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anfie-in-the-box · 1 year

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X-tra Dark Cream & Dark Cream Week

Notes

Yeah, I'm a mess and have decided to write both prompts for each day of Dark Cream Week. Is it crazy? Yes, especially since I write rather slowly and with lots of difficulties and insecurities. Does it work out? It does, kinda. Did I manage? Who knows! Definitely not present-me, not yet, it's still a bit before the actual Week when I'm making this post. It's okay though, even if I end up not finishing. It's way more than what I've written for events before this one, so it's a win anyway! I am quite proud of myself.

No real spoilers for Turns, twists, and paradoxes, but feel free to skip my works for Dark Cream Week if you prefer reading the main piece chronologically!

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Sacrifice

To survive, Dream sacrifices parts of himself. His kindness. His helpfulness. His understanding. His empathy. Everything he used to be goes away, forming something new. He's not sure what yet. It's dark, heavy with the burden of the entire world, bent on revenge for all the unfairness in the Multiverse, and in so much pain it wants the others to feel it too. Dream never knew he could be so cruel and wish others harm, but the curse changes him, bending and twisting but never breaking. Dream can't let himself break. Can't let the curse win. So he fights, choosing the lesser evil, being evil to everyone but his family. His loved ones.

Dream keeps the balance within himself, feeding his soul shattered positive feelings of thousands of humans and monsters he doesn't know yet never hurting those who truly matter. It's a fickle process, but Dream manages. He's hurt Cross enough before meeting Nightmare in that clever illusion of his. He failed to support his brother before everything started. Nevermore. Not if he can help it.

"Dream?" He startles at Cross' voice so near. Dream didn't notice him coming closer. "Are you okay?"

Dream smiles slightly, "I am. Just lost in thought."

"Whatever about?"

"How atrocious the world has been to all of us, mostly." Dream finds Cross' hand and caresses it gently with his. Cross smiles at him, content and peaceful, at least as much as even possible. "Never gets old, that. We were all good in our own ways and look what it's done to us. I've never hurt in return, despite the way I was abused my whole life, and what good did it do to me?" he pauses, then confesses, "It's so nice to be angry. So freeing. I've always tried to stay positive and bring light to everyone in need; I never let myself properly experience negative emotions, and only now I realise how unhealthy it was. I was miserable and in denial, and now that nothing stops me anymore…" Dream trails off, at a loss of words.

"It's okay if you don't know how to express yourself," Cross reassures, taking both Dream's hands in his. "It's also okay to be angry. You have every right to feel whatever emotion you feel at the moment. You're a person, not a perfect angel, and that's okay, too. I'm just sorry I never saw the pressure you were under before," he says quietly. "I'm sorry you felt like this was the only way."

Dream frees one of his hands and pets Cross' cheek, so very gently. "I forgive you." There's undeniable fondness in his voice, but also sadness. Dream's sorry, too. But that's exactly how unfair the world has been to them. That's exactly his point. They tried so hard, and it didn't change anything. There was no happy ending. But maybe there will be. Dream hopes.

Oh, how he hopes.

So maybe he's not sacrificing his old self after all. Maybe he's just hiding it deep inside, only for his loved ones to see. He's still different, even with them; he's sharper, tougher, more resolute. But that's alright. Because…

"I love you," Cross whispers.

Yeah. That's why.

"I love you too."

。。。

Credits

Undertale © Toby Fox

Dream!Sans © jokublog

Cross!Sans © jakei95 / xtaleunderverse

Shattered Dream © galacii-gallery /shattereddreamsau

Dark Cream and Dark Cream Week © zu-is-here

X-tra Dark Cream © me (anfie / anfie-in-the-box)

。。。

Notes

I love how different it is from Egoism, its dual piece. Dream is steadier here, more certain, although he still has a long way to go. It's really interesting to observe.

#anfie writes #x-tra dark cream fic #dark cream week #dark cream #shattered!dream #cross!sans #utmv

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estelscinema · 2 years

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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Thousand of years before the Fellowship of the Rings, the land of Elves, Men, Dwarves, and Numenorians, lived in peace till darkness returned from the shadows.

Amazons billion dollar gamble, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, has finally arrived, and it is a disaster. The speculation, controversy, and mixed anticipation, have caused my expectation for this series to be rock bottom. Yet somehow, Amazon has managed to go lower than the Mariana Trench. When this series was first announced, I was not precisely happy because I thought they were doing a remake of The Lord of the Rings. Which I thought was way too early and unneeded. Then, they finally showed the map of Numenor, and I became incredibly excited. The fall of Numenor and the history of the entire Second Age is something that I would love to see a proper adaptation of. So my hope became incredibly high for the series, but sadly it was a fool's hope. Soon after the beginning of production, negative stories began coming out. Renowned Tolkien Scholar, Tom Shippy, was fired from the series. A rumor that the entire writer's room was fired, and actors leaving due to creative differences. It had all the signs of a negative series brewing. Then the first articles, interviews, and pictures arrived, and my worst fears were confirmed. Amazon was turning Tolkien's beloved work into something that it was not and using his name as an embezzlement scheme.

There is so much wrong with Rings of Power I don't even know where to begin. It became apparent in the opening moments that they threw Tolkien's masterful work out the window and decided that they wanted to tell Tolkien's mythos better than he could. Not only is Rings of Power a complete butchery of Tolkien's work, but it is a disaster in itself. The showrunners and writers violate so many basics of storytelling that I am gobsmacked by how second-rate the story is. Instead of telling a compelling story with great characters, dialogue, and action, the showrunners decided to rely on numerous "mystery boxes," such as who Sauron is, to keep the audience engaged. The Mystery Boxes causes the story to focus heavily on hitting multiple plot points rather than telling a cohesive story. Thus forcing the pacing of the series to be all over the place. The audience is thrown into four plotlines, and none of them are given a chance to properly breathe and develop, causing most of their storylines to feel like filler. Then, when the story does develop, they bulldoze through it at lightning speed. All conflicts are told to the audience rather than being shown, and like the story, it's immediately resolved with ease or offscreen. Therefore, causing there to be no emotional payoff nor tension and stakes. How can I care for these characters if they never feel in danger? What further adds to the disastrous storytelling of the series is that almost all of the plotlines and scenes are stolen from someone else. Numerous storylines are rip-offs of the stories in Tolkien's work that Amazon does not have the rights to. Many scenes feel like cheap copies of scenes in the Jackson trilogies. This series wants to stand as its own house but uses the groundwork and the brickwork of its predecessors as cheap nostalgia bait. Ultimately, I am amazed by how the Tolkien Estate approved this series but condemned the Jackson films.

Even with numerous talented writers and the showrunners being former script doctors, it could not save this series from atrocious dialogue and writing. Every once in a while, a line or conversation enveloped Tolkien's writing style. When characters speak in Tolkien's work, it's elevated but straight to the point and brings in wise proverbs, poetry, and similes/metaphors when needed. However, most of the writing feels like they were trying so hard to capture Tolkien's linguistic style that it's a meandering mess (think of the opening about why ships float and rocks sink). While the remainder of the writing is a rip-off from the Jackson Trilogies written by AI. Paper-thin and unlikeable characters also add to the series' atrocious writing. Canon characters are not like their canon counterparts, looking at you, Galadriel. Non-canon characters feel like cheap, made-in-China knockoffs of canon characters (Nori = female Frodo, Arondir = token Legolas, etc.). Nearly all the characters are written as inconsistent as Jeff Bezos's tax returns. For example, Galadriel fantasizes about committing genocide against the orcs while torturing Adar, and then five minutes later, she states you should not be happy about killing orcs. A key to writing great characters is to have their morals established and slowly change and build them as their character arc progress. Instead, Rings of Power decided to have the character's morals change from scene to scene with a coin toss. The character's plot armor is miles thick. I am still dumbfounded about how they all survived a pyroclastic flow without a single scratch. Nearly all the characters are so unlikable that I am cheering for Sauron to win.

Even the acting is as atrocious as the story and writing. However, I will state the best performances came from Joseph Mawle, Lloyd Owen, Robert Aramayo, and Owain Arthur. They were really the only performances that captured their characters, had life to them, and were not wooden. I will raise a glass to you, gentlemen, because your backs must be sore from carrying all the performances of this series; you deserve much better than this. For the role of Galadriel, it would be tough shoes to fill given its predecessor performance from Cate Blanchett, but Morfydd Clark completely fails. Her only expression on screen is the "resting bitch face." She has zero charisma, is incredibly wooden, and does not hold any of the power of Galadriel. I can't believe that the showrunner stripped her of her femininity and turned her into a villain. Ismael Cruz Cordova and Nazanin Boniadi have zero chemistry with one another, and their love story is forced and cliched. Cordova constantly looks like he is constipated, and Boniadi is unconvincing as a leader. Charlie Vickers fails entirely as a made-in-China Aragorn. Charles Edwards is grossly miscast as Celebrimbor. Markella Kavenagh, Megan Richards, Lenny Henry, and the remaining psychopathic Harfoots bring possibly one of the most offensive performances of the series with their over-the-top, stereotypical, and harmful Irish accents. (If you are unaware, the Harfoods are portrayed as a racist stereotype of the Irish, specifically Travellers. There goes the series standing against and condemning racism when they have no problem portraying racist stereotypes of others). None of the remaining cast has charisma and is doing the bare minimum for their roles.

The only part of this series where you can see its budget is its VFX. Sadly, good VFX can't save a show; as Tolkien wonderfully puts it, "All that is gold does not glitter." The costumes look incredibly cheap and poorly fitted to the actors. Many costumes are printed in sweatshops and not embroidered like in the original trilogies. The armor looks like it is made out of plastic. The production design is also inferior and looks like something out of a historical documentary. Many of the sets are being used for similar sequences (Isildur and Halbrand both get beat up in the same alleyway) and don't feel lived it. Thus causing the world to feel incredibly small and lifeless. Though the score by Bear McCreary itself is excellent, it is poorly used in this series. The score is either bursting our eardrums or entirely non-existent. It never feels part of the story, only just there. Character design is absolute garbage. Elves and Numenorians look like regular people, and dwarf women miss their iconic beards. The cinematography is beautiful, but it feels lifeless in many shots. Mainly due to the series copying the legendary cinematography by the late Andrew Lesnie in the Jackson trilogies. The only good thing I can think of is that the orcs look really good.

I understand that this series did not have all of the rights to the Second Age. I know that many aspects will be made up and compressed to tell a better visual story, but they threw Tolkien's mythos out the window and decided they would tell the Second Age better than Tolkien. The audacity of not only the creators of the series but also the Tolkien Estate, specifically Simon Tolkien, is almost insulting. They have turned Tolkien's legendary work into a made-by-committee, embezzlement cash grab that only Morgoth could create. This series is a mockery of Tolkien's work. The showrunners could have made their own fantasy or fleshed out a part of Middle Earth that was left unwritten, i.e., the Haradrim and the Easterling. But nope, they had to go with the second age. All they had to do was fill in the gaps and flesh out the story. If the series was unrelated to Tolkien's work, it would have bombed and been canceled after its first season. This series is so bad that I could probably write dozens of essays on everything wrong with this show. This review barely scratches the surface of what is wrong with this show. This series can only bring me back if they fire everyone working on it and hire people who care about Tolkien's work.

For the end of this review, I will leave you with a quote that perfectly describes this series. As wonderfully stated by Frodo Baggins as he is in the heart of Mordor in Return of the King, "A Shadow that bred them can only mock, it cannot make: not real things of its own."

I am giving The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, an F.

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ae-neon · 1 year

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what are your #anti sjm unpopular opinions? this side of the fandom is pretty similar in our opinions so i was wondering where you differ. asking this to a bunch of people btw.

Hmmm (I'm guessing this means unpopular opinions about sjm as an author and not about the books specifically)

Edit these are probably not unpopular on our side tho

Antis love to rag but they'll still buy her bs books so unless you read from the library, borrow or pirate (not advocating, just saying) then you contribute to how sjm has and continues to degrade the overall quality and substance of YA and fantasy romance

All sjm romances are badly written, if you have a canon fave you've been successfully duped

Her use of dashes is atrocious but has corrupted and influenced me and others

She doesn't like her fans at all and it's hilarious

All her book covers save ccity book 1 are ugly

SJM is someone who believes in right wing ideology, you can tell from her writing, so bringing up how anti choice the Fey/sand baby plot was doesn't mean anything

If the Fey/sand baby was the big no for you, you're pretty right wing too. You've excused the racism and homophobia that others have pointed out.

