#this international viewer understood things just fine

[heaven-is-in-your-arms-series]

Shine postponed 🥺

Sad news for me 😭

But I'm used to waiting for Khem and Chatra and I shall still excitedly anticipate being reunited with them, hopefully next year 🥹

[mixelation]

Its really hard to explain the difference between JJK and MHA, but I think your point about the comic book logic is what makes MHA hold together much more for me. I also found the fights much easier to follow whereas I had to keep pausing mid JJK fight to reread to try to figure out what the fuck is going on because I didn't understand how the powers worked and couldn't figure out what they were supposed to be doing at any time. JJK feels kind of like a Naruto fanfic that got badly of hand trying to explain the magic system and made things worse

I will say I prefer MHA for a lot of reasons, and one reason IS that I found the fights easier to follow, but also I consumed JJK mainly through manga and MHA via the anime. I've watched a few rando bits of the JJK anime (usually when my sibling and I get together, we end up watching anime, which is how 90% of the anime i watch gets consumed), and the fights seem much easier to follow when animated. Like, the explanations are still bad, but it's easier to figure out who hits what and what powers are supposed to actually look like. Like, one of my bigger criticisms of the JJK manga IS that the fight choreo is extremely difficult to follow, even when a character is narrating what is happening.

While I can't comment on the MHA manga vs the JJK manga specifically and can only really do MHA anime VS JJK manga, I will say that the MHA internal logic seems to make more intuitive sense than the JJK internal logic, and that helps a ton with just... following the plot. Like, I will say that I love the concept of the world of the world of JJK, which is more in the vein of Yu Yu Hakusho or Supernatural (both being series that I ate up) than western comics inspired MHA. But even if you remove your own cultural understanding of superheroes, I still think MHA is more consistent? Everyone has a superpower, which comes with defined rules and limitations (which can change as the character grows and develops, but these changes are usually explained). Society has a bunch of special laws and jobs based around these superpowers, and there's exploration of social problems caused by the existence of superpowers. These explorations are set up in a way where we learn things bit by bit in a mostly understandable way. I'm not arguing MHA is flawless and always makes perfect sense, just that throughout the two seasons I watched, I did usually feel like I understood what was happening and why. Some pieces of real world logic might not apply to the superpowers or characters' actions, but we as viewers at least understand the logic of the universe.

Meanwhile, I still don't super understand domain expansion in JJK, despite my sibling's attempts to explain it (and my sibling also admitted some parts just don't make sense?). Like, it really seems like a lot of fights are determined by which character remembers they can do that first. It's never made super clear what "curse energy" is and why only three families can do shit with it. Gojo's eyes are pretty but I don't understand what they do. Character motivations are defined fine enough and I can get the gist of the conflict in the world, but when I don't understand what is happening on a chapter by chapter basis, the flimsier pieces of characterization/plot start to become more obvious because I don't have cool fights to distract me.

[fortpeat]

Hi! I have some more info on the Viki version of Lita! Just in case the person who asked or you are maybe still interested in this. I don't know where the general public watches Lita but for me the first time I watched it was on some shady streaming site, the legality of which was most likely a little questionable - it was the only option at the time, tho. The English subs there were very much fine, overall in correct English and you know. They made sense and determined my understanding of the scenes and conversations.

I watched it there twice but once my mum wanted to watch it too, it had been added to Viki. So we all watched it together on Viki again. And I do have to say, the subs ARE kinda different. It sort of changed my understanding of the characters a little, too, right from the start. Because the subs on Viki are also very understandable and correct, like, grammar-wise very flawless and all, but they were just different. I feel like, on Viki, they tend to try and make certain terms or things understandable to international viewers by replacing them or describing them as things that are known to English-speaking viewers. I felt like, where my shady website just wrote stuff like boss as the Thai word in the subs, Viki translated it as "boss". In this case: no problem. In other cases, with rather specific words, the intonation of a sentence could be different, because a few words were switched out, and so on. Their relationship dynamic was a tiny bit different, too, there, since some of their flirty scenes or emotional scenes were translated a little different. That, so far, isn't bad. None of this is supposed to sound negative, in any way. For me, the shady website subs were a little confusing sometimes, as I didn't know many Thai terms (been a while since I watched anything Thai), and I had to figure out stuff like P' and Nong and all that first. But then, rewatching it on Viki, I felt like I understood a few things better - but I also felt like some scenes were lacking the extra info that I had gained from the other subs before. Viki felt smoother and easier to understand, and it's nice when you've watched the other version of Lita first, but it was sort of itching me to explain some things to my mum that weren't so clear in the Viki version.

I guess it's a matter of preference - i can recommend watching both, gives you a reason to rewatch it AGAIN under the disguise of gaining perfect understanding from both kinds of subs :D

Wishing you a lovely day / night <3 Your tumblr still very much makes my day, so quick appreciation here!

Hey Nonnie ❤️

You are so wonderful for typing this all out and letting us know about the differences between the Viki version and the other version and thank you so much for taking the time ❤️🫡 I could only watch Lita through Dramacool website as Lita was restricted both on Viki and iQIYI in my country 😩

And I think with Viki the translations are more smoother coz it caters to more international fans worldwide. But at the same there are still chances of translation mistakes due the language barrier obviously. It would be there in most of the languages.

Wish I could access Viki tho just to watch Prapaisky episodes all over again 🥺🥺😭. Once again thank youuuuu for all this and for the lovely appreciation. Means a lot to me. ✨✨

[stormblessed95]

I just wanted to share this.

Why do we always make an assumption (or lean towards it) that jikook are in gay glass closet? Why do we keep saying there's homophobia in SK? Why are we giving so much importance to the most pessimistic explaination for jikook hiding there relationship?

Like it could be simply they don't want to declare their love without being super sure about each other. They just don't want to make the statement out there that's all. It's not really a thing about glass closet, is what I feel sometimes. JK had literally pointed at JM for the question of what he desired after becoming an adult in what, 2015? If there's homophobia, they wouldn't have done that in a joking way as well. At that point their own relationship was in testing waters phase, and it was okay for JK to point out the obvious. In fact, I didn't see any kind of fear (homophobic) on their faces. There was panic (maybe about the obvious kookmin relationship) but it was all taken in light way and laughed out hard. Only Jhope seemed a lil worried, prolly because he understood the obvious and anticipated that viewers might too. But I could not decipher a homophobic panic/reaction.

And about SK being homophobic, I really don't think so. They have LGBT festivals, have gay Bars and probably have LGBT couples living there (at least the immigrants) or are we saying no international LGBT person buys a plot there and lives in SK (even the singles)? I really don't think it's big of a deal to the SK people if anyone's a LGBT but international fans make it look like a big deal. If homophobia exists, it exist in the same way it does in all other countries.

It's just simple, jikook themselves don't want to give a straight up statement of being in a relationship and zinx it (maybe). It's like those couples - one where they declare on social media of being in a relationship and other who don't. Jikook is the later but ironically they have used the social media to express love to each other or maybe not, who knows?

But I'm just saying, it's really not a big deal in any part of the world if you are LGBT couple. Especially not in developed countries like South Korea. It's just normal and it should be like that. (Laws can, will and have changed, so political agenda is just a temporary argument. I mean if there are LGBT rallies taking place in SK then definitely the laws will change in coming future).

We as third party make it look like a big deal, either by expressing too much support for the LGBT couples (who may really not seek for it) or by being antis/homophobic.

Please don't directly start with "no Anon no"... I've just shared a point of view and on other side of my brain there IS another POV as well. But I find it very funny on some of the blogs (I think you are the only one who doesn't start an answer like this) who straight away take it way too personal even though they themselves are just going by their instincts about any ship they believe in. I like your blog the most, maybe now I should go check out your about section if there's any 😊

Well damn, anon. You're gonna make me write an essay. Hope you're ready for it!

To start, thank you for the kind words and that you like it here. Hopefully you still think that even after I write an entire essay disagreeing with you. 😁💜 You are entitled to your POV, but hopefully you are open to other ones, backed by some research. I don't know if you are LGBTQ either... I don't want to assume, but the way this was written makes me think that you are not. Which is fine either way, but that factors into how we perceive things as well.

I'll also say that many K-army translators have talked about that what's your desire moment in 2015. I have a post up about that as well, I'll link it here... Jungkook was saying that he desired to go drinking with his hyungs. Which makes sense being that while he was underage, he spent most of his time watching his hyung have celebration champagne. He makes the same pop sound that Koreans use to signify drinking with his mouth as he pointed to first Jhope, then Jimin. Tae makes the same sound during the lyrics of Friends when he asks Jimin to get a drink with him later. Check out that post for more details on that moment please. I'll be separating paragraphs with pictures and gifs as I normally do in my essays here. Some will be related, most will not, enjoy them! Here we go!

To start, let's talk about homophobia in Korea. Now, I am not Korean, nor have I ever been to Korea, but this is all information readily out there for anyone who wishes to find it.

Homophobia is 100% still around, and still very active in South Korea. No, it is not the same as every other country. South Korea has no comprehensive anti discrimination laws to protect LGBTQ South Koreans. You can explore more about what anti discrimination laws protect LGBTQ people here in America by looking through and reading articles on the UCLA law website here. SK has absolutely zero laws to protect any LGBTQ citizens or even give them anything in terms of protection in just general life. Compared to similar countries like Japan or Taiwan, who both have some laws set up. In Taiwan, same sex couples are now allowed to legally get married. In Japan, they can't do that yet, but some cities allow and issue same sex coupes certificates, that can function as a non legally binding marriage agreement between couples, recognized by the city. SK has none of that.

In SK, homosexual sex isn't technically banned, but it IS illegal in the military. Meaning if while you serve, if a man is caught having relations with another man while serving, they can both be sentenced to years in jail. If you are known to be LGBTQ and then join the military (which, if any idol came out, they would automatically be known. There would be no chances of being out and then going back into the closet for the military for them) then you are that much more likely to be "watched" or bullied/harassed. Having superiors just looking for a reason to slap the gay label on you and get you out of service and into jail.

Openly known figures who are trans in SK have been victims of what we call "social murders" or harassed, bullied and torn apart until they take their own life. And no one is ever willing to persecute. People who come out as queer have been in fear of losing their jobs and/or being blacklisted. SK is very very conservative and many politicians are asked about stances and denied even the chance to run unless they are pretty staunchly anti-lgbtq. Prior to the presidency, President Moon was a Human Rights Lawyer in South Korea and stated publicly on Television that he was "against homosexuality and did not like it" in 2017. Almost everyone currently holding positions in power are firmly against placing any laws to legalize or protect LGBTQ individuals from discrimination in any form, including in marriage or job security or in hospitals when requiring medical attention. So currently, admitting to being gay opens you to the possibility of being refused work, refused to have your relationship recognized, refused medical treatment in emergency situations, higher chance of jail time while serving in the military and more. Things are very far from fair or equal. And things are very far from the same as any other LGBTQ couple would face in a different or more liberal/democratic country.

Now let's talk about the general public of Korea. It is honestly pretty evenly split, with more of the younger generation in favor of adopting anti discrimination laws. An attempt to pass a bill to protect LGBTQ citizens has been attempted 6 times, and has failed very quickly 6 times. That doesn't mean people stop fighting though. You don't ever stop fighting for equality. Ever. If you stop fighting, you will never get it. No one hands that over for free. America is still fighting for the queer community, and we ARE significantly better off here then they are in SK.

Part of that fight is by fighting to normalize things. You do that through festivals, through fighting to have a safe place for the queer community to be themselves in, such as gay bars and communities. But that still doesn't mean acceptance as whole. Things are SLOWLY starting to get better. Through things like pride parades, drag queen parades, gay bars, etc. These things just recently started popping up though around 2016 to 2018. That is really not that long ago. And many many cities/towns are still very open about their dislike of that and refuse to allow them. It's more the bigger cities that are doing them. Openly queer tourists tend to recieve less than popular reception, often even getting refused service from some places. There are resources out there for the community such as maps to queer friendly businesses, gay bars, humans rights groups, and HIV/AIDS awareness groups. The existence of these things and places are the bare minimum of progress though and doesn't change the general mindset of homophobia and discrimination that exists within the country as a whole and especially in the legislation and through their politics.

2018 was when Holland debuted. The first LGBTQ artist to debut as openly gay. And he had to fight tooth and nail to debut, having to do it as an independent artist because no label would allow him to be gay under their contract, saying he would HAVE to make sure he went back in the closet and stayed there before anyone knew who he was. Holland wanted to stay true to himself though. And even though it took years, he did finally debut in 2018 and has never hid his sexuality. This had lead to him having minimal in Korea though, most (not all) of his fanbase being international and barely being recognized in his home country. When he had a male actor in his music video instead of a female one (because he is gay) it was rated 19+ meaning it couldn't be broadcasted anywhere nationally, it could only be online and didn't really get any promotion. All because of him portraying a mlm relationship instead of a het one, it was branded as adult content and not suitable for children or families. TV show host Hong Seok-cheon came out in 2000 and was promptly fired from his job and blacklisted from other companies, so he couldn't find a new job to be back on TV anywhere else. Thus discouraging anyone else in the field from doing the same. "Coming Out" is not easy, its not receptive and it's got a very high potential to have serious social, health and financial ramifications.

Now this doesn't mean that there aren't queer people in SK, there definitely are. But just because they exist and fight for a fair life in their country, doesn't mean that the homophobia and discrimination disappear or that international fans are making it up when talking about this with their idols. And just because the homophobia exists, doesn't mean that queer people are going to stop being queer or stop loving who they love or stop fighting for that love. It doesn't stop them from wanting to express that love either, even if it's something that is hidden in plain sight. SK has heteronormativity to the extreme. Unless you explicitly say "I am Gay" or get caught engaging in homosexual sex in any form or making out with someone of the same sex... you will be assumed straight, really no matter what else you do. The majority of well known people and even regular citizens who are LGBTQ will use that to their advantage and use that glass closet to get to express their love without explicitly outing themselves.

As for Jikook, do you really think that if we are correct and they have been involved since 2016 that they wouldn't be sure about each other by this point? 5 years into a relationship? Most couples are either for sure serious at this point or have broken up. They utilize that glass closet and the shipping culture in kpop to showcase their affection safely in ways they otherwise couldn't because of how public their lives are.. Your statements that being an LGBTQ couple anywhere in the world isn't a big deal is idealistic and slightly ignorant. It diminishes the fight and fear that many queer people constantly face while working towards acceptance all of the time, all over the world.

I hope this makes sense and helped you understand the other side so to speak. I'll reiterate here that I'm not Korean and if any of my facts here need updating please comment or reblog. Please correct me if needed.

Hope everyone has a good day. 💜

[wherethewordsare]

Birds of a Feather

For @notsafeformurphy who was having a day of it the other day and we got to talking and.... oops this happened. This honestly started out as a nature docu au and ended up a coffee shop au? Idk man.... Anyway, Shay I hope you enjoy this! 

