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duhragonball · 4 years ago

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Battle Tendency Liveblog JJBA Ch.48-52

This is the “Joseph vs. Straizo” arc, so I’ll just lead off with one of my favorite moments from the entire JoJo franchise, when Joseph furiously declares war on Straizo with tears in his eyes. In the anime, voice actor Tomokazu Sugita delivered this with such intensity that it actually overshadowed the machine gun.

None of the dubs or translations can do it justice, including this panel from the JoJo’s Colored Adventure scanlation project. This is a faithful translation of Joseph’s line, as far as I can tell, except they always leave off the last part: “宣戦布告だぜ!!” In romanji, that’s: “Sensen fukokuda ze!!” And it means “This is war!!”

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Last time, we saw the Joestars treating their new friend Smokey Brown, to dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant. Some mafia jerk caused trouble, Joseph whooped his ass, and then a second mafia guy apologized and shared a rumor he recently heard: Robert Speedwagon was found dead in a Mexican riverbed, apparently killed by a Tibetan monk.

From there, we see that Joseph immediately realizes that this must have been Straizo, and Erina suspects that it must have something to do with the Stone Masks and the battle with Dio fifty years ago. Smokey warns Joseph to consider the source, but Joseph is pretty sure it’s credible information, since mafia guys are all about money. I’m not sure what that has to do with whether he’s telling the truth, though. Either way, Joseph slugs the guy for just blurting out such terrible news in front of Granny Erina.

Now, at this point, Joseph and Erina are making all these Phantom Blood references, and Smokey has no idea what they’re talking about. And I think seeing this panel helped me understand Smokey’s role as a viewpoint character. When the Part began, it seemed like Smokey was sort of the narrator for the thing, which works because he’s a good viewpoint character, and he seemed to be settling in as a sidekick like Speedwagon and Poco in Part 1. But shortly after this he just vanishes from Battle Tendency altogether, and then he shows up at the end like it’s no big deal. I never quite understood that, and I think this is the sort of thing that fuels the “Araki forgot” memes, but it actually makes a lot of sense.

See, Smokey’s primary function is to be the viewpoint character, specifically for the readers who missed out on Phantom Blood. BT is a direct continuation of the previous part, in a way that none of the other JoJo parts are. Most of the main BT cast was deeply affected by what happened in Part 1. A few of them lived through it, and the ones that didn’t have personal connections to it. So they constantly talk about Stone Masks and Dio without really stopping to explain any of it. Well, if you don’t know what they’re talking about, you can take heart in the fact that Smokey doesn’t know either. So as long as he can keep up with the story, so can the uninitiated readers. For now, all that matters is that he’s impressed by the Joestars’ great kindness, and he’s intrigued and disturbed by these hints of a tragic past in their family.

And eventually, Smokey learns just what happened to the Joestar Family, or at least everything that the reader needs to know to follow Part 2. But that doesn’t happen until near the end, which is why he shows up to hear the secrets revealed. But for most of the story, he steps aside, because that’s mostly about Joseph dealing with events in the here and now, so Joseph can act as his own viewpoint character.

But is Speedwagon truly dead? The story flashes back to the previous night, after Straizo killed his own disciples and clobbered Speedwagon. They’re in this temple where Speedwagon discovered more Stone Masks, like the one Dio used, but Speedwagon also discovered an immortal man petrified in a stone column. Straizo was enlisted to destroy this “Pillar Man” with his Hamon power, but instead he wants to use one of the Stone Masks to turn himself into a vampire.

Before he does this, he reads Speedy’s translations of the writing on the walls of the temple. The ancient Aztec cultists who built it said that the Pillar Man was immortal and had many powers, but he was vulnerable to the sun, just like the vampires from Part 1. But the writings warn that the Pillar Man created the Stone Masks because of this weakness, and one day, “when he befriends the sun, the world will be his.” That doesn’t seem to follow, since the only thing the Stone Masks seem to be able to do is make new vampires, who are just as vulnerable to sunlight as the Pillar Man.

Anyway, Straizo doesn’t seem to care. He just doesn’t want to die of old age, and he’s become disillusioned with the Hamon power he has, so he’s turning heel and going full goth on us. To avoid Dio’s mistakes, he plans to eliminate any witnesses, including Joseph and Erina. Then he’ll go into hiding and figure out a long term plan, with the rest of the world unaware of his existence.

You know, now that I write that out, I’m amazed by how similar that plan is to what Dio ends up doing in Part 3. In Part 1, he set about turning a whole town into zombies, and planning to unleash them on the world without any real agenda. But in Part 3 he eventually holed up in a swank mansion in Cairo and took great pains to stay hidden while he acquired more power. Parts 5 and 8 carry that same idea even further, with villains who go to great lengths to cover up their very existence.

At any rate, we only see Speedwagon pass out in this scene, so it’s unclear whether he actually dies or not. Really, using Speedwagon in this way is a pretty smart play. He’s an old man, and he was never going to survive another 50-year time-skip into the next part, so it’s safe to assume that Part 2 is his swan song. But how will he die, and when? It could be at the very start, or maybe somewhere in the middle.

Anyway, Straizo just walks up to a cafe in New York to confront Joseph, and Joseph whips out a machine gun and shoots his ass. This whole time, Straizo had assumed that the untrained grandson of Jonathan Joestar would be easy pickings, but Joseph’s a lot more skilled with Hamon than he expected, and he’s tricky too.

As Joseph fires on Straizo, he recalls how worried Erina was about all this. The story kind of glosses over it, but Joseph seems to have worked out Straizo’s entire plan. I guess that’s not much of a stretch. He and Speedwagon were together with a temple full of Stone Masks, and then Straizo turned on Speedwagon. Why else would he do that, unless he used the Stone Mask to turn into a vampire like Dio did? And once you arrive at that conclusion, it isn’t hard to figure out what Straizo’s next move would be. And that’s how Joseph was so prepared for this. After the shooting stops, Smokey freaks out about Joseph murdering a dude, but Joseph was expecting a vampire the whole time.

I also like Joseph’s line in the flashback. Erina isn’t worried for herself, but for Joseph, because it looks like he’s being pulled into this same tragic fate as the rest of the family. But Joseph resolves to face this head on. “If this is my fate, then I accept it.” Pretty sure Will Zeppeli said the same thing when he discovered that he would die saving Jonathan.

There’s similar “call-to-adventure” moments in the other parts. Jonathan has his when he accepts Zeppeli’s offer to train him to battle Dio again. Jotaro has his when he defeats and saves Kakyoin, then learns what’ll happen to his mother if he doesn’t go. Josuke has his when Angelo shows up and he has to avenge his grandfather. Giorno kind of always had a hankering to take on Passione, but I think things got serious once he had a choice between killing or sparing Bruno. There could be no turning back from that point. For Jolyne, it was the moment she had a clear path to escape the prison but decided to go back in because that was where her enemy was. For Johnny, it was that one battle where he chose to crawl towards the danger to save Gyro instead of withdrawing to safety. For Gappy... I’d have to study that a bit.

But for Joseph Joestar, it’s this moment. Erina never sent Joseph to learn the Ripple from the Hamon monastary, and she seems to have taken great pains to keep him out of trouble, but now trouble has come to them, and Joseph isn’t about to back down.

So yeah, bullets don’t actually kill vampires, but Joseph was hoping to destroy his head with some of those shots, or at least slow Straizo down long enough to finish him off. Instead Straizo reveals that he has the power to shoot high pressure fluid from his eyes, the same move Dio used to kill Jonathan at the end of Part 1. He calls this “Space Ripper Stingy Eyes” which is either stupid or brilliant depending on your mood, I guess. He used it to protect his head from the machine gun fire, and then he uses it again to shoot Joseph... except he hits Joseph’s reflection in a nearby mirror, and I guess he didn’t notice the real thing standing behind him.

What makes this fight so awesome is that these two are determined to kill each other, and they each have extremely simple moves to defeat one another, but they have all these tricks and schemes to protect themselves. Joseph manages to hit Straizo with Hamon, but it does nothing... because Straizo was a Hamon master before turning into a vampire. He can’t use the Ripple without destroying himself now, but he still knows how to defend against it. For instance, he’s got this scarf woven from dead bugs, because it conducts Hamon energy far more effectively than his own body. So it just absorbs Joseph’s attacks and disperses the energy harmlessly away.

Does it really have to be made of dead bugs? I feel like Tonpetti just told him that as a prank. “No, really (snort!) the only thing that works is dead bugs. (tee-hee!) It smells awful but you have to wear it (ha!).”

But Joseph has his own tricks, like... putting a dozen grenades on his opponent’s back when he isn’t looking! Seriously, there was zero opportunity for him to do this. One moment he steps over Straizo’s body to see if he’s still alive, and the next moment he supposedly planted all these things on his scarf. I get that he could pull a string connected to the pin without being noticed, but that’s the only part that makes sense about this. It’s still awesome, though. If Jonathan had access to explosives, Part 1 would have been a lot shorter.

I really think this was the battle that set the tone for Stand Battles in later Parts. Araki loves these off-panel tricks in combat, and they’re a lot easier to explain when all of your characters have magic super powers. If Joseph had Hermit Purple in this fight, there’d be no problem at all. He could just use Hermit Purple to snake through the ventilation shafts and hook up all the grenades. In fact, it’s tempting to suggest that Joseph was unconsciously using Hermit Purple throughout Part 2, but I don’t want to get into that right now.

Anyway, explosions don’t stop vampires any more than machine gun fire. Straizo’s body is in pieces, but the pieces just slither back together and regenerate. Wait, wouldn’t his head have been vaporized in that blast? Also, Straizo spends the rest of this battle in the nude, so we know that stupid scarf is out of the equation. Why didn’t Joseph just go back in the cafe and finish Straizo off while he was still in pieces?

Again, it’s easy to say “lol Araki forgot”, but I think it’s a lot more sensible to suggest that Joseph forgot. As clever as he is, he went in with the Ripple, a machine gun, and a dozen grenades, and Straizo had an answer to all three. He doesn’t want to press the attack because he’s out of tricks. All he’s got left is another Hamon attack, which means Straizo will see it coming. Or he’s still worried about the scarf, and hasn’t realized that it’s gone now. In any event, he’s running away, creating some distance before Straizo can make his next move.

Also, there’s a lot of bystanders gathering around, so it makes sense to take the fight elsewhere. Some guy named “Bruty” tries to stop Joseph to impress his girlfriend, but that backfires spectacularly. Was Bruty in the anime? I feel like he wasn’t, but I don’t want to check.

The one I do remember is this girl photographer. Spider-Man hadn’t been invented yet, so in those days photographers just sort of wandered around with their camera, waiting for Spidey to debut. This exploding vampire diner is the best she could do in 1938.

I just really like this lady. There’s a spark in her eye and I just assumed she would end up being Joseph’s love interest by the end of the story. Well, we’ll get to that.

Instead, she’s a hostage. Joseph and Smokey run to the Brooklyn Bridge? I guess? It’s a bridge, I’m sure of that much. Anyway, Straizo catches this lady and takes her with him to intercept them. He threatens to kill her unless Joseph faces him again. But Straizo offers to spare Joseph and never trouble him again if Joseph runs away. This is because Straizo figures that if Joseph chickens out now, then he’ll never be a threat to Straizo in the future, no matter how powerful his Hamon abilities become.

Joseph tries to call his bluff, but then Straizo rips out one of the girl’s teeth to prove he means business, and Joseph gets furious all over again. I don’t think he was ever planning to abandon this fight, but he was probably hoping to get Straizo to give up his hostage at least. Now he’s just pissed, and Straizo is impressed. Joseph tries to act cool, but he just can’t hide his passionate feelings. This is in stark contrast to Jotaro, who wagered his own soul in a poker game and bluffed his way to victory.

So Straizo tries again with the Space Ripper Stingy Eyes, but this time Joseph blocks it with two shot glasses charged with Hamon power, and then he lands the decisive blow. But before Straizo dies, Joseph demands to know why Straizo dumped Speedwagon and the others in the river. Not only does Joseph want to give him a proper burial, but he doesn’t understand why Straizo would have dumped them in the river, since that was how Joseph knew to expect him.

Wait, I thought Straizo wanted Joseph to know he was coming. Oh well.

Anyway, Straizo explains that he had to do it, because the Pillar Man was absorbing the blood from his victims. Straizo was worried that the Pillar Man might awaken, so he put them in the river instead to be safe. Nevertheless, he suspects that the Pillar Man will reawaken eventually anyway, and Straizo now realizes that it will be Joseph’s destiny to face him some day. Then Straizo just uses the Ripple one last time, and self-destructs.

It always seemed strange to me that Straizo saw the danger of the Pillar Man and just left things the way they were. Maybe he planned to deal with him later, or maybe he just didn’t know or care about it until Joseph defeated him, and he felt a moral obligation to warn someone.

I guess he could have destroyed the Pillar Man like Speedwagon wanted him to do in the first place, but it seems like Straizo didn’t realize that blood would wake him up until after he was already a vampire, and unable to use the Ripple. For that matter, it remains to be seen if Hamon will work on Pillar Men.

Anyway, what else is going on? Oh, yeah, Europe is getting closer and closer to World War II. The official start of the war is usually considered to be September 1, 1939, but Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935, and Japan invaded China in 1937, and Germany annexed Austria and conquered Czechoslovakia in 1938, the year Battle Tendency is set. So we’re in this weird time period where there’s Nazis in the story, and the British-American protagonist doesn’t care for them, but isn’t trying to kill them on sight. I’ll be coming back to this topic later on.

I think the main reason for including Nazi Germany in this story was to draw parallels between their goals and those of the fictional villains. The Nazis believed themselves to be the “Master Race”, the most “evolved” people, and this made them worthy to rule the world. Araki notes that they turned to all sorts of sci-fi/occult/fantasy stuff in their war. Similarly, you have villains like Dio and Straizo turning to mysterious Stone Masks for spooky powers, and then you have the Pillar Man himself, who apparently sought the means to “befriend the sun” and rule over the world. So the Nazis fit into this theme of trying to claim some sort of supremacy over other beings.

But what’s their role in this story? Well, the Germans have an “information base” in Mexico, run by a guy named Stroheim. He makes pretty ladies shave him with a straight razor, and if he gets a nick he makes them lick the blood off, and then he threatens to cut off their tongues. Also, he trained his dog to not eat treats until given permission. He’s a sick fuck, is my point.

Wait, no, my point was that his staff discovered the bodies that Straizo dumped in the river, including Speedwagon, who’s still alive, somehow. I guess Straizo was going to finish him off but he got in a hurry when he saw the Pillar Man absorbing the blood from the others. Not sure how Speedwagon survived that ordeal, but Stroheim’s men have been taking care of him this whole time, and he was unconscious until recently, so it might have been touch-and-go for a while.

Back in New York, Joseph doesn’t know what this is all about, but he decides to go to Mexico himself to get to the bottom of it...

#jojo's bizarre adventure #battle tendency #joseph joestar #erina joestar #smokey brown #bruty #straizo #rudol von stroheim #santana #robert e o speedwagon

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thedefinitionofendgame · 3 years ago

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A New Adventure

Marina and Surrera (+ kids) one-shot | Rated G | Canonverse

A/N: Just some cute Marina-centric (with Surrera too ofc) fluff about graduation and moving on to a different part in life. Features Marina’s son and the Surrera trio. I love both couples and love when I think of a fic that can include both of them :) enjoy!

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You can read this work on ao3 and fanfiction.net as well

Written & cover by@thedefinitionofendgame (aka me)

The sun was shining and the birds were chirping. For April, it was surprisingly sunny and warm; there were no clouds in sight. It was perfect weather for the special event that was to take place today because in a few short hours, Maya and Carina's son would walk across the stage at his graduation ceremony. He would graduate from one part of life, and walk onward to a new adventure in life. The child they argued on conceiving for years would adjust his cap, straighten his too-big gown and put on a brave smile before stepping out for the crowd.

His three biggest supporters besides his moms, would be cheering the loudest from their designated seats in the third row, six seats in from the aisle. Non-biological cousins who were raised as his siblings because the young boy didn't have any "real" ones. He was his moms' one and only miracle. But Andy and Sullivan's kids—two girls and a boy—were all the love he needed. Emilia had done her walk years before; she was six years older than her cousin. The twins, Clara and Tanner were closer to his age, but still two years older. For their cousin’s graduation though, the trio were on their best behaviour and had put on their fanciest clothes.

Carina wiped her eyes and Maya moved a hand behind her wife's back to pat her lightly. She had tears in her own eyes yet felt the need to keep it together. Sullivan was put in charge of video-taping, as he was the least likely to get emotional and cry. Andy leaned over to Maya and whispered, "I cried when all three of their names were called."

Maya nodded. She remembered having to console her best friend about her own kids growing up before, and now it was finally Maya’s turn. She had never been prouder of her son until this moment. He had overcome so many mountains but those never stopped his short legs. He just kept climbing, more often than not with a smile on his face. Soon, people began to shush one another, as the announcer walked across the stage with a microphone in hand. The ceremony was about to begin!

“Good afternoon everyone. My name is Georgia Davis, and I am so happy you could join us today.” Pause for a polite smattering of applause. “While we know how anxious you are to watch your not-so-little ones walk across the stage, we ask for your patience as we read through their names. This is one of our largest classes yet to graduate. Let’s give our kids a huge round of applause!”

This time the clapping wasn’t forced and nearly deafened the room. After waiting for the noise to settle down, Ms. Davis began to read down her list. Maya and Carina’s son would be near the top, as his hyphenated last name gave him the alphabetical advantage. Bishop came before DeLuca in the alphabet, which was one of the reasons Maya’s last name was first on his birth certificate. For Andy and Sullivan’s kids, they had decided whose last name went first the same way; Herrera won out over Sullivan.

"Andrew Bishop-DeLuca." Maya snapped her attention back to the stage, stopping her day dream. She couldn’t believe she almost missed the moment her son walked out because she was thinking about last names of all things! The teacher smiled and began clapping. Seconds later, a young boy walked across the stage, head held proudly. He had Carina’s brown hair, blue eyes like Maya and walked just like the man he was named after. He was every bit as trouble as the late Andrew DeLuca as well, but just as kind too. Sometimes, Maya knew that it hurt Carina to watch their son embody someone Carina had grown up alongside. Though they both wouldn’t change it for the world, because their child was still unique in his own way.

