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felikatze · 5 months

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ISAT and Ludonarrative Harmony: Combat is a Storytelling Tool

Or: How Siffrin is stuck in the endgame grind, forever

Please Note: This is primarily aimed at an audience that already played In Stars and Time, because I am bad at explaining things, and it's good to already know what the fuck I'm talking about. I tend to only bring up game elements as I want to talk about them.

Spoilers for.... all of ISAT! Especially Act 5!

(image to show how i feel posting this and as an attention grabber over my wall of text)

To pull a definition of ludonarrative harmony out of a hat, game writer Lauryn Ash defines it as follows:

Ludonarrative harmony is when gameplay and story work together to create a meaningful and immersive experience. From a design implementation perspective, it is the synchronized interactions between in-game actions (mechanics) and in-world context (story).

It is, generally speaking, how well game mechanics work hand in hand with the story. I, personally, think ISAT is an absolute masterclass of it, so I want to take a look at how ISAT specifically uses its battle system to emphasize Siffrin's character arc and create organic story moments. I want you to keep this in mind when I talk here.

So, skills, right? If you've played any turn-based RPG, you know your Fire spells, your "BACKSLASH! AIRSLASH! BACKSLASH!" and the many ways to style those.

Well, what does casting "Fire" say about your character? Not all that much, does it? Perhaps you'll have typical divisions. The smart one is the mage, the big brawny one is your tank, the petite one's the healer. And that's the barebones of ISAT's main party, but it's much more than that.

Every character's style of combat tells you something about them. Odile, the Researcher, is the most well-travelled and knowledgable of the bunch. She's the one with the expertise to keep a cool head and analyze the enemy, yet also able to use all three of the Rock-Paper-Scissors craft types.

To reflect her analytical view of things, all her skill names are just descriptive, the closest to your most bog-standard RPG. "Slow IV" or "Paper III" serve well to describe their purpose. The high number of the skills gives the impression there were three other Slow skills beforehand - fitting, considering the party starts at level 45, about to head into the final dungeon. She's also the oldest, so she's the slowest of the bunch.

Isabea, the Fighter, has all his skills in exclamation points. "YOUR TURN!!!" "SO WEAK!!!" "SMASH!!!" they're straightforward, but excited. He's a purposefully cheerfull guy, so his skills revolve around cheering on his allies. He's absolutely pumped to be here, and you see that from his skill names alone.

Mirabelle, the Housemaiden, is an interesting case. She's by all means the true protagonist of this tale - She's the