveled, tie undone. “Oh,” he said. “Hello, Mike.”

Though he opened his mouth to question this whole situation, Mike decided that he didn’t really want to know the answer. “Hi.”

“Now, you’ll forgive me for getting you on your way as quickly as possible,” she sighed, before turning from Mike to Victor and then winking. “Duty calls. What sort of book are you looking for?”

Mike had to force himself to not just keep looking back and forth between the two like a bobblehead. Man, was he the only one who wasn’t getting any? No, focus, whoa he was tired. “Uh... the Cold War,” he finally got out. “Scientific advances during the Cold War.”

Thinking for a moment, Abigail nodded. A strange look crossed her face for a moment, but was gone before Mike even knew if it had actually been there at all. “Yes, that’ll be in the history section, over here.” She began leading him by the arm to the back side of one of the looming shelves. “That’s a very specific topic, you know.”

“It’s for class,” he said, a little too quickly. “It’s due tomorrow.”

“Hence the all-nighter,” Abigail nodded. “Well, let me know when you find what you’re looking—”

Again, she was interrupted by a pounding at the door. “Goodness gracious, it’s like no one ever sleeps around here. Please forgive me.”

She meandered off through the shelves, and Mike began to skim the titles of the books, trying to find something that might help him, something that wasn’t written by a conspiracy theorist nutcase. No, he didn’t want communist or capitalist propaganda either. A vein in his temple was beginning to pulse from lack of sleep, but sleep would just get in his way.

“Jilli?” Abigail’s voice reached him. “What are you doing here?”

“I need to talk to you about something.”

Mike froze. What was Jilli doing here? She should be asleep. He peeked around the corner of the bookshelf, and there she was in the doorway, her multi-colored hair was unmistakable. Oddly enough, she looked fine, composed even, even though she had just undergone a session less than forty-eight hours ago. He thought he saw her head turning towards him, and Mike skittered back behind the bookcase. If she saw him like this she’d ask a lot of questions.

“I need your help,” she continued. “Yours and Vic—oh that’s convenient.”

“Hello,” said Victor sheepishly.

Jilli looked back and forth across the cluttered room. “We’re alone, right?”

His heart clenched, Mike didn’t breathe.

“Well—” Victor began before Abigail quickly cut him off.

“Yep. It is 2 AM, after all.”

Mike relaxed, though now he was confused. Why would Abigail lie about that? She had no motive for doing so, unless she... wanted him to hear this?

"Alright,” Jilli began, breathing deeply. “This is going to sound crazy, but bear with me.”

The silence in the room was almost palpable.

“I’m going to overthrow the Director.”

No one spoke for a moment, and Mike had to stop himself from interjecting. Finally, Victor did it for him. “What?” he asked. “What do you mean ‘Overthrow the Director?’ She’s not a dictator, she’s a principle!”

“You of all people know that this isn’t a simple school,” Jilli scoffed. “Why do you keep that project of yours under a sheet? Because she and her lackeys are always watching you. We’re constantly overworked with classes and made to maintain a strict regimen so we can’t stop to think, and we all know someone who’d gotten fucked up by one of her psychotic sessions. We all live in fear that we might be next. This is the very definition of a fascist dictatorship.”

“But... but this is a school,” Victor replied weakly. “We chose to be here.”

Again, the room was quiet, and the others looked at each other warily. “I didn’t choose to be here.” Jilli broke the silence. “My agent forced me on a plane here and I haven’t heard a word since. Did you?”

“My parents found my projects and almost sent me to a mental ward before St. Adelaide’s contacted them,” Victor admitted.

“It’s the same for me,” Abigail whispered.

Jilli nodded. “So none of us are here of our own freewill, but we just assumed everyone else was.” She turned to Victor. “Still convinced this is just a school?”

“I...” he began, before hanging his head. “No.”

“We’ve been abandoned, but we don’t need to continue living in this hell.” Jilli gritted her teeth. “Se we’ve gotta fight back. But I can’t do it alone. I need your help, both of you. Are you with me?”

“This is insane.” Victor shook his head. “But alright.”

