One thing about Welcome to Night Vale that makes it so engaging for me is that Cecil's repetition subconsciously created this sort of call and response effect in me.

The easy one is the Glow Cloud (all hail). Like, even if I hadn't typed that all hail just now, I still would (and did) say it. Others are similar follow-ups and descriptions immediately following mostly proper nouns:

John Peters--you know, the farmer?

Larry Leroy, out on the edge of town,

Old Woman Josie (out by the car lot)

...and various iterations of how Steve Carlsberg is just the worst

These are just a tiny handful of examples; I'd say there at least a dozen or two that have wormed their way into my subconscious to be recited without effort or awareness as they occur.

I know that for some people, this kind of repetition is going to be an irritant. But for me, it not only cements these characters in their own reality but also brings me into Night Vale itself. It brings Night Vale to me.

starting my last-minute young royals rewatch before s3 LET'S GO

choir scene my beloved

wille looks so small standing in the middle of the corridor :(((

i love how simon's first scene (other than the choir) starts with a close up of his middle finger keychain

poor sara but she's so perceptive

to THAT picture??? wille looks so miserable felice stand UP

girl...... your hand

felice skipping dinner

simon jumping in immediately so linda doesn't worry as much about sara's integration at school

why does alexander have to go knock on everyone's door do they not have alarms

why are we ranking crimes

the liberal bullshit at the classroom makes me so mad like i'm sure your parents struggle a lot henry

THANK YOU SIMON

wille really isn't used to people challenging the ideals he grew up being exposed to

THEIR FIRST PROPER INTERACTION IS SO PERFECT

hillerska is so pretty tho i kinda wanna study there

im gonna be honest the first time i watched ep 1 i thought salice was gonna happen

you can't convince me simon didn't say he had to go just to see if wille would follow

wille probably had the song stuck in his head ever since he heard it

his sigh while he says simon's singing was beautiful oh wille you never stood a chance

WHAT A GREAT ENDING TO A GREAT PILOT

ok ep 2 let's go

this tradition is so dumb "9 out of 10" stfu

the brief eye contact SNANDJ

hello cool wille

fredrika is like "i could fix him"

the bro tap NSNXJSJX simon was NOT expecting that

poor simon bless ayub and rosh but there's nothing wrong with wanting to leave the small city

august really thought wille was jerking off and STILL waltzed into the room and took his phone

simon still tries to be included and the others just ignore him

at least now wille is coming to the rescue

august did NOT think this psychologist visit through he's just used to getting everything his way

i really wanted to see how wille and simon got in the same table to study

wille was so sad that simon wasn't coming to practice lmaoo

oh felice that's not why he was smiling at you

fuck you august

so convincing wille you're doing great

why do you have to download an app to use the bus

wille was like i'm just like youuu you're just like meeee

like bby no

he's holding the hot dog so elegantly

ayub's little nudge gets me everytime

simon is so giddy i can't

way to start a conversation august

simon and his unspecified citrus fruit

ok but are the rest of the boys taking august seriously rn 😭😭😭

oh shit it's movie time already

wilmon seating next to each other once again

also stedrika cuddling the same way the straight couple next to them is

i always hold my breath during this scene

the way wille LOOKS at simon

simon is so scared he read this all wrong

but it just took him a bit longer to realize he wants it too

another rude ending

EPISODE 3

MUSIC ROOM SCENE

i need to know what simon was going to say

aw i love sara and felice together

the way wille LOOKS at simon pt 100

so much happened in just 10 minutes wtf this show's pacing is insane

why is august so involved in parents day

they were so happy looking forward to their weekend alone :((

smysan hasn't seen her daughter in months and one of the first things she asks her is wilhelm

"glances and stuff" me when i'm delusional

this mf did this on purpose

wille is so flustered stopp

the close up on the phone. ouch.

the way smysan immediately turned her head towards felice lmaooo

i mean it's very easy to misinterpret that wille ajnxjdj

this simon with s2e6 wille

boyfriends who beat up august together

felice wtf STAND UP

him ignoring the phone call......

why was wille the last one to know they shouldn't have let the news come out until after the whole family knew the royal family must have the power to do that

and why is he learning that THROUGH THE PHONE

episode 4 now

it's so cruel how the last thing erik said to wille was see you soon

the "broken" title card....

this show does transitions so well

he kinda looks like he did in ep 1 when he was left alone in the corridor

them sitting on opposite sides with all the empty space between them. simon facing him but wille facing forward. never even looking at simon.

malin my wife

simon always taking care of everyone

he looks so defeated poor bby but so done too

this scene 💀

not august putting felices hand back up i never noticed that

he's so insuferable godddd

"was it royal" LMFAOOO

i do love salice as friends sm

august you are RIDICULOUS "dump him" exactly

wille completely ignoring simon

sara's expression sends me ajjdjdjsjjx it's the right reaction to have

why do people with old money act like that "The Society" yall are silly

terrible terrible way of coping

how did he walk all the way to bjarstad

I REALLY LIKE YOU

and then they walked all the way back to hillerska that's crazy

can i just say i love it's wille that's going down on simon

...... well

why would he do that??? was he planning on saving it for blackmail material or smth or was it just for shits and giggles

alright episode 5

their golden morning 🥺

i like to think that simon forced wille to shower and brush his teeth for my own sanity

simon being the one being cared for for once :((

fish scene my BELOVED

girl solidarity we love to see it

i understand wille was just trying to talk to simon and wasn't gonna say he had to blame him for the drugs but the way he went about it was awful simon had every right to snap and walk away

many people say it's weird that august keeps watching the video but i think it's just bc he knows the power it holds and he can't quite believe it

this song makes me feel a little bit unwell, it's not even one of my favorite uses of music on the show but the song itself is so fucking GOOD

yes stand your ground felice

i recognize that wille is being so vulnerable here and that's not easy and simon can see that BUT come on if you had blamed simon it would've ruined his life it's not just a matter of you not wanting to loose him

the lyrics to samurai swords :(((

sara looks so beautiful

this is betrayal from simon too like he didn't even tell sara he had visited micke MULTIPLE TIMES

FUCK

they're fucked

oof. episode 6 now

i LOVE the way it starts

even the little kid knows who simon is

yeah kristina i don't think that's what wille needs to hear rn

im sorry but wanting sara to go back to marieberg is beyond cruel if the bullying she had to endure there was so bad she had to repeat a year

simon also did made a sacrifice going to hillerska for sara

ok that was quite insensitive sara

they're literally wearing the colors of the swedish flag.......

ohhh the beginning of sargust i don't necessarily ship them but i think they're so interesting

i love this scene sm i mean it's painful but it's so good omar and frida are so GOOD

i think even here simon doesn't quite believe wille will do it but he wants to believe it so bad

"what if i just want to be with him" STOP

but like. ofc he wasn't gonna say it was him he's just a kid and he is under so much pressure

but it's heartbreaking bc he told simon he would and now he just left him to deal with everything by himself

"i have chosen not to get involved in any emotional relationships" that's the worst part

that's why the other students are so shocked in s3 bc after this statement they didn't think simon and wille had anything serious

but like. wille really thought he could go back on his word and then simon would be ok w it and everything could stay the way it was

like simon said, he just expects everything to be on his terms

he probably got that from his mom

wille breaking his promise wasn't even strike 1 or 2 this has been pilling up and simon's been giving wille many chances and has always taken him back

i'm so glad he stood his ground

and he didn't pressure wille into coming out or anything everything he said was very reasonable

another great scene GOD edvin is so good

wille is completely alone

FALLING WE ARE FALLING NOW WORDS WRITTEN DOWN THEY ARE FALLING NOW

AND THE LIES THEY WILL HURT YOU NO MORE HUMAN KINDNESS DESERT YOU NO MORE

CITYS ON FIRE BUT ITS BEAUTIFUL CITYS ON FIRE WONT YOU BURN IT ALL

my favorite 4th wall break fr

REVOLUTIONNNNN

this episode is such a rollercoaster it might be my favorite from s1

An Introduction Pt. 2 - Teen Titans x Aquagirl!Reader

I've already finished part 3 and will be posting it soon, meaning that requests for this series is now open!!! Info can be found here and here is Part 1

Summary: You've teamed up with cloak girl, robot man, emo traffic light, and Beast Boy. What could go wrong?

Pairings: none; if you would like to see pairings for this in the future, requests are now open!!! (see info above)

Word count: 1370

A/N: This is my 100th post on Tumblr WOOOOO!!!! Thanks for the support yall :) Once again this is a reader insert of the Teen Titans 2003 show season 5 ep 10 "Go!" (The one where they all meet for the first time!)

You all hid in an alleyway to hide from the aliens, who were on their search for the pink haired girl. You all silently waited for the aliens to finish rummaging through the cars near you.

“So,” Beast Boy whispered. “I didn’t catch all of your names; I’m Beast Boy.” he re-introduced himself again with an endearing tone, opening it up for the rest of you to respond.

“Robin.”

“Raven.”

“I guess I’ll be going by Cyborg.”

“And I guess I’ll be going by uhhh-” You stopped in the middle of your sentence, now realizing that you never thought of your hero name, especially for the fact that you’ve only been a “hero” for the past 3 hours. Lets see, you think. I have water powers sooo water woman? No! Thats stupid. How about Aquaman? No you dingus, Aquaman is already a person and you’re a girl! Wait how about-

“-Aquagirl.” you decide. “Nice to meet you, Beast Boy.” You grinned and shook his hand, while Robin continued to look out for the aliens. They seemed to all be gone as the five of you peeked your head out of the alleyway.

“Alright,” Robin says, stepping out of the alley way. “We need some way to-”

Raven interrupted him. “She’s near.” she blurted, causing the rest of you to stare at her confusingly. “I can sense things,” she says to her defense.

“I’ll see if I can pick up her scent,” Beast Boy says, and you realize why he was called “Beast Boy” at that moment, as he turned into a dog and began to sniff around. You stared wide eyed at the newly transformed dog, before staring even wider eyed and Cyborg’s revealed arm, which was actually a bionic arm. He explained that he's able to hear her with something called a sonic analyzer.

Beast Boy and Cyborg both perked up, saying that they’ve both got the alien girl’s trail from their respective methods. You and the others follow the two boys, leading you to a video store with the entrance blown apart. The five of you find the girl in the middle of the store, chowing down on junk food.

“Uh… Those taste better without the wrapper,” Beast Boy says, announce your entrance. She finishes her handful of sweet treats and prepares to attack us, her hands glowing a familiar green. You gasped in fear.

Robin steps in front of the four of you, trying to stop the girl. “ It's all right. We're friends, remember?”

“Friends? Why? For what reason did you free me?” she spits, her hands glowing even greener.

“Just… Trying to be nice.”

“‘Nice.’ We do not have this word on my planet. Closest is ‘rutha.’ Weak!” she yells. Cyborg steps up this time.

“Well, around here, ‘nice’ means ‘nice.’” He says calmly. “And if you want us to keep being nice, you better tell us why the Lizard King took you prisoner.”

“Not prisoner. I am...prize. The Gordanians deliver me to the Citadel, to live out my days as their servant.”

“And the Citadel are...?” Raven asks raising an eyebrow.

“Not nice.” She says flatly.

“God, that's terrible,” you gasp. “You can’t go with them.”

“And you’re not going with them. Not if I have anything to say about it.” Robin promises.

“Um, don't you mean ‘we’?” Beast Boy corrected him. Before Robin had a chance to reply, the wall next to you exploded, sending the six of you to the floor. You quickly got up as the alien army advanced.

“Seize her!” one of the aliens yelled. You noticed the others around quickly assumed a fighting stance, and you prepared to fight as well.

You ran towards the aliens, raising your arms to burst the pipes below you, sending water straight up from the ground and overwhelming an alien soldier. You punched your arms forward, the water from the pipe shooting back the aliens from the wall they entered from. You jet the water out using your fists, sending aliens crashing into one another.

You continue to fight, making note of the others out of the corner of your eye. Beast Boy is changing into various animals to launch the soldiers through the air, Raven’s using her magic (of some sort) to send a group of aliens through the roof, Robin uses a staff and his fighting skills, and Cyborg uses his brute strength to overcome them. The alien girl uses her green bolts of energy to shoot the aliens away from the rest of you.

You notice Cyborg being carried by Beast Boy in bird form, trying to escape a few of the flying aliens. You concentrated, and a geyser shot out from under the trio of aliens, putting them off balance. Raven takes control of a streetlight and hits them with it, much similar to a game of golf.

You rejoin the others as the army of aliens lay in a pile, defeated.

“I believe the expression is ‘thanks’” The alien girl says, slightly blushing.

“Its what friends do.” You smile, gently taking her hand for reassurance.

“Aw man, my suit!” Cyborg groans. You hadn’t noticed before, but the teen’s sweat suit had been completely torn to pieces, revealing his body to be completely robotic, with colors of blue, gray, and black.

“So? You look way cooler without it.” Beast Boy says, and you nodded your head in agreement. Cyborg looked at you then Beast Boy, raising his eyebrow.

“Yeah. Like I'm taking fashion advice from the guy in the goofy mask and a girl who fights crime in a surfing suit.” He roasts you and Beast Boy’s outfit choices. You make a face at him, taking obvious offense to his statement.

“I would have changed if I didn’t literally wash up from the ocean a few hours ago!” you defended yourself, arms crossed. Beast took his comment way harder than you did.

“Goofy? My mask is cool. Isn't it? Raven?” He looks at Raven, a pleading look in his eyes. Her facial expression remains the same.

“What secret identity? You’re green.” she points out. Beast Boy mumbled, then hesitantly took his mask, revealing bright green hair to match his skin. You laugh as Robin and your new alien friend walks towards the four of you.

“This isn’t over. Now that we’ve interfered…” Robin began, deep in thought.

“Trogaar will strike harder. It's only a matter of-” Alien Girl tries to finish his sentence, but was interrupted by a loud noise. Another hologram appeared over the city, this time with the alien (whom you now identified as Trogaar) fuming with rage.

“Fools! The Earth scum were warned. Your insolence will be punished. Your city shall be destroyed! “ the large alien bellowed. A large gun at the front of the alien ship began to warm up, preparing to release on Jump City.

“Great.” Raven mutters.

Beast Boy is the first to freak out. “So, after trashing a pizza place and a perfectly good video store, now we've managed to make a humongous space gecko mad enough to vaporize our entire town?” He asks rhetorically.

“Go Team.” Cyborg says unenthusiastically. The alien girl turns to Robin bitterly.

“All the fault is yours! I commanded you leave me alone, but you insisted upon the being nice!” She yells.

“My fault?! You blast me, you kiss me, but you never stop to mention that they have a gigantic particle weapon?” he retaliates. A shout match begins between the alien girl, Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy, overwhelming and seriously annoying you.

“UGHHHH” you say out loud, ignoring the others. “I should have gone back into the ocean and tried swimming back home, but NOOOO i had to follow that stupid green LIGHT and-”

“QUIETTTT” Raven finally yells, snapping all five out you out of your pity parties and arguments. You all turned to her. She simply waved and said “hi.”

Robin sighed. “Look. It doesn't matter how we got into this mess. We're in it, and we will get out of it, together.”

Murmurs of agreement and nodding came out of the other five of you and Robin started walking away. He turned his head towards us.

“Come on. We got a city to save.”

The Freedom of Expression - Ep 36 The banning of snacks and sweet drinks displays from next to cash registers.

K: Hi, this is Dir en grey's Kaoru with this week's episode of The Freedom of Expression. Joe san, Tasai san, welcome. Ok, today lets get straight on with it. Joe  could you please...

J: Yes, lets have a look at this news. Snack and sweet drinks displays next to cash registers banned in Berkeley, California, USA. In the university city of Berkeley, northern California, a law has been passed this week banning the sale of junk food next to cash registers in supermarkets. According to local media, this is the first of its kind in America. The law, unanimously voted for by Berkeley City council, targets cheap, unhealthy products next to cash registers which 'encourage impulse buying, and burden parents of children who want them', with the aim of promoting  healthy lifestyles. Products with over 5g of added sugar or 250mg of added sodium, and drinks containg a lot of sugar or artificial sweetners have been banned from sale next to cash registers. The ban will come into effect from next March. In the city of 120,000 people it will be imposed in 25 large scale supermarkets. The progressive city Berkeley, on the outskirts of San Francisco has been taking health initiatives before now. In 2014 they imposed a tax on soft drinks, and according to a survey from last year, consumption of soft drinks had halved by 2017.

K: Its true though, the cash registers over there have so many snacks near them.

J: They do, don't they?! They are really colourful. But banning it by law is really stepping in, isn't it?

T: Yeah.

J: The supermarkets aren't stopping it through self-restraint, its been forbidden by law, so if they do it will they be penalised?

T: Yeah, wow.

J: I think this is a warning that in America this kind of health damage caused by excessive additives and sugar in food is becoming a serious problem.

K: Yeah, people just end up picking it up.

J: When im waiting in line at the supermarket, its the same in Japan...in the convenience store in Japan, I wait till the last moment and always end up picking up those little Tirol chocolate squares.

K: Oh yeh, they have those out, don't they?

J: They do! Don't those chocolates just call out  to you at the last minute? I always end up buying a few.

T: I  buy 'Bikkuriman'. For the sticker.

J: Oh yeh. Still?

T: I just sometimes get the feeling like I want to open it. I reminds me off old times, haha. I throw it away straight away though.

J: Kaoru, what about you?

K: I don't buy that stuff.

J: Oh, you don't?

K: No, I just buy what I was intending to buy before I went. If Im walking around the store and I see an interesting new product or something, I might buy it, but the stuff near the cash register seems more like left over produce to me.

J: Ah, close to expiring?

K: Yeh, it looks like they really want you to buy it, so they put it there. I don't really feel like picking it up.

T: Ah, I see.

K: But in supermarkets they have gum and stuff near the registers, don't they?

J: Yeah.

K: I do buy gum.

J: Ahh, yeh...Kami? What do you think?

Kami: I pick all of it up.

T: Nice, Kami.

Kami: I get tonnes. 1000yen worth.

T: Haha

Kami: Maybe 500yen, not 1000.

K: Do you like sweets, Kami?

Kami: Yeh, i do. I pick them up straight away. Um, there's often drinks on display too, right?

J: Yeah.

Kami: If there's cola or fanta, I will buy both.

T: Haha

Kami: If I go to buy tea, I will buy all that.

K: You like sweet stuff, right?

J: Yeah.

Kami: No, its not that. Its just that it all looks delicious. It makes you forget *1

T: I see, yeh.

J: In that sense, its part of the store's strategy.

