#so it’s just me and the new senior director now

[witchothewest]

Sometimes my adhd makes me feel so stupid and I hate it. And the thing is like, I know I’m smart. Certainly nowhere near the most intelligent person I’ve ever met, but like, unquestionably smarter than average. I know that kind of makes me sound like an asshole, but it’s true, and I can feel that it’s true when I’m doing something like writing or designing, researching, solving certain kinds of problems or puzzles, interpreting the thoughts and motivations and feelings of others, etc.

But then I try to work my normal, underpaid administrative job and draw simple connections or parse simple directions and suddenly I’m drowning. I become paralyzed because I can’t make sense between what somebody asked me to do and the other information that’s come through via email. I can’t remember how this financial transfer works vs. that one, what kind of information it would make sense for a donor to need, how to ask what they need me to prepare without being awkward or rude or impolite, how all of these institutions are related to each other in a money sense…I just…I shut down.

And suddenly my brain is doing nothing and everything at the same time. All of my thoughts are spinning and overlapping and fragmenting while I try to make sense of what seems to come perfectly naturally to everyone around me, and at the same time it feels like I don’t have a single thought at all in my little head.

I just…I’m so tired.

[katyswrites]

put on your records (and regret me)

PART 1 | SERIES

Pairing: Steve Harrington/fem!reader

Warnings: asshole!Steve, rivals-to-lovers, swearing, alcohol references, no use of y/n

Wordcount: 2.5k

Playlist

You love WAMC-Hawkins, Indiana’s top college radio station. It’s your safe space, your niche. It’s where you’ve made your friends, your favorite place to be when the rest of the world gets to be just a bit too much. Well, with one exception.

Steve Harrington is a thorn in your side. And just as well - he thinks you’re a royal pain in the ass. But in your senior year, you’re both on the e-board, so you have to work together. You love to hate him. So why can’t you get him out of your head? And, why do you find yourself going to see his band, each and every weekend?

Underground basement concerts, spinning old records, and screaming matches in the vinyl library with the boy you love to hate. An enemies-to-lovers college radio station 90s AU.

TRACK 1

April 1994

“So, all votes are in?” Katie asked. Everyone in the room nodded, and you sat forward in your seat.

The current General Manager of the radio station, Katie, ran a tight ship. Still, nobody could deny that they were sad to see her leaving - graduation was claiming too many people this year. She glanced down at her clipboard, adjusting her glasses.

General Manager would be read first, you knew that - it was the closest position the station had to President, the person who ran the whole thing. And after the last three years, all signs pointed to Katie's successor being you. Most people didn’t want the job - it was pretty thankless, all on a volunteer basis, and the election is often more of a formality to the most obvious person. But, you were passionate about the radio station - you always had been. Running it wouldn’t be easy, but you knew you were the right person to do it.

You love WAMC-Hawkins, Indiana’s top college radio station. It’s your favorite place, your niche. There’s nothing you loved more than spinning some records on-the-air, hanging out in the station lounge, and being a part of something. It’s where you’ve made your friends, easily able to bond over your love of music, making it your safe space when the rest of the world gets to be just a bit too much. Well, with one exception.

You could feel Steve Harrington’s eyes on you from where he sat across the room. You pointedly ignored him, your clasped fingers growing clammy with anticipation.

“Drumroll, everyone!” she said, resulting in a cacophony of pats against legs, tables, or any available surface. When Katie read your name, the room broke into a smattering of applause.

“Congratulations!” Nancy cried from where she sat next to you, throwing her arms around your shoulders.

“Thanks,” you laughed, giving your friend a tight squeeze. 

Despite the fact that you had expected this, a wave of relief washed over you. There was no glamor in keeping this place running, you knew that. Still, you cared too much about it, and now it was in your hands… just as you had hoped.

Your joy could only last so long, though - you were almost too caught up in your personal celebration to notice. Almost.

“Okay, and for Program Director… Steve!”

This time, a few whoops and hollers were let out - probably from Steve’s buddies, large in number and often loudly enthusiastic. But, you were just frozen, feeling your fists clench.

The Program Director coordinates a lot of things - new DJ training, events, stocking the music library… and works most closely with the General Manager. Meaning...

“Looks like we’re gonna be spending a lot of time together, sweetheart,” he said later with a smirk. 

The meeting was long over - positions had been announced, congratulations given, goodbyes for the semester bid on the way out. You had sat there for the last hour with a rage steadily bubbling under the surface. You had tried your best to listen, relieved to find out Nancy was working as the Media Director, and your friend Eddie working as the Training Director. That, at least, offered some comfort - if you’d be running your favorite place with your friends, how bad could it be?

The answer, apparently, is still pretty shitty.

You can’t put a finger on exactly why Steve Harrington bothered you so much. But, from the moment you had met, he had been a thorn in your side. He knew it, too - it seemed to be his life’s mission to get on your nerves, just to get a rise out of you.

But he was blocking the exit, arm leaning casually against the doorframe. So, you took the approach you usually tried to - not letting him see that he was getting to you.

“Looks like it,” you said, words measured and careful. “But until then… have a good summer, Harirngton.”

You tried to shoulder past him, but he wasn’t budging. You sighed, meeting his gaze again and straightening up a bit.

“Do you mind?”

“I just thought you were gonna try to stick around - let me guess, you already have a 20-step plan for what we should do next year? I mean, I’m surprised you didn’t just jump all the new E-Board members to tell them how you’re going to run things. You know, in your insane and anal-retentive way.”

You clenched your jaw, grimacing as the notebook that you knew was buried in your backpack, containing your ideas for next year’s agenda.

"That's a pretty big word for you, I'm impressed," you mocked. Before he could come up with a clever reply, you continued:

“You know, I was surprised you ran for a position,” you said sweetly. “I mean, last I checked, you haven’t shown up to a single volunteer event. Were you even at the Spring fundraiser?”

“I was busy.”

“Funny way of saying hungover,” you retorted.

You took a deep breath, taking a moment to regain your composure.

“Look, we’re going to have to work together, so - can we just start over? Bury the hatchet, or whatever?”

He just grinned.

“Yeah, sure thing, sweetheart,” he said, voice lower. “You’re the boss.”

You had given up on asking him to drop the sweetheart thing long ago. So instead, you gave him a sharp nod, muttering have a good summer, Harrington.

He stepped aside enough to let you through, but still crowded the doorway enough that you had to brush past him as you did. 

You ignored the way his breath caught as you did.

Maybe you could both be mature adults about this… maybe.

*******

September

“Harrington?!” You cry, stomping into the booth. Steve sits in the chair, switchboard alight as Head Over Heels plays through the speakers. He barely hears you enter, thanks to the headphones he’s wearing. When you slam your hands down on the desk, he jumps in his seat.

“Jesus - the fuck are you doing here?” he cries, yanking the headphones off to let them fall around his neck.

“You booked studio space without going through me,” you say angrily.

His face shifted then, from confusion to smugness.

“Oh - well, you were unreachable, and I only needed two board members’ approval. And, I count as a board member.”

“Who the fuck was the second person who approved it?”

“Eddie.”

You groaned. Of course - Eddie probably didn’t even know -

“So your band just happened to book studio space to go on-air during my show’s time slot?”

“Oh… it’s during your show?” he asks, voice saccharine with feigned innocence. 

You rolled your eyes.

“Cut the act, Harrington. There are a ton of empty time slots that your little band could play during, you know.”

He sighed, crossing his arms and spinning the chair around to fully face you.

“If you’re so hurt about it, why don’t you come by? We need an emcee, and if you’re already usually here…”

“As if I’d waste my time coming to listen to you guys. I don’t even listen to your show.”

“So you’ve said. I thought your boyfriend was in the band too, last time I checked.”

You scoffed. “Eddie is not my boyfriend. And, not that he’d ever tell you, but he’s filling in as a favor. He’s only playing with you guys because Corroded Coffin broke up.”

Something unreadable flickers across Steve’s face, then he shakes his head. 

“Yeah, okay - keep telling yourself that, sweetheart. But, we’ve got the time next Thursday - so, come by, don’t come by… I don’t give a shit. Just let me know by the weekend if you are - it’s only protocol, after all, and I know you’re a stickler for that.”

He pulls the headphones back over his ears, turning the volume of the music up a bit.

“Now, if you don’t mind - I’m about to go on-air, and I’d hate for everyone to hear your hissy-fit through the radio waves, you know?”

He returns his attention to the microphone, ready to turn down the music and start speaking - but you’re not giving him the satisfaction of sticking around to watch. 

You just huff, crossing your arms and stomping out with even more fury than you came.

Your drive home is full of frustration that grows to rage. You grumble under your breath over the hum of the radio, cursing Steve Harrington’s name at every red light, every sharp turn. It’s only when you pull up to your apartment and park that you realize what’s even playing through the car’s speakers.

It’s WAMC - what else would you have on? You always have your radio tuned to 98.9, doing your best to listen to your friends and support the station you hold so dearly. But, of course, the person on the air right now is him.

You had taken a personal vow a while ago to not tune into Steve’s show. You know it’s stupid - one listener doesn’t make a difference, and you know Steve Harrington certainly doesn't have trouble sleeping at night knowing that you don’t listen to whatever crappy music he plays over the air. But, he’s driving you crazy - he’s so arrogant, so smug, and everyone else eats it up. Nobody dislikes Steve Harrington… it seems like everyone on campus who knows Steve either is in love with him, or wants to be him. You’ll never understand the hold he has over people. 

But, maybe you should try to - it’s only fair to get a sense of what all the fuss is about, you reason. So, you turn up the volume dial, letting the music flow through the stereo and over the din of your still-running engine.

It’s about what you expect - mostly Top 40 hits, some classic rock sprinkled in. It’s not bad, necessarily - just, like nearly any other station you could tune your radio to. It’s not a hard and fast rule to play lesser-known music - it’s just encouraged. But, everyone tunes into Steve’s show, ask him for advice on how to plan a slot… it makes your blood boil.

You tell yourself that you’re only going to listen for a few minutes. When Steve’s voice comes on the air, you roll your eyes - he’s cracking jokes, giving anecdotes about the songs, and unfortunately, he’s nearly charming. You don’t realize a full hour has passed until he signs off. You quickly kill your engine and dart into your apartment, doing your best to try not to dwell on the slight disappointment in the show being over.

Double-booking your radio slot was only the most recent of a string of things Steve had been doing to piss you off - showing up late to meetings (if he even shows up at all), calling out of his radio show, making snide remarks under his breath at the meetings he does show up to… you’re basically doing two jobs at once. Any false promise of civility between you two is a thing of the past. He’s making your life a living Hell - but, you’re not one to back down. Two can play dirty, after all.

******

October

You and Steve spend the next few weeks doing a delicate dance, going back and forth not-so-subtly sabotaging one another. His band tried to book a gig at the local venue, which you conveniently “forgot” to sign off on. He tells incoming freshmen that they don’t need to go through you when applying to be a DJ, causing an enrollment nightmare. You pay Jonathan Byers $20 for the equipment to “break,” only for the two hours that Steve is scheduled to do his radio show. But, throughout it all, you barely actually see one another. It’s nearly a month later that you actually encounter him again.

The moment you set foot in the vinyl library, you groan. He looks up from where he’s perusing the records on the shelves, grinning as soon as he locks eyes with you.

“Fancy seeing you here, sweetheart.”

Fuck off, you think.

“Hey, Harrington,” you say, exhibiting what you consider to be an exorbitant amount of restraint. After your blowup last time, the last thing you need is to continue to give him the satisfaction of having the upper hand.

You march straight ahead, going right to the shelf next to him. You pointedly stare forward, running your fingers along the spines of the albums, pulling out the ones you’re looking for as you find them.

You hear Steve scoff next to you, and you roll your eyes - practically an involuntary response with him at this point. 

“Do you have a problem?” you asked, your tone biting.

He just shrugs. “No. You’re just… predictable.”

“How so?”