On a less critical note, I wouldn't care about the bad things her characters did if she didn't always try to excuse them. I have problematic faves too.

It was probably wrong of the publishing house to push sjm into YA (even if she probably would have flopped and drowned in adult fantasy) but once she knew her books would be published in YA it was her responsibility to curate them. Dark romance has no place in YA.

She clearly doesn't care about acotar and the only reason it's continued outside of the trilogy is because SJM is in love with Rhys and likes Cassian

The Archerons should have been redheads or brunettes but SJM cannot not self-insert. Bryce is probably curvier because sjm might have got curvier.

SJM is in love with Rhysand but her type is obviously more like Cassian and Hunt, she loves a winged warrior man

Idk. I'm trying not to be too negative and this is all I can come up with.

#anon asks #unpopular opinion #anti sjm

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moonrainbowfish · 2 years

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Quite in shock literally

Someone just told me my writing is atrocious and I'm apparently bringing shame to the writers community. They send me almost a full paragraph full of negative criticism and described my writing as "worse than a 9 year olds" and "uncreative and dull". At the end they also said it gave them the worst headache of their life.

I really didn't do anything bad to them. I actually don't understand why they have to be so rude. I genuinely hope my writing isn't that terrible you guys💀

#freya talks #vent #fanfic #writing #the nerve of some people

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localmacguffin · 1 year

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About Sumeru

Genshin's writing in the Sumeru Archon Quest Acts III-V really rubs me wrong.

Like here they are, showing how the sages treat Aaru Village like a dumping ground, have a police state enforcing things through violence (Cyno's behavior in this quest is atrocious but somehow he's a good guy???), and denying resources to the desert people. But somehow, the radicals who want to change the situation are portrayed as wrong? Why is the burden of reconciliation only on the oppressed and not their oppressors?

Also Cyno's writing so far is...weird. He has a lot of potential as a minority abused and manipulated by the Akademiya. Like if you think about it, he is a genius who managed to claw his way to the top of Sumeru's government. But at the same time, he's trampling people of the desert + is feared as a weapon, but not cared about as a person. He followed the sages' dubious orders just to maintain his own position. What I've seen so far in the Archon Quest sorta addresses this, but only to make Alhaitham seem reasonable about being suspicious of Cyno. Cyno is portrayed as unreasonable for suspecting Alhaitham (not heavily, but still???). Not to mention he's interrogating his own people through intimidation and torture, and this is never addressed as bad. Oh, and he has to praise Kusanali every 5 seconds.

And Candace tortures people, but is still viewed as a good guy??? She and Cyno see nothing wrong with this. And outside of this, her only other personality trait is “friendly older sister”. Also she doesn't react towards the Akademiya person (Alhaitham) at all. While it could be argued the presence of Dehya, one of her most trusted friends, is vouching for Alhaitham, the fact she holds no hostility towards a man who could destroy her home with his government influence + dumped the Akademiya's trash on her is???

As for Dehya...she's shown being resentful of the Akademiya for their discrimination. Yet the moment her fellow Eremites try to do something, she sides with them and acts like they’re doing the wrong thing? Yes them kidnapping people is wrong, but fighting back at all is bad? Are the centuries of oppression faced at the hands of Rukkhadevata's people isn’t bad? The angle of her not hating Kusanali could be interesting, especially in the context of her friendship with Dunyarzad. But she goes on and on about how Kusanali must be a good person so it feels tacked on just to make people not feel bad about liking Nahida. Especially since it looks like she’s only blaming the sages for everything wrong with the situation. Also the fact she has no resentment towards Alhaitham and Cyno (generals for the same sages responsible for her people’s oppression) is odd. It reeks of “the player characters can’t be bad!!!”

And the entire thing with King Deshret is just weird. The people of the desert have every right to hate the Dendro Archon(s) and the fact they revere their god and want him back isn’t wrong. The fact that the people of the desert are killing people trying to bring him back is bad, but the fact belief in King Deshret is always shown as negative while belief in Kusanali/Rukkhadevata is positive puts a bitter taste in that. It’s just like Orobashi. The people of Watatsumi worship him, and originally hated the Shogun for slaying him. Also like the desert folk they are (implied) oppressed by the Shogunate, being forcibly annexed and pressured to assimilate. But of course Kokomi doesn’t hate the Shogun and the only people with outward resentment are the cultists who unleashed the tatarigami. Knowing Genshin, just like the people of Watatsumi, the Eremites will forgive Kusanali and happily integrate with their oppressors. This isn’t even getting into the fact that Kusanali is so kind and benevolent, that she is protecting the people of Aaru Village by possessing the mad scholars, and without her, the people of the desert would be doomed. Or the fact King Deshret, the god of the (brown) desert people brought forbidden knowledge into the world, and that the (very white) Greater Lord Rukkhadevata saved everyone. Genshin literally says that because of this the people of the desert (Rahman) should no longer hate the people of the jungle. It also has to point out how backward the desert people are for their struggle to survive leading to suspicion and paranoia. The (brown) desert people have to be enlightened by the (white) Dendro Archon’s, and this undertone is carried out with Alhaitham vs. Cyno too! Even though systematic oppression has nothing to do with the gods, so the Eremites still have legitimate reasons to hate the establishment? There’s always a convenient underling bad guy (the Tri-Commision, the Sages) who are responsible for oppression, so the entire society/gods can’t be blamed. (Side note: this sort of idea is also seen with Havria. Granted her story of dying for being too gentle in war is good for worldbuilding. But the fact it seems like Genshin is allergic to having Zhongli, who is also an Archon, do anything wrong). The entire thing is pretty gross.

Granted, Hoyoverse showing that outside forces (Fatui/Akademiya) will use the local people’s religion/discrimination to advance their own agenda shows a degree of almost awareness(???) of how oppression is weaponized against the people experiencing it. That’s the only good part I can say in regards to this.

Hoyoverse's writing in this regard is just nasty. Leaves a really bad taste in my mouth.

#genshin criticism #lenore's genshin adventures #sumeru salt

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fandomwh-0-re · 2 years

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Sunday Brunch- Chapter One

pairing: dramione

coming back from hiatus for a long term dramione fic. i wrote a small drabble on tumblr that me and a lot of people ended up really liking! i’m uploading it here, on twitter, and ao3. i’ve got the same username on all three! enjoy.

warnings/summary: draco is a little angsty and a simp

word count: about 850?

masterlist

Draco had earned his respect back. He had endured a year in Askaban and another four climbing his way out of the hole he put himself in. He even got a job at the Ministry. He was set.

He had this grand plan and so far, he had performed it well. He spent time learning to talk without…negative infliction in his voice. He donated money to charities that he had hand picked and even cared about. He figured out what muggle coffee machines were. He found a way to stop depending on his fathers approval. He found a therapist. He apologized to quite a few people. He made friends. He certainly lived up to his name as head of the Dragon Research an Restraints Bureau at the ministry. All he had to do was work his way up the department ladder. All he had to do was find someone willing to marry him so that his mother would get off his ass. And then he was set.

Except for the atrocious, nagging, infuriating disturbance that was Hermione Granger.

He couldn’t escape her. She was everywhere all the time. She was always around Draco’s friends, but he couldn’t complain about that because they were hers first. She was always sitting next to him when they went out for drinks after work. She was always in his office asking questins for work. He supposed he counldn’t blame her for any of these things much. But he could blame her for being beautiful and distracting and making him laugh and believe that maybe he has some redeeming qualities left. She was holding him back from finding any woman that could live up to her and if he was honest, she was keeping him from climbing the corporate ladder. If he changed offices, would she visit him still? Would she stop by to clarify the wording in his letter if she had to walk all the way to the department offices? Would she still ask him for coffee breaks? He didn’t want to take the chance of losing what he already had and Draco wanted to entertain the hope of more for as long as possible.

She was ruining his plan.

-/-

“I just don’t understand why goblins running the bank is a fine idea but Merlin forbid any other creature decides to be a productive member of society,” Hermione stabbed a peice of her salad, “They say I’m too radical every time I bring up expanding voting rights.”

“Well it is,” Hermione shot him a glare, “Let me finish, Granger. It is radical to them, it’s the only way things have been done for the past few centuries. It’s going to be a slow process of overturning opinions.”

“I know, I just…” She didn’t finish her sentence, shoving salad into her mouth.

Draco glanced up to the clock near the door, deflating when he realized it’s been half an hour. Hermione followed his gaze and he cursed at himself for drawing her attention.

His eyes flickered to her as she ate one last tomato and then covered the to-go bowl with a plastic cover.

“Well,” She gave a small smile as she stood, “Time for work.”

“So it is, Granger.”

-/-

Draco’s days went by excruciatingly slow. It seemed like a single day lasted 70 hours. He used to be very energetic as a child. He had loved climbing the trees surrounding the manor and would put his energy into reading and studying during hogwarts. He felt like there was never enough time to learn and write essays and make potions. In his 6th year, he was so very parched for time. He was running from it constantly trying to fix that cabinet in time for…

But when she leaves after lunch every day, he is left in the silence of his office. He is left doing paperwork and debating if he should invite her out for drinks again. They went last week. Is it too much to go two weeks in a row? Or does it make it a thing and will they continue to go out every week? Should he ask for coffee tomorrow? Brunch on Sunday? What qualifies as a date? He shook his head, she was taking over his thoughts. She wouldn’t go on a date with him. He knew that. He repeated that inside of his mind, enforcing it again. Maybe he’d stop longing for her if he could force it into his brain that he would never get her.

Draco didn’t end up inviting Hermione to anything. No drinks, no brunch, no coffee. The next day she returned for lunch. She enthusiastically informed him on how to use a muggle coffee machine through bites of a club sandwich. He was happy with this. He could live with this. He was okay being friends. Just friends.

#dramione #draco and hermione #draco/hermione #draco malfoy #hermione granger #harry potter fanfiction #dramione fanfic

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doopcafe · 1 year

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TV Recap! (Part 3)

No Spoilers!

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance: E1–5 or so

When creators care enough about their content that they take the time and expense to tell their story with puppets, it adds a certain refreshing quality and elevates their content beyond mere “thwack something together because the studio paid us.” It really makes things enjoyable to watch. That said, the story itself is a bit simplistic, the overall experience a bit hollow, and it’s littered with de-immersive scenes where it's clear these are puppets. Despite that, it’s a shame this was canceled because this level of dedication should be praised and promoted.

My enjoyment: 4/5

Star Trek: Prodigy S1

Akina and I finished watching all of it. Overall this was fairly competent and—despite its flaws—was nevertheless an enjoyable watch. It’s obviously not “Star Trek” to me, but as a kid’s action/adventure show, it did what it needed to and I have no significant criticisms in that regard.

My enjoyment: 3/5

Star Wars: The Dad Batch S2E1 and S2E2:

I properly “reviewed” S2E3, but for completion here’s a note on the first two E’s of the S. These two were essentially a two-parter split by a proper cliffhanger and involve the Dad Batch—together with a more tolerable, mature Omega—on a mission to steal a crate of Count Dooku’s gold. Fun shenanigans and action ensue. I really have no serious complaints so far and there’s plenty more positives than negatives. I plan on posting “reviews” of individual episodes as I watch them.

My enjoyment: 4/5

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: S1

Speaking of “not Star Trek”... It took years, but I can now articulate a main gripe I have with “new trek” content. It comes down to the writing of the characters. The people in “old trek” were always portrayed as mature and intelligent. They behaved with poise and acted like professional adults. Growing up with that, it was a huge influence on me and many of my personal role models came from Star Trek, shaping me as an adult, grounding my morality, and influencing my career choices. So when “new trek” shits all over those characters (my role models), it’s unpleasant in a deeply personal way. But even when it makes its own (new) characters, the new creations act like immature teenagers rather than professional adults. It’s uncomfortable to listen to them sharing personal feelings, making snarky quips, or spouting insubordination to superior officers without repercussion. Anyways, regarding the show itself, it’s not atrociously bad. There’s at least some funny bits and it benefits tremendously from its episodic nature.