T: Yeh, Kami seems like he would hate that kind of strategy, but he still falls for it.

J: Yeh, he seems like he would be opposed to it, but he still buys tonnes, right Kami?

Kami: Yeh, I really jump on the bandwagon.

K: This stuff must sell a lot.

J: Yeh, I think so. This kind of food looks visually fun, right? Colourful and stuff. Kids get pulled in by it. Like, 'I wanna eat this!'. Its pretty amazing to pass a law in this. That would be impossible in Japan, right?

T: I feel like Japan has more freedom. I had the image since I was small that America is the country of freedom, but recently if you look at America, there is ban after ban...it seems like life there is getting more restricted. And in Japan, even with covid we can still go outside, or go to restaurants and stuff. It made me think Japan is quite free. Its a weird feeling.

J: Ahh, the rules in America are stricter?

K: Overseas, they were quite strict about indoors. Japan is only just getting like that recently, right?

J: Yeh, America was a lot quicker to regulate indoor smoking.

T: Its like that with alcohol too. When one of my best friends was in America during his student days, he once wore a Budweiser tshirt and he was told, 'Its illegal', and he had to change it. I thought that was pretty strict when I heard.

K: You can't carry it around with you either, can you?

J: Yeah, you have to put it in a bag.

K: I stepped outside a venue without knowing this while I was holding a beer can once, and I was told that isn't allowed.

J: Yeh, yeh, yeh. Well, it does depend on how you look at it. Its often said that in Japan, rather than having rules...well, in America there is a kind of society that is governed by rules, but in Japan its more about community, so rather than having rules, peer presure is very strong. People worry about what others think. Its very Japanese, 'other people are saying this, so...', or 'other people are doing this, so...'. People adapt themselves to that first of all.

T: I wonder which style is better?

J: Yeah. They are both different.

T: Its not nice being told by the government to stop something, is it? I understand the reasons though.

K: Well, people do protest that kind of thing.

Kami: But I think this law is good.

J: It is good.

Kami: I think its really good, because you can finish up without buying stuff.

K: Well, it is good.

Kami: Its really good. I thoroughly agree with it.

K: Kids won't pine for sweets either.

J: Yeh.

Kami: I do think its good to buy sweets for kids though.

J: Oh really?

K: Yeh, but just not there, right?

Kami: I wanted sweets when I was a kid.

K: Me too.

T: Yeh, me too.

Kami: I really wanted all those sweets by the register when I was a kid, but I never got them.

K: There are those socks full of snacks at Christmas, right? I wanted one of those.

T: Yeh, me too.

J: If you think about what made you excited as a kid, basically its the sweet shop, right?

K: Yeh, I used to go there.

J: Whenever I ate sour plums and stuff from the sweet shop, my tongue went bright red *2

K: They were crunchy, right?

J: Yeh! I would drink up all the syrup.

K: Haha.

J: I bet that would be no good under that tax in Berkeley.

T: Yeah.

K: Ahh, sweet shops...

T:???

J:???*3

K: I still feel like eating those kind of sweets sometimes.

J: Yeah. There aren't many sweet shops around these days, in the Tokyo area.

T: Yeah, there aren't.

K: But there are sections in other shops that sell those kinds of sweets.

T: A long time ago there was an izakaya in Sangenjaya that only served sweets as beer snacks.

K: Oh, there was, wasn't there?!

T: Yeh. I went a couple of times, cause its unusual, but sweets...

K: You can't withstand it?

J: After you become an adult, right? At first you are like, 'Woah, so nostalgic', but ..

T: Yeh, it gets boring.

J: You start to think halfway, 'this needs to be more tasteful!' Uh, in the precincts of Kishibojin there is apparently Japan's oldest sweet shop or something still there. Its a famous old man, or old woman who runs it.

K: I recently went to Kawagoe.

T: Oh, Little Edo!

K: Yeh, there is a sweet shop street there. The people there were amazing. Well, I mean they were all wearing yukatas and stuff, and eating.

T: Its made me want to go to a sweet shop!

J: Ah, there is a tonne of good places to eat there, isn't there?

K: Oh, is there? In Kawagoe?

J: Yeh.

K: As for sweet shops, the ones that have a downtown feeling are the best. 

J: Yeah.

K: Its nostalgic, going to the sweet shop in the evening, and getting those colourful squeezy things to drink...

J: Yeh!

K: And eating sweets at the same time.

J: Which was your favourite sweet, Kaoru? From the sweet shop?

K: From the sweet shop? I liked Curry rice-crackers, and 5yen chocolate, and those gummy type things in a box, that you pick up with a little stick.

J: Oh yeh.

K: I used to eat that kinda stuff.

T: What about you, Joe?

J: I liked plum jam, I sandwiched it between those kinda soft rice-crackers. And I liked the  Castella.

T: Oh yeh, they had those small ones.

J: Yeh, they were on a skewer. I used to eat them a lot.

K: Tasai?

T: I used to get those squeezy things too. And wasn't there always like a 10yen game outside sweet shops? I would win more sweets with that.

K: You won?? More sweets came out of the game?

T: It was like a 30yen ticket, right?

J, K: Ehh?

J: I never saw that.

T: Didn't you? Like, where you try to get the ball in the hole for ten yen? And if you win, you get a ticket?

K: Ah, I remember something like that where you can win, but I don't remember tickets coming out. It was little freebies. Ah, its nostalgic. Should we try going to a sweet shop on this show?

J: A sweet shop?? Should we??

K: Yeh.

T: Thats a good idea. With 100yen in change.

K: Actually, that place in Kawagoe was closed.

J: Haha, really?

K: I went all the way there, but..

J: Just for that?

K: Yeh.

J: Really?

K: Well, lets go to one on this show.

J: Yeh, lets do it! Film on location!

K: Ok, lets plan something. Lets fill ourselves with unhealthy snacks.

J: Ah, but it won't be that much.

K: Well, yeh.

J: It'll be limited to what you can get at the sweet shop.

T: Sounds good.

K: Is this ok? Us ending up talking about this?

T: Its ok, it feels good to talk about it.

J: It does, haha.

K: Ok, well, we'll finish here. Please subscribe. Thank you very much.

*1, 2 Difficult to hear, but i think its this.

*3 Couldn't catch.

Season 1, ep 5, p1

You opened your eyes to see a young child running through luscious green gardens. The child was giggling and quickly slid on his stomach to hid underneath a bush. Your sight cleared up a bit to see the child was you, age 5. Younger you peeked out and yelped when you were picked up by large hands, and you heard your father's booming laughter. "Found you, my little waterbender!" Your father turned you upside down and tickled you, making you squeal and cry out, "Uncle! Uncle!"

"All right, Bumi, dear, be careful with him. He just ate lunch." A beautiful (H/c) woman walked over, her short hair flowing in the wind. Your father chuckled, before setting you on his shoulder, and walked over to your mother. "Sorry, love. I couldn't help it! I've missed you both so much." He wrapped his free arm around her waist, and kissed her passionately, making you groan in disgust.

"Ew, Mom, Dad, gross." You stuck your tongue out in disgust. "Oh, what are you talking about gross?" Bumi growled playfully, tickling your sides again. You laugh, and wiggle out of his grip before running to hide behind your mother's leg. You heard your mother giggling which made you suspicious, but shrieked with your mother when you both were in the cold water. You clung to your mom's back, giggling like mad. 

Your father's pale blue eyes sparkled with mischief, while he remained dry on land, laughing so hard, he was clutching his stomach. Your mother tickled your side, your secret signal for getting your father. You both summoned a giant wave and brought your father into the ocean with you. You jumped on his back, and he began swimming around like a polar bear dog, your mother swimming behind you. 

You then wrapped an arm around your mom's neck, and hung between the two adults, and looked at them hopefully. "We'll be like this forever, right?" Your innocent question made their hearts hurt, but they couldn't bring themselves to tell you the truth, not yet. So they held you closer, and smiled . 

"Of course, kiddo." "Yes, my love."

*End vision*

You opened your eyes to see Jinora and Nevermore over you, looking worried for you."(Y/N), are you okay?" Jinora whispered. You looked outside to see it was dark out, meaning you fell asleep reading again. "Hey, 'Nora. Yes, I'm okay. Are you okay?" You sat up, your hair sticking up everywhere and poofy. She giggled, but then looked down at her hands, shyly peeking at you. "I-I had a nightmare, and I can't go to Mom and Dad." 

Nevermore crawled into the little bookworm's lap. "How come you didn't go to Korra?" you wondered. "Because Daddy says that Korra needed to be alone for a little while. Can I sleep with you?" She used her polar bear pup eyes, and you sighed in playful defeat. Lifting your blanket, you silently told her to come under. She snuggled into your side, and Nevermore curled near your heads. 

"Good night, (Y/N)." Jinora whispered. "Good night, Jinora." 

*The next day*

You exhaled sharply, as you wrapped your knuckles up tightly. "It's been great to have you back, Korra." "It feels great to be back, although Tarrlok isn't please with our leaves of absences." Bolin scoffed. "Hey, (Y/N) created the Fire Ferrets and Korra, you joined before you joined his task force." "Okay guys, team huddle." You clapped your hands, making the younger teens walk over and put their hands over each other shoulders. 

Bolin grinned goofily, making Korra grin goofier, and you and Mako glance at each other uneasily before Mako clear his throat before taking over. "It's our first match of the tournament tonight. I know our team has been having some ups and downs for a little while. But even so, the Fire Ferrets have been on top of their game. Are we ready?"

Korra and Bolin echoed: "We're ready!" "Not yet." a sweet voice sung from behind you guys. You broke your group up to see Asami holding up a new uniform. "You'll need these." Mako immediately walked over. "Hey Asami." "Good morning, sweetie." She replied happily, as the firebender admired the outfits. "These new uniforms look great." he complimented. You and Korra looked at each other before rolling your eyes at the 'couple'.

"You look great, champ." Bolin rolled his eyes, Korra gagged when they rubbed noses, and you scowled, but you all fixed yourselves when they turned to you guys. "Well, teammates, I'll see you before the match tonight. Asami and I have a lunch date." "Okay, we'll check with you guys later!" Bolin cheered, waving. "Yeah, see ya when we see ya." You  grumbled, before turning away, and tightening your ponytail. 

You watched Bolin and Korra from the corner of your eye. "Soo, Korra...There they go, here we are. All alone in the gym, just you and me, two people alone. Together, alone." Bolin sputtered when Korra said, "What about (Y/N)?" "(Y/N) doesn't count; you've seen him in matches." You huff a laugh at that.

"Uh..I got to head back to Air Temple to train with Tenzin. See ya!" Korra ran out of their awkwardly. You pat Bolin's shoulder as he pouted in sympathy. "Soo, you like Korra don't you?" you smirked. He laughed, avoiding your gaze. "There's no use hiding it. And guess what, I'll be your wing-man." The Earthbender grinned as you began to explain your plan. 

*That night*

"Work with me, Pabu! You want to look spic and span in your new uniform, don't you?" Pabu chattered angrily as Bolin put him into the warm bath water. Nevermore smirked from the other side of the room, her tail lazily swinging back and forth from your shoulder. "So, what do you think of Korra in a girlfriend sort of way?" Bolin asked outloud.

"Personally, I don't see Korra that way. She's like my little sister, if I'm being honest." You hummed, turning in the mirror to brush your hair out. "She's great, but I think it makes more sense for me to go for Asami." Mako thought aloud, stirring the dinner. Your grip tightened around your brush, as you glared at the Firebender's back.  Bolin was also irritated but for a different reason. 

"I was talking about a girlfriend for me, Mako. Leave some ladies for the rest of us!" Bolin snapped, as Mako realized his mistake. "I know, that's what I thought you meant." "Sure, Mako. That's why you said, 'I'." You said sarcastically. "I don't know, Bo. It doesn't seem like a good idea for you to date Korra." "You just said, she was great two seconds ago." The Earthbender narrowed his eyes at his brother. 

"Yeah, Korra's a great athlete and Avatar and stuff. But I don't know if she's really girlfriend material. She's more like a pal." "A-A pal?" You questioned, turning half away to share a look with Bolin. "Bro, you're nuts. Korra and I are perfect for each other. She's strong, I'm strong. She's fun, I'm fun. She's beautiful, I'm gorgeous." You laugh as he continued. "Okay, I don't care what you think, I'm going to ask Korra out." 

That caught Mako's attention. "Look, it isn't just a smart idea to date a teammate, especially during a tournament. Keep your head out of the clouds and your priorities straight, okay?" Mako turned to finish cooking dinner. "You know what I'm talking about, don't you, Pabu? I'm talking about real love." He whispered to the Fire Ferret.

 You laugh again, putting blue beads in your hair. "Don't worry, Bo. You'll find the right girl one day." You went silent again, watching Mako from the mirror. 'This whole thing with Asami isn't good. Someone is going to get hurt, most likely Asami and/or Bolin. So how....how can I stop it?'

*A few hours later*

You tied your belt around your waist, listening to the announcer talk to the crowd.

"This is it folks, after a year of waiting, the pro bending tournament is finally here. Tonight is the first set of matches in our single elimination, 16 team bracket. And I gotta tell ya, these are the most tenacious and talented bending trios this arena has ever seen. " 

At that point you made it to the platform with your team, and the light shining on you guys. "Introducing our first team, the Future Industries Fire Ferrets." Everyone began cheering, you could even hear Korra in the background cheering. "Yeah, (Y/N)!" You looked into the stands to see Nagisa and Kazan calling you. You didn't know they were coming tonight, but it made your heart happy. 

"You can do it (Y/N)!" Nagisa cheered with Kazan waving from your Aunt Rene's shoulder. You waved back and blew a kiss to your aunt. "And their opponents, the Red Sand Rabbaroos." The crowd cheered louder when the two opposing teams made an explosion right away. "What an explosive opening volley. Both teams recover quickly and unleash a barrage of bending, I am astonished with how amazing the Fire Ferrets have improved! No wonder, Councilman (Y/N) and the Avatar haven't been in the pages lately. They've obviously had their noses to the grindstone in the gym." 

You used your ice to protect Bolin from an incoming Earth disk he wasn't aware of. "The Ferrets advance into Rabbaroo territory and are holding nothing back. Nice sprawl there by Mako, Bolin strikes, Ula dodges and all three Rabbaroos are down! The Fire Ferrets easily take round one, now onto round 2."

You smirk, using the water to knock the Firebender down the back. "The Rabbaroos are looking for payback, and they go after (Y/N). Bolin comes to his rescue, and he Earth disks Umi back into Zone 2! The Ferrets are on fire tonight, and they win round 2!" You, Mako and Bolin high fived each other.

"Round Threeee!" drawled another announcer. "With the Rabbaroos down two rounds, they'll need a knockout to win, and with the way the Ferrets are playing, I don't see that happening." The crowd began booing. You punched the air, making water fly at your opponents. "These Ferrets are moving like an well oiled machine." Bolin grunted as he sent three Earth disks to the opposing firebender, knocking her back. 

"Bolin bashes Adi into Zone 2, and the Ferrets get the green light to advance. The Rabbaroos are just fighting to stay on their feet at this point, down goes Adi, Ula, and Umi." "All three rounds go to the Future Industries Fire Ferrets who win their opening tournament match!" You all cheered, with giant grins on your faces. 

As you all walked back to the room to change, Mako spoke to you, not noticing Korra was there waiting for you guys. "Wow, we were really awesome tonight in that ring. Glad to have you back, (Y/N)." You took your helmet off and grinned wider. "Yeah, it's great to see we haven't lost our spark." Korra came up to you guys with a smile on her face and grinned. "Yeah, you guys were awesome out there!" "Thanks, Korra." Your cheeks were hurting from smiling so much at that point. 

You went behind the curtain to change into your street clothes, hearing Bolin talk to the audience more. Korra seemed to forgot you were in hearing range because as you were getting dressed, you heard her talk to Mako. "So, I've been thinking we should spend some time together." Mako chuckled, "We've been spending lots of time together." "I mean, outside of the gym and not while searching for kidnapped family members, or fighting chi blockers." she clarified. 

"I don't know. Asami and I are--" You almost fell over when you heard Korra say, "Look, I really like you and I think we were meant for each other." 

Silence followed. 

"Korra, I'm really sorry, but I just don--" at that moment you walked out, and cut him off. "Don't think it isn't a good idea to not hang out as friends." "You heard all that?!" Korra asked, blushing a bright red. "Kind of hard when I'm changing in the next room, Kor." "Will you excuse us for a second?" You pulled Mako away from her as Bolin came in. You then pulled Mako's ear, making him groan. 

"Ow, (Y/N)! What was that for?" he demanded. You frown at him, cross your arms and stare him down. "Mako, what in the entire hell is wrong with you?" you countered. "What do you--" "Don't play stupid with me! You don't even love Asami, you're in love with Korra! I don't know what is up with you lately, but you are being a ass! First you try to shoot Bolin down when he asked you for advice about his love life, and now you're trying to shoot Korra down hard." you whispered shouted. 

"Look, Mako, I'm telling you this as your best friend," you placed a hand on his shoulder, making amber eyes look into your (e/c) eyes, "You can't have it both ways. You need to make a decision and make it before anymore people get hurt." You walked away, leaving the firebender to trail behind you. 

"Congratulations, guys! You looked amazing out there." Asami beamed as she came into the room, giving Mako a kiss on the cheek. Mako smiled weakly before looking at a heart broken Korra. You raised an eyebrow at Mako, making him look away in shame before walking away with Asami. 

Rolling your eyes, you sighed aggravated, but felt your mood life as you heard little feet running towards you. "(Y/N)!" Nagisa's body slammed into you, hugging your waist, while Kazan hugged your leg. "Hey guys! It's been a while!" You knelt down to hug the children listening to Bolin ask Korra something.  "So, Korra, I was thinking you and me,we could go get some dinner together. Sort of date situation." 

"Oh, that's really sweet, but I don't think so. I don't feel very date worthy." She said sadly. "Are you kidding me? You're the smartest, funniest, toughest, buff-est, talented-est, incredible-est in the world!" Bolin said, a slight blush on his cheeks. Korra giggled at the Earthbender. "You really feel that way about me?" she asked slightly. 

"I felt that way since the moment I saw you. Trust me,I know we're going to have so much fun together." Bolin encouraged."You know what? I could use some fun. Okay, sure." "Yes! Who's the luckiest guy in the world? Right here, Bolin!" 'Good for you, Bo.' You smiled, zoning back into Nagisa's chattering.

