#visually he fits in neither country

[kindlyre]

random hc that rantaro is sicilian (on his mother's side) and tans a LOT in the summer. every now and again on his travels he'll get an "are you SUUUURE you're japanese???" bc some people see his double lidded eyes and assume hes lying. it pisses him tf off but its like. what can you do

he also has very strong opinions on sicily vs italy and his nationality

[mushroompollution]

• I feel like Vincent doesn't really listen to a lot of music, he strikes me as more of a tv background noise at all times kind of guy. but for some reason whenever I listen to Tool I just get this feeling that's what he would like. That said, Yen by Slipknot is like, the biggest Vince song To Me. Not necessarily lyrically, it just Is.

• I also don't think Leo actually listens to music much. He probably listened to the radio sometimes growing up, but his small town only picked up two or three decent stations, and Fianna's in Sablier probably picked up even less. He didn't really have any interest in it until he lived with Elliot, who plays music constantly, across all genres.

He doesn't really like artists or genres so much as he likes whatever individual songs he just happens to like. He does have a not-so-secret secret love of musicals and the songs in them, though.

Like a Stone by Audioslave is probably my number one Leo song, tho some day I do kind of want to write a post to ramble about how Devil In I is suuuuuuuuch a Leo/Oz/Jack/Glen songgggffggg

• Speaking of Jack. I have a lot of She Wants Revenge on his playlist. Sometimes the lyrics don't even fit, it's that the sound of it that instantly makes me think of him. But none of them will ever come as close to a top Jack Song as Don't Trust a Ho by 3oh!3.

• I think Gil wants people to think he listens to a lot of deep and edgy stuff, both from the more sensitive goth side of things like the Cure and then like Linkin Park and NIN on the heavier side. Nothing too heavy, though. But really his favorite kind of music is whiny ass nasally scenecore like Sleeping With Sirens and Pierce the Veil. I also got a distinct mental image of him and Oz singing and dancing to Radio Disney during that era in the early 2000's when it had no right being that fucking good lol oh yeah number one Gil song is If I'm James Dean, You're Audrey Hepburn.

• I don't really have a lot of headcanons for Oz except that he mostly likes early to mid 2000's pop. Then he missed 10 whole years of music and like where do you even start to catch up. He still likes Katy Perry because he only knows her early, most popular stuff. Elliot despises him for it. I don't have a number one song for him bc I feel like it should be something a little Deeper than all that but lmfao I do have a vivid mental image of him and Elliot accidentally developing a perfect dance routine to Espresso together.

Oh yeah. Oz loves Chappell Roan. Elliot does not. He has to agree that knight themed VMAs performance was kick ass, but he'll go on a rant about how the song didn't fit the visuals.

• And now Elliot. Little Lord "Listening isn't enough I need the music to fuck me." This man listens to damn near everything, from classical to hiphop to metal to pop to musical theatre to edm. He's always been open to some country, but it's grown on him more since Meeting Leo, as one of those handful of stations he grew up with just happened to be Pop Country.

But he's also oh so picky and opinionated, too (ahem. See above lol)

One of his first year classes at Lutwidge University had him choose an album and analyze it each week, and it got him into the habit of choosing an album to listen to in full in the evenings after dinner. He doesn't do it as much since Leo's left his everyday life, though.

Surpringly though, I don't actually have a lot of Elliot Songs. I did however write an entire drunk rant about how much Pet by A Perfect Circle drives me crazy thinking about him.

Oh also I have no idea how it came to be, and neither do they, but for my specific Elliot and Leo, Brian Wilson by Barenaked Ladies is like. One of their favorite non-Classical songs to play and sing together. I think they probably listened to Gordon during one of Elliot's album sessions and it just hit them both right.

• bonus but Poison Oak by Bright Eyes will always be The Elleo (canonverse) song To Me. The first half of the song doesnt fit super well, they weren't exactly kids when they met and there's a couple lines that make it lretty obvious the song's about an overdose, but the lines that hit really fucking hit. I wanted to post some that really stand out but it would have been the entire last half of the song so I might just make a post to ramble about it instead

[hauntinq-6]

So... last night my very first run of BG3 finally came to an end, and... I gotta say I am pretty emotional.

Summer (my Tav) has been with me for six years. I first created her for my first ever D&D campaign back when I was still in high school and I still had the possibility to play. Hers was the only campaign I got to see from start to finish, so she is very dear to my heart.

Many things happened in these six years. I graduated from high school, I played other campaigns that never got to have an ending (don't date your DMs, kids-), I got broken up with my boyfriend, I got into uni, I lost family members, I've had some of my highest highs and lowest lows, I got my first degree in Psychology... And all throughout these years I kept creating characters, I kept addind and removing and modifying and writing and drawing and it was all so much fun!

But I kept missing Summer. I can't quite explain what attracts me so much to her character. If it's the fact I was in a happy place when I first created her and so my emotions and feelings from that time still connect me to her, or if it's specifically because I got to play a whole campaign with her or even because not only I could play with her but my best friend was also along with me for the ride and we had a blast together. Whatever it is, I could never quite be done with her, you know?

One thing was for certain though. After the first two or three years her ending didn't satisfy me anymore. She was still so young, she still had so many questions left unanswered and so much potential. We were thinking of a possible sequel campaign for her and Arwen (my best friend's character and now Tav) but that's when our DM dropped us both. We were left wondering what we could do for them, what we could write and how. We weren't entirely sure which direction to take our characters in.

Then BG3 came out. I remember my timeline being flooded with Astarion edits (that damn song lives rent free in my head at this point), being so utterly confused at what the hell was going on and then slowly becoming intrigued. I remember sitting down with my best friend to watch a mega compilation of all the characters' romance scenes, finding the visuals so damn beautiful, being convinced I would be my usual freak self and go for The Emperor but falling hard for Gale instead. We so desperately wanted to play but neither of us had a PC that was compatible with the game.

Then my long distance friend reached out and told me he wanted to play long distance with me on Discord. It was all incredibly clunky and finicky but Gods I was so happy. He'd be playing from the other side of the country and streaming it for me, and I would pick all the dialogue choices in character. That's when my bestie and I had a eureka moment and thought "what if... what if Summer and Arwen's story wasn't over yet? What if they left Aegis to find new adventures and ended up in Faerun??". I was so fucking excited it is almost unbelievable.

We spent six whole months on this one game file and I enjoyed every. single. second of it. Six whole months of pure excitement and delight. The more I played, the more I tweaked Summer's character and backstory to fit the narration, the more I got inspired to write up the new chapters of her adventure with my best friend and the more I fell in love with her. I laughed, I cried, I launched myself into deep discussions over her character and why she would do or say certain things in each situation. I saw her easily slip back into her avdenturing habits, adoring each moment she got to spend under the stars. I saw her face her demons once again and with even more purpose this time. I saw her make new friends that she would want to spend the rest of her life with, I saw her fall in love with a man that truly deserved to be by her side... My little tiefling sorceress that plays like a barbarian, my pride and joy.

And it all came to and end last night. Her and her allies won the last battle, they saved Baldur's Gate, Gale proposed to her and she moved with him to Waterdeep to spend the rest of their life together. She got her happy ending.

Six whole years with Summer and I can finally consider her story complete. Perhaps she is so important to me because out of all the characters I created, she is the only one that finally got her whole character arc. A beginning and an end. And after all the harsh challenges she faced, after all the dangers and the pain and suffering... she finally got her happy ending. She got what she deserved.

Now, does that mean I am done with Summer? Absolutely not. There is still much to do, much to write and much to draw. I'm gonna have tons of fun thinking up extra little scenarios for her and her friends and what her life in Waterdeep is gonna look like as she finally gets to build a family of her own. But as far as I am concerned... her main story's complete.

And as I listen to Endless Spring and get emotional all over again, I want to thank @wolfhunter89 and @sheeplyquillwrites for coming along with me on this wonderful journey. Summer's story just wouldn't have been the same without you. I love you guys so damn much, even if I never say it. I can't wait to see what's in store for Arwen next. To many more stories and games shared together!

[onlycatsdeservetobestanned]

Man Suang Postergate part 1: an update

A more detailed translation of that contentious explanation of Postergate (part 1) during the IG live has surfaced! Man, Mile really is so much better than Apo at this PR bullshit. So Mile said you can't fit everything about the movie in a single poster (no shit Sherlock) so they chose to feature just the dancers. And something something again about showing the beauty of Thai culture. But the main point really, he said, is that they wanted to show that Apo wasn't the only dancer (really Mile, wbk). And Apo said that there would be posters with other actors on it, but it wasn't clear from the translation if he was referring to the main poster and not just the standard character solo posters. (But would there be another poster in Cannes, hm?)

Like I said, PR bullshit mostly, but Mile is pretty good at the delivery. And it's more interesting than how Apo explained it, for several reasons. One, nothing in the explanation contradicts my theory that Apo is the main and Mile is not (but he still probably has a pretty significant role. Maybe.). I still think that Apo is too central to the film to leave him off the poster. And even just visually, Apo in his dancer costume is the most striking image that they could have for promo. I really do not see them ever leaving him off a main poster or other main promo materials. But of course, this is just my assumption, and we'll find out how right or wrong I am. Bring on Postergate part 2!

Second, the second dancer point can be a bullshit misdirection, or it could be a plot point like Mile seemed to be hinting at. Maybe Apo disguises himself as another dancer to carry out his mission or something? Will there be a case of dancer-related mistaken identity? Guess we'll have to find out.

Third, I'm not convinced of the reasoning that they just wanted to highlight traditional Thai dance for the Cannes poster, like they're from the Ministry of Tourism lol. Not that I'm a film industry pro of course, but that doesn't feel like it's interesting or unique enough, because any Thai production company can do something involving traditional Thai dance (whether they do it well is another thing). What will set them apart is the story and the perspective that they're offering, and guess what would be unique? A queer love story in that historical setting. How many films have done that? Why not make that the selling point? Is it because it's not actually a queer story? Is it because the government doesn't want them to advertise that? Who knows, but if it's neither, then why not.

Fourth, all this soft power talk still feels too in-your-face government propaganda for me lol. This presenting the beauty of Thailand to the world thing still makes me wary of it being more of a glossy, romanticized perspective than sincere storytelling about humanity, which can be messy and ugly in some ways. I personally prefer the latter, but maybe the former will sell better.

Fifth, what's with "we'll have different posters!" like are they making a special poster for every film festival? Lol. Is this them bragging about how much budget they have for marketing? They should at least put that white cat in all the posters for being so cute and good and enduring a film set. Give that cat the fame it deserves!

Finally, good for them for making it to Marché du Film. It's very unlikely they'll get into the actual festival next year, because Cannes requires that a film must not have been shown in countries other than the country of origin before showing in Cannes. But the opportunities (and bragging rights) that they would have gotten being in that film market would be immense already.