“I’m with you too,” Abigail smiled. “Oh, this will be fun. I’ve never been part of a revolution before.”

Behind the bookshelf, Mike was near panicking. What had the Director done to Jilli? This wasn’t like her at all! This plan was absolutely ludicrous! It could never work. But most of all: what would convince her to even try?”

But one question sat the heaviest in his mind: what was he going to do about it?

~~ o ~~

In the cold night air, just beyond the boundary of St. Adelaide’s, someone else was watching. Or rather, two someones, on the back of a flying motorbike.

“You know,” Lilith said, frowning as she watched Buttercup’s intense stare, “this is the fourth night we’ve done this. What exactly are you looking for?”

“I’m not looking,” Buttercup replied simply. “I’m waiting.”

“Okay, what are you waiting for, then?” And if you say Christmas, I swear to god...”

“I’m waiting for her to make a move.”

Lilith sighed. “I’m tired of waiting. Why don’t we just go trash the place now?”

“Because our goal isn’t just to ‘trash the place’,” Buttercup rolled her eyes. “We have a very specific target. And besides, the utter destruction of a school without provocation would draw unnecessary attention to us. And there’s a lot of kids in there. I’d rather not waste life unless I have to. You must admit, the school is the perfect cover.”

Once again, the small, pigtailed child juxtaposed with her grim war general speech momentarily weirded Lilith the fuck out, and she wondered for the umpteenth time just what this kid could have gone through to make her like this. The Talons, much to her chagrin, had been kept on a strictly need-to-know basis.

She hadn’t ever been told why exactly they had been undertaking these “reconnaissance” missions for the last four nights.

“She’s going to do it soon,” Buttercup muttered. “She’ll use a distraction to disappear, complete the experiment. She’s so close, I can feel it.”

“And that’s when we strike!”

“No, then we keep waiting.”

The motorbike dropped a centimeter in Lilith’s confusion. “What? Why?’

“Because that’s when our allies will emerge.”

“But we don’t need allies. Let’s just go destroy the place now.”

“No.” Buttercup put her foot down. Metaphorically. Because they were in the air. “The three of you couldn’t beat me. You won’t stand a chance against what’s in there. And it’s not all about strength. So we wait.”

“But waiting’s boooorrring.”

“I know, my friend.” Buttercup nodded. “I know.”

[shand000]

Another Kadenalysis

TBT invented character development.

The renewal news has sparked something in me that has me thinking about The Bold Type a lot now that I know that all of my theories and thoughts on the characters aren’t in vain. I have 2 more years to come up with more stuff to spout so let’s get to it, shall we? 

Ok. Can I just talk about how much Kat grew over the course of 10 episodes? And I’m honestly only going to talk about  the growth over 3.5 of them. Because I want to point out that in episode 5, she had a goddamn near panic attack over the fact that Adena had the audacity to refer to them as an 'US', indicating that she wanted a relationship. Like this heaux had a legit meltdown over the course of a day and a half. Here is my random commentary on the matter lol.

So, I swear when Adena stormed in like:

I was deadass sitting on the edge of the couch like "Please Kat, EXPLAIN YOURSELF BECAUSE MY ASS IS FLUMMOXED AS WELL. WTF R U DOIN SIS?!" She was a mess. She was spiraling out of control at the mere notion that Adena wanted something more than a casual hook up partner, something that Kat was familiar and comfortable with. Kat felt that things were getting too deep, too fast, and jumped ship, seemingly sabotaging any hopes of being with Adena long term since Adena decides to go to Paris.

BUT

Episode 8 rolls around. Kadena is tryna do the whole 'let's be friends' thing and they're honestly doing a pretty good job! They have great, consistent communication, they're mutually supportive, they allow each other to vent about their frustrations. And based on Adena's reaction to Kat simply saying "It made me miss you." after her failed date, they were probably keeping things on some super G-rated, platonic shit. I mean, Kat was under the impression that Adena was still dealing with Coco until she came out and asked about their status. This tells me two things.

