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#She was meant for special episodes that got more fantasy like then usual episodes
xx-sketchy-xx · 7 months
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Lol, why is this so fun???
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songofthesibyl · 9 months
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“Even for an immortal, there was not enough time in life to waste it on hatred. On feeling it and putting it into the world.”
—Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Wings and Ruin
So, no one cares what I think, my blog has no reach, but I just wanted to talk about social media, and fandoms, and the A Court of Thorns and Roses series.
I read the series last year, because I wanted to read a contemporary fantasy novel that dealt with faerie lore, and this series had 4 1/2 stars on amazon and was continually in print for a number of years, so I was intrigued and decided to give it a try. I don’t have tiktok and don’t follow book accounts on social media.
I loved the faerie lore in the first book, but made the mistake of looking up fan art, and the direction of the series was spoiled for me. While I enjoyed the series, and read the original trilogy fairly quickly, there were parts that bothered me, or that didn’t make sense—largely because of the majority fan interpretation that didn’t match how I experienced the series. I definitely got Twilight, Buffy, and Vampire Diaries vibes. For me, it was clearly in the dark fantasy genre, and the insertion of real world values didn’t quite make sense to me the way it was done. 
So, it was nice to find comments in reviews that felt the same. On here, and elsewhere. I was very isolated at the time, and this was a way to find a community. I was part of a fandom for the first time, writing fanfic for the first time. 
But this other side—I don’t mean pro- or anti-, I mean that really nasty, bullying, bizarre side of the fandom—became more and more prominent. I just never usually inserted myself in it.
This is social media. This is internet comments. This is human nature to bully and pick on others while sitting on the toilet at work. It’s nothing new.
But it bothers me. It’s always bothered me that people take time out of their days to be like this. And I get why the majority of it is done—boredom, fun, a distraction. But it still bothers me.
And because this series tackles such serious subjects as sexual assault, trauma, mental health, abuse—those throwaway, bullying, trolling comments take on a very disturbing tone.
If you disagree there are the usual epithets; using the need to seek therapy as an insult, attacking someone’s looks, family—even if no pictures or info are known. Telling people to kill themselves.
But because of the insertion of an abuse/DV “very special episode” aspect to the story, the comments become specifically about abuse—so if you feel a certain way about a fictional character, you are an “abuse apologist,” or want to be abused.
The other day, someone I know was arguing in a post on Instagram by a couple’s book account, with thousands of followers. The post was about Tamlin, the linchpin of the bizarre nature of this fandom. She disagreed with the post, liked the character more than they did. She argued using points from the book, but they fundamentally disagreed—fine. This person can handle themselves. But the other person said something in their discussion that I’ve seen before, that bothers me:
“I hope you find your Tamlin in the world.”
The person who said this dislikes the character. It was meant as a passive-aggressive, dismissive comment. You think he’s so great, I hope you find a person that is horrible and abusive in real life.
And it bothered me, and I knew it wasn’t worth it, but I just didn’t want to let it go this time. This person was an adult, not an adolescent. So I said it bothered me, that I had seen that comment before and I didn’t like its implications. I waited for a response—and saw that I was blocked. I made no accusations, said nothing personal about them—just that, just because one disagrees about a fictional character in a fantasy world doesn’t mean they want an unstable, abusive partner in real life. That comments like that bothered me. (Probably more than the person I was defending.) But it bothered me. And I got blocked, for the first time.
And that bothered me even more. Did they think they were being attacked? I don’t know. But the comment is probably still there, and unchallenged, and they’ll say it again, as so many others have. And that’s the way fandoms are. But it bothers me. It bothers me that, after dipping my toes into a fandom for the first time, into being social, this is what it all leads to. And it’s not even exceptional. This is how it always is.
And, despite some frustrations, I enjoyed the books, or I wouldn’t have kept reading them. And it made me want to reach out, and be social, when I hadn’t for a long time. But this part will always make me extremely anxious, and it’s exhausting, and it’s disheartening when this is what it all leads to. That books that speak about not spreading hate can lead to such nasty, disturbing, bullying behavior. It’s not fun. And I don’t really want to be a part of it anymore.
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linkspooky · 1 year
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Cipher Academy, Chapter One Thoughts. 
As I’ve said several times Medaka Box is my favorite manga ever, and Nisioisin my favorite author so I was excited for Nisio to be  writing another manga in Shonen Jump Magazine. At first I was waiting to see if the manga would make it past fourteen chapters before writing meta on it because I didn’t want to look stupid writing meta on a series that got cancelled early, but my friend @kaibutsushidousha​ encouraged me to just go ahead and look stupid anyway so here we go. My goal is to go chapter by chapter and catch up with chapter seven by next week. So, here we go. 
Nisioisin writes good protagonists, and the first chapter if anything does the work of establishing both Irohazaka’s personality as well as his main flaws. More on this underneath the cut. 
1. The Token Boy
If you haven’t noticed Nisio has a habit of writing harem series, which are also a common format in Shonen Jump. Usually these series depict one boy surrounded by girls with several of them having romantic feelings for him. Nisio is well aware of these tropes and instead of playing them straight he tends to subvert them. Medaka Box is nothing if not an analysis and subversion of the entire battle genre. The first episode is both a look at the kind of personalities the main characters of these harem series tend to have, and also a subversion. 
Due to the fact that most of these series where one male main character is surrounded by girls are written not with female readers in mind but to appeal to male readers, mostly as a romantic fantasy, the main characters are basically generic, milquetoast, wishy-washy, characters who do not have personality traits because they are meant to be easy for readers to insert themselves into. Like Bella Swan, but for boys. 
Irohazaka starts with several traits of these wishy-washy male main character. In the first place he presents himself as the most untalented member of his class. He joined the academy witout any big dreams unlike the rest of his class. He seems to be confused and thought Cipher Academy was just a regular high school before joining. He apparently joined a school for code deciphering and puzzle solving despite the fact he has never solved a crossword in his life. 
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Unlike the other students he basically has no motivation, he cannot solve the introduction crossword puzzle because he does not have a reason he came to this school. He is in almost every way an average high school student surrounded by more extreme personalities. 
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Tohshusai treats him like he does not exist, she cannot even remember that they were in the same class. She even outright calls him the token male main character.
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Tokenism of course meaning the making of a perfunctory or symbolic effort to do a specific thing, especially by recruiting a small number of people from underrepresented groups to give the appearance of sexual or racial equality in a workforce. Essentially saying that Irohazaka both does not belong in the class, and was not admitted because he himself has any merit. 
This resembles the protagonist that are so typical of the genre after all, harem protagonists somehow attract a lot of girls without really any effort, they don’t pursue the girls the girls pursue them, they don’t really have anything special about them, no talents, they barely even have personalities. Just like Iroha is accused of being the token male student, they are more or less token male main characters. 
Iroha even seems to be basically handed a device that will allow them to cheat at solving puzzles for basically doing nothing, just helping a female students hide for five minutes. However, Iroha’s not really having the puzzles solved for him, just receiving help from a friend, something that the teacher establishes right away isn’t a bad thing. Even the fact that Iroha has little knowledge solving puzzles doesn’t really have to count as a mark against them, after all they are at a school they are here to learn. 
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Iroha then carries on this theme of making friends and choosing your friends when three other girls gang up on them and try to pressure them into giving up the location of the girl they were searching for earlier. 
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The glasses that Iroha are given also do not solve the puzzle for them, but rather just gives them hints and clues. They’re not cheating, just receiving help from a friend. Iroha still has to solve the rest of the puzzle on their own. Which is something we see earlier Iroha isn’t a lazy student, when they had trouble solving the crossword puzzle cryptogram they were working at it for hours, and had several books open in the attempt to solve it on their own. 
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They’re clever enough not only to figure out the rest of the puzzle after being given a hint, but they also realize it was a trick question that was set up on the assumption that Iroha would take the easy way out and just try to guess randomly one of the three girls present rather than just solve it on their own. 
The manga starts with both everyone seriously underestimating the protagonist, and on top of that assuming they’re incompetent and spineless only to show that the protagonist both has a spine and makes choices on their own, they choose who to be friends with rather than being bullied into the choice, they’re also capable of solving the puzzle. The problem of having bland main characters is not really exclusive to harem series, Shonen manga in general are known for having power of friendship main characters who everyone likes and are automatically good at everything they try. In fact Nisioisin’s last series Medaka Box basically spent the entire time mocking such a main character. Often when reading shonen manga we end up asking ourselves “Why are we following around this loser? Why does everyone like them so much?” 
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So, this entire first chapter does the work of establishing both why Iroha is the main character, and how in a class of geniuses, eccentrics and weirdoes they’re still someone capable in their own right. 
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justmypartner · 3 years
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Safe - 8x14 Speculation Fic
Writer’s Note: The idea for this came from the 8x14 synopsis, and while it technically still is a speculation fic, I don’t imagine the episode happening exactly like this. However, I did use what I’ve seen from bts photos and videos, as well as things Tracy has said in interviews to develop some of the scenes/details. This is probably my favorite piece that I’ve written in a while, so I hope you enjoy & thank you for reading!
Hailey rustled through her closet looking for her black wedged boots, trying her best to hurry as she knew Jay was waiting for her in the kitchen. She wasn’t much of a boot with a heel kind of girl, but she and Jay had special plans and she wanted to look nicer than usual. While they had been together for months, that night was the first time they were going on a proper date. They each decided at the beginning of their relationship that with both of their histories, they wanted to keep things simple and to themselves, which meant a lot of take-out and a lot of nights alone in their apartments. However, after Hailey mentioned something in passing about their clandestine time together starting to feel restrictive, Jay made plans at a fancy restaurant where he knew they wouldn’t run into any of their fellow team members.
“I don’t mean to rush you, but our reservation is in 45 minutes and it will take us about 30 to get there,” Jay said softly, peeking his head around the door frame.
“I know, I know. I’m trying to- finally!” she shouted upon finding the boots in the corner of her closet. She brought a knee into her chest as she pulled a boot onto her foot before switching to the other leg and doing the same.
“Okay, I just need to get my phone and wallet and then I’ll be-“ her words were cut short as she caught sight of him for the first time that evening. He was wearing a dress shirt with a light jacket, and his dark jeans curled over the top of a pair of black dress boots. It was much different from his typical, rugged workwear, but she took note of how well the look suited him.
“Wow you clean up nice, Halstead,” she told him with a dimpled smile as he blushed, extending a hand down to help her rise from the floor. Once she was standing, the small space between them closed quickly as she wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing her lips to his briefly. While the heels added extra height, she still needed to raise on her tiptoes to meet his mouth.
“Not too bad yourself, Detective,” he uttered as her lips pulled away. His hands grasped her waist, holding her steady as she remained on her toes. They stayed pressed against one another for a moment looking into each other’s eyes, and just when he was about to go in for another kiss, she fell on her heels and pressed the tips of her fingers against his chest.
“Normally, I would indulge in this further, but we’re going to miss our reservation and I’m starving,” she teased, moving past him to retrieve her phone, keys, and wallet, along with her jacket slung over the back of the couch.
When they arrived at the restaurant, Hailey was charmed by how nice it was. It was far different from the usual dive bars and pubs they went to after work, and part of her even felt like it was too nice for them to be at.
“Halstead, party of 2,” he told the hostess, holding up 2 fingers with the hand that wasn’t intertwined with Hailey’s.
A stifled smile came across her face and she nodded her head towards the floor as they waited for someone to guide them to their table. It seemed surreal to be standing in the middle of a fancy restaurant with him, holding his hand and waiting to be seated for a romantic dinner. She couldn’t tell if it was because of how long she secretly pined over him or if it was because being with Jay felt like her first real love story, but there were many moments when being with him felt like some fantasy, and that moment was one of them. At one point in time, being with him was something she only dreamt about. It was a thought that crossed her mind when his gaze lingered a little longer than it should or when an accidental touch sent her heart racing. Before they took that leap, she worried being with him would mean giving up being his partner. It was that fear that made her keep her feelings bottled up for so long, but as they proved time and time again, as partners, as lovers, and as both - they were good together. She turned her head and placed a light kiss on his shoulder. It was a tangible reminder that he was hers to kiss, but it also grounded her in that moment that felt like just another dream.
The dinner itself was incredible. Hailey officially added the restaurant to her list of favorite food spots in Chicago, and they spent the entire meal giggling and sharing stories they had never shared before. By the end of it, Jay was stuffed, but Hailey insisted they order a dessert, her sweet tooth getting the best of her. Jay teased her for ordering the lava cake, the most indulgent option on the menu, but she was able to tease him right back when he asked the waiter for a second spoon when it was brought to the table.
Just as Jay was about to pay the check, his phone began to ring, Voight’s name popping up across the screen as he pulled out his wallet.
“Uh oh,” Hailey said as he picked it up to answer. Jay spoke with their boss briefly, mainly nodding his head and muttering brief affirmations every few seconds.
“I think she’s out tonight, but I can call her and swing by to pick her up wherever she is,” Jay said, shooting Hailey a wide-eyed look as he quickly came up with an excuse as to why they’d be riding in together all dressed up.
“Alright hot stuff, as much as I’d like to keep this night going, it seems we caught a case,” he told her, as he stood from his chair. He took out his wallet, counting out enough money to cover the check and tip before resting the bills under his glass on the table.
“At least we made it through dessert,” she said, sending him a childlike smile.
“Oh, that was dessert? I had something else in mind for that,” he replied smugly, Hailey’s face turning bright red at his suggestive words.
“Oh really?” She questioned, taking a step towards him to close the gap between them. “You’d better clean up that mind before we get to the scene,” she whispered with a chuckle, twirling around swiftly and making her way towards the door as he shook his head at her tease. His hand found the small of her back as they made their way out the door, and he placed a kiss against her temple, knowing it would probably be the last display of affection he could show before they had to enter partner mode.
When they arrived at the house, Kevin and Voight were outside talking to a few patrol officers. Hailey’s mood had changed drastically upon arriving at the scene. She couldn’t explain why, but she felt uneasy as she jumped out of the truck and secured her badge and gun to her hip.
As they approached, Kevin pursed his lips together and let out a two-tone whistle as he caught sight of Hailey.
“Damn girl, sorry to pull you away from whatever had you all cleaned up,” he told her, cocking his head to the side as she shook her head at him with a smirk. Her eyes caught sight of Voight’s as they darted between her and Jay and she became nervous, imagining that he was putting two and two together. She decided to change the subject quickly before any further comments could ensue.
“Oh, shut up,” she told him. “What do we got?” She asked, spinning her head around the scene and taking in the myriad of patrol cars.
“I think it’s something you have to unfortunately see for yourself. I do have to say, you might want to brace yourself for this one,” he said, turning to lead them inside. Jay and Hailey met eyes, sharing a look of concern before turning and following Kevin and Voight inside.
Walking through the front door, they collectively grimaced at the overwhelming smell of blood that tinged their noses. They hesitantly made their way deeper into the house and Hailey’s heart dropped when she caught sight of a family of four, a couple and their two kids, all tied up and shot dead on the living room floor. That uneasy feeling from before suddenly made sense. She clenched her jaw, groaning at the sight as she looked away, recognizing the same unsettled look in the face of each of her fellow officers.
“What the hell happened here?” Jay asked, looking over at Kevin for the answer.
“This is the second home invasion robbery in this neighborhood this week. Robbery-homicide has been working these guys since the first one, but so far they’ve come up with no leads. Whoever these guys are, they’re professionals. It’s a two-man crew, they come in through the back, dressed head to toe in dark attire, get what they need, kill the family, and get out. They’re in and out in less than 10 minutes and they’ve got a getaway driver who knows how to avoid traffic cameras. Robbery-homicide tells me these guys killed a family of three earlier this week, and that the dad had bruises on his body in addition to the gunshot wound that killed him. Now, what’s interesting is in this case, the mom is the one with these bruises. These families were definitely targeted, we’re just not sure how or why,” he explained causing them each to frown.
While Kevin explained the case, Hailey fell silent as the details brought her back to a string of cases she had worked during her time in robbery-homicide. She spent weeks chasing after a crew targeting families who had shopped at a high-end jewelry store, only that connection was missed for the first half of the investigation. By the time she and her team had finally caught on to why the families were being targeted, four families had already been killed, five kids below the age of ten among the victims. Hailey beat herself up for months knowing if they had caught onto the pattern sooner, they could have saved more of the families - more of the kids. This case sounded eerily similar, and she was bound to not let history repeat itself.  
