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tilbageidanmark · 1 year

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Movies I watched this Week #118 (Year 3/Week 14):

My 3rd re-watch of Lawrence of Arabia, David Lean’s magnificent, all-male epic and the movie that Steven Spielberg had seen more than any other film. It’s so grand that the nearly 4 hours spectacle opens with 4+ minutes of orchestral music prelude on a dark screen and includes an ‘intermission’.

It got me to realize that most all movies (maybe because of the economics of movie-financing) always show deference to authority; The influences they represent, whether government, military, religion, civil powers, or simply ‘the big man’, the rulers are always accepted as masters.

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The Garden of Words, my second anime ever, and coincidentally also my second by Makoto Shinkai (After ‘Your name’). A melancholy and poetic story about a 15-year-old aspiring shoe-maker student who keeps meeting a woman skipping work on a park bench at the beautiful Shinjuku Gyo-en gardens during the raining season. Gorgeous visuals of nature and rain.

The Wikipedia page for this film is nearly as long as the one for Obama!

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3 more terrific debut films by young female directors:

🍿 For some unclear reasons, I’ve seen a large number of Parisian high school dramas recently. Spring blossom is one of the best. A gentle drama of a shy 16 year old girl who falls in love with a 35 man she sees outside a local theater.

And like Quinn Shephard’s ‘Blame’, it’s twice as impressive, because it was written by the talented Suzanne Lindon when she was only 15, and she directed it and starred in it before she was 20. Je l'adore! 8/10.

🍿 The Hive, my first film from Kosovo. Another on my growing list of “Debut films directed by female filmmakers”. The “first film in Sundance Festival history to win all three main awards – the Grand Jury Prize, the Audience Award and the Directing Award – in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition”. Based on a true story, it tells simply but touchingly about a war widow who started a small business, making homemade Ajvar and empowering the women in her village. Highly recommended. 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. And of course, reminiscent of the Macedonian documentary ‘Honeyland’. 8/10.

🍿 Rye Lane, a cute new rom-com about two young black South London strangers who meet at random and spend the day getting to know each other. Fresh and original.

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My 7th by Finnish master Aki Kaurismäki. Every time I watch another of his movies, I get elated. There is nobody who make movies like him, he’s one of a kind. The man without a past, the second of his “Losers” trilogy, opens with a cinematic gut pinch and doesn’t let go until the end. My favorite of all his films so far?...

The trailer. 9/10.

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The Hollywood Reporter Critics put out a new list of their ‘50 best films of the first 21 years of the 21st century’, and I decided to go through the ones I haven’t seen yet.

First was Far from Heaven, my 4th tragedy by Todd Haynes. A precursor to his masterful ‘Carol’, this is another Douglas Sirk-inspired melodrama of oppression and unrequited desire in middle class America of the mid 50′s. Drenched in luminous colors over all (except of the scenes of illicit dangers, in the gay bar and black cafe), and accompanied by another expansive score, it’s a devastating tale of the price of conformity. The husband who can’t control his homosexual urges, and the wife who falls for a black gardener are doomed, and their lives will be shattered. The poor players had simply nowhere to go. 8/10.

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‘Today I learned’ about ‘Elite Panic’ describing the “behavior of members of the elite during disaster events, typically characterized by a fear of civil disorder” and the shifting of focus away from disaster relief towards implementing measures of "command and control".

New order, my third memorable film by Mexican auteur Michel Franco (after the terrific ‘Sundown’ and the disturbing ‘April’s daughter’) describes a society collapsing, the exact moment when the shit finally hits the fan, when the riots on the TV screen cross over and knock on your door. It’s a brutal and unforgiving story, ugly, violent and without any sentimental sympathy. Shocking anarchy escalates quickly when the pressure gets too much.

When the revolution comes down, it will bring some serious bloodshed. No wonder the greatest boogieman the ruling class warns us all about is “Class Warfare”. The most distressing film of the week - 9/10!

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To catch a thief, Hitchock’s romantic thriller. The Good: Grace Kelly on the French Riviera, the ultimate glamour of the lifestyles of the rich and famous at Cannes and Nice, Hitchcock’s first (?) use of helicopter shots and modern car chases. The Bad: The genre roles & sexual politics of the husband-seeking unmarried young woman would not fly today.

I watched it solely because of this clip.

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2 with Brigitte Fossey (of ‘Jeux interdits’):

🍿 “...The square is mine!...”

I forgot that she played the grown-up Elena in Cinema Paradiso, one of Ennio Morricone’s most popular movies. And yes, without his magnificent score, the 3-hour long nostalgic trip to the heart of cinema, would not be half as enjoyable.

The question that was not well-answered was: Why did he not bother to visit his mother for 30 year? (Re-watch).

🍿 The happy road, a mediocre 1957 children comedy about 10 year old American boy and French girl, who escape from a Swiss boarding school, and hitchhike to Paris. Directed by and starring Gene Kelly, falling for the girl’s mother. 3/10.

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Inside, the new Willem Defoe survival thriller. He’s an art thief who breaks into a hi-end NYC penthouse of a wealthy art collector, intending to steal 3 paintings by Egon Schiele. But the security system traps him inside, and he’s unable to escape for many months. Captivating hi-concept and one-trick film, but a bit too long. 6/10.

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...”Never forget how much he loved you, Kubo”...

After being seriously obsessed with everything ‘Coraline’ all of last year, Adora moved on to Laika Studio’s next stop-motion animated story Kubo and the two strings. A Japanese-inspired action story about a one-eyed Samurai son who creates magical origami figures from his 3-stringed shamisen. But it was as if all the pretty parts were combined by an AI-engine. 4/10.

I will introduce her next to ‘The Iron Giant’, and ‘Isle of dogs’.

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First watch: The green room, one of the last few François Truffaut films I haven’t seen yet. In it, he plays a somber 1920′s journalist obsessed with death who builds a shrine to everybody he had lost. I love his human directing style, but this was a confusing mess. 2/10

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RIP, Ryuichi Sakamoto X 2:

🍿 In remembrance of his passing I started re-watching Bertolucci’s ‘The Last Emperor’, but to be honest, I got bored after 30 minutes; I blame the less than HD version of my pirated copy. So maybe I’ll try it another time.

Instead, I went back to my of favorite ‘Black Mirror' episodes, and the only one he composed the score for, Smithereens. It was directed by the same man who did my other cherished story ‘Hated in the nation’, and was also about online media frenzy that spirals out of control. This ‘Tyranny of the Screens’ parable received mixed reviews, because it wasn’t futuristic enough, but for my money it is a tense thriller on par with the best of them. 10/10.

Sakamoto’s dark score is subtle and minimal. You have to strain to notice it. Perfect!

...”This is my last day!”...

🍿 Psychedelic Afternoon, a 2013 animated short, featuring David Byrne, and released to raise money for children who survived the 2011 tsunami.

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‘Mad men’ is one of the few TV-shows I've seen, and I’ve seen it 3 or 4 times (including once last year). “Hazel” of YouTube ‘Dream Dimension Productions’ analyzes one “Perfect Scene” from Season 3 finale “Shut the door, have a seat”.

A terrific breakdown, which got me to watch it again, together with a few more.

Extra: Her ‘Netflix has a content problem’, which I also agree with, as I was attempting to avoid 90% of all their content.

🍿 Talk to her, my 3rd unsatisfying film by Pedro Almodóvar (after ‘All about my mother’ and ‘The human voice’). A twisted story about two unappealing men who befriend each other at a clinic where they both care for comatose women. His editing choices and scattered direction, constantly focusing on unrelated detail in every scene turned me off. Some artistic perversions (like a silent film clip of a tiny man entering a giant vagina) notwithstanding. I guess I’m not a fan. 4/10.

🍿 2 more by Noah Baumbach (both with Adam Driver):

🍿 The last film I saw this week was also the best one:

I started watching the new Adam Driver dinosaur fantasy ‘65′. but it felt so stupid the moment Adam Driver opened his mouth, that I had to switch it off within 5 minutes. Instead, I turn to Marriage Story again. An absolute masterpiece, so painful and so true, for all divorced couples and parents of children of divorce. (That 10 minutes long scene at the apartment was raw! - Screenshot Above). 10/10 deservedly and without any reservations.

(And now I must see ‘Two for the road’!)

🍿 (Actually, I ended up with his uneven While we’re young, which didn’t measure up to that. The milieu of hipster millennial poseurs and Brooklyn wannabe documentary filmmakers was uninteresting, and I also can’t stand Ben Stiller.)

Still I will look for the rest of his movies I had missed.

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(My complete movie list is here)

#movies

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19thsentry-blog · 2 years

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In The Shadows

Miraculous Ladybug Fanfic (Lukanette Endgame)

Chapters

Prelude | Chp 1 | Chp 2 | Chp 3 | Chp 4 | Chp 5 | Chp 6 | Chp 7 | Chp 8 | Chp 9 | Chp 10 | Chp 11 | Chp 12 | Chp 13 | Chp 14 | Chp 15 | Chp 16 | Chp 17 | Chp 18 | Chp 19 | Epilogue | Worlds Not Our Own | Timeline

Chapter Seven: The Question (AO3 Link)

Chapter Snapshot

Gabriel nodded, his gaze dropping to the various photographs on the table before his pale icy eyes locked with hers. "Before we discuss anything further, I'm afraid we will need to discuss something unpleasant. Miss Dupain-Cheng, is it true you are in love with my son?"

The question felt like having a meter-long band-aid ripped off with brutal quickness. A breath caught in her throat, a thousand questions running through her mind at a mile a minute. How did he know? Who told him? What was the right answer? Would he deny a nomination if the answer was a yes? What was wrong with her that he would call it unpleasant?

Why would it matter if she did?

Did she still love Adrien?

Marinette was neck-deep in raspberry macaron filling when her phone erupted into Jagged's guitar solo. She peeked over to see who was calling her, squeezing the icing bag out of panic when she saw Adrien's contact image on the screen, causing a huge squirt of pink filling to go flying across the counter. "Oh my god! Oh my god!" Marinette chucked the bag down and hastily scrubbed her hands against her apron, terrified but picking up the phone anyway. This was it--she'd find out if Gabriel still thought she was hot stuff or yesterday's news.

Adrien's calm voice drifted through the receiver. "Marinette?"

"Hi, it's me, I'm here--did he…?" They had been afraid that Gabriel wouldn't have time to review her portfolio with Félix and his mother in town, but Adrien had found a way to get it to him when he was in a relatively non-hostile mood (she couldn't blame Gabriel, if she had to share a house with Félix for a week she'd probably rip out his spine and turn it into a hat--actually, that might be a cool design idea...).

"He wants to know if you have time to come see him in person," Adrien said, not giving a definitive yes or no on whether Gabriel liked her designs.

"Now? As in right now?!" Marinette looked down at herself, covered in flour and icing and all manner of weird and sticky. "I'll be there soon, just--just give me a few!" She slapped the phone down on the counter, forgetting to hang up before she dashed upstairs to change, bumping past her father on the way up. In the fastest costume change in history, she was out the front door in the space of a few minutes, the macaron catastrophe left undealt with on the counter. Marinette would have to make it up to her mom and dad later, but landing a job and not having to live with them forever was waaay more important.

She knew the path to the Agreste mansion by heart and could make the trip in under twenty minutes, but she had to take another two minutes to stop before she got to the gate to even her breathing and apply fresh perfume to hopefully cover whatever sweat smell she might have gotten on the run over. Tikki gave her a reassuring smile when she stuck the perfume back in her purse, and with one final deep breath, she calmly walked around the corner and pressed the bell.

The freaky eyeball camera stirred to life (she hated that thing) and without any words or preamble, the gates opened. In her younger years she'd fantasized about that, that Adrien's bodyguard and Gabriel's assistant would know her immediately and would let her in without trouble because everybody loved her and they all thought that she and Adrien were perfect together--

She snapped out of her daydream when the doors to the mansion opened, Adrien's bodyguard holding it open for her. Marinette skipped up the steps and into the main hall, wondering if she would see Adrien while she was there. Nathalie was waiting for her just inside the door.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng," she bowed slightly, clutching her tablet to her chest. "If you would please follow me."

Well, that settled that. Marinette nodded and followed Nathalie into Gabriel's office, trying not to panic when the door was shut behind her. Gabriel's atelier was impressive as always, a long white room with a black and white checked floor, designer dresses on dress forms, and photos of Adrien on the wall to her right. At the back of the room, standing in front of Emelie's portrait was Gabriel Agreste. A table had been set up in the middle of the room, Marinette's designs spread across the top in large, full print.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng, I'm glad to see you here on such short notice," Gabriel said, winding around his stand to approach the table in the center of his office. He sat at a small stool at the end of the table and pressed his fingertips together. "I understand you are looking for a nomination to the Lanvin apprenticeship opening shortly, is that correct?" He indicated with a nod of his head that he intended for her to sit on the stool directly opposite him.

Marinette let go of her vice grip on her purse strap and walked to the table, trying to mimic Gabriel's incredible posture. "Yes, that's right." A Ladybug mechanism kicked in, and instead of succumbing to anxiety-driven stutters, she sounded confident and poised (thank God, thank God, thank God).

Why would it matter if she did?

Did she still love Adrien?

"No," she asserted quickly, her panic causing her to falter. Gabriel raised an impassive eyebrow, opening his mouth to speak--God, he'll say no, he really would say no--"I mean, I'm sorry," she laughed a little and pressed her palms to her skirt. "That sounded like a lie the way I said it. I don't want to lie to you, Mr Agreste, your question just caught me off guard." The more she spoke the more Ladybug found her footing, worming her way back into her speech. "I did love Adrien--I think I always will in some ways. But there's so much out there, so much to do and see and experience, and now that I'm older I'm really understanding that. This portfolio here is a part of that desire. There's still a lot of fantasy, but I want to explore and design different kinds of pieces…"

In the back of her brain, she recognized she had managed to work around that extremely personal question and bring it back to her work. That was something that at the end of the day, no matter what happened, she could be proud of. Gabriel seemed to accept the change of subject until the end. It was impossible to avoid it, given the photo's subject. At this point she was standing closer to his shoulder, having moved around the table to better show him the details she was proud of. Gabriel lifted the photo off the glass table, looking at it under his studio lights.

"Is this how you see him?" He asked, grey eyes scanning the page. It had been the first design she created for this portfolio, and she could still feel a bundle of nerves in the bottom of her stomach from the shoot itself (she had expected Adrien to tell her it was a ridiculous idea--but he always encouraged her creative side. It was only in love that he pushed her softly away). Adrien was sitting back on a set of stairs, lounging in the sun in a white Grecian-like tunic like a modern-day Apollo. He looked so mature and…sensual. She had expected to turn into an awkward, babbling mess, but seeing him in that light was…much different from what she'd been imagining.

Marinette smiled a bit sadly. "He fit the image the most, but…" her eyes turned to the large wall of Gabriel's framed photoshoots of Adrien, her Adrien, dreamy but still innocent, still in the throes of boyhood. "When I think of Adrien, I think I see him the same way you do."

They were both quiet for a moment. Gabriel broke the silence when he set the photo down and clasped his hands together. "I only have one more question for you, Miss Dupain-Cheng."

Marinette started a bit and had to force herself not to grab the lifeline of her purse strap--people would realize eventually it was a nervous tick. "Yes, what is it?"

"Why come to me? A nomination is not required, and with your level of talent, I believe you could level the playing field for those who had one. Why did you ask me, specifically?"

Marinette could hear the unspoken question in his words--the real reason he was asking. She walked back around the table and sat on the stool so she could see him properly, eye to eye. "I don't expect any obligation because I'm a friend of Adrien's. Truthfully, it's the opposite. You would judge me harsher than anyone else because of that." Even down to asking if she loved his son, she thought grimly. "Part of me relied on that--if you believe I'm good enough to nominate despite everything--well, that means something. The Agreste name has a lot of weight in this industry, and if I didn't try to ask for your backing for this apprenticeship it would feel like I wasn't doing everything I could. But, even if you didn't give your recommendation, I still would have submitted my portfolio. I don't give up easily," she said with a small laugh. "The other reason is…it is something more personal. You were the first real designer that noticed me. Seeing my hat design in a real photoshoot on a professional model, and then on the runway…it lit a fire under me. I wanted you to see just how far I've come these past few years."

Something of a smile came across Gabriel's lips. An understanding passed between them--that she wasn't just 'Adrien's friend' to him anymore. She was a creator. A real fledgling designer. "…In light of all you have told and shown me today, I would be glad to nominate you."

Marinette couldn't help the sigh of relief that passed her lips--all the work and anxiety had been worth it.

"I believe you'll do very well--your portfolio shows your range of design, your voice, and your propensity for growth. I do have one last comment for you," he said, shifting the pictures around until he found the one of Juleka and Marc. "For you to submit this, the photographer's credit will need to be listed. This was the only one that did not have the proper credit listed."

"Wait, that's not right--" Marinette said with a frown, once again standing up to investigate the photo. She knew she had it listed when she handed it off to Adrien. She was so proud of how that photo had turned out; Adrien had done such an incredible job on the photography--did he not want his father to know he was the one who had done it? Marinette bit her lip. Gabriel was watching her carefully, reading the lines on her face. He would know if she lied to him, and he'd have to find out eventually when he reviewed the final package for her apprenticeship. "I'm sorry for the mistake," she said finally. "The photographer I had booked couldn't make it for the shoot. Adrien stepped in as the photographer."

Gabriel froze, his body stuck in surprised contemplation. "I see," he said finally, voice oddly tight. He didn't sound angry, Marinette thought, just…confused. Gabriel never struck her as someone that liked surprises. His hand suddenly flew to his chest, under the knot of his tie. "I apologize, Miss Dupain-Cheng. I'm afraid I must cut this short." He stood quickly and turned to her. "I will have the nomination letter written by the end of the week and have Nathalie send it to you. I look forward to watching your progress."

Marinette was on cloud nine the whole way home. For a moment, her future became unclouded, and she could see that she was building it brick by solid brick and that someday, she'd be standing on top of the tower looking down. The clouds would probably swirl back in when it came time to find out if she had beaten out the other competitors, but for now, she was just happy. Marinette stopped by the park to sit and text her friends the good news. She even ran into Manon and Ms Nadja at the park and got the privilege of sharing the news with someone in person. Just as she finished her text to Adrien, thanking him for everything he had done, the telltale crash and screams associated with an Akuma attack rang in the air.

Marinette dove for the bushes and unzipped her purse with a smile. "Ready to go, Tikki?" She was grateful that the attack hadn't happened during her meeting with Gabriel. After all, baking stellar macarons, taking over the fashion design industry, all followed up by saving Paris by kicking total ass? That was a damn good day in her book (okay, so maybe the macarons hadn't turned out stellar because they were still unfinished on the counter, but they would have been stellar if she finished them).

That good mood was promptly shattered when the pastry monster she was fighting slapped her so hard she was smacked up against a wall like a wet paper towel. Ladybug fell a good 7 meters back down to the ground, too dazed in the head to try and save herself. The magic suit buffered a lot, but now her ass hurt, and her head felt like someone had just shoved it full of steel wool. "Shake it off, Ladybug," she muttered, peeling up off the sidewalk. She held her head in one hand and balanced herself against the wall of the building she'd made a lovely "Ladybug" imprint on. Several blocks away she could see the monstrous bakery conglomeration trying in vain to swat Chat Noir away like a fly.

How was she supposed to know that not finishing those macarons this morning would launch a series of stupid scenarios resulting in some other patisserie chef getting turned into an Akuma victim? It was flattering that customers thought her baking was superior enough that they felt put out when they couldn't get their hands on her and her parent's sweets. But so much that they would complain to the other nearby bakeries? It wasn't exactly a flattering situation for the other bakers and patisserie chefs in town (she would be pretty pissed if that happened to her, too). If she ever wondered why she tended to catastrophize over the smallest things, this would be a prime example in one. Don't finish one batch of lousy macarons and suddenly all of Paris was under siege!