1. Kat and Adena haven’t been discussing the Coco situation. Meaning Coco was most likely a non-factor. Prolly something Adena realized soon after getting to Paris. Prolly something Adena didn’t want to bring up as to keep Kadena interactions friendly and to not imply that she’s ‘single and ready to mingle’ out of fear of disrupting the nice little dynamic she and Kat had developed. I mean, she didn’t offer to make the leap to return to NY until Kat confirms that she 100 % wants Adena romantically, none of this in denial buddy buddy bs, and would be with her if she could. Which brings me to my next point:

2. Kat has finally given up this facade that she’s okay with the way things are going between her and Adena. She keeps telling Jane and Sutton that she’s just trying to be a friend to Adena, meanwhile, she’s realizing that things that used to make her happy just don’t cut it anymore. Lay off rumors have her genuinely thinking that her current life where all she has are her job and her two best friends may not be fulfilling enough. She’s craving something she's probably never even considered if we are to believe that she’s being honest about her past proclivities to just smash and pass with no real feelings attached. She wants Adena and she’s finally ready to put herself out there again and admit it. (SN: Look at our baby waiting to confirm that Adena really is single before she slides in with the "I may or may not have thought about flying to be with ya due to all this lay-off drama ;)" Episode 5 Kat was lowkey content with being a side piece lmao. Well, I actually have thoughts on her pursuing Adena knowing Coco was in the picture and seemingly not giving a damn, but I'll save that for another time.)

ANYWAYS, back to the 'post-failed date' FaceTime convo. Kat hit Adena with the "I saw our violinist." OUR violinist. Kat has officially regarded something as belonging to her and Adena. Fuck an 'our song', Kadena is outchea staking claim over entire musicians. Every song he plays is their goddamn song from now and on, it is law. Do you know how big that is for someone like Kat? She had come so far from 'Us? I don't know her.' And she STILL had more sappy shit to give us.

Episode 9 was a gold mine of Kadena content and I could honestly go on and on about various things, but I'll stick to the topic I came here for. Kat was doing everything in her power to show that she considered her and Adena to be a unit. Adena calls her and she excitedly tells her "I made US reservations." The very word that scared her a couple months ago rolls off her tongue freely now. When she was rightfully freaking out after the phone call, she didn't hesitate to buy an $11000 ticket just to go check on Adena. Because if Adena isn't okay, Kat isn't okay. She considers them a package deal now. When she gets to the airport, she is reassuring Adena, saying stuff like 'WE'LL get you a crazy amazing lawyer." and "WE'LL figure it out." and "I'm here. I'm in this WITH YOU." Like. *Swoons* When they're sitting by the giant windows, she's making it a point to stay connected via their hands because when she went to check her text messages, she makes sure to switch hands so that she can still remain in physical contact with Adena. She lets Adena know that she doesn't want to be on her phone because she wants to share the moment with her. The social media director herself was opting to stare out at the night sky and watch planes take off just for the sake of having an activity that she and Adena can do together. Seriously. The scene opens up with a wide view of the two of them chilling by the windows, showing us that Kat’s content just sitting there in silence. Holding hands. And she was so worried before that she’d screw this whole intimacy thing up. And to top it all off, in the pillow fort, Kat suggests that she leave the country so that she and Adena can be together. Which is a fucking huge thing that our baby girl is considering. Kat ‘This is why I like one night stands and flings; it’s passion but no expectations’ Edison is damnea ready to travel around the world with Adena for an indefinite amount of time here. One night stand my ass.

And I know. I know she wasn't really thinking things through (hence the "I don't feel like being logical right now." line from later on) but her gut feeling at that time was to do whatever it would take to ensure that she can be with Adena. And the most immediate way to do that would be to ditch her job, her friends and her entire life in the US to follow Adena across the globe for the sake of being with her bb. She literally says she wouldn't care if she realized she'd lost everything upon return, she just wants Adena (Boy, do I have thoughts on thattt shit too). And although she probably didn't really mean it, the fact that she ultimately decided to up and go to Peru-albeit, far more prepared than when she wanted to leave the first time-for however long (we, fortunately, get to find out now that this wonderful show has been renewed!) lets me know that Kat Edison was deadass serious when she said:

Kat 'relationships just aren’t my thing' Edison is moving mountains (shittt, and climbing them, too) to make sure that she and Adena can be together. She's using so much inclusive language now when before, she scoffed at the mere concept of being serious with Adena. If that's not love, then what is? I haven’t seen this type of stark 180 since Santana on Glee (such an unfortunate, yet thrilling era to experience lmao. TBT really is spoiling me.) Anyways, The Bold Type is raising the bar for character development. And it’s doing so in such a masterful way that it doesn’t feel forced or rushed in spite of having a 10 episode season. I live.

[pandabearlikes]

Observations and Predictions about Episode 9

First off, I think we didn’t get a full preview because episode 9 will be a pivotal one.  We did get glimpses due to the screenshots they put in after episode 8, so with those and previous instances in the series in mind, I compiled some predictions and observations.  ^-^ Reminder, everything is just my own thoughts.  Also, spoiler alert, please do not read if you don’t like spoilers.

1. MinHyuk and GookDu will arrive at the same time (or one shortly after the other, MinHyuk first)

2. BongSoon has already fought off most of the men ^^ Notice men down and the two arriving at scene

3. GookDu realizes BongSoon’s strength, MinHyuk is shocked by multiple things (1. Again, perhaps, still a little by BS’s strength xD Like, he knows she’s powerful, but it’s still astonishing to him.  his peanut-sized king kong K.O. hundreds of men ^-^ 2. Mix of emotions, seeing her okay after almost having a heart attack from worrying about her and having to track her down. [lol, gurl hung up on him after telling him her mom got kidnapped] but now realizing his love rival knows about her strength too or 3. Prediction: Some sore loser thug will use a knife against BongSoon and try to attack her from behind) << which is likely, considering both their expressions contain a sense of fear more than surprise/shock  <<EDIT: After teaser 9 trailer and how MinHyuk says, “That’s a relief you didn’t hurt yourself”, I think Bongsoon knocked something during her fight and a foundation of the garage building will fall on her an MinHyuk will cover her and get hurt. Looks like it was a mistranslation and MinHyuk just reveals he’s glad BongSoon didn’t get injured.

Prediction 1: Thug will attack from behind/use knife against BongSoon (maybe that one who lost his teeth, you know how he was trying to use that cane on her and the Thug Boss was like he brought out his “ultimate weapon”, I think that cane has a secret knife at the end or something (?))

Prediction 2: MinHyuk will rush forward, instinctively, and take the stab/attack for BongSoon (hence, why he is hospitalized) [I think director will make GookDu run forward too, but MinHyuk will beat him to it, while GookDu pulls BongSoon out of the way, to safety and/or charges at the attacker.  So they both “save” her, but in different ways, which I think kinda fits their characters.  Like, MinHyuk is the type to use himself as a shield to guard his loved ones [ultimate defense mechanism].  GookDu is more trained as a police and in the sense that he knows if he wants to protect someone, he needs to protect himself and not get hurt and become a burden too.  He also seems like the type to pin down the enemy and make sure he/she is incapacitated so that the people he wants to protect can make their escape [defense and offense mechanism].

Prediction 3: MinHyuk is rushed to hospital, BongSoon is crying in worry.  GookDu is busy observing BongSoon, mixed emotions of fondness for her strength, but utter confusion and thinking, "What in the actual world? We’ve been friends for 15 years and I never knew about your strength?  Like, all those thug reports about you beating them up is real, while I kept denying them and defending you.  Wow, I can’t believe you are that strong and I kept calling you ‘weak’  I am a fool."  BongSoon continues to mope.  Doctors will probably tell BS and GD that MinHyuk is in stable condition.  GookDu, unable to make sense of his emotions or anything, will drag a sobbing BongSoon off to a corner to talk with her.  

In this screenshot, you see a hospital like background and GookDu dragging Bongsoon away.  We know it’s GookDu because of the stripe pattern of his shirt. [feels like director will make his emotions run high and he will scold her like how he normally does >< please don’t though OTL.  Directors, you are seriously wasting talent here, argh. ISTG if they make GD force kiss BS, imma flip the table]  GookDu will confess his feelings during convo.  