[mocha1662]

Record Store

(Part 1)

(pretty in pink setting w/ a twist of countryside. Steff is as snobby as ever, when he sees a new friend of Andie’s he’s determined to get to know the new girl. First point of POV, fluff, a bit of flirty and innuendo. Nickname given to Steff is Bambi)

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

I glided my hand across the various cases of records as Duckie talked Andie’s ear off about something pertaining to a Richie trying to beat him up and how he Jackie Chan’d the guy which I knew was a totally lie but I kept my mouth shut and hummed to the store’s music soundtrack when I heard the jingle of the entrance door and looked up. Two guys walked in, one blonde dressed in a white casual suit and navy blue shirt and the other a brown haired less dressed down boy in a brown sweater and jeans, I could hear Duckie groan as he tapped me whispering, “Look what the cat dragged in, dumb Richies.”, I smirked as I walked over to the displayed cassette tapes looking at the new pink one that had just came in. “Hey, Andie.”, I heard a bit of conversation brewing between the brown haired boy and Andie when I heard my name called, I walked over to the group with a small smile across my face. “Hi.”, I looked at the two boys while I leaned against the counter, I noticed the blonde hair boy looking me up down with a smug smirk on his face, “Who’s your new friend,Andie?”, he asked smoothly, Andie frowned looking at me, “She’s not interested in tasteless men.”, he gasped dramatically, “At least, let the beautiful young lady decide.” I felt a heat form in my cheek at the compliment (NOT A VISUAL BLUSH, like the feeling of being geeked😭), “Call me Bambi.”, he cackles at the name at the name, “Really? Bambi seems rather fitting.” He stepped closer as he looked down at me, “Well, Bambi I’m Steff the most popular boy at John Marshall how long you been here, doll?” I had moved to Los Angels a few months back but kept to myself because I was quickly categorized as an outcast and soon met Duckie first and then Andie.

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

“Just a few months, I don’t think I’ve heard of you.”, which was true, I hadn’t I usually kept to myself and my close friends, Steff looked offended at my answered as he slightly scoffed, “Of course, poor Andie is probably too hurt to mention the best thing she lost in a man.”, he said dramatically, as Andie rolled her eyes. “So, Bambi where do you live? Eastside? Westside?”, I was about to answer when Duckie answered for me, “Neither, she live in the countryside.”, Steff looked at me with a smirk, “So, you a country girl?”, I rolled my eyes playfully, “I guess.” I began walking over my favorite record case as I skimmed through the stack Steff followed me quietly as looked around the shop. “So, Bambi you like going to parties?”, I shook my head, “Where does your father work?”, “He owns a local bakery with my mom.”, I looked at him, “Why all the questions?” I asked innocently, he smirked, “Just wanna get to know a pretty girl like you, I wonder how sweet that cherry i-“, Duckie yelled a ‘hey!’ From across the room hearing what he said, his friend whose name was Blane came over saying they were late for a lunch with friends that they should split. Steff turned back to me, “Well, guess that’s my leave I’ll see you around, Bambi.” He winked and swung around smoothly walking around. I giggled as Duckie and Andie came over, “I’m so sorry for that, freak. He’s such a drag.”, I shook my head still keeping my head on him, “Don’t worry bout it, he doesn’t seem half as bad as he presents himself.” I watched as he looked through the window blowing a playful kiss before walking off. I went back behind the counter as I touched up my lipgloss in my hand mirror as Andie told me all the bad things about him, I couldn’t tell them that I thought he was cute even if he was a ‘Richie’, he was still cute maybe I’d talk to him a time or two, I pondered over it as I got out of Andie’s car and started my way to my house. He just didn’t seem half bad.

[threadbareturnbacks]

Black Sails and Facial Hair - Part 2, Captain Flint

Part 1 Here, in which I give a 1000 word history of the beard in Anglo culture and its place in defining masculinity and empire. Let’s start with the Pirate, Flint, and his journey of presenting Empire. Flint at his origin, or his McGraw, the absolute picture of 18th century moral appearance. His hair is long and neat, his face is clean, his clothes are correct for the story (though the English naval uniform didn’t exist until 1748). He is The Picture of English Empire In Our Collective Imaginations. The story tells us as much too. He’s had to be perfect in every way to get to where he is and that includes his physical appearance. He is, too, not conflicted about his place. Visually, he fits. Arguably he fits in place better than Thomas in the scenes by the docks. This is his space and he is comfortable in it. 

Compare that to when he returns from Nassau. His beard is overgrown. It’s not particularly cared for and is, in fact, the some of the most beard we see on him until S4. It wasn’t unusual for a sailor to grow a beard while away at sea, but barbers traveled with both the navy and army, and to return to polite society with such a set of whiskers is a conscious disregard for propriety. All his other actions and appearances are correct, but his inner criminality is showing. He is, in the language of beards, obscuring his true self. His sins (Thomas, rejecting perceived wisdom, wanting to start over in the Hinterlands) are starting to take precedence over Love of Country. 

And when we first meet him, 9 years later. His hair is tied back, not so long but still reasonably respectable. His beard and twirly mustache, however, is distinctly Jacobean. Strangely, besides his resistance to England itself, we never actually learn what Flint’s politics are, but we do know that Flint himself is a construct designed to be as frightening as possible to England and their ships. And in 1715, a visual Jacobite armed to the teeth is nothing if not a terrifying and direct rejection of King George I and the English State. But the longer hair still keeps him tethered to the idea of respectability (and Miranda, who keeps up the trappings of civilization despite their circumstances etc). He is caught between his two selves but neither is authentic, both require extensive upkeep and both are constructs that visually fit within a story that is not his own (the navy and his pirate persona). Remember too, his calling card is his Ninja Outfit which isn’t a ninja outfit, but the outfit of a Barbary Pirate, a North African, and those connections to barbarism and barbers. He is literally balancing the line between the Other (Barbary) and resistance in appearance (Jacobism)  

After Miranda dies, all bets are off. Friendship with civilization ended. His last ties of society are cut, literally, with a shorn head. Ironically, this is one of the more accurate cuts in the whole show - if a gentleman wore a wig, they did not have a nice tousled cut underneath a la Thomas or Guthrie, they shaved their heads to avoid lice, fleas, and other pests. But! A shorn head is also the signature haircut of, wait for it, Bedlam. He has literally cut Miranda and her tether to civilization and become wild, uncontained, and, like Thomas, mad by association. Maintaining a Jacobean flip in your ‘stache takes work, it’s always been part of his construct and theater and there is no more Flint Theater. There is only Flint. There is no going back. He is no longer pretending one way or another, he is and will be judged for who he is, not who is pretending to be. 

He keeps this cut through S4, which, even if it takes place over 5 months, is going to require an occasional trip to the barber (or Silver does it for him though I doubt Flint’s letting anyone put a knife to his throat even if it is his one and only). It’s a classic ‘devil’ cut, and one that speaks to the Faustian nature of the show, where the theme of trading spiritual torment for power is always an undercurrent. 

And finally, Flint returns “home” to Thomas by means of Oglethorpe's plantation. Apart of society, it takes the outcasts, the dregs, those that cannot participate in civilization. And in doing so, there are no longer requirements to fit within a role or story. And what do we see there? Thomas with a beard. He is no longer a member of Empire, no longer concerned with propriety. He’ll kiss a man in broad daylight. He’s wearing the outward signs of a madman. Neither of them require any trappings of civilization, they are firmly apart from it, never to return. 

This show is the gift that keeps giving and I feel like the mirrors of analysis are endless and but boy am I pushing it. 

Part One - History of Beards Part Three - Long John Silver

[flippingyouoff]

Hey! Trying to get a game of sorts started in this fandom where people can interact more, so pass along some asks like this if you want after answering this!

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR FAVOURITE AU YOU'VE MADE AND FAVOURITE SHIP GO

I just saw yr own response I am so OVERWHELMED WITH AFFECTION that you'd select me to Spread The Virus! It is Evil and Vile however that you would ask me to select Just One Favorite AU I've made! I can only interpret this as an act of hostility and malice. Lock your windows scumbag /loving

TL;DR

AU: Anastasia AU, with a side of Asexual Occult Harem

Ship: Stylennyman, because I'm contrarian and too old for shipping wars.

And now, the ominous Read More:

GOD so like I've this AU that I'm conceptualizing as a Visual Novel because I've had a simplistic Visual Novel Creator For Dummies program for like fifteen years and I've never used it and I'm always trying to decide on a story I could use with it.

The base backstory is loosely SOT but that's when the kids are kids. Then it's a parody of the 1997 animated Anastasia movie. Kenny is Anastasia and I do not take critique.

The prologue is when they're kids and Princess Kenny is brought to Kyles Kingdom with their families' intensions to betroth them to eachother because the Broflovski royal family is having issues with Fantasy Bigotry with the humans and the McCormicks are landwealthy but bankrupt mostly humans with a touch o Orc in there (I just have no fun way to fit more Orc into the plot it's very uncreative of me)

So Stan is Kyles squire bodyguard in training and Cartman is a fledgling wizard from an abolished Rival Kingdom and he's allowed to play with them because Kyle pities that he lives in a hotdog in the woods or smth that's not important they all become bestest of friends!

Kenny has been presented as a girl to be a more realistic match for Kyle but Carol confesses their desperate scam and neither Queen Sheila or Kyle mind they wanna help them out and everyone fkn loves Kenny bc it's Kenny gd it.

But the Dark Kingdom suddenly attacks one day and the castle is thrown into turmoil. They've arrived with a massive army and a slew of wizards collected from the remains of Cartmans Kingdom.

The parents fend off the aggressors- and mostly fall- while the kids scatter. Kyle, Stan and Ike collect Kenny and Karen to try and escape. They run into Cartman who quickly swaps sides to help his friends sneak out.

Stan and Kyle are separated from the group to get traumatized on their own while the others continue on, eventually getting caught in the crossfire. Kenny seemingly sacrifices himself to get Ike and Karen to safety.

Cartman hides them away someplace safe before he's found out to have helped both Kingdoms heirs, his magic powers are bound and he's abandoned to be caught by remaining armies. When he's thrown in the execution lineup however, Stan shows up and causes a distraction to get him out, and the two run off together.

Kyle is left as the heir apparent to his Kingdom, and after safely being taken to neutral lands, agrees to dissolve his families royal legitimacy so his surviving people can get sanctuary and a ceasefire be found. He knows that Cartman secured Ike's safety somewhere but also knows that he's safer wherever that is. Stan left his side in shame that he failed to protect Kyles family.

Pop forward ten years later, rumors that a McCormick heir survived are bustling in rebelling circles of the now impoverished lands the Dark Kingdom annexed. Stan and Cartman have been surviving in them together all this time. When Cartman gets whiff of the rumors he concocts a plan to find someone to impersonate Kenny, who they knew best, as a ticket back into the neutral lands that are posting the reward for a confirmation of the rumors. What he's actually planning is just to get him and Stan back into a humane country and then handing over the fake to the Dark Kingdoms leader, so that he can have his magic unbound. Stan's in his own self-imposed isolation though so he just goes along because he's codependent on Cartman sdakfjlbsdf

Though right on time, the real Kenny shows up to get pulled into their scheme. All amnesia'd up, and absolutely all for scamming his way out of the country with these two PTSD-stricken oafs, because his only lead for where his possible family and past might be is a pendant marked with the crest of Kyles royal family.

Cue a roadtrip from Fantasy Not-Russia across Fantasy Not-Europe to Fantasy Not-Paris, where you would be playing a Friendship optional Dating Simulator of Kenny helping Stan and Cartman getting through their traumas, where you can get Stan to get his self esteem back and Cartman to Not sell Kenny off to Evil Overlords. All culminating in a final stretch reuniting with the Usurped Prince Kyle, who missed them all very very much...........................

