#something to do with noby noby boy i think

[czcreation]

Idk what I was doing here

[crepesuzette2023]

Hi! Because someone just asked me, I'd love you hear your Top 5 favourite McLennon fics!

You made my day! Nothing could have made me happier than this ask.

I'm not going to evade your question. I will post my top-five, even though it hurts to choose. But you inspired me to finally write a longer (okay: very long) post about some (not nearly all!) of my favorites, which will be under the cut.

(Sorry for not knowing every writer's tumblr, by the way. Please feel free to let me know, so I can tag authors where appropriate. Thank you!)

My Top 5:

MIRACLE WORKER by @scurator. What can I say. Every time I need my heart broken and to feel an inkling of what grace truly means, I go to this masterpiece about Paul and Robert Fraser finding each other again at Cavendish in 1981.

COAST STARLIGHT by bookofapril is "Miracle Worker's" cosmic twin. The sun to its night. Paul and Robert Fraser on Fire Island in 1974. Nothing I can say will do it justice, so I won't try. This is the "other world" conjured in "Tug of War," so powerfully and joyfully imagined, it's real. (I'm always thinking of this story, but I did so extra hard when I came across a prompt recently: 'They aren't each other's first love, but they're each other's true love'.)

SAME AS IT EVER WAS by RedheadAmongWolves. My favorite Outsider's POV. An ageing newsstand owner from Liverpool remembers John and Paul as boys and young men. There's something magical about the relationship coming alive in these glimpses. A story filled with tenderness that reminds me to always look closely.

AN ORGASM OF SOUND by @pauls1967moustache. The insanity of John and Paul in 1967 got the tribute it deserves. I sleep easier since I read this story. It feels cosmically right that it exists.

PLANT A SEED by @eveepe. Paul in his slutty sailor outfit in Miami. He and John are into each other, and happy, and fuck slowly. Afterwards, Paul has an idea for a new song. That's it. Tender, glorious, hot perfection. Apply at least once a week for best results.

For more thoughts about some of my favorite stories, sorted into very much defined-ad-hoc categories, read under the cut.

Young Love:

I love the myth of their first meeting, and stories that speculate about the sexually loaded creative fireworks/gritty jealousies/tentative hand-holding/topping and tailing during the first years. Here are some faves:

Paul finds music, and John, and his life is changing. In STREETS OF OUR TOWN (@with-eyes-closed) you can taste the upheaval and promise of first love and growing up. Deeply sensual, even without on-page sex. The shaky, sweet, and all-consuming fire of John and Paul’s first kiss is immortalized in ALL I KNOW SINCE YESTERDAY (RedheadAmongWolves). In NON NOBIS SOLUM (@downtothe-lastdrop), art student John simply has to know how far grammar school boy Paul will go to please him. But Paul matches him play-by-play. In THE CAST IRON SHORE (@m1ssunderstanding) Paul earns extra money through music and sex. John finds out. They fall in love, and hide their mutual pining behind transactions—but in the end, they man up to pair up, and get their band back on track. (The first part is finished; I can’t wait for part 2.) John and Paul’s ’61 trip to Paris has been honored in fiction many times; WHEN YOU ARE YOUNG THEY ASSUME YOU KNOW NOTHING (@lilypadd23) is a slow-burning, blessedly long story that blossoms sweetly. DON’T THINK ABOUT IT is the concept by which Paul measures both his pining for John and their deeply satisfying (but surely not really queer?!) sex life. Perfectly realized Paul POV by @merseydreams. Finally: I NEED YOU DARLIN’ (verse) (by @beatlessideblog) would have fit many categories, but I put it here, because in the end, it’s about young John and Paul becoming friends, making music, having sex, and falling in love. No more, no less. Embedded in a late 50’s/early 60's Liverpool omegaverse in which there's a place for their bond. But, surprise (?!): It’s still complicated. I can’t overstate how charming and satisfying and funny and hot this work is.

Old John and Paul:

Is there anything as lovely as imagining John and Paul growing old together?

In HERE TODAY (@herspecialagent), John and Paul found happiness with each other in Scotland. On 8th December 1980, they invite friends for a party, and fight an inexplicable sense of doom. A reminder that our other lives can be closer than we think, and to keep our loved ones even closer.

GROW OLD WITH ME (@inherownwr1te): Old farmers and husbands John and Paul enjoy domestic bliss, deal with a broken arm, and make sweet love.

HAVING COFFEE (@feathersandblue): John Lennon and Paul McCartney, “one of the most iconic gay couples in history,” look back on their early love, the Beatles, and being outed in the 80’s, in this oh-so-glamourous, well-written 2020 portrait…

Magical re-tellings of J/P and/or the Beatles Story:

No matter where you come down on the blessed vs. cursed continuum—they were living through something magical.

In KISSING THE BLARNEY (@zilabee) the Beatles draw love and music from kissing Paul, and each other, until the stupid world interferes. But fear not, all ends well. How to tell the truth through whimsy: this story demonstrates it.

In WE ARE ALL TOGETHER (also by @zilabee), John and Paul switch bodies. It helps.

I WAS A YOUNGER MAN NOW (THEN) (POST HOC) BY @fingersfallingupwards: Paul is a time traveler and braids his life together with John’s, out of order, through the years. And yes, they do grow old together—but not without losing each other first. I’m in awe of this story.

A darker time-traveling story is A MATTER OF TIME (D12Fan), in which John and Paul love each other, over and over, and never manage to make it work—but Paul won’t give up.

FOR THOUGH THEY MAY BE PARTED (@downtothe-lastdrop): The misery of the 'Get Back' sessions and memory-stunting technology imported from “Severance” are not enough to kill off John and Paul’s attraction and longing for each other. Again, this is basically what happened, so.

John and Paul without the Beatles?

Yes, please! Sometimes, the best way to dissect and celebrate (and fix?) this mesmerizing and exasperating partnership is to lift it from its context and drop it elsewhere. Anything goes.

WHATEVER FATE DECREES by @dailyhowl: A gorgeous, finely spun, securely handled, self-contained vision of how John and Paul could have worked as artists in love, without a band to 'legitimize' and constrain their bond. I love this homage to their deep and complicated love that needed trust and breathing room.

1967 by @walkuntilthedaylight: What if John and Paul had gone to Spain together and not come back? This story not only explores their relationship layer by layer, it also dives into the the feelings of those who knew them 'before' and who now meet them again, as a couple. A fascinating alternate history. Not a fluffy one.

TOMORROW I'LL MISS YOU (@pauls1967moustache): Paul abandons John in Hamburg—or John stays behind without bothering to write, depending on who you ask. This "Before Sunset"—AU reunites them, years later. They ride a bus and write a song, and the love and tension are sweet and painful.

DOUBLE FANTASY (by @javelinbk): Modern AU in which John and Paul meet at John's flower shop and manage to ignore and creatively re-interpret their feelings for one another for a surprising amount of time, before fate has mercy. I love how their sweet, well-matched eccentricity makes the world a warmer place for both of them.

WE ARE STARDUST (Unchained_Daisychain): AU. John and Paul meet at Woodstock, fall hard and fast for each other, and have to decide what to do with it: Paul's life is back home in England...except...

Angst, darkness, and courage:

Pain, fear, grief, and other dark emotions are part of the real J/P story, so it makes sense to honor and harvest them in fiction. One of my favorite brands of McLennon angst is the one triggered by their feelings for each other, and the thing they become once they're together™. When they're scared of how much they need each other, and of what will happen next.

ONE AND ONE AND ONE IS THREE and MANAGING EXPECTATIONS (both by @pauls1967moustache), for instance. The first is a terrifying threesome with Yoko (at John's instigation, of course), in which trust is never rewarded and sex resolves nothing. The second is Paul wondering, in thoughts both messy and crystal clear, whether he exists independently of John. He turns to Brian for answers. They fuck. It feels like a human thing compared to what is going on in Paul's mind. Just astounding.

SUNDAY DRIVER (@boshemians) dives into the theme of Paul and John being afraid of themselves in the aftermath of Paul's accident (moped, sexual) with Tara Browne. This one, like "Managing Expectations," ends on a lovely grace note.

MACABRE (@dovetailjoints). Lennon and McCartney go too far.

OPEN HEART (@paisanas). Paul drinks John's blood. John lets him. But Paul starts to hate himself for how much he needs John, which John feels as rejection. I love how this story ends on Paul embracing his need. You can see the painful, bare bones of their malnourished love under the lush sensuality of the vampire sex. Raw and rich.

SILENCE (@ohjohnnysblog). Short and piercing. If there is someone you love—tell them. Don't wait.

THE LATE, GREAT JOHNNY ACE (@midchelle). Reeling with grief, Paul is recording an album in 1981. George and Ringo are there. John is not. But in the end—he is. And they touch. I've always admired Paul's resilience in the face of having to perform or "prove" his love of John in public, and this story showed me, without sugar-coating, where this resilience comes from.

Light, hope, and fixing things:

There is also much lightness and brightness in McLennon, because John and Paul were ridiculous, and horny, and weird. And also: they deserve a laugh. They deserve the fluffiest of happy endings. They deserve high-quality, life-affirming smut. They deserve silly, because silly is what they were. You know their names, look up their number.

1980. John is in BERMUDA (@scurator), Paul visits. Paul comes prepared, John just comes. Sometimes, it can be this simple. This story always leaves me in such a good mood. Paul is the (more) experienced one, and it...really works for me.

GOT TO GET DOWN (@eveepe): In praise of John's obsession with Paul's...precious. His small and perfect prick.

ADVENTURES IN TOTAL HONESTY (@merseydreams). Pithy and sexy, and, I quote from the tags: #Excessive Margarita Mixing.

ANINUT (@pauls1967moustache): The Beatles heal, together and separately, after Brian's death. Once more, I quote the writer: "The Beatles did not follow any of the Jewish mourning traditions, and frankly, they should have."

The unhinged weirdness of the Mad Day Out, with John and Paul escaping and Francie, Yoko and Mal not missing them...much, is rightfully celebrated in one of the insaner stories I read: JOHN, I'M ONLY DANCING (@skylikeaflame)

FAIR'S FAIR (@javelinbk): John and Paul are being silly during a press conference, resulting in acute arousal requiring John's skilled intervention. I love the unexpected care and tenderness in this one!

WHERE THE POETS WENT (RedheadAmongWolves): Tender and enchanted story in which Paul and John go to a bookstore, where they're not as famous as everywhere else. As delicate as the chiming doorbells and the pages murmuring around them.

TAKEN AWAY (@crumblingcookies) Extraterrestrial Intelligence intervenes to reunite John and Paul.

CAN I TAKE MY FRIEND TO BED? (manhattanvalleys). Paul fucks the band in sequence and gets off in the end, as is his due. This is a story like Prince's KISS. No filler, all effect.

THEY SAY IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY (@ohjohnnysblog). Warm and nostalgic phone sex in the 70's.

KEEP THE LIGHT WE'RE GIVEN (@backbenttulips). Amidst the rise of Beatlemania, Paul and John expect their first child. This is Paul's 1962 diary.

More Outsider POV's:

STILL MATES (@pauls1967moustache): in 1968, Peter Asher takes the leap to act on his feelings for his sister's spiraling ex fiancé. This isn't about Paul as much as about Peter, and who he wants to be. Gutting character study. It made me love Peter.

ANOTHER GIRL (@boshemians): Astrid reunites with the Beatles during the making of AHDN and registers their words and deeds with the same stark objectivity as her camera. I love how she seeks the shelter of obscurity while they are being dragged into the limelight. But she sees them, wherever they are. J/P in this story feels incredibly real to me.

WHY BUY THE COW (RedheadAmongWolves). The milkman sees everything on his early morning rounds: the arrival of a nice new family, the McCartneys, the mother's illness, the sadness after her death...and the arrival of a new love in the older son's life. He shouldn't approve—should say something, in fact. But a small inner voice holds him back.

SLEEPLESS IN WALES (thinkpink20). Mike overhears Paul and John whisper in bed. He doesn't understand everything they say. I do. Adorable.

Not each other's first love, but each other's true love

THIS YEAR'S FOR ME AND YOU (@skylikeaflame): After a long life, after deep and loving partnerships with other people, John and Paul, encouraged by their grown-up children, finally meet their mutual love head on. A festive story about waiting the perfect amount of time.

THERE ARE ALWAYS FLOWERS (tarenas): The Beatles are in the past; John and Paul's love is in ashes. Paul, who is fragile and bereft, lives with George, who is content. The four ex-Beatles unite for the second wedding of Mike McCartney. At times, the aching grief in this story is almost unbearable. But the love between George and Paul is unusual and real. This is unfinished. I'll keep waiting for the final chapter.

Beyond J/P

WANT ME WHEN I'M NOT THERE (@backbenttulips): Linda catches Paul cheating on her with John. She divorces him. Finally: a story that puts her most likely reaction front and center, with no mercy for the messed-up geniuses.

In the Rebecca-AU LOVE LIKE GHOSTS (@backbenttulips), Yoko becomes Mrs. Lennon. Soon, she discovers that her husband is haunted by the ghost of his first love. It's pleasing how well this re-telling matches the events as they (alas) (almost) happened. The ending is chilling. Genuinely horrifying. I love seeing Yoko as the sensible one and as the focus of empathy.

THE BASS LESSON (@aquarianshift). Paul and Stu fool around without letting go of their mutual resentment for even a moment. And it works. "Let's never do this again." I don't think so.

TELL ME ALL MY LOVE'S IN VAIN (@midchelle). Forget about quote unquote platonically obsessed male rock stars: This about about Maureen and Patti through the years. The web weaving continues.

SPOTLIGHT ON JOHN AND STU (@dailyhowl) A love story in letters—too brief, like Stu's life, but sounding as if the writer transcribed their dictation. Some of the best descriptions of what it must have been like to play on stage with the Beatles during the mania are in NO I IN THREESOME (@with-eyes-closed). George finds himself in the beam of attention between John and Paul, and nearly loses his mind. But he's determined to stay and become part of them. Paul is daddy and "fucks like music" as seen through George's eyes. The whole story is vicious and hot and uncomfortable—until there's the love and quiet at the eye of the storm.

Not for the faint of heart! WHAT THE CIGGIE CARTON SAW (@waveofhand): Paul McCartney having his way with cigarettes.

This is getting out of hand...but I'll stop here. There are so many more stories I love. And I can think of many other categories that would deserve their own post.

So, who knows: To be continued?

[fangirlmedstudentblog]

You know, while watching My School President, it was one of the most pleasant surprises in a long long while. But one thing I truly did NOT expect was to develop such an attachment to Tinn.

I've loved watching these two boys fall in love, pine and help each other through the ups and downs of school, but I don't think I ever expected just HOW MUCH I would relate to Tinn. And this was legit 2 episodes in. (This post was written after ep8 and before ep9, for reference)

So following is a bit of a long-ish post on why Tinn is my favourite character in MSP and a bit on why his behaviour in the latest episode isn't that surprising to me and was, a while in the making, i feel.

At the risk of being overly personal and sappy on main, I would do SO much to just hug those two boys.

Also it's gonna be a bit of a long one, so strap in.

Spoilers till Ep 8 of My School President

Tinn, i was surprised to see had a very similar upbringing to mine. Like him, I am also an only child. Like him, I also have a strict mom, who is ALSO a teacher and a surgeon dad, who, despite not wanting to, was not able to be with me as much when I was younger because of his work, just like Tinn's dad, who is a writer.

