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storydays · 3 years

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Season 1, ep3, p2

"Your best friend is a.....polar bear dog." Mako started wearily, before smiling fondly at Neo, who grunted. "Somehow that makes perfect sense, considering." "I'll take that as a compliment, city boy." A few minutes later, they arrived to town square, looking around and didn't see a sign of you or Bolin. Neo stopped near Firelord Zuko's statue from his early days, looked up and barked. "Well, this is Bo's normal hang out spot, and Neo seems to have missed (Y/-" Mako was cut off by Neo running over to the kids playing nearby, licking one of the boys.

Laughing, the kids crowded around him and Naga, who followed her brother, ignoring the two approaching figures behind the two animals. "You guys seen my brother around here today?" Mako called, as the oldest turned towards them. "Perhaps. My memory's a little...foggy. Maybe you can help clear it up." The child sniffed, before holding his hand out. "You're good, Skoochy. A real pro." Mako chuckled, before handing the child a few coins. "Yeah, I've seen him." "When?" demanded the firebender. "About noon." "What was he doing?" A frown came onto Skoochy's face, as he recalled the earlier event. "He was performing some kind of monkey-rat circus, and then..." Turning, the kid held his hand out for more.

Skoochy yelped as a giant water hand picked him up, and brought him face to face with an unimpressed you. Chuckling sheepishly, he grinned at your raised eyebrow. "H-Hey, (Y/F/N)! How you doing?" "Skoochy, take the kids back to the Rosario, and do not come out without Mika." You said sternly, placing the child down and watching them run off. "Hey, come back here!" Mako called, before glaring up at a casual you, Korra laughing at you shrugging carelessly.

"I got a lead on where Bolin is," you jumped down in front of the two, sliding your glider into your holster on your back. "The Triple Threats, the Red Monsoons, the Agni Kais..all the triads are muscling up for something big..." "Meaning there's a turf war brewing, and Bolin's about to get caught right in the middle of it." Mako frowned, rubbing his forehead. "Yup, follow me. I managed to track him down, but it wouldn't hurt to have some backup; let's go."

Hopping onto Neo, you told him to go to the Triad's hideout, waited for Mako to get on, and the three of you take off on the Water Tribe animals, and cross the river, when Naga stopped and starting chasing a small animal. "Wait, Naga!" "That's Pabu!" Korra and Mako said at the same time. "No, Naga, Pabu is a friend, not food." Korra said sternly, as the two bumped noses and Pabu crawled onto Mako's shoulder. "We gotta hurry." reminded the firebender.

*At the hideout*

"Something's not right..there are usually thugs posted out front. We need to be--" Mako trailed off as Korra kicked the door in. Mako deadpanned as you strolled in, hands behind your head, looking around curiously at the trashed hideout. "Bolin? You here?" Mako called, looking around. You sensed Bolin's presence outside, and hurried outside, with water skin arms forming around your arms. You called out to the other two. "I've got visual on them! Let's go!" You realized that following them in plain view wasn't the best idea. "Neo, help Korra and Mako! I'm going solo!"

You veered right heading towards the rooftops, keeping an eye on the van and your surroundings. Mako fired a blast of fire towards the bikes, Korra used her earthbending but the kidnapper jumped over the earth, and another fired two ball traps toward the polar bear dogs, making the animals trip and send the Avatar and firebender to the ground. "Oh man." You stopped chasing Bolin and jumped down to protect Korra and Mako from the incoming enemy.

It was three on one with Korra getting neutralized early in the fight followed by Mako getting knocked down. You stood in front of them protectively, before using your waterbending to make a ice barrier, making the enemies send out canisters of gas and got back on their bikes zooming off.

Korra groaned, Naga helping her stand up, before trying to firebend. "Ugh! I can't bend! I can't bend!" She panicked. "Calm down, Korra." You stated, helping Mako up before Neo cuddled into your back. "It'll wear off. Those guys were chi blockers. They're Amon's henchmen." continued Mako stretched his arm out, as Korra did the same. "Amon? That anti-bending guy with the mask?"

You sat down on Neo's back cross-legged, closed your eyes and began searching for Bolin's spirit. "Yeah, he's the leader of the Equalists." "But what do they want with the Triple Threats?" wondered the Water Tribe girl. "Whatever it is..it can't be good. I can't believe Bolin got himself into this mess. " Mako pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed in annoyed concern. "Mako, we're going to save your brother, I promise you that." Korra and Mako stared into each other's eyes.

Neither noticed (e/c) eyes staring at them, before their owner smirked. You grabbed Neo's reigns, and coughed. They turned to him. "If you two are done with your romantic stare down.."They sputtered at him as he continued breezily. "I've found Bo again, but we need to go." Mako cleared his throat and hopped onto Neo's back. "Neo, let's go." You urge, heading towards the other side of town.

*timeskip*

You let Neo, Naga and Pabu rest near the warehouse, and threw clothes at Korra and Mako. "Hey, what are these for (Y/N)?" Korra asked, just as Mako asked, "How'd you get our measurements?" You scoff, tying your hair back, and pulling a headband on to hide your arrow. "Please, have you guys met hyper active airbenders? Instead of chasing them, I learned how to take measurements discretely. Anyway, we need those to get in to where they're keeping Bolin." They shrugged and went to go get change.

"You guys go first, and wait for me near the entrance. I'll enter after you guys." You watched as Korra wrapped her arm around Mako. You starred at them, looked at Neo, before laughing at the scene in front of you, your polar bear dog laughing aside you. "O-Okay," you snickered before sobering up. "Wait here for me boy, we'll be back." Neo nudged you, as you adjusted your coat, and heading towards the entrance.

"This is a private event, no one gets in without a invitation." The guard crossed his arm before you showed him a flyer you grabbed from the man in the park. "The revelation is upon us my brother. Enjoy." He stepped aside and let you in. You walked towards Korra and Mako and gasped at the insane of amount of people gathered.

"I knew a lot of people hated benders but I've never seen so many in one place." Mako mumbled. "Okay, Korra, you know what to do. Mako and I will go into the crowd and watch for Bolin. Stay safe." You all nodded, before splitting up. "And now, please welcome your hero, your savior, Amon!" an announcer called out, as said figure rose up from below the stage. You felt tremors running down your back seeing the masked man again.

'I'm not afraid of him. I'm prepared for him this time.' "My quest for equality began many many years ago. When I was a boy, my family and I lived on a small farm. We weren't rich, and none of us were benders. This made us very easy targets for the firebender who extorted my father. One day, my father confronted this man, but when he did, that firebender took my family from me, then he took my face."

Amon turned towards the crowd in front of him. "I've been forced to hide behind a mask, ever since. As you know, the Avatar has recently arrived in Republic City." Suddenly everyone began booing and jeering at the mention of Korra. "And if she were here, she would tell you that bending brings balance to the world, but she is wrong. The only thing bending has brought to the world is suffering."

You clenched your fists at this accusation. "It has been the cause of every war in every era, but that is about to change.I know you've been wondering what this whole 'revelation?' You are about to get your answer." You and Mako looked at each other in concern, before turning back to the stage. "Since the beginning of time, the spirits have acted as guardians of our world, and they haven spoken to me." 'Pfft, what a load of bison crap.' You snickered to yourself.

"They say the Avatar has failed humanity, that's why the spirits have chosen me to usher a new era of balance. They have granted me a power that will make equality a reality--The power to take away a person's bending away.....permanently." You couldn't help but gasp along with the crowd. "T-That's imp-possible. T-This guy is insane!" Mako raised an eyebrow at your stuttering, and wrapped an arm around your shoulders in comfort, like he does with Bolin.

"Now for a demonstration. Please welcome, "Lightning Bolt" Zolt leader of the Triple Triad, and one of the most notorious criminals in Republic City." You watch as said criminal scowled at the crowd. The normals began booing him which resulted him saying back, "Ah, boo yourself!" You laugh at his sarcastic attitude. You watched as other members of the Triple Triad and Bolin be forced to kneel. "There's Bolin." You muttered to Mako. "What's taking Korra so long?" Mako muttered.

"Zolt has amassed a fortune by extorting and abusing non-benders but his reign of terror is about to come to an end. However, in the interest of fairness, I will give Zolt the chance to fight to keep his bending." The two backed up to give each other space, for a proper battle. "You're going to regret doing that, pal." Zolt smirked before they began fighting back and forth with Zolt getting more and more frustrated and finally began shooting lighting at Amon who moved quickly.

Amon grabbed Zolt by the back of his neck, and began doing something to him, you started shivering under Mako's arm. The lightning died down, and a burst of flame came from Zolt's hand, before he collapsed. ' W-what was that?' you thought as Zolt staggered to his feet. "What did you do to me?" he demanded. "Your firebending is gone...forever." Amon turned to the crowd and said strongly: "The era of bending is over. A new era of equality has begun." He raised his fist as the crowd around you begun shifting uncomfortably. "Not yet, (Y/N). We need to wait for Korra." Mako whispered, grabbing your hand stopping you from exposing yourselves. "B-But I can't just sit here and watch these other benders lose--" "I know, but unfortunately we have no choice," he hissed, mentally cursing your need to help others at this moment.

It was at that moment that steam entered the room, causing people to freak out. "Let's go." whispered Mako before you took to the stage, making icicles pop up entrapping Amon and his guards in place. Mako grabbed Bolin while Amon called to you, "You can try and resist all you want (Y/N) but I assure you, you will see things my way." You didn't reply but bended the steam to hide your escape.

You all run into the alleyway, discarding your clothes. But then heard Neo howling in pain and growling aggravation at the Equalists trying to tame him. You were torn between helping your friends, and helping your animal buddy. Then an Equalist slashed Neo with a knife and that was when you made your decision. You used nearby water to push yourself into the air and used the momentum to kick the enemies away and encased them into ice before sending them into the empty building nearby, effectively knocking him out. You exhaled sharply before turning to Neo's whimpering form, and your friends approaching you, from atop of Naga. You pulled water from you emergency pouch and began moving it across the wound.

Neo whinned in annoyance and you hummed in acknowledgement. "Sorry boy, I'm almost done. Are you guys okay?" You asked, not allowing yourself to stop healing. "Yes, we're fine. These two are a little fried but otherwise we're good." Neo licked you and stood up, stretching his leg carefully. Naga nudged him with snout before the two were ready to go. "Bo, you can ride with me." You offered a hand to the weary Earthbender. "Thanks for finding me (Y/N)." he mumbled sleepily, as you all escaped.

*Timeskip*

You walked wearily behind Korra, shaken from what you witnessed. "Thank goodness, I was just about to send out a search party. Are you two all right?" He placed a hand on both of your shoulders. "Mm-mm." "N-No Uncle." You looked over the ledge before jumping down, using the water to soften your fall, and running off to your mother's tree, exhaling heavily. You didn't blink when you felt the air move behind you.

"Uncle, when Amon took away the other's bendings, I felt their pain, surprise, and their sorrow, like nothing I've felt before." You turned around and sunk to your knees, feeling small. He sat next to you, draping his cloak over you. "That is because you are an empath, like your mother. She was connected with the spirits in a similar manner. Perhaps it's best if you talk to your gran-gran about this, try and get your mind back in the right place." You peek at him from under your bangs as Nevermore landed near you, and tilted her head curiously.

"Yeah, maybe."

#legend of korra #lok imagine #legend of korra x reader #male reader x legend of korra #legend of korra imagine

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moonlightreal · 3 years

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Fate Episode One

At long last, it’s tiiiiiime!

First: whitewashing bad. Fact acknowledged. Everybody else has said everything on the subject (ad nauseum...) so no reason to say it all again!

I’m diving in with questions. The main one is “Will there be a good reason for Musa to be a mind fairy rather than a music fairy?” Dunno why that’s what I’m wondering the most, but it is. There’s also “Is Fate!Stella truly an unholy union of Stella and Diaspro?” and “so what makes them fairies not witches/psychics/mutants?” and “So what’s up with Beatrix? We know nothing about her, and as an Umineko fan I’m favorably disposed towards witches named Beatrice!” and also “They’re not really having sex are they?!”

I’m going to try and approach Fate just like I do every season of the cartoon, ready to celebrate the good, snark at the bad, enjoy many headcanons, reference random stuff, and have a good time. Pretending I haven’t had my fannish heart nigh to broken by the state of the fandom and that I’m worried I’ll get hate for even posting this. I’m’a try to start from zero to find my own answer the really big question… “Good, bad, or totally irredeemable?”

So… In which we discover a new world.

We start with… a night scene. Not promising when “too dark can’t see” is one of my pet peeves! An old fella comes out to check on his cute Irish sheep. He passes through the barrier, into the dangerous forest beyond to look for a missing sheep. Yup, he’s gonna be guest victim in the first five minutes.

Oh no! Something has disemboweled a sheep and left it hanging in a tree! Clearly there are leopards in the magical realm!

There is a great roar and an unseen but very large-sounding beast chases our poor shepherd! The guy trips and falls just as he’s about to get through the barrier and is set upon and devoured by the unseen beast! Blood spatters the rocks!

Opening! It’s the wings we’ve sen and some really beautiful music. One point for the music.

Then a gorgeous flying shot of the outside of the barrier and Alfea. Whatever the plot turns out to be, the outdoor setting is beautiful. Music that seems to be both pop and edgy plays as we zoom in on the logo on the gate, and there’s Bloom coming in the gate.

And there’s Terra with her father and a tray full of plants.

And there’s Aisha walking by with her dreads

And there’s Stella taking a selfie with other students.

And there’s Musa leaning on her suitcase, headphones on, looking at her phone. Another girl says something to Musa and she turns and replies and smiles.

And there’s one of the guys twirling a knife. I’ve heard Sky starts out in a pink shirt so this must be Riven. The camera comes back to Bloom as she gives him a doubtful look. In the novelization she’s mentally labeling him an edgelord, and that kinda fits. Any dude showing off his willingness to twirl weapons at a high school probably is best avoided—except the dudes here are training to fight so the weapons rules must be different. I wonder if Bloom knows yet that dudes with swords are normal here.

Bloom gets a text to meet Stella at the gate. She waits.

Camera pan to Sky talking to another guy. Sky looks… Sky-ish. Chris Evans style handsome, blond. I’d’ve made him grow his hair to mimic cartoon Sky’s silly shaggy haircut, but points for making Sky look like Sky! Minus points for not dying Riven maroon. They could’ve made it work!

Sky is indeed wearing a pink shirt. In the novelization Bloom thinks he’s wearing it “because gender roles were for the weak” which is a line I think is funny and intend to use in a story somewhere. There is no obvious hint in the show that Sky thinks gender roles are for the weak

Bloom’s tired of waiting. She heads off. Sky ditches his buddy to go meet her. “Wow, you are so lost. I’m impressed with your confidence in the face of complete ignorance. Issue is, you’re overcomitted. You’re essentially running. And now that I’m here you can’t possibly give me the satisfaction of turning around.” he says, all in one go.

I can’t decide if that’s jerkish or charming. Maybe Bloom shares my weakness for men with accents because she decides on charming.

Bloom says she’s a fairy, giggles because that’s something she never thought she’d say, they’re standing in the courtyard of a college for fairies, Bloom’s from California, not the Otherworld. So we get all that established. Sky is kinda charming here and points out the specialists’ hall and fairy hall.

Sky: “I’d be happy to-”

Bloom: “Mansplain it?”

So the writing team does know some modern issues! Bloom says Sky seems like a mansplainer, which seems like quite a leap since she is new and he is helping her, in a friendly-sarcastic kind of way. She’s giggling, clearly charmed.

Then Riven comes up, and he’s like a foot shorter than Sky, and Bloom escapes for some reason so maybe she wasn’t enjoying the conversation as much as it looked? Or maybe it was just the plot needs to move along. Riven glomp-hugs Sky. He’s got a great accent too.

Bloom must’ve left because she saw Stella, they say hello. Bloom says she got impatient waiting and Stella says, “How very American of you” So American stereotypes are known in magical worlds also?

So, Stella! Blonde, tall, zero Stella vibe. Accent. Long pale coat and a satiny top with big chunky pendant. She gets to her ring quick, “Portal ring, the only thing that keeps me sane in this place is the ability to leave it. Your world may not always be thrilling but it beats this one. There are seven realms in the Otherworld, each a different kind of boring.” All spoken in a jaded monotone. Ugh, what have they done to our Stella!

The girls walk inside while Stella speaks, the school is pale stone and arches and plants. Other students are arriving, hauling suitcases, hugging. At least some of them seem happy to be here!

Cut to the globe! and it’s a magical globe, the water moves and there are lil sailing ships! But the lands are totally blank, so it’s a cheap magic globe Dowling didn’t pay enough for the one with tiny forests too. Alfea is in the realm of Solaria.

Maybe they shouldn’t have made Ireland = Solaria. I’ve only been to England but we did not see the sun the whole trip! Bloom’s in Dowling’s really cool office. She spins the globe but the camera pans away before we see the names of the other realms. Bloom’s talking nervously about seeing people updating their insta stories, expecting Tinkerbells, and the lack of wings.

Dowling: “We had wings in the past. As we’ve evolved, transformation magic has been lost. Tink was an air fairy, you’re a fire fairy.”

Dowling says classes tomorrow, learn to use magic slowly but safely… we establish Bloom is here to learn to control her magic so she can go home and not keen on ‘slow.’ Dowling says, ‘trust the process’ which immediately makes me mistrust her.