Also tagging @herostag since it was requested. and @jaskierswolf cause I think they’re gonna start yelling at me if i keep forgetting. Going to try to get my tag list back together if anyone is interested. <3 <3 <3 Hope yall enjoy Jaskier huffed as he flopped over again, his body refusing to just relax down into his mattress and let him sleep. It had been a stressful day and to make matters worse, it had been the third night in a row where he was simply unable to sleep. 

Giving up, he reached for his phone, scrolling through youtube for a moment, looking for something that he could just zone out to for a little while. Usually he would put on music or white noise but even that didn’t seem like it would be helpful. He had to find something extremely dull and maybe a bit pretty. 

He scrolled past a thumbnail of three large men in park uniforms. Two of them looked like they were at least somewhat interested in being there while one tall man with near white hair simply scowled at the camera. 

Wild Wednesdays with the Rivia Nature Reserve the title read. 

“Okay, I’ll bite,” Jaskier huffed as he rolled onto his stomach. He pulled the kickstand of his phone case out and set it up before pressing play and curling his arms around his pillow. 

“This week, we’ll be talking to Geralt Rivia, our resident raptor specialist about what goes into rehabilitation efforts when it comes to conservation,” someone said off camera, cheerily. When the camera panned to Geralt Rivia however, he did not seem to share the narrator’s same upbeat tone. 

For a few minutes, the narrator off camera seemed to try to ask Geralt about himself, only getting stilted answers and that same scowl that had been in the thumbnail. Jaskier snorted with a smirk. 

“You’re not having any of this, are you? You’re gorgeous though,” he chuckled. He felt his back relax as he yawned, snuggling closer into his pillow. 

And then it happened. From off camera, someone handed Geralt a leather glove that he put on easily before taking a cord. He clicked a bit and the scowl he had moments ago melted into a fond smile. 

“And who is this?” the narrator asked. They clearly had picked up on the shift in Geralt’s demeanor as a small falcon took up perch on his forearm. 

He actually cooed at the bird for a moment before holding it up for the camera. “This is Roach. She’s one of our recent rescues.” He smiled, a barely there tilt of his lips and his honey colored eyes softened. Jaskier got the impression on anyone else, it would have been a full grin. 

“Oh, I like that look,” Jaskier murmured, feeling his cheeks heat up. 

“And what is Roach?” the person asked off camera. 

Geralt took a step back, turning his arm slightly, causing the bird to flap agitatedly at him as she kept her balance. “Yes, I know, but I have to show off how pretty you are,” he said to the bird, fond and warm. 

“Oh no,” Jaskier whispered into his pillow. “He’s soft and hot.” 

“Roach here is a red-tailed hawk. They’re pretty common through North America,” he explained, pointing out the red-brown of her tail. The hawk nipped at him as he got her to open her wings for the camera and he only chuckled. “She’s about six, the same age as my daughter actually. And,” he leaned in conspiratorially, “I’ll be honest with you, I’m not sure which one is less well behaved.” 

Roach must have understood a bit of that because she gave a cry before nipping at Geralt’s hair, clearly annoyed. 

“Listen, if you weren’t so hornery, I wouldn’t say it,” he said to Roach, pulling another scowl but there was clearly no heat in it. 

This was not the same man from the thumbnail or the same man that barely gave answers about himself at the beginning of the clip. When that bird sat on his arm, he lit up and Jaskier was weak. 

Geralt answered a few other questions about hawks and about the reserves program for rehabbing hawks, his voice deep and gravely. He would have sounded gruff if not for how much he clearly loved what he did. 

Geralt looked at Roach a little sadly. “Unfortunately for our little lady here, she won’t be able to return to the wild. Due to her injuries when she came to us, she won’t be able to hunt on her own,” he gave her a soft smile before he petted down her neck gently. 

Jaskier’s eyes were starting to feel heavy. He had turned into the pillow, letting Geralt’s voice wash over him with simple facts about red-tail hawks as he drifted off to sleep. It hadn’t been dull at all but there was something about the way Geralt spoke that just melted him into his mattress. 

When he woke, his phone was dead, probably from being set to autoplay. As it charged, he looked at the videos that had played while he was asleep, most of them from the Rivia Nature Reserve. There were a few specials with other team members but Jaskier picked out the ones that mentioned Geralt Rivia directly. 

It had become a near routine and soon, Jaskier found that he just slept better after watching those nature clips. Sometimes, Geralt wasn’t even on camera, simply walking through the process of population counting for the reserve as the camera panned around to different birds up in the trees. There were other videos featuring Roach the red-tailed hawk as well and it was clear that she was a favorite, not only of Geralt’s but the viewers as well. 

Within three weeks, Jaskier had made his way through nearly the whole catalog of the reserve’s videos. He knew he would move on from tall, silver and brooding and find his next sleep fix but for now he simply enjoyed it. 

~

He should have said no, he should have mentioned that he simply did not do morning shifts, and there was a reason for that, but Essi had been persistent, almost feral about him taking her shift. 

“Please, Jask. I promise, you won’t regret it!” She grinned at him and there was something in her eyes that sent up a dozen red flags. 

“What are you plotting?” He asked flatly, squinting at her over his glass of wine. 

“Not a thing, darling, just trust me on this,” she giggled, sipping her own wine neatly. 

~

It hadn’t been a terrible morning, though Jaskier was barely managing to stay upright by the the coffee grinder. He was used to staying up long nights and it hadn’t changed anything when he knew he would have to open. 

His phone buzzed in his pocket. 

I know you mentioned he had a kid, but he’s single. You’re gonna want to put a blueberry muffin in right now. 

He blinked at his phone, squinting as he tried to decode just what the fuck Essi was saying. 

What?

But he put in the blueberry muffin, his phone on the counter as he watched the three little dots dance where Essi was texting back. 

You still owe me a no questions.

“What the fuck is she even-” Jaskier heard the bell above the door just as he set the timer for the oven. 

“-and so I tell him that if he isn’t going to at least make an attempt to clear out the back trails, we’re going to find a new contractor.” Came a voice behind him. 

Jaskier froze, his hand on his phone. He nearly threw it in a panic. He recognized that voice. He’d recognize that voice in the dark, though to be fair, he usually listened to it in the dark. 

He glanced over his shoulder and sure enough, Geralt Rivia was standing at his counter with two others from the nature reserve. 

“Be with you in just a minute!” he tried for cheery and landed firmly in panicked. He ducked behind the large coffee machine and shot a text back to Essi. 

I haven’t decided on whether or not I love you more than anything or if I’m ever going to

speak to you again!

Have fun! ;)

That bitch. It had been a setup! He adored her, the meddling little sneak. He schooled his face the best he could, knowing full well that his ears were still the color of the strawberry frap they served. 

“Morning, what can I get you guys?” He asked as he wet his lips, trying not to stare right into Geralt’s gorgeous face. 

“Three coffees, a blueberry muffin warmed up and a plain bagel, untoasted,” Geralt said offhandedly as he looked around. “No Essi today?” 

“Uh, no. I’m filing in this morning. Jaskier, at your service.” As he dipped his head in a mock bow he internally cursed himself. One day, one normal day, that was all he asked for. “Hope the bagel isn’t for Roach. I’m not sure she’d like it. How is she? We haven’t seen her much recently?” He shot off without thinking as he started to pour the coffees. He froze again as his brain caught up with his mouth. 

Behind Geralt, both of the men snorted. “Looks like you’ve got a fan, pretty boy,” the darker haired one jostled Geralt’s shoulder with a smirk.

Geralt only stood there, tilting his head slightly as though he wasn’t sure what had just happened. 

“Ah, I mean…” Jaskier fumbled, nearly spilling one of the coffees down his own front. 

“She’s doing fine actually,” there was a soft smile on his face, the same he wore when he got to handle the birds directly and Jaskier could feel himself melt on the spot. “Naughty as ever. Learned a new trick to take a swipe at Lambert here if he’s holding the feed bucket,” there was a low rumble of a chuckle. 

The dark haired one behind Geralt stopped laughing abruptly. “She’s a menace.” He growled, picking up his own coffee from the counter. 

Behind Jaskier, the oven dinged. “Oh and your muffin!” He turned, letting himself have the moment his back was to them to silently scream. He had been tricked! He had been set up! He was going to try to get this man’s number and he would never hear the end of it. 

“You already had it in?” Geralt asked, that smile still in place. 

“What can I say, we make sure to take care of our favorite customers.” He was almost proud of himself at how smoothly that had come out as he turned to look back at Geralt. He should have been paying attention to the muffin as it dropped, missing the bag completely and splatting on the floor. 

“Fuck,” Jaskier nearly cried. “I am so sorry. Give me, just a moment, I’ll get another one in for you.” 

He watched as Geralt ducked his head, smirking. “Would you like to meet her?” He gave another tilt of his head, his eyes clearly looking Jaskier up and down. 

He was sure he had died. This wasn’t real. This was the good place. Or the bad place. Either way, this place was the place his soul had clearly left his body. He stood there, cold muffin in hand as he gaped at Geralt. 

“Uh-”

“You don’t,” Geralt cleared his throat, “I was just wondering since you seemed… to be a… fan.” His face slipped into a scowl and no. No that wouldn’t do at all. 

“I would love to, yeah. I’m off at three?” 

“Oh! Jaskier! Thank you for coming in to open. I can take it from here,” Essi slipped in beside him, taking the muffin from his hand. “Morning, Dr. Rivia,” she nearly sang, her face smug. 

“Dead. You’re very very dead when I see you again,” Jaskier whispered to her though he couldn’t stop grinning. 

“So you were saying?” Geralt asked, leaning against the counter. 

“Turns out, I’m free as a bird, you’d say.” Jaskier chuckled as he slipped his apron off and made his way around the counter. 

Geralt snorted and rolled his eyes but took his coffee and muffin from Essi. “You know that phrase ‘eat like a bird’ is really not that good of a way of saying that someone doesn’t eat much?” 

Behind them, Lambert scoffed. “Here we fucking go again. I said I was sorry for bringing it up!” 

Later that afternoon he found himself wearing a glove similar to the one he had first seen Geralt in, a small tawny owl bobbing on his arm as he looked on in wonder. He had met Roach and she had nipped at his hair and shirt, screeching when food wasn’t produced. 

“Hmm, let’s get Scorpion. He won’t tear you to shreds,” Geralt gave Roach a fond little tap on her wing with the back of his fingers. 

By the end of the day he left with a few knicks in his fingers and a phone number. He had never slept better.

[waywardscorpio]

His Queen & Her King

Taglist: @callmekda @braunstrowmangirl @phoenixoffiretwo @luna-loo @scuzmunkie @fanfiction-san​ @superdakotawinchesterus​

Chapter 2

Warnings: Cursing, Violence, Pissed off Jeff, Readers Dad Triple H, Godfather Shawn Michaels and Uncles Kane and Undertaker, Pregnant!Reader kidnapped.

*Third Person POV*

*A month after the road trip and Jeff, putting another bundle of joy inside his mate*

Y/N was walking through the hallway of the arena while she had one hand on her belly and the other carrying her bag of food and drink. Her baby belly was a little more noticeable now. "Hey Y/N" Undertaker said. "Hey, Uncle Taker." She said looking up at him. "How are you doing?" She asked. "I'm doing fine. How are you and the little ones doing?" She looked up at him confused; because she thought she was only pregnant with one. "The doctor only said, one baby." She said softly. "You don't know do you?" He asked her. "Know what?" She asked. "You're a very rare type of human omega that can get pregnant even though you're already pregnant. It isn't dangerous to you or the babies. But it will put you in danger. Some Alpha's will do whatever it takes to have you and that includes holding you captive and breeding you to make soldiers or a small army" He said. He's older than some people actually know. "But I won't let any harm you." Taker said to her before walking down the hallway.

Y/N, let the words from Undertaker go around and around in her head as she walks to Jeff's locker room. "Hey, Babe." He replied as she walked into the room. "Hey, Darlin'," Y/N replied back to her as she was looking at him from across the room. "We need to have a talk tonight after work." She said to him as she looks at him. "Are you okay? Is the baby hurt? What is wrong?" Jeff said standing up and moving swiftly towards his love. "I am okay. The baby is okay. We just need to talk. I'm not leaving you before you even ask that question next." She said as she looks up at him rubbing his cheek. Jeff relaxed into her soft gentle touch.

"I think you should stay near Undertaker for my match. I have a feeling something is off and it gonna get ugly tonight." Jeff said getting an unsettling feeling that something isn't bad is going to happen and Jeff trusted Undertaker with Y/N's life more than anyone besides her parents. "But I'm supposed to go out there with you tonight Baby," Y/N said to him as she looked at him. "I know Babe, I want you to go out there too. But I have an uneasy feeling that something is going to happen tonight and I don't want you getting in the line of fire or our baby." Jeff said walking to her and carefully rubbing her belly. "Alright, I'll stay by Undertaker tonight." She said looking up at him.

Jeff walked Y/N to where Undertaker was at so, he knew she made it there safely and unharmed. "Hey Taker. Is it okay that she stays with you? I have an uneasy feeling that something is going to happen." He said looking at the taller male. "Yes, she is more than welcome." He said as he looks at a very reluctant Y/N. "As soon as my fight is over Baby, I will be right back here before going anywhere else." He said kissing her lips gently rubbing her cheek and her belly. "Please be careful out there tonight" She said resting her head against his chest. "I will Baby." Jeff said promising the love of his life he would be careful.

Jeff, walked out to the ring getting ready to fight tonight. "This match will be turned into 4 on 4 tag team match. It will be Jeff, Matt, Triple H and Shawn Michaels Vs Edge, Christian, Sheamus and Finn Balor." Lillian announce to the crowd and viewers at home to hear. Y/N's head shot up looking at the tv wide eyes. "No, that wasn't the match he was supposed to be in. Who changed it?" She exclaims looking up at Taker who grabs her hand and heading towards Stephanie's office. "Momma, Dad can't fight and Uncle Shawn can't either." Y/N held her belly on instinct. "I tried to stop the match before it was made. Someone changed it before consulting with us first. Nothing I can do to change it." Steph was furious that someone did this and was about to rip someone a new asshole. "Uncle Taker and Kane please take Daddy's and Uncle Shawn places. They can't fight and the person knows that. They'll be at a disadvantage." She pleads at the two males. Kane looks at Undertaker. "I'll fight tonight." Taker was having a internal battle with himself because he told Jeff, Y/N wouldn't leave his side till the match was over. "Please Uncle Taker" Y/N began to cry in desperation. "Okay Lil One. I will do it. But on the condition you stay by your mother at all times no mater what. Jeff will just have to understand." He said walking out with Kane, and heading to the ring. "I promise" She called out. She hugged her mother tightly. "I got you Baby Girl" She said hushing her Childs cries.