Another one of my AU's that I like alot right now is a Werewolf AU where I take Jersey Kyle, Goth Stan, Bad Irene and Princess Kenny/Mysterion and caramelize them in a Polyamorous MeetCute Teflon Pan, where they all get wrapped up in Kyley-B's transformation into a werewolf and his subsequent quest to understand his predicament. Along the way Raven gets bit by a vampire and Irene finds a magic wand. Oh and they also have a run in with Princess' Ex, Damien The Antichrist. Also Princess is an Asexual Succubus. Also they're all Asexual. That doesn't mean anything I just already headcanon Kyle and Cartman as Ace and an Asexual Succubus is a fun concept so Stans wrapped in on this too so that I can call this the Asexual Occult Harem AU. I made them in Sims!!!

So then it shouldn't be a surprise I'm listing my OTP as Stylennyman. I usually list my OTPs as Style, Bunny and Creek because I Love Those but it's also very boring and I don't want to allow any assumptions that I am so complacent about Anything. So my stubborn contrarian ass whose fear of conflict manifests in embracing both sides in fandom shipping discourse just decides to throw everyone together. No heartbreak no jealousy just long drawn out monologues and very specific scenarios spun just right to get this absolute shitfest to work. I don't even like requited Kyman I'm just fixated on making their relationship less uncomfortable and beating Cartman into a morally tolerable character because I got into this fandom and started out being mean to him and it gave me a tummy ache so sorry he gets happy endings too.

I have this whole fun skit idea where when the guys come out as Together Gerald goes on a long quest collecting all the Estranged Fathers to try and break them up. Also I kneaded and beat the plot until I baked up a good way to get Menorah Cartman there, because God, I love Menorah Cartman so much and this is my AU and I do what I want. She still hates Kyle. Also Wendy's a international super spy and Kenny's an Eldritch God, but those are my normal 20smths Headcanons.

Fandom stop being weird challenge we all are fixated on the like third worst show in American Culture lets just embrace the cringe and be nice to eachother there is literally No Way To Go But Up <3

[haly-reads]

Them: But Jane Austen never mentioned pigs and statues in the novel. It was so filthy and not at all austenesque. It didn't follow the novel at all.

Me: Yes, true. But it's Joe Wright's version of the novel. He added the pig scene to show the procreation aspect of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. The statues in Pemberley, especially the veiled vestal was shown to depict how Lizzie was once blind with prejudice and her slow understanding of Darcy's character.

Them: But the Bennets were shown as extremely poor as if they were farmers! Austen never intended to show them as poor but they were modestly wealthy enough.

Me: While most of the Austen's novels showed the affluent side of the country, Joe Wright wanted to stay true to the times the novel was based in. The countryside was not just manors and estates.

Them: Ah, no, Austen never intended to show it that way! And the dirt and rain was gothic, the visuals would fit a Brontë movie!

Me: Well then Austen did mention enough of dirt and rain in the novel. That was required obviously! The sun cannot shine bright when it rains right?

Them: No, no, no. If people watch this travesty of a version, they will think this was the actual plot written by Austen.

Me: The creators of adaptations cannot ensure every viewer read the book. Ideally, the viewer must themselves understand that the book will be the primary source no matter what. It goes without saying!

Them: Oh no. Darcy never would walk in such an attire in the fields. Austen never intended to...

Me: Neither did Austen's Darcy swim in a lake! It's fine, really. Movie creators can take liberties in adaptations as far as the essence of the novel isn't lost! Literature and cinema have enough room to have alternate versions/ different perspectives of books, and it's fine, until it doesn't plagiarize without giving credit.

Them: But Austen never intended to...

Me: 🙇‍♀️🤫

[treesap-blogs]

happy saturday y’all if ur in my time zone or any other nearby ones! Here’s a “When The Angels Left The Old Country” by Sacha Lamb!

TUMBLRIANS!! Greetings!! As of the publication date of this review, it will have been about 5-6 days since I finished reading When The Angels Left The Old Country by Sacha Lamb! And ugh! What an excellent book. Up at the tippy top of my mental rankings along with A Lesbiana’s Guide To Catholic School. (P.S., I’m sticking true to my word and developing a weekly schedule! I’m publishing reviews every Saturday! Every other day of the week I’ll just..do whatever I want lol.)

I don’t think I fit into the intended demographic of this book; I have not watched a minute of Good Omens in my life (I only knew that it borrowed a bit from the basic premise/setup based on reviews by people who have watched or read it), nor am I Jewish! The Hebrew and Yiddish glossary at the end was greatly appreciated for the latter reason lmao, although I could guess what some things were based on context clues it was good to have the extra help for visualization. (I picture stuff in my head like a movie when I’m reading, so it can throw me off if I miss a detail.) Regardless, I got sucked into the world of this book, and how culturally rich it felt; the Yiddish/Hebrew/Jewish aspects blended in effortlessly and never felt once like they were being shoved into a line or piece of dialogue. And consequently, I became terribly invested in all of the characters. (“Terribly” meant in an 18th-century-lady-saying-“very much” way, not the negative connotation!) I loved to tune into an angels and demons story that wasn’t exclusively Catholic or Christian(and acknowledged the existence of other religions, too!), and there was something so uniquely poetic about both Little Ash and Uriel discovering what it means to be human, on top of realizing they’re becoming a bit more like that the further along the story they are.

Oh my goodness though, I’ve never wanted a book to be a little more under the romance subgenre than this one. Uriel and Little Ash’s relationship was just..beautiful. I so badly wanted them to get together like the other romantic pairing we get in this story (that one felt a little rushed admittedly, it felt more like infatuation and a fun little fling than genuine romance and we didn’t get a ton of development between the two). (Folks who read the book, you know what I mean.) Although I do think that it would change some of the writing and I wouldn’t want that to happen, I think it’s good as is and I suppose it’s nice that you don’t have that at the front and center so it doesn’t distract from the plot. Not that Sacha Lamb ever rules out the possibility of them getting together, but it just doesn’t get finalized ☹️. You can see how their affection towards each other changes to become a bit more romantic towards the middle of the story, and..goodness. They’re just so sweet. I usually don’t get emotional over a book romance, but these guys?? They’re everything to me!!! They should’ve kissed damnit. LET ASHEL AND URIEL KISS GODDAMNIT!!!

Anyhow! I also really loved the characters. Uriel and Little Ash/Ashel(I call him a lot of things in this review sorry) complimented each other’s personalities well! Although there was a possibility that Ashel’s “always sniffing around for sinners and mischief whenever he can” gimmick has the potential to get old after a while, as well as Uriel’s moral perfection being the foil to that (and acting as a means of keeping him in check), but both characters undergo their own changes and arcs, meaning that neither become “tired”. I liked their banter too. And Rose was a force of her own, a “firecracker” as I’ve seen another reviewer describe, her and the other two worked well as a trio once she became accustomed to both of them(+Ashel didn’t see the point in messing with her anymore lmao) and I liked seeing them become more of a friend group as the story progressed.

Also, this was one of the only times where I’ve felt truly satisfied by the ending of a non-contemporary novel! So that was a nice surprise. (So many sequels and open endings nowadays!) (I sound like a boomer, sorry.) 

Overall, it was a well-written book, one of my favorites at that, and I’ll definitely recommend it to those who read historical fiction. No spoiler section for this review, everyone! I don’t have a ton I feel the need to rant about, which I can’t tell is because of my enjoyment of this book or because this week has been truly exhausting (and it’s taken everything in me to gather up my remaining energy and finish this review). (Apologies for those who saw my deleted post, I haven’t been in the best state.)

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars! 

Paz, signing off!

(Book trigger/content warnings: Historical xenophobia and antisemitism, violence, some blood.)

[drunkkenobi]

I posted 607 times in 2022

That's 176 more posts than 2021!

55 posts created (9%)

552 posts reblogged (91%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@monsteraficionado

@ostensiblynone

@sequencefairy

@worksongnatural

I tagged 597 of my posts in 2022

Only 2% of my posts had no tags

#watcher - 275 posts

#shyan - 52 posts

#star wars - 48 posts

#my fic - 24 posts

#ghost files - 19 posts

#buzzfeed unsolved - 18 posts

#fic rec - 12 posts

#kenobi spoilers - 10 posts

#gorgeous - 9 posts

#my spreadsheets - 9 posts

Longest Tag: 128 characters

#i dont think its about the gf premiere selling out since this is in a hotel room (probably in chicago based on outfits and hair)

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

MADEJ: The fun part about that is, anytime Ryan and I are sort of figuring out an aesthetic thing that Ryan always voices of what I'm thinking, and then I bring visuals to him, and he is like, yes, that's exactly what I was thinking of. BERGARA: Yeah. It's great. MADEJ: It's pretty sweet.

This Collider interview ruined my day

391 notes - Posted September 21, 2022

#4

Blane 2.0 continues to be so important to me

477 notes - Posted October 1, 2022

#3

For fuck’s sake

656 notes - Posted September 16, 2022

#2

These two are killing me tonight

687 notes - Posted September 5, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Thinking today about two guys who only met because of a number of vaguely absurd circumstances. How one of them was older, but graduated college during the Great Recession and couldn’t find an adult job for years, so when he applied to the BuzzFeed internship, he was 4 or 5 years older than everyone else in his class. And how the other one was supposed to be a cinematographer, but took a chance on something else when the grip life wasn’t cutting it. How neither of them expected to last that long at Buzzfeed, one sure he would get fired for being slow and meticulous, the other assuming he’d cut and run and/or get fired if he didn’t pull unpaid overtime. How they ended up at the same set of desks. How movie trailers got the one to open up. How the other one was, quite literally, not there to make friends. How they became friends anyway. How the one took a simple idea and made it into a five minute video on the Somerton Man with his carpool buddy. How he then asked the other to fill in when the carpool buddy got transferred. How the other one had a free calendar to film a video about the Illuminati. How he kept having a free calendar to go ghost hunting in a mystery house, a terrible island of dolls and spiders, and a unassuming Kansas home. How one of them screaming at a flashlight and the other one laughing changed both their lives forever. How they took an oath to keep doing this with no one but each other. How they took a leap of faith and bet on themselves to start something new with the smartest person they knew. How their timing was cosmically horrible, launching this new thing right as the world shut down. How they persevered when it seemed like it might all end at any second. How they grew their little company, in fits and starts, until they finally got on stable land. How they didn’t even wait before ending their original ghost hunting series to start planning a new one. One where they could make all the rules. And how after months of planning and shooting and editing, that new series is here. And it’s bigger than either of them imagined. How shocked they are that thousands of people have come to see them, how dozens have flown across states and countries to celebrate with them, how millions have watched this show that they’re so proud of. How for the first time, their company has breathing room. How they can finally exhale. How all the hard work and long hours are paying off. How this is just the beginning. 

Yeah, I’d be smiling like that too. 

1,039 notes - Posted October 11, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[emoryinaboat]

Okay, so those EngLiet headcanons were amazing, would you be willing to do AmeLiet? Not to be too repetitive, if it is, would you consider doing RusCan?

RusCan, my beloved. Doing this one first because someone else also asked for RusCan, I’ll do AmeLiet soon, ask for it again if you want me to not forget because that may happen-

@labitchette this is for you too, sorry this took so damn long. 

- Once they start dating, Matthew isn't afraid to tell Ivan when he's being a jerk. Ivan sorta acts like a kicked puppy afterwards and apologizes.