Prediction 4: After BongSoon/GookDu chat, whatever the conclusion will be, BongSoon goes to check on MinHyuk, who is already awake and deep in thought.  During his time alone, he too, has been replaying the series of events in his head over and over again.  

He comes to full realization that, BongSoon is indeed the girl in the pink hoodie who saved him from the bus accident, 8 years ago.  She is his muse and the reason he has been staying strong all these years through countless struggles.  She is the reason he started to believe in miracles again.  She is the reason why he stopped living a reckless life, including stopped serial dating.  Everything has come a full circle but now, everything seems like a dream.  BongSoon enters the room and displays tender care for him.  In fact, she has known, since that time they rode on the bus, that MinHyuk’s savior was herself. 

Prediction 5: MinHyuk will confess his feelings.  BongSoon is a confused potato because now she has two guys who one after another, confessed their feelings…worse part, she has/had feelings for both. She won’t reply to either/asks for time to sort out her feelings.  One, for GookDu, she’s waited 15 years to hear his words.  Two, she’s confused and rattled by her own indecisiveness because she thought after waiting for so long and getting the result she could only ever dream of, would make her hop around in rainbows and sparkles, but instead, she’s burdened and almost opposed to this idea because she had just started to let go of her affections for GookDu.  Also, now, we have MinHyuk’s confession, which she may be just as burdened because of timing, because of all the realizations and seemingly fairytale full circle of fate that just seems too surreal to be true.  She knows she’s developing feelings for him, but she can’t get herself to admit it out of fear that she’s inadequate or that if they are together, she’ll continue to hurt him or get him hurt [think about it, she kept saying she will protect him, but instead, he keeps protecting her and getting himself injured].

Prediction 6: Two possible reactions from BongSoon’s mom: 1. Either she will scold BS and tell her how dumb and useless she is to fall for voice phishing and reprimand her for not protecting MinHyuk.  BS may burst out at her mom again and reveal to her that she’s hurt too.  Her heart hurts so much seeing people hurt on her behalf/ due to her inability to use her power at significant times or 2. BongSoon’s mom is ready to scold, out of habit, but sees BS’s breakdown/hurting and self-blame and instead, takes off her own bullying mask/strong-front, to console her daughter.  There is a level of understanding only women of the Do family can provide one another, after all.  [Hoping for #2]  

Prediction 7: MinHyuk will start to back away from BongSoon, because he also wants to sort out feelings.  Yes, he loves the girl who saved him eight years ago, who he believes is the angel his mom sent to protect him, but he also wants BongSoon (and himself) to know, that, that’s not the sole reason for his love.  He was smitten by BS even before he realized she was his savior.  On the other hand, GookDu, who has been oblivious about everything for the whole series (and like 15 dayum years prior to that), finally, starts to make his move and tries to take that step closer to BongSoon.  [Timing, though, hun, everything in life is about timing.  You snooze, you lose.]

Prediction 8: This may not happen in next episode, but I do see the director possibly trying to make a connection between the kidnapper and the main leads.  IDK, what it is, but I get a hunch that MinHyuk [and BongSoon] is connected to the kidnapper more than they think.  Like, it’s too many hints and coincidences in a drama to just brush it off.  I mentioned it in a previous post when I first started watching the series, I thought the directors were trying to hint that MinHyuk was the kidnapper haha.  [Ex. His dislike of police officers, his attachment to hiding in secluded areas {hiding in closet and building a secret safe haven dungeon within his closet vs kidnapper’s attachment to imprisoning the girls}, their one-meal philosophy, MinHyuk’s fascination with the kidnapper’s wit, MinHyuk even stating, “When I was younger, I wanted to be the culprit”.  Also, remember how BongSoon and his brother almost got kidnapped when they were younger.  Something tells me, these events are somehow connected (?)  Like, I mean it could just be a theme the director keeps throwing out too.  But, maybe there will be some backstory where when MinHyuk was younger he got kidnapped or saw someone (maybe BS and brother) get kidnapped and he tried to call the cops for help but they brushed him off…that’s why he hates cops so much.  [Well, that and how his gangster father got chummy with the cops and law enforcements so he thinks all are dumb and corrupt].  If the former prediction is true, the guy who keeps kidnapping the girls may also have been kidnapped when he was young, and MinHyuk and him were imprisoned together and crossed paths, and that’s how they share a similar trauma.