Lightening rang through the arena as Takers music came on and fire surrounds the ring. Jeff sees Kane and Undertaker walking down the ramp. "I have been informed that Triple H and Shawn, will be taken out the match and Undertaker and Kane will be put into the match instead." Lillian announce but silently sighs in relief. "Y/N is supposed to be with you" Jeff said to Taker quietly. "Calm Jeff. She begged us to come out because she knew you'd be at a disadvantage since her Daddy Triple H and uncle Shawn are still healing from two weeks ago. She didn't want you guys to take a chance yourselves considering you two have a tag team title match coming at WrestleMania." Kane said. "I much rather my pregnant mate be safe than myself." Jeff said. Kane and Taker understood his point but also couldn't leave their fellow wrestlers defenseless. "She is safe I promise you. She is with her mother and her momma's ready to rip someone a new Asshole." Undertaker said to him.

Jeff didn't fight with the older man. He knew Y/N, was safe either way. As the match got started Matt and Edge started it off. They didn't hold back on each other either. Lefts and rights were thrown hard and on purpose. "Come on Matt" Kane holler holding his hand out for Matt to tag him in. Matt kicked him Edge in the ribs which gave him the leverage he needed to get away from him so he can tag in Kane. Kane steps over the ropes and started hitting Edge with right, Lefts and wasn't giving him any breathing room. Edge uppercuts Kane when he gets the chance which stuns him and Edge is able to tag in Balor. He has a advantage for a few seconds before Jeff was tagged in and went to town on Balor. Jeff was letting his anger out on his opponent. "You got this Jeff come on" Matt said cheering on his brother. Jeff had twisted his arm behind him and leads him to his corner to tag in the Undertaker.

The match was drawing to a end when Undertaker was tagged back in. He hit Christian with the Tombstone Piledriver and with a count of three Jeff and the others got in the ring raising the Undertakers hand who won them the match. After the mini celebration in the ring everyone walked out. Edge stops Jeff to give him a message. "Hey look I know we aren't the best of friends but I wanna let you know that I saw someone watching your car earlier after you guys got here and someone was following Y/N. It is someone new because I don't know the persons face or scent." Edge said. "Thank you, Edge. I have an uneasy feeling tonight's not over with. whoever made this match done it on purpose but didn't expect Kane and Undertaker to step in." Jeff said to him. "Lita has been uneasy all night worried saying they're coming but didn't get to see their faces when she had a vision. Just be safe." Edge said before walking over to Lita. Jeff mouths a thank you to her. She only nodded her head in response.

Jeff walked to his mother-n-laws office and walked in. "Hey Baby. How are you and the baby?" Jeff asked his mate as he rubbed her back and belly knowing she is tired. "We are perfect. Just tired. How much longer till we can go home?" She asks her mate. "We will be staying with someone for a while. Just got a message from a friend that someone has been watching us and following." Jeff said to Y/N. She whimpered a little in fear. "What?" They heard Steph say. "Baby go get your stuff while I talk to your mom and dad okay?" She nods her head softly. Undertaker was in ear lengths and stayed near her walking her to the dressing room to get her things while Jeff talked to her parents. "Edge stopped me after the match to let me know that people have been following me and Y/N since we been here, and that the scent is unfamiliar and not known around here. He also mentioned Lita had a vision that someone is coming but she couldn't see their faces." Jeff said to Triple H and Steph. "Why are they after you or her or both of you?" Steph asked. "I don't know but I think is has something to do with her being pregnant by me." He said to her. "Whatever it takes you protect her, you here me?" Triple H said to him. "Yes Sir. I'll give my last breath to protect her if that's what it take for her to live." Jeff said unknowing that that statement was about to be put to the test.

While Jeff is taking to Steph and Triple H, Y/N is getting her stuff ready to go when the lights in the building suddenly shut off and came back on. In a blink of an eye Y/N was gone. Jeff ran down the hallway to his dressing room. "Holy hell. Taker are you good?" Jeff asked helping him up. "I was hit over the head after the lights went out. When they came back on she was gone." He said to Jeff, holding the back of his head. "It is newbies trying to rise up through the business so, their going after one of the top dogs here. Y/N's going to be their pawn to use as an advantage. They know no, one will do anything to harm her but they know you will go looking for her. If it comes down to it they'll do unspeakable things to her. Especially since they know she is able to get pregnant multiple times at once. She is a Human Omega it is rare for ones like her to be able to carry more than one baby at a time." Undertaker said to Jeff. Jeff paces thinking at what way he can approach this with out his Omega Mate getting hurt. "Jeff you aren't in this alone." Shawn said walking in the room with Kane, walking over to his brother and checking the back of his head. "We will fight with you over her" Triple H said. "Just be ready for a battle to start." Steph said.

"The battle started the minute the took her." Jeff said calm and deadly. Steph smiled to her husband knowing they picked a good man for their daughter. Jeff walked out to the ring and grabbed a mic. He was careful and tactical with his words even with how angry he was. He won't give the kidnappers the satisfaction to see his pain because once he does they have the power. "You come here" He said to a camera man. "Sir?" he said stepping in the ring with Jeff. "I want you to tape this live." He said. The male nods his head in fear sensing the anger and absolute power dripping off the man. He put the cam on his shoulder and began to tape. "I hope you sick fuckers are listening. You think it was wise for you take a mans pregnant mate. Especially a dangerous man like me who will stop at nothing to get her back. You wanted a battle? A battle you can't possibly come out standing on top. We will see who is left standing when I am done with you because you opened the gates of hell and stepped into my cage!!!" He said looking into the cam. "I won't be alone when I get my hands on you."

"Just know if she has so much as a scratch on her.. Well I show just how sadistic I am when I'm provoked or pushed." Jeff said. "Oh one more thing. Y/N Darlin' I'm coming for you." He adds. She heard her Alpha on the tv and she smiles to herself knowing the men that took her are about to know why Jeff is one of the most feared men in the Wwe besides Undertaker and Kane. "What are you smiling about whore?" One said. "You fucked up. You'll see just what he is going to do to you

[algernoninwonderland]

Miraculous’s Paris feels quite impersonal and its geography is incomprehensible most of the time, which makes it difficult to care about it whenever it’s in danger

TL;DR: Paris in Miraculous has a weird geography, and unfortunately, the show doesn’t hide it all that well, which makes it hard to believe in the city as a coherent and cohesive space. Bad lighting and poor texturing makes scenes set outdoors during the day look real bad, and while some of the famous buildings in Miraculous are pretty close to the real thing, they don’t mean much to the viewers emotionally speaking, they don’t elicit a reaction other than “huh, that’s neat”. If your heroes’ mission is to protect a city that’s just “neat”, well it’s pretty hard to care about said mission. 

When you aren’t French and you want to make a show or a film with a scene set in Paris and you want to sell it to an international audience, you put the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and cafés everywhere. And that’s fine! It’s just a backdrop, you’re not supposed to care about it all that much, because you’re going to spend 2 hours there at most and what’s more, more often than not, Paris is just a decor, not the whole conceit of the film/show.

Miraculous’s version of Paris follows that same logic, weirdly enough, even though it’s made by French people, and initially intended for a French audience. The Eiffel Tower is in a whole lot of shots, we spend a lot of time at the Louvre and near some other touristic landmarks such as the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, the Grand Palais, the Place des Vosges and the Place du Châtelet alongside the occasional metro station, they’re all decently made, at least they’re recognisable. Good job, you guys! (I’m sincere about that bit of praise, too)

It uses referential elements, i.e. things from the real-life Paris… And mashes them together in a bizarre way. Monuments are way too close to one another, or they are places they shouldn’t be. That, in and as of itself, would be fine. Paris is big. You can’t model every single Parisian street in existence, you have to make choices to stay within your budget. And with Miraculous, it kind of works…? If you don’t think about it too much, that is.

This, for instance (that’s from Animan) doesn’t make any damn sense. The Eiffel Tower should be on the other side of the Seine, not here, and the Place des Vosges isn’t that close to the water. Still, it sort of works, if you haven’t lived in Paris yourself. Which will be the case for most people watching Miraculous. It’s a show about a girl who uses a magical yoyo, so I can excuse that sort of weird stylistic choice due to budget constraints.

So, basically, Miraculous has pretty good individual sets, especially indoors sets,Marinette’s house, Agreste mansion, the school, these cool touristic locations, the Grévin museum, even, but they either feel too close to one another or like they belong to different, disjointed spaces. It’s hard to tell where each location is meant to be in relation with one another, even when our characters travel from one place to another.

And how do they travel? Well, they jump from rooftop to rooftop and the landscape stretches endlessly. Rooftops that all look the same. It’s the exact same "set” every time. That isn’t a bad stylistic choice per say, if the point you want to make is that Paris is really really big and there are lots and lots of houses that all kind of look the same, it’d work really well. It’d make the city feel a little oppressive. But you want Paris to be a space the audience cares about, right? So maybe don’t do that?

The way travelling works in Miraculous is, you jump onto a rooftop, you run you run you run and then you land and you’ve reached your destination. Each trip works the same. Doesn’t help make the various sets feel connected, no, sir. Plus, the Eiffel Tower teleports all over the place.

Can you tell me where Alya’s flat is supposed to be? No, really, can you? It’s a nice art déco building, someone probably went through lots of references to model it and it shows! Nice job, really, I mean it. But where is it?  

Well, it’s in an Autodesk Maya file in a database somewhere, but other than that… You’ll tell me if you ever figure that out, I sure wasn’t able to!

So it’s hard to believe in Paris as a kind of non-fragmented space, even more so when wide shots look like this 

and that tells you everything that can go wrong with Miraculous’s outdoors scenes. (also that shot composition isn’t bad at all but it’s weird for a scene like that)

Copy and paste your assets, benches, trees and houses, and don’t modify them one bit. The thing it, that’s fine in shots in which the camera moves a lot, it works well with certain angles, which is the reason why there are lots of chase scenes that go too fast for you to notice that there aren’t all that many “regular house” models, some with an alternate “café” ground floor which features awnings with three different colours. That’s a trick cartoons like Scooby-Doo already used in the 60s to simulate speed. That’s good when things move!

Only, sometimes you see two awnings with the exact same colour in the same, very still shot that lets you see the street in which the house models alternate in a pattern that is easy to detect. You become truly aware that this is a set created by people that feels very artificial. 

Textures in Miraculous are great when it comes to the character models. For the rest not so much. The really ugly pavement texture you see here…

… looks fine when shot from above but looks like dogshit when the camera is closer to the ground, if I may be so blunt. Everything looks worse in the daytime, because daylight is rendered rather poorly most of the time, and the textures either haven’t loaded properly or aren’t high-res enough. That pavement feels real flat, like a texture, not like pavement. Which isn’t very good. Trees often feel like plastic, dirt doesn’t look like dirt at all, more like sand. Miraculous isn’t going for a photorealistic vibe, nor should it be, but these textures just don’t work very well to represent what they are meant to represent. They seem a little off, just enough for you to notice.

Often, everything looks squeaky clean too. Norman Reynolds of Star Wars fame understood that squeaky clean props and sets and costumes aren’t very convincing and tend to feel cheap, so you need to apply a bit of weathering. And Paris isn’t exactly clean. In Miraculous, most buildings are spotless. They don’t feel like they’ve existed for long despite their 19th century architecture. Are you supposed to feel like this is a story set in a giant dollhouse starring action figures? I’m not sure that was the intended effect, there’s an episode with alive toys and the toy world looks even plasticky-er

(Nighttime scenes, on the other hand, can be really gorgeous. Sapotis’s outdoors scenes are truly magical, it’s a really nice-looking handful of scenes because you get to have a better control on the way your scene is lit. Likewise, most scenes set indoors tend to look quite good because there’s greater control over the lighting sources).

Some spaces feel familiar and friendly, homely, even, namely Marinette’s house, the houseboat to a lesser extent, these are all places you’d hate to see get destroyed, and you get a sense of where they are. Sort of. Ish. But outside of that… There aren’t any memorable streets, most monuments are just that, monumental, important imposing buildings don’t feel personal. There are no charming details about them for the camera to zoom on either. 

Miraculous’s outdoors Paris is a series of more-or-less well-made sets that are loosely connected to one another in a way the audience can’t properly process. You aren’t made to feel attached to most of these sets. Technical issues and a limited budget alongside creative choices to feature iconic touristic landmark rather than having streets that feel more intimate, unique and lived-in means that you can’t really care all that much about Miraculous’s Paris as a place.

And it’s a shame. If these two heroes are fighting to protect a city the audience isn’t made to care about, the stakes are much lower all of a sudden. 

The scene in the New-York special with that helicopter shot of all the destruction caused by Mayura’s amok didn’t feel nearly as impactful as it should have. You really ought to wonder why.

[tinamaetales]

Fine, not fine

When the pandemic broke out in 2020, I was left with nothing to do. Our WFH arrangement during those times is not something I consider as a heavy workload so most of the time I just find myself alone with my own thoughts – which is one of the scariest scenarios for me. To kill time and distract myself from my own self-destructive thoughts, I decided to watch documentaries on Youtube but there really isn’t enough for me so despite not having a huge salary, I decided to subscribe to Netflix and from then on, I was able to watch a lot of movies, series and documentaries. I really wanna write a reflection on each of the stuff I’ve watched but I’m too lazy these days (and yet, here I am writing one).

As I mentioned, I watched a lot of stuff on Netflix but the last three that I’ve watched lately (before I start being invested with American Horror Story series), Angel’s Last Mission: Love, The Good Place, and Mystic Pop-up Bar tend to have a common theme – life, death, afterlife. I didn’t even do it on purpose; I was just really interested in the plot of their stories. What these 3 shows have in common is that they discuss about the morality and consequences and these days, I’m really interested in those topics. Lately, I’ve been questioning myself about what kind of person I am – am I good or bad? I also keep on having an internal debate with myself as to whether or not there is an afterlife and if there is, then where will I end up? Heaven or hell? Those questions are kinda giving me some headache these days but at least it’s a good distraction from my own self-destructive thoughts. Somehow, Philosophy seems interesting to me now (during my College years, I dreaded that subject but still managed to get a 1.25 final grade lol). Anyway, here are my thoughts about the shows:

Angel’s Last Mission: Love

Major lesson: Keep the faith

This kdrama has such a beautiful way of presenting its story that you will fall in love with it in just the first episode! (Also because Kim Myung Soo’s dimples are to die for, omg I’m so in love) Anyway, this drama’s plot is interesting: an angel who disobeyed the law (he’s not allowed to meddle with the lives of humans especially since he’s a guardian angel for animals) on his last day was given the most difficult mission – to make the fallen ballerina know what love is. As I am writing this, I can’t help but feel emotional because the show knows how to attack one’s heart. I will not be telling more of its plot for I might end up spoiling it so I’ll just provide my major take away from this kdrama. (This is one of those kdramas that I can watch again and again coz it’s beautiful)

I was raised in Catholic faith, which is really not a surprise for a Filipino like me since this country is heavily influenced by the Catholic Church, but ever since I’ve become an adult and finally opened my eyes and allow myself to stop living under the notorious gaslighting of people around me, I struggled with my faith in God. It’s really difficult living a traumatized life. In 2018, I seek for professional help and was diagnosed with Dysthymia and Social Anxiety Disorder. And despite therapy and medication, I have not yet healed and sometimes feel like my situation is getting worse. As such, I felt so alone in my struggles which became the reason why I relate to Yeon Seo’s character. People labeled her as a cold bitch and most of them are expecting her to just move on and heal without fully understanding where she is coming from. When Yeon Seo said “Do you know what it feels like to be left behind? It feels like I���m abandoned alone in an endless desert” it hit close to home. I know that one’s pain should not be an excuse for acting up and being mean but people should also understand that healing is different for all of us – we heal at our own pace at our own time. Pain can change a person – I know it fully well for I’ve become a completely different person because of all the pain I’ve been through. But what this show taught me is that God is a merciful God and He will not let us be drown into the abyss of darkness…..somehow, He will make a way to get us back on track and sometimes it’s in ways we never imagined it to be. Like how they sent angel Kim Dan into Yeon Seo’s life, God will also be sending us the answer to our prayers for He loves us and He is the only one who will never give up on us – even though we gave up on ourselves.