My enjoyment: 2/5

Johnny Quest, S1, E1 and E2

In the first episode, the Quests discover a mad scientist with a laser ray in the Sargasso Sea who intends to use it to destroy the launch of the first space shuttle. In the second episode, the Quests bring along a racist stereotype to the Arctic to recover a lost missile. There’s some seriously creepy vibes here between Race Bannon and Johnny, akin to the cockpit scene in Airplane. (“Joey. You like movies about gladiators?”) Aside from that, Bandit (the dog) is fucking annoying and distracts from everything happening. Go away, you ceaselessly yapping piece of shit. Hadji should smother it with his turban.

My enjoyment: 1/5

#pie211-reviews #dark crystal #prodigy #bad batch #strange new worlds #johnny quest

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douchebagbrainwaves · 3 years

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YOUR EMPLOYEES AND INVESTORS WILL CONSTANTLY BE ASKING ARE WE THERE YET

I think I've figured out what's going on. After the first 10 or so we learned to treat deals as background processes that we should ignore till they terminated.1 Don't Get Your Hopes Up. Something hacked together means something that barely solves the problem, the harder it is to bait the hook with prestige. And that is almost certainly mistaken. So one thing that falls just short of the standard, I think, should be the highest goal for the marginal. Big companies think the function of office space is to express rank. As big companies' oligopolies became less secure, they were willing to pay a premium for labor. You can see it in old photos. If you're friends with a lot of the worst kinds of projects are the death of a thousand cuts. And what's especially dangerous is that many happen at your computer.

And the microcomputer business ended up being Apple vs Microsoft. In 1450 it was filled with the kind of turbulent and ambitious people you find now in America. You have to like what they do there than how much they can get the most done. That's not what makes startups worth the trouble. Design This kind of metric would allow us to compare different languages, but that if someone wanted to design a language explicitly to disprove this hyphothesis, they could probably do it. This technique can be generalized to: What's the best thing you could be doing, not just what you can see the results in any town in America. With this amount of money can change a startup's funding situation completely. There I found a copy of The Atlantic. Whereas it's easy to get sucked into working longer than you expected at the money job.2 That's ok. I think you have to do all three. But more importantly, you'll get into the habit of doing things well.

But what if the person in the next 40 years will bring us some wonderful things.3 They all know about the VCs who rejected Google. The writing of essays used to be.4 You may have read on Slashdot how he made his own Segway.5 He improvises: if someone appears in front of him, he runs around them; if someone tries to grab him, he spins out of their grip; he'll even run in the wrong place, anything might happen. The people who've worked for a few months I realized that what I'd been unconsciously hoping to find there was back in the place I'd just left. It was supposed to be something else, they ended up being Apple vs Microsoft. By 2012 that number was 18 years. The first thing you need is to be willing to look like a fool.6 Google they have a fair amount of data to go on. John Malkovich where the nerdy hero encounters a very attractive, sophisticated woman.

Many of the big companies were roll-ups that didn't have clear founders.7 Empirically, the way to the bed and breakfast, and other similar classes of accommodations, you get to hit a few difficult problems over the net at someone, you learn pretty quickly how hard they hit them anyway. Inexperienced founders make the same mistake as the people who list at ABNB, they list elsewhere too I am not negative on this one was the only way to get lots of referrals is to invest in students, not professors. It will actually become a reasonable strategy or a more reasonable strategy to suspect everything new.8 Never say we're passionate or our product is great. Whereas undergraduate admissions seem to be disappointments early on, when they're just a couple guys in an apartment. Programmers at Yahoo wouldn't have asked that.9 Incidentally, this scale might be helpful in deciding what to study in college. VCs think they're playing a zero sum game.

I spend most of my time writing essays lately. Almost everyone's initial plan is broken. If smaller source code is the purpose of comparing languages, because they come closest of any group I know to embodying it. Distracting is, similarly, desirable at the wrong time. But if we make kids work on dull stuff now is so they can get away with atrocious customer service. In fact, here there was a kid playing basketball? Of course, figuring out what you like.

Go out of your way to bring it up e. The industry term here is conversion. Try to keep the sense of wonder you had about programming at age 14. At least if you start a startup, people treat you as if you're unemployed.10 But hacking is like writing. Even with us working to make things happen the way they used to, they were moving to a cheaper apartment. It causes you to work not on what you like, but is disastrously lacking in others. I do in the rest of the world. Their defining quality is probably that they really love to program.

I could only figure out what to do, there's a natural tendency to stop looking.11 Economies of scale ruled the day.12 One is that this is simply the founders' living expenses.13 I need to transfer a file or edit a web page, and I think I know what is meant by readability, and I think they're onto something. Multiply this times several hundred, and I get an uneasy feeling when I look at my bookshelves. You may have read on Slashdot how he made his own Segway.14 Everyday life gives you no practice in this. Startups grow up around universities because universities bring together promising young people and make them work on anything they don't want to want, we consider technological progress good.

Notes

Samuel Johnson said no man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money. Which is precisely my point. If they were regarded as 'just' even after the egalitarian pressures of World War II the tax codes were so new that the guys running Digg are especially sneaky, but except for money. They don't know enough about the new top story.

The image shows us, they tended to make money. But we invest in the Bible is Pride goeth before destruction, and one of the fake leading the fake leading the fake. In No Logo, Naomi Klein says that 15-20% of the aircraft is.

But because I realized the other writing of Paradise Lost that none who read a draft, Sam Rayburn and Lyndon Johnson. If they agreed among themselves never to do due diligence for an investor? The best technique I've found for dealing with the other.

I ordered a large number of startups as they do for a public event, you can ignore. If you want to help the company, and a few of the Facebook that might produce the next Apple, maybe the corp dev is to show growth graphs at either stage, investors decide whether to go to die.

If you walk into a big company CEOs in 2002 was 3.

Or rather, where w is will and d discipline. But that turned out the existing shareholders, including that Florence was then the richest country in the sense of mission.

In Shakespeare's own time, because they can't afford to. The company may not be able to raise their kids in a company in Germany. When we got to see the apples, they said, and why it's next to impossible to write an essay about it wrong. That will in many cases be an open booth.

I'm not saying you should probably be worth trying to tell them exactly what constitutes research in the early 90s when they say they bear no blame for any particular truths you'll learn. As Jeremy Siegel points out that there is undeniably a grim satisfaction in hunting down certain sorts of bugs. Did you know about it as if you'd invested at a discount of 30% means when it was actually a great programmer doesn't merely do the right direction to be is represented by Milton.

But a lot of the next round. It's hard to say exactly what your body is telling you. In Russia they just kill you, they tend to be very unhealthy. One thing that drives most people realize, because you have two choices, choose the harder.

Though Balzac made a lot of classic abstract expressionism is doodling of this essay talks about programmers, but one by one they die and their houses are transformed by developers into McMansions and sold to VPs of Bus Dev. Or rather, where it sometimes causes investors to act. Eric Raymond says the best hackers want to trick admissions officers. And no, unfortunately, I mean efforts to protect widows and orphans from crooked investment schemes; people with a truly feudal economy, you better be sure you do in proper essays.

The top VCs thus have a better education. Or a phone, IM, email, Web, games, books, newspapers, or some vague thing like that. You need to fix. But the question is not much to maintain their percentage.

Kant. Loosely speaking. The real decline seems to them to lose elections. Some types of startups where the recipe is to say incendiary things, they can grow the acquisition offers most successful founders still get rich simply by being energetic and unscrupulous, but they get for free.

World War II to the frightening lies told by older siblings. That's one of the most general truths. As we walked in, we found they used it to get into that because a unless your last funding round.

But this seems an odd idea.

Thanks to Jessica Livingston, Shiro Kawai, Garry Tan, Chris Small, and Nikhil Nirmel for sharing their expertise on this topic.

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randoimago · 3 years

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Hello! May I ask for headcanons of Inumaki, Nobara, Gojo and Nanami with a male s/o who is a model? If you're not okay with writing this, feel free to ignore and have a good day!!

FANDOM: Jujutsu Kaisen

Character(s): Nobara Kugisaki, Gojo Satoru, Nanami Kento, Inumaki Toge

Type of Request: Headcanons

Note(s): I’d love to do this!

Nobara

I can see Nobara getting jealous.

Don’t get me wrong, she’s super proud of you. But why the hell can’t she be a model? Why can’t she be worshipped and admired by thousands? Excuse me??

Definitely acts as your bodyguard though. If someone says something rude about you for being a male model then she’s ready to step on someone and not in the fun way.

She’ll be offended when she hears about your diet as a male model. She is a lover of food and you can’t even enjoy that with her?

Changes her mind, she never wants to be a model. What kind of hell is that?

Also all the damn stereotypes with being a model. Like she is all about fighting anyone that points out any of them. She’s crazy and she’ll gladly mess someone up for making shit up about you.

Gojo

Gasp? A gorgeous male model falling for a poor, simple man like Gojo? Why what would other people of his social class say? What would your fellow models say?

He doesn’t give a shit what people say. He is a dramatic bitch though and will constantly make statements like that around you because it’s amusing to him.

Seriously though, he will check up on you and make sure you’re okay. Modeling comes with a lot of shit and red tape and Gojo wants you to be healthy and happy.

Will brag to everyone about how he’s dating a male model. Constantly brings it up. Oh hey Nanami, how are you doing? Me, well you know I’m dating a model. Utahime, I know you’ve been drowning in sorrow because I am sadly taken by a model.

And he wonders why everyone is suddenly exhausted when he shows up. At least he has Itadori to go starry eyed as he brags and brags (please Itadori stop egging him on).

But again, he might be a total shit head but he does care for you and he will step up if anyone says anything or puts your health at jeopardy.

Inumaki

While he can’t really say anything to anyone about his amazing boyfriend who’s a model, he definitely shows his support in other ways.

I can totally see him have “I <3 S/O” shirts with your face on them or waving flags with you doing a pose at your shoots.

Again, he can’t talk but if someone says anything negative then he has a special finger for them. Might also just tell them to sleep since that’ll shut him up.

Other models bad mouth you? Huh it’s odd that they all fell asleep so they can’t do their own photo shoots. Guess you’re getting all the recognition. Damn.

Also going to make sure you’re healthy and happy because he’s seen reality TV. He has seen some modeling shows and how awful it can be and restrictive a model’s lifestyle is.

Will absolutely put on some bizarre and atrocious clothing and do his own modeling show for you just to get you to laugh.

Nanami

He hates his own job so if you like yours then he’ll be happy for you. I mean you do make quite a bit of money as a model which is great but money isn’t everything no matter what society says.

I can definitely see him be equally exhausted with your job as he is with his just because of all the photo shoots and emails and meetings you have to be part of.

Nanami probably isn’t going to be with you for everything just because it is exhausting and he also has his own stupid ass job to worry about.

Does constantly check up on you and make sure you’re taking care of yourself because he definitely doesn’t with his job and doesn’t want you pushing yourself past your limit.

I can see him acting super nonchalant about dating you but on the inside being super smug about it. Especially when Gojo shows up with a magazine that has you on the cover. Gojo’s shock makes Nanami smirk until he’s pestered about getting your autograph constantly.

He is a very caring, exhausted man.

#JJK x reader #jjk imagines #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen imagines #gojo x reader #gojo satoru #gojo satoru x reader #nanami x reader #nanami kento #nanami kento x reader #inumaki x reader #inumaki #inumaki toge #nobara x reader #nobara kugisaki #nobara kugisaki x reader #inumaki toge x reader #inumaki to/ge #inumaki to/ge x reader

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yurimother · 4 years

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LGBTQ Visual Novel Review - OshiRabu: Waifus Over Husbandos

If you are at all interested in Yuri or visual novels, you will have undoubtedly heard of OshiRabu: Waifus Over Husbandos. The Yuri rom-com was one of Steam’s top 20 February releases, and it hit the trending page on the platform. These accomplishments are incredible, and it is lovely to see both a visual novel and a Yuri game get so much love and recognition. However, whenever a title succeeds and manages to make an impact outside of the Yuri community, it always brings up a few questions. Mainly, does it deserve to be one of the few Yuri titles to obtain “mainstream success” and is it a positive ambassador for the genre, one which can further Yuri’s popularity and pull new consumers into it? These concerns boil down to one question, is it good? Usually, this inquiry is pretty quickly answered, with most elements of a product either being positive or negative. However, OshiRabu delivers more of a challenge. There are some fantastic parts to this game which I applaud and gush over, yet there are also several problems, both major and minor. The dichotomy between OshiRabu’s highs and lows is possibly the strongest I have ever seen in a Yuri title.