"Little Andy's all grown up," the real Andy said. Maya and Carina's son had been named after Carina's deceased brother and dubbed with the nickname "Little Andy" after Maya's best friend. It fit him perfectly because some of his aunt’s fiery personality had rubbed off onto him. Whenever he sassed his moms, they blamed it on Andy.

In the middle of the stage, Andrew turned and waved at his family, ignoring the clear instructions he had been given at home to shake the teacher’s hand and not look for his moms. Everyone laughed though, and both Maya and Carina were too proud to be upset. The teacher was ready for this, and gently placed his scroll in his hands, and directed him off stage. Sullivan smiled over from his seat farther down the row; he had gotten the whole thing on video.

After Andrew’s turn, his row of supporters sat quietly and just simply watched everyone else. Georgia Davis had been right when she said this was the largest class in a while, as a total of thirty two graduates crossed the stage. When at last everyone had gone, and many parents were crying, Ms. Davis returned and thanked everyone for coming. More speeches and awards would be given out later. It was now time for refreshments and a chance to stretch after sitting for so long.

Outside, Carina was still sobbing quietly against Maya's shoulder. "We're gonna be empty nesters soon! I can't believe it,” the Italian woman said sadly.

Maya rolled her eyes. She totally supported her wife's emotions today of all days, but calling them “empty nesters” was being a little dramatic. "Babe, he's only graduating from preschool. He starts kindergarten in September, and will be with us for at least another fourteen years. We'll be okay." She had to hold in a chuckle, as she wrapped an arm around Carina.

"Only fourteen years! That'll pass in seconds! We should've had more kids!" Carina wailed, while Maya refrained from telling Carina that having Andrew almost killed her and that another child wasn't going to be possible. Like ever.

Andy sidled over and chose to make matters worse by saying, "I've only got twelve years left with the twins, in that case. And ten with Emilia." Maya's best friend looked like she was going to cry as well, and Maya couldn't handle two crying women, so she had to do something. Quickly. So she grabbed both of their hands and forced them to look at they're not-so-baby-like babies. The Fantastic Four—a cheesy nickname dubbed for all their kids—were now playing on the mini playground. Tanner, who took his role as an “older cousin” very seriously, was helping Andrew climb the jungle gym. Emilia and Clara were running around, probably scuffing up their shoes in true Herrera-Sullivan kid fashion. Sullivan was standing nearby, a grim expression on his face. He now had three headstrong women living in his house and sometimes it was almost too much to bear. But he loved them and his son more than anything else in the world.

Sullivan noticed them watching and waved, a smile lighting up his entire face when he saw his wife. Maya still sometimes wondered how her best friend and the ex-battalion chief managed to get together despite their odds at first. One look at the chemistry between them would answer all ones' questions. They were just made for each other. Sullivan was back to being Fire Chief Sullivan, a title he most definitely hung over Andy's head. Andy had finally made Captain at Station 19 four and a half years prior. Maya stepped down completely by her own accord when Carina got pregnant; having a family meant more to her than any title, now. It was a good thing she stepped down as well, because Carina was hospitalized for nearly five months and someone had to take care of Little Andy at home that entire time.

Andy waved back at her husband, and left Maya and Carina to go stand beside him. Carina was calming down, thankfully, and stared at the big, blue sky above. She rested her head on Maya’s shoulder, even though the blonde was shorter, and sighed. Maya gently reached up to wind her fingers around Carina’s curls. Her wife had once said that was calming, so Maya did it often now. They stood together, thinking about different things probably, but under one general consensus; their son was growing up way too fast. It seemed like just yesterday they were holding him together in the Labour and Delivery wing of Grey-Sloan Memorial. That was before Carina began hemorrhaging and needed lifesaving surgery, of course. But the two moms had had two peaceful hours with their new baby. Together, as a family of three. Maya had looked at her son and thought, so this is what unconditional love is. She had sworn she would love her son for whatever he accomplished, no matter how big or small. She wouldn’t push him to the point of abuse and yell at him if he came second. She would love his other mom more than the world, and make up for all the pain her parents had put her through. Speaking of her parents, Maya’s mom asked for a picture of Andrew today, as she wasn’t exactly invited to the ceremony. Technically anyone could come, but Maya had specifically told her family that it was “parents only” and just left out the fact that Andy, Sullivan and their kids had attended for Andrew. Although Andrew didn’t even care that his grandparents weren’t present; all that mattered to him were his cousins.

“Andrew, Mommy wants to get some pictures of you. Is that okay?” Maya asked, taking Carina with her as she headed over to the jungle gym where the kids were playing. Carina pulled out her cellphone and handed it to Maya, who was ready to capture whatever smile Andrew gave them. Sometimes he was silly, especially around the twins.

Maya’s reply was a fit of giggling from the kids. She raised an eyebrow at them but apparently didn’t come across stern enough. Andy ended up clearing her throat, which caused Emilia to smarten up. She prompted her siblings to listen and Tanner nudged Andrew, who guiltily turned to his mom. He was only four, though, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise that he took longer to listen.

“Do you want us in the picture Auntie Maya?” Emilia asked, gesturing to herself and her siblings.

“Of course.” Maya let them all strike a pose in front of the playground. She clicked away and let Carina try to make them laugh behind her. Sullivan put an arm around his wife, and they just watched the four kids goof off. After the candid moments of sorts, Maya did get Andrew to pose with a proper smile on his face. The twins ambled over to their parents and though they were getting too big to be carried, Andy held Tanner on her hip while Sullivan scooped up Clara. Emilia stood in front of them and they looked ready for a picture. Maya also seemed to think so, and turned the camera on them. “Smile!”

The Herrera-Sullivan’s smiled like their lives depended on it. “Want me to take pictures of you three?” Andy offered, putting Tanner down.

Maya handed her phone over in answer. “Do you want to sit on my shoulders, Bambino?” That was another one of Andrew’s nicknames, dubbed by his Italian mother. Maya was doing her best to learn Carina’s dialect but still could barely keep a basic conversation. Ten year old Emilia was better than her Auntie Maya, and Italian was just one of the four she was learning. Besides English, all the Herrera-Sullivan kids had been taught Spanish. The twins were just starting German and Italian, while Emilia was half fluent in both. It amazed Maya how quickly kids could pick up another language. Andrew was even interested in Italian, though it was mostly because the twins were learning it. He was a bit of a copycat at four years old.

Andrew held out his arms for his mom to pick him up. Maya hoisted her son over her head and he let out a giggle. Carina smoothed down his small collared shirt and straightened his pants, before turning towards the camera. They all smiled really big as Andy snapped picture after picture. As image after image was taken, Maya couldn’t help but wonder where she would be right now if she hadn’t changed her mind about kids. It had taken quite a lot of convincing from her Italian wife—plus babysitting Emilia and the twins constantly—before Maya felt like she was ready to become a mother. Craning her neck to look at Andrew now, everything made sense. Everything had worked out and Andrew was perfect. Of course Maya was being biased because he was her son, yet she couldn’t help it! It was a parent’s right to think their child was perfect even though sometimes they did things that drove them crazy.

Andrew had a habit of copying everything someone said, for either three sentences or three hours. It was very aggravating and Maya had accidentally raised her voice at him a couple times. He also refused to pick up toys—cancelling his cousins coming over was the only thing that made him do chores at this point. But those were small things and they were part of growing up. Heck, Maya knew she did things that probably drove her wife and son crazy. Maybe by the time Andrew graduated high school, their bad habits would be gone. One could only hope.

“Should we head back to our place now?” Maya asked, pocketing the cellphone Andy returned to her. The families had planned for a sleepover with all the cousins plus ice cream and more treats at home. They only lived a ten minute drive from the preschool.

The happy screams that followed were enough. Andy, Sullivan and their kids left first, giving Maya and Carina a moment alone with just Andrew. Carina didn’t say anything, but enveloped Andrew in a hug, that he returned with a smile on his face. “I’m so proud of you, Bambino. Mamma loves you.”

“Mommy loves you too.” Maya crouched down and opened her arms for a group hug. “We are both so proud of you, Andrew. We always will be. You can always count on us to love you for whoever you become.” Together Maya and Carina would fix the mistakes their own parents made and teach their son acceptance and kindness no matter what. It was only right.

Andrew pulled away from the hug and cupped his moms faces in his hands; first Carina, then Maya. “I love you Mamma. I love you Mommy.” Pause. “Now can we go eat ice cream and play with my cousins?”

Both of his moms let out a laugh. “Yes sweet boy, we can. Today is your day! Are you excited to start Kindergarten in the fall?” Maya got Andrew all buckled up and then began the drive towards home.

“Sorta. Tanner says it’s fun. Clara doesn’t like art but I like art!” Andrew informed them. “I didn’t ask Emmy yet. It’s gooder than fifth grade I bet. Uncle Sully says he’s too old to remember Kindergarten, even though I asked him.” In the front passenger seat, Carina snickered. Sullivan hated the fact that people called him ‘Sully’, especially attached to something as endearing as ‘uncle’. Jack Gibson had taught all the firestation kids what to call everyone to get under their skin just a little. Ever since Andrew had heard his Uncle Sullivan’s nickname, ‘Sully’ was the only name he used. While Sullivan was chagrined about it, Andy loved her nephew for using it to bug her husband.

From the driver’s seat, Maya replied, “I’m sure it is buddy.” In the rear-view mirror, Maya looked at her son and smiled. He was looking more like Carina every day, just with blue eyes. Carina was biologically related to Andrew, conceived with the help of a sperm donor. But he was just as much Maya’s as he was Carina’s, and shared more personality traits with her than his ‘Mamma’. He was smart and caring and worked hard for the most part; just like Maya. He was handsome and sweet and loved life, just like Carina. Though preschool graduation was big, high school graduation was going to be bigger.

Like Andy said before, in eight years Emilia would graduate high school. In twelve years, the twins would follow suit. And Andrew would bring up the rear fourteen years from now. Each time all four adults would cry and wish their babies stayed little for just a while longer. They would marvel over what the kid was like as a baby, as a child and as a teen. Comparing who they were before, and who they had become. Maya knew she wasn’t ready to think about Andrew’s future past Kindergarten, but sometimes she wondered.

Whatever he did with his life, he would be good at it. He would do his best and smile and try to get better no matter what. That was something good Maya had passed on to him. Andrew Bishop-DeLuca was a force to be reckoned with and everything he would one day overcome, would only make him stronger. Though what would never change, would be the undying love and support of his moms. Of his cousins and aunt and uncle. Friends he would meet along the way. Maybe a partner down the road. Andrew was going to love and be loved, that was something Maya was certain about. Even if he was only four years old.

The two families would cheers later, with ice cream cake forks and a small sip of champagne for the adults. They would congratulate Andrew and give him hugs and advice for the future. His cousins would tell him all they could remember about Kindergarten, and Uncle Sully would claim he couldn't remember his days in school, then come up with some crazy tale about his life that had everyone in awe but also giggling. Andy would reminisce about her own kids’ graduations in the past and those to come in the future. Carina would cry more tears and Maya would brush them away like she always did. Life would go on, and things would be okay as long as they remembered they would always have each other.

To new beginnings and new adventures with love always guiding the way.

#station 19 #station 19 fanfic #maya x carina #marina #andy herrera #robert sullivan #maya bishop #carina deluca #marina kids #surrera kids #graduation #fluff #the definition of endgame

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trishyeves · 4 years ago

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Episode 4-Ranma and...Ranma? If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Another

Oh boy, we are back into the Ranma Rewatch and this time it’s the fourth episode, titled “Ranma and...Ranma? If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Another”. That is definitely the kind of title I remember more from this show: incredibly long and silly. I love it in any series where the titles are like half-formed sentences. As for what I’m expecting in this episode...I honestly don’t really remember. We’re already reaching the edges of my memory, so I look forward to seeing it with fresh eyes.

Yeah, I had pretty much forgotten about most of the stuff that happened in this episode, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The episode starts with Ranma having a bad dream about Kuno professing his love and asking him out. After waking up in a cold sweat, Ranma takes a bath and shenanigans happen.

There’s some cute banter between Ranma and Akane on the way to school, then a threepeat of the fight against all the guys trying to ask her out. Kuno makes an appearance at the end again, but this time he’d taken out in one combined hit from both Ranma and Akane. He’s tended to in the nurse’s office afterwards by Nabiki, who finds out from his sleep talking that he’s fallen in love with ‘the pigtailed girl’ in addition to Akane, and feels conflicted over who he should choose.

Seeing an opportunity, Nabiki abuses the fact that apparently Ranma is a heavy sleeper to activate his curse as he sleeps, takes a bunch of sexy pics, then turns him back, all without him ever waking up. Not too long later, she gets a surprise message from Kuno, asking to meet up.

He treats her to a meal, asking her the favor of delivering a cute doll he got as a present to its recipient: the pigtailed girl. Before addressing that idea, Nabiki tempts him with the sexy pictures of his new waifu, only letting him even see them if Kuno treats her to spaghetti. I thought that might be a dub change, but it’s not, either language they still go out for Italian pasta. She sells them to him for 1000 yen a pop, then asks if he’s giving up on Akane then. He clarifies that he intends to pursue them both, so Nabiki reveals there are Akane pictures available too. In exchange for free ice cream, and the same price per picture, she sells him those too.

Only with that done does she tell him how to get his present to the pigtailed girl: Ranma is the only way. She doesn’t explain why, but Kuno doesn’t dig too deeply into it. She couriers a letter to the titular protagonist, asking for a meet up, which Ranma goes to. Once it becomes clear exactly what Kuno is asking for, Ranma rebuffs him, saying he’ll never see his precious pigtailed girl ever again.

This threat becomes somewhat toothless when someone randomly dumping water out of their window activates Ranma’s curse, and Kuno quickly embraces the object of his affections. This hug becomes a little awkward when Nabiki appears and douses Ranma with hot water, and Kuno realizes who he is ‘now’ hugging. You might think this would mean he has some understanding of what’s going on, but Kuno’s immediate thought is that Ranma knows some vile sorcery.

When Nabiki realizes how dense Kuno really is, she decides to phrase it to him as Ranma ‘owning the pigtailed girl’s body and soul’, which is not technically a lie. That said, of course Kuno interprets that as meaning that somehow Ranma has the warrior woman he loves enslaved to him in some way, so a fight breaks out.

When Ranma sees the photos Kuno has on him, it distracts him enough to take a hit to the torso, just as Akane arrives. Just as Kuno starts getting serious, the air pressure from his piercing attacks alone strong enough to crack a statue apart, Ranma counteracts and wins, though it becomes clear his injury hurts like hell, even if he’s trying to ignore it.

And that’s it, no cliffhangers this time around. Now that Kuno’s love for Ranma’s alter ego has been established, the actual meat of what that means, namely how he sees them as two separate people and chases one while attacking the other, is what this episode works to make clear. It also sets up his and Nabiki’s dynamic more, but that’ll be something I talk about more in just a little bit.

There are two kind-of bigger things I want to pull out of this episode. First one being the dream sequence at the start. Now, I am fairly sure that whole bit is meant to be there for comedy, in a very ‘gay panic’ kind of way. Which honestly...does not play super well these days. Ranma’s terror at the dream, on a surface reading, has to do with him being super grossed out that some dude is in love with him.

Of course, there are other ways to read the scene as well. I’m sure some people might instead look at it as being less a nightmare and more like Ranma running away from his own possible attraction to another guy, and while that’s definitely possible, I didn’t really get that vibe at all. That said, if you did, rock on.

What I saw as more likely was a gender-based reading. Ranma is, more than anything else, freaked out by Kuno’s love declaration because it’s someone seeing him as something he’s not, a woman. Kuno isn’t interested in Ranma, he’s interested in a woman who doesn’t exist. Ranma has a lot of complicated feelings tied up in his masculinity, which his curse doesn’t exactly help with, and Kuno’s attraction to his cursed form just makes it all worse.

Speaking of attraction, let’s talk about Kuno. The fact that everyone calls his affections for two people at the same time ‘two timing’ is a bit vexing to me. As someone who has been in polyamorous relationships before, I can attest to the fact that liking more than one person at a time is totally okay, and if everyone involved is okay with it, dating multiple people is also okay.

That is kind of the problem though. Neither Akane or Ranma like Kuno, and neither is likely to want to date him, regardless of if he’s dating someone else at the time. Their problem with Kuno isn’t his dual attraction, it’s that they just plain don’t care for the guy. (And Ranma probably doesn’t swing that way, but he could be repressing it so what the hell do I know.) Even with that in mind, I still kind of roll my eyes at how Kuno ‘liking two girls’ is treated as a perversion. That just kinda sucks.

Last thing before the character spotlight I can think of is that I really liked the fight in this episode, the action was pretty good. ... Listen, I know that’s not exactly expert analysis, but it’s what I got.

I feel like covering Nabiki now is pretty much a no brainer. Of all the side characters introduced so far, she’s easily gotten the most shading, and this episode in particular develops her further for the audience. In terms of voice acting, she’s played in English by Angel Costain and in Japanese by Minami Takayama. Angela isn’t known for much else, which is quite a shame, because she’s pretty fantastic, in my personal opinion. Minami, on the other hand, has a pretty huge resume, and along with the voice actors for Akane, Ranma’s cursed form, Kasumi, and a character we haven’t met yet, was in a pop group called DoCo.

In terms of acting, they both play her fairly similarly. A normal girl at first glance, but with quite the amount of dry wit and sarcasm lying beneath that surface. The main difference I’ve seen so far is that Angela seems to have more mirth to her performance, while Minami’s is a bit more deadpan. Both are good, though I definitely prefer the english performance so far.

But what is Nabiki actually like? Well, of the three Tendo siblings, Nabiki hides who she is more than the others. For the first few episodes, she comes across as a fairly unassuming character, most known for her occasional snark. But this episode is where we get to see her primary character trait: greed. Nabiki is quite happy to take advantage of Ranma’s curse to make money, though how far she’s willing to go for the yen hasn’t really been made clear.

It is worth noting that, while her pictures of Ranma were very sexy and revealing, her pictures of Akane were just of her working out and stuff, far less of an invasion of her sister’s privacy. Does she have better respect for family than the freeloaders who live with them? That’s to be seen.