The Good Place

Major lesson: There is hope for humanity

I’ve been obsessed with sitcoms since 2019 (if I remember the year correctly) for they’re easy to watch and just fun but I never expected that a sitcom will make me become philosophical and somehow question my own morality: am I a good person?

For a show with only four seasons and fifty-three episodes, The Good Place sets the bar high for a sitcom.  It did not drag its plotline but is able to tell the entire story in a way that leaves the viewers satisfied with it. The Good Place is a story *SPOILER ALERT* that revolves around the afterlife lives of the four main characters: Eleanor, Chidi, Tahani, and Jason who all end up in the “good place” because they earned enough points on Earth but there’s a catch, two of them are not actually meant to be in the good place. Eleanor and Jason both mistakenly went to the good place because they died at almost the same time as someone with the same name as them but the other two actually deserved to be in the good place. The dilemma started when Eleanor admitted the truth to Chidi, a Philosophy professor who specialized in Ethics for he is torn between helping them or snitching on them. But perhaps the biggest plot twist of all, *SERIOUSLY STOP READING IF YOU DON’T WANT ANY MORE SPOILERS* they are not really in the good place. All four of them are in the Bad Place disguised as the good place and they were specifically chosen to torture each other, just like what Jean Paul Sartre said, “Hell is other people” Now this gets interesting because while none of these four people have committed heinous crimes which can then make them deserving of a spot in the bad place, the actions they’ve done during their lifetime on earth has bearing. At first I find it surprising how Chidi and Tahani end up in the bad place considering that Chidi spent his life in the pursuit of goodness and Tahani is a philanthropist who raised millions of dollars for charities. But then, as the show progressed, I understood. Chidi’s vast knowledge of morality made him become an indecisive person which led towards the suffering of others. Chidi made other people suffer because he finds it difficult to make a choice. On Tahani’s part, she raised millions of dollars to help improve the lives of others but such is a self-serving interest – she did not do those things because she wanted to help but because she wants to make herself look good. On Eleanor’s part, while she did not commit serious crimes, she was a big ass jerk towards others during her time on earth. With Jason, although he is kind, his actions often lead to disasters and although unintentional, harm towards others. With these in mind, I guess it’s safe to say that humans are doomed for the things we do are most of the time self-serving. It’s hard to make it to the Good Place because in one way or another, we do some things that affect others in a negative way. But what this show also taught me is that while it’s true that hell is other people……humans have a chance to improve and be better when given the proper environment as well as when they help each other out. Just like what Michael said “The point is, people improve when they get external love and support. How can we hold it against them when they don’t?”

At first, this show kind of made me realized that I’ve been a bad person….that most of the decisions I’ve made in life are self-serving….I only do things that benefit me and I could not care less about other people but my biggest realization here is that, I acted this way because my unhealed pain and trauma is manifesting itself. I have been hurt way too much that it made me become a bad person and end up with the mantra that life is shitty anyway so why try to be good? And because of that, I felt bad. Now, I try my best to do good things, not because I want to feel good for myself but because it’s the right thing to do. I have come to the realization that just because I was hurt does not mean I have the right to inflict pain on others. I know that morality is not something that can easily be answered since it’s such a complex thing and humans are flawed but as what Michael said (he has a lot of great lines from the show, I can’t help but to keep on quoting him) “What matters isn’t if people are good or bad. What matters is, if they’re trying to be better today than they were yesterday. You asked me where my hope comes from? That’s my answer.” Please, please, please watch The Good Place! I guess it’s one of the best, if not the best, sitcoms ever.

Mystic Pop-up Bar

Major lesson: Grudges are the heaviest to carry/ the art of letting go

One word to describe this k-drama? HEARTWARMING. With only 12 episodes, this k-drama was able to provide me comfort and healing. I did not actually expect much from this as I only watched it because of Yook Sungjae but what I failed to realize is that this kdrama’s approach to storytelling will be heartwarming. The plot is pretty simple for a fantasy drama: a woman, Weol-ju, runs a pop-up bar in order to fulfill her mission of settling the grudges of 100,000 people but as the years went by, it became difficult for her to have people to open up. When people fail to open up about the grudges they are holding, then it will be difficult for her to help them in solving their problems. And since it is taking her way too long to finish her mission, she was given an ultimatum of having to finish her mission within a month – good thing is she found two people to help her with the case: the afterlife police agent Gwi and the human with special ability of making people open up to him just by having a slight physical contact with them, Kang Bae. I love the way these three main characters complemented each other and I sometimes wish that I was given the chance to be a customer at the Mystic Pop-up Bar not just to have them help me solve my grudges but because sometimes, all we need is people who will listen to us.

As mentioned, Weol-ju’s mission is to help people settle the grudges they are carrying and she makes it happen by having people go inside her pop-up bar, let them tell their stories to her and then she will eventually offer them a special drink (which she disguises as an alcohol) that will make them fall asleep so she can enter the dream world and do her work in settling the grudge. While watching this drama, I can’t help but wonder: why do people drink when they have problems? For someone who never drinks and is not interested in drinking, I’ve always been curious of it. They said that alcohol tastes bitter, so I don’t understand why it seems to be helping people in dealing with their problems? Some say that by drinking, it helps them escape their reality for a while. I did some research about this topic and according to Origins Recovery, alcohol contains anxiolytic properties which means that it helps in inhibiting stress or anxiety. As for the bitterness, I heard from someone that as time passes by, the bitterness become sweet unlike life itself in which as time passes by, it becomes more overwhelming. I guess drinking really helps people to take a pause from the absurdity of life despite its bitterness as well as the headache that follows after drinking. Moreover, who am I to judge people who rely on drinking when their life becomes a mess when I also have my own ways, sometimes self-destructive, of finding an escape from this horrible world that we live in? After all, when life gets too tough, we all just want an escape – even though it’s temporary.

With every episode, Weol-ju and her squad helped people settle their grudges and each time they do, it makes me feel emotional. This show makes me realized that all of us are carrying grudges we don’t talk about and when we do not have the avenue to vent it out, then it eats us up alive. All of us are no stranger to struggles, but it is important to be strong and courageous. We can choose to struggle alone but asking for help does not mean you are weak.

Let me end this blogpost by putting my favorite line from Weol-ju: “No matter what’s making you suffer right now, things will settle and pass eventually. Hang in there until then, and you’ll find yourself stronger”

x,

TinaMae

[ravenbrenna09]

Jij Verliest - Chapter Eight: Clips 3&4

master list

...

note: decided to drop two clips today because one was just texts; also as much as I want to italicize the texts, I’m not going to because Tumblr never gets all of them :/

also, mild spoilers for the the first part of Pokémon Sword and Shield

...

Maandag 14:11

Broerrrs + Luc

20 July, 14:11

Robbe: What are you guys doing on Wednesday?

Jens: Uh, I’m working that night. But not until like 19:00.

Lucas: I’m working that morning.

Jens: Really?

Lucas: Yeah.

Aaron: I don’t have to work.

Moyo: Me either.

Jens: Lucky you.

Lucas: Why?

Robbe: Because Sander wants to meet you guys. And he gets off at 16:00 on Wednesday.

Jens: Wait really?

Robbe: Yeah. Do you have a problem with it?

Jens: What? No, of course not. I guess I just didn’t expect it to be so soon. Especially after everything that happened.

Robbe: I know, but I want him to meet you guys. Officially. As my boyfriend.

Aaron: Awww, Robbe has a boyfriend.

Robbe: I’ve said he’s my boyfriend multiple times.

Lucas: Yeah, he literally won’t shut up about it.

Robbe: I’m sorry. How many times do you talk about Jens?

Lucas: :)

Aaron: I know, but it’s still new and I’m allowed to be excited.

Moyo: That’s true. We’re excited. And Wednesday sounds good to me. Noor and I are going out tonight.

Jens: Have fun! Wednesday sounds good to me too. Am I going to like him still after everything?

Lucas: Yes.

Jens: Oh really?

Lucas: One look at how he makes Robbe happy and you’ll like him again.

Robbe: I didn’t realize you stopped.

Lucas: He didn’t. He just says that he does. He’s gotta be all macho and protective.

Jens: You like me when I’m macho and protective.

Aaron: VDS at it again.

Moyo: You’re still in the group chat?

Jens: And? I can flirt with my boyfriend when I want to. Even in the group chat.

Robbe: I’m screenshotting that.

Aaron: What for?

Robbe: For when we eventually add Sander to this chat. And Jens tells me not to flirt with my boyfriend. I have proof that I can flirt in the group chat.

Jens: Are we adding Sander to the group chat? We haven’t even met him officially yet. And we never added Thomas to it. 

Robbe: I know, but I have a feeling about this one. Plus, I know you guys already like him anyways. Especially Aaron.

Aaron: That’s true.

Jens: In love Robbe is my favorite Robbe.

Moyo: Yeah.

Lucas: Agreed.

Robbe: Thanks guys.

…

Dinsdag 19:25

It had been on Robbe’s mind for awhile—days, weeks even. It was time for something different.

At least for Tuesday. 

Tonight, Sander was going over to Britt’s parents’ house. It had been an unexpected and last-minute invite from her parents and Sander was asked to come. Britt had messaged Robbe about it, asking if it was okay, and Robbe had said that it was. It still felt a little weird—as weird as his boyfriend pretending to be dating his ex-girlfriend could be—but that wasn’t why Robbe was upset. But, Robbe didn’t even know if ‘upset’ was the word he should be using… Disappointed? Maybe.

It wasn't about Sander going over to Britt’s. It was Sander going over to Britt’s tonight. 

Changing up his streams had been on Robbe’s mind for a few weeks and yesterday afternoon, after playing numerous matches that were just like all the others, he finally decided that he wanted to do it. At least for one day. When Britt had asked—followed shortly by Sander’s call—he thought of pushing the change off until later but, at the same time, Robbe didn’t want to. 

Since that Friday night, Robbe had been itching to play Pokémon Sword and Shield, the newest generation in the franchise. With their buzzed and love-drunk minds, they hadn’t really gotten very far into the game. Every once in a while, they would pause to kiss and it would end up a little more handsy than originally planned. Once they managed to pull themselves away, they would barely make any progress before they would tumble back against the bed, kissing each other. 

So Robbe went out and bought a Nintendo Switch after his Monday night stream. Because Sander had a copy of Pokémon Shield—he remembered the opening title scene quite vividly—Robbe chose the opposite version before looking through to see what other games were compatible with the console. Once he got his new purchase home, he spent the majority of the evening setting it up with the help of YouTube videos. Zoë had brought him a plateful of spaghetti as he was knee-deep in cords. 

Once he woke up on Tuesday morning, Robbe put the finishing touches to make sure that everything would run smoothly—or as smoothly as it could without going live. Even though Robbe had informed them that he was going to do something different, his nerves were still running high, bouncing in his chest. For years, Fortnite had been the only thing that Robbe streamed. So the bulk of his audience would expect Fortnite from him.

Before he started the stream, his phone vibrated loudly against the desk, pulling his gaze from the computer in front of him.

Sander: Have a good stream, baby. I’m hoping to catch the end. If not, I’ll watch it before bed.

A flood of warmth shot through Robbe and soothed all of the erratic nerves in his chest. Unconsciously adjusting his headphones, Robbe typed out a quick message.

Robbe: Have a good dinner. Text me when you get home.

Sander: I will <3

Once Robbe placed his phone to the side, glancing at Sander’s framed sketch, he started the stream. Even though he was still nervous, it was all for nothing. To his surprise, a majority of his regular audience were excited to see him play through Sword for the first time. On the other hand, there were still a handful of people who weren’t excited. Before they left the chat, they made passive aggressive comments about going to watch a Fortnite streamer, and the comments stung a little. Thankfully, the majority of his audience encouraged him and he started the game with little fuss. 

On that Friday evening with Sander, they had chosen the water-type starter, Sobble. While Robbe thought that the anxious salamander (or chameleon?) was adorable, he ended up choosing the Scorbunny this time around, which he named Flint. The white bunny with a bandage on his nose had interested him. Plus, if he and Sander were going to continue with Sobble, he wanted to do something different with this one. Once he hit the first route of the game, Robbe caught a Rookidee, which he named Alloy. It was a small bird that looked angry but would eventually evolve into a Corviknight. 

When Robbe finally reached the Wild Area, the vast area between cities—and, he learned, Pokémon’s first step into an open world—Robbe paused to consider getting the online services to connect with his viewers who had Pokémon. After a few minutes, he decided to wait until later in the game before he got the online services. Plus, he wanted to look into the other games on the Switch so he could do what they were temporarily dubbing “Nintendo Tuesday.”

As Robbe prepared to enter the Opening Ceremonies for the first time, his phone vibrated against the desk, drawing his attention. Rebel, Rebel played again as Sander’s text message popped up on the screen. 

Sander: Baby, buzz me in. 

Pulling down his headphones, he barely could make out the buzzer in the hallway. It was still going—which meant that no one else was home. “Umm,” Robbe said, placing his controller on the desk. His character was mid-conversation with a stadium worker and his chat was moving very quickly. “Sorry, I’m going to take my five-minute break now.” 

Muting his microphone and placing his headphones on the desk, Robbe shot out of his bedroom door and hit the buzzer on the front door. It only took nearly a full minute for Sander to arrive at the front door, knocking lightly, and Robbe opened it impatiently to find him there on his doormat. Sander was dressed in a long-sleeve black button-up with a pair of skinny jeans. His cheeks were flushed, likely from the heat. 

As soon as the door opened, Sander stepped into the apartment and kissed him hurriedly. His skin was hot to the touch—and a little sweaty–but Robbe didn’t mind, bringing him closer against him. Sander wrapped his arms around Robbe’s waist before pulling back. “Hi, baby.”

“Hey,” Robbe said, beaming. 