“How’d we catch this if robbery-homicide was on it?” Jay asked, shoving his hands in his pockets as his gaze intentionally avoided the gruesome scene before them.
“Miller assigned it to us. She wanted a fresh pair of eyes. She’s getting a lot of heat from the press about there being no leads, especially since this is a high-end neighborhood. Plus, these guys have already killed three tender-aged kids. I want the animals on a stick,” Voight replied straightly.
“Do we know what they’re after?” Hailey asked, her brain already working to establish a connection.  
“No, and that’s what’s given our robbery-homicide guys so much trouble. The only connection is that both families have had pretty high-tech safes somewhere in the house. Last house it was in a bedroom closet, but this one was in the basement. It seems like these guys make their way in, beat the location and combo of the safe out of one of the parents, get what they need, and off the entire family before hauling ass out,” Kevin told them.
“Well, I’ve worked cases like this one before. If we’re going to get anywhere, we need to figure out what it was they wanted and how they knew about it. We’re on a time crunch now, because it’s only a matter of time before these guys strike again,” she said, turning and leaving the house without waiting for any of their responses.
After leaving the scene, they all made their way back to the district to go over the files robbery-homicide had sent over. They browsed over the files for a couple of hours before Voight sent them home, needing them to rest up and refresh before they dove completely into the case the next day. The familiarity of the case was itching at Hailey, but as much as she wanted to see something that everyone else was missing, she came up short in every place she looked.
The next morning, she and Jay got coffee together. She had been quiet since they caught the case. Jay picked up on her shift in mood that occurred from the restaurant to the scene, but he left it alone to give her the space she seemed to need. He eventually built up the nerve to ask what was wrong. She told him about her old case and how much it meant to catch the guys and quickly. He agreed, admitting to her how much seeing those dead kids struck a nerve. He reassured her they would catch them one way or another. As they walked out of the coffee shop, a call came over the radio:
Units over the city-wide, we got calls of a home invasion. 1433 N State Street
“Gold Coast, that’s the same neighborhood as the other home invasions, you think that’s our guys?” Jay asked looking over at Hailey as he held the radio up.
“Could be, let’s roll on it,” she told him, rushing towards his truck as he followed, telling dispatch they were taking the call.
They rolled up to the scene, carefully clearing the house together, but they arrived too late, and the offenders were gone. They found the couple who lived there in the same position as the last two families, only they still had a pulse. Hailey tried asking them what the offenders were after, but all she got were incoherent mutterings from each victim. They both died before ambulances could arrive, but just the same as the other cases, only the husband had signs of bruising in addition to the gunshot wound, and a safe was found in the back of a linen closet. While crime techs combed the house, Hailey made her way out to the back garden, finding a hose to rinse the victim’s blood from her hands. Her hands were shaking so much, she couldn’t quite scrub enough to get them clean. Jay caught sight of her through the window and wade his way out to her, grabbing her hands in his to steady them. She looked up at him as he nodded his head, taking the hose and helping her scrub her hands clean. Once they were clear, he held her hands in his for a minute longer, quickly releasing them when someone cleared their throat behind them. When they turned around Voight was standing there, his hands deep in his pockets, eyeing the two of them as they took a step back from one another. If he didn’t know about them before, he definitely did then.
“You get anything new on these guys?” He asked, a knowing look plastered across his face.
“No, Sarge. They were gone by the time we pulled up,” Jay told him, dropping the hose to the ground.
“Well, get back to it. We’ve wasted enough time as it is, we’ve got to catch these guys,” he said bluntly, turning and making his way back into the house. The two of them stayed there frozen, shaking their heads at how careless they had been to let him walk up on them like that.
Back at the district, they scrubbed the lives of all of the victims, still coming up with no connection between any of them. Nighttime arrived once again with no leads and no suspects, so they decided to call it and head home. That night, Hailey laid awake, tossing and turning for hours. She tried every method she knew to fight off the insomnia that had kept her restless, but nothing was able to lull her into a slumber. It was the case that was keeping her up, and her eyes stared blankly at the ceiling while a million theories circulated through her mind. Something about it just didn’t make sense, and she couldn’t shake the idea that they had been missing an obvious connection. The faces of the couple she tried to save earlier that day remained at the forefront of her mind, and after a while of fighting off the urge to get out of bed and chase that gut feeling, she finally slipped out from the grasp of Jay’s limp arm, carefully retreating from the bed as to not wake him. She made her way over to her closet, pulling on a pair of jeans and slipping a sweatshirt over her head before grabbing her badge and gun from the nightstand and sliding her phone into her back pocket. She made her way to her office, retrieving a sticky note and pen to write Jay a message letting him know where she was going.
Couldn’t sleep. Gone back to the district, needed to go over the case again. ♡
She tiptoed back into the bedroom and placed the note on her pillow where she knew he’d see if he happened to wake up. She grabbed her coat and opened the front door, slowly guiding it closed on her way out, still trying her best to be as quiet as possible. She wasn’t sure what she would be looking for when she arrived at the district, but she had hoped that studying it alone and in the quietness of the empty bullpen would provide her with a new perspective. She made herself a cup of coffee before walking over to her desk and opening up every file they had on the case. She paced the floor of the empty space, flipping through files and studying photos until she was sure there was nothing to see. Finally, she hoisted herself onto the top of her desk, pulling her knees into her chest and eyeing the board for something they may have been missing. Suddenly, she heard the beeping of the keypad and the clanging of the door opening and closing downstairs. She checked her phone to see the time. It was 4 am, and she couldn’t imagine who else would be up that early. She did a double-take as Jay made his way around the corner, a look of exhaustion on his face as he sent her a lazy smile.
“What are you doing here?” She asked him, unclasping her hands from around her knees and pulling herself to the edge of the desk.
“Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing,” he said with a smirk, pulling his jacket from his shoulders and resting it on the back of her desk chair.
“I couldn’t sleep. Something about this case was keeping me up, so I figured instead of lying in bed and staring at the ceiling for hours I would try and make myself useful. You didn’t have to come check on me. I’m fine,” she told him, the corners of her lips curling up into a reassuring smile as he came to stand over her.
“I couldn’t go back to sleep once I realized you were gone,” he told her softly with a slight pout before turning to lean on the desk beside her. “So, what have you figured out?” He asked, his attention turning to the board before them. She sighed, crossing her arms and staring at the crime scene photos as he waited for her response.
“I don’t know. I mean these families have no connections. The kids all go to different schools, they all work at completely different places, they don’t even shop at the same stores, I can’t seem to figure out where their lives intersect, so I just don’t understand why they’re being targeted,” she ran down, looking over at Jay whose eyes surveyed the information on the board.
“Maybe it’s about more than just the robbery. I mean they’re taking time to kill every member of the family, including the kids. Unless these guys are just straight-up psychopaths, it sounds like whatever is going on could be personal,” Jay suggested, looking over at his partner whose eyes were transfixed on one particular photo on the case board. His words sparked something in her, and she caught sight of the words Resurgence Tech written in bold font on a magnet on the refrigerator from the second crime scene. She knew the name was familiar, but she couldn’t remember how.
She pulled out the files from each of the cases and found what she was looking for. An email address registered in the husband’s name from the first robbery ending in resurgencetech.co. Looking at the other files, she was able to establish a connection between all of them leading back to a company previously known as Resurgence Tech. As she and Jay investigated through the night, they were able to figure out what was being stolen and why it was worth killing over. Resurgence Tech was a company co-founded by four individuals, Ryan Ethers, victim of the first robbery, Scarlett Jameson, victim of the second, Max Lin, victim from the third, and Lianne Meadows, who lived in a house in the Gold Coast District close to the previous victims. Five years prior, Resurgence Tech created a breakthrough idea for a high-tech medical device that had the potential to significantly change the practice of medicine. However, after hours of gathering information and records, the two detectives found out that the design was actually stolen from two brothers who had developed the original idea for a project they were working on in college. Resurgence used their power and influence to discredit the claims of the brothers, blacklisting them from the entire industry, and eventually pulling the design before it could ever meet the market. Not long after, Resurgence shut down for good, liquidating its assets and washing its hands of its shady actions for good. Digging deeper into the four co-founders of Resurgence and knowing more about where to look, Hailey and Jay were able to find email exchanges between them all discussing what to do with the patent plans for the stolen design in case there ever came a time to reintroduce the tech to the market. The strategy was to split the plans between the four of them, each keeping a piece locked up on a thumb drive hidden in a safe.
As soon as the sun rose that morning, Hailey called Voight and the rest of the team to come in. She explained the connection and identified the brothers as suspects, describing how the robberies must have been to obtain the thumb drives and get vengeance for the way Resurgence screwed them over. The situation had a significant impact on the brothers’ lives, leading them to turn to a life of crime, describing how they got connected with an armed robbery crew, and began pulling jobs across the city before getting caught only a year after Resurgence blacklisted them from the tech industry. They were released early due to overcrowding and good behavior, so they got out, hacked into the emails of the individuals that ruined their lives, and found out the design was out there, still viable to be profited from. Running on anger and revenge and using the skills they developed in their time with the robbery crew, they sought to take back what was theirs. They were operating under the theory that the two brothers were committing the crimes, and a guy that used to run with them in their old robbery crew was taking on the role as the getaway driver.
“Well, let’s go scoop ‘em up,” Voight said upon hearing the rundown of the case.
“Sarge, as much as I want to bring these guys in, we don’t have any evidence on them. There’s been no DNA, no prints, no witnesses tying these guys to these cases. There’s no way they’re going to talk, and if we bring them in, they’re just going to get released even if we keep them for the full 48 hours. By then they’ll have already made plans to run,” Jay said.
“These guys have killed nine people, three of those people being little kids. If we don’t act now, they’re going to strike again and that’s going to be blood on our hands. We bring them in, and we make them talk. I don’t care if we have to threaten them, or if we get ‘em to flip on each other. Either way, we’re not just going to sit around and wait for something to happen on this one. Not when we’ve got a pile of bodies growing the longer we sit here with our thumbs up our asses. So, Hailey, Jay, I want you two going to pick these guys up,” Voight bit back, a distinct annoyance in his voice. He had been on edge throughout the entirety of the case, but his temper seemed to have only increased after walking up on Jay and Hailey at the scene a day prior.
As much as Hailey wanted to side with Voight, she knew Jay was right. Bringing them in with no evidence and no witnesses placing them at any of the scenes would only guarantee them getting to walk, something she was determined to not let happen.
“Sarge, we can’t,” she muttered, swallowing what felt like a rock in her throat as his face fell with bitter surprise.
“What?” He challenged, his head dropping down as he cut his eyes at her.
“Jay is right. We can’t just jump on these guys with no evidence or else we risk losing them for good. I know you want to get these guys quick, but there’s got to be a better play,” she replied, taking note of the uncomfortable looks expressed by the other Intelligence members who quietly observed the interaction from the other side of the room. She watched as he pulled the inside of his cheek between his teeth.
“Remind me, who’s the sergeant of this unit?” The question carried a great deal of weight, and everyone in the room fell silent as his eyes travelled between each of the five intelligence members. “You don’t have to agree with what I say, but there’s a chain of command here and I expect you to listen to me. Now, unless there’s another sergeant in this unit I’m unaware of, I’m in charge. So, I’m only going to say this one last time. Jay, Hailey, go pick these guys up. I have to go update Miller on what’s going on. Those guys better be sitting in interrogation when I get back. End of,” he roared, making his way past the officers who remained frozen in place.
While Adam, Kevin, and Kim went back to work, Hailey grabbed her jacket, heading down the hallway out to the parking lot to follow the sergeant’s orders.
“Hailey, wait,” Jay called after her, grabbing her arm and pulling her into the observation room where he knew the others wouldn’t be able to hear them.
“What?” She questioned, a look of concern on her face as he silently thought through his words.
“I think I have another play,” he told her.
“Jay, he seemed- “she began before he cut her off.
“No, I know, but you know I’m right. We bring these guys in now and these families will never get the justice they deserve. We know there’s only one family left on their list, Lianne Meadows. The only move we have left is to catch these guys in the act. I say we sit on her house and wait for the robbery to go down, snatch them up, and then we have the guns tying them to the other cases and we have leverage to get them to flip if we need to,” Jay told her, the look in his eyes pleading with her to agree.
She knew Jay was right, but she also knew what going against Voight’s orders would mean. By that point, it was safe to assume he knew about their relationship. She knew that alone would be cause for him to assign them to different partners or even to different units. Teaming up and going against him would only increase the chances of him pulling the trigger on that. From the start of the case, she knew she wanted to catch the guys no matter what, but she never imagined it would involve making a decision that could possibly jeopardize her partnership with Jay. Every part of her knew his way was the only option that gave them a chance of making things right, yet she knew there would be a cost to them both going against Voight’s orders.
“You’re right… but let me do it alone,” she told him, causing him to frown at her words.
“What? No, I can’t let you go after these guys by yourself,” he argued, a combination of concern and annoyance in his voice.
“Jay, if we do this together it’s only going to give him reason to split us up. I have a feeling we’re already on his hit list after everything that has happened these past few days, and if he sees that we’re siding with each other… going rogue against his orders? He could reassign us partners, or worse, ship one of us off again. You, this partnership, our relationship, it all means too much to me to risk. If I go alone, only I take the fall, and he doesn’t have reason to use our relationship against us,” Hailey told him, moving a hand to his chest as she spoke.
Pushing him away and crossing that line by herself was the only way she knew how to protect both their relationship and their partnership. With her history of crossing lines, she had hoped it would just seem like another questionable decision she made all on her own, and he wouldn’t have reason to punish both of them by splitting them up.
“Hailey, I’m not just letting you go there without backup,” he finally said, his jaw set tightly as he peered into her eyes.
“I’ll have Trudy assign some patrol guys for backup. That way you and the others don’t take fall back from Voight, but I won’t be going in alone,” she replied, moving the hand from his chest to cup his face. “I’ll be fine,” she told him.
He nodded hesitantly before sliding his fingers down her arm and wrapping his hand around hers.
“Be careful,” he insisted, squeezing her hand lightly.
“Of course,” she nodded back before opening the door and disappearing down the hall.
She sat out front of the house, the patrol officers waiting a street over for her signal. It had been about an hour and she had already dodged two calls from Voight. Her patience was running thin with every minute that passed without a sign of the crew. Then, she spotted a dark van creeping down the street and she slumped down in her seat, trying to avoid being seen. As the van approached the house, two men rolled out of the back door as the van maintained a low speed before stopping down at the end of the street. The second the men made it around the back of the house, Hailey radioed the patrol guys, climbing out of her car and drawing her weapon as she followed the offenders around the back. When the patrol guys caught up, she nodded to one of them, signaling them to open the back door and enter the home. The second they made it through the doorway, they were catching fire. Hailey took cover behind a door frame, keying her radio attached to her vest.
“10-1, 10-1, shots fired at the police, 1327 N Dearborn Street. Be advised patrol and plainclothes officers on scene,” she yelled into the radio, securing her free hand back on her gun before motioning the officers to press forward. They made their way into the house, carefully clearing each room as they passed through. When they made it to the front of the house, she caught sight of one of the guys escaping out the front door.
“5021 Henry I’m in foot pursuit of a suspect in an alleyway going west across the street from the original location,” she called out into the radio as she pumped her legs with each step, trying to control her breath as she chased after the suspect. He rounded a corner and she slowed down, holding her gun out to peer around the corner before continuing the pursuit. The next thing she knew, her gun was being kicked out of her hands and she was being thrown against the wall, hitting the side of her head against brick and feeling blood trickle down her face. She brought a knee up into her attacker’s groin, giving her a brief opening to connect an elbow with the side of his head. Falling to the ground, the man grabbed at her ankle, bringing her down with him before grabbing hold of her vest and laying a fist into her jaw. The blow sent her backward, shooting pain into the side of her face. She caught sight of her gun on the ground a few feet away and went to crawl for it, but he grabbed at her leg, drawing her backward toward him as she stretched her fingertips towards the handle. He was stronger than her, and he managed to pull her back enough to regain hold of her vest, winding up to lay another fist into her face. Before he could, she wrapped a leg around his, twirling him over so she was hovering over him. She began laying fist after fist into his masked face until she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. She flinched, sending her elbow backwards towards the person. It was grabbed instantly, and she wiggled in the grasp before turning around and taking in the familiar green eyes of her partner.