- So much skating. Playful bumping eachother, holding hands, races because they're both experienced skaters...

- Unless of course it's hockey. Then they fucking despise eachother. They have a tally system and so far it's 63/60 with Ivan in the lead and by god, he will not stop teasing Matthew about it.

- Before dating Ivan didn't know how tall Mattie was (sloucher, Francis hates it) so when they actually got together and Matthew leaned up to kiss him and was only like,,, 2 inches shorter than him he was kind of floored for a moment, he thought this was some kind of weird visual thing-

- Very physically affectionate, they spend like 60% of their time cuddling. Hot drinks, blanket piles, kisses to the cheek or head, maybe staring out the window if it's snowy or raining. They just like being close.

- "Yes yes that is very good, but have you heard about this random thing that Matvey did 2 days ago that I'm still reeling over because I, Ivan Braginsky, am a huge fricking simp for my boyfriend-". Yea he likes flaunting Matthew a lot and sort of forcing people to notice him through friendly reminders.

- Matthew is the only person who can dump a bucket of snow on Ivan's head and not die instantly.

- Oh these guys’ sex life is chaotic, dynamics switch, sexual tension comes out of nowhere, just enough kink for it them to fit perfectly. Both of them have a bit of a sadistic and masochistic streak so yea,,, there's that as well.

- Alfred and Ivan fighting over who Matthew likes more? Constant. Never ending. Matthew just needs a break from trying to stop his brother and his boyfriend from getting in a fist fight.

- Matthew is perpetually cold. All the time. Ivan is also perpetually cold. Ivan is also a dirty fucking blanket hog. Matthew can't steal it back because 9/10, Ivan has an iron grip on it. Matthew can't just cuddle up to Ivan if it's winter because Ivan gives off zero body heat. Matthew keeps spare blankets under the bed.

- They don't fight much, but when they do hoo fucking boy. Matthew is one of the only countries who aren't afraid of Ivan and will definitely argue back if it starts up. They can be very mean sometimes and they usually hold grudges for a while, Matthew sometimes going as far as to stay with Alfred for a few days.

- During this time, both of them beat themselves up over it constantly. Both of them have terrible self-esteem and abandonment issues and Ivan has awful people-permanence so they're always worrying about the other and if they're okay and if they still love them. It's always fine once they get back though, they apologize and kiss it better.

- If there is one person Natalya feels like she can tolerate Ivan dating, it would have to be Matthew.

- When Matthew is really low on serotonin, he drinks maple syrup direct from the bottle. When Ivan first saw this, he sorta looked on in complete disgust and horror for a few seconds before snatching the bottle away from him and hiding it.

- Both of them are terrible drivers normally but they can navigate like hell during snowdrift. Neither of them are very safe. Out of the two of them, Matthew is less likely to wrap the car around a tree.

- Ivan has the most adorable blush in the universe and Matthew is (surprisingly) a pretty big tease. He knows how to push Ivan's buttons.

[perfectlytinyworkspace]

Mitchell: The World as Exhibition

"The four Egyptians spent several days in the French capital, climbing twice the height (they were told) of the Great Pyramid in Alexandre Eiffel's new tower..."

"The Egyptian exhibit had been built by the French to represent a street of medieval Cairo...'It was intended,' one of the Egyptians wrote, 'to resemble the old aspect of Cairo.' So carefully was this done, he noted, that 'even the paint on the buildings was made dirty.'"

To the West, the rest of the world is archaic, antiquated spectacle – a curious view of the past, an antithesis to Western progress "in the right direction"

"The Egyptian visitors were disgusted by all this...Their final embarrassment had been to enter the door of the mosque and discover that...it had been erected as what the Europeans called a façade."

"Together with other non-European delegates, the Egyptians were received with hospitality–and a great curiosity...they found themselves something of an exhibit."

"What [can] this process of exhibiting tell us about the modern West[?]"

modernity as defined by the West positions its own culture as the norm and the mundane, from which "the ordering up of the world itself as an endless exhibition" can be procured as entertainment, curiosity, and an object of "interested study, intellectual analysis"

how can Islam's relationship with modernity be a positive one, defined as it is by this sort of cheapened commodification of its premises as entertainment for the "civilized West"?

Yuval Noah Harari in Sapiens posits that one of the key reasons for Western/European dominance is 'curiosity' and 'the cultural backing to question tradition/history.' Does the "curiosity of the European [encountered] in almost every subsequent Middle Eastern account" following the first Arabic description of 1800s Europe then become a defining factor/formidable strong suit of Western modernity?

Does the "[demonstration of] the history of human labor by means of 'objects and things themselves'" espoused by the European exhibitions of the latter 1800s speak to the beginnings of an increased focus on the "hardware" and "observable, empirical data" of any one subject of study?

Marr's 1982 argument in computational social science: any informational system can be analyzed via 1) problem/computation 2) algorithm 3) physical system hardware; science and especially neuroscience today emphasizes (3) and thus comes away, as argued by some, as an incomplete understanding of the way the brain works

i.e., a bird's mechanisms and purposes for flight cannot be deduced from the study of its physical hardware components alone (feather)

in the same way, an "object lesson" is not the definitive experience of another culture/lifestyle as imagined by the "Histoire du Travail" display of the 1889 Exhibition but rather an overemphasis on the "physical hardware" and material of that culture and European imaginations and (mis)interpretations of its computational/algorithmic functions and purposes

One major Arabic response to Western creations of spectacle is heavy documentation, "[devoting] hundreds of pages to describing the peculiar order and technique of these events–the curious crowds of spectators, the scholarly exhibit and the model...the systems of classifications...the lectures, the plans and the guide books–in short the entire machinery of what we think of as representation."

"They were taken to the theater, a place where Europeans represented their history to themselves..." – non-Western cultures are represented in the same fashion, as spectacle, as traditions and culture from the West's own history. In unifying their systems of representation the West has relegated the rest of the world, including the Arab world and Islam, to the same status as its own history

Is a society's/culture's own history also a form of subjugated knowledge? i.e., when history is remembered as tragic and painted as a negative, primitive state rather than a series of traditions and stories to be revered, does that indicate the modern knowledge vanquishing/subjugating the past knowledge?

"The Europe in Arabic accounts was a place of spectacle and visual arrangement, of the organization of everything, and everything organized to represent...some larger meaning."

"intizam al-manzar, the organization of the view" – is this...the panopticon? Western visual organization of spaces, spectacles, and symbols to convey their interpretations of non-Western cultures feels very much akin to a disciplinary technique to exercise power subtly over the bodies and <souls> of non-Western individuals/populations.

the spectator role holds no power – the spectator can only witness and be complicit to his own objectification

'objectification' in the sense that the individual becomes a material representation of 'the Orient' or 'the East' and all of his actions, thoughts, speech, mannerisms are subsequently first filtered through the lens of this representation to fit to the Western idea of 'his culture and people' before they are attributed to him, and the resulting communication of his identity and actions is so garbled and perverted that it really only serves to reinforce the West's perception of them.

"First, there was the apparent realism of the representation. The model or display always seemed to stand in perfect correspondence to the external world...Second, the model, however realistic, always remained distinguishable from the reality it claimed to represent...the medieval Egyptian street at the Paris Exhibition remained only a Parisian copy of the Oriental original."

Is this an example of Baudrillard's hyperreality? And if it is, does that mean that, as he states, 'neither the representation nor the real remains, just the hyperreal'?

furthermore, if only the hyperreal remains, what is the hyperreal? we know that the representation is the Parisian perception of the non-Western world, and that the real is the non-Western world itself (but is that world in the past or the present?)

so in this instance I suppose neither of them remain and the strangely perfect-but-not "Parisian copy of the Oriental original" is the only thing present – the "effect called the real world"

"...the world of representation is being admired for its dazzling order, yet the suspicion remains that all this reality is only an effect."

Is the "search for a pictorial certainty of representation" unique to the West?

was the creation of hyperreality uniquely borne of Western society? The argument is that the East is "...a world where, unlike the West, such 'objectivity' was not yet build in"

does Western hyperreality alone fall between Islam and an understanding reached with Western Judeo-Christian societies?

can the obstacle of exhibition/spectacle be overcome? Who needs to make the first step to overcome it, the West or the East? What does this first step look like, and it is actually possible to achieve given the nature of media coverage and social media in the modern era that creates a new hyperreality with regards to our understanding of the outside world?

The only objects and locations of value to Western modernity are those whose "pictorial certainties of representation" can inspire awe, wonder, marvel – or fit in with the overall Western representation of non-Western cultures as an exhibition of interest.

"The ability to see without being seen confirmed one's separation from the world, and constituted, at the same time, a position of power." – the panopticon guard!!

"To establish the objectness of the Orient, as a picture-reality containing no sign of the increasingly pervasive European presence required that the presence itself, ideally, become invisible." – this harkens to covert US support of Middle Eastern regimes that benefitted its own oil interests in the area while at the same time performing espousal of the area's "democratic rule" and "self-governance," "autonomy"

in pursuing an "authentic experience" as an outsider, the European spectator necessarily creates his flawed, hyperrealistic representation of the non-Western individual by appropriating "the dress and [feigning] the religious belief of the local Muslim inhabitants" as his disguise of invisibility and non-perception, despite "...being a person who had no right to intrude among them."

"Unaware that the Orient has not been arranged as an exhibition, the visitor nevertheless attempts to carry out the characteristic cognitive maneuver of the modern subject, separating himself from an object-world and observing it from a position that is invisible and set apart."

Western modernity is the European pursuit and implementation of a hyperreal representation of Islam with the underlying desire to both observe the true nature of the spectacle within and remain unobserved (thus holding onto a position of power)

"This, then, was the contradiction of Orientalism. Europeans brought to the Middle East the cognitive habits of the world-as-exhibition, and tried to grasp the Orient as a picture."

I'm not sure if this is still the prevalent world-view, or if it is one example of the Western tendency to impose its own perspective of the Middle East onto the reality of issues in Arab and non-Western countries

i.e., the viewpoint that democratization is the best and inevitable system of governance and steps away from it are 'regression' towards 'the archaic past'

when the Orient that is not created as an exhibition fails to meet the European spectator's expectations, that reality is 1) dismissed as inferior or 2) painted as corrupted by non-Western modernity, which is always 'straying away from the true form of the Orient,' which can now only be found in European definitions of the non-Western world in the eyes of the European tourist/scholar

very similar to Christian scholars stating that they 'saved Buddhism' by 'rediscovering the pure, original form of the religion' beneath 'idolatry and other corruptions of the core Buddhism'

[ancientgreekwitch]

Astragaloi

Astragaloi is a form of Ancient Greek divination using the knucklebones of a sheep. They can be real, or fake ones made from pottery, metal, or wood.

Numerical Value

The curved, small side is called “Chian.” It counts as a 1. The wide, convex side is called the “belly.” It counts as a 4. The wide concave, side is called the “back.” It counts as a 3. The flat small “S” shaped side counts as a 6.

Here is a visual to show you:

Throwing

The divination can be performed two ways. One way is to throw the same bone five times, using the first throw as the first number, the second as the second, and so on. Or, one could have five bones, and read them from left to right.

Interpretation

Each series of numbers has a name and an interpretation. They are as follows:

11111 - The Sky above Olympus: you will think well and find happiness in your work. But appease beauty (Aphrodite) and the messenger (Hermes).