“I’m sorry for interrupting your stream,” he said. “I just really wanted to see you.” 

“Is everything okay?” Robbe asked. 

“Yeah,” Sander said, squeezing his waist. “Everything is fine. While we were at dinner, her parents asked us if we were really dating because we never kissed in front of them. When her father tried to force us to kiss to prove that we weren’t faking it, Britt exploded. She got into a fight with her dad and I could only watch with her mom as they fought. In the end, she came out to her parents.”

Robbe felt his eyes grow wide, pulling back. “What?”

Sander nodded. “Yeah, I didn’t tell you before because she wasn’t ready yet. But when I took her to my apartment and was going to come over here, she let me know that I could tell you. She’s been in a relationship with her girlfriend for six months. Her parents were always a little overbearing and controlling in her life and tonight was the last straw. She packed a bag and she’s staying in Noor’s bedroom until she figures out what to do.”

“Wow,” Robbe said. “I’m so sorry.”

Sander shrugged with a sad look on his face. “It’s been a long time coming. Since she’s found out, she’s been a ticking time bomb with her parents. They always talked about her being with a good guy—even when she was with me, both real and fake—and she internalized all of it. Every time, she got a little closer until it was too much.”

Robbe nodded. He understood that feeling. In high school, he exploded at the Broerrrs. He had been going through so much—his mother in the hospital and his repressed feelings that he refused to acknowledge to even himself—until one day it was too much. Thankfully, he had Milan and Zoë to help him. The Broerrrs forgave his explosion and changed when they realized how much Robbe was hurt by their words. Avoiding Sander’s gaze, he mumbled, “I know what it’s like… to explode.” 

Sander nodded, pressing a kiss to Robbe’s forehead. For a second, they simply rocked in the silence of the foyer. Soon, Sander ducked his head down to press a kiss against Robbe’s lips and he arched against Sander’s chest. Robbe stood on his toes, wrapping his arms around Sander’s neck, and kissed him back. Sander wrapped his arms tighter around Robbe, bringing him flush against his chest, as he dug his fingers into his hair. 

Pulling back, Sander kissed his nose. “You better get back to your stream. I just really wanted to see you.”

“They can wait a little more,” Robbe said.  

“Yeah, but you don’t want to keep them waiting forever,” Sander said grinning. Placing one more kiss on his lips, he moved back to the front door. As Sander reached to open the door and step outside, Robbe tugged him back against him and Sander looked at him confused. “What is it?” 

“You don’t have to leave,” Robbe said. Sander stared down at him with half-lidded eyes and Robbe swallowed his nerves. “You can stay here and come on the stream with me—or hang out in my room if you feel more comfortable with that.” A small smile grew on Sander’s face. “Besides, I need your expertise about my stream and I’d love to have you with me.”

“Didn’t you say last week that I would be distracting?”

“Maybe,” Robbe said, tilting his head back. Sander stared at him with a sly smile on his face. “Maybe I also changed my mind about you being distracting. But you have to promise to be on your best behavior.” 

“Okay,” Sander said, gripping his hips tightly. “I’d love to join. But I don’t know how much help I’m going to be with Fortnite and online matches. All I know is what you’ve told me or I’ve heard on your streams.” 

Robbe smiled, pressing a kiss to his lips before moving to the kitchen. “I’ll be back soon. I still need to grab a glass of water or I’m not going to be able to make it the rest of the stream without another break.” 

When Robbe returned to his bedroom, Sander had kicked off his shoes and unbuttoned his shirt, exposing the black shirt he had beneath it. His bag had been discarded at the foot of the bed. There was an emotional look on his face as he turned to Robbe who stepped into the doorway. 

“You’re playing Pokémon?” Robbe nodded, relishing when Sander closed the distance and pressed another kiss to his lips. Even with a full glass of water in his hands, Robbe wasted no time in wrapping his free arm around his shoulders and kissing him back. When they separated, Sander grinned. “Lucky for you, Mr. IJzermans, I’m quite the Pokémon expert.”

Robbe smiled, stealing another fleeting kiss. “Lucky me.” 

[faelapis]

look. in general. dont trust the analysis of people who think steven acted out of some justified revenge in fragments, they either dont understand the internal escalation for steven between fragments & homeworld bound... or they don't care and just want to see steven burn people, regardless of who it is.

also if they think jasper - literal nobody jasper, out in the bumfuck nowhere woods by herself jasper, hurting no one but bugs who step on her property jasper - should die because she... hurt stevens feelings?? after she and steven had an agreement about training??? i really dont trust them in general lol. 

or, if they just don't care about jasper and want someone to permadie because ~consequences~ i will probably never read anything they write because they dont understand how consequences work or character arcs in general. like. for one thing, dying is not a moral consequence of anything jasper did in the episode. 

yes, jasper is self-destructive, and yes, she orchestrated it so that steven would go all out, but it is STEVEN’S consequence for being a very bad baby boy who couldnt control himself because he suppressed himself for too long and got egged on into being a toxic baby boy who could only emotionally connect with anger and power. 

and yes, i'm intentionally overusing baby boy because if i don't the SteveGang will come for me for implying steven is ever responsible for himself even when he's encouraged by others. 

it is *steven’s* primary consequence, in the sense of self that truly dies. he can never be the hero he longs for again. he can’t think of himself that way. the only reason he is able to survive that is because his family is able to tell him that they’ll love him as a monster, too. (steven was never “fully” selfless, what laid at the bottom was winning love and approval of others, he’s not an ideologue so much as someone who needs to feel needed).

jasper's old self symbolically dies (i think the rules of the SU universe dictate that jasper must emerge from water every time she starts a new phase of her life), as the depression cave, most self-destructive and nihilistic version of jasper needed to... but the negative consequences of fragments are steven's first. not hers. 

jasper’s arc is, as i’ve said before, realized in homeworld bound. 

fragments is the realization of her old desires, but it is not a true moment of change. it’s just getting what she already knew she wanted. death, to her, is almost comforting because she can file everything as being part of her destiny and her diamond’s birthright. 

it is only in homeworld bound, when she openly submits herself, and is like “yes, finally, i have the Good Right Authority to Follow, i can live with Meaning”, and steven is like, “no, i can’t be what you want me to be. i can finally let you go now because i understand i'm not the perfect hero who saves people, i can't be the diamond you need”, THAT is what breaks her. that is the bitter pill she needed. 

and jasper, ~depending on your interpretation, because she always kept her cards close to her chest, steven never fully understood her / what she wanted (as is a point)~ either goes to Little Homeworld because she thinks thats what steven would want OR because its what shes secretly longed for all along, but couldn't as long as she saw it as “selfish” and against the idea of a diamond.

in any case, letting go of that old purpose is the only way for her to get better. it will be a long, slow healing process, but she'll be okay either way (if you think the pit of her self-hatred has no hope, that’s some heartless bs from someone who doesn’t understand the symbolism of little homeschool as a place of structured healing). jasper’s finally letting herself go where her “dumb” feelings reside. her main problem was being alone, nihilistic and full of misplaced selflessness, and she won’t be anymore. she won’t have steven, for the same reasons someone like pearl can’t become her best self by rose’s side, but she will have the push she needs to make a structured, genuine effort to acknowledge the self and her latent emotions.

and that’s a much better character arc than just killing her for steven’s sake. if your big thing is “consequences”, well, people underestimate how much of a fatalist jasper is. death is comforting to her if its for the right reasons. being truly defeated by a diamond is 100% fine. at lest she has a diamond now. its what she thinks destiny is. ripping her from that into a reality of terrifying freedom? painful and necessary, babes!

if you’re a logicbro and you don’t care about all this symbolic stuff and just want the Hard Facts of how she survived - at no point is anyone in the show enough of an authority to tell you that you can’t heal shattered gems. that character doesn’t exist. steven thinks it’s impossible because rose couldn’t do it, and to him, that’s the most powerful being imaginable... but the narrative implies otherwise. him thinking that is not the same thing as the narrative telling an expected questioning, curious viewer that it can’t be done. it is just his perspective. 

remember how the diamonds create all gems, and can control physical form, emotion, steven could heal lars, rose could help cracked gems, etc? the gems ARE nothing but diamond goo + their gem form. so the combined power of the diamonds over gems IS life & death, as creators, the absolute authority jasper sought. the same way corruption, in itself a form of “death”, could be healed by them (but, again, not rose alone!), so shattering is only another form of death.

and i feel like i shouldn’t have to specify that yes, the power the diamonds have over life and death is meant to be more than a little terrifying. that’s part of why gemkind obeys the diamonds in the first place. the other diamonds celebrate their powers, steven himself does not see it as a good thing. not after being so thoroughly dethroned from his own pedestal. they really are more like petty gods than anything else, and steven is afraid that the consequences of that will catch up with him. just one of many reasons he has a therapist now. 

[marveloussupernerd]

Hey! I SWEAR I’LL STOP SENDING IN REQUESTS lmao but I really really enjoyed your jumin Halloween charity fic and recommended making a part two for Christmas time and you said to remind you in December and here we are! Obviously you don’t have to do it but I wish you a happy holidays nonetheless take care!

Aw literally don’t worry about it you are the absolutely sweetest and I love writing things for you !! Thank you SO MUCH for reminding me I’m all excited to write this now

Holiday Charity Stream (pt1) - Jumin

Summary: after the insane success of your Halloween live stream for charity, you’ve been asked to hold a Christmas one. This time there are fun games and some RFA guests too

This time you were ready for the event. Last stream was a little slow going because you weren’t used to such a large, diverse audience, but this time you felt a bit more confident. It was helpful too that the RFA members were going to be guests on the livestream, taking some of the slack off you.

Baby-wise things were going pretty well. You had just started your second trimester, thank goodness. Your morning sickness was gone and you even had a little bump to show for it. This was something people were always so excited about! But you chose to dress up in an oversized sweater. You didn’t want to feel self-conscious; even if you were pregnant, people always talked.

Shaking that thought from your mind, you made your way onto the couch next to your husband to get ready to start your stream. You were now streaming on five international channels and YouTube. It was exciting to see how much everyone enjoyed the last one!

“Are you feeling alright?” Jumin asked, placing a kiss to your forehead, resting a hand on gently on your stomach. “If you don’t feel well at any time, we can take over. It’s okay, really. Everyone will understand.”

“I know.” You smiled at him. “But I’m feeling really good actually. Super energized. Excited to raise some money and have fun.”

He chuckled, smiling fondly down at you. He was dressed in a cute Christmas sweater as well; you had convinced him that sweater Jumin > suit Jumin, at least for these livestreams. Made him far less intimidating. He said he was starting to look and dress like a dad. It made your heart flutter.

Jaehee came over and set a glass of water next to you. She had been shoving water down your throat all day. You half-glared at her. Any more water and you’d probably drown. You knew she was just looking out for you as a friend though.

“Don’t pout like that,” she fake-scoffed. Jumin straightened up upon hearing her tone. He must not have fully understood you and your friend’s dynamic. “Mr. Han, please make sure she keeps drinking. The lights are hot and I don’t want her to get sick.”

“I’m fine,” you rolled your eyes. You grabbed her hand though, shooting her a smile to let her know you were teasing her. “Thanks for watching out for me Jaehee.”

“We’re starting in 2. I’ll make sure everything is in order.” She excused herself, leaving you and your husband sitting in front of the bright lights and the camera.

“No big surprises this time, huh?” Jumin asked. The tech people came over and started hooking microphones on the two of you.

You leaned over to look him in the eyes. “I don’t think I could pull another one on you. What would it be? Twins?”

“I don’t know if we could handle twins,” he teased.

“I wish we would have gotten the baby’s sex by now. That could’ve been a fun thing to share too.” Oh well. Gender reveal parties were usually toxic anyways.

“Have you ever thought about keeping it a secret? Not finding out until they’re born?” He asked. The people moved away, finished with their job. There was a gleam in Jumin’s eye.

“Hmmm... if you want to then we can do that. Gonna be a pain to theme the room though.”

“Worth it.”

The cameraman started counting down the start of the stream, grabbing your attention. This time you’d open up the video.

“Hi everyone! Happy Holidays from the Hans! We are just so excited to be spending the holiday season with you and your family, and raising money for such a great cause.” You went on to explain a little bit about today’s charity, an organization that made gift packages for the Low income children in the city to make sure they got presents on their special holiday.

“Remember, please give what you can,” Jumin chimes in. “Also, I’ve heard word that those who donate a certain amount will be able to send us a message.” He looked over at you. “That’s kinda cute.”

You giggled. It was cute. “Today we’re going to have a few very special guests from our organization, the RFA, with us, and lots of fun challenges and games. It seems my poor husband has been living under a rock and missing out on a lot of fun holiday things.”

He chuckled again, rolling his eyes playfully at you. A top donation came in already! It was a news site. They thanked you for supporting such a good cause and then asked how far along you were.

“Oh! I’ve just entered my second trimester.” Your hand instinctively rested on your stomach. “I have the tiniest bump, but it’s one of those things where you swear you can see the difference but aren’t sure if it’s just you going crazy.”

Jumin’s hand joined your own, linking his fingers with yours. “It’s been very exciting. We’re anxious to meet the little one, but we’ve got a long way to go.”

“Now, for our first guest of the night, we have the musical actor Zen! Let’s all give him a warm welcome through the screen,” you segued.

Zen walked out onto the set. He was wearing a high necked black sweater. He looked very posh. The color contrasted well with his pale skin and hair. He looked all ready to go, but walked in with caution.

“Hi Zen!” You got up to go over and give him a hug. Jumin and him awkwardly shook hands. “We had to have you here first while the set was absolutely clear of any cat allergens.”

Jumin looked over at the camera, rolling his eyes, somewhat playfully. “He’s allergic,” he explained.

“Well I appreciate that.” Zen focused his attention on you, taking a seat next to you on the couch, you squished between the two men. “I’m so happy to be here today. What fun thing have you got planned?”

“Well, I thought we could do a finish that lyric, Christmas Carol edition! Jaehee picked the songs, so I don’t even know what’s going to play, that way I could take part in it too.” You had thought long and hard about different challenges that would highlight everything so wonderful about each of the members, and you’d be an idiot not to have Zen do something related to performing. Jumin didn’t have too bad of a voice either. It was a nice warm baritone. You liked it when he thought you were asleep and sang to the baby, soft enough that you could just barely hear. He really was the sweetest man and oh no you were definitely flushing.

Zen nudged you gently with his shoulder. “What a great idea! I’m excited to crush this one.”

Jumin quirked an eyebrow, chiming in: “Oh no, I’m going to crush this one.”

You decided to let them have their little rivalry. You were certain Jumin wouldn’t win, he never listened to the radio. Zen was a maybe, but you were semi confident in your own skills. You listened to holiday music all the time, especially in your childhood.