Then she gives a great lil speech: “Alfea’s graduates have ruled realms and led armies. They have forged powerful relics and rediscovered long lost relics. They shape the otherworld.”

But Bloom just wants to get done and go home. She says, ‘I'm here because you promised you’d teach me control.” and Dowling says, ‘no, you’re here because you knew you have no other choice.” and Bloom looks betrayed.

Yeah Dowling’s sus.

Next scene: Bloom showing her dorm to her parents over video call! How does that work between dimensions? Her folks look nothing like Mika and Vanessa, dad’s got a beard and silver temples, mom’s got big blonde curls. Neither of them have burn injuries or the sort of freaked out vibe I’d expect from folks whose house was just on fire.

Roommate pan-around! Terra puts potted plants everywhere! Stella preens at the vanity! Musa headphones-and-laptop but smiles at Terra. Aisha comes in with her laundry bag.

Bloom’s parents get suspicious about the timezone thing, they think Bloom’s in the Alps, and Aisha comes and covers for her saying it’s time for lights out.

Aisha intro! She is wearing a pink and brown checkered dress that’s not super fashionable or flattering. I like her blue braids though. Aisha does not seem to have the accent that many Alfeans have.

Bloom explains the “human parents, fairy daughter, I must be a throwback to an ancestor” thing. Aisha looks dubious. Then they mention Harry Potter!

Bloom; ‘Ravenclaw, sometimes Slytherin.’

Aisha; ‘Explains the lies then. Gryffindor.’

Bloom: ‘Explains the judgment.’

Congrats, you both were jerks in three short lines. 9_9 But they’re smiling so I guess it’s friendly sniping.

Bloom goes to see Stella, who’s holding up sparkly tops to herself. She’s also got this weird rainbow skirt that looks like gymnastics clothes not real clothes. Stella’s changing for the party because people have already seen her in her clothes. Bloom asks confused, ‘People expect you to wear multiple outfits?’ and Stella comes back with, ‘people expect me to care how I look.” In the same jaded monotone.

Before Bloom can WTF outta there like a sensible person Stella snaps her fingers and creates a ball of light. Bloom gapes, but not nearly as much as I feel like she should. The magic is beautiful, it’s all rainbowy and sparkly. Bloom just hesitantly asks, ‘Can I ask, how exactly you..?” and Stella shuts her down with an almost kind, “I’m a mentor, not a tutor.”

But she does give a little infodump. “Fairy magic is tied to emotion. God thoughts, bad, hatred, fear, the stronger the emotion the stronger the magic.”

And Bloom says, ‘Do you hate me or fear me? You were looking at me when you did that. And I’m pretty sure you don’t love me.” Smart cookie, Bloom! Points to you! We know it’s because Bloom was talking to sky, and that gives Stellla some emotions.

And points to Stella, she thaws out her voice and talks like a real person, ‘I don’t know you. I’m sure once I do I’ll find something to love.” She sounds rather doubtful about the last bit but yay actual emotion!

Then Stella goes over to Terra for her intro scene and I cringe because the novelization did Terra dirty and I’m not keen to see it on screen. But it works ok. Stella gently calls Terra on the number of houseplants and says the secret garden was better kept secret, Terra responds that wasn’t really the message of the book, Stella looks at her with amused patience and leaves Musa and Terra to continue the scene. And I decide if there’s no infodump about how earth and the Otherworld relate to each other in this show I shall be cross.

Then Terra chatters on about her family and how she grew up at Alfea since her dad works here (she’s holding a 100% fake plant) and drops that Stella is a second year. Musa asks why a second-year is in a first-year suite and Terra says it’s some administrative thing probably best not to mention. But Terra totally knows the secret.

Musa’s eyes glow purple. Magic! But we don’t hear what she hears. She starts putting her headphones on. Terra goes on to say they should all not mention it to Stella, then interrupts another headphones-attempt to offer Musa a succulent, “They’re low maintainence, perfect for you, not that I really know you...’

Musa: ‘If I take it will you stop talking?”

Terra visibly deflates and Musa apologizes and grabs the succulent before finally getting to escape into music.

Aisha leans in to ask Terra if Alfea has a pool. It has a river and Aisha’s been swimming—twice a day every day! Terra says no pool, just the pond where the specialists train but nobody swims there, at least not on purpose.

And we immediately cut out to the pond, which looks pretty mucky, I wouldn’t want to swim there either! Two specialists, a boy and a girl, are whacking away at each other with wooden swords on the shore. They’re all dressed in black pants and tank tops, very Divergent movie poster except with the Alfea logo on the front. There’s a bunch of specialists training all around the pond and one does indeed knock their opponent in with a splash! But we home in on Sky and Riven and I cannot get over how short and skinny Riven is compared to Sky! And the fact that I’ve just been rewatching Lord of the Rings and Riven doesn’t look 100% not like Dominic Monaghan… sorry Riven’s actor, I’m sure in future episodes I’ll stop thinking you’re a hobbit!

Anyway, Riven’s teasing Sky about his crush on Bloom, says Sky always goes for the crazy ones and all redheads are crazy. Sky puts Riven on the mat and Riven says he was getting high all summer and not practicing. Before Sky can give him a “big brother speech” on that riven skedaddled because here comes the teacher with a different speech!

This show’s Codatorta, whose name is Silva and who looks very irish and I like him, does a little speech about how y’all gotta train, singles out a black guy I think is Dane and says, ‘even you will be able to fight like him.” and attacks Sky, who fights back. They spar for a minute.

Infodump: “Sky’s father was Andreas of Eraklyon, that makes him a legacy.” Also, some of these kids are from families of specialists and some were selected by Silva based on their talent for combat and weaponry. “This place will seem like hell until actual hell comes. We are the first line of defense, a certainty when the future is uncertain!’

Then Dane snickers about the whole ‘school full of kids with swords’ and Silva says it must be nice to be so ‘soft’ he can make fun. And Dane drops that the barrier exists ‘to protect the school from Burned Ones.”

As he says it, we cut to Sky going out through the barrier to smoke.

Burned ones are gone. But Silva saw one when he was a kid. His father shot it but was killed by the Burned One’s poison. Burned Ones are inhumanly strong and fast, and have a terrible poison, or disease that kills people who get away.

Sky looks over and sees the shepherd’s body. Yikes!

Cut to the staff arriving to look at the remains. Just three: Dowling, Codatorta, and Terra’s dad. Is that the whole staff? Who teaches? Could’ve been a wolf or a bear… Terra’s dad collects some gunk from the body and I think calls it “char residue.”

Dowling says, “She killed all the Burned Ones.”

She? This world’s Marion/Daphne, likely.

But the adults clean it up so the kids can party! Our girls are gathered around the food, and they’re better dressed! Aisha’s got her hair up and a blue hoodie, Musa’s got a little red coat. Terra has not been blessed by the fashion fairy, she’s in some overalls it looks like, not flattering. Terra is saying hopefully that maybe the shepherd died of old age and Musa’s ‘Yeah, that old age decapitation” is gentle ribbing not cruel.

Aisha’s loading up a stack of cookies, says how much she eats and, ‘If I didn’t swim I’d be massive.” it’s not aimed at Terra , but Terra flinches. Aisha heads off and Terra says something that boils down to, ‘Musa, you’re tuning out me in particular.” which, Terra you’ve known Musa for what, six hours? Way too short a time to take it personal. Musa says, ‘It’s a me thing, it’s not you.” and Terra just flusters and heads away. Musa looks troubled but not sure what to do and puts her headphones on.

This is SO much better than in the book. Not perfect, all the interactions between the girls have been very weird as if they’ve been given a script full of cruel catty lines and instructed to say them in a kind way, but at least they’ve tried for the vibe of “trying to be nice to people we don’t know yet and flubbing it” rather than “we are all terrible people” like I feared.

Terra meets her dad and tries to go to the greenhouse with him but he makes her stay to enjoy the party.

Cut to some grownup dude—Dowling’s secretary? Apparently searching for something in a desk that I presume is outside the headmistress’ office.

Beatrix… or possibly a gothed-up Bloom… comes to see Dowling and when told the headmistress isn’t in says, ‘I’ll just take a water, room temp, thanks love.’ and then when the door opens Beatrix greets Dowling with a simpering ‘I'm your biggest fan, I’m obsessed with Alfea...” and cascading apologies for swearing, with more swearing. Dowling and her secretary are as confused by this as I am but Dowling says Beatrix can study the history of Alfea in the library if she wants to. I assume this is evil Beatrix slyly getting permission to hit the books. Is Beatrix even a student at Alfea?

Cut to Bloom’s notebook, she’s already started taking notes about powers being linked to emotions, love hate and fear. Great initiative Bloom, but are there no textbooks you could be reading ahead in?

We get dumped back to a flashback: Bloom’s mom wants her to go out on a Saturday night, to a party or a movie or whatever teen thing. All Bloom wants to do is go to antique sales apparently. Bloom doesn’t want to be a “basic bitch” like her mom and her mom doesn’t want her daughter to be a “weird loner.”

Pause while I urban dictionary “basic bitch.” Huh. Not a term I ever heard in my circle of nerds.

Bloom and her mom are awful to each other. Back in the present Bloom’s eyes flame up as she remembers. She decides it’s time to go experiment! Right now! Before even one day of magic class or one page of a textbook! The idiot ball has entered play.

Night has fallen because of course it has. Bloom runs into Sky at the party. But she’s not looking to party, she’s looking for a place to be alone outside. Sky directs her to beyond the barrier, because we’re about to have Plot. If it weren’t for Plot I‘m sure Sky could’ve suggested a specialist workout area inside the barrier. Sky says there might be wolves or bears or “maybe something much scarier” and Bloom catches the idiot ball and says, ‘But no people? Perfect!”

Sky offers to go with her but Bloom says no thanks in a “I think you may be flirting and I may be down for that in the future just not right now.” kind of a way. Good character interaction! Except Stella grabs Sky for a chat once Bloom heads out to meet the Plot.

Sky and Stella have an opaque exchange that really just establishes they have a past of some sort that everyone knows about because everyone stares—or at least Stella thinks everyone is staring. I’m starting to feel weirdly sorry for this Stella who has none of her namesake’s sparkle and confidence. Why does she think all the realms are boring? Is she ever enthusiastic?

...wait, it’s still day! Why was it night inside?? This show is weird about lighting. Gosh Ireland is beautiful! Where’s this castle they got to be Alfea? Can I go there? This FOREST! It is a fully magical forest. Aisha is swimming in the river, with goggles and a cap but Bloom heads into the amazing forest. Good music here too! Forests and magic and music, come on Fate you CAN be a good show, I believe in you! Just put down the idiot ball and step away... Bloom goes through the barrier and outside it sees a swirl of orange and white sparkles in the air. She watches it and laughs and then hikes through a little more forest.

Finding a clearing Bloom calls her fire. At first she can’t, then she looks through the pictures on her phone looking for emotion. “Pictures of my sad teenage years are not happy thoughts. Noted.” She says with an angsty little smile. Then there’s a photo of the burned out house. She zooms in and stares at it taking in all the details. And we get flashbacks to the line of fire racing towards her parents’ bed.

Fire! Bloom turns her handful of fire this way and that, delighted, then tries for two hands. This is the scene from the trailer, playing with fire. Good music here. And good that Bloom thought the magic was neat… uuuuntil she realizes she doesn’t know how to put it out. She freaks out and waves her hands around trying to blow out the flames.

Aisha comes to the rescue and says dumb things like, “You’re losing control.” and “If you get angry at me...” and Bloom does get angry and throws lines of fire right at Aisha. Who looks terrified. Sensibly, but also has she never seen fire magic before? She grew up in a magic realm, does she know nothing about how to help someone get control? Is control taught to magical babies so teenagers rarely see someone wigging out? But if magic is emotion then everyone will lose control sometime since we all get upset. How does an emotion=magic society function?

Anyway. aisha pulls water up from the ground and puts out the flames.

Inside Aisha gives Bloom what for about losing control. Including, “Is that American for sorry I almost set you on fire?” Srsly, this show is Irish people and Italians stealth throwing shade at Americans! *Laughs in January 2021* Bloom retorts that she went away from people to experiment for just that reason, and tells Aisha about not having had fairy parents or any magical experience.

Aisha responds with the story of flooding her school including the toilets and having to wade through poo. (I also tend to call it poo, after watching Mike Rowe. I wonder if they watch Dirty Jobs in the Otherworld.)

And Bloom tells her story. Bloom isn’t a cheerleader, she likes antiques and staying home by herself, so she and her mom don’t get along. Her parents removed her door, which is awful! And Bloom got flamey eyes and sent fire straight at her parents while they slept. While Bloom sat on her bed in a rage trance. Understandable level of fury after that fight. And Bloom feels awful, also understandable. And she snuck out to sleep in a creepy warehouse to protect her parents. Her folks didn’t know it was her of course, they don’t know about magic.

Aisha says that beats her flood story, but Aisha is also wondering about something. “You drew on a good deal of magic without even trying. it’s hard to believe you’re from a dormant bloodline. Is there any chance you’re adopted?”

Bloom laughs. Then says she heard the story of her birth a million times, she was a miracle baby diagnosed with a heart defect but then after birth her heart was fine.

Aisha: “Oh god, you’re a changeling!” … ‘It’s barbaric and it barely ever happens anymore….”

Bloom has had enough and just says, “why would you even tell me that?” and leaves. Musa comes over and asks Aisha what she said. Aisha: “The truth. Because someone’s been lying to her.”

Cut to Dowling, lookin’ sus!

This changeling thing had better be fully explained later. Why was it done in the past? Why is it considered barbaric? What happened to the parents’ real kid? I assume she died of the heart condition, but that’s a bigole dangling bit of Plot. In the unlikely event that Fate goes for many seasons that baby will turn up with magic too or as a specialist or something.

Dowling pours tea. Then she telekinetically locks her office door and opens a secret passage! Dowling is sus.

Back at the party, where it again seems to be night. Dane is leaning on a column hangin out when here comes Riven with a flask! He offers, Dane says no thanks, Riven says, ‘There are two types of first-years: pussies and aspiring former pussies.” and pours the entire flask’s worth of booze into Dane’s cup anyway.

Dane says something about, “It feels like less a binary choice and more like a spectrum.” And points for the actor delivering this line like it’s a sarcastic comment on social juscice-ness rather than the large sign saying “Dane is not straight!’ that the writers intended. Dane drinks, makes a face, and Riven bullies him into drinking the rest, tipping the glass so Dane chokes.

Terra rides to the rescue, “Bullying the first-years? Can you be more basic?” and Riven says Dane was into it which he wasn’t.

Terra: “Thinks he’s some badass but you should’ve seen him last year he was just a tragic nerd in disguise.”

Riven: “And she’s just three people in disguise.”

Dane does call Riven out on that bit of nastiness but Terra just does a great lil speech and strangles Riven with vines. Thought I’d hate that but I kinda liked it. Go Terra. Then she introduces herself to Dane, says that wasn’t a great first impression but Dane says he’s about to make an impression by throwing up after a single drink, and Terra hurries him away presumably to the nurse.

Bloom google-imaged changelings! Lotsa woodcuts, someone’s fanart entitled “horror of fairy babies.’ There’s more nuance to it than that… Bloom looks at a family photograph.

There’s Stella, coming to be sympathetic? Nope, she’s coming to conivingly advance the plot! “You know there’s no shame in that, wanting a normal life, wanting to be home...”

When the girls get back Bloom is nowhere to be found. Musa mind-reads that Stella is wracked with guilt, They put it together, Bloom was talking to Sky and now she’s gone. Apparently Stella did something nasty to the last girl who talked to Sky. Terra is kinda straight up badass. Stella confesses, she kindly loaned Bloom the portal ring so she could go back to “the first world” but to use it Bloom has to go deep into the forest outside the barrier to a door in a graveyard.

Portal’s super low special effects, Bloom pushes open a door in a cemetary, the ring glows, and Bloom walks into what must be the warehouse she hid out in.

It’s very dark inside both buildings but away from the cemetary it seems to still be day so we can see a Burned One’s shadow coming towards the portal. Day and night seem to depend on location in this show, and anywhere you need a monster it’s gonna be dark! Bloom seems to leave the magic portal open and we see her step out on the warehouse into a weirdly well-lit night on earth.

Real actual nighttime on earth. Bloom walks to her parents’ house and calls them from outside. Her dad’s surprised she called twice in one day. This call her folks seem just worried and nice, not awful like they were in the flashback. Bloom cries. She can’t ask her parents about the changeling thing. Her mom says very kind, ‘Your path isn’t like mine or your father’s but I can’t wait to see who you become.” Bloom hangs up and cries and watches her parents in their house, then walks back to the warehouse to return to Alfea.

But first we get to see where she was camping! In a little office in the warehouse. She brought a lot of stuff, bedding and pictures for the walls and everything. She opens a notebook and we see that she was experimenting already, discovered she was fireproof, wondered if she had superpowers. Then she senses something and looks out through an interior window into the rest of the warehouse.

Yikes! it’s a Burned One!

Bloom staggers back, trips, and drops Stella’s ring down a grate in the floor.

Bloom’s never heard of Burned Ones at this point but she knows a monster when she sees one. She cowers, back to the wall. The Burned One breaks through the window and tries to grab her!