Looking at the initial few episodes of MSP, it's pretty clear that both of Tinn's parents, while loving him so much, had to sometimes give up on time with tinn for their work. (It's something that i think is very common when both parents are working, or writing, as with Tinn's dad) And that Tinn loves his parents a lot.

Not to speculate on Tinn's upbringing, but based on my own experiences, and that scene around Tinn's birthday (spectacled nobi tinn is so CUTE, I just wanna punch his cheeks, my baby) it's a bit obvious that it's not the first time he's had to wait alone due to his mom and dad being busy. You have his mom being apologetic due to unexpectedly being called into a work dinner, her asking to celebrate with his dad, who himself is away at a book signing so, not exactly available himself (on his son's birthday too!).

You might call it a reach, but I don't know, it's something I feel isn't wrong.

If he was immature and spoiled, he might have been petulant and whining and complaining about how no one is wanting to celebrate HIS birthday with him. But he doesn't. He just accepts it. He smiles when his mom offers to let him come to work dinner, refusing with a smile so that his mom doesn't worry about him. He says (with a smile that doesn't reach his eyes) that he'll celebrate with his friend. Maybe this scene was to show that Tinn is mature, doesn't worry his parents and independent, maybe it was just a reason for Tinn to be sad before meeting Gun, i don't know man, I'm not the scriptwriter.

And inferring from the phone call with Tiwson, we can see that he IS sad that his parents can't celebrate with him. He KNOWS in his heart that it's ok, they love him, and sometimes life can just get in the way of things you want and you can't celebrate all your birthdays the way you want. But still, he's still a boy, and can't help but feel sad.

Maybe it's that resigned acceptance you see on his face and the call to Tiwson, where he fakes being ok since he doesn't want to inconvenience Tiw to come celebrate his birthday because he's already at home. Even though he's actually feeling a bit sad and lonely. And he knows that if he asked Tiwson, he would've come just because his friend asked him to. Just because he's feeling alone doesn't mean he should inconvenience people, that's what i think Tinn feels.

(I have a feeling the reason I've felt so attached to this scene at Gun's mom's shop is because I've BEEN in this situation way more times than I can count. And way to go when you write a whole ass ramble based on like just 1 minute of a drama)

When you see as you're growing up that your parents are super busy, and / or your parent(s) is very strict, especially with regards to academics (Tinn's mom is a very typical asian mum, in that regard), you grow up with the desire to keep your parents happy by becoming one less source of stress to them.

And being an only child can get lonely at times. Combine that with a strict mother, who is a bit too controlling over their child, and consistently expects the best from their child, you get yourself a kid who tries to show themselves as mature for their age and is a bit more independent than the parents would think. Also a pretty good liar and good at hiding their true emotions as well. Added if you're an introvert, you become a bit socially awkward and have a hard time making real friends.

(Personal experience talking here)

Plus from what I've seen so far about Tinn's parents, it's obvious that out of the two, it's Tinn's dad who is the more emotionally supportive one in the family. During that dinner scene in Ep 2, we can see that it's Tinn's dad who seems more open with his emotions, and Tinn is very cautious when talking about the music club (which his mother doesn't seem to like) to his mother. He mostly goes along with what his mother says, trying to not rock the boat as one does.

When you have that kind of strict parent(s) growing up, especially if you're a single child and have all of the focus of your parents, is that you become a bit reliant on your parent(s) making your decisions for you and you don't push boundaries and just go about life doing what's expected of you.

You become someone who constantly tries to please the strict parent, because you're afraid of them being disappointed in you. Because sometimes you're more scared of disappointing your parents than actually making them angry.

You more often than not, are seen as the 'golden child' who has ideal behaviour at school, and in studies and extra-curriculars. It's what expected of you and it's not like it's difficult to do so, why rock the boat unnecessarily?

And then when you start discovering that your own wishes and desires and priorities are different from your parent's (which more than often happens, because you are not your parents) and it's something that they might not like or even disapprove of.

That realisation makes you scared because you know you can't show what your true feelings and opinions on stuff because it's NOT what is expected of you. Then you double down on showing the perfect you that everyone likes (especially authority figures and teachers) and hide your imperfections.

That's where the people pleasing part of you comes into play. But inside you might be getting more frustrated and angry.

And then you get into your emo phase

Ahem.

Anyways.

Back to where you're wondering that what has this long winded tangent to do with Tinn.

Now, nobi-tinn, aka Tinn in first year, a bit of a resigned to being the perfect kid who never complains, meets Gun when he's all sad about his birthday.

Gun, who's all cute and handsome faced kid with a bright smile who just sets down a treat in front of you without you knowing who he is and why did he just do that.

Then he introduces himself and it's someone from your own class. And he's entranced by his cute little smile. And a bit gobsmacked as well because 'oh my he's cute' is running through that boy's head on loop.

Then his mother comes in and Gun is like oh, I'm just being friendly so that i can mooch off him and his work. That makes Tinn a little bit disappointed, because he thought maybe Gun wanted to be friends with him for real, but he just wants to be friends to 'borrow' stuff from you. Still he's pleased at atleast SOMEONE cares. Plus it helps that the boy IS cute so he's like, eh, whatever.

But then Gun goes up and is like if you're feeling lonely people, here's a song we can share. And you can see that Tinn is surprised, oh he's a singer?

Then this cute boy he just met busts out a song that RESONATES so much with him and he's like OH. OH HELL. I LIKE HIM. OH NOOOOOOO

Cut to Tinn's trying to get closer to him. But FAILING. MISERABLY. CONSTANTLY.

Poor guy even decide to clean up, change his look and try to confess at the Hot wave contest but only to be thwarted by a damn fight breaking out, which leads to Gun not hearing what was said.

Then both of them are in their final year of high school and Tinn, to his shock discovers that his mom DISAPPROVES of the music club (understandable, since they caused that huge fight, plus all those near fire and probable noise complaints), the place which Gun is an integral part of and where he thrives. And to his horror, wants to shut it down, which is like the last thing Tinn wants because then there's NO way Gun will even like you as a friend, much less have a crush on him. Poor guy, can't catch a break in his romantic life.

He's now stuck on how to help his crush without letting anyone know that he's helping him (because it's NOT what is expected of you)

Then Tiwson gives the idea that become the school president and prevent the club from shutting down. That way Gun might even be impressed by all that Tinn did to help him. Tinn does that. Becomes the School Council President. You're like ok, now the club is safe.

But then Tinn discovers that not only does your crush NOT remember him, but he actually HATES him.

We all know how it all then follows as we can see in the show. You have Tinn defying the school rules, manipulating folk music competitions, offering help anonymously online, ensuring the band actually has instruments to play on, giving him your own DAD'S PRIZED GUITAR (I have a feeling this might play a role in a future episode), lying to your own parents about what you're doing MULTIPLE TIMES and basically giving Gun as leniency as much as possible to help him save his club and actually win the hot wave so that you can actually confess.

All the while going all Elsa in front of him with conceal, don't feel mode because from what Tinn knows Gun hates him and won't accept his help if he knew. PLUS he's realising his mom's probable disapproval and disappointment in his actions. But Tinn has decided that it's time to stand up for what he wants to do and not what his parents want, for what seems like the first time in his life.

Awww Tinn is entering his rebellious phase, all so as to let Gun's dreams come true and let him be happy. Because don't forget, Tinn actually never ever pressurised Gun into liking him back or ever actually let him know just HOW much Tinn has done for him behind the scenes.

Then Tinn and Gun start becoming closer and closer and then they realise he actually reciprocates Tinn's feelings!!! YAY HALLELUJAH 🎉🎉🎉 But you two still can't date because of a stupid arbitrary rule that was put there because your previous club leader was a jealous man so they decide to shamelessly flirt with each other for now and stay somewhere in between mutual pining to secretly dating.

Meanwhile, adulthood and deciding on career is approaching and Tinn's mom decides that Tinn should be a doctor because it's a stable field. (which, personally, i think is bs. It's just the plain old insistence of wanting your kids to be a doctor, a lawyer ir an engineer that is drilled onto an asian parent's heads)

Tinn himself is very unclear about what to take in the future, understandably because this is something your parents can't decide for you. Plus while being with Gun and helping him, Tinn is gradually coming out of under his mother's thumb and letting himself feel what he wants to feel and have his own opinions. He is becoming a bit more rebellious and liking making decisions for himself.

So while Tinn doesn't necessarily want to become a doctor, he's not exactly protesting against it and is still unsure if he really wants to become one, and WHY. (I personally would love if Tinn did NOT become a doctor, or even if he does, atleast makes that choice with his own free will. Becoming a doctor requires a LOT of personal motivation, and being forced into being one is just damaging to one's mental health. This is speaking as someone who has just become a doctor herself a while back)

Then he realises that he wants to become a doctor to take care of his loved ones (admirable and a lofty goal tinn) after taking care of Gun's mom.

At the beginning of ep 8, we have Tinn talking to his mom to get permission for the club to stay over at nights for a week. Then his mom asks if he's started studying for an exam that is coming up in a month and he says he hasn't (I'm the same Tinn 😮‍💨🤜🏻🤛🏻)

But then we get Tinn standing up to his mom to get permission to stay overnight, with some crafty manipulation on his part to get her to agree. If you look carefully, his mom is confused about why Tinn is being this insistent about helping the music club. His mom has had that look before too, at the beginning of the show when he's asking to go in her place during the folk music festival.

And looking at it from Tinn's mom's perspective, Gun and his club are more of a nuisance than anything. And she probably is wary that they might drag Tinn to the wrong path. We as viewers know that is profoundly incorrect, but his mom doesn't.

And then we have Tinn and Gun hiding from his mom in the pool and then using the lousiest excuse I've EVER heard (Tinn you weren't even trying my boy). Can someone please tell me that does it actually abruptly rain out of nowhere in Thailand and then it stops just as abruptly??

Like the only reason Tinn's mom seemed to buy that excuse is that she hasn't caught him lying to her before. Also why do I have a feeling that she really some bias against the band kids? Because why only offer the towel to Tinn when both Tinn AND GUN are soaked????

Then we find out that Tinn's mom has arranged for him to meet with a doctor from the college Tinn might be applying for later who's having a seminar in his school. This is in order to have Tinn give a favorable impression to the doctor.

Contrary to what many were thinking, it's JUST an introduction, not an actual interview or anything. It's kind of like a mom showing off her kid to another so as to improve Tinn's chances of getting in.

One thing I noticed about Tinn while he was being told this was just how uncomfortable he looked. I'm still not clear myself whether it was because he was gonna miss being able to watch Gun perform openly (something he's been wanting to for YEARS at this point) or that he was benefiting from being the principal's son and getting this advantage over his peers who were as interested as him in that field. I personally like to believe it's a mixture of the two, with the former being a larger reason than the latter.

Moving on to the late night school ground heart to heart, you can see just how affected Tinn was by Gun's confession of gaining strength from performing in front of the people he loves. Especially since he knew that he couldn't actually go and watch him. We as audience and Gun could tell that just how sad he was at not being able to attend.

Then we had the wonderful piece of Gun deciding that it was FINE and both of them deserved to go after their dreams and encouraged Tinn to work hard towards his dreams, like Tinn encouraged Gun to do.

Now what follows is a bit of speculation, but not unnecessarily untrue, i think.

But what Gun doesn't know that the only reason Tinn even WANTS to become a doctor on the first place is in some way to take care of Gun and his own parents and Gun's mom.

It isn't Tinn's dream to be a doctor, it is his mom's. It's just something that he's going along with because he doesn't exactly hate the thought of being a doctor. Tinn's dream, atleast for the moment is to be at Gun's side, help HIM achieve his dream of winning the hot wave and be his boyfriend, in that order.

On that note, if Tinn you ever want to become a doctor, I think being a pediatrician would suit you a lot (as suggested by my lovely friend @sarahandtheninjas and i agree with them)

While, he might have gotten a good reason why to want to pursue medicine, his priority is still Gun and passing his school.

And his priority at that moment is watching Gun perform because he wants to provide Gun that support during such an important time of his life. Tinn has enough confidence in himself that he knows he can get in medical school by himself without any prior introductions from his mother. (I don't know how exactly do you even get in medical school in Thailand so if anyone could provide some information, that would be highly appreciated!!)

Plus i believe that Tinn is beginning to chafe from his mother's constant hovering. It comes from a place of love, but i think it would feel very annoying when you're a teen. Like when they both were rehearsing answers to give to the doctor, (which by the way were super generic and expected answers, exactly the ones they would look for, but still boring) you could see that Tinn could NOT CARE LESS about that *stupid* doctor and just wants to see Gun perform.

So in a fit of extreme bravery (seriously, it takes guts to talk back to your mom, especially if she's as strict with Tinn as I think she might be) he says sorry to mom and runs away to the Hot Wave.

Then that absolutely LOVELY conversation between TinnGun follows where Tinn reveals that that introduction wasn't actually that necessary and what's the use of becoming a doctor of he can't take care of the ones he loves.

Also Tinn, becoming a doctor means accepting that you might not being able to spend a lot of time with your family and loved ones, especially if you go into something like emergency medicine or surgery or ob-gyn or even medicine, especially during your specialisation years. I SHOULD KNOW, I'm not only a child of a surgeon, but a doctor in my own right.

(Also, dropping the love word so early Tinn???? That's pretty gosh darn brave of you my boy, but seriously Tinn, do not decide to become a doctor on a whim)

All of those actually reading till this point I love you all so much 😘😘

And after all of that, what I am personally looking forward to in the future episodes is how exactly does Tinn's late stage rebellion play out, because I have a feeling that his mom might be shaping up to be the final boss.

And thanks a LOT for reading

(I might edit this post later after all the episodes are over to add more thoughts and add some screenshots, maybe)

[x-ceirios-x]

City of Lost Souls, Chapter 11: Ascribe All Sin 

please see the masterlist for notes about this series/collection of works

Magnus said that no electricity could be used during the summoning of Azazel, so the loft apartment was lit only by candlelight. The candles burned in a circle in the center of the room, all different heights and brightness, though they shared a similar blue-white flame.  

Inside the circle, a pentagram had been drawn by Magnus, using a small tree branch that had burned the pattern of overlapping triangles into the floor. In between the spaces formed by the pentagram were symbols unlike anything Simon had ever seen before: not quite letters and not quite runes, they gave off a chilly sense of menace despite the heat of the candle flames. 

It was dark outside the windows now, the sort of dark that came with the early sunsets of approaching winter. Rowan, Alec, Simon, and finally, Magnus—who was chanting aloud from Forbidden Rites—each stood at one cardinal point around the circle. Magnus’s voice rose and fell, the Latin words like a prayer, but one that was inverted and sinister.

The flames rose higher and the symbols carved into the floor began to burn black. Chairman Meow,  who had been watching from a corner of the room, hissed and fled into the shadows. The blue-white flames rose, and now Simon could hardly see Magnus through them. The room was getting hotter, the warlock chanting faster, his black hair curling in the humid heat, sweat gleaming on his cheekbones. “Quod tumeraris: per Jehovah, Gehennam, et consecratam aquam quam nunc spargo, signumque crucis quod nunc facio, et per vote nostra, ispe nunc surgat nobis dicatus Azazel!”

There was a burst of fire from the center of the pentagram, and a thick black wave of smoke rose, dissipating slowly through the room, making everyone but Simon cough and choke. It swirled like a whirlpool, coalescing slowly in the center of the pentagram into the figure of a man. 