Once Ladybug was sure the black spots in her vision were just the ones on her suit and not a symptom of a concussion, she whipped back out her yo-yo and threw. Feeling it catch, she pulled back slightly, launching herself back into the air, wind whipping in her hair. Step one, get back over to the akumatized victim. Step two, figure out where the Akuma was hiding. It had regenerative powers, so they likely would need to keep wearing it down until it stopped being able to regenerate so fast. If it had regeneration, the Akuma was likely inside the frosting somewhere; wearing down its regenerative powers should reveal whatever was inside. Then she could call her Lucky Charm--

Ladybug kept her plan of attack in mind as she neared the massive patisserie nightmare. Her plan was a fine one, but it was hard to do that when there were so many people on the ground in danger of getting smashed. The Akuma had wandered into the main street and traffic was backed up a mile. Cars and scooters lay abandoned from where they were toppled over, either covered in gooey icing and batter or kicked aside in the scuffle. One bus had toppled over onto its side like a beached whale, with people having to escape from the windows and hop down to safety.

She could tell Chat Noir was trying to bait it away from the street and towards Place des Vosges, the same park she'd been enjoying her accomplishment just thirty minutes prior. It wasn't taking the bait. Ladybug watched the behemoth stumble backward toward the street, unleashing an enraged shout that burst her eardrums, leaving a sugary sweet smell in the air as it bellowed. It was backing up further into the street, right back towards the inert bus and the last two people on the side; a boy was helping pull someone out of the bus and Ladybug's heart launched into her throat when he lifted his face.

Luka.

She dove for him, her yo-yo wire slung around the arm of the mammoth creature threatening to crush him. He wouldn't see her coming, his features were set in grim determinization as he helped the man off the side of the bus. Just as Luka turned to see the giant foot threatening to come down on him Ladybug was there, grabbing him by the waist and shooting off to safety. Luka's body was tense up against hers, his warm hands grasping each of her shoulders. Ladybug jolted to a stop on a roof far enough away from the Akuma that she could be assured he wouldn't get crushed and gently unwound her arm from his waist. Away from the pervasive sugar smell, she could finally smell him again--earthy and pleasant and Luka--it made her head swim.

Luka took a step back from her and she realized with a flush of embarrassment she had just been standing there smelling him (not smelling him, she'd just been standing there…catching her breath. Yeah.). "I uh…I should get back," Ladybug said, gesturing vaguely behind her at the mayhem and taking a step back of her own.

Luka blinked at her as if she had just said something stupid. She probably had said something stupid. "Thanks--for the life-saving,” he said hesitantly. She felt one of those blushes coming on. “I just got here, and no one warned me about…giant cookie monsters."

She’d been so happy to see him in the street (and then immediately terrified he’d be crushed), that she hadn’t stopped to wonder when he'd gotten to Paris. ...Or about why he had decided she wasn't worth a text saying that he'd made it. But he had just gotten here. "Oh, well, yes," Ladybug started with an awkward laugh. "They usually don't go over that in the tours. Over there is the Eiffel tower, and there's the Arc de Triumph, and to the left, you can see a giant monster rampaging through the Seine…" Maybe she should have warned him when he said he wanted to visit Paris, but she had wanted just one normal night where she didn't have to think about Akumas and world-saving…

Luka burst out with a laugh that warmed her down to her toes. She really did have to get back; she'd already spent unnecessary time dragging him several blocks away to make extra sure he wouldn't get squished. Ladybug frowned to herself. If he was new, would he really know how to get back? "If I asked you to stay here until it was over, would you?" she asked, uncertainty creeping into her voice.

Luka hit her with a brilliant smile, an edge of mischievousness to it. "Probably not. I'm looking for someone--I'm already pretty late."

She fiddled with her yo-yo just to have something to do with her hands. He had mentioned a friend wanting him in Paris, was that who he was trying to find…? "Do you know where you're going?"

"Not even a little bit."

The sugar monster's roar rang loudly even from as far away as they were. Her stomach clenched. "What's their name--I know a lot of people, I might have heard of them?"

Luka raised an eyebrow skeptically but answered anyway. "Her name's Marinette--"

"Dupain-Cheng?" She blurted out. He was here for her, he hadn't forgotten, and he still liked her enough to--

"That's her, how did you know?" Luka's head tilted, cerulean eyes scanning her face.

Oops. Too eager. "I save a lot of people," Ladybug said, trying to slow the beating of her heart down. Her yo-yo began to vibrate, and she had to grasp it tight so she didn't accidentally fling it. "Oh God--I gotta go!" Chat Noir was probably really tired of playing cat and mouse with the vengeful lump of pastry. "She's usually around Tom & Sabine's Boulangerie!" Ladybug shouted over her shoulder, running back into the action. She had a city to defrost.

Ladybug wasn't gone for long when Luka transformed. The city was quiet around the clash at Place des Vosges, trees cracked under massive thundering footsteps and sugar cloyed at his nose like he'd inhaled a pack of crushed-up smarties. Luka jumped across the rooftops of the deserted streets, most of the citizens having evacuated from the nearby area. If Ladybug was a hero, and all signs he'd seen since he got to Paris indicated that she was (literally, there were signs with her face on them at the airport), then surely whatever happened in New York had to be a misunderstanding.

He hadn't made the best impression the first time they met, but he had no way of knowing he could trust her with his actual motives back then. Not that it mattered--Ladybug had seemed upset he was using the Snake Miraculous to get money, and that's exactly what he had been doing. Still, how she'd treated him earlier indicated she was genuinely quite kind. If he could clear the air between them, he might find himself with an ally rather than an antagonistic acquaintance.

Luka kept to the shadows while he watched Ladybug and her companion--a blond hero with black cat ears, a slick black suit, and a belt for a tail. When Ladybug was saving Paris, she was resplendent. A passionate heart flying through the sky in red and black with blue eyes that saw everything, that planned in a split second, that made decisions. The most finely tuned orchestra sang through her body when she danced in the air. She wasn’t just a Miraculous holder, she WAS Miraculous, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes.

Ladybug was wrapping the giant's legs with her yo-yo wire to trip it up like it was an AT-AT Walker, and the cat hero jumped onto its back, digging into it with his staff. The sugar blob wobbled with its legs caught in the wire, and it began to fall onto its back--Luka couldn't see much from this angle, just the cat hero launching himself out from under it before he was squashed, holding a long black tube of some kind. Ladybug ran over to him, the two of them conferring with their heads together while Ladybug's hands moved quickly.

Luka could safely say he'd never defeated anyone with a bicycle pump and a balloon before. Sugar exploded around a giant red and black dotted balloon that had been shoved into its back earlier. With a deft whip of Ladybug's yo-yo, the monster disappeared, leaving only a young woman in a patisserie apron, the giant balloon, and a bright white butterfly. Luka clenched his hands, watching the butterfly’s ascent into the air—it wasn’t just the Ladybug and the Horse Miraculous that were in Paris. Evidently, there were several; not all of them being used for good.

Ladybug removed the balloon from the bicycle pump and let it shoot into the sky, watching it transform into thousands of little ladybugs. The bugs dispersed around Paris, removing the goop, repairing the buildings, and even returning cracked trees to pristine condition. Sangpo and Sass had told him about the powers of the Ladybug Miraculous but seeing it in action was really something else. Luka had been so busy tracing the paths of the ladybugs he didn’t even notice that he’d been spotted from his place at the tree line. She had no antagonism towards the foe she had just bested—but she had plenty to level at him. Ladybug was stomping towards him like a reenactment of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham singing The Chain after their infamous breakup. Her companion fluttered after her nervously, a hummingbird chasing nectar.

Luka seemed to make friends naturally—it wasn’t something he was conscious of, friendship just seemed to fold itself around him. But when pressed to make friends overtly, he wasn't sure what to do or how to act (weren't all relationships better when they just happened naturally)? That was why, despite it never, ever actually working, Luka looked at the irate Ladybug and the only thing he could think to do was wave at her.

It made her madder.

"What the hell are you doing in my city?" she hissed, blue eyes roaring like a rainstorm on the prairie.

Luka tucked his hands in his scaly jacket's pockets, not sure what else to do with them if they caused her to rampage towards him like a bull that had seen red. "We didn't get to finish our talk last time," he said, smiling down at her.

She grabbed his jacket collar, pulling him down to her eye level. "I wouldn't call punching you a talk." Maybe not, but Ladybug hadn't actually managed to hit him during their fight in New York either. Not that he'd been fighting fair. Ladybug's wound-up fist was stopped by her companion, who was trying to wedge himself between them in vain. "Er, Buganette, we might cover more ground by talking before punching in this case--"

She let go of Luka's jacket with a shove and stood back, crossing her arms. "Fine." While Ladybug had taken the lead in the Akuma fight, she acquiesced to her companion, although she didn't seem happy about it.

"You'll have to forgive milady, she's…passionate." He paused when Ladybug threw him a withering stare behind his back. Clearing his throat, he continued. "Given that, I doubt proper introductions were made. This is Ladybug, and I'm her partner, Chat Noir. And your alias is…?"

Luka blinked. An alias? He'd never had one--Detective Ramirez had called him Scales, but that was only because addressing him as "hey, you," was getting tiresome. "Uh--huh. Sorry, I've never picked one before. You can call me…" Chat Noir was looking up at him expectantly, almost with a bit of excitement--shit, he needed something that wasn't lame--anything at all, "…Viperion. That'll do."

Chat smiled, brilliant green eyes shining in the growing dusk. "Viperion, excellent. Wonderful to meet you. Now, er, as milady so eloquently put--why are you here? Not that we aren't thrilled that the Snake Miraculous isn't lost, but I was given the impression from the incident in New York you weren't interested in returning it to the Guardian."

Viperion felt like time was sliding under his feet for a moment, feeling that same lurch that he usually experienced when giving himself a Second Chance—but he hadn’t twisted his bracelet. Time wasn’t really slipping and reversing; it was just him. "Wait, what? There's a Guardian here in Paris?" Viperion looked between the two of them, trying to remember if Ladybug had ever mentioned the presence of a Guardian when they first met. There was no way she had--he would have latched on to that immediately. His heart felt like it was going a thousand miles a minute; this could be it, he thought, with no real idea of what "it" was.

It was Chat Noir's turn to look at Ladybug with a glare, ears drooping as he looked at her. "Sweets, you really need to get better with introductions."

Ladybug shrugged sharply; arms still crossed. "Smooth-talking is your thing--and don't call me 'sweets'."

Chat rolled his eyes and turned back to Viperion, extending one arm towards Ladybug with a flourish. "Ladybug is also the Guardian of the Miraculous. She's sworn to return them all to the Miracle Box, which was why she was seeking you out."

Viperion could barely hear from the pounding in his ears. "How many others are lost?" he asked, voice hoarse. "That thing was made from the Butterfly Miraculous, right? How many are…safe?" Was his searching over? The 140-year journey, so many things lost and too little found, finally coming to a halt seemed impossible.

Ladybug and Chat Noir looked at each other, exchanging confused glances--he didn't blame them, if they thought he was just a thief this whole time his desperation must have sounded dissonant to their ears. "Fifteen," Ladybug finally said, so quiet he almost didn't catch it. "We have fifteen. Hawk Moth has two--" she gestured behind her as if the sugar conglomeration was still there, "--and we know where the Snake is, now."

He braced his back against the tree behind him--fifteen with the Guardian (a real Guardian, with a real Miracle Box, not whatever it was he was), two found but in seemingly bad hands, and two with him. Nineteen. All accounted for; almost all back where they were supposed to be. "I have two," Viperion said. "Not just the Snake. The Mouse, too."

Ladybug's head snapped up, her eyes blaring with hope, "You have both?! I can't--I mean, I've been looking for them for so long--does this mean you'll return them?"

Something was lodged in his throat, stopping him from saying a word. Return them?

Wes prodded Mullo's stomach, whipping his finger back when Mullo snapped her two front teeth at him with a giggle. "So here I was, thinkin' you got your lily-white arse kicked out of some bird's place and that's why you always looked so bloody pathetic. What you're really tellin' me is you're on the run with two magic whatsits, burdened with some grand and glorious promise from an old geezer to keep 'em safe as houses?"

Luka swallowed and nodded, grateful for Sass's comforting weight on his shoulder. He hadn't been able to explain Mullo's ability to fly around the room and go 'poof' through walls--not this time. It was either explain himself or continue watching his roommate run around the house after Mullo with a baseball bat, screaming his lungs off. So instead, he just said, "Yeah. That's basically it." Minus living for almost a century, anyway.

Wes sucked in his cheeks. "Right then. An' you thought the best course of action was to move in with a roommate who would find out all your deep dark secrets?"

He shrugged--the kitchen chair that Wes had 'inherited' shifted under his weight, wobbling uncomfortably. "I'm not made of money. And normally you're drunk, or high, no offense--"

Wes rolled his eyes and dug in his pocket for a cigarette, scowling when Mullo stole his lighter and disappeared with it. "Oi, you little rodent, bring that back over here--!" he sighed, looking back to Luka. "It's the '80s, mate, and I'm not gettin' any younger. Always best to get your jollies in while you can."

"I won't be in your way for very long. Just long enough to make sure no other Miraculous have shown up here in London."

"Yeah, yeah, alright--don't cry or anythin'. So, what would you do if you did find another one? I doubt it's just sittin' around in some knick-knack shop on main." Wes moodily stuffed his cigarette back in the box, clearly giving up on chasing Mullo down for his lighter. He took to shaking his knee up and down instead.

"That's where I found Mullo," Luka said, using his thumb to drag the chipped guitar pick around his neck into view. "But if someone has it, I'll get it back."

Wes raised his eyebrows, a smirk on his lips. "You? You look like you're 6 stone wet, I don't think you're doing any rescuing. 'Sides, what if it's one of those Guardian blokes? What d'you do then?"

"I guess…I guess I never thought about that."

Wes snorted at him, but it was true. After the trip to Tibet when he and Sass had tried to find any remnants of the Order of the Guardians, it just seemed so hopeless. There was nothing, just a jagged pit in the ground that seemed to go all the way down to hell. Not a scrap had been left behind.

"Well, I'd start thinkin' about it. That's what you boy scout types do, innit? Preparation and all that bollocks. If I were you, I'd be ready for some monk-lookin' chap to come walkin' up easy as you please and tell you to hand your friends over." Wes let that sink in, spinning his pack of cigarettes on the tabletop. He raised his eyebrows at him, amber eyes intense. "Could you do it?"

He still didn't know--he'd never been able to answer the question. He really had tried to think about it that day, and every once in a while after. In some ways, wouldn't it be easier? He would be done. The burden on his shoulders that had been pressing down on him for over a century would be lifted, as well as all the secrets he had to keep, the secrets that had cost blood and tears and years, so many years... He could be normal. It would all be over.

Ladybug took a step towards him, hands drawn together over her chest in hopeful prayer. He realized, then, that part of her nightmare would be over too.

"Could you do it?"

His answer poured out of him like molasses, thick and viscous. "I don't think I can."

He could hear her heartbreak. The desperate hope she regarded him vanished, completely crushed under his words. A small beeping sound chimed, and Ladybug's hands shot up to her earrings. "Not now--" Ladybug hissed, more to herself than anyone else. She shot a panicked look at Chat Noir, then turned back to Luka, aggression marring her features again. "I'm not letting you leave with them," she said resolutely. She backed up several steps, and then turned and jumped away, a streak of red against the deepening blue sky.

Viperion watched her go, realizing with a small jolt of shock that she couldn't control when she transformed back. It had been so long ago for him that the transformation back was a constraint that he'd forgotten about it. Chat Noir stayed where he was, eyes inscrutable as he studied Viperion.

"She really won't give up, you know. We would follow you wherever you go."

Viperion let out a soft chuckle--not because it was funny, but because he knew it was true. He'd do the same. "I know. I don't intend to run away." Where would he go? All the Miraculous were here; he was the one who had been late to the party this whole time. All those years--just by himself--how long had they all been in France? Were they here when he'd come looking for whatever blood ties he might have left? How much time had been wasted?

"You can trust her. I know she can come off strong, but it's just because she cares." Chat Noir's tone had softened, an attempt to be the angel on his shoulder, to convince him to do the right thing.

"Could you do it?" Viperion asked.

Chat frowned like he hadn't been expecting the question. "If she asked…"

Viperion shook his head, pushing himself off the tree he'd been leaning on. "No, could you do it? After decades, after everything else you knew was gone, if this was all you were…what would you do?" And suddenly, he really needed to know. He needed to hear the answer from someone still living--someone who was still here. He knew Wes's answer, but he was the only one keeping his friend's spirit alive. If he had lived, would he have changed after all this time?

Chat Noir lowered his head, staring at the black ring on his finger. A soft breeze flew by, no longer bringing the scent of sugar and icing, but that of falling and decaying leaves. Red and orange leaves fluttered between the two dark figures, the air itself wrapping around Chat Noir in tendrils, begging for an answer. He finally looked up, fixing Viperion with a sad gaze, green eyes gone soft. "If it was just me--I think…I think I'd beg them to take it."

Viperion took a sharp breath in--Chat's response was the typical thing, wasn't it? When the end goal was in sight, why would he turn and walk away from it? Viperion drew back, letting the wind continue to divide the rift between them. "I'll be around, Chat Noir."

Rather than sneaking back through his window to transform back, Adrien chose the far riskier option of changing in the backyard so he could slip in through the back door quickly. There was a lot left to think about, but Adrien wasn't sure he was ready to talk with Plagg yet. His conversation with Viperion had left him somber, a pit of unease swelling in his stomach that didn't seem intent on going anywhere. Besides, he was late for dinner; and whenever Aunt Amélie was visiting she always insisted on sitting down as a family. While he and Félix hadn't been on good terms recently, Adrien was always glad he didn't have to eat alone when they were all here.

The dining room was already lit, plates of salad set on each plate. His father sat at the head of the table, Amélie and Félix flanking his left side, Nathalie sitting stiffly on his right.

"Adrien, you're late," Gabriel said, the line between his brows stiff and uncompromising.

Adrien reached back in his mind for an excuse, but Amélie cut him off with a bubbly laugh. "Oh, Gabriel, give him a break. He's an adult now, I'm sure he has places to go. Have a seat, dear. We've already started." Gabriel shot her a nasty look but didn't have a chance to get a word in edgewise. Amélie continued talking while Adrien seated himself next to Nathalie and began to pick at his cucumber salad. "Nathalie, are you quite alright? You've barely touched your food," she said.

Nathalie started, pushing her glasses up reflexively. "Yes, quite alright, thank you." Adrien always suspected it made Nathalie highly nervous to be at the table with them. She attacked mealtimes at the table as if it were a professional obligation. Whenever Amélie and Félix excused themselves, Nathalie's shoulders would sag, and he once thought he heard what sounded like a sigh of relief escape her lips. When the Graham de Vanily's weren't here, she simply ate on her own time, and merely watched over his shoulder for lunches and dinners. He felt guilty that even though it made her uncomfortable, he vastly preferred Nathalie sitting next to him during mealtimes rather than standing to the side.

Amélie carried the conversation all on her own through the salad and the first course; Adrien was always impressed with how she could keep on with very little encouragement. Félix kept giving him odd sidelong glances throughout dinner, and when his mother was busy with a bite of pork he finally spoke. "So, Adrien, did your friend's project bear any fruit?"

Adrien gave a quick look to his father before answering--his father hadn't mentioned that he'd agreed to nominate Marinette for the apprenticeship at Lanvin's, but he knew from Marinette that it was true. "It did," he said, spearing a brussels sprout and shoving it in his mouth.

Gabriel set his fork aside. "Marinette is very talented, I have no doubt she would secure the apprenticeship with or without my assistance."

Amélie looked between the three men, realizing that for once she didn't have anything to offer in the conversation because she didn't know who they were discussing. "Who is Marinette? A schoolmate?" she asked Adrien.

Adrien nodded, but it was Félix that answered, something stirring behind his eyes (a look Adrien knew meant he was scheming or delighting in something that no one else would know until it was too late). "Mmm, a friend of Adrien's from school. An aspiring designer. I had the privilege of observing one of the shoots she did for her portfolio. Adrien did an excellent job as the photographer."

Adrien gripped his fork harder. Was that what Félix had been planning? To get him in trouble with his father after he took all those pains to make sure he didn’t find out he'd done something without his permission?