Another big character trait we’ve gotten so far is her...friendship? Sure, let’s go with that, her friendship with Kuno. Always happy to try and pop his inflated ego with her sharp wit, they have a good comedy routine going. At the same time, she does seem to legitimately be there for him, since she was taking care of him after he got knocked out. They get shipped a lot, which I definitely see the appeal of, but part of me just kind of likes the idea that they’ve just known each other for a long time, and they just kind of have a thing going. Not that any kind of friendship they may have is coming close to stopping her from bilking him from as much money and free food as she can. Of course, Kuno is quite rich, so he can afford it.

Some people have described Nabiki as a villain, but I wouldn’t really agree with that. What she is, is someone happy to create conflict. She’s a fun addition to the cast, and I can’t think of any time in my previous watch-throughs where I got tired of her being there. (Which is not something I can say about every character in this series.)

Now it’s time to rank the episodes once again. Of the four episodes so far, I can immediately say this one is in the top half. I enjoyed Nabiki’s antics and the marital arts quite a bit, but I don’t think it’s quite as strong as the second episode. So far, that means the rankings are:

Episode 2: School is No Place for Horsing Around

Episode 4: Ranma and...Ranma? If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Another

Episode 1: Here’s Ranma

Episode 3: A Sudden Storm of Love

Will next week’s episode be just as entertaining? Well, I don’t know, but from what I remember about episode 5, “Love Me to the Bone! The Compound Fracture of Akane's Heart”, I don’t think that will be the case. See you then!

#episode 4 #Ranma and...Ranma? If It’s Not One Thing It’s Another #ranma 1/2 #ranma saotome #akane tendo #nabiki tendo #tatewaki kuno #anime analysis #anime rewatch

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ranma-rewatch · 4 years ago

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Episode 4-Ranma and...Ranma? If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Another

Episode 2: School is No Place for Horsing Around Episode 4: Ranma and...Ranma? If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Another Episode 1: Here’s Ranma Episode 3: A Sudden Storm of Love

#episode 4 #Ranma and...Ranma? If It’s Not One Thing It’s Another #ranma 1/2 #ranma saotome #akane tendo #nabiki tendo #tatewaki kuno #anime analysis #anime rewatch

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aspirinaeffervescente · 5 years ago

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Good Omens: Italian and French version.

I read for the first time Good Omens in English thinking that the religious topic would be a bother to me but was actually very enjoyable.

Then I decided to read it in Italian and French, and I saw the series in these 3 languages to see the differences between the sub/dub and guys...what experience. So here a list of strange differences that made me laugh/cry/get angry as fuck cause knowing different languages is always a funny road to Hell:

--In Italian, the tittle’s book isn’t Good Omens (that should translate in Buona profezia), but it would sound weird, so they changed it in “Buona Apocalisse a tutti!” (Happy Apocalypse, Everyone!) Honestly, a mood.

--Let’s take a moment to appreciate the two covers book of two different editions from the Italian version. I have the first one where we have this two cute thingy embraced and the second one is...ahahah just look how Crowley seems distraught by Aziraphale. I can hear him muttering “What the fuck, angel.”

--When in a book/series they change the name of some character it’s always a pain to me but at least in Good Omens made me laugh so hard that I felt sick so I think that at the end of the day is fine. In the Italian version, Aziraphale is “Azraphel”, and I can still hear the translators discussing: “Oh, Aziraphale is too difficult to pronounce, we should change it.” “Ok, how should we call him?” “Azraphel.” “But...” “It’s easier to pronounce.” *whispering* “Dude, it isn’t.” --But in the French version, they did even worse since that “Anthony J. Crowley” is “Terrence Rampa”. (Why. Just why. Have you all drunk too much champagne in the shadow of the Eiffel tower on a full moon? How could you ever think it was a good idea? It isn’t pronounced more easily, I don’t have a perfect French pronunciation, but Terrence Rampa doesn’t sound better in French. For the love of someone, stop it.) While in the series is Anthony J. Rampa. (You just decided to make angry, admit it.) --The “Angel” thingy. Ok, you see, Angelo in Italian is a common name (it’s one of my brother’s names lmao) and God forbid we get confused so in the book we have “Angioletto.” (little angel but 300% cuter) and we have “Angelo Mio” (My angel, but you should read it like a lover gently whispering this on your ear while you’re waking after a night you spent kissing in bed, cause I’m pretty sure 100% of the people thought about this while they were reading it.) --The “Angel” thingy in French is even more romantic. You can’t call me “Mon Ange” without make me going on a mental trip where we will get married in a summer day on the beach, and then spend the rest of my life cooking something nice for lunch while our children, Mohamed and Genevieve, play soccer together, and my lovely wife is tending the garden. (Cause we don’t stand for gender roles) --The voices. Ok, maybe is cause I saw Good Omens with the original audio too many times...but how is it possible that we fucked up with the actor dubber? Guys, we’re usually good at this. Crowley's voice is Christian Iansante that it wasn’t a big surprise and a little less disappointing since I spent all my childhood hearing his voice since he dubbed the tenth doctor. But Aziraphale’s voice is so wrong. Isn’t him at all. 0/100 guys, they didn’t even try. --In the French version Aziraphale is perfect cause...he’s so anxious. It made me laugh so hard, there’s the car scene where is going to have a heart attack. The Bastille scene made me crack cause I was curious to know how they would show that he didn’t know how to speak french (How’s that possible? I mean he talks Japanese but not french? but...during Madame Tracy’s possession he asks “Parlez-vous français?” Aziraphale, just admit you wanted to show your bomb-ass outfit to Crowley and get over it.) ahem, anyway, in that scene he just stutters and says “Sorry, I’m anxious.” My father reaction was: *whipping his own tears away* “Me too, Aziraphale.”

--Ligur French’s voice is sexy. Like...obscenely hot. I watched the french version for the first time with my girlfriend (she’s French) and the conversation after his first line was like: *Ligur first line* My girlfriend: “Oh, oui, bend me over your desk Monsieur Ligur and punish me cause I’ve been a bad girl.” “Babe, I’m still here.” *Ligur’s second line* “Ok, I see your point, but still...” We also had a little fight over “Is the Crowley-radio-version voice or Ligur French voice sexier?” and seems like, after a night spent discussing, Ligur won, but I still stand for Crowley’s voice being sexier just for the principle of things. --In the Italian version Crowley doesn't say “Ciao.” but “au revoir“ and when Ligur asked, “What does it mean?” Hastur said “French, it means food.” but the word “French” is told with so much disgust that made me crack cause I see that we still put our long rivalry between French and Italians on display. Knowing this is so much funnier.

--Again, the Italian's version book made a change that I didn’t understand for a long time (we discussed it with my father for so long and drag in this hellhole my whole family) cause in the book Crowley isn’t a demon but a devil. After so long, my grandmother just dropped the bomb informing us that “Demons are good or bad entities, but devils are the fallen angels who revolted against God and followed Satan.” so it’s more accurate say to say Crowley is a devil, not a demon. Honestly, I think that in Good Omens universe works better the word demon since the whole point of the book was that angels and demons aren’t good or evil, they just playing their role but they can be as much good as evil. (Aziraphale is a bastard, Crowley is kind) --Remaining on this topic for a moment, I always had this feeling that the angels are more similar from the Muslim vision of angels. For them, Angels can have flaws and make mistakes and aren’t perfect since only God is perfect. Or at least, I’m atheist, and my cousin explained this to me, so I’m open to any discussion.

--Wow. In the french version Crowley (I refuse to call him Rampa) is rude. He calls Aziraphale “Ducon” that is a common swear in French but disagreeable, Crowley wouldn’t ever call Aziraphale that way. Crowley, I know that you just had a tough week but wow, not cool buddy.

--I mean, I knew that watching Good Omens in French and Italian would make me cry considering we don’t have the whole gender-neutral pronouns, but I don’t see why you should confusing me this way. At least French decided to stay with one pronoun and deal with it while Italian is just...ok, I understand we are chaotic by nature but can we stop just for a moment? God has a female voice (good, cause I would have riot) but they use male pronouns for them. Why? Too worried to get excommunicated by the pope? We still get anxious at the idea that God could be a woman? Guys, it’s 2020, get over it. Michael pronouns are male, and this is fair to me cause I have a whole headcanon about this and I will write it soon. Pollution pronouns are female, male, female again. The translator must have thought “If we change enough times, they won’t notice.” Beelzebub is female (Uhm), but they still use “Lord” Beelzebub and it’s ok I presume (Hey, women can be Lords too!) No, it sounds horrible considering we had this bad habit to translate everything...Signor Beelzebub sounds like they’re in charge of a carnival parade, not Hell. We could stay with “Lord” and no one would get confused by this cause we know that “Lord” is a noble title in England and this is a British comedy. We don’t have to translate everything-everything. I mean, for these characters...why didn’t use the plural? Would sound a bit weird at start maybe but at least no one would be offended. (Not that I’m offended, to be clear, but someone could be.)

--The Italian version made me burst in flame at some point when I noticed that they tried to cancel the whole thing “Aziraphale and Crowley are a couple” avoiding every time the “my angel” in the dubb. I didn’t notice the first time, but Hell. Fortunately, Micheal Sheen and David Tennant make us saw the love even without words. Also, a point for Christian Iansante, Crowley’s dubber, cause he can make a high pitch voice when his character is panicking. We cried for “Non Voglio Andarmene.” (I don’t want to go) from Doctor who with him, we cried for the bookshop fire cause Crowley is 1000% more upset than the original version. (We stand for the drama) At the end of the day, I still remain on the facts that books and series/films should be read/watch with the original audio. I also think that reading/watching them in other languages is very interesting and a lot of fun, so I don’t think I have a definite opinion. It’s just fun. For the voices, I was convinced by Crowley for the Italian version and for Aziraphale from the french, while Italian Aziraphale is a big no and “Rampa” is rude and seems...he isn’t Crowley. I don’t know how to explain. From the back, someone is saying that the only voice that is winning is PornFrenchLigur and I have to agree with this.

#good omens #italian good omens #french good omens #buona apocalisse a tutti #de bons presages #good omens meta #writer on tumblr

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mysmedrabbles · 5 years ago

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RFA+Minor Trio Reacting to an MC in the Mafia

requested: y e s

a/n: listen,,,,, im a huge sucker for mafia au’s ,, and perhaps i’ll upload a full story with all of them on Patreon! So stay tuned for that one! Definitely more mafia AU type things coming soon though if you want to see more mysme mafia and want to support my work, feel free to buy me a coffee!

warnings: vanderwoods is really good

-Prohibition-Era Italian Mafia mod Alex

Jumin

- corporate heir of a multi-million won company married to the runaway child- now mafia member? my god what a cliche

-it’d originally been a few weeks before he’d planned to propose when he suddenly realized that he had... never actually met your family? He’d always figured that you’d tell him when you felt comfortable enough, or when you felt like it, but he genuinely wanted to propose, to marry you and make you his, however he felt he needed your fathers approval, something.

-he’s surprisingly calm when you tell him the truth, that you’d run away from home at a young age and upon asking for a job at the local bar, as anything, someone who works in the back and does inventory, trash person, anything, you’d found out that this bar was a front for a mafia organization, who’d promptly adopted you and taken care of you ever since

-you’re not sure what kind of reaction you expected from him, but you receive none, only an understanding nod and a question, same as before, “Can I meet them?”

-the next day you take him down to where you work, a lovely little rustic bar downtown.

-he notices as you visibly relax when you take him into the back, smile spreading on your face as you greet various members cheerfully, a reluctant grin, changing to a threatening frown when they noticed Jumin holding your hand and following you to the back

-you’re not expecting the meeting to go well, pacing around the door, where your boss, is privately speaking to Jumin, hand placed firmly on your grip of your gun, finger threateningly over the safety lock, ready to fire if something bad went down

-so you’re exceedingly surprised when the two come back out on an embrace, chuckling as they greet you. waving the two of you off with a genuinely kind smile, you turn to Jumin, demanding an explanation as you get back into the car.

- “Jumin?????” you gesture wildly, inviting the explanation.

- “Yes dear? - Home, Driver Kim please” he nods in Driver Kims direction.

-He gives no explanation, knowing it’s going to drive you insane, only says, “We’re having dinner with your family next week by the way.”

-corporate mafia family

Jaehee

-her dream, to own her own cafe, with you! her love, her joy, her future wife!

-so she can’t understand you when you’re extremely hesitant to leave your job, what looked like a? boring bartending job?

-she knew there was something you weren't telling her, and she ends up figuring it out herself, putting two and two together, using various news reports about the bar, mixed with information (or lack thereof) of the manager of the place

-she stomps up to you in a cold but angry manner, and thrusts a piece of paper in your hands, a list of collected evidence. “Tell me you’re not part of a gang MC.”

-her voice is scarily cold, but hints of tears that threaten to swallow her whole still manage to reflect through her voice.

-you explain your story, the whole ordeal since you ran away until you found the job, to how they all took care of you, and hey its not like you were the most powerful one, you were moreso like the little sibling of the group, still having skills but never in any direct danger.

-she doesnt speak to you for two days, “contemplating the information” (aka making you feel guilty for hiding this)

-when she sees just how broken down and sad you are as you get into bed, movements sluggish as you flop into the comfort of your shared bed, it finally makes her realize that,, this was something you had chosen as a child and even if she wasn’t okay with it, it wasn’t her choice to make. This was your family and she had to respect that.

-biting on the inside of her lip, she slips next to you, pulling you towards her silently. resting your head on her chest, you look up at her hopefully, “does this mean I’m forgiven?”

-the ghost of a smile graces her face as she closes her eyes, “We’ll see tomorrow. Lets sleep for now y/n.”

-when jaehee meets the crew its a lovely spring night and,, well,,,, basically they end up scared of her and you’ve never been more in love with the woman sitting across from you at the dinner table

Yoosung

-nonononononono his sweet baby angel cant be in the mafia

-the fact that you’re you know,, a part of the mafia doesn’t even register in yoosungs brain, his main concern is that you’ll get hurt, that something will happen to you in the line of duty and you won't come home

-you assure him that you’re mainly the person who talks to the targets beforehand, gathering intel and helping prepare for the missions

-you dont necessarily tell him much about anything or anyone, preferring to keep him in the dark, for his own safety

-of course you’d mentioned Yoosung to Byung-Hee, the mafia boss and your paternal figure, but he’d never thought much of Yoosung; that is until Yoosung bursts into the storage rom of the bar, and with around 15 different guns pointed at him, he threatens Byung-Hee, that if he ever dare let anything happen to you, he’d come in and kill him himself, using his medical knowledge to make his death look like an accident

-Byung-Hee is,, amused. Yoosung is not threatening in the least, but the dedication it took to march into mafia headquarters uninvited and threaten the leader while thirteen different people had their guns trained directly at him,,, shit takes guts

-All he does is nod, extending his hand to shake Yoosungs, who is,, extremely confused. When Yoosung’s hand reached Byung-Hees however,, the boss yanks Yoosung close, whispering in a threatening manner that if h e ever hurt you, he’d kill him in the most painful way possible and no one would ever know

-needless to say as soon as he gets back home, the adrenaline rush fades and runs directly into your confused embrace as he cries, mumbling something about how you’ll always be safe and his promises

Seven

-sjdhfskjdfh bitch you think you’re dangerous? i’m part of the mf mafia

-he never found much about you when he looked you up, only records that existed were report card grades in elementary and middle school, but past that it was as if you’d fallen off the face of the earth; no credit cards, social media accounts, guilty 2 am internet purchases, not even so much as a water and power bill or an address, until you suddenly reappeared three years ago, but it’s still not much

-the two of you drive the rest of the messenger to insanity, and even your FBI agents are sick of see your texts to each other, questions masked in playfulness, both trying to get the truth out of each other. Nothing making sense except to the two of you

-often he’ll poke you awake in the middle of the night, glasses slipping down his nose rapidly as he pesters you with incoherent questions about your past; but all you do is shift, intertwining your legs with his and pushing him back down to the bed, placing your head on his chest as you go back to sleep

-its around six months later post having moved in together when the two of you when you decide enough is enough. the truth had to come out sometime no? the two of you gather all the fast food and snacks you can, and facing each other sitting cross legged on the couch, no interruptions, you take turns firing questions at each other, answering them no matter how hard it might have been

-his reaction to you being in the mafia is at first, concerned. because he knows how mafias operate, and the last thing he would want is for a client to come into his job and for your gang to be the target that needs to be eliminated.

-his next question is what level of illegality do you operate at?

-with your response being an even 5, he presses for more. you explain how you take funds from the rich, expose the businessmen who steal from the company’s funds, bribe and threaten powerful congresspeople to pass better laws to help the poor, the basic steal from the rich, give to the poor type deal

-he listens intently, the story of how you got to this point completely capturing him. he never thinks badly about you; in a way you guys were helping out the world. if he spins it the right way, its almost like the two of you are doing the same job, just different methods

-work buddies! while he hacks and does his work for the agency, you’re right there sitting next to him trying to learn all you can about your next target and making a detailed plan, on constant call with Hyun Ki and Hyun Shik, dubbed the “intelligence twins.” When you’re getting visibly stressed he reaches over, gently squeezing your hand reassuringly as he breaks out the HBC for the both of you to take a short break, and when he gets stressed you do the same.

-finally having a place to rant about work, of course neither of you can ever disclose the targets names, but its still good to get things off of your chest

-honestly the only thing he has trouble believing is that you’re an actual bartender. “yes seven, i actually went to school to get my certificate for this” “why u always lyyyiiinn”

-when he sees something on the news, another politician knocked down from the public eye, a mysterious amount of money donated to the local orphanage, he makes sure to congratulate you, genuinely grinning as he picks you up to kiss you, proud of his s/o

-if you’re chosen to do some first hand intel, go down and charm someone into signing x y or z paper or get them to a secondary location, he uses his own skills to keep an eye on you and make sure nothing bad happens

-when its time to meet the family, he goes in jokes ablaze, making what was supposed to be a refined mafia dinner at an upscale restaurant a comedy center,, and the lack of fear on his behalf frankly amuses the boss. sevens a mess the whole dinner. he observes the similarities between the gang and the RFA, both having the same familial dynamic between each other, a kind of comfort and complete happiness.

-of course as soon as you get married he instantly becomes a part of the family as well

-they hate him. like,,, they love him but also hate him.