11113 - Warlike Wisdom: By avoiding enmity and Animosity, you will reach your prize. The activity that you have in mind will turn out as you wish it.

41111 - Fate: Don’t do the business that you are engaged in; it will not turn out well. It will be difficult and impossible around someone who tires himself out. But if you go abroad for some time, no harm will come from it.

33111 - The Eagle: you will achieve your goal; do not fear.

61111 - The Largest Daimôn: It will be better to fulfill whatever vow you made to the daimôn, if you intend to perform what you ponder in your mind. You will be saved.

11143 - Caring Fortune: Do not do the business you are about to do.

33311 - Victory: you will win; you will take what you wish, and you will achieve everything; you will be honored, and you will overcome your enemies, the plan that you are about to realize will be according to your desire.

44111 - Joyful Victory: Do all your business because it will turn out well. The sick will be healed; and he who is in another country will return home.

41133 - Healing: A storm will come about your business, but it will turn out well; who is ill from his suffering will be freed, and safely home the one who is abroad will come.

11163 - Steering Fortune: Do not yet make haste to go; rather wait, if you set out to rush mindlessly, you will do great damage to yourself, but if you wait, blameless time will accomplish everything.

11164 - Beauty: Sail wherever you wish; you will return full of joy, for you have found and accomplished everything that you ponder in your mind; but pacify beauty (Aphrodite) and the messenger (Hermes).

13333 - Lightning’s Wisdom: you are fit for every business and ready for any undertaking. He who is ill will be saved.

33331 - The Seasons: the plan that you follow is not allowed, thus wait; it is terrible to walk into enmity, competition, and a trial.

13334 - The Sea: do not hasten to do business. Now is the wrong time.

61133 - The Daimôn: Do not project terrible things and think terrible thoughts. There will accrue no gain from it, and no reward will come from this path you are walking.

44411 - The Good Daimôn: you will be lead down a good path. You will return with rich fruit and an untroubled Fate.

13344 - The Savior, the Sky: Approach with courage the business that you set out to do; do it! You will win.

11166 - The Egyptian Sky: Undertake with courage the way you set out in your mind. you will accomplish whatever your mind tells you.

33333 - Fortune the Savior: The woman who has given birth to a child, had both breasts dry, but then she again flourished and has milk in abundance. Then you too will reap the fruits about which you ask.

43611 - The King of Hosts and Guests: Do not make haste with the business for which you set out, it is not yet time. Him who is ill will be saved, and and an end to the travel of him who is in foreign land will come.

63331 - The Strong Hero: The moment has not yet arrived, you make too much haste. Do not act in vain, nor like the dog that has borne a blind puppy. Act Deliberate calmly, and you will be lead rightly.

64411 - War: Why do you hurry? Wait calmly, the moment has not yet come; if you hurry without sense and in vain, you pursue something that is not yet ready. I do not yet see the right moment, but you will have success when you wait a little while.

43333 - Time: Scorpions stand in your way, do not hurry towards the business that you intend; wait, and what you wish will arrive later; neither to buy this nor to sell is better.

44413 - Music at Delphi: Do not make haste, it will not be better to go; when you wish to rush mindlessly, you will damage yourself very much; but when you stay put, blameless time will perform everything.

66113 - Marriage: The time is ripe for marriage; you will marry and return home. You will achieve whatever you want in your business, having found the thing about which you are anxious.

16634 - The Messenger, The Savior: I do not see anything painful among the things about which you ask me; do not think small, go forward with courage; you will find everything you wish: your vow will be fulfilled, and there is a perfect occasion for you.

44333 - The Sun: Take courage and fight. You will punish your opponent.

14444 - Revenge: now everything will be fulfilled and you will be lead the right way. You will perform everything according to your mind, do not wear yourself out anymore. You will achieve beautifully whatever you desire.

66114 - She Whom You Cannot Escape: Do your business and undertake it; the time will be favorable. In the middle, difficulties and danger are waiting. As to the other oracles, things will turn out well for you.

16443 - Lightning in the Sky: What you plan will not turn out according to your liking, when you do it; it is not useful to travel to foreign lands. You will show no insight if you sell now, nor will it be useful.

44433 - The Greatest Daimôn: I do not see this plan as safe for you; thus wait. You will do well, after this there will be luck; as for now remain calm, and stay helpful.

63333 - Good Time: Do not make haste, rather wait and do not act like a dog that gave birth to a blind litter. Take counsel calmly, and things will turn out happily for you.

66133 - Good Hope: Everything about which you ask me is smooth riding for you and safe; do not be afraid, the painful difficulties will end and you will disprove the suspicions.

44461 - The King of Possessions: Proceed with courage, the oracle is about hope; it announces also that the sick person will be saved. If you need to consult an oracle, you will receive what you desire.

34444 - The Messenger who Brings Gain in Trade: you will think of a good plan, undertake what you desire; you will find whatever you ask the oracle for, and nothing will be bad for you.

33364 - Victorious: You pronounce a good oracle, once you have thought it through, you will do whatever you desire; you will win, you will reap the fruits, and you will achieve everything.

44444 - Inexorable Fate: The sun has gone down, and terrible night has come, everything has become dark. Interrupt the matter about which you ask me; it is neither better to buy nor to sell.

43661 - The Moon: Do not undertake this business; it will not turn out well for you. One will help the one who is ill, and if there is any fear, nothing bad will happen to you.

63344 - The Protecting Boys of the Sky: A man who makes haste does not achieve what opportunity offers. You have a profit, and there is fear everywhere because of evil; your business is ill-fated, and everything is painful; watch out!

66611 - The Fire: It is impossible to do business; do not toil in vain! And do not turn every stone, lest you chance upon a scorpion. Fussiness will not bring you luck, be on your guard for all sorts of misfortune!

66441 - The Harvest: Everything about which you ask me is on a smooth way for you and safe; do not be afraid; I see nothing that will bring you harm; take heart and go forward.

44463 - The Sun, Bringer of Light: You will achieve whatever you desire, and you will find whatever you worry about. Make an attempt, having taken heart; everything is ready; you will find what is invisible, you will come to the day of salvation.

33366 - Fortune, who Leads to Good Things: Your matters are doing well; this oracle tells you to press forward; you will get away from difficult illness and master everything, and he who is erring in a foreign land will return.

16663 - The Manifest Fates: Do not put your hand into a wolf’s mouth, lest some harm happens to you; the matter about which you ask is difficult and delicate; but you stay quiet, avoiding travel and business transactions.

44446 - The Ocean: throwing seeds and writing letters on the sea are both pointless and fruitless doing.

43366 - Terrible War: Do not undertake the travel that you intend! Nobody will do it. A large fiery lion is about, against whom you have to be on your guard, a terrible one. The oracle is untractable, wait quietly.

16664 - Wisdom: Honor wisdom (Athena), and you will get everything, whatever you wish, and everything which you are planning will turn out well; she will free from bonds and will save the sick person.

66443 - Happiness: Sail, wherever you want, you will return home again, having found and done everything according to your wish; you will achieve everything, and thus to buy and to trade is happiness.

66633 - The Music of Delphi: Stay put, do not act, obey oracles. With time, you will find an occasion, but for now stay quiet. If you wait a short while you will achieve everything, whatever you desire.

44466 - Time, the Eater of Children: Stay at home with your possessions and do not go somewhere else, lest a terrible monster and a revengeful demon approach you. I do not see this business as reliable and safe.

46663 - The Moon, who Brings Light: Take courage; you have an opportunity; you will achieve what you desire, and you will come upon the right time to begin your travel; your toil will have its chance; is is good to engage in work, competitions and litigation.

66661 - Mother of Gods: As wolves overpower sheep and powerful lions overpower broad hoofed oxen, so you too will master all this, and everything about which you ask will be yours.

66644 - Thunder of the Underwold: The business has its obstacles, do not make haste, but wait; there is a road, painful, impossible and not to be approached; to buy is painful and to sell brings loss.

66663 - Heavenly Beauty: a good oracle, travel to you will be granted; you will escape from sickness and vainglorious thoughts.

66664 - Damage: It is impossible to undertake something vain; do not in vain toil uselessly, lest you incur damage by pressing on. It is not good to begin traveling nor doing business.

66666 - The Square Messenger: Do not go, wherever you intend to; it will be better for you to stay; I see something hostile to you, thus wait; afterwards, it will be possible, and you will be freed from fear and saved from toil.

[ladyherenya]

My favourite thing this year has been the Korean drama Crash Landing on You (2019-20).

It has something of a ridiculous title (I’ve ended up calling it Crash Landing or sometimes just Crash). But, to be fair, North and South was already taken.

“I can go to Africa and even Antarctica but not here. It’s a shame that you live here.” “It’s a shame that you live there.” -- episode three

To my great amusement, every month or so, Netflix has sent me an email that’s said: “Don’t forget to finish Crash Landing on You” or “Remember this? Watch it again: Crash Landing on You” or “Rewatch your favourite moments - Watch it again: Crash Landing on You…”

And I’m like: NETFLIX! Seriously, WHAT do you THINK I’M DOING?

I have now watched Crash Landing on You five times.

There are several reasons for this:

I successfully dragged other family members down this particular rabbit hole, and in a pandemic season, when things have been unpredictable (or cancelled), rewatching Crash Landing has been an appealing and comfortably-familiar distraction, as well as the source of many, many long, analytical fandom-y conversations, which has been fun.

I needed to watch it more than once to straighten out all the pieces of the story in my head. With 16 episodes, each over an hour long, it’s one of the longest stories I’ve ever watched. I’ve seen other TV series with more episodes, but nearly all have been much more episodic, rather than telling one continuous story.  

I kept noticing details that I’d previously missed because I’d been focused on the subtitles or that I hadn’t properly understood some cultural nuance. And some things are ambiguous in translation -- in a good way, a fodder-for-discussion way.

I have ALWAYS rewatched (or reread) my favourite stories. And Crash Landing fits right in with those. Someone in my family described it as: “Like Lord of the Rings on steroids!” However, I think it actually has far more in common -- visually and thematically, and also in terms of my willingness to discuss the characters as if they were real people -- with my favourite historical dramas.

In terms of story, Crash Landing is easy enough to summarise: A South Korean businesswoman is paragliding when a freak storm blows her across the border; she’s discovered by a North Korean captain, who hides her and helps her get home.

But I’m going to need more words to explain why I fell in love with it.

It is fascinating and, first time round, tense and unpredictable. It’s funny and very meta -- very aware of the tropes it’s playing with and of parallels and contrasts within the story. It’s visually and aesthetically pleasing, and the soundtrack grew on me.

There are a number of coincidences and a few ridiculous fight scenes, but the emotions are intensely real and so are the consequences. It has camaraderie and found-family and thoughtfully-complicated family relationships. There are characters I love, and characters who surprised me, and so much time given to character development!  It’s romantic. There’s a fake engagement (a favourite trope of mine) and while I’m not a fan of love triangles, I liked how this quadrangle-tangle is handled. And the obstacles to the romance are satisfyingly realistic; characters have sensible reasons for the choices they make.

I love how the story uses flashbacks, particularly the post-credit scenes.

The final episode isn’t perfect, but given that a perfectly happy ending would, realistically,  require the reunification of north and south, I thought it came very close.