"The photography for that shoot turned out well." Gabriel's voice was flinty, icy eyes attempting to pierce through Félix's nonchalance. "However, it should not have happened without you speaking to me about it first, Adrien. I am sure you understand that."

Adrien slumped. He didn't even get time to be happy that Gabriel thought the pictures came out well. "Yes, Father."

"Gabriel, you're too harsh," Amélie chided. "Adrien, did you ever see the pictures Emelie took in her youth? She was into photography for a good year or two. I'll send you some of them when we return home. She would flutter from hobby to hobby endlessly, but she was always creating something. I've always envisioned you with a girl like that--someone with passion."

Félix brought a finger to his cheek, a foxy smile on his lips. "That sounds just like Marinette, don't you think? Always doing something new, that one."

Gabriel placed his napkin on the table and stood abruptly. "I'm afraid I must get back to work if you'll excuse me." He bowed slightly, then gave a moment's glance at Nathalie who left with him, one of her soft relieved sighs following her out the door.

Adrien didn't stay much longer; he escaped to the relative safety of his room at the next available opportunity. Plagg was already finished with a healthy portion of camembert and was laying belly up on Adrien's pillow. "I don’t know how you stand those awful dinners. If you have to wait two hours for the cheese plate, that's not a dining experience, it's torture."

Adrien smiled, although his heart wasn't in it. He felt guilty. He loved Plagg and he loved being Chat Noir, but if he was honest, the most fun he had in his life was when he was with Ladybug. If she wasn't there, would he want to keep fighting alone? Being a hero was rewarding, yes, but he wasn't a fighter--not really. He hated conflict. Adrien was there for Ladybug because she said she needed him, but if she ever told him she didn't anymore…then he'd probably just stop.

Plagg's lazy drawl cut through his thoughts. "Viperion's an odd fellow, hmm?" Plagg stretched deeply before sitting up. "Guardian types usually are."

Adrien sat next to him. "What do you mean? Is he really a Guardian, like Ladybug?"

"I doubt officially, you need the Miracle Box to be involved for that. But they do all have that painful sense of duty." Plagg huffed. "You know if it were me, I'd be glad to be rid of the whole charade and spend the rest of my days in bed with a lovely hunk of camembert."

Plagg was trying to make him feel better, he realized. Adrien's heart lifted slightly, but before he got a chance to say anything further, he saw Plagg's ears go rigid, and the Kwami quickly disappeared under the bed. There was a perfunctory knock at the door before it opened. Félix slipped inside, closing the door behind him. Adrien had once hoped that he and Félix could be as close as they were when they were kids, but now whenever he saw Félix, he just felt pangs of dread. There was always some private joke he wasn't understanding, and he was more often than not the butt of it. He sighed and flopped back on the bed--he didn't have the energy to address him. Félix would start in soon enough, anyway.

Félix walked over to the bed leisurely, hands clasped behind his back as he examined the familiar trappings of Adrien's room. The rock-climbing wall, foosball table, his CD collection…it was all where it normally was. Nothing new here.

"You really ought to redecorate, you know. This room hasn't changed since you were twelve."

One point to Captain Obvious, Adrien thought bitterly.

Félix continued when Adrien didn't rise to the bait. "I won't stay long. I understand you must be tired. I just wanted to come by privately to see if you needed any support."

A few years ago, he might have leaped for joy at that statement, assuming it meant that Félix wanted to be friends again. Now it just roused him with suspicion. "What do you mean?"

Félix shrugged lightly, unclasping his hands from behind his back to pick up the small white ball from the foosball table, throwing it up in the air and catching it deftly. "Even if you never intended to date, I'm sure it still stings that she's moving on. Your father never would have agreed to nominate her if she wasn't."

Adrien finally sat up and rubbed his face blearily. If Félix was going to play with him, he'd rather he just got to the point than insist on playing cat and mouse. He didn't feel much like chasing today. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Félix," he said with a sigh.

"Come now, there's no need for secrets here." Félix's smile turned twisted. "You know how Marinette pined for you--even you can't be that dense."

Adrien unlaced his shoe, momentarily wondering what Félix would do if he threw it at him. He let it fall to the floor instead. "It doesn't matter," he said finally. "She's my friend--" he could feel his breath catch, a painful clench in his heart stopping him.

Félix caught the marble-sized ball one more time before setting it back in the center of the field. The smile was gone. "I don't know why you insist on acting this way," he said evenly. With a dark look, he was across the room in a moment, his hands gripping Adrien's shirt to push him back onto the bed, his knee in Adrien's chest.

Adrien grasped Félix's wrists, trying to shake him off in vain. "What are you doing?" He gasped; Félix's knee was restricting his ability to breathe.

Félix pushed down harder; his neatly combed hair swinging around his eyes violently. "What are you doing, Adrien? Are you really this craven? Can you really not care when I tell you Marinette doesn't love you anymore? She's moving on from you--everyone is moving on from you! What are you going to do about it?!"

Adrien's hands loosened their grip, mind suddenly scrambling for purchase, lungs painfully tight. "They're not…"

"Are you blind? Stupid?! Your friends all have their own futures, Marinette isn't waiting for you anymore, even your father is moving on from Emelie, day by day. You'll be alone, and there will be no one to blame but yourself--" Félix's steely green eyes bored into him, wrath and rancor dancing darkly.

The need to breathe won out over anything. Adrien wrapped his arms around Félix in a tight bear hug and rolled, landing them both on the floor with a deep thud that echoed in his bones. His throat burned as he breathed deep, flexing his fingers and feeling a harsh tingle in response. They both lay with their backs on the hardwood floor, rough and irregular breathing filling the room like a metronome. There would be time later to think on the pained, haunted look on Viperion's face, and to wonder if Ladybug would someday end up the same way. There would be time later to wonder how Félix could root out his feelings for Marinette when even he hadn't known--but tonight, laying on the floor of his room with his once beloved cousin, all he could think was, why does he care?

#in the shadows mlb #alternate universe #lukanette #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #gabriel agreste #nathalie sancoeur #luka couffaine #amelie graham de vanily #felix graham de vanily #Nat's Monster In The Box #urgh trying to find good spots for a chapter snapshot without spoiling the story is....hard #im doing my best #also not 100% proud of the banner for this chapter #but one can only spend so many hours browsing free images without LOSING BRAIN CELLS

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wulfies-kpop-fanfics · 3 years

Text

One Photo → Mark Lee [1]

↳ Pairing: Mark Lee/Reader

↳ AU: Soulmate!AU - The first touch of two soulmates permanently scars their bodies.

↳ Word count: 4,863

↳ Chapters: Prelude | You Are Here! | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

⁙ Summary: For an end of the year photography project, you’re tasked with taking a photograph for your favourite group, NCT127, and coincidentally, discover your soulmate.

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MONDAY - 1

Your heart was pounding a million miles a minute as you stepped into your photoshoot studio on campus two weeks later, ready to see a bunch of other students preparing for interviews for the same position. Surprisingly, you were the only one present besides your teacher. She smiled and approached. “Hey,” she greeted you with a short handshake. “I see you’re nervous?” “A little,” you admit, returning her friendly grin. “I’m surprised nobody else is here.” She hummed. “Well, there was a lot to choose from. Come on. This one, I believe, is a little special compared to the others.” “How so?” Your voice was laced with curiosity as she led you further in, past the background sheets that separate the room into two halves. Behind it were people you had only dreamed of seeing in person.

The three of them stood as soon as they lay eyes on you. Johnny, Mark, and Jaehyun. You were completely frozen, staring at them and nearly forgetting to breathe. The thought of the members interviewing you themselves had never even entered your brain.

Your teacher placed a hand on your shoulder, startling you. Without a word, she smiled at you, nodded at them and left the room. Once the door shut with a soft click, Mark approached you. “Hi, I’m Mark Lee,” he held out his hand. “You probably knew that, considering your expression.” He laughed sweetly. You barely held out your hand with a shy nod, “I’m (Y/N).” Instead of going through with the handshake, Mark immediately moves in to engulf you in a friendly hug. “It’s nice to meet you,” you mumbled into the hug, barely processing that you were actually hugging Mark Lee and were in the same five-foot radius as three members of NCT. Johnny and Jaehyun also hugged you tightly, insisting that you join them at the table your teacher had set up for them.

“I thought I would be more prepared,” you admitted softly, digging into your backpack and pulling out your portfolio of projects and random photos you’ve taken. Mark takes it first to open and look through. “I’ve been a fan since your debut.”

Johnny smiled. “Then you’re just the person we’re looking for,” he said. He glances over at your portfolio, then back to you. “The truth is, we aren’t looking for a professional like a lot of others in this program. We bring our own from our company.” Your knit your eyebrows together in confusion. “Then why sign up? If, um, you don’t mind me asking.”

Jaehyun looked up from browsing your portfolio with Mark. “We were looking to take one photo.” He held up his index finger. “We wanted to have a friend that’s from around here to help us find the perfect spot, and photographers always know the best places.” Your eyes widened. A friend? Did he really just say that? “Just one photo?” You decided to ask, the whole prospect of clarifying what Jaehyun meant by ‘friend’ was a little too overwhelming.

The three of them nodded. “We want just one photo for our dorm. This stop is important to us, and we want this to stay away from social media. It’s just going to be for us. And for you, for your project, of course,” Mark explained. “We don’t want someone that is too professional and we don’t want a fansite to take it. It seemed to us that a friend would be the best choice.” He smiled gently at you. “We’ll provide you with a ticket and backstage pass, as well as paying you based on the program’s price for the photo to be touched up and framed.”

You tripped over your words. “Well, I… I don’t think I’m in a position to turn you down, but…” Johnny cocked his head to the side. “But..?”

You gulped and sheepishly avoided eye contact. “I can’t speak Korean,” you mumble, fiddling with your fingers. Mark smiled sweetly at you. “That’s okay. We’ll translate for you. So, what do you think? Would you like to spend a day with us before our show?”

You smiled, deciding to be a bit more daring. They did say, friend. “You’re asking that like there’s even a shred of a chance I’d say no.”

All three of them grin. “Thank you, I was hoping you would say yes,” Mark says. “Your portfolio is stunning.”

Your face goes red and you're barely conscious enough to stand with them as they prepare to leave. Johnny and Jaehyun hug you again, praising your work before taking their leave, but Mark doesn't join them.

“Our manager has your teacher's contact information, but I want to involve the company as little as possible… if it's not too sudden, could I please have your number?” Mark smiles sheepishly, offering his unlocked phone to you, open to a new contact page. It's as if he has no idea of the impact he has on his fans. Sometimes you forget that NCT is made up of normal humans, and the one standing in front of you is a year younger than you are.

“Of course,” you take it gently and add your contact info, taking a quick selfie to add as your little profile picture, all while Mark watches you searchingly. “Here you are,” you hand his phone back, hesitating on saying what you were thinking, “since you want to be friends, feel free to text me.”

Mark takes his phone back with a smile, sending you a quick smiley face to make sure the number was correct. The room is silent for a moment, your face feels as if it's on fire and Mark returns the stare you gave him when you walked in.

“Come on, Mark!” you hear Johnny’s voice from outside the classroom and you both turn toward it. You smile sheepishly.

“I shouldn't keep you, should I?” you ask, voice soft and a little embarrassed.

“No, but I wish I had more time. I'll text you, I promise,” he says, hugging you once more before leaving you alone and speechless.

You wondered if all fan interactions were like the one you just experienced. You were aware the members of NCT were known to be humble and kind, but they were much calmer and affectionate than you expected. The idea that you just saw Mark's smile in person made your own cheesy grin spread across your face as you packed up your portfolio.

After class, you headed back to your dorm, a skip in your step. Once you opened the door and stepped inside, you felt like you could collapse. Fatigue washed over you like a tidal wave, and you knew it was time for an afternoon nap. Rhiannon was still in her lab, so you could grab at least 20 minutes of shut-eye before she would come back and beg for you to make dinner. You set your bag down by the door with your shoes and set a course for your bed. As soon as you were able to slide underneath the covers and nearly drift to sleep, your phone vibrated.

You reach into your pocket, confused. Rhiannon was the only friend that had your number, and if she even thought about her phone in a lab, she would be kicked out. Once you unlock your phone, you finally remembered who else you gave your number to.

Mark: Hey!

You licked your lips as your chest twinged and filled with butterflies. You screamed internally for a few seconds, the moment hitting you a little harder than before. Mark Lee had your cell phone number and he was texting you first.

You: Hello, what’s up?

Mark replied almost immediately, which startled you a little bit. You turned over in your bed to get a little more comfortable.

Mark: We were just finishing up settling into our hotel rooms. I wanted to know how you're doing, are you in class? I hope I'm not interrupting anything

You: No, I got home a little while ago. I was gonna take a nap tbh

Mark: Oh! Sorry, I don't mean to take away sleep from a college student

You smiled a little bit. He was too sweet. As if your nap wasn't going to ruin your sleep schedule.

You: Its fine, if I had a nap I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight anyway

Mark: So you're free then?

Your eyebrows furrowed as you typed your response.

You: Uh yeah, why? Did you all want that picture now?

You put your phone down, a little overwhelmed. If they wanted it now, you wouldn't see them again until the concert, which wasn't until Friday. Perhaps you should have expected they wanted to do this as fast as possible, their Canadian and Chicago stops were planned with vacations in mind considering Johnny and Mark's heritage. When your phone buzzed again, you almost jumped to grab it.

Mark: Well no not yet. I was just wondering if you wanted to get coffee or something. Or tea if you prefer that

Your eyes widened.

You: Really?

Mark: Yeah. I dunno, I want to take the friend thing more serious than the guys. They just wanted to use that word so it was like an unspoken contract that you wouldn't post this everywhere y'know?

Your heart sank a little bit, but you could see how important privacy was. If you were in the same position, you would have done the same.

You: I understand… I'm still kind of a stranger though, are you sure?

Mark: That's why I'm asking. I don't want you to be. So, will you meet me?

You: There's a Tim Hortons on the first floor of M building near where you met me on campus, I can be there in 40 minutes

Mark: See you in 40 minutes then :)

As soon as you read that text, you tossed your comforter to the side and raced into the bathroom. You fix your hair and could barely decide whether to change your outfit or not. He did see you earlier today, would he think you were trying too hard if you changed?

“Keep it together, (Y/N),” you told yourself, patting your cheeks with your hands as you eyed your complexion in the mirror. “He just wants tea and coffee, nothing major.”

Just then, the front door opened. “Are you talking to yourself again?” Rhiannon called from the foyer.

“No,” you called back, clearly lying as you took one more scan of yourself in the mirror before leaving to greet your friend. “You’re back early. How was the lab?”

“Tiring,” she answered. “My bitch lab partner came in even earlier than usual to make sure I didn't have the chance to set up our station again.” She rolled her eyes and dropped her backpack next to yours.

“Yikes,” you reply, watching her wander into the kitchen. “Are you gonna tell your professor that she is trying to sabotage your grade?”

Rhiannon sighed. “I don't know if the following shitstorm would be worth it,” she says, plugging in the electric kettle. “I'm gonna make some tea, you want any?”

You shook your head, even though she probably couldn't see you from the wall separating the kitchen and foyer. “No thanks, I'm going out to Tim's in M building.”

Rhiannon took less than a second to appear in the archway to stare at you. “Why?” She questioned, squinting at you.

“Mark asked me to meet him for coffee.”

“Mark,” she repeated, crossing her arms. “I thought you hated Mark Davids.”

“Not that asshole,” you shot back. “Mark Lee.” You began to look for a pair of cuter shoes as Rhiannon’s eyes widened.

“You got the job?!” She exclaimed, her voice nearly reaching a squeal. "YOU MET MARK LEE? WITHOUT ME?!"

“Yeah,” you smile sheepishly, taken aback by her shouting. you picked out your favourite pair of shoes, red converse high tops. “He just seems like he wants to hang out right now though.”

“Oh my God,” her voice nearly lowered to a whisper. “Mark Lee just asked you out.”

You rolled your eyes. “He didn't ask me out, he just wants to talk,” you explain, pulling on your shoes to tie them.

“I dunno, he could be it,” she says, waltzing back into the kitchen. “You never know!”

You sigh. “See you later!”

“Tell him to get Haechan's number!”

After a 15-minute subway ride and a lot of hurried walking, you hauled open the pristine doors of M building, the newest addition to your college campus. Right before you was a little Tim Hortons with a tiny student’s lounge to accompany it. There was a little bit of a line to the micro cafe since night classes were starting up around now, but the student’s lounge was close to empty.

You took in a deep breath, fully stepping inside and beginning your search for Mark. It doesn’t take long to spot him, he’s sporting yellow hair and a white face mask, accompanied by two red Tim Hortons cups at a table in the corner of the lounge. It takes you a moment to fathom your position - about to meet someone you’ve been crushing on for months through a computer screen for coffee in a lounge at your college. On top of that- he’s already bought you something.

“Hi,” you meekly greet him, approaching the table. Mark looks up from his phone and his eyes immediately crease into the crescents of his beautiful smile.

“Hey, (Y/N)!” He pulls his mask off, “sit down, I, uh, got you some tea. You kind of struck me as that kind of person, so I hope I got it right.”

“Thank you, Mark. You really didn’t have to buy me anything…” You smile nervously, your face feeling hot and your heart beating a mile a minute. Mark seemed a little nervous, just like you. It was a sobering moment, taking the cup he pushed toward you and opening it to take a sip. Your eyes widened. Your tea was exactly the way you always order it, nearly to the grain of sugar.

Mark watches your expression, happy that you seemed to like your tea, “I wanted to treat you. I know how weird this must all seem for you, but for some reason, I feel like I know you.” He runs his hand through his hair, avoiding eye contact for a moment.

You look away from him as well. There's a moment of silence between you, the bustle of students slowly diminishing as the sun sets behind you.

“I, uh, can't really relate to you in that way,” you whisper after you worked up the courage to break the silence. “A lot of your life is on display.”

“You're right,” Mark agreed. “There are a few things I keep to myself, though,” he smiled cheerfully. “But what I mean is hard to explain.”

Curious, you nod toward him, “try me.”

“When I was standing in line, I was trying to figure out what to get you. I wanted to treat you since I asked you to come, and I kind of expected for you to say no since your professor said you had class today and-”

“Mark, it’s fine, stay focused.” you smile faintly at him and wait for him to continue, sipping your tea again.

He blushes and nods sheepishly. “When it was my turn, I got what I wanted and the second I thought about you, I recited medium steeped orange pekoe tea with two cream and one and a half sugar like I had been getting it for you for years.” He stops for a moment, presumably watching your stunned reaction.

Your breathing was feeling a little crooked, and you couldn't quite place what you were feeling. You tried to take in a deep breath, shaking your head when Mark began to look concerned.

“Sorry,” you apologize quickly. “I, uh, kind of know what you're talking about. This is all just a little; I don't know…”

“Overwhelming?” Mark finished, nodding his head. “I can't stop thinking about it.”

You tried to smile. “I guess you gave the bug to me,” you joke. “Want to get some air?”

“I'd like that.”

The two of you walked down a path that led off-campus, talking. It was as if the two of you had forgotten your positions in life; Mark a celebrity with his life on a pedestal and you just a fan that forgot how much you really knew about him.

You were rediscovering his cheerful nature, his loud and hearty laughter that was a whole-body endeavour, learning that he plays the guitar, his love of ice cream and sweet things. His favourite colour was blue, and he loved Christmas so much he already had a growing list of things to buy for his friends as gifts.

The sun was nearly hidden behind the hills of the park you wandered into, admiring the newly blossomed cherry trees. You were showing him a small bed of flowers decorated to look like a Canadian flag when Mark asked the dreaded personal question you had been hoping you would never have to answer again.

“How did your parents find out?” His tone was soft, curious. He didn't sound as invasive as others have been in the past, but the question still made you bite your lip to keep from frowning.

“A gang fight,” you answer, bitterly. “My dad punched my mom in the face so hard that day, she needed to go to the ER. It actually took three months for her to figure out why the print of my dad's fist hadn't faded from her cheek.”

Mark didn't speak for a moment. “Was that too much to ask?”