Jumin got the more traditional Christian ones. Oh Holy Night was all his. There were way too many verses for you to remember. Away in a Manger? Nailed it. Zen focused on the classic Christmas songs: Jingle Bells, Frosty, Rudolph. When things got a little newer and sometimes a bit more vague, that’s where you really stepped it up. Rocking Around the Christmas Tree, Christmas Wrapping. Dammit! Zen stole All I Want For Christmas Is You. That’s okay. Last Christmas, The Chipmunk Song. Thank goodness you were forced to watch the glee Christmas specials by one of your friends; they really covered all of these.

“It looks like it’s a tie.” Zen commented, looking down at the scoresheet. You and him had an even number of wins, Jumin trailing behind.

“No, you must’ve forgotten.” Jumin took the pen and paper and glanced at it. Zen was right. “Uh- my wife and I obviously count as a team. So we win.” He scratched his neck awkwardly. You and Zen just laughed, brushing him off. You’d have to force him to endure the Glee Christmas special eventually as well; it was the best way to learn all the songs.

You gave Zen a present to thank him for coming (a bountiful bouquet of roses), and sent him off. Time to answer some viewer questions while you waited for the next guest. Another glass of water was set next to you.

“What does Elizabeth the III want for Christmas?” You read off the question list. “Oh! I guess we can bring her out now that Zen is gone, huh?”

One of the workers let Elizabeth out of your bedroom and she strolled over to you, stretching then jumping on the top of the couch.

“If only I could talk to her to find out,” Jumin sighed wistfully. Oh no. You had to change the topic before he got another business idea.

“I’m sure what she really wants is a nap! She sure does love napping.” Your draw for attention was not subtle, but to Jumin it was. Jaehee wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead from behind the camera.

“And!” You added, cutting Jumin off before he could even think to say something, “speaking of animals, our next guest is currently studying to be a veterinarian. This is Yoosung Kim!”

Yoosung came onto the set, tripping over a cord that luckily was not connected to anything important. Jumin stood up quickly to make sure the poor boy didn’t fall, and Yoosung’s ears turned bright red out of embarrassment. “Sorry, it’s really bright up here.”

“I’m feeling the exact same way, trust me. Yoosung, do you wanna know what game I’ve planned for us this time?” You asked, trying to smooth over the embarrassment Yoosung must have felt.

“Sure!”

“We’re all going to be making gingerbread houses! Yoosung, I know you’re a good cook, so I’m going to leave one house to you, and I’m going to team up with Jumin to see if we can even attempt to build something that stands up,” you explained. The chef came in and placed the cookie pieces on a tray in front of you, white frosting already in piping bags and bowls of candy laid out.

“All the gingerbread is fresh-made. I’ve never built one of these but I’m quite excited to try,” Jumin grinned. He was being so sweet and enthusiastic about the stream; it was nice to see him so open to broadening his horizons.

You had ten minutes on the clock. When they started, you immediately got to work, explaining to Jumin how to do it. At first, he tried to stand up the pieces without any frosting to connect. Then you told the poor sweet boy that that is not how they work. You got to work piping a thick layer of frosting on the edges of the pieces to stick together, and left Jumin to hold them in place while the frosting hardened.

You glanced over at Yoosung. How did he glue everything together by now!? He was just one person. You tightened the top of your frosting bag, piping snow onto the roof. “You wanna line the top in candy? I think it’ll look cute,” you suggested to Jumin. “I’ll do the windows while you do that.”

Jumin nodded, grabbing gumdrops and nestling them into the pile of frosting on the roof. As you were piping a window into place, part of the roof fell on your frosting bag, squirting frosting all over the side of the house. “Jumin!” You squealed.

“Sorry. I think I pressed too hard.” He sounded stressed. He grabbed the roof and tried to stick it back on. “How much time do we have?” He asked Jaehee.

“Thirty seconds.”

“Thirty seconds!?” You exclaimed. “Hurry Jumin stick it back on!!!” You desperately tried to scrape the excess frosting off the wall of the house. Looks like you were losing this one.

“And time!”

You set the frosting bag down. You couldn’t stop giggling. You glanced over at Yoosung’s. It looked so good it could have been on the front of the ‘build your own’ kits. “Look at ours!” You told him, trying to contain your laughter.

The second you all turned to look the roof caved in and fell again. “It... has a skylight.” Jumin explained, trying to make up an excuse for why you would be missing HALF the roof.

“Why is there all that snow on the one side?” Yoosung asked. He seemed genuinely confused.

“Uh... blizzard came in from the North,” you explained.

Jumin chuckled at that one.

“Well that’s an awful place to have a skylight then. Wouldn’t it snow all over the house?” Why did Yoosung think this design was intentional? Did he hear all your frantic squealing?

“Uh... creativity.” Jumin shrugged. “We don’t need a judge. You can send the judge away. We can just give this one to Yoosung.” His cheeks were bright red; he obviously did not want to show off the current house, fully in shambles because of the two of you. It was honestly hysterical.

“And for your prize Yoosung we got you a LOLOL gift card!” You cheered, handing the card to Yoosung. He thanked the two of you for letting him join and gave you both a quick little hug. He was the absolute sweetest.

“We’ve got another comment this time around,” Jumin informed you, grabbing onto your hand and shifting closer to you to get more comfortable.

“Okay, you wanna read it?”

Jumin scooted closer to the screen so he could read it better. “They say ‘Hi! I love you two so much. You seem like the sweetest couple. Will you be my mom and dad?’” Jumin turned to look at you. “I don’t quite understand how that works.” Back to the camera. “You want us to adopt you?”

“Oh! Thank you for the message. Uhm, Honey, I think they mean like ‘internet mom and dad’” you explained.

“What’s that?”

“No adoption necessary. Just like... you know what? I don’t know how to explain it. I’d love to be your mom, so long as you don’t expect me to do anything ,” you told the camera, smiling widely.

“Sure okay. Then I can handle the role of dad.” Jumin shrugged. “We’re going to go for a five minute break now and then bring back some more guests for even more fun activities.”

You were super excited to bring in Jaehee and V. You were going to ask them to be the baby’s godparents. It was so exciting and so special, but right now, your main focus was that during this break you had to pee.

Part 2 coming soon :))

[therokoko]

“A bad attitude on set is deadly” - Interview with Alex Rider Director and Producer Andreas Prochaska 

Andreas Prochaska on adapting the books, casting Otto Farrant and the challenges of releasing the series in times of Corona

Based on a podcast interview with Austrian news outlet Der Standard titled “Schlechte Laune am Set ist tödlich”. I’ve translated the important bits. 

1. How he came in contact with Alex Rider: 

Well, that was relatively simple. I have an agent in England, and he sent me the script for the first episode as well as an outlook, a kind of series bible about how things were going to proceed, and I read this and thought: “This works for me. That’s something completely different.” 

I mean, especially … you mentioned “Das Boot” earlier, which was the production I worked on before, and which was burdensome in every way, I mean not only because of the time it took but also because of the topic, because we killed, I think, 26 characters in “Das Boot”, not counting extras, and of course that has an effect on you. And then I also filmed “Spuren des Bösen” [Traces of Evil, a German 8 part crime series made between 2010 and 2019, A/N), in which a mother jumps out of a window with her baby, and I was looking for something with a lighter tonality, and something which I hadn’t done before in this particular form, and “Alex Rider” was perfect for that.

I also didn’t know the book series at all. I read it completely unbiased and thought: “This is actually a cool, daring concept – so to speak somewhat exaggeratedly Coming-of-Age meets Jason Bourne....

[This job] was a result of “Das Boot” insofar as someone working for the distributor, Sonar, knew someone at Eleventh Hour – and it’s not just over here that people talk, and when someone says “listen, this guy has done a decent job, take a look” or something, that helps, and in this case it’s probable that the people became aware of me through these contacts.

2. How they approached adapting the books:

Well, it already started with the fact that our series is a mixture of the first book of the book series, namely “Stormbreaker”, and “Point Blanc” – I don’t remember right now whether that’s the second or a later book.

In Stormbreaker, the drama of the protagonist is established with the uncle who dies and the realization that this uncle wasn’t who he appeared to be. Stormbreaker had been made into a feature film which was produced by Harvey Weinstein and for which Anthony Horowitz had written the script, and that was pretty much a lead balloon. And because of that it was relatively clear that everything bad that had happened with that feature film needed to be avoided, namely that everything was totally over the top.

And my job was to [adapt] this material, which actually … I started reading the novel afterwards, and I stopped after 20 pages because I realized that that wasn’t helping me because they are actually books for 12 year olds, or at least Point Blanc is – when I read it I thought: “This is an English, better-quality version of the ‘Knickerbocker Gang’ [a German children’s book series about a group of child detectives, A/N] or something like that”. And the task was to just adapt this material for an older audience and to just draw the characters in a different way emotionally, to draw them in a more realistic way. When you look at the entire season it does occasionally reach into almost absurd spheres, but it was important for me to pave the way for the audience by starting out realistically with a protagonist that could just be the boy next door.

3. How he went about filming a spy series:  

Well, the most important thing for me in every story are the characters and to get as close to them as possible. I developed a sympathy for this unwilling hero quite quickly. And, as I said, I tried to make the surroundings as British as possible given my Austrian view of things, and to draw a character that you believe and for whom failure is always a possibility, because I find it incredibly boring when you have these superheroes and you already know that they are never in any real danger.

And this was very important to me also in working with Otto Farrant, who plays Alex, to guide him and direct him in such a way that you get the feeling that it’s possible for things to not turn out well, so that you go on this journey with him emotionally, and as to the rest it is … I don’t approach things mathematically. It’s not as if I feel: “Ok, in minute 10 this particular thing must happen, and in minute 20 this thing must happen.” For me, every story is a journey, and you try to make these journeys as good as possible following your instincts.

Like, for instance, the opening scene. In the script the villain was sitting on a roof manipulating some things on his laptop. And then the thing that happens with the man happens – I don’t want to spoil anything, because it’s actually a pretty nice surprise – and this was only 2 thin pages, and I thought: “Actually, to start this series off in an epic fashion, I’d rather like to introduce another character here, too, to charge this scene as much as possible so that you’re just drawn into this world.” And equally in episode two, that’s so to speak the episode of the test, where he has to pass the test designed to show whether he’s suited for this mission, and the script called for a hut in the woods and a road in which things happen, and I thought: “Ok, if we are dealing with a secret service, the military is not that far off.” And so I told the location scout to look for abandoned military bases, and we ended up on a former nuclear weapons base somewhere in the South of England, which made the producer sweat quite a bit because this was a relatively complex location compared to what had been in the script. But those are the things where I, as a director, can try to create visual appeal for a global audience. The series has been sold to a hundred countries, which comes with certain expectations, and of course you don’t want to disappoint these expectations.

4. On the circumstances of the release and viewer reactions: 

It came out in England in the beginning of June, which is sad, of course, because we had planned to have a premiere celebration at some festival, which wasn’t possible because of the current situation. And so this release on Amazon almost felt a little stepmotherly. So I just refreshed the link on Amazon.uk again and again to see how the people reacted to it, and there were actually many very positive reviews in a relatively short time. I think we are at 4.6 out of 5 stars at the moment, whatever that means, …

There are of course, again, total haters who only give one star and say: “What a bunch of crap.” But the majority of people seem to really like it. So hopefully, or it seems we have managed, at least in England, to … that the fans who read it as children watch it, so to speak, in retrospective joy and that they remember the times in which they read it, and still [feel like the series] adds something new.  

5. On the casting process: 

There was … even before I came on board, they made an England-wide, i.e. Britain-wide casting call. And in England, there are quite a lot of youth theatre projects, which were also contacted. And we received, I think, more than 3000 e-castings, which were screened beforehand. I still saw about 200 e-castings, and then this number was reduced bit by bit. In the end there were 3 people left in the room, one boy was from Game of Thrones, another one was very young – barely over 16, which would have been difficult -, and then, to be honest, there was only Otto. On the one hand, that was surprising because you think that there are loads of great actors in England, that it would be difficult to find the right hero, but in the end it was just very clear. It was an interesting casting situation: there was Anthony Horowitz, then there were the two executive producers from Eleventh Hour, then there was Wayne Garvey from Sony International Co-Productions, and also a casting agent from Sony America, and they all sat behind me like an assembly, and I just took the camera and worked with the actors and just tried to ignore the audience – I also felt like I was being cast again as well in my work with the actors, but … it was, yeah, it was very interesting and exciting.

I virtually grilled him for hours, tried again and again to draw the different scenes in different temperatures and with different emotions out of him, just to see what his range is and how much I would be able to work with him later on in terms of fine-tuning. Because carrying 8 episodes is an extreme challenge for a young actor, and it doesn’t help me if the boy is just dashing and then he carries only half an episode and then breaks apart. That is why it was so important to really test him thoroughly, also in combination with Brenock, who plays his best friend - we tried different combinations – and with Ronke, who plays his confidante in the household, just to try and find the right chemistry. And that was a very exciting and very satisfying process. What was really great was, when he had those three, there wasn’t any discussion anymore at all, we all agreed – I mean it would have been equally possible for Anthony to favour someone else or for Sony to like somebody else better, but it was really incredibly harmonious and unanimous.

6: On what made Otto Farrant stand out: 

Well, it was his perseverance. I mean, really, we had one scene which we really tried in 10 or 15 variations, and every time I felt that he understood where I wanted to go. To direct often means to change the temperature of a scene using only short adjectives, and for that you need someone who understands you and who can also implement that. And I just saw that he doesn’t give up that he really has stamina, and that was essentially – apart from the fact that he really comes across as incredibly natural and likeable – the deciding factor for me in the end.

7: On the responsibility of making Alex Rider and the first weeks on set: 

Well, I mean the … Alex Rider is, I mean to English fans, a promise like James Bond, on a different level. And you need someone who – and of course you need that with every film and with every series – you need an actor who touches the people emotionally, to whom they can connect. That is, of course, something you can’t … beforehand … I mean, of course you can, as we did, try everything out during the casting process, but you only know whether it really works out after a week of shooting.

And I really – especially in the first 3-4 weeks, in which I was still searching, too – I mean with every production you start on the first day of shooting and you want to throw away all the material you shot on the first day right away and start over on the next day – but he was searching, I was searching, and in a way I became – it sounds a little exaggerated right now – I became a little bit of a surrogate father during that time, because I noticed that he needed a certain type of attention and a certain security that only I as the director could give him. That is, he could come to me with every problem and with every decision concerning the character, and that worked out really well …

8. On the challenge of “carrying” a series as a lead: 

As for the “carrying”: on the one hand he has to, so to speak, function technically, i.e. he must be able to, so to speak, deliver every scene, i.e. to know the dialog, to have the right energy, and do that over the course of months - now, luckily, Otto is 21; I don’t think that would have worked with a 16 year old. And that meant that while we were shooting Otto had to read the other four scripts, which were still being written while we were shooting, and he had to comment on them and to learn them by heart, and the transition was seamless. I had to interrupt my shooting schedule for two weeks because we had a location that was only available at a specific time, and so I left the set and flew to Austria to start the cutting process, and on the next day the other director came in and just kept working with him. That means Otto had to adapt to the other director, and that’s a challenge for every actor, but especially for a young actor. ...