The little girl was talking about how cool it was living with your aunt. "Yeah, Aunt Rene is pretty cool. I like visiting her because she's so much fun." You turned to Kazan and signed, 'What do you think of living with Rene?'  He smiled toothily, and signed back, 'She's really nice! She's a firebender like me, and has been teaching me to use my powers. She also has a waterbender teacher come for Nagi.' Suddenly he frowned, and signed, 'I just wish there were kids my age around. It'd be nice to have other people around besides Ms Rene, Nagisa, and her staff.' 

You hummed, and then brightened up, before turning to your aunt. "Why don't you guys come to Air Temple for dinner? I can cook, and Nagisa and Kazan can meet the Air kids." Rene looked at the two children and smiled. "Sounds good, let's do it." You turned to Kazan and signed,'Well, you are about to get your wish, little dude. You can come meet my cousins.' 

Together you walk out, Kazan riding your back, and Nagisa holding Rene's hand, and chanting, "Food, food, food!"

Neo nuzzled Kazan when he came forward, and you helped Nagisa onto Neo's saddle. "Hold on tight okay, we're going to take the fast way. 

*Timeskip*

You walked into Air Temple and found your family relaxing in the garden, waiting for you to come home. Ikki brightened up and ran over to you, with an excited look on her face. "(Y/N)! How'd it go? Was it super cool? Did you win? Are you going to the next match to-" You cut her off by laughing, and splashing her with a litle bit of water. 

"Hey Cheeky Ikki. Yes it was super cool, we did win, and we're going to the next match. But I have some friends for you to meet first." You went to the side and revealed the shy firebender and excited waterbender. "Hi! I'm Nagisa, and this is my brother Kazan!" Ikki, Jinora, and Meelo looked at the sister brother duo curiously. "Nagisa, Kazan, meet the Airbender family: This is my Auntie Pema, and Uncle Tenzin, and my cousins, Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo. Family, meet Nagisa and Kazan, and you all know my Aunt Rene." 

Rene wrapped an arm around you and smiled. "Cooking competition?" she grinned deviously. "Cooking competition." you agreed. "Yay! On your mark," Meelo started, "Get set," Ikki giggled with Nagisa. "Go!" Jinora cried, as you and your aunt began cooking at a rapid pace. "And done!"

You presented: 

Vegetable curry, for the vegans of the family, while your aunt presented:

Meat surprise for the meat lovers of families. 

"Enjoy!"

The Night We Met - Episode 3

pairing : Taehyung x OC   genre : bodyguard!au, singleparent!au, idol!au   word count : 2.3k   summary — Taehyung has a talk with his father. He also starts to catch feelings. Prologue | ep.1 | ep.2 | ep.3 | ep.4 | ep.5 | ep.6 | ep.7 

You park the car neatly along the sidewalk. When the engine dies down, nothing else can be heard beside the subdued tweeting in the trees nearby playing with the agreeable silence the upscale neighbourhood is plunged in.

A cold wind blows on your face as you step out of the vehicle. There are leaves everywhere, covering the ground with hues of brown, red, orange and yellow. You walk around the car and see Taehyung adjusting Hina’s beanie and gloves while she waits patiently.

With a quick nod, you let him know the vicinity is clear and show you’re ready to escort them to his parents’ house.

He wraps her hand in his and leads the way. You keep a small distance behind. He stops in front of a tall front gate and rings the bell. You keep looking both ways until it opens and they are inside.

Taehyung notices his father at the other end of the path, waving and smiling warmly. He gestures back but gets surprised when the little girl lets go of his hand.

“Hina! Come back!” He orders as she runs away, giggling, towards the big piles of leaves gathered at the foot of the old tree in the garden.

“Go. I’ll watch her.” He hears you quietly saying right next to his ear, the sudden proximity making his heart jump hard.

“But-” He mumbles, flustered.

“She’ll join you after.”

Taehyung heads to his father reluctantly, gazing steadily at Hina making a mess around herself.  

“Don’t worry about it,” grins the older man. “It’s been a while since we’ve heard someone laugh in here.”

“She never listens to him,” he complains and it reminds his father of his son’s childhood days.

He stops at the doorstep. “Did you ever?” Taehyung stares at him dumbstruck. “I’m just kidding. Come. Is your friend joining us?”

He looks back where you’re standing ramrod straight, fixing Hina with an attentive look.

“She’s watching her.”

Taehyung welcomes the warmth of the house with contentment and starts getting rid of the thick layers he’s dressed himself in. The fire crackling in the living-room is the sole sound and source of light inside. He follows his father.

“It’s getting colder this week. I’m heating up tea.”

Taehyung offers a soft smile.

“So?” His father looks at him pointedly, sitting next to him.

“What?”

“You think I don’t know what’s between the two of you?”

Taehyung frowns, taken aback. “What?”

“I’m no fool. I know you like her.”

“B-but- I mean- No- It’s not what you think!”

His father chuckles the more he gets mixed up. “I’m just messing with you. What’s with that face you’re making?”

Taehyung pouts, feeling his cheeks warming up.

“I didn’t catch her name.”

“______.” He answers softly. “She’s Seojun’s replacement.”

“She seems reliable and… one-of-a-kind.”

“She is,” he trails to himself and gets a glimpse of him out of the corner of his eye. “Why are you looking at me like that?”  

“I’m sure she has you under her thumb.”

Taehyung crosses his arms, slightly upset. “That’s not even true.” He opens one eye and catches him stifling a snicker. “Stop it!”

“Still so easy to get you worked up I see.”

Silence comes again and their smiles die down.

“How’s mom?”

He hears his father’s intake of air, trying to come up with an answer. “I don’t really know... She started eating again.” He looks at his son, “I guess she’s getting better. But I don’t know what this really means. I don’t think we’ll ever get over what happened.”

Taehyung keeps staring into space, at a loss for words. He can hear Hina’s laughter from the outside and his heart tightens as chaotic thoughts fill his mind.  

“Maybe-”

“Hm?”

Taehyung sounds unsure about what he’s about to say. “I was thinking- If I left Hina here… It’d help?”

“We miss her terribly,” he sighs. “She does bring a lot of happiness. She looks so much like him. And you.” His father smiles tenderly. “But she grew attached to you. And we know why. I think you’re her best solution.”

“I just wan’ help mom and you get well fast.”

“I know. I know... Don’t worry too much over us, you already have a lot on your plate. We look after each other and- to know Hina and you have each other, it helps us feel better.”

A part of him feels relieved about keeping Hina home but he can’t ignore the heaviness in his chest the longer he thinks of his parents on their own with their sorrow.

Taehyung lets out a breathy chuckle. “ You know she-… She’s started to call me ‘daddy’ and-” he sees his father gazing back. “I don’t really know how to react.”

“Does it make you uncomfortable?”

He shakes his head. “Not anymore.”

“Then, it shouldn’t tick over in your mind. As long as she feels safe and you’re still managing… things… Cause you are, right?”

“Yeah,” Taehyung promptly reassures him. His mouth stretches in a small grin. “I- I get a lot of help back there.”

“I’m sure you do.” His father reaches for his shoulder, smiling as well. “I’m serious, Taehyung. No need to get concerned about anything. We got this. All of us.”

They share a look, simple, yet holding so much more.

The kettle’s suddenly whistling, prompting the old man on his feet.

“Get’em inside. I’ll go wake you mom.”

Taehyung stands up and heads to the entrance. He opens the door and is a little surprised to see you already there, assisting Hina in climbing up the stairs.

The tip of her nose has turned pink and he can feel the freshness of her palms through the fabric when she hugs his leg. He hurries her inside after getting her shoes off.

He steps aside to let you in.

“Oh, wait…” He suddenly says. You look back, caught off guard as you watch him reach for the top of your head. “You have a leaf stuck in your hair.”

The moment is short but feels drawn out. His fingers are delicate in their motions, you can even feel him lightly combing your hair before he abruptly stops when he catches you staring back intently.

His cheeks warm up yet again. “Done.”

“I suggest you get in before we all freeze to death.” His father puts an end to your staring contest.

You both look away and watch Hina hugging her grandmother who just came down the stairs. She meets your eyes, surprised.

“Mom, this is ______.”

________________________________________

Taehyung’s not sure what to think of your closeness with Hina. It’s as if he feels obliged to feel bad about you watching her while he’s working on his new songs either in studios or shows venues when you’re only paid to keep any harm from her and not play babysitter. He still remembers that one day he firmly told her not to use walls as a written medium and started drawing on your body after you've told her she could and showed the tattoo on your thigh.

He was both befuddled and surprised to note that particularity. And he hates how stoical you always seem to be about everything. He wants to be able to read your mind but you’ve never indulged him. He gets more curious about your opinion of him as a performer.

As grateful he is for your presence, he’s come to realise, after only a couple of months in your company, its impact on their relationship. It’s not as if you’ve been trying to create any particular bond with his niece, yet you’ve managed to get Hina to ask after you when you’re nowhere to be seen. He never feels jealous about it, it simply makes him smile. He’d even find himself missing you oftentimes.

Today’s Wednesday and it’s awfully quiet this afternoon.

Taehyung’s scrolling endlessly through movies and dramas when Hina comes plopping down on the couch, face first, next to him.

“Are you bored ?” He smiles at her and playfully taps her bum.

Another minute passes by and he turns off the T.V. to grab his phone. It’s seven pm.

“Wanna go see ______?”

Hina pulls herself straight up at the mention of your name and squeals a little ‘yes’ as if he’s just had the best idea ever.

“Let’s go get prepared.”

Not long after, they’re already on their way to the gym where you’re always spending your free time on his days off. It’s not a long walk by foot. He knows he’s taking risks but he doesn’t feel like driving.

With Hina in one arm, he pushes open the front door. The air inside is thick and heavy with the smell of sweat. Music’s blasting, although low enough for him to hear the fit man greeting him at the entrance.

Taehyung adjusts his sunglasses on his fringe. “I’m looking for _______. We agreed to meet.” He lies.

“Wait here, I’ll go get her.”

“Thank you.”

He watches the man walk around a corner. He lets Hina sit back on the counter to ease his arm tired after holding her the whole walk.

“_______!” She exclaims, which has Taehyung looking where she’s pointing.

He spots you a few feet away walking in his direction and chatting with another man. He’s staring back quietly and feels satisfied when he notices the surprise in your eyes for a split second at their sight.

He feels Hina tugging at his collar to get back in his arms. She waves at you excitedly when you’re near. The man in your company stops behind to chat with another person crossing his way.

“Hi,” you hear Taehyung breath. He hopes you don’t notice his staring.

Your outfit isn’t much different from what you usually wear at home when you work out but your chest is glowing with your effort enticingly and your hair sticking to the flushed skin of your neck. Your worked up expression makes his stomach feel tingly.

“What are you doing here?”

“Uhm- We… Hina wanted to see you.”

“That’s really stupid of you.” You frown a little. “What if something happened on your way here? Or if someone recognised you?”

Taehyung feels himself warming up at your worry.

“We took care of it. Hina, show her,” he smiles proudly and raises a finger to tap and have his sunglasses falling down on his nose. Your gaze shifts back and forth to his cheeky smile and Hina who’s keeping a tight tiny hand on hers, obviously too big for her, clearly playing along.

“Secwet.” She hushes.

You pinch your lips not to let yourself get endeared by her.

“______?” The stranger suddenly says.

Taehyung’s eyes instantly look at his hand cupping your waist to fit himself between you and the counter. He notes he’s barely taller than him but his physique is near perfection. You do nothing to take his hand off of you. His smile dies a little.

“New friends?”

“Uhm-,” you turn your head to glance at him quickly, “Shownu, this is Taehyung. And his niece.” You gesture between them. “Taehyung, Hina, Shownu. He owns that gym.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Shownu doesn’t seem to recognise him as he swipes his hand on his shorts and offers it. Taehyung shakes it shortly and nods. “You should come someday. We’re offering fifty percent off of membership and the first month is free.”

“Now’s not a great time.”

“Why not?”

You shake your head at Shownu. “Why are you being so nosy?”

“I’m just asking.”

Taehyung intervenes. “I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Great.” He smiles and stretches a hand to pinch Hina’s cheek lightly but she leans away on Taehyung’s shoulder. He grips your shoulder, looking down at you. “Have to go. I’ll text you about the thing, okay?”

You nod.

Taehyung watches you watching him walking away. He can’t help but compare himself to him and wonder if he’s your type. It itches him to know more about the two of you but he knows better. You catch him and he grins a tight-lipped smile.

_______________________________________

The walk back home is quiet. Hina’s happy about not having to wear those gigantic glasses anymore and bounces her way in front of you.

“Don’t get surprised if you’re making headlines tomorrow.”

Taehyung turns around to see you staring blankly at him, “what are you talking about?”

“I’m sure someone’s already spotted you. You’re surely all over the internet.” You say pointedly.

“Uh- No, that’s impossible.” He quickly interjects. “I was careful. And it’s too dark now.”

“You don’t know them. They’re crazy.” You suddenly breathe very closely to his face. “They’re everywhere and watching everything you do. Seojun told me all about them.”

Taehyung freezes, uneasy. “Hina!” He calls when she starts to get a little too far. “Why are you saying these things? It's scary.”

“It’ll be your fault.” You close your eyes, slightly pouting.

He picks her up when she’s at his feet. He frowns,“stop saying that.”

“Then don’t go out without telling me.”

“Alright, I got it!”

Hina looks back and forth between you two.

“Maybe, we’re being followed.”

He’s getting a little alarmed. “You think?”

“I don’t know.” You walk closer and closer until your chest presses against his arm. “The best thing we could do... would be to pretend to be a family? Taking a walk?” You drag out.

“Eh?”

You grin a little lopsided smile at his funny expression. “Yeah, like this.” You sneak an arm around his, tightening him more to yourself.

Taehyung doesn’t know how to react to your sudden move. Hina stretches her tiny hand to cup your cheek and he notices a glint of satisfaction in your eyes. “Bu- but, you’re sweaty.”

“What did you expect, fetching me from the gym?” You jerk your body away.

“No, no, no! I take it back!”

You shake your head at him and he looks away when you don’t, trying to contain himself.

////////////////////////////!\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Feedback is much appreciated Reblog if you wish to read more

Proud family!anon again

Yes!! I'm glad you brought up Maya because my God, upon rewatching, and really thinking about her character she is an insufferable stereotype of a character. Not to mention in the next episode she's just part of Penny's gang now? No apology or her self reflecting over her bad attitude? And going against her pervious views of disliking superficial people by completely fawning over that James Charles looking ass?? Girl git cho priorities straight your hypocrisy is showing big time

Than there's Michael. I was so worried that they were gonna make him the overused sassy gay think trope and what'd they do?

They made him the overused sassy gay twink trope!

It's going to be his only personality trait mark my words

And along with the reboot I'm most unhappy about? Penny's awful friends still being awful, yep totally still hanging out with Lacienega even tho she's mean towards everyone in the group (including being kinda racist calling Penny's baby siblings the nappy head twins) and yep let's laugh Penny out of school (I know she's in the wrong for using her influence to rid people she didn't like but damn why you gotta kick a girl down when it was her father her fucked her over?)

Also why did they make the gross sisters rich anyway, it defeats the whole purpose on why they act they way they do (poor, working long hours outside with their dad) so they hustle others just to get by

Really those are my only complaints and I know theirs only 2 eps out now but I'm just worried that the issues I listed above ain't gonna get fixed

Whaaaat? You mean you didn't enjoy Michael telling someone that they needed to go shopping for new shoes and going "What are THOSE?"

Well, to be fair, they did LaCienega pretty dirty by having her go through all the worst elements of puberty (the thick eyebrows, bad acne, and facial hair) so they probably want the audience to think 'well, she's humbled now!'

Okay, is Maya supposed to be a part of the friend group or just the resident bitch? Because, the way I heard it, while she's not a flat-out antagonist, the way she treats Penny makes it seem like she would be more like that resident bitch character who isn't purposely out to get someone but is more than ready to jump on an opportunity to ruin someone's day (kind of like Toralei Stripe from G1 of Monster High).

Honestly? As much as it makes me sound like a sheep, I just want to see the Lil Nas X episode. I want to see if they make an original character for him to voice or if they just ram him into the show like they apparently did Lizzo.

7th twewy VII - code: S.H.O.

(this is the liveblog post)

whoa, hey, let’s not jump to conclusions here!

god imagine getting a drink and it’s like 90% ice cube. sphere. whatever

anyway back to our normal friend josh

who can use jesus beams now! but still has shit defense and will get mauled by crabs the moment you look away!

center gay

f-”fujisan roku ni o-mu naku”............ god fucking dammit i hate sho

(the subs won’t tell you what the mnemonic is. but i did. just now. sho says it a lot in the jp version. it means uhhh something about a bird at mount fuji idfk who cares. i guess the thing he was saying while drawing the sigil last ep was a really, really long mnemonic for pi??)

fun twewy memories: trying to decipher that goddamn map

NO

:(

at least these guys lived! what a relief! (jk they die too)

so uh, the anime showed new wall reaper designs once each and then went back to the originals...??

me when im playing the second half of week 2 and keep getting mugged by taboo noise

CRABS

oh nvm i think that’s one of the new designs (he dies immediately)

MOVE OUT OF THE WAY JACKASS

yknow i never got why like, in movies and stuff when there’s a boulder or some huge object heading toward the characters, why they never go to the side?? even when there’s plenty of space to?? they just keep running straight, like that’s gonna do any good

Leave

they special day

fangs....moe.........

ok but i kinda prefer the game version where he saves joshua from getting killed by noise because he wants to do the killing himself? you cant just take away perfectly good brain worms like that, bro!!

anyway: zowee yaowee

m-...mark...??

oh. right, i heard they got permission to use the actual irl names for neo, i guess theyre using them here too (but they kept 104, ofc)

(”in the real life”)

anyway this was a fun little 7-episode anime

what

SPIDERS??

ok i noticed them in the op too but uhhh the game didnt have spiders, right? (are crabs like spiders?)

if only there were some huge red glowing beams of light from which we could infer their location!!!

ok blue ones work too

h-heart-shaped... moe???

okay so they switched on the lights as thanks for saving them before, but also beat’s here, but also he’s “accidentally” protecting them from noise on purpose(???) and now the textures are all fucked up

oh right, this hadnt happened yet. i guess it’s more dramatic on a roof at sunset

(z-zowee yaowee...?!)

they’re on the roof, but they have to go to the roof on top of the roof. what will they find there? perhaps... a third roof???

male gaze

fucking same

male gaze

oh come ON

so like, are cheesy paint roller guns standard issue for reapers

(oh so we get to see NEKU bleeding profusely from bullet wounds but not the character everyone wants to see bleeding profusely?? i see how it is.) (im everyone)

male gaze

they dont show his wings shattering either??? what sick fuck is responsible for not catering to me specifically

is that better or worse than zetta slow? i’d google it but i dont want that in my search history

oh right uhh the roof broke and now theyre floating in a dimension of prismatic roof pieces(??) that show memories(???)

male gaze (furry edition)

dude teleports all over the place and beats the shit out of them. pretty accurate to the game! 

for one brief, fleeting moment, i thought they were gonna hold hands

rest in fucking pieces. pi-eces

then he explodes himself. and i guess dies, permanently, as dying always is in this anime, and we will totally never see him again

josh pushes neku off the roof, clear of the explosion. good thing there’s another roof not too far below

:3

“oops, i could’ve sworn the other roof was on that side :3c”

he ends up back in blank white background zone. gosh, if there’s one thing i cant stand, it’s when art has a blank white background!

kitaniji is slow clapping, because secretly he sent the final mission to get rid of minamimoto for everyone. guess he heard one “megs” too many........