Bloom escapes into some kind of tunnel, I guess she opened the grate that the ring fell through? It’s not totally clear. There’s the ring, on the other side of a different grate or screen, Bloom can’t reach it, there’s lots of roaring, Bloom runs like hell!

And there’s Dowling! She says, ‘don’t stop now.’ and gestures Bloom through the door back to the cemetery. The door closes behind her. Terra, Musa and Aisha are waiting to make sure Bloom’s ok. Bloom says the Burned One got the ring.

Stella, meanwhile, is on Sky’s bed when he comes out of the shower! Dressed, at least.

Sky is not interested. “You can’t be here, Stell. If Silva finds out-’ Sky goes for his trousers but Stella comes over and snuggles up to his bare back. Sky is still not keen. Seems Stella dumped him then went silent all summer and now she’s jumping in since he talked to Bloom. Stella… comes out and says, “I got jealous. I did something really stupid.” and she says, “I can’t sleep in a room where everybody hates me.” For sending Bloom into danger to get home when that’s what Bloom wanted? Not great, Stella, but hateworthy? Did the girls all tell her they hate her or does Stella just think she’s an awful person? And is Stella actually desperately unhappy or is she just trying to get in Sky’s pants? Not sure what to take away from this. Sky hugs Stella and tells her she’s better than she thinks she is.

The others get back to the dorm and Aisha reassures Bloom that Dowling can take care of the Burned One.

Cut to Beatrix leaving her raid on the library with armfuls of books. She passed Riven, who’s smoking. They say flirty things and Beatrix says she’s been “snorting the midnight adderall” to show that she’s a bad girl. Riven offers her a puff but her hands are full of books so they do this almost-kiss so Riven can blow smoke into her mouth. Erotic, also gross. Is that a real thing people do? Riven asks Beatrix if she’s a first-year and she says “I’m lots of things” and walks off leaving Riven and the room he’s in, which has the most gorgeous arched windows with trees in them. Is this place real? It’s the same place the party was but now it’s night and these windows are glowing green with tree outlines in them. This has gotta be something the filmmakers added.

Pajama scene in the girls’ suite, Terra waters plants, Musa hops in bed with headphones on. Terra does a needy little wave. Musa reluctantly un-headphones. Terra offers a speaker she borrowed from her brother so Musa can have her music without shutting other people out.

And I cringe so hard because just let people tune you out if they want! Communicate by whiteboard! People not wanting to share doesn’t mean they hate you, it means they have their own thoughts they’re busy with! Come on Terra, be better than your novelization self!

Musa calls Terra out on her fake-happy bullshit. Musa can feel all of Terra’s insecurities and anger. Seems like maybe empaths shouldn’t have to share a room! What’s the range on mind reading? How did Musa hit 16 without learning to tune stuff out or going mad? But Musa says, ‘but if you want to know how I really feel...” and switches her music to a speaker, it’s guitar-y and nice.

Up in Dowling’s office, Silva says she should’ve killed the Burned One not left it chained up and knocked out in a shack outside the barrier. Dowling needs to investigate this Burned One, see if there are more of them. Then Dowling spills that Bloom is a changeling, from the time the last Burned One disappeared. And she says, “Rosalind kept so much from us. I’m worried about the students. The Alfea they know is very different from the one we attended.” There’s something very “there was a war before” about the two of them. Dowling may not be sus after all, though that may make her a terrible headmistress depending on how the next episodes go.

Montage of sleeping students. Terra and Dane are texting. Dane accidentally likes one of Riven’s sexy photos. Riven’s pleased. Sky and Stella are sharing a bed but after the last scene I can’t imagine they actually did anything. Sky seemed pretty unseduceable.

And outside a Mysterious Cloaked Figure passes through the barricade, finds the Burned One in the hut, and zaps it awake with lightning. It pushed back its hood… Beatrix! So if she undid her too-tight braids she’d be Stormy? So is Beatrix the villain? I mean obviously she’s a villain but the threat of the Burned Ones feels... bigger than one teenager in Bratz clothes who has not got the presence of even one Trix much less all three wrapped up together. But anyway she’ gets to be a doomful cloaked figure at the end of episode one.

Very pretty ending credits music. Listened to it several times. I can’t understand the lyrics which is probably just as well. Is it in irish or is it just sung in a way to not have clear lyrics? C’mon fate, Irishness is a big thing you’ve got going for you, please milk it for all its worth!

I… I LIKED it! Now my friends say future episodes get worse so I can’t get my hopes too high but this wasn’t awful. None of the girls really had any vibe of their characters, only Bloom and Sky really look like Bloom and Sky. The worldbuilding is lacking, I’m left with more questions than answers.

And oh god one episode was ten pages and about five hours. I… I meant to do this with every episode but I’m not sure I can. There’s so much to comment on it takes forever. Maybe I’ll do each one in parts. Or maybe I’ll abandon the writing and just watch the show like a normal person. It’s a lot of fun to fine-toothed comb each scene but I’m’a be here forever!

#fate the winx saga

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whindsor · 4 years

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gbbo au, part 1

i’ve been thinking about this for a whole year and now the au idea got even better so you know what, i’m just gonna do it, cause i miss mika and bucky A Whole Lot. this is completely self indulgent and unedited and just for fun. So here we go!

note: i’m not gonna add like, the real contestants on this season. cause like, they’re real people. and that’s a lil weird.

another note: i have no idea how the competition is run, how the baking bubble works, or really what’s going on. i’m winging it and having a great time.

week one: cake week

This was, no doubt, the longest two weeks of her life.

Mika wasn’t sure how she, an expat from a little town in Romania, had gotten chosen for The Great British Bake Off. Or Bake Off, as everyone called it. Apparently, being in the UK implied the Great British part.

Thanks to the stupid plague running rampant around the world, the contestants were invited to actually live at the Bake Off this year - at least, until they were removed from the competition. She hadn’t actually got to meet any of the contestants yet, since they were stuck quarantining in their little flats. They’d tested her when she’d first gotten there of course - negative, thank God - and every couple days since. She’d seen a few people leave under the cover of night, a car taking them away from the Baking Bubble. She wondered how many people were in the building, and if one day they would come in and tell her that sorry, you’re still negative for coronavirus, but you actually placed thirteenth in the ranking so you need to leave now.

But then, she got an email. A wonderful, glorious email.

Congratulations, Mika! You are a final contestant on The Great British Bake Off!

She wasn’t quite sure what it said after that - something about logistics and contacts and services and what not - all she knew was that she had to get to work. Now.

The next few days were a flurry of flour and frantic phone calls and internet searches, and as slow as the quarantine period had been, those few days flew by fast. She began to see inklings of other people then; one man got up and went for a run about the time she was sipping on her first cup of coffee. The woman next door practiced yoga on the balcony. At one point, a distinct burning smell emanated from the floors below her. They were all here, and all ready to bake.

She chose her outfit carefully. She needed to feel confident, but also comfortable. So she slid on jeans and boots, and eventually decided on a printed top her sister had given her, hoping it would remind her to just have fun. After all, Nicoletta was the one who signed her up for this in the first place, and was also the inspiration for her first Signature Challenge.

Interviews were first. It was chilly outside, and just a little breezy, so she slid on a leather jacket. Her mother would hate that she wore it, but it was her favorite, and made her feel much cooler and more hard core than she actually was. Down the lawn, Morning Jogger was also in his interview. He looked rather calm and collected, with his flannel and man bun and hand tucked into his pocket. Lucky duck. She turned her attention back in front of her. The interviewer asked a few introductory questions to get her acclimated to the camera in her face; it helped if she just talked to him, rather than to the lens. He assured her that was just fine.

“So, how are you feeling about starting the Bake Off?” he asked, finally getting into the nitty-gritty.

“Terrified.” she said immediately, giggling nervously after that. God, she hoped she came across as endearing rather than annoying. That road was a dangerous one to go down, so she took a sharp left. “But I’m so excited to finally get in there and see if I’m any good, or if my friends and family have been lying this whole time.”

That would be the nugget they used for her introduction. As expected, her mother wouldn’t care for it. But her sister thought she was cute and that her hair looked extra glossy, which was always a plus.

She finally got to go into the tent, glad she’d chosen to wear sturdy shoes instead of heels because her legs felt like they were made of jelly. And not even the good jelly like she made - the jelly her friend Elena made, which usually ended up being more of a soak for toast. Morning Jogger was also there, stationed at the back right bench, tapping the fingers of his right hand against the butcher block surface.

His left arm, however, was suspiciously missing.

Mika caught herself staring, her eyes flicking up to his before dropping with her chagrin. Get a grip, girl. It’s not like he was the first amputee she’d ever seen! Just the first on the Bake Off. She kept her eyes down as she went to her bench, which of course was right next to his. Dammit.

“Back of the class kids, huh?” he said. When she gave him a hesitant smile, he added, “It’s okay, I know it’s a shock.” His voice was quiet, but somehow still confident. She instantly knew that he was way tougher than she would ever be.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stare.” she said, looking at him again and owning up to her mistake. He shrugged.

“It happens.” he said. He didn’t sound sad, or angry. It was just matter-of-fact.

“I’m Mika,” she said, changing the topic. “What’s your name?”

“Technically, James Barnes.” he said, then added, “But my friends call me Bucky.”

“Are we friends, James Bucky Barnes?” she asked with a perked eyebrow, amazed that she was able to flirt with someone at a time like this. Arm or no arm, he was very handsome. He smirked, apparently happy with her response.

“Perhaps not yet.” he said. “I guess we’re enemies for now.”

“Then are you ready to battle?” she said, trying to be extra dramatic in an effort to make his smile bigger. It worked.

“I think I’m ready, but I feel like I’m forgetting something.” he said, glancing down at the place where he used to have another hand. She snorted in laughter once before covering her mouth with her hand.

“I feel like I’m not supposed to laugh at that.” she said, her voice muffled.

“Please laugh, otherwise I’ll be too embarrassed to bake.” he said, his expression making her give in to the humor. Nerves also helped that, but she would never admit it. He gave her a conspiratory smile that she returned; now she understood how the contestants all seemed like allies.

The other contestants trickled in, and Mika felt a weird sense of protectiveness every time people spotted his arm, or lack thereof. He took it all in stride; she wondered how many times a day he got looks like that. Of course, she didn’t have time to ask, because before she knew it, the judges and hosts stood in a line at the front of the tent, welcoming them all to the competition. She hadn’t realized that there would be a new host this year, and she was grateful that the hosts managed to break some of the tension in the room. Then, it was time for their first challenge.

Battenberg cakes.

Mika was not ashamed to admit that she had to Google what a Battenberg cake was. At first glance, it didn’t seem that difficult, but then she remembered that she was baking for two of the most respected chefs in the UK, and that she had literally no margin for error. That made it a little more difficult.

They told her to bake, so she baked. She started whipping her butter and sugars, then added her eggs and flour and flavorings. She could see the judges and hosts making their way down the line, talking to the contestants and asking about their bakes. She tried to stay calm and collected, like Bucky next to her. His easy tone when talking to them helped to soothe her, especially when they brought up his obvious disability. There was no way their conversations would be the same, so she didn’t have to worry about comparisons.

“Hello there, Mika.” the female judge said with a grin. Mika gave the best smile she could manage, reminding herself to stay calm and somewhat focused.

“Alo, how are you?” she said. Her accent was extra thick with her nerves. Dammit.

“What have you got for us today?” the male judge asked after exchanging pleasantries. She took a deep breath, willing herself not to stumble over her words. She glanced over to Bucky, who gave her an encouraging smile.

“Well, my sister has been my biggest champion, so this is for her.” she explained, dumping ground up freeze dried strawberries into half of her batter. “She loves strawberries and cream, so that’s what I’m making today.”

“Simple.” the male judge said, a little bit of surprise in his voice. Her stomach dropped to approximately her knees. It must have shown on her face, because the female judge patted her hand in a comforting manner.

“As long as it’s done perfectly, it doesn’t matter how simple it is.” she said, winking behind her thick, bright blue glasses. Mika managed a hesitant smile.

“Right. Just perfection.” she said nervously, making them laugh. They bid her good luck and moved on to the next bench, the taller of the two hosts putting an arm around her shoulders and leaving an encouraging word before moving on. Okay, so all she had to achieve was perfection. That was fine. She shut out all the other distractions, barely hearing the time calls as they came. She focused on getting her cake in the oven, getting her marzipan nice and pink marbled, and making her filling. The cakes looked good when she pulled them out of the oven, and thank God they were done. Everything seemed to be going to according to plan.

“Twenty minutes left!” one of the hosts called. Shit!

She quickly pulled her cakes from the tin; they were still warm, but they would have to do. She pulled her secret weapon - dental floss - out, and tried not to sweat as she cut the squares. She put them on the marzipan, put in her filling, and started the careful process of rolling it. When she managed to get the marzipan just right, she finally let out a sigh of relief. She glanced over at Bucky, curious as to how he was getting on. His movements were carefully coordinated and meticulous, and she noticed he used every square millimeter of his hand (and a little bit of his torso, which had a distinct line of flour and food coloring) to get things to move the way he wanted. Impressive. She turned back to her own work, whipping and piping some cream and artfully fanning out strawberries. With a minute to spare, she finished.

Now for the judging.

It was so stressful to watch the judges go from table to table, sampling the cakes and giving critique. Most of the contestants got glowing reviews, and only a couple had negative feedback. She held her breath when they got to her buddy in the back of the room, amazed that he could look so calm.

“Rosemary and lemon,” the male judge announced, nodding towards the cake. It was covered in a simple yellow marzipan, a few rosemary sprigs tied with a gold ribbon and placed on top.

“An unusual flavor combination for a cake.” the female judge added, watching as the first judge cut a large square from the cake. The colors were a distinct white and yellow checkerboard, which was one of the requirements. Bucky shrugged.

“I wanted to try something different.” he said.

“Bit simplistic on the decoration.” the female judge said, pushing the rosemary sprigs. Mika had thought it looked elegant, but she supposed that’s why she wasn’t one of the judges.

“Decoration isn’t my strong suit.” he said, his grin widening at the vague look of discomfort they gave him. “I’m not particularly artistic. All left brain, I’m afraid.” That seemed to assuage their fears a bit, and they turned to the plates in front of them while Mika tried not to giggle at his jokes. They took a bite from the cake, both of their eyebrows raising as the flavors hit them.

“Wow. That is...surprising.” the female judge said. The male judge nodded. “The texture is just a touch tough, but for me the flavor makes it worth it.”

“Rosemary is very floral and usually does well with more savory applications, but it works really well with the lemon here. Well done.” the male judge added. They bid farewells, and Mika was so distracted by Bucky actually displaying an emotion (relief) that she forgot for a moment that they were coming for her.

“Alright, Mika, your turn.” the female judge said. She had a very kind smile, despite her position.

“Remind us what we have here.” the male judge said. His gaze was very intense, and much more intimidating that when they spoke earlier. She cleared her throat, holding her hands together so they couldn’t see them shaking.

“Strawberries and cream, for my sister.” she said, keeping her answer short in case her English failed her. The female judge gestured to the bushels of strawberries and whipped cream all over the cake.

“This is a bit much.” she said. “I would have done the marbled marzipan or the strawberries, but to have both is a little...over the top.”

Mika’s stomach turned to stone. Now that she looked at it, it did seem a bit garish. She forced a smile and nodded. “Okay, yes, I see that now.”

“I like it. I enjoy extra snacks with my cake.” the host said, reaching out and pulling one of the strawberries off, making sure to take a large dollop of whipped cream with it before popping the whole thing - green and all - into his mouth. She was grateful for the humor, and for the bit of validation.

“Right. Let’s get to the cake then.” the male judge said, cutting a slice. Thank goodness the pink and white squares were perfect and distinct. First box ticked. She held her breath as they ate it, her vision starting to swim slightly when they finally looked at her.

“That is beautifully soft.” the female judge said, adding, “and the flavors aren’t overdone at all.”

“It’s very difficult to add freeze dried strawberries to a recipe and avoid a granulated texture in it.” the male judge said. “But you’ve managed to pull it off. I like this a lot.”

“I think I’ll have another bit before we go.” the female judge said, taking another forkful. Mika visibly sank in relief, her smile genuine this time.

“Thank you, thank you so much.” she said, slouching as soon as their backs turned. She glanced over at Bucky, who gave her a thumbs up. The gesture made her cheeks warm, and she returned the gesture before settling back on to the stool. Once everyone was judged, they were instructed to take a two hour break. Mika couldn’t help but hop over to the bench next to hers, a slice of cake on a plate.

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” she said with a grin, making Bucky choke on a laugh. He cut her a slice as well, handing it over.

“I actually don’t really care for sweets. But I do want to hear what you think of this.” he said with a self deprecating smile. Her eyebrows shot up.

“Don’t care for sweets? How did you make it then?” she asked, taking a large bite of his cake. Dammit, it was really good.

“I have a few reliable critics. What do you think of the cake?”

“It’s terrible. You should drop out.” she said, mouth full of another bite. “I’m definitely not terrified of you.”

He laughed again, and Mika thought that he had a very nice smile. She would have commented on it, but figured that would probably be weird after meeting just a couple hours before. So she just let herself be ushered out of the tent and into an open area, with lunch plates all waiting for them.