“Hailey, we got him,” he said, holstering his gun and grabbing her by each arm to pull her up from the ground. Kim came from behind him, removing the mask from the offender and rolling him over to place him in cuffs. Meanwhile, Jay wrapped Hailey in his arms, bringing his chin down to her head as they swayed together in an embrace. Her breath was heavy and shaky, and she felt tears pool at the corners of her eyes. She was overwhelmed by everything that had just happened, but his arms wound tightly around her helped steady her breathing.
“It’s okay Hailey, you’re safe. I’ve got you,” he reassured her through a whisper. She took comfort in his words, and despite the pain surging through her head, she buried it deeper into his chest.
Luckily, they had reached the target and her family in time before the offenders could do any harm. Hailey went to Med to get her head checked out. A few stitches and several scans later, she was cleared, making her way back to the district to take whatever repercussions Voight had in store for her. The second she made it up the stairs, everyone’s eyes fell on her and she just flashed them a gentle smile and nod, signaling to them she was okay. Voight came to the doorway of his office, and she didn’t miss a beat heading straight towards him. However, just before she reached the door, his attention shifted over towards Jay at his desk.
“You too, Jay,” was all the sergeant said before turning and moving back into his office. Jay stood, making his way over and closing the door behind him before coming to stand beside Hailey across from the Voight’s desk. He looked over at them silently for a moment, Hailey setting her jaw tightly as she braced for whatever was to come.
“Are we just making a habit out of disobeying me and questioning my orders? Is that what we’re doing now?” He asked them. They remained silent. “Because if that’s what we’re doing and you’ve got a problem with how I run things, there’s the door. You can get out right now,” he told them sternly.
“Sarge, we needed to get those guys. Catching them in the act was the only way. I did what I had to do to make sure those families got justice,” Hailey said, her eyes remaining fixed with his.
“I told you to pick them up, bring them in, and instead you went your own way, putting that family, yourself, and a couple of patrol officers at risk. I could suspend you over this,” he argued, a distinct tension building in his voice.
“Sarge, it was my idea. If anyone deserves punishment, it’s me,” Jay admitted, causing Hailey’s head to swivel his direction, a cross look on her face as the words left his mouth.
“No, that’s not… Look, I went there on my own. I’m the only one to blame here,” Hailey argued causing him to shake his head before them.
“Okay, look. I know there’s something going on between you two, I have known for a while,” the second the words left his mouth, their eyes met briefly, and they both swallowed hard before turning back to him. “I decided to turn a blind eye because you two were able to keep it strictly professional here at work as far as I was concerned. But what happened today, what’s happening right now… this lying to me and covering for each other is not welcome in my unit. This is your warning and it’s the only one you’re going to get. As long as I’m in charge of this unit, you listen to me. You don’t go off-book, you don’t go behind my back because you disagree with what I say, and you certainly don’t let whatever is going on between you two change the way you make decisions. I know you guys are going to have each other’s backs… as partners and as whatever else, but the second that trumps having my back and the team's back, the way it did today, it undermines my authority and puts all of us at risk. If anything happens again like what happened today, you’re both done, and I’ll make sure you never work in the same unit again. Is that clear?” He asked them.
“Understood,” Jay replied.
“Yes, Sarge,” Hailey uttered, her heart rate dropping significantly with relief.
They drove home that night in silence, partly from exhaustion and partly from trying to process everything that had happened in the past 72 hours. Three days ago, they were on their first official date, celebrating their relationship for what felt like the first time, and now they were coming down from what could have easily been the end of their job and their partnership. Even though she hated the way it had to go down, she stood by having Jay’s back and trying to protect their relationship, even if it meant muddying the waters between them and Voight. From the start of the case, she was determined to catch the guys, chasing a small sense of redemption she felt she needed for that case she worked so many years prior. She wasn’t happy about everything that happened, particularly everything that went wrong, but she was able to save a family and get some form of justice for the others, and she stood by that firmly. It wasn’t the first time she had challenged Voight or crossed lines, but it was the first time she was genuinely fearful of the consequences. She was just glad her fears didn’t come to fruition. She looked over at Jay in the driver’s seat, and she remembered the way he told her she was safe after pulling her from the attacker only hours prior. Safe wasn’t something she had felt often in her life, but she certainly felt it when she was with him. She smiled to herself in the dark, satisfied to know that at least for that day, despite everything that happened, their relationship and their partnership were two things she could still consider safe.
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jq37 · 3 years
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The Report Card – Fantasy High: The Seven Ep 2
The Girls Are Fighting!!!
We return to Aguefort Adventuring Academy where the man himself has just told the Seven Maidens that their party is being split up which they are NOT having even though it doesn’t seem to be a malicious plot so much as the fact that Danielle, Ostentatia, and Zelda are Juniors while the other four are graduating Seniors. Antiope casts Hunter’s Mark on Aguefort, Penny pleads, Katja threatens (well, “threatens”; she walks up menacingly and then says that he can’t do this because it’s the only group of friends she’s ever had and it’s heartbreaking like all of her non-hilarious dialogue is).
Aguefort understands that it sucks and has no respect for rules but says it’s out of his hands. Sam clocks that he’s hiding something (along with the fact that he seems to know about something going on with Antiope and Penny which we know is their respective internship/apprenticeship offers) and calls him out, hitting him with a Lightning Lure to drag his ass back when he tries to turn into a bat and escape out the window. She’s unhinged and I love it. 
So does Aguefort who decides to let them in on some school secrets, leaving a decoy while he leads them all to the super secret part of the forbidden library which is bondage themed because sure. Also, Ostentatia is topless for this also because sure. He does a lot of pomp and circumstance to summon a book which Yelle flatly says better not just be the syllabus and it isn’t but she’s close. It’s the bylaws of the school district which he has summoned for the guidelines on the special, magical thing the girls can get so they can graduate together…
Their GEDS!!!!! Trés mystical. 
Basically what they need to do is complete a level A, B, or C quest together (which Antiope knows are like the top 3 highest difficulty quests--they go from A-F) and get signoff from the superintendent. But the superintendent has been missing for 12 years and there can’t be a new one until she’s dead (which she isn’t or else they’d be able to appoint a new one). Her name is Tectonya Karkovnya (who I will be calling TK) and Aguefort calls her, “chaotic and impossible to predict,” which coming from him is como se dice, troubling. 
Sam pulls out her mirror to do a little snooping on TK’s past and sees that she’s a coppery, earth genasi woman. She also sees her talking to Aguefort and saying that the magic of consciousness is far superior to his beloved chronomancy. Then the scene shifts to show her getting more and more worried as she got deeper into her studies and then going to a dwarven holy site in the Mountains of Chaos with some kind of shadow figure following her. 
Penny gets photos of the super cursed bylaws and Arthur leaves since he very much is the principal of the school and has to do his job (ostensibly). With Aguefort gone, the girls discuss the proposition after conscripting a very reluctant Antiope to be their leader (Aabria hilariously improvises that a shaft of sunlight somehow comes down to illuminate her and she has to step out of the spotlight). 
They discuss whether they want to do this GED quest or not and Zelda says she wants to but she wants to give anyone who has other stuff going on an out so they don’t feel beholden. Ostentatia immediately shoots back that Zelda is just saying that because she has plans with Gorgug. That brings down the mood and Sam, despite being a water genasi, fans the flames by saying that Gorgug has lots going on that doesn’t involve her so she shouldn’t be running back to him all the time. 
Yelle tries to calm things down and says they should sleep on it but Sam and Ostentatia are taking this super personally and are offended that they’re even having this conversation. Penny accidentally lets slip that she has some kind of apprenticeship (she’s trying to keep it on the DL because it’s supposed to be a secret) and oh man it becomes a Whole Thing. They fight in the way that you do when everyone in the fight actually wants the same thing and cares deeply about each other but are in completely different headspaces which are making them lash out.
Penny, not wanting to be around the conflict, goes invisible. Zelda is suppressing going into a rage and says that maybe she should go be with Gorgug. At least he won’t yell at her. Yelle once again tries to cool things down and suggests they have a text thread where they can say if they’re in or out by the end of the night instead of hashing it out in the open. She’s accused of not being in and, in response, texts that she’s in. Ostentatia and Sam also immediately text that they’re in, which basically makes her “solution” entirely moot. 
Zelda is finally fully fed up and leaves (Penny following invisibly). Katja also follows. 
Antiope can tell that Sam is upset about something that’s not this but Sam brushes her off rudely and storms off (quite literally, causing storm clouds outside in her wake). Yelle goes after her. Ostentatia is left with Antiope.
Time for a string of very emotional mini scenes which I highly encourage you to watch because they are peak improv.  
Zelda, Katja, (Invisible) Penny
Katja runs to find Zelda who is under a tree crying and asks if she’s OK. Zelda says that Sam and Ostentatia are so beautiful and confident and eloquent and she gets so tongue tied and useless when they disagree with her because she’s so timid. Zelda wants this so bad but she doesn’t want to feel like she’s forcing her friends to stay with her. 
Katja, as we know, has major abandonment issues because of her constantly away dad (and prob her mom too) and she doesn’t want to be left behind again but she also doesn’t want her friends to factor her in so she tries to be stoic and says that the people you love have to want to stay. But with a 3, Zelda immediately clocks the emotion behind the words. Instead of calling her out, Zelda offers to listen to music with her. 
Penny takes this opportunity to make herself known (which has got to be terrifying--unless you’re used to it and then it’s like same shit as usual from Ms. Luckstone) and Zelda goat jumps to grab her out of the tree she was crying in above them and tells her that she doesn’t have to go invisible every time there’s conflict. They all agree that they hate confrontation and Rehka gets the funniest lowkey line of the episodes: that she wouldn’t know what to do if they didn’t agree on that. We then cut to…
Ostentatia and Antiope
Where Izzy gets the high key funniest moment of the episode by transitioning in with a big, “You know I LOVE confrontation,” which breaks everyone at the table. But she says it as a preface to admitting that she may have been a bit of a bitch to Zelda. She plays coy for like a half second before she breaks down sobbing with Antiope catching her before she sinks fully to the floor. Antiope comforts her and admits that while she wants to stay with the party, she hates having options taken away from her as they have been her whole life effectively. She was honestly kind of relieved when she was trapped in the crystal because it meant all that pressure was gone for a bit. They affirm that they love each other then Ostentatia goes to apologize to Zelda. 
Danielle and Sam
Yelle goes to talk to Sam (who she adorably calls “merbae”) and while Sam doesn’t wanna talk about it, Yelle says they don’t have to. She just wants to be there for her in whatever capacity she needs. She knows Sam loves her friends and would never hurt them on purpose so something must be wrong with her-- “History of abandonment?” Sam finishes, almost glibly. She’s tired of losing people. She doesn���t want to lose more. She doesn’t want things to change. Nature is change, Yelle says. Nature sucks, Sam says. Yelle is gonna pretend like she didn't hear that. 
Sam feels bad that she snapped at Zelda and Yelle says that they’re all a family. Things will be alright. The storm clouds that Sam reflexively summoned peter out into a cool, refreshing mist. 
Ostentatia and Zelda
Ostentatia goes to where Zelda and the girls are and full ass runs at her like they weren’t just fighting. After assuring her that she’s not there to fight she apologizes, saying she was a cow. Zelda says she honestly agrees with Ostentatia that she wants the group to stay together and wishes she could be bolder in non-rage settings. Ostentatia says that maybe if the Seniors leave they can still have a party and Penny vetos that even though, as Ostentatia says, it’s a pretty reasonable compromise. Anyway, they basically all go in a circle saying they love each other and it’s very sweet. 
I’m serious, I can’t do these heart to hearts justice in this format, just go watch them for that emotional girl group goodness.
Anyway, outside of the main group, Antiope goes to talk to her sister Corsica who is currently teaching a class. Antiope does not give AF. She orders the students out and they scatter. Wouldn’t you?
Antiope wants advice. Should she stay with her party after flaming out of her last one? Should she take the internship and stay on the path her parents want her on? Corsica really feels for her. Antiope has had to struggle in a way that she and their brothers never did. She finally answers that she and her brothers are awesome and successful fighters but none of them have been able to do the scariest thing possible: disappoint their parents. They’re soldiers. They like it that way. They fall in line. But maybe Antiope isn’t a soldier. Maybe she’s a leader. She ordered those kids out of the room without thinking after all and they obeyed. It’s an extremely good speech and Antiope basically has chills, as do I.  
I assume while this is happening or perhaps right before everyone goes home, Penny goes to see Jawbone (who has some spiffy new art--as did Gilear who cameoed early in the episode when Aguefort atomic wedgied him invisibly because sure) and talk about this uber difficult decision she had to make. Jawbone gets to the heart of the matter pretty quick. Penny is a high achiever who’s lived a life without choice. But now that she’s about to be off the rails for the time she’s freaking out. Penny sees the truth in the statement (after hilariously trying to solve his metaphor about an amusement park) and thanks him for the perspective. She then, in a very Fig move, tries to kiss him and Jawbone basically stiff arms her and breezes right past like it didn’t happen, showing her out. What a trooper that Jawbone.   
Moving on to Katja. When she gets home she tries to call her dad who is unreachable on his hell mission. She leaves him a message saying that he should call her back when he can and she knows what she wants for her graduation present now. She wants her party to not break up. This breaks Brennan and me. 
She then snoops arounds for info on TK. She sees letters of her dad trying to get her into Hudol. And she sees some stuff from the Ministry of Adventure, asking if he knew where TK was. But she doesn’t get anything else. At least, she doesn’t get anything else that’s helpful. She does however find a picture of her mom which makes her bolt to go talk to Cinnamon who prances for her to make her feel better. She joins in dancing, badly.
EDIT: I initially wrote that Katja’s mom was dead because that’s what I thought she said but @ennn said that in the Adventuring Party, Rekha said that her mom didn’t die, she left. Which is less dramatic in some ways but SO MUCH WORSE for abandonment issues so, yikes girl!
Yelle meanwhile goes home to talk to her unofficial third mom, Holly, who is the awakened tree under which her house is. Picture a Grandmother Willow situation from Pocahantas basically. Yelle talks about the conflict a bit and, as usual, ends up on a tangent about how the world is unfair and she has to speak for the voiceless. Holly is concerned for her (as are her other moms which I may have neglected to mention in the last recap). She asks Yelle if she can tell her something that might be painful. Yelle agrees. Holly says that Yelle is great and wonderful and kind but she spends so much time speaking for other people that she never speaks for herself. Her moms worry that there will come a day when she needs help and will have to ask for it without couching it in terms of the greater good and she won’t be able to. 
Yelle really hopes she’s high when the time comes. 
At her home, Ostentatia casts Commune With The City to see if TK has been around and she’s not there now but she can tell she has been (though there’s no indication on if that’s recently or not). On a 17 religion check she knows that there is a dwarven holy site in the mountains that matches Sam’s description from the mirror. She’s still avoiding her dad but when she prays for her spells, she asks for her dad to feel like himself again too. 
Hey, what time is it? Let me check my watch. 
Ah yes, it’s time for Sam to make some rash decisions. 
She feels like she should text Zelda but doesn’t. Instead, she goes into Penelope’s room. And she takes out her mirror. And even though she’s expended the charge for today, she tries to make it show her Penelope. 
OK, says Brennan. Sure. Hey, can you roll me a quick little Wisdom Save?
5. 
Haha, Sam’s in danger. 
The mirror heats up as it’s pushed beyond its limits and Sam sees an image of a young Penelope with braces grabbing her hands and grinning and saying that they’ll be best friends. Then, the image shifts and she sees the Penelope of the present in her tattered prom queen dress and glass shard crown. Her eyeless, haunting, demon prom queen form, teeth razor sharp as her words. 
“A call without a text,” she says. “Are you out of your mind?”
“You look better than you ever did alive,” Sam spits back. 