:(

ah, so THAT’S why he dyed his hair in the sequel

Queen live at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London - June 6, 1977 (Part-2)

The pics (except for the first 3 pics) could be from either night (the eight one was snapped by Gillian Parry, who ultimately wasn't able to get tickets to the show). These pro pics could be from either this show or the following night: 

Here is the noteworthy stage banter from the show. Freddie sure has a lot to say to the hometown crowd: Freddie: "Good evening everybody. All you ladies and gentlemen, how are you feeling tonight? Are you ready for some rock and roll? Some more rock and roll? We're gonna do just that. Thank you for coming to our first show in London after such a long time. Thank you for giving us such a nice welcome. Thank you. Ok. This is the right carnival, isn't it? Did you see in the front? I shall have to have a look at it tomorrow, right? We have a... I must carry on... We have a lot of music to play for you tonight from all our various albums. So, just stick around. We like to carry on straight away with a number entitled White Queen." Freddie: "Thank you very much ladies and gentlemen and everybody else. As you know that was from an album way back, from... I hope you remember the album Queen II, do you remember it? Nice. I think we shall be doing some more from that. It's also recently introduced on the new EP, for those of you who don't know (which also included Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy, Tenement Funster, and Death On Two Legs). Ok, enough of that. Right now, we'd like to do something from the new A Day At The Races album. And this... I must tell you about this, listen. The song is called Somebody To Love, and we require your cooperation. As you know that on the record there are a lot of voices and everything, and there's only four of us on the stage tonight. We'd like you to join in the choruses, don't be shy." Brian, before Killer Queen: "Thank you. Good evening. Thank you for welping (Brian stuttered, as he was nervous!), welcoming us back home. I know a lot of you have been with us for a long time, right through the Marquee and the Rainbow, and the Hammersmith Odeon and things. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to do this ridiculous place. I hope you can hear, I hope you can see. We're gonna get as close to you as we can. This is this is a kind of medley. We're gonna loosen up a little in this. It goes like this." Freddie, after doing a few formal bows: "I love posing. That's for the press. Ok, what should we do for you now? Let me see... Would you like something a bit softer, something quieter or something heavier? Something a bit heavier. Ok. Let me see. I must tell you there times when we get a lot of requests to play songs and introduce them." Some people up front get a bit restless. "Listen to me lovelies, listen!" Freddie bows once again. "I can do this all night if you like! I'll just tell you what it's called. It's called Death On Two Legs. It's about a nasty old man that I used to know, anyway." Freddie wouldn't start slamming their old manager Norman Sheffield (whom the song was written for) until 1979. Freddie: "Ok, we'd like... This is my champagne time. Cheers everybody. I was gonna make a nice long speech, but forget it. Cheers. Have champagne for breakfast tomorrow. Just go out and buy it. Ok, right now we'd like to feature a very well-known fireplace that hangs around Mr. May's neck. It's also known as his guitar. We'd like to feature Brian May in this next song. It's called Brighton Rock." Brian: "Thanks a lot, you're very kind. Thank you for indulging me once again. I'll play some sweet soft things for you." He briefly fiddles around on his 12-string acoustic, then continues: "I just have to make sure that works, because we don't often use these things, you understand. We haven´t brought the orchestra tonight, 'cause we have brought you the band at the front of the stage, showing their virtuosity on various instruments. This is called '39. If you want to sing along to this and jump up, please do." Roger shouts: "Sing along!" Freddie: "Thank you my darlings, you load of tarts. Thank you. I think it's really interesting doing those acoustic things, don't you think? I think in the future we might really think about introducing it some more. So Brian's gonna have to go and write some, 'cause I can`t. Ok. Before we tease you with a bit of, sort of, heavy rock and roll and things towards the end, I'd just like to slip in a little, well I'd like you to listen carefully to a simple little song. This is me on the piano, it's called You Take My Breath Away." Freddie: "Thank you. And maybe next time we will bring back an orchestra, bring with us an orchestra, what you think? Costs more money. I really feel like being evil tonight." He clenches his fist while he says this. "Ok, we have two songs now for you, two songs rolled into one. They're both written by Brian. I must tell you that every night that we've done the song, these two songs on the tour, they seem to getting better every night, depending on the practice of course. But it really depends on the audience as well. Now, you've been a bit cool and sophisticated up to now, but get your asses going, ok? We can all be nice and cool, but I mean you've got to give out some time. So this a song, it starts off with White Man." Brian: "Ok, we'd like to bring back some more memories for you now, because we're getting old, see. We'd like to bring back some stuff which we did for Sheer Heart Attack, and the first thing... thank you... the first thing we're gonna do is In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited."

Part-1

immj2 28+29.12.20 lbs

ok we just gonna skimmmmmmmmmmmmm through these eps real quick, coz i wanna get back to reading my Bridgerton books.

28.12.20

i ship this so much, it fuckin hurtsssssss. GIVE ME THE KILLING EVE-ESQUE SAPPHIC ROMANCE I WANT, TELLYWOOD, STOP BEING SUCH FUCKING COWARDSSSSSSSSSSSSS

aaaaaaand she’s disappeared.

................... coz angre got his hands on her. angre i swear to god if you don’t unhand her and go back to just simping for your wife...........

lmao she bit him and ran away.

................ straightttttttttt into vansh’s arms.

oh shit. i ship this too????? fuck, this show is just too chock-full with ridiculously good looking people and i need them all to kiss each other’s necks.

ok, maybe not. BAAT BAAT PE YEH MANHOOS CHAAKU KYUN NIKAAL LETA HAI?!!?!? HAVE YOU NOT HEARD THAT THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE POCKET-CHAKKU?!!?!?

anyway, ahaana’s got a brain and just started screaming her head offfff for riddhima. which is what a normal person (read, anyone NOT RIDDHIMA) would do.

hein who this curly haired girl????

anyway, ahaana like i gots a secrettttt to tellll you. ABOUT VANSHHHHHHHH.

kabir a messyass bitch like me and is like ooooooooooooh ab aayega mazzaaaa.

iss sab ke beech ishani like heyyyy, this is my dress!!!!!! SIS, NO ONE CARES, WE ABOUT TO GET SOME HELLA GOOD GOSSIP. JESUS. PRIORITIES!!!

ahaana like someone wants to killllllllllllllllllll meeeeeeeeeeeeeee, and riddhima is like huh what who why they wanna kill you???? and sis, i think you know from living in this murder-house that ppl don’t particularly need a reason as such to wanna kill you. they just like homicide as a hobby.

vansh like I SHALLLLLLLLLLL PROTECT YOUUUUUUUUUU, YOU SHALL LIVE HERE. sir, i’m pretty sure it’s YOU that she’s talking about that wants to kill her.

riddhima like uhhhhhhhhh??? the fuck is going on? why you promising security to this chick who wanted to phodofy your bhaanda????

SOMEONE TELL ME WHO THAT CURLY HAIR GIRL IS, HAVE I FORGOTTEN A WHOLEASS CHARACTER OF THIS SHOW COZ I DIDN’T WATCH FOR 2 DAYS???????

anyway riddhima like WHOOOOOOOO IS SHEEEEE, YOU KNOW EACH OTHER FROM BEFORE????????? like damn, your psycho murderous ex is living in this house thanks to you, and vansh can’t even know a woman that’s not you????/

ahaana going on and on about this stupid SECRET and omg just spit it out or gtfo. i have 8 books of regency era sexy shenanigans to read, and i’m wasting time here on this nonsense.

ok. she saved his life. and did “seva” it seems. lmao the mental image i have.

“vansh, apna vaada yaad hai na? ki tum mera karz chukaaoge; keemat ya shakl jo bhi ho.” oh???????? big promise from vansh, if true.

vansh beginning to regret making such lofty vows.

(also mmmmmmm, what else dat pouty mouth do, baby???)

dadi has taken over and is like you saved my vansh‘s lifeeeeeeee, i shall make sure vansh keeps his promise, blah blah. lord WHAT IS THE POINT OF ALLLLLLL THISSSSSS?!?!?

riddhima like, why did you call me if you wanted to get in touch with him? why not just call him directly????

shaaaaaady reactions from vansh/ahaana at that. lightttttt goes out.

comes back on, and angre like fuck all this, let’s celebrate the new yearrrrrrrr. not sus at all. y’all are alllllllllllllll so fucking shady man. god, ahaana, just bust my girl ridz outta here and go to alaska and eat spaghetti together. iykyk.

and they all just started ballroom dancing as if they’re in beauty and the beast. attention span of a fucking gnat these ppl have. ek baat pe dhyaan nahi tiktiiii.

i’m here for this also. i just want all the sexy ppl to be with each other. idc who is with whom. just put any two of them together and i’m happy.

these two throwing some chabayaa hua dhamkis at each other. I DON’T CAAAAAAAAAAAAAARE UNLESS YOU SPILLING SPECIFIC DEEEEEEEEEEETS.

iske dimaag ke ghode kentucky derby mein daudne lage hain.

and hubs fullllllllllllly knows. he wanted exactly that.

she tries to ask questions and as usual, he shuts her down with ainvayi ki philosophy. MAN WHAT WILL IT FUCKING TAKE FOR YOU TO ANSWER A QUESTION STRAIGHT?????

big talk about pyaaaar and vishwaaaas and bro, i fully know what you’re doing here, you fucking bastard. bloody gaslighting her into ignoring her own instincts in the name of trusting you. like yes, she’s like extraaaa with the jasoosi, but she’s asking RELEVANT, PERTINENT QUESTIONS.

meanwhile this rakshason ki toli has got their hands on the “yes okay i’m a spy!!!!!!!!!!!!!” recording that siya had. great. wonderful. best.

they decide to wait for right moment to use it and show vansh. oh you fucking dumbasses................... he already knows. this is the problem; no one bothers to fucking communicate in this family. 

kabir trying to get the goss outta ahaana, but vansh ne mundi se ishaara kiya and angre just threw a drink on K, so he had to leave to go change.

i like her.

lol she called him a loser. never has a character been more right about all the men of this stupid show.

ahaana staring at vansh in a real strange way. oh bro, kya kaand kiya tha iske saath????? sach sach bolllllllllll.

these two seem have slid into each other’s inboxes already???? oh yeaaaaaaaaah.

ishani has come back with one V for Vendetta mask and is smirking some more about how riddhima is going down. *sigh* same old, same old. 

more ainvayi ka dancing. man, what a waste of a filler episode.

at the dinner table, riddhima finds a chit saying your life is in danger, come meet me out in the backyard. ishani and aryan and chachi making real weird faces. did they send the note or did ahaana???? either way, this not gonna end well for riddhima. as per always.

it’s got to the point where EVEN riddhima is calling out the plotholes in the damn show out loud; saying ahaana said HER life was in danger, now how the fuck is this all about MY life being in danger???

anyway the dumbass goes to investigate.

she got shoved into a car by V for Vendetta (that’s what they should call the show.) which is now filling up with smoke. wonderful.

———————————————————————

29.12.20

she’s so fucking stupid. there’s no way the car doors can be locked from the outside in such a way that they cannot be opened from the inside. peeche ke doors pe child-lock hain bhi, toh she can just climb to the front and open the front doors and jump out. honestly riddhima.

ishani trying to distract vansh from going to look for riddhima with chocolate cake.

vansh is me. cake pakda diya toh duniya ki koi parwaah nahi. it just meeeeeeeeeee and my cake, made for each other, truuueeeeeee loveee.

ALSO LMAO WHY DOES THIS DUDE EAT CAKE LIKE THIS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

riddhima still choking and struggling like a dumbass.

cake done, vansh off to look for his wife. gotta say, he’s got his priorities straight.

ishani making shady faces with Guy Fawkes mask. godddddd. who cares who cares who caresssss?

after 19023019283092130912390 moments of suspense, he finally found her and broke her outta the car.

some loving scolding for wandering off without telling him. dude’s she’s a grownass woman, not a toddler/pet.

anyway she told him someone shoved her in the car and he’s clenching his jaw most magnificently mmmmmmm that jawwww.

ab yeh kaunsi nayi musibat hai???

he’s promising to find and punish whoever and she’s thinking omg it kabir?!?!?!!!!!!!! as if noooooone else in the house wants to murder her.

she’s like you saved me again!!!!!!!! and he’s literally like stop playing khatron ke khiladi up in here every day and i won’t have to, bitch.

ishani literalllllly flaunting that mask on her arm and riddhima like OUFF YEH KHOOONI NANAD BAAZ NAHI AATI.

side mein dekha toh kabir also has one like that.

lmao everyyyyyyone has one of these masks.

R like i need to gtfo here from the presence of all these assholes, k byeeeeee.

she’s confronting ahaana ki why you call me outside and not show up yourself????

ahaana like, bitch tf you talking about? i didn’t call you or send any chit??!?!! get used to it ahaana, iss ghar mein rahogi toh yeh hourly occurance hai, aisa random chutiyaapa. tumhein toh aadat hogi hi, pichle janam mein oberois ke saath jo rahi ho.

riddhima bringing up vansh and ahaana like YOUR MAN SHADYYYYY AF. YOU SHOULDN’T TRUST HIM SO MUCH. iss ek line se hi i have gotten it ki ahaana has been planted by vansh and he’s trying to see if riddhima falls for anyone else’s hearsay again.

riddhima is giving speech about how much she trusts vansh and they’re each others’ parchhaai or some such shit, and lmaoooooooooooooo ahaana’s face......

same, sis. absolutely saaaame.

ahaana like “zindagi mein har bimaari ki dawaai hai, par galatfehmi ki nahi.” snortttttttt.

ahaana going heavy on “vansh don’t love you, he wants to killll your ass” speech and ouff....... ofc riddhima won’t listen. dumbass.

there is not ONE wrong thing ahaana is saying about vansh. not ONE. literally all of it is true. i mean, maybe he does “love” her or whatever, but kya hi karein aise bekaar roz roz life ruin karne waale pyaar ka? isse achcha toh naa hi kare pyaar.

aaaaaaaaand she got slapped for truth-telling. fuck. riddhima, you are such a fucking dumbass. where all this slappiness for your damn husband who was lying to your face for monthssssss, huh????

ugh mera pati mera ishq bhashaan. this chick deserves to be murdered. blindass.................. she’s doing the exact same shit she did with kabir, total blindddddd faith without listening to any reason. she deserves to be fucked over if she refused to learn anything from that kaand and won’t use her fucking brain even now.

honestly this sanctimonious speech she’s giving ahaana........

but for once she’s using her MAALKIN OF THE HOUSE rutba and telling to ahaana to gtfo the house.

lmao ahaana like tell vansh to throw me out, and i’ll go.

cut to......... riddhima is randomly staring at a ladder. as one does.

helllllllllllllllllllllllo. 😏😏😏

riddhima trying to tell vansh ki ahaana is off her rocker and....

well okay then! no more talking about ahaana! 🥰🥰🥰

great. all that was buttering up for the trust test he has set up for her.

climb the ladder, it seems. oh boy. i know what’s coming............

lmaooooo she climbs it and is like ok now you know that i trust you??? can i come back down now??? LOL DUMBASS HOW DID YOU NOT GUESS WHAT HE WANTED FROM THE MOMENT HE TOLD YOU TO CLIMB???????? dimaag ghutno mein hai iss ladki ki.

he’s telling her to jump. ofc. fucking asshole. tereko shauk hai random high places se chhalaang maarne ko toh you’ll make everyone do it or what?

HE’S ACTUALLY GETTING MAD AT HER HESITATION AND ALL I’LL CATCH YOU, DO YOU NOT TRUST ME?????? main hoti toh kehti ki bro, it’s not you that i don’t trust, i just know gravity as a force is more powerful than you are.

stupid stupiddddd bitch. she’s doing it also. DUDE, THIS IS A CLASSIC ABUSIVE TECHNIQUE, WHY DON’T YOU KNOW ANYTHINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG RIDDHIMAAAAA?!!?!?!? LIKE........................ THIS IS WHY PEOPLE SHOULDN’T BE ALLOWED TO GET MARRIED BEFORE THE AGE OF 30. THEIR BRAINS ARE JUST NOT GROWN ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

how self satisfied she looks. fucking dumbass.

while his face is like ‘i can’t believe the twit actually did it.’

some more talk about how she trusts him mosttttttttttttttttttttttttt in the world, while he gets horny for it. god, what a pair of boring dysfunctional fucks. i liked it better when he was vihaan and had a bondage kink.

bharosa talk bharosa talk and oh my god it’s sooooooo fucking obvious he’s planted ahaana to test her and her trust. aaj yeh toh bas level 1 tha. the chutiyaapa just gonna go up from here.

she’s like i don’t like ahaana, why does she have to stay here? he’s turning it back on her and saying if we trust each other, what does it matter if she stays here or says whatever????? which ....... is just some reallyyyyyyyyyyyyy manipulative BS.

he’s saying she has some “issues” that he’ll handle. oh lord. ahaana in danger of getting murdered by this fucker too.

riddhima giving some more vaasta of her neverending trust.........

while this asshole makes these very TRUSTWORTHY faces.

aaaaaaaaaaaaand someone watches them. as per usual. no wonder vansh made sure to go far far far far away from this house to get some nookie. idhar karte toh it would be like those olden days royal weddings, where the whole court would come and sit and watch the marriage being consummated.

Can’t Swim - EP . 1

word count: 4.6k+

a/n: this is my first ever post. i hope you guys enjoy! since we recently found out that jinyoung has been learning how to swim, i wanted to write a fanfiction related to this new fact. enjoy! :)

warning: minimal swearing, a lil suggestive, nothing else

EP . 1 , EP . 2 , EP . 3 , EP . 4 , EP . 5 , EP . 6 , EP .7 , EP . 8 , EP . 9

You were a part time swimming teacher/coach at a small leisure centre in Jinhae. Many questioned why you moved from a city like Seoul to a small town, but you knew you needed a break from the city.