“If you asked me to come in here, and pick out the records for your radio show for you… it’d just be too easy. Let me guess… The Smiths… Talking Heads… R.E.M…Sonic Youth…and some European band whose name I can’t pronounce, probably. Am I close?”

You clutched the records close to your chest, arms crossing to obscure them.

Steve just grins smugly.

You hold your place, not breaking eye contact. He simply shrugs, tongue pushed to the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing.

Pleased with himself. Too cocky. A challenge. 

“That’s what I thought.”

You straightened up, keeping eye contact.

“You act as if you’re any better, with your Worst 40 bullshit -”

“You only pretend to not like it to be different -”

“I don’t pretend to not like your music! I’m just trying to make us sound different from any other station people tune into -”

“So you do listen to my show?” he asks. He’s still wearing that shit-eating grin, but for just a moment, you swear he sounds surprised.

You open and close your mouth a few times, debating what to say. You’ve been caught. And he’s just staring at you, so blatantly self-satisfied, that you want to punch him.

“Shut up,” you say quietly.

“You gonna make me?” he asks.

You feel your face heat. The vinyl library is too cramped, its narrow walls making Steve stand just a bit too close to you. You swallow, straightening up a bit. He’s blocking the only exit, a habit he seems to reserve especially for you.

“Can you let me leave, Harrington? Or do I have to answer a riddle or something first?”

“I’m having a party on Friday,” he blurts out. “You should stop by. Everyone else from the station is coming.”

You shake your head. 

“Um - I don’t think -”

“C’mon, sweetheart - show me that you know how to have a little fun!”

You shrug.

“Maybe. Whatever, I’ll see.”

He grins. “Okay - 36 Hamilton Street, by the way. Friday night, 10pm.”

Then he’s gone, leaving you alone in the darkness of the record library. You try to ignore how fast your heart is beating in his wake.

Fucking Steve Harrington.

author's note: Hi everyone! Here's the first part of a brand new fic - ta da! In general, I think the plan for this fic is to have shorter chapters, but more total chapters, so the word count will be... whatever it ends up being. Keep in mind that there will be smut down the line, so only engage is 18+, please. Likes, replies, and reblogs are always appreciated! Also, this was barely edited, so if you see a mistake... no you didn't.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Don Moynihan at Can We Still Govern?:

Imagine being an employee so toxic that you were fired by a guy who boasted to his co-workers about beating a dog to death with a shovel. Now imagine that you are still less sketchy than the guy using the dating app he started to solicit 18 year old girls, offering them free trips to LA to “hook up.” What do these people have in common? They are key figures in Trump’s effort to redesign the federal public sector. The guys who should trigger calls to HR want to become the HR system for government.

I am speaking of Paul Dans, the head of Project 2025 until he exited in July, John McEntee, who led the screening of Republican political appointees for both Trump and Project 2025, and Kevin Roberts, the President of the Heritage Foundation overseeing Project 2025. Both Dans and McEntee are people who would not have held any positions of power in a normal presidential administration. McEntee was kicked out of the White House when he failed a security check due to frequent gambling. He had no obvious qualifications apart from being the guy who carried Trump’s bag and being unswervingly loyal to Trump. But when Trump brought him back to the White House, he ordered that McEntee also be put in charge of the enormously important Presidential Personnel Office.

One of Tump’s own appointees voiced concerns about McEntee, saying “Mr. President, I have never said no to anything you’ve asked me to do, but I am asking you to please reconsider this. I don’t think it is a good idea.” Trump grew apoplectic: “You people never fucking listen to me! You’re going to fucking do what I tell you to do.” Paul Dans was another Trump loyalist, one who struggled to find a place in the administration despite volunteering on the Trump campaign. He had no relevant experience in government, and had failed to make partner in an unremarkable legal career. Despite his lack of qualifications, Dans had a different explanation, which was that he was one of a group of “people getting sandbagged because somebody thought that they were too ‘America First’-y or too Trumpist.” He finally broke into government with a position in HUD thanks to a Federalist Society connection with James Bacon, a college student working for Ben Carson. Bacon would later get recruited by McEntee to join him at the Presidential Personnel Office, and in turn brought Dans on board.

“Toxic and Abusive Behavior”

From the Presidential Personnel Office, Dans star finally rose. He was deployed to the Office of Personnel Management, which oversees the career civil service. At OPM he championed Schedule F, the directive that would allow appointees like Dans to fire long-time career public servants. The Director of OPM resigned when she was told by McEntee that she now answered to Dans, who became the de facto leader of the agency. Dans’ inexperience with government showed. Anytime he encountered a delay he assumed it was deliberate: “He questioned everything from the point of view that there was a conspiracy against him and the president,” said a fellow Republican appointee. He would lose his temper and “just throw bombs into senior staff meetings” making him an intimidating figure. The pattern of abusive workplace behavior did not stop him from being handed the plum assignment of leading Project 2025. And when Dans exited in late July, Heritage praised him, with Kevin Roberts posting that Dans “built the project from scratch and bravely led this endeavor over the last two years.” New reporting paints a darker story. Dans was fired for being a toxic colleague. He yelled and swore at co-workers, demeaning them. Colleagues said that Dans “always struggled to maintain collegiality” and described “toxic and abusive behavior” especially toward female colleagues. He failed to listen to repeated warnings, including from Roberts, to behave professionally. After an internal investigation, he was fired for what the Heritage Foundation now acknowledges was “professional misconduct and mistreatment of colleagues.”

The “Deputy President”

When the Trump administration ended, McEntee could have followed the route of other ex-Trumpers and joined a think tank. While he would eventually return to this world via Project 2025, his priorities were elsewhere. With backing from the tech billionaire and Trump/Vance supporter Peter Thiel, McEntee launched a dating app aimed at conservatives, called “The Right Stuff.” In explaining his motivation for creating the app, McEntee wrote: “Washington, D.C. is a very liberal city, and I'm super conservative. How could I find people who had the same values as me? I found I couldn't really use the apps because it was tough to find someone on there with similar opinions…Personally, I have never and would never date anyone who doesn't share the same political views as me.” McEntee’s app received mixed reviews. Users complained about the Ashley Madisonesque lack of women on the site.

[...]

The Dog Killer in Charge

Overseeing all of this is the Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts. And Roberts has his own problems: multiple former colleagues said he had boasted about killing a neighbor’s dog with a shovel. The timing is bad, of course, since a key policy message of Trump and JD Vance (who wrote the foreword for Robert’s new book), is that that it is immigrants are killing beloved pets. Instead, it seems to be the person in charge of the governing blueprint that Trump keeps trying to distance himself from. While Roberts deserves some credit for firing Dans, the anonymous Heritage leaks disparaging Dans appear to have come after he demanded a $3.1 million severance package, which Heritage rebuffed. At the same time, Heritage has nothing to say about their other Project 2025 employee, McEntee. While it might denounce toxic behavior in their workplace, predatory behavior by their employees is fine. Dans is a person that Heritage would not employ because of his toxic behavior. But they think his ideas are appropriate for massively restructuring the federal personnel system so that people like Dans and McEntee can fire whoever they want. McEntee is not someone you would want anywhere near younger women. But he is the person that both Trump and Heritage put in charge of recruiting the next generation of appointees.

Don Moynihan wrote another solid column on how three toxic men who seek to control the federal civil service sector should Donald Trump get back in.

[leaderwonim]

꒰ 사랑𝐒𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐆: 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐧. 🫀

002: she fell in front of her sunbaenim 🤓

It wasn’t until a week later that you met the other actors and actresses in the film.

Your manager, Hongseok, had cleared pretty much your entire schedule so the rest of PRISM was out promoting while you were waiting awkwardly at the film studio, straightening out your white skirt and thinking of what to say to Sunghoon.

After all, you did kind of audition for Belift as a joke. You were really into Enhypen and Newjeans, so you sent in your singing and dancing tape thinking you weren’t going to get picked anyway. You did, though.

“Hi, sorry I’m late!” The all too familiar Australian accent pops out of nowhere, and your breathing is 10 times rapid knowing exactly who it belonged to. Pham Hanni from Newjeans.

“No worries!” You say, almost choking on the piece of bread you were taking a bite out of. “Greetings sunbaenim!”

You bow but Hanni shakes her head quickly, “ah.. no need. I read your profile, you’re a year older than me, so if anything, I should be the one saying the formalities.”

You don’t get to say anything else before the Park Sunghoon and Kim Gyuvin walk in.

Oh my God. You internally think. You almost have to hold back from fainting because how the hell are you in the presence of Hanni, Gyuvin, and Sunghoon at the same time?!

“This is our main cast,” the director says, who your manager has told you to refer to as Director Jung. “We have a few more idols but they’ll be in and out between episodes.”

The four of you nod, you suddenly feeling so small when in the same room as your talented sunbaenims.

“Today is just introduction and get to know each other day since I know this was probably brought up upon you guys suddenly and it can seem overwhelming and uncomfortable.” Director Jung smiles, showing off his bright white teeth.

“The drama is a romance one, kind of like an American coming to age except Korean, you know? It’s called Parallel Love. The main character, Baek Yunhee is played by Yoon Y/N as you all know.” He then points towards your direction, making the other 3 idols all turn their attention to you. “Yunhee’s love interest is Min Suho, played by Park Sunghoon. The reason I chose the two of you was because you were exactly how I pictured Yunhee and Suho visually and I feel like you would astound me and the viewers with your acting.”

Your eyes subtly peek at Sunghoon, who looks absolutely glorious despite his messy hair and tired eyes. The engene inside of you screamed, but you masked it by biting the inside of your cheek.

“Now, the main female antagonist is Choi Sanghee, which will be played by Pham Hanni. The main male antagonist is Park Wooseok, played by Kim Gyuvin. Sanghee and Wooseok are somewhat love interests, but they’re also Yunhee and Suho’s biggest rivals.”

The rest of Director Jung’s words went from one of your ear and out another as he kept speaking, your vision instead focused on Park Sunghoon.

“Alright, that’s all I have to say! Any questions?”

There’s a few murmurs but no one says anything, so Director Jung hands the four of you individual scripts that were so thick you could slap a person with it.

“It’s time to take the poster photos so let’s get to work guys. Don’t disappoint me.”

Way to not pressure an idol who’s life is already hectic, you think.

synopsis. you’re a newly debuted girl group under belift, and in order for your group to gain more popularity, your ceo offered you the lead role in a new romance kdrama. this all seems great, so what’s the problem? well, for starters, your co star is your senior, park sunghoon from enhypen, and he doesn’t seem too happy about being in a romance drama. especially when your fans have started to ship the two of you!