Let me elaborate.

Cut for sheer verbosity, rather than spoilers. (I’m not allowing myself to list spoiler-ish examples or dive into analysing my favourite scenes, because then I wouldn’t just be here all night, I’d be here all week).

⬦ Fascinating, tense, unpredictable: I knew almost nothing about life in North Korea, so that was fascinating and made the story harder to predict, as I couldn’t anticipate what options the characters had or what obstacles might arise. And that isn’t the only reason I found it tense -- at different times, different characters are greatly at risk if discovered; there are occasions when characters are in danger of physical violence or are injured; and they have a couple of dilemmas to which there are just not easy solutions (See also: Obstacles for romance).

While I’m on the subject of the setting, although I cannot judge how accurate this portrayal of the north was, it’s portrayal of people as people was incredibly convincing. It’s a society where people have differences in personality and in circumstances. There are orphans begging in the market, people who can afford to stay in fancy hotels -- and a lot of people somewhere in between. In the military village, people have varying attitudes, tastes in clothes, privileges, standards of living, etc. Their lifestyle differs from that in Pyongyang, and also in other parts of the country. Amongst the military, some men are compassionate, some are corrupt and some are not obviously one or the other.

Moreover, it’s clear that corruption and villainy isn’t just in the north. In the south, as in the north, we see a range of humanity -- selfishness, good friends, complicated families, happy marriages, criminal behaviour, and so on.

I’ve read an article or two suggesting that the least realistic aspect is Ri Jeong Hyeok being such a sympathetic and honourable officer. I think it’s interesting that he clearly isn’t a typical captain -- he wanted a different career, he’s spent time studying overseas (in a democratic country), and, perhaps most importantly, his father’s position gives him protection from pressures many others face. He has the privilege of being able to afford to act with integrity, and of encouraging such behaviour in the men he leads.

⬦ Humour and meta: I’ve included these two together, because so much of the story’s self-awareness and intertextuality is humorous. I am very amused by so many things -- the village women’s interactions, Se-ri’s wit and banter, Jeong Hyeok’s facial expressions, the duckling's reactions, the way Ju Meok keeps comparing things to South Korean dramas:

Ju Meok: “I haven’t seen any drama characters that don’t fall in love in that situation. That’s how they all fall in love.”

(Because my knowledge of Korean drama is limited, there are a few cameos and references which I suspect would be amusing if one was in the know. The exception is the taxi driver singing, who was funny even without recognising the actor.)

I love the commentary that comes from all the moments when other characters witness the unfolding romance. Others’ reactions are often memorably hilarious -- some of my favouritest scenes fall into this category. (The customs officer! Jeong Hyeok’s dad!) They introduce humour and self-awareness into these moments, allowing the story to acknowledge “Yeah, we know these two are being ridiculous/sappy/emotional”. These moments reveal people’s attitudes towards displays of affection, particularly in the north, and their different attitudes towards Se-ri and Jeong Hyeok’s relationship.  

And as their relationship changes, Se-ri and Jeong Hyeok’s awareness of being watched and commented upon changes, too.

Which leads me to…

⬦ Contrasts and parallels: So many scenes which echo/parallel earlier scenes. Most obviously, this allows the story to compare and contrast the north and south, but it also shows changes in time, differences between characters, and differences in relationships too. Sometimes all at once!

 It means some plot developments weren’t totally unexpected -- it was Oh, of COURSE, we’re going to now see that character in this situation! or OBVIOUSLY we now have to see what this is like in the south!

But I thought it was really effective storytelling and I so much enjoyed spotting and analysing these moments.

⬦ Yoon Se-ri and Ri Jeong Hyeok: These two are the heart of the story and there are so many things I love about them. Like how, even though Se-ri is dependent upon Jeong Hyeok to hide and help her -- even though they’re initially hesitant about a romantic relationship -- they quickly become very protective of each other. Often to the point of willingly risking their own safety. Often to the point of exasperating the other. It’s great.

 That’s not the only thing they discover they have in common. They share some interests. They’re both highly intelligent, driven, successful leaders (he’s a captain, she’s a CEO) who are very private, lonely people carrying around grief about their family and their past. Neither of them likes to reveal their emotions -- he tries to conceal his by suppressing his facial expressions and avoiding answering questions, while Se-ri hides behind play-acting.  

I like watching Se-ri trying to get to know Jeong Hyeok. She isn’t deterred by his silences (unlike someone else) and she keeps the conversation going even when he doesn’t respond. She watches him closely, and says or does things to provoke a reaction. Poke, poke, poke.

And the time they spend together is really revealing. They share meals, they share a house. They see how the other responds under pressure, but also in various social and domestic situations. They see each other in a range of moods: calm, happy, grumpy, scared, tired, upset, unwell. Crash Landing takes advantage of spending sixteen episodes with these characters. Going through so many different experiences together, they learn a lot about each other -- about each other’s values, tastes and temperament -- and this means the audience gets a deeper, more nuanced understanding of who they are, too.  

Se-ri and Jeong Hyeok are also well-matched in how they show they appreciate each other -- she delights in giving presents, and he is quick to notice things Se-ri might need or like.

And it’s very satisfying when they open up, or when they cry in front of each other, because you know that they don’t do this lightly or easily.

⬦ Obstacles for romance, love triangle quadrangle-tangle: I appreciate that the obstacles in this story are not contrived or fueled by needless misunderstandings.  Se-ri and Jeong Hyeok have really solid, sensible reasons to be hesitant to first recognise, then admit to, and then act upon, a romantic attraction. Even once they realise that getting Se-ri home is going to take longer than they’d hoped and she’s pretending to be Jeong Hyeok’s fiancée, romance between them is still a road that leads nowhere. She isn’t safe staying in the north and he would endanger his family if he defected to the south, and they both accept that. And they’re reticent about sharing vulnerable feelings, and Jeong Hyeok is actually engaged to someone else.

But once they really open up to each other, the narrative conflict revolves around their circumstances, rather than doubts or misunderstandings they have about each other. Because the situations they face are dangerous and difficult, with no obvious or straightforward path to a happy ending, there’s quite enough tension to drive the story forward. They still have a couple of misunderstandings, but I like how they handle those, and I like that they don’t have more of them.

As for the love triangle, it doesn’t have the angst of someone torn between, or even attracted to, two people. Jeong Hyeok’s engagement has been arranged. Having feelings for someone else doesn’t change the foundation of that engagement, nor the pressure to please his family. He doesn’t love or know his fiancée -- not well enough to risk revealing Se-ri’s true identity to her. He’s honest with Se-ri and he makes an effort with Dan.  

(I have a theory that, if he had been in love before, he might be quicker to recognise how some of his behaviour towards Se-ri fosters intimacy and sends her messages he doesn’t intend, but this is all new for him.)

He tries not to mislead or hurt Dan, but she’s hurt nonetheless, and I like that Crash Landing doesn’t gloss over that. It explores why she’s hurt, why she’s so reluctant to let him go and why their relationship never really worked. (Neither of them are good at communicating with each other, and I think she takes some of the things he does for her for granted, rather than recognising them as overtures and as opportunities to get to know him better.)

Dan is not just a romantic rival, nor a narrative complication, but a person whose concerns and desire are taken seriously, and who is given space to grow.

Which leads me to...

⬦ Surprising characters, thoughtfully-complicated family relationships: As mentioned, Crash Landing takes advantage of the amount of character development 16 episodes allows, and not just for its lead couple. I was surprised by how much my opinion of certain characters changed, as I came to understand them better.

The character I was most surprised by was Gu Seung-jun.

Each time I’ve watched this, I’ve liked Dan more. I have a lot of sympathy for her now. I also like her mother, even though she’s embarrassingly over the top, because she cares fiercely about her daughter and about advocating for her.

Se-ri’s dysfunctional family are more nuanced than I expected, too. In particular, I love the attention the story gives to Se-ri’s relationship with her step-mother. I was expecting Se-ri’s father to play a larger role, perhaps because he’s nominally the one with the power and influence, and at first Se-ri’s mother seems so passive. But it was really interesting to understand where she’s coming from, why her relationship with Se-ri is broken and sad. The steps the two of them take towards rebuilding their relationship are believable.

(On a related thought, I appreciate a lot of the choices this makes in addressing these women’s mental health struggles. One or two moments arguably could have been handled better, but on the whole it’s realistically optimistic, with enough detail so that we understand the seriousness -- the impact it’s had on these women’s lives.)

⬦ Camaraderie, found family and the ducklings: Se-ri doesn’t spend as much time with the village women as she does with Jeong Hyeok and his soldiers, and when she does, she’s play-acting, in order to keep her identity a secret. But I like how they nevertheless support her, and how meeting her sparks change their dynamic with each other. They grow closer and become much better at supporting each other. It’s really heartwarming.

We gave many of the characters codenames, so we could discuss them when we were still learning their names. (I was surprised by how long it took me to learn some of the characters’ names.  Because so many were unfamiliar to me, they were harder to remember; I wasn’t always sure, from just reading the subtitles, how all of them were pronounced, and sometimes it was hard to separate the sound of the names from surrounding sentences, especially when, due to honorifics and titles and so on, subtitles don’t always match exactly what is being said.) Jeong Hyeok’s men are “the ducklings”, inspired by something I saw on Tumblr: Gwang Beom is “Handsome Duckling”, Ju Meok is “Drama Duckling” and Chi Su is just the sergeant.) I love how they function as a found-family, especially in contrast to Se-ri’s real family. They’re funny, loyal and caring, and in spite of their different personalities, work well together as a team. I enjoyed seeing the different relationships they have with each other, with Jeong Hyeok and Se-ri, and how some of those relationships change. And they’re so protective they are of Eun Dong!

Man Bok has an interesting arc -- I could have mentioned him under Surprising characters. I really like how he fits into this story, how he’s connected to the mystery Jeong Hyeok is investigating, how he becomes involved with the rest of the characters and has these moments when he plays a significant role. Or gets to be funny. I like the contrast and parallels too -- he’s in a different place in his life to the ducklings, and he gets opportunities to revisit past choices he regrets.

And I’m trying not to write essays about all the characters, and it’s ahhh, I have too many thoughts and feelings about them all!

⬦ Satisfyingly realistic: I like how -- one or two ridiculous fight scenes and an unrealistic paragliding scene aside -- things which happen have believable consequences. Particularly emotionally. We see men cry! A lot! And it always feels like a genuine expression of emotion, not gratuitous or overwrought. (Well, okay, there’s a very minor character who’s a bit over the top but he’s very minor.)

When one of the characters is gravely ill, she looks it, I found it oddly satisfying that she doesn’t have to be pretty all the time.

And I wasn’t sure if this belonged here or under “Visual details” but I love the attention given to Se-ri’s clothes. She cares a lot about fashion and in the north her clothing choices indicate that she cares a lot about her appearance, while making do with a limited wardrobe and still dressing for warmth.  (I’m happy to handwave that she seems to have more clothes than would realistically fit in those shopping bags.) I appreciated the practical streak, and, as winter wore on here, became envious of one of her outfits.

I don’t personally like the style of Se-ri chooses for work, but it’s different it is from what she wore in the north and from what she wears at home -- her power-dressing is like a uniform or a statement of persona she projects in her working life, and not necessarily a reflection of her personal tastes.