You looked up at him from the flower bed, smiling faintly. He looked good in the final evening glow. “I don't mind that much, but...”

“I'm sorry,” he said, tentatively placing a hand on the small of your back.

“It's okay,” you start, his sympathy nearly made you melt. The two of you begin walking again, Mark absently running his fingers over cherry petals as you both passed the trees. “I got out of it all pretty quickly. They fought when they were high, and that was almost all the time. Sometimes, I feel scared just thinking about how my life might end up. If any of it is all as real as everyone says it is.”

Mark stares at you, and there is sympathy radiating off of him. He looks like he wants to say something, but he stays quiet.

You hold back a frown and decide to break the silence. “Anyway, how about your parents?”

“A hug,” he answered, nodding, a smile returning to his face. “it's not the most common first touch in the world, but I hope I find mine the same way.”

“That does sound nice,” you agree softly.

“I've heard it's all up to fate and magic,” Mark says, charm in his voice. “I've always wanted to believe in that.”

“I'd like to believe in that. Makes life seem a little more bearable. I’ve just always been so cynical through my childhood, so much so that all of my hope for a fairytale ending faded a long time ago. I never really thought that anything good would come out of it. If the universe really wants me to find someone, I guess I can’t really do anything about it.”

Mark smiles, although you can tell he is hiding a smidge of disappointment. “I suppose that's one way to think about it,” he replies. “I just want to know someone so well that I don't have to think twice about it. Like knowing the exact way to cheer them up when they're sad. Like the perfect cup of tea or their favourite stuffed animal. I guess that takes a little bit of magic.”

You stop in your tracks, thinking about the perfect tea he had given you earlier.

“What's wrong?” Mark stops and turns around when he notices you're not keeping pace.

“Nothing,” you lie with a smile, watching Mark's scepticism through the darkness of night.

“Okay,” he says softly, looking up at the sky. “I guess it's late, huh?”

You join him in looking up. If the city wasn't always so lit up, this spot would be perfect for a shot of the starry night sky between the small canopy of cherry trees. “I guess it is.”

“How far away is your dorm? I can walk you,” he suggests, taking your hand. You're frozen, too stunned by the gesture to pull away.

“You don't have to,”

“But I want to,” Mark grins. “It's the one way I can make sure you get back safely.”

“You're too kind…” you pause for a moment. Mark is staring you down, waiting for you to say yes. “I'm not allowed to say no, am I?”

He shook his head, smiling. “Nope. Come on, let's go.”

Scoffing lightly, you concede and begin walking again. “You can take me to my subway stop and I can tell you which train to take to go back,” you offer, assuming he would need to be back at his hotel before it got too late at night.

“No,” he said quickly. Your eyes widened at his tone and once he noticed your reaction, he lowered his voice. “I just… have these gut feelings. I'd like to escort you right to your dorm,” he clears his throat, “um, if I'm not crossing any lines.”

You feel sympathy for him. Just looking at Mark, you can tell he's worried about you, but you can't quite see the reason. “Okay,” you agree softly.

It's silent for a while as you both walk through the well-lit city. It's not until you pass a food truck on the way to the subway station that either of you says something again.

“You know, you and I walked around that park for hours and we didn't even know how late it was until the last minute,” Mark comments, still holding your hand and pulling back gently to keep you from walking past him.

“Yeah, you're right,” you blush, you had to admit to yourself that you hadn't lost yourself in conversation or such comfortable silence like that even on a date. "We forgot to eat. Are you hungry?”

“Yeah,” Mark admits with a laugh, “and these hot dogs smell good.”

You look up at him. “I'll buy.” You wriggle your hand out of his grasp and run toward the cart before Mark can catch you, readying your wallet.

“Two hot dogs please, one with relish and one plain, please. Also, burn the plain one a little bit, thanks.”

“You're slippery,” Mark says, watching you pay for the food.

“You bought me tea, it's only fair,” you stick your tongue out at him. He sighs and nods at you, only breaking his gaze when the man at the cart hands down the hot dogs a few moments later. “The one with relish is yours. You hate ketchup, right?”

Mark takes his hot dog, eyes wide. “Uh, yeah,” he pauses. “I just haven't really told anyone outside the guys and my family.”

You're halfway through a bite of your ‘dog and you nearly choke on it.

“Hey, hey!” Mark reaches out for your shoulder, hoping that you wouldn't pass out. “Chew and swallow! Sorry, I didn't mean to freak you out.”

You swallow and cough, shaking your head. “Don't worry, I'm fine,” you say. “This is just a weird feeling.”

He nods. “Yeah. But I don't really mind it. Come on, let's walk some more.”

It was totally surreal to you, walking and eating with Mark. He was right, there was this strange feeling washing over you every time you looked at him, different than watching him on a Vlive broadcast or music video. Like you knew something about him that nobody else did, and it made you feel both good and scared out of your mind. It felt invasive.

One subway stop and a little bit of a walk later, you both arrive at your dorm building. “Here we are,” you announce. “My roommate is probably going to kill me for coming back so late.”

“Should I go in with you? To protect you?” Mark is smiling, but you can tell there is a hint of seriousness.

“If you want. She will probably ask for something from you, though.” You open the main doors and enter in your code, leading Mark in with you.

“Like what?” Mark furrows his eyebrows. “She's not weird, right?”

You nearly laugh out loud. “She's weird all right, just not the kind you're thinking of. She wanted me to get Haechan's number from you, but I got so absorbed in talking with you that I forgot to ask.”

“Oh,” Mark is following you close behind, letting out a tiny sigh of relief. “That doesn't sound too bad, but his reaction should be interesting.”

You shrugged. “You don't have to do it. Anyway-” You're cut off as the door to your apartment opens, Rhiannon stepping out and pressing her hands to her hips.

“Look who's finally back,” she states, and you can immediately tell she is angry. “It's almost 1 AM!”

“Shh! I'm sorry, okay? I lost track of time! I was with-”

“Mark,” she says, her voice less harsh when she notices Mark is standing behind you, sheepishly smiling and waving at her. “At least you had the initiative to walk her home.”

You squint at your best friend. It's clear she is trying not to freak out in front of him. “Are you gonna let me inside?”

“Not yet,” she states. “Mark, I love you,” she says quickly, grabbing your arm and pulling you to her. You're smiling awkwardly at him, shrugging and mouthing ‘sorry’.

Mark smiles awkwardly and nods at you. “Uh, thanks,”

“Thank you for bringing (Y/N) back. Has she asked you about Haechan?”

“Yeah. I'll text you guys his number when I get back- which I probably should…”

You step forward. “Do you know how to get back?”

Mark shakes his head. “I think it's on Yorkville, I might have to use my GPS.”

You shake your head. “It's easy to get there. Head to the station you and I were just on, take the southbound for 5 stops. Once you get above ground, you should be on that street.”

Mark smiled at you. “Thank you.” He approached you to give you a hug, which felt warmer than the other two from earlier in the day. When he turned to leave, a pang hit your chest.

“Mark,” you called. Instantly he turned around, his expression curious. “Let me know when you get back safely.”

He nodded, smiling warmly. “I will, I promise.”

You watch him leave, a little shocked that spending the entire night with him didn't feel like it at all. You're only broken out of your thoughts when Rhiannon drags you inside your apartment and shuts the door.

“You scared me half to death, you bitch! At least text me when you're gonna stay out this late! I thought you were just having tea! I was this close to calling the cops!” She presses her index finger to her thumb and shoves her hand towards your face as you stand before her, a little humiliated.

“Your fingers are touching,” you say quietly, screwing your eyes shut.

“Exactly!” she exclaims. “I was one button away from speaking to 911! You're goddamn lucky I heard you and Mark coming down the hall!” You open your eyes when she gently touches your arm. “Don't scare me like that.”

“I'm sorry. I promise I'll keep in touch next time.” You smile awkwardly at her. “I was just so caught up in talking and trying to make sure it wasn't a dream.”

Rhiannon nodded and returned your smile. “I know. You should go to bed, you have class in the morning.”

“Yeah. Thanks for worrying about me.”

Once you were in fresh pyjamas, you had some music on in the bathroom while you dry your hair with a towel. A quick shower before bed always was relaxing enough for you to fall asleep quickly. Snuggling up in bed after that long day was especially nice, gathering up your teddy bear to hug close. You're just about to drift off when your phone buzzes.

Mark: Hey, I'm back safe. Thank you for the directions

You: You're welcome

I had a really nice time tonight

Mark: Me too

You have class tomorrow right

You: Yeah, it's a short day though, just a small photoshop lab

Mark: Do you want to hang out again when you're done? By the way, the number I promised - __________

You: I'd like that. Thanks, I'll forward it to her

Haechan was cool with it right

Mark: Me too :) yeah he was cool with it, he owed me a favour anyway

Sleep well ok?

You: I will, you too?

Mark: Yeah I promise

Goodnight (Y/N)

You: Goodnight :)

After putting your phone down on your nightstand, you peacefully drifted off with a smile on your face.

#mark lee #mark lee x reader #mark x reader #nct #nct127 #nct scenarios #nct imagines #reader insert #fanfiction #nctu #kpop fanfictions #kpop scenarios #kpop imagines

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takaraphoenix · 3 years

Text

Buffy Season 8: Review

It’s bad. It’s just... really... bad. That’s the TL;DR of this review. There was one (1) good thing about this season and that was the return of Oz. So if you’re looking for something that hypes season 8? This is not it. If you are confused, angry or salty about season 8? Hi, yes, me too.

Starting at the beginning. At first, I was really happy that they introduced more characters of color, with Renee and Satsu. And when Renee was then even “promoted” to Xander’s love interest? Nice. The two were even cute.

But no. That was all just the set-up to fridge her. Which, I am so very tired of that trope. And that is what that was. That wasn’t just a slayer dying during a fight. The entire issue of her death focused on her and Xander, building up to their relationship, setting them up for their first date, having her be prominently featured, just to then kill her off and have Xander avenge her.

What made it feel even worse - worse than just the fridging - was that they really had to fridge one of their very few women of color. And, to top it off, spend the entire issue in which she dies having her subjected to racism. Just great. Really, you managed to make an already shitty trope even worse. That’s impressive.

The racism itself too. Dracula. They just decided to make Dracula totally racist now, huh? and it doesn’t get a pass just because Xander points out in the comic that he doesn’t remember Dracula being this racist. Because he wasn’t. This Dracula just throws around slurs left and right in a way that feels more like the writers just really wanted to use slurs. Because the character? He was suave, charming, heck he charmed the straight men and the lesbians too when he was on the show. He was a smooth talker. This Dracula? He just... He was just racist and rude in general. Why.

Moving on from the racism to the next failure in rep. The gays. At this point in time I am simply convinced that Joss Whedon is entirely unfamiliar with the concept of bisexuality.

I know I’ve already made a separate post complaining about this, but it needs mentioning in the review of the season too. Having Buffy hook up with a lesbian twice, but #NoHomo, just a straight girl in her “experimental phase”. That’s just cringey and also offensive. Just... make her... come out as a bisexual? It’s not like the writing in the show hadn’t already set her up with quite the bi vibes.

Instead, the narrative made it sound like the only options would be to be straight or to now suddenly turn “into” a lesbian. Which is also offensive on itself, because - as this very show had proven on screen - lesbians can come out later in life and genuinely, I adore Willow’s arc. For her narrative, it fit to have her come out as a lesbian, the circumstances and her life fit for that. I absolutely agree that it would have been weird for Buffy to have a sudden coming out as a lesbian at that point in her life and after everything, but referring to it as turning into a dyke was just not great.

And lesbian wasn’t the only option. Though, I’m unsure Whedon knows that, considering that 6/6 canon queer characters are homosexual and 4/4 wlw are lesbians. They just keep introducing more lesbians - which, as a lesbian I am always in favor of more lesbians. However, when you have a very small number (2) of queer characters, it figures you can not cover all the sexualities and it’s even fair that even with two, you still choose to have them both be the same sexuality. But... the more you add? The more questionable it becomes that you limit it to one sexuality only.

This arc would have so beautifully set up for Buffy to come out as bi. But no.

And while we’re on the wlw; one of the things I always loved about Buffy was that the lesbians weren’t just there for the male gaze, they weren’t oversexualized. They desired each other, they even had sex. But... in a normal frame work, to a normal amount, meaning equal to how the straights were handled. I always liked that, because especially in early days, lesbians were usually just there to look really hot and have hot sex that straight men could get off to. Well, consider me very unimpressed with the comics, because... man are lesbians sexualized now. Willow gets a hot constantly naked snake goddess girlfriend whom she can only contact by - and I am not making this up - having an orgasm. So we prelude the trip by her having sex with Kennedy, before waking up all nude in snake goddess’ realm and usually having am makeout session or sex with her too while doing whatever business she has with her. So much nakedness, so much oversexualization. Really... disappointing.

Staying on the romance but turning to the other Summers sister, I truly can’t believe they made Xander/Dawn canon. Like, I can not comprehend they decided to make that a canon ship.

Sure, Dawnie’s had a crush on Xander since the literal beginning of Dawn. And that was... cute, honestly. Fifteen year old girls have crushes on cute older guys who are nice to them. Figures. Adorable. But she kind of... grew out of that over the course of the show? Or so it seemed...

And Xander. One of the things I loved about Xander was that Dawn was always a total no go. She was Buffy’s sister, heck, she was kind of every Scoobie’s little sister. He had always had brotherly advise for her. Heck, in this comic he points out that it’s weird since he’s known her since she was little - and yeah it is. It’s not weird when two people were both little together, but when one was sixteen when the other was eleven and one has babysat the other? That’s weird.

Getting infinitely more disturbing by the fact that she... literally... just turned eighteen. If they had put this into a rather later season, or a bigger time skip, had Dawn been A WomanTM for a few years now and Xander had gotten around to separating the idea of kiddo!Dawnie from the woman she has become, but Dawn is only eighteen, she hasn’t become a woman yet. She just turned legal to bang and thus, a switch was flipped in Xander’s mind, putting her on his radar. And just... no. Why.

And even beyond this decision; Dawn spends the first third of this season being slut-shamed in ridiculous ways. Which is also tiresome. I am the last person to defend cheaters, but there’s a difference between “You cheated and are being held accountable for it” and “You cheated so now you are cursed to be a giant, a centaur and then a porcellain doll for weeks at a time, being publicly humiliated and having control over your body taken away from you”. That was... sure a choice.

Moving on to the actual main problem of this season. The plot.

Starting with the incomprehensibly dumb idea of “hey let’s retreat to Tibet, put a huge target on Oz’s new home and get rid of all of our magic. surely that will not come to bite us in the arse when the bad guys find us”. Naturally, it came back to bite them in their collective asses. This was just... No one objected or pointed out how dumb that plan was? Really? No one? Really?

Anyway, let’s talk villains. And work our way up there. The return of Amy and Warren. Once again, I ask why. I’m still salty about the 180° Amy did from sweet Wiccan to wicked bitch after her stint as a rat, but having her now... hook up with Warren, the second biggest misogynist on this show, who is also skinless. She used a spell to keep him alive but she couldn’t... give the spell a color? Anything? Anything to not make him look flayed? Because this was just unnecessarily gross body-horror.

Not to mention the... lack of reaction? Sure, some spoke grumpily against working with Warren. But... this is Warren. The guy who killed Tara when he was trying to kill Buffy. There really should have been more breather-scenes of the Scoobies talking about this, digesting the fact that the guy was still alive and more so when they worked with him.

But nevermind them, because they’re working for Angel. Because Angel’s the villain behind this season. I mean, he was manipulated into that by Twilight, but manipulated means he still chose to do it.

Now let me preface that I might not ship Angel/Buffy, but that really only factors marginally in here, because this plot would be bullshit even if it were my OTP.

We now retcon the creation of the Slayers as not just being something dirty old men did in a cave, it was now all the greater plan of the universe. Which. Might have worked had Slayers been... naturally occuring. And not created by men, forcing this upon a young woman. Sure, what people do can be seen as the greater plan of the universe too if you will, but that seems like a cop-out that absolves bad people of their bad choices and deeds.

Anyway. The universe created Slayers and vampires and the ““balance”“ between them (which is bullshit anyway because 1 Slayer vs thousands of vampires... not balanced at all), including the now supposedly destined romance between Angel and Buffy.

Both get rewarded with super-powers now so they can super-fuck and thus give birth to a new universe. That universe is called Twilight and manifests as a burning, winged, green lion who can talk (because that sure is how I always headcanoned Angel/Buffy’s children to look like /s) and who, through time-travel shenannigans, has been manipulating Angel into his own creation.

The magic pull between them is so strong that it overrides the “Angel just caused the death of over two-hundred Slayers” so Buffy fucks him.

At which point I just... this season was flat-out character assassination of Angel? He was manipulated by the bad guy. Not controlled, manipulated. He caused the death of hundreds. He threw everything he stood for and believed in out the window for the promise of a paradise where he could be with Buffy, when the real Angel has chosen other things, higher goals, over being with Buffy over and over again, because that’s what they do. That is their whole thing, they choose the good of the world over being together. They have always been a “will they/won’t they?” where the answer is they won’t, because they know they are needed elsewhere, by others. But now Angel just... doesn’t care about all that anymore, or heck about his own son and his friends, ready to abandon everything for this.

And then when Twilight is born and consequently abandoned by Buffy, who still prioritizes her friends, family and the world over being with Angel, Angel actually... needs convincing in the abandoning? Because, again, character assassination. Ultimately, Angel gets controlled by Twilight and used to kill Giles and try to kill Buffy.

But thanks to the Deus Ex Machina of Spike dropping in in the final arc, they know how to stop this. He hasn’t been in this season so far, because - truly in line with this season - he was off being the king of a race of alien bugs, traveling in their space-ship.

To stop this all, they go back to Sunnydale, where of course the “heart of the Earth” is located, the seed that contains all magic, and destroy it, and with it all magic. Also, the Master was apparently always just there to guard that seed. He is now back from the dead!

Let me summarize that once more, just for emphasis: The universe wanted Buffy and Angel to fuck so they can give birth to a new universe that personifies as a green, winged, burning lion but before it can destroy our universe, Spike, now king of an alien bug race, delivers the solution to go back to Sunnydale and destroy the seed of all magic that is being guarded by a resurrected Master.

How do you read that with a straight face? How do you pitch that? This is just so incomprehensibly stupid.

We end the comic with Buffy as a waitress, hated by many, Xander and Dawn now have an apartment and are playing house, Willow broke up with Kennedy because she realized she is in love with the snake goddess she will now never get to see again, Giles is dead, Faith somehow inherited everything from Giles and she is also the designated Angel-sitter now.

#Buffy Season 8 #Buffy Review #Buffy the Vampire Slayer

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duhragonball · 3 years

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BEGIN: Battle Tendency Liveblog. JJBA Ch. 45-47

🇺🇸🗽🧗‍♂️🧼🪀🌵Part 2, Hell Yeah!🌪️🎈🛩️🌋🚬

I'm pretty friggin' excited for Part 6 anime, and Part 6 is one of my faves, so one could understandably assume that Part 6 is my favorite. And I post a lot of other JoJo stuff on this blog, so it's probably not obvious, but Part 2 is the best.

I got into JoJo in 2017, watching Parts 1-4 in anime version, then reading the scanlations of Parts 5-8 while I waited for the anime to catch up. Then I re-liveblogged the Part 5 manga because there was finally a proper translation available. And technically the Part 8 liveblog never ended, since the manga is still ongoing.

As I developed an appreciation for the manga, I started to feel like I should go back and check out the comic versions of Parts 1 through 4. Where better to start than my personal favorite? But I never got around to it, until now.

There's a few things I want to explore with Part 2. First, I want to go through and work out why exactly I like it so much. It's kind of tough to articulate, but usually I just say that it's fast-paced and something's always happening. Part 1 takes a while to get going, and Parts 3-8 rely on the Stand concept, which means that each of them occasionally fall into the trap of becoming formulaic. Part 2 doesn't have the hassle of introducing all the lore, and it doesn't have the luxury of just doing a gauntlet of Stand Battles to pad out the story. But I think there's more to it than that. Battle Tendency has a charm all it's own, and that's what I want to talk about.