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taglist ( is open ) @isawritesss @rodygr @wonifullove @mrchweeee @nyfwyeonjun @yizhoutv @cupkiki @rikizm @jiaant11 @woninluv @brachioanton @seunnimg @jongseongslvr @luvswonyoung @laylasmother @akuspic @haechansbbg @haerinsii @mnxnii

[nihilnovisubsole]

something i've been thinking about as GDC comes around again: it's amazing to sit in the same room with Real Industry People and hear the truth of why certain story decisions happened the way they did. studio games are odd group projects that take a really long time to make, and there are many irons in the fire and many interests at play. sometimes the stars align and a team gets a laser vision, creative freedom, and the budget they need, and they ship the thing they meant to ship.

but not always. if a character you love got killed off, it's entirely possible that their original writer left or they couldn't bring the voice actor back. or leadership wanted to close down old story arcs and tie up loose ends, or someone felt new characters would bring in a new audience. if a series seemed to drop a plot thread in a sequel, it's possible that the narrative team wanted to include it and it got cut for scope. or shareholders wanted to appeal to a different part of the playerbase. or the team had internal creative conflict, or any number of reasons as simple as "it got lost in the shuffle because we did so many rewrites". [important disclosure: i'm not vagueposting about specific games here. i'm just rattling possibilities off. resemblance, unintentional, etc.]

and of course that's not a phenomenon unique to video games. tv shows make snap decisions when they get canceled before the planned end of the story or a cast member wants to leave. movies' plots can change when a new director comes on board, or they bring in a script doctor, or an actor's problems interfere with the shoot. even louisa may alcott changed little women's ending over concerns that if jo remained unmarried, the book wouldn't sell. i'm not sure whether it was her publisher or she worried about it herself, but the point is, something got altered, and it can happen anywhere.

as a fan, i found these developers' stories both comforting and vindicating. for a long time, i've felt like someone riding two horses at once: the fanfic-and-OC girl playing on other writers' playgrounds, and now also the staff writer who sees how the sausage gets made. i've been affected - probably overmuch - by a character's sad end, only to learn that some third party or outside motive influenced it. i've met writers who also didn't like where a plot was going, but didn't have enough seniority on the team to protest it. i've heard stories along the lines of, "we were trying to make lemonade, man," and what shocked me more than the revelation is the peace i gained from it. it's a miracle the games shipped at all. the things that got made, got made. between professionals, it's neither heretical nor some wild flight of irrationality to ask, "what if things had gone a different way?"

and, i mean, it would be both cynical and incorrect to wave it all off and say that no storytelling motives are ever wholesome. some characters die because it's the logical conclusion to their arc. some universes with complicated worldbuilding benefit from narrowing their focus and shaving off a few subplots. i'm just saying many things are possible. when you only sit on the fan side, it's easy to feel like Canon™ looms above you, inviolable, when you're really in conversation with it. there's a lot of power in saying "i respect the team's accomplishments, but i would've made different choices." you'd be surprised how often the team agrees with you.

[lemmetreatya]

Hi

Imagine:

CEO!character interviews you and you think it‘s not going well. but you really need that job

Inspired by your driving instructor!nanami (really loved that btw)

thank you sm for appreciating it!! hopefully this leads up to its expectations lol <33 ref: driving instructor!nanami

ceo!toji who doesn’t usually have any hand in the interviewing process for his off-the-ground start up tech company, but concerning his recruitment manager has been off sick for a while, had to intervene.

ceo!toji who almost bursts out in hubristic laughter once he sees your resume up next because no fucking way little ol’ heavily under-qualified you had the audacity to step foot into his business and apply for the very senior role of director.

but then maybe ceo!toji’ is proved wrong because when he sees you enter his office; shirt fastened from the third button down, trousers firmly hugging your waist and lip gloss sparkly pink, he thinks you may stand a fighting chance. there’s just something about the way you compose yourself that even made him entertain your interview. your confidence and spunk helping you act a part you were so determined you could play. if anything, ceo!toji is left excited at the new prospects you could offer not just him, but his child — his company.

“look, i see your passion — and it’s the type i want for someone who’s going to be the new visionary for my company — but passion alone s’just not gonna cut it, ya know?” you perceive that ceo!toji isnt mildly convinced by you in the slightest by the fixed look on his face.

as you imagine the worst, a flash of uncertainty runs through your chest and you panic for his verdict. you couldn’t let him rule you out over simple paperwork and you couldn’t take another dead end. you needed this job and you knew you had what it took to sustain it.

“i promise, my performance will make up for the lack of qualifications! you just need to give me a chance.”

“give you a chance, huh?”

the buzz word makes ceo!toji slightly perk up and you couldnt help see that opportunity as a sign of hope.

“yes! anything to prove myself!”

“you sure about that?” he carefully gauges and you can only nod desperately.

its no surprise then when you find yourself with the flush of your back glued against ceo!toji’s desk, your ankles dangling by his ears as he viciously fucks into you and your eyes rolling towards the back of your head.

“go on! prove yourself now, eh?!”

ceo!toji is merciless with how he surges himself pass every crevice of your opening, his hands not missing the perks of your chest as he twiddles and pinches at your nipples.

“talkin’ all that fuckin’ smack earlier and now look? can’t even take a lil dick.”

your moans are almost tearful, arm covering over your drool slicked mouth as you attempt to quieten your voice — but ceo!toji doesn’t let you! before moving your arm, he bends you in half enough so that he could curl over you and demand you open your mouth. once your lips are slack and pushing out easy thrusts, he spits a waddle of saliva into your mouth before easily instructing: “swallow” straight after.

honestly, fuck him because he didn’t even offer you the job in the end. but you do, however, receive a text through his company automative service that tells you that you have a follow-up interview with him the very next day.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for saying different stuff to my friend’s face and behind his back?

As you can tell, I’m pretty genuinely worried I screwed up here.

So I (17F) and my friend (17M) both auditioned for the school musical. We both have done every high school show, so we’re very immersed in the theater world. We are seniors and this was our last show. This is just some context—the point of which is that my friend and I both have tons of friends in the theater department, and that’s where a lot of our socialization happens.

My friend was the male lead in the last school musical, so it was likely he’d be the main male lead again this year. However, when I saw what musical we were doing, I actually thought he’d be better as the supporting male lead. Still an ENORMOUS role, but due to his personality, casting type, acting, and tap dancing abilities, that just seemed like the better role for him.

Meanwhile, this other senior guy who had only done one show also was auditioning. Now, he’s also very talented, so in his first show he actually got a pretty big role, but he also proved really difficult to work with during that show and also at the auditions for this new show got so upset he actually stormed out for a while.

However, his acting and singing audition were perfect for the main male lead.

If he was cast as the main male lead and my friend was cast as the supporting lead, our show would have looked SO GOOD.

But after the whole storming out fiasco, I was pretty sure that other guy wasn’t getting a big role at all. But when the cast list came out, my friend was the main lead and this guy was the supporting lead.

Now. I was super happy for my friend. But it was not a good casting choice for him, and since that other role is so big, it doesn’t really punish the other guy for walking out either. So it doesn’t save us the headache of working with the one guy AND puts my friend in a role that isn’t as perfect for him.

But my friend is BELOVED in the cast, and not just by me. He’s practically worshiped by everyone who isn’t his close friend, and his close friends love him for obvious reasons (cause we’re friends). So everyone made a huge deal about how he’s PERFECT for the role, and blah blah blah, and I kinda silently disagreed but I wanted to suppose my friend so I was like “yeah! You totally deserved it! Good for you!”

This other guy though kinda got irrationally angry that he was given the supporting lead (he’s definitely an asshole regardless of whether or not I am) and even quit the show… even though he got a big part. And then he started talking trash about my friend and saying he wasn’t talented?

But when that guy talked to me (weird decision considering everyone knows we’re really close), he said, “my acting was literally so much better for that role. I SHOULD have gotten the role.” And I said, “yeah. My friend really would have been better in the other role. I agree.”

And then he went on to say, “my acting is so much better than his anyway.” And I didn’t straight up agree, but my response was, “well, you know politics plays a huge role in these things.” Which definitely didn’t deny what he said. (And my friend actually is disproportionately benefited by director politics bc he takes private lessons from our choreographer, so I wasn’t WRONG—but I wasn’t being the good friend I should have been either.)

So I sorta feel like I told this other guy, who probably didn’t get the main lead bc of politics/being a nightmare to work with (probably both, tho the second is less likely since he got a big role anyway?) that he was right about my friend, even though my friend really is talented and I never MEANT to imply that he wasn’t. But I think I did.

I’m happy for my friend getting the lead. And I’m not sorry for thinking he would have been better cast in the other role. But…something feels icky about telling him he’s perfect for the role and then telling his rival that he would have been better for the role.

I don’t know. Let me have it if I need it, tumblr. AITA?

[luckycheesefoodie321]

Look idk what the new Narnia tv show will bring, and I can absolutely see it improving upon the second and third films… but the first movie was truly something special.

The vision of the director, the wonderful young core cast, the score, the visual and practical effects, the truly elegant cgi, all really bringing the original story to life in the most beautiful way.

I was just as captivated by the film after not having watched it in some 10-15 years, as I was the first time I watched it.

The war scene???? THE WAR SCENE. THE MUSIC. THE BUILD UP. THE TENSION. I CANT.

The way it allows for the quiet moments to enriched the big moments. Peter and Aslan talking for the first time? Peter looking to Oreius “are you with me?” “To the death”???

Even Prince Caspian was such an engaging film, even if it did deviate from the book, bc the cast was so good and the story followed on so well from the first. The understanding of the script writer’s that the characters were now adults flung back into young bodies and their skill level, their mannerisms, their confidence and countenance would all be drastically changed from the first film, and the cast do a wonderful job of projecting that. And obv Ben Barnes was a fantastic addition.

It’s the way that Susan and Edmund had very minimal roles in the first film’s war and leaned heavily on Peter to lead the charge. By the same token, Peter took most of the responsibility upon himself. Susan used one arrow to kill in the first film. Whereas Peter’s first kill was kind of incidental. Edmund used his strategic abilities for the first time in going for the Witch’s ice sceptre.

Cut to Prince Caspian.

Edmund is absolutely and clearly the strategist between the two. He’s the negotiator. The master manipulator. The diplomat. And proves to everyone involved he is a more than capable swordsman - we don’t need to see Peter fight before he needs to. We need everyone to mentally catch up to where Edmund is in his skills. Then Peter leads as he always does at the front of the action. He duels Miraz. He proves his mettle once more.

Then Susan, while initially paired up once more with Lucy, goes with them in the initial raid on Miraz’s castle to fight, demonstrating her expert archery and combat skills. She solos about 7 or 8 mounted soldiers from the ground with her bow. She leads the archers before entering the battlefield herself.

It’s the DEVELOPMENT.

And while Lucy is not involved in the fighting, it’s the way she speaks against the stubbornness of her elder siblings so openly. Who holds firm to her beliefs even when everyone else doesn’t. She doesn’t run away and cry anymore. This is a Lucy who knows how to counsel her fellow kings and Queen.

Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the third film, is where it falls apart story wise, in direction, and in vision - it forgets where the characters were previously. Like I hate when Caspian and Edmund are duelling on the Dawn Treader, and they end in a draw and Caspian says the line “you’ve improved, my friend” “I suppose I have” because BRO. Edmund is a skilled swordsman and several hundred years Caspian’s senior. While he may be in a younger body that doesn’t show the experience, and he doesn’t have opportunities to practice it, he has several wars and combat engagements under his belt and only a year since his previous visit to Narnia. That doesn’t go away. A better line would’ve been “the rust is starting to shed, my friend” “I’m finally warmed up” would’ve been a far less condescending line, even if sweet baby boi Caspian would never mean it that way.

so I definitely would look forward to how the show might improve upon it IF it gets that far.

[silantryoo]

non-idol!huh yunjin x non-idol!reader (general)

WARNINGS ; a lot of making out/kissing, jealousy

huh yunjin has always hated you.

at first, you thought nothing of it. maybe she was dealing with stuff at home, maybe she was just taking it out on you. but soon, she had been nonstop pestering you, and went out of her way to annoy you for no reason whatsoever. she simply wanted to see that look on your face.

so you hated her back.

but you couldn't bring yourself to really hate her.

curse her stupid perfect face.

now you were here as the leads of your school's adaptation of '10 Things I Hate About You (1999)'. you were so ecstatic as you watched yunjin's face crumble when she first saw the news, only for yours to fall after realizing that you had to act with her.

you had to kiss her.

now, you always prided yourself with professionalism. in fact, you were fully expecting that your ex-girlfriend, shin ryujin, would've been the one to play keith ledger's character and you were okay with that. you two weren't on bad terms anyways.

you and yunjin however... your fighting had gotten so bad that the director/playwright/senior drama student had had enough of you two.

"y/n." you felt yunjin's sharp glare.

you smiled sarcastically at her. "yunjin."

yunjin frowned as you smirked at her. she hated that you never called her the proper honorifics. it just made her angrier.

"okay!" eunbi cleared her throat, gaining your attention as yunjin continued to glare at you. "i called you here to not fight."

"sunbae, this was a bad idea," you told the older girl, hearing a scoff from yunjin.