All of them were carefully spaced around an empty fire pit. Some of the other contestants had grouped up a little, but Bucky was sitting on his own, his plate carefully positioned on his lap and a book perched precariously on his knee. Mika chose the seat next to him, giving him a warm smile when he looked up before turning to her own lunch. She was sure the other contestants were nice, but she was drained after the morning, and the thought of having to smile and socialize was not particularly enticing. She pulled out her phone, scrolling through recent news and reading the articles that interested her. Bucky continued with his book, though she realized it had been a long moment since he’d turned a page. She glanced over to catch him looking at her, his eyes dropping quickly once she caught him. She couldn’t help but grin...and also make sure that there was nothing on her face.

All too soon, they returned to the tent for the technical challenge. This was what Mika was most excited about; she could follow vague directions (one of the few helpful skills her mother developed), and had decently good instincts. Usually. The judges and hosts lined up, and when she looked over at Bucky before they spoke, she made sure to throw another smile his way. He grinned back, which was a better confidence boost than the well wishes from the judges and hosts.

Pineapple upside down cake? She’d seen it once, on an episode long ago. She remember thinking it sounded delicious - and then promptly forgot everything about it. She could figure it out, right?...Right? She glanced to Bucky out of the corner of her eye, and the man was still grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Dammit, that was the look of someone who’d made this before.

Whatever. She was smart! She had a degree! And she watched a lot of television! She could do this!

She started on the sponge, the easy part. It was the caramel she was worried about. The cameras stopped on her, the interviewer asking, “Are you familiar with this technical challenge?”

“I’ve heard of it, yes.” she said, giving them a nervous grin. It was still awkward to talk to the camera, so she instead focused on the man asking the question. “Have I made it? No. Have I eaten it? Also no. But it sounds good.”

They gave her sympathetic smiles, moving on to talk to Bucky. She let out a breath of relief, knowing that now she could focus on the caramel. All she had to do was watch it. And pull it off at the right moment. And not let it crystalize.

Which is exactly what it did.

“Fuck a duck.” she muttered in Romanian, glad that she both hid in her native language and that the cameras were far away.

“Watch your tongue.” Bucky said, also in perfect Romanian. She nearly dropped the pan of crystalized caramel, looking at him in shock. The cameramen noticed the movement, and carefully slid back to them.

“You speak Romanian?” she asked, shock evident in her face.

“Yes, I do.” he replied, and just hearing the language helped calm her in a weird way. The piece of home was exactly what she needed. He nodded toward her bench. “Fix your caramel.”

“Dammit!” Mika said, back in English now. She weighed out the sugar and water, putting it back on the stove. The cameras were still there, and the interviewer asked,

“What was that about?”

“He speaks Romanian! It’s very exciting.” she said, this time giving them a genuine smile. They quickly panned over to Bucky.

“How do you know Romanian?” they asked. He had a long knife in his hand, carefully resting the pineapple on the bench and managing to slowly, but expertly, cut it.

“I’ve done a lot of traveling. I actually speak eight languages.” he replied casually. “Well, conversationally at least.” he added. He flipped the knife, laying it aside a safe distance away from them. The camera man gulped, and decided not to ask any more questions. Mika, realizing she should probably get back to her bake and not worry about Bucky’s life story, quickly turned to find, thank God, her caramel looked good. Pale, maybe, but good. It would darken in the oven for sure.

She carefully placed the pineapple and the cherry in the bottom of the greased tins, using a spoon to add in the still hot caramel. She had a fair bit left over, but she didn’t want to risk drowning the cake. So, she followed her gut and ladled in the sponge mix, putting them in the oven before she could think too much about it. Bucky, of course, was already pulling his out. Damn him.

“Thirty minutes remain!” one of the hosts called, balancing a rolling pin on his head. She appreciated the humor, she really did, but she was very stressed right now and seeing a rolling pin in such a precarious position was not exactly helpful. She checked her oven; the cakes were probably halfway finished. There was no way they would be cool in time for her to put the cream...but she’d have to try.

The last few minutes the cakes were in the oven, she whipped up the cream. If she was honest, she nearly overwhipped it into butter, but caught it just in time. As soon as the timer went off she got the tray from the oven, nearly sliding the tins off the edge. She gasped, nearly choking on her heart in her throat as she caught it just in time, placing the tray on the counter before putting her hand over her heart.

“Slow down, Mika.” she said to herself, shaking her head for a second. Of course the cameras caught the moment - she could feel them pointed towards her - but she refused to look up at them. Her stress was through the roof, and if she was honest, she was trying very hard not to cry.

She started fanning the little tins, trying to get them to cool down enough to remove the cakes. “Fifteen minutes!” the host called, and she actually, verbally eeked and grabbed the closest cake. The cup was still ferociously hot, but she didn’t have time to think about burning off her fingerprints. Instead, she focused on getting the cakes out and onto the platter. The caramel didn’t darken like she hoped, but she didn’t have time to care. She was back to furiously fanning, trying to get it cool enough for the cream. She made the mistake of glancing over to Bucky - he was already putting little rosettes of cream on his, cool as a cucumber. Dammit!

“One minute left!” the host called. It was the moment of truth. She prayed her cream wouldn’t melt, swiftly piping it onto the little cakes. They smelled delicious for sure...would they be allowed to try one afterwards?

“Time’s up!” the call felt like a knife through her gut. They all had cream on them, but it was very hasty work, and definitely not her best. She let out a frustrated sigh, the little hairs that escaped her braid floating around her face. There was nothing she could do now, except wait to get judged. This time, the judges would not know who made which one...which could make their feedback all the more honest.

“Well, well,” the male judge said, clapping his hands together. His eyes ran over the plates in front of him, his face already giving away his feelings. The female judge’s eyebrows rose over her thick glasses, as if she were surprised. Whether it was a good or bad surprise remained to be seen. “Right. Let’s get started.”

Mika watched in abject horror as they ripped apart every plate in front of them. The good ones were good, and the bad ones - luckily hers didn’t quite fit in there - were, well, bad. Bucky, of course, got glowing reviews. When they stopped at Mika’s, she held her breath.

“Caramel is too light.” the female judge said, poking at it with her fork. The male judge cut it in half, and even from a few feet away Mika could see that the cake was held together only by her dreams.

“It’s baked. Barely.” he said shortly, chuckling to himself. They took a bite, mulling it over for a moment until he added, “Not bad. If the caramel was a little more done on the stove and the cakes in the oven a couple more minutes, it would have been pretty good.”

Not bad. She could work with “not bad”. Hopefully.

Out of the twelve bakers, she ended up placing seventh. Almost top half! Though she would have much preferred to place first (which was where Bucky placed), she really deserved to be much lower than her rank. At that point she seemed to be sitting in the middle of the pack, which was just as well with her. She just needed to get past the nerves of this first week. As long as she wasn’t the first one to go, she could do better. At least, she hoped so. Really, her goal was to make it to bread week. If she made it there, she would consider this adventure a success, and could go home happy.

The dismissal was such a relief that she forgot about the Showstopper challenge the following day. The bakers gathered their things, returning to the big house and heading for their apartments. Mika looked forward to a shower, some comfier pants, and one single stiff drink. She hanged back a little, waiting for Bucky to catch up to her.

“Do you know where they keep the key to the liquor cabinet?” she asked, making him raise his brows.

“No, but I can pick a lock pretty well. And if that doesn’t work, I do have some whiskey in my rooms.” he said. He stepped back slightly, holding his hand out in a placating gesture. “Not that I - I mean, we can meet at a neutral place to share a glass, if you would like.”

Mika, not expecting him to get flustered that easily, busted out laughing. “You can relax. A drink would be nice, then maybe I can sleep a little before tomorrow.”

“I’ve got just the thing for that.” he said with a grin. He nodded towards the fire pit, where a groundskeeper was building a fire. “There, after supper?”

“Sounds good.” she said. A friend! She had an ally! She smiled, going to her rooms and rinsing off the day, cooking up a good enough microwave meal to keep her from dying and making sure any last minute preparations she needed for tomorrow were finished. Once she felt she’d waited an appropriate amount of time, she pulled on a jacket and went back downstairs.

Bucky was already waiting at the fire pit, as were a couple other bakers. They were busy talking about the next day, and gave her a warm welcome when she arrived. Bucky looked up from his book, trying to hide his relief that she actually came to this little meet up. When she sat down in the chair next to him, he reached down and got a glass, handing it to her. He then retrieved his own glass and set it on the arm of the chair before getting the all important bottle of whiskey. She thought to offer to open it, but he wedged it between his legs and removed the cap with practiced ease. Clearly his injury was not new.

“Four years ago. War accident.” he said in Romanian, answering her unspoken question. Her eyebrows shot up and her cheeks warmed in a way that had nothing to do with the fire, but he didn’t seem to be bothered. He just reached out, filling the glass that she dumbly held out.

“I’m sorry.” she said, not knowing what else to say. He shrugged, filling his own glass before recapping the drink and setting the bottle down.

“It’s fine. I’ve adapted.” he said, taking a sip. She did as well, if only to have something to do with her hands. “I’ve also learned over the years to just address it, rather than wait for people to be brave enough to ask.”

“Do a lot of people get brave enough to ask?” she said, genuinely surprised. Thanks to his easy going demeanor, she was able to relax into the conversation as well.

“Nope. But I do play this fun game with myself where I count how many times they glance at my shoulder during a conversation.” he said. With that admission, she had a strong desire to glance down at said shoulder, but stifled it. Luckily, the way his blue eyes danced in the firelight was distracting enough.

“Who’s the highest scorer?”

“The guy at the local coffee place. Every time he looks up from the order it’s not at my face. It’s pretty impressive.” he said. “Kids are the best though. They notice and just screech about it.”

“Oh no!”

“Oh, yes. The parents are...” he paused, swishing his glass around and taking another sip for dramatic effect. “...so embarrassed.”

The whiskey, while not making her tipsy yet, certainly made her feel a little warmer inside, and she couldn’t help but giggle. “You’re terrible.”

“I’m short a limb, I have to have fun with it otherwise I’ll lose my mind.” he said, smiling even though his statement was completely true.

“Well clearly you’ve got a handle on it, so I think you’ll be okay.” she said, gesturing to the tent. A second later, she realized that he might think her choice of words intentional, and her own hand flew to cover her mouth. “I didn’t - that wasn’t -”

Thank goodness Bucky thought her reaction was funny. “Don’t worry about it. It happens so much more often than you would think.” he said. He settled back into the chair, and decided to change the topic before they got too in depth about his lack of an arm. “So what made you apply for this?”

“My sister. She actually sent the preliminary stuff in for me - without telling me.” she replied. After a few years living in the UK, it was nice to talk to someone besides her mother in her native language. “You?”

“Best friend. He did the same thing.” he said. Mika scoffed appreciatively.

“They’re made for each other, the meddling assholes.” she said, making him laugh again.

“You said it, not me.”

“I guess I shouldn’t assume your friend is an asshole.”

“Oh no, it’s completely fair to assume he’s an asshole.”

“Then what does that say about us?”

Bucky paused at her question, then shook his head. “Dammit. I guess we’re assholes too.”

His tone was so dry that Mika couldn’t help but bust out laughing. Of course, the whiskey also helped with that. She was a little over halfway through her glass - not enough to be tipsy, but still feeling it - and knew that she would have to stop after the one. Bucky was almost finished with his, but he held on to the last few drops, if only for an excuse to stay and talk with her.

“But we’re assholes who can bake.” Mika said, toasting him with her glass. He tapped his near-empty glass against hers, taking just the smallest sip so he still had some left.

“Allegedly. We may find out tomorrow that we can’t.”

“You’ve already beaten me in both challenges. How in the hell did you make such good pineapple upside down cake?” she asked, putting just the right amount of incredulity in her tone so he would think she was kidding.

“I dated a girl from the South once, in America. You’d be surprised the crazy things they can cook up.” he said. Mika leaned onto the arm of her chair, resting her chin on her hand.

“Oh, that sounds like a story.” she probed. He shook his head.

“Nah, we had a good run and then it ended amicably. We were just in different places in life.” he said. “But way to pry about my love life on the first day.”

“It’s a gift, what can I say.” she replied, though she could feel her chagrin creeping up the back of her neck.

“So how did your last relationship end?” he countered, noticing too late that he’d accidentally finished his drink. But that didn’t mean he had to leave. Mika let out a bark of a laugh, followed by taking a gulp of her drink.

“Terribly.” she admitted. His face dropped, and then it was his turn to be embarrassed.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t-”

“Don’t apologize, it’s all good now.” she said, just a touch too easily. “Cheating bastard is off in...Greece I think now, after being dumped by the other woman. And I’m participating in the biggest baking competition in the world, so I think I’m winning the break up.”

“That you are.” Bucky agreed. He eyed his own empty glass, as well as Mika’s. Were this any other time, he would offer another one. As if Mika read his mind, she gave her empty glass back to him.

“Speaking of which, we should probably sleep well before said competition, right?” she said. She didn’t want to go inside. She wanted to stay out here and chat with her back row buddy. But they did technically have a competition to worry about.

“It’s not a bad idea.” he agreed, taking the glass from her. He made sure the cap was tight on the bottle before pressing it and his book under his arm, holding the two glasses in one hand. Mika thought she should offer to help, but again he did everything with such ease that she figured he would not see the offer as help, but pity. And perhaps, at this point, it was.

“Not my worst by far.” she said, standing up with him. They bid goodnight to the other bakers still out there, then went back inside, splitting off to their separate rooms. Now that she was alone, all she could think about was the next day. She should have just stayed out there, she probably would have been better rested than the meager sleep she got that night.

The Showstopper challenge was the hardest thing she’d ever done. Art was not her strong suit, so creating a bust of her favorite celebrity hero was something of a nightmare. The preparation required many trials, many failures, and many crying FaceTime calls to her actual artist sister, asking for help.

But now she was in the tent, with no access to her cell phone and halfway through a challenge that might be her undoing. She’d claimed that she was making the likeness of Lady Gaga, and she’d chosen her both for the wonderful message she sang and for the good she was trying to do in the world. And also because the woman loved to dress differently and abstractly, which would maybe give her a bit of artistic license. Maybe. Hopefully.

The cake part was easy enough. It was her favorite chocolate mocha cake recipe, with mint buttercream frosting. It was something she’d made a hundred times before, and since it went smoothly, it lulled her into a false sense of security. But now it was the time to decorate, which was no doubt the very worst part of all of this. She didn’t know how anyone else in the tent was doing; at this point, she was doing her best not to break down and cry.

“How’s it going?” one of the hosts said, coming over and putting an arm around her shoulders.

“Well, it could be worse,” she said, her voice wavering and her accent thick. “But it also could be a lot better.”

“Mix the optimism with the reality, I dig it.” he said. “So far, it does look like...a human.”

“That’s a good start.” she agreed, laughing slightly.

“Which human is it supposed to be?” he asked lightly.

“Lady Gaga?”

“Ah yes, I totally see it.”

“No you don’t.”

“Well it doesn’t matter if I see it.”

“But if you can’t see it, how will the judges see it?”

“Stop being smarter than me and work on your cake.” he said. They stared at each other for a second before she gave in and giggled, shaking her head.

“I’ll do my best.”

“That’s the spirit.” he said, giving her a brotherly punch on the shoulder before wandering off. Okay, maybe she could do this.

“Half an hour left!”

There was no way she could do this.

But she was sure as hell gonna try.

She tried to remember everything her sister told her, and while she could definitely see the difference between what she was making and what it looked like in her mind’s eye, it was kind of, almost, slightly reminiscent of the pop star. When they called the time, she wasn’t completely happy with her cake, but she had to admit it went better than she thought it would. Of course, all that optimism went right out the window when she was called to bring her cake up to the judges. The silence as they took it all in threatened to smother her, and she took a deep breath to try and hold herself together.

“Well, I can see the Lady Gaga.” the female judge said, though she didn’t quite sound like she believed the statement.

“Or someone like it.” the male judge had to say, taking what little was left of Mika’s confidence and throwing it right out the window.

“She’s very eclectic, so I tried to emulate that.” she said, gesturing with her hands until she realized they were shaking, then clasping them in front of her so they wouldn’t notice. They laughed appreciatively, admitting that she wasn’t wrong. “I promise it tastes infinitely better than it looks.”

“Infinitely, eh?” the male judge said, piercing her with her eyes before piercing her cake with a knife. “And this is mint chocolate mocha, correct?”

“Yes.” she said, taking in another sharp breath before she passed out. It seemed to take them a thousand years to eat it, both of them raising their eyebrows in surprise.

“I expected it to taste like coffee and toothpaste, but it’s very pleasant.” the female judge said, taking another bite for good measure. The male judge nodded in agreement.

“It’s not something I would normally expect in a cake, but you’ve managed to pull it off spectacularly. The cake is tender, and the buttercream isn’t overly flavored. Very well done.”

“Thank you, thank you so much.” she said, honestly lightheaded after the whole thing. She collected her cake, going back to the back of the room. Only then did she look up at Bucky, who gave her an encouraging smile and nodded towards her cake. She sent back an exaggerated relieved face, though she still wasn’t sure if she would make it past the first week.

Bucky was next, and though she didn’t know the person he’d chosen, she had to admit that his artistry was much better than hers. She supposed she should feel bad that he had clearly beat her in that category, but after their moment of friendship the night before, she found herself rooting for him.