Simon blinked. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but it wasn’t this. A tall man with auburn hair, neither young nor old—an ageless face, inhuman and cold. Broad-shouldered, dressed in a well-cut black suit and shining black shoes. Around each wrist was a dark red groove, the markers of some sort of binding, rope or metal, that had cut into the skin over many years. In his eyes were leaping red flames. 

He spoke. “Who summons Azazel?” His voice was like metal grinding on metal. Next to him on the pentagram, Simon saw Rowan grit their teeth and flinched. 

“I do,” Magnus firmly shut the book he was holding. “Magnus Bane.”

Azazel craned his head slowly toward Magnus.is head seemed to swivel unnaturally on his neck, like the head of a snake. “Warlock,” he said. “I know who you are.”

Magnus raised his eyebrows. “You do?”

“Summoner. Binder. Destroyer of the demon Marbas. Son of—”

“Now,” said Magnus quickly. “There’s no need to go into all that.”

“But there is.” Azazel sounded reasonable, even amused. “If it is infernal assistance you require, why not summon your father?”

Alec was looking at Magnus with his mouth open. Simon felt for him. He didn’t think any of them had ever assumed that Magnus even knew who his father was, beyond that he had been a demon who had tricked his mother into believing he was her husband. Alec clearly knew no more about it than the rest of them, which, Simon imagined, was probably something he wasn’t too happy about.

“My father and I are not on the best of terms,” said Magnus. “I would prefer  not to involve him.”

Azazel raised his hands. “As you say, Master. You hold me within the seal. What do you demand?”

Magnus said nothing , but it was clear from the expression on Azazel’s face that the warlock was speaking to him silently, mind to mind. The flames leaped and danced in the demon’s eyes, like eager children listening to a story. “Clever Lilith,” the demon said at last. “To raise the boy from death, and secure his life by binding him to someone whom you cannot bear to kill. She was always better at manipulating human emotions than most of us—most. Perhaps because she was something close to human once.”

“Is there a way?” Magnus sounded impatient. “To break the bond between them?”

Azazel shook his head. “Not without killing them both.”

“Then, is there a way to harm Sebastian only, without hurting Jace?” It was Rowan, eager but a rage held in their eyes; Magnus shot them a quelling look. 

“Not with any weapon I might create, or have at my disposal,” said Azazel. “I can craft only weapons whose alliance is demonic. A bolt of lightning from the hand of an angel, perhaps, might burn away what evil is in Valentine’s son and either break their time or cause it to become more benevolent in nature. If I might make a suggestion…”

“Oh,” said Magnus, narrowing his cat’s eyes, “please do.”

“I can think of a simple solution that will separate the boys, keep yours alive, and neutralize the danger of the other one. And I will ask very little of you in return.”

“You are my servant,” Magnus said. “If you wish to leave this pentagram, you will do what I ask, and not demand favors in return.”

Azazel hissed, and fireccurlked from his lips. “If I am not bound here, then I am bound there. It makes little difference to me.”

“‘For this is Hell, nor am I out of it,’” said Magnus, with the air of someone quoting an old saying. 

Azazel showed a metallic smile. “You may not be proud like old Faustus, warlock, but you are impatient. I am sure my willingness to remain in this pentagram will outlast your desire to keep watch over me inside it.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Magnus said. “I’ve always been fairly bold where decorating is concerned, and having you here does add that little touch of extra something to the room.”

“Magnus,” Alec said, clearly not thrilled at the idea of an immortal demon taking up residence in his boyfriend’s loft.

“Jealous, little Shadowhunter?” Azazel grinned  at Alec. “Your warlock is not my type, and besides, I would hardly want to anger his—”

“Enough,” Magnus said. “Tell us what the ‘little’ thing you want in return for your plan is.”

Azazel temples his hands—hard, workman’s hands, the color of blood, topped with black nails. “One happy memory,” he said. “From each of you. Something to amuse me while I am bound like Prometheus to his rock.”

“A memory?” Rowan demanded. “It would vanish? We couldn't remember it anymore?”

Azazel squinted at them through the flames. “What are you, little one? A Nephilim? Yes, I would take your memory and it would become mine. You would no longer know that it had happened to you. Although, please do avoid giving me memories of demons you’ve slaughtered under the light of the moon. Not the sort of thing I enjoy. No, I want these to be…personal.” He grinned, and his teeth gleamed like iron portcullis.

“I’m old,” Magnus said. “I have many memories. I would give one up, if needed. But I cannot speak for the rest of you. No one should be forced to give up something like this.” His eyes settled on Rowan, next to him. 

Rowan made a strangled noise that sounded somewhere between a laugh and a muffled cry. They cursed. “This is just amazing, you know that?” they said, bitterness seeping into their tone as they looked at the demon. Simon thought they looked like they wanted to jump through the pentagram and punch him clean in the face. 

“Rowan,” Alec said with his usual older-brotherly tone, temporarily pulling their attention away from the demon. He was across the pentagram from them and they had to squint through the smoke to see him. “It’s for Jace.” It was quiet for a moment, when he added, “please.”

Their jaw set. They crossed their arms over their chest, resolute in their anger. “For Jace,” they muttered, shooting a glare at Alec. “And to get Jensen home.”

Alec nodded. “You know my answer,” he said to Magnus, and then it was Simon’s turn. He thought suddenly of Jace, cutting his wrist and giving him his blood in the tiny room on Valentine’s boat. Risking his own life for Simon’s. It might have been for Clary’s sake at its heart, but it was still a debt. And he thought of Jensen, the little boy who had his heart broken by losing his parabatai, Max, and how he’d finally started to look happy when he’d met him that night, asking about how to read some manga he’d bought. He thought of how distraught Rowan was when he disappeared, and the guilt that pooled in his stomach when he realized he might have been the last person to see him that day. “I’m in.”

“Good,” Magnus said. “All of you, try to think of happy memories. They must be genuinely happy. Something that gives you pleasure in the ecollection.” He shot a sour glance at the smug demon in the pentagram. 

“I’m ready,” Alec said. He stood with his eyes closed, his back straight as if braced for pain. Magnus moved towards him and laid his fingers against his forehead, murmuring softly. 

Simon’s hand itched to reach for Rowan, to tell them it would be okay and reassure them that another memory missing wouldn’t be the worst thing because they would go on and make new, better ones. He offered them an encouraging smile, one that they sadly returned. Their mouth twitched into a frown, and he could hear, just barely, their breath was uneven and shaky. 

Magnus turned to them next. He whispered something to them, something like an apology, and did the same as he did to Alec. He watched as their expression hardened and they wiped the tear away, like they didn't remember what they were upset about in the first place. 

Simon hastily shut his eyes and tried to summon a happy memory—something to do with Clary? But so many of his memories of her were tinged now with his worry over her wellbeing. Something from when they were very young? An image swam to the forefront of his mind—a hot summer day at Coney Island, him on his father’s shoulders, Rebecca running behind them, training a handful of balloons. Looking up at the sky, trying to find the shapes in the clouds, and the sound of his mother’s laughter. No, he thought, not that. I don't want to lose that—

There was a cool touch on his forehead. He opened his eyes and saw Magnus lowering his hand. Simon blinked at him, his mind suddenly blank. “But I wasn’t thinking of anything,” he protested. 

Magnus’s cat eyes were sad. “Yes, you were.”

Simon glanced around the room feeling a little dizzy. The others looked the same, as if they were awkwaening from a strange dream; he caught Rowan’s eye, the piercing, icy blue, staring through him rather than at him. He frowned. He wondered what they had thought about, what happiness they had given away. They didn’t deserve to give up any of it with how little he knew they had these days. 

A low rumble from the center of the pentagram drew his gaze from Rowan. Azazel stood, as close to the edge of the pattern as he could, a slow growl of hunger coming from his throat. Magnus turned and looked at him, a look of disgust on his face. His hand was closed into a fist and something seemed to be shining between his fingers as if he held a witchlight runestone. He turned and flung it, fast and sideways, into the center of the pentagram. Simon’s vampire vision tracked it. It was a bead of light that expanded into a circle holding multiple images. Simon saw a piece of azure ocean, a glimpse of Magnus’s face, a boy with blue eyes, a city skyline with two figures standing on the roof of a building—and then Azazel opened his arms and the circle of images vanished into his body, like a stray piece of trash stacked into the fuselage of a jet plane. 

Azazel gasped. His eyes, which had been darting flickers of red flame, blazed like bonfires now, and his voice crackled when he spoke. “Ahhh. Delicious.”

Magnus spoke sharply.  “Now for your side of the bargain.”

The demon licked his lips. “The solution to your problems is this. You release me into the world, and I take Valentine’s son and bring him living into Hell. He will not die, and therefore your Jace will live, but he will have left this world behind, and slowly their connection will burn away. You will have your friend back.”

“And then what?” Magnus said slowly. “We release you into the world, and then you return and let yourself be bound again?”

Azazel laughed. “Of course not, foolish warlock. The price of the favor is my freedom.”

“Freedom?” Alec spoke, sounding incredulous. “A Prince of Hell, set free in the world? We already gave you our memories—”

“The memories were the price you paid to hear my plan,” said Azazel. “My freedom is what you pay to have my plan enacted. There are worse things,” he grinned, “much older, darker things than even myself.”

Magnus frowned. “That is a cheat and you know it. You ask for the impossible.”

“So do you,” said Azazel. “Of his own will or under compunction, it does not matter. You are asking me to sever a bond only Heaven can sever. But Heaven will not help you; you know that as well as I. That is why men summon demons and not angels, is it not? This is the price you pay for my intervention. If you do not want to pay it, you must learn to accept what you’ve lost.”

Magnus’s face was pale and tight.  “We will converse among ourselves and discuss whether your offer is acceptable. In the meantime I banish you.” He waved his hand, and Azazel vanished, leaving behind the smell of charred wood. 

The four people in the room stared at one another incredulously. “What he is asking for,” Alec said finally, “it isn’t possible.”

“Theoretically anything is possible,” said Magnus, staring ahead as if into an abyss. “But to loose a Greater Demon on the world—not just a Greater Demon, a Prince of Hell, second only to Lucifer himself—the destruction he would wreak—”

“Couldn’t Sebastian do the same?” Rowan asked. “He could, couldn’t he? He could destroy everything.”

“Like Magnus said,” Simon put in bitterly, “anything’s possible.”

“There could be almost no greater crime in the eyes of the Clave,” said Magnus. “Whoever loosed Azazel upon the world would be a wanted criminal.”

“But we could destroy Sebastian,” Rowan started, though Magnus gave them little room to argue. 

“We don’t have proof Sebastian is plotting anything,” said Magnus. “For all we know, all he wants is to settle down in a nice country house in Idris.”

“With Clary and Jace? And what about Jensen?” Alec said incredulously. 

Magnus shrugged. “Who knows what he wants with them. Maybe he’s just lonely.”

“Yeah, because a twelve year old is amazing company for a murderer,” Rowan said bitterly. “He’s planning something.”

They all looked at Simon. “Clary’s trying to find out what. She needs some time. And don’t say, ‘We don’t have time,’” he added, “she knows that.”

Alec raked a hand through his dark hair. “Fine, but we just wasted a whole day. A day we didn’t have. No more stupid ideas.” His voice was uncharacteristically sharp. 

“Alec,” Magnus said. He put a hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder; Alec was standing still, staring angrily at the floor. “Are you okay?”

Alec looked at him. “Who are you again?”

Magnus gave a little gasp; he looked—for the first time Simon could remember—actually unnerved. It lasted only for a moment, but it was there. “Alexander,” he said. 

“Too soon to joke about the happy memory thing, I take it,” Alec said. 

“You think?” Magnus’s voice soared. Rowan winced. Before he could say anything else, the door swung open and Maia and Jordan came in. Their cheeks were red from the cold, and—Simon saw with a small start—Maia was wearing Jordan’s leather jacket. 

“We just came from the station,” she said excitedly. “Luke hasn’t woken up yet, but it looks like he’s going to be all right—” She broke off, looking around at the still-glimmering pentagram, the clouds of black smoke, and the scorched patches on the floor. “Okay, what have you guys been doing?”

[nicklloydnow]

“Surreal characters, simple controls and a catchy soundtrack turned the 2004 PlayStation 2 title into a masterpiece. Last month its sequel, We Love Katamari, which arguably perfected those qualities, was rereleased with improved graphics and new levels.

But Takahashi ended his involvement with the franchise and its publisher, Bandai Namco, long ago. He continues to live in the shadow of the katamari, experiencing the strange conditions of an industry where artistic creations become valuable intellectual property for companies. He says he does not receive any royalties from the sales of Katamari games.

“That is the nature of the business,” Takahashi said. “I am not important. The game is important. But myself? Who cares?”

Takahashi, 48, never intended to become a game designer; he originally trained as a sculptor at Musashino Art University in Tokyo. However, the young artist became disillusioned as classmates disposed of their creations after each assignment. “I realized that making art was not exactly useful,” he said.

That is why when a professor asked him to create a goat sculpture, he decided to turn the animal into a flower pot that drained excess water from its udders.

“I cannot forget that moment when everyone started laughing,” Takahashi recalled from his office in the garage of the San Francisco home where he lives with his wife, Asuka Sakai, a composer, and their two children. “That was when I realized what I should do, and I believed video games could provide joy and fun to people.”

(…)

A demo at the 2003 Game Developers Conference in San Jose caught the attention of industry leaders at a time when the market was mostly focused on multiplayer shooters like Medal of Honor and Halo. Here was something new and unusual for American audiences, invariably described as a “dung beetle” game or a “snowball simulator.”

(…)

“It feels like Katamari Damacy escaped Japan by accident,” said Paul Galloway, a collection specialist at the Museum of Modern Art who helped establish its video game program, which includes Takahashi’s debut. He added that “it presages a lot of aesthetics found during the 2010 indie gamer boom.”

(…)

But by 2009, Takahashi announced he was leaving video games, saying he would help design a playground in England.

“He is a very singular creator,” said Laura E. Hall, a game designer based in Portland, Ore., who wrote a book about Katamari Damacy. “And that is often at odds with the need to move units in the video game industry.”

Takahashi was coming off the self-described “beautiful failure” of a project called Noby Noby Boy, the one with the alien caterpillar, which received tepid reviews and had lackluster sales. The playground was also doomed; city commissioners were not too keen on the designer’s circular doughnut slide or the giant climbing frame that seemed to extend five stories in the air.

He returned to the gaming industry, but this time wanted more control over the creative process. He had left Bandai Namco because he did not think its other engineers were passionate enough.

“They were making games for the money,” he said. “And if I wanted to make a new project, I would need to hire staff from the company, which was super limiting.”

(…)

By the time Takahashi released Wattam, featuring the green cube, in 2019, Bandai Namco was already remastering his katamari games without his input.

(…)

Galloway said it was normal in the gaming industry, as in other design fields, that individual creators don’t own their creations. After all, games are a collaborative art form, typically requiring dozens of people to make.

“Someone can take Katamari and do something wildly different,” Galloway said. “But there is something that can be lost. Keita’s unique vision for Katamari was lightning in a bottle, and after a while it becomes a bit diluted when you milk the same formula over and over again.”

Takahashi does not want to repeat himself. “Recently, I realized that I don’t really know what a video game is,” he said, explaining his attempts to shed his preconceptions about what defines a good game.

His new definition is much simpler: Bring joy back into people’s lives.

(…)

“I know our lives are not so fun. They are boring. We do the same things over and over,” Takahashi said. “But we should be celebrating the good things in life. Then we can become better people. That’s my thing right now.””