"yeah." she snarled at you. "i should've gotten the lead role."

you turned your head toward her, taking a step forward as your faces almost met. her eyes immediately looked down to your mouth as you spoke.

"unless my name changed to 'i' then you are extremely wrong." you snapped back.

eunbi sighed, shaking her head.

she clenched her teeth, her eyes trained on your lips. "did your parents ever regret spending this much money on you?"

"they didn't spend money on me because i got here for my talent." you squinted your eyes. "i'm not some nepo baby."

her eyes snapped back up to you, fire igniting in them.

the huh family was known to be influential across korea. their history dates back to when plays had officially become a thing in the country, yunjin's ancestor's becoming one of the first actresses to ever perform.

yunjin clenched her jaw. "take that back."

you smiled smugly, almost as if you were asking her to hit you.

"can you two stop it?!" eunbi yelled, causing the two of you to jump apart.

you had forgotten that the older girl had been there the entire time, too engrossed in your fight with yunjin.

"thank you." eunbi sighed, walking in front of you. "you know why you're here, right?"

you two nodded, remembering that you had caused eunbi pain in rehearsal as the two of you refused to listen to her anecdotes and only focused on fighting each other.

"i expect the both of you to practice act 4, scene 2." eunbi glared between the two of you as your eyes widened. "together."

"but unnie—"

"eunbi-sunbae—"

"no." she raised her hand. "i can't deal with this, not when the board of directors is attending opening night."

you sighed, looking over to yunjin to only find her glaring at you.

"do you two understand?"

you glared back.

"i said, do you understand?"

almost automatically, your back straightened up. "yes ma'am."

eunbi nodded, satisfied.

"i'll see you tomorrow." she looked between the two of you, tossing yunjin the keys to the facility. "fix this."

the two of you nodded, watching as your senior walked out the theater doors, giving the two of you one last look before she closed it.

you grabbed your script, wanting to get this over with.

"you got me in trouble, you idiot." you heard her mutter under her breath.

"i got you in trouble," you questioned, scoffing in disbelief. she had always started the fights and the arguments. not you. "you got me in trouble."

"how was that my fault?" she shook her head, a sarcastic smirk on her face. she looked you up and down. "do you want to die?"

"so you could get in trouble with eunbi-sunbaenim again?" you faked a sweet smile. "i'd love to."

yunjin gripped her paper as she watched you walk into the dim theater light, your face perfectly framed. she felt her ears get hot. "you're so annoying."

"can we just practice these lines and leave?" you asked, looking at the clock that read 5:30PM. "she never said to get along. she said to fix this."

"i'm trying, idiot." she rolled her eyes, standing on the blocking that was made earlier that day. "just start."

you nodded and went to open your script, only to realize that you had forgotten where you had left off. "which scene did she say we had the most trouble on?"

"act 4, scene 2." yunjin shook her head. "learn to listen."

you gave her the middle finger. "fuck off."

you made your way in front of her, the two of you standing so close that you could feel each other's breath.

you felt a blush coming up your neck as yunjin muttered through her lines, waiting for you to start. you cleared your throat.

"you were paid to take me out by the one person i truly hate." you acted out, trying your best to convey the pain your character was feeling. "i knew it was a set up!"

your character stormed away, yunjin grabbing your hand to stop you. you knew that she was supposed to drop it right after, but she didn't.

you didn't know why, but you didn't want to call her out for it.

"kat," yunjin begged, almost convincing enough to fool you that she cared. "it wasn't like that okay?"

"really? what was it like?" you took a step towards her, watching her eyes move down to your lips. "a down payment now and then a bonus for sleeping with me?"

"no! i didn't care about the money!" yunjin swallowed. "i cared..."

you watched as she took a deep breath, almost as if she was trying to calm herself down.

"i cared about you."

you frowned, glancing lightly at your script. "you are so not who i thought you were."

you went to turn, only for yunjin to pull you back into her arms. you waited for the next part, the part where her character was meant to kiss you.

you stared at her.

"well? aren't you supposed to kiss me now?" you mocked, her eyes glaring at your mouth. "or are you too much of a pus—"

yunjin smashed her lips into yours, almost painfully. you could feel the desperation behind it, causing you to widen your eyes before kissing back.

you felt the older girl smirk against your mouth. she knew that you had to pull away, but you didn't. you couldn't. not when huh yunjin, the bitchest person in the world, happened to be the best kisser that you had ever had the displeasure of meeting.

now you hated her for two things; her stupid good looks, and the way she could make you melt with the touch of her lips.

"wait, yunjin." you pulled back, gasping for air. you looked down, realizing that the two of you had dropped your scripts on the ground. "the lines—"

"shut up." she growled, pulling you back in.

yunjin didn't know why she was kissing you. she didn't know why she wanted to. all she knew was that she had been waiting for this for so long.

it was like gasping for air. you were her air.

you pulled back, hearing the familiar sounds of twice's 'love foolish' playing from your phone.

"my phone's ringing." you muttered against her lips, slightly bruised from yunjin's doing.

"i don't care."

she pulled you in again, addicted to the taste of the watermelon bubble gum that you always chewed on during rehearsal. she hated when you did that, finding it too distracting to focus.

you were just too distracting.

your phone rang again, causing you to pull away with a groan.

you walked towards the edge of the stage, yunjin watching you as her chest heaved from the lack of air.

"unnie." you answered your phone, looking at the time. your eyes widened. 6:00PM. "yeah, i'm on my way out."

you hung up and turned around to the blonde. you licked your lips before speaking.

"my sister—"

"whatever." yunjin rolled her eyes, fixing her hair. "of course you'd bail."

"i didn't bail, you idiot." you grabbed your bag as you decided to stop in front of a mirror before heading out. "you are so annoying."

she watched as you walked down the stage stairs. "i hope you slip on the way to your car."

without looking back, you lifted your middle finger behind you, a smile showing on your face as you heard her scoff.

you had practiced the monday after, and while you didn't mind, your brain was plagued with thoughts of yunjin.

your sister had figured out in the car that you had very obviously kissed someone as seen by your bruised lips. you had ended up going to her for help, trying to get rid of the sore feeling the morning after.

who knew kissing could hurt so much.

still, you found yourself dreaming about yunjin in less violent ways than before. you wondered whether or not she had expected something like this to happen between the two of you because you surely did not.

you shook your head as you tried not to think about it. girls were confusing anyways.

"how did you guys manage to get worse?" eunbi looked through her script as the cast watched idlily from the side, just wanting practice to end ten minutes ago. "the play is in two weeks! why did i pick you for the lead role?"

you bowed down, yunjin following your suit. "sorry, eunbi-sunbaenim."

"no, you're fine on your end." eunbi sighed, looking at the blonde beside you. "yunjin, switch out with ryujin. i need to see something."

from the corner of your eye, you watched as yunjin stiffened. she nodded, hesitantly walking down as she looked at you without her usual glare. instead, her sharp eyes met ryujin's.

you furrowed your eyebrows as ryujin stood in front of you, listening to eunbi scold the living hell out of yunjin who didn't seem to be paying attention to anything but you.

you felt yourself blush.

"don't worry about it too much, okay?" ryujin whispered, her cat-like dimples coming through. she always knew how to calm you down. "eunbi-unnie always gets like this."

"okay." you nodded, sending her a smile.

you looked over to eunbi, her face serious as she nodded at you and ryujin.

"start whenever."

the two of you nodded, acting out the scene as eunbi intended.

yunjin watched, expressionless as you reenacted what was supposed to happen the practice before. she hated that you seemed so sincere about your feelings for your ex. she hated how a small blush dusted your face as you stormed out after the older girl kissed you.

yunjin hated everything.

"that was what it was supposed to look like." eunbi pointed at you and ryujin, both of you bowing. "you understand, yunjin?"

she clenched her teeth. "yes."

"yunjin and y/n," eunbi called out to you. "i expect both of you to stay later."

"i can't." you shook your head. your sister had an exam that day, and you didn't want to take the bus when it was pitch black outside. "i don't have a ride home."

"i'll drive you home." yunjin offered almost immediately.

you shook your head, not wanting to bug the blonde girl. "it's fine."

"i said i'll do it."

you inhaled, watching as eunbi's eyes were on you expectedly. feeling pressured, you found yourself nodding to your director's pleasure.

"i'm serious when i say i want it fixed." eunbi pointed at the two of you before addressing the cast. "i'll see you guys in three days."

everyone bowed, eunbi clapping to dismiss them as she handed yunjin the keys.

she hoped that whatever was going on with the two of you could be fixed. she cast the two of you for a reason.

"let's get this over with." you stretched as you made your way to your blocking.

"you had fun kissing ryujin on stage, huh?" yunjin scoffed, walking in front of you as she placed her feet over the taped 'x'.

you squinted, not sure what she meant. "what are you talking about?"

"earlier." yunjin clenched her jaw.

"so what if i did?" you smirked, watching as her frown deepened. "ryujin's pretty."

she looked at you for what seemed like a while, an unknown rage spilling from her eyes.

"just start," she commanded in a monotone voice.

you nodded, not sure why she was so upset.

"you were paid to take me out by the one person i truly hat—"

yunjin grabbed the back of your neck, kissing you with a vigor that you never expected from her. but unlike before, she had been softer, almost trying to show off that she knew exactly what you had wanted.

it felt as if she was trying to prove something.

you pulled away gently, your eyes furrowed.

"why do you keep kissing me?" you asked.

"shut up." her eyes hardened, pulling you in for another kiss.

"i'm serious." you pushed her arms, trying to prevent her from kissing you. "you're so confusing."

she pulled you in gently, tasting the leftover watermelon flavour as she felt you squeeze her biceps.

for once, yunjin wasn't angry anymore.

she pulled back, her lips hovering over her mouth. "don't kiss anyone else again."

you shook your head, causing the older girl to frown. "you aren't my girlfriend."

"fine." she gave you a light peck. "be my girlfriend then."

you pulled back, almost jumping out of her arms as she groaned.

"what?"

"are you deaf?" she rolled her eyes. "be my girlfriend."

"no!" you shook your head, trying to process what was happening. "you hate me, remember?"

yunjin pursed her lips, wondering if she ever actually did. "well, i don't want you kissing anyone else."

you stared at her for a moment, watching as she gave you the same look that she had always given you, except this time, you noticed where they were trained.

oh.

"you don't hate me." your mouth hung open. "why have you been acting like such a bitch then?"

yunjin swallowed, looking away. "i don't know."

you smirked, walking up toward the older girl. you stopped in front of her. "apologize then i'll be your girlfriend."

"no."

"fine," you shrugged, loving the fact that you were holding something like this about her head. "i guess i'll find ryuji—"

"i'm sorry that you're so annoying to look at." she smiled sarcastically as she watched your face drop. "but your laugh makes my chest hurt. and you make me want to kiss that stupid look off your face."

your eyes widened, realizing what she was saying. "you... like me?"

"no." yunjin backed up, her face bright red. "you're annoying."

"so you like me a lot."

yunjin swallowed, suddenly feeling vulnerable. "shut up."

"i mean, i do too." you smiled, a real one this time as yunjin looked at you with a shocked face. "you just got on my nerves."

yunjin walked towards you. "you like me?"

you smirked at her reaction. "who's the deaf one now?"

"date me."

you could feel her breath on your face.

"why should i?"

her eyes were locked onto your mouth once more. "do you want me to kiss someone else?"

you shook your head with a frown.

"then date me."

"fine."

"fine."

the two of you looked at each other, feeling as the tension between you dissipated for the first time in... ever.

"what now?" she asked you, slightly lost.

"i don't know." you shrugged. you picked up the crumpled papers on the ground. "should we just practice the scene?"

"okay." yunjin nodded, following your lead. she turned around to find you standing perfectly in the light, staring at her with a smirk. her chest started to hurt. "stop fucking looking at me."

you rolled your eyes.

"why are you so angry at me all the time?" you questioned. "i can't date you if you're like that."

"looking at you makes me angry." yunjin explained, moving her hair out of her face. "i told you, didn't i?"