-terrible jokes from his part; “hey y/n can you take care of this client for me? here kind of a dick but i’m not allowed to say anything. it'd be great if,,,, something happened to their money”

-he knows you’d never do it to anyone that doesn’t deserve it but its a funny bit that keeps the two of you sane

Zen

- “absolutley not mc”

-he hates your job already, working at a bar in downtown, but the fact that its just a Front for a Mafia gang? that you’re a Part of?

-absolutely not.

-he springs into protective mode instantly, launching himself into a long rant on how he’s going to get you out of there, you dont need to worry because you dont have to be there, no matter what dirt they have on you, what you did in the past, he still loves you and he’s going to help you no matter what it takes

-meanwhile youre sitting there watching him pace around, trying not to burst out laughing

-when you explain to him that they’re quite fair, a robin hood type deal made of people who grew up poor, people who were cheated by the government and were forced into poverty, broke their way through the ranks and were trying to help others that were currently in their situation, taking from the rich, bribing businessmen in high power to put forward better laws for consideration, dropping money on random peoples doorstep, all under the cover of anonymity.

-he sits on this for a while, trying to digest what you’d just said. as much as he hates it, he empathizes with the situations that brought you there, and his opinion of this gang has,, drastically changed

-he’s still wary of your safety, hence you suggest he meet the members himself

-bringing out all the toughness he can muster, he strides in with you at his side, cooly talking to the intelligence twins, Hyun Ki and Hyun Shik. He meets others, Jae-Sang and Byung-Hee, and they accept him into the family surprisingly quickly

-he gets along with everyone,, r e a l l y well

Saeran

-nervous boye

-he doesn’t want you to get hurt, but he understand your reasoning as to why you started in the business of money laundering, understands better than most

-he listens to your story, about the way you ran away and straight into the arms of Byung-Hee, who offered you a job. With no other choice you joined, but eventually warmed up to the idea, and now you love them like family

-of course, he cant help but call you during your lunch break, needing to hear your voice and make sure you’re okay, that you haven't been killed or turned into a murderous member

-a part of him does think its somewhat cool, especially the fact that you willingly got in and can belong to a group like this and not be you know,, abused traumatized and poisoned repeatedly.

-when he finally meets them, he barely musters a word or two, but as time goes on, he gets increasingly comfortable with them. if you trust them, he trusts them.

-he cant go through this cult mafia shit again bro

-it takes a lot of reassurance that the boss is actually fair, and even proving to him that you guys dont do others harm, nor do you forcibly recruit people

-you tell him about how they took you in as a scared and alone high schooler, essentially adopted and raised you, gave you a job, a roof over your head and urged you to do what you want in life

-of course theres the thing that you cant officially leave them, so technically you are trapped there, but they took pity on you, looking at you as a little sibling, and at most they only make you gather intel or have you as the driver

-he’s not the most calm about it, but he understands that they’re your true family, and he tries his best to get along with them, trying to view the members as multiple brothers sisters and or parents instead of,,, dangerous mafia members

-he seems extremely calm and chill whenever you guys all go for dinner, very professional and sleek, but in reality he’s trying not to run into the restroom and escape through the window

Vanderwood

-you started off as his client, the one he were supposed to gather intel on and report back to the boss, find his way to your own boss and kill him

-so when Vanderwood found out that you were also the rfa he felt like the luckiest man in the world

-he pretty much always hangs out in the bar during your shift, trying to overhear any useful information; but damn he never expected you to look,, like that.

-week after week, he finds himself enraptured in your beauty, buying water after water, trying to be smooth as he talks to you

-he convinces himself that the little flutter he gets whenever you smile, when your fingers momentarily touch his as you give him yet Another glass of water no ice,, your focus when you experiment with different drinks, the way you get ridiculously excited when said experimental drink turns out good, immediately giving Vanderwood a glass,,, missions,, weren't supposed to be like this right?

-he pries, asking about your boss, but its the adoration of which you speak of Byung-Hee that breaks him, the gestures you make as you talk about him like family

-he skulks back to base, head running wildly. he knows he can’t let you go, he cant fall in love with a client, however he can't bring himself to bring you or your family harm.

-trying desperately to regain his composure, he spins a story how the original intel he received must have been wrong, because there was no hidden agenda behind the bar. He makes up a lie how he went through the bank statements, hacked the system, did it all, but the bar was 100% clean

-he knows he can never go back, to you, but just protecting you will have to be enough

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cromulentbookreview · 5 years ago

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Sonata in A! K331! 3rd Movement!

Funny thing is, this is surprisingly accurate.

And by that I mean: The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu!

You don’t have to be a music fan to know the name Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In fact, you probably have no idea what in the hell a Sonata in K K331 Third Movement even is until you hear it. Then you’ll know it immediately. In fact, you can know nothing about Mozart but still be familiar with many of his pieces. Maybe you had the misfortune to be forced to watch the movie Amadeus* in your German class (a movie that is probably not appropriate to show public high school students even if it’s dubbed in German) or have seen the 30 Rock parody episode where, instead of writing music, they create a porn video game. My point is: you know Mozart. Everyone knows Mozart, especially kids who were made to learn piano. Or, in my case, piano AND violin**. The main reason for that is, well, public domain, but also because Mozart is the shit.

I mean, I’m more of a Beethoven girl myself, and I have a lot of love for the 19th century Russians (Tchaikovsky and The Five FTW!), but, seriously, if you learn anything about music, you learn about Mozart. And, as someone semi-fluent in German, who has dedicated most of her life to learning German, you have no choice but to learn about the greats of German music. Yes, Austrians count as part of German music. As I’ve mentioned before, there was no “Germany” until 1871, and I’m including any and all native German speakers as part of German music. Austrians speak German. Kind of. I mean, 99.9% of my German teachers were either from southern Germany or Austria, so I may have a bit of a bias...though my main bias is against Swiss German which literally is not German stop calling it that, Switzerland!

What were we talking about?

Oh. Yeah. Mozart.

You know he had a sister, right? One who was a musical prodigy in her own right, who used to play for the courts of Europe alongside her little brother, right?

No?

Yeah, you probably don’t. Because back in the 18th century, women weren’t allowed to be composers or musical prodigies. Once they grew up, they got married, had children and were subsequently erased from history while the men in their family achieve immortality.

Meet Maria Anna Mozart, known by her family as Nannerl.

The Kingdom of Back is Nannerl’s story.

Salzburg! 1759! Nannerl Mozart is only eight, but is desperate to please her father and prove her mettle as a musician. The Mozart family is in a perpetual state of one-missed-paycheck-away-from-homelessness, and Nannerl’s stage dad, Leopold, hopes to cash in on the whole child prodigy thing. Unfortunately, Nannerl’s first demonstration for a court musician goes wrong when she’s distracted by her baby brother, Wolferl. That night, Nannerl dreams of a beautiful kingdom full of music, and of a beautiful boy with glowing blue eyes.

As she gets older, Nannerl is as shocked as her parents when Lil Wolferl shows a knack for music. She’s horrified to discover that she feels jealous of her baby brother, who idolizes her. One night, Nannerl and Wolferl are woken up by a strange light coming from their music room. When they investigate, they find the beautiful boy from Nannerl’s dream, in the flesh. He steals Nannerl’s music notebook then promptly jumps out the window.

Like so:

Complete with broken glass.

Anyway, the next time Nannerl sees the boy, she’s out in Salzburg with her brother on a shopping trip when she opens the door to a shop’s storage room, only to find it leads to the magical kingdom she’d seen in her dream. The boy, Hyacinth, wants Nannerl’s help to reclaim his throne. In exchange, he will make sure Nannerl gets her greatest wish: to be remembered forever.

Shortly after, Nannerl and Wolferl are called to Vienna to play for the Emperor and Empress. Wolferl puts on quite the show, charming everyone in the room and even proposing to the Emperor and Empress’s youngest daughter. It’s after this that Nannerl and Wolferl’s parents decide to take them on a massive tour of Europe. In the long, dull carriage rides between destinations, Nannerl and Wolferl come up with a name and origin story for Hyacinth and the magical kingdom that they saw: The Kingdom of Back. As the tour continues and Wolfer’s fame rises, Nannerl worries more and more about being forgotten - that her fate is sealed: she will never be a composer and a musician, instead she will become a wife and mother and nothing more than a footnote in history.

But the Kingdom of Back is more than just a fantasy story shared between two bored kids. Hyacinth’s magic has an effect on our world, causing calamities and illness. As Nannerl struggles to cope with her conflicting emotions, Hyacinth starts to seem less like a fairy prince and more like something sinister. But his promises of fame and immortality to Nannerl are so very, very tempting. I mean, wouldn’t you be a little jealous if your baby brother was an 18th century child rockstar?

(Ok, the throwing of underthings may not have happened to Mozart, but it definitely happened to Liszt so that episode of the Simpsons isn’t entirely inaccurate).

If you come into The Kingdom of Back expecting it to be something like Marie Lu’s other novels - namely, action packed sci-fi/fantasy serieses - you are bound to be disappointed. The Kingdom of Back is unlike all of Lu’s other novels - it is a standalone historical fantasy dedicated to someone who, in spite of her talent, was relegated to the dustbin of history just because she was a girl. I adore Marie Lu’s books (the Legend trilogy is probably one of the best YA trilogies ever - if you haven’t read it, stop everything and do that now, please) and I’m also a fan of music, 18th century Germans, and 18th century German musical composers so I wasn’t at all put off knowing that The Kingdom of Back wasn’t going to be like her other books. It was more like “holy shit, Marie Lu is wrote a book about Mozart’s sister, put it in my brain immediately, please.” The Kingdom of Back is just wonderful, you guys. Lu beautifully captures what it’s like to have a sibling that you love, but also envy. Lu’s writing is lyrical and enchanting without crossing into purple prose territory. Music can be difficult to capture in prose, but Lu manages to do so without alienating the reader with too many weird technical musical terms that would be off putting to the average reader (hi!). The way time works in the book is weird - you’re never quite sure when you are at any given time or how old anyone else, unless you have the timeline of the Mozart children’s grand tour open while you read. Months can go by in a single sentence which can be a bit jarring, but the book manages to condense a decade into 300 pages. I’d rather have 300 pages and a few pacing issues than way too much detail within 900 pages.

My absolute favorite aspect of this book is Nannerl herself. Nannerl, as an 18th century girl, is bound by 18th century constraints - she’s not allowed to compose openly, as herself. She’s not allowed to talk back. She’s expected to look after her brother, as her position as older sister makes her mom-in-training. Nannerl is a good and proper 18th century lady, and she hates it. She hates the limits placed on her by society, but at the same time, she’s desperate to please her parents and earn their praise. Because what else can she do? It’s the shit situation women have experienced since time immaterial: conform, or else. Nannerl may seem meek and submissive compared to the likes of June from Legend or Emika from Warcross, but make no mistake, she is just as strong as they are. Her strength lies in her quiet resilience. Nannerl can’t exactly fight back against the system the way June and Emika do, so she rebels in other, quieter ways. She maintains eye contact for her father, waiting for him to break first or stays quiet when she’s expected to voice her praises. She creates a whole fantasy world in which to take refuge. Nannerl’s way of fighting back is subtle because it has to be.

Unfortunately, it takes only a click of a Wikipedia link to know how Nannerl’s story ends. It is bittersweet and something that will definitely strike a chord (pun absolutely intended) with any girl or woman who reads The Kingdom of Back.

RECOMMENDED FOR: Any girl or woman who has ever seen her accomplishments ignored or passed over in favor of a man’s, anyone with a sibling they’re just a little bit jealous of, music fans, Mozart fans, Marie Lu fans, anyone in the mood for a gorgeously-written YA historical fantasy.

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR: Haydn aficionados, Leopold Mozart, children who were forced to learn piano, men’s rights activists, people who would mistake an 18th century girl’s quiet resilience for weakness.

RELEASE DATE: March 3, 2020 - hey, I promise cromulent reviews, not “on time” reviews or “reviews in advance of publication.”

RATING: 4/5

MOZART RATING:

BEETHOVEN FANS, WHEN ENCOUNTERED BY MOZART FANS:

You can hear the 5th symphony with every haw.

*Please remember the movie Amadeus is also a historical fantasy - Salieri and Mozart were peers and were most likely friends, if not friendly. Also, Salieri had like, 8 kids and at least 1 mistress, he wasn’t some pious weirdo like he’s portrayed in the movie. I mean, he was Italian. F. Murray Abraham was awesome in it, though. My point is, don’t get your history from movies. It’s a bad idea.

Get it from Wikipedia, like a normal person.

That soundtrack, though. If you want an intro to Mozart’s music, that is a good way to go.

**Ahahahaha I was, then and now, and will forever remain, terrible at both.

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mrsmariano · 6 years ago

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The Evolution of Meredith Grey: How Grey's Anatomy Got To "I Love You" Over a Jail Phone

"When I came back to the show in season 14, Ellen wanted to make sure I wasn't just coming in to pair her up with another guy," Vernoff explains. "She was a little tired of playing romance. She'd been doing it for a lot of seasons, and I said, great, let's not."

Pompeo, in fact, had a request.

"She said, ‘I want to be like a medical superhero,' and I said, ‘Done.' And that's what we did for that season," Vernoff says. "It was great, and we loved it, and I think that I earned her trust and we became creative partners, and then it was like, OK, are we ready? Can we dip our toes back in?" As Vernoff reminds us, at the end of the day, the show is about the romance, and season 15 was even dubbed by the writers the "season of love," a season full of "fun and joy and light." "It's a romantic…medical romantic…it's a romantic dramedy with a little bit of medicine thrown in," she says. "It's not a medical procedural, right? So romance is a key ingredient, and Ellen was super game coming into this season. She really enjoyed everything she got to play last year, and then this year, she was ready to play with this." This, specifically, began as a drunken kiss, crept into Meredith's very sexy dream sequences, briefly entertained itself as a love triangle, and then slowly blossomed into one of our favorite Grey's Anatomy ships maybe ever. (Yes, we said it. Ever.) "I feel like we slow-rolled that. We started it as an unexpected fantasy, born of an uninvited kiss or a complicated accidental kiss at the wedding, and then it evolved, using [matchmaker] Cece, and Link as a little bit of a temptation triangle, and then that became DeLuca about halfway through the season, and we just eased our way into it."That, Vernoff says, was all in service of making Meredith's big "I love you feel" feel earned. And if that tear that rolled down our face when we watched it was any indication, it definitely did. "That is a collaboration," she explains. "That is us writing a thing and then Ellen playing the hell out of it, so that by the time we got that "I love you," it felt true, and it felt earned, and it felt exciting and it felt unfinished because it's behind glass and because it took her so long to say it back to him, and because she has verbalized how scary it is for her because the last person she said it to was Derek. It gives us places to go next season that are interesting and complicated."A season and a half ago, you might never look at Andrew DeLuca and think he'd be the perfect man for Meredith Grey. He was sleeping on couches and crying over his ex-girlfriend, Sam Bello (Jeanine Mason) moving to Switzerland to escape deportation. He was the guy who Zola remembers as a sort of vagrant with a guitar.

He's also a fair amount younger than Meredith, and he's a resident where she's a highly accomplished attending, the chief of general surgery. That's obviously not a new pairing on this show which began with an intern falling in love with the chief of neurosurgery, but still, no one was putting the two together just yet.

Then DeLuca kissed Meredith at Alex and Jo's wedding, and then Meredith was having dreams, and suddenly we were all dreaming of Giacomo Gianniotti speaking Italian to us in an elevator, and of Ellen Pompeo speaking it right back. The age and power dynamic difference in this relationship and Meredith and Derek's tumultuous romance is not exactly the same, but there's a certain sense that this relationship is able to run because Derek and Meredith once walked.

"We weren't designing it to do the opposite, but certainly that dynamic gave us permission to do this one. It felt like, OK, we told that story, and now is it OK for Meredith to be dating a resident? Is it OK for this age gap or difference in life experience to exist, and the answer is yes, because we saw it really successfully early in the series with Derek and Meredith," Vernoff says. "He was older, he was more experienced in life, so we just wanted to see Meredith happy again, and we wanted her to fall in love in an unexpected way, and we liked the chemistry between her and Giacomo." Some fans were unsure of what to think of the relationship because of our long road with DeLuca so far, and some worried or thought that it might just be a fling, like all of Meredith's other attempts at romance post-Derek. In the writers' room, MerLuca was always the real deal. "We never thought it was a fling," Vernoff says. "I think if you added 10 years to DeLuca, you wouldn't have thought it was a fling. You would have thought this was a guy that she likes, and who's sticking when the other ones are not. But because there's a little bit of an age difference between them…not a huge age difference, but just enough that you don't usually see it on television…It's our societal sort of unconscious bias that I think made people dismiss it initially because we have decided somehow culturally that women who are older than men, that that's somehow an invalid pairing."

With Derek's death, it's kind of like Meredith got even older than she actually is. She closed herself off for a while, and saw herself as finished, her sex life closed down, which she even said out loud a couple of times. But watching the series all the way through again (highly recommend) shows that Derek was really only one part of Meredith's story. The years since have felt like a new story, one filled with a joy that the show had never had before, with a Meredith who no longer feels like everything in her life is doomed, because the worst has kind of already happened and yet she has survived.

Since Derek's death, Mer has gained two sisters who have become her best friends, roommates, and basically her co-parents. She's gotten everything she ever wanted, and is now seeing that there's more out there that she didn't even know she wanted. It's like she gained back those years she lost when Derek died.

She hired a matchmaker. She started dating a resident 10 years younger than her. She flitted around a work party trying to act "normal" after her surrogate father caught her making out with her boyfriend. She's committing crimes out of the goodness of her heart, she's saying "I love you" to a man in jail, and she's smiling more than she's maybe ever smiled before.

"When Ellen Pompeo smiles, we smile," Vernoff explains. "I feel like that's the world of Grey's Anatomy. It's like, when Meredith is happy, it comes through, and we feel happy."

And doesn't Meredith (along with the rest of us) deserve that happiness?

"She went through such a journey of grief with Derek and rebounds and sort of almost recoveries, and you know, one step forward, two steps back, and to watch her light up in this way for the first time…I don't think we've seen her light up this way since Derek. And that's been really wonderful."