I [as a director] could only keep it together up to a certain point in time, until my episodes where done shooting. [...] And of course, when the lead actor is in a bad mood when he comes to the set in the morning, that is at least as bad as when I come to the set in a bad mood. That emanates in all directions. So the strength of character of someone, who also knows … I mean, he doesn’t know yet about the power he may have in the second or third season, when he maybe becomes executive producer or I don’t know … but [it’s important] that you, as a human being, just treat everyone with respect in such an environment.

Source: Der Standard AT 

[delicatejisung]

➽── 𝐟𝐚𝐧-𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐯𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 ───❥

✦ yanna’s not very talkative during group vlives, unless she has a sugar rush

✦ so fans appreciate her more on vlives when she’s either alone, with a member or with 2/3 members only and when she suddenly comes out on other people’s vlives

✦ but yanna with all the members is pretty iconic too because she either gets way too hyped or is silently doing random stuff she thinks nctzens don’t notice

✦ her first solo vlive was pretty iconic (two years after their debut)

✦ she was barefaced, kept saying it was awkward and she kept on acting shy

✦ the members kept on calling her and suggesting things that she should do on vlive (renjun also told her that she looked like a helpless puppy and yanna told him to stop watching but he said he couldn’t since it was fun to see her struggle)

✦ she settled with hyuck’s idea, which was telling stories about trainee days

✦ she revealed how she became friends with each member, starting from jeno

✦ immersed with her storytelling, she accidentally let it slip that lucas had a crush on her when they were trainees

✦ the way her eyes widened and stopped immediately when she realized what she said made nctzens never want to forget that moment

✦ another fan favorite was her vlive with doyoung

✦ the two sang “let me be your star” from the tv show “smash” and killed it

✦ next is the infamous “compliment” battle

✦ yanna and jaemin decided to do a vlive randomly one day and the fans said they should do a compliment battle

✦ both aren’t that good with recieving compliments although they would often compliment themselves

✦ everything was fine until jaemin said “uri ae-cha, you’re a very special part of our team and i don’t think we could be nct dream without you”

✦ yanna started crying and jaemin + czennies were shocked because she usually never cries in public (this was before mark graduated)

✦ jaemin then comforted her by hugging her (slightly laughing so czennies wouldn’t get too worried) and kissing her head repeatedly

✦ another fan favorite was when kun, jungwoo, jaehyun and doyoung were doing a vlive and she suddenly started walking towards them

✦ jaehyun asked her what she was doing there and she said “YOU TEXTED ME TO COME” while the others laughed at her

✦ they asked her to show herself to the viewers and she came on and waved at the camera wearing an oversized shirt, denim shorts and and a bucket hat.

✦ “this is how she usually dresses up, isn’t she cute?” doyoung said and they started asking her to model for the czennies.

✦ “eh~, i don’t want to” she whined.

✦ but still did it anyway because jaehyun used the “daughter” card

✦ another one was during the “a cup of coffee” vlive and ten dropped the “john’s banana” joke

✦ as soon as yanna heard it, her eyes widened

✦ she was drinking her usual mixed berries smoothie when ten said it

✦ czennies could see her struggle and how hard it was for her not to laugh since she was in between johnny and jaehyun who she would get in trouble with once they realize she understood a dirty joke

✦ but as soon as she looked at johnny who laughed a bit, she bursted out laughing and accidentally spit her smoothie unto johnny’s shirt

✦ he then, stuffed her mouth with tissue saying “look back at your actions” jokingly

✦ another one was when taeyong was doing a solo vlive inside one of the rehearsal rooms and she entered unaware of it

✦ “hyung, i want ice cream but we have a recording tomorrow so they won’t let me have it!” she whined before falling dramatically on the floor (still behind the camera), loud stomps could be heard and taeyong could only giggle at yanna throwing a tantrum in front of him not knowing their fans could hear her

✦ taeyong then explained right after that she isn’t usually like that so people shouldn’t think that she’s a brat, it’s just that she was under a lot of stress lately because of their comeback

✦ there was also that one nct dream vlive where she spent the whole live smelling their hairs and them letting her (except hyuck who questioned it but only got hit so he ended up letting her be)

✦ also one of her solo vlives where she sang hamilton and dear evan hansen songs

✦ she then revealed it was once her dream to be on broadway but she loves where she is now

✦ during the 00-line vlive where they called jisung and told him to come, of course she was with him and chenle

✦ when they entered, she immediately kissed the top of their heads and said “i’m being nice today, it’s my concept” when hyuck was like “why?”

✦ she then let the members taste the bubble tea she bought but hyuck drank more than half of it because it was yummy

✦ she then bit his cheek and ran away while he chased her

✦ “don’t abuse her kindness” renjun told the viewers as hyuck’s “COME HERE” could still be heard

✦ during the “welcome nct 2018” vlive, she spent the whole thing saying “cute~” whenever any of the members do anything, while also smiling cutely

✦ any english vlive she does is hilarious to international fans

✦ she once spent a whole vlive dancing to tiktok songs and called it “breaking the fourth wall”

✦ during the vlive they all had before new year and before her and chenle turned into adults, she kept on singing “dream launch” and no one had any idea why

✦ and it would be on REALLY random moments

✦ the live was only 9:37 minutes long but she managed to sing parts of it for lyk 15 times

✦ chenle would join her though while the members could only laugh

✦ and of course, her most recent birthday vlive where she cried because she was way too overwhelmed (i might write a scenario about this)

✦ she was crying so hard she couldn’t blow the candles on the cake and it took her 5 tries to be able to do it properly but everyone found it so cute

✦ there could be more but they were just usual things like her biting the members or sticking her tongue out at the viewers/czennies

✦ and of course her being EXTRA affectionate which happens more often than she admits

↣ 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘴 ♡

[inmyarmswrappedin]

let's throw it back. sana rant!

Hi anon! 🥕 A great day to pick up these character rants and do Sana! I fell in love with Sana almost right away because of her take no prisoners approach when it comes to achieving her goals. Like, she needed people to come to Kosegruppe, so she had no issue blackmailing Isak in order to do it. 

Of course, I’m neither a woc nor Muslim, so I understand if people’s mileage varies, but I personally related to her because we were both bullied. And, idk, I guess it would be great to say that being bullied makes you more empathetic of other people’s feelings and to never treat anyone badly, but... That shit really twists you and fucks you up. When Sana had that flashback (almost PTSD-esque) to the shit people told her in middle school, I understood her anger and powerlessness. 

As far as I see it, Sana had been protected by Jamillah in her first year of middle school (Norwegian middle school is three years), but then had two years where it was her against the world, no friends or teachers on her side. So when she got to high school, she could’ve chosen to be protected by Jamillah’s squad again, but I think she realized she’d just be on her own the next year. So when she saw an opportunity to have white friends (who’d earn her some degree of protection/cred), she took it and ran. In s1 particularly, I feel like Sana is working overtime to prove to the girls that she is a valuable contribution to Los Losers, even if that involves fucking around with someone else’s social media (Eva’s) or outright telling her to drop Jonas in favor of someone higher up in the food chain. 

And like, it’s a constant for Sana to mess around with other people’s social media. She does it in s1, s2 and s4. She definitely has no issue invading someone’s privacy if she feels they’ve fucked her over. So it made sense to me that she’d take revenge on Sara that way. And I think Skam makes sure to walk us through the whole process, and show how Sana keeps having second thoughts, but ultimately chooses to press forward. 

In general, I feel like Sana has this desperation to prove everyone wrong. And I think that’s what happens in the beginning of s4. She gets told by Elias that Muslim boys can do Russ because they don’t get hate (the implication is that she would). She gets told by Pepsi Max that they are normal Norwegian party girls (the implication is that she’s not). And so, she suddenly takes over the reins when previously she’d been fine staying in the background, bailing Vilde out to prove she added something to the squad (like with the TP). She decides she’s not just going to get that cool bus that has been bought and sold by only the coolest girl buses. She’s also going to be bus boss. A hijabi bus boss! Imagine that! And not just that, she’s going to win one of the awards at that bus award thing. (If you notice, she’s even done her research about which awards they can realistically win. Nothing technical like best sound system, but something like concept is doable.) 

I wish people had given this storyline more of a chance, because, unlike other remake versions of the storyline, it actually has the range. It is a very interesting idea that Sana decides she’s going to be a Russ icon, and what it would actually take to achieve something like that for her as a hijabi. But I think the whole storyline was lost in translation for most international viewers. (I personally only got what was going on in a recent rewatch.) 

I’m not going to say Sana was perfectly written, or with lots of nuances, or that all her actions made sense. But one thing I will say about Sana is that she wasn’t a walking hijab. She had a personality and a backstory that informed her flaws. I don’t think every Skam did that for their Sana. 

[kaleidescope-writes]

Heart of Audrilluria- Chapter VI; Fixation

Modern Fairytale AU

Prince!Tom Hiddleston x Thief!Reader

Before this chapter begins, I’d like to apologize for how many times I unknowingly misspelled the word Thief. I noticed just last night and it was bugging me that I took six chapters to figure it out. Anyway, Here we go!

    There was a loud, disturbing knock at the door. It was so sudden, Augustus nearly fell out of bed in surprise. Regaining his composure, he sat up, leaning against the bed frame. “Come in,” his groggy voice called out to the person responsible for the rude awakening. A footman opened the door, entering the room quickly and turning his attention to Augustus. “Good Morning. Sorry to bother you sir, but it appears there’s been a change of plans for today.” Augustus looked at him in confusion, rubbing his head before asking, “Implemented by whom?” 

“Implemented by the prince himself,” he responded, "It seems the prince wants to spend time with the nobles individually. The day will be spent speaking with the nobles of each foreign ally in order to form a personal relationship with them." Augustus looked at him in bewilderment, planning to get dressed to confront Thomas about this sudden decision himself. "Did the king and queen approve of this?"he asked, still not understanding his motives. "They encouraged it," the footmen explained, "You are free to do as you'd like today. Now if you’ll excuse me, I will take my leave.” Augustus nodded at him, signaling he was free to go. Once he left, he began to change out of his nightwear and into something more appropriate. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Augustus rushed down the long hallway, looking through every door in case Thomas was in one of the rooms. His search was cut short when he heard Thomas’s voice coming from the last room at the end of the hall. He sped up his steps, preparing everything he was going to say to his, at times, questionable friend. 

Upon opening the slightly open door, he realized he’d made the mistake of not knocking. Inside his study, Thomas sat at his desk, speaking to the Earl of the Algar Republic. Both men turned to him the instant he made his presence known. Awkwardly, he fixed his posture and cleared his throat. “Good morning gentlemen,” he began, “I’m sorry to disturb, but I was hoping to speak to Thomas privately. I can return when you are finished if you’d prefer.” Thomas smiled, internally laughing at the situation, “That won’t be necessary, we were just finishing up.” He stood from his chair, inviting the earl to do the same. “It was very pleasant to speak without the pressure of others interrupting us.” the earl thanked, already heading to the door to allow them to speak privately. “I agree,” Thomas admitted, “Thank you for meeting with me this early. I understand it was very unexpected for you.” The earl chuckled, “Don’t worry, I enjoyed the meeting too much to be annoyed at the time. I’ll see you at tomorrow’s celebration.” 

“I’ll see you then.” With that, the earl left, allowing Augustus to step closer to Thomas. After he was sure the earl was no longer close enough to hear them, Augustus began, “Can you explain to me why you changed today’s events?” Thomas sat down again, gesturing for Augustus to do the same. “I know it’s unexpected, but I figured this would allow me to have a closer relationship with our foreign allies.” Augustus stood his ground, not allowing himself to relax before his point was made, “Really? There’s no other reason for this change? The day before the celebration?” Thomas looked up at him confused about his sudden objection. Usually, Augustus was the voice of reason. He would never argue against something that would strengthen their alliance.

“I’m not sure I understand,” Thomas muttered. Augustus sighed, letting his weight drop on the chair. “Is there any other reason--any subconscious reason-- for you wanting to meet all of the nobles?” he asked, still not believing that was the sole reason. Thomas looked directly in his eyes, trying to find the words to confess his real intentions. 

“Gus, you are my dearest friend,” Thomas emphasized, “You’ve understood me when no one else has.” Augustus internally cheered, “I was right!” 

“You know it’s not my intention to do anything that will harm Audrillore or tarnish the throne’s reputation,” he continued, “With that said, I organized the meetings individually to strengthen our alliances. But also to get to know the oldest daughter of the Spanish Marquess.” He rushed out the last part. Augustus looked at him in disbelief. He’d heard Charles talk about how smitten he was, but to actually see it. It was as if he was talking to a Thomas he’d never known. It seemed juvenile, but in a twisted way. “Are you mad? Wait, no. You’re madly in love. With a woman you have yet to meet!” Augustus exploded. Thomas smiled fondly at the mention of the word ‘love.’ Possibly. 

“I won’t try to force anything,” Thomas asserted, “I just want to know if what I think I feel is justified.” Augustus couldn’t hold back his smile, “Just know that I want no part in this. At least not as an accomplice.” Thomas stood, encouraging Augustus to do the same. He walked around the desk and towards the door. “I’m glad you understand, Gus.” he admired. Augustus followed close behind him. “Understand, no. Agree, not so much. Wish you the best,” he smiled, stopping just outside the door and putting his hand on Thomas’s shoulder, “Absolutely.”

It was perfect. This is how he would get to know her. After today, the insistent voice in the back of his head would finally quiet down. After today, he would finally know if what he felt for her was real. His fixation would finally be justified. All he had to do was wait. He waited six days to finally get this chance. He could wait a few more hours. Besides, he needed to prepare what he was going to say to her. This is going to work, it had to. His heart depended on it.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Y/N!,” Amelie called from her room in their shared suite, “Can you get the door?” Y/N stood from her place on the couch. She was going over the information files, polishing her knowledge and getting ready for the unexpected meeting with the prince himself. Strange, she thought to herself. 

Approaching the door, she decided to look through the door viewer. On the other side of the door stood a casually dressed Augustus. Y/N felt her stomach drop to her feet as she hurried back to get the file and hide it under the pillow in her room. “Just a minute!” she called out, hoping he wouldn’t let himself in. After she made sure everything was hidden and looked in order. When she was satisfied, she went back to the door and opened it, allowing Augustus to enter. “Augustus!” She said loud enough for Amelie to hear, “What brings you here?” 

He walked into the main room and greeted her with a hug. “I just wanted to see if you lovely ladies would accompany me on a stroll in the castle gardens.” he offered. Amelie walked out, joining them in their conversation, “We’d love to! Just give us a few minutes to get ourselves together.” Augustus nodded, deciding to wait in the hallway. 