Observation 1: By the way, there was a mention of kidnapper being really bad with knives, that’s why he accidentally killed the first girl he wanted to kidnap.  I think there’s a connection to how BongSoon’s mom had fortune read by the monk about how one with strength, can’t beat one with knife.  Is this a foreshadow of BongSoon trying to catch kidnapper…and possibly coming into some type of danger?

Observation 2: Love the whole symbolism with the pink hoodie. It’s the thing that helps MinHyuk recognize his savior but more importantly, it’s the thing that pushes BongSoon to find pride in her strength, because it is, in fact, a STRENGTH, not a flaw or weakness or something to be hidden.  The pink hoodie is something her grandmother gave her to remind her to be proud of her power.  For generations, women of the Do Family, have treated their powers as something special but should be suppressed.  Especially, after BongSoon’s mom messes up and used her power selfishly, she loses it completely.  Her actions were viewed as a disgrace and her own self-shame leads her to constantly and unfairly reprimand and “control” BongSoon.  In fact, the mom just doesn’t want BongSoon to be pegged as a disgrace, like her, but because of this, she has drilled into BongSoon’s mind that her strength is a curse and she must suppress and hide it.  When BongSoon wears the hoodie to stop the bus, it’s the first time she realizes her strength can help people - though, at that time, she brushes it off like it’s not big deal.  But it is a big deal!  She saved so many lives, including MinHyuk’s.  MinHyuk’s gratefulness, admiration, and constant encouragement throughout the series was able to make BongSoon finally accept that her power is god-given and a BLESSING not a curse!!!!!!  That is why she brought her hoodie out again (T^T)

Random Observation 1: BongSoon’s mother keeps telling BongSoon to not bully people with her strength.  She especially gets angry when she hears rumors of her bullying students into giving her lunch money.  Again, this is a self-shame thing.  Her mom is afraid BongSoon will make the same mistake she has in the past.  She links that bullying students for lunch money thing as the reason why she, herself, was punished and lost her power.  During the scene with the granny, mom, and BongSoon, they even contemplate whether BongSoon’s mom will ever get her powers back.  To be honest, BongSoon Omma, you ain’t gonna get your powers back if you abuse your family and beat up your husband.  It has nothing to do with the lunch money incident (or maybe that was the ONE incident that got her punished for misusing her power) but she hasn’t gotten it back because she still has the tendency to bully others, whether verbally or physically, due to her own insecurity.  I think, though, in the end of the series, due to BongSoon’s example of using her strength as a positive attribute to help others, not to hurt others, her mom will learn to cherish her family too, and that’s when God will grant her, her powers back ^-^

Random Observation 2: MinHyuk’s worry for BongSoon’s safety should not be misinterpreted as him thinking she is weak.  He’s protectiveness is a source of reflexive, unconditional love, and understanding.  He knows she is strong but not invincible, especially against weaponry.  Also, he knows she is impulsive but compassionate and gullible.  

Anyways, can’t wait for next episode!! ^-^ Message me and spaz with me!  I love this drama so much.

Share with me what you think??

[theliterateape]

Hope Idiotic | Part 40

By David Himmel

Hope Idiotic is a serialized novel. Catch each new part every week on Monday and Thursday.

LOU AND MARK DRANK BEERS AT DOUBLE SHOT, the next-best local hole in the wall since Zigler’s Tavern was overrun by the ultra hip. On a Thursday night, Double Shot was busy with the perfect mixture of hipsters, frat boys and after-work stiffs. Lou and Mark liked it for its patron variety—a slice of Chicago life—the food, the affordable drink specials and the friendly waitresses.