“This is impressive.” the male judge said, with an unspoken even despite your disability. She was glad they left that bit off.

“Thank you.” Bucky said softly. He still exuded his quiet confidence, but she could see his thumb picking at a thread on his shirt.

“And this is fondant?” the female judge asked.

“Marshmallow fondant. It’s a little more forgiving.” he said with a wry grin. They seemed to appreciate the joke, but not for long before cutting into the cake. It was a spice cake, he said. With cream cheese frosting. Since he didn’t care for sweets, Mika wasn’t surprised that he went for something like that. She also really wanted to try it whenever they got finished.

“Hm. I’m getting too much of...something.” the male judge said.

“Allspice.” the female judge agreed. Bucky’s shoulders dropped the tiniest bit, though his face hid any emotions.

“The texture though is spot on, and the icing goes very well with it. Decoration was great. Just watch your spices.” the male judge said. Bucky nodded, picking up his sculpture and bringing it to the back of the room.

“You’re fine.” she whispered, waving him off like of course he was. Then again, they liked his signature and he won the technical, so he really was fine. He gave her a twitch of a smile, settling back onto his stool to watch the rest of the judgements. They thought they might chill out when the judges went off to deliberate, but everyone just seemed more tense.

“Relax.” Bucky muttered, watching Mika pace up and down the back of the tent.

“Relax? How can I relax?” she asked. “My cake was decent, but I can’t decorate for shit and my technical was terrible!”

“You’re fine.” Bucky reiterated. “I’m not losing my back of the room buddy. I paid them off to pass you through.”

“Asshole.” she said, making him laugh. She paused. “Did you really?”

“I can’t afford that, I’m sorry.” he said, making her groan.

“I’m gone. I know it.” she said. She wanted to think that she was the middle of the pack, that she could make it, but she was also deathly afraid that she missed something.

“Well, let’s find out.” he surprised her, drawing her attention to where the producers were lining up their stools. Mika gulped audibly, following Bucky on numb legs and sitting down. She crossed her legs, pressing her hands in between them to hold them still. Next to her, Bucky positioned his leg so his knee was gently touching her thigh - a bit of comfort as they awaited judgement.

In the end, she was neither Star Baker, nor sent home. Relief immediately washed over her, her shoulders sagging as exhaustion from the past two days piled onto her. “Holy fuck.” she muttered, covering her face with her hands.

“And we’ve got to do it again next week.” Bucky said. She dropped her hands, looking him dead in the eye.

“What in the hell have we gotten ourselves into?”

#gbbo au #week one #cake week

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sunsetcurve · 4 years

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THE POST FINALE HENRY DANGER OPINIONS TAG:

thank you for the tag @chenryhart , @ginger--binger , and @henryhearts ! (i used eliza’s version because it had more questions lol)

Who was your overall favourite member of Team Danger and why? i will never be able to decide between charlotte and henry (it’s called being bisexual). i relate to charlotte a lot, and she’s a role model for me; she’s smart, she’s bold, she knows what she wants and i really love her for it. henry, on the other hand—there are moments when i’ve disliked him but i’ve watched him grow up, i’ve watched him be a hero for so long and i do still admire him a lot. he’s brave and loyal and he cares so much about people, like i’ll honestly just be soft for him forever.

Who was your favourite non-team danger character and why? gonna have to go with bose and mika (who count, right?) because they’re both so pure and enthusiastic and i can’t wait to see more of them

Who was your favourite villain and why? definitely twitler. i think he was the only villain that had actual motivation, and he was definitely the least cringey of all of them. he set up high stakes and challenged team danger a lot.

What were your top five favourite Henry Danger episodes of all time and why? ooh, good one. okay i think the finale is my all-time favorite. it just really was the culmination of the core of this show and there were so many amazing moments between all the characters. the actors and writers delivered so hard. second would have to be back to the danger because that episode was solid start to finish. i love the high-stakes episodes, and the time travel was a really cool aspect. third would probably be the three-parter, because again, i love the high stakes episodes, and that one really brought it. fourth would be broken armed and dangerous because it was completely hilarious. and fifth would probably have to be either double o danger, because i loved getting to see them all dressed up and undercover and joss moss was awesome, or i dream of danger because it was charlotte centric and also chenry. honorable mention to danger games entirely because of that scene where all four game shakers fall in love with henry at once.

What were your top five least favourite Henry Danger episodes of all time and why? not a fan of henry’s birthday because i can’t watch it without getting incredibly pissed; like it’s a well-made episode i just get really upset while watching it. i hated man of the house because the whole ray trying to get with henry’s mom made me suuuper uncomfortable. i did not like one henry three girls because the cheating plot was not it for me, or sick and wired for the same reason as henry’s birthday, and also because that was definitely the episode where dad!ray started to disappear. and captain mom because...nope.

What was your favourite running gag and why? oh god i have so many that i made a full post about this. the hmm thing was awesome, especially the fact that they acknowledged it. i also love the “piper has a license—established” joke

What was your favourite one-off throw away gag and why? gonna steal @henryhearts answer here and say the cat universe that respected charlotte; also bringing back the bro song from the musical that one time.

What episode, which character and which duo made you laugh the most? episode would definitely be broken armed and dangerous. laugh after laugh. the arm fashion show? the part where henry’s like “i’m plum-tuckered!”? the sign language interpreter? peak. character would be henry because i LOVE the way he reacts to stuff, like when he does his little *hand clasp* “there is something wrong with you” or like “dude, dude, dude, dude, dude—”. duo would probably be ray and henry because bose was right, their banter is hilarious.

What episode, which character and which duo made you the most emotional? episode would be the finale, and i feel like i don’t have to explain myself there. character would also be henry, like, the whole “i was thirteen!” thing and the fact that he’s given so much to this makes me want to cry sometimes. duo would be chenry because they’ve been together since the beginning and i have way too many feelings about them.

How would you rank each season from 1 to 5, one being the best and five being the worst? this is difficult, because i think season 5 is my favorite overall because of it had so many solid episodes and high stakes and good plots, but there were also sooo many things i didn’t like. still! i think it takes the top spot. after that would be season 2, just because it was really fun and fresh and in that stage where they’d started to figure things out as a show but weren’t getting cocky just yet. then probably season 3, then 1, then 4, because that season didn’t really have anything that stood out to me besides back to the danger.

Who was your favourite duo in the show (romantic or non-romantic)? chenry, but hensper and chasper were both very close seconds

What was your favourite Henry and Ray moment/episode? blimp scene and i don’t think it’s necessary for me to elaborate

What was your favourite Chenry moment/episode? toss up between the lion scene in idod and the time jerker because of “this is for you, char” and the hug at the end

What was your favourite Hensper moment/episode? when jasper found out oh my god. that was SO good. also love muffin and “as henry’s best friend...and soulmate”

What was your favourite Chensper moment/episode? oh god The Scene in the finale when henry is telling char to get out of there and she’s not leaving him and jasper has to carry her out and it just shows how much they all care for each other. and the fact that they all went to dystopia together!

If you could go back and change one element of the show, what would it be? RESPECT. CHARLOTTE. PERIOD. (i would change a lot of ray’s character as a whole, especially season 4/5 tbh)

If you could say one thing to each main character in the pilot, what would it be? i would tell the trio to stick together, appreciate each other, and don’t forget to be kids. i would tell ray not to bring a 13 year old kid who doesn’t have powers into this.

If you could say one thing to each main character in the finale, what would it be? i’m proud of you

Were you satisfied with the finale? What part was your favourite and what part was your least favourite? yes. i think overall there are always going to be things they could have handled better. but i’m happy with the way it ended. i think it’s fitting and wonderful and i felt good. favorite part would be the entire part in the finale with henry arguing with ray about who’s going to go down and later with char and jasper for them to leave. partially because i’m a glutton for angst, but also because the actors put so much into it and it was a real display of emotion and feels, and it showed henry’s selflessness and heroic nature so plainly. least favorite was the fact that char never got an apology from ray.

What would your ideal Henry danger spin off look like? dystopia!!!!!!!! the trio fighting crime in dystopia but it’s pg-13 and also they’re falling in love. also they sometimes come back to visit ray and mentor the danger force kids.

Where do you personally see the characters 10 years from now? What are they doing, who are they with, where are they in their lives - what do you think happened to them? Most importantly, are they happy? i think the trio is going to be living and fighting crime together for a while. char runs a charity on the side, jasper does photography, and henry is a botanist. but they’re first and foremost a team. piper runs a media company and ray and schwoz are being parents to the DF kids. they all still have thanksgivings together and yes, they’re all very happy.

What was your favourite part of the show and why did it initially draw you in? so i watched the thundermans right before this, and the whole reason i got into it was because i love anything superhero related but i wanted something lighthearted instead of my usual gritty dctv shows. i stayed for the humor and because the kids were cute, and yeah i did develop a crush on henry as the seasons went on. sue me.

What was your favourite part of the fandom and why did it initially draw you in? the people are so! freaking! supportive! i made some really amazing friends through this fandom, and everyone is sooo talented and kind and just unproblematic as hell. i love it.

Describe your overall emotions/feelings regarding the show being over and the show in general, looking back on it as a whole, with one quote from the show. the iconic “feels good”

If you were able to add one scene in the finale, what would you add? charlotte getting a goddamn apology and some recognition. also i would’ve liked to see the in-between of the blimp crash and the funeral, aka henry reuniting with ray, jasper, and char after they all thought he was dead

Favorite outfit/hair style? i LOVED the trio’s looks in the epilogue. char’s outfits every single episode? their looks in double o danger. piper and henry’s sister twister outfits were also very cute. for each character: i like char’s braids, henry with the curly hair he had in the finale, jasper in a crop top, ray’s bangs and blazer, and that one time schwoz was in a leotard and tutu.

Least favorite character? mine would be jake hart, and i feel like that’s another one of those things that doesn’t need an explanation

one twist: add one question at the end for the next person to answer! tag at least two people so this spreads around!

i’m tagging @bitchmilsky @cactus-con @rorythevambire @bijerbear @mychenrymadness and anyone else who wants to do it!

#henry danger #hd spoilers #hd tag game #hd

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medea10 · 4 years

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My Review of To Heart

How did I get into this anime? I have been curious about this anime for a straight-up decade now and the randomizer decided to bless me with something not incest. Thank you Arceus!

Since she was young, Akari Kamigishi has been best friends with Hiroyuki Fujita. Because of kind acts he did for her as a child, Akari has stayed by Hiroyuki’s side. Now that they’re both in high school, something has changed in Akari and it feels more like she’s falling for her childhood friend. Will Akari find happiness with her best friend or will she end up friend-zoned?

And because this is a harem, there are quite a few girls hanging around Hiroyuki throughout the two seasons. Just to name a few, we have the brash friend, Shiho. Then there’s the tomboy type, Aoi. The very silent type, Serika! And then there’s the robotic maid, Multi. Yes, you read right. A robot! This is Japan after all! Oh yeah, there’s also the class rep, an actual American girl, and a quiet girl with supernatural powers.

Akari, girl, you need to step up your game if you’re up against all these chicks!

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: Before I discuss all that, let’s go down the ugly story about To Heart for fans in the U.S. The first season (and only the first season) was dubbed by RightStuf (at least I’m certain about that). Everything else wound up undubbed and even unlicensed. To Heart was kind of left in the dust due to what happened when the first season was supposed to release in the U.S. A lot of damaged material was the culprit and this came during the time when animation was transitioning from animating using cells to going digital. So to sum that up, the anime debuted in Japan around 1999, Rightstuf licensed To Heart in 2004 with a release in 2005, and the actual release was delayed to 2007. And in back-in-those-days times, that’s pretty fucking long. I can see why they didn’t want to bother with this series after it took all that trouble to remaster a series many were calling only “OKAY”.

Now then, on with the good stuff! I went in thinking that this was a Geneon reject, but was blown out of my ass to hear voices from New York! Lisa Ortiz, Jessica Calvello, Veronica Taylor, Wayne Grayson, and my personal favorite (not who you’re thinking), Carol Jacobanis! Yeah, surprisingly I didn’t hear Ted Lewis here. But Jacobanis is my second favorite in the NYAV group. I am in nostalgia heaven! Yes folks, these were the same people to give life to many characters from Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Berserk, His and Her Circumstances, Bakuman, Gravitation…OH, gambled and lost! Well, you get my meaning! Thankfully this dub wasn’t as horrific as Gravitation (despite Hiroyuki’s voice actor is well-known for something from that particular anime). Here’s what you might recognize these folks from!

JAPANESE CAST: *Akari is played by Ayako Kawasumi (known for Ursula on Pokemon DP, Saber on Fate/Zero, Izumi on Beyond the Boundary, Aoki on Bakuman, Laura on Index, Yoshida on Shakugan no Shana, and Nodame on Nodame Cantabile)

*Hiroyuki is played by Kazuya Ichijo (known for Hoteye on Fairy Tail and Zafila on Nanoha)

*Shiho is played by Chieko Higuchi (known for Tomo on Azumanga Daioh)

*Multi is played by Yui Horie (known for Hanekawa on Monogatari, Tohru on Fruits Basket, Hanyuu on Higurashi, Minorin on Toradora, Charla on Fairy Tail, Chie on Persona 4, Maria on Umineko, and Riki on Little Busters)

ENGLISH CAST: *Akari is played by Debora Rabbai (known for Mika from Gravitation, Rika on His and Her Circumstances, Leina on Queen’s Blade, and Boogiepop [original])

*Hiroyuki is played by Rich McNanna (known for Jack Walker on Pokemon Movie 9 and Shuuichi on Gravitation)

*Shiho is played by Jessica Calvello (known for Prima on Pokemon, Hange on Attack on Titan, Excel on Excel Saga, Kanako on Maria Holic, Tsukino on His and Her Circumstances, and Aika on Aria the Animation)

*Multi is played by Tara Sands (known for Richie on Pokemon, Soujirou on Rurouni Kenshin, Mokuba on YGO, Badiane on Sailor Moon SuperS movie, Tori on Pokemon Movie ~ Deoxys, and Filia on Slayers Try)

SHIPPING: So remind me what genre this anime is!

HAREM!

We’re watching a harem! But it’s more slice of life than anything romantic. There are a lot of love interests for Hiroyuki throughout the series. It’s just that it doesn’t develop as much as one might think (except for maybe Akari) in season one.

And it’s so easy to think that Hiroyuki is the object of every one of these ladies’ desire. Serika waits for him to come to the club room. Aoi finds him helpful, as does Tomoko and Lemmy. Multi got attached to Hiroyuki’s headpats. As for Akari, she’s got quite the teddy bear collection because of Hiroyuki. After watching all of season one where Hiroyuki is hanging with all of these ladies individually, I thought there would be a moment of jealousy from one or more of these girls. Much to my surprise, that was not the case. It didn’t go down any of those bad-end routes you’d see with things like Kanon, Clannad, or God-forbid, School Days!

But then season two happened…

Ooh boy! First of all, Hiroyuki ended up getting his first confession of love from the most unlikely person ever. Kotone wasn’t even a contender in the first season as she had other issues. In fact, didn’t she have feelings for Masashi in season one? But halfway in the season, she gets ballsy and confesses to Hiroyuki. He rejects her and thankfully it didn’t get ugly (except Akari heard it and got jealous). Lemmy, I also thought wasn’t in play, but here we are! She was apparently childhood friends with Hiroyuki and brought it up when confessing her feelings. That unfortunately came at a bad time as he’s in a quarrel with Akari so he dismisses her.

And then there’s Akari! She’s been able to put on a smile and kind of be a wall-flower whenever Hiroyuki is doing something with one of the other girls. And most of the season, we see him mostly with Aoi and Multi. Thankfully, Aoi never showed romantic interests in Hiroyuki. I much prefer Aoi x Kotone if you want to know the truth. But halfway into season two, jealousy came in like a drunkard in a bar. Akari was definitely pissed when she saw Kotone confess to Hiroyuki and would get jealous seeing Hiroyuki and Multi together so much.

Oh yeah, good old Multi! Yes Multi loves Hiroyuki. Now does Hiroyuki love Multi back? It’s complicated! Because of Multi, Hiroyuki ends up pursuing a career in robotics and as a result spends quite a bit of time with her (pissing Akari off in the process). But because Multi is kind of a malfunctioning robot, who the hell knows if she’ll even remember being with Hiroyuki.

Now are there other boys interested in any of these other girls? The only other boy that has any prominent screen time is Masashi. It’s just that after season one, he’s only seen every so often because he’s busy with soccer. But in season one, it almost felt like Kotone was admiring him from the distance. Don’t get excited because that was just a one-and-done sort of thing before Kotone set eyes on Hiroyuki. Actually, Masashi does reveal his fondness for Akari (at literally the worst possible time). But it seems like Masashi ends up with Shiho in the end. So…whatever!

Hiroyuki DOES end up with someone. Just go down to the end of season two to get that answer.

ENDING TO SEASON ONE: The last two episodes of this season consist around Shiho deciding that she wants to throw a Christmas party at an old hangout from her middle school days! But this isn’t the only nostalgic kick she feels. Shiho ends up remembering the first day she met Hiroyuki and after he took care of a wound she got, Shiho starts seeing Hiroyuki in a new light. Yeah, up until this point, Shiho and Hiroyuki’s relationship could be summed up by saying they both give each other shit every day. Then you have Akari, who is also feeling a little nostalgic with trying to see if Hiroyuki is able to remember things from their past. During the finale however, Akari does develop a cold and has to bail on the party planning.