⬦ Visual details: I love so many of the visuals. Gorgeous scenery, interesting settings and clever framing for significant scenes. The sky, a place without borders, often becomes a focus and there’s a thematically-relevant flight motif -- paragliders, birds and kites.

I did not start noticing the   product placement until a rewatch, when I stopped to think about how often they went to Subway. The first time, it just seemed like a commentary on south-versus-north, and then I was just baffled-yet-amused by it all. (That sort of thing does not make me want to eat fried chicken...)

⬦ Soundtrack: The first time round, I liked the instrumental score and the presence of piano music actually in the story. As I kept rewatching, the rest of the soundtrack slowly but steadily grew on me, and I found myself liking the songs more and more.  

Now I not only recognise them by name, I can recall most of them well enough to hum them and know which scenes they’re associated with. Which is a lot harder when the lyrics are in a language I don’t speak and so I can’t use them as a prompt for memory.

⬦ Flashbacks: Instead of “previously-on” segments, Crash Landing employs lots of flashbacks whenever it wants to remind the audience of something.

Sometimes, instead of just repeating part of an earlier scene, it takes the opportunity to show the same moment from different angles or from a different character’s perspective,  or to juxtapose it with a different scene or to introduce new information. This was really effective. And when flashbacks were a simple repeat, I was usually happy to revisit important moments in the story (and sometimes, having a different person translating the subtitles meant there was a slightly different perspective on the dialogue).

Then there are the post-credit flashbacks, quite a few of which take places years earlier. I love how they’re puzzle pieces about the characters’ pasts and the connections between them.

⬦ The end:  The first time round, after watching the penultimate episode I was so engrossed in the story and so invested in the characters that I had trouble sleeping and I went around the next day with this tight, anxious feeling, unable to get the story out of my head.

The final episode is an emotional rollercoaster. SO. MANY. FEELINGS. There’s one particular scene which packs a powerful punch -- it’s exceptionally emotional and beautifully filmed. I love it, but I’m  glad we get the aftermath too.

It isn’t a perfect ending, but as I said, I don’t think there was a perfect ending was possible, not one that was both realistic and satisfying. But this comes very close. In the very final scenes, not everything is resolved or explained, and I like how that ambiguity is open to interpretation -- I like that there are some gaps for the viewer to fill in for oneself, however one prefers to imagine the characters’ lives going forward.

I know I could easily write another four thousand words about this story -- there are aspects I haven’t really discussed but this seems like a good place to stop. For now. I really like this story. I expect I’ll watch it all again soon.

[zrtranscripts]

Season 9, Mission 1: Cry For Help

Security breach detected

~

[alarm blares, crowd of soldiers rushes around in response]

GENERAL BAKARI: [over intercom] Dispatch is green, green, green. I repeat, this is General Bakari reporting from guard station 39. Security breach detected on my monitor. Access violation at east loading hangar. Full response dispatch is green, green, green.

[gate slams, crowd noise dissipates, alarm continues, GENERAL BAKARI approaches 555]

Sorry about the din, soldier. Hell of an alarm on the base. I know you're wondering why I asked you here. It's 555, isn't it? That nickname of yours. After your service number, I assume. 639555 is a bit of a mouthful.

I've noticed you're a quiet one, soldier. Always liked that about you. We haven't spoken much, but I haven't forgotten saving your squad from those mountain bandits. You owe me, and everyone says you're the honorable type. I need a favor. I want you to take something to the transmitter tower on the west side of Red Scorpion base. It's a portable data drive. I'll explain more when you're en route.

You know what security's like in the complex, soldier. If anyone gets caught out of place, it's shoot first, shoot second. Neither of us is cleared to access the tower, so this has to be done on the QT. I've set off a fake alarm to keep all the guards busy on the other side of Red Scorpion base. I'd go myself, 555, but I'm an old man with a bad leg, and the fake alert can't last.

I've reviewed your performance logs. You're faster than me. This is essential business, soldier. Trust me, lives are on the line. Head down that corridor toward the west side hangar door. I'll be on your comms set guiding you. We have to be fast, before someone clocks the false alarm. Run!

~

[alarm blares, drone whirs]

GENERAL BAKARI: Don't worry about the camera drone overhead, 555. I've commandeered it so I can follow you. Keep going through the storage bay past the metal crates. [running footsteps] Duck behind the crates, quickly!

FIRST SOLDIER: Three more storage bays to go.

SECOND SOLDIER: [speaks foreign language]

THIRD SOLDIER: Keep those eyes open, people.

GENERAL BAKARI: Six soldiers across the bay from you. Must be a stray patrol in the area. [a soldier whistles, running footsteps fade away] They're moving on. Keep going straight, soldier, quick sharp.

You know, 555, I'd rather not be doing this. Breaking the rules. Before I was here, I was in the UK for a long time. Had children there, of sorts. Jane and Tom. Adopted them after their parents died. I did my best to rear them. There was a lot of trial and error, I admit. They turned out difficult, disruptive. Got me in trouble with a local government, left me needing to flee the country.

This place seemed like the perfect escape. Isolated, secure, nothing unauthorized in or out. A bastion of routine willing to take an old soldier. At least, willing to take one with knowledge of certain UK research programs.

[sighs] It's been a sanctuary. I wish I could leave it undisturbed, but there's something here that needs to get out into the world. The thumb drive I've given you holds an encrypted message. Link it to the base's comm tower and the message will upload and send. The tower's just beyond the west hangar door outside the compound, but once you're there...

[gates rattle shut]

Damn! All the base exits are locking down. New orders from the head of security. The west hangar's been secured, 555. We need an alternative route. Stay calm! There's a fire exit near your position, needs to be locked manually. You can reach it before anyone else. Opens to the wrong part of the base. No choice. Down the stairs on your right, run!

~

[gate rattles open, alarm fades]

GENERAL BAKARI: That's it, soldier, you're out of the main compound and into the open. I've got my drone hovering nearby. Hell of a view, isn't it? Sand stretching off in every direction. It's easy to forget how alone we are out here, just a fence around a few gray buildings, surrounded by miles of empty nothing.

SOLDIER: Over here!

GENERAL BAKARI: Uh-oh.

SOLDIER: This way.

GENERAL BAKARI: That sounds like... Let me check my security feeds. Damn! Using the fire door triggered an automatic fire alert. The base knows someone's active in that area. Patrols are honing in. Look at that big greenhouse on your left, soldier. Guards are coming from that way. Turn right, 555. See the field of solar panels? Damn bright, aren't they? Reflecting sunlight like flares. Head towards them. The glare'll keep anyone from making visual contact. That's it, keep your eyes on the ground. There's dozens of those panels. Get lost in them.

Marvelous things, solar cells. Had to learn their workings to help Thomas with his homework once. Poor boy. Good at taking orders, but could be slow sometimes. Often ran afoul of bullies, needed someone to look after him.

SOLDIER: Triple check the area. Sweep for movement.

GENERAL BAKARI: The guards are searching the area you just left. Two squads. Stay low. If you can sneak across the solar field, the tower is nearby. [exosuits whir] Hell! The troops are using motion trackers. They've detected you. And those are fire team mechs, fully powered exosuits with heavy gun turrets. They're breaking out the anti-zom gear. That's not good.

It's okay, 555. One thing I learned from children: always be ready to improvise. Cut northeast across the solar field toward the stellar observatory. You know, the building that looks like a golf ball on its tee? You can lose the soldiers there. They won't fire on you in the panels. Go!

~

GENERAL BAKARI: That's it, soldier. You're in the observatory foyer. You'll see a steel staircase leading up to a second floor balcony. Take it now. [footsteps on stairs] They won't be able to fit the exosuits through the observatory entrance. You know how strict Red Scorpion base is about protecting equipment. That just leaves the troops on foot. [soldiers shout]

All right, 555. You've crested the stairwell. The troops are crowding through the entrance behind you. Throw a grenade. Aim it for the middle of the stairs. Trust me, do it! [grenade pin clinks, grenade explodes, soldiers scream, stairs shatter] Good job! The explosion scrapped the stairs. The soldiers are scattering. That'll buy time. Head along the balcony through the double doors ahead.

[doors open and close] I've had to pull my drone back, 555. The soldiers might have noticed it. It's funny, most of them don't even know what they're really protecting here, just following orders. You should be in a large domed room with a mounted telescope in the middle. Go to the leftmost control panel and hit the green switches. [switches click] The switches will open up the observatory dome. [walls roll open] Head to the seam where the dome walls are parting.

SOLDIER: Stop them! [other soldiers shout]

GENERAL BAKARI: Damn! The guards found another stairwell. Get right up to the opening, 555, and look down over the edge. You'll see the observatory building beneath you. There's a metal maintenance gantry wrapped around it. Jump down onto the gantry, go! [boots clatter on gantry] You're down, good. The gantry spirals around the building. Follow it to the ground. You'll end up a short way north of the transmitter tower. The soldiers have reached the telescope room. They'll be coming down after you. Get down the gantry, then bolt south. You'll see the tower. Fast as you can, go!

~

GENERAL BAKARI: I've got you on camera, soldier. You're nearly there. See the transmitter up ahead? Looks like a huge radio antenna, doesn't it? You've performed incredibly today, 555. I want you to know this was essential. We are reaching out for help. Red Scorpion base is keeping secrets that must get out.

All right, you're at the tower. There's a touch screen on its base. Plug in the thumb drive, then hit upload. [computer beeps] You're probably wondering where this message is going, 555. I admit I'd rather not be reaching out to the UK, but I don't have anywhere else to turn.

It was my father who first got me into the service. He taught me what it means to be a soldier. You've got to have a code. Country, honor, family, hope. A soldier fights for all these things with whatever means they have. Damn fool wouldn't give up his cigars. Cancer got him, throat and lungs. Pneumonia finished him off. The way he just withered... He wouldn't have been proud. He didn't go out in uniform

[computer beeps] Ah, message uploading. It'll take a few minutes to send. Don't worry, soldier, I have an extraction planned for you. [soldiers shout, fire guns] The guards are catching up. Head to the southeast corner of the perimeter fence, fast as you can. I can get you out from there. Run!

~

GENERAL BAKARI: That's the way, 555. Keep following the barbed wire fence straight forward. I have a lot of respect for you, 555. You do your uniform proud. It means something special, a uniform. My father taught me that. It means being part of a whole greater than yourself, joining others to be strong enough to serve. You've served well, soldier, but I couldn't let them catch you near the transmitter. They might have found the message.

[over intercom] Attention, this is General Bakari, level three security adjunct. Emergency update to follow.

[over headset] I hope you understand, 555. Once the message is broadcast, the drive will wipe the data logs. Your mission is complete, and that's what really matters.

[over intercom] Source of security breach confirmed as soldier 63955, currently at perimeter fence southeast corner. Target is absconding with base secrets.

[alarm blares, soldiers shout]

[over headset] Put the gun down, soldier. You don't want to fight your own. It's okay to run, it'll look more convincing. I know this is a hard pill to swallow, but you're going out a hero. That message could save countless lives. We may not have ended on good terms, especially Janine and me, but I know the De Lucas well. They won't turn down a cry for help when there are innocents at stake.

[over intercom] 63955 is confirmed armed and extremely dangerous. Terminate on sight.

[over headset] That corner's a dead end, 555. Nowhere to go. I salute you, soldier. You've done our countries proud.