It is a battle of the bitches right out of the gate. The girls are fighting part two if you will. They snipe at each other for a bit and Brennan has Sam roll insight into herself. On a 19, Sephie says that’s not enough for Sam to get a read on herself (yikes girl) so she doesn’t understand that this fight can only ruin her because while Penelope enjoys causing people pain, Sam doesn’t. 
They both get in some very choice barbs but when Penelope tries to entice her into making a devilish pact and disparages her new party, Sam does the mic drop of the century by telling her that her parents are divorcing and hanging up. The entire table LOSES THEIR MIND. It is like a real life representation of one of those Draw The Squad memes. Everyone brandishes their fans in a salute to that truly epic conversation ender. 
As the night draws to a close, Brennan asks the girls who haven’t responded to the text chain yet if they respond. Katja texts that she’s in. Zelda texts Antiope and Penny that she’s not going to text whether she’s in or out until they respond because she doesn’t want it to feel like a 5 on 2 dogpile.
Antiope and Penny call then text, then call, then text, then call each other to discuss what they should do and also hype each other up because with all the drama, they didn’t really get to celebrate their opportunities. Penny tries to downplay her thing and insinuates that it wouldn’t be a big loss if she wasn’t in the group anymore and Antiope shuts that down immediately. You’re the last thing so many people see before they die Penny! That’s so cool! 
They both decide to text that they’re abstaining from voting for now and go to bed.
The next day, Antiope gets up and sees that her party’s schedule has been cleared for the next two weeks by the school for quest reasons. She tells her dad she wants to talk to Charity Blythe (the woman at the Ministry of Adventure she needs to talk do) and he sets up a no pressure (but actually tons of pressure) meeting with her before turning her 5 mile run into a 12 mile run because she is a Jones and 5 mile runs are for Amateurs. 
Ant texts the rest of the Maidens that this meeting is happening so they can maybe get some quest info from Charity and Ostentatia has in the meantime texted (after the 2 abstains) that she will be going for the GED regardless and anyone who wants to join can. Of course, there was never any reason to NOT go for it (besides the danger which they obv don’t care about) and getting it doesn’t mean any doors are closed to them. It’s just that emotions are running so high they can’t fully seem to see that (or at least some members can’t). 
Ant doesn’t have the clearance to meet at Charity’s office so they meet at the Museum of Adventuring instead. In it happens to be the skeleton of Kalvaxus who they killed (if you don’t remember, the Bad Kids killed him first and then he was resurrected so the Maidens could also kill him for catharsis reasons). Tensions are still super high as evidenced by Sam’s snide abstention comment to Penny and Ant and then by her TRYING TO LIGHTNING BOLT THE DRAGON SKELETON TO DESTROY IT.
GIRL.
That doesn't happen though because she’s Counterspelled by Charity Blythe who walks in, surprised to see that Antiope brought her whole party. Antiope says they were just leaving but Charity can sense shenanigans when she sees them and says if they’re gonna spy on the conversation they might as well stay for it which they of course do.
She gives Antiope a rundown of the internship: 1 year commitment with a possibility to expand to 2-3 years. Stipend. She’d have to live in Bastion City.
Katja remembers that her dad was talking to the Ministry of Adventure in the letters she found and asks Charity about it. Charity says they were asking him about TK’s whereabouts because he was friends with her. On that, Yelle casts Detect Thoughts with a Stealth roll of 17 (we see on a secret Box of Doom roll that Charity got a 26 to see her cast it). Anyway, she sees that TK took some object with her when she disappeared (which she later sees is a crystal screen with a map seemingly marking quest locations from A-F) and of course the fact that Charity knows this. Yelle shares this info with everyone as Antiope walks off with Charity to talk further. Katja suggests to the group that maybe Ant should take the internship to get more info for their quest. While she’s talking to Charity, Ant feels the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
See looks up and sees a figure with blood red lips look at her and disappear.
Yikes! Combat time baybee!
Superlatives 
Danielle: Most Likely to Talk Her Way Out of a Hostage Situation 
While, like her mothers, I am slightly concerned that Danielle is the type to set fire to herself to make sure others are warm, I also very much love her chill, warm, encouraging vibes. For those of you coming off of MisMag, she is like vibing at the same wavelength as Whitney Jammer but with the intensity turned all the way down. Danielle encouraging Sam honestly gave me like second hand calm. Excellent vibes. 
Random Thoughts
If you’re wondering how long it took for it to come up that Aguefort banged a phoenix, the answer is 12 minutes.
The concept of phoenix chlamydia is the definition of thanks, I hate it. 
Aguefort saying that TK is a crazy person could literally mean anything tbh. It could mean she is the most batshit person on the planet or it could mean she’s totally normal and just kinda bugs him. Literally no way to tell. 
Someone (I think Rekha?) mentioned that the cursed bylaws book is copper and so is TK. Idk if that’s relevant but thought I’d flag it anyway. 
We learn in this episode that the friendship bracelets Penny made them last week let them track each other and see each other even if one of the in knocked out (which is what gives it utility outside of what their crystals can already do).
We learn in this episode that Skullcleaver Elementary School is actually named after Katja’s family. 
Nothing like the fear you feel when a DM gives you what you wanted even on a failure. And on that note...
Sam, I wish you a very happy Please Go To Therapy. Please girl. 
This episode was such an emotional roller coaster. I deeply empathize with the horrible feeling that your friends have stuff going on and you don’t and you’re going to be left behind. It’s so rough to see everyone hurting and lashing out (or in the case of Yelle for instance, trying and failing to diffuse the situation). But it’s so nice to see everyone trying to be there for each other and apologizing and affirming that they love each other (from Antiope saying that she would kill and die for any of them to Danielle defusing the ticking timebomb that is Sam). The players really get the cadence of how teenage girl friendship works and it’s such a treat to watch. 
“Did we ruin your life?”
Do you think ep 7 of The Seven is gonna be when everything pops off? As a DM I wouldn’t be able to resist that.
Penny’s response to being told that she can’t take every path is, “You can with chronomancy” which isn’t a bad point. 
Rekha is the Zac of The Seven which is to say low key the funniest person on the planet. Her saying she was so scared that she wasn’t gonna be told “I love you” during that scene was so funny. Her comic timing is impeccable. 
Katja fainting at the end of the “I love you” session after Penny says she loves her and Cinnamon. 
I love the table ambient whisper of, “LCAB” under Antiope’s scene with Corsica. 
I really felt for Zelda in this episode. Like, I felt for everyone but especially her, being the quiet one with all this yelling happening. When she was talking about how much she hates to have to fight with Sam/O my heart really broke for her. I’m so glad she got all her hugs in after that. 
In this episode Katja, Ostentatia, and Sam roll nat 1s. No nat 20s.
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errthel · 3 years
Text
Route Two Deux
Welcome to part two of which may become a discontinued fantasy, but tis is life I guess. Pulled from the ever fantastic Second Wife AU of the Draconia Family Series by @tri3tri if you didn't know, and if you didn't, how?????? So without further ado I guess, this is the second part.
Tired eyes wandered off to the lush green lawn surrounding the outside of the building. From the barstool in the kitchen, he could see the green grass with tidy flower beds, a small pond off to the side giving a sense of serenity to whoever walked in there. The silence of the large house would have accented the loneliness of the boy, but the music that boomed from the speakers in the other room did well to hide it.
Lucien's damp mood was brought to him by an acceptance letter from a school he never applied to. He remembered that day a week ago when a dove brought it to him during breakfast, and the horror that ensued from his grandparents prompted them to eplain that the school, Royal Sword Academy, was in the same world as his wretched father.
He was familiar with the concept of his mother and sisters held captive in a world separate from his own. He was also aware of the existence of magic in that world, and to some extent, his own. The teen remembered distant memories of the past, when he would uncontrollably make objects float and with the unlocking of a special power when he was ten, it seemed that he should have expected something to happen to him.
Lucien expected dying to the hands of the government or being killed in a lab or just being exiled from society and be forced into becoming a laborer. But he stupidly didn't expect an acceptance letter to a magic school, that was a big oh right moment he thought.
His pale hand brought up the juice box to his delicate lips, which were rather plump and pink. Dispite his seemingly feminine lips, his face is anything but female or male. To everyone around him, Lucien is the epitome of androgynous beauty, and if it wasn't for his rather deep and masculine voice, he would have passed off as a female, a rather tall one at that
To his surprise the only one who really physically changed was him, he grew up to a hulking one hundred and eighty cm. While his grandparents, who were having a date in town, maintained their semi-youthful appearance, no matter how much Lucien tried to find a difference from photos of the past to now, he couldn't find any. Are they perhaps immortal? Or have magic unconsciously?
He wasn't sure about that, they smelled as normal as everybody else so he never questioned it.
The ringing of his phone caught his attention as he brought the hunk of metal to his ear.
"Lucien here."
"Ahh! Lucien-sama!" Ah... another girl
Lucien sighed a silent sigh before he quickly asked, "Um... may I ask who this is?"
"Mhm! I'm Mari-chan! From Class 1-B!" the female voice from the other end said in a cheery manner
"Oh okay... sorry, but I have something to do..."
...
"Do I have to get another number? I just got this one a month ago."
"Another one?" Albert's gruff voice evaded the silence of the home making Lucien sigh once more
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure she's a high schooler, no one's named Mari in the middle school department."
"Gosh. Our grandson's soooooo popular!"
"This is not a laughing matter Hanna!"
"Why? I'm plenty proud of Lucien! Aren't you? He's like the middle schooler you never were."
"What do you mean by that!"
"Hey, gramps, when I go to Royal Sword Academy, what should I do... you know. I wanna see mother, but I don't want to risk getting her in trouble, same for my sisters." a sad tone took over the fifteen year old's speech
"So that's what you've been thinking of kid..." Albert trailed off as he examined the younger boy
Over the years the boy's grandparents received visions, where they came from, they didn't know. Each and every vision they had, they dictated to Lucien, the visions consisted of the life his mother had living with his so called father, father my foot Lucien thought. But the visions never showed what happened after that tall woman took his mother and sisters, and any knowledge about it was something Lucien heavily desired.
Hanna walked over to the barstool Lucien sat at and sat on the one next to it, she held a sympathetic look whilst a sad disposition overtook her.
"Lucien, you are a smart child, when you are there, I implore you to make decisions that will help you towards your goal." her cold frigid tone showcased the woman's serious side as she pat her grandson's back.
"Kid, when you're there, there will be a time where you will have to show your other form. Whether that time be the first time you step into that school, or at graduation, I hope you don't regret it." Albert added as he walked to the pair
"Mhm..."
~
The rest of the day was somber as the fated day drew closer and closer, whatever day that may be. Lucien thought back to what might have went through his mother's mind when she woke up at Night Raven College. Was she scared? He thinks she was.
His mother... Lucien no longer remembers what she looked like or what his sisters looked like. He can only remember the warmth they gave him years ago, before that day.
He remembers sobbing uncontrollably when he and his grandparents watched 'Sleeping Beauty' one day in the past. His small hands took what ever they could and threw it to the television when the villainess, Maleficent, first appeared on the screen. The hands of his grandmother held him back as his grandfather, in sheer panic, unplugged the television cord.
That 'episode' of his left him trembling and wary of all Disney movies for a long time.
~
The heaviness of the plastic bag he was carrying made the boy cringe. He had only planned to buy a few cups of coffee jelly to share with his friends at the club, but the amount of girls that stopped him to give him some more made him uncomfortable.
The plastic bag was at its witts end as it held at least twenty cups of coffee jelly, storebought and homemade.
Once he had reached his destination, his other hand found the handle of the door that was labeled 'music club' and slid it open. The slight laughter inside the room made Lucien warm up as he ducked a bit to get in.
"Oh! Lucien-senpai! What are you doing here!" a shorter boy with blond tresses sitting by the shiney drum set called out
"Just visiting." Lucien smiled lightly to the boy
"O! There it is! Lucien-senpai's mysterious smile!"
"Hush, hush, Kei-chan." a brown haired girl said to Kei
"Lucien-senpai, I also feel the same as Kei-chan. What brings you here? I thought he graduating class was given a week off." she said looking at the taller male
"There's no harm in visiting my dear underclassmen isn't there, Haru? I thought I would say something before going off to my new school." Lucien said, grimacing a bit in the inside at the thought of leaving this wonderful world of his in pursuit of a world he has no idea about
"So the rumor of Lucien-san leaving for another school was true after all..." a flamboyant voice evaded the club room followed by the shutting of the door
Lucien looked behind to see a head of dyed light pink hair, styled into a very stylish hair style. He chuckled before confirming the rumor.
"Yeah, I have been forced to attend a new school. Also, nice hair Takashi."
"Huuhh! I thought your grandparents were the chillest grandparents! I never knew they would force you to attend a different school." Kei's loud voice made Lucien answer with a sigh
"It wasn't my grandparents really, intact they were against the idea of me changing schools."
"Eh? Then who forced you?" Takashi asked as Haru looked at the oldest male with questioning eyes
"...it's a secret..." Lucien said as he gave a discreet smile with hooded eyes
"Is that so? Actually, I don't think we know anything about your parents Lucien-san." Takashi questioned
"Actually Takashi-senpai is right, we don't know anything about your parents. Are they perhaps the one who're forcing you to change schools Lucien-senpai?" Haru said voicing out her worries
A lump appeared in Lucien's throat, he wasn't at all sensitive to the absence of his parents. He just mildly disliked the concept of parents, considering his own parents weren't a golden example. His 'father' could be summed up to just being a sperm donor and he wouldn't bat an eye. But his mother, oh his poor mother, tortured to do things against her own volition. He hated it, hated that parents meant a pair, a pair that is supposedly bounded by mutual love, but his own parents were just a disgrace to that. He doesn't even know if his mother is still alive at the hands of his father's family.
"I, don't know anything about them." sweetly smiling, hiding his malice to that word so that his underclassmen would stop concerning themselves with talk about his parents
The room plummeted to a chilling atmosphere, their upperclassman wasn't in a good mood, they could tell. They could also tell that any talk about his parents put him in an silently aggressive mood, so they took care to shut their mouths.
"Right! I have coffee jelly with me. I was supposed to get four, but it seems that with my parting with the school, the amount of people giving me coffee jelly has increased. I'm starting to think that I'm getting sick of it." Lucien said in his usual voice, which helped immensely in warming up the room, and in time the whole club was enjoying the desserts with some lovely music
~
Tbh, I have no idea what is happening with Lucien. I just imagine him as someone who decides based on his goal, which is to get out of Twisted Wonderland with minimal drama, plus points on getting his family back, and that would definitely be something his grandparents repeat everytime he thinks of his mother.
When he gets upset, he tends to not outwardly show it at all, he knows better than to throw tantrums.
Lucien surprisingly is also someone who goes with the flow, but he still doesn't blindly let everything to fate. He makes decisions in situations on the spot, and they always worked out for him, so why change?
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incomingalbatross · 3 years
Note
If I can still offer suggestions for the "things I'd like to see you write" ask meme: Starfleet chaplain Father Brown. What Holmes was really up to during retirement. And I'm still curious about the "RTD doesn't understand hobbits" meta you mentioned ages ago.
Thank you!
I will say that I do not feel remotely qualified to write Starfleet chaplain Father Brown, but I love that concept so much... I do definitely want to read it.
---
I do want to develop a theory I can stand by on Holmes’ retirement!! Currently I am trying to restrict myself to things that could fit into canon without too obviously catering to my tastes specifically. :P (I have an answer that fits my Modern Holmes AU, but that incorporates fantasy/supernatural elements, and I don’t want to make those essential to any of the original Canon as it lives in my head. It’s hard to articulate the distinction, but it’s there.)
---
...So. I started to write some bullet points for that essay, and...here it is. Or at least here’s a decent first draft. I have’t watched any 10 in a while, so it’s not as well-sourced as I’d like, but it’s here!
(WARNING: Anti-RTD content ahead. If you’re a fan of his era, maybe just scroll past this post.)
So, the essence of hobbit-ness is that 
they love the mundane, prosaic and ordinary with a deep love, 
this love is not incompatible with a love for the extraordinary, the wondrous, or adventures, 
the best and strongest heroes are motivated by their love for the ordinary, 
you don’t have to be cool or special or Set Apart to be a hero, you just have to do the job in front of you and keep doing it.