Second, now that I've become familiar with Parts 1-7 (and most of 8), I want to go back and see how 2 holds up as part of this mythos. BT sort of gets overlooked, I think, and that's fair, since it doesn't involve Dio, Stands, or the more outlandish costumes of the later installments. A lot of fans write off Parts 1 and 2 for being "boring", but at least Phantom Blood carries the prestige of starting it all, and providing the origin of Dio. Something I think a lot about is whether or not Part 2 "connects" with the later entries in the JoJo series. It forms a trilogy with 1 and 3, and Part 4 features Joseph's legacy in an important way, but what about the later ones? Parts 5 through 8 owe a huge debt to Stardust Crusaders for introducing Stands, and to Phantom Blood for introducing JoJo's, but what does Part 2 give them, if anything?

Third, I'm interested in seeing how BT holds up in isolation. It's a direct sequel to Part 1, and it ends with a prelude to Part 3, so it's clearly designed to function as part of a larger saga. But Parts 4 and 5 really don't operate that way, and that got me thinking that maybe Part 2 is more self-contained than I give it credit for.

But enough about that, let's get this started.

There's two plot threads in these opening chapters. One reintroduces Robert E. O. Speedwagon, now a 70 year old oil tycoon, and Straizo, who has succeeded the late Tonpetti as the Ripple Master. Speedwagon has been using his oil fortune to fund a research organization called the Speedwagon Foundation, and it discovered something major during an archaeological expedition: an engraving of the stone mask, the same one Dio used to turn himself into a vampire 50 years earlier. Note that the mummified corpse lying on the slab with the engraving has vampire fangs. Whoever this guy is, he didn't just know about the masks, he used one personally.

It might get revealed later in the comics, but I'm pretty sure the anime version had Speedwagon explain that he primary purpose of his foundation was to learn more about phenomena like the Stone Mask, which is probably why they were digging up an Aztec temple in Mexico to begin with. As I recall, the Stone Mask was discovered in that part of the world, and taken back to Europe, where it eventually came into the possession of the Joestar family. Speedwagon would know this tale, and so if he wanted to find out more about the mask, he would have known where to start. Fifty years later, he seems to have hit paydirt.

But the mask engraving isn't why he called Straizo all the way in from Tibet. Deeper in the temple, there's a weird looking area that looks like something from out of an H.R. Giger painting. In the center stands this column, or pillar, if you will, and mounted on the pillar is...

...This guy, surrounded by more stone masks. When I first watched this part of the anime, I though the big reveal here was that there were lots and lots of Stone Masks, which would be a big problem, since Part 1 made a big deal out of destroying the one Stone Mask that started all the trouble. And maybe the guy in the pillar was the one who invented the things, I thought, but the bigger problem is that he made so many of them. But no, Speedwagon explains that the "Pillar Man" is not an image carved into the stone, but a living being, in some form of suspended animation. He even has a pulse.

So who is this guy and why did he create the Stone Masks? Speedwagon does not care. He only wants this Pillar Man destroyed before he wakes up, and that's the sole reason he called in Straizo. The two of them were the only survivors of the battle with Dio 50 years ago, and Straizo's Hamon power, also known as the Ripple, can destroy vampires that were created by the Stone Mask. So he's desperately hoping Straizo can finish off the Pillar Man the same way. But Straizo doesn't seem as concerned about it, and he asks about Joseph Joestar instead. So I guess I ought to circle back to the other plotline...

Fifty years after Jonathan Joestar sacrificed himself to defeat Dio Brando, his wife Erina and his grandson Joseph have moved to New York City. Joseph tries to buy a Coke, but this kid swipes his wallet. Kind of funny how Joesph's first and last appearances in JJBA are him getting robbed.

But the kid runs afoul of the local corrupt cops, who bludgeon him with their batons and threaten to put him in jail for 20 years unless he agrees to give them a cut of whatever money he makes from pickpocketing. When Joseph catches up to this scene, the cop even says he's going to keep Joseph's wallet "as evidence". I gotta say, not everything from Battle Tendency has aged well, but this police brutality stuff has become incredibly relevant. This could be 2021, except the cop would have had a gun, and he would have shot Smokey, then Joseph because he mistook the Coke bottle for a rocket launcher.

Joseph tries to defuse the situation by claiming he gave the wallet to the kid as a gift, but the cop doesn't believe that story, and he wouldn't care even if he did. He even smears boogers in Joseph's face just to prove that he can say and do whatever he pleases. Up to this point, Joseph looks and seems a lot like Jonathan. Later artwork tries to downplay that resemblance, probably just so it's easier to tell them apart. The anime gave Joseph different color hair, and Hirohiko Araki himself started drawing young Joseph with aviator goggles all the time, even though he doesn't wear them that much in this story. But starting out, the idea was that Joseph is the spitting image of his grandfather, and it almost looks like this is just an clever way to sneak Jonathan back into the story and transport him forward in time, except....

Coming through, coming through, coming through now

Coming through, coming through, coming through

Shake it like it's heat, Overdrive!

Yeah, so Joseph can do Hamon/Ripple tricks just like his grandfather, and all the others guys who could use Hamon back in Part 1. The difference is that when Joseph does it, it looks coooooool. After breaking Officer Hulk Hogan’s trigger finger, Joseph takes a big swig of soda, because it’s awesome.

To Smokey’s surprise, Joseph did all that badass stuff a second ago, but he’s terrified about his grandmother scolding him for it. So Joseph wants to run for it, and that suits Smokey, so they rush off together, beginning a long tradition of JoJo’s running from things. Enemies, consequences, you name it.

Smokey asks Joseph how he learned how to do that trick with the coke bottle, and he says he has no idea, he’s just always been able to do it. He knows his grandfather had the same power, but he’s dead, and so are his mother and father. Curiously, Joseph’s father did not have Hamon powers, so it seems to have skipped a generation.

And that sets up the other side of the plot. Speedwagon wants Straizo to destroy the Pillar Man immediately, but Straizo first asks about Joseph. He had heard some time ago that Joseph had innate Hamon abilities, and he had used them once to rescue Speedwagon from a kidnapping attempt in midair. A flashback shows us this moment, with guys threatening to ransom and kill Speedwagon, but Joseph is just chilling in the back with a Superman comic.

Okay, time out. This panel rules and all, but the Superman comic book didn’t start until 1939, a year after Battle Tendency begins. Superman was featured in the 1938 magazine Action Comics, but this scene on the plane is a flashback to Joseph from his early teens. Also, the earliest DC bullet logo didn’t appear until 1940, so what is this? Some kind of magic, time travelling comic book? I hope someone got fired for this blunder!

Anyway, Joseph was content to ignore the hijackers until one of them struck him, and even that wouldn’t have upset him except he got his own blood on his clothes, which Erina bought him, so that sends him into a rage. Speedwagon was worried that Joseph might clobber the hijackers, but instead he knocks out the pilot, then drags him and Speedwagon out of the plane before it crashes. The main thrust of that story was that Speedwagon was more worried about what Joseph might do than the hijackers who had already threatened to murder him. Joseph is slow to anger, but once you piss him off he’s going to go to war, and he doesn’t always think things through.

But he’s never been trained to use his powers like Straizo’s order. Upon hearing this, Straizo kills his own disciples, and all of the Speedwagon Foundation guys, then knocks Speedwagon himself out. This will anger Joseph when he hears about it, but Straizo is counting on this. As he explains, Hamon power can slow his aging process down considerably. He and Speedwagon are both about 70 here, but he looks much younger. Even so, he’s feeling his age, and he confesses that he always admired Dio for his immortality and power. So now that there’s Stone Masks available, he’s decided to use one on himself, become a vampire, and become “a being that surpasses all”.

And that’s a theme that runs through all of Battle Tendency, along with the rest of the JoJo franchise. The main villains always seek power to position themselves above the rest of humanity. At first, it seems kind of random for one of the men who opposed Dio to suddenly switch allegiences like this, but in truth, it’s human nature to be tempted by this kind of power. Dio succumbed to the lure of the Mask, and now we find that Straizo would have done the same. He just didn’t have the opportunity until now.

But the reason he’s concerned about Joseph is that he’s thinking this through. Dio was defeated after all, so Straizo wants to eliminate anyone who could potentially defeat him. Aside from himself and Speedwagon, the only others who know about the battle with Dio and the Stone Mask are Erina and Joseph. Once he eliminates them, he’ll be free to do as he pleases.

Back to New York, this is a pretty sweet drawing of a car. I’m not a car guy, but even I can get behind this. By now, Smokey has met Erina Joestar, and he finds out some of the backstory from Part 1. Erina’s husband died at sea, and she was pregnant with their son, Joseph’s father, and had a baby girl whom she rescued from the same incident at sea. The two children grew up, married, had Joseph, and died, the father in World War I, and the mother of some unspecified illness. Perhaps out of loneliness, Erina is “unflinchingly kind” even to someone like Smokey Brown, who doesn’t seem to think he’s worthy of her favor.

Anyway, Erina wants to take Smokey out to dinner at this nice Italian restaurant, but this racist mafia guy makes a big stink about a Black person being allowed to eat there. Joseph gets up to kick his ass, but first he has to check with Erina to make sure it’s okay, and she’s like “Yeah, destroy that guy,” because even though she doesn’t approve of Joseph beating up people, she can’t abide disrespect to her friends. This leads to the memorable fight scene where Joseph is like eight steps ahead of his opponent. He goes for his brass knuckles, but can’t find them, and Joseph deduces where they are because of some bloodstains on his shirt. He even suggests what this guy is about to say next because he’s so predictable.

Then he dodges every blow, moving so quickly that this jerk thinks he was hitting Joseph, when in fact he was punching a hat rack behind Joseph, and somehow he didn’t notice that he impaled his hand on broken wood until Joseph explained it to him. And honestly, this feels like the prototype for a lot of Stand Battles down the line. I’ll have more to say on that later.

What puts Battle Tendency over the top is how Joseph not only outwits this big lummox, but the rest of the diners at this restaurant all start applauding him for doing it. They’re just honored to be present in this insane comic book where literally anything can happen. “He made that asshole punch a hat rack! This is awesome!”

Then this dude suddenly speaks up. He’s not only the mafia guy in charge of the first guy, but he’s also heard a hot tip about Speedwagon getting murdered in Mexico by a Tibetan man. He knew Erina would be interested in hearing this, but he’d never met her before. Small world, huh?

How would this guy already know about it, though? I guess Straizo deliberately leaked the story, specifically so Joseph would find out about it sooner, but it seems awfully convenient. But that’s how Battle Tendency rolls. This thing’s only seven volumes long, and we’ve got a lot of ground to cover...

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

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liitlesunshiine · 4 years

Text

Little Sidekick

(Bakugo x Reader)

Warnings: Cursing, sfw

Prompt: Y/N takes up an internship at the Ground Zero agency. With her luck, she ends up a sidekick to the Pro hero himself- Bakugo.

Prelude: While this chapter is smutty free I can guarantee you the future ones wont be ;) Now I haven’t written anything in a FAT minute so forgive ya girl for the grammar errors you see. I’m a marketing major not a literature one. Just horny and motivated enough to write a full-blown fic on a fictional character, that I am currently obsessing over. Hope ya sluts enjoy :*

Y/LN= Your Last Name

| Chapter 1

In a desperate last-minute attempt to leave your toxic home, you took up a hero exchange program in Japan that you found online. While this wasn’t exactly the smartest thing you’ve done, it definitely didn’t stop you from applying to a sidekick position in an agency called “Ground Zero,” not aware that you’re getting more than what you had originally bargained for; you secretly packed a bag with a few necessities and slipped out of the prison you called home.

“Good morning Ms. Y/LN, to start you off we’re going to be putting you in a training simulation to better analyze your quirk and combat skills. This is to see which hero you’d be most compatible with as a sidekick.”

It was your second day at the agency. You spent a week settling in the apartment that the agency offered you for the internship program. It was a humble setting, nothing flashy which you had preferred anyways. You finally step foot in the agency yesterday mainly going over the basics and signing paperwork, today you assumed was going to be a bit more hands on.

You were used to this type of routine, being top class in your high school years meant a lot of colleges were constantly throwing themselves at you. Which in turn led to a lot of situations with you in training and battling on other heroes. Especially with your father owning and running multiple agencies, you were constantly being forced to get stronger, it was practically expected of you to become a high-ranking hero in America and take over his business. Something you honestly didn’t care much for. Maybe it was the constant pressure being put on your shoulders to become a hero but after so many years of being subjected to that, you’ve come to secretly dislike the hero industry in your own twisted way. You only took this internship program because you were unknown here, there were no expectations of you, no one constantly breathing down your shoulder; here you were nothing but a nameless sidekick and that thought alone brought you some peace.

You stepped into the training simulation. It was an all-white room but seemed endless. On one wall there was a glass window where you supposed they watched you from but couldn’t see through from your side. You were wearing a one-piece track suit with lines running all throughout the outfit. The suit was ingrained with tech that would monitor your breathing and usage of your quirk.

“Hello Y/LN” you heard through the speaker phone “if the training gets too intense for you or if you want to take a break just yell out STOP and we will immediately halt everything. I also forgot to ask since I didn’t see it on your application: what is your hero name?”

That question lingered in your head for a minute or so. In America you were forced into living a persona behind the title of a false name. Everything in the hero industry was so theatrical, from the costumes, to even the name you represented yourself with. It was all so scripted and fake. You refused to take any part in that this time, here in Japan you’re starting with a clean slate. So, with that in mind you sternly responded:

‘Y/N. it’s just Y/N.” and thus the training began.

About 15 minutes went by with no trouble or fuss. Your air quirk allowed you to move fast and efficiently. You’ve dodged every attack thrown at you by the fake automated dummies and even destroyed a handful with such ease and precision. You were taught a variety of attack and defense forms, all with and without the use of your quirk. You also knew how to dual sword fight; but since the training has been so pathetically easy you haven’t even found the need to use your swords yet. Picking up on this attitude, the speaker came on once again.

“It seems like the simulation is a bit too easy on you Y/N, were going to be skipping up a few levels and see how you do on level 7: which is where most of the pro heroes train at.

You only responded with a nod. A smirk slowly creeping in your face. About time they got serious. You were hoping for a challenge, you couldn’t deny the bit of pride you felt effortlessly blowing through this training. With that, more mindless dummies appeared, all in different shapes and sizes this time, some even carrying weapons and shields. There was one dummy in particular that caught your attention. It had four arms all holding a sword. You immediately drew your swords out and instantly ran over to it; all while you smoothly cut and sliced through all the others in your way.

Once you reached the four handed dummy, it instantly became a dance among swords hashing and daggering at one other. Even though you were outnumbered by two swords you kept the upper hand by being faster. But with every given slice the dummy was beginning to match your pace and speed, it was becoming slightly more difficult to stop every single hit; so, you cartwheeled back to give yourself some space.

You jumped to one of the corners of the walls staying off the ground to think of plan. You figured if you kept going back and forth with the dummy it would get you nowhere and eventually just tire you out. Frustrated by how the dummy was able to match your speed you prioritized cutting off two of its arms. That way it be more manageable than trying to defend yourself against four swords attacking you simultaneously. You instantly retreated back once you had given your failed plan an attempt. Back on the corner of the wall, you were losing more patience.

Maybe I should wait for an opening and cut its head off, maybe with my quirk I can push it back and have it fall, you thought to yourself. Maybe I’m just overthinking this, it’s a fucking lifeless dummy.

With that you activated your quirk and blew air towards the dummy with such force it rolled back. You took this opportunity to jump on it, but it immediately drew out one of its swords to defend itself; it forced you to quickly rotate midair and land it behind it. This gave you about 3 seconds to rack your sword across its neck before it was able to even register you were behind it. Its lifeless head fell onto to the floor and about a minute or so its body just disappeared altogether. The room was slowly returning to its white appearance and all the evidence of a battle scene was replaced shiny tiles. The lady walked through the door “wow Y/N that was great! You don’t even seem to be worn out. I’m sure you could’ve even reached level 8 easily but we gathered enough data already. Why don’t you come into my office so we can go over the details of who you’ll be paired up with”

You’ve trained tirelessly for years on end, of course this simulation was going to be a breeze. At least compared to what you’ve faced in the past. You shuttered at the thought, quickly trying to think of something else. You thoughtlessly followed her as she led the way, you looked around the impressive building with curiosity; it wasn’t the fanciest one you’ve seen but it must have been one of the biggest. After heading up in an elevator and making a few more turns you ended up in the speaker’s office taking a seat across her. A bit of guilt creeping up since you had completely forgotten her name.

She pulled out some papers giving you more things to sign and fill out. She briefly reminded you of the benefits that the agency was going to be offering you: an apartment complex 5 minutes away from here, a flexible schedule and fixed meet up times, and a small allowance for food and necessities.

“Do remember this program is for a year, while we can’t guarantee you a permanent position after that, if you do show promising resolve, we can offer you a contract making you an official member of the agency. This program is highly competitive though, we have about 8 other exchange heroes that we will be working with this year. And out of the 8 only one or possibly two, candidates will be accepted.”

“yeah that’s fine,” you casually responded.

You weren’t planning on staying here forever, regardless you were hoping by the end of the year you would land a spot in Shoto’s agency. You’ve always secretly admired the half and half hero after watching an interview of him speaking about his father. You couldn’t help but relate to him and what he felt; on top of it he seemed like a genuine and down to earth person. The opposite of what you’ve usually seen among heroes. You were absolutely intrigued and fascinated by the icyhot hero-

You were pulled away from your thoughts when the door behind you was slammed open. You jumped slightly from the noise and sharply turned with an irritated look on your face to see which asshole would just barge in like that. When you did, your eyes met with a pair of red curious ones. The man who barged in had spiky blonde hair protruding out in every angle, that would’ve been his most noticeable feature if it weren’t for the fact that he was fucking huge. His presence alone held such intimidation and power and that tight black shirt with a red X on it did little to no job in hiding every curve and muscle from his body. From the sharp V line on his lower abdomen, to his biceps which made your head look small in comparison, you were certainly caught off guard but pulled back into reality when the woman broke the silence.

“Y/N, this is Bakugo, Katsuki, also known as Ground Zero. You will be his sidekick from this moment forth.”

There was a moment or so of awkward silence that made the air around you feel heavy.

“tsk. Like hell I need a sidekick. I don’t need dead weight on my fucking shoulders, set her up with shitty hair, or dunce face.”

“Now, now Bakugo. We discussed this with the PR team already, don’t be difficult. We need to bring up your ratings. Having a pretty sidekick can distract the audience from that explosive personality of yours. We’re already in a rough spot from your last meltdown.” Speaker lady said with the calmest tone you’ve heard her use since you’ve met her.

“I was in the middle of a fucking battle how else would you have liked for me to get the public out of the way eh?”

“threating them with an explosion and cursing them off definitely wouldn’t have been my first choice.”

“tsk. Whatever. I’ll have to train her then. Wouldn’t want a liability on my hands now.” He looked over to you “Ya heard me freakshow?”

You bit your inner lip, drawing a tiny ounce of blood. There was a lot of information to digest here but fuck this, you thought. You ignored him for a few seconds, unraveling everything you’ve just heard. The balls on this guy. Who the hell did he think he was? Last thing you needed was to deal with some asshole trying to down talk you. You stood up and pushed your chair back. You looked up at him with unsettling coldness. You weren’t having any of this shit today.

“My name is fucking Y/N.”

His mouth slightly gaped, it almost looked like he wanted to respond but couldn’t form any words. You assumed he wasn’t used to people talking back? You could careless at the moment, you took his delayed reaction to walk out and slam the door closed. You felt offended and belittled. So, they partnered me up with that punk not based off of my skill or anything but because I’m simply a pretty face that can distract the crowd from his unhinged personality? The fuck. A wind whirl of emotions went through you. Wasn’t this in some way demeaning, maybe even sexist? I’m being reduced to my looks now; this was definitely a first for you. His words rang in your head “dead weight” “liability,” “shitty hair,” “dunce face;” he not only spat on you but on his coworkers as well? Man, if that’s how he talks about his peers you could only imagine what he had in store for you, seems like “freakshow” was your new nickname already. A chill ran down your spine, maybe coming here was a bad idea.