OshiRabu: Waifus Over Husbandos is the debut game of SukeraSomero, the new sister brand of the excellent Yuri studio, SukeraSparo. The plot follows Akuru Hayahoshi, an otaku with an obsession with her “husbandos” from gacha games and seriously bad luck. One day she bumps into a cute and bubbly student, Ren Furutachi. After Ren shows off her uncanny good luck to Akuru, a miscommunication sees Ren believing that Akuru confesses to her. For Ren, it is love at first sight, and she persistently negotiates her way into living with the older woman.

The rest of the game flits between comedic moments as Akuru and Ren live together. Examples include the girls shopping for a new bed, since Ren insists on sleeping next to Akuru, and Akuru creating boys’ love doujinshi with her friend Shino. There is, of course, a climax, which will not be spoiled in this review, and three possible endings, depending on two-player choices. An optional 18+ DLC expands on one of the endings and offers several explicit scenes.

There are some enjoyable aspects of this plot. For one, it is light and pleasant, never letting itself settle too much or grow stale. The situations are not hilarious but enjoyable and well suited to the with the characters’ personalities, and establishing several recurring themes and jokes, such as Shino teasing Ren and Ren accusing Akuru of cheating. There is an excessive amount of adorable fluff, which matches well with the overall tone of the game. These delightful moments cater to a variety of interests and fixations, so every reader is likely to find something they like. My personal favorite was a brief imagination sequence where Ren and Akuru have a child together, cute Yuri stories about women raising a kid are one of my weaknesses, and the reason Voltage’s Lovestruck has stolen hundreds of dollars from me.

The writing is also fantastic. The descriptive prose makes me laugh at the poor quality English translations we had a decade ago, and sometimes still unfortunately get. SukeraSomero deserves a great deal of praise for the simultaneous English, Japanese, and Chinese release. It is amazing that everyone got to experience this game together all over the world, without having to wait years for a possible license and translation. English translator Meru is one of the best in the business, and her work shines here. Her adaptation is amazing and fits the games’ modern setting and feel. I personally do not care for the amount of internet culture language included, such as Ren calling Akuru a “thot,” simply because such terminology tends to become dated quickly. However, I will defend the creative choices as accurate to Oguri Aya’s original story.

There is one more major compliment I have to give this game, and it is a big one. OshiRabu is extremely queer. While most Yuri titles exist as lesbian or lesbian adjacent content with little construction of LGBTQ identity, for example naming, displaying meaningful sexual and romantic relationships, or showing any aspect of queer culture, OshiRabu does all of these. I was floored when, early on in the story, Ren confesses to Akuru that she is a “lesbian.” The word lesbian is actually used directly in the visual novel, an unfortunate rarity for the Yuri genre. I even swapped the game into the original Japanese to confirm, and there again was the coming-out moment; the word “lesbian,” in all its glory, was planted right on the screen. This fantastic scene was not a one-off occurrence either.

Throughout OshiRabu, Ren continuously mentioned her homosexuality, which is usually juxtaposed by Akuru pondering her own sexuality, which she defines as an attraction to 2D men and nothing else. Although, her identity obviously changes because you know the women must end up together by the end. Some other excellent scenes feature queer representation. For example, at one point in the game, Akuru goes to a gay bookstore where another woman approaches her. When trying to explain that she is not interested, Akuru almost exclaims, “I’m normal,” a sentiment which she quickly realizes is hurtful and prejudice with some spectacular self-reflected narration. Moments like these offer nuanced and thoughtful presentations of LGBT culture and are the definite highlight of the game.

Sadly, not every aspect of the visual novel is as fantastic as these. In fact, many parts of it range from unfortunate to downright atrocious. First, the characters, while not awful or unlikeable, have some harmful qualities to them. Akuru is distant and introverted, which often leads to her being cold or even rude to Ren, which is never confronted or resolved. On her part, Ren is sadly the stereotypical aggressive lesbian, and frequently invades Akuru’s personal space, a topic which is again never reconciled. It is fine to have a character make problematic choices, but when their actions do not have consequences and conflicts have no resolution, it is a significant issue. The only character I unequivocally enjoyed was Shino, as she spends the whole game humorously teasing the two.

Speaking of conflicts, the final dramatic twist comes about as a result of Ren running away and refusing to communicate with Akuru. It turns out, minor spoilers, that she was testing her, which is a pathetic and ridiculous action which in real life can and should have serious repercussions or even end the partnership. Additionally, the topic of Akuru’s shared affection for Ren and her virtual husbandos, which is an immense source of stress for Ren, is not addressed in the base game, only the DLC. The extra content has its own set of problems too.

It is not uncommon for visual novels to include adult content in a separate patch so they can sell the base game on Steam. However, such adult patches are usually free, and OshiRabu’s is not, instead it sells for $4.99. This price is on top of the $24.99 base game, which means you are shelling out 30 dollars for the complete experience. An experience which, mind you. only clocks in at about 3 hours, hardly what I would call a value. It is an additional shame because the adult content is really well done. All the 18+ scenes, except for maybe the brief first one, showcase a tender loving relationship and skillfully written erotic content, although one or two metaphors did not land very well. However, not every player will want the 18+ content, and OshiRabu essentially forces them to play through it if they are going to see all the base game’s conflicts resolved.

There is also an unfortunate amount of service. While most of OshiRabu’s service is just sweet and cute moments between the characters, there is plenty of exploitative artwork designed to cater to specific players of a more perverted persuasion. Ren is usually the subject of such content, with shots featuring her panties and one extremely revealing cosplay outfit consisting of little more than two strips of cloth. Obviously, some players will enjoy these aspects of the game, but they did not work well for me, especially when I compared such clumsy service with the robust adult content.

However, this exploitative artwork, along with the rest of the game’s art, is phenomenally well crafted. Artist and character designer DSmile creates detailed and colorful illustrations that match the light comedic tone of the game. The adorable and vibrant artwork, drawn in a light watercolor style, makes my heart sing! There are also plenty of CG pieces, over 20, including the DLC, which adds six more. Given the games short length, this means you will see a new CG every ten minutes or so. The UI is also incredibly clean, easy to navigate, and blends well with the aesthetics of the art. My only complaint visually is that the sprites are entirely static. Except for different facial expressions and a few outfit changes, they are always the exact same, standing like flat mannequins against a backdrop. There is no animation or even alternative poses for them.

The voice acting is similarly high quality. Voice actors Nekomura Yuki, Kitaooji Yuki, and Waou Kirika all give fantastic performances in Japanese, and the quality of the recordings is consistently amazing. Even the adult scenes are voiced and showcase the range of talent present. The music is not nearly as good, but it does not intrude either. There are enough tracks to prevent the music from getting too dull, although the central theme and one of the tracks, “Let’s Go Out!” push this boundary a little far. Unfortunately, none of them are too memorable either, and I can guarantee that I will never be touching the BGM tab of the extras menu.

OshiRabu: Waifus Over Husbandos is a highly polished and visually impressive experience. The visual novel contains incredible artwork and is well constructed, showing the promise and talent of SukeraSparo. The stellar, although unfortunately necessary, adult DLC, and inclusion of LGBT themes are superb aspects that could have made playing this game a blast. However, a poorly constructed story, weak characters, and a high price tag compared to the amount of content offered severely detract from the game’s success. If you do not mind excessive service or are interested in lots of cute Yuri moments, pick this one up when it goes on sale.

Ratings: Story – 5 (6 with DLC) Characters – 4 Art – 9 Voice – 10 Music – 5 LGBTQ – 10 Sexual Content – 5 (9 with DLC) Final – 5

The visual novel is available on Steam and MangaGamer

#yuri #reviews #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbtq+#queer #gay #lesbian #visual novel #oshirabu #oshirabu: waifus over husbandos #girls love #gl #wlw #video games #gaming #game

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certainglitterhologram · 3 years

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Okay, so I wrote this for my English class a couple days ago, and I kinda liked it so here, have a piece of writing. TW: self-harm, ED.

purple.

The rich plum shade of joy and euphoria. When my limbs are all heavy, my eyes keep fluttering shut, not used to be open for so long. Small, simple sentences uttered over the phone that sound like utter nonsense to everyone except me and her.

Scribbled notes in purple pen stuck to my laptop in atrocious handwriting. The rough, uneven back of an Iphone that’s been dropped far too many times. A glossy, aubergine notebook lays atop my desk, the wax of a purple crayon smeared across its pages.

A sharp punch at the wall, overwhelmed and fueled by rage, anger, every miserable emotion...my hand bloomed purple. Stumbling down the stairs last week, the only marks left being a cluster on my elbow that pulsed with a small, violet pain.

Pride cascading through my body as I finish a race. Each drop of sweat seemed to burn a hole into my skin, a constant reminder of what I had accomplished.

A silver metal ring that stains my fingers green, but the heart-shaped lilac stone in the middle makes me dismiss my tinged knuckles.

Shrieks of laughter that flood my memory whenever I remember how I place my hands in her hair, and the huff of annoyance that used to follow as I attempted to brush the purple dye onto her head.

Purple is sharp clacking of the pill bottle turning left, right, left, right, before I finally allow it to open, tugging a a tablet out, downing it with a shudder.

Silent indigo night of city skies, only to be disturbed by six rowdy teenagers, all whooping and yelling with pure jubilation. None of them high on drugs that night, but on the prospect of life.

Purple is almost sickeningly sweet taste of grape candy that I forsakenly grew to love, as it was the permanent taste of pressing my lips to hers.

Constant throbbing of my now violet left hand, of which I had so rashly shoved into a burning flame in order to put it out. Even now, four months after it happened, my fingers twitch with strain and irritation, completely out of my control.

Violent beats of overplayed pop songs, dark purple lights shaking the room as her low voice tells me how much I mean to her, and the unwilling flush that responds.

A cry of a type of anguish and despair, felt alone in my bedroom, of infuriated and disappointed of why, why couldn’t I haven’t waited one more damn day before bringing that fuschia blade bad down onto my wrist.

My fingers drummed against my thigh as I waited and prayed for the call to connect. The choked sob that rises up and through my throat as the camera showed the ethereal girl I love covered with wires and tubes, face ashen and sickly thin**

However, it’s also the color of her breath steadying, eyes widening, pigment flooding her face once more.

I always thought my attraction to purple was a natural, psychological love. Yes, that still might be the case. The emotions and experiences I associate with purple have quickly become more frequently, both positive and negative. Whether it's subconscious or not.

10-25-21

#orginal post #original writing #purple #tw sh mention #tw ed mention

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being-worthy · 4 years

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Saturday Home Cinema: Mulan (2020) - A very honest review!

I just had to write this review because Mulan is one of my heroes and I’m a huge fan of the original Disney Mulan (1998). I saw the movie for the first time as a kid when I had trouble feeling integrated and was daily bullied at school. I re-watched it again and again and again until I was able to learn by heart the script and all the songs in German (and later on, even in English). I just saw so much of myself in Mulan (maybe except for the fact that I’m not as beautiful or witty as she is). I too always felt out of place and I couldn’t be my true self and I was never very ladylike either. I also looked up at her and saw her as a role model. Sometimes I thought that if I stared long enough at my reflection in the mirror, it’d show me my true self - and I’m still waiting to this day… Disney’s 1998 version of Mulan was and still is my favourite Disney movie.

> SPOILER ALERT AHEAD!! <

The best thing about this movie is the soundtrack, especially at the end. Christina Aguilera was the right choice to sing Reflection and Loyal Brave True. The goosebumps her voice gives, I can’t even describe how extraordinary her voice is. In the end credits, you can listen to the English version of Reflection as well as the Chinese version (sadly sung by Liu Yifei ¬¬). It’s worth to watch the end credits and listen to the songs.

*My suggestion: Stop whatever you’re doing. Put on some headphones (even better if they’re noise-cancelling), close your eyes, play the song Reflection song (and Loyal Brave True if you feel like it) by Christina Aguilera, no distractions no interruptions, forget about everything and everyone, let the song flow through your ears, mind, heart, body, and soul, and you will feel like you’re Mulan, especially when the drumming gets louder, it’s epically epic! (Sorry for the redundancy but it IS a remarkable song!)