[armed patrol approaches]

SOLDIER: Open fire.

[gunfire]

GENERAL BAKARI: [very faint, over intercom] This is Bakari. Target down. Security breach resolved. All troops return to patrol positions. Repeat, return to patrol positions.

AUTOMATED VOICE: Data upload complete. Message tag: to Abel Township. Beginning transmission. Beginning transmission. Beginning transmission...

~

[saharamae21]

All of My Wrongs - Chapter Three

Pairing: Topper x OC and Rafe x OC

Summary: Aurora goes dress shopping with Rafe for Midsummers, but she can’t quite pinpoint how she feels about him. Everything he does feels intimate to her, sending reactions through her mind and body. However, the emotional connection just doesn’t seem there yet. She’s scared that she will never be enough for him. Midsummers just might prove that theory right to her.

A/N: Sorry if these first chapters come off as boring. Its going to be a slow moving fic in order for me to really build connections with the characters. I really like it though and I hope you do too… Let me know what you think! I really want some feedback on this…

Also Chapter 4 is almost done

Get Added to this Series Taglist

____________________________________________

I woke up in the morning, smiling at the thought of what laid ahead of me. I was going dress shopping in the morning. Rafe was supposed to pick me up in an hour and I hadn’t even begun to get ready. I rushed into the bathroom to shower, making sure not to get my hair wet. When I got out, I quickly curled my hair and threw on some natural make up. I wondered if it would be enough to live up to Rafe’s standards. I knew I would really have to step it up to look perfect at Midsummers tonight. I slipped a dressy top over my nicest and cutest bra. I pulled on a white jean skirt and observed myself in the mirror. I looked good. I walked down the steps and waited in the living room, feeling pleased with myself.

“Wow Rory,” my dad said upon entering the room. “You cleaned up very nicely.”

I dramatically made a gagging motion at the compliment, smiling afterwards. He chuckled at me and told me to have fun on my date. Before I could correct him, he was gone. This wasn’t a date, but it certainly felt like it. I was dressed up and nervously fidgeting, just like how I imagined I would be for a date. I heard a vehicle pull up to my house and smiled. I slipped out the front door and saw Rafe, proudly staring at me over the handlebars of a bike.

“Wow, buttercup,” he said, looking me up and down. I bit my lips together, feeling my skin heat up under his gaze. I stared at the bike as he got off and handed me a helmet. I opened my mouth to protest, but he just took the helmet out of my hands and placed it over his head. “I’ll go slow.”

The smirk on his face grew with his words. I rolled my eyes at his cocky attitude and hesitantly got on. He told me to hold on tight and I wrapped my arms around his waist. I squeezed my eyes closed as we sped off. My arms tighten around him as initial fear arose. He slowed down after that. Still, I squeezed my eyes shut the whole way there.

The bike came to a stop and I opened my eyes slowly. Rafe’s huge blue eyes were staring back at me, his pupils dilated. He seemed pleased with how tightly I was clinging to him. I dropped my arms and he got off the bike. He helped me pull the helmet off my head and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” he asked. I wrinkled up my nose at his sarcastic tone. “Come on buttercup, we have a ferry to catch.”

The ferry ride to Chapel Hill was long. I stood next to Rafe, his arm slung over my shoulder as I stared at the water below us. My hands were on the rails, but not tightly enough. I felt something bump into my back, sending me into the rail. Rafe’s arms caught me by the waist, making sure I didn’t go overboard. He shot glares at the younger boy who had ran into me. His hands lingered on my waist as he looked at me. I shifted uncomfortably under the attention, making him chuckle.

“I don’t remember you being this shy when we first met,” he said.

“You think you’re so sly,” I muttered, pushing him away from me. I rolled my eyes as I made my way over to the other side of the ferry. I see Chapel Hill in sight and smile at how beautiful it looks. It looked old and serene.

We got off the boat, moving quickly around the dock. He gripped my wrist as he navigated me to a less busy area. From there we walked to the shopping district. It was lined with cute boutiques and fancy shops. I knew I didn’t have enough money for these places, yet I didn’t speak up. I didn’t want to embarrass myself.

We slipped into a small boutique and Rafe’s eyes bounced back and forth. He was scanning the store for something. Then, out of no way, he grabbed my hand and guided me over to a rack of light blue dresses. I stared at him and then back at the rack.

“Why blue?” I asked. I flipped through the rack carefully.

“Well, you’re dirty blonde hair would compliment the soft blue color,” he said, twirling a strand of my hair. Then his fingers brushed across my shoulder. “The fairness of your skin would also accent it well.” I shuddered under his touch. Everything he did seemed so intimate. I brushed his hand off of my skin and focused on the dresses in front of me. One stood out, but the price tag ruined it’s beauty. I flipped past it, but he grabbed it off the rack. He held it up against my body and smirked.

“Perfect. Go try it on,” he said, pushing the dress into my hands. I looked at it, not wanting to argue with him. I smiled and walked towards the dressing rooms. I slipped into the light blue dress. It was covered with a floral bodice. The skirt portion was short, falling just above my knees. It fit perfectly and when I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I smiled. I looked sophisticated and beautiful. I heard Rafe call out for me, wanting to see the dress. I slipped out of the dressing room and locked eyes with him.

“Wow…” he muttered. His eyes stared at me. For the first time, his face had no smirk. There wasn’t a sly smile and he wasn’t undressing me with his eyes. He was staring. He was admiring me. He was smiling, wholesomely. A warm feeling swelled up inside me. “You look beautiful.”

He took a couple steps closer. I looked down at my feet in embarrassment, but he tilted my chin up to look at him. His smile was contagious as his hand caressed my face gently. He treated me like something special. My face was burning under his attention, my skin was on fire. I must’ve been beet red. He flicked my forehead, completely ruining the moment. I laughed and shoved him.

“Hey, we’ll take this dress,” Rafe yelled at a cashier, while taking the tag off. I muttered at him to not be rude and looked at myself one more time. It looked beautiful, but my parents would murder me. I watched as Rafe walked over the counter and pull out his wallet. I ran over and grabbed it away from him. “Don’t worry about it and go change.”

He took his wallet back and pushed me towards the changing rooms. I opened my mouth to protest, but I knew I wouldn’t win. I walked back into the room and slipped off the dress, allowing it to fall carelessly against the floor. I stepped into my skirt and pulled my shirt on over my head. I grabbed the dress, gently putting it back onto the hanger and walked out. They covered the dress with a garbage bag and handed it to Rafe. He thanked them and smiled, slipping his hand into mine on the way out. It was my first time holding hands with a guy. I bit my lip and wondered if my hand was too sweaty.

We walked a ways, neither of us saying a word. I thought to myself intently. I wondered if I liked Rafe or not. He was fun to be around, but I didn’t have a good read on him. I didn’t know if he would be about to handle me. I didn’t know if I could trust him.

We found our way back to the dock, after taking the long way there. His face was contorted with thought as he sat next to me. I wondered what he was thinking about. I smiled at him before standing up and walking back over to the railing. I loved the feeling of the mist against my face. I looked back at Rafe to see him staring at me. His eyes were different than before and it confused me.

He dropped me off at home, telling me that he would pick me up at 7. I smiled and nodded before walking inside. The dress was tucked tightly on my arm. I tried to slip up to my room undetected, but it didn’t work.

“He’s handsome,” my mom said as wiggled her eyebrows at me.

“He’s a friend,” I said with a smile. I didn’t even know if I was romantically interested in him or not yet. He was handsome, but everything seemed like a game to him. He would manipulate me and use me. I could never subject myself to that when I was already so unstable.

I spent the rest of the afternoon, pacing back and forth. I tried to wrap my head around why I didn’t feel romantically about Rafe. He made my heart flutter, but in the end, I couldn’t picture myself in a long term relationship with him. Maybe I just didn’t know him well enough yet.

I found myself in the dress. My hair was in loose waves and I put a white flower crown on. My makeup was light and natural and the freckles on my face accented it well. I slipped on some comfortable wedges and walked down the steps. My parents were waiting downstairs, smiling at me as I descended down the curved staircase. I felt like a princess ready for the ball. When I got to the bottom I heard laughter from my brother and rolled my eyes.

“Skip, leave your sister alone,” dad snapped at him. “You look beautiful, Rory.”

I thanked him and heard a car in our driveway. I told my parents not to wait up for me and walked out the front door. I was a little scared that he would show up on the bike, but instead it was nice sports car. He got out and I say that he was in this awful light blue suit. I couldn’t contain my laughter. He rolled his eyes as he walked up to me offering me his arm.

“Is this why you picked blue?” I snorted as I laughed.

“Shut up…” he muttered and opened the car door for me. I smirked as I got in. We drove to the country club. I made a joke about his suit every chance I could. I could tell I was getting under his skin a little bit, but in a good way. I think he liked to know that I could dish it out as well as he could.

The venue was gorgeous. There were strings of lights and beautiful decor everywhere. I was stunned by the visuals. I grabbed onto Rafe’s arm and we walked out together, receiving some stares from everyone else. We walked about greeting people and listening to others congratulate Rafe and his father. I could tell by his reaction that he didn’t have the best relationship with his dad. Everytime Ward was mentioned, his body tensed. He wasn’t even trying to hide it. I was standing by the drinks when I notice the boy from earlier. He looked troubled. I thought about going over to talk to him, but I had a feeling he would be less than pleased to see me again. I sighed and looked around. Somehow, Rafe had disappeared from my side. I looked around, searching for any sign of him. Instead, I found Topper.

“Hey Bottom,” I said while walking up. He relaxed for a second when he saw me. His off white colored suit looked amazing on him. I couldn’t help smiling. “Hey Rory,” he said. My nickname sounded so foreign coming from his mouth.

“Have you seen Rafe?” I asked. I looked around and still no sign of him. He shook his head and offered to keep me company. I gladly accepted and sighed at the abandonment. How could he just disappear on me like that? I grabbed a drink, noticing everyone was drinking underage. I was sipping the wine and joking around with Topper when I heard my name being called. I handed Topper my glass and walked towards the lobby. Rafe was there with a few of his friends who I had never met before, “See guys,” he said, grabbing my forearm and pulling me towards him. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

I stumbled towards him as he pulled me. He held me in front of his friends, flaunting me like a trophy. I felt my shoulders sink as he showed me off. This night wasn’t about me fitting in, it was about him bragging to his friends. Everything would cycle back to him and I now knew that. I noticed his eyes were huge, his pupils dialated to an alarming size. I also noticed a white powder on his face and stared. He wiped at his nose as he noticed my gaze. He was high out of his mind right now. I frowned, knowing that this must’ve been a coping mechanism. It must’ve taken his mind off of his dad and all the attention that he drew. I felt bad for him, so I didn’t lecture him that I wasn’t his possession. I didn’t destroy his ego. I bit my tongue like I always did. I watched as his eyes shifted over to a blonde boy, not to far from us.

“Run along buttercup,” he said. “I’ll catch up with you later. The boys and I have some business to take care of.”

With that they walked towards the boy, he looked like he was trying to go unnoticed. I wondered who it was and why they were interest in him. I wanted to go after them, but I knew that would only make them not like me. I wanted them to like me. I wanted them to want to hang out with me, but obviously there were more pressing matters to take care of.

“I’m here if you want me,” I mutter sarcastically, before turning on my heels and heading to find Topper again.

___________________________________________

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