No. no. no. You quickly stopped your train of thought. I’m not going to have this wannabe scare me off on the first day. I left America for a reason, I can deal with this, I can deal with him-

Your thoughts were interrupted once again.

“Oi, I wasn’t finished talking!” he stomped his way behind you and pulled your arm back, forcing you to face him.

“well I am.” You responded sharply with an attitude rolling off your tongue.

“Like hell you are.” He growled, gripping your arm tighter this time, tugging you closer to him. The muscles on his biceps becoming veiny from how tight his grip was. The air stiffened and everyone outside the office walked slowly pretending not to notice you both. This time with more courage and vigor you pushed his shoulder, which to your embarrassment did little to nothing considering he didn’t even move an inch.

“What’s your problem?” you asked genuinely confused from why he was acting out, the pain on your arm becoming harder to ignore. He held an intense gaze with you, it was now registering how small you were in comparison to him. With his free hand he pushed the hair on your shoulder to the side gently, throwing you off completely. He leaned into you, insanely and uncomfortably close with his hot breath hitting your ear. Chills were running all throughout your body and you couldn’t bring yourself to move way this time. It was if you were completely frozen.

“Don’t go thinking you’re hot shit just cause you reached level 7. I’d hate to put you in your place so soon on your first week here little sidekick.” The pet name rolling off his tongue. You practically choked on air, not sure with what to respond with, still frozen. Slightly terrified, now slightly turned on; you made a feeble attempt in creating some space only to be pulled in closer. Now he had both of your arms pinned to the side.

“Not so brave now eh?” He pushed his body onto you, you practically felt like you were sinking into him. A light unintentional blush crept in on your face and he smirked at the sight. He pulled your chin up forcing you to meet his eyes, glaring down at you with a smug look on his face. He was taunting you.

“Our training sessions will be every Thursday and Friday after 4. Make sure you’re on time little sidekick, I’d hate to have to go look for you and trust me, the last thing you’d want is to play a game of hide and seek with me.”

With that he let go of you and shoved you off to the side. You regained your balance by grabbing on to the table near you, trying to register what the fuck just happened. Everyone was looking at you. While Bakugo walked out of the room, you stood there absolutely floored. It was until a tap on the shoulder brought you back to your senses.

“You good? I wouldn’t worry much about Bakubro, he’s just like that.” A rather handsome red head stood in front of you. He was slightly bigger than Bakugo but around the same height. There was this energy radiating off of him that felt really comforting and soothing. He smiled at you and you caught sight of his sharp teeth, but gentle look on his eyes.

“I’m Kirishima. Welcome to the agency.”

#bakugo smut #bakugou katsuki #bakugou smut #bakugo x reader #bnha #bakugo #my hero academia #bnha boys #bnha smut #pro hero bakugou #ground zero #katsuki bakugo x reader #mha fanfiction #mha bakugou #mha boys #mha kirishima #mha bakusquad #kirishima

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fipindustries · 3 years

Note

3, 7, 8, and 9 for the book asks?

3) a stand-alone that you wish was part of a series

nothing comes to mind! it is extremely rare that after finishing a book i want more and there isnt more. and the books that i read that stand on their own tend to be big and complete and thorough as a story such that more would be unnecesary.

i could mention prelude to after the hero but the joke there is that there is a series planned, is just not coming out yet.

EDIT: OH! oh gosh! i just remembered! Lessons in fear by diana shaw, a little obscure teen detective book that i read as a kid and was awesome and i always wondered if there was more, i just googled and turns out there is! holy shit thank you so much for the ask, i wouldnt have discovered this otherwise, oh gosh!

7) a book you did not finish

plenty, dozens, probably hundreds. the most recent ones are stormlight archive the way of kings and god emperor of dune. the first one was all over the place, having like a prelude to its introduction to its first chapter, jumping from one character to the other without really getting to know anyone and all completly out of context such that i couldnt really get what was going on, filled with phrases and quotes and allusions that confused me even more, i dropped it at the point a guy who i think once was a proud soldier or something is being carried away as a slave and a fairy made of light shows up and talks to him and it wasnt entirely clear if this is a weird thing or just a habitual part of the worldbuilding.

as for god emperor the giant time skip and the brutal change in setting from children of dune to god emperor pushed me away.i dropped it when leto was having a passive agressive conversation with the clone of duncan idaho

8) a book you finished in one sitting

the graveyard book, i downloaded it and decided to check the first chapter late at night before going to sleep

next thing i know it's six in the morning and i just finished one of the best books i ever read in my life. then i got out of bed and went to college. that was a bad idea but my body could tak it back then

9) your favourite book of 2020

you mean that i read in 2020 or that came out in 2020?

i dont tend to keep up with recent books, there is enough of a trove in the past to plunder to keep me busy for decades.

my favourite book that i read in 2020 was Distress by greg egan, my favourite book that i read this year but came out in 2020 was harrow the ninth by Tamsyn Muir, its also the only book of 2020 that i read.

#this was fun!#more!

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thebladeblaster · 3 years

Text

Pokémon: the Dark Circuit (aka Vanguard Descends season 2)

Chapter 8 Prelude To The Circuit Part 1 (cont.)

“I think we already did this.”, Kamui replied.

Aichi looked over to Olivier.

“Is that fine with you?”, Aichi asked and Olivier nodded.

“Yes, I came here to talk as well.”, Oliver replied.

“We must have been thinking something similar.”, Aichi replied.

“Do you mind following me. Your friends may come along if they wish.”, Olivier asked.

“You bet we will!”, Kamui replied.

“Yeah, that’s fine.”, Aichi replied.

Oliver, Aichi, Misaki and Kamui started walking.

“I…”, Aichi looked down as he trailed off.

“Why am I getting tongue tied now? I have been waiting for this moment.”, Aichi thought.

Olivier looked over to Aichi noticing his struggle.

“It must feel a bit awkward to be talking after all these years.”, Olivier said.

“Yeah...umm...so how has things been since I’ve been gone?”, Aichi asked awkwardly.

Before Olivier answered they stopped to see a burnt down manner. Aichi’s eyes widened in shock recognizing the building.

“...My father died and many others in our family in a fire.”, Olivier responded.

Kamui gasped in shock and Misaki looked to Aichi who became very quiet. Aichi looked down at a loss for words.

“Arthur’s dead?”, Aichi questioned, sounding as if he could hardly believe it.

He had wondered why Arthur hadn’t been by his father’s side. He usually always was like how him and Olivier had been.

“I-I...I am sorry to hear that…”, Aichi said quietly.

“It wasn’t a accident. It was a attack meant to kill your father.”, Olivier explained and Aichi was at a loss for words.

His bangs covered his eyes.

“I’m sorry...I haven’t been here for you like you were for me. But if you come back with me to Kakusa maybe we can make things right!”, Aichi said.

Olivier looked rather shocked at the invitation to Kakusa and knew the implication.

“I’m sorry 00...Aichi but I can’t betray Team Asteroid. While from your perspective what your father is doing may seem wrong but it truly is the best for the world.”, Olivier replied.

Aichi looked up heartbroken at his response.

“How do you know? Have you really seen the people of the outside world? How they’ve lived. When I was with Team Asteroid I didn’t know anything besides my father’s vision. It was drilled in my head since birth that it was my purpose to fulfill his vision. I never experienced other viewpoints or what a free life was like.”, Aichi replied, walking up to Olivier.

“That freedom leads to conflict and suffering. Only through the watchful guidance of Team Asteroid can the world reach peace. If there’s no differing ideas there’s no conflict and...no one else has to die in war.”, Olivier replied, looking over at the manner during the last part.

“Olivier...life without freedom is...hell. I know that more than anyone. I suffer the most whenever Team Asteroid tries to control me. Sure freedom can lead to bad things and horrible things. People can be very cruel with free reign to do what they want. But...people can also be very kind to and do things that help people. If people are controlled they can’t evolve or innovate. I may not be fighting Team Asteroid for Arceus, but I believe in the world it created. I believe in the people of this world. Even if they aren’t perfect I know everyone is capable of doing good.”, Aichi replied.

“The world Arceus created is broken. If life was truly created in its image. It is just as flawed as it’s creations. Living in a region like Kakusa has made you naive. The conflict in Kakusa was merely a childish scuffle compared to the conflict with the other regions.”, Olivier replied with a glare.

“Fuck you! You don’t know what we’ve been through! You weren’t there! How could you possibly know!”, Kamui loudly interjected and Misaki didn’t stop him glaring at Olivier herself.

“You’re not the only one who’s suffered.”, Misaki said angrily.

“Then let’s test how strong your will is Aichi! We’ll battle with one Pokémon of the same type.”, Olivier declared pointing at Aichi.

“Why would he impose a weird condition like that?”, Kamui wondered.

“It’s what we call an honor battle. The two trainers in one fight with a Pokémon of the same type, an even playing field. It’s usually to determine who’s way better at raising Pokémon.”, Kamui jumped as Neve walked in.

“Who’s way is better huh? It’s a battle of ideals.”, Misaki said.

“Exactly.”, Neve replied.

“Oh oh! A battle that should be entertaining!”, Rati said.

“What the?! Are you guys ninjas?!”, Kamui questioned.

“We’re trained soldiers or course we know basics like stealth.”, Raul said, causing Kamui to jump and growl at him.

“Which type?”, Aichi questioned.

“Dragon type.”, Olivier declared.

“Alright! I won’t back down! I’ll show you how serious I am! Go, Soul Saver!”, Aichi called out throwing out Soul Saver.

“Haxorus! Haxorus! Haxorus! Haxorus! Haxorus! Haxorus! (I won’t let you get away with making mama angry!)”, Soul Saver roared angrily after she came out feeling the same strong emotions as her trainer through the link.

“Go Prominence Core!”, Olivier called out.

“Garchomp! Garchomp! Garchomp! (I won’t lose to some pet dragon!)”, Prominence Core roared at Soul Saver challengingly.

“Get em bro!”, Kamui cheered.

“This is so childish.”, Misaki sighed.

“I can see they really care about each other but they're both too hard headed to concede to the other. They both think they’re right and know what’s best for each other.”, Misaki thought.

“Soul Saver, let’s go! Use scale shot!”, Aichi ordered.

Soul Saver shot scales at Prominence Core.

“Prominence Core use dragon rush!”, Olivier ordered.

Prominence Core charged at Soul Saver its fins cutting through the scales. Soul Saver narrowly dodged Prominence Core and glared.

“Soul Saver use iron tail!”, Aichi ordered.

Soul Saver dug it’s tusks deep into Prominence Core before it could evade. She slammed her tail hard onto Prominence Core’s rough scales. Prominence Core quickly collected itself slashing at Soul Saver’s tusks with its fin.

“Prominence Core use flamethrower!”, Olivier ordered.

“Soul Saver!”, Aichi called out as Soul Saver’s top half was engulfed with blue flames.

“Heh, is this fight already done. 003v really has become soft in the Kakusa region. After all a Haxorus isn’t even an optimal choice for a dragon type.”, Raul commented.

“Don’t…”, Aichi said as his voice became deeper.

“Haxorus!!! Haxorus!!! (Count me out yet!!!)”, Soul Saver roared.

Prominence Core staggered back as its flame started to be overwhelmed by another blue flame. Through the flame Soul Saver’s eyes glowed menacingly.

“Prominence Core don’t back down!”, Olivier ordered.

“What a miscalculation. His Garchomp really should evade.”, Raul said.

“It’s about his pride. He can’t run away.”, Neve replied.

Prominence Core stood its ground, its fire clashing with Soul Saver’s own. Soul Saver’s glowing eyes showed that she was now using outrage.

“Why can’t you see...”, Olivier thought.

“That you’re wrong!”, Aichi thought.

“I don’t want to be your enemy.”, they both thought.

The area around started to shake and parts of it started to melt from the heated clash. Good thing they were away from civilians here.

“Seems 003v’s Haxorus is very powerful Raul.”, Rati said.

“It’s due to its exposure to 003v’s power as an egg. It’s made his Haxorus unnaturally powerful compared to most of its species. It’s like the enhancement 002f and 004a use but permanent.”, Raul explained.

“That’s amazing can the other Psyqualia user’s do that as well?”, Neve asked.

“I won’t answer it here with enemies nearby.”, Raul replied and Neve nodded.

Rati casually held a box of donuts and munched on one.

“Want one?”, she asked Misaki who sweat dropped.

They weren’t sure how long they had sat there but considering the stubbornness of the two they knew it was long very long. The others had even come there worried something bad had happened. They also sweat dropped as Aichi continued to battle even with his stomach growling like an angry Salamence. The two Pokémon sweated as they were running out of energy. The two ended up collapsing making the battle a draw.

“Want a donut, 003v?”, Rati asked.

“Thank you!”, Aichi hastily thanked before devouring the donut in a few bites.

“You idiot you should have ate before. You should know how much your Psyqualia drains your energy.”, Olivier scolded Aichi, sounding like a worried parent.

Soul Saver smelled the donuts and buckets of drool leaked from her mouth. She jumped up ignoring her tiredness skipping over to Rati.

“Haxorus? (Can I have one too?)”, Soul Saver asked, with her tail wagging like a puppy.

“Aww! Your Haxorus is so cute! You can have one too.”, Rati said, holding out the donut like a dog treat and Soul Saver gulped down the donut in one go,

“Why are you guys taking food from them? It could be drugged or something?” , Honda questioned.

“Rati wouldn’t do that.”, Aichi replied almost instantly sounding strangely sure.

Olivier’s eyes widened looking over to Aichi.

“Does he?”, Olivier thought.

“Why are you so sure of that we met for the first time today?”, Rati asked.

“Really? That’s strange...I feel like we have.”, Aichi questioned, blinking a bit with a look of confusion.

“Now, that I think of it I only spent a few of my early years with Olivier yet I feel like I’ve known him for a lot longer.”, Aichi thought.

“Strange…”, Yugi trailed off as Anzu looked over to him.

“Why does the image of the five of them together feel so familiar?”, Yugi thought.

Suddenly he had a very strange flash. Aichi had the Quatre Knights by his side and a Haxorus. He wore a black general-like cloak. The attire seemed rather out of character for Aichi he knew especially the sinister smirk he had on his face.

“So you’re the other messiah of this era?”, 003v questioned.

To be continued…

Yeah I’m that evil to give you that cliffhanger. Sorry for the lack of updates I have had a hard time writing. Wow, this chapter felt a lot longer than it actually was to me.

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shadowsong26fic · 4 years

Text

Coming Attractions!

A day late, whoops…ah well. Let’s pretend it’s still the first Monday of the month, which means Coming Attractions!

Also, as a reminder, I have set up a Discord server for my writing--basically intended to be an extension/more interactive version of this blog. Feel free to stop by and say hi!

Short update this month, because I…did not get a whole lot done last month, whoops. Uh, I was possibly going to do Camp NaNo for July but I didn’t get my thoughts organized in time…but anyway, a quick overview of goals for the month! I think I did some more prompt ficlets since the last update? But we haven’t had any rounds lately…anyway, those can be found in the tag. I also did a couple things for a prompt meme on DW. Other than that…it’s been a quiet month on my end.

I really, genuinely, I swear, actually will finish this arc of Precipice in July, lol. Hopefully get at least one chapter of Preludes and/or Protectors out as well, but if I can just get these last two chapters done, I will be Happy. There’s basically…four or five scenes left? One bit with Obi-Wan and Anakin and Artoo and Dr. Naar that’s been very slow going and is really like two or three half-scenes sort of cobbled together; a bit with Bail and Ahsoka and Rex and Leia (which is also...a couple half-scenes stitched together, lol); a bit with Sidious and Lavinia that’s mostly finished; and a Padme POV scene to close out the arc. Right now, the plan is for these to go into two chapters, and then we’re done!

Preludes will probably get posted out of order, since it’s backfilling stuff in the skip between arc 7 and arc 8, but at minimum it will deal with Palpatine’s next apprentice, some of what the Ghost Crew gets up to in this AU, and probably Maul will show up. The first one will probably be a scene/sequence with Kallus and Lavinia, but there’s a couple other possibilities I’m contemplating as well (Hondo facilitating some contacts, what the hell has Maul been up to, Apprentice #5’s debut…we’ll see!)

And, since y’all have been So Patient with my lack of updates the last few months, here’s a teaser for one of the first few chapters of Protectors!

“You need to move,” Obi-Wan said, quietly. “I don’t think the message can be traced to you, but if the Empire starts looking closer at the planet…”

Owen seemed about to object, but Beru put her hand on his. “We understand,” she said. “I know there’s a contingency, but I’m not clear on the details.”

“Pack,” Obi-Wan said. “We’ll stage it like the farm’s been attacked.”

“Will we be able to come back? Eventually?” Owen asked.

“I hope so,” he said, but he refused to promise more than he could be sure to deliver. “And there will be...enough to rebuild from, if you do.”

“Sand people,” Owen guessed, voice hard.

“Yes,” he said. “Credible, at least to fool any Imperial patrols that come by. The locals may suspect, but if they do…”

“They’ll most likely suspect it’s the Empire or Jabba covering something up,” Beru finished for him. “Where will we go?”

“Alderaan,” Obi-Wan said. “Or Chandrilla. Whichever has a sooner flight.” Given a choice, his personal preference would be for Alderaan--if only because Senator Mothma had been the one to take their movement public, and Bail’s reputation was still more or less unimpeachable. But either would serve to keep the Larses safe.

“That’s far,” Owen said.

“It will keep you safe,” he said.

In other SW fic news...well, as implied above, I am hoping to get at least one Precipice update out this week, but I’m not 100% solid on that, since I also have an exchange fic I need to finish for next Monday. I’m…behind, lol; there was a lot of waffling back and forth on exactly what I wanted to do for it. But I’m on track now! And I thrive on tight externally-imposed deadlines so I’m not worried about finishing XD.

I am still working on OFLAM, and a new dragonshifters AU I’ve started building, off and on. I’m still sorting out some details for the latter, especially in terms of how many people know about Anakin being a shifter (I would…like to keep it to the bare minimum as of when the Clone Wars starts, meaning while Obi-Wan probably knows the rest of the Order somehow doesn’t? So it’s like a Big Deal when Padme and Ahsoka find out). Most of what I’ve actually written has to do with my girl Bo-Katan, though I’ve done a bit with Padme and Anakin as well. I’m also still. Uh. Searching for an actual Plot??? Beyond just ‘this is a cool concept and there’s significantly/interestingly Different cultural baggage for my three shifters,’ which is about where I am now. Anyway, probably either the shifters AU or OFLAM will end up being my SWBB project for next year, unless I get struck by another interesting ObiAniDala concept, which has been what’s happened the last two years, lol…

In other fandom/non-SW fic news, as I think I mentioned last month, I’ve started drifting back into ATLA fandom. Rereading some of my old fics/RPs, toying with plots/concepts/crossovers of varying levels of self-indulgence…I’m not sure I’m actually going to write anything, but it’s definitely a possibility? If nothing else, I might flesh out/fulltext some of the super self-indulgent stuff I’ve been playing with, just to get it on paper and out of my head. Or I might put together something postable (although the one that’s getting the most traction in my brain actually might work better if I file the serial numbers off and put it into an original story…who knows.) I’m also going to do an organized rewatch of my own at some point (my roommate’s been watching the series, but I’m in and out while she does so I keep missing bits) which will probably finalize any nebulous plans I might have. Anyway, I don’t think ATLA is going to drag me out of SW but I’ll possibly/probably be writing for both for a while? Which I don’t plan to impact Precipice, and I do plan to do BB next year as discussed above, but if this does start happening, other projects will probably be put even more on the back burner/on hold for a while. We’ll see, we’ll see…

I’m also hoping to get some original stuff done this month, because I feel like I’ve been neglecting my own stuff even more than my fic projects lately, lol…

Anyway, this weekend, I’m hoping to get a good bit of writing done. I’ll be somewhere quiet with minimal internet access for a couple days (at least that’s the way it’s been when I’ve been there before, it might have changed since then, who knows). So I probably won’t get distracted by variants of 2048 (that Doctor Who one I don’t even go there AND YET) or watching Netflix or…though I may be bringing my lacework, which also takes a fair amount of time away from writing, so…we’ll see XD

…anyway, this turned out a lot longer than I thought it would. So much for a short update! But in the meantime, what have you guys been up to? Any plans/projects in the pipeline? Open question night? What’s on your mind?