When Shiho came to visit Akari, it kinda comes out that both girls do care for Hiroyuki. But because this isn’t one of those kinds of romance animes, it really doesn’t get ugly. It’s more of an “I acknowledge your feelings for the boy I like and good luck to you”. Shiho really didn’t do any confessing and we get a cute moment with Hiroyuki and Akari out in the snow.

Let’s see how Season Two holds up!

OMAKE: Nozomi Entertainment also released the six Omake specials that came with releases of the first season. Not dubbed! Just a couple of minute-long specials that range from cute to wildly absurd.

There were also Omake specials in season two that mostly consisted of all the girls fighting each other in almost a Street Fighter or Dragon Ball style.

REMEMBER MY MEMORIES: Five years after the first season aired, To Heart returns with a bit of a time-leap from where we left off last and some slightly improved(?) animation. And if you’re wondering why this season isn’t called “To Heart 2”, there is a series named that already. To Heart 2 is a spin-off of To Heart. It’s just that none of the characters from To Heart are in To Heart 2. ANYWAYS…

It has been a year or so from where we left off. Hiroyuki, Akari and the others are now in their senior year of high school and a lot has changed. Minor character, Kotone who mostly kept to herself in the first season, has found another role in hanging out with Aoi (the chick who’s into martial arts). Serika is still silent, but that blue hue to her hair is definitely not silent. What the hell is with this new animation? And finally, Multi apparently left a year ago and came back in the first episode of season two. Only now Multi has amnesia. A lot has changed since season one, especially when it comes to romance. Buckle up!

ENDING TO REMEMBER MY MEMORIES: Yeah, this season layed on the melodrama really thick compared to the previous season. All the ladies love Hiroyuki and at least half of them expressed those feelings to him. Akari had some conflicted feelings when it came to Hiroyuki. She loves him, but feels like he doesn’t return the feeling due to him hanging around a lot of other girls (especially Aoi and Multi).

Speaking of Multi, this girl has had such the rotunda of computer issues. My stroked-out Dell PC from 2005 had more working power than this girl! For starters, her memories are in danger of being wiped away at several points of the series. We even begin season two where Multi returns after over a year with full-blown amnesia. And since then, Multi had some sort of malfunction issue arise every other episode. This was showcased in the finale, where Multi gets so upset and runs away to the amusement park!

So, Hiroyuki and all of his friends come together to look for Multi. They thankfully found her at the amusement park (during closed hours) and broke into the main-frame to the Ferris wheel. And did I mention these people almost committed assault on police officers? Yeah, these kids are about to have a rap sheet the size of Texas by the end of the episode. Anyways, Hiroyuki, Akari, and Multi ride the ferris wheel and have a nice talk before Multi falls asleep for…

…Let’s say a long time…

Fast-forward to high school graduation! Hiroyuki and Akari seem to be doing a lot better. They’re both going to attend the same college and are pretty much on better terms than when Akari was having a jealousy, bitch-fit. At graduation, they both decided to give each other the Christmas gifts they never gave each other. Because Multi was having another malfunction, they never got to give the gifts. Hiroyuki got a hand-knit sweater. And Akari got a ring!

Hiroyuki wanted it and so he put a ring on it!

During the ED credits, we see the characters we’ve seen throughout these two seasons and what they ended up doing after high school. Lemmy is back in San Francisco. Aoi and Kotone are still doing the fighting matches. Rio is a primary school teacher. Serica is still into the occult. Tomoko is working for her father’s business. Masashi is becoming a big soccer star with Shiho working on journalism (and I think Shiho ends up romantically involved with Masashi).

And we close with Hiroyuki and Akari working with the HMX robots and surprise, surprise, Multi wakes up.

And before you ask, I did NOT watch To Heart 2. And I don’t intend to…at least not yet. I’m saving it for another day and putting it back on the randomizer list.

This anime was…just okay. Yeah, a lot of things were predictable, especially when it came to who the main male lead was going to end up with. Come on, we all know Akari was going to end up with Hiroyuki in the end. If this were the visual novel, I’m sure there were infinite numbers of routes Hiroyuki could take and there’d be a good end to all of the girls. But I’m mostly anime only here! In terms of recommendations, ehh…I feel like there were other better harems you could watch.

Only season one of To Heart got an official release in the U.S., but you might have to search around for any DVD copies as I’m pretty sure it’s currently out of print. Anything else from the series, you’ll have to do some heavy searching to watch all the way through.

Okay, next licensed limbo/unlicensed classics!

What’s that one play everyone and their mother has seen, but you haven’t?

*sighs* Hamilton.

No, the other one.

Les Miserable? Wait, this never got licensed?!

Okay! I guess I’m watching that. I hope I can do well at this review considering I never watched the play, read the book, or watched that film where Russell Crowe can’t sing.

#anime review #to heart #to heart remember my memories #hiroyuki fujita #akari kamagishi #shiho nagaoka #hmx-12 multi #kotone himekawa

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nancydrew65 · 5 years

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SKAM Austin Season 2 Episode 1 Recap

Faking a boyfriend means one thing, guys. A girl is not into you.

Basically Seniors

Great song to open up the season. ‘Lipgloss’ is very upbeat and catchy.

But I‘ll be honest. I seriously thought I was watching an ad for about 30 seconds before I realized it was the opening to the clip.

Tyler is gay! SKAM Austin finally confirmed our suspicions and I am so happy. Nice twist in having Tyler being the one kissing someone instead of Shay. Really highlights how they are both kind of the Isak character of this show (though I’m pretty sure it will be Shay who has the next season).

Aww. Zoya helping Jo with her sweater head scarf. They are so cute together.

So, Kelsey finally became a Kitten. Good for her, I guess. She actually looks really good; longer hair suits her.

I really like how they are introducing Grace (Noora) being on the newspaper early on. That will definitely add depth later in the season when she is asked to write the article.

It has been a whole year since the Daniel debacle instead of just a few months like it was in OG. I wonder how that will affect the story line. I can understand more how Kelsey might have developed another crush on Daniel seeing as him shaming her happened so much longer ago.

Grace invented a boyfriend to get Daniel off her case. Daniel, if a girl has to invent a boyfriend in order to avoid you, you should take a hint and leave her alone.

Damn, he just stares at Grace for an uncomfortably long time while taking the selfie with Kelsey.

Not A Good Person

I love how Grace is dancing while she cooks. Great continuation of that moment when she danced to cheer Megan up last season.

Wow, Marlon actually says something worthwhile and accurate!

And then Megan ruins it. I’m sorry, but I am going to off on a bit of a tangent here: Saying things like “He keeps on pursuing her because she doesn’t want to be left alone” is so dangerous. Because how does a guy know if the girl is secretly into him? He doesn’t. And assuming things like that is not right. It basically gives men permission to do whatever they want to a woman under the guise of her secretly wanting it. I’m not an idiot; I know SKAM Austin is trying to set up how Grace actually does secretly like Daniel, but that is not the case for every situation. And saying things like “Maybe she doesn’t want to be left alone” as a broad generalization is very problematic. It promotes a male centered rape culture. It is a less harsh way of saying “She deserved to get raped because she was wearing revealing clothes” or saying “She wanted it, so it is OK.” And it is very much not OK. Whew, sorry. Just had to get that off my chest. I know SKAM Austin probably didn’t mean it like that, but putting that line into a season that will most likely deal with sexual assault was a poor choice on their part.

I got so excited that Grace might actually tell Kelsey what has been going on. Yeah, it would be a harsh blow, but it is way better than continuing to lie and deceive her. WHY did Megan advise Grace to not tell Kelsey about Daniel texting her????? It feels like Megan is giving some pretty shitty advice this season.

Ahhhh, Eskild’s a woman! I think her name is Eve. I don’t know why I didn’t realize this before. I mean, Shay is Isak. And Eskild was basically a fellow gay man mentor to Isak, so it makes sense they would change him into a lesbian in this remake.

Oh, and Grace was smiling when she saw those texts from Daniel. I honestly don’t know why. He was still a dick when we last saw him. Were they texting for the whole year, though?

Mostly Naked

Well, I really liked how they included a St. Patrick’s Day parade/festival into the show as that is most definitely a big thing in the U.S.

I kind of feel that Megan is way more into Marlon than previous Evas have been towards their respective Jonas’s. What with that tongue line in Clip 1 and her barging in on Marlon and that girl talking, that’s the vibe I get.

I know people are finding Kelsey really annoying this season and while I do agree some of her lines are outrageous (accusing Grace of not caring about her friends, really?), I can’t help but like her. She is just so cute!

Thank you, Zoya! She tried to shut Kelsey’s crush down so fast. If only she were successful. Sigh. On that note, I am already liking Zoya way more. Last season I thought she came off as rather abrasive without as much of Sana’s soft side. I hope they explore this soft side of Zoya more this season. I could find myself really enjoying a season of her.

Know-It-All

More Poonam! Yay!!! I love her so much. Her deadpan line about not wanting to associate with Grace was EVERYTHING.

Oh, Kelsey, why do you have these hopeless fantasies about Daniel. I feel so bad for her already.

David already seems cool. The brief moment when you thought he could be a potential love interest for Kelsey, and the crushing disappointment when you realized he was with Shay. Noooo! Though since next season, Shay will most likely come out as lesbian, we might see David become a love interest for Kelsey. Wasn’t the actor who played Magnus in OG named David? Please let this happen. Kelsey deserves a nice guy in her life who shares her love of ‘Hamilton’.

Who Is He?

I am literally Eve when anyone is baking cookies. I am really digging Eve so far. She seems way more calm and chill than other versions of Eskild. (I am looking at you, Mika from SKAM France).

‘Daniel Williamson’. Could you get a boy’s name that sound whiter?

Hmm, I think it is interesting how they introduced Daniel’s sister so early. I hope they dig into his backstory a bit more, you know, how he was affected by her death instead of just glossing over it like they did in OG. I think in OG they actually mentioned that his sister died in a car accident. I hope SKAM Austin isn’t as explicit, that way it comes as more of a shock later on.

Messed Up

Jo talking lovingly about her unibrow is all I want in life.

Oh, no. Kelsey exercising and refusing food? Not a good sign. I guess they are going to go into the eating disorder storyline. Also, how are beans bad for you?

Aw, Grace made the nachos with gluten-free chips specifically for Kelsey. And then offered to cook something else for Kelsey. If only Kelsey had taken her up on that offer.

Daniel calls Kelsey to get to Grace. Grace using the pre-calc excuse is way more believable than saying he needed someone’s number. Also, plenty of seniors take pre-calc. And not because they are bad at math.

I like that Daniel admitted his actions were messed up. BUT, dude, if you know what you are doing is messed up, then don’t do it. LEAVE GRACE ALONE! Hopefully, this admission of his points to him being less of a dick than William was, but we’ll see how the rest of the season plays out.

General Thoughts

This is the first season of any version of SKAM that I have watched live and it is a wild experience. I am on the edge of my seat, constantly checking to see if a new clip has come out. I now definitely understand how SKAM got so popular and addictive when it first aired. I thought this was a pretty strong start to the season. They were a few tweaks that really worked well, like Tyler’s confirmation of being gay (or bi, who knows?) and Eskild’s character being a woman. All in all, I think this remake has a very different vibe from OG Skam and I am excited to see where it heads.

#Skam #skam remakes #skam austin

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kootenaygoon · 4 years

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So,

Niles was on crutches, watering his garden.

It was late Tuesday afternoon, and we’d just put the Wednesday edition of the Star to bed. Despite the fact it was mid-October, the weather was still summery, with a light wind rustling its way up the valley. The Slocan River had a magical sheen in the distance as my RAV broke out of the trees. Brutus was running laps of the yard with a dog I didn’t recognize, too busy to bark at my arrival, so I followed the driveway around to the barn unmolested and parked beside a mud-spattered, half-deconstructed Jeep. Niles had invited me over to discuss his latest manuscript submission, which was over 100,000 words long. It sat hefty and dog-eared on my passenger seat, riddled with highlighter and scribbled notes, alongside a six-pack of Blue Buck. I wasn’t looking forward to this feedback session, because I wasn’t sure if he was mature enough to hear what I had to say.

“We’ve got the house to ourselves tonight, Goon. I’ve got the second season of Fargo queued up, plus I’ve acquired some fabulous Afghani Kush that will blow your hair back,” Niles said, his crutches squelching in the mud as he clopped over to my side door.

I lifted up his manuscript, which was called The Fox and the Fawn. “Did you forget about this?”

Since my arrival in Nelson I’d been keeping a small roster of three to five students, helping them develop everything from a fictional account of the Rwandan genocide to a fantasy novel about an autistic teen adventuring through an alternate dimension. The trouble was, I was starting to feel like an imposter. My repeated attempts at finishing Whatever you’re on, I want some hadn’t resulted in the fame and glory I was imagining, and now I was wondering if I’d been kidding myself this whole time. Yeah, I had my Master’s, but so what? Could I really be a writer? And if not, was I really worthy of being a teacher? Who was I kidding?

“I figured you would’ve burned that thing the moment you realized what a gargantuan turd it is,” Niles said, his blond hair hanging limply around his dishevelled face. He wasn’t looking healthy.

I climbed out and shut the door. “I read some of it to my new roommate Mika, actually. We had a little reading in my living room.”

“You didn’t.”

“Yeah, she wanted to hear the sex scene.”

Niles roared with delight. That’s what he was always looking for, an audience to the lewd reality of his existence. As far as he was concerned, he was the best kind of criminal — the kind that never gets caught. The Fox and the Fawn was a fangirl tribute to himself, to his gangster exploits as a Slocan Valley weed king. With legalization finally here, he felt it was time to tell his story. The manuscript was Bukowski mixed with Kerouac, demented and perverse and shockingly violent. At one point he even casually admits to date rape, including a scene where his girlfriend rages at him for taking advantage of her while he was drunk.

“I didn’t know you had a new roommate,” he said. “What happened to Brendan?”

“Nothing. I just found a new place, levelled up. Teamed up with this girl Mika who works at my pot dispensary. She’s got a pet rabbit.”

“You’re still getting your shit from there? Why aren’t you coming to me?”

Niles was wearing a brown bathrobe. He opened his front door, told me not to worry about my shoes, then handed me the crutches while he hopped on one foot up the carpeted staircase. He grunted and sighed with each step, muttering swear words under his breath. I’d never seen him like this. When we reached the top I gave him his crutches and the beer, and he motioned for me to take a seat in the living room. As I passed by the familiar John Cooper paintings, I noticed that he’d hung the self-portrait I’d given him as a present a month earlier. I’d painted it with Natalya.

“You hung my painting upside down?”

He laughed, opening the fridge. “Yeah, I dunno why I did that. Just seemed to me like it looks better that way. I get a kick out of it.”

I shook my head. For the past month I’d been painting furiously, and it felt like a swirling green portal had opened up inside my brain. My writing may have stalled, but this was a way to channel my creativity into something other than journalism. I was getting sick of the Star, getting sick of taking the same pictures of the same fundraiser events, getting sick of the constraints. My relationship with Ed and Kai was strained too, as they were tired of my entitled laziness. Maybe they knew I was stoned every day, slumping into the office uninspired and half-assing my stories. I felt like the universe was wasting me, but painting had become a soothing therapy, something I did exclusively for myself. I was giving myself permission to be sloppy and flamboyant and outrageous, slathering my canvases with dribbling glitter and chaotic streaks of inspiration. This painting I’d given Niles was my first.

As he banged around in the kitchen, I walked over to the living room window and looked out at the Slocan Valley. The trees were the colour of flames, red and orange and electric yellow, and they matched the darkening sky. Lately I’d been feeling a subtle dread, like the magic was slowly draining from my surroundings. Winter is coming. I hated being single, hated being a chronic stoner, and hated how much of my life I spent stressing out about money. In university I’d become so convinced that I had life sorted out, that I was on a consistently upwards trajectory, that it was only a matter of time before I would be rewarded with creative success and lifelong fulfillment. Now I wasn’t so sure. It was easy to blame Paisley and all the drama she’d brought to my life, but she’d been gone for over a year now. At some point I would have to address my own shit without using her as a scapegoat.

“I don’t know how much longer I can do this, man.”

Niles scuffed back into the living room holding our beers. “This?”

“The Kootenays. The Star. I got into a bit of a scrap with Kai and Ed today, in the newsroom,” I said. “Over our coverage of Me Too.”

He laughed, sinking into his recliner. “You’re too radical for them?”

I shook my head, crossed to the couch. “I’ve just been seeing all these posts, right? Women sharing their trauma, men self-flagellating, but the discourse isn’t actually going anywhere. It’s not actually accomplishing anything. But I wanted to do something tangible, so I interviewed the superintendent and a bunch of principals about how they’re responding to it. Just to get it official, on the record, how they plan to change things.”

He snorted. “I’m sure they loved that.”

“So I hand in this 1200-word behemoth of a story, with all these different angles and perspectives, and they told me it didn’t have any teeth. They said it’s just a bunch of talking heads. I tried to argue, you know, that it’s important to be holding these people accountable and that their words are powerful, but they weren’t hearing it. They said if I’m going to write a story about sexual assault then I need a real sexual assault.”