The pay was a little less but so were the bills. You were paying less than half your rent and had made amazing friends at your new centre. What more could you ask for?

A gentleman who would meet you when you arrived home would be nice but a man who would meet your high standards would be a miracle. You had closed the romance book a long time ago.

Now you devote your time to teaching people how to swim. A skill that’s regarded as vital. Your groups tend to be filled with children aged 5-10. A reasonable age for students to start learning a life-long skill. Until one day a new student joined your group. A bit older. Much older.

PRESENT TIME

“YA Y/N! YOU’RE LATE AGAIN”, Jooheon was screaming again for the 100th time since the start of your job.

“Sorry boss!”, you waved Jooheon off and went straight to your locker to change into your full bodysuit.

You and Jooheon were childhood friends so the worker-boss relationship was very light-hearted. Meaning being late wasn’t going to cut it for Jooheon to sack you, luckily.

You came back to the staff room to check up on which group you had for Monday’s morning group.

“Right, I have my 8 student group for the morning lesson.”

“Make that 9!”, shouted Jooheon as he exited the staffroom.

“Right, I HAVE 9 STUDENTS!”, you shouted back.

Hmm, 9 students? I guess I have a new student, you thought to yourself. Jinhae was a small town so your groups tended to be no more than 10-12 students. This was a plus compared to the place you worked in Seoul. Seoul’s population meant bigger swimming groups. It was hard having to supervise and teach 20 students at the same time. You would get paranoid every time you lost sight of a child only to find out they had gone to the bathroom without asking. In Jinhae it’s much more relaxed. You’re able to control all students and they seem to be more understanding too. That could just be your luck.

“Ahh, Y/N looking good!”

That’s Max. The swimming teacher of the teenage groups. He always came in early to fit in his own morning swim to then continue with his lessons. Also, top notch f-boy material. He’d take any chance to check out the females in his groups. If I’m honest though, they love the attention so it’s a win-win situation for both sides.

“Max cut it; you have an all-girls group in the afternoon. You can feed your eyes then.

Funny enough, you didn’t spend much time in obtaining that perfect body. Other than the swimming lessons you don’t really work out. You don’t diet either. But you were lucky. I mean that’s what Max says anyways. Apparently to him, your fat goes to the right places. You just take that as a compliment and don’t question it or he’ll get very… explicit?

“Come on, Y/N I’m just playing with you.”

“Take your games elsewhere, I have a group to teach. See you at lunch.”

“See ya!”

You headed down the hallways towards the pool. These short haul walks tend to be a bit… creepy? You realised the first time round walking down this corridor that there are many more guys just like Max. Thirsty. In other words, pathetic. Like damn, do you need to express everything that’s on your mind out loud? Most days it feels like you’ve just stepped foot into the Amazonian Forest surrounded by tropical parrots all whistling. But today was different. For you anyways.

There were whistles again but you caught glimpse of a parrot. A very silent one unlike the reckless individuals around him. He was new. You had been working in Jinhae for around 4 months now, so you knew more or less when you saw a new face at the centre. He seemed very… shy? You couldn’t tell since it was just a glimpse and you had come to the end of the corridor.

You were early for your lesson. In 5 minutes, you’ll have all 8 kids + the newbie running towards you with joy. You had an amazing bond with the kids in this group. They say you as their big sister who they saw weekly. Before they would arrive, you always fit in a quick 2 laps to get your heart pumping. Although, this time your little heart didn’t need the 2 laps. If only you had known beforehand that an individual would do the same job as those 2 laps.

“2 laps in 90 seconds. Not bad” You looked at your Fitbit.

“Y/N!!!”

“Y/N eunnie!!!!”

“Noona!”

You could see your little herd of minions running to the edge of the pool where you were. They greeted you with little waves knowing you don’t like it when they jump in the pool without warming up. We wouldn’t want someone having a cramp mid front stroke.

“Hello, everyone! How have you all been?” Hmm, weird you couldn’t see the 9th student that Jooheon had mentioned earlier on.

“Good!” They all replied back in synchronisation. Cute.

“I heard that there’s somebody new joining our group. Have any of you happened to meet the new student yet?”

“No~” another reply in sync.

Maybe they got lost trying to find the pool? Maybe they are shy? Shy. No… you thought maybe the silent parrot from earlier on could be the new student and realised the age group of your students. See the groups were not categorised through age groups it was just a coincidence that all the beginners ranged from 5-10 year olds. The groups are organised as beginners, intermediate and advanced. Parents tend to send their kids to swimming classes at a young age hence why the beginner’s classes consisted of young children.

“I heard from Jooheon Oppa that there’s a new student joining us today. Jaehyun could you please lead the morning exercise whilst I try and find the new student? Once you are all done make sure to sit on the ledge of the pool and wait for me to come back. Jaehyun you’re in charge until I get back. Understood?”

“Aye, aye Captain” Jaehyun saluted back.

Jaehyun was the lifeguard at the pool you taught your lessons at. He was a year younger than you. Exactly a year funny enough. Same birthday, what a coincidence. Also, something else to point out which you may have realised. All the staff besides the receptionist are male. Don’t know why, it just happened to be that I was transferred here upon my request to move from the city to a town.

You headed off to grab the register for the morning group. The new students name should be written there. Right? You entered back into the staffroom and grabbed the register of your desk. You ran your finger down the list and got to the last person of the list. Park Jinyoung. He must be the newbie. You fast paced it back to the group and mentioned the name to all the students again. Nope… they don’t know who it is.

“Jaehyun, any sight of a newbie from up there?” Jaehyun had returned back to his lifeguard dock after seeing you return.

“No captain, actually- “

“H-hi…”

You whipped your head round. Silent parrot? Wait no, Y/N he has a name don’t be so rude. Park Jinyoung.

“Hi, Park Jinyoung right?”

A subtle nod.

There’s a whole ass adult standing right in front of you. Note to self. He’s really handsome… and fit. Anyways back to reality.

“Just to double check. Beginners class at 10 am on Mondays?”

“Yes, Miss”

You whipped your head back round to the group of children whispering among themselves. Children. God knows what’s going through their minds right now. The new generation are a bit… advanced.

You had to keep yourself composed. Cheeks are not turning red this easy. Knees are going to be fully functioning throughout this lesson. Breathing. Right we need to keep breathing, duh. You let out a deep breath and turned back round to Jinyoung.

“Well. We are now set. We have all 9 students. Anyone want to teach Jinyoung our exercise routine before he enters the pool?”

All hands were up. Wow. When were these students this hyper Monday morning? Kids these days.

“Me miss! Miss please me! Miss y/l/n please can I?!”

And that was Woojin. An enthusiastic ball of sunshine. Can be mischievous at times but his smile makes up for it.

“Sure Woojin. Everyone else scoot along to give them space.” This was going to be funny.

You had this exercise + a song to go along with it that you prepared a couple years ago for when you had a kids group. Once you were assigned to these minions you have been using it since day 1. Some may say it’s… well… cringe? I don’t blame the older ones but honestly its fun.

“You’re in for a treat Mr Park. No ifs, buts, or ands. We students in this group participate in everything. We expect the same from you.”

“Understood.” One word answers. I guess he isn’t much the talker, you thought to yourself.

“Take it away Woojin”

“Baby shark dudududududu, baby shark dudududududu, baby shark dudududududu, baby shark…”

Yes. We went there.

Woojin was amazing. Jinyoung on the other hand. Well, you could definitely tell from his face that this exercise was more an embarrassment than a warmup for him. He wasn’t in the plan so he couldn’t blame you for it. You and the other kids were having the time of your lives giggling at the site in front of you all. You could also hear Jaehyun trying to keep his giggles in. One customer complaint and he could be dismissed, and he wasn’t going to throw away this job.

“Mr Park, for a new student that was an impeccable performance. Right everyone?”

A roaring applause came in response and Jinyoung realised you were trying to lighten the situation. But rules are rules and everyone in your group had to obey them. The slight blush on Jinyoung’s cheeks had died down a little by the end of the clapping.

“Now that everyone’s all warmed up. Grab your floats and enter the pool”

You helped everyone put on their arm floats and guided them to a spot in the water. Jinyoung being the grown adult he is was given a float board. The arm floats would have been the second stage of embarrassment.

You positioned everyone and guided Jinyoung to the last spot of the circle. Usually you would get straight to teaching but since you had a new student and introduction game was compulsory.

“Now since we have a new student, we’ll be playing a ‘get to know each other’ game to find out more about Jinyoung and for Jinyoung to know more about us. Understood.”

“Yes, miss” in sync.

You glanced at Jinyoung and he responded back with another subtle nod. Cute.

“I’ll begin and then we’ll continue clockwise.” This meant Jinyoung was going to go last. Exciting.

“As many of you know, my name is Y/N. I’m turning 25 in May- “

“So am I! But I’m turning 24…” Jaehyun had interfered into your introduction. Typical.

“Jaehyun. Nobody asked.” The kids started giggling again and you’re sure you heard a slight chuckle escape Jinyoung’s mouth.

“As I was saying. I’m turning 25 in May so remember to bring me presents. 6th May to be exact. You guys can also see that I’m a foreigner. Both my parents are from the Mediterranean hence the coloured eyes and unfamiliar name-“

“I like your eyes Miss” Classic Woojin with his cute compliments.

“I like your eyes too Woojin”

You could see from the side that Jinyoung had a smile on his face. I guess he’s fitting in? you thought.

“Have I missed anything?”

“Are you single?” At this rate from all the neck whipping you’ve been doing today you’re sure you’re going to dislocate it if you whip it one more time. Jinyoung being the source of the sudden personal question.

“Huh, Oh. Yes, I am”

“YA, No personal questions!” Jaehyun yelled down towards your group. I swear this kid has superman powers to hear us all the way from up there, you thought to yourself.

“YA, have some respect. I know where to cross the line. I’m willingly answering the question so mind your own business.”

Jaehyun sank back into his seat after realising he shouldn’t have been eavesdropping.

“Ignore him”, you directed towards Jinyoung. He just nodded.

The introductions went around, and you did the register simultaneously.

“Woojin, it’s your turn.”

“My name is Woojin. I’m 5 years old. When I am older, I will be Y/N’s future husband- “

“HUH?” You let out a loud gasp due to the aspiration the young one had shared with the group. The other kids started laughing.

“Woojin you can’t take away my future wife away from me like that” You hadn’t realised but Max had been sitting on the bench near the edge of the pool. Weird, he’s usually in a different pool for his morning workout.

“Max, your 6 other girlfriends would be distraught if they heard that they weren’t going to be the supposed ‘lucky’ one. Let’s not upset them.”

You heard a scoff from Jinyoung. He seems to be entertained and Max was not having it.

“Do you have something to say newbie?” The situation wasn’t moving in a good direction but Woojin stepped in before you could.

“Y/N is mine Max hyung. My favourite subject in school is colouring. I have a dog called Jae…”

Luckily, the situation died down as Woojin continued with his introduction. You thanked him in your head. That was close. Last but not least it was now Jinyoung’s turn but you felt uneasy since Max was still in the vicinity.

“Hello! I’m Jinyoung. I was born and raised in Jinhae. I am 26 years old. I like listening to music and reading.”

“What do you do for a living?” You were curious about what the handsome gentleman chose for a career.

“I would like to keep that private, if it’s okay with you all”

“Yh sure that’s fine. Right, now that we’ve gotten to know each other, I’ll be splitting the groups into two. One half will go with Jaehyun to that side of the pool and practice staying float without your arm floats. The other half will come with me to learn front stroke. Agreed?”

“Yes, Miss!”

He’s mysterious too. Newbie is becoming more and more interesting. Obviously, you purposefully put Jinyoung in your group. You swam to the end of the pool you had assigned to your group, completely forgetting you have a bunch of immatures that need to be here too. You named your method of teaching, “survival”. For the students to start learning how to swim they need to find a way of getting to this end of the pool as soon as possible. This will give them an inkling to try and swim and overcome any form of fear towards water.

Minutes later all 5 students had arrived at the point you were at. You had sent Woojin to the other group. As hard as it was for him, he finally agreed to join Jaehyun and the rest.

“Alright. As you all heard earlier, we’ll be learning front stroke today. It’s the most common and popular type of swimming style. I’ll first demonstrate with one lap what front stroke looks like. I want you guys to pay close attention to the movement of my legs and arms. After that I want to see you guys attempt front stroke from purely seeing what it looks like. I’ll then come around to all of you and individually tweak your weak points. Is everyone okay with that?”

Everyone nodded. You proceeded to push off the wall and drifted under water. As you surfaced you started kicking your legs and rotating your arms. You shifted your head sideways when you needed to catch some air. When you arrived at the other end, you flipped and kicked back off the wall again and swam back to your group. You arrived back to a crowd of clapping seals, including Jinyoung.

“Did we all watch like eagles at the technique and movements I displayed?”

“Yes, Miss”

“Great, now can we all line up to get ready for a race?”

“A race?” Jinyoung questioned whilst the other students positioned themselves.

“Is there a problem Mr Park?”

“Please call me Jinyoung, I was just a little surprised”

“I’ll quickly explain why it’ll be a race. As humans we all have our competitive sides. If we are competing, we all want to win right?”

Everyone nods.

“If we want to win, we’ll perform our absolute best to not come last. This means I’ll be seeing your optimum performance of front stroke. It’s your survival mode kicking in trying to avoid becoming embarrassed in front of everyone. Understood?”

“Yes, Miss. Can we start?”, Hyeji insisted with some confidence.

“Yes, sure Hyeji. If everyone’s ready, when I say go I want you guys to swim to that end and back. Remember, try to copy the same movement I was using when I swam. The closer you get to using the technique the quicker you’ll go. It’s not necessary to move quickly.”

Everyone takes their positions and you start to countdown.

“3… 2… 1… GO!”

All 4 of the beginner swimmers start swimming towards the other end of the pool. You watched them eagerly to see where each swimmer was struggling. To your surprise Hyungwon came first. He was a student you have been teaching for only 4 weeks so it was rewarding to see him improve in such a short span of time.

“Hyungwon well done! You’ve improved so much since the first time I saw you swim. High five!” You high five Hyungwon and then the rest of the students. Jinyoung was hesitant at first but was willing to comply.

“I’ll now come around to all of you and help you improve your front stroke, until then you guys can carry on practicing.”

You moved to Hyeji and explained to her how she needs to kick her legs. At first she was hesitant on how much her legs were splashing but you told her the stronger she kicks the better. Hyungwon had more or less nailed front stroke. You were with him for only a couple of minutes. You moved onto the other student and helped him out too. Then moved onto Jinyoung.

You were quite surprised on how good he was since he had mentioned it was his first ever swimming lesson. He was struggling with his hands.

“You’ve gotten the harder parts of front stroke. With your hands you need to capture as much water in it in order to move forward. To do this you need to cup your hands whilst you swim. Does that make sense?”

Jinyoung bit his lip. You could see he was pretty nervous. You couldn’t understand why but you didn’t push him out of his comfort zone unless he refused to swim. He moved away and started swimming, but something was off. His legs were kicking but they were completely submerged under water.

“Jinyoung!”, you yelled to get his attention. He stopped in his lane and swam back.

“You’ve understood what to do with your hands, but I’ve noticed something else.”

“What is it?”

“You’re kicking your legs which is great, but your legs are completely submerged under water. You need to make sure that you are kicking at the surface of the water.”

“How can I keep them lifted? They just seem to sink.”

You couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

“It’s nothing against you. Just the way you described your legs it through me off guard.”

There was an awkward silence. You realised that he may have taken the chuckle to heart.

“Let’s do this. How about you get into the front stroke position and I’ll lift your legs where they need to be? Then you can start lightly kicking and I’ll slowly move my arm away and you can continue swimming. Deal?”

“Deal.”

You hadn’t noticed but Max was still sitting on the bench watching your every move. Once he saw you make contact with Jinyoung’s legs, jealousy started kicking in. See Max wasn’t the type to commit to a relationship, but he always questioned himself, if he had to settle down with someone this very day who would it be? and you were the first option that would come to mind. He was using all his strength to not jump into the pool and pull you away from Jinyoung.

“That’s it, you’re getting it” You cheered Jinyoung to make up for the awkward encounter. Jinyoung continued to swim and you concluded that he was a fast learner. You felt sad though. You’ve had many students who got the basic hang of swimming and so progressed to the intermediate classes which meant you no longer taught them. You kind of liked having Jinyoung around as your student so seeing him go so soon will be a bummer.

It had marked an hour since the start of your lesson which meant it was the end of Monday morning for your students. Your group and Jaehyun’s cohort re-joined and everyone spoke about what they had learnt today. You hugged all your young ones and shook Jinyoung’s hand. It was awkward but hugging might push Max of the rails.

Everyone exited the pool. Once Max saw Jinyoung off site he rushed to your side. He was ready to confront.

“Who is he?”

“Max, watch your tone. He’s my new student.”

“Newbie seemed very excited when he heard you were single.” You flushed a light tone of red.

“And it seems like you’re a little excited by it too.” He snarked which started to piss you off.

“Who are you to be questioning my relationship between my student? Why do you even care?”

“Because- “

“Y/N?”

You snapped your head round to the direction of the voice. Worst timing Jinyoung.

“Yes Jinyoung. Was there something you needed?” He also realised that he had interrupted a heated conversation. If anything, this was your escape from Max.

“I heard that there’s some sort of form that I need to fill in for new students. I didn’t have the time to fill it in before the lesson, by any chance do you have one for me to fill in?”

“Yes, I do. It’s on my desk. Give me 2 minutes and we can go.”

Jinyoung dropped back and waited for your conversation between Max.

“Because? You were saying?”

“I- never mind. Just don’t mix your personal life with work.” And with that Max left the pool area.

“What is up with him?”

You turned to face Jinyoung and showed him the way to the staffroom. You opened the door to see an absent Max and a present Jooheon.

“So, did you find out who your new student is?”

“Yes, Jooheon I did.”

“You have another munchkin to teach now. Luckily for you, you actually enjoy your job.”

“I would exactly describe him as a munchkin per say.” You look at Jinyoung.

“Waaa, if you’re going to not describe him as a munchkin then he must be a real nuisance.”

You look at Jinyoung again and let out a small chuckle.

“Jooheon if you could give me a minute to explain- “

“If you want me to transfer the student to a different group I can happily do so.”

“Jooheon!”