"fine, whatever." you sighed, trying your best to come up with a solution. "how about whenever you feel angry, you can kiss me. sound fair?"

yunjin's face went stoic, but you could tell by her eyes that she agreed. "whatever."

and for the first time ever, you and yunjin managed to work together without killing each other, yunjin sticking to your agreement whenever she found herself getting angry once more.

you hated to admit it, but this yunjin was much more attractive than the old one you knew.

eunbi stared at the two of you with impressed eyes.

"that was perfect." she looked around the room, the others as shocked as she was. "how the hell did you guys practice that so well?"

your eyes met yunjin's as she pushed down a smile. "i don't know."

"thank god you guys fixed it. now we're back on track." eunbi smiled. you realized that this was the happiest that you've ever seen her. "and that's the end of rehearsal. i'll see you all tomorrow."

you watched as eunbi discussed with the choreographer, leaving you to thank the others who were commending you and yunjin for a job well done.

ryujin gave you a thumbs up as you nodded in acknowledgment. you felt an arm wrap around your waist.

"yunjin."

"y/n." she smiled at you. "you looked good."

"thank you." you looked down at her lips, watching as she smirked. "you too."

"let's go out somewhere."

"you're so demanding."

"you like it though."

"shut up."

> main masterlist.

[prince-liest]

Wooo, the past two days have reminded me that I really enjoy medicine! It's just the emergency department that isn't for me, almost as if I chose family medicine for a reason, haha. (Also apparently our local ED is a shitshow. I wouldn't really know, as it's my only point of reference, and as far as I know most EDs in underserved areas are shitshows. At any rate, I lost a patient for 3 hours the other day because someone moved them without telling me and updated the chart incorrectly, and I hunted for them all around THRICE without finding them, and signed them out as Left During Treatment until someone finally called me like, "Heyyy... so did you send X to the pharmacy...?" and I was like, "They're STILL HERE???"... ANYWAY.......)

No matter what rotation we're currently on, the family medicine residents do 1.5 days of clinic a week, and half a day of didactics. ED shifts can't be interrupted, so mine are all lined up so that I have all of Tuesday in clinic, and Wednesday split between clinic/didactic. I've basically gotten only half a day off so far in the past two weeks due to the night shift schedule, but this litte two-day family medicine interlude has felt like a break in its own way, haha. Now that I'm getting a better hang of the EMR, clinic just feels very nice, and it's exactly what I want to be doing. And as part of our didactic, we spent a couple of hours today doing sports physicals for the nearby college, which was neat! Got free pizza after, too, eyy.

One small thing I really wish was standardized is that anybody on inpatient service and emergency medicine rotations had an official break, at least 30 minutes per shift (which is not a lot considering shifts are 8-10 hours for ED and 12 hours for inpatient service). Most other rotations (including even inpatient pediatrics) have an hour designated for lunch, but two of the most grueling ones don't, and what ends up happening is that even if my seniors have told me not to worry and to take a 30 minute lunch in the ED, I feel guilty doing it because everybody else is scarfing down a 10 minute sandwich at their computers while staring at the patient charts and I feel bad taking even 15 whole minutes because it's noticably 5 minutes longer than the EM resident took! And it's the same thing for my coresident that's currently on inpatient service. It's just a long time to go without a dedicated break and it's part of what makes those services exhausting.

Anyway, today and yesterday were both good and I have some things I'm sooo excited for! I got into contact with the new endocrinologist that works with our program because she does trans health care and we're going to start a trans health clinic together. The only real question, which my program director is going to be talking over with her, is figuring out how I can participate in that longitudinally, because unfortunately it doesn't count for my family medicine continuity clinic, and there are some rotations where the hour requirements apparently don't allow me so much as to take a half-day per month for a different service (lookin' at you, inpatient service - which is 6a-6p, 6 days a week, so they'd also be breaking duty hour restrictions if they put the clinic half day on one of my single weekly days off lol).

Regardless, we'll figure something out! I really, really want to do this and my PD is excited about it, so I think they will try to make something work. I'm kinda crossing my fingers that they do allow me to take one half-day per month for this even on inpatient service.

[blueesnow]

(6/6) Otori Eiji's Private Story [Utapri Live Emotion]

Ch 1: (unlocked if you reached intimacy lvl 6 with Eiji)

-Park- Haruka: (That's strange… I'm sure I heard that the location where they were shooting a movie today was supposed to be around here…) Eiji: Eh, are you possibly…Nanami-san? Oh, it's indeed you. Haruka: Eiji-kun…! I'm so glad that I meet with one of the cast members. You see… I'm actually lost right now. Eiji: I see. Then again today's location is a bit secluded so I don't blame you. Eiji: I'm just on my way to go back after having a quick break. If you don't mind shall we go together? Haruka: Really? Thank you so much, you really help me out. Eiji: You're welcome. By the way I've heard the news. You're the one who will be in charge for the soundtracks of this movie right, Nanami-san? Haruka: Ah, yes. As an assistant of my senior composer*, I was given an opportunity to work on this movie. Haruka: It's also the work from this recently popular director too. To be honest I'm feeling so much pressure just working on it… Eiji: It was the same for me too. Although I was happy when I heard the news, sometimes I can't help but wonder if I'm really the right person for the role. Eiji: The original work for this movie was known as a best-selling novel, its story was refreshing, and the role that I'm playing is the love rival which is quite an important role. Eiji: Ever since the filming began, I've been feeling nervous while making sure that I'm not making trouble for everyone. Eiji: But…since I've already accepted the job, I have no choice but to do my best. I must fulfill the expectations of the director who picked me after all. Haruka: Eiji-kun…that was such a wonderful way of thinking. I'll make sure to support you! Eiji: Thank you. It's very reassuring to know that there's people watching over you. Let's work hard together shall we.

*: I'm not sure how to translate the 作曲家先生 to be honest. I remember he did appear from the ori game, where Haruchan finally got accepted into Shining Agency, but as she was a newbie she was appointed to be working under this 作曲家先生 first before she accept any real job offers from other clients, you could say that she's interning(?) under his care while learning how to work around the field. Anyway he's not exactly a teacher as he's one of the composer in Shining Agency but you could say that he's Haruchan's... senpai in a way(?)

Ch 2: (unlocked if you reached intimacy lvl 11 with Eiji)

-Park- Haruka: (Looks like Eiji-kun's scene will come out soon. He keeps having quite a lively discussion with the director.) Eiji: About this line… I understand, I'll try to be aware for the timing. I'm looking forward to be working with you. Eiji: "…I love you. So much that I can't help it." Eiji: "This feeling of mine won't lose to anyone. I'd promise that I will treasure you. That's why…rather than him, I want you to choose me instead." Haruka: ( …Wow. His expression and his voice…all of them perfectly capture all of his feelings. Even though I know it's all just acting it still made my heart beats…) Eiji: "Ah… did your mind slightly waver just now? Of course I noticed, I mean I've been watching you all this time." Eiji: "As long as there is a possibilty no matter how little they are, I won't give up. I'll definitely make you fall in love with me so…be prepared." - Eiji: …Phew. Thank you very much. Haruka: …Eiji-kun, good job! My eyes can't take their eyes off of you. (choices) <I was moved with the gap of your acting!> Haruka: Your face at that time looks so much more different than the usual Eiji-kun. Anyway I was moved with the gap of your acting! Eiji: Oh no, you're exaggerating. But…it was something I tried to do consciously, so I'm glad you noticed that. Eiji: Being able to become someone else is one of the charms of acting itself. <You're shining brightly> Haruka: Just watching you make my heart beats… Eiji-kun, you're shining so brightly. Eiji: T-That much!? Compared to all of my co-stars, I still have a long way to go. I'm always overwhelmed by their actings during our shooting. Eiji: But knowing you complimented me just now must means that I'm a little bit closer than before. Thank you. (back to story) Eiji: Wait, Nanami-san, what's wrong with your finger? Don't tell me you're hurt…? Haruka: Oh, you're right. I probably accidentally cut myself when I was trying to take a note. Eiji: Although it's just a small wound, it might turn worse if you didn't properly treat it. Please wait here for a moment, I'll be back soon.

Ch 3: (unlocked if you reached intimacy lvl 21 with Eiji)

-Park- Eiji: Sorry for making you wait so long. Here's a band-aid. I think it'd be much better if you put one just in case. Haruka: Thank you so much. I'm sorry for the trouble. Eiji: Don't worry about it. Maybe I'm worrying too much, but it'll be too late if anything happens to you. Haruka: I'll be more careful from now on… But still, it's amazing that you can quickly find a band-aid this fast. Eiji: I-Is that so? I usually carry a first aid kit with me. Though people do sometimes say that I'm quite a worrier. Eiji: But, there are lot of times when I'm glad that I have it with me. Since I also tends to get hurt too sometimes. Eiji: Just like for today, I might be of help to someone else too. This kind of thing really made me happy. Eiji: Especially to everyone in HE★VENS, I want them to always stay healthy and be in their best possible condition. At the very least, this is the only thing that I can do. Haruka: That's not true…! I don't think Eiji-kun's attentiveness is something that everyone else can do. Haruka: And you're also very good at acting too. Seeing you in action really cheered me up and it made me want to try even more harder with my work. Eiji: Really? …Although I'm a bit embarrassed, I'm glad that I might be of help to you even if it's just a little bit. Haruka: (Eiji-kun is really such a kind person. To think that he'd be so considerate and caring to me.) Eiji: Oh…it looks like it's almost time for the next shoot. Actually, after this I have a special appearance later with a big-name actor. Eiji: I've been nervous since this morning, but hearing your encouragements made me feel like I can really do my best now. Eiji: No, I need to be more greedy and make sure it'll turn out to be a great scene. Well then, I'll be going now.

Ch 4: (unlocked if you reached intimacy lvl 31 with Eiji)

-Shopping Mall- Haruka: (As I thought, there aren't that many people on weekdays. The ticket booth is… Eh? The one standing over there…) Haruka: Eiji-kun…is that you? Eiji: …Nanami-san! You surprised me. Talk about a coincidence. Did you come here to watch this movie too? Haruka: Yes. I was hoping that it might help me as a reference for my songwriting… Oh, it's for the soundtrack of the movie when I came to watch you on set the other day! Eiji: So that's why! …If you don't mind, can we go and watch this movie together? Eiji: I just happened to be thinking of watching this same movie too. But of course you don't have to force yourself, feel free to say no if I'm bothering you. Haruka: Oh no, I'm actually happy for the invitation. It'd be my pleasure to join you! Eiji: I'm glad to hear that. Now then, I'm going to go to the ticket booth to buy two tickets, okay. Haruka: Oh… I'm sorry, thank you for your generosity. Eiji: It's okay, you can just wait for me here for a bit. I'm looking forward to watch the movie. - Haruka: …*sigh* That was an amazing movie, isn't it? I had no idea such a wonderful piece of work exist. Eiji: You're right. I was also especially moved by the acting of the main character's actor. Even though he acts calm and cool, somehow I can feel quite a mysterious passion hidden inside him. Eiji: The fact that he can express his emotion just by his eyes only is amazing. Eiji: You can also felt the presence from the supporting characters too… Oh no, sorry! I ended up talking by myself. Eiji: Um… I'll walk you home later, so could you give me a little bit more of your time? I'd love to hear your thoughts of the movie.