It had been three months since Lou last saw and spoke to Michelle, but it seemed that every single conversation he and Mark had somehow led back to her. While Mark debated the benefits of L.A. and New York, Lou managed to connect Mark’s future to Michelle’s past.

“We never went to New York. We talked about it but never went. I wonder whether Michelle will move to L.A. She talked about that all the time; how she wanted to be closer to her parents and where it was warmer. Her firm has an office out there. God, wouldn’t that be weird if you and Michelle both moved to L.A.? I don’t know, I hate to think that Michelle…”

Mark slapped Lou across the face.

“What the fuck!”

“That’s it. No more.”

“No more what?”

“Every time you say her name, I’m going to smack you. Right across the face.”

“What? Michelle?” Mark slapped him again. “Oh, come on!”

“You have got to stop talking about her. You need to start moving on.”

It wasn’t that Lou was hung up on Michelle, it was that the past three years of his life had been so focused around her. She was central to everything, and it was all he had to talk about. Talking about anything before The Age of Michelle seemed entirely out of context. That’s the hardest part about breakups: finding a new definition of yourself. Since the breakup, Lou had continued sinking in a sea of whiskey and cigarette smoke while searching for that new definition among the fragments of the past three years. He didn’t talk about Michelle because he missed her; he talked about her because he didn’t know how not to.

“All right. Jesus,” Lou said. “No more Michelle.” SLAP! The sip of beer he had just taken shot out of his mouth and sprayed across the bar. “Goddammit!”

“Are you boys okay over here?” asked the cute waitress who had been serving them for the past two hours.

“We’re fine,” Mark said. “I’m just breaking my friend of a bad habit.”

“What habit would that be?”

“Talking too much,” he said.

“Okay then. Can I get you boys some more beers? It’ll help keep you quiet.” She looked at Lou and flirtatiously touched his arm. “Maybe some ice for your face?”

“Is it swelling up? Jesus, Mark.”

“No, sweetie, it’s fine. I’m just teasing you. Another round?”

“Yes, please,” Mark said.

“Did you see that? She was flirting with me,” Lou said.

“She flirts with everyone. That’s how she makes her money. Be careful of waitresses and female bartenders. They care less about you than strippers and work twice as hard to get you to like them.”

When she returned with the beers a few moments later, Lou asked her name.

“Niki,” she said.

“Niki, you are the best waitress we’ve ever had here. And we’re here all the time. Are you new?”

“Nope. I’ve been here about a year.”

“How is it possible that we’ve never seen you before?”

“I usually work the day shift. I have another waitressing job across town.”

“I guess we’ll have to start coming in here for lunch.”

“You’re getting creepy,” Mark said.

Niki smiled. “No, he’s fine. But unfortunately, this is my last day. I start a new job tomorrow.”

“Another bar?” Lou asked.

“Nope. A real, big-girl job. I’m going to be an assistant editor for a magazine.”

Lou’s eyes grew wide. “How about that,” Mark said.

“Which magazine?”

“Chicago Style.”

“Sure! I know that rag. It’s all society and fashion and travel.”

“That’s the one,” she said.

“You use freelancers?”

“Of course. That’s how I got the job.”

“Well, look I’m a writer, and if it’s okay I’ll send you some pitches, and you can throw some work my way, or both.” He dug into his wallet and pulled out a sad-looking homemade business card.

“Oh, that’s great! We’re getting ready to start putting together the next issue, so yeah, we’ll need some good story ideas. I’ll definitely email you.”

She asked if she could get them anything else at the moment, then returned to her other tables.

“Don’t let anyone ever tell you that nothing good comes out of drinking yourself stupid in a bar,” Lou said.

“You got a story in mind?”

“I don’t know. I did a little blog writing for a minute a while back for this interior-design guy. He does some pretty interesting stuff. Could be something there.” Mark gave him a look of uncertainty. “Hey, it’s not a column in Vanity Fair, but it’s a gig. And it’s a writing gig. Step by step. This wouldn’t have happened if I were still with Mich…” Mark raised his hand. “This wouldn’t have happened if I were still with What’s-her-face.” Mark took hold of his beer glass and raised it up in a toast. Lou did the same. “Shots?”