Jooheon and Jinyoung both look at you with a surprised expression.

“Jooheon meet Jinyoung my new student.” You gestured towards the young man standing beside you.

“New student?”

“Yes Jooheon, new student.” You let out another chuckle.

“Now do you understand why I wouldn’t exactly describe my new student as a munchkin?”

“Yes, I do. I mean you could if you wanted- “

“Jooheon” You laughed his name.

“Was there something you needed?”

Before Jinyoung could answer you shifted back to what you were doing in the staffroom.

“Jinyoung asked for a new student form. You know the one with extra contact details for emergency needs.” You grabbed a copy of the form and a pen of your desk and handed it over to Jinyoung.

“Yes, sir. I wasn’t able to fill in the form before my lesson or I would have been late so I asked Y/N about it now.”

“What do you think of our Y/N, Jinyoung?”

You shot your head up towards Jooheon to try and translate his facial expressions into his intentions. What was he trying to do? You thought.

“I think she’s a really engaging teacher. You can tell she likes to teach and doing so her students thrive in swimming. I too improved so much in the span of an hour. I look forward to my future lessons with Y/N.”

You couldn’t help but smile. It’s always rewarding to hear students are glad a with your teaching. It’s also good for your boss to hear from your students first-hand.

“It’s only been one lesson and you seem to be very diligent in learning how to swim. I’m guessing this is the effect of Y/N’s amazing enthusiasm.”

“You’re correct.” Jinyoung placed the pen down and was quickly done with the form.

“Done?”

“Yep”, Looks like it was time to part away with Jinyoung. You were already beginning to miss his presence.

“I’ll see you next week Jinyoung. Continue practicing and you’ll be progressing up to the next difficulty level in no time.” Even though this wasn’t what you wanted, the true reason he was here was so to learn how to swim.

“With your help, I’m sure I’ll do great”

“Bye Jinyoung” You waved.

“Bye Y/N, have a great week.” And just like that he was out the staffroom.

It was now just you and Jooheon.

“Jooheon?”

“Yes Y/N.”

“Max has been acting a little off today. Do you know if something’s up with him?”

“From what I know, nothing abnormal has happened. Why’d you ask?”

“We all know he goes for his morning routine on Mondays before his lessons. Today he was watching my lesson. Then he questioned my new student over a small matter. Not only that he thinks I’m mixing my personal life with my work. Can you imagine, me? You know how far away I am from even having a personal life let alone to mix it with work.”

“Do you really don’t get why he’s acting that way Y/N?”

You took a minute to try and find an answer, but you didn’t get it. You shook your head.

“He’s jealous Y/N.”

Jealousy and Max. Nope, I’m not buying it.

“You’ve got to be kidding me Jooheon. He has so many toys to keep himself busy with, why would he be jealous?”

“Y/N I don’t think you realise how many of the male customers and male workers would want to date you. You’re up there in top 3 hottest females they’ve probably seen in their lives. Such low standards.”

“YA Jooheon! Just because you’re jealous too don’t make rude comments.”

“Me? Jealous? Y/N don’t make me laugh. You’re like a sister to me. Brush Max off for now, he’ll get over it. I don’t blame Max though. You’re someone to be jealous over especially when there’s strong competition.”

“You guys are really hard to hack, honestly. He could have just said but instead he trys to play a masculine role trying to win me over. Hes not even my type.”

“You do you, Y/N.”

You and Jooheon hadn’t realised but Max was listening to your dialogue from the beginning. And he wasn’t the happiest.

———

That’s it’s for the first episode of “Can’t Swim”. I’m so excited for this series. I’ve already more or less finished writing up the second part too. I hope to fulfil your expectations with this series ahgases!

writer-nim x

The Royal Report– A Crown of Candy Ep 2

Ambush on the Sucrosi Road

And we’re back for our first battle episode! Are you feeling trepid my guys, cause I sure am.

You’re Dead and Here’s Your Mini

You’ll remember that, at the end of the episode, the Candia Caravan had stopped in the road because of a fallen tree--the universal fantasy fiction indication for an impending ambush--and Ruby was unceremoniously dropped to zero HP. But don’t worry! Brennan is here with all the missing ceremony at the top of this episode! And by ceremony, I mean we get the most graphic, visceral, bloody description of bodily harm we’ve ever gotten in an episode of D20 as the arrow pierces her neck and she goes unconscious. In her unconscious state, she’s on a trapeze, swinging from one bar to another that seems to be either getting closer or farther away. A voice in the inky black that surrounds her tells her to bring it towards her. We fade out from the vision and that brings us into the combat proper.

So that’s the very chill place this episodes starts.

With Ruby down, everyone else springs into action. Liam does his ranger thing and reveals a hidden enemy--which is like finding a roach in your house: You *know* there’s no such thing as a single roach. Jet tries to snatch Ruby into the carriage but when she loses her grip, she opts to instead threaten Lapin--Heal my sister or I’ll reveal you’re working for the Sugarplum Fairy--and hop on top of the stopped carriage to use herself to shield her sister from any further damage. She also activates the Locket of the Sweetest Heart--a split friendship locket the two of them have which gives advantage on saving throws if the other person is within 5 feet--so she’ll have help on her next death save which happens right away. She gets a success with two 13s, which gives her 1 save, 1 fail (I assume from getting hit by a second arrow--ranged attacks while down count as a fail and melee attacks count as two. Yikes!).

In her mind, Ruby uses Mage Hand to bring the trapeze bar closer to her and, as she does so, she sees a pair of smiling purple eyes and hears a voice say, “You are gifted in the ways of the arcane. It seems that my brother has made quite a family for himself.” Ruby gasps. “Are you my aunt?” The voice tells her to take good care of her bow. She’ll need it.

On Amethar’s turn, he clocks a bunch more hidden archers and hears that they’re speaking Carnish (the meat language) but (and Jet especially notices this because she speaks Carnish) they’re speaking it brokenly and with weird (vaguely French-y) accents. And the arrow that hit Ruby is baconsteel, but the archers look weird. Like, it’s less that they’re made of meat and more like they’re *wearing* meat, and it smells like it’s rotting (which, hey Brennan? Gross). Something’s up.

Amethar, charges out and goes into a rage--pouring cola onto himself and letting the pop rocks of his body explode out (extremely cool flavoring for that), doing 2 points of damage to anyone in the immediate vicinity. Jet, still over Ruby’s unconscious body, narrates this all to her, because Emily Axford never lets a moment for an emotional gut punch go to waste.  

Amethar gets a Nat 20 with his first attack and hits the nearest enemy hard enough to cut through the meat. Underneath, he smells stinking cheese. 

But then, it’s the enemies’ turn and Amethar is absolutely beset. A couple of enemies go after the others’ but five enemies go for him and all hit, bringing him down to less than a third of his HP in one round of combat (down to 10). And they’re not messing around. They are really and truly trying to murder him specifically. 

Thank the Sugarplum Fairy or the Bulb if you prefer that Lapin’s turn is next. He scrambles to the top of the carriage and casts Cure Wounds on Ruby which brings her back to full because first level rogues are so so weak you guys. Lapin goes through the Bulbian motions but Jet, who is closeby, can smell the sugary magic energy from his true patron. She doesn’t much care though since it means Ruby’s back and she promises her silence. Lapin also tosses Amethar a d6 of healing with his bonus action.    

Theobold hits a nat 20 to do a good bit of damage then action surges and casts Compelled Duel with his sword--Battlepop the Broadscicle--to force the Captain of the attackers (who rolls a Nat 1 save) to 1v1 him to take some heat off of the king. 

Ruby and Jet are forced to confront the possibility that Lapin and Theobold might be...cool? Really, all the old dudes this fight are kinda badass--Calroy also hits a nat20 and is kicking ass all fight (also, his pants are on point--I think this is only the second time in d20 pants have ended up being *A Thing* (John Feathers) but that still feels like a lot for *pants*).   

The fight continues! 

Jet fights alongside her super proud dad and does a bunch of damage but doesn’t quite get a killing blow which she blames on Theobold’s refusal to teach her one last episode. The brigands continue to strategically try and take out Amethar and Lapin judiciously uses his precious few heals to let him drop and then bring him back instead of blowing all his heals at once--stressful but effective. Also, Sir Theo comes in clutch and uses his shield--Swirldwarden--to, as a reaction, take one of the attacks that would have F’d him up.

Ruby shoots the leader of the cheese brigands--at this point everyone knows that these are cheese people disguised as meat people--and, spurred on by some new, hazy awareness from her near death experience, uses her once per day grasping arrow (an Arcane Archer ability) to hold the captain in place and make him take damage if he moves. Amethar goes back into a rage after having gone down, teaching us that when he does that, it hits enemies and allies alike. On the baddies’ turn, the captain tries to move and gets obliterated by Ruby’s arrow. This is super clutch, not just because he was going after Amethar, but he also gave +1d4 to all attacks to all of his guys of which there are/were many. 

Amethar goes down again and, on his turn, Lapin heals him, and then wrecks some of the brigands with a very un-Bulbian blast of candy energy, though he continues to insist that it’s all above board. On her turn, Jet gives her half of the locket to her dad in case he drops again (not how it really works since it requires attunement but Brennan allows it this time since it’s her dad). One of the attackers tries to hit Jet but between her once-per-day shield with Flickorice and Theo imposing disadvantage, she’s unscathed. 

Our Daily Bread

You’ll remember from last episode that the caravan was on their way to meet an Imperial escort. Well, they finally show up to help, led by a young Ceresian Centurion Commander (they confirm later it’s the guy they were supposed to have been meeting--Commander Constano Grissini--wonder if him showing up was like an “after x rounds of combat” story event or if it was based on something else). Ruby (very conspicuously) casts Fog Cloud around her dad to try and make it harder for anyone to hit and drop him again. Brennan makes her roll an Insight check and on a 12, tells her nothing which is the most maddening thing a DM can do to you.

With the extra help, they’re able to end the fight pretty quickly after that without any casualties (tiny violins for Brennan because, lbr, the house always eventually wins--it’s only a matter of time before he gets one of them). Theobold wanted to keep one enemy alive for questioning but the Tartguard didn’t quite get the memo and skewered the last guy. Lapin is very suspicious of Grissini but his 23 Insight check tells him this is a straight up guy who would have been ruined if anyone here had died. However, he also notices that Grissini won’t look Ruby in the eye. Calroy quietly comes up to Ruby and tells her that, while she did a good job this fight, things are about to get very complicated and she should be a loooot more careful with any future magic she does. She seems confused by her own abilities and mentions she saw her aunt Lazuli while she was passed out but Calroy shushes her before she says anything else incriminating. It seems we didn’t get the full picture of how frowned upon non-Bulbian magic is outside out Candia. 

Lapin rolls to cover for Ruby with Grissini and says that her magic is Bulbian and Brennan rolls in the Box of Doom to see if he buys it. 10 or higher and he knows something’s up. We don’t get the result (though it *looked* like a 1) but he either buys it or plays along.

Theobald investigates the area (with help from his living sprinkle/dog Sprinkle who I haven’t mentioned before but gives him the help action in battle) but doesn’t find any info they didn't already have. However, he does notice that there aren’t any steeds around, which he interprets to mean they didn’t get there through outlaw means (ie: ride in on your horse, steal a bunch, ride out).  

Calroy pulls aside Lapin and Theobald and says that even though they may have been able to convince Grissini, all of his men also saw Ruby doing forbidden magic and if word gets out it’ll be a problem. They need to make a plan and they need to be very careful about how they tell Amethar because if he finds out they “know how he’ll solve the problem.”

Ominous!      

Things I’m Concerned About

So something I talked about while this episode was happening (and something that Brennan talked about during the talkback afterwards but in slightly different terms) is that the enemy NPC Battle effectiveness has, like, changed from “Saturday Morning Cartoon Minion” to “Art of War Scholar”. No one came into this like, “Let’s have an epic fight!” It was like, “We need to murder one specific guy as quickly as possible.” This isn’t a world where you can spend several rounds trying to jump on tables for cool points. This is a world where you need to be paying full attention even when it’s not your turn and everyone figured that out pretty quick. This is the most tense I’ve ever been during a d20 battle episode and this was only the first one! Amethar--the *Barbarian*--dropped THREE times. He ran out of rages which I didn’t even know was a thing! The fact that everyone made it out of the battle alive was really a miracle! Like, everyone was strategic and played well but if Ruby hadn’t won that Grasping Arrow roll off (Siobhan: I love gambling!), if Lapin hadn’t been perfectly placed in the initiative to feed Amethar heals right after he dropped, if just a couple of things had gone differently, they could have been so screwed. 

Oh, and you know what else? Rezzes don’t exist in this world! Like, I think we all kinda figured but we got confirmation this week on Adventuring Party. It makes total sense. It is absolutely the correct choice for the setting. But, God, does it ratchet up every single round of combat. Every single decision. Every one of Lapin’s limited heals. Like, RIP Zac. What a season to play the party healer. Ally and Lou got off easy. (Note: The Spare the Dying cantrip does exist though at least, which isn’t a powerhouse spell but it’s not nothing).   

I’m concerned about Jet’s flirting! First Thad now this hot Italian breadstick soldier guy? Like, usually I’d be like do you girl but, like, romantic entanglements are a quick way to get in a lot of trouble, up to and including death in a world like this! This is the “actions have consequences” season! 

On the exact opposite end of the spectrum, Liam doesn’t seem to have any interest in romantic entanglements which doesn’t always go over well if you’re a royal. He’s not directly in line for anything important it seems since he had so many older brothers, so maybe he can skate by. But last episode, Caramelinda did seem to be pushing him a little bit in that direction--saying he could get out of exile earlier if he got hitched--and I feel like there’s a good chance this becomes a bigger issue for him.

If we have a false flag attack AND and an attempted assassination in episode TWO, what are we escalating to, huh? Where are we going that that’s where we’re STARTING? 

I could have mentioned this last episode but I’m glad I waited until this episode because it underlines the point even better. I’m *very* concerned about the religious politics of Calorum. In the first episode we got kind of a sense that things were different in Candia versus the rest of the world but this ep it was less of a “sense” and more of a concrete fear that someone was about to start gossiping about having seen Goody Ruby with the devil. And we knew from last episode that Lapin is secretly in league with the Sugarplum Fairy but Brennan used the word heretic in the talkback which feels a *lot* more dire but...yeah, is accurate. Plus, one of the girls’ aunt is St. Citrina, clearly a respected figure in the Bulbian faith, so there’s obviously Lore to unlock there. Look, a lot of going on and none of it feels very chill. Lapin better keep nailing all of his deception checks.  

And, to drill down a little deeper, I’m very concerned that Ruby--who has presumably been told that magic is banned in the rest of the world, decided to illegally cast a spell in front of a ton of people--including Imperials--while loudly shouting “ABRACADABRA!” Like, if her impulse control doesn’t improve, we are gonna have some *issues*. 

You know what I’m concerned about? My continuing relationship with several different food groups if I have to keep hearing graphic descriptions of them fighting each other. I mean, BONES in the CHEESE? *Bones* in the *Cheese*? My forgetting to preheat the oven is the *only* reason I wasn’t eating pizza when I heard that line. And the worst part is, with another DM I’d be like, “They probably didn’t think of the implications.” But this is Brennan so I KNOW he thought of the implications and he was like, “I’M DOING IT ANYWAY.”

Also, while we’re on the implications, I was also concerned--as Theo/Murph was--about Lord Swirly’s (the ice cream Candian) loyalty considering he is dairy (like the cheese brigands) even though he is Candian. Like, there’s a *lot* of overlap in different food types and that feels like it could easily get messy.  

If this fight is an indication, these fights aren’t gonna be balanced to be fair. They’re balanced to be tactically sound--as in, “What would their enemies do to them at this moment?” And, man, I am really dreading the inevitable moment they get hit when they’re down for the first time. Having to start a fight already down to one third of your HP and having already burned through most of your spell slots is so demoralizing but you know it’s gotta happen!  

I share Zac’s concerns about their Imperial allies. When he said, “This is Games of Thrones. It doesn’t mean anything,” I felt that. 

I was reminded of a scene in the trailer which shows what looks to be the PCs in a freezer and now I’m just full of questions like is a freezer a part of a fridge or its own thing? Is it Calorum or is that like the upper part of the map that cuts off? Is it a death-y no man’s land? What’s going on?

So the toughest prof I've ever had was my Constitutional Law professor my 1L year of Law School. She's probably the smartest person I've ever met and so supportive but also super scary. What you need to know about law school grades to understand this story is that they're fake so a B- is like a hard C, a C is like a D, and a D means your professor wants you to die. A professor has to fill out paperwork and justify giving you a D at my school. So we heard a rumor that this professor gave one of her students a D and we were like, "Oh man, even she wouldn't...would she?" So, one day--I think at some kind of event, we're all chilling and we're like, "Professor! Did you *really* give a student a D last year." And she turns to us, glint in her eye, and says, "Who said I only gave out one?" Chills. Absolute chills. Anyway, that is all to say, I'm very much feeling shades of that conversation right now. "Brennan, did you really kill a PC this season?" *Anime Glasses Flash* "Who said I only killed one?"

Lingering Questions

Theobald is an Eldritch Knight, not a Paladin. So he has some magic, but it wouldn’t be Bulbian (unless Brennan flavored it that way). Is he also doing arcane magic on the down low or is there some other mechanism for that? (Sidenote: Glad the cast made the gummi berry juice joke when Murph cast Jump on Amethar so I didn’t have to.) If he is, gotta say, hiding it *way* better than the others. 

Curious about exactly what Liam’s favored enemy is. Cause he was getting the bonus for that during this fight but was it because they were bandits or cheese people or archers or what?

Another quick holdover from last episode: Sir Theo rolled a deception check last ep against Ruby's insight upon seeing the princesses training with their new weapons (Theo won with a 19 to her 17) and Brennan gave us no information so it’s like, what was their deal? Past relationship? Past magical relationship (see first point)? Just concerned Ruby is gonna do something stupid with a magic bow in the world where magic is banned?

Five Six More Things

OK, let’s get the most important thing out of the way...my Candysona would be a Mint Chocolate divine soul sorcerer librarian/researcher. I’m sure ALL of you were wondering.

I really wanna give it up for the crew this episode! The battle set was amazing and the music was so good! Especially Ruby’s quirky circus-y theme. Loved that! Oh and the overlay of all the magical items was very helpful. (Side note: It’s all on the wiki if you wanna see it--I’d link it but tumblr hates when I do that. EDIT: @cloudmancy actually wrote them all up here too so here’s the link). 