RTD’s era occasionally pays lip service to these ideas, but on a deeper level consistently goes against them.
His companions often dislike their normal lives (Rose in particular), and certainly think them inferior to TARDIS life.
Ordinary people who are content with ordinary lives are often portrayed as comical, small-minded, less worth taking seriously: see Jackie, and post-memory-wipe Donna, who we’re supposed to feel is jarringly diminished by having lost memories of the TARDIS even though she is still herself. 
Our heroes are often separated from what they’re fighting for, sometimes in a tragic Frodo-ish way but also, often, because they seem to care more for the fight than the cause: see Rose and 10 treating Queen Victoria like a fun tourist attraction instead of a real actual person (I can absolutely see why she got fed up with them). The narrative is more likely to dismiss the great mass of people the Doctor just saved than to show us that, “Wow, they were so absolutely worth it.”
The human characters become Cool and Real Heroes in direct proportion to how much they are distanced from their roots and made like the Doctor. This is particularly evident in S4, with Rose appearing in a leather jacket spouting technobabble (I’ve seen multiple Rose fans highlight those echoes of the Doctor, and I think they’re right to consider it a conscious decision on RTD’s part), and with Donna. DONNA. She gets her Summit of Coolness, when “for one moment, one shining moment, she was the most important woman in the whole wide universe”... and how does she get there? What’s the best Donna’s ever been, according to the show? The DoctorDonna. The absolute best version of Donna RTD could come up with is the one where her self is half-overwritten by the Doctor’s.
A couple moments that I think illustrate these themes especially well:
ROSE: Get up, catch the bus, go to work, come back home, eat chips and go to bed? Is that it? MICKEY: It's what the rest of us do. ROSE: But I can't! MICKEY: Why, because you're better than us? ROSE: No, I didn't mean that. But it was. It was a better life. And I don't mean all the travelling and seeing aliens and spaceships and things. That don't matter. The Doctor showed me a better way of living your life. You know he showed you too. That you don't just give up. You don't just let things happen. You make a stand. You say no. You have the guts to do what's right when everyone else just runs away, and I just can't (Rose runs out of the cafe.)
The idea that “going to work, coming back home” is somehow a downgrade instead of the fundamental beauty and worth of human life is...characteristic, I think. And while Rose does follow that by saying that she “can’t” be normal not because it was “a better life” on account of the adventures, but because it involved making a stand and doing what’s right... that just pushes the fallacy a little deeper, because now she’s saying that you can only make a stand and do what’s right in any meaningful way away from home, as an adventure. That there are no battles to be fought, nothing to fight for, in the course of “going to work, coming back home.”
Then there’s “End of Time”:
WILF: No really, just leave me. I'm an old man, Doctor. I've had my time. DOCTOR: Well, exactly. Look at you. Not remotely important. But me? I could do so much more. So much more! But this is what I get. My reward. And it's not fair! Oh. Oh. I've lived too long.
I know the Doctor follows this by making the sacrifice. But...what kind of hero says things like that out loud? What kind of hero thinks “I ought to live instead of you”? And the thing is...I feel like we’re supposed to feel it’s tragically unjust. We’re supposed to feel the Doctor is worth more, because...what? The man he’s saving won’t live as long as the Doctor would have? The man he’s saving is human?
Those lines should never have been said, because they never should have been presented as a perspective with any validity. The Doctor should have enough love and reverence for life that he jumps to save this life for its own sake, sacrificing himself because he feels Wilf is worth it, and not because he feels the unjust universe is somehow making him do it. That’s not necessary to being a good person, but it is necessary to being the type of hero that the Doctor usually is.
And “School Reunion”:
SARAH: I waited for you. I missed you. DOCTOR: Oh, you didn't need me. You were getting on with your life. SARAH: You were my life. You know what the most difficult thing was? Coping with what happens next, or with what doesn't happen next. You took me to the furthest reaches of the galaxy, you showed me supernovas, intergalactic battles, and then you just dropped me back on Earth. How could anything compare to that? DOCTOR: All those things you saw, do you want me to apologise for that? SARAH: No, but we get a taste of that splendour and then we have to go back.
...I have SUCH conflicted feelings about this episode. On the one hand, I adore Sarah, and K-9, and seeing those reunions, and I really love how much this episode meant to David Tennant, and this basically got us the Sarah Jane Adventures which are way up there on my favorite DW content ever. On the other hand...this is such an injustice to Sarah. They took one of the strongest, most independently adventurous characters in all of Classic Who and reduced her to this...droopy, pining figure, who it’s implied spent the last thirty years moping around because Nothing On Earth Can Compare To The Doctor’s Life! :( :( :(
(And then of course SJA itself proved that wasn’t the case, by presenting her as having a life full of adventures and contacts and importance entirely without the Doctor. Which is part of why I love it--although the other part is that everyday life is presented as precious and important, because she has a kid and the problems of Kids and Family and Parenthood are given full weight. <3 )
In short: I think that, on the whole, RTD’s era expresses his own biases towards believing that Cool Adventures and Special Powers and Being Important are inherently worth more than Normal Life and Normal People and Home--which is the antithesis of everything Tolkien embodied in hobbits and the Shire. It’s also not Chestertonian, incidentally, or Narnian (see Rose’s speech above--there’s a reason the Pevensies had to go home eventually, and learn to see Aslan and His work in their own world).
(It’s not entirely like that, of course, but I feel like even the episodes that revolve around the Doctor being Tragically Unable to have a Normal Life do so by...exoticizing the idea? I dunno. We always know it’s not going to happen, and it’s not supposed to happen, so I feel like it’s always a little hollow. And it’s definitely outweighed, in terms of quantity, by the sheer number of instances where being a normie is completely dismissed.)
So there’s my essay! :P
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skyhopedango · 3 years
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State of the Season pt 1
So, so many shows! :O I don't remember the last time I watched so many ongoing shows. Alas, quantity doesn't translate into quality, but still, there are some pretty nice shows that I enjoy a lot.
Not these, though.
Dragon, ie wo kau
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Yeah, this was crap. I expected something fun and fantasy-spoofy, I got a badly animated, badly produced, badly acted (from the main character) video-game-referencing show that takes one joke that is already not incredibly funny, and runs it into the ground until there's nothing left but dust. Pity.
.
Mars Red
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Oh, this show. The first episode was stilted and vaguely pretentious*, but I thought eh, let's see a bit more of it. So I watched episode two and three, and bam, the usual vampire-hunter-vampires shenanigans with some half-hearted attempts at ~Historical Relevance~ but still pretentious. Perhaps it could've been better with more interesting/charming characters, but they weren't interesting at all... OK, that's not quite true, I liked that young vampire (supposedly the most powerful one?) who was always doing the "hey enemy vampire, you can join us or you can die" speech, that was cute.
*I mean... yes, you've read Salome. Yay. So how is it related to what happens in the episode? Does she kill the one she loved to possess him or something? No. Does she do anything even vaguely related to the story of Salome? No. So... what's the significance of the references? And from episode 2 it was downhill. EP 2 has Romeo and Juliet for "tragic lovers" which is about the most clichéd thing ever and the lovers' story had nothing in common with Romeo and Juliet other than them dying in the end. And in episode 3 the characters are literally standing around reciting Relevant Poetry. I suppose this works for people who are satisfied with understanding a reference and who want to feel smart for knowing some classical literature, but other than that...
I've been putting off watching episode 4 since Monday, and frankly at this rate likely I'll never watch it.
.
Fumetsu no anata he
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3 episodes in, and oh yes, I remember why I didn't keep up with the manga. Look, I'm not saying it's a bad show. As most people I was very impressed with the first episode. Good stuff, emotionally powerful. But what happens after that is just totally not my cup of tea. Nonhuman entity learning to understand humans and gaining sympathy for humanity would be totally up my street - but not really when it happens via a generic adventure story, tryhard epicness tipping into unintentional hilarity every now and then, overwrought music, precocious kids mugging for the camera, and the threat of misery porn looming just over the horizon... and that's not even mentioning the obvious production issues apparent from episode 2 that further undermine the epic tone the show is going for.
I think I'll give it one more episode, although I have a feeling I'm not going to last longer. I'm sure the story will eventually have some profound things to say, but I'm also sure it'll be nothing I haven't heard before in ways that resonated better with me.
.
86 -Eighty-Six-
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aka "Liberal Circlejerk - The Anime". (And while it can't be "white liberal" for obvious reasons, it has the attitude down pat.)
This show. This is what you get from a LN for horny teen boys fantasizing about being badass soldiers and naive girls in sexy uniforms, that also wants to say Serious Important Woke Stuff. You get a show about Super Special Teenagers that is hilariously dumbed down, preachy, self-congratulatory, and also cynical about how it treats its female characters. (And that's not even saying how stupid the setting is... I'm sure there'll be some twist but seriously, it still wants us to just handwave away stuff like "even if the enemy's weapons will expire in 2 years, how come nobody asks 'what if they built new ones' or 'what if they have other stuff up their sleeve'" etc...)
Really, I'd like to say that at least the show has its heart in the right place, but I can't, because for every preachy and dumbed down but decent message it delivers it does shit like ogling the main female character (whose uniform has a garterbelt apparently because the LN writer is into that), having her make cute pouty or blushing faces, pointing out how she's a virgin, having a "boys ogle bathing girls" scene* where the girls of course talk about boys and romance because girls, eh? etc. Hell, in episode 4 it even manages to undermine the single best thing that happened in the show so far by basically tone policing the oppressed character who told the MC to fuck off and not treat them as her morality pets. Clearly even if your friend was just killed in action and this random person who is also your oppressor and is wallowing in privilege, is crying in your ear making it all about her, you shouldn't be rude to her because aw shucks she meant well. And of course all it takes is a "sorry, I'll treat you like humans from now on, I swear" for everyone to start respecting her. Like, wow, she's committed to the bare minimum, where's the champagne?!
*Yes, the girls were dressed, but you just know that at one point in production (or perhaps in the source material) they were were naked. The entire scene is set up as a usual ogling-bathing-girls scene, so I'd bet money that what happened was someone in production vetoed it in the very last moment so they didn't have time to rewrite everything, only to give the girls clothes.
I'm still getting some entertainment value out of 86 (those spider tanks are pretty nice...) but oh boy, the cringe.
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aggresivelyfriendly · 4 years
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Day Thirteen
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Hello loveys! Happy Sunday! Here we are at the penultimate chapter! If you’ve been reading, thanks, if we’ve spoken, love, and if you’ve reblogged, you have my heart! Thanks to @emulateharry for the read through.
Enjoy! All The Love- Tam
Day Thirteen: The One With The Fight
"Why do you do this?" His voice was so pointed it cut her distraction.
"What?" Elise looked up from where she was laying on the guest bed she thought of as hers. She'd slept here every night, until she had slept with Harry. She'd been in with him since. And yesterday, after the scrabble sex, he had pulled her legless and naked to gather up her things.
"I'll help you pack!" He'd pulled out the top drawer and a pair of her drawers first thing and looked back with a crocodile grin.
"Harry!" She could feel her blush. Which was patently ridiculous since she was naked. "Those are my underwear." She was fucking whispering.
He wore amusement, since he didn't have another stitch on. He tossed her underwear to her as he passed her to the bathroom. "I'll handle your toiletries then. I'll leave you to your," he put his hand on the opposite side of his mouth and whispered "unmentionables."
She could hear him laughing. He hadn't even bothered to suppress it.
"Fuck you, Styles!" She yelled and he got louder. Should such provocation go unanswered?
Elise went in and tackled him. He was bigger than her and much stronger, so naked wrestling tended not to last that long. He had her flat on her back, pinned and winded, quickly. At his mercy was a good place to be.
Long story short her things stayed in the guest bedroom, but she stayed in his room, again.
He'd woken her with breakfast, that he'd had postmated in and they'd stayed in bed playing on their phones until long past noon.
Harry was officially addicted to animal crossing. Not as addicted as he was to the gym though. By 2 he was so energetic Elise was ready to punch him and she had playfully kicked him out of bed to send him to get his energy out like a kid on a long road trip. "Please go run or do some other ridiculously athletic thing." She'd said while prodding him in the ass with her toes. She watched him get dressed, and Harry was so good for an audience, he made a show of it for her.
He'd kissed her goodbye, well, and went away with a "move your stuff in!"
And she'd gone to her room, really she had, with some intention of packing. Once she was in there, alone, she had realized it seemed stupid to move her stuff for two days.
Was it two days?
And therein lay the problem.
Harry was acting like their rom com inspired tryst was going to continue indefinitely. He had not talked about it, like at all their impending deadline. He had only made one mention of time; they needed to finish friends in a couple days.
She was all in her head again. He was so confusing. Of course she wanted to stay in the fantasy, but if she moved into his room and committed in her head to this and then he said good bye in two days... Well, it might be as devastating as what happened with her family after Bryce.
Jesus. She stared at her book, the one she wasn't reading. Had she really just thought that? That a mild rejection after a short love fest would be as hurtful as the trauma that sent her running to another country.
With her family, it was miserable because she was persona non grata, but persona presens. They were all stuck in the same place, but after the initial fight with her sister, the literal siding of her mother with her sister and her father's shaken head and scornful look, it had kinda stopped being overt.
That didn't mean she was unaware of exactly where she stood in that house with her family. No one was screaming 'slut!' anymore, but there were cold shoulders and silent treatment from all of them. Screaming would have been better.
Or to be kicked out.
That may have jump started her flight, if they had actually 86'd her, which leaving clearly was something of a blessing. At the time, the chilly feeling in her house kept her at the library long hours. Her GPA was stellar the last semester of her senior year, and she made some actual friends. They had stayed in touch even when she moved to another entire continent. It dawned on her she had been so distracted by the sexy imp she was falling for, she hadn't checked on anybody. That needed to happen, specially in a global pandemic.
In any case, Elise was imagining how it could go. If she got up the gumption to ask him. He could tell her, 'it's been real, it's been fun, but it hasn't been real fun. Appreciate the pussy, goodbye.' The idea was strangely comforting, Harry's rejection would be swift, she'd only have, at most, 36 hours of misery in his home. After the 8 months with her family, that was child's play. Open contempt, with words, she thought she could stand too. Though she suspected it would look more like casual indifference. Harry was too kind to be mean about it. He'd probably just assume she was having fun like he was.
Elise realized she was already convinced of the worst case scenario. It was a habit of hers, born of experience. She was less likely to be disappointed if she wasn't hopeful.
But she was hopeful, there were little glimmers that Harry would want her to stay, or keep seeing her.
"Fuck this!" Elise muttered. She needed a pro and con list. That was how she decided to come to London. Her pro side had been longer, but her con had simply said, family hates me. It was enough, that negative, to fuel the positive.
This list, it was the same. On the Harry likes me and the love fest continues side, the list was long, and made her smile thinking over the last two weeks. The pro side had all the little things. How he treated her. The breakfasts in bed, their games, the baking, the flirting, the touching, the kissing, the ...
The other side had one entry, Friends. Even though she had spelt it out cutely, like it was on screen, punctuation in the middle, but no color, she only had the blue pen, it was still devastating.
One entry made her run and one made her hide. Wow! She had some courage, didn't she? Elise "run and hide" Jameson. That should be her name. How much did it cost to legally change your name?
In any case, that was what she was doing and had been doing for hours by the time Harry came to find her. Elise was hiding.
"Why do you do this?" he asked from the door.
"Hmmm?" She tried to give a blank expression, like she didn't know what he meant, but of course she did.
He sighed, like the conversation was exhausting, like they had had it so many times he had run out of words to say. Elise nearly scoffed. Where did he get off. They'd never talked about it, that was the problem, they didn't talk about anything. Which was funny, they talked all the time. Just not about pertinent things. She was just supposed to read his mind or suss out all of his intentions from his actions. And his actions were good, so she had done that for some time now, but it wasn't enough.
"What do I do?" she kept up the confused act, she didn't want to ruin their day. Huh, maybe that's why he didn't ever bring it up. He didn't want to ruin the time they had. The finite nature of their time, made it sweeter of something. They only have one and a half left. She didn't want to fight. Elise hated conflict of any kind, and she wanted to savor having him, even if only for 14 short days.