“Katamari Damacy is a special sort of game. So special in fact, that it sidetracked me from writing this several times, playing the game in an absent-minded daze, marvelling at how 塊,the Kanji for katamari, already looks like a small prince rolling stuff up. It worms itself inside your brain by giving the mundane a unique sort of whimsy.

Whimsy, silliness and fun on first glance seem like something unrestrained and purposefully difficult to capture, but Katamari's game director Keita Takahashi made these feelings into substantial pillars of the design philosophy that informs all of his games. Katamari is meant to convey novelty, ease of understanding, enjoyment, and humour, all in a neat little package.

(…)

Yet most of the motivation comes from how you receive encouragement much more frequently than punishment. You're not told to hurry, all items you pick up are equally valid to build your clump with. The consequences of bumping into something are never catastrophic. The King of all Cosmos often reacts enthusiastically to your efforts and the nature of the things you roll up, which is understandable, given I'm generally just as overjoyed whenever I find a spare pound between the couch cushions. The wrath of your father the king is severe, but easily soothed by success. The knowledge that it was his drunken debauchery that nearly caused the collapse of the entire cosmos in the first place makes it difficult to take him seriously in his anger. This way, the king is a quintessential dad - a stern, occasionally threatening force on one hand, the guy who falls asleep with his mouth open at a rerun of "I'm a celebrity" on the other. (I'm absolutely not drawing on personal experience here.)

Narratively, Katamari could make a dire point about the dangers of consumerism and the fact that there really is quite a lot of stuff on earth, but as with every other aspect, it's lenient and careful not to hamper your enjoyment. There is a joy in collecting, after all, preserved all the way from collecting shells from the beach, shiny buttons or stickers as children. Why not virtual thumbtacks and cucumbers?

Nothing about Katamari Damacy would work quite as well, however, if it weren't for its laid-back visual aesthetic. With his background in art, Keita Takahashi isn't so much interested in games as he is in playfulness. You can immediately see influences like Taro Okamoto or Yayoi Kusama in the way he uses colours and shapes.

(…)

By not taking itself too seriously, Katamari allows you to do something that may not serve a distinct purpose. It invites you to look at something visually pleasing and hum a happy tune, to unite what by all accounts shouldn't be united into a satisfying shape. Takahashi's games are different to us because we already have an idea in our minds of how games work, how fun is facilitated and how you maximise engagement. Takahashi found his own answers to all of these questions and instead drew on ideas that are equally familiar to his players from other aspects of life.

Katamari Damacy is designed to appear mostly unconcerned with design, at least the right kind of design. Instead, it's something that simply feels good, and that feeling never goes out of style.”

“Katamari Damacy achieves all of its emotional weight without any complex story or characters, without surmounting any gameplay challenges. This simple game only occasionally deviates from your goal of making your Katamari as large as possible under a time limit.

(…)

Just like any mythology, this simple plot and characters themselves express a deeper network of meanings and associations. In Steven Reale’s Chaos in the Cosmos: The Play of Contradictions in the Music of Katamari Damacy, he notes that the King often dashes the Prince’s attempts to live up to his approval throughout the game. The King towers over the tiny Prince, and even when a level is successfully completed, the King still asks that next time, “we want a bigger one” (Reale, 2011). At its heart, Reale suggests the story of Katamari is that of the frustrations of childhood.

(…)

Katamari Damacy was often referenced by game content producers on YouTube, and its praise by some of my favourite reviewers is what initially piqued my interest. It was through the nostalgic lens that drives so many classic game enthusiasts that I learned an important lesson: the games that I played during these developmental years will have an unrivaled amount of cultivated memories associated with them. More importantly, this is worth celebrating and sharing with others.

(…)

Katamari Damacy captured everything that made childhood special, and more precisely, why it was so joyous to reclaim “play time” all to the tune of “Cherry Blossom Color Season”, one of the most powerful and serene tracks on the soundtrack. The game’s composer, Yuu Miyake even cited it as his favourite song from the whole series, a simple but powerful showcase of his ability to compose a song only with simple chords and melody (Napolitano, 2009).

The moment was pure bliss. I have never felt so completely and holistically happy playing a game, and I think Katamari Damacy achieves this moment by virtue of its simplicity, which consistently evokes a sense of childhood, imagination and free play. Miyake’s simple song was coupled with straightforward gameplay and tactile controls. Together, these elements created the sense of pure joy and discovery that comes with exploring levels and discovering hundreds of new objects.

(…)

In a 2009 Game Developers Conference talk, Takahashi confirmed that Katamari Damacy was about consumption society. This presented a problem: his goal to make things light-hearted, silly, and fun was wrapped up in work that expressed a cynical stance towards society. He stated, “I wanted to make more objects. If there are few objects, I feel lonely. If there are more objects, they will make things more colourful. But when they’re rolled up, they’re gone. I felt empty” (Welsh, 2009).

Takahashi’s dilemma was that the game presented his signature simple, soft, and colourful aesthetic, but it came from a place that was fundamentally cynical. He wanted to critique our desire to collect, consume, and progress. The gameplay necessitated that we participate in that consumption.

But even before this confirmation, critical commentators were already reading the game as an anti-capitalist, Marxist text. In Ryan Stanci’s Katamari Damacy – A Critique he argues that if the Marxist critique of art links that work to enforce or challenge the values of consumer society, then Katamari specifically comments on a culture obsessed with collecting and archiving (2006).

(…)

Despite Stanci’s conclusion that our desire to collect is what hits the right buttons for consumers, and our innate desire to collect it all, perhaps there is something inherently innocent about that desire, even if it can result in destruction. Stanci quotes Joseph Lewandowski’s Unpacking: Walter Benjamin and His Library, where he says the following about the children and collecting:

“They collect forgotten and ignored phenomena, they name “dead” objects. According to Benjamin, such an alternative world-view accomplishes a kind of renewal and rescue – children retrieve objects and stimulate life in a frozen cultural modernity; they re-enchant, albeit momentarily, a disenchanted world […] It is precisely in collecting as a child-like ‘mode of acquisition’ that a genuine collector emerges” (1999).

I believe that the childlike practice of collecting to re-enchant the disenchanted word is the ultimate achievement of Katamari Damacy.

(…)

While it is clear that Takahashi is critical of his own work, ultimately, I don’t think our experiences with his work are in conflict. Takahashi designs works to make people happy, even if it’s only for a brief moment. Katamari, to me, perfectly encapsulated the joy and the silliness of childhood, however brief that experience may be.”

[streetlights-all-turn-blue]

About the things Paul writes feeling true - that was what I meant, you put in into better words. It's relatable. My dad had the Sounds of Silence album too! I remember going through his records and seeing that one. I might have listened to it, but it's been so long since I've been able to listen to any vinyl. (And the marrying thing ... I might not have honestly thought I would marry him but my friend and I were still super into The Monkees and dreamed about being with Peter and Mike, so ... I feel that, haha.) As far as Beatles albums ... my favorites are Revolver, Magical Mystery Tour, Abbey Road & Let It Be. I have good memories of all of them. Abbey Road & Let It Be were on the same tape someone made for our family when I was growing up, and we played it a lot when we were doing chores, so whenever I hear those albums I feel like I want to clean up ... do you have any music like that? Albums or songs that make you feel like you have to do something in particular?

Do you have any favorite holiday albums/songs or films? My mom was obsessed with Christmas stuff growing up so I'm kind of burnt out on a lot of it. I like chill instrumental holiday music for the most part, but I also like some of the rock/oldies songs. My stepmom used to do a thing where everyone in the house picked a movie that would get packed away with the Christmas decorations, so we could only watch it at that time of year. She and my dad even put their own movies in there. Mine was Yellow Submarine! They even put a yellow sub ornament on their tree for me every year.

Hope you've had a good Thursday! 🌼

I love that your family had Sounds of Silence on vinyl when you were growing up! Do you feel like your musical taste was very influenced by your parents? I feel like there are threads of my parents’ preferences in my taste, like my dad loves The Who and The Beach Boys and we had the soundtrack to American Graffiti playing on the record player constantly. My mom is a big classical/classical adjacent fan and I still listen to that music a lot and grew up doing violin and piano and singing in chorus.

Abbey Road and Rubber Soul i think are my favorite Beatles albums but I also really love A Hard Day’s Night and Help! I definitely have albums that remind me of doing specific things - when one of my friends from growing up got her drivers license we drove around blasting REM and so I always feel like i should go on a drive when i hear them.

I like holiday music a lot and particularly holiday music that’s on the more classical side. Pop holiday music is fun but i don’t really choose to listen to it - do the holiday songs that Simon & Garfunkel did count here? I really love listening to them and their songs Comfort and Joy and Star Carol, and their Silent Night layered over the news clips. My favorite holiday album is probably one called Songs of Joy and Peace by Yo-Yo Ma. He plays the cello with some popular artists like James Taylor and does several versions of Dona Nobis Pacem with the various instrumentalists that are all unique and pretty. I also like listening to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons a lot during the holidays for some reason! I like your holiday movie tradition! I think we watched The Sound of Music a lot at the holidays while growing up? I am not sure if it was just playing or whether my parents picked this!

Thanks for chatting - hope you had a good weekend!

[dumb-bitch-core]

Teacher!! Yuu / Reader

So I was scrolling through youtube when I came across this, and I'm lowkey jealous of whoever is in her class- but that's not the point. Anyways, then I thought: what if the twisted wonderland boys had a teacher like this?

You know, ACTUALLY treats them like humans and cares 😃

I did some research on some good non-binary parental titles, and came across this :

Nobi

- taken from the term '(no)n-(bi)nary' (Pronounced as no-bee not nob-ee!)

so i'll use the term nobi 😼 if anyone has a non-binary japanese parental title, please tell me and i'll edit this!

*.✧ contains : gender-inclusive reader, teacher! reader, platonic relationships, lowercase, not-so-serious writing, slander [ it's jokes i swear ]

i think we can all agree you got the job just because crowley was desperate for staff lol

you : hi, i'm here to-

crowley : hired.

you started the day after that. not that you were complaining. you'd get to know your students first hand instead of looking through files! give me that enthusiasm please and thanks

the students were surprised when getting a new teacher, but they didn't mind. though when they heard you were gonna teach them simple, non-magic, basic subjects, they were kinda surprised. ace was the most disappointed, though.

but they didn't hate you for long because you cool like that 🙄💅✨

ace : * struggling with a question *

you : * walks over *

ace : * gets ready to get scolded for not paying attention *

you : * looking over his shoulder * do you want me to help you with that?

ace : :O

the first years are basically your children at this point. no questions asked. you even almost got papers before but clownley stopped you smh 🤡

out of all of them, though, deuce is your favorite. he always tries to listen tentively to your lessons and tries his hardest. when you found out of his background, you reassured him that it's okay, and that you were proud of him.

but, the students did get a surprise when you didn't give them homework.

* school bell rings *

you : alright everyone! i'll see you soon!

students : * lowkey confused *

student A : [ miss/mister ] [ last name ]?

you : yes?

student A : what about the homework?

some students : >:O

you : i don't give out homework??

students : <:D

the ones who appreciate this the MOST would probably be : riddle, jamil, octotrio, vil, and ruggie.

RIDDLE : he already has a lot going on at the dorm with all his dorm head responsibilites, and he's way more productive than all of us. yeah. i said it. PU-

JAMIL : he has clubs, and he has to watch over kalim.

OCTOTRIO : jade works at mostro lounge, runs around fucking bitches up, and watches over his brother. azul has to watch over mostro lounge, make contracts, and don't get me started on bills as well as dorm head responsibilities. floyd has clubs, then works at mostro lounge, AND fuck bitches over. we stan talented hoes 😩❤️

VIL : he has photoshoots, actor duties, dorm head duties, probably goes to meet-and-greet, and has to deal with rook an epel.

RUGGIE : has to take care of leona because that mf is a PISSBABY. I SAID IT. MF LAZY. LIKE YOU. he also basically runs the dorm, does the chores, and runs around tricking others.

i'll be honest, the students didn't expect the mental health checkups. but they do appreciate it. a lot. they can vent all they want and it'll stay between you and them.

you are literally their parent, teacher, and therapist all at once. ugh stan the reader 😼

[ if female ] riddle needed a new mommy figure anyways LMAO

[ if male ] deuce needs a dad. mf got some daddy issues.

once ace ACTUALLY called you 'mom/dad/nobi' in front of everyone in class and it was SILENT as tears rolled down your cheeks. face ones. not ass.

you were ecstatic. slowly, you answered with a " yea, ace? " in a small, yet joyous voice.

from then on students would sometimes call you 'mom/dad/nobi', some doing it 24/7.

students who'd do this A LOT would probably be : kalim, ortho, silver, rook, and cater[?]

KALIM : he sees you as a parental figure, and he isn't embarrassed. in fact, he thinks it's a compliment. parents are the best if you have a healthy relationship with them, and he thinks you resemble his parents.

ORTHO : i don't think he's really had a parental figure. only a brother figure, which is idia. and seeing how you act so caring and motherly to idia, he'll call you okaasan/otosan! and sometimes, when idia isn't a PUSSY, he'll call you 'mom/dad/nobi', too.

SILVER : he does it because you and lilia act like parents. like lilia, he'll call you something with the words 'old' in them [ only after he's sure you're fine with it. he respects you, after all! ] so don't find it shocking if he calls you " old man/old woman/old lady/old person " even though sebek scolds him.

ROOK : this is rook we're talking about. he has no reason other than the fact that he sees you as a parental figure lol.

CATER : i'm not so sure, but i do feel like he'd call you mom/dad/nobi. maybe not as much as the others, but more than everyone who isn't on this list.

in all, everyone looks forward to your classes, and appreciate how considerate you are of their outside lives <333

[cassicuterat]

Taun - i

another new character !! he is not having a good time !!

tw: hand whump, religious references (lmk if anything else should be added!!)

Even from his position on the floor, Taun glares at Lohan as he pushes himself back up. His jaw aches, the prominent bruising a result of his ignorance of any of the 'rules' Lohan has tried to enforce. He can feel blood running from his nose, but opts not to wipe it away, knowing Lohan would use that moment of unbalance to gain the upper hand.

Lohan could kill him easily, could send the assortment of knives and metal spikes on the walls straight through his body without a second thought. Of course, it would be far too simple to just kill him there and then. Lohan watches him for a moment, warm brown eyes following the steady rise and fall of his chest.

It's almost laughable how quickly he intercepts Taun's attempt at attack, a knife soaring through the air to impale the hand he'd reached out with to grab him.

'Really?' The knife twists in his hand, and for a moment, Taun remembers the paintings that covered the walls of his school, Dali, von Max, DiDonna. Crucifixion was designed to be painful, humiliating, reserved for pirates and enemies of state. For a second, his thoughts wander, and he wonders if Jesus has heard him scream.

Miserere nobis.

He's brought back to the room when the knife in his hand twists sharply, pulling a restrained groan from his throat. It's a warning, a reminder to stay aware. He stays quiet as another knife lifts his chin, Lohan's breath falling on his face as his lips curve into a smirk.

'Ever considered brushing your teeth?' Yet another one of Taun's many quickly-regretted actions, and his voice is cut off by the knife pressing against his throat.

'You'd be better off remembering that only one of us has an extensive collection of weaponry readily available.' Lohan reminds him, spinning one knife absent-mindedly.

'You'd be better off remembering that both of us have working hands.' Lohan tuts quietly, crouching down in front of him, three more knives hovering in the air around his neck.

'That can be easily fixed.' The knife in Taun's palm starts to move towards Lohan, taking his hand with it. 'If you fight it, it's just less work for me.'