There was no way Brennan could have known that Ruby was going to drop immediately when he initially planned the session but using that as kind of a vision quest moment to unlock her magic which she starts fully using after that point for the first time was a very clutch story choice for them.

Murph and Emily sitting next to each other this season is a *gift*.

I cannot imagine having the gall to play a level 1 magic rogue in a world where magic is illegal, people who can hit for more than my hit point total 100% want me dead, and rezzes don’t exist. What a choice. 

If one twin dies...and they have to decide...what to do with the other half of that locket...Brennan…

Housekeeping

Brennan is doing an Answer Time here on tumblr! Get your questions in before the 25th!

Not strictly D20 related but Brennan is also DMing a D&D game with some actual play vets and their kids! Check it out here! 

I can’t believe I failed my word count limit two episodes in on a battle episode that I only had 3 pages of notes for. Bold of me to assume I could tamp down on me. But, plus side, Brennan did say I was valid on stream last week, so I’m gonna say these two things cancel each other out and I am in the clear. 

My Hero Academia Episode 86 “Let it Flow School Festival”

mysterylover123

The world needs My Hero Academia. Now more than ever.

AW! Gentle & LB feels!

Let’s play the thematic drinking game! Drink for Major Theme of “Doing things for other people” (2x for Deku and Gentle)

ITS HERE ITS HERE ITS HERE WHATRE THEY GONNA PLAY!?

YAS WEIRD FANS CHEER FOR MOMO SHE IS YOUR SUPREME GOD (WHATRE THEY GONNA PLAY WHATS IT GONNA BE?!)

LOL

Dammit its some song I don’t know. I was really hoping it’d be one of the OPs or EDs. Or like the new Electric Rock version of Might U, like YSR being like “This isn’t even my final form.” Oh well. A girl can dream. 

MAJOR THEME DRINKING GAME CONT W/ JIROU

x3! Doing stuff for others! OMG I love this series so much. 

You know, most of my family are music types like Jirou, so when I read this part in the manga, it made me tear up. It’s so freaking touching and interesting to think about. (Also is there a reason Jirou mom looks and acts like Momo?)

Yay Uraraka got to do something!

This. Right here. This is why we need/love MHA. Because helping an abused little girl smile is worth devoting 14 chapters/6 episodes of time to.

Though as much as I love seeing Eri smile, I’ll admit seeing Bakugou smiling so much this season/arc hits me too. In a similar way. Cause both Eri and Kacchan were kidnapped by villains and cried/traumatized by it, after all. (and Shoto was also abused by dad. Eri Shoto and Kacchan really need to start a “I was abused by assholes but then Deku saved me and made me happy again” club.)

Ah man i was hoping they’d come up with more stuff for Class B’s play! But oh well, who wants filler anyway.

The world needs BNHA.

YAS BAKUGOU. BE HAPPY FOR ONCE.

“You know what Miss Congeniality was missing?” Horikoshi apparently thought. “Martial arts, giant tanks and air dancing.”

And also more cute girlfriends cheering you on.

At first I thought this was supposed to be Kendo’s Commercial Fan, from the manga...but nope it’s just Monoma.

This little having  fun montage is so amazing and sweet. Todoroki’s serious Face sticking out of this standee is the icing on the cake.

OMG DEKU’S POOR ELBOW.

They need to double date.

Maybe triple with Nejire/Yuyu.

When Kaminari met Shinso. (Fans have taken to shipping them pretty intensely after a certain story arc, so it’s funny to see them meeting here.) 

Yep. Go on injecting that wholesomeness straight into my veins.

And with that the Culture Fest arc is a wrap! Wow, they didn’t pad that out with anything at all, did they? No filler, no slow pacing. Just shot straight through the entire arc. Now that it’s over, though, what’re they planning to do in the last 2 episodes of Season 4?! No way they can get through the Pro Hero Arc in just 2 episodes, short as it may be. Are they planning on doing filler?

Nope! the trailer says. Next episode we’re jumping right into that Pro Hero arc! Which either means we’ll drag out the first few chapters, or we’re gonna end season 4 (MANGA STUFF) right smack dab in the middle of EndeavorHawks vs High End. Um. OK. You do you I guess.

So that’s the end of the Culture Festival Arc! While I wish they’d picked a song I knew, gotta say it was fun to see. And to repeat as ever, that I love BNHA, and this arc is lovely. It’s great to spend some time on the MCs having fun, and emphasizing the importance of making Eri happy. 

I don’t mean to get “of the times”, but I gotta say right now I really wish we could have something like this...a small, contained event of fun. All the paranoia and fear floating around right now, with everything getting cancelled, reminds me of the atmosphere  these days...Villains, viruses, either way. Stuff gets cancelled and the world gets scared. And a little controlled event like this, like BNHA’s culture festival arc, with the proper security measures taken, could be just the ticket. Ah well. For now, we’ll have to content ourselves with watching BNHA, and letting it as always put that smile on our faces.

NEXT EP: THE PRO HERO ARC BEGINS APPARENTLY.

Matters of the heart S2 ep 12

Matters of the heart

Season 2 Episode 12

The alley girl {OPENING CREDITS} {Open to a slow zoom on Varian’s house as thunder rolls in the distance; lightning flashes and we cut to the bedroom where Varian tosses and turns} Varian: ngghh...no… {We see his nightmare; Isaiah falling off the cliff; Cassandra being tortured by her power; Quirin being devoured by a black mist in the shape of a wolf; everything fades to a black void with only Estelle in the room; her back is turned to him}

Varian: E-Estelle? {She turns to him with pink and green eyes and the cut on her neck visible; when she speaks it is Zhan tiri’s voice} Estelle: Is this your happily ever after, child? {Varian jolts up in bed with a shout and wakes Zapada in the process} Zapada: mn? Iubriea mea? {Varian gets up from the bed and pours water from the pitcher into the basin on the dresser} Zapada: Another nightmare? {Varian splashes his face} Varian: Probably for the best...it’s almost dawn and I have to be at the castle… {Zapada gets up and walks over to him; she takes his hand and he looks at her} Zapada: You have barely been sleeping…and it is falling rain outside. Varian: It doesn’t matter...what matters is finding that cult and destroying them. Zapada: Varian how do you expect to do that when you look like death himself? Varian: Zapada, please… Zapada: No! You will catch your demise! Varian: and they are causing people’s demise! They took my friend, destroyed an entire kingdom, killed Estelle, my dad, my son-! Estelle: Who was no less of a son to me than the one within me, Varian!...but very well. If you want to perish before you’ve even obtained victory...then be my guest. {She walks over to the bed and lies down} Varian:...fine. {He leaves and shuts the door; Zapada’s eyes water and she quietly cries into her pillow; Cut to the morning in the Dark Kingdom; Isaiah rolls over in his cave with a groan} Isaiah:...ugh...I can’t wait to have my bed back… {A distant scream rings out in the forest and Isaiah jolts up} Girls voice: NOT AGAIN! AHHHHH!! Isaiah: H-Hang on! I’m coming! {Isaiah runs through the trees and hops over rocks; he rushes as fast as he can and arrives at a clearing; cautiously he steps forward} Isaiah:...hello? Girls voice: Up here you pillock... {Isaiah looks up to see a young girl hanging from a tree branch by her foot} Isaiah:......*snerk* Girl: Snicker one more time and it’ll cost your tongue. Isaiah: heh...sorry, here let me help you dow- Girl: no I got it… {She takes out a shiv and starts cutting the rope} Isaiah: If you have everything under control why did you scream? Girl:  you ever heard of frustration?  also, I was yanked up into a tree anyone would scream! Isaiah: I-... I can't argue with that… {she cuts through the rope and starts falling} Girl: AH! {Isaiah lunges and catches her} Girl: Hmph! Get off me! Stinky boy! {She gets up and fixes the bandana on her head} Isaiah: Soooo...i’m Isaiah! {He puts out a hand and she stares at it for a moment before going to pick up her bag} Isaiah:....ookkkaaayy… Girl:...Verbena. Isaiah: huh? Verbena: my name is Verbena. Isaiah: O-oh! Okay! Cool! So what’cha doing out here? Verbena: Foraging. Isaiah: oh..cool..yup…… {She stares at him and then groans} Verbena: ...if your coming along, keep up and shut up. Isaiah: R-right! Got it! {he runs up and stays next to her} Isaiah:...so what are we foraging? Verbena: ugghh… {Cut to Catalina walking down into the dungeon; she looks disturbed and angry; she stands in front of Noremoths cell}Catalina: I’d like to talk to the prisoner in this cell, please. Pete:...you’re sure? Catalina: just open the door… {Pete goes over and unlocks the door; Catalina walks in and bares her fangs in a growl; Noremoth looks up} Noremoth: Catalina! {She slams the door closed} Noremoth: Cat I can explain! Catalina: Oh I’m all ears! But lets review! You lied to me, you’re part of a dangerous cult, you killed people, and you attacked Corona multiple times. Did I miss anything? Noremoth: nope that’s uh...pretty much it. {She throws her hands up and walks to the other side of the cell} Noremoth: ...I never meant to hurt you. Catalina: No you only meant to lie, kill, and steal. Noremoth: Technically I never lied- {She gets close to his face, baring her fangs and eyes turning red} Noremoth: BAH! Okay! Okay! Relax! Catalina: You don’t get it do you!? Noremoth: What!? Catalina: I trusted you! I..I liked you! And you betrayed me! You hurt my friends! You hurt my kingdom! And I hate you for it! I honestly wish I had the strength to end you I would gladly tear your throat out for my friend and family! Noremoth: Cat… {Catalina shakes her head and runs out of the cell and slams the door} Noremoth:...smooth ol’ boy...smooth. {Fade to the cult HQ; Larkspur sits in her room with messy hair and a disheveled appearance; she takes a knife and throws it at a Coronian flag she has on her wall; a knock sounds at her door} Vergus: Mistress? {She tumbles out of her bed and fixes herself} Larkspur: C-Come in! Vergus: Mistress,  we were badly battered from the recent battle.  we have many wounded and we're running out of supplies. Larkspur:  and our vessel? Vergus:   despite the doubtless psychological harm that she suffered she appears to be in good health. Larkspur: That is all you needed to say I really don't give a rat's arse about her “psychological harm” Vergus:  regardless mistress, we must obtain more supplies.  the dark kingdom has a trade port. it's about two days’ time from our hideaway. Larkspur:  then what are you still doing here? get together a small group of those that aren't wounded and go obtain things to replenish our supply. Vergus:  well there's one more thing mistress. Larkspur: of course there is. Vergus:  we wish to know what you plan to do now. Noremoth has been captured.  and he didn't exactly leave on the best terms.  he's a serious threat and could easily be giving away information.  we wish to know your orders. Larkspur: hmm.. well it is true he could be a threat.  but we can't just go barreling into Corona.  as you said before we're all wounded and need time to heal,  on top of everything we're low on supplies.  I suppose we should plan for a battle then. if we don't attack they surely will attack us. looks like this little war is at a standstill. Vergus: Mistress? Larkspur:  take a small group of the members that aren't wounded.  go to the dark Kingdom, obtain the supplies that we require,  but also try and recruit some new members. look for the lowlifes of the town.  people who are desperate, weak of heart, there should be plenty.  if we're going to fight a battle in the future we should have more able-bodied men and women. Vergus: Yes mistress. Larkspur:  and Vergus? don't disappoint me. {cut to Verbena walking into the kingdom gates with Isaiah in tow} Verbena: So let me get this straight.  you got separated from your family and you're here for at least another week until you can find enough reserves for a four day trip on foot back to Corona. Isaiah: That pretty much sums it up yeah… Verbena:  well you're doomed. Isaiah: Wait wha-Verbena! Benny! May I call you Benny? Verbena: no. Isaiah: Benny,  what do you mean I'm doomed!? Verbena:  look I've been surviving on these streets by myself for 2 years.  I have survived starvation, infection, and almost dying of exposure.  I’m a big girl and I can tell just by looking at you, you wouldn't last a day. Isaiah: oh ho really? How so? Verbena:  do I really have to explain?  from what you've been telling me you relied too heavily on the grown-ups around you. you can't do that when you're living on the streets. a street kid has seen no lesser than a rat.  you have to do what you can to survive which means doing things that you aren’t gonna be happy with. Isaiah:  how old are you? Six?  who hurt you? Verbena: actually I'm this many! *holds up fingers*  7 almost 8. my parents died in a house fire. I’ve been living on my own ever since. Isaiah:  why don't you just go to an orphanage? {She grabs his face and pulls him down} Verbena: I WILL NEVER EVER GO TO THAT MEAN PLACE! Isaiah: Okay! Okay! Geez! {she lets go and starts walking before they both hear a grumble; she turns and looks at him} Verbena:  are you kidding me? when was the last time you ate? Isaiah:... on the ship. Verbena: ugghh.. helpless utterly helpless.  come on stinky let's find you something to eat. {Fade to Lily looking out a window from the seat in her room; she sniffles and wipes a tear before a knock is at her door} Cyrus: Lily? It’s me!...it’s all of us really. {Eddard opens the door} Cyrus: Wow rude...she didn’t express we could come in! Eddard: Lily? You okay sis?{Her sister Rosie sits by her} Rosie: Your handmaiden said that you've been turning away all sorts of food even your favorite. Cyrus:  you love lemon meringue pie. Lily:  I just don't feel it… {They all look at each other concerned; Eugene walks in} Eugene: don’t worry guys...I got this. All: Dad! Eugene:  if you guys could give us the room I think your sister needs some one-on-one with her awesome dad. Cyrus: Yes father. {all but Eddard walk out of the room before Cyrus goes back and pulls him out} Eugene: Lily?...sweetheart you can’t keep doing this.  I know it hurts but- Lily:  no you don't know! You can’t possibly know! {Eugene jumps} Lily:  I should have gone with you. Eugene:  no.  that would have been ten times worse.  you could have been killed then. Lily:  maybe then I could have stopped them from killing my best for him. Eugene: there was nothing we could have done.  Lily none of this was your fault. none of this was anyone's fault. it wasn't supposed to happen this way. Lily: I liked ‘saiah… Eugene: I know princess… Lily: no I...I like liked him… Eugene: wait, you...OH...ohh… {Lily sobs} Eugene: oh princess c’mere… {Eugene picks her up and holds her in his lap; she snuggles into his chest} Eugene: It’s gonna be okay..it may not seem like it now but..it..it will...it will {he holds her tighter as it zooms out on them; cut to Varian tiredly exiting his Lab in the castle; he walks a bit before stopping and look up at the giant door he’s passing by; Zapada’s words from that morning ring in his head; he sets his stuff down} Varian:...Herz Der Sonne’s journal. {He looks around before he places a hand on the door} Varian:...I must be outta my damn mind. {Varian opens the door to the room and walks up to the journal; he sighs} Varian: I can’t believe I’m doing this… {He opens the book and flips through it; he stops at a page and stares at it before running his hand over it: he sighs} Varian: ….I really screwed up, huh?  failed to protect you...failed to protect our son.  Seems just yesterday we were here. {He smiles sadly and scoffs} Varian:  I really was still a stupid kid wasn't I?   thinking all of our problems would be solved because we signed a stupid book. {Fade to a flashback of him and Estelle sneaking in the room; Estelle runs over to the journal as Varian closes the door} Estelle:  has anyone seen us? Varian: not from what I've seen. Estelle: Good.  in my opinion, this has to be a private affair. Varian: indeed your grace. Estelle:  Ew don’t call me that. {they chuckle and Estelle opens the journal to a blank page; She then takes a quill but hesitates} Varian: …Estelle? You okay? Estelle: Oh! Y-Yes! Right as rain! Varian: we don't have to do this if you don't want to... I'm not going to hold it against you. Estelle:  no!  I want to do this. the last journal existed for hundreds of years.  I don't want there to only be a record of me being tied to that... Pompous duke!. Varian: won’t people find out? Estelle:  nobody goes back and looks at the other Pages until it's been decades maybe more.  please...Varian. I want to share a page with the man I love. The man I choose. {Varian looks stunned for a second but then his face softens; He takes a Quill and both sign the journal; Estelle kisses him; they stay in each other’s arms} Estelle: Well...it seems to be official now. Varian: yeah… Estelle: for better or for worse… Varian: No matter what happens… {Fade out and cut to the page with their names on it; a tear drips on the page; Varian sniffles and wipes his eyes before staring blankly at the page; with a cold stare he tears the page from the journal and stuffs it in his vest; cut to him walking out of the room and stopping to lean against the wall} Rapunzel: Varian! There you are! We’ve all been looking for you! Varian: for me? How can I help Rapunzel? Rapunzel:....you’re...not gonna like it. {Lance walks forward with a drink bottle} Varian: What is this? Eugene: a drink to share with Noremoth. Varian: ...Excuse me!? Rapunzel: Now Varian, please… Varian: No Hold up! You want me to share a drink with the man that murdered my family!? Eugene: Varian I know your upset with him but- Varian: Upset? you think i’m just UPSET with that man!? i’m 1000x more than that, Eugene! Rapunzel: okay enough! Both of you! Varian, We need information from him. from what we've heard him say he seems to be innocent of most of the crimes here. Varian: what!? Rapunzel:  from what he's been telling us it was mostly Larkspur giving the orders.  Quirin's death was an accident according to him,  he didn't know that Estelle was going to be the first target,  and Isaiah fell off the cliffs when Noremoth wasn't anywhere near him. It's the only information he was willing to give us. Lance:  he just keeps asking us to kill him and be done with it. Keira: and why don't we!?  okay so my Quirin's death was an accident but that means he still tried to kill Varian! And look at Catalina! Rapunzel:  I promise you, there will be consequences for him but right now his information is invaluable. If we're going to avenge Isaiah and anyone else that was killed at the cults hand we’re going to need his help. {Varian eyes the bottle before walking off with it} Catalina: Varian just...just don’t hurt him too bad… Varian:...no promises. {Cut to Isaiah in the marketplace of the dark kingdom} Isaiah: geez... bread here is so expensive. Verbena:  that's cause wheat doesn't do well here so we have to im-..im… Isaiah: ...Import? Verbena: yeah! import it from other kingdoms. Isaiah: seriously how are you alive? Verbena: I guess i’m just smarter than you. Isaiah: you little- Verbena: shh!...look! Isaiah: what? {She points to a small bag of moldy bread} Verbena: It's all we got. Isaiah: how are we going to the new convince him to sell us- {Verbena rushes in and grabs it before taking off} Baker: STOP! THIEF! Isaiah: BENNY!? Verbena: Lets go! {they both run through the street weaving around people as the baker chases them; At one point Benny trips and picks up as much of the bread as she can; The baker goes to grab her but Isaiah picks up an apple from a cart and throws it, hitting him in the nose} Baker: Filthy street pest! You broke my nose! Augh! {Isaiah runs up to her and pulls her into the alleyway} Verbena:...well...that could’ve gone better. Isaiah: Yeah i’ll say! What in the hell was any of that!? Verbena: I was getting us food! Isaiah: By stealing it!? I have coin! I could have bought food! Verbena: if I knew that I would have let you but like I said before, You gots to do things you don't like! Isaiah: Screw that!  I've never once even considered stealing food! if need be I would have gone to the forest and searched for food or dug in a trash can! I never would have stolen from anyone! now look what I did I broke some poor man's nose for you! Verbena:  and because of that we have dinner.  when it comes to survival sometimes you gotta be bad. Isaiah:  I would rather risk everything than hurt someone again! Verbena:...Again? {Isaiah jumps at his own words and gently touches his scar; Verbena sighs and hands him a stale roll of bread from the bag} Verbena:  ...here... just eat it. {Isaiah swipes the roll and takes a bite; Verbena grabs her own roll and picks the mold off before eating; she hears sniffles and looks over to see Isaiah wiping his eyes as he eats} Verbena:...why me? {She walks over and plops down by him eating her bread; Isaiah looks over to her leaning on him} Verbena:...sorry... {he smiles and leans on her as they eat; cut to Varian outside Noremoths door at night; Pete unlocks it for him and he walks in} Noremoth: Well.. this is a surprise.