Ch 5: (unlocked if you reached intimacy lvl 41 with Eiji)

-Cafe- Eiji: Um…Nanami-san. You can take a seat in the back first. Haruka: Well then…excuse me. …Oh, this is the food menu, shall we take a look at it together? Eiji: It's okay, there's also one over here… Oh no, this one only have drinks selection. Eiji: I'm sorry, but could you actually share the menu with me? …Hmm, there's so many options here. What do you want to eat? (choices) <I'll be ordering sandwich!> Haruka: I'll be ordering sandwich! You could say that I'm a little bit hungry after watching the movie. Eiji: Really? In fact, I was kind of starving too. Maybe the smell of the popcorn was luring me in. Eiji: Whenever I smell it, I was once reminded that I'm really in a movie theater, and sometimes it makes me want to buy it. <I want to eat pudding> Haruka: I think…I want to eat the pudding. It came out at the movie we saw earlier. Eiji: Heroine's favorite food, right. The scene where the main character bought it for her without even knowing it's her favorite, and it deepens the bond between them. Eiji: And from that point on, the relationship between the two of them begins to change little by little. Although the way it presented was quite comical, it's also quite important and was very memorable to me. Haruka: Fufu, I totally get what you mean. How about you Eiji-kun? What do you want to eat? (back to story) Eiji: You know what…since we're here now, I think I'll be ordering the same as yours. You don't mind, do you? Haruka: Of course not! Eiji: Thanks. …Excuse me, I'd like to order please. Eiji: Um, can we get both of this, please… Eh? This one only have one left? Then, can I please change one of them to this one? Yes, thank you. Haruka: O-Oh no, I'm sorry. Are you okay with it…? Eiji: It's okay. To be honest, I actually couldn't decide to choose between two of them at first, so talk about perfect timing. Eiji: Oh…that's right. Talking about the movie we saw earlier, there's actually one scene that caught my attention. The one where the main character…

Ch 6: (unlocked if you reached intimacy lvl 51 with Eiji)

-Cafe- Eiji: …So you thought that those words were foreshadowing as well. I thought I could be wrong for misinterpreting it, it's a relief to know that I'm not the only one. Haruka: Even their casual conversation added depth to the story, right. Oh, and the BGM there was also very good! Eiji: You're right. I can even still hear them now in my ears. Especially during the scene where the main character was staring at the riverー Haruka: That piano solo, right! While it has a gentle and soft melody, yet somehow it felt a little bit melancholic too. Eiji: It was perfect for the scenery as the sun gradually went down. I feel that the music adds color to the world of the movie. Eiji: I'm looking forward to the song that you'll create too. I wonder what kind of color you will add to in the movie that we're working on. Haruka: I'll try to do my best so that my music won't lose to the visual of the movie as well. I mean, Eiji-kun's acting is so good after all. Eiji: That's not true. And besides, I'm the one who always feel like I have to properly prove myself that I'm worthy to sing your brilliant songs. Eiji: The songs that you wrote for HE★VENS are like my treasure. I really love your music. And I'm sure that everyone also feel the same way. Eiji: So I hope that you can be more confident in yourself. Remember that you're an amazing composer. Haruka: T-To think I'm hearing so many compliments from you… Thank you so much… Eiji: …Eh? Your face looks a little bit red. Are you feeling sick? Everything's okay? Haruka: I…It's nothing! Don't worry. Eiji: If you say so… I guess now it's time for us to go home. Sorry for dragging you along with me for so long. Eiji: But I actually had a lot of fun today. I'd be happy if we could talk again just like this. Either if it's about movie or music.

[controversial-blorbo-bracket]

Controversial Character Tournament Round 2: Blaine Anderson from Glee vs Barok Van Zieks from The Great Ace Attorney

(remember that these characters are fictional and your fellow tumblr users are real. i will block you if you harass others in the notes, please consider sending your unhinged harassment to my inbox instead)

Propaganda under the cut, may contain spoilers:

Blaine Anderson:

LOVE: - "you know that post that's like "fandom will call a character evil and immature and then the character is just 15 yo" because that's what happens with blaine. he's just a sweet but socially inept kid with a lot of insecurities who's trying his best. compared to most glee characters he hasn't done anything wrong in his life. and yes he cheated on his boyfriend that one time, but he was super depressed afterwards (also this is glee literally every character has cheated and none have suffered as most as blaine because of it). in conclusion he's just a silly goose. my little princess <3"

HATE: (tumblr will not let me format this one bc its too long)

"A lot of people say he's the male Rachel Berry, and while I think that is absolutely a true statement, I actually don't mind his personality all that much. Literally everyone in Glee has a personality that ranges from inconsistent to downright horrendeus, so instead of talking about what he's like, here's some things he canonically does (buckle up, this'll be long): In season 2, when we first meet him, he's the leader of his school's showchoir. (redflag no.1/j) This gives him the freedom and authoritity to do a lot of stuff- not all bad, but he does serenade a closeted guy he doesn't know all that well, who works in costumer service AT HIS WORKPLACE, with a song about sex toys. (The guy in question ends up getting fired of course). He also gives some pretty hypocritical advice to his love interest, Kurt, about how he should try to blend in (hypocritical, cuz Blaine does the opposite and he's thriving under the attention), and he asks some insesitive questions, but those are all pretty excusable, or at least standard for Glee. In s3, him and Kurt are boyfriends, and he transitions school for him, which we could absolutely count as a decent thing, however it all kinda sours when he gets the part of Tony in the school's production of West side story. Why is this important? Kurt is a senior, and the performing arts university he's applying for is really competitive, so he needs all the extra curriculars and theatre experiance he can get. He asks Blaine to not aidition for Tony- which he agrees to- than promptly goes against that by singing one of Tony's songs at audition. He then gets offfered the role, doesn't turn it down, tells Kurt he should be happy for him, and honestly, BY GLEE STANDARDS, this is also pretty chill. Meanwhile: enter Sebastian Smythe, another contraversial character, who's now the new captain of Blaine's former showchoir, and who decides that either 1. Blaine is hot 2. Gonna use Blaine as an informat (His reasons are unclear tbh) Either way, he starts flirting with Blaine, who does end up rejecting his advances and telling him he's taken (though much later than it's probably ethical, idk tho, I'm aro). He (Blaine) really enjoys the attention though, so they end up keeping in touch. (Important for later.) Back to our main plot though; Blaime doesn't have sexual chemistry with his co-star, so the director tells him to lose his virginity (yes, you heared that right, it is fucked up). So he tries to sleep with Kurt, who of course, doesn't know that his boyfriend's sudden interest in him is due to directoral instructions. And then probably the most contraversial Blaine scene happens- see, Blaine, Kurt, and Sebastian (who Kurt hates with passion) end up going to this gaybar. Blaime gets drunk (though he only drinks one beer on screen, so we don't exactly know how drunk), and tries to sleep with Kurt in the parking lot. Kurt is visibly upset, and tells him no multiple times. Blaime doesn't oblige, and Kurt ends up shouting at him, which Blaine...doesn't take well, and blames Kurt, then leaves by foot. (They end up having sex by the end of this episode btw. No, Kurt still doesn't know about the directoral instructions. Whether he does it out of love or fear that Blaine will leave him is unclear) So we already know these two are not very good at boundries and communication, but the writers say they're "soulmates" so apperantly it's okay? Anyway, this all culminates in cheating incident no.1, where Kurt meets a guy whom he shares similar interests with, and who gives him some very cheesy compliements. They exchange numbers, and text a lot. Blaine doesn't like this. He checks their texts in secret, and then sings a song in front of the entire Glee club about how he's being cheated on, to humiliate Kurt.

Kurt insists it's not cheating, giving the example that Blaine's doing the same/used ro do the same with Sebastian. Blaine says "that's different" and they leave it at that. Kurt apologises via song. S4- Kurt moves to New York. Has to work a lot, since rebt is high, and also gets an internship at vague, so he's quite busy. Blaine feels ignored, so he cheats on him with some guy we only see the facebook profile of. They break up. S5- Blaine has a crush in this other guy, Sam. (He's been trying to get Kurt back, so him moving on is a big deal). Except gay marrige gets legalized, and Blaine decides to propose to Kurt. So he gets back together with him, then bot a week later he arranges a huge public proposal where it'd honestly just be plain emberassing to say no, but dontcha worry, because Kurt accepts. They move to New York together. Blaine becomes insecure, because Kurt gets ripped thanks to his fencing lessons, meanwhile he lrts go of himself a bit, enjoying all the fine food New York has to offer. His reaction to this is to try manipulating/tricking Kurt into eating copious amounts of food too. (To be fair, Kurt's reaction to the situation isn't perfect either, but this is not about him, their actions can co-exist without one of them necessarily having to be "the right one") S6- Kurt breaks up with Blaine. Blaine ends up going back to Ohio, and dating the guy who bullied, non-consensually kissed, than threatened to kill Kurt. (The guy did have a redemption arc, but I still dunno how to feel) You might be wondering- "wow, this was so lpng and extensive", and you'd be right but also this was mostly romantic relationship centric. There's also a lot of stuff Blaine says to his friends that make me question my sanity, but this is Glee, so that's every character in basically every episode. What makes me hate Blaine isn't even JUST all this- it's the fact that in universe, he almost never gets called-out, people take his side, it's as if the writers are condoning his actions, and I Don't Like That. I'm all for liking morally grey, or even morally dispicable characters, as long as their actions don't get excused. Hell, I started out just mildly disliking Blaine, but a lot of people paint him as innocent and pure, and that didn't feel right. Then I was ready to like him BECUASE of his questionable morality- but turns out, the guy doean't have much else going on besides this. His personality is almost the same as Rachel, except Rachel's more...full? If that makes sense? Blaine is just...bland. And inconsistent, and boring, and I just Do Not Like Him At All."

Baron Van Zieks:

LOVE: - "man's 6'4", british, looks like a vampire, took a mental health break for 5 years thanks to the dead bodies that cropped up after he lost in court, and is uhhhhhh kinda racist which is a key part of his character. the explanation for it is divisive but he does grow as a character eventually?? i think he's fun. there's a bonus case exclusive to the 3DS version of the games where he mentions he was almost poisoned in one of the first cases he ever handled. he objects with his leg. he brings wine into court but rarely drinks it. he has bats in his office. we have no idea where the scar on his face came from. his voice actor did a subway commercial. i think he wants to believe he is the sane one in the courtroom but that title belongs to the 16 year old judicial assistant for the defense." - "I love to hate him tbh!!! He's a complex interesting character tied up in things outside of his control and being used by the antagonist to hurt people, isolated due to his grief and rumors from the public. He also sucks SO fucking bad and I want to punch him. Lovingly. But I love him I promise."

[aineryeo]

Lookism, South Korea — 갱단의 삶. » "The Gangster Life"

J-High School, Central Seoul. In South Korea, offer more than your soul.

Main Masterlist ; The Macrocosm

Warnings: Heavy Spoilers, Violence, NSFW.

*Most of these are going to be short, either one-shots or very few chapters because I still prioritize Marry Me First above all else but I'd like to work on other things every other time too. :-)

௹ Jake Kim (No. 1 Boss of Big Deal from Gangseo)

10 Things I Hate About You (1999): "On the very first day in Jerry Kwon's new school, he instantly falls for Ryang Sang-min, the girl of his dreams. The issue is that Sang-min is forbidden to date until her ill-tempered, completely un-dateable older sister (You) goes and dates someone too. In an attempt to solve his problem, Jerry singles out the only guy who might potentially be a match for Ryang (Name): His Senior and the person he can always rely on, Jake Kim."

*Set in a school environment & an alternate universe where Jake now attends J-High School, this includes the rest of the crew heads & Big Deal. There are no four major crews and no significant gang activity, but Jake is still renowned as Gapryong Kim's son. Sinu Han is also present.

௹ Johan Seong (God Dog of North River Gangbuk)

He's Just Not That Into You (2009): "The lives of these South Koreans overlap as they navigate the complexities and pitfalls of modern relationships as both friends and lovers." — You are tangled in a midst of blind dates and relationships only to be given the best advice you have ever received by a certain man who saw you in your woe after being dumped.

*Set in an alternate universe where the original cast lead relatively normal lives away from the gang life. Johan is sort of a playboy here! His mom is not sick, and his dad is not a deadbeat who is "in America", he's now still friends with Zack Lee and Mira Kim.