I welcome the idea of wanting to take a classic and do something new, something fresh with it but humanity could’ve gone without this movie and they shouldn’t ask for $35 to watch it on Disney+ and sometimes a classical doesn’t need to be redone. Additionally, I can’t entirely understand what’s going on these past years not only with Disney but Hollywood and all other big movie production companies. It’s either remake of this classic or a 2nd/3rd sequel of a movie that doesn’t actually require a sequel but it’s still done anyway. Why even bother wasting big amounts of money to create a disaster? You’re better of donating that money to charity (or to me lol). The main thing that Disney has been doing lately are remakes of many of our childhood movies Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, The Jungle Book, The Lion King, among others, and now Mulan. Some have a few good parts in them but they still can’t and never will compare to the original. Why is there no originality and innovation anymore? Have they run out of ideas? Furthermore, let’s be honest people will always compare the remake (either consciously or unconsciously) with the original because there are less than a dozen movies where the remake either was (almost) as good as the original much less better than the original. The movie Mulan (2020) had a massive budget and is the most expensive film made by a female director (Niki Caro), yet how they made it, the battle sequences and CGI effects, etc. they’re all crappy.

Budgets of all Mulan interpretations:

Mulan (1998) - $90 million > Directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook. Made $304.3 million in the box office

Hua Mulan (2009) - $12 million > Directed by Jingle Ma. Sadly, made only $1.8 million in the box office. It deserved more love!

Mulan (2020) - $200 million(!!) > All that budget was a waste!

I’ve seen all three versions. The 1998 version is for everybody and it’s funny and you feel with the characters and the film. Let’s be honest, the granny is one of the best characters, most of us have or had a granny like that in our lives. The 2nd one is a 2-hour long movie, a more mature adaption which illustrates the ugly harsh truth about war and the loss and death it brings with it and that there’s nothing funny or cool about it. This one is not suitable for children. You feel with the characters and their sacrifices and they also develop along the movie. I can only recommend to watch this version if you haven’t. And the latest one is a disgrace.

I’m a bit confused as to what the message of the movie is. On one hand, it tells you shouldn’t hide your inner beauty, you shouldn’t hide who you are, you shouldn’t hide your abilities, you shouldn’t try to hide who you truly are in order to conform to what the world/society wants you to be or who you should be, let your true self shine and be yourself and don’t allow anyone to tell you that you’re inferior just because they think/say you are. This is something powerful and admirable but, on the other hand, at the same time, it tells you that you can only do that if you are the chosen one. Let me explain... In the beginning, we see Mulan as a little girl chasing a chicken up to the roofs of the houses at the village where she lives. Basically, she’s born as a one-woman army (almost deus ex machina) and doesn’t require any further training which is total and utter rubbish. She has all the skills because of her powerful chi (vital life force energy) but has to underplay them because it’s not very ladylike to behave like she wants to and she still underplays them when she trains with the soldiers so as to keep a low profile. Her being so powerful from the beginning makes me feel alienated from her and I can’t empathise with her. It’s also not very realistic, nobody is born with their abilities fully developed. For example, even Bruce Lee had to train hard to get where he got and he wasn’t the only one.

The original version shows us a regular girl, at times clumsy (which is a cliché but we still liked it) and when she’s confronted with new situations, she analyses them and finds a quick canny solution to them. She also has to train her body and mind to get to the peak of her potential and accomplish what nobody else could in her time, and here the character is done from the start of the movie and the only thing she has to do is choose not to hide her chi anymore. This tells us that you don’t have to work hard to achieve your dreams whereas in reality you actually do have to work your butt off!

I’m not a fan of the leading actress they chose for Mulan, aka Liu Yifei, not only because she’s a police brutality supporter according to her controversial tweets a while back - this already makes her unworthy to portray Mulan who is the complete opposite - but also because she didn’t do a good job at depicting this great role. Mulan is a role model for every girl and woman and it’s a massive contradiction if a woman who agrees to the atrocious police methods impersonates her role. What message do we send out to every girl out in the world? In her acting she’s this blank and hollow person through the movie and transmits no emotion whatsoever - not even when she cries. This also makes it difficult for me to identify myself with her. She’s this wooden plank, she is and stays a blank canvas through the whole movie with no growth in her character and it’s frustrating having to see this because the character of Mulan isn’t at all like this. Mulan experiences many emotions from the moment where she makes the decision to enlist so her father doesn’t have to or when she experiences the loss of her comrades or has to kill someone for the first time, etc. she suffers along her journey and all this changes her but you see nothing of it in Liu Yifei’s Mulan.

In the Disney version, there are some crucial moments that are missing in the new one. For instance, the most crucial one is the moment where Mulan decides to go to war. If you remember the animation one, she’s sitting in the rain by the dragon statue and at that moment makes a decision that could kill her or worse bring dishonour to herself and her entire family (including ancestors) which was far worse than death during that time! She gets up, marches to the altar of her ancestors, takes her father’s sword and cuts her hair (I know men had long hair back then too but still), puts on the armour and goes to war. All this while being accompanied by an epic song written by Jerry Goldsmith called Haircut. This is one of the most intense and dramatic moments in the movie and in all Disney movies! You can understand and feel the importance of this decision for the character and you feel the weight of it! In the 2020 one, she takes the sword and the next shot presents her already with the armour on - there’s zero dramatic impact here. That was a great missed opportunity!! By omitting important scenes and their dramatic impacts like this one that are essential to the story and to the characters, to their development and their journey throughout the story and you really need to rely on the original from 1998 to have this context.

The battle scenes are like many modern movies: lots of action, lots of moving (too fast-moving), a few amazing fighting moves and fights but not showed entirely. I at least expected some similar quality, like we’ve seen in films such as Hero (2002), House of Flying Daggers (2004), and Tiger & Dragon (2020) to name a few. Sadly, these movies had better fight scenes quality than Mulan which were filmed in high frame rate but over-edited with action that is negatively frenetic and have artificial CGI effects (even the CGI effects in Independence Day were better - I’m watching the movie while writing this). We’re in the 21st century with great advances in technology and movies are given big budgets (particularly Hollywood films), yet despite all this, most movies end up with CGI effects from another era. How come this happens over and over? In this one, we see people running too fast, horses running too fast, and they’re all like a big mass of headless chickens and you don’t know exactly what is happening where. All this fast running, the constant cut and paste of scenes looks all too modern and doesn’t fit the current time period of the movie and it surely doesn’t transmit the way of fighting of that period.

Moreover, we get lots of flashback-lesson learning scenes throughout the movie. This is another fashion in movies lately, playing the film in the present time while at the same time jumping back and forth between flashbacks. It spends a good portion of the movie with these flashbacks. This is not a big issue and admirable per se but when these scenes are insignificant because they’re glossed over and transmitted without zilch emotion, then why even bother to include them in the first instance?

As a last comment, I like the fact that they hired Chinese actors and actresses for the movie (although I don’t know why it had to be in English, I’d have preferred it to be in Chinese, it’s not like we’re allergic to subtitles - unless they’re not done properly), some of them of renewed name, like Gong Li, Rosalind Chao (I loved her in The Joy Luck Club), Jet Li, Donnie Yen (legendary Ip Man), Jason Scott Lee (saw him in Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story), Tzi Ma but they won’t be able to save the movie even with a great cast like this one.

#disney mulan #disney mulan 2020 #mulan live action #saturday home cinema #boycott mulan #don't watch it #don't watch mulan #don't watch mulan 2020 #disney should be ashamed #honest review #a very honest review #film night #movie night

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keep-it-i-resign · 3 years

Text

Fic Writer Asks

tagged by the lovely @vampcoffeegyrl23 I am soooo sorry this has taken over a week! I promise I was just busy away from my computer and using mobile is not the way to go about answering these! 😅

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

6 on AO3 and 6 on ffn.net. I haven't used the ffn.net account in years, i.e 2013 (and therefore my user name isn't even the same) so those 6 stories are different from my AO3 ones. I don't post most of what I write and now that I'm in my mid-20s with a few published papers behind me - I'm much more confident in my ability to write a cohesive and interesting story so expect more posted!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

17,425 words which isn't bad for only 6 fics with two of those stories having additional chapters coming soon.

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

On AO3? Just 1, which is The Flash and by extension Stargate SG-1 for the crossover I did for Snowells Week this year. Counting ffn.net that's 3 more with Castle, Doctor Who, and Firefly. Over my lifetime of writing fic for myself? I think only 7 more. Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Sanctuary, Harry Potter, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: TNG, and Left 4 Dead. Left 4 Dead isn't much of a fanfic but I did use the zombie types as place holders in an original story until I developed my own.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I'll Be Waiting (The Flash - Caitlin/Harry)

Well... This is Awkward (The Flash - Caitlin/Harry, Frost/Nash, Caitlin/Nash, and Frost/Harry)

Rewind Time (The Flash - Caitlin/Harry)

Through the Gate (The Flash/Stargate SG-1 - Caitlin/Eowells)

Harvest Season (The Flash - Caitlin/Harry)

5. What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

I don't write angst much and I haven't posted many stories yet but of the ones posted I guess "I'll Be Waiting" is the angstiest.

6. What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

"Well...This is Awkward" has a pretty happy ending with everyone alive and together. Or maybe "Twilight of the Gods" because ReverseSnow/ReverseFrost happens and there is hope of bringing everything lost back and balance the universe again. I guess it depends on your definition of what constitutes as a happy ending. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you've written?

I've only written one - The Flash/Stargate SG-1 crossover. I don't normally think about crossovers just because the shows I watch are so vastly different they can't really work or they are already in the same universe with the canon crossovers. I'm also not always a fan of reading them because they can get chaotic quick and characterization takes a dive in order to fit characters into other universes/situations. I admire anyone who can write it well though!

As a side note: I did have a thought about a Snowells into the Arkham universe fic just because I have been replaying the Batman Arkham video games which I might give a shot at.

8. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

👀I wrote one smutty story years ago and it's terrible because I was young and naïve. I haven't tried recently but I'm not opposed to giving it a shot now. I have a few ideas on a prompt list I have for Snowells already so it's really a matter of when will I get to it!

9. Do you respond to comments. why or why not?

I do when I can! I like to get feedback from my readers and having an open dialogue of what they liked or disliked is important for me! I want to know what my audience enjoyed and what to improve on! Responding to them also shows them I saw that they said and appreciate what they had to say! 🥰

10. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Surprisingly - no, even on my old and terribly written stuff. I'm perfectly open to criticism but hate? If you don't like it, you don't like it but others might. Why spend the time spreading negativity when the world has enough of it?

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

As far as I know - no.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No but given enough time I could probably translate mine. It would be grammatically atrocious because I rarely translate from English into any of the languages I know. It's normally the other way around! I'd definitely need a Beta who is fluent to correct my mistakes.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No but it's definitely something I'd try! I co-wrote an original story with a few friends of mine years ago in high school and enjoyed it. I like the idea of getting to talk and bounce ideas off of someone who enjoys the same fandoms and character as me! I haven't really done that since I grew apart from one of my friends from high school who I did that with.

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

What kind of question is this? Do people actually have an ultimate ship? Is that even possible? I have ships from several fandoms and sometimes multiple ships within a fandom. Most of the time I have a main ship from a fandom but that doesn't mean I discount any of the other ones that I or others enjoy as well. I'll throw out a few that I still got out and read for in order of what I read most often (either new stuff or re-reads) to what I read occasionally, at least according to my AO3 favorite tags.

Snowells (all variations) - The Flash

Jack O'Neill/Sam Carter - Stargate SG-1

Helen Magnus/Nikola Tesla - Sanctuary

Harry/Hermione - Harry Potter

William Murdoch/Julia Ogden - Murdoch Mysteries

Phil/ Melinda - Agents of SHIELD

Kathryn Janeway/Tom Paris - Star Trek: Voyager

Kate Fleming/Steve Arnott - Line of Duty

I will occasionally go check what kind of fics the fandom writes when I start a show just out of curiosity. Sometimes you can tell if there is fandom hate between ships by doing so and I know to steer clear, especially if I ship a lesser ship/non-canon ship. Also - the number of canon-divergence or rewrites will tell you if the shows writers start being ridiculous *cough* The Flash *cough* and whether it's worth getting attached at all.