Varian: be quiet… Noremoth:  did you really just walk in here just to tell me to shut up? Varian: and if I did? Noremoth: well not like I can do anything except call you a massive jerk. Varian: you see there's a lot of irony in the idea of you calling me a massive jerk. Noremoth:  whatever... what's that? Varian:  this? {he holds up the bottle} Noremoth:  no the Dancing Cockatoo on your head.. yes the bottle! Varian: thought you could use a drink. I can't imagine the water down here is very sanitary. Noremoth: What is it? Varian: I have absolutely no clue but all I know is it doesn't smell very good. Noremoth: then it is my kind of speed. {Varian pours two glasses and goes to hand him one} Varian: oh...wait… Noremoth: Yes Varian... I'll just levitate the glass with my unicorn powers. Varian: oh shut up… {He goes to unlock his wrists; Noremoth rubs them; Varian hands him the drink and he sits down on the ground with him} Varian: well this brings back memories. Noremoth:  drinking in a Cell brings back memories? Varian: the cell itself dingus...  I forget...it's been what.. 18..19 years… Noremoth:  yes I've heard your story.  I believe we only met after the death of Zhan tiri.  you went traveling right? Varian:  I was gifted the title of Royal engineer. but I needed a break from Corona after everything that happened.  I decided to go on a scientific Expedition.  I wanted to learn how the Sun Drop , the Moonstone, and the black rocks had affected other kingdoms.  I also wanted to learn more about me and see if there was a more scientific explanation for all of it. perhaps a new branch of science that we hadn't even discovered yet. Noremoth:  and then we came in and screwed everything up didn't we? {Noremoth smirks and sips his drink} Varian:  you can say that again. instead of a scientific expedition, I found myself trying to thwart you guys every time I entered a new kingdom. Noremoth:  we were very diverse with our recruiting.  Misfits of all the Seven Kingdoms joining together to create a new world order with help from the power of Zhan tiri and a vessel hosting the magic for us. Varian:... why Cassandra? Noremoth:... that was larkspur's doing. I grew up in Corona. I was here for that great battle. Varian:...What? I didn't see you at all. Noremoth: I don't know where I was born but I do know I grew up in an orphanage not too far from Corona.  orphanages paint such a pretty picture.  oh we care for orphaned so therefore we're Saints! puh!... I left the orphanage when I was 12 I couldn't stand it anymore and then I was a street child in Corona.  therefore I was useless.  I was here for everything. Varian: Everything? Noremoth:  yes... everything. how did you make your raccoon that size? Varian:  Okay moving on!  you never answered my question. Noremoth:  right... I told her about how Cassandra was the wielder of the Moonstone and how I saw her come into Corona many times.  I even told her about the time she practically destroyed the whole Kingdom with black rocks.  Larkspur insisted that that was who we had to have his The Vessel. I don't know why but I think it's because she thought she can handle it. Varian:  so why did you join the cult? Noremoth: I left Corona once I was old enough same as you. I met t Larkspur and she told me her ideas. I was sick of being treated differently for things that I couldn't control.  people assuming that I was filthy, uneducated, and just overall waste of space because I was an orphan Street child.  I want to spare future generations of that that's why I joined.  I've always had a code. never hurt women or children. Varian: BUT- Noremoth:  I was never near your son when he fell and that wasn't supposed to happen.  I didn't know that Cassandra’s first kill was Isaiah’s mother.  as for your father... I want you to know that I gave Larkspur hell for that.  I'm sorry. I tried to do good things for the world by joining this cult but it seems that I've only brought misery. I’m...truly sorry about that. {Noremoth picks up his cup; Varian watches him with a despondent look} Noremoth: ...Salut 

Varian:......Salut. {They clink glasses and both take a sip before Varian coughs and sputters and Noremoth laughs; fade to Isaiah leaning against a barrel in the alley asleep; Verbena walks over and kicks him} Isaiah: OW! Hey, what the- Verbena: Sh! C’mon! I gots to show you something! {Isaiah rolls his eyes and follows; she leads him out into the dark barren street} Isaiah: ...Okay, I'm out here now what? Verbena:  any second now… {They stand for a minute or two; Isaiah goes to say something to her but then notices a glow; He looks up to see colours dancing in the sky} Isaiah: Whoa... aurora borealis… Verbena: what? Isaiah:  Aurora Borealis is also known as the Northern Lights I read about it in my books back home.  I didn't know the dark Kingdom had such a cool view of it. Verbena:  I overheard some grown-up say that the lights only started appearing after the black rocks disappeared. that was way before I was born. Isaiah: and how old do you think I am? that's before I was born to! Verbena:  you're old and stinky! {Isaiah smirks and tickles her; she squeals and giggles} Isaiah: Oh am I!? I’m old and stinky? Well, you’re tiny and spiteful! {she squeals and giggles; Isaiah smiles and looks up at the sky with a sad smile} Verbena: do you miss your family? {Isaiah turns to look at her} Verbena:  I miss mine too. I miss my mommy. Isaiah:...me too squirt...me too.

Alicization Rewatch ep 17-21 - Alice Zuberg & Alice Synthesis 30

OK that’s quite a big jump of episodes haha, but I personally can’t think of how to break these posts down to each episode without breaking the pace, not to mentioned the development of the Rulid Trio are intertwined with each other in some way or another so that’s even more difficult. So I will do this character by character for easier digest

First of all I’d like to remind you how Synthesis ritual works for the Integrity Knights.

- The Administrator will first take out a person’s memories of their most beloved person/people so she can insert a Piety Module into a hole in their forehead that originally held those memories.

- However this is not all, the Administrator needs one more step to have full Edit access to the Fluctlights she’s going to turn into Integrity Knights, and that is for the Fluctlights themselves to say the secret Command “Remove Core Protection”.

So what happened to Alice Zuberg?

Alice was praised as a Sacred Art genius since she was a child, so when they asked her to say the secret Command line for what ever lie they used, she could understand what the Command is for right away, and absolutely refused to say it. So they forced her through an unusual “Forced Synthesis” for 3 days straight in order to convert her into an Integrity Knight, skipped through her “consent” as a Fluctlight, and thus the original Alice Zuberg with all her disobedience became a separate Fluctlight, trapped in a Memory Crystal located at Administrator’s room on Central Cathedral’s top floor. This Alice in the Memory Crystal is not just mere memories like other Memory Crystals, she is still a functional Fluctlight and can still send her voice and echo to communicate with Kirito and Eugeo.

Meanwhile a new persona was created and took over original Alice’s body and became the puppet Knight Alice Synthesis 30. This Alice might have some memory traces of the old Alice, but she seems to be even more cold and empty than the other Knights and she couldn’t recognize Kirito and Eugeo at all when she faced them even though her other self was best friend with them.

It can be explained that because a Knight’s skills are attached with their older self’s memories, so the Administrator has the rights to keep only certain memories and remove or block the unecessary ones (including Alice’s memories of Kirito & Eugeo). Or it can be explained that to Alice Zuberg, the person she holds dearest is actually her sister Selka, even more so than Alice’s relationship with Kirito & Eugeo, and because her Synthesis already happened longer than Eldrie’s case, she can only react to her dearest people: her family including Selka and to an extent her father Gasfut. Looking at the trio’s background: Kirito lived in the Church as a child because he was an orphan in UW, Eugeo’s family didn’t treat him very fairly, while Alice had a perfectly happy family before she was arrested as a sinner, so it’s understandable for a blessed child like her to see her family as more important than her friends. The sisters’ closeness was also hinted on how Selka risked breaking Taboo Index by running to the End Mountain 2 years ago just to be able to reunite with Alice, or how Alice S30 can feel muscle memories in her throat while spelling Selka’s name, even if the person who used to call Selka was technically not her.

Kirito, as the only person who ever interacted with both Alices at this point in time, saw them as separate souls, and thus said these lines:

Kirito’s reasoning here is pretty much how I understand the “Undo” button while editing files. When you want to undo a wrongful edit (aka the Synthesis ritual) you click “Undo” on an existing file (aka Alice S30), the system will revert the file to an older version (aka original Alice Zuberg), and when you click “Save” the system will erase the latest edit that you just undo’ed (which means Alice S30 will be erased forever). Pretty chilling when you realize those doc files you edit everyday might be bottom-up AIs equal to human souls, right?

Anyway, Alice S30 finally understood what she really is, and agreed to return the body to the original Alice when it comes down to it, and was willing to forfeit her obedience to the Church. Unfortunately the Right-Eyed Seal acted up right then and in pain she had ask Kirito to hold her firmly so she could break the seal.

And thus Alice Synthesis 30 was convinced successfully, became Kirito & Eugeo’s ally and assisted them in their fight against the Church. Meanwhile, the original Alice Zuberg was still trapped in the 100th Floor’s ceiling.

That concludes my account of Alice S30′s development in Alicization 1st half. Next time, I’ll dive into Eugeo’s development and how Administrator shortened her Synthesis of Eugeo through brainwashing, manipulation and preying on his secret negative emotions, as the Church saw Alice Zuberg’s Synthesis as such a long hassle because of her refusal and how Administrator had no time to waste before Kirito approached.

P/S: It’s such a pity Alice S30′s cool payback moment against Chudelkin in the novel was cut in episode 21 :(

alpha/beta are carol/daryl foils: an analysis no one asked for; twd s10 spoilers, obviously

hoo boy. okay, so i’ve been intending to write this for days, but i had to let it marinate, and also i haven’t been sleeping and couldn’t concentrate long enough to write it down, but whatever, i digress. “we are the end of the world” was something, wasn’t it?? it is so weird to have a plotline in twd that’s like...good? and SO refreshing to have a villain who isn’t a macho, rapey, white dude. i personally believe that all showrunners should be women from now on. oh, i’m digressing again, my apologies.

here’s the actual content, under the cut bc it’s a fucking novel:

so, from alpha’s very first episode, when i saw her shaving her head, i literally thought, “oh, so she’s carol’s foil and they’re going to have an inevitable showdown, huh?” guess who was right? this bitch. but what i didn’t catch right away was how beta is also daryl’s foil, and how the main focus of this season is alpha/beta vs carol/daryl.

let’s take it apart individually first, yeah?

carol vs. alpha:

like i said, the scene that made me instantly aware of what they were setting up was when alpha shaved her head. carol’s hair was a big thing in season 9, and the fact that we had just had henry talking about carol growing her hair out long, juxtaposed with alpha shaving hers off, is what set the alarm bells off for me. i have said over and over that i don’t believe kang does anything unintentionally, and girl loves her symbolism, so those two opposing scenes was a taste of what she was setting up.

carol and alpha are both near-indestructible forces who also happen to be mother’s suffering the loss of their children at the hand of the other. (carol isn’t directly responsible for lydia, but she’s included with “the others” that took lydia from alpha, so i think alpha still sees her as part of it.)

carol and alpha both have transformed themselves to fit within the confines of the world they currently live in, while recognizing that their children weren’t meant for it, even within their own grief. let us refer to figures a and b (lol) below.

figure a:

here in “the grove” we have creepy girl who i hate and am terrified of asking carol if sophia died because she was weak, and carol straight up is like, “yes.” she doesn’t even sugarcoat it. she accepted that her daughter wasn’t going to survive from the jump, because “there wasn’t a mean bone in her body.”

figure b:

here we see alpha losing her goddamn shit, because she’s having a come-to-jesus moment with beta about losing lydia, because she can’t have lydia and be the alpha at the same time, because lydia “is not like” her. 

conclusion: carol and alpha both mourn for their daughters, but have accepted that to be the people they need to be in the apocalypse, their children needed to die (or in lydia’s case, be dead metaphorically). in short, carol and alpha are two sides of the same coin. they’ve both found ways to survive, except one is for the good guys, and the other is for the bad guys, and now they’re head-to-head, and it is d e l i c i o u s.

moving on.

daryl vs beta:

idk why the parallels didn’t occur to me when they had daryl fighting beta. i blame henry, he was distracting me by being a delightful idiot (rip my dumb bitch), but that seed was planted in season 9, too. go kang for continuity. who knew twd could do that? anyway.

the big thing that compares daryl and beta is who they were before they found carol and alpha respectively. we obviously don’t know a whole lot of details about beta’s life, but we have enough to extrapolate and compare, and extrapolate and compare we shall.

alright, so we got our favorite lovable, filthy redneck, who grew up abused and isolated, and then here comes the apocalypse, and the only person he has left is his brother, and that’s what defines him until he loses him, both when rick chained him to a roof, and then again, after a brief relapse, when merle sacrificed himself. 

next we have beta, who again, our info is limited, but he does not become “beta” until after whoever that walker alpha puts down is gone. judging by the size, approximate age, and the closeness beta had to him, i’m betting on, you guessed it, his brother. 

observe:

figure a:

figure b:

these are both turning points for these men, where they Fully Become the dudes that we know. daryl couldn’t be the daryl we know and love until merle was gone for good, and whatever his actual name is couldn’t become beta until smiley face shirt guy was smooshed. 

(side note: how fucking rank does that t-shirt have to be by now? at least the mask dries out, but do you think that t-shirt is just like, melded into beta’s skin at this point? gross.)

so time for the fun part.

alpha/beta and caryl in season 10:

season 10 finds both duos in similar circumstances, by which i mean, alpha and carol are losing their minds, and beta and daryl are like, “uhhhh, you ok?” the men are these women’s confidants, their person, the one they trust and love above all others. carol saved daryl and brought him into a community, and alpha did the same thing with beta. you want more visual aides? well, sure thing, scout!

figure a:

we’re carylers, we already know carol’s the reason daryl has the confidence and self-esteem to become part of the group, but juxtapose this with the following pic, which i will label

figure b (again):

and you will see that alpha sees something in beta that no one else does. she sees this lonely, talented man, who’s adrift and in solitude, and she essentially calls dibs. sound familiar? inorite?

so daryl and beta are now loyal to a fault to their women, and this season already has them being wary of how they’re acting. yes, i have more pictures. i like taking screenshots, okay?

figure a:

one of the first scenes we get with caryl is daryl asking carol if she’s still thinking about alpha, and if she is Dwelling, which is interesting, because...

figure b:

...that’s exactly the same thing we get with alpha and beta. the first scene in “we are the end of the world” with the two of them in present day is him questioning her motives, and then later on he’s like, “fuck, are you Dwelling?” 

and both women immediately are like:

and neither dude knows wtf to do about this, because they’re used to the women being the strong ones. carol’s whole, “you’ve got to feel it, but not me, i’m good repressing, conceal don’t feel” thing, mixed with alpha’s, “we’re living like the dead and the dead don’t feel emotions so obviously I Am Fine” motto is what their boys are used to, but suddenly carol is hallucinating dead children, and alpha is making shrines, and our poor dudes are like, “plz stop???” esp bc they know these women are FUCKING TERRIFYING, and should never be left to their own devices if they’re being crazy crackers.

ergo, both men are clinging to the hope that they can bring the women back from the brink. my last visual aides, yes i know, how sad:

figure a:

figure b:

both scenes have these dudes reaching out to their women and essentially expressing, in their own way, “i’m worried about you, can you plz stay within eyesight at all times, ilu,” bc neither daryl nor beta is equipped to have a nice long sit down conversation about feelings, and obviously carol and alpha wouldn’t bother to entertain it in the first place, so like  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. they tried. 

will it work? unlikely! because after that showdown at the end of both eps 1 and 2, these bitches ain’t about to stop for nothing. they just straight up made enemies for life, and they’re going straight harry potter with this shit, neither can live while the other survives, someone has to die, and while beta and daryl are not super on board with this whole “being bonkers and bent on revenge” thing, you better bet your ass that they’re going to make sure their woman is the winner, which means they automatically are paired up against one another as well.

so in a nutshell: we could have just stuck goatees on mmb and norman reedus, cast them as alpha and beta, and called them mirror!verse caryl (star trek reference, yay/nay?), because they’re mother fucking foils setting up for the mother fucking fight of the century, and oh my god, can you feel it in your bones how exciting it is that it’s not going to be a rick + negan dick measuring contest again? i am So Hype.

and ofc, as a hardcore caryl shipper, i obviously have to throw in that alpha and beta are totally in love (which is esp fun, bc whisperers aren’t supposed to feel love, uh oh, vulcan violation, yes i made another star trek reference, bite me), and if they are paralleling caryl, well...extrapolate from the evidence.

i love kang, you guys. i love how she tells a story. i love that she knows how to tell a story. this show is good again, and idk how she did it, but damnit, she did.

thus endeth my pointless critical analysis. forgive me. i was an english major and have absolutely no other use for my degree.

i’m ashamed too. 

that’s all. tomorrow is the early release of the caryl episode, i mean the new episode. looking forward to dying a valiant death with the lot of you. until then, friends.

deuces,

-diz

addendum: i was editing this, and was trying to think if there’s a parallel to the bracelet scene, and the only thing i could think of that alpha gives beta is his mask. she encourages him to take the face of his brother(?), and that keeps him grounded, which is interesting, bc my prediction for the bracelet is that it’s going to end up being a grounding device for carol when she’s dissociating. i don’t have a solid conclusion drawn there, but i thought i’d mention it before posting, just to plant the seed. 

k, done 4 real, bye