He sighed again, louder. "Whatever, Elise." He closed his eyes and swallowed. She watched his fists ball and then relax. When his eyes opened, his face had relaxed a bit, though his jaw was still tight, and his irises fairly glowed. "Are you hungry?"
Her stomach lurched. She was hungry, though she wasn't sure she could eat. Usually, Harry would extend a hand, or wait for her to pass. Instead, he just nodded and her "yeah." and went out of her room.
Her room. She'd never moved her stuff.
She was biting her lip the whole way down. This was going to be the most uncomfortable meal of her life, which was saying something.
It wasn't. She could think of at least 10 meals with her family that sucked worse. Those were supremely uncomfortable, like a pair of panties that ride up too much or socks that fall into the back of your shoe over your heel. That was a wholly foreign feeling in Harry's house. It had gone away within minutes of her being there day one.
This meal was like pants that slide down your hips a little, a tad irritating, but you just had to hike them up and get on with it.
"Will you pass me a salt sachet, please?"
"Yes, of course." She replied.
Their every exchange was like this, stifled and like a meal in a period piece. She was glad they both had manners, but they'd licked each other's come up, so the formality felt wrong. Elise almost brought it up, "Harry?" She'd started.
He'd looked up and his jaw was still a little tight even if his dimple was starting to fill up with air. He inclined his head and she couldn't stand the thought of the next day being miserable instead of uncomfortable. Or of leaving. They could probably rationalize at this point they were both fine.
It dawned on her, Harry probably could have got his hands on tests, if he wanted to. She'd think about that more later. When she wasn't losing her nerve.
"Did you like your food?" She searched for conversation while she helped him clear up.
He exhaled and nodded. Started cleaning up. Went into the media room, didn't wait for her again.
He turned on Friends, and she wanted to scream. As the episodes proceeded, they crept towards each other, most of the motion coming from her side. On their third episode, he looked up at her right next to him. He stared at her long enough to get her attention, and then long enough to make her a bit nervous that there was something on her face. She was just about to ask 'what?' when he shook his head and opened the arm next to her.
She exhaled and fit herself into the pocket of his armpit happily. When he lay back, she cozied into her spot in the hollow of his chest like it was home. She had better soak this up she told herself. The shiver of pleasure all over when he tangled his fingers in her hair was recorded, the kiss to her hair was put to memory, and the span of his thumb to his pinky on her lower back was mapped. She'd always remember what it was like to be in Harry's arms and know him, intimately. Even if they ended soon
He probably dozed, he usually did. Elise was pretty sure she did as well. Sleeping happened at night, but other activities kept them up as well. She'd miss that too. The shape of his wet lips and contrast of his long pale hands on her olive skin, the look on his face when he came and the satisfied sigh just after. That was probably her favorite.
"Where is your head at?" Harry asked during dinner. Elise realized she had stopped where she was carrying the cauliflower she'd curried over to the chana masala he'd whipped up.
"Hmmm?" She looked up, still lost in memorizing the way they choreographed their parts in the kitchen. They rarely invaded each other's dance space, unless Harry did it on purpose to steal a kiss off her.
"You seem distracted." He had stepped forward and smoothed her hair behind her ear, cupped her jaw. If she wasn't distracted before he pressed his mouth to hers, she was after.
"You're gonna make me drop the veggies." She giggled breathlessly up at him.
"They can wait." He'd taken them gently from her hands and deposited her on the edge of the counter before stepping between her legs. "These house dresses you wear are so convenient." He was busy pulling it up to her hips.
"Thank you for not calling it a mumu again." She laughed as it came over her head. "I'm glad you waited until after the cooking was done."
"How about we cook clothed and eat naked. Now, lie back, I'm very hungry."
"I'll be sure to think of England." She joked.
"Oh no! Only me." He licked the crest of her belly button.
He effectively erased her mind until all she could think about was his taste, and her own on his lips. She became mindful again of the present moment when the gentle popping sound of him pushing through her pulsing muscles hit her ears.
She would miss this. His appetite and weird predilection for kitchen sex.
"Where'd you go?" He slowed his stroke and looked her in the eye.
"What?" She didn't know what he was talking about. She clearly hadn't gone anywhere. She was interlocked with him, like the salt and pepper shakers behind her, again.
"I had you, right here, and then you went away."
How did he know her mind wandered? Elise had barely had time to worry or map the moment before he noticed.
His arms were crossed over her back like a pirate's destination. She felt like treasure. So she lifted her hands from the purchase on the counter's edge. Held his jaw and locked their eyes, opened up their connection. It was impossible to look at Harry's face, his eyes and not find riches. "I'm here."
"Good." He breathed and picked up his rhythm again, held her eyes and her body, until his closed over the sensation. "It's where you should be." He breathed.
This is where she should be. Those words hit her sweet spots, just as his cock did. Her neck went soft, and he cradled it. Her eyes blinked open and her cunt bore down and she came before she could announce it, notice it. "Harry!" He made her so loud.
"Elise!" He fucked through her muscles trying to push him out until she was shimmying to her next high in his arms. "I'm gonna come." He grunted.
"More," was all she could get out. And he could do it, she knew he gritted his teeth and doubled his effort and got her there, her contractions causing his seize.
She was his.
Now, how did she tell him that?
He laid his head on her chest. She could feel the sweat of his forehead running between her breasts. Her hands were in his hair and her heart was under his heel. Now, now is the time to tell him that. Show him her belly, while he is in it.
She didn't. It took her one moment to have the thought, and only half second to take it back. It was the worst time to confess love to someone, while making love with them. Plus, she wasn't sure she could take him grinding her heart into the flooring right after grinding her body to heaven. She petted his head instead and bit her lip through her tears.
Then she felt him laugh, the cool exhalation blowing the drips on her torso. It felt delicious. His laugh tasted so good. Elise wouldn't do anything to make him uncomfortable, to lose this. She'd take what she was given, be a good girl and get what she what she gets and not throw a fit.
He looked up at her and she hoped the tears that had leaked just blended with the glow of aftermath.
"Now I'm really hungry." He was a sunbeam. "Let's heat up the food."
"It probably would have been better right off the stove," she said later as they are eating.
"Hob." He said. "The appetizer was worth it though, wasn't it?" He danced his eyebrows.
"Maybe." She knew she was blushing. He was laughing his bursting laugh and she knew this memory would last her whole life.
She recorded other things for her posterity throughout the rest of the night and she got away with it. He left his frustration where it had been earlier. Until bedtime.
"I need to grab some things," she told him when they'd kissed their way naked. She'd fall asleep afterwards. She needed to brush her teeth and things.
He stiffened.
The sun had shut off and its shadow was cold.
His arms dropped from around her waist.
"Why didn't you move it in earlier?"
"What?" She knew he asked her to earlier, but she got out of answering, thought she had avoided this confrontation.
"We talked about it. You were gonna move your stuff over here. We agreed." He said.
"Did we?" She asked, a little pissed he assumed his word was law. She pulled away, grabbed her t-shirt off the end of the bed, and threw it on. "I think you told me to do it. I didn't say ok."
"What's the point of you having your own room if you sleep in here every night?"
"That's a great question." She rounded on him then. "What is the point?"
"I didn't follow you round that bend, love." He said. "What's the point of what?"
"Me moving into your room." Obvious! She scoffed.
"I think it makes perfect sense. We sleep together every night now." He'd calmed his voice like he was talking to a screaming toddler. It pissed her off. "It's right inconvenient too. Like now, you were gonna put the brakes on to get your stuff." He looked down at the boxers around his ankles and pulled them up.
"You could wait five minutes to get laid Harry!" She rolled her eyes.
"I wasn't trying to get laid." He said lowly. "Was trying to be close to you. But you're gonna run away again. May even hide." He'd lost his former cool by the end of it, voice pointed like earlier. "Like you always do."
"I don't run."
She did.
"You do. And I have to chase you everyday outta your room." He sighed. "One day I may not and you can see how you feel then."
"What day? Tomorrow is our last day!" She screamed without meaning to, finally shouting all her fears.
Harry looked like the dawn coming up. "Is that what you're so afraid of?"
75 notes · View notes
kdramacrybaby · 3 years
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Mr. Queen (2020)
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Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Historical, Romance
Synopsis: Jang Bong-hwan is a star chef who works at the Blue House, but after a mishap at work, he wakes up in the body of Queen Cheorin back in the Joseon period. The spirit of the young woman is gone, so Bong-hwan has to learn how to navigate not only the body of a woman, but also the body of a queen to be on his own, while he tries to find a way home. The King, Cheoljong, is nothing but a puppet for the Grand Queen Dowager, but he slowly begins to find his own voice. Everyone’s pasts are entangled in more ways than any of them know, and with Bong-hwan’s arrival, everything begins to unravel.
Episode info: 20 episodes / Runtime around 70 minutes
Lead cast: Shin Hye-sun (Kim So-yong/Queen Cheorin), Kim Jung-hyun (Lee Won-beom/King Cheoljong), Cha Chung-hwa (Court Lady Choi), Chae Seo-eun (Hong Yeon), Bae Jong-ok (Grand Queen Dowager), Na In-woo (Kim Byeong-in)
Link to watch: You can watch it on Viki or Dramacool
Drama rec masterlist | Drama rant thread (beware of spoilers)
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I really liked this drama! It’s almost caricature in a way, but it’s so far out that it just makes it even more fun. You’re not meant to take it too seriously, at least at first, and I liked that. If you want a good laugh with a splash of intrigue, this is the drama for you. I can definitely see why it got so high ratings.
Also, I just want to say that Hye-sun is absolutely phenomenal in this role, and she is a big part of why this drama worked out like it did. All the actors were amazing, of course, and I loved all the characters in this drama so fucking much. The queen’s maids, the head chef, the king’s friends, oh my god I could go on. The plot was pretty good, but it was honestly the characters that made me love this drama. Plot-wise, it had the usual historical political troubles with everyone wanting the throne, so nothing new or special there. Entertaining enough, but it’s not the best part.
I’m not sure if it’s super relevant or not, but I do want to mention that they deal with suicide and sometimes even sort of jokes about it. It sounds worse than it actually is, but if that is something that makes you uncomfortable, just be wary of that. It’s mostly in the first couple of episodes, and then it stops.
There were some things that I thought were kind of… off about this drama, though it is a personal opinion. I can’t go into too much detail without spoiling, but I did rant about it here and here. I’m just not completely happy with how they dealt with the body-swap situation, which also leads me to being somewhat unhappy with how it ended. I feel like they missed the mark with some of the comments they made.
I debated whether to give this 3 or 4 stars for a while because the things that I don’t like about this drama are a pretty big part of it, but in the end, I’ve decided on 4 for the sole reason that I loved all the characters so much.
3 notes · View notes
wintaejk · 4 years
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Jungkook’s FIC REC | OS 2
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I had too many links on the other post. Here is the second part of my Jungkook’s fic rec but with others themes.
Again, all those fictions belong to the amazing authors who wrote them, not me. I want to thank them once more. 
(f) = fluff
(a) = angst
(m) = mature
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magical au
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— Trick or Treat: Howling for You (F) (M) — by @fortunexkookie​
The way your Little Red Riding Hood costume lured over a fuckboy in a half-assed werewolf costume was a little cliche, but god damn was he beautiful. He promised he had plenty of big things to show you, and you took him up on the offer, not realizing that you might’ve bitten off more than you could chew.
werewolf au | established relationship | +14k
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— rottenfolk (M) — by @junqkook​
a look was as hazardous as chemicals, a kiss as perilous as poison; his eyes and lips felt akin to a cure, but he was purely venom.
faerie au | royalty au | +13k
Commentary - If there’s only one one-shot I could recommend you to read of all tumblr, it would probably be this one. For me, it is rare to acheive such a level of mastery in fantasy fictions. Writing is already complicated, but when you have to place the readers in an unknown universe, it is even harder.                         However, the real brilliance of this story is the end. Because the end is supposed to satiate the reader in a way or another, it is supposed to offer what all the reader craved: a sort of closure. But here we all are, waiting for a sequel, because this story will make you want a next episode. And that is the brilliance, because you will surely never forget a story with that kind of power.                         So those are some of the reasons why this fiction is for me a mix of art, smartness and excellence ; and also why you would be missing something huge by not reading it.
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— overdrive (M) — by @junqkook​
you thought meeting jungkook was just a coincidence, but the universe didn’t deal in coincidences.
vampire au | soulmate au | enemies to lovers | +13k
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— Crescent Bound - Jungkook (F) (M) — by @parkhabits​
A pact bound by the moon. A secret kept only amongst themselves. Each of them experiencing their own cycles of heat.
werewolf au | friends to lovers | +12k
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— Room 109 (M) — by @lavishedinjimin​
Having Jungkook as your apartment buddy was a lot to get used to. But with one early day, your heat comes up much stronger than usual, and you were desperate for an alpha’s touch.
werewolf au | roommate au | alpha!jungkook | +6k
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— after dark (M) — by @seokoloqy​
Jungkook has served the royal family for generations, seen them live and die countless times. When it comes to you, he can’t watch you wither away too, but your lust for one another makes it harder and harder to stay apart.
vampire au | royalty au | knight!jungkook | +8k
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— Life’s Blood (F) (A) (M) — by @littlenoona​
You produce blood cells at an increased rate when blood is lost, effectively, you cannot bleed out. This ability has served you well so far, even gaining you a rare friend, and you’ve made it your source of income, but it also has its downsides, one of which you’ve managed to avoid successfully, until now.
vampire au | +13k
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— you come in waves (A) (M) — by @angelguk​
if jeongguk had a choice, he would destroy the sun. it’s not like he needed it for warmth due to his werewolf abilities making him a scorching radiator. it would also help his heart. because you look delectable in that stupid bikini.
werewolf au | friends to lovers au | 4k
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— tell me your secrets (i’m all ears) (F) — by @jinpire​
You’re not afraid of Jeon Jeongguk. Even if he’s probably some kind of bear or giant cat shifter, and just a hint of his irritation had your instincts vibrating beneath your skin like a live wire. Your thumb brushed over the plastic dome of mini-Levi’s head, taking comfort in the cartoon scowl and dead eyes, the tiny grey sticks of his 3DM gear. Small could be pretty fucking powerful too.
shifter au | college au | bunny!kook | +6k
drabbles: nooks and naps - foxie moxie (don’t pull my tail) - look before you leap  - fluffles and kerfuffles
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— Pomegranate Seeds (M) — by @taetaebaepsae​
Jungkook thinks he’s found the perfect new roommate, but little doesn’t he know you’re just aching to corrupt him.
demon au | roommate au | virgin!jungkook | +4k
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other themes
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— Every Kind of Way (F) (M) — by @taehyungforreal​
{Three little vignettes, three completely different experiences, same perfectly wonderful boyfriend JK.}
strangers to lovers  | established relationship  | +14k
Commentary - I remember when this fiction was posted. I read the teaser a few days before, and I was waiting for it. I remember the exact date of the release of this story, and let me tell you it never happens to me. But this is how much I liked this story. This masterpiece.                         This fiction is 95% made of smut. This is a warning if you don’t like that. However, what I like about Ashley’s works is that smut is not only smut (okay, sometimes it’s just pure filth but whatever). It’s not the first time I’ve read a piece of work of her and that I’ve been so thankful of reading her. Because the stories she writes are realistic. Sex is not always perfect. Sex is not always like in porn. Sex can be embarrassing. And this is why I love what Ashley writes, because she always have that realistic point of view on life. And sometimes it’s also nice to not turn everything into porn.                          What is very likeable - I said likeable? I meant loveable, sorry - about that story is also the three different stages of the relation of Jk and reader. This is also something I like about her writings. Life evolves, relationships evolve, and so does sex. So in this story, you will experience three different Jungkook. And it’s three reasons why you should read this fiction, three reasons why you will probably love it.                          One thing is sure, this chef-d’oeuvre will leave you wondering if your eyes have been burnt by the smuttiness or blessed by all the talent of this writer.