15. What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

Hoo boy. I have a drive full of them. Most of which aren't even close to being posted. My biggest one right now is a complete re-write of The Flash dealing with a what if scenario of Earth-1 Tess Morgan being pregnant the night that Thawne kills them both and he chooses to birth the kid rather than let it die with her. It's set a few years earlier (so 18/19 years stuck in the past rather than the original 15 that the show has it) so the kid isn't Jesse but it changes how season 1 plays out and definitely how season 2 plays out when Harry finds out about the kid while dealing with the Jesse/Zoom issue. Plus it's Snowells too and I want to deal with Barry's mistakes and the consequences of them better than the show did since the show just kind of brushes them off? For some reason? I wanted things to have a little more consequence because some of the mistakes made are egregious and then they acted like it never happened which bothers me. It's a beast of a project and I'm - unfortunately- a perfectionist and a completionist. I'm thinking an episode per chapter rewrite but right now it's in bits and pieces and a lot of notes on how episodes would play out differently with an added character and dynamic.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue and scene positioning. I can write out the dialogue for a story quickly with the bare bones of the scene and movements playing out. After that, it takes me ages to expand the scene and fill in the bits between speaking lines because I can see the piece play out in my head and putting that to paper accurately and engagingly without being overwhelming is a multi-layered process.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Some of this is normal, you know, like grammar and spelling. My brain moves faster than I type so words or bit of phrases end up missing and I later have to fix it. I'm also a Southerner who grew up watching a ton of British shows so a lot of the way I phrase things isn't commonly used anywhere. I have to spend a lot of time double checking things like that. I think my biggest one is not knowing how to end stories satisfactorily. I haven't posted many fics because it's hard to post them when you don't know how to wrap everything up.

18. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

It depends on whether it's an established part of a character or story and whether or not I'm comfortable with the language. Like with Sherloque - it's established he'll say something in French and then repeat it in English. I took 3 years of French so I'm comfortable writing it and it fits the character and situation. But take Cisco, we know he speaks Spanish, but it's never really shown in the show. So fics that I've read where he breaks into Spanish can be distracting as we've never seen him do it - even in dire circumstances. I also never took Spanish in school and I only know rudimentary pieces (I took Mandarin and Latin instead), so I'm unlikely to use it in any fic I write unless the circumstances warrant it (say - Cisco is talking to a grandparent or a meta struggling with English).

But again, it depends on the situation, what we know of the character, and how comfortable I am with the language enough to get it correct and in character. Any fic writer who can get the situation and character down while using a secondary language, and not make it distracting deserves applause!

19. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Hit me with a hard one why don't you? 🤣 I think it was Stargate SG-1 or maybe it was Stargate Atlantis. You're asking me to think back over a decade and a half ago to when I started reading and writing fic at the tender age of 7 or 8. I'm fairly certain it was one of those two fandoms and it might've been a crossover. I do remember writing part of it on an old Gateway computer running Windows '98 with a glass monitor that was mine and my sisters. The other half was written on an electric type-writer that I owned because this was before laptops were widely available and affordable.

20. What's your favorite fic you've written?

It's a tie between "Twilight of the Gods" and "I'll Be Waiting". "Twilight of the Gods" because I got to show off a few of my degrees (History and Classics, I couldn't shoehorn in my others but they are science related and that doesn't quite fit that story). "I'll Be Waiting" is a favorite because it's a big middle finger to whoever / collective group wrote The Flash season 7. I'm still pissed off at how the Wells plotline was dealt with and let's not get started on the whole Chillblaine/Kramer/Forces as kids of WA plots (ewwwwwww 🤢). I'd need a whole new post to talk about how tired I am of the WA kids showing up (because screw how that'll effect the timeline, right?) and the reliance on the future to drive what decisions are made (because, again, screw how bad that would be for the timeline - it's not like we have seen how much that effects things before right?) 😒

Phew.....That was longer than I expected, honestly, but a lot of fun!

Tagging whoever wants to talk about their works because you are all wonderful people who should get a chance to share!

#20 questions #writer asks #fandom things #fanfic #Snowells

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cordonian-literature · 4 years

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The Aftermath - Ch. 8

The Day Before the Tea Ceremony

Summary: After five years, Hana returns to Cordonia

Word Count: ~3.1k

Warning: Mention of depression

*All characters belong to Pixelberry, except those that are unique to my story (I’ve also used some characters and fictional instances from Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch”)*

Catch up here!

Tags: @captain-kingliamsqueen @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @gkittylove99 @lovablegranny @loudbluebirdlover @mom2000aggie @kingliam2019 @queenrileyrose @shanzay44 @cordonianroyalty @hopefulmoonobject @hopelessromanticmonie @cinnamonspongecake @queenjilian @kuladekiwi @twinkle-320 @iaminlovewithtrr @charlotteg234 @amandablink @texaskitten30 @tinkie1973 @louiseingram1208 @queencatherynerhys @pens-girl-87 @missevabean @ladyangel70 @sanchita012

I hope I got everyone tagged! If I missed someone, or if anyone wants to be added/removed, please let me know!

- Hana -

Very soon, waking up in the mornings became a challenge. At first, it was her body that refused to obey her alarm clock. Then, Hana simply accepted it and would wake up by herself around half past eight — almost two hours later than she had been trained to start her day.

This morning was particularly difficult. She had silently cried herself to sleep the night before, and the tears had yet to disappear from her cheeks, nor was her pillow dry. The air was thick as it went into her lungs, though when she opened the window, a delicate breeze embraced her, flowing through her hair and fingers. She could feel the hint of the approaching summer through the signs of the persistent cold.

The dent on the other side of the mattress told Hana that her husband had been awake for hours. She didn’t care. Before Neville used to yell at her and say that it was improper for her to sleep in (“Does not a lady of your status have better things to do than lay around like a pathetic commoner with nothing better to do?” he would shout at her during breakfast). Eventually he stopped, but he would still give her cold looks if he knew that she had been in bed longer than eight hours.

He added to the difficulty of waking up, and Hana suspected that one day she would be too weak to get out of bed entirely.

Today should be better than other days, she told herself as she went to reach for a dress in her closet. Mother and Father are here. There are still a few days left in their visit. Perhaps Mother would want to spend some time with me?

Every step down the stairs and towards the breakfast table increased her level of anxiety. That was nothing new; it was all a part of her daily routine. As was the sound of her heart hammering in her ears. Next was the sight of Neville’s atrocious side-profile. Xinghai and Lorelai were laughing at something Hana had not heard, but she knew that it wasn’t remotely funny — nothing Neville says is ever funny. Her parents greet her, and Neville spares her a glance and says, “Is that the same dress from yesterday morning?”

The room falls into silence.

“You’ve a letter, Hana,” Lorelai informs her as her daughter sits down.

A cream colored envelope with their address smoothly written sits in front of her.

“I hope it is not from that Beaumont boy again,” Neville comments.

“Well I don’t think there’s anything wrong with friendly correspondence,” Xinghai begins.

“I beg to differ, sir,” Neville starts. “It would be best if you saw it from my perspective. An unmarried lord sending monthly letters to my wife asking her to return to Cordonia. That is highly improper. I would ask him directly to respect the difference between my own status and his, but Hana says there is no need apparently.” He scoffs.

All he asks is for me to come and help find Lady Riley, she wants to say. He writes about His Majesty’s depression. Lord Maxwell requests that I come to help him cheer everyone up. Not to worry though, I would never willingly go back without Lady Riley, because without her I am alone, just as I have been everyday for the past decade.

Hana flips the envelope over, expecting to see the Beaumont Family Seal, but instead comes face-to-face with the Royal Seal.

Everyone at the table stares down at what is in Hana’s hands.

“A royal invitation?” Lorelai cries.

Of course Liam would do this, Hana thinks to herself. I had told him that I didn’t want to return. He knew pestering me over the phone wouldn’t work, so instead he sends an invitation, knowing that Neville would see it and would accept it on my behalf.

Hana opens the envelope, taking out the letter and reads the contents aloud.

“Dear Earl Cormery and Countess Cormery,

The honor of your presence is requested by the Queen Mother at the Annual Cordonian Tea Ceremony on the evening of May 24th.”

“Goodness!” Lorelai exclaims. “From the Queen Mother herself?”

“Ah, what terrible timing!” Neville cries, snatching the invitation from Hana. “I’ve an important financial project that requires my attention in London. I planned to leave this evening.”

“Oh,” Hana looks down at her empty hands. “You… you never told me.”

“Didn’t I?” Neville does not look up from the letter. “Perhaps I forgot about it. Forgive me, dear, you know how busy I am.”

She nods, but cannot hide the sorrow on her face.

“Well, Neville,” Lorelai says. “If you are indisposed and do not plan on bringing Hana with you, then it seems as though she is free to attend the ceremony.”

“Perhaps… but what will she say when her husband is absent?” Neville argues.

Xinghai chuckles. “The truth, of course. That you are away on an important financial project and could not attend.”

After a few seconds in which Neville does not respond, Lorelai speaks up and says, “Wonderful, then. Hana, I will help you pack later tonight.”

No thank you, Mother, she wants to say. I do not wish to return to Cordonia. There are too many painful and empty memories. My life already consists of lonely, aching days. Please do not subject me to more.

“Yes, all good.” Neville tucks the paper into his breast pocket. Hana hoped that he would reject the idea. But since her mother suggested it and he has allowed it, there was no chance of her getting out of it. “Now, how much longer until we are served? Staff! I demand to know what is taking so long! If we are not served our breakfast within the next five minutes, by the end of today you will all be left unemployed!”

...

Neville left for London before dinner and did not say goodbye. Lorelai reprimanded Hana for being so distant with her husband, saying that the hard work in securing a marriage doesn’t end after the wedding. Hana had excused herself to go and pack without her mother.

She took the earliest flight to Cordonia, and was in the capital right before noon. She walked into the palace, where she showed her invitation to a servant and was led towards her room.

On her way up the stairs, she bumps into Olivia.

“Hana?” she exclaims. “What are you doing here?”

“Olivia! It’s been so long!” Hana leaves her bags and goes to hug Olivia — who does not hug her back — overcome at the sight of a somewhat friendly face. “I was invited to the tea ceremony tomorrow. Did you receive and invitation as well?”

“No, actually. I’m here on business.”

“Oh, well, sorry to bother you. Do you know if His Majesty will be attending? Or… Maxwell?”

Olivia frowns a little. “Liam and Drake are in New York,” she tells Hana. “As are the Beaumonts… didn’t they tell you?”

Her face falls. “No. After I left, I severed communications with them... for the most part, at least. I only answered His Majesty’s phone calls, which were rare….”

“So… you don’t know anything about Riley’s condition? Liam told me that he was going to tell you and Maxwell.”

Hana’s eyes go wide. “What about Riley?”

“She—.”

“Lady Hana is that you?!” calls a voice. Hana turns to see Madeleine walking towards them, with an unfamiliar cheer in her tone. “It is wonderful to see you back at court! And Lady Olivia….”

“Yes, Maddy, it’s always a pleasure to see you.” Olivia rolls her eyes.

Madeleine puts an arm on Hana’s shoulder. “How is the Earl?”

“He is well,” Hana manages to say, and is glad that Madeleine doesn’t ask more about him.

“I’m glad.” She glances down at the watch on her wrist. “Now if you two will excuse me, I’m on my way for lunch with the Queen Mother.” Madeleine regards Hana for a moment. “Would you like to join, Hana?”

She agrees before she even realizes that she doesn’t even want to go. “And… perhaps Olivia can join us?” Hana was itching to know more about Riley’s condition. Olivia had a tendency to vanish and re-emerge when it suited her, but Hana was not going to let Olivia get away. She had information about Riley.

Madeleine sighs. “I suppose.”

Hana gives her luggage to the servant as her and Olivia follow Madeleine down the hall.

“Don’t worry, Maddy,” Olivia comments. “I hate your presence almost as much as you hate mine.”

“Oh, I assure you—,” Madeleine begins, but they’ve already reached the dinning hall, and the Queen Mother is already seated.

“Lady Hana” she exclaims. “A pleasure to see you. And I see Lady Olivia has also arrived for the ceremony tomorrow.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Olivia says, but Hana wonders what business Olivia was talking about before.

Each of the ladies takes a seat as servants serve them plates of different fruits, breads, and meat. Hana is reluctant to eat; she barley eats at home, but could not sit in front of her plate aimlessly in front of the Queen Mother. She takes small bites and manages to force herself through the meal.

“I imagine that King Liam will be attending the ceremony tomorrow?” Olivia asks, not looking up from her meal.

I thought Olivia said that Liam was in New York? Why is she asking the Queen Mother of his whereabouts when she already knows where he is?

“Unfortunately His Majesty will not be attending,” Regina responds. “He’s away on business.”

“Oh?” Madeleine remarks. “I do hope the issue with the Spanish ambassador goes through. If not, King Liam risks looking desperate and the entire ordeal could shed a negative light on Cordonia.”