“What the hell are we going to do?” she whisper-yelled almost as soon as he’d left, “We have to get our shit together before our meeting with the prince!” “Relax,” Y/N soothed, “We know the stuff. We’ll be fine! A little relaxation won’t hurt.” Amelie grabbed her forearm, “This is a job. Not a vacation.” Y/N pulled away, walking towards her room, “Part of it is acting like it is.” 

~~~~~~~~~~

The gardens were beautiful! The entrance consisted of multiple archways consumed by the nearby plant life. Beyond the entrance were eight fields of every flower known to man in every color. At the center of the garden stood a maze of roses. The sisters stood in awe, admiring the scenery. 

“Enjoying the view?” Augustus asked. Amelie let out a silent gasp. “I’ve never seen a rose maze,” she said, still unable to believe how beautiful it was. Augustus looked at her in confusion as she walked to it, fully intending to get lost in it. “We live in a city like area. There’s not much space for things like uh, rose mazes.” Y/N explained. Augustus nodded in acknowledgement. “Well, she’s welcome to get lost in it, I suppose.” 

They walked around the garden, discussing small things; how the last few days have been, whether or not they were looking forward to other activities, their lives before all this, and tomorrow’s celebration. The sun was beginning to set, and it was almost time for the sisters to meet up with the prince. “You have to go soon,” Augustus mentioned. Y/N looked at the sunset, “Ya, I guess so. I’d be lying if I said I’m not nervous.”

“You shouldn’t be,” he assured, “Looking past the royal title, he is a good man. He’s friendly--” This is exactly what he said he wouldn’t do. Y/N turned to him, looking at him expectantly. To hell with it. “I think you’ll like him.” he finished, “I know you will.”

~~~~~~~~~~

The sisters were guided deeper through the garden by one of the royal footmen. Amelie, who was already captivated by the maze created by several tall rose bushes, was even more captivated by the seemingly endless garden. They reached a clearing with a tall gazebo illuminated by a few candles located in the center. Inside it, a table with three chairs was set, one of them occupied by the prince himself. As they approached, he stood up and welcomed both sisters with a smile. 

Amelie was the first to extend her hand to greet him. He shook it softly. “It’s nice to finally make your acquaintance, Prince Thomas,” Y/N greeted. He turned to her, taking in everything about her presence. “Please,” he looked directly into her eyes, “Call me Tom.” He took her extended hand and brought it up to his lips, placing a soft kiss on her knuckles all the while never looking away from her gorgeous eyes. 

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Y/N.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Another one done!! It’s a little shorter than other chapters because I really wanted to get to the point and set it up for the next chapter. I’m sorry not really for the cliffhanger, but I’ll make it up to you tomorrow. I added another fictional place to make the nobles have a more active role in the story. What did you think? Feel free to message me with feedback, if you want to be tagged, or just to talk. I love you guys!! Thank you for all the support! Stay safe and I’ll see you tomorrow with a special surprise in chapter 7!

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[whetstonefires]

mask of blood

Batman clearly hadn't slept in days. The cowl was pushed back, crumpled and vaguely grubby. Shadows cut deep into his face, and his eyes were rimmed-red. It had gone past the point where weariness betrayed his humanity to the viewer, and instead leant him a ghoulish look.

They'd seen him like this before, pushed to anyone else's breaking point and beyond, but rarely ever this unguarded. Jason Blood and Etrigan were an entity the Batman kept his guard up around. They were magic, and unpredictable, and their morals were none too reliable, and he needed as perfect a façade in the face of all these things as could be achieved.

Not that it had ever made much difference, but he couldn’t know that.

If he'd known he wasn't alone in the Batcave, even here Batman wouldn't have let the wear show.

…he'd probably have changed his costume to one with fewer mustard stains on the tights, too. At least he was eating.

It wasn't a case, this time, that he was pushing himself for. Not really. It was the disappearance of one Jason Peter Todd.

Jason Blood (with Etrigan providing silent, rhyming acid commentary) had been there at the old Potter's Field outside the city three nights ago, to see the portal open in midair, in the midst of a tense showdown. Watched it swallow the Red Hood. And close.

"Jason!" Batman had shouted, arm desperately outstretched as if to catch what was no longer there. He'd sounded wrenched apart. As though having experience losing this one of his several sons made no difference at all to the shock and pain of it, or even made it worse.

Blood hadn’t been the one he meant by that name. So he’d stayed silent. He'd remained in the shadows, and then slipped away.

Checked his messages two days later to find Batman had tried seven times to contact him.

It had been...gratifying, actually. Especially once he confirmed that the reason was, in fact, to consult him for his expertise on magical portals.

The machine Batman had been carefully calibrating since he arrived tonight sparked abruptly, and lost power. "No!" Batman tore the casing open and began poking at internal wiring, without disconnecting the power source, which as even people from the sixth century CE knew was an excellent way to stupidly kill yourself.

As good an entrance cue as any.

"It won't work," Jason said, and stepped from his hiding place, mystic veils scattering.

Batman's head snapped around. There was no instant of alarm; there was one of menace, but it passed as soon as he recognized the intruder. "Blood," he said, a tone of curt greeting. Withdrew his tweezers from the guts of the device, lowering his immediate odds of sudden death by at least fifty percent. "Excellent, I've been trying to reach you for days—tell me what will work, then," he added, processing Jason's words several seconds late.

The man of bats I dare well say / has had no rest by night or day / or else his brains just rot away!

Jason ignored Etrigan's commentary with the ease of long, long practice. He shook his head. "You aren't going to be able to get him back from when he's gone away to."

Batman's face darkened, enough that he was more intimidating than he could ever have been with the mask on—from Jason's perspective at least; that of someone who was fully aware of the man's fragile mortality. Gotham’s underbelly might disagree. "I think you'll find I have sufficient experience with time displacement to make that sort of judgment for myself. If you don't plan to be helpful you can see yourself out."

He turned his attention resolutely back to the machine, which was putting out halfhearted sparks again.

Jason almost went. Let that be the end of it. So what if the Dark Knight did electrocute himself, and end this farce on the note it deserved.

But no, he didn't, he didn’t even come close to leaving; Etrigan laughed at him for the weak lie. "You can't rescue him, Bruce," he said, and it was—gentle, almost, kinder than he'd found it easy to be in a long, long time. "Because…”

A long, slow breath. The plunge. “Because I already made it back here the slow way."

Batman went still as a murdered thing, and then looked up. "You..." he said, slow with disbelief and hope and fear and horror and joy and exhaustion, his eyes hunting the planes of the accursed knight's ever-youthful face.

Jason let out his breath, and let the glamor shred. It was a light, minor one, very little work to keep up; he'd been wearing it for decades. Just enough to sharpen his cheekbones and his chin, blunt the end of his nose, change the curve of his eyelids and the weight of his mouth.

His hair stayed red. It had been red for a long, long time, a lie turned truth. Dyed by blood, Merlin had said, before he died. The star of white above his brow had been the same all along. Since death had given him up the first time.

"You," whispered Bruce, all pain. It was so much like another night, over a thousand years ago, when Jason had dropped mask before this man on a rooftop.

But it was different, too, because it wasn't fond memories of the dead stripped away from Batman now but the hope of staging a rescue, of regaining the lost child with whom he’d only just begun to build a lasting peace. And because he stared not with the blow of a dark suspicion confirmed but with complete, blindsided shock. "All along?"

There was so much pain in the way he asked it, it almost drowned out all else.

All Jason's pain had worn out a long time ago.

Etrigan laughed at him again. Jason ignored him.

"Hey Bruce," he said, and smiled, crooked and warm and raw, Gotham running up into his voice, nothing like anyone expected from Jason of the Blood.

He'd lost the accent, of course. A long time ago. It had worn away. It hadn’t even taken a century. He'd forgotten exactly how it even should sound, until he was able to listen to it again. And even then, even long slipped away and lost from his own tongue, it had sounded like home.

Why Gotham? people had asked sometimes, ever since he relocated here in 1806. Vandal Savage had asked, not caring about the answer. Constantine had asked. Batman had asked, once, possessive. I like the atmosphere, Jason had shrugged, because he had no intention of telling any of them his real reasons.

Once the city had started to look familiar, he'd lurked in the Narrows and the Cauldron, listening to the children play, just to learn the rhythm again, so he'd have it if he wanted it. Etrigan had made fun of him, but he didn't have so many pieces of himself left that he was willing to let one pass, if he could pick it up again.

He'd kept to Jason Blood's trim, careful diction anyway. Played his part. In spite of his lack of any efforts at all to conserve the timeline, everything was the same when his original lifetime rolled around again. After so long, he knew inevitability when he saw it.

"Jason."

The voice dragged him back into the moment, where Bruce had vaulted the table in a single easy motion that belied his exhaustion and now flung his arms around the immortal trespassing in his Batcave before Jason had time to judge the emotion in his voice.

Because the details didn't matter, it seemed, when the son you'd feared you might never see again walked calmly back into your life. Even if he was fifteen hundred years older than the last time you'd seen him.

(Jason was old enough, now, that he could accept that duffel bags full of heads were not actually details. But apparently to Bruce, at a moment like this, everything became only a detail, and he was amazed he’d never understood, as a youth, that men whose coldness was not feigned were nothing like this man at all. He’d understood that much as a child. Children were oddly knowing sometimes.)

When it happened, his displacement, before he'd even started working his way toward Camelot, Jason had hoped at first for rescue. Counted on it, even, the first day or two.

Eventually, he'd started wondering if they'd even tried. Whoops, magic portal, all in a day's work. Jason's probably fine, right? He’ll figure something out. He's not even dead this time. The first horse he'd stolen in Northumbria had been subjected to several diatribes on the theme.

By the time Merlin’s curse had trapped him into a story he’d already known, forever passing through time the slow way with an enemy laughing inside his head, he’d already been resigned to it. It had been over a thousand years.

And yet it healed something he'd long stopped noticing was broken, to find the man who'd adopted him so long ago here, at the start, so utterly desperate for his rescue.

…and he found it broke something he'd never realized was still whole, to know his loss had shattered Batman twice; to know there really had been a home to go back to, in spite of all he'd convinced himself of in those distant days, before offering his trained sword-arm to King Arthur. And that once again, the child Batman had lost could never come home. Because he didn’t exist anymore.

Batman was a fragile mortal thing in his arms, and Etrigan for once had the decency to shut up.

"Sorry," Jason said, and that seemed to break the spell enough that Bruce stopped just hugging him and stepped back to half of arm's length, keeping a firm hold on one of his elbows and reaching up to run a thumb over Jason's cheekbone, as though testing it for reality.

"It was really you?" he asked. "All along?"

He'd known Jason Blood since his late teens, though never very well. They'd never been on particularly good terms. Jason hadn't been able to...bear it. Risk it. Something. He’d needed his distance. It had been so long since it was half this hard not to meddle.

Also, young Bruce was annoying and had needed putting in his place. It wasn't like Jason hadn't taught him useful things about how to fight against magic, eventually. Usually, he could admit, through object lessons.

That had been a highly cathartic period, really.

"Sorry," said Jason again, a little more cheerfully at the memory of giving 17-year-old Batman a hard time.

He watched Bruce remember just how old Jason Blood was known to be, and how much that meant Jason had lived through.

Batman’s hand came up over his temple into the red of his hair. “Jason,” he said.

“Jason of the Blood,” Jason affirmed. “Jason the Red.” Accursed. Betrayer. Warlock. Someone who regretted and regretted and never, ever apologized. “It’s—look, it’s Merlin’s fault, but as usual I rather deserved it.” He frowned, because he’d heard his own dialect slip, there, out of the carefully relearned patterns of Jason Todd of Gotham, and it was very obvious so had Bruce.

Jason took a step back, slipping free of Batman’s grip. His studied calm was starting to abandon him, and he could no longer bear to be touched. (Bruce didn’t fight to keep hold of him. He was grateful for the understanding and respect, at the same time something ancient and tiny and cracked and very young at the bottom of his soul keened and raged and hissed at being given up.) “I missed you,” he told the man who had been his father, because he deserved to know that. “Over a thousand years, and you were one of the things I never stopped missing.”

Even when he couldn’t remember—and there had been significant stretches of being unable to remember, both by mischance and on purpose to spare himself the weight of all that time, or in exchange for Etrigan’s silence. Even then, he’d felt the ache of missing, of having a place he’d once belonged and not being there. Arthur had come close, for a while, before it all fell apart, but…

“There’s no way to spare you that, Jay-lad?” Bruce asked, the old nickname grown beyond absurd with the current difference in their ages. “No way to bring you home? You’re sure.”

“Sorry, Bruce.” He wished. “Even if Merlin hadn’t trapped me, we’re in a stable time-loop now. Pulling me out of it could rupture time and space.”

“Hrm.” From the set of Batman’s jaw, space, time, and Merlin were all subject to being hung upside down by an ankle and menaced until they changed their minds. From the slightly unfocused look of his eyes, he was going to collapse any minute now.

Batman squinted, fighting his own eyeballs to scour Jason’s face for something, some truth that might unlock a hidden solution, some hint of a new deception, something. Jason let his face stay dry and cool, smooth as marble. He wondered if Bruce was looking for nothing more complex than traces of the boy he’d known.

That swagger he’d perfected back in the day had been only another mask. He wondered if Bruce thought Jason Blood was that as well. A gauze easily brushed aside. But he had been Jason of the Blood for lifetimes, and Jason Todd was so long ago and far away.

Jason took another step back, and Bruce frowned. “Where are you going? Jason. Stop.”

In no lifetime had he liked commands, and only for a few years of his very first had he accepted them from this voice, and yet he hesitated. “Whatever for?” he asked. “I only came to make sure you didn’t kill yourself trying to retrieve something past recovering.”

“Well, for one thing, if you disappear again absolutely no one is going to believe me.” Batman paused. “I may not believe myself, when I wake up. I’m badly compromised at the moment.”

“You want me to stay around for verification.” He didn’t want to. He could feel his willpower disintegrating.

Etrigan was laughing.

“Dick’s been blaming himself,” Bruce told him, carefully motionless, as though Jason was a wild bird he feared to scare off. “Tim’s been pulling all his contacts and verging on distraught. Damian’s been working himself to exhaustion trying to keep your turf clean for when you come back.”

His brothers. Hah. They were phantoms to him, even having seen and spoken to each of them again a least once within the last decade. Batman might as well have invoked the names of Gawain and Lancelot.

…but if Gawain and Lancelot had been alive, and in the next room or a nearby castle to be conjured with, that probably would have worked.

The fledgling with wings clipped away / back to the nest it longs to stray / as if its claws were only grey.

Shut up, Jason thought viciously. Days when Etrigan decided to rhyme everything on a single syllable were particularly hard on the nerves.

“Please,” said Bruce, the pause having evidently stretched on long enough he’d given up on a clear answer. “Stay.”

Jason shook his head. “I’ll meet you in the study at eleven in the morning,” he said, taking another step back. “Get some rest.” And he stepped back through another portal, this one of his own practiced summoning, and was gone.