#miscellania #coming attractions #shadowsong writes star wars #precipice verse #preview #feedback greatly appreciated #open question night

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thenightling · 5 years

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So there are Lucifer fans who want to boycott Sandman preemptively!?

My first reaction was: “Oh, God! They’re starting this crap again!?”

I was hearing this back when Fox dropped Lucifer. It made me leave a bunch of Save Lucifer groups on Facebook.

There were rumors back then that the reason Fox was dropping Lucifer was because they were doing Sandman. Granted this was over a year before anyone actually decided to do Sandman. But back then there were Lucifer fans on Facebook going “If they adapt Sandman, I’m boycotting it!” So they were looking for excuses to blame Sandman even then.

There were even people saying things like “People who read comics aren’t like the people who watch TV.” And “I don’t care about the comic strip.” (Yes, there were people calling it a “strip” not realizing strip means a short comic in the form of a strip of panels in a newspaper, usually telling a brief joke…) and even “I’m glad they changed Death into Azrael. Goths are mean bitches and Azrael sweet!” (If you know anything at all about Death you’d realize how ironic this is. Death is an extremely friendly character. Goth fashion does not mean you are “mean.” That one really pissed me off.)

Anyway, I’m rambling. To get back on track, guys, don’t blame Sandman. Sandman is what GAVE us the version of Lucifer that quit ruling Hell, gave us Mazikeen, gave us Lux, gave us Lucifer playing the Piano, and even large chuncks of Lucifer’s TV show dialogue came from Sandman. At least two conversations Lucifer has in the show are direct dialogue from Sandman.

For example this conversation here with Linda was originally had in the comics with Morpheus (the Lord of Dreams) as Lucifer was shutting down Hell.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2or2T62T1I

youtube

Issue 23 of Sandman (storyline Season of Mists part 2) And recreated in Lucifer’s solo comics via flashback.

Here Lucifer talks with Amenadiel about the masochistic soul. Yet again this is word for word a scene of Lucifer talking to Morpheus, The Lord of Dreams. Both Linda and Amenadiel have served as stand-ins for Morpheus in the show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-py6PE9mO1A

youtube

Also from issue 23 of Sandman (Storyline: Season of mists part 2)

Sandman isn’t making you LOSE Lucifer, it’s what gave you the version of Lucifer you love to begin with. They have been trying to get an adaptation of Sandman made since 1996 but you didn’t see angry Sandman fans upset that Lucifer got a TV show first, a TV show that strategically stepped around Morpheus AKA Dream of The Endless AKA The Sandman because, at the time, Fox didn’t want him.

Netflix saved Lucifer. Netflix gave Lucifer two extra seasons after Fox had ended it. And, in my opinion, Netflix fixed a lot of mistakes from season 3 of Lucifer and put the show back on track. We should be grateful for what Netflix gave us.

I say this as someone who read Sandman in June of 2017. Lucifer was my gateway drug and the final push I needed to finally read Sandman. And I loved it dearly.

Sandman did not kill Lucifer. Netflix had decided to end Lucifer with season 5 before they were even offered Sandman (if you pay attention to the timeline of events). Had they not bought Sandman, this would NOT have saved Lucifer a second time. The decision that season 5 would be the last for Lucifer was decided immediately after season 4 concluded. Actually it may have been decided even before then. The producers of Lucifer said Netflix season 4 and 5 are the two halves of what they planned to be season 4 for Fox, just broken into two parts. So they always meant for this to be the conclusion, whether on Netflix or on Fox. Netflix gave them the chance to give it the ending the show deserved.

Fantasy TV shows usually only have a three year life expectancy. CW was the first network to break that rule with Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and later Supernatural surpassed all expectations. And game of thrones ran for nearly a decade. But in general most fantasy TV shows are considered successful if they get as far as the third season. Lucifer surpassed that. As a TV show Lucifer had a good, long life.

Netflix decided to conclude Lucifer months before they were even offered Sandman. The deal for Sandman wasn’t even official until June 30th / July 1st.

A character in Swamp Thing (The DC Streaming service series) is also a pivotal character in Sandman.

That character of Matthew Cable becomes Morpheus’ raven. (He chooses to spend his afterlife in the service of the dream lord). But you don’t see Swamp Thing fans blaming Sandman for Swamp Thing only getting one season. No. Instead we kind of view it as a compensation because Swamp Thing (though short lived) had been so good. We just hope Sandman will be just as good.

Sandman didn’t go around murdering Lucifer or Swamp Thing (at least Swamp Thing fans have some sense in this regard!). Sandman (comics) gave us this version of Lucifer. And for that we should be grateful.

Now if you want to read the story that introduces that version of Lucifer, it��s issue 4 of Sandman “A Hope in Hell” (available in the graphic novel Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes.)

If you want to read the storyline where Lucifer quits ruling Hell and we get introduced to Mazikeen it’s the storyline (available in graphic novel form) Sandman: Season of Mists.

If you want to read the storyline where Lucifer owns Lux and plays Piano that’s in the graphic novel Sandman: The Kindly Ones. But I highly recommend giving Sandman a chance, reading all of Sandman, and not skipping anything. I know I didn’t regret it. Instead I fell in love.

The order Sandman should be read in is:

1. The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes 2. The Sandman: The Doll’s House 3. The Sandman: Dream Country 4. The Sandman: Season of Mists 5. The Sandman: A Game of You 6. The Sandman: Fables and Reflections 7. The Sandman: Brief Lives 8. The Sandman: The Worlds’ End 9. The Sandman: The Kindly Ones 10. The Sandman: The Wake The Sandman: Dream Hunters The Sandman: Endless Nights The Sandman: Overture (a very beautiful prequel)

Sandman is not your enemy. It did not kill Lucifer. There are actors on Lucifer (I won’t name names) who have indicated they want to go on to other projects. Do not blame Sandman for Lucifer ending, instead be grateful Sandman gave us Lucifer to begin with. And boycotting Sandman will not suddenly make them reconsider Lucifer for a second time. It will just make you possibly miss out on something amazing.

Tom Ellis and company would NOT be proud of this behavior as they were proud of the Save Lucifer campaign. Instead, I can imagine Tom reminding you, that irrationally hating something before it even starts, and without even giving it a chance is precisely what One Million Moms did to Lucifer. Don’t let yourself become that. Give Sandman a chance, you may find out you love it.

Update: Yet again, no. Sandman did not cause Lucifer to get cancelled. I don’t know how many times you have to be told this.

https://twitter.com/neilhimself/status/1222168160566013953

#Lucifer #Lucifer Morningstar #The Sandman #Neil Gaiman #Neil Gaiman's The Sandman #Netflix #Netflix's The Sandman #Swamp Thing

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goldstarnation · 5 years

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FEBRUARY 2020 GOLD STAR MEDIA SCHEDULES & REVIEW

Members may earn 3 points each (up to 6 points) for writing, by the end of March 7 KST:

A solo para of 400+ words based on their monthly schedule (does not count toward your monthly total).

A thread of six posts (three per participant, including the starter) based on their monthly schedule.

Threads do not have to take place directly during an important date listed on the schedule, but must be related to what the muse is mentioned to be doing in the paragraph explaining their schedule/the company’s schedule for the month and/or their thoughts on the mentioned activities or lack thereof.

These schedules may be updated throughout the month if new information needs to be added.

Reminder: January schedule posts are due by the end of February 7 KST.

Overall Company

The company building spent a month free of Christmas decorations before the building was adorned in tasteful pinks and reds to celebrate Valentine’s Day — not that the idols are allowed to celebrate the holiday in the halls of the company building, of course. Most of the company artists are holding tours or fan meetings or traveling overseas this month, so the decorations might as well be more for the illusion of effort than any real attempt to raise company morale. There isn’t much to be said for news and events from the higher-ups this month again, though.

Important dates:

N/A

Gold Star Soloist 1

By the first half of the month, the tracklist for her mini-album is officially locked in and she’ll finish up recording what she needs to by the end of the month. “Love Poem” has been chosen to be released in March before her album comes out in May. It won’t get a music video, but Gold Star knows she doesn’t need one to be met with success. She’ll need to shoot the photo book for her album this month, as some of the images will serve as teasers for “Love Poem”.

Important dates:

February 20: Love Poem teaser image photo and photobook shoot.

Gold Star Soloist 2

Her Korean tour begins at the very end of the month (see January schedule for special stages). This means long hours in the dance practice studio and, as the concert nears, at the venue. Tickets have already gone on sale, but on the first of the month, she’ll go into a photo shoot for concept photos for the tour that will be used in further advertising and announcements regarding the tour.

Important dates:

February 1: National tour concept photo shoot.

February 29: I AM : RE-BORN tour concert at Incheon Culture & Arts Center in Incheon, South Korea.

Gold Star Soloist 3

Gold Star has set a comeback date for him in April. As had grown increasingly likely in discussions with the company, the single, “Love Die Young” will be entirely English to prelude his upcoming all-English album. It’ll be the first song he officially records off of his album, but it’s been chosen for what Gold Star hopes to be crossover appeal in Western markets while still, hopefully, staying within a marketable sound for the South Korean market so that he doesn’t isolate his domestic fans completely.

Important dates:

N/A

Silhouette

Silhouette takes off for their four date Japan tour mid-month and they’ll be in Japan for around a week, from the evening of the 15th to the morning of the 22nd. Before they leave, they’ll be given the demo guide of their next Japanese single “Bad Girl For You”, which they’ll need to be ready to record once they’re back in Seoul in the final week of the month. The MV won’t be shot until next month, but the members will go in to make sure their outfits for the music video are flattering at the end of the month.

Important dates:

February 16: Silhouette 2020 Winter Live Tour -TROUBLE- concert at Zepp Namba Osaka in Osaka, Japan.

February 17: Silhouette 2020 Winter Live Tour -TROUBLE- concert at Zepp Nagoya in Nagoya, Japan.

February 19: Silhouette 2020 Winter Live Tour -TROUBLE- concert at Zepp Fukuoka in Fukuoka, Japan.

February 21: Silhouette 2020 Winter Live Tour -TROUBLE- concert at Zepp Tokyo in Tokyo, Japan.

February 28: Japanese single MV outfit fittings.

Aria

As they gear up for a fan meeting next month, Aria will need to attend fittings as well as shoots for the poster and some VCRs that will be used during the fan meeting itself. It hasn’t been long since fans have seen them, but it won’t make their audience any less expectant for a good show, so at the end of the month, they’ll begin having days of rehearsal in earnest to prepare for the dates next month.

Important dates:

February 5: Fan meeting poster photo shoot.

February 15: Fan meeting stage out fittings (examples: 1, 2, 3, 4.)

February 20: Fan meeting VCRs 1 & 2 shoot.

Origin

On the eleventh, the members will be on set all day to shoot a CF for Indonesian e-commerce brand Tokopedia and three days later, they’ll be on set to shoot a CF for Formula E racing. Following that, Gold Star has granted the members a two week vacation, something that serves as an incredibly rare opportunity for them to travel and rest (granted, with manager supervision) if they’d like, or focus on their individual activities. Their vacation comes to an end so that they can attend another awards show at the end of the month. Gold Star have let them skip some of the minor awards shows, but they need Origin in the good graces of news outlets like the hosts of this one, so they aren’t done with awards shows yet.

Important dates:

February 11: Tokopedia CF filming.

February 14: Formula E CF filming.

February 15-28: Vacation period.

February 29: Performance at The Fact Music Awards at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea (also attending: WISH, Alien, 7ROPHY, Fuse).

Impulse

After their extended Seollal break, the Impulse members are back in action for the Oceania leg of their tour. There are only two dates, so they’ll only be in Australia from the 12th to the 17th before returning to Seoul. Next month, the members get the opportunity to hold a seven-show fan fest in Bangkok where each show will highlight one member who gets to give a solo song or dance cover of their choice for that performance, so the members are expected to be practicing their chosen solo covers this month ahead of that.

Important dates:

February 13: Keep Spinning World Tour concert at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.

February 16: Keep Spinning World Tour concert at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.

Fuse

As recently designated Swiss tourism ambassadors, the members are off to Switzerland for ten days where they’ll film a series of promotional videos around the country called “Walk, Ride, Fly With Fuse”. They are working, but they’ll get some time in between to explore for themselves too in hopes the trip will leave enough of an impression on the members for some free promotion later on. They’ll have some time to recuperate from the trip once they get back before another awards show at the end of the month.

Important dates:

February 8-February 17: Trip to Switzerland and promotional video shoot.

February 29: Performance at The Fact Music Awards at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea (also attending: WISH, Alien, 7ROPHY, Origin).

Element

Element finishes off their North America tour mid-month with a short trip to the US and even get to spend Valentine’s Day with their fans in Atlanta (extra fan service toward fans for the holiday is expected). Once they return to Seoul in the second half of the month, it’s time for them to record their comeback single. A mini-documentary will be filmed for their YouTube channel that shows the lead up to their comeback to show fans the process behind preparing for comeback ( — if there’s the slightest chance it shows Element working hard enough that fans will be less annoyed with Element’s recent rate of one comeback per year, that would be a bonus).

Important dates:

February 13: 4lement in North America Tour concert at Patio Theater in Chicago, IL, USA.

February 14: 4lement in North America Tour concert at Buckhead Theatre in Atlanta, GA, USA.

Femme Fatale

Femme Fatale’s first world tour continues! That means their video diary reality series does as well with a few new episodes in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia. During their time in between, they’re continuing to prepare for their comeback with fittings and learning the choreography. They have a shoot for next month’s issue of Marie Claire Korea as well. Next month will be busy with overseas travel and preparations for their comeback and Coachella performance, so management recommends they get all the rest they can between this month’s schedules to prepare.

Important dates:

February 1: Femme Fatale In Your Area World Tour concert at Asia-World Arena in Hong Kong.

February 6: Marie Claire Korea March Issue photo shoot.

February 8: Femme Fatale In Your Area World Tour concert at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, Philippines.

February 17: Comeback MV and stage outfit fittings.

February 21: Femme Fatale In Your Area World Tour concert at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.

February 29: Femme Fatale In Your Area World Tour concert at Malawati Indoor Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

#fmdschedule #queued post

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snowflake-apocalypse · 5 years

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The Shanghai Hardrive Caper

-Notes: I was trying to turn the angst meter up to 11 on this one.

*Musical inspiration: Nails for Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks, Vitamin Sting Quartet: How to Save a Life (Or whatever version you like)*

|Prelude|

So 3 years have gone by. 3 years worth a capers and plotting and way too close of calls.

Once Mission Control is unveiled, the whole team, especially Carmen are worn to the bone. But one incident in particular really opened everyone’s eyes. They knew what they were doing was dangerous, but still. After Player unveiled Mission Control, he’s giving the grand tour and everyone can’t help but collectively stare at the 3 V.I.L.E hardrives on display in the center of the computer rig. Hard earn trophies of their conquests, though with a tired, forlorn spirits. It took a lot to get to this point.

Everyone has mostly settled in for the night. Carmen is sitting at the main computer, in some kind of thought, staring at the hardrives, when Julia quietly walks up.

Carmen: “Hey.”

Julia: “Hi.”

Carmen: “So what do you think of the place?”

Julia: “It’s brilliant. .. It took so much to get here.” Julia gazes up to the hardrives on display.

Carmen: “Yeah,.. it did. ...Berlin.” Carmen says with a fond smile as she places a hand on the Berlin hardrive.

Julia: “Shanghai.” She says sharply.

Carmen sighs and lowers her head in defeat. They didn’t really talk about Shanghai. No one did. Not really. Got a very stern talking to by Shadowsan and some comprehensive samurai training. But things cleared up a bit after the Big Apple Caper.

Julia: “ ...I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound so cold, it’s just no one talked about what happened. Not really.”

Carmen: “It was my fault. I was reckless and self-righteous. I resented V.I.L.E. so much I lost sight of myself. ... You know what the worst part was?”

Julia: “Being cooped up in that apartment for 2 months?” She was gonna say “Nearly bleeding to death?” But she bit her tongue.

Carmen: “Not talking to you for 2 months.”

{Flashback}

On the skyscrapers of Shanghai, Carmen has a V.I.L.E. hardrive in hand, she’s fighting Tigress, who isn’t relenting, she’s angry. Tigress gets a swipe in, razor sharp claws make contact with Carmen’s side and she digs in, with satisfaction. Carmen raises a leg to separate them, breaking Sheena’s arm, which gets Carmen kicked off the building. She shoots a line to a nearby ledge, only of it to be cut by a finely crafted origami star. Paper Star is here too. Carmen doesn’t have time to react as she hits a ledge and tumbles further down, eventually making it to the alley way with an additional broken leg. Julia watched the whole thing happen and she’s mortified. She doesn’t voice her concern out loud... ACME is everywhere. She rushes the quarter mile or so to Carmen’s side.

Julia: “Carmen... oh my-“ She doesn’t get another word in before Carmen is shoving the hardrive to her.

Carmen: “Run, Jules. Just take it and run.

Julia: “I am not just going to leave you here-”

Carmen: “Just go! ....Please.”

Reluctantly, Julia takes the hardrive and disappears into the night of the crowded city.

Player: “Zach, Ivy, Carmen needs help. Get there. Now.”

Ivy: “On it. Hang on, Carm. We’re coming for you. Click away.”

Then from out of the shadows and above, Tigress and Paper Star loom over Carmen. Tigress rips open her coat for the hardrive.

Tigress: “What..? Where is it?!”

Carmen: ”Ha... guess I lost it....” As the adrenaline is wearing off and she struggles to remain conscious. Sheena is pissed.

Tigress: “ ...ERR!” And a sharp blow to the head and Carmen is out cold and left for dead. Tigress and Paper Star run out into the city. All the while, Julia is listening to this entire conversation. Player kind of went into autopilot.. way to cope with what just happened.

Player: “Julia. You have the hardrive?”

Julia: “...yes. Zach, Ivy have you made to the alley yet?

Zach: “Just pulled up. Oh, man... Carm’s in bad shape. Real bad. We’re goin’ back to the hideout.” To much of Julia’s dismay, she thinks, “Because they could never go to a hospital, right?”

Shadowsan is contacted and meets them there.

|The Hideout|

Once at the hideout, Zach and Ivy are trying to keep Carmen from bleeding all over the floor, and stabilize her leg when Shadowsan appears from the window. Disappointment and also concern framing his face.

Shadowsan: “Get me needle and thread, boiling water, and gauze. A lot of gauze.

Ivy: “Yeah on it.”

Shadowsan: “Oh, Black Sheep...”

And then not to mention, Shadowsan ends up breaking into a blood bank for more blood to replace the all she lost...

|The Rendezvous|

Player: “Julia, I’ll send a red drone to rendezvous for the drive at your location.”

Julia: “Why is this the first concern right now?”

Player: “Because it’s important to Carmen.”

And Jules just drops her head in defeat.

(This is where Player and Julia differ, they both care deeply about Carmen, but Player is that tried & true person that’s going do whatever it takes to do right by their best friend. Julia however, she’s lived a bit longer, still somewhat new to this capering business(and certainly never one this brutal), she would rather Carmen be happy and healthy and alive, even if it meant letting V.I.L.E get away with one hardrive.

|A Week Later...|

So Carmen is stable. They moved hideouts between that time. Julia comes to see how Carmen is doing.

Julia: “How are you feeling?”

Carmen: “Oh, y’know, just a bit sore. How’s everything at HQ?” Carmen nonchalantly says, as Julia glances at the empty blood bags in the trash can.

Julia: “....I know how badly you want to take down V.I.L.E., Carmen.. but how much is enough?

Carmen: “... V.I.L.E. has to be destroyed. They’re toxic and corrupt and- It just- has to, Jules.”

Julia: “After law enforcement is standing over your broken body? Their broken bodies?” She motions to Zach and Ivy, who are, “not” listening from the other room. (And neither is Shadowsan from the balcony.) “You could have died..”