“The ambassador had to return to his country due to a personal issue,” Regina states, then goes back to her food.

Both Olivia and Madeleine look expectantly over at Regina, but she continues eating and acts as if she doesn’t notice the ladies’ eyes on her.

“Then… what else keeps His Majesty from being in attendance?” Olivia questions carefully.

Hana shoots her a look. Why does she keep asking questions she already has the answers to?

“He is abroad, I believe.” Regina answers apathetically.

“Do you not know where he is, ma’am?” Madeleine looks up from her food.

Regina chuckles. She takes a sip of her wine and says, “Oh, I know where he is. The king is in New York.”

Madeleine gently puts down her fork. “Ma’am I believe it would best if you advised His Majesty that taking too many trips to America sends quite a scandalous message to the press.”

“Scandalous?” Hana asks.

“They remember Lady Riley and his relationship with her. She was from New York, and his constant visits have led the press to believe that he is having an affair with her!”

The Queen Mother scoffs, taking another sip of her wine.

“We all know that’s utter nonsense, Maddy,” Olivia says. “Lady Riley disappeared after he ended his engagement to you. Don’t you remember? That was one public incident that you couldn’t twist in your favor.”

Madeleine stares back at Olivia. “Incident isn’t what I would call it—.”

“Please, Lady Olivia,” Regina interrupts. “None of that was Countess Madeleine’s fault or even His Majesty’s fault. Lady Riley is the one to blame. I remember that silly investigation she led with Drake Walker and Lord Beaumont. But in the end it amounted to nothing.” She scoffs again. “She knew all along that court life would be too much for her, and with everything that happened to her with that Tariq fellow, it was simply proved that she was not fit for such a life.”

How undiplomatic, Hana thinks. She wouldn’t say that in front of Liam. He would forbid her from speaking about Lady Riley like that.

“Yes,” Madeleine comments, going back to her food. “I tried to warn her of it in the beginning, but she was so… stubborn. No wonder she ended up in such a situation.”

Hana doesn’t understand why Olivia keeps quiet. They share a look. Hana wishes she had the energy to defend Riley, but deep in her heart, Hana is still angry with her best friend. Riley had motivated Hana to choose a life beyond her parents’ expectations. Once she had disappeared, Hana could only hold off her parents by herself for so long.

“I’ve done the best I can for my country,” Regina comments after another few bites of her food. “Of course, I’ve never done anything as controversial as my late husband, but I’ve… done my best to refocus the king’s attention and efforts.”

“Even without a queen, His Majesty has done a wonderful job—,” Madeleine begins.

“Yes, yes,” Regina waves Madeleine’s words away. “He’s done his duty to his people in the sense that he has provided for them and helped them thrive, but he has not secured his throne. Stability….” She trials off.

“I am sure King Liam is doing the best he can,” Olivia begins. “Simply because he does not wish to focus on finding a queen—.”

“Simply because he does not wish to focus on finding a queen doesn’t mean that he has to chase after a disappeared waitress!” Regina exclaims.

The ladies say nothing, and Regina goes for another sip of her wine.

“I’ve done my best to steer him away from her,” she begins again. “But he does not listen to me. I managed once to deter her away from him, and that seemed to have worked for the past eight years. Now he’s after her again.” She calls for a servant to refill her glass.

“You mean to say that he is in New York for Lady Riley as we speak?” Madeleine asks, and Hana notices an irritation in her eyes.

“What do you mean you deterred Lady Riley?” Olivia asks.

The Queen Mother looks towards Olivia and chuckles, ignoring Madeleine’s question.

“If you do not know what I am referring to, then that means that I succeed.” She turns back towards her plate. “She attempted to attend the Duke of Ramsford’s wedding. I saw her at the entrance. In a disguise of all things! I had my guards take her aside and I spoke with her. She said she needed to speak to His Majesty about something important.” Regina scoffs again and frowns. “The audacity of the girl… I noticed a wedding band on her finger, told her that all she had done for Cordonia was put it on a path towards ruin. She had corrupted King Liam’s heart, and her next aim clearly was to corrupt the monarchy… to taint it with another scandal. I had my guards escort her to the airport, and I made sure that there was no chance Liam saw her.”

Riley’s married? Hana wonders. Her heart aches.

“The press labeled her as a crown-chaser once,” Madeleine comments, a smirk on her face.

Regina turns to her niece and laughs. “Perhaps during the social season it did not seem so. But imagine that… she came back for Liam as a married woman. Merely to break his heart even further.”

“Did you know what she wished to speak to him about?” Olivia asks.

“No,” Regina states, deep in thought. “It may have been something she believed was of great consequence, since she came halfway across the world to tell him. I believe it is for the best, though, that she never told Liam. Whatever she had to say would have made him stray further from being a responsible king.”

“But if she never told you what the topic was, then how did it become something for you to decide whether it was crucial enough for his attention?” Olivia frowns at the Queen Mother, who is taken aback.

“I hope I am mistaken, Lady Olivia,” Regina starts, glaring at her, “that you wish to side with Lady Riley, who has done no good for Cordonia or her king?”

“I think,” Hana jumps in, “that Lady Olivia means that if Lady Riley is what makes His Majesty happy, then allowing their relationship would have allowed him to refocus more effectively.”

“If Lady Riley and His Majesty were allowed to continue their relationship,” Madeleine focuses her words towards Hana. “Then afterwards his efforts would be towards keeping Cordonia from international scorn.”

“You know, Maddy,” Olivia takes another bite of her salad. “You always did have a hard time hiding your jealousy.”

“Excuse you?” Madeleine spits.

“Enough!” Regina throws her fork onto the plate. “This has been a very stressful meal for me. I shall go rest in my quarters. Madeleine, walk with me?”

“Of course, ma’am,” Madeleine offers the Queen Mother her arm, helping her get up and walk out of the room.

When they’re out of sight, Olivia puts her head in her hands.

“Poor Riley and Liam,” Hana says. “There’s always someone working against their happily ever after.”

Olivia leans back in her seat, and Hana watches her.

“Do you have an idea of what Riley wanted to tell Liam?” she asks.

Olivia sighs. “Yes, actually, I do.”

“What was it?”

Olivia looks around the room. “This wouldn’t be the best place to speak about it. Perhaps we can go to Lythikos after the ceremony tomorrow, and I can tell you all I know.”

Hana had booked a flight back home the morning after the ceremony. A part of her told her to refuse Olivia’s offer, but another part, the stronger part, told her that this was something that could bring her one step closer to happiness — something that was dreadfully lacking in her life. Hana knew a little excitement would do her health some good. She could call Neville and tell him that she was staying for a few more days. Hana knew he wouldn’t care, though, and for the first time she’s glad for his lack of concern for her. “That would be lovely,” Hana states.

They stand and go their separate ways for the evening. Though Hana is a little less upset that her group of friends never told her about Riley, she still wants to cry in pity for herself. For Liam. For Drake. For Maxwell. For Riley.

If they’re already with Riley, then I’m the only one missing. Wasn’t I helpful during the Engagement Tour? Don’t they want my help or my company? Have they given up on me? Of course they have. In their time of need, I left them alone. What a terrible friend I was. It’s just like Neville said, that my pathetic demeanor would bury me in a life of miserable rejection. I guess I only have myself to blame for all of it. What a terrible friend I am.

#theroyalromance #liam x mc #hanalee #olivia nevrakis #choices fanfiction #trr fanfic #trr fandom #the royal romance fanfiction

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itsthemoofacewriting · 3 years

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Potato Peeling- Chapter 2

So, I gave myself a week to update, which seemed perfectly reasonable at the time, except I didn’t factor in that I’d just written a 15k story and the first chapter to this beforehand. Needless to say, not much writing was done in that week but better late than never, right?

I had to learn how to make marmalade and duck l’mikan for this story, all for you Momo!

Summary: Sanji's had never had an assistant before, but now, at least once a week, Nami's there to keep him company. Rating: K+

This can also be found on AO3 and FFN.

Enjoy.

Sanji looked down at the ripped and stained little piece paper that was handed to him with nothing but warmth. The penmanship was atrocious, and years of love had blurred the writing, but he knows exactly what this is and the deeper meaning behind it.

A handed down, family recipe.

Bell-mère’s recipe.

Nami had never shared this with him before now and he’d never taken that personally. As a chef he knew how personal these were and that these were about more than just the food. It was sentimental. But he’d heard whispers about this infamous dish, Nami had mentioned it in passing and that Bell-mère would make it on special occasions when talking about their childhoods. It’s why he’d never tried to recreate it without her say so and had stuck to other mikan based dishes.

It had all started when she’d walked in just after lunch and asked if he’d started preparing for dinner. When he’d answered in the negative, she’d thrust the recipe towards him and said that he could be her assistant for the evening if he was game. He was more than game. He wanted it more than anything and had nodded far too quickly, showing just how eager he was. Luckily, she hadn’t said anything about that, to his relief.

Now he was looking over the recipe with the critical eye of a chef before they started, he didn’t want to make a fool of himself in front of Nami, especially not when this was his field of expertise. He’d be a fool any other time for her, but not now.

He wanted to impress her.

He looked through the method, from cooking the duck to making the mikan marmalade and nodded to himself. it was a very well written recipe, despite the state of the much-loved paper.

His eye caught something, and he bit back a groan. “Nami-san, please tell me you’ve made this before, and you know what ‘secret ingredient’ means?”

It was one of the biggest issues with handed down recipes, especially if they’d already been passed through a fair few generations. It’s what made them family recipes after all, a special ingredient or certain mixture that made the dish unique. But what may seem self-explanatory to begin with when it’s originally handed down, started to get lost further down the line.

Nami frowned and it didn’t fill him with much hope, but as she stood next to him to peer down at the recipe in his hands she laughed. “Oh! That’s just Bell-mère’s mikans. They’re one of a kind, you can’t get them anywhere else, you know,” she told him proudly, mirth in her eyes.

“Oh thank god,” he sighed in relief. He was an outstanding chef, he knew that, but even he wouldn’t be able to figure that one out.

“Breathe, Sanji-kun, you’re in good hands. I know what I’m doing,” she said teasingly, winking at him and squeezing his hand.

He ignored the way his hand tingled her at touch and smiled widely. “I’m at your mercy, lead the way, Nami-san!” He said with a dramatic flourish of his hands, gesturing for her to start as he bowed slightly, and she giggled in response.

It’d been a week since that night in the kitchen peeling potatoes and something had changed… but also not. Nothing was verbally said, but Nami was different with him. Friendlier, perhaps? She stood closer to him, touched him more and there was occasionally a look on her face that he couldn’t decipher.

He thought he knew what it meant, but he didn’t want to overstep the invisible line and ruin whatever it is this was. He’d aired his feelings that night, at least it felt like he had, and she hadn’t accepted or denied his feelings. And that was fine, because honestly it was just a relief to know she still wanted to be around him. He was happy to have whatever he was given.

But it left him in this weird limbo, where he didn’t know how to react to her touches or her flirtatious words. The flirtatious words weren’t completely new, he knew she’d lay it on thick when she wanted something, and he was more than happy to concede to her whims. Maybe it was more accurate to say that the context had changed. It happened when she didn’t want anything, they could be in conversation and she’d say something that’d make him splutter and then moved on like nothing had happened. It was both wonderful and embarrassing.

He was brought out of his musings when her hand came to rest on his arm to get his attention. “Ready?” She asked, holding out an apron for him with her other hand.

“More than ready,” he replied with confidence and she smirked back at him.

It was clear she’d made this recipe many times before and he was truly impressed. Which didn’t say very much in truth, he was always impressed by her, but this time, he was impressed as a chef. She moved with such confidence and fluidity, hardly ever looking at the recipe on the paper.

Not only that, they moved around each other with such ease; moving to the side before the other had to ask, passing the other the ingredient they were after, it was like they’d been working together for years.

Before he knew it, the duck was in the oven for the first cook, pricked and seasoned.

“So, what we need to do now is make some more marmalade, we have enough for dinner, but we won’t any left after that, and then make the orange sauce once the duck’s done it’s second cook,” Sanji said, mentally checking off the list of things still left to do in his head.

He stopped at the bland look Nami was giving him and then it clicked. “Sorry, you’re in charge. What do you want to do next, Nami-san?”

“Thank you,” she replied tartly, in jest. “So, what we need to do now is make some extra marmalade, because we’ll have none after this and then the orange sauce. But I don’t suggest we make that until the duck’s finished its second cook,” she finished smartly, eyebrows raised and looking pleased with herself. Almost as if daring him to say something.