He frowned, shrugged. “So what’re you going to do?”

I felt myself getting worked up. For the past few days I’d been endlessly scrolling through Twitter and Facebook, feeding on the outrage and vitriol. It was bringing everything up, Trent and Galloway and my strange obsession with crucifixion. The topic of sexual violence was like an intricate bomb I was trying to defuse with nothing but a screwdriver. As far as I was concerned, the conversation had to move beyond the rage to solutions. Men had to own their complicity, with more than just empty words, and propose tangible solutions. I was determined to prove Kai and Ed wrong, to show that my journalism had real teeth.

“Well, I’ve already started writing a column about it. About my personal feelings on the subject. And I’m going to illustrate it with a picture of my face with the words ‘Part of the Problem’ scrawled across my forehead.”

Niles laughed. “That should piss off the right people.”

“Not only that, I’ve found two girls who are willing to go on record about their assaults. One who was a student at Elephant Mountain Secondary, and the other from Selkirk College. If I do this right, this could be the most powerful story I’ve written since coming to the Star. Like, I think it could be a really big deal.”

“Well, Goon,” he said. “I think your saviour complex is alive and kicking.”

Eventually we pivoted to discussing his manuscript, and I flipped through it on the coffee table as I took him through my notes. All of his female characters came off as interchangeable, he had a tendency to summarize scenes rather than depict them, and by the end of the narrative he came off as completely unlikeable. Being self-deprecating is one thing, but it was like he was going out of his way to shock the reader with his shitty behaviour. It felt like he was daring his audience to hate him. At times it reminded me of the memoir A Crowbar in the Buddhist Garden, by Stephen Reid, so I recommended he check it out for inspiration. I felt Reid struck a fine balance between owning his mistakes and aspiring to be a better human being.

“That’s the bank robber?”

“Yeah, they made a movie about him. Point Break.”

“That surfer movie with Keanu Reeves?”

“I think they fictionalized it a bit. The point is, there’s a guy who has actually grappled with his own soul. That takes balls.”

He nodded. “A Crowbar in the Buddhist Garden. I like that.”

Once we were finished with notes, Niles padded off into his bedroom and returned with an elaborate dragon-themed bong. As we smoked together I thought of the caterpillar from the animated version of Alice in Wonderland, asking in his condescending tone “Who are you?” That was the sort of question that was getting harder to answer all the time. Thinking about rape culture all day had me hating myself to the point where I felt physically sick, but at other times I was convinced of my own prophethood, my special destiny to save the world somehow. If I could tackle this Me Too story from exactly the right angle I knew it could have a legit impact. Everyone was encouraging women to speak while men listen, but I had been listening. And now I had something to say. I leaned back in the couch and examined the light fixture in the ceiling, composing my column in my head.

“Here,” Niles said. “You want another hit?”

The Kootenay Goon

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annieleonhardt · 7 years

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Aruani Week Day 3: Admiration

AO3

The Pas De Deux they’re rehearsing.

I'm a ballet enthusiast, so when I realized I could use this prompt for one of my fave aus, I totally jumped at the opportunity. Enjoy! <3

Effortless.

Effortless extensions, effortless turns, effortless jumps. Ballet seemed to come as naturally to Annie as breathing. Every variation ended with grace and beauty beyond anything Armin had ever seen. Though her forehead pooled with sweat and her limbs ached, she rarely let it show. Composure that must have come through years of discipline.

It came as no surprise to him that Annie had reached principal status before he was even considered for a soloist. It was nothing short of her birthright, he thought. Her entire life, day in and out spent in a hot dance studio. Though very short statured, she made up for it with incredible strength and liquid movements. Annie glided across the floor en pointe, much like the swan she was trying to imitate.

“Wow,” He muttered as he watched her pique turns become chaînés. Barely a strand of blonde hair was out of place as she ended her variation, posed like a statue until, finally, the music stopped.

The members of the company clapped, all but their coach. Levi stood, arms crossed, waiting for Annie to cool down and gulp her ice water.

“Not bad.” He finally assured her, though Annie looked less than pleased. As usual, Armin found. For a woman so heavily praised in every dance magazine, and so heavily advertized for her principal debut that season as a prodigy, she seemed to think of it all as just another Tuesday.

“It could have been better,” She began, taking another gulp of water. “My attitude was sloppy as hell. I could feel my foot sickling.”

“Well, you’re not wrong about that.”

The two continued on, and the smile on Armin’s face couldn’t waver. Next to him, Mikasa plopped down; Tired after her own long rehearsal.

“You’re doing it again. The whole ‘googly eyes’ thing.” She teased, pressing a cool damp cloth against her forehead. Armin snickered, but rolled his eyes. “You’re going to have to watch that when you dance with her.”

“I can pass it off as acting. I mean, I am going to be her prince in the debut- Oh jeez that’s still weird to say.” His cheeks grew redder and redder, and all he could do was hide behind his hands. “I still have no clue what they’re thinking. There’s about six male principals they could choose from!”

Mika could only scoff.

“Well, I know for a fact Eren hates doing Swan Lake. Even when he and I did it together last season.” The memory managed to crack a smile. “Actually, I think last season is why. He still won’t stop apologizing for dropping me during the final act.”

It was a very quintessentially Eren moment. Armin found himself smiling at the memory as well. She loves him despite it all.

“Plus, the others are way too tall. Logistics, and all that.” She shrugged, all the while stretching into a split on the floor. As Armin gave her a moment to breath, he noticed a change in her face. Certainly not from the pain of stretching. “I better not hear her complain. Armin, if she says anything against your skills as a dancer, tell me immediately.”

“Mika, oh my god.” He stifled a laugh, though barely. “Do you two still have that silly rivalry going on? Jeez, you beat her at a grand prix once, and suddenly your entire careers are just a series of constantly one upping each other. She’s really not that bad once you get to know her.” Armin’s eyes drifted back up, catching sight once again of Annie. “She’s nice. I don’t think she socialized much growing up, so she’s a bit awkward, but...she’s nice. She’s...really cute.”

“...I’m definitely going to have to have a talk with her.”

“Mikasaaa.”

His pleas went unheard as she continued to stretch. Perhaps for the best. At the end of the day, he knew she’d never sabotage his happiness in anyway. And at the end of the day, Annie certainly made him happy.

He’d admired her from afar since their days as students. Even back then, Mikasa wasn’t the only one of their company to find Annie off putting. While undeniably brilliant, she carried with her an untouchable atmosphere. Some described her as cold. Others, as snobbish. Certainly her body language, facial expressions, and tendency toward isolation lent itself to that theory. Armin didn’t buy it for a second.

It took all his will and courage to finally talk to her one day during their lunch break. Between academics and dance, free time was scarce. Yet there she sat, alone as usual, staring into her phone as she ate.

“May I sit with you?” Armin asked, trying hard not to let his voice crack. Annie stared at him for a moment, wide eyed and confused.

“...Yeah, sure.” She scooched over, and pat the seat next to her.

It was immediately apparent that he wasn’t dealing with a snob. Armin had found on that first day, instead, someone who was incredibly real. A girl who was shy to a fault, and had been given little opportunity to even learn how to socialize with others. Her sense of humor veered on dry and blunt, a little melancholy at times. Something he didn’t mind. Many had told him he was morbid, after all. No right to judge.

He was amazed she’d let him keep sitting with her. Day after day, month after month. It wasn’t long until they were both taken into the company as members of the corp, and he was more than happy to watch her climb through the ranks. Even as he himself was behind.

“Arlert,” Levi’s voice brought him back to the present. “Get up, we’re working on your variation before the Coda. Chop chop, kid.”

Nobody could claim Armin was lazy. As Annie observed his grand jete, it amazed her just how far he’d come since their days as students. Chalk that up to hours and hours of practice with her, and Eren, and Mikasa. Long hours that would sometimes end in him gasping on the floor, yet Armin insisted Annie continued showing Eren her technique for a little longer.

Though concerned, she relented. And their last hour of practice featured Armin cooling down at the barre, as the other three continued with combination after combination.

Steadily through the years, she felt pride watching Armin’s stamina increase to the level of a professional. His jumps got higher, his movements lighter, his turns faster. All of it came as he matured into the steadily rising star he was today.

Steadily, being the key word. As it stood, Annie, Eren, and Mikasa had all been promoted to principal at the end of last season. Armin, finally, became a soloist.

She figured that was why Levi and Hange’s response to her request was so lukewarm.

“You heard me. I want Armin to be my partner in the debut performance.”

The two were silent, until Hange finally relented. It didn’t take too long to bargain. Annie would have her principal debut performing Swan Lake, and Armin would be her Siegfried. As long as Annie agreed to do the Nutcracker in December; something she hadn't done in close to ten years.

Sacrifices could be made.

His face when he heard the news was priceless. The shock, excitement, surprise. Unworthiness. There must have been a mistake, he’d said. She couldn’t help but smile.

Watching him now, practicing his variation before the coda in Act 3, his role was far from a mistake. Perhaps his jumps weren’t as high as Jean’s, nor were his turns as fast as Eren’s. But on his face was something she herself hadn’t felt in years; pure joy and passion. If his movements lacked, Annie was captivated by his musicality and emotion; Essential qualities of a dancer that were often overlooked.

Annie knew she lacked at least one of those qualities. Rigorous discipline and training from the age of three by her father may have sucked out a certain amount of love and passion from her dancing. For the sake of perfection, something which now seemed so out of reach.

And yet, as she stood up to make her entrance for the coda, something did feel different. Armin caught her eye, and smiled at her with such gentle encouragement in his eyes. He parted to give her space, watching excitedly as she took a fourth position. With a double pirouette, she began the signature 32 fouettes famous of the ballet.

“And turn! Turn! Turn! Turn!” Her father's voice often wrang through her head, just as it had growing up. Practicing what was considered the hardest move in ballet. He’d taught it to her at the age of 13. She landed her last fouette with a smile, and made way for Armin to finish his part.

Finally, they danced together. They looked toward each other as she moved his way, performing low arabesques until he caught her in his arms. Next came a backwards cambre as she, as Odile, reveled in tricking the young prince into her clutches. Somehow, it seemed like Armin was hardly acting as he watched her in awe. Next, her high arabesques travelling backwards to the rhythm of the climaxing score; Drawing him in with each stop en pointe. Armin could only walk slowly toward her, stars in his eyes. Then he was behind her, loosely holding her waist to assist in one final pirouette.

He lifted her in one breath, catching her just as fast. With one more turn, he kneeled at her feet. Armin lay his head against the back of her hand, and she performed the last cambre back. She threw her other arm back as well, miming a laugh as the piano came to a stop.

The rehearsal room was silent. All, except, for Armin’s heavy breathing. Annie straightened herself back up, and took Armin’s hand to help him do the same.

“You...are absolutely stunning.” Gasping breaths aside, Armin managed to smile so wide at her, Annie half expected his face to split. Strangely, she felt a familiar glare toward the back of her head.

She shook off the feeling, and returned his smile.

“Not really, but...thanks, blondie.” Annie squeezed his hand, completely unaware of just how long she’d been holding on. Not that it mattered. There was an odd comfort that came with his touch.

There was no one she’d rather partner with.

“You’ve gotten better.” She assured him, pushing a loose strand of blonde behind her ear. “Don’t be too nervous, though. There’s a certain amount of hesitation that you need to work on.”

Armin nodded, and grabbed his water bottle.

“I’ll keep that in mind, I...I know I can do this. I think. I hope.”

“There’s no reason you can’t.”

He answered with a sheepish smile, and a scratch on his nose.

You’ve got more guts than you think. More talent, too.

“...Come get coffee with me and I can critique you even more.”

#aruani #annie leonhardt #armin arlert #aruani week #shingeki no kyojin #attack on titan

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omnishamblegreg · 7 years

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Hey @loveofmylonglife !!

92 truths

rules: once you have been tagged you are supposed to write 92 truths about yourself. At the end choose however many people you want to tag!

LAST …

[1] drink: water

[2] phone call: my auntie

[3] text message: my best friend

[4] song you listened to: It’s Like That by RUN DMC

[5] time you cried: maybe.. 3 weeks ago, if we’re not talking laughter-crying

HAVE YOU EVER…

[6] dated someone twice: no

[7] been cheated on: no

[8] kissed someone and regretted it: yes

[9] lost someone special: no

[10] been depressed: yes

[11] gotten drunk and thrown up: no

LIST 3 FAVOURITE COLOURS:

[12] jade green

[13] mint green

[14] lilac

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU…

[15] made new friends: yes

[16] fallen out of love: no

[17] laughed until you cried: hooo yes

[18] found out someone was talking about you: yes, good and bad

[19] met someone who changed you: yes

[20] found out who your true friends are: i dont know, maybe i knew that before now

[21] kissed someone on your Facebook list: heh yes

GENERAL…

[22] how many of your tumblr friends do you know in real life: 6 i think

[23] do you have any pets: yes, kitten of the name Mika

[24] do you want to change your name: noo

|25] what did you do for your last birthday: visited my dad in qatar, swam, played board games!

[26] what time did you wake up: like 10.30am

[27] what were you doing at midnight last night: probably watching narcos or being attacked by my cat

[28] name something you cannot wait for: for summer, camping and swimming, passing my driving test and driving cousins about like rebels

[29] when was the last time you saw your mother: like an hour ago

[30] what is one thing you wish you could change about your life: my family dynamics- hooo boi i agree with you there. and how i’d handled certain situations. where i decided to do 6th form, being brave enough to confess love. having the brain capacity and energy to think thoroughly for myself about my spiritual beliefs. sometimes i think it’d be easier if i’d grown up not questioning stuff so much

[31] what are you listening to right now: the end credits of narcos. my love.

[32] have you ever talked to a person named tom: ah my old basketball coach

[33] something that is getting on your nerves: my inability to revise for shit

[34] elementary: What about it? if you mean the *cough* sherlock piracy, the actor played alongside cumberbum in frankenstein, then went off and did elementary. felt a bit like he nicked his acting pointers to go imitate him. but im not bitter! oh this means primary school: ledge. i was a loving teacher’s pet

[35] high school: same mostly girl’s schools, year 8 was peak :(, but year 9 was PEAK and best fricking thing ever. i moved a lot but made some great friends. then got stressed at alevels but v funny friends. school is stress i dont need to go back to that

[36] college: uni is TBA. i will enjoy my own space

[37] hair colour: brown

[38] long or short hair: short

[39] do you have a crush on someone: not really

[40] what do you like about yourself: that people trust me a lot, that i make my sisters laugh so much they look like gargoyles, that i have little things im good at.

[41] piercings: Ears

[42] nickname: depending with who: karimmer/rimmer, kima, karma, gary

[43] relationship status: single and ready to spread my legs. in bed to sleep because thats the most comfy sleeping position

[44] zodiac sign: im a goat

[45] pronouns: she/her

[46] favourite tv show: this is fluid. right now i am addicted to narcos. (not like that)

[47] tattoos: none

[48] right or left handed: right

FIRST…

[49] surgery: just sewing up my chin?

[50] piercing: ears

[51] best friend: maysa my cousin, since i was 3, who i knows near everything about me (every time we meet i just catch her up on the new shit). we fuckin tight

[52] sport: this is FUNNY. but i guess swimming, in a leisurely, non-competitive floating way

[53] vacation: tunisia, like what else besides visit family every summer obv

[54] pair of trainers: MINE DIDNT LIGHT UP ! they were PINK tho

RIGHT NOW…

[55] eating: nothing

[56] drinking: nothing. sad days

[57] I’m about to: watch pedro pascal in game of thrones

[58] listening to: nada

[59] waiting for: nada

[60] want: this is a lot. want to feel energy coursing through me. want to be physically able to sleep for a day. to kiss. to have photographic memory. to actually have a spec of an imprint, a positive, a help, on the world. to meet up with all my old friends. to understand myself. to write something and make someone think with it.

[61] get married: some day. i forget im 19 and family members are suddenly going ‘hey karima wanna get me to find u someone heh?’

[62] career: during and after uni, i’d like to write stories. and do art. academia would be cool, researching and writing kickass linguistics papers about memes. but i do not want to dwell on this

WHICH IS BETTER…

[63] hugs or kisses: both, but hugs only if they’re proper gourmet ones

[64] lips or eyes: eyes

[65] shorter or taller: taller

[66] older or younger: older

[67] romantic or spontaneous: I AGREE WITH WHAT U SAID BOTH BOTH IS GOOD. spontaneity is madly romantic

[68] nice arms or nice stomach: oooh. stomach i think

[69] sensitive or loud: yep i agree again ^^ someone who’s both is brilliant, we just both gotta be in the same hyper mood then BAM whole house telling us to shut tf up. overall tho.. someone who’s sensitive and understanding is more important. someone who cant switch to being sensitive is so closed off

[70] hook up or relationship: relationship

[71] trouble maker or hesitant: trouble maker if they’re not like. pablo escobar level trouble maker.

HAVE YOU EVER…

[72] kissed a stranger: yeah stupid

[73] drank hard liquor: no

[74] lost glasses/contact lenses: yes

[75] turned someone down: yes poor unfortunate souls

[76] sex on first date: no

[77] broken someone’s heart: i dont Think so

[78] had your own heart broken: yes

[79] been arrested: no

[80] cried when somebody died: yes

[81] fallen for a friend: yes rip me

DO YOU BELIEVE IN…

[82] yourself: at times. i always believe it’ll kinda be alright in the end, that i’ll get to where i want to be, but i dont always believe i have what it takes Right Now. this is hard to explain.