✶

LOU WAS ABLE TO WRITE HIS STORIES FOR CHICAGO STYLE AT THE SHEET-METAL SHOP since business was so slow—the economy had affected the construction industry, as well; America as a whole, was on hold. The editor in chief loved his first piece on the interior designer. When the magazine hit the stands, Lou grabbed a free copy from one of the kiosks on the street. Seeing his name in a byline again made him feel incredible, like he belonged to the huddled masses. He went home that night and sent an email to every other Chicago magazine editor he could think of with clips of his stuff, including his most recent piece, asking them to keep him in mind for any assignments they have lying around and to forward their editorial calendars along so he could create story pitches to fit with each editor’s plan.

The work slowly came in. There wasn’t a magazine for which he wouldn’t write. There was Chicago Style, Chicago Brides, Chicago Agent, a rag for real estate agents about the real estate business, Avenue Magazine, a high-end society glossy, which seemed to exist solely for the city’s wealthy elite to be able to read stories about themselves. The stories were fluff pieces, advertorial junk, restaurant, bar and hotel reviews, travel stories about golf courses, and B & Bs that he never had visited, profiles of the movers and shakers throughout Chicagoland. It wasn’t the kind of writing for which he wanted to be known when he died, but he was racking up a few extra hundred bucks a month. Lou was back in the game.

And then he received an email from the HR manager at a small marketing/advertising agency called Spark. It did a lot of packaging, product development and brand marketing. The HR manager said she was looking for a copywriter to add to the team. She said she found his résumé on ProCore.

Holy shit, he thought. ProCore actually worked.

The company’s office was located in the West Loop in an old loft building that used to house the world’s leading casket manufacturer. His interview was held inside of a small conference room that had been where the oven that dried the casket’s wood stain had been. The room’s door was a giant metal fire door that required an inordinate amount of effort to open and close it. Lou liked the old industrial look of the office. It inspired the idea of manufacturing creativity—blood and sweat of the mind rather than with the body.

He had called in sick to Don at the shop so he could attend the interview. He managed to avoid drinking anything the night before to make sure he was at his best for the interview. It took him twenty minutes to fix his tie since he wanted to get it perfect. He styled his hair three different ways before settling on the way he usually wore it; casually combed over. Nothing could be out of place. Lou had to give the impression of his life. And he did. Despite his tendency to joke himself out of countless good situations when important matters were on the line, Lou charmed and impressed the HR manager. She pulled in the agency’s creative director, a friendly and confident guy named Ted, to meet with Lou. Ultimately, Lou’s employment was Ted’s decision and after an hour-long conversation, Lou had the job.

The smile never left Lou’s face as he rode the bus back to the apartment. The HR manager was at first impressed with his wide range of experience. Ted was looking for a clever mind to join the small creative team at Spark, which was made up of Ted and two designers. The crash had hurt the agency, and Ted was well aware that his may be the only one hiring creatives, but for it to survive, he said, it needed to provide its remaining clients with the best work possible and be ready when more work began coming in. That, and he wanted a writer who was going to approach the work from a different perspective. Ted was tired of working with copywriters who had spent their careers in advertising and who prayed daily to the almighty power of the Apple brand. Lou’s inexperience as an agency writer was a benefit. The compilation of his media, marketing, corporate communications and journalism was ideal. His starting salary was sixty thousand dollars a year, more than he’d ever made. He would begin as soon as he could gracefully walk away from the sheet-metal shop.

It was late afternoon when he got home, and he was excited to call Don, apologize for lying about being sick, admit to going on an interview and let him know that he would work another two weeks while Don found a replacement estimator. But first, he called Chuck to share the good news. Someone answered in Spanish, and Lou’s gut twisted as he remembered that Chuck wasn’t answering phone calls anymore. He quickly hung up and called me while he poured himself a glass of scotch.

Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V Part VI Part VII Part VIII Part IX Part X Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Part 29 Part 30 Part 31 Part 32 Part 33 Part 34 Part 35 Part 36 Part 37 Part 38