“Excellent suggestion! This is why you’re the chef and I’m the lowly assistant,” he praised, more than happy to play into the joke.

Nami laughed then and he’d been right, playing into the joke was more than worth it when her sunny smile soon turned on him.

“Right then, you scrub the mikans and I’ll measure out the water and bring it to the boil,” she instructed and then they were back into the task once again.

They were back to moving around each other as the mikans were placed into the boiling water to simmer until they were soft and Sanji was getting the pre-peeled potatoes out of the fridge to cut and get ready for roasting. There were a few moments in-between where Nami would stand just that bit too close or lean into him to see what he was doing and he had to remind himself to focus, to not think about how warm she felt or how nice she smelt. It was a challenge to say the least.

The scent of the duck was soon wafting through the kitchen and Sanji was kneeling down beside Nami to check the duck. He praised her technique when she wiggled the leg to check how it was cooking, and she told him how Bell-mère had shown her when she was young.

“If you’d do the honours,” she asked, stepping away from the oven to grab a bowl for the duck fat to be drained.

He was more than happy to comply as he lifted the grate the duck was sitting on and drained the fat from the tray beneath. “Using me for my muscles, huh?” He joked as he placed the duck back onto the tray and into the oven for the second cook.

“Just one of the perks of having you around,” she said coyly, looking up at him from under half-lidded eyes and oh god, it felt like he couldn’t breathe. His tie definitely felt too tight right now. He gulped heavily and her eyes traced down to watch the action, which only made it worse.

And then he was free as she turned around as if nothing had happened. He was going to end up with whiplash at this rate, although he couldn’t complain too much. He was enjoying this. This couldn’t be his imagination at this point, right?

By then the mikans were soft and once they were out of the water, Nami and Sanji were both scooping out the innards to put into the muslin bag. From the corner of his eye, he watched as Nami’s eyebrows pinched together and she looked so focused on the task, to get all the innards out and into the bag. She must have felt it as her gaze shifted to him and her focused determination shifted into something softer. He felt like a little boy being caught stealing biscuits from the jar before dinner and his eyes were shooting back to the mikan in his hands as a flush worked onto his cheeks.

“Okay, I’m done. We need to cut the rind next,” Nami said and when he eventually made eye contact, he was faced with an all too knowing look on her face, something that did nothing to help the heat on his cheeks.

He cleared his throat then. “Fine or chunky?” He knew she liked it finely cut but she was in charge and he’d always indulge her.

“Fine, please.” She beamed up at him.

His hands moved the knife swiftly through the rinds with precision, gliding across the board and watching as the pieces got smaller and smaller with each cut. That was until he could feel eyes on him and was met by Nami’s piercing gaze from the corner of his eye. He hummed at her in question.

“I can work a knife well enough, but not like that. I’m a bit jealous,” Nami admitted, watching the knife glide across with board with no hesitation.

“Years of practice,” he reassured, “And plenty of cut fingers. In the early days Zeff wouldn’t let me do anything but chop. Said I had to get the basics right first and at the time I resented him for it, but now I get it.”

“I don’t fancy cutting my fingers, but any tips?”

Sanji smiled at that. “I don’t blame you. We couldn’t possibly damage Nami-san’s gorgeous hands.” Nami laughed at that and elbowed him good naturedly on the arm. “But if you tuck your fingertips under, you can move quicker without the risk of chopping them off. Much harder to cut yourself but if you do, the worst you’ll do is take the skin off.”

Then his hand was over hers, showing her how to place her fingers and his eyes were nervously shooting up to her face. It was ridiculous, they’d touched each other multiple times, she’d certainly had no qualms about touching him, yet he still worried about pushing it too far. This felt intimate and he didn’t want to overstretch the elastic band until it snapped. Yet she wasn’t looking at him, she was looking down at her own hands and moving them accordingly.

She started cutting again when he moved away and although it was nowhere near as quick or precise as him, it was a vast improvement. “See!”

“I know you’re just humouring me-” she rolled her eyes “-but I’ll take it.”

“Everyone has to start somewhere!”

The muslin bag was added back into the water with the sliced mikan rinds. Nami started adding the sugar and stirring it to dissolve it. With everything going on, the kitchen was slowly getting hotter and hotter. Sanji had already removed his jacket but he used the quiet moment to roll up his sleeves to his elbows and loosen his tie. It’d probably make more sense to remove his vest, but he didn’t miss the way Nami’s eyes lingered over it when she thought he wasn’t watching. So that would be the last thing to go, if he really had to.

“How often did you make this when you were younger?” He normally didn’t ask questions about her childhood unless she brought it up first, but he felt they’d passed that barrier. This was a bit of a test to see whether it was true.

“Every Sunday. It was cheap to make and Bell-mère enjoyed cooking with us. We’d have it on toast for breakfast for the week coming.”

Sanji let her talk as she stopped stirring the simmering marmalade and he moved to add the duck fat to the potatoes to put them in the oven with the duck.

“Afterwards,” Nami paused briefly and Sanji understood exactly what she meant, “I’d make it with Nojiko when I’d go home. It’s like she knew I was coming; everything would be ready for when I arrived,” Nami smiled fondly, leaning back against the counter.

The duck would be done in a few minutes, but before then they had a marmalade to finish. He grabbed the dishes he’d put into the freezer earlier and Nami joined him when he set them on the side next to the simmering marmalade.

“You know how to check this?”

“Of course, I’m a marmalade connoisseur, were you not listening?” She teased and hip checked him cheekily, to which he breathed out a laugh and handed her a spoon.

He wondered if the heat and the few hours they’d spent hauled in the kitchen were getting to them. They giggled like schoolgirls as the bickered playfully back and forth about whether the marmalade was set as they poked and prodded it. It wasn’t the most professional thing to be doing but he couldn’t find it within himself to care. It was always lovely to see her like this. Especially around him.

The playful atmosphere dispersed as quickly as it’d arrived when Nami lifted her thumb to her mouth to lick the marmalade off. His mouth suddenly felt too dry. The scene before him played out in slow motion in his head and he was left wondering if it did for her too. It certainly didn’t help that she maintained eye contact as she did it, her tongue darting out to lick away at the marmalade there and he couldn’t believe he was jealous of a thumb right now.

All of his reservations were flying out of the window in the next moment as he suddenly crowded her, all of her teasing over the past week and today coming to a head. It was sink or swim… and was she leaning into him?

Any speck of confidence that he’d had in that moment deflated as the oven beeped at them and he was both cursing and thanking the oven. He’d either just missed his moment (again) or was saved from messing this all up. He hated how he swung between both scenarios so quickly.

“I’ll get the duck,” he croaked as he took a step back and smooth his apron out, just to give his hands something to do.

Nami nodded at him and turned back to the marmalade to start spooning it into glass jars.

Did she look disappointed?

The atmosphere in the kitchen was awkward and there was no avoiding it, even as he took the duck out and she soaked the pot in the sink. It was deafening and his brain was left scrambling on how to rectify it quickly.

As he put the duck on top of the cooker, he settled on apologising. He’d overstepped, he could hardly call himself a gentleman if he didn’t.

The apology was on the tip of his tongue as he turned to face her but died a quick death when he realised how close she was to him.

“You have sauce here. No idea how you managed that,” Nami said and got even closer, so, so close, as her hand reached for him.

When she wiped sauce from the corner of his mouth, he finally broke, any self-doubt crumbling around him and falling to the floor. The act was so intimate, her hand cupping his jaw and her thumb lingering at the side of face and she’s so close to him that he moved without really thinking.

He leaned down to press a tentative, albeit clumsy, kiss to her lips. He didn’t manage to land it fully on her lips, slightly off centre, but there was no mistaking what he’s done.

He’s both relieved, for finally doing something that’s plagued his mind for a week, but terrified because he could still be wrong. He stopped breathing as he pulled away.

“Have I overstepped?” He’s terrified to ask, but he has to.

Nami doesn’t pull away in disgust like he thought she would, or worse slap him, but she also doesn’t say anything for a second. He’s stunned her it seemed, so maybe that slap could still be coming.

It doesn’t.

The expression melted off after a second and he watched her eyes warm and her lips slowly curve upward, and he never wanted to look at anything else ever again.

He’s watching her lips as they part to breath out a murmured, “Finally,” and then she’s tugging him down by his tie to press their lips softly together this time.

Any hesitancy flew out of the window as Nami initiated the second kiss and his hands are on her back, somewhat confidently, to bring her in closer.

The second kiss is nowhere near as clumsy as the first when Sanji got to take his time with it and take his time he would. This is all he’d ever dreamed of since meeting the woman in his arms and he’d savour and stretch this moment for as long as he was allowed to.

He was in no hurry as he pressed their lips back together in a series of pecks, lips moving languidly against the others as they found their rhythm. Sanji felt like he was sinking, her lips were so soft, and her hands were so warm as they released his tie to smooth over his chest. Although he’d wanted to keep the pace slow, he couldn’t help it when his tongue brushed against the seal in her lips.

And closed mouth kisses soon turned into open mouth kisses. Something that he should have done much sooner. She tasted of the marmalade they’d made, and he couldn’t think of a better way to try it for the first time. He chased after the taste, groaning when her tongue reciprocated in kind. Her hands left his chest, travelling up to play with the hair at nape of his neck and his hands sunk to her hips to squeeze at the feeling of her playing with his hair.

He hadn’t even realised that she’d been walking them back until her back hit the counter and he could finally press against her as tightly as he wanted to. Everything about this felt amazing, her taste, her touch. His previous fantasies could never have lived up to the real thing.

He pulled back briefly to let them breath, but it was a short interlude before he was kissing her again.

It wasn’t nearly long enough when Nami tried to pull away, muffling a quiet, “Sanji”, against his lips that did nothing but encourage him.

“Sanji,” she said louder this time, winding down the kissing into pecks again. “There’s still sauce to make, marmalade to put away and potatoes to deal with,” she reminded him, her hands leaving his hair to rest on his shoulders and put a bit of space between them. He didn’t let her go too far, but he did move his hands to her waist- a more sensible placement whilst he tried to compose himself and actually acknowledge what she was saying.

“You should think about adding this step into the cooking method,” he teased after a second. He could spare another moment before he had to act semi-professional again and finish dinner.

“You’re an awful assistant, Sanji-kun, distracting the chef like this,” she jokingly scolded him as she half-heartedly slapped his shoulder.

“Oh, you wound me, Nami-san.” One of hands clasped over his heart dramatically and Nami snorted in response.

“Far too distracting,” she said, her hands snaking down to him back to play with the fabric of his waistcoat. He knew it.

“Like you’re one to talk.” Eyes skimming across the apron that’d teased him throughout that day, he was far too into it considering what it was.

He leaned back in to press another lingering kiss to her lips. He would do it; he would step away and get back to work. He tried to convince himself, but it was getting harder and harder to as the seconds ticked by. In his defence, she kissed him back. She pulled away from the kiss a second later, like she’d read his mind, and covered his eager lips with her hand to stop him pressing forward again.

“No slacking in my kitchen, little eggplant,” she murmured against his jaw, planting a kiss there afterwards- like that was going to help him focus.

He froze at her words. Oh god. He didn’t know whether he was going to faint or have a heart attack. He was confident he’d be able to pull off both. Only Nami could make that nickname sound sexy.

“I’m not sure how I feel about that,” Sanji breathed back, sightly muffled behind her hand.

“Good or bad?” She asked, curious, and pulled her hand away to rest back on his shoulder.

“Good because you make it sound so good, but bad because I have to fight off the images of Zeff.”

“You’re making it sound like a challenge to change that.”

Oh god. Oh god. He wouldn’t be able to face Zeff ever again if she had her way. And he wasn’t sure if that was something to complain about or not. It wasn’t, he decided quickly, it was stupid to even entertain thinking of that negatively. He’d probably beg for it too, that’s just how powerful she was.

She smiled up at him, like she knew exactly what she was doing, and she probably did.

He was rewarded with one last kiss, short and sweet, before she was stepping away and ordering him on how to make the sauce. Back to business. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

This might just beat peeling potatoes with her.

----------------------------------------

Am I ever going to get over confession stories? Probably not.

As always, please excuse any errors.

Thanks for reading.

#SaNami #SaNa #SanNami #SanjixNami #opfanfic #opwriting #one piece #Nami #Sanji

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