Meredith's future may now be a huge question mark filled with court dates and time behind bars and a job she's been fired from, but it's also a bright future that includes a supportive boyfriend, a found family that will fight like hell for her, and at least two more seasons on our screens.

So all told, things are looking pretty good for Meredith Grey. (x)

#meredith grey #merluca #grey's #grey's anatomy #ellen pompeo #krista vernoff

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flowers-and-memes · 7 years ago

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Grocery Escapades

Here’s a drabble micro-fic thingy i made and then didn’t edit because i love procrastinating. :))))))

“Hooray!” Phichit said, throwing his hands up in excitement.

“Calm down, we haven’t even started shopping yet,” Celestino said in dismay. It was a new week, which meant it was time to make another trip to the grocery store to stock up. Which also meant that it was time to put his self-dubbed “iron will” to the test when faced with two sets of big, begging eyes that wanted him to buy all the foods that were strictly off-limits.

A sigh escaped his lips as he pulled the truck into a parking space. As soon as the engine was turned off, both of his students jumped out, sharing gossip and speaking nonsense like children.

“Is this what my life has come to?” Celestino said softly, running a hand through his ponytail.

“What’s that, Ciao Ciao?” Phichit said, looking up from his phone. His coached waved him off dismissively. He wouldn’t let it out that he was enjoying the responsibility of taking care of his students. In fact, they felt more like children to him than students, not only because they often acted like children, but also because of the amount of trust they put in him. Over the past few years of coaching them, both of his students started coming to him for not for advice, but just to be around him. They chose home movie nights instead of going out, and, most recently, they moved out of their shared campus dorm and into Celestino’s house. And so he found himself living in a rag-tag family composed of himself, his two “children”, and a dog in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan.

His love for his students-turned-children would be tested today, however, as it always is on grocery days.

“Please don’t go running around the store without me, now. And no hide-and-seek this time,” Celestino said as they collected a cart and walked through the automatic doors, a cold rush of wind blowing at them.

“Oh, I have an idea!” Phichit said.

Oh no.

The last time Phichit had an idea, Celestino ended up having to clean and restock an entire display of colorful energy drinks after Phichit had knocked it over in his attempt to traverse the grocery store walking backwards.

“Can I ride in the cart, Ciao Ciao?” Phichit said, already getting into the cart.

“I don’t see why not,” Celestino said with yet another sigh. At this rate, he wouldn’t need to watch his blood pressure anymore with all the deep breaths his two charges have been making him take. But at least Phichit’s idea didn’t involve backwards walking or an in-store game of Red Light, Green Light.

With Phichit comfortably settled in the cart, Celestino headed toward the produce section.

“Um,” He heard someone say softly next to him.

“Yes, Yuuri?”

“Can I ride in the cart too?”

Oh boy.

“Sure, get in,” Celestino said, gesturing to the cart.

“Yay!” Phichit exclaimed. “So what’s on the list, Ciao Ciao?”

Drawing his phone out of his back pocket, Celestino opened his grocery list:

Tomatoes

Garlic

Onions

Three items of absolutely abysmal quality in the States. Great.

“The tomatoes here couldn’t hold a candle to the ones in Italia,” He said while inspecting a plump, red tomato.

“You say that every time we’re here, Ciao Ciao,” Phichit said. He earned himself a bop on the head for that comment.

“I say it every time because it’s true. The ones here are absolutely flavorless,”

“Careful Coach, a native might hear you,” Yuuri said, slinging his arms over the edge of the cart.

“Let them hear. They need to learn how to make proper Italian food,” Celestino said. He wheeled the cart over to the potatoes, walking a few feet away to go inspect the onions.

“Hey, Ciao Ciao! Let us help,” He heard Phichit call to him. He proceeded to ignore him as he put one, two, three russet potatoes into a plastic bag.

“Yeah, we didn’t come here with you for nothing,” Yuuri added.

“That’s right,” Celestino started, “you came here to pressure me into buying junk food for you,” He finished, sending the boys a look from the corner of his eye. Phichit opened his mouth to protest, lifting a finger, but decided against it, muttering something along the lines of “kill-joy…” to himself.

As it turned out, Celestino’s charges entertained themselves in the produce section by pointing to the different items they saw and calling out the name in Japanese or Thai. It became a guessing game as they told their coach the name of the item, and then he had to guess what it was. It involved a lot of hot-and-cold hints and some laughter, and it ultimately took them about 10 minutes longer than it should have to find all of the produce they needed.

Celestino had to stop Phichit from attempting to juggle the tomatoes twice before they wheeled to the next section.

“Oh, can we get mango juice, Ciao Ciao?” Phichit said.

“What do you need mango juice for?”

“Mango lassi,” Phichit said as if it was obvious.

“Like I know what that is,” Phichit huffed, putting his hands on his hips, or the best that he could do in the small grocery cart.

“It’s like a mango smoothie,” Yuuri said helpfully.

“This is a little out of my price range,” Celestino said, inspecting a carton of mango juice closely, “if you have mango juice money, you can buy it,”

“Come on, coach!” Phichit protested. Celestino didn’t know if it made him a good or bad parent that Phichit’s whining made him feel just a little bit of satisfaction. Just a little bit.

“Watch out, this is cold,” Celestino said and then dropped a bag of frozen salmon filets into the cart, earning a yelp from both skaters, “And this,” he dropped two packages of raw chicken breast in as well.

“Ciao Ciao, how could you?” Phichit said in mock-despair.

Three more packages of various lean meats later, and it was time for Celestino to go through the first trial of his iron will: the cereal aisle. Last time, he had broken down and allowed his two charges to put a box of cocoa puffs into the cart. But he still holds true to his excuse that he only let them do it because he felt bad for going so hard on them during practice, not because they were adorable or anything.

“You can pick out one cereal,” He said.

“Yay,” both skaters exclaimed,

“From the granola section,” Both skaters groaned at that, letting out variations of “come on, coach” and “not cool”.

“A bowl of sugary kid’s cereal isn’t going to give you anything but a 5 minute rush in the morning,” Celestino chided.

As it turned out, both boys were too busy sulking to bother choosing a cereal, so he picked up two boxes of granola cereal and one bag of muesli and stacked them on Yuuri’s lap for safe keeping.

“Can we get some oatmeal?” Yuuri said.

“Now that is a good choice,” Celestino said and added a tub of oats to the cart, “10 points to team Yuuri,” That got a rise out of Phichit.

“You didn’t tell me this was a competition, coach!”

“It’s not, I just like Yuuri more than you,” He said, failing to keep a straight face and breaking out into laughter at Phichit’s insulted expression.

What Phichit and Yuuri dubbed “the boring section” of the grocery store came next. The so-called boring part of the shopping experience was every aisle that wasn’t the cereal aisle or chips and soda aisle. Yuuri also perked up while they walked through the bakery, but ever since that one time in December, Celestino had developed a detour that avoided the bakery altogether. Nevertheless, the boring part of the shopping passed with companionable silence, the two skaters preoccupied with recording their experience in Snapchat and teaching one another new words in Japanese or Thai. They approached the medicine area,

“Either of you need any more bruise cream?” Celestino said, parking the cart next the ointments.

“No, I don’t think so,”

“How about hemorrhoid cream?”

“Ciao Ciao, ew!”

“That’s gross, coach,” Phichit and Yuuri said, sticking out their tongues. Celestino ended up putting a tube of bruise cream into the cart anyway.

“We need more Band-Aids, though,” Yuuri said.

“Oh, can we get the hello kitty ones? Can we, Ciao Ciao? Please,” Phichit pointed towards the band-aids with more enthusiasm than was necessary.

“Alright, alright, just stop nagging,”

Over at the yogurt section, Celestino was currently debating whether or not he should just leave the cart there and go home. Because now his two skaters were arguing over what kind of yogurt they wanted and which brand. Because apparently the brand of Greek yogurt matters. And apparently, even though Celestino had told them that no, they cannot get GoGurt, it was still being brought up in the argument. Yuuri was in the process of reaching from his seated position to grab a container of blueberry yogurt when,

“Ow! Coach, he hit me,” Yuuri called out,

“I didn’t hit you, I move your hand out of the way,”

“By hitting my arm!”

“Did not,”

“Did too,”

“Boys,” Celestino tried to interject. But there was no stopping them now, because at the moment they were having a tug of war match over a container of mango-flavored Greek yogurt. While they argued, he walked over to the refrigerators and picked out a gallon of lactose-free milk. Low-fat because it was training season.

Yuuri and Phichit were still arguing.

He made a mental note to pick up some wine before he left.

Now both boys were taking turns yelling “blueberry!”, “mango!” at one another endlessly, and their voices were becoming alarmingly louder. In a wash of dad-mode determination, Celestino wrenched the containers of yogurt from both boys’ hands and put them back on the shelf.

“No,” he said in a scarily soft but stern voice, “not today, not ever…” He then put three containers each of mango and blueberry yogurt in the cart, “now stop arguing, you’re making this so difficult,”

“…sorry coach,” Yuuri said quietly, hanging his head.

“Just ask me before you start fighting over food I’m already going to buy you, for goodness sake,” Celestino said, taking three deep breaths. He wouldn’t tell them that the actual reason he was upset was because he had seen a rather attractive woman over in the refrigerator section and was going to try wooing her, but his skaters had caused a commotion and made him look bad.

Fishing out his phone, Celestino checked more items off the list. Only three more left:

Bread

Eggs

Cheese

Oh, and wine. Make that four items left.

“Be very careful with these,” Celestino said, and then handed each skater a carton of a dozen eggs. Yuuri shifted positions and cradled the carton of eggs like he would a baby, earning a giggle from Phichit. At least the two were getting along again.

“Phichit, close your eyes! This is the adult section,” Yuuri said and proceeded to throw his hands over Phichit’s eyes. They had just wheeled into the wine section.

“Hurry up coach, the longer we’re here, the more he gets corrupted!” the Japanese skater called out over Phichit’s cackling. After picking out a suitable red wine, Celestino wheeled the cart out of the wine section,

“So what’s the diagnosis?” He asked Yuuri.

“He’ll pull through, but some ice cream would do him some good,” Yuuri said, now cradling a dramatic, swooning Phichit in his arms instead of the eggs.

“Nice try,”

Checking off the final items on the list, Celestino headed towards the cash registers.

“Alright boys, is there anything I forgot?”

“Ice cream,”

“No.”

“Then no, I think we have everything,”

As expected, the cash registers were all crowded, people forming jagged lines with their carts while other grocery shoppers tried to move through them. Every register had a line, so Celestino picked one at random. In what was most likely a cruel twist of fate, the attractive woman from earlier was standing in front of them at register 8. Phichit and Yuuri were busy giggling at something on Phichit’s phone.

“Are these your kids?” The woman asked.

“In a figurative sort of way, yes,” Celestino said, then added, “they’re studying abroad and I’m hosting them,”

“Ah, how sweet!” the woman said with a gasp.

“Boys, introduce yourselves,” Phichit was the first to look up from his phone.

“Oh, hi I’m Phichit! Sawasdee khrab!” He said with a wai.

“I’m Yuuri,” Yuuri said softly.

“Phichit’s from Thailand, Yuuri is from Japan,” Celestino added.

“Wow, you two are a very long way from home,” the woman said, “I’m Helen, by the way,”

“Celestino,”

As they all waited in line, Celestino and Helen carried on their conversation. Phichit and Yuuri were stuck in the middle, turning their heads from Helen to Celestino to Helen again as they talked. Yuuri whispered something into Phichit’s ear, and then the two giggled.

“What are you two laughing about,” Celestino asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Nothing,” Phichit drawled, and then the two giggled again. Celestino then gave the two boys The Look, which, in the context of the situation, meant “don’t blow this for me I’m about to get a date”. And so both skaters went back to looking at Phichit’s phone.

Groceries bagged and paid for, all three wheeled out of the store and towards the truck.

“Thank you for not ruining it for me, boys,” Celestino said.

“No problem, Ciao Ciao,” Phichit replied, and then Yuuri added,

“Just let us know when Helen’s coming over so we can go stay at someone else’s place. I’d rather not be scarred for life again,”

Celestino let go of the cart, letting it roll away past the truck, and watched the boys shriek in terror for a few seconds before running to catch it again.

#Yuri!!! on Ice #yoi #fic #drabble #i guess #celestino cialdini #phichit chulanont #yuuri katsuki #hope you like #uh #this is bad #don't read #yuuri and phichit are literal children

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4birds-of-a-feather · 7 years ago

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Chapter 26 - Man, it doesn’t show signs of stoppin’ [part 3]

Birds Of a Feather

(In the previous chapters: Layla’s stuck at SeaTac and gives a call to WC Boyfriend who, once more, confirms to be the shittiest boyfriend ever; in the meantime, Sara has reunited with her long-lost cat and an acquaintance of her family, but it wasn’t all peaches and dandelions. WARNING: the other super-short update – we know that we had promised you to update sooner, but we were busy with our job, studies and festivities – just in time to wish you a fantastic 2018!)

Sara walked upstairs back to the loft, frantically rummaging in her shoulder bag to find the apartment keys. When she arrived on the landing, she jumped. “Fuck, mr. California! You scared the shit out of me!” the girl angrily shouted, almost dropping her headphones “The fuck are you doin’ out here???” The singer was in fact sitting on the floor, next to the front door – notebook and pen in his lap. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…” he quickly grabbed the objects and hid them behind his back “It’s just that I went for a walk but forgot my keys on the table, and Jeff’s gone to a party, so…” “No problem: Layla left me hers” she made the keys clink under Eddie’s nose, so the singer smiled and stood up while she made the lock spring open. When they went inside, Sara stopped in the hallway to hang her coat, scarf and bonnet, while Eddie was looking at her, scratching his nape. “Weren’t… weren’t you supposed to spend this day with your family?” he finally asked, almost startling her. The girl gulped, rubbed her blubber eyes and put on a rather convincing cheerful voice, trying not to let him notice her real attitude. “Oh, yes, it’s just-I went to my parents’ house and I noticed that my mom’s relatives from Portland were there too… They’re annoying and know-it-all and kind of churchy too… <Why in hell did I mention Portland? Fuckin’ A, Fancini! Congrats!> … So I just drew the attention of my dad, without making the others notice me, and I explained him that I couldn’t tolerate ‘em, so he agreed and made up some persuasive excuse too… I guess my mum will understand, even if they’re her siblings and shit like that” she ended her monologue and finished to hang all her things, while Eddie was still looking at her. “So… this means you survived” he gave her a warm smile and she did the same. “Yeah, I guess so… Man, I fuckin’ hate these festivities! Hypocrisy flows in torrents” “Don’t tell me… The fuckin’ triumph of bleeding hearts, ugh” the singer soon joined her in that anti-Christmas rant and the two of them quickly ended bursting into laughter. “Glad to see another cynical and black soul around here – the world is too full of retarded Santa’s little helpers” “Man, I hate those lil’ fuckers!” Eddie laughed again, then his eye fell upon a packet full of ribbons that was under the Christmas tree – Sara’s gaze followed his own one. “Oh, you noticed Layla’s work of art…” “… How the fuck does she know that yesterday was my birthday?!” he finally exclaimed, making the girl look at him in disbelief. “Wait a minute: yesterday was your birthday?!” “… SHIT” “Why the fuck didn’t you tell us, Eddie??? You really are grown up in the woods, for fuck’s sake!” Sara scolded him, her eyes plopping out of her head. “I don’t know… I just didn’t want to bother, that’s all” he shrugged, not knowing what else to say. “… you really are weird” the girl sighed, shaking her head “Anyway, that’s your Christmas present… Layla always remembers this kind of things so, in your shoes, I wouldn’t be bothered…” “Didn’t she buy you anything?” Ed asked her, noticing that his pack was the only one under the Christmas tree. “Who do you think you’re talkin’ to??? Of course she bought me something, I’m her fuckin’ best friend!” she gave him a little slap in the nape “But I’ve already hidden it… ya know, with that animal of Ament that freely scampers in this loft, you’ll never know what he could do to my wealth” The guy laughed again “I think I’ll take the risk – I’ll leave mine here” “As you wish, mr. California – I won’t be the one who’s gonna stop you… don’t say I didn’t warn ya” He nodded and started to go in his room’s direction, then stopped and looked at her. “I guess I’m goin’ in my room to listen to some records… Wanna join me?” Sara winced a little, but quickly regained her usual aplomb. “Yeah, why not?” she shrugged “Just gimme a minute and I’ll come” “Ok, great – I’ll leave the door open, no need to knock” The girl nodded and made her way to the bathroom, while he stood in the hallway a few other seconds; when he saw the ringlets at the end of her ponytail disappear, he finally went in his bedroom.