Carmen: “But I didn’t.” She says it in a very 😏 kind of way.

And Julia can’t take it, she growls in frustration and storms out of the building, slamming the door behind her.

Carmen: “Wha- Julia wait! I- ah..!” Carmen nearly falls off the couch, straining her injuries trying to go after her. But it’s too late, she’s gone. For the better part of 2 months. Carmen just smacks her head to her knee, “Stupid!” she berates herself. Zach cautiously walks out to the living room.

Zach: “..Did we just lose Jules?”

Carmen: “Yeah, I think we did.” Carmen mumbles in defeat.

Then the scene fades to black. Time skip

|8 Weeks Later...|

Everyone is still laying low for the most part, Carmen is mostly healed. Zach and Ivy are scoping out potential targets. Shadowsan is closely surveilling V.I.L.E. from the island. Through the 2 months of healing, Carmen had done everything she could to grow and become a better adversary for V.I.L.E..

Carmen: “Player. How’s decoding the hardrive going?”

Player: “It’s fine.”

Carmen: “Fine.... are you mad at me too?”

Player: “I’ll never be mad at you, Red. But Julia was right. You were getting too reckless.”

Carmen: “Yeah, she’s always right.” She mumbles, studying the passerbys and life outside of the apartment window.

Player: “Hm?”

Carmen: “Nothing.”

Player: “Hey, look at this! Turns out V.I.L.E. is pretty active in the stock exchange.... seems like a low impact caper. How are you feeling?” Carmen’s eyes widen at the sudden excitement in Player’s voice.

Carmen: “Fidgety and ready to get out of this dang apartment. Plus, white collar crime is where the real money is, after all.” As she packs a new hat and coat.

Player: “Booking the flight and calling the cavalry.”

Carmen: “New York City, here we come.”

| Continues in “The Big Apple Caper”|

#carmen sandeigo 2019 #carmen sandiego #julia argent #zack #ivy #au #writing #apocalypse’s stuff #the real rough drafts

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fancymuffinparty · 6 years

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Get to Know the Writer

Thanks @earlysignsofineptitude for the tag! :) I’m excited for this one!

1. Pen or pencil?

Pen. Pencils are actually pretty darn messy and I hate having to consistently sharpen them. They’re more of a hassle than they’re worth!

2. Have you ever drawn your OCs?

I have! (But I can’t draw to save my life so I have my brother do most of the artsy stuff!) I don’t share my OCs on my blog, but brief summary: I have OCs from the Fallout series (Lone Wanderer, Courier, and Sole Survivor) and OCs from original works that I’ve been plotting since I was a kiddo.

3. Does your writing ever make you cry?

Cry? No. Cringe? YES! :D

4. If your Muse was a person, what would they look like?

I think it varies? :’D Like, my muse takes on different forms depending on the mood. My muse isn’t always ‘human’ per se. Sometimes my muse is a fluffy hamster, sometimes they’re an anthropomorphic evergreen tree. I guess my muse is a shapeshifter! :O

But for the sake of answering the question, I’m gonna say they look like Keanu Reeves because I love him !

5. Which of your pieces would you choose to be remembered for?

Uhhhhh I suppose it depends on the fandom lol. For SnK, I’m probably most proud of the Summer Fling Series and Silhouettes to be quite honest!

For BnHA, I’d have to go with Subtlety. I really oughtta write more todomomo!

I wrote a one-shot for Alien: Covenant a year ago, Devotion, and it’s one of my most well-received fics! :D

I have plans to write for Tekken, Detroit: Become Human, Until Dawn, and more BnHA of course! So hopefully I can add them to my masterlist someday :’)

(I used to write for Fallout, but have long since deleted those works... Ughhh! My muse has inspired me to get back into it tho! Maybe Fallout 76 will motivate me again!!)

6. How much have you written or worked on your WIP so far today?

Oh wow! This segues from the previous question quite smoothly! lol!

My current WIP is that darned BakuCamie fic I’ve been writing since August!!! I’m halfway through the last chapter!!! Finally! I can see the finish line! :O Today, I’ve only written 200 words soooooooooooooooo yeahhhhhh! :D

Slow progress is still progress!!!!

7. Have you ever based a piece (or a portion of a piece) on a dream?

Oooof! Yes! :O One of my first RivaMika fics, Prelude, was inspired by an interesting dream I had.

8. Do you prefer silence, a little noise (music, ambient noise, fan etc) or a lot of noise when you are writing?

Ambient noise is a must! Music is helpful, too! Silence drives me nuts!

Coffee shops are great in that regard! :)

9. Do you have any routines before you sit down to write?

In the mornings, I have coffee and something sweet (muffin, le fancy croissant, etc) and open up the Ao3 tab. I start by reading fics I have bookmarked while I enjoy my breakfast :) (Just finished an amazing DBH fic! Now I’m moving on to @earlysignsofineptitude ‘s fic The Curious Art of Timing. Also currently reading Fight Like a Girl from the wonderful Rinky)

Once I’m done with my coffee and reading whichever chapter I left off, I get to work!

10. Have you ever participated in a NaNoWriMo or a Camp?

I have not :/ But I would like to ~~~~~~~~

I’m feeling kinda shy right now but I’ll tag @lunarcrystal @pickalilywrites @erurink @areallyyellowmango @arcanelucario @wildwasteland @reonhatoo @gguksae @candy--pop @thecolossustitan @davenpitts @reikukaja @queenofidealism

Feel free to skip! And sorry if you’ve already been tagged :’D

#tag meme #lovely mutuals #is it just me or is anyone else wayyyy more productive in coffee shops???

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ludic-state-junk-space · 3 years

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Ranking tracks on INVU album

Long story short: Taeyeon released an album. I coincidentally got a week of sick leave at the same time. Thus, I had abundant time to repeat the tracks over and over again.

INVU is her third full-length album. I was quite anxious because her previous two, My Voice and Purpose, are pretty solid, especially the second one. I wasn’t sure whether the third album would even be on par with them.

After a week worth of listening to the whole album back-to-back, I decided to rate all the 13 tracks on it:

1. INVU 9/10 Pre-chorus of the year, holy shit. Song overall is very dreamy and Grimes-esque. I have come to conclude that Taengoo’s voice is the highlight of the song and the only reason why it succeeded as a title track is because Taeyeon sang it and made it interesting. Otherwise not sure anyone could pull that off. One of the best tracks of the album.

2. 그럼 밤 Some Nights 8/10 Nothing could ever go wrong with Taengoo’s classic melancholic ballad. The song is more on a soft, empty side and has a very sultry mood. The whole verses and chorus are breathy and soft and then bam! The bridge. Also, I personally think this track is the most K-pop sounding out of all tracks.

3. Can’t Control Myself 8.5/10 Three things: i) it is K-pop, ii) it is Taeyeon, iii) it is emo-punk. Nuff said. Could easily get a 9 but I feel like there’s something missing in the chorus. Not sure what.

4. Set Myself on Fire 9/10 I consider this song as the prelude of the album. Short, haunting, and appetizing. It functions to set the mood for the subsequent tracks. A very good one in it.

5. 어른아이 Toddler 10/10 This is what a pop perfection sounds like. It is what your faves are hoping to have when they do retro-pop. Sounds perfectly timid and moody but quite groovy. The lyrics and the melody is very contradictory, though.

6. Siren 7.5/10 I didn’t like it at first but the song grows after 3rd or 4th repeat. One of the least favorite of the album but still enjoyable. I very much enjoy the chorus.

7. Cold as Hell 8/10 Probably the most peculiar song on the album. Not sure whether Taengoo has tried this genre before, much electronic and dubstep-ish. The beat drop is SICK but unfortunately the chorus is too short. I just hope that the chorus is a tad longer, but otherwise I will have this on repeat.

8. Timeless 9/10 As a sucker for these kinds of emotional mid-tempo synth-pop songs (wow that is vaguely specific), this is one of the best tracks from the album. Emotions? Check. Vocal dynamics? Check. Songs like this is definitely Taeyeon’s forte. If songs are colors, I can vividly imagine this one as a deep bluish green.

9. 품 Heart 9.5/10 To be honest, I don’t like this at first listen. It sounded okay-ish and the chorus resembles Like I’m Gonna Lose You too much. Then I tried to listen with proper headphones and suddenly it became a whole new song. Boy, the bass is sick and the guitar pops off. One of my favorites. It still reminds me of LIGLY but not too much; I can say that this song is its darker, more angsty older sibling.

10. No Love Again 10/10 Definitely up there on my favorite list. A banger, period. If we did’t get Kwangya budget for the MV and promotional stuffs, I’m pretty sure this would be the title track. Catchy AF.

11. You Better Not 8.75/10 Early-2000 rock-punk vibes. Reminds me of Green Day and Avril Lavigne, which is nice. Uplifting but kinda sad and mature. This song signifies that the tracklist will come to an end soon.

12. Weekend 7.5/10 Honestly I skipped this song most of the time because i) I had listened to this a lot before and ii) the song felt slightly out of place. It emanates a much more brighter mood than other tracks. Positioning it right after You Better Not is the most sensible choice because the two has the most similar vibe. Otherwise, while not being my kind of music, this song is pretty and uplifting.

13. Ending Credits 9.5/10 A perfect ending song. The verses and the bridge sounds like getting ready for the ending and the chorus sounds like letting go of the past. Ending songs always hit different (and some happen to be my ultimate favorite), as proven by 기억을 걷는 시간 Time Spent Walking Through Memories (My Voice), Curtain Call (My Voice Repackage), Gravity (Purpose), 너를 그리는 시간 Drawing Our Moments (Purpose Repackage).

Overall, I can proudly say this is Taeyeon’s most solid album (so far). Definitely exceeded my expectations. Versatile and rich musicality, but very cohesive with excellent flow and clear direction. IMO the thing about outstanding vocalists is they usually position the vocal as the center stage and set other instruments aside, but not the case with Taeyeon in this album: she carefully put together the overall mood and direction, and the instruments (including the voice) follows the mood. The result is very detailed and ‘sending-message’ tracks (if that makes sense). In comparison with two previous full-albums, INVU has a slightly different pattern. Usually I have a handful of tracks I like dearly (cough Time Lapse, Curtain Call, Fire, Spark, Gravity, Blue, 너를 그리는 시간 Drawing Our Moments) and several tracks I always skip (sorry Cover Up and Do You Like Me?). That is not the case with INVU; I enjoy all songs and every tracks are (kind of) of the same quality and care, but I haven’t found my ultimate favorite that will be repeated hundreds times yet.

I am currently considering buying the tape ver. of the album.

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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15 Hardest Dark Souls Bosses

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It’s easy to call Dark Souls the most influential game of the 2010s. Whether it was the deep combat, obtuse storytelling, or the unforgiving difficulty, dozens of other games have taken inspiration from Dark Souls in one way or another over the last 10 years. It’s even spawned an entire sub-genre of similar “Soulsborne” games.

There’s a lot to love about Dark Souls, but for most fans, the most memorable parts will always be the boss battles. We’ve spent hours trying to topple these bosses in the never-ending quest to “git gud.” There’s really no such thing as an “easy” Dark Souls boss. Their difficulty starts at “hard” and then increases to “borderline impossible.”

As we celebrate the series’ 10th anniversary, these are the 15 hardest bosses you will face in the Dark Souls trilogy:

15. Ancient Dragon – Dark Souls II

The second Dark Souls game gets some flak from fans since it didn’t involve Hidetaka Miyazaki in the director’s chair. Many gamers will tell you it’s the easiest game in the trilogy because of changes made to the gameplay without his guidance, but it’s still pretty damn difficult. For example, the Ancient Dragon hits very hard. A single stomp from his massive legs, or a blast of fire from his mouth will likely kill your character. At best, you’ll have just a sliver of health left.

But as with any Dark Souls boss, the Ancient Dragon can eventually be conquered with patience and practice. Just be prepared to die a lot before then. But at least he’s an optional boss if you’d rather avoid him altogether.

Things only get more difficult from here, and most of these fights aren’t as easily avoided…

14. Bed of Chaos – Dark Souls

Dark Souls is generally considered “tough but fair.” With enough practice, a dedicated gamer should be able to recognize enemy patterns and eventually beat almost anything the games throw their way. But Bed of Chaos comes pretty close to breaking that rule. Many would say this boss does.

This demon resides in a giant tree, and will wantonly swing massive branches at you as you desperately try to hit the two orbs on either side of the room to whittle away its life bar. Take out one orb, and a big chunk of the floor collapses. Manage to take out that orb, and now there’s even less floor to walk on as you have to make a blind jump into the tree’s branches to take out the heart of chaos. Even then, a big swing from the branches is likely to kill you if you’re not quick enough. Vanquishing the Bed of Chaos often depends more on luck than skill.

13. Pontiff Sulyvahn – Dark Souls III

Pontiff Sulyvahn is really fast, which means you’re bound to struggle with this Dark Souls boss. He also attacks with two swords — one hits with fire damage and the other with magic damage. That’s tough, but something Dark Souls veterans can handle. The real issue is midway through the fight when he starts spawning a phantom that’s just as dangerous as he is.

Dark Souls fans thought they could handle almost anything the series could throw at them, but for many, Pontiff Sulyvahn was the first real challenge they faced in Dark Souls III. But the final game in the trilogy managed to get even more difficult from there.

12. Capra Demon – Dark Souls

The Capra Demon has become one of the more iconic bosses in Dark Souls, a towering minotaur-like beast with two giant swords. Those who have bested him remember the first encounter well. Part of the difficulty with this demon is the two dogs at his side. Walk through the fog gate unprepared and they’ll make quick work of you before you can even get one hit on the demon.

The other issue is that the arena in which you face the Capra Demon is extremely cramped. The wall is as much your enemy as he is. Luckily, several different strategies have been discovered over the years to make short work of this fight. There’s even a way to take him out with firebombs without even entering the fog gate.

11. Centipede Demon – Dark Souls

The first challenge when it comes to the Centipede Demon boss fight is dodging its heavy hitting attacks while avoiding lava damage. The second part is taming the camera, which can regularly ruin a great run. Seriously, this might be the most glitchy boss fight in the game, although sometimes that can work to your advantage if the demon gets stuck in the scenery.

The Centipede Demon is also a good example of how sometimes you just need the right strategy to beat Dark Souls’ bosses, and how failure ultimately leads to success. Getting the Orange Charred Ring when you cut off its tail is a huge help here, and you don’t even have to beat the demon to get it. It’s worth sacrificing some souls on one run for the ring so that you can come back stronger the next time around.

10. Sanctuary Guardian – Dark Souls

After Dark Souls became something of a surprise hit, fans who conquered the first game were hungry for more. FromSoftware happily obliged the following year with the Artorias of the Abyss expansion. The first boss of the DLC quickly tested any gamer cocky enough to think they could breeze through the expansion.

The Sanctuary Guardian is a massive, white winged lion who moves fast and attacks with lightning, poison, and physical damage. Not only do you have to be a high level player and have the right equipment to defeat this beast, but you also need to have nearly flawless dodging skills. And as tough as the Sanctuary Guardian is, it was actually just a prelude to the overpowered DLC bosses to come.

9. Slave Knight Gael – Dark Souls III

Slave Knight Gael is a case of slowly escalating difficulty. His first phase is a tough, but fairly standard melee battle. But then comes the second phase when he adds more attacks, and gains the ability to turn invisible and teleport. That’s bad enough, but then comes phase three where he adds in even more attacks, and now lightning randomly strikes the ground.

What really doesn’t help matters is that Gael has more health than almost any other enemy in the game. Defeating him is a battle of attrition.

8. Knight Artorias – Dark Souls

If you thought the Sanctuary Guardian was difficult, then good news! The next boss in Dark Souls’ DLC is even harder. At least Knight Artorias isn’t as annoyingly fast, but he makes up for that with a series of relentless sword attacks. And if he does try to get away, it’s only to use buffs that make him even more of a pain to deal with. The best strategy is to beat him as quickly as possible.

If you look closely, Artorias is actually fighting with a broken left arm, so he’s not even at full power for the battle. I’d hate to see what that’s like.

7. Black Dragon Kalameet – Dark Souls

You’ll first encounter Kalameet soaring in the background as you explore the Artorias of the Abyss DLC. That’s intimidating, but it’s really just a prelude of what’s to come. After facing other dragons, you might think that you can take him out by just attacking him from underneath. Nope. Kalameet will either stomp you to death or just fly away if you try that.

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Attempt to attack him from afar, and his fire breath causes physical and magical damage, so it can’t be fully blocked. You’ve got a very short window to actually damage the black dragon during its assault, making for an extremely frustrating boss fight.

6. Four Kings – Dark Souls

Your view of the Four Kings is going to depend a lot on how hardcore of a Dark Souls fan you are. If you’ve just played through the game once, they’re actually not so difficult or memorable. The real challenge comes on New Game+ when their stats are increased.

Whereas before, you could brute force through one king pretty quickly, that’s almost impossible on a second playthrough (or later). You’ve only got about 40 seconds until the next king spawns, and it’s easy to get caught in a situation where you’re now cornered by all four of them simultaneously. Only the most skilled Dark Souls players are going to get out of that unscathed.

5. Throne Watcher and Throne Defender – Dark Souls II

The penultimate bosses of Dark Souls II are actually way more difficult than the final boss battle. By themselves, the Throne Watcher and Defender wouldn’t be too difficult. They’re fairly typical melee knight enemies. Just having the right build can get you close to taking out this duo — except for one little wrinkle.

As soon as you defeat either the Watcher or the Defender, the one left alive will rush to the side of his fallen brother to heal him. You have to carefully split your attacks between them because you have a very short window of time to take out the pair before they come back at you in full force.

4. Darkeater Midir – Dark Souls III

Continuing the series’ tradition of ridiculously difficult DLC boss fights, Darkeater Midir is a massive dragon with high health and heavy physical, magic, and fire attacks. He’s challenging on your first run, but can one hit kill even the most seasoned warriors on New Game+.

Unlike a lot of other bosses, there aren’t many tricks you can pull off in order to cheese a win against Midir. Your best bet is to face him head-on with a melee build. If that’s too much for you, at least he can be skipped.

3. Dragon Slayer Ornstein and Executioner Smough – Dark Souls

Ornstein and Smough effectively act as the gatekeepers in the first Dark Souls — and really for the entire series. If you did in fact “git gud” enough to beat them, you should be able to beat the rest of the game without too much trouble.

The challenge here is two-fold. They’re both very quick, and can synchronize their attacks. It’s very easy to end up cornered and taking massive damage. And unlike the Throne Watcher and Throne Defender, you can’t defeat them simultaneously. When one goes down, it just spawns a super powered version of the other. This fight requires quick reflexes, a strong build, and a solid understanding of the game’s mechanics.

In short, this boss fight is the perfect microcosm of the Dark Souls experience.

2. Manus, Father of the Abyss – Dark Souls

Massive, quick, and capable of dealing heavy damage in an instant, Manus is the final foe you face in Artorias of the Abyss, making him the “true” final boss of the first Dark Souls. Even though you can summon assistance in this fight, and a few items will help negate his attacks, Manus’ speed and varied attacks make him difficult to predict.

Then there’s his health bar. It’s tricky to come up with the just the right build to damage him consistently, and even when you do have a strong character, this fight is largely a matter of endurance.

1. The Nameless King – Dark Souls III

First, give the Nameless King props for showmanship. This guy knows how to make an entrance, swooping into a fog-filled arena atop a very cool looking wyvern. It’s like something straight out of a heavy metal album cover. The first phase of the battle involves taking out the wyvern, and it’s actually not too bad for Dark Souls veterans (which you should be if you’ve made it far enough to face the Nameless King). A few different strategies work here.

But when the Nameless King dismounts, the real fight begins. It’s difficult to time when he’ll strike with his sword. His attacks do a lot of damage, and the only way to avoid his lunge is to roll through it. One small mistake can quickly turn into game over, but if you do manage to defeat him, you’ve truly mastered the Dark Souls trilogy.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Who do you think is the hardest boss in the Dark Souls series? Tell us in the comments!

The post 15 Hardest Dark Souls Bosses appeared first on Den of Geek.

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