[83] miracles: kind of. depends. i believe it was a miracle i got As and A*s in my gcses when i barely revised. and that my sister causes rain and thunderstorms when she prays for them. some miracles. i feel like a lot more used to happen

[84] love at first sight: no, thats romanticising someone as a concept and i am all too guilty of it

[85] santa claus: no and i dont think i ever did?! i discovered who he was simultaneously with ‘he’s fiction’. but thats okay with me

[86] kiss on the first date: whatever man i know nothing

[87] angels: yes

OTHER…

[88] current best friend’s name: Kathryn, steph, maysa, rabeeya

[89] eye colour: brown

[90] favourite movie: shaun of the dead or How I Live Now

[91] favourite flower: honeysuckle, def jasmine.

[92] favourite season: summer whosoever should like to also do this, tag me and go for it!! im a curious bastard

#ah time flies filling this in #me #ask meme #a little shy of posting this but ehh #also forgive my lack of eloquency its too late for epiphany-level opinions on things #this is a lazy ask meme

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so-why-walrus · 7 years

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MY FAVOURITE SONGS:

It will make sense only if you're watching my videos. Especially the last one. Mainstream: The Beatles – I’m the Walrus, Across the Universe, Happiness is the Warm Gun, Blue Jay Way, Here There and Everywhere, 8 Days a Week, In My Life, A Day in Life, Eleanor Rigby, Here comes the Sun, Dear Prudence, Paperback Writer, While My Guitar Gently Weeps; Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody, Fat Bottomed Girls, I’m Going Slightly Mad, Another One Bites the Dust, I Want to Break Free, Don’t Stop Me Now, Invisible Man; Red Hot Chili Peppers – Fortune Faded, Dani California, Desecration Smile, Soul to Squeeze, Strip My Mind, Suck My Kiss, Aeroplane, Monarchy of Roses, Torture Me, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Road Trippin’, Dark Necessities, Give it Away, Scar Tissue; Arctic Monkeys – Brianstorm, R U Mine, Teddy Picker, Crying Lightning, 505, D is for Dangerous, Pretty Visitors, Balaclava, I Bet that You Look Good on the Dancefloor; Kiss – I was Made for Loving You, Detroit Rock City, Love gun, Shout it out loud; Oasis – Wonderwall, Supersonic, Don’t Look Back in Anger, Live Forever, Champagne Supernova, Whatever; Kasabian – Eez-eh, Pistols at Dawn, Bumblebee, Fire, Club Foot, Velociraptor! Re-wired; Rammstein – Sonne, Keine Lust, Mein Land, Rosenrot, Amerika, Ich Tu Dir Weh; Almost Mainstream: The Last Shadow Puppets – Calm Like You, Separate and Ever Deadly, Standing Next to Me, Miracle Aligner, Bad Habits, Dracula Teeth, Used to be my Girl, She Does the Woods. Pattern; Blossoms – Cut Me I’ll Bleed, Smashed Pianos, Blown Rose, Charlemagne; Melanie Martinez – Alphabet Boy, Soap, Mad Hatter, Cake, Tag You’re It, Milk and Cookies, Pacify Her, Teddy Bear; That Poppy – Lowlife, Altar, Money, Everybody Wants to be Poppy; Die Antwoord – Baby’s on Fire, Evil Boy, Ugly Boy, Fatty Boom Boom, I Fink U Freeky, Banana Brain, $copie, Fish Paste, Cookie Thumper; Stromae - Tous Les Mêmes, Papaoutai, Carmen, quand c'est ? ; Miles Kane – Taking Over, Closer, Give Up, Inhaler, Better Than That, Don’t Forget Who You Are, Telepathy, My Fantasy, First of My Kind; We Are Scientist – Buckle, I Don’t Bite, Classic Love, In My Head, Great Escape, Inaction; Ivy Levan – Biscuit, Hot Damn, Money, Hang Forever, I Don’t Wanna Wake Up; Alexandra Savior – M.T.M.E., Shades, Mystery Girl; Cute Whore – White Icing, Cake Friendly Nice, 70’s Porn Music, Cult Leader, My Jungle; Covers: Pomlamoose – Single Ladies, Uptown Funk, Favourite Things, Telephone, Beat it, Mrs. Robinson, Come Together, Like a Prayer; Dodie Clark – Into You, I Feel Fine, Here Comes the Sun, Crazy Toxic; Tessa Violet - I Wan'na Be Like You (The Monkey Song), Hey There, Delilah; Tessa Violet & Dodie Clark – All Star; 'OTHER': Glee Cast – Loser, Like a Prayer, Somebody Loves You, Shout, Don’t Speak, Rumor Has It/ Someone Like You, Don’t Stop Believing, Good Vibrations, Gold Digger, Uptown Girl, Brave, Nutbush City Limits, Dream On, The Scientist, Daydream Believer, My Sharona, Rock Lobster, Love Shack, Tightrope, Gloria, Nasty Boys/Rhythm Nation, Cough Syrup; Songs from musicals: Wicked – Defying Gravity, Popular, For Good, What is this Feeling?; Rocky Horror Picture Show – Science Fiction/Double Feature, Time Warp, Eddie, Sweet Transvestite…okay, I have to admit. I love ALL songs from this show…literally…ALL. The Book of Mormon – Hello, Hasa Diga Eebowai, I Believe, Spooky Mormon Hell Dream; Chicago – All that Jazz, Cell Block Tango, Mr. Cellophane; Gypsy – Some People, Rose’s Turn; Funny Girl – Don’t Rain on My Parade, The Greatest Star; Marry Poppins – Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, A Spoonful of Sugar; Chim Chim Cheer-e; Singing in the Rain – Make ‘Em Laugh, Singing in the Rain; Rent – Tango Maureen, La Vie Bohem, Seasons of Love, Take Me or Leave Me, Light My Candle; Hairspray – You Can’t Stop the Beat, Nicest Kids in Town; The Sounds of Music – My Favourite Things, The Sounds of Music; Hamilton – Alexander Hamilton, Washington on your Side; Hair – I Got Life, Hair; Songs That I just enjoy listening: The 1975 – Girls, Somebody Else; R.E.M. – Loosing My Religion; Scissor Sisters – I Can’t Decide, I Don’t Feel Like Dancing, Let’s Have a Kiki. Filthy/Gorgeous; Eminem – Without Me, The Real Slim Shady, We Made You, Berzerk; Lady Gaga – Judas, Perfect Illusion, Born This Way, Applause; You and I; Dead or Alive – You Spin Me Right Round (Like a Record); Capital Cities – Kangaroo Court; Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Downtown, Thrift Shop; Robbie Williams – Rock DJ; Gym Glass Hero – Cupid’s Chokehold; Supertramp – Breakfast in America; The Clash – Should I Stay or Should I Go; Straight To Hell, London Calling; Lily Allen – Smile, Fuck You; Blackstreet ft. Dr. Dre – No Diggity; Adele – Send My Love; Mika – We Are Golden, Lolipop, Grace Kelly; Lorde – Royals; Kanye West – Black Skinhead, Gold Digger; Seafret – Oceans; Sia – The Greatest, Cheap Thrills; Nine Inch Nails – Closer; M.I.A. – Paper Planes; Billy Joel – Piano Man, Only The Good Die Young, Uptown Girl; Franz Ferdinand – What She Came For, Take Me Out; Madonna – Vogue; Elton John – Tiny Dancer, I’m Still Standing, Your Song; Rockwell - Somebody’s Watching Me; Duran Duran – Hungry Lika a Wolf; David Bowie – Fashion; Run-DMC – It’s Tricky; Green Day – Basket Case, Blood Sex Booze; Tool – Sober; and a lot more. It changes every year/month/day/minute Link to the video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTXBtxnoC3U&feature=youtu.be

#lol #bunch of music #hello #how are you #good #bye

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dkkubota-blog · 7 years

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Da King And Us

Chapter One:

The Reasons I Want to Go To Attend Kamehameha Private School

Maile Ku

The Hawaiian Historical and Mythological Society is proud to announce this years’ scholarship essay question: Which Hawaiian Historical or Mythological figure relates to your everyday life?

This scholarship is for full tuition for four years at Kamehameha schools.

I don’t even want to think about it yet. The Kamehameha School application is due at the end of the year.

I could conceivably lie in my bed that whole time.

Except on Tuesdays/Thursdays. Because Tuesdays and Thursdays are hula days.

On those days I carpool with Nohelani Silva and or my best friend Meeks to go all the way down the mountain, to town, to the hula halau where we stand outside and chant to come in.

Our Kumu chants in Hawaiian, a question that we as students know the answer. When we respond it’s like the air around us shifts and lets us in. All hula halaus, hula schools, do this. It’s just the question that’s different.

And then we just walk through the door because it’s cold and we wanna get our lesson on.

I’ve been doing this as long as I can stretch my memory back. Before I could even dance, my mother would bring me to sit on Meek’s mother’s lap and let me watch her dance.

Hula is sacred and it’s ordinary. It’s something that was done in secret, something banned, something whispered, and now it is just like any other after school activity. You do Brownies and you do hula because your mom works and she needs you to do SOMETHING after school.

But then you call out chants that are hundreds and hundreds of years old and know for a fact that your ancestors called them out as well. Their voices join yours into the void.

It’s like magic left in plain sight.

Why I, Maile Ku, Would Like To Attend Kamehameha Schools—A List

1. I would have more electives.

2. Which would mean that I would be able to take orchestra and choir AND hula my first year.

3. I could do Hawaiian immersion and it wouldn’t eat up my electives.

4. They would GIVE me a laptop. Like seriously, this school is made of money.

5. All the smart Hawaiian kids go to Kamehameha.

Chapter Two:

A Star Appeared; A Child Was Born

1758 Hawai’i Island

The Village of Kokoiki

Winter

"She can not have the baby tonight!"

It hung in the night sky brighter than any kukui nut candle or any torch. Brighter than the sailors’ lanterns that hovered just off shore. The many masted ships cast shadows on the dark ocean waves. This made it hard to night dive on the Kokoiki’s coast, which caused more than one fisherman to lodge complaints with Chief Keoua Kalanikupuapaʻikalaninui Ahilapalapa, the generous rain cloud.

The comet.

Chief Keoua’s voice echoed with anger as he said it again, “She can not give birth!” Loud enough for his three other wives’ heads to pop up in alarm. The sailors may have spoke English but Olelo Hawai’i was still the nation’s language of urgency, of untranslatable feelings. Olelo was filled with double meanings, a language that referenced myth and history with every breath. But Chief Keoua couldn’t put into words his rightful panic.

His other wives and midwife had been hovering over third wife Kekuiapoiwa the second in her name, as her panting became pain filled screams.

Chief Keoua was named ‘the raincloud’, because of the generosity he showed his people. Like rain, he was good for the land.

But on this matter he was not generous. Though her labor had started at sunset, he refused to let her leave the hut for the birthing pools. Now, he refused to let her give birth at all.

"She has to,” First wife Kahikikala’s face was stern. “It's coming! If she tries to keep it in, they will die.”

His face, illuminated by the comet and many nut lamps, changed from stern to determined.

"Call Na’eole, the runner. Have him come immediately."

---

The comet was thicker than the Chief’s thumb. Bright and stubborn, it hung there. The kahuna lapa'au, the medicine man, had said that a comet would appear, but this? This frightening beacon that hung in the sky was bright enough to confuse the fish. The keiki were dancing beneath it, laughing. They did not know of the heaviness this star was said to foretell: A king slayer was to be borne the night a star lit up the heavens as it fell from the sky. A heavenly warrior, armed with destiny, to take the Alapa’inui’s life and throne. A king slayer, that would be the Alapa’inui’s demise.

Just this morning he had heard that the two houses of sacrifice were being hastily built. If any women were to go into labor that night, Chief Alapa’inui would have runners to tell him. Na’eole would have to be more swift.

Mid-November was the beginning of the winter season and the beginning of Mahahiki, the holiday season. If he could manage to hide his child before the next war season began then maybe, maybe…

Chief Keoua took one last look at the star that had decided to cause this trouble. The star that had been foretold, the star that blistered in the sky, the star that blotted out any other near stars. The sound of conch shell trumpets interrupted his thoughts. Na’eole was here. Before they could speak, another sound interrupted them: keening baby’s cry. Heart heavy, he strode toward the birthing hut again.

Gingerly stepping onto the lauhala mat and padding across to his wife, Keoua prayed.

Let it be a girl. Papa and Wakea, let it be a girl who will grow up and live a long life.

His other wives and the midwife surrounded Kekuiapoiwa, blocking the child from view.

The babe’s wails were strong and fierce. A wind began to whip through the village rustling the dried lauhala thatches on the roofs of the houses.

"A boy!"

His heart fell to earth: a boy.

---

“What shall we name him?” Kekuiapoiwa’s question, so hopeful. Her smile was exhausted and gentle, unknowing of the truth. “Paiʻea”, Chief Keoua’s voice wavered as he said it. The hard-shelled crab. A little crab warrior that would hopefully survive this.

---

Large brown eyes looked into his own. A reprieve from the infant crying that rent his heart. Nae’ole, the best runner in all of Hawai’i Island, felt his heart flutter. The journey was to be long. From Kokoiki to Pali Hulaʻana, the third valley from Waipiʻo. A two-day journey for an ordinary runner. A day and a half for him.

"Poor thing. Your mother loves you Pai’iea. We shall take you to Aunty's house and you will be safe there." On his chest he placed the child and swaddled him tightly.

The treetops folded above them together like two hands in the valley of the forest. Here, the milky clouds of stars together stretched out the brightest, yet the comet could still be seen. The child's cries could still be heard. His mother's cries could still be heard. Protectively, Nae’ole held the newborn to his chest; milk still fresh on the child’s lips.

It had to be. The destiny was foretold.

The child was born.

In his arms the child cried.

Mother's milk still on his lips.

Running over valleys wide.

Leaping over rocky cliffs

Take this child

The hard-shelled crab

Take him to a place forgiving

Where he may grow away from war

And perhaps fate will not be known.

The star watches on

The birth of Kamehameha

The birth of the King Slayer

Chapter Three:

How Hawaiian Private School is Like One Snotty Girl’s Slumba Party

Mika “Meeks” Kaho’ohanohano

I neva understood why you gotta disclude people. Like how come just Native Hawaiians can go Kamehameha schools?

Dad says, “It’s cause dey trying fo’ help da Hawaiians. So few of you guys left, ‘chu know? Cause of disease and war.”

Dad’s not Hawaiian. He’s Portagee and Filipino. But he’s always helped out with da Native Hawaiian community, li’ wen da stupid American government was bombing Koho’olawe island. Dad and a bunch of people, Hawaiians, and just locals, protested it. Dey marched, called politicians, held rallies until almost ten years later, da American military finally decided to stop using an island for military target practice. And now da government leave da island alone. For now.

Da way dad looks at the Kamehameha school application process, sorta makes sense. But den, how come Kamehameha only let in da Hawaiians wit good grades? If dey were really all about helping Native Hawaiians and the maka’ai’nana, da commoners, wouldn’t dat include da poor people who neva get good test scores cause dey neva can afford to go to one private school? Dey da ones dat need um.

Also, fo’ da longest time you gotta be so much Native Hawaiian by blood to go Kam. Growing up in Hawaii neva count. But I tink dats kinda stupid. Only inbred racist people ONLY date dere race and make kids with ONLY Hawaiians.

Brah after all the diseases, not too many left anyway. Everybody hapa dese days. Half dis. Half dat. Little bit dis. I’m Portagee-Chinese-Hawaiian-Filipino. Maile is Japanese-French-Irish-Hawaiian.

Which why wen I got da acceptance letter last time, (wen I was kindergarten dey neva used email), I said no. I told my parents I neva like go. I knew everybody gonna act li’ dis is a HUGE deal wit my cousins neva getting in and my aunty getting all mad, and me in kindergarten, getting in.

Which is why I asked my parents to neva tell anybody.

I neva tell dem why I didn’t want to go.

But Daddy thought it was cause of Maile. Maile is my best friend and she got in but couldn’t afford to go. Her mom had one real hard time wit da financial aid process and was shame fo’ ask fo’ help until too late. So Maile went to Makawao Elementary wit me.

Dat was almost seven years ago. Now, my family can’t afford to put me AND my dad in school. Dad wants to take a couple management classes at Maui Community College so he could get a better job at the airport. Which means, I need to try for the scholarship if I li’ go Kam. And even if my parents neva say it, I know they want me to go. Maile wants to go most of all. You would tink dat Kam gives away hair dye and skulls da way she’s trying hard for it. Which is another reason I don’t know if I should try: we’re trying for the same scholarship. I know because da other day, outta da blue she was like, “What Hawaiian myth would you say relates to my life Meeks?”

Brah! Must be one popular question because it’s the essay question for the biggest scholarship they offer: a full ride for all four years. And guess wat? Only have one.

Deanna Kawena Kubota 2015 ™

Scholarship Winner for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Scholarship with “Da King and Us” 2015

Pitch Wars Finalist 2016

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