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— tattooed two (ft. kth) (F) (M) — by @httpjeon​
your boyfriend’s best friend joins you for a night you’ll never forget.
tattoo artist au | established relationship  | poly au  | +8k
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— Inkling (A) (M) — by @gguksgalaxy​
Jungkook is your brother’s boyfriend’s co-worker, they own a tattoo and piercing parlour. In other words, he’s tall, gorgeous, has his passion literally etched into his skin, looks incredibly good in a man-bun, and is semi-unattainable for you. Why? Well…you’re not entirely sure but him ditching right after a very heated make-out session sure isn’t a good sign. His extremely poor mood the next week sure isn’t either, but the only way to fix it is to face the beast head-on. Right?
tattoo artist au  | +17k
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— Freak-quency (M) — by @taehyungforreal​
His eyes sparkle and he fights back a smile when he asks you why. “Is it because I didn’t give you something else to swallow like I said I would,” he questions, halfway through a much less subtle adjustment of his growing erection. Yoongi was right, he wants to be in trouble.
rockstar au  | established relationship  | +8k
— Boots (M) —
3000+ words of Ashley kinking on Jungkook’s boot. That’s it.
rockstar au  | established relationship  | part of Freak-quency  | +3k
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— Heartbreaker with a Heart of Gold (A) (M) — by @filmflowersbangtan​
It was around this time almost three years ago when Jungkook moved to LA after his band got signed to a famous record label. He told you that he’d keep in contact with you. That he’d visit as much as he could. That he loved you. But about a month after leaving, he stopped texting and calling as much. And then a mere week after the band’s first EP dropped, Burning Rabbit was a sensation.
rocksatr au | ex lovers  | +3k
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— Brother’s best friend (M) — by @lavishedinjimin​
In which Y/n owns a smut blog dedicated to her crush and brother’s best friend, jungkook. it was all fun and games until he finds out about it and acts it out with you.
brother’s best friend!jungkook  | +5k
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— Sugarplum Elegy (F) (A) (M) — by @bymoonchild​
You know no bounds nor depth with Jungkook. While your fuck buddy loves sleeping in your bed and doing laundry for you with his favourite fabric softener, you are in love with a mysterious honeyed, velvety voice on Soundcloud. All’s fine, until you find out that the voice that metaphors your heart to a sweet sugarplum melody actually belongs to the boy who has been taking up a special spot in your bed and in your heart, strumming at your heartstrings all this while.
friends with benefits  | college au  | idiots to lovers | +17k
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— The Kids Aren’t Alright (F) (A) (M) — by @sketchguk​
Sneaking around with Jeongguk during your Christian retreat is complicated when you’re both dedicated to your jobs as co-youth group counselors at your father’s ministry.
friends with benefits  | pastor’s kid!reader  | +10k
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— Gym (F) (M) — by @hobiwonder​
Jungkook has a crush on you and has been watching you work out at his gym. One day you finally confront his obvious crush.
business woman!reader  | fratboy!jungkook  | older reader | +8k
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— Gravity Check (M) — by @gimmesumsuga​
The one where Jungkook is your oh-so-handsome climbing instructor.
climbing instructors!jungkook  | strangers to lovers  | 14k
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— The Monogamy Monologues (F) (M) — by @kpopfanfictrash​
The year? Some point after college. The occasion? Namjoon is getting married and the Rich Man’s Crochet Club has convened once again. Somewhere between the drinks and the laughter, everyone has the same realization: Jungkook has never been in a serious relationship. In the name of all that is holy (Overwatch and booze), the club’s mission is revived. Now though, their goal is much more perilous. Now, they aim to find Jeon Jungkook a girlfriend. (Part of The Rich Man’s Crochet Club series)
fuckboy!jungkook  | wedding planner!reader  | strangers to lovers  | +42k
— The Virgin Volume (F) (A) (M) —
This fic exists in the RMCC universe. It takes place before RMCC and is the story of how Jungkook lost his virginity. To quote Seokjin/Namjoon: “What Jungkook doesn’t know won’t hurt him and – let’s be honest – his story is hilarious. One pump,” Seokjin laughs, sounding like a hyena. “One pump and he’s done.” // Ducking his head, Namjoon tries not to smile. “It was a rookie mistake,” he protests, defending their friend. “Jungkook was overexcited and couldn’t control himself. He got better.”
college au  | friends to lovers  | prequel to TMM  | +6k
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— everlasting (A — by @kimvvantae​
being able to love the same person forever is a blessing given from the heavens. to you, however, eternity has become a curse.
reincarnation au  | 18k
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— Performances (M) — by @littlenoona​
The same handsome guy has been appearing at your performances and you become more and more interested in who he is - now you’re dancing only for him, despite a hall full of people.
strangers to lovers  | professional dancer!reader  | +6k
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— Matching Hearts (F) (A) — by @gukwluv​
a drunk call to your ex boyfriend leads to a night of fun adventures that make you wonder why you even split in the first place.
exes au | +3k
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— locker room talk (M) — by @minnpd​
You end up having a rather heated talk with Jeon Jungkook in the locker room when he announces he has been chosen for the audition you both participated to.
dancer au | enemies to lovers | fuckboy!jungkook | +5k
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— not quite lovers (M) — by @junqkook​
hiring jeon jungkook as your personal assistant happens to have more than one perk.
workplace au | friends with benefits | ceo!reader | +15k
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— By Its Cover (M) — by @gimmesumsuga​
The one where Jungkook makes a very bad first impression.
workplace au | enemies to lovers | 21k
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— Mind in the Gutter (F) (M) — by @kpopfanfictrash​
Starting over is never fun. Especially not when you decide to take the phrase fully to heart; new job, new city, new coworkers and new relationships. When you are dragged to a happy hour by your new co-worker, Taehyung, you end up sitting beside a (very) cute, (very) shy IT worker named Jungkook. Several drinks later, he mentions he is in a professional bowling league with his friends and you rather enthusiastically invite yourself along. As time passes and you begin to grow closer, you still find it impossible to read Jungkook. Working in the same company and seeing each other so often, it is only so long before one of you snaps. But who?
workplace au | bowling au | strangers to friends to lovers | +18k
87 notes · View notes
guardians-of-exo · 3 years
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Mr. Queen
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Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Historical, Romance 
Synopsis: Jang Bong-hwan is a star chef who works at the Blue House, but after a mishap at work, he wakes up in the body of Queen Cheorin back in the Joseon period. The spirit of the young woman is gone, so Bong-hwan has to learn how to navigate not only the body of a woman, but also the body of a queen to be on his own, while he tries to find a way home. The King, Cheoljong, is nothing but a puppet for the Grand Queen Dowager, but he slowly begins to find his own voice. Everyone’s pasts are entangled in more ways than any of them know and with Bong-hwan’s arrival everything begins to unravel.
Episode info: 20 episodes / Runtime around 70 minutes
Lead cast: Shin Hye-sun (Kim So-yong/Queen Cheorin), Kim Jung-hyun (Lee Won-beom/King Cheoljong), Cha Chung-hwa (Court Lady Choi), Chae Seo-eun (Hong Yeon), Bae Jong-ok (Grand Queen Dowager), Na In-woo (Kim Byeong-in) 
Link to watch: You can watch it on Viki or here
Drama rec masterlist | Drama rant thread (beware of spoilers)
_
I really really liked this drama! It’s almost caricature in a way, but it’s so far out that it just makes it even more funny. You’re not meant to take it too seriously, at least at first, and I liked that. If you want a good laugh with a splash of intrigue, this is the drama for you. I can definitely see why it got so high ratings.
Also, I just want to say that Hye-sun is absolutely phenomenal in this role, and she is a big part of why this drama worked out like it did. All the actors were amazing of course, and I loved all the characters in this drama so fucking much. The queen’s maids, the head chef, the king’s friends, oh my god I could go on. The plot was pretty good, but it was honestly the characters that made me love this drama. Plot-wise it had the usual historical political troubles with everyone wanting the throne, so nothing new or special there. Entertaining enough but it’s not the best part.
I’m not sure if it’s super relevant or not, but I do want to mention that they deal with suicide and sometimes even sort of jokes about it. It sounds worse than it actually is, but if that is something that makes you uncomfortable, just be wary of that. It’s mostly in the first couple of episodes, and then it stops.
There were some things that I thought were kind of... off about this drama, though it is a personal opinion. I can’t go into too much detail without spoiling, but I did rant about it here and here. I’m just not completely happy with how they dealt with the body-swap situation, which also leads me to being somewhat unhappy with how it ended. I feel like they missed the mark with some of the comments they made.
I debated whether to give this 3 or 4 stars for a while, because the things that I don’t like about this drama are a pretty big part of it, but in the end I’ve decided on 4 for the sole reason that I loved all the characters so much. 
2 notes · View notes
rllysick · 4 years
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Master list:
This is my master list of fanfics that I enjoy reading! I will continue to add to it as I read more or maybe write my own! Most of these fanfictions are of ao3 or tumblr
Rick Sanchez x Reader:
Ricky Doll by rickssugarplum: You’ve missed Rick for so long and you have a Rick Plushie to fill the void. Rick finds out.
Rest Easy by sammys_lover: You're frightened by a storm that's way too huge for your liking. 
Innuendos by Hoodoo:  You just needed to get some grocery shopping done. Rick turned it into a thing.
Long:
F*CKING YOUNG / PERFECT by baconprincess:  The Smith-Sanchez family meets the new neighbors. (11 Chapters, but unfinished)
Curiosity by PsychoLolita: You get swept into Rick and Morty's lives thanks to a favor from Beth. It isn't until you see Rick using his trusty portal gun that you decide to find out for yourself just what kind of scientist Rick Sanchez is. Along the way, you find yourself falling for Rick's unorthodox ways and personality. Even though he seems disinterested in you, it all feels like a strange deja vu. On the other hand, Rick knows something that you don't, and wants to keep it from you (and Morty) at all costs. Will things go completely awry, or will you settle with what the future holds? (15 Chapters, but unfinished)
Rick Sanchez x Reader (Smut):
...the line broke, the monkey got choked... by Hoodoo: You catch sight of an old guy with a Mohawk. He catches sight of you too, and makes a daring suggestion.
Heat Wave by Hoodoo: It's too damn hot. You decide to surprise Rick in his garage with some sexy times. Maybe that'll cool things off?
Honey, I'm Home by daddyzanchez: You knew the sound of a portal opening in your sleep, could recognise it in a crowd and it made you giddy. Rick being home after a long adventure with Morty meant that he was short on a dose of you, making him a little rougher than usual, and you loved it.
Interrupted Plans by daddyzanchez: Rick portals home briefly (despite having plans) to take care of you. 
Slow Sex or Mushy Pancakes by daddyzanchez: Rick gets pissy about having to choose between sex or mushy pancakes, so he chooses the next best: A quickie and non-mushy pancakes. 
Did You Read It In Cosmopolitan? by daddyzanchez:  Rick is away on adventures a lot, making your sex-life consist of a little too many quickies. You want slow for once - you'll never believe what happens next!
More Than Just A Dance by daddyzanchez: Your apartment is in for a Spring cleaning, so when you are mopping the floor whilst shaking your ass to a groovy beat, Rick sees you and orders a dance for himself. 
Steampunked by Hoodoo: Rick and reader get dolled up, but sneak away from festivities for some naughty fun. 
Good Vibes by rick-frickers: Written from a request: Can you do a Rick/Reader fic incorporating a vibrator?
There’s a first time for everything by ricks-frickers: Written from a request: Please write one of your sexyass female self-inserts of Rick taking a young woman’s virginity
Provocateur by PsychoLolita:  Rick wants to spoil you on an expensive lingerie shopping trip when decides he can't take the heat anymore, and pulls you into a dressing room stall for a little fun.
Hard Candy by PsychoLolita: You and Rick Sanchez have been flirting for months. When you pay him a visit this time, he's working on a "special candy for Summer" that he insists you don't touch. But how can you resist trying one when he isn't looking? You can't- and he's the only one who can quench your thirst after you realize the candy was actually an aphrodisiac.
Tequila Sunrise by PsychoLolita: You're secretly into some kinky stuff, but you're too shy about it to bring it out on your own. Rick C137 knows exactly what to do. 
A Woman’s Place by rehpicllib: Rick’s kind of sexist. But still manages to fuck you up.
You Asked For It by Hoodoo: You make a request of Rick: can you have a night of hardcore fluffy sex? Can he do that? And then contrariwise, what about the opposite of hardcore fluff sex? Chapter 2. Requests from an ask, first chapter fluffy sex, second chapter hardcore sex (with detoxified Rick and Toxic Rick) (2 Chapters)
Up In The Air daddyzanchez: Your job as a flight attendant suddenly gets a little more exciting (and shameful) as a tall, strange man with spiky blue hair gets onboard... (4 Chapters, but unfinished) 
Extra Credit by GoldenSnowflake: As the clanking of plates and silverware gathering food filled the air, a tall, slim figure swept into the room and took the chair opposite of mine. He stared and I blinked at him, my fork in my mouth. "Who's this?""We're partners for a project," Summer muttered as if he should've known better, despite the fact it didn't seem like she warned anybody that I was coming over at all.
Sext by Hoodoo: Rick got a piercing. It's wrecked a month's worth of havoc on his sex life, until tonight.
Hair-pulling+ by Hoodoo: A short, filthy fic about being fucked from behind by Rick, with him holding onto my ponytail. Just some nice hair pulling and dirty talk.
Mint Chocolate Chip by Hoodoo:  It's summer and it's too hot. Ice cream should make it better.
Erotic Advent by Hoodoo:  24 days of new sex toys for Rick/reader!
Zero G by Hoodoo: You always wanted to have sex in anti-gravity. Rick makes that happen.
Focused on masterbaiting:
Tracker by NikkiDoodle:  Rick catches you during your alone time. But how does he know what you're up to? 
Desperate But So Far Away by daddyzanchez: Rick is not able to be reached right now which is a bummer. You have had your hand in your pants for an hour or more but your orgasm was just not happening. 
Better Than Fantasy by NamelyCranberries: Rick catches you masturbating. Lend a Hand by deliciousdeaddove:  You walk in on something interesting... 
House sitter by deliciousdeaddove:  You're watching the Smith's house while they're out of town. Your mind drifts to one of the usual occupants and you become carried away. Then you're caught. 
Caught Rick-Handed by CrazyRaynebow:  Rick walks in on Reader masturbating and well... what else is there to say?
Focused on eating out:
Originality - A New Year's Eve Story by daddyzanchez:  How does one enter the new year with Rick Sanchez? A Slip Of The Tongue by daddyzanchez: It took a moment before you realised what you had just said but when you did, your heart dropped and it felt like a train was hitting you at maximum speed. Distractions by rick-frickers: Written from a request: reader/Rick with reader as Morty’s tutor or something and the tutor and Rick have been flirting (which Morty notices) and Rick goes under the table and goes down on tutor and she’s gotta play it cool so Morty doesn’t notice and Rick’s really into it but also wants the girl to make a lot of noise so she’ll feel embarrassed. And later the reader gets her revenge and does the same to Rick when he’s in the garage or something! 
Period:
Monthly by NikkiDoodle: You're on your period and hate it. But that didn't stop Rick. (3 Chapters)
Bloodhound by Jinkies_Lydia:  This story is about period sex. If that is not your thing turn around now. Takes place after season 2 episode 7, “Big Trouble in Little Sanchez”. The Reader comes onto Rick at her bloodiest time of the month after a wild ride previously with Rick after killing his other clone bodies, drenched in his own blood. 
Monthly by GoldenSnowflake: “She’ll be watching the house while we’re gone,” Beth explained pleasantly.Long limbs draped across the back of the sofa and the coffee table, Rick looked at me with the barest hint of interest. “She’s cute,” he assessed, turning back to the television. “Just make sure she stays the hell away from the garage.” A little odd or not, the Smiths paying to housesit while they're gone is nothing less than perfect timing. Except for the fact that Mother Nature doesn't care whose life she's ruining. Oh, and neither does Rick.
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A Letter to the DP Phandom
I’m usually not passionate about stuff.
But ever since I rewatched Danny Phantom in the 10th grade on a random nostalgia trip, that passion was ignited again. It sounds silly, and I’m still a little insecure of talking about it in public. And as a kid with ADHD it’s also been hard for me to try to write fic or find the motivation to draw all the ideas that are burning in my head, and I wish I could finally let it out and show the world just how much I feel about this show. It’s harder when you say the words “Danny Phantom” and unsurprisingly the first response you’ll probably get is “Oh that Nickelodeon show? Yeah I remember that,” to which the conversation ends. But there is so much more to be said.