௹ Samuel Seo (Workers, 3rd & 4th Affiliate President | Former Big Deal)

W — Two Worlds Apart: In real life, Samuel Seo was just a drawing. You were one of the main artists in the team creating the webtoon alongside Taejun Pak, but after being pulled into the world of Lookism, you get entangled in the gang activity according to the plot... Which means you know exactly what will happen. Which also means... You are the most valuable person that Samuel can get a hold of. Or anyone, for that fact. But no one else has to know that but him.

௹ Kim Joon Goo (Goo Kim)

Bad and Crazy: The duo since the beginning was given a new team member to look after them after a certain circumstance. Two bads, and one crazy... Crazy because you think you could actually hold them both down.

௹ Park Jong Gun / Yamazaki Yuzuru (Gun Park)

Bad and Crazy: The duo since the beginning was given a new team member to look after them after a certain circumstance. Two bads, and one crazy... Crazy because you think you could actually hold them both down.

௹ Kuroda Ryuhei (Workers, 2nd Affiliate Director - Circus | Nomen)

She's Dating the Kagiroi!: In a desperate and stupid attempt to make Mitsuki Soma jealous as well as like him back, Ryuhei forces you to help him after you unknowingly messed up his "ultimate chance" with Mitsuki.

௹ Jace Park (No. 2 of Burn Knuckles, Central Seoul)

Can't Help Falling in Love: You are about to tie the knot with your handsome boyfriend, Choi Jong-in, as set by both your powerful families, but apparently, you're already married to... A complete stranger!?

௹ Euntae Lee (Vasco - Hero of Burn Knuckles, Central Seoul)

Way of the Househusband: It has been years since Euntae Lee, previously known as Hero Man: Vasco in his prime years, was involved in any gang activity. But his fame as the No. 1 of Burn Knuckles... or Leader of the Homeless... or Brekdak's Successor is not so easy to shake off after all...

௹ Eli Jang (Big Daddy - Hostel of Gangdong)

How I Eli Met Your Mother (2014): After Yenna's mom has passed, Eli has put all brakes on his love life. But this is the story of how Eli Jang fell in love again, finding his own "Big Mommy" — Something Warren Chae and Sally Park calls you for fun.

௹ DG / Dagyum Kang (James Lee)

W — Two Worlds Apart (DG Edition): In real life, DG a.k.a. James Lee in the past was just a drawing. You were one of the main artists in the team creating the webtoon alongside Taejun Pak, but after being pulled into the world of Lookism, you get entangled in the gang activity according to the plot... Which means you know exactly what will happen. The catch? Well, let's just say DG already met you way before he changed identities. And he's been looking for you ever since you've disappeared that day; to him, years. To you? A couple of days.

*This is set in a universe where instead of meeting Samuel Seo first, you meet DG instead. [Requested 📌]

Original Art Gallery: What you are visualized as + Scenes from the series with multiple characters (mostly from the characters listed above) !

10 Things I Hate About Jake Kim - Jake's outfits!

[calciumcryptid]

There are several posts making jokes about Chain, Peem, Pun, and Q's reaction to Tan calling Fang teerak despite Tan calling Fang his future boyfriend to their faces. Now, I know these posts are meant to be humorous, but I'll never stop dissecting We Are so allow me to provide a genuine explanation.

PART I - The Set-Up

First, we need to understand why the other four didn't bat an eye at Tan calling Fang his future boyfriend. Fortunately, the series shows us why they didn't react. It is episode five Tan proclaims Fang as his future boyfriend; however, it was episode four we were given the explanation for their lack of response.

In part three of episode four, Tan initiates a celebration with his friends in Peem's backyard. The people present are the Core Five high school friends (Chain, Peem, Pun, Q, and Tan) and Toey, who was invited by Peem. After some shenanigans, Tan announces to the group he initiated this celebration because he has a crush on someone and will tell them who it is once they start dating.

The crux of this moment is in the reaction of the other Core Five verses the reaction of Toey (the outsider). After Tan announces this, the rest of the Core Five are not amused. Peem and Q are visibly shaking their head in disbelief, Peem even grimacing, and you can see Chain look away and set his drink down in the corner. Peem even goes as far as to say "Is that it?".

This establishes something real quick: They are used to this type of announcement from Tan.

Toey isn't, as he is the resident outsider who was invited on a whim, which is why he seems confused and lost on why the others aren't providing their support. Fortunately, Q provides explanation.

Q: You've said something similar many times, but then you break up two months later.

Q states, clearly, that Tan is a player (which is ironic considering what is revealed about Q later in the show). Tan even confirms this when he points to a startled Chain, saying that he isn't as bad as him, and later proclaims "I swear, I'll quit being a playboy" when he tries to reassure his friends this time will be different.

Once again, Toey, as the outsider, is the only one to visually support him because the rest of the Core Five (who have been friends with Tan since high school) have heard this before. Although Peem seems to come around by the end, it is in a very jovial and teasing way which implies he might not fully believe Tan despite supporting him. Which, makes sense, if Tan dated so frequently that dating for only two months was a noticeable pattern.

Now, what about the festival?

PART II - The Loy Krathong Festival

In Episode Five, Tan introduces the rest of the Core Five to the Engineers and Fang. When he gets to Fang, he leans toward his friends and says Fang is his future boyfriend.

There is no reaction from the rest of the Core Five. The closest one to react to that proclamation is Peem, who looks back at his friends before he greets Fang formally as a senior; however, it could be argued this reaction is more at Fang being Phum's older brother. The second closest to a reaction is Chain, who seems to provide a slight smirk though it might just be the camera angle.

Now, remember what was established in episode four: The Core Five know Tan is a playboy, Tan even admitted to it, and don't seem to take his new crush seriously. They aren't reacting, because they aren't taking Tan seriously when he says he wants to date Fang.

Now, as much as I'd love to leave this part here.

I can't.

PART III - We Are Has Problems

As much as I love We Are, it does have problems. The difference between We Are's problems and other series problems is We Are's problems happened due to external forces.

To put it simply, We Are was in production hell.

Now, you might believe I am referring to the scandal, but I'm actually referring to something I see continuously regurgitate. I am unsure if this is true, but from I've gleaned the director P'New wanted to make We Are for around five years but couldn't get the production off the ground. Naturally, this would lead to a lot of rewrites and refinement as he continuously work-shopped it (Please take that with a grain of salt as I struggle to find confirmation of these rumors).

The thing you can't take with a grain of salt is the scandal.

To make a long story short, Poon was let out of his glass case as a last minute recast for Pun. Any potential progress in development and production for the series had to be redone. Please remember the fault of this doesn't lie in the cast and crew, but the actor they had to replace. Regardless, Poon acted his little heart out and we are better off for having him in GMMTV's circuit.

The problem is production hell is still production hell, and if you compare We Are's announcement trailer with the offical trailer you'll notice it has significant story differences (mainly with QToey, but there are indications TanFang got minor changes). I have my own theories on how the re-shoots impacted ChainPun's storyline and screentime (since groupshots would have to prioritized above any duo or solo scenes which might have left some scenes cut).

That is great Calcium, you are probably thinking, but why are you go on a tangent about We Are's production?

Simple.

It caused narrative inconsistencies also known as plot holes.

Remember how I mentioned QToey's storyline seemed to completely change? Yeah, I mentioned that because in the same episode there is an major plot hole with the QToey storyline that isn't as easily ignorable as the TanFang one.

In Episode Five Part 4 of 4, Toey asks if anyone wants to a float a krathong with him. Besides Q and Toey, the characters that are present in the scene are Beer, Chain, Fang, Mick, Pun, and Tan. When Toey asks the question, the rest bully Q into floating one with Toey; however, they are react in a way that indicates they are aware of Toey's crush (pointedly looking and nodding their head towards Q).

Small problem, three of them don't learn Toey has a crush on Q until part three of episode six, and the one person who we can safely assume is aware of Toey's crush at that point (Matt) is absent!

Yet, Chain, Pun, and Tan react as if they are aware, but in the previously mentioned part three of episode six they are shocked to discover Toey's crush! Why, then, are they acting like they are aware and trying to push them together in part four of episode five? You can't even blame this on them potentially going along with Beer, Mick, and Fang's reactions (who might know about Toey's crush) because then it wouldn't make sense to have a pointed zoom on Chain and Pun's faces.

Fang isn't even subtle, he is staring directly at Q but I guess if anyone present would know it would be Fang, but it is implied that Toey disappeared after graduating high school and they officially reunite onscreen at the festival so at minimum Fang would know about the post-it notes but not who the post it notes belong to-

*deep breath*

The point is, Tan saying Fang is his future boyfriend out loud and the group still being shocked at the amusement park is a plot hole brought about by production shake ups.

Tan even says, explicitly, in episode four he won't tell his friends who the crush is until they are officially together. While TanFang get together in episode five, Tan tells his friends Fang is his crush before the actual confession scene. If that doesn't scream plot hole I don't know what else does.

[juni-ravenhall]

If you take over SSE, what would be your first changes that you make? Like immediate things you want to do?

And what’d be your long term goal, how would you achieve it?

- ro-sso

this is the best ask ever thank u but u might not be prepared for this essay........ sorry :3

first off id need to find out exactly who are the current ppl for game director, art director, etc direction positions, and who of them are making the crazy decisions. is it directors and managers, is it the CEO, etc. ofc there might be many parts in this chain from an uncaring CEO down to a confused director down to a struggling game designer down to a coder/writer/artist that doesnt get enough time and resources, like, i understand its a complex chain but that doesnt change the fact that someone (or several) have been fucking shit up for all of sse's history. so i would do a lot of talking to staff respectfully and finding out whats really been going on in the chain, and who is not working in the best interest of the game's quality and the company's stability. map out where in the company theres the most and least problems.

(this to me is easy, im analytical and resistant to lies and manipulation as a person. i see through shit very easily and i have a long history of self-studying and analysing stuff related to running companies and making games, since thats my life goal... so to some ppl it might sound like "thats harder than you think" bc theyre just not me. some ppl arent passionate about running good healthy ethical game companies - i am!)

sse clearly has basically never had good directors with good direction, or if they did, those werent given enough power and resources. they shouldnt have been changing artstyle several times, they shouldnt have been abandoning storylines and areas, they shouldnt have been ignoring bugs in general, they shouldnt have been ignoring bugs and cheats in racing and champs, etc. so, its very important to get a good game director, art director, and so on, in place, whether its an existing staff member who just needs more power and resources, or its someone new who is a good fit.

then ofc take a look at all staff hired and see what everyone is there for. after the layoffs im not sure if they have many passive workers left but id get an overview and do some interviews w staff to find out how the efficiency situation is and if more/less ppl are needed in diff areas to actually pay ppl to work on the game itself. (as an example mb u need one less social media person and one more programmer, one less team manager consultant or other middleclass word salad jobs... etc.)

then overview of salary differences. this is a huge point to me. was the CEO that im assumably taking the job from, earning a lot more than everyone else a month? then thats not happening anymore. all salaries within the company would become more balanced, setting in place a system where the minimum salary and max salary at the company are tied together in a ratio so that to raise the top u must also raise the bottom. this will instantly lower much of the top and assumably raise some at the bottom (how much, i dont know from the outside). this ratio system would be clearly outlined and from now on a pillar of the company's structure. also, check that skilled senior staff has appropriate pay for their experience, etc, make sure salaries seem fair.

along with this ofc a good overview of costs, loans, earnings, the current office and all of this to know the situation. i think thats obvious but ill say it anyway to be clear. have a complete grasp of the economic situation, talk to the economics staff.

with staff interviews and salary checkups it would also be relevant to see if theres any gold star workers who should shift up in positions, for example a very good animator could become lead animator, stuff like this. sse has already done things like this fairly often (sometimes maybe not with the right people) so im not too worried about it but i would do another check. also just general talk w staff to find out who has hidden potential that might not be getting used. (i want to know my workers and be able to help them shine, this is good both for the workers, the work environment, and the company results.)