Once his hand is positioned in front of Lohan, the knife plunges further in, and a scream rattles through his throat as Taun's hand is pinned to the floor. After the initial agony has passed, Taun forces himself to be still, to breathe through the pain. Lohan's eyes watch his.

'Look down.' Instinctively, Taun obeys, and then immediately wants to kick himself. 'That wasn't so hard, was it?'

His eyes are locked onto his hand, and the blood that spills out from underneath the hilt of the knife.

'You know, this wouldn't have happened if you didn't think about trying to use my weapons against me.' Lohan takes one of Taun's fingers in his slender hand, placing the flat of the knife just before the knuckle, blade pointing away from his skin. He pulls the finger back quickly, unfazed as the bone crunches and Taun hisses through his teeth. 'You're used to broken fingers, aren't you? You look like you did sports at school.' He doesn't let go of the finger, instead moving the knife up slightly to brace the next joint. 'I'm intrigued as to how you'll handle this.' He twists the upper section of Taun's finger, watching him writhe in pain as the joint dislocates. 'I would do the last joint, but there's so little room to work with.'

Taun can't help flinching away when Lohan takes hold of his middle finger, but it does nothing except exacerbate the pain from the knife in his palm.

'We've only done one finger, and you're already pulling away? How are you going to handle the other nine?' He switches the order this time, twisting the base of Taun's finger towards his ring finger, occasionally pulling it out slightly to watch the way he grits his teeth and clenches his jaw.

By the fifth finger, Taun's eyes are firmly shut, and tears spill past his cheeks despite his attempts to hold them back. His screaming has stopped, replaced by erratic, heaving breaths.

Dona nobis pacem.

'You know, I'm getting a little bored.' Lohan states. 'But I do have an idea to speed up this process for your right hand.' The quiet whistle of something coming through the air makes Taun flinch, and he pulls his left hand to his chest as the other is held down.

He doesn't try to look at it, eyes shut tight. The only warning he gets is a slight tap on the knuckle of his right thump, and a second passes before he hears the crunch of bone.

Dona eis requiem.

For a blissful second, he doesn't feel the pain, just a burning heat spreading through his hand as the hammer descends again. Then the pain sets in, and Taun would scream if he still could. He sobs, pulling against Lohan's iron grip in an attempt to protect his hand, and trying not to think of what the bone looks like through his flesh.

When he opens his eyes, his entire hand is bloodied and mangled, Lohan's hammer laying just out of reach. Warm blood runs over his hand, dripping down his wrist, pulsing with his heartbeat.

'There we go,' Lohan says, using a baby wipe to clean the blood from underneath his own nails. 'Much better. Wouldn't you agree?'

'You're sick.' Taun mutters, bringing both his hands to his chest, shielding them from any further damage.

'That's an odd pronunciation of 'Yes, sir'.' The ribbons of metal from the walls curl inwards, slicing into his torso and bringing his arms out, folding into thin spikes that work into his chest, reminding him of the angel from the films the older boys would sneak in, ones that were under no circumstances allowed to even be discussed. 'Want to try that again?'

The familiar crack of leather sounds through the air, and Taun's shoulders tense. The whip cracks against his chest, blood already bubbling to the surface of his skin with the first hit.

He never got used to the burning pain of the whip, never got used to the red welts that would weep and bleed for days, even weeks on disciplinary rations. The whip lands over and over, tearing into the skin of his chest, the metal spikes impaling him further, making him nauseous with pain.

The eighth blow lands across his neck, and he lurches forward, coughing and sobbing with pain, writhing as his breath presses the spikes further into his chest.

'I wonder how long it's been since anyone's seen you like this.' A knife traces along old scars across his back, white lines that have still barely faded after years. 'Shaking, crying, pathetic.'

Pie Jesu Domine, Dona eis requiem.

He shakes quietly, shoulders aching and ribs screaming in pain, blood slowly dripping to the floor. The metal spikes work their way further into his torso as he sobs, and Lohan watches the silent tears roll down his cheeks.

'Are you going to be good now?' The spikes press in slightly, a warning as Taun stays silent. 'Well?'

Taun swallows against the collar buckled around his neck, then nods.

[metalbvcky]

*Shows up late to the Stucky/Marvel fandom Post-EG with Starbucks and dozens of fics that I’ve read in hand* So you guys like fanfiction?

Yeah so, because of quarantine I’ve been consuming a ton of fic. I’ve probably read over 1.5 million words in just a couple months. So why not share what I’ve been reading! Note that some of these are older (popular) fics so veteran Stucky peeps will probably know of them since I not too recently delved into the realm that is Stucky fanfic. :)  

Down below are over a dozen fics with different tropes, Canon/AU’s, and what not. Please do heed the tags on some of these. For the curious: My AO3 bookmarks. 

Also shoutout to @stuckylibrary, the mods over there are doing the lords work. 

Key:  ♥ = My fave, S = Smut, DS = Dom/Sub 

Heroes are Easy, People are Hard ♥ by Halbereth, Lorien - Words: 152,284 | CW Fix It, Slight Canon Divergence, Recovery, Slow Burn

Shuri and Wanda cleared Bucky's triggers shortly after Killmonger's attempted coup, and he and Steve went on the run. But it turns out there's more to "fixing Bucky's head" than "getting Hydra out of it." When a group of rogue scientists manage to neutralize the serum and make Steve very sick--pre-serum "this is bad" kind of sick--and they're cut off from contact with Wakanda, Bucky knows only one person with resources to help. He calls Tony and surrenders on the condition that Tony tries to help Steve.

From there, it's basically three variously messed-up guys’ trajectories from "This Is Fine", "Reasonably Speaking I Know It’s Fine", "I Will Be Fine With It" to actually being fine, guest-starring a far-better-adjusted teenage boy who climbs walls, a 1957 Ford Thunderbird, two women with a keen sense of the absurd, and Bruce, the Zen master of “it’s fine that it’s not fine.” Add in the fact that Bucky's been secretly in love with Steve since the thirties and things only get harder. Learning to be a person is the hardest thing Bucky Barnes will ever have to do--but he's got company along the way.

Reap The Whirlwind by Cristinuke - Words: 18,221 | Canon Universe, Post CW, Domestic 

Bucky finds a cat. Or rather, a cat finds him.

Your Favorite Ghost by augustbird - Words: 21,013 |  Canon Divergence, Post TWS

It's harder than Steve ever expected to bring Bucky home.

Despite the threatening sky and shuddering earth (they remained) ♥ by praximeter (Zimario) - Words: 71,532 | Canon Divergence TWS, Body Modifications 

“They really didn’t want the mask to come off.” Hill thumbed through the scans, and pulled out a film that she then handed over to Sam, face mostly expressionless but for the flat line of her pursed lips.

Sam accepted the film and held it up to the light, angling so both he and Steve could see it, squinting at the outline of the Winter Soldier’s skull, and the blips of unnatural white that showed up, God, in his brain, not to mention about half his teeth, plus the mask, with its thin protrusions—

“Those are pins,” Steve realized. He looked over at Hill. “The mask—it’s nailed to his face.”

Hill’s face was as unmoved as ever. “Like I said. They really didn’t want it coming off.”

This city bleeds its aching heart ♥ by Renne - Words: 34,537 | Canon Universe, Fake/Pretend Relationship 

The one where Steve and Bucky pose as a happily married couple while on a mission for SHIELD, to catch an international arms dealer hiding in a suburban neighbourhood.

The Best Way to Wake ♥ by LeeHan - Words: 42,293 | Post TFA, Canon Divergence TWS, Recovery 

James Buchanan Barnes lay in a glass pod in the middle of the table, frozen since he fell. Steve’s hands were on the glass before he realized he’d moved. “Wait, Captain!” “Get him out,” Steve whispered, his hands searching for a clasp, a keypad, something. “Captain, we need to keep him in stasis—“ “I said get him out!”

Infinite Coffee and Protection Detail ♥ series by owlet - Words: 264,438 | Canon Divergence (sort of) 

The mission resets abruptly, from objective: kill to objective: protect

Undersell, overcommit by silentwalrus - Words: 10,222 | Canon Universe 

Steve goes so hard for Bucky that he becomes a licensed, practicing massage therapist.

Sparked Up Like a Book of Matches by Sena - Words: 26,734 | Post-TWS, Canon Universe 

Steve lives in Stark Tower and doesn't have much to do when he's not going after Hydra strongholds. He attends charity events to make Pepper happy. He goes hiking with Sam. He hangs out with Clint in Bed-Stuy and watches Dog Cops. Sometimes Tony gives him super alcohol in a sippy cup. Sometimes he sees Bucky out of the corner of his eye and wonders if it's real or if he's starting to lose his mind.

Alternately, the one with terrible jokes, a foot chase through the Lower East Side, and a tiny little robot named Shitcan.

Sugar Sweet ♥ from the Red Velvet series by ColorCoated - Words: 173,400 | Modern/Sugar Daddy AU, Age Difference, Slow Burn

"What's your name?" It wasn't even a line. He was just pretty and Bucky wanted a name to go with that face. With that strong jawline. With those deep blue eyes. A little smirk, "Steve."

Awww, Steve. He looked like a Steve. Bucky pursed his lips in a way he hoped was attractive, "You should buy me a drink."

College Student Bucky finds himself immediately attracted to Steve. He knows that Steve's a bit older than him, and that Steve himself is put off by the age difference. . . But that doesn't stop Bucky from wanting to climb him like a tree.

Steve and Bucky Go Away for the Weekend (and cook a lot) ♥ by E_Greer -  Words: 30,126 | Canon Universe, Domestic 

In which Steve coaxes Bucky out of the Tower for a birthday weekend away and sweet, fluffy domesticity ensues. Phlintasha helps keep Bucky calm, Steve has Opinions about how you set the table, stories are told, greenhouses are toured, baths are had, books are read, tears are shed, stars are gazed upon, and everyone makes Bucky feel loved. Includes Friday night dinner, Saturday morning breakfast, Saturday lunch, Saturday dinner, and Sunday brunch.

Dona Nobis Pacem by thegraytigress - Words: 65,214 | Canon Universe, Recovery 

"This job... We try to save as many people as we can. Sometimes it doesn't mean everybody, but if we can't find a way to live with that... Next time maybe nobody gets saved."

An incident on the battlefield exposes how much Steve's falling apart under the crushing weight of leading the Avengers after Sokovia. Now Bucky's adopting a new mission: save Steve before he destroys himself completely, even if it means the end of Captain America.

Give 'Em Hope ♥ by L1av - Words: 130,022 | Modern/Hospital AU, UA/Age Difference 

Dr. Steve Rogers likes to think that if his patients have hope- their chances of survival will increase. Bucky Barnes has a 20% chance of survival and a desperate yearning to experience life. Against Steve's better judgment, he develops a relationship with his patient. It's illegal. It's wrong. But it's giving Bucky the hope to keep going, so Steve's going to keep giving it, because he wants Bucky to survive. He needs him to.

You belong (to me) by hermionesmydawg - Words: 29,759 | S, DS, Canon Compliant, Post CW

"Hold on." Bucky lifted a finger and backed out of the doorway, returning a moment later with his cell phone. He snapped a photo of Steve, typed a few words, and then returned to his apple. "What the hell were you doing at a sex club last night?"

"Not having sex, if that's what you're wondering." An alert sounded from Steve's nightstand - a new Snapchat message. He rolled his eyes and unlocked his phone. Sam was always sending stupid Snapchats and frankly, Steve couldn't figure that goddamn app out and cursed whoever created that piece of shit.

The chat wasn't from Sam this time, however. It was a picture of himself, not looking guilty at all, with the caption "when your buddy catches you looking at p*rn."

Circling Back from the It’s Not Linear series by chaya - Words: 59,642 (Series Total: 136,782) | Canon Divergence

Steve looks for Bucky, Bucky finds Steve, Steve tries desperately to put Bucky back together. Bucky tries desperately to let him.

Continuing Education by 743ish, romanticalgirl - Words: 14,443 | S, Canon Universe/College, Shrunkyclunks 

Steve is invited to be a guest lecturer on the WWII unit for Bucky's college course. Bucky's more than happy to glean any extra knowledge (in more than just history) from Steve, and Steve's happy to eductate him. But then Bucky has to decide if he can handle the fact that Steve throws himself into danger, and if the sex is worth it. Or if it's not just sex anymore.

Salt & Sugar by GoldBlooded, stfustucky - Words: 19,598 | Modern/Restaurant AU

Steve Rogers is a bigshot celebrity chef in New York City, and Bucky Barnes is a classically trained pastry chef in Moscow.

When billionaire and mutual friend Natasha Romanoff calls on them to collaborate for her Memorial Day Benefit Gala, they both brace themselves to spend the week working with some jerk they're bound to hate. Except... Steve makes a burger that could bring Bucky to tears, and Bucky makes tartlets so beautiful Steve's sure they qualify as art. Maybe, just maybe, together they could make this a night to remember.

@/sgtbarnes1917 and @/cptrogers1918 by BayleyWinchester - Words: 114,203 | Canon Universe, Social Media Fic 

Bucky Barnes broke Twitter with one photo

Proprietary Information ♥ from the Additional Information series by notlucy - Words: 85,141 (Series Total: 165,871) | Modern AU, Age difference, Slow Burn

Okay, so Bucky Barnes has a crush on Steve Rogers. The guy's gorgeous, talented and, oh yeah, the Chief Design Officer of the biggest tech company in the world. In other words: he's so far out of Bucky's league that he might as well be in a different stratosphere.

Deep in the Woods (Where My Heart Has Been Waiting) by SilverMyfanwy - Words: 15,353 | Pioneer-AU, Shrinkyclinks 

Steve Rogers gets lost in the woods in a snowstorm. Bucky Barnes takes him in. Pioneer-era AU ish with Shrinkyclinks, evil chickens and a cabin in the woods.

A Bucky Odyssey by inediblesushi, thorstbench - Words: 9,952 | Shrinkyclinks,  Cap!Bucky, Nurse!Steve  

Bucky Barnes, Captain America, has a plan to make Steve Rogers, SHIELD nurse, fall in love with him. Confiding in the Internet might not be the best idea, though. So when the bad pick up lines do not work and Steve looks determined to staying single, he decides to be more himself and less what he thinks he should be.

At first I wanted to wait to post this until I finished a few more fics from my ever growing read-later list but what the heck, now or never! I’ll probably end up making a part 2 reclist by the amount of fic I’m reading these days. 

Happy reading and stay safe out there fellow Stucky trash members!!

[thoushaltnottpass]

War Takes Away Our Humanity

Teaser for Ch1 (basically a trailer.)

Excuse them if they had been a bit surprised at first. One and a half years of quiet had felt too good to be true, but after a few months of being tense and paranoid, people had begun to yearn for tranquility, slowly letting their guard down. Ol' Voldy and his merry band of Death Eaters had all disappeared underground after Harry had challenged their leader to a duel of skill, announcing that Riddle's Horcruxes had been all but demolished, so wizardkind had taken the opportunity to try and regain a semblance of the normality they had had before the war had started.

...

In just a month, Riddle had created utter chaos. His Death Eaters massacred muggleborn families left and right. They burned down the new St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, the Albus Dumbledore Home for War Orphans, and the Severus Snape Trauma Center all in one. They overtook the Ministry of Magic once more. Minister Shacklebolt was ruthlessly murdered, as was every Ministry official who stood with him. They were able to destroy the wards around almost half of Wizarding Britain's homes. Hell, the only wards they couldn't take down were ones equal to the ancient family homes, such as Longbottom Hall, Hogwarts, Malfoy Manor, or Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.

...

George had broken. He had fallen to his knees in anguish, his tears and promises of revenge never-ending. A day later he had been discovered in his flat's bathroom, blood oozing out of his slit wrists, a moving photograph of him, Angelina, Fred, and some of their other friends at the Yule Ball of 1994 in his hands.

...

In another seven months, over a third of Britain had been demolished. The words You-Know-Who and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were gone from everyone's vocabulary; everyone knew very well who. As well as The Dark Lord, fearful whispers on the streets referred to Riddle as the 'Cold One'. There were Death Eater revels almost every week, stated either in Diagon Alley, or various Muggle towns and cities.

...

Despite all of it, Voldemort had not appeared, not once. No-one, wizard or Muggle, had seen him in the flesh and lived to tell the tale. His inner circle members handled most of the revels, raids, and general killings, while he relished in the safety of his hideouts, torturing and/or killing wizards and the occasional muggle. What a way to live.

...

"No, Draco, just keep looking. There's at least another half of this library that we haven't seen. It's all Dark, we're bound to find something."

"Hermione, Harry, please. Just hear me-"

"No, Draco. There has to be another way."

...

"They found Ted Tonks. They're moving in on him, but it'll take them a minute to get through his wards. That's all the time you get before they kill him. Approximately seventy of them. He is there. They expect you to fight, bring as many as possible. High Street, Marlborough. Go, quickly." (A.N: That's a real place. I searched it up- it's in England)

...

Andromeda was the first to fall. She had broken when she had seen the house her husband had resided- and died in, apparently, as the house was now just a pile of ashes surrounded by a lovely fence. Her attention -and shield- wavered just for a second, but that was all that her opponents had needed to take her down. A quick flash of green light, and she had crumpled to the ground, an agonised expression forever on her face. After her, it had been Neville. The brave, yet foolish, man had been battling five Death Eaters by himself -and winning, it seemed- when someone had shot an emerald green jet of light to his back. Seeing him fall had been tragic for all around him, especially Augusta, who had sunk to the ground in despair, clutching her daughter-in-law. Those had been a sad few moments- before Augusta and Hannah had, too, sadly met their ends. Molly Weasley had launched herself into a duel with Bellatrix, and she fought like a vicious lioness. Even lionesses died, however, and that was what had happened to Molly. Percy and Bill, who were briefly distracted from their own duels when her body had tumbled to the floor, had all joined her in the afterlife after being hit by some very Dark curses. Percy had killed Dolohov and jumped in for his mother, grieving but level-headed, though he was no match for the serpent that was Bellatrix. Soon, the only remaining Weasley was Ron, not that he had had much time to register it, as he was battling three very dangerous Dark wix.

...

"My dear Death Eaters, would you look at this," Voldemort drawled in his snake's hiss, drawing out the 's' at the end. "The only members of the Light we have not yet defeated."

...

"Ronald Weasley," Ron looked repulsed at hearing the bald snake say his name. "You could have been great, my dear boy. You could have brought the Prewetts and Weasleys back to their former glory, but you chose not to. You are a disgrace to the pureblood name.”

If anything, Ron looked proud at that.

"Draco Malfoy," he announced, his eyes straying to the blond man. "You are a traitor to our cause, Draco. You didn't think I knew about that measly code, that spelled parchment, those private little Charms lessons? Your mother died as soon as I made her send that Patronus, boy. Your father must be rolling in his grave. Filthy blood-traitor," Draco's mask flickered for a second at the news of his mother's death, but he determinedly put it back into place, strengthening his shields.

The Death Eaters gleefully snickered at the mention of the deceased woman. Bellatrix outright cackled madly. A look from her beloved Lord quietened her immediately.

"Hermione Granger," Hermione looked ready to spit in his face and stomp on his non-nose. "You are the brightest witch of your age. A Mudblood, yes, but bright nonetheless. I would gladly excuse your unfortunate heritage. Join me, my dear, and bask in the praise and glory Lord Voldemort will give you. Join me, and be rewarded greatly," he purred. "Hermione."

"Rot in hell, Riddle," Hermione spat, seeming beyond revolted.

"Very well. And Harry Potter," Riddle sneered. "The Chosen One. The Boy-Who-Lived. The Saviour of the World. Where have you been as the world needed you, Mr Potter? You once took everything from me, Harry. And now," Voldemort smiled a sickening smile, and Hermione's shield faltered. "I shall take all from you." He raised his wand, and a jet of green light rushed toward Harry's best and only female friend.

Hermione didn't panic. Her life didn't flash before her eyes. She just felt numb. She dropped her arm and closed her eyes, ready to meet her fate. But apparently, fate had other ideas. Because she didn't see the black abyss she had thought would absorb her, she didn't feel the spell she thought would hit her, and she didn't die. No, instead, she heard a shout of her name, and as she opened her eyes, she saw a mop of bright, orange hair, followed by a thump on the ground in front of her.

"No!" she cried in sorrow.

...

Ron... Ginny... Molly... Andy...

...

“We have no other choice.”

“Draco-”

“No, Hermione, please listen to me,” Draco pleaded. “If we had another option, I would gladly choose it, but there isn’t another option. Please know that I would never ask you to do this unless it was the only way. But, don’t you see? This isn’t Dark magic, because I’m willing.”

...

“O cara mors vetus noster animos habere pudicos, et nostri bonis magicae. Rogamus te ut nos back: reversusque est in tempore. Obsecro mi mors sanguis nostras quaesumus ut nos salvos et mundo. Mortem, et dabo te in sanguinem et vitam draco malfoy, et in reditu ad nos a vobis et nobis bonum passagium praeterita, ita non potest prohibere mala et beatitudo omnibus!”

...

Tears streaming down their cheeks, they both thrust their knives into his gut. Draco cried out at the unimaginable pain. He slumped to the floor, writhing in agony.

They repeated the words once more as he bled out in front of them.

...

Hermione turned to Harry, and saw that his face was also twisted in pain, as though he could feel what Draco was feeling.

“We're monsters.” she said numbly. “We killed someone pure.”

“This is what war does, Mione,” he muttered numbly. “It takes everything from you until the only thing you have left is your humanity. Then it takes that, too.”

Draco gave one last twitch, one last whimper, before he became still, his pain still on his face. At that very moment, Hermione and Harry stumbled feeling a pull in their stomachs not unlike what one felt mid-Apparition. The wind around them spun quickly in a circle, and the two friends let go of each other's hands.

...

That had been her last thought before she had stopped flying and landed on her two feet; the world went dark, and she slumped to the shining floor of the abyss. And for the first time in a long time, Hermione Granger rested, no bad dreams or dark memories plaguing her. Little did she know, she would have quite the same fright when she woke up.

[allycryz]

WOL Challenge #4: Outrage

[Prompt List Here]

[Filled Prompt List Here]

Haurchefant-focused so not entering/tagging, spoilers for HW and start of ShB

Pairings:  Mild Estinien x Haurchefant, Background Haurchefant x Nerys and Haurchefant x Urianger

Rating: G

Summary: Snapshots in Haurchefant’s journey from Knight to Emissary 

Mild warnings for other knights taunting him over his parentage

"Next time, I shall fetch our drinks." Haurchefant says, watching Aymeric's slow progress across the floor. Each time he is about to break free and return to their table, someone else hails him. And he cannot help but exchange pleasantries. Darling, infuriating man.

"You are as bad as he," Estinien mutters. "Worse even, because you might abandon us for a pretty smile."

"I would never abandon my friends so!" Haurchefant wears mock indignation to cover his actual indignation. He would never be so rude.

He would at least deliver the drinks before being led away by the pretty smile. 

"Politicians both of you," Estinien says. "I do not understand how you know all these people."

"Me? Perish the thought." Haurchefant waves a hand. "I am simply interested in everyone. That is different."

"Hm." Estinien continues to glower. Irritated that of the two friends he has allowed himself to make, one has abandoned them. Haurchefant has tried to remedy that but Estinien is resistant to more connections. Stubborn, darling man.

"Really," he continues. "Give me a blade and shield over politicking. Besides, they are subject to all sorts of scrutiny and I have had enough of that, thank you."

"Fair. You would not like being so circumspect."

"One of these days..." Haurchefant grins. "You are going to learn how not to insult people so often."

"What? How was that an insult?"

"I’m not offended so never you mind. Is the scrutiny why you haven't seduced Aymeric yet?"

At that, the tips of Estinien's ears turn red. "Never you mind that. It is as likely as you becoming a politician."

"On that you are utterly wrong." Haurchefant shakes his head. "He will end up in your bed by year's end but I will always be a knight."

--

The day he becomes a true knight is the day he swears himself to Ishgard, before Blessed Halone, before the other knights and nobility and his family. To serve his country and The Fury for the rest of his life. To uphold the laws of Ishgard. To protect the weak and defenseless. To serve the Fury’s chosen including the Archbishop and the servants of her church.

For all that they are men now, for all that they all took the same vows, for all that they squired and trained and rose up together; the knights of noble birth treat him as they always have.

“Edmont Oathbreaker,” says one of the Dzemael lordlings. He speaks to three other knights but pitches his voice to be heard across the barracks. “Swore to forsake all others when he took his lady. That lasted until they hired a maid prettier than the Countess.”

Haurchefant continues polishing his armor, keeping the same bland smile upon his face. If he reacts, they will narrow in like wolves scenting blood. And not since he was a boy has he responded to these taunts with fists.

It was this one’s cousin. He thinks, glancing at the lordling with his placid expression. Haurchefant had bloodied Grinnaux’s nose and his father had made him swear never to react so again. But one small victory–Grinnaux treated him with a begrudging respect thereafter.

“Someone should cut his tongue out,” Estinien growls. “And my new dagger needs testing.”

“Peace,” says Haurchefant. “Believe me, I have heard far, far worse.”

“That does not make it right.” And he rises with clear intent in his gaze. Haurchefant clasps his wrist, shaking his head.

“My friend, I am glad to have your loyalty. Will you do me the favor of standing down?”

Estinien looks at him a long moment before sitting down. “Bah! Only nobies care which side of the bed you were born on.”

Darling, fierce man. “I am, despite everything, a noble as well.”

“I don’t hold it against you.” Estinien says in the deadpan way he favors for jokes. And before Haurchefant can laugh, he adds. “You’re twice the knight he is.”

Haurchefant swallows the sudden burst of emotion that forms in his throat. His friend is not given to flattery or platitudes. “That...means more to me than you’ll ever know.”

Estinien grunts and returns to his own armor. This time, Haurchefant’s smile is true and genuine. He will do his best to be worthy of such praise. 

--

Artoirel flicks him an acknowledging glance before returning to his papers, writing something in his perfect hand. Of the three sons, he is the only one who takes after their father in neat penmanship. 

Standing at attention is still a trial. Who knew the body was so interconnected–that the acts of walking and standing could hurt while your shoulder healed? He has been through far worse pain and manages but...would that he could stand without discomfort.

“Emmanellain acquit himself well at the Melee.” Artoirel says at last, looking up. “Please, have a seat.”

Haurchefant nods and tries not to show his relief as he sits. “He did. I’m quite proud of him.”

“So am I.” A rare, soft expression crosses Artoirel’s face. Haurchefant often misses the cheerful, mischievous older brother who collected beetles and smuggled him toys. It is nice to see him again. “And...I had a notion. But I would like your approval first.”

“My approval? Would you like him to serve under my command then?” If he even can command any time in the next few months. Ser Zephirin’s lance was no common weapon, thus the healing takes an uncommon amount of time.

“Ah.” Artoirel sits up straighter. “That is the thing. It hasn’t escaped my notice that you would like to join up with Mistre-with Nerys. And it occurs to me...Emmanellain needs purpose, needs structure.”

He connects the lines and it is at once terrifying, exciting, infuriating, and thrilling. What can he even say to such a proposal? Words fail him.

“Of course, we would have a long talk with Corentiaux about it. I’ve no doubt he would be the true leader until Emmanellain caught up to speed. And there is the matter of your vows.”

“My vows?” Haurchefant repeats. “...you’re right. I swore myself to Ishgard and The Fury. No, as much as I desire to fight at her side, I cannot break my word to join the Scions. Especially not now.”

Haurchefant is all too aware of the fraught threads connecting everyone and everything. He has to navigate them as Commander, as a noble, as one of the famous bastards of Ishgard. And now–as he watches his country rebuild itself–the networks of Ishgardian alliances and feuds resemble powder kegs more than anything.  

Looking up, he continues. “I cannot ask to be released from my vows. Not when Aymeric has just been elected Speaker. We know I support him but we also know some might twist it around. ‘Look, even Greystone thinks the new Ishgard will fail. No wonder he is leaving.’”

“I know. That’s why I have an idea.”

“...Go on.”

Out comes an official document, marked with Artoirel’s own signet ring. Haurchefant reads it over once. Frowns and reads it again. This is...wholly unexpected. 

“Is this a promotion or a demotion?” 

“Call it a promotion.”

A promotion. From Lord Commander to House Fortemps Emissary to the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. Charged with protecting the interests of the Wards of House Fortemps; overseeing all negotiations between the Scions of the Seventh Dawn and House Fortemps; strengthening inter-Alliance relationships between Ishgard and the rest of Eorzea.

“Oh Fury,” he says. “You’re turning me into a politician.”

When Estinien comes back, he will never let Haurchefant live this down.

--

The Ostall Imperative feels like home. 

 The soldiers take to him and he to them. Captain Lyna is a charming, lovely woman and an excellent training partner. It is far more rewarding than stewing at the Crystarium. Hoping the Exarch brings Nerys soon but also hoping he does not. Would that he had a fraction of her power. Haurchefant might deal with these Lightwardens in her stead.

The Exarch summons him to The Ocular and he dares not hope for...anything, truly. Better to go in with no expectations with this one. He thinks Y’shtola had the right idea, departing as she did.

He is being unkind. He does not like being unkind. 

But he also does not like the idea of these souls in peril–Y’shtola, Thancred, his beloved Urianger–and that he may not see Nerys again. Or that he will, only to send her against horrific creatures of light and terror. And what of her soul? 

When he sees that it’s Alphinaud, he is beyond unkind. He is furious. 

Everything else was bad enough but this is a boy, his family’s ward. One who has wisdom beyond his years and responsibilities equal to those twice his age but still. Alphinaud is just a lad. What if something happens to his soul?

His body may still be in Garlemald!

Haurchefant hugs him fiercely, startling him. Alphinaud makes a faintly strangled noise before returning the embrace. More tightly than he ever has before. Little wonder: when last they saw each other, their ship went down and Haurchefant’s soul left his body.

“You’re...you’re here? But you were…” Alphinaud shakes his head. “Maxima was supposed to bring you home.”

“He did.” He does have the Exarch to thank, for confirming his body made it back to the Rising Stones. “I am in Mor Dhona. And my soul is...here.”

“Of course. My apologies, I am still wrapping my brain about what has happened.”

“If I may interrupt,” the Exarch says. “There are a few things else you should know before we send you to a room and a meal.”

“Before that…” Haurchefant looks up. “Kindly use your powers of sight and tell us how his body fares.”

“It’s alright, friend.” It’s Alphinaud who speaks. Puts a comforting hand on his arm. “The Exarch assures me that my traveling companions are returning my body.”

“Your companions,” he repeats. “Gaius van Baelsar, you mean.”

“You know?”

“The Exarch has kept me informed since my arrival here.” It is one of the constants since his arrival a year prior–asking for updates about his friends and loves still on The Source.

“Yes, I mean Gaius. It’s alright.” Alphinaud walks over to the Exarch. “Pray, continue ser. What else should I know?”

The boy receives the same explanation they all had: what is to come, what they are planning for, where the other Scions are. Haurchefant remains quiet except to add clarifying details here and there. It is far too much for anyone to process but as usual, Alphinaud does admirably. When he is dismissed, the Exarch asks Haurchefant to stay behind.

“How may I be of service?” Haurchefant asks, not quite modulating his tone. Urianger has asked him to trust the Exarch and for him, Haurchefant would do anything. He truly would. But he pictures Alphinaud, collapsed in Garlemald among strangers, and wants to fight through time and space to reach the Source and rescue him. Laws of nature and the universe be damned.

“As I said,” the Exarch says, voice gentle. “Gaius will bring him home.”

“Keep me apprised, if you please. I do not trust the Black Wolf, no matter that he is Ascian Hunter now.” Bending his vows to topple the archbishop had not made Haurchefant love Ishgard any less. Gaius’ alliance is to the Garlean Empire until proven otherwise.

“I have need of you, Lord Haurchefant.” The Exarch inclines his head, one hand over his breast. “You have done great things with my guard. But what I need is to know what type of world we send the Warrior into. We need alliances to ease her way.”

“...Ah.” Haurchefant nods. “You do not need the Knight. You need the Emissary.”

“I need both. You are an honest man because you are a knight. And that is also why you are an excellent emissary–you see people as they are, you discern their motives in order to know if you need to protect your loved ones.”

“You flatter me, ser.”

“I tell the truth,” says the Exarch. “Please, I know this situation is fraught and you want to get home. The more we prepare, the quicker I send you all home safe and sound. She deserves-”

“She deserves everything,” says Haurchefant. “And I would do anything to help her and protect her. If that means playing this role, then yes I will do this for you.”

Beneath the hood, he sees a hint of a smile. “We are in agreement, Lord Haurchefant.”

“If I may...I would like to see to Alphinaud. Shall we discuss this another time?”

“Of course. Tomorrow morning?”

“Tomorrow morning,” Haurchefant agrees. Enough time to see to the boy. And then make his farewells to Lyna and the rest of the guard.  Being with them is the most himself he has felt in a long while.

He hopes he can return soon.

[msiopao]

The One Where Yeontan Doesn’t Understand Anything

pairing: tae x nobi

summary: yeontan doesnt know korean so he just barks when he sees his mom and dad being happy

squeals and laughter echoed throughout the entire dorm as yeontan came over for a visit and he pounced on nobi, licking her at every chance. he yipped happily and let out cute little whines whenever she turned her gaze away from him, angry that mom wasn’t paying attention to him. he was dressed in a hoodie she got him a few days ago and his baby ears were safely tucked inside the hood that was over his head.

“aigoo, tannie, you’re so cute,” she cooed. “My little darling.”

tae leaned against the wall by the kitchen as he watched her cradle their puppy in her arms. she sat on the floor and leaned against the couch, petting the calming boy down since his energy was slowly running out with her rubs behind his ears. yeontan had his head laid on her chest, unmoving and eyes fluttering open and close. he saw his dad and his eyes fully opened, barking at his direction.

this got her attention as she turned her head away from the tv and met tae’s gaze. her eyes crinkled when she smiled. “hey, tae.”

he approached the two and sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her. “hello, bunny.”

yeontan whined softly and raised his head when he felt his mom shift but contently placed it back down when she just moved closer to tae’s chest.

“has he been calm?” he asked, rubbing the paw yeontan had hanging out.

she nodded. “my darling is so well-behaved, aren’t you?” her baby voice made tae’s uwu meter combust inside. she continued cooing at the puppy, constantly remarking how much she loved him and how cute he was.

“y-yah, kura. what about me?” he whined at the lack of affection he was supposed to be getting.

nobi giggled before looking up at at him, giving his jaw a peck. “you’re adorable too, tae.”

although this wasn’t the first time she’s given him affections like these, he still couldn’t get used to it. the tips of his ears burned red and he suddenly felt suffocated.

“a-ah,” he stuttered. “not as you, though.” he awkwardly replied before kissing her forehead.

the 3 sat there in silence, the low volume of the show not really catching their attention. with nobi petting tannie and tae gently massaging her waist, it was a comfortable atmosphere that they gladly occupied. but a growl from her stomach caused it to be broken.

an embarrassed look overtook her face and tae chuckled at her reaction. yeontan seemed startled by the sudden loud noise because he quickly sat up, eyes looking everywhere.

“it’s okay, tannie. ma is just hungry,” she reassured. even though the dog didn’t know korean, it doesn’t stop her from talking to him anyways.

“after that,,,, fiasco,,,, i think we’d have to order delivery,” tae suggested. a harsh sigh escaped from her as she was reminded by that terrible memory.

“yah, don’t bring that up again, please. it took me so long for jin-hyung to finally let me use the microwave without blowing it up.”

tae got up to make a phone call for the delivery so nobi and yeontan were left on the floor. he seemed to wake up fully and she was playing around with him, tickling him and giving him kisses everywhere. He was happy with the amount of attention he was getting and he jumped on her stomach when she laid on her back. excited yips and licks to her chin was enough to put a smile on her face and forget about everything in the world.

she wrapped her arms around the little boy and sat up, letting him nuzzle his furry face into her neck. as tae hung up, he went back to the living room and saw two of the most important people in his life. 

he sat down behind her and rested his chin on the shoulder opposite of where yeontan was at and he wrapped his arms around her waist, right hand running through yeontan’s fur. nobi hummed and leaned back so she leaned against his chest and yeontan gave her a lazy lick before nuzzling back.

“he’s growing up so fast, tae.”

he could hear the sadness in her tone and he agreed, feeling like it was just yesterday he went and got her their baby. nearly 3 years has passed and he still cannot believe how much he’s changed.

“he brought me out of that hole. when i thought everything went dark, he was that sliver of light between the clouds. my baby,” she whispered.

the main reason he got her yeontan was because she hit rock bottom and with the tour, she had no chance or time to let it all out. once they got back home, tae made sure he got everything ready and he walked into her bedroom, holding the puppy and seeing her shock and surprised reaction.

tears from the overwhelming feeling from tour.

but also tears from the happiness of having Yeontan.

“the food should be here in 15 minutes. what do you want to do for now?” he asked.

“well, it’s been a while since we’ve given him a bath ourselves.”

tae smiled at her soft grin. “i dont know if my mom gave him a bath already but we can do it.”

“i can go set everything up,” she offered before standing up and handing the squirming puppy back to tae.

he raised a paw and moved it up and down as a wave. “say bye bye to mami, tannie. say bye bye!”

she turned around by the hallway with her hands on her hips and tried to look serious but a smile broke through. “yah, don’t make it sound like i’m leaving forever.”

yeontan barked and he struggled to get out of tae’s hold to run to her but tae held on tighter and nuzzled his face into the soft fur. “she’ll be back, tannie.”

nobi went to the closet next to the bathroom and grabbed a small towel and the robe that was specifically for yeontan. next, she went to her room to get him a new set of clothes. it was a black and white hawaiian shirt that she picked up a few weeks ago when she went shopping with jungkook.

she rummaged through the cabinet under the sink for his shampoo before finding the familiar pink bottle and shouting for tae to bring the puppy in.

“coming!” he yelled back.

taehyung pushed the slightly open door so that him and yeontan could get through. nobi’s face lit up when she saw her baby and she took him from tae’s arms so that he could close the door. yeontan licked her hand as she tried to pet him behind the ears and he nudged his nose to hers.

“come here, tannie.”

together, they bathed the dog and it was filled with bubbles being thrown everywhere and water being sprayed to each other. yeontan kept wiggling to get the water off of him and caused his parents to get soaked with the excess water.

“yah! yeontan! stay still!” she shrieked with a laugh that echoed throughout the bathroom.

the boy barked in defiance before continuing to wiggle and walk around. nobi exasperatedly tried to follow him so she can wash the soap off of his fur but yeontan wanted to prolong bath time.

“tannie, let’s finish so you can be warm again, hm?” tae asked and caused yeontan to stop and sit still.

nobi’s eyes widened and an outraged and betrayed expression crossed her face. “yah, that’s not fair! you like papa more than me!”

tae laughed, “no. he likes mami because she buys him more clothes.”

damn right, she does. and when yeontan finally allowed her to wash him, he excitedly moved his hands and feet excitedly as she held him up in the air for tae to dry him off with the towel. the cute, white robe for dogs hugged him perfectly and nobi squealed at him. she got her phone from the sink and took a few pictures.

“wah, yeontan you’re so cute! my baby!” she cooed and yeontan happily barked at the sweet tone his mom was giving him. even though he doesn’t actually understand what she was saying, just her giving him attention was enough to make him happy.

in the middle of drying, the doorbell rang and tae got up to go get it since it was probably the food. once he was dry enough, she got yeontan to wear his clean shirt.

“okay, baby. through this arm and next, through this arm.” she guided his paws through the arm holes and when he was dressed, he bounded out of the bathroom and into the living room where tae was setting up the food.

he saw yeontan and picked him up to place him on his lap, waiting for you to change your clothes and come sit across him. there was fried chicken, jajjangmyeon, and cheese balls.

“wah, this looks really good,” she drooled as she snapped the chopsticks to mix the noodles.

tae took some meat of the chicken before feeding it to yeontan, who happily munched on it. nobi gave him a napkin to held wipe the crumbs off of yeontan’s fur and the puppy froze, allowing his dad to wipe him.

seeing the interaction, nobi placed her chopsticks down and bit her lip, hesitant to bring it up. but she has been thinking about it for a while and it’s something she wants to hear his opinion on.

“tae,” she called and he looked up to meet her eyes. “should we.... should we have another one?”

tae cocked his head slightly to the side, confusion evident on his face. “what are you talking about?”

she cleared her throat, “another baby. yeontan’s growing up really fast and he’s turning 3 soon. i just thought that with another one, he wouldn’t be so lonely and he would like it if he has someone with him.”

there was a fat silence and nobi nervously fiddled with her fingers, not exactly sure what she was so anxious about. she just wanted another puppy.

tae chuckled after a minute of thinking. “gosh, bunny. you make it sound like you want a child.”

surprised, she met his eyes before she too, laughed at the way her request sounded. “it did, didn’t it?”

“but, if you want, we could. we’re not that busy right now so it might be a good time to get another one. i can make a few phone calls and see if we can get one.”

she let out a happy shout and resisted the urge to reach over the table and hug the life out of tae. yeontan didn’t know what was going on but he saw the smiles his mom and dad had so he just barked loudly, showing his own happiness.

“you want a sibling, tannie? you want a baby brother? or sister?” nobi excitedly asked and yeontan let out squeaks randomly.

“don’t get too excited, nobi. with this whole thing going on, it might take a while to get a hold of some breeders,” tae warned but she just smiled at him.

“doesn’t matter. i’m just happy that we get to add another member to our family.”

a/n: im having puppy fever

[rachelanne2018writes]

Slowly Falling Down- The Sun Also Rises

Summary:  “The end of a melody is not its goal: but nonetheless, had the melody not reached its end it would not have reached its goal either. A parable.”

-  Friedrich Nietzsche

For the next several hours, Patrick and Sister Julienne could only sit next to Shelagh, talking to her, praying for her, and singing songs that might bring her comfort if she was on the road towards her heavenly father. When they could simply sing no more, they turned to prayer and silence, fitting for a woman who began her time in Poplar observing hours of silence every day.

Then, like a shooting star across the night sky, Shelagh awoke for more than just a moment. Years later, Shelagh would recall the moment as though it felt like the fog had lifted, and she was in control of her body again.

“Patrick?” Shelagh whispered weakly.

“I’m here, Shelagh. Sister Julienne is here as well. How are you feeling?”

“Okay.”

With glances to speak between them, Patrick and Sister Julienne made a decision they would not regret. They decided that they would spend time with Shelagh before they alerted Doctor Evans. The trio spent the better part of the afternoon enjoying each other’s company and filling Shelagh in on the events during her slumber. Once Shelagh was sufficiently filled in, it was time to allow Doctor Evans to examine her. 

“Ah, Mrs. Turner. Glad to see you’ve returned to us. Now, I think it’s best if both of you would excuse yourselves from the room while I complete an examination on Mrs. Turner here.”

Luckily for Shelagh, Patrick, and Sister Julienne still could sense her non-verbal cues without evidence.

“I beg to differ, Doctor Evans, Shelagh has only just woken up. I’m sure she’d feel more comfortable if the two people she knows and trusts the most were with her.”

“Very well, then. I simply ask that if you are unwilling to leave the room, then you step away from the side of the bed.”

It was that moment when Patrick Turner’s faith and composure ran out. 

“Get out of my surgery. Now. Do not return.” Patrick Turner yelled suddenly at the top of his lungs.

“I apologize, Doctor Turner, but I am the one in trust to care for your wife.”

“Out. Now.” Patrick yelled again, louder.

“You’d best be off Doctor Evans, Shelagh and Doctor Turner are the people who are in trust of this surgery, and who are responsible for its reputation. Be off with you.” Sister Julienne finally spoke up.

It was several hours before Shelagh, who had been upset by Doctor Evans’s commotion, was calm again, and everyone was sure that he was gone.

“Shelagh, I don’t want to upset you, but I should examine you to make sure that you’re alright.”

“Please don’t make Sister Julienne leave.” Shelagh whimpered

“I wouldn’t dream of it Shelagh, you need her just as much, if not more than me right now. Would you like her to hold your hand?”

��Yes.” The look Shelagh gave him at that moment was one of pure love and gratitude. 

It was by no means a full physical exam, but rather a combination of vitals and checking eyes, ears, and the throat. It was enough to trust that Shelagh was okay and not overstep her unspoken boundaries at that moment. Once done, both Patrick and Sister Julienne could hear Shelagh’s silent plea for them to hold and comfort her. After a few hours, Sister Julienne excused herself back to Nonnatus to tell Timothy and Angela that Shelagh was awake, giving Patrick and Shelagh a chance to talk privately.

“How are you feeling, Shelagh?”

“Oh, Patrick, I’ve never felt better.”

“Shelagh, I know you’re scared. We’re here for you.”

“I’m scared that I am going to get worse, Patrick. I’m scared that I’m not better.”

“Shelagh, having this conversation is one step towards healing. Shelagh, are you afraid that you aren’t a good mother because of your depression.”

“Yes,” The only meek whisper Shelagh could muster.

The rest of the night was spent comforting Shelagh and helping her understand that depression made her no less of a mother, nurse, secretary, and friend. Even seeing Timothy and Angela the next morning did not seem to help. It appeared as though even Sister Julienne was struggling to get to Shelagh.

“Shelagh,” Patrick probed one day as he took her hand.

‘Yes, Patrick”

“How would you feel about going home to Timothy and Angela.”

“Oh, Patrick, do you think I’m well enough?”

“Shelagh, I think having you home will help you heal more than spending your days in this room and rarely seeing a soul, aside from Sister Julienne and I. Shelagh, you need time and a safe place to heal. It won’t be instant or ever complete, but rather an ongoing process. Somedays will feel better than others. It might also help to have Angela and Timothy when you need someone to make you laugh or help you with overwhelming tasks.”

“Okay,” Shelagh agreed after quite a while. However, she didn’t want Timothy and Angela to struggle with her problems, the prospect of having purpose glimmered above everything.