It’s been said before so many times, and every time it’s talked about there’s this feeling in my gut that is screaming at me to shout it out to the world. So I won’t go into it too much as to what made this show special, but what’s important is that it had potential and that it deserved to be carried out to the best story it could have been. Danny Phantom in itself is a fantastic concept, that got screwed over by multiple factors. Nick, who only cared about Spongebob and FOP, and the show’s creator, who was absent for most of its production because he was too busy with the other things he was in charge of. If you think about it, his absence from his own idea is probably what jump started this show, and I guess we can be grateful for that.
Now we can only think about what Danny Phantom could have been. Perhaps if the concept was given to the ATLA team or if the concept was hatched in the brainstorming meeting room of a Japanese anime studio it could have delved into every idea that was implied, where to be fair, all fanfiction fuel originated from. I cannot even begin to count how many times I have paused an episode of this show to analyze exactly what was being said and what that meant for the world in the story.
Spectra, the misery ghost? If she had been jumping from school to school making kids depressed for her own gain, how many did she indirectly kill?
How would Valerie have reacted to find out that the ghost she hated so much for ruining her life was actually a boy she fell in love with?
Or Jack, after finding out that his supposed best friend in the world was actually a terribly corrupted ghost bent on destroying his family?
And Danielle, who has to deal with the idea that she has no real identity outside of being a perfect little clone, and just a mistake that was never meant to exist?
And what about Danny, who watched all of his friends and family die in an instant, give way to a horrible future that he is responsible for, who we never saw shed a single tear in the 52 episodes in the series?
I could go on. But I won’t for your sake.
There is nothing more disappointing to me sometimes than to think of Butch Hartman’s - the creator’s view of the show compared to the rest of this phandom’s. Us phans is what has made the show’s passion stay alive. Something Butch Hartman’s God-given creative mind apparently can’t possibly accept. I would love to have believed otherwise, but I feel that he doesn’t understand that we are just as responsible for its success as he and the DP crew was.
Butch seems to see all of our ideas as little fantasies that can’t compare to his own. And you know what else he sees differently from us?
Butch imagines Sam Manson as the sidekick love interest girl for the superhero. We see her as a flawed human being with a tough childhood and a hidden guilt for how she changed her best friend’s life.
Butch imagines Tucker Foley as a nerd sidekick purely there for comedy relief. We see him as a clever kid who would sacrifice his reputation for his friend.
Butch imagines Maddie and Jack Fenton to be ghost hunting fanatics who can never change their ways for anyone. We see these parents as two people driven by passion, but will give it all up in a heartbeat if it meant that they knew their son felt safe with them.
Butch imagines Vlad Masters as a black-and-white villain bent on taking over the world, yet we see this man as someone who understands what he does and justifies his hatred for Jack in order to get what he wants - all the while his ghost half is killing the last bits of humanity he has left, leaving him an insane but interesting character.
And then there’s Danny, who Butch sees as an incredibly powerful ghost hero, and ignored him for what this character really stands for - a high school kid with real, down to earth issues and one of the purest hearts I have ever seen in any superhero medium. Even through all the shit he goes through in the show, he still holds true to his values that all people deserve a second chance to live a good life - even those who don’t deserve it.
This short-lived Nicktoon has a lot of soul in it. One that will probably never be resurrected to achieve the culture that it could have had. It feels like a curse, really. Either a reboot from Butch with none of that soul, or nothing at all. And so maybe it’s best we never get one. After all, this phandom has such an unlimited passion compared to all of the other fandoms I’ve been a part of. No one is as unique as you guys. The Space AU, Wes Weston, and the memes we’ve shared are proof of that. I haven’t done that much here because it’s hard for me to communicate anything with what I feel are limited talents. But I want to try now, because of how much the passion for this show has touched me.
And maybe if we have enough, if it can burn long enough, we might be able to give it back and give Danny Phantom the love that it deserves.
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lynmars79 · 4 years
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Post 4 female fictional characters that mean the world to you
I think I stole this a few weeks ago from my roommate and it got lost in my notes.
This got long, so behind a cut for details on my picks: Elisa Maza, Susan Ivanova, Vex’ahlia, and Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter
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Elisa Maza
Gargoyles was the show I waited my whole childhood to see.
From the time I was maybe 4 or 5, I remember being utterly annoyed at the episodic nature of my favorite cartoons. Lessons were learned and forgotten. Characters met and never seen again. Changes meant nothing, only status quo. I was most excited for special movie eps and season finales, because things changed and stayed changed...to an extent. Then back to status quo (with a few new toys on the merchandise line).
But then came Gargoyles, and I remember being interested by this fantasy series preview in TV Guide, and it mentioned Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis would be voicing characters (the joke turned out to be how many Star Trek alums voiced characters in that show at all). I tuned in for a new fantasy cartoon. I got mythology and Shakespeare, both of which I loved even then. And we got Elisa as our audience point of view.
A biracial woman cop. Native American father, black mother.
And she was so cool. So competent, so kind, so intelligent, so all around wonderful, and from the moment she and Goliath are first on screen together the chemistry is real and it’s OK they’re the obvious shipping endgame because the mutual respect and trust and true partnership is sheer electricity.
Elisa makes mistakes, has a wide variety of emotions and outbursts, sometimes fails in her goals. She takes responsibility, apologizes, and always tries to do the right thing. She’s a helluva role model and someone I’d love to be friends with.
We need more show leads like Elisa.
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Susan Ivanova
In the late 1990s television was still dancing around displaying any romance besides compulsory heterosexuality. Babylon 5 was one of the forerunners of serialized TV story formats, moving away from the easy episodic series easy to sell in syndication. On B5, the first officer for most of the series’ run was Susan Ivanova, Commander, daughter of Andre and Sophie Ivanov, the right hand of vengeance, the boot that is going to kick your sorry ass all the way back to Earth, death incarnate, and the last living thing you are ever going to see. Ivanova is God. Or God sent her to destroy you. Either way.
The Jewish Russian woman was also a secret low grade telepath, struggling with the PsyCorp and her own feelings for one of the station’s assigned telepaths, Talia. She also had strong feelings for the Ranger Marcus, realized too late as well. Susan was perpetually late in admitting the feelings of her heart. And the first bisexual woman I remember really seeing on TV, even if I didn’t have the vocabulary then (and then Xena & Gabrielle took that ball and flew). Usually, someone’s either gay or straight--even if they realize partway through a series their sexuality, and erase any physical or emotional attractions they previously had before the writers try to get their points for suddenly adding queer representation. But Susan’s feelings and relationships just...were. Still restricted by the time and allowances, but in a way, that allowed the writing to pretend to be more natural. It wasn’t a huge deal that Susan loved both men and women; it wasn’t something to call attention to or discuss at length, it simply was. The big deal was Susan getting to admit her love at all, even if only to herself.
(Because all love is unrequited.)
Susan’s a gold mine of quotes (the whole series is, honestly), and she (and her broship with John Sheridan) is a huge inspiration for a few characters I’ve written and roleplayed over the years.
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Vex’ahlia
She began as the peasant bastard of Syngorn noble. A half-elf, not part of either the human or elven worlds. The only person she could ever rely on was her twin brother--OK, and her bear companion. Seen as greedy and penny-pinching, snobby and cold.
She ends the campaign as Baroness of the Third House of Whitestone, Grand Mistress of the Grey Hunt, Champion of Pelor, a Hero of Tal’dorei--and all Exandria.
She’s also a bakery co-owner, a wife, a mother. And always, always, a sister. Not just to Vax’ildan, but to Keyleth and Pike and Tary and Scanlan and Grog and Zahra and Kash and so many others.
Her greed wasn’t to be a miser, but out of the memories of fear and uncertainty and starvation and wanting to avoid that not only for herself but for her family and for others. A woman who on impulse will spend her thriftily-held gold to resurrect a random child, or buy the freedom of teenage slaves despite being in the middle of a mission. Her clutching onto money was a way to make sure she could take care of people.
A woman who stole a flying broom from an ally because of her overwhelming need to fly, to taste freedom in the sky and leave those fears and concerns behind.
A woman who saved a man’s life and soul through the sheer willful power of her love (and Laura Bailey’s brilliant, witty, charming rolepay). The chemistry between Percy and Vex wasn’t decided in a writer’s room, nor was it a corporate mandate to have the tragic human man in the group hook up with the hot ranger; it simply happened, naturally, between two characters who fit well together, and two friends who trusted each other and played well together. The genuine trust and respect and admiration and just everything about them keeps them high on my list of OTPs.
Vox Machina began as a jokey one shot and silly archetypes for a home game, and in time became so much more, for their players and their audience, and I cannot wait to see Vex in all her animated glory when Critical Role’s series The Legend of Vox Machina finally airs.
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Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter
A few decades ago, author Elizabeth Moon ended up sitting in on her husband’s D&D game. She connected well with one of the younger players, and she heard stories about the paladin classes. Particularly those dreaded players, who play paladins as Lawful Stupid--or worse, Lawful Jerk. Characters completely at odds with what was written about what paladins are meant to be.
When the young player moved away and was lonely in his new home, she wrote him some stories inspired by their D&D characters. From this came the first ideas and drafts that eventually became the Paksenarrion stories and world, of a young sheep farmer’s daughter who ran away, joined a military company, became an adventurer, and eventually, discovered her destiny as a true paladin, all told in a 3 novel series collectively called The Deed of Paksenarrion.
Moon is known for science fiction, and military fiction. Paks’ story leans heavily on the military, and is a low magic high fantasy setting (more magic is introduced later, in the Paladin’s Legacy quintet). She is chosen, yes--but it’s still also her choice to answer the call and accept the fate her world wants for her. It also tickles me that it’s not the clergy or another paladin that helps her make the final decision and induction--but a druid who helps her heal from the traumas her previous mentors’ mishandling helped cause.
Paks’ journey is at times difficult and dark, but even the worst things that happen to her have reason (and are never gratuitously described or lingered on), and the good things that happen to her--and the people who love, support, and believe in her--are what gives her strength, hope, and drive to keep going.
And it goes both ways; other characters are changed by her quiet strength and inner light, so much so that her supporting cast got their own sequel series, mentioned above.
Paks is also explicitly asexual, and I cannot begin to describe how important she is in developing my own understanding of myself.
Paksenarrion is another big inspiration for a lot of characters, and her original trilogy is one I reread often. I should reread the short story compilations, the completed sequel quintet, too, and maybe the duology prequel about the saint who becomes one of her patrons and whose actions still have consequences for Paks and her comrades. But mostly I just love this tall soldier and her choice to follow her destined path, and so go back to the original story on its own.
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shunkashuutou · 4 years
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2020: ShuuKatsu, Spring Break, Corona, and FF7R
Hello everyone! Long time no update!
I meant to post something to say happy new year, but life just keeps getting busier and busier! So it’s time for some updates!
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- SHUUSHOKU KATSUDOU -
I’ll be heading into my final year of studies here soon, which means that it’s shuushoku katsudou (就職活動) season here. “Shuushoku katsudou” (often shortened to just “shuukatsu”) is basically job hunting, but unlike in America, it’s a very different process.
In America you can job hunt at any time of year, and it usually involves printing out (or even e-mailing) a copy of your resume, writing a cover letter, and sending in your application. However, if you’re a college student here in Japan, you have to secure a job BEFORE you graduate.
First of all, you have to write out your resume by hand on a specially-formatted paper that you get from your school, in pen with absolutely no mistakes and no white-out, each time you apply to a company. (Thankfully, being in the web industry, some of the places I’ve applied to are okay with you typing your information into their online form instead of having to hand-write a resume).
Here are some of my resumes in progress:
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Once you have your beautifully written resume, you put on your very-dark-gray-but-not-pure-black suit (and 3 to 5 cm heels if you are female) and attend company setsumeikai (説明会), which are like information sessions in which the companies tell you about the work they do, their philosophy, etc. (I'm in a creative field so it doesn’t matter, but in marketing jobs or service industry jobs, you can’t have dyed hair or eyelash extensions, and you have to do a specific style of makeup) Then you turn in your hand-written resume, and if they’re interested, they’ll call you in for an interview. If you make it past the first interview, there’s usually a skills test or personality test (some of the personality tests I’ve taken have ridiculous questions, like “Do you get diarrhea often?”), a second interview, and then if you’ve made it past all of those steps and they still are interested in you, one final interview with an executive from the company. And you have to repeat this whole process for each company that you want to apply to. (Some of them also have group interviews, group work sessions, general skills tests that are like the SAT but in Japanese, etc as part of their hiring process)
And because of the very limited time period (usually from April to October of the year before you graduate) in which you can get recruited as a “newly graduating student” (新卒採用), if you miss this window and don’t get a job, some people pay to stay in college an additional year so they can try again the following year. In terms of the time frame, it’s almost more comparable to the American college search process than job hunting. And all of this happens while you’re still a student and still need to be attending classes and studying!
It’s quite different than job searching in America, so if anyone else you know in Japan says that they’re doing shuushoku katsudou, now you know what they’re going through!
And this year it’s especially tough due to the virus, since companies are having to move their info sessions and interviews online, delay them until things calm down, or are choosing not to recruit at all this year because the economy is unstable right now. 
Which brings us to our next topic:
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- CORONA -
Mabs and I doing okay here in Osaka! The virus started really spreading when we were already on spring break (so we were already staying at home most of the time) and the start of our new school year has gotten pushed back from the beginning of April to the middle of May. Thankfully our jobs were able to move things online so we’re working remotely now.
Japan finally announced at state of emergency a few weeks ago, but the government doesn’t have the authority to force people to stay home, or to force businesses to close, they can only “strongly suggest” it. So many people are still having to commute to work on the trains, and I don’t think Japan is doing enough, but it does sound like most people are starting to take things more seriously and stay home when possible.
Honestly my routine hasn’t changed all that much from my normal spring break routine. (Not stepping foot outside my apartment for like 5 days at a time isn’t uncommon at all) I stay at home almost all the time and only go grocery shopping once a week anyway, so aside from the stress of hearing the news, and having to work remotely, my daily life hasn’t changed too much. (My mom’s trip to Japan at the end of March got cancelled though, which was a real bummer, but I really hope I can have her come visit for the spring cherry blossom season someday once all of the corona stuff calms down!)
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But even though school and shuushoku katsudou is temporarily on hold, I have been extremely busy lately getting ready for the...
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- DRAMA RELEASE -
So I briefly mentioned it in a previous post, but last summer I had the opportunity to act as the main character in a new digital drama series!
The director and producer are currently making the last edits to the three pilot episodes, and they’ll be released on YouTube soon!
Here’s the official trailer! (※Warning for language. And I’m sure that those of you who know me in real life will be quite surprised; this character’s personality is like the opposite of mine, lol. But that’s what acting is all about!)
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Be sure to subscribe to the official channel on YouTube so you won’t miss the episodes when they come out!
I also had the opportunity to design and code the official website for the series! Go check it out here to start getting to know the story and characters!
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I’ll be sure to post more about it when the episodes get released on YouTube, which should be soon!
I also finally made use of my acting salary and bought myself a PS4 and...
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- FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE -
I started writing up this section of the post, but it got too long because I have a lot to say about this wonderful game, so for now here’s a photo of Mabs and I enjoying some milkshakes before playing the game! (These pudding-flavored milkshakes from McDonalds were amazing!)
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We are having a blast playing FF7R! Mabs never played the original FF7 so I’m glad we can play the remake together, and it’s been fun to see her reactions to it! I’m really happy that she’s enjoying it too!
So expect a post about FF7R in the near future! (I promise it won’t be to long before I post again this time!)
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I hope you all are staying safe and healthy during this crazy time in the world! Wash your hands, wear a mask when you must go out, STAY HOME, and definitely play FF7R if you have a PS4!
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Also if you’d like to receive updates by e-mail whenever I update this blog, be sure to sign up for my blog update mailing address by sending an e-mail to:
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(You don’t have to include any message, just a blank e-mail is fine, but if you’d like to tell me who you are that would be nice!)
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