<Nothing happened – you’re perfectly capable to have a natural conversation without embarrassing yourself… you’re gonna fuckin’ own this, you’ll see> Sara splashed her face, then looked at her tired reflection in the mirror: she could still spot some glitter but decided that her cheeks had already been rubbed enough – oh, and her face was the embodiment of misery. <I’m gonna be fuckin’ owned, ugh – this motivational bullshit is pathetic> She took a deep breath and made her way to Ed’s room, stopping just outside: Quadrophenia had just started playing when she peeped out from the doorjamb. “Am I still welcome?” Eddie raised his eyes from the books he was browsing and gave her a smile. “Always – come in!” he went to close the door and gestured for her to find a place to sit; she decided to take a seat on the floor, near the bookshelf where he was standing before. Soon after the guy approached her, waving something with a playful grin: “What did I tell you? Here, see for yourself” He handed her the infamous Polaroid he had taken with Joe Strummer and the girl sneered. “Since a month has almost passed, I thought you had made the whole story up…” she provoked him, without tearing her gaze from Strummer’s autograph at the bottom of the picture. “Yeah, in fact this photo is false as the fact that in 1977 I saw Springsteen and the E Street Band…” he casually added, going to sit next to her. “… you did what???” “… and I also saw The Who in 1979, when I was almost fifteen years old” “YOU LUCKY BASTARD!” Sara kicked him, making him laugh. “Why, are you telling me you never went to a concert?” Eddie mocked her with an evil smile. “Yeah, in fact Fleetwood Mac in 1980, Cat Stevens in 1976 or Led Zeppelin in 1977 were just hallucinations” “HOLY SHIT!” the guy exclaimed, surprised “Wait a minute, Cat Stevens in 1976? How old were-” “Eight years old, and he played divinely” she smiled again “Anyway, I won’t be jealous about you seeing The Who – Moon The Loon was already underground, I can tolerate it” “Shit, you were just a child! And Zeppelin at nine years old – I’m not surprised you turned out like this” Eddie spoke again, then laughed for her second statement. Soon after The Real Me began to play and Sara’s smile turned into a big grin. “The Ox is fuckin’ awesome here – I mean, I can totally say that he’s my favorite bass player without any doubt” “You love Quadrophenia too?” Eddie’s eyes lit up at the thought of a fellow fan of The Who. “Well, that’s not my favorite album made by them, but my second favorite song that they composed is here, so I guess I have to give it some credit” “Just spit out the title” “Love, Reign O’er Me, obviously” “I knew it – sooo, this means that your favorite album’s Tommy…” “Nope – Who’s Next” she gave him a mischievous grin “My favorite song is there, guess it!” The guy mentally listed the tracklist, then answered: “The Song Is Over, right?” “… you’re starting to impress me, ya know?” Sara mocked him, and he laughed. “Sooooo” after a while Ed cleared his throat “what are our plans for Christmas’ Eve?” “Well, since our beloved chef’s not here… I guess we’re fucked, mr. Surfin’ U.S.A.” “Nope, listen: food problem will be solved with pizza delivery… but what about after dinner?” “Why are you lookin’ at me as if I were the life and soul of all parties?!” “Hmm, maybe we could go out and drink somethin’…” he ignored her and went on with his suggestions. “… so then we would be surrounded by stupid people with their fuckin’ stupid Santa Claus hats or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer antlers?! No, thank you!” “Or we could reach Jeff at the party he went to…” “You really want a Seattle remake of Silent Night, Deadly Night, don’t ya?” The guy laughed again, then raised his hands in order to declare himself innocent: “Oook, I get it! How about stayin’ at home and watchin’ some old movie provided by yours truly?” “Are you really makin’ me responsible for our pre-Christmas entertainment?” “C’mon, don’t be too modest! I liked Neighbors and I’m sure-” “Of course you liked it, I kept tellin’ you that you’re Belushi’s alter-ego!” Sara interrupted him, while he stuck his tongue out. “… I was telling ya that I liked Neighbors and I’m sure you’ll do a great job this evening too, that’s all” “… Whatevs” “Great! An Italian one, please” “What? Don’t tell me you’ve ever watched one of them!” “Yep, Miracle in Milan” “NO FUCKIN’ WAY!” the girl exclaimed, sincerely enthusiastic “D’ya know that its last scene inspired the E.T.’s one with the bicycles lifting into the air?” “Shit, that’s why I had a déjà vu when I first watched it!” “Sorry, I’ll stop immediately with my movie geek act – I know it’s weird, I just can’t help it” “No problem, I learnt something new” The girl gave him a grateful smile, then resumed her considerations: “Hmm, so you watched somethin’ from Neorealism… What about Commedia all’Italiana? Err, I mean, Italian-style comedy?” she quickly corrected herself, while Ed smiled because of those few Italian words. “Yeah, why not? I mean, Neorealism is great, but I’d like somethin’ lighter” “Well, ‘lighter’ is not the word I’d use to describe I Mostri, but it’s an awesome example of how great satire could be” “I’m in your hands, I’m sure you won’t disappoint me” Eddie cracked another smile “Dubbed?” “In your fuckin’ dreams, Vedder! I’ve got the subtitled version, this is no place for heretics!” “Yeah, I thought so… I also bet that on March you showed off the Italian flag when Cinema Paradiso won the Academy Award, am I right?” “… you almost got it” was her embarrassed answer, while the guy laughed and stood up to put his notebook in a drawer. “That’s your holy Bible full of personal lyrics, huh?” she asked him, and he immediately turned to face her, as if he had just received a punch in the face “Because that’s what your songs are… Autobiographic, like a diary” Eddie didn’t say anything and lowered his head, and soon Sara was forced to interrupt that awkward silence. “I’m-I’m sorry – I didn’t mean to sound like a bitch but, well!, apparently that was the final result…” she wrung her hands “Man, I really suck with social interactions” “It’s ok, don’t worry” the guy finally opened his mouth again and went to sit on the floor, next to her. “Did all that stuff happen to you?” she asked, after a while. “Except for the incest, yeah… I have lacked for nothing” “… shit” she took a deep breath, trying to clear her thoughts “I’m-I’m so sorry, Ed” “Yeah, I know you really mean it” he said in a low voice, then brought his knees to the chest. “Would my humble singing your praises make you feel a little better?” “Why, did you really like the songs or are you just givin’ me a lump of sugar?” he abruptly raised his head and shot her a nasty glance. “Fuck, do I really look like a person who gives compliments away?!” she retorted, starting to get worked up. “Are we really assembling a conversation by using only questions?” he went on, finally being able to chuckle, while the girl soon followed him – she mentally thanked him for making both of them a bit more relaxed than before. “Anyway – yes, I really liked ‘em, I think you’re a worthy lyricist… At least, the few times I can understand what the fuck you’re singing” At those words the guy laughed heartily and gave her a playful push, to which she answered with another one, a bit stronger. “But yeah, jokes aside: we can totally say that I’m in presence of talent” she winked at him and he thanked her, a bit embarrassed but pleased all the same. When Eddie resumed to talk, I’m One was playing in the background. “Oh, I was almost forgetting to tell ya that I really like your voice” Sara immediately froze, then slowly turned in his direction. “I beg your pardon, what did you just say?” “I said that I like your voice… I heard you, you sing pretty well” “WHEN DID YOU HEAR ME?!” “Well, a few days ago, when we hung out at that bar and-” “Holy Marvin Gaye, I knew that the whole karaoke thing was a shitty idea!” she facepalmed. “… but I heard ya yesterday too, while you were taking a shower” “Fuckin’ A, Vedder! Since when are you overhearing me?!” the girl asked him, her eyes almost plopped out of her head. “Err, since when you’ve started to sing Elton John out loud…?” “That’s because I thought I was alone! I thought that nobody was at home, except me! And instead you were there, lurkin’ like a vulture!” At that last comparison the singer laughed out loud, making Sara even more irritated. “C’mon, don’t be offended! I just wonder why you’re freakin’ out like that!” he tried to ease the situation, given how she didn’t seem to relax. “Because I don’t want anyone to know it, genius! I don’t like it, it’s just a personal thing” “… a personal thing?” “Yeah, a promise I made to someone – someone really important, but that was just a thing between the two of us” “Hmmm, understood” he thought over something, then resumed to talk “My father… he sang too. I mean, that’s what other people told me – I met him a few times, as a family friend, but I didn’t talk to him that much… And then one day my mum took me aside and told me that who I thought was my father was actually my step-father, and that my real dad was ‘that man that once in a while came to visit us, you remember?’ but he had already died, and I-I didn’t know what the fuck I was supposed to do, or say, or think, or feel, and-” Eddie stopped talking and took a deep breath, probably in the attempt to not cry, but Sara had already noticed his eyes becoming bright with tears. “It’s ok, Eddie, you don’t have to talk about it” she carefully put a hand on his shoulder and softly squeezed it, while he let out a deep sigh. <Am I the first one to hear his story? Well, who cares! I mean, he trusted me and told me all these things – maybe I should tell him about-> The girl’s thoughts were interrupted by the noise of a guitar’s sound box – Ed had grabbed the instrument and now was strumming it absent-mindedly, trying to tune it. “You play guitar?” “Yeah, a little bit… Well, playing is a huge word: let’s just say that I strum away on it” “Hmmm, I see” “You’re gonna make me listen to somethin’, right?” “What?!” she almost choked “Absolutely not – this is a categorical no!” “I’m sorry but I won’t accept refusals of any type” “… are you blackmailing me?” “Hmmm, maybe… you think I am?” “I think so, Alvin without the Chipmunks!” The guy laughed: “C’mon, just a song! It’s just the two of us – nobody will ever come to know this, I promise” Sara rolled her eyes, so Eddie went on: “Silence gives consent… fine, let’s do this!” He casually plucked some strings, then finally had a flash of inspiration and began to play. “I’m sure you know this one, I saw this album in your collection” “Great! Have you searched my bedroom too?!” she hysterically asked him, but he ignored her. “C’mon, be ready! Your turn is finally coming!” the guy played the last introductory chords and Sara finally began to sing, her eyes still rolling. “Blackbird singing in the dead of night, take these broken wings and learn to fly… All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise…” Eddie smiled to himself and the two kept on performing the song; at a certain point he slowed down the fingerpicking and started to whistle, imitating the birds chirping, while the girl looked at him in a perplexed way – but then burst into laughter. “The hell are you doin’???” “C’mon, try it – be a blackbird too!” he suggested her, still laughing, and when she emulated him he smiled satisfied “See? That was easy” “… idiot” the girl laughed again, and resumed to sing the final lines: “You were only waiting for this moment to arise, you were only waiting for this moment to arise, you were only waiting for this moment to arise…” Eddie finished to play, then smiled at her. “Well, you did learn to fly… Congratulations on your voice” “You’re just a flatterer, but thanks” she blushed, then cleared her throat “Instead, congratulations on your guitar style! You don’t limit yourself in strummin’ away on it… you play it, Ed” “Nope, I’m not that good” “Have you ever considered the possibility of playin’ in the band? Like, for real” “In the band? A band with three guitars?” “Yeah, why not? Kind of a Lynyrd Skynyrd thing, ya know” “Well, I’m just the new guy – I don’t know if Mike and Stone would agree…” he shrugged “Plus, as I said before, I can’t seriously play it” “Hmmm, as you wish… But, in your shoes, I’d give it a try” “Who knows, maybe in the future? Like ten years from now, just gimme enough time to practice…” “Why, are you really believin’ that you guys are goin’ to last that long?!” she provoked him, and the guy laughed. “No, you’re right – but, in the meantime, I’d be really glad to make at least a duet with you at the karaoke” “No fuckin’ way, I’ll never set foot again on that goddamn place, sure as hell!” “Ok, as you wish… but, sooner or later, you will sing somethin’ with me” he pondered “Like a collaboration… I should seriously write somethin’ for two voices” “Don’t you fuckin’ dare, Vedder! This is a secret, I told ya once and I won’t tell you again: keep your mouth shut or there’ll be big troubles!” Eddie pretended to go along with her wishes and gave her a mischievous smile – then his gaze fell on something that was peeking from the pocket of her sweatshirt. “What’s that?” “Oh” the girl suddenly remembered its existence and pulled it out “Just a mixtape I was listening to before” “Can I?” he extended a hand and she gave it to him “Footprints like puddles – strange choice for a title… I like it” “It’s-err… It’s just a silly title, I wrote down random words” “It seems well put together to me…” Ed fumbled with its case and finally pulled out the tracklist. “It’s just a couple of songs for the days when I get the mean reds, nothing serious” “The… the mean reds?” he hadn’t even started to read through the track titles but stopped immediately “What’s that?” “Well… ever watched Breakfast at Tiffany’s?” the guy nodded and she went on “When Audrey Hepburn gets ‘em, she jumps in a cab and goes to Tiffany’s – and it calms her down, just like that” “Ok, now I get it – this right here is your personal Tiffany’s, right?” “It is” “Then it’s better if I don’t intrude” he quickly opened again the case and started to put away the tracklist, but her hand stopped him. “… Go on, I think you could appreciate it” He looked at her, a bit puzzled: “You sure?” “Yep – go on” The guy smiled and finally began to read it. “Let’s see… we’ve got Leonard Cohen – woah, Ella Fitzgerald! – Brian Eno and Tom Waits… you put The Boss too, awesome” “Yeah, Racing In The Street reminds me of the way I feel when I choose not to open my umbrella on rainy days” “I think he’d be honored to know it… well, you should totally lend this to me, there are a couple of songs in here that I don’t know and I’d like to hear ‘em” he stopped, scratching his nape a bit embarrassed “… of course, only if you feel ok with that” “Yeah – err, yeah, that’s fine… I don’t mind” “Great, thanks” “You’ll tell me what you think about it, ‘kay? And I also wanna know if you appreciated the ones you hadn’t heard before my magic tape came to your rescue” “… you just got yourself a deal” “That’s what I like to hear” Sara looked around, her gaze stopping on the surfboard in a corner, the big waves painted on some walls, the books and vinyls piled on the desk and shelves – a few were also scattered on the floor; she found out that the room really reflected Eddie’s soul – at least, for the little bits she knew about him. The girl also found herself really missing her old chamber, the one that was waiting for her in that godawful mess of her loft, with most of all her belongings stocked there and the furniture apparently put in a random way – when in reality it had been carefully arranged by her. Out of the corner of his eye Eddie clearly saw her sigh, so he quickly tried to introduce a new topic in order to offer her a little distraction. “Say… can you play some instrument?” Sara startled, a confused expression upon her face. “Who? Me?” the guy nodded and she went on “Nope – when I was a child I used to play the harmonica from time to time, but it was nothin’ serious” “Oh, I see – and you got a favorite instrument? One that you really enjoy listenin’ to, and maybe you’d also like to learn how to play?” “HA! Lemme surprise you: banjo, mandolin, kazoo – ya know, all those weird things” she listed, all proud “Oh, and I love bass too… but don’t tell Ament, pretty please!” “Ahahaha, ok! Pinky swear” he laughed, then they entwined their little fingers and the deal was made “But yeah, really unusual choices… I was expecting something entirely different” “Like what?” “Like… I dunno – violin? Piano? Maybe the harp too… You strike me as someone who would enjoy these instruments a lot” “… I strike you as someone this ordinary? Wow, Ed – you really have a way with words” “Shit, I-I didn’t mean that, I just-” “Relax, I was just teasing you!” Sara let out a carefree laugh “I know that on the outside I may give this impression… and let’s not talk about this squeaky, little voice of mine – it’s obvious that you’d link it to a violin instead of a kazoo” The guy laughed and gave her a playful push, then resumed his observations: “See? That’s why a collaboration of the two of us would be so interesting – and stop it, your voice isn’t squeaky” “You’re the one who has to stop it, Ed! Erase this crazy idea of yours right now or-” “Or what? You’re gonna kick my ass? Punch my cute face with those small, childish hands? I don’t think so, Fancini” “VEDDER, YOU’RE SO GOING DOWN” she roared and threw a cushion at him that perfectly landed on his face. “Ouch! How can such a little person be this evil???” he grabbed another pillow and did the same with her. “You’re one to talk! Beware the mighty Big Foot!” “See?! Well, I’m going to expose you in my next song, which is gonna be this caustic piece about how one should never trust Italian girls with big, brown eyes because in reality they’re Satan’s daughters – and, the good news? I’m so gonna force you to sing some lines, the ones with the nastiest insults” he laughed again, avoiding a cushion “I can’t wait to hear your angelic voice singin’ something along the lines of ‘you’re a sewer rat decaying in a cesspool of pride’…” “Angelic my ass! Stop talking about me singin’, nobody has to fuckin’ know it!” Sara gave him a strong push that made him fell legs in the air, her irascibility growing as she heard him guffaw without restraint. “Ok, ok, nobody will ever know this thing! I swear!” he shouted breathlessly among his laughter. “… nobody will ever know what?” were the words that came out from Layla’s mouth, as she suddenly peeped out from the door.

#Eddie Vedder #Jeff Ament #Pearl Jam #Eddie Vedder fanfiction #Pearl Jam fanfiction #grunge fanfiction #Jeff Ament fanfiction #Birds of a Feather #chapters

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kazlifeadventures · 5 years ago

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Boston, you knocked my Sox off!

(See what I did there!)

Loooong travel day, 6.5hr bus trip back to DC, followed by a train to the airport. I had allowed a good 5 hrs from the bus arrival to the flight departure, so when the flight was delayed by another hour it turned out to be a very long day!! All part of travelling though, and I am still the worst sleeper ever, so that doesn’t help either! I booked a brand new hotel that is part of a chain I have stayed in before. Good choice Kaz, it seems familiarity is still something you crave even when you have been on the crazy odyssey I have been on! Not the most expensive, but not the cheapest either, although research showed me that Boston is not the cheapest place for accomodation! Good news is I again lucked out and have ended up in walking distance to all the stops on the freedom trail, as well as the Tea party ships in the harbour. Oh, I almost forgot, more importantly walking distance to little Italy... seriously , yum...

My first day here, was a colder, wet day, and after my late night and big sleep, I decided to explore my local area, and find a laundromat, get the boring but necessary part of travel out of the way. I ended up at a local coffee shop while I was waiting ( in the Italian quarter - I worked out later.... in my defence I was tired!!) Anyway I had some great chats with some locals at both the coffee shop and the laundromat. Yes, I still talk to strangers....

I will admit it, I am in love with Boston. This place seems to have just the right balance of everything. Public transport system is not the newest or cleanest (or cheapest..) BUT it still got me in all the feels. The history here is amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed walking the freedom trail. Cheapo that I am I didn’t want to buy the map or books, I found a free online interactive map, that told me the stories of the sites, and conveniently the sidewalks had a tiled red section indicating the trail (no arrows or numbers like the one in Hanover though). Apparently a journalist had suggested marking the path to the 16 landmark sites some time in the 1950’s - fabulous idea!!! The walk itself apparently takes about 2.5 hours (its about 4 miles) and covers the sites that are integral parts of the history of not just this city, but of the entire country. The freedom trail takes you on a journey of the major players who were a part of the Boston Tea Party, an uprising that set the country on a course that ultimately ended in a war with England, and the birth of a new nation. Charleston, the site of the Bunker hill monument ( the final stop of the trail), a giant 67m tall granite monument erected between 1825 and 1843 was one of the sites of the first major battles between the British and the Patriot forces in the American Revolutionary War.

Luckily one of the guys in reception had suggested a local Italian deli that make, the best, Italian sub I have ever put in my mouth. Seriously. Tastiest thing ever. the fact that they shave the meat to order as they make it, only adds to the appeal. I then located a shop that makes Italian pastries getting a couple of cannolis that I was destined to eat over the next couple days. (Sad to say they may have been nicer than the ones I had in Sicily recently —-eeek yep I said it!!!) There are no rules about following the freedom trail, so truth be told I kind of did some on one day, then wandered and decided to start from the beginning the second day I was here, starting in the famous Biston Common, taking in such beautiful buildings as the Massachusetts state house, kings chapel, the site of the Boston massacre, Feneuil hall, and some amazing cemeteries (Google the whole list if you're interested!) It was then time for a lunch stop, and where better than Boston's oldest restaurant, the Union Oyster. I had to have the clam chowder and a lobster roll! The building was amazing, the interior covered in historical pictorials. The food was good, probably not worth the price, (and the roll was not as nice as the one I'd had in NYC) but hey it's the ambience and the history you sign up for!