at this point, we should have balanced out some of the leaking money at the top (and hopefully made a few leeches jump ship while at it), boosted the happiness within the company (balanced salaries etc), and have a great overview of whats going on from the more economic and hierarchy standpoint. we should have gotten rid of some potential leeching staff that didnt actually help create a good product and run a healthy, ethical company, and we might have gotten new people in positions where we needed more skills (direction, programming, whatnot). compared to sse's 10+ years of being a chaotic mess, the company structure should look pretty good now, even if not perfect.

i would have a lot of talk with the directors and team leaders and senior staff to make sure everyone is on the same page from now on: we are making a good quality game, we are being consistent, we are not adding new random shit just bc ooh shiny or cashgrabs, we are going to impress the players and make them feel "oh god, finally sso is consistent and living up to its potential". everyone at the company needs to understand this goal and why the loyal players are disappointed with the game. there will still be new horses and item recolors etc ofc, we do need a certain degree of "ooh shiny" from the player side of things (hopefully good gameplay and good stories would also be ooh shiny though), but there needs to be a new focus on the Actual core and Actual pillars of the game, which sse failed to do bc they have bad direction.

most likely, we would change the weekly update into bi-weekly or monthly, maybe starting with bi-weekly to test the waters. in order to deliver a good quality main storyline and also good quality stories and updates to tie up loose ends, there needs to be enough time to do that. there would be very solid goals on the cadence at which major updates are released and no long stretches of time without main story, and no long stretches without other significant updates.

an important part of that is also the seasonal events - i think the 4 seasons of events is a good thing, but they need to be properly bug fixed and have some design and writing improvements, one new fun (more challenging) race for each of them, etc. so hopefully we can afford enough staff that we have a few ppl working on updating and finalising the 4 seasonal events to their more or less final form.

each seasonal event needs to have a cool and challenging race (similar to cloud kingdom rainbow race or some other recent races) that HAS A HIGHSCORE BOARD. this is a key thing to me. all event races should have highscore boards (and some crappy event races may be removed, or combined into a better version of all of them together). *everyone* playing would be able to just better their own score for a generic gold/silver/bronze score, which gives specific rewards for reaching the medal score on the event race(s), and those who are at the top of the leaderboard among everyone, would get a non-exclusive prize, like 1000js. its not a huge win - not to encourage cheating to get to the top - and mostly based in the existing "daily best" system. it would still encourage players to actually try their best at the event races and feel like there's some stakes in it. (active human moderation of suspicious race results is also necessary - we should be able to afford that now.) i also think, if someone has won the daily best, they should then not be able to get the daily best for at least another week, leaving place for other people... but this becomes a problem with alt accounts, so it needs more consideration, i dont have the full answer to that yet.

also, all the tack and clothes need a stats overhaul. the random top stats we currently have are stupid and they seem like they just didnt think about this at all. this is partially a dress up game, so you need to be able to dress up cute and still have top stats and be able to win champs. if possible, i would set staff to work on letting you upgrade any piece of equipment to max stats (which would be something like 5-10 in each stat i guess). this system might require starcoins to upgrade - a way for the company to earn money from cosmetic changes, that seems fair enough to me. (maybe there would be a way to pay with shillings and collectables, but just an easier way to pay with sc, it would be considered.)

we'd also need to sit down and take a good look at what all horses stats are, which horses seem to be boosted or nerfed in races for no reason, and make sure all horses at least function fairly and as intended. after that, to consider whether you should be able to train all horses to have the same max stats, or if we want to keep breeds unique and different, then those differences should also be well thought out and actually matter. right now, and for a long time, some horses are just better at races than others (pintabian, etc), and some (ardennes) seem to be shit for no real reason (other draft horses dont necessarily have the same problem). so it needs to be properly looked at and fixed so all horses at least have good reasons to be different, if they are different at all, and no bugs or unintended boosts and nerfs. horse stats should make sense for gameplay.

all the champs need to get their updated forms, so i also hope we could afford enough staff to have a few ppl working on updating the champs consistently until thats done. i do think a lot of sso's races also should be overhauled, because racing is the main gameplay we actually have (collecting light in hollow woods is not challenging and not really gameplay) and it should be satisfying, fun, and challenging, like playing a mariokart race (that doesnt mean it should play *like* a mariokart race, just that it needs to be fun). the highscore boards and the gold/silver/bronze medal systems are really, really neglected assets of sso's player motivation. if getting a gold medal score on a race was consistently actually difficult and required practice, and getting that gold medal also gave you a good reward (shillings, items) that motivated you to aim for it, then players might actually have fun challenging themselves for higher scores! the same goes for daily best / etc scores that should be looked into, what rewards they give, etc.

also, there should be a ban on adding any new npcs to the game if theyre not extremely necessary. sse has been adding new npcs left and right all the time, and it just clogs the game with random irrelevant characters that dont add anything to the game, it takes time and resources to make their model, give them a name, write their dialogue, and so on. instead, focus all that energy on actual relevant npcs and ones that players want to talk to and find out more about, hear their storylines, etc, and let races be handled with either existing npcs or with new and improved highscore board objects (make it obvious you click them to start the race).

of course, the art style of sso should never again change. art direction from now on is consistent and solid with an art director who understands their job, lead artists and lead animators who 100% understand what the goals are. directors who make sure that the quality of art, design, animation are up to the standards of the style we are using, that things fit together in the game. new models should not actually be "better" than the old ones - you end up in a destructive cycle where the art keeps changing. the style should be consistent with only relatively minor refinements over time. so, the art directors and leads need to make sure the style continues to be consistent, and update things that need to be. (im not sure how many areas of sso should really get the complete overhauls like silverglade village anymore - at some point you're also wasting resources on something less important than the gameplay and story, but some areas also look really outdated, so careful consideration needs to go into which areas to update and *how* to update them. maybe jarlaheim doesnt need a complete overhaul but a partial one. etc.)

the gen 4 horse needs to have very solid planning before release, which seems to have been the case so far from the little ive heard about it. if players can finally get a more custom horse with custom markings, mane and tail styles (preferrably available across breeds), and ability to pick coat, mane and tail colours separately, i think this would be great. it also relates to the whole thing with horse stats and just making sure that horses function properly and have reasons to actually have different stats and such, if theyre going to have that.

there also needs to be a decision made about sso's future - specifically, should we keep developing this game on this crappy messy engine for another decade, or should we eventually say, "this is sso 1, and we're finished with it (the story is finished, game isnt buggy, etc)" - and then go on to create a new game (while still keeping sso 1 running!) on a new, modern engine, where there is good direction and good planning from the very beginning? i dont know how far they got with project curie before cancelling it, whether theres much work to salvage, but i think that creating a new horse mmo set in jorvik (curie was supposedly not a horse game) as a more or less "sso 2" is a fair idea. the potential of customisable gen 4 horses might not really be that relevant for sso 1, or customisable player character faces and bodies like the sims. maybe this is stuff that should be in sso 2 from the very beginning, rather than patches trying to fix the mess that is the current sso? i think a lot of players wouldve been happier to see the old avatars and stuff remain in sso 1 and see the new, current artstyle we have be a separate game as sso 2 instead. (runescape classic etc.)

so, i would want to very carefully consider what really should be in sso 1 versus if we should be making sso 2. its possible to decide, actually we do want to just keep updating sso 1 and make it the best it can be, to basically keep adding expansions to it. but even if we decide that, the thing is, its hard to save the original story at this point due to the careless updates that have already been made for years. my question is, is it possible to give the loyal, old players a satisfying ending to this story and these characters' stories and this world's lore, within the current state of sso? or is it just too far gone off the track? so this needs to be carefully considered. maybe sso 2 could be a sort of remake of the story, starting with elements based on SSL, rather than the haphazard "uh these girls saved the world a while ago and now youre here i guess" that sso did start with. maybe its not too late to give the loyal long term players a satisfying end to the story. but its a complex issue that needs a lot of thought. (which should never have happened! the story shouldnt have changed the way it did, things shouldnt have been abandoned randomly, added randomly, changed randomly, all of this is just bad shitty direction and management without respect to the players, which is especially frustrating bc it goes right into "girl gamers dont matter, girl games dont matter,".)

there are more things, like a weather system, that i would have loved to see in sso but ultimately might be better to save for sso 2. or maybe sso keeps going with major updates and major expansions and then it would be relevant to consider for sso. the same thing for customising our home stable, getting a player home to customise, there are lots of fun ideas like this that i could talk about but that ultimately im not sure how much time and resources should be sunk into when sse have chosen to fuck themselves over for this long and caused this many problems with the game that need immediate attention to make it playable and enjoyable. so in this... essay... i focused mostly on solving problems and making the game a solid and fun experience, and what to prioritise to keep it that way, while these bonus new content like weather or customisable horses or customisable player faces/bodies and all that, would be great updates (or sso 2) but have to come as a bonus when everything else is under control.

so yeah thats covering both a lot of immediate stuff and long term considerations. this is like, a fraction of the stuff i've thought about. i have a lot more to say about a lot of things to fix in sso and other things that have to do with running companies too. and ofc theres a lot of things i just cant know from the outside, and so on, im not a perfect person who knows everything and never pretend to be (i have to say this bc ppl like projecting things on me just for being confident in my skills). getting to take over sse would still be a learning curve with finding out exactly where the problems are and how to solve them. i view this realistically. there are always unknown variables and things i'll have to figure out when i get to it, but you can do that if you have a strong core and strong direction that wont be swayed by capitalism or ooh shiny. i just know a lot about prioritising and directing and about ways to run healthier, better companies, and ways to be ethical and create good products instead of cash grabs - and i also value the skills and knowledge of others, which matters in finding the right people to work in the right positions. these are specific interests i have and spend a lot of time thinking about, analysing, studying, practising, etc.

if you or anyone else actually read all of this (im shocked) and want to discuss more about it or have questions about it, im all ears :D

[manogirl]

Random 2023 BL Awards I made up

Best use of music in a BL:

I was going to just blanket statement say Only Friends, and then I was thinking, wait, was anything more touching than Khaotung sobbing his way through "The Moon Represents My Heart" in Moonlight Chicken...and then I decided that the best use of music was the use of Conan Gray's "The Story" in The Eighth Sense. It was an absolute banger of a use of diegetic music, and every time I hear the song now I think about that absolute monster kiss.

Best Boys and I don't mean acting (no arguments taken):

Ohm Pawat. Mix Sahaphap. Book Kasidet. Boss Chaikamon. Khaotung Thanawat. Barcode Tinnasit.

My personal Blorbos:

Force Jiratchapong. Jisub Lim. Off Jumpol. Boun Noppanut. Pond Naravit.

Please can they have a lead role?:

WinnySatang. Neo Trai. Fluke Pusit.

Soon to grace our screens again (HOORAY!):

BosstonJo. YinWar. ZeeNuNew. PondPhuwin. GeminiFourth. BossNoeul. BounPrem.

Shows that absolutely need to stick the landing in 2024:

Last Twilight. Cherry Magic TH. Pit Babe. The Sign. Twins.

MVP:

Mark Pakin. Obviously.

Thing I've spent the most time speculating about:

What IF Boun and Max Nattapol just did one little kiss in Red Peafowl? Just one! That's all I want. (That's a lie. I totally want more.)

The Bright Vachirawit and Win Metawin award for "wouldn't touch BL again with a ten-foot pole":

Nanon Korapat.

Best cameo:

OBVIOUSLY Kaiseki Dear to Me is one big excellent cameo, but my personal faves in that show are Aaron Lai and Hank Wang. Second place goes to Max Nattapol in Love Senior, the crappy little GL that I can't drop.

Best BL to music star:

Sorry to the GMMTV men but it's so clearly Jeff Satur. What a rockstar.

2022 BL I still rewatch constantly:

Love in the Air. Only the PayuRain story.

Fave OST from a BL (and I don't like many):

"Healing", from My School President.

Best Director:

Pace Jojo Tichakorn, it's gotta be Aof Noppharnach, still.

Number of old + new BLs I watched in 2023:

56, including My Dear Gangster Oppa and Bake Me Please, which will finish before January.