The first week was rough, but Trixie and Sister Julienne’s visits seemed to help, especially when Shelagh could catch a rest on the Settee. Then it was like something turned on a dime. Shelagh was becoming gradually more anxious to stay home with Timothy and Angela without another adult present. It wasn’t helping that she did not sleep that well at night either. The final straw was coming home to Shelagh sobbing on the floor of the kitchen, whispering something about being a “failure of a housewife” through her tears. 

Through the grapevine, news of Northfield’s new Family Residential Program made it’s way to Patrick. It seemed like the answer to helping Shelagh. The program structure made it so that Timothy would continue his studies while he and Angela remained with Shelagh. It also allowed Sister Julienne to come as a companion, allowing Patrick to continue working and visit on his off days. Although it was unusual when Shelagh didn’t have a protest to going away, it confirmed to Patrick that she needed time outside of Poplar to grieve and heal. 

After six months away, Shelagh returned to the flat part-time under the observation of Sister Julienne and her team at Northfield. A further six months of the part-time arrangement passed before a two-week trial of full-time home living occurred, ending with Shelagh returning to Poplar permanently, under the care of her new team at Harley Street.

In the years following, Shelagh appeared to return to her “old self.” Yet, Patrick, Shelagh, and Sister Julienne could attest that bad days still came up, albeit less severe than before treatment. Even during her pregnancy, when Shelagh’s team insisted on watching her like hawks, she remained stable. 

When the choir began ‘O Nata Lux’ that year, Shelagh felt the song’s truth in her heart. Looking among the faces in the pew with her, Shelagh felt a weight lift off her chest. As tears of joy and gratitude slipped down her face, she pressed a kiss on her smallest boy’s head. 

Domine, dona nobis pacem. 

Finis.

[nad-zeta]

Match up 😉

I am the bubbly cuddly kind of girl in the group who has a really good sense of humor and try to show sass tho filled with adorableness (YEA IM ADORABLE WAT WILL U DO BOUT IT)-w- your partner in crime. riding horse? FULL SPEEDDD pulling pranks? Ayee lemme in fam. sing a song?? MAMAAAAA OHOHOHHoHoH~~~~ everyones perverted straightforward darling, got a problem u cant solve? no sweetened words babe I will throw the facts o yo face I AM KAWAII thats wat everyone says tho #youdontgettojudgeme my teachers says I will be successful in life due to my out of the box thinking, leadership skills and academic performance YOAAAIIIIIII MO DAO ZU SHI BUNNNIIIIIESSSSSSSSSSSS(give me nobu not kenshin plz) HUUUUUGGGGSSSSS CUDDLESSSSSSS ANIME BOYS?? *SHHHHRRRIIIEEEEEKKKKK SO PERVERT EVEN SATAN BE BLESSING ME(welp mah parents are concerned) so single even my lips are virgin turns to glance at boys ass grabs my besties boobs quotes vines(LoOK At ThiS GrAPh~~~~~~~) overconfident, narcissistic , intelligent[?] (at least I’m a top student) but also insecured the student who reads for a week before exam and mange to get 90% marks thehehe LETS DO THE FORK IN THE GARBAGE DISPOSAL DINGDINGDINGDINH emails my English teacher ‘u’ instead of you still remain her prized student

Hi there, love! Thank you so much for the request 😃<3 I hope you are safe and well! ^0^ I hope you enjoy it, dear ^_^.  Your match just came to me, as if it were written in this very title hehe. ❤❤🔥

So obviously match you with…………… Nobunaga lol

OOOOh girl, when you first arrived in Azuchi, you entered with a bang. You walked straight into that audience hall with your head held high, ready to fight. You now stood in the center of the hall, staring Nobunaga down. The two of you were basically fighting for dominance with your glares. Nobunaga was the first to crack under the intense staring contest, giving you the smuggest grin. He proclaimed you to be their new lucky princess. You thought for a moment, shrug, and said: “Nah, I’m good, but thanx.” Everyone in the room had to do a double-take. Nobunaga’s ruby eyes gleamed in amusement. “then tell me what it is you want as a reward for saving me.” You thought for a few minutes and then responded: “Nah, no thanks needed, you seem like a chilled dude.” Nobunaga just smiles, you certainly were an outspoken, entertaining woman. He then named you as castle chatelaine. You were super happy with that, so you just beamed up at him. You went to take a seat next to Masamune, who was waving you over to him.

Once war council was over; it was only you, Nobunaga, and Masamune left in the room. You were by no means a shy gal, so you chatted freely with them like old friends. They were so surprised and amused at all your perverted jokes and couldn’t help but howl in laughter. You were truly a hilarious woman. The three of you made jokes until Mamayoshi came to remind Nobunaga and Masamune of their duties for the day; they left to do their duties, leaving you all alone now with Hideyoshi. This boi thought from the moment he saw you, that you were going to be trouble. 

However, you pleasantly surprised at him. You worked incredibly hard, and you performed your duties diligently, often exceeding all expectations of you.

Nobunaga wasted no time in spending every possible moment with you. You were such a strange woman, and he couldn’t help but feel incredibly attracted to you. It didn’t even bother him that you had now dubbed him as Nobie. Much to Hideyoshi’s disapproval. But Nobunaga loved how outspoken you were, and low key kinda liked the nickname. He loved that you were always up for any and all adventures, and often the two of you would sneak out the castle and go horse riding. You loved to ride fast and feel the wind in your hair. He really enjoyed these little horse-riding trips with you as it was always filled with laughter and jokes. He loved the fact that you laughed at all his jokes and would always have a comeback leaving the devil king howling in laughter. The two of you would always race back to the castle, to see who the better horse rider was, you always seemed to lose much to your frustration. 

You and Nobunaga truly became super good friends really fast. He would often refer to you as his partner in crime. This was due to the fact that most nights, the two of you would be huddled around a makeshift drawing of the castle planning your candy heist. The two of you would plan everything to perfection, and then after executing a perfect heist, go back to Nobunaga’s room to chomp down on your precious candy loot.

Hehe and you truly fell in love with Nobunaga. You loved how even though he was the ruler and leader of a big clan, he just had this playful fun boyish energy about him. You two goofball are also known for pulling pranks on everyone in the castle in your free time. These pranks will range from putting whoopie cushions on Hideyoshi’s chair and then making a bunch of fart jokes, to messing with the silver kitsune. Although in saying that, you only pranked the silver kitsune once and never again cause that boi is the pranking master and will get you back x2 as bad. Like one time, the two of you just replaced his shampoo with honey, a harmless prank. But boy oh boy, did this kitsune get you back. This boy placed blue dye in all the bathrooms water supply, so when you and Nobunaga went to bath that night, both your bodies were turned blue from the waist down. You honestly thought that it was Nobu’s doing so you marched your way up to his room and slammed his door open only to run into him, storming his way to your room to blame you for the same crime. That is when Mitsuhide appeared and warned both of you against pranking him again.

Even though Nobunaga really loved you, he greatly underestimated your intelligence, which is a mistake he only made one. One day while the two of you were goofing off together, you spotted the latest war map and asked him about it. He explained the war strategies and plans for the upcoming battle in great detail. You looked over the board and map, something seemed off to you. The two of you continued on your day chatting and laughing, while something tugged at the back of your mind. That night you thought about the battle plans and strategies and realized they were slightly off and that they had too little men spread across the plain to successfully win the battle. You went up to Nobunaga to explain this when he basically just rejected your whole explanation. You legit told the facts to him straight, the two of you continued to bicker until you left the room in frustration slamming the door behind you.

You hadn’t spoken to Nobunaga in 2 days, and both of you were now off to war. You helped out around the camp, cooking and patching up injured soldiers. You and Nobunaga low key were avoiding each other, and EVERYONE noticed. It was the night before the final battle, and things weren’t looking too good for the Oda forces, you made your way to Nobunaga’s tent to give him the facts once again, and again he just ignored you. The next day shit was hitting the fan big time. Sweet angel Mitsunari arrived back in the camp being super injured, and that’s when you decided it was now or never. If Nobunaga continued the stupid ass battle strategy, he was gonna get himself killed, and it was no fun being mad at a dead man. You led Mitsunari into the medical tent and handed off your duties as the head doctor to one of the helpers. You then mounted Mitsunari’s horse and rounded up his troops. The lot was honestly running around like headless chickens without leadership. 

You rode out onto the field, remembering the battle plan you wanted to implement to strengthen the Oda’s defenses, they were weakest at the point that Nobunaga took control of. You rode like the speed of light, praying that you weren’t too late. You sent a silent thanks to Sasuke as you still had his smoke bombs, he had gifted you the first night. You rode to support Nobunaga and threw down the smoke bombs, giving you the perfect cover to command your troops to file a flurry of arrows at the enemies and thus giving everyone enough time to retreat and regroup. You saw Nobunaga fighting on foot, and you rode you him, tugging him to get onto your horse.

The two of you rode back to camp. You led him to your tent and patched him up as quick as you could, while patching you up he asked about your strategy, this time listening open-mindedly. After being patched up, he left your tent and was off to the battlefield was more. That night the Oda arrived back victorious, thanks to your and Mitsunari’s improvised battle plan. Nobunaga led you to his tent and apologized for underestimating you and thanked you for your bravery and leadership. After what he had seen, he was determined to make you his queen. He cradled your head in his hands and kissed you for the first time.

The two of you, goofballs make the cutest couple. You had discovered that the devil king is a secret cuddle lover. He loves to hug and cuddle you at all times, whether you are in public or private this boi wants you in his arms. He will devote his life to keeping you happy and will shower you with love and cuddles from sunset to sunrise. He loves laying his head in your lap while you sing to him at night. It’s one of those rare moments that he feels truly at peace and can let his guard down. Well, that is until you start tickling him, then you better be in for a long night cause this boi will get revenge for this playful declaration of war. (^_-)

All and all, this softi boi love you so much from your crazy good sense of humor to your sweet soft cuddles. You are truly the yin to his yang. And the only woman worthy enough in the whole world to rule the world by his side

 Other potential matches……………..Masamune 

I hope you liked it, dear!🔥❤ 

[smooti]

am i too late for the ask thingy? ☕🌳 🐝

never !! im always down for answerin questions !!

☕ Tea: How do you take your tea?

it depends !! usually black, i like the taste of most teas on their own. sometimes i’ll add a little honey if i’m feelin like something sweet

🌳 Tree: What is one thing in your future you are looking foward towards?

we’re trying to save up for a trip to japan, so i like to think about that !

a little closer to the present, i’m excited for the weather to get warmer again so i can garden

🐝 Bee: What is a video game that you find comforting?

animal crossing, stardew valley, noby noby boy, and flower 

... half of the video games i play are for relaxing, the other half are for their stories tbh

[thedrown]

Siege of Mandalore Ep2 Thoughts

   Ooohhh slow fade in of the title card with spoooooky music, hell even was just “Clone Wars” before the tiny “Star Wars” bit faded in and it couldn’t be more apt since this fanfiction sure as hell isn’t Star Wars.

So from the beginning of the invasion to driving Maul and co into the sewers was about the same length of ROTS’ opening since Obi Wan’s transmission confirmed he’s speaking shortly after giving Anakin his spying assignment which primes things for good ole’ Order 66. Let the lingering unease begin.

Maul knowing the plan with the clones and everything is something that doesn’t come up often glad to see he accounted for it but bringing a literal invading army on the chance of Obi Wan (and Anakin as we learn) coming to an unimportant system at the wars end is still moronically out of character for such a great strategist.

Man doubling down on retconning Son of Dathomir cause the Shadow Collective is back and kickin’ better than ever and DRYDEN VOS IS AMONG THEM. They’re really trying to fix the massive gaping timeline issue of Solo’s dumb Maul cameo by saying Crimson Dawn was a thing during the Clone Wars? Sure why not, and not just that, if he ran the syndicate in Solo then clearly he did care about his powerbase which doesn’t make much sense with him sacrificing all of them now does it?

I’m curious why Maul interrogated troops about Ahsoka, her relationship to Obi Wan? Whether or not she was technically a Jedi and if that would affect Order 66? Information on Anakin? Hmmm.

So Bo Katan’s jetpack gives out at just the right moment and I guess the elevator loses it’s weight? Sure why not.

Love how Ahsoka bosses everyone around, wouldn’t even know she’s friends with Rex if someone who hadn’t seen the series saw this. 

Really? Join me and we can rule the galaxy, again? Getting old guys after the 50th time and while it’s interesting Maul wanted to lure Obi Wan and Anakin to Mandalore to evade Order 66/Anakin joining Sidious, in what galaxy did he think Obi Wan Ke-fucking-nobi would kill his padawan? Remember if Maul’s plan went as intended Anakin wouldn’t have started the final path to Sidious by killing Dooku so Anakin wouldn’t be veering so dangerously close to the dark side. Again, Maul isn’t an idiot stop portraying him as one.

You know shaking the camera during slow and static action doesn’t make the battle more extreme or engaging and apparently every Mandalorian forgot rifles exist since all of them have been using pistols only this whole arc.

So Ahsoka agrees to join Maul to stop Sidious but once he tells her Anakin is destined to destroy  (Which no one knows his inner darkness like Ahsoka does and she knows full well Maul has truth to his words) she decides nah truce over immediately. If you’re going pull a bait and switch within moments of it’s setup then just don’t do it all and again, did Maul really think this would work?

Maul vs Ahsoka here we go, the thing I’ve been fearing and boi did it deliver on those fears. Ahsoka fends off Maul effortlessly even giving snyde cocky comments during their fight before launching him out of a window all without breaking a sweat. Darth fucking Maul runs away from Ahsoka and when pressed up on some rafters they duel and again Ahsoka has him on the ropes and never loses her footing as she throws herself around while Maul can barely stay balanced. Then when he does gets the upper hand he has Ahsoka standing on the wrong end of a sky high beam and instead of just cutting the other half Maul decides to go to her and attempt to strike her down (which he fails at flailing around like an idiot despite her being unarmed) only for teenage girl Ahsoka to physically overpower Darth motherfucking Maul and toss him over the edge no problem.

Beyond that, this fight was one of the worst in all of Star Wars, the choreography was ridiculous and out of character for both of their fighting styles and moreover was so “over animated” so to speak that it was unbelievably slow. What I mean is it’s like they painstakingly animated every possible movement to try and be impactful but also slowed down the fighting to make sure you saw it that the fight has zero flow whats so ever which is made worse by these being two of the most agile duelists we know. The best comparison I can make is that it was like watching those DBZ fights in 60FPS that look god awful, and also like those 60FPS DBZ fights, fanboys love this too. Zero animation techniques were used to make the movement more fluid because they really wanted you to see how “well animated” the fight was, and no, speeding it up does not fix it it still looks abysmally janky and unnatural. 

A month ago Maul: Holding his own against Grievous, Dooku, and Sidious TWICE back to back to back Maul now: Loses and runs away from Ahsoka within a minute

From the way these two eps have been, it’s become glaringly apparent the biggest flaw is just how forced in Ahsoka is. She has no reason to be here, it breaks all logic for her to be here, and half the time she’s just hanging out behind other characters and is just there. As per usual filoni isn’t even trying to hide his boner for his OC (plz don’t steal) and keeps pushing his fanfiction. This arc would’ve been infinitely better if it focused purely on Mandalore and was told from Maul’s perspective considering his preparations for the end of the war and Order 66. Maul is the one saving grace of this episode and even then he’s treated like he’s a weak, scared, imbecile and stops sounding like Maul near the episodes end and is just pure Sam Witwer and it’s jarring.