After lunch I stopped before heading to Bunker hill, Instead heading to the Tea party ships and museum (in the opposite direction). Thinking about it, its not much different to how I have done everything else on this crazy adventure. I kind of just wing it and seem to end up in the right place at the right time. When I arrived at the tea party museum, I was just in time for the start of the next tour. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, these things are awesome. They have actors who take on the role of historical figures and lead you through the events of the past. You are given a card with your own character on it and encouraged to join in (as if I need more encouragement...) My kind of leaning really!!! The mix of live interactive performance and the films they show you gave me an incredible insight and understanding of the events that have been dubbed as the ‘Boston tea party’. The Boston Tea Party was a political protest that took place on 16th December 1773 at Griffin’s Wharf. American colonists, frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation.” They boarded the ships and smashed open and dumped about 350 or so lead lined chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company, into the harbour. This event was the first major act of defiance to British rule over the colonists.

My last full day I spent out in Salem. The story of the witch hysteria, and what occurred back in 1692 is unsettling in the least. Understandable in way, given the time period it occurred, (hey its easier to look at anything in hindsight and go - ‘hey why did that happen’). Anyway it was another rainy day, which added to the intrigue. The city itself plays on its witch history, something I’m not sure sits quite right with me, but I guess you either own it and make it work for you or end up with al the tourists anyway! The historical area of the town has some amazing buildings. The witch museum tour was another tour presented by actors and gave me more if an understanding of the events at that time. The memorial for the 19 people who died as a result of the trials was very well done. A simple space that details the date and manner of thier death, with their final statements carved into the stone entrances to the space. 18 of the accused were hung, with one man (whose wife had already been hung), crushed to death. The law at the time required a trial and a plea to be entered before any punishment was dealt out. Giles Corey refused to enter a plea, so the torture of the day was applied in order to get him to speak. He apparently lasted almost 3 days of having boulders placed upon him, his only words each time, "more weight", his final words apparently a curse upon the town and the office of Sheriff. There is alot more interesting history that revolves around the Salem witch trials. The fact that they recognised they had been wrong and made restitution to the families of those who had been killed was a big step. They still have only theories as to how and why it all began, but I guess an onus of proof instead of heresay is one big thing that came out of it!

I then headed back to Boston on the train, catching a local train to get me over to Bunker hill memorial (yeah- I didn't feel like walking a mile by then!). I didn't climb the memorial as it was too late for the last entry, but it's impressive and kind of humbling to stand at its base knowing what occurred here.

All too soon, my time here is over! 😪

I'm off to Chicago to see another friend from my Morocco tour - more Boston photos to come (as usual!!)

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emimiketrash · 8 years ago

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That EmiMike x JJBek Highschool AU Headcanon that Nobody Asked For

Like really, nobody asked for two pairings in one headcanon. This was a random idea at 3 in the morning. Excuse this shitty sad piece of work.

This is basically Part 1 wherein I lay the groundwork. This is going to be long so go eat some food and a mug of hot chocolate while reading this. Please let me know if I should continue this. Thank you! Mickey and Otabek (The Bros)

Mickey and Otabek are best friends (mainly because Mickey knows that Beka is gay af and wouldn’t dare touch his sister, Sara). The first time they met, Otabek made it very clear that he wasn’t interested in women let alone Sara (she thought Otabek was rather cute). Like… M: (angry-threateningly) Let’s make this perfectly clear. Stay away from my sister or I will cut you in half in your sleep. O: Let’s make THIS perfectly clear. I’m not interested in your sister. S: *gasps* WHAAAAT??? M: (angry-surprised) …wha …what did you say? I call bullshit on that!!!! How can you say that so calmly?!?!?!? DON’T THINK THAT BY SAYING SUCH THINGS THAT I’LL LET YOU DATE SARA— O: I’m not interested in Sara because it’s how it is, Michele – I’m not interested in women. S: … M: …what? Sara understood what that meant immediately. Mickey took more time to get convinced.

Eventually, Mickey and Otabek bond over some little things like appreciation for good coffee, amazing literary pieces, and eventually, a love for good movies. They get to know each other better and become something like blood brothers.

People in school are afraid of Mickey (because people think he’s angry-crazy). He actually just cares too much. But he’s the best guy to go to for help with home economics stuff (but because he’s introverted as hell, he’s not used to helping people out). But he’s good with other subjects, too.

Mickey (and Sara) help out at their dad’s restaurant, which is the best one in the city, part-time. Mickey wants to take over the restaurant one day. Sara wants to do something else with her life (like being a theater actress with her “best friend”, Mila. At least, Mickey thinks they’re best friends. Otabek knows what’s up but won’t tell Mickey because he thinks Sara should do the honors.)

Otabek is a genius in music, art, and literature. He’s also quite good with history. Otabek wants to be a musician. He also DJs in his spare time. While he’s a god at dropping some fire-ass beats, he’s also experimenting with a more retro sound, like that of the 80’s.

Otabek goes to school on a foreign student scholarship, and lives with the Crispinos, and he also helps out at Mr. Crispino’s restaurant. Although Mr. Crispino, kind man that he is, is insistent that Otabek doesn’t need to work, Otabek says otherwise. At least he gets paid (and quite well) to help, and all that income is divided into 30% allowance and 70% sent back to his family at Kazakhstan (what an Ota-bae). Otabek’s allowance sometimes goes to saving up for new DJ-ing equipment.

Otabek keeps in touch with his other best friend, Yurio Plisetsky from ballet school back in Russia, through Skype (Yurio’s on tour at the moment). Every time they call, utter chaos happens in the house (ex. the police show up at the Crispinos because the neighbors heard loud screaming because of Mickey or Mr. Crispino yell at Yurio for the litany of offensive shit he says. #CrispinosHaveNoChill). Otabek still has no idea how to calm everybody down.

JJ and Emil (The Other Bros) Sidenote: I got the idea to make them best friends from this headcanon by @pasteurellapestis. Bless them for their amazing EmiMike/MichEmil headcanons

JJ and Emil, the star hockey players of the school, basically rule the school. JJ is the well-celebrated King Bee captain and Emil is everybody’s favorite lovable dork.

They’re best friends because they both love sports, they’re both so lively it’s infectious, and they’re both the hottest guys at school. They’re both huge dorks. They’re nerdier than the science club nerds at school. Only Emil knows about JJ’s love for science.

They met back in freshman year when they both signed up for the hockey team. He saw Emil reading a science magazine and asked if he read that new article that dissected the study on positronic distillation of sub-atomic particles and why the process was impossible.

JJ’s family is loaded as fuck because they’re a family of professional athletes.

Emil’s dad designs cellphones for a huge tech company, and that’s how Emil not only got interested in technology, but it’s also how he gets a new phone every year (for free). His mom’s a doctor and is actually the Crispinos’ family physician. Her caring nature rubbed off on Emil, which explains why Emil cares so much for his loved ones. The Nekola family isn’t rich nor poor but they’re a happy bunch.

But because JJ is… well, JJ, it’s harder for him to be as endearingly nerdy as Emil. JJ has the whole cool guy branding he needs to maintain. But JJ is a huge science dork. He raves over everything new in the science world with Emil. Emil hits back with some new tech stuff.

JJ loves music. He secretly has a thing for 80’s music, especially power rock. But he doesn’t mind a fire beat every now and then, especially if it doesn’t sound either super basic or the music isn’t something annoyingly mainstream. He writes his own music sometimes. He’s also quite interested in photography. JJ sometimes crosses over to another town for photowalks because he can’t be seen in his local town because these kinds of things aren’t cool. (JJ does spot Otabek during one photowalk and wonders to himself, “Do I know him from somewhere?”)

Because Emil’s free as a bird to be himself, he’s actually part of the robotics club at school. He sometimes makes things that end up blowing up. One time, the whole school had to be evacuated because Emil’s latest robot set off the fire alarms. (Mickey scolded him for that one.)

Emil also loves anime, movies, TV shows, etc. with inventors, robots, hi-tech shit, and fantasy. He also loves “Phineas and Ferb” and the entire “Voltron” series. (He always thought of himself as Phineas and Mickey as Ferb.)

Mickey and Emil (EmiMike/MichEmil), Part 1

Mickey and Emil were childhood friends and neighbors. Their houses are next to each other’s. In fact, Emil and Mickey can see each other from their windows. Even if they both grew up and apart (or at least, Mickey thinks they grew apart), Emil still always loved Mickey.

Whenever Mickey wakes up in the morning and looks out the window, he always sees Emil waving at him (sometimes shirtless) and mouthing, “Good morning, Mickeeeey!" Mickey reacts by either yelling at him to put a shirt on or ragingly shutting the drapes.

Sometimes, Emil offers Mickey (and Otabek because Emil is such a nice guy huhu) a ride to school, to which Mickey vehemently refuses, thinking that Emil (and other guys) is just after his sister ever since puberty hit her like a big, yellow school bus.

Emil usually invites Mickey to sit with him at lunch, but Mickey regularly refuses. Mickey did sit with them once but he hated the experience because he thought JJ was radiating douchiness everywhere. (JJ is just bad at making good impressions, poor baby.)

Emil is always one to invite Mickey to go places with him: the groceries, the beach, the park, the mall, the local drive-in, etc. He even invited Mickey to dinner (just the two of them). Mickey always says no. Sometimes, Emil feels defeated because Mickey says no and sometimes doesn’t understand why his childhood friend became so distant.

Emil tried dropping shit tons of hints that it was Mickey he was interested in and not Sara, but all those hints just did was make Mickey think Emil wanted Sara. Mickey always fails to pick up those hints. Sara is tired af of her brother’s obliviousness. It’s clear to Sara and even Otabek that Emil is gay af for Mickey.

Emil confided in JJ about his feelings for Mickey. JJ was like, “Uhm, duh.” It went down like this, non-verbatim: E: Wait you knew? J: The whole school knows, man! Well, except Crispino himself. I think his sister knows, too. E: *smirks* Hmm, do you think Beka knows? J: Wh-- wha-- Beka? Who’s that? E: *teasingly* Oh, you know? Beka, our dear friend from Kazakhstan? J: Beka? Like, B-Becca Mitchell? E: *laughs his ass off* Yeah, sure. Becca Mitchell. Emil thinks JJ has a thing for Beka. And he was right.

Otabek and JJ (JJBek), Part 1

JJ, being observant as hell, always seems to notice Otabek whenever he sees the Kazakh boy anywhere. The first time he saw Otabek was at a photowalk in a neighboring town. (Otabek also noticed JJ but didn’t want to say anything. Beka thought it might not be a good idea to draw attention to JJ without the latter asking for it.) The second time was when he saw Otabek arriving to school on his motorbike (which JJ dubs as “The Otabike”). No one else except the Crispinos notices Otabek.

JJ asks Phichit Chulanont, everybody’s go-to information database, to dig up some information about Beka, to which Phichit took longer to do it than usual because Otabek hardly uses his social media accounts. Phichit had to resort to traditional investigative means to deliver.

JJ learned as much about Otabek as Phichit could uncover: that Otabek was from Almaty, Kazakhstan; that he was on a foreign exchange scholarship; that he lived with the Crispinos and works part-time for their dad’s restaurant; and that his closest friend was Michele Crispino. Basically, it was hard to find something about Beka other than that.

JJ decides to take it from here and attempt to be friends with Mickey (so he can get to Beka), only for the Italian man (who assumed that JJ wants to date Sara) to glare at the Canadian darkly and utter (of course), “You stay away from my sister or say goodbye to your dick. You pick.” JJ basically sweats nervously and quietly retreats. Otabek, who was watching the whole time, raises and eyebrow and wonders what the hell that was all about.

Otabek secretly is interested in JJ because he could see there’s something different about JJ that separates him from the other hockey players. Well, everyone knows Emil’s a dork, but with JJ, it’s something Otabek couldn’t seem to lay a finger on.

One time after PE, Otabek saw JJ step out of the shower in his post-shower naked glory. Otabek was sent to the infirmary because of extreme loss of blood. Mickey had to stay till his dad could pick Otabek up.

Otabek once told Yurio about JJ through their Skype convos and even sent pictures. Yurio thought that JJ looked like a douchebag, but willingly supports Otabek if he thinks JJ will make him happy (even if Yurio visibly cringes at the thought. Otabek smirks and laughs it off.)

Bonus Headcanons (in case y’all be wondering where everybody else is):

Phichit Chulanont is the local walking information database with huge-ass brows full of secrets. He runs the school newspaper (and its social media accounts), with Sara Crispino as his associate editor and Minami Kenjirou as a news correspondent. Phichit is also the number one source for information trading at school, but requesting for his services comes with a hefty price. Phichit sometimes uses his information to play matchmaker.

Yuuri Katsuki and Phichit are still best friends (like in canon-verse) because why the hell not. Minami usually tries to hang with them when he gets the chance. The two forget he’s even there sometimes. (There was one time when Phichit and Yuuri drove off just as Minami was about to open the door. Yikes.)

Yuuri and Victor Nikiforov are the crowned Homecoming power couple of the school. Victor is the head dance captain of the school and also rules the school alongside Yuuri. Because, well, why not? There’s no conflict of social power between Victor and JJ; Victor just doesn’t give a shit about JJ (ouch). When Victuuri walks down the hallways together, they basically come with their own theme song. (refer here)

Sara Crispino and Mila Babicheva are totally dating. Mr. Crispino whole-heartedly supports his daughter’s relationship. Mickey took more time to be convinced (especially about the existence of lesbians like wtf Mickey seriously) but came around. Sara and Mila are also part of the school’s drama club.

Leo de la Iglesias and Guang-hong Ji are also part of the hockey team and are basically falling in love with each other. Although the two haven’t said anything, JJ totally ships them. He also sees Leo as his potential heir apparent.

Chris Giacometti is the guidance counselor at school who regularly promotes safe sex when someone comes in for counseling. He gives sex advice sometimes. His most notable counseling session that came with sex adviuce was with Leo and Guang-Hong (gee, I wonder why). When the old sex-ed teacher retired, Chris immediately applied for the position (and basically sweet-talked his way to get the job). He also brings his cat to school sometimes. Chris’ husband sometimes visits and brings him lunch.

Minako Okukawa, one of the dance club advisers, just loves watching Chris’ thicc booty bounce. During trainings, Yuuri sometimes has to catch Minako-sensei’s attention back to Earth just to refocus her attention on club practice.

Georgi Popovich is the adviser of the drama club (because why not). During an “investigation”, Phichit unearthed photos of Mr. Popovich’s career wherein he played Caribose during a run of Sleeping Beauty at West End, and he looked like he applies makeup like it’s a pie to the face. No one could look at Mr. Popovich the same way again.

Phichit has a particular crush on the fashion club’s vice-president, Seung-gil Lee. Seung-gil feels the same way but doesn’t know how to express his feelings.

Yakov Feltsman is the school principal. He particularly dislikes Victor sometimes for being unconventionally rebellious and annoyingly chill. Yosek Karpíšek is the vice-principal. Lilia Baranovskaya is the head of the arts department and is sometimes confused as to why the hell she hired Minako.

It’s actually much longer than I anticipated, but if you stayed till the end, thanks for reading this. Stay tuned for Part 2 (where somebody saves the school dance and enthralls one of our main characters loljk)!

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mistressemmedi · 8 years ago

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Special edition of “WTF Wednesday”, which we shall dub “Freaky Friday”

The Mistery of my Italian High School

Unlike in America, where schools are “built” ad hoc, most Italian public buildings are re-purposed old buildings. In the case of my old school building, the grounds used to be an old nunnery/monastery.

Said monastery is huge, to the point where only half of the building was re-purposed as a school, and the other half is a asylum aka a psychiatric institution.

That’s right, next door we had a psychiatric institution (insert joke about school driving you crazy here).

The funny part is, that the buildings are all built in “squares” with a a courtyard in the middle

Exhibit A - one of the courtyards (yes, that’s a functioning well)

And the first floor classes on the east wing, would face the courtyard of the psychiatric institution. So despite having bars on the windows (WTF), it would often happen that the patients would knock on the window asking to bum a smoke while you were writing a damn maths test (true story). It would also be the norm that we were told to wait in class after the lesson was over, because a rogue patient escaped for the 4 time that week (also a true story from yours truly).

The Nunnery and its ghost

Besides the WTF part of that, I mentioned that the building used to be an old nunnery/monastery. Rumor was that one of the nuns got pregnant and got found out by the Mother Superior. Obviously this was a massive scandal.

At the time, wealthy families would marry off their first born daughters and send the other to nunneries/convents, as to not have to pay a dowry. So a lot of these nuns were rich, young ladies, who did not want this kind of lifestyle. At the same time, the convent survived off the donations of the rich families of these girls, on the condition that these girls would “stay put”.

Legend says that the Mother Superior of the convent was an old, bitter lady, who decided that in order to protect the reputation of the convent and as “not to make God angry”, she would have to hand out the ultimate punishment: the nun was drugged, placed in an alcove in one of the hallways, and walled-in alive. This would also remind the other nuns of the “consequences” of her transgression. It is believed that her spirit still haunts the school-ground and often takes possession of the bodies of female patients of the psychiatric institution next door (I’ve seen my fair share of weird shit).

The Church

Lastly, like all monasteries, there was a church attached to it. The odd part of it, is the fact that the curch pre-dates the monastery… By some centuries. (WTFFFFF). If you read Italian, there’s an extensive wiki article here which includes a lot of pictures.

The spark notes version of it: the Church was built on ancient pagan burial grounds, that were right next to the famous roman Via Postumia. After Christianity was allowed by the Roman empire, the necropolis got “cleansed” and turned into a place were Christians could worship God. (Yes, the church is THAT old).

Exhibit B - what the church looks like today

The Church went through obvious changes during the centuries, but the most important one was that it became a Basilica, due to the fact that it hosts the remains of two martyrs who were then made into saints, Saint Felice and Saint Fortunato.

While that alone makes the church quite important and a lot of people do make the trip to pray over the bones of the two martyrs, legend says that the church also hosts the remains of another, more famous, saint: Saint Valentine.

While this was not ever confirmed or proved, every February the grounds of the school and church, became a place were couples would show up asking for a blessing from the saint, or people who wanted to find a significant other, would show up praying for the saint to send him someone. IT WAS INSUFFERABLE.

HONESTLY, PUT A SCHOOL OF HORMONAL TEENAGERS NEXT TO A CHURCH THAT MAY OR MAY NOT HOST THE REMAINS OF THE PATRON SAINT OF LOVE, AND YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW AWFUL THIS WAS.

Anyways, due to the fact that the church was built on a pagan necropolis, and the dead were disrespected like that, rumor is that the dead would often haunt the monks that lived in the monastery (before it became a convent of nuns. Although for a while it was a co-ed thing, which… Recipe for disaster). There was a string of monks that went insane, committed suicide etc. Freaky.

The end

So yes, here’s your installment of Freaky Friday / WTF Wednesday. I hope you enjoyed it.

#wtf wednesday #Creepy stories #Ghosts #Legends #urban legends

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hollywoodcelebritieslifesty-blog · 6 years ago

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Ariana Grande Biography

Ariana Grande blue Terra is an American singer-songwriter dancer and actress. She was born on June 26 1993 and raised in Boca Raton. Florida Ariana is the daughter of Joan granted the chief executive officer of hosts McEntee munication a telephone and alarm system company and Edward Butera a graphic design firm owner in Boca Raton. She has an older half-brother Frankie Grandis who is an actor dancer and producer and she also has a close relationship with her maternal grandmother Marjorie Grande. Grande is family moved from New York to Florida when her mother was pregnant with her and her parents separated.

When she was around eight or nine years old her name was inspired by Princess orianna's from Felix Takata.She is of Italian descent how's the filming by the Butera family and has a birdies by the grandest family. At the age of seven Arianna was on vacation her family on board a cruise ship and Gloria Estefan's a famous blackened fingers over her hitting in the wrong room my heart will go on on carry exploring his dazzled by his forties, so she went up to Ariana and told him I just want to let you know that you are so talented and do not ever give up this inspired Ariana to do singing in that scene. Ariana Grande's began performing at the age of eight. She performed with the Fort Lauderdale Children's Theater praying her for strollers and then she participated in several more musicals and local theaters language.

Ariana is one of the youngest emerging singer here you can read too the details about Ariana Grande Net Worth

She also major national television debut singing the star-spangled banner to the Florida Panthers hockey team in 2008. Ariana Grande was cast in a supporting role of cheerleader Charlotte in the musical 13 on Broadway for which she won a national data Association award.When she joined the music Grande left her high school North Broward Preparatory School but continued to be enrolled the school sent materials to her so she could study with tutors. In 2009 Ariana audition for the Nickelodeon television show will victorious in New York along with co-star Elizabeth Gillies.In the sitcom set in a performing arts high school Grande with cast as Cat Valentine. Victoria premiered in March 2010 to the second-largest audience for a live-action series on Nickelodeon history with 5.7 million viewers. The roll helps propel Ariana Grande to teen idol status but she was more interest on you the careers stating that acting his phone but music has always been first and foremost with me after the first season of Victoria trapped Grande wanted to focus on her music career and began working on her debut album in August to strengthen her vocal range. She began working with local co-chair etc in 2010.

She also played the role of Miriam in the musical Cuba Libre which was written and produced by songwriter Desmond child. Victorious premiered in April 2011 to 6.2 million viewers becoming the highest-rated episode of victorious she made her first musical appearance on the track. Given up on the soundtrack victorious music from the hit TV show in August 2011 while filming Victorian Arianna made several recordings of herself singing covers of songs by Adele Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey and she uploaded them to you - a friend of Monty met walk the email of the public record came across one of Ariana's videos impressed by her vocals. He sent the link to live in who signs it to a recording contract and released her first single put your heart shot in December 2011 which was recorded for a team-oriented pop album it was not issued. She later disowned the track for a chosen pop sound saying that she had no interest in recording music about genre anyway the seller was later certified gold by the riot also. In 2011 Ariana voiced the fairy princess Diaspro in 13 episodes of the nickelodeon version of the Italian animated television series Winx Club. She voiced the title role in the English dub of the Spanish-language animated film snowflake the white gorilla and finally she appeared in Graceland chances music video for his song called unfriending.

From his album hold on till the night portraying chances ex-girlfriend Victoria is frequently premiered in January 2012. A second soundtrack Victoria to Mandela was released on June 10th as an extended play featuring Ariana Grande in the song though he forget about me on August 2012 it was announced that Victorian wouldn't say renewed the fourth and last season started in September 2012 and ended in February 2013. The third and final Victoria's sound traffic guitar 3.0 was released on November 6 2012 featuring Mariana in the song la voy. In December 2012 Ariana Grande collaborated on a single version of popular song a duet with British singer and songwriter Mika. She also starred over the holiday season as Snow White in a pantomime style musical theatre production called of no white Christmas together with Charlie Nicholson and Neil Patrick Harris.

Some facts about Arian Grande

Well before we get into these facts I want to know guys what do you love about Ariana Grande let me know down there or what do you hate about her people hate Ariana maybe let me know down there as well.Ronda Grande's beauty icons are her mother and spies from the Spice Girls as a matter of fact her earliest memory of admitting this goes back to. When she was four years old she says that when she gets older she wants to look like a mix between her mom and Scary Spice. Now she is a huge animal lover and loves to rescue animals and she said that she's willing to rescue even more. If she had more space now in ten years she hopes to have a lot of room to have tons of rescue animals. I wonder how the vet bill would look in ten years Wow now did you know Ariana Grande's number one beauty accessory is I lack extensions yeah she said that she could be completely naked but have on her lash extensions and everything will be okay. I wonder she would say the same thing if she experienced one of these winters like we have in Canada all the time.

She's also a huge musical theater lover and she's a checkerboard chick in hairspray live which is a televised version of hairspray. Now did you guys know that Ariana is obsessed with horror movies so much so that her mother thought that she would grow up to become a serial killer because she would wear these horror masks all over the house all the time but not Ariana. She's way too cute to be a serial killer like I don't think she could even hurt a fly, obvious fact her half brother Frankie Grande he's a celebrity in his own right he was a contestant on Big Brother that helped launch his career what you didn't know that shame on you you're not a real Ariana Grande fan now I'm just kidding guys but anyways Ariana Grande she is vegan like complete vegan. When she has to make a meal she asks a plan and strategize like if she's gonna war or something just to know what exactly she's gonna be eating not on top of her strict diet she just wants to live as healthy of a lifestyle as possible so she tries to stay as active as possible tries to get enough sleep as well as she loves to perform on stage because she says that it is a great workout so she's killing two birds with one stone entertaining her fans as well as getting a good workout.

she also likes to sleep in minimal clothing and her Nona or grandmother encourages her to sleep completely naked I guess they're ganas a big fan of being naked this is like the tenth fact of her being naked okay number okay it's like a second but still Bruce Almighty is her favorite movie on a stupid boat. With the stupid hatch Ariana Grande was born in Florida but she's of Italian descent more specifically half Sicilian and half a bruise easy descent. Now her parents named her ariana after princess Oriana in the 1958 version of felix account. Her career began with the Broadway musical 13 and those before she landed her role as Cat Valentine on the Nickelodeon show Victorious in 2009 I did I just freaked myself out now. Although she began her career in Broadway her actual musical career began with the soundtrack music from Victorious. In 2011 she then signed a record contract with her public records and released her debut album.

Now when Ariana was casted to play cat valentine she had to dye her hair red every other week. This was because executive producers didn't want everybody in the show to be brunette and they felt that red hair was best suited for the character Cat Valentine but after dyeing her hair red so often it didn't leave Ariana's hair in the best shape so she decided to wear extensions and weave just to allow her natural hair to grow out more and that's when her famous ponytail look began. Now not only is she a triple threat she can sing she can act and she can become she's also a philanthropist. She supports various charitable causes including kids who care which is a group that she found that raises money for charities in South Florida. Now on top of everything else that this girl does she has released two fragrances as well the first one is re by Ariana Grande and the second one is cranky by Ariana Grande that she released with her brother Frankie.

Now she hasn't been involved in TV too much and has spent most of her time focusing on her musical career that's because she doesn't really enjoy acting that much anymore. She appeared in the show scream queens as well as made an appearance in Zoolander too. Now this girl is mega talented it just doesn't stop. She can impersonate a lot of musical stars including the late Whitney Houston Britney Spears Shakira Rihanna and Celine Dion is that true glory can you sing like Britney Spears kind of now for a short little while it was also rumored that ariana grande was dating Mac Miller. It's now confirmed she recently broke up with her backup dancer Rickie Alvarez. You guys know him right that's the guy that she was caught licking doughnuts with from big music to being naked to licking doughnuts yeah Ariana Grande only 23 years old and she's done it all but that concludes this episode of FTD facts.

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toddlazarski · 7 years ago

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Whiffs of Napoli at San Giorgio Pizzeria

Shepherd Express

Chicago or Sheboygan. Eight years ago, this was basically the Milwaukee menu for serious scorching-oven fare. The former’s wave of Neapolitan pizzas seemed to be peaking, highlighted when GQ’s Alan Richman dubbed Great Lake as the ‘Best Pizza in America’. (It mattered so little in the oceanic pie world of Chicago that the place would be closed within a couple years). The big city scene was rounded out by the likes of the excellent Spacca Napoli, exocticized by the fired coal offerings of Coal Fire. Meanwhile our small town neighbors to the north held every Milwaukee foodie’s favorite in-the-know secret: Il Ritrovo.

We had Piccolo. Also, maybe you could count whatever was happening at the short-lived efforts of Dick’s nightclub. Aside from that, well, it’s best not to think of the stone ages in today’s bustling scramble scene of catchup. Now we have Wolf Peach - much more than a pizzeria, but still, some occasional Neapolitan-leaning gems can be found alongside bone marrow and such. There’s Anodyne, a coffee shop’s success meeting the owner’s backyard passion project, yielding a from-Italy oven, some figuring-it-out salad days, and now frequent pizza brilliance. There is Carini’s, the Shorewood meets Sicily stalwart having added a 900-degree Acunto fire-breather. More recent is Bay View’s Santino’s, whose food can best be summed up by the fact that the restaurant often feels like the set of The Sopranos. Earlier this summer Di Moda opened in the space of Trocadero, because out with the gastropubbery, in with the fancy pizza. There will certainly be more. While the best of the new school has been Zarletti Mequon - Brian Zarletti schooled by maestro Roberto Caporuscio, president of the Association of Neapolitan Pizzaiuoli, in the hard streets of midtown Manhattan.

Amidst the wave it’d be easy to overlook San Giorgio, the new, next-door opening by the owners of Calderone Club. Especially considering it’s residence in the oft-forgotten, by Milwaukeeans at least, downtown dining scene. Especially in the large shadow cast by Calderone Club itself, the much beloved, pretty ordinary spot for Milwaukee pub style pizza.

But, note the window placard on some walk by: “Vera Pizza Napoletana” it states atop the logo - a serious jester shrouded in white, pizza peel yielded like a most potent tool of war, his focus only on the red orb before him, it seeming to contain all importance in the world, even despite the steaming Vesuvius outline in the background. Or grab a spot at the “pizza bar” - a melding of the two greatest things made by man - and spot the same certificate hanging on the back wall. What it means: they are a member of the VPN, an official delegation that designates its members as making “true Neapolitan pizza.” Admittance is based on, among other specifications, having a 900-degree wood-burning oven, using ‘certified’ mozzarella, type “00” wheat flour, tomatoes yielding from the lush soil around Mount Vesuvius. There’s also plenty of overcooked minutia: intricate requirements such as “proper work surface (usually a marble slab),” and oregano that is "Origanum vulgare from the ‘Labiatae’ family.” But, what it means hanging here: San Giorgio joins the aforementioned Il Ritrovo, Sheboygan’s other pizza spot - Harry’s, and Madison’s Naples 15 as the only spots in the state for such certified ‘za.

Does any of this matter? Is such acronym salad but a marketing ploy? Is it misplaced rigidity? Isn’t adherence to tradition a bit overrated in comparison to, you know, taste? And, when you’re pizza-hungry, do you mind if, say, they're using a “low speed approved mixer”? Or if the pie is over the 11-inch maximum size? Are all of these just crusty stipulations, rules ordained by the hall monitors of technique?

These are the things to ponder as you sit in the considerable shadow of the blue tile beauty made in Naples - a Stefano Ferrara, or, basically, a Mercedes Benz of domed, high-temp ovens. And it burns just so, like a finely tuned, precision-engineered machine. Or you think it does, until maybe you hear one pizzaiolo tell the next, under his breathe, in a moment of heated frustration, "I'll kill you," and you realize, with the glimpse of one mistake, one disagreement, that it’s a very different kind of precision at work here. There’s something inherently temperamental at play, the world of careful cooking and fetishistic focus mixing with kitchen bullshitting and operatic southern Italian machismo right before you. There’s no setting a timer and walking away. There’s a constant checking of the temp with a gun, an indicator of the dynamic state, there’s a spinning of the pizza peel, like Federer flipping his racket, the easy familiarity with a tool, known through repetition, non-sentient friendship, a paint brush pointed toward doing serious life’s work.

The entire presentation feels more art than kitchen procedure. It’s also at least part pizza porn - what with the in-and-out of the long peel, penetrating and prodding. And it feels all aesthetic pleasure. Especially as the waitress whisks another fire-kissed pie of San Marzano tomatoes, and nostrils fill with the woody essence of charred flour, and there’s Italian marble under your elbows, and Louis Prima overhead.

For certain people, it feels special, essential - the kind of people that plan their honeymoon around making it to Naples, and then decide to spend the rest of their lives denigrating Rome and the Amalfi Coast, fiercely defending Napoli’s place as the actual greatest place in all of Italy, if not the world. For others, San Giorgio is simply a classy, laid back, downtown-y type place of which there are less and less downtown these days.

Whatever your personal baggage walking through the door, there’s not much getting around it: the way pizza freaks talk about pizza is awful. Like BBQ geeks, with their ridiculous wood preferences, the need to pepper convo’s with terms like “bark,” to let you know they know of what they speak. Or the way mixologists denigrate lesser bitters, with a scoff, like our president toward reality. Having said that, for those same certain people, Neapolitan style pizza, like Naples itself, is well deserving of a flight or two of poetic fancy.

To start, the style is a texture lover’s dream. A perfect synthesis of dough and char, of pillow and base, of stretching and body, of delightful little black air bubbles, popping up like corpuscles, hardened flakes mixing with softer pockets. What pizza nerds call ‘leoparding’ happens underneath - dark spots bleeding through the golden crust, indicating a happy marriage between worlds of cool dough and extreme heat. It adds up to what might be the mouth’s version of getting into a really comfortable bed - memory foam melding into a just-firm-enough mattress.

Atop such framework, variations abound. There is the Margherita - wielding San Marzano tomatoes, fresh Fior di Latte mozzarella, Parmigiano, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil. (The ‘extra’ is an extra stipulation, of course). Or there is the Margherita D.O.C. - the same but with Mozzarella di Bufala, the D.O.C. meaning “Denominazione di Origine Controllata,” another authentication, which also, yes, indicates designations within designations, wheels within wheels. Whichever, whatever, these are the most elemental, the best introduction, either would rightly act as a top notch representative - the bread, sauce, melted cheese combination sort that should be sent up in one of those space ships, along with Robert Johnson recordings and Michelangelo prints as a sort of message: “beat this, aliens.”

The “Calabrese” is the next, logical punch up. Along with San Marzano tomatoes, mozz, something called Caciocavallo Cheese, and red pepper flakes, it showcases soppressata, maybe the most criminally under-used aspect of Italian culture, which holds enough spice, enough zing to make pepperoni seem rote.

On the white pizza side, there is the “Quattro Formaggi,” which might very well translate to fat ‘Sconnie guy. It is smoked Provola cheese, fresh mozz, Fontina, Gorgonzola, and a bounty of fresh garlic. An oily, pungent punch of gooey melted cheese, sharpness mixing with smoothness, contrast and medley at once, it is a tongue and breath bop of rich saltiness and airy satisfaction. If going such a sans tomato route, the “Genovese” is built on a basil pesto sauce, popped by cherry tomatoes, with a Citterio Genoa salami that is good enough to make the over-gushing about soppressata seem a bit silly. It’s similar to what the crispy pancetta atop the “San Giorgio” does, this being another white pie offering with braised fennel, more fior di latte mozzarella, Pecorino Romano, baby arugula, a sunny side egg, and plenty of potential to kick start nap time.

Really, if you top any such carbohydrate beauty with shimmering, globby cheese chunks, any type of sauce whatsoever, there can be no wrong orders. The only mistake to be made here is filling up on burrata, or the arancini, or the excellent croquettes. Or, asking for a pizza to go, which San Giorgio prefers not to do, religiously adhering to the belief that the oven is part of the experience, that it needs to be eaten hot, fresh, immediately. Not reheated, like by a tasteless barbarian.

Pizza. But not pizza ‘to go.’ And there you have it, the thing that somehow says it all: something both impossibly simple and elegant. The essence of elevated street food. But not in the hipster sense, in the 2000-year-old timeless fashion, where fire meets grain, there are few, but fresh, ingredients, carbs and proteins in a single bite, cooking done with man’s first and most basic invention, a reduction to essentials, an overwhelming sense of everything you want in your mouth - all at once, in one hot bite.

There is a street in Naples’ old district, where pizzerias abound, and mopeds whizz by, and there seems like an almost irresponsible number of corner cafes, and the cobblestone paths are packed and loud, and intimidating, if not just for the sheer volume of life. Within that first bite, between swills of Peroni, San Giorgio can feel like via Tribunali. Or at least as close to Naples as many might come. Despite being on Old World 3rd street, despite upbringing and the emotional bind of childhood pizza memory, and the reality that Midwest pizza might still be the appropriate everyday preference, and regardless of whatever VPN means or doesn’t mean, it’s nice, if for just a moment, to find that true taste, sense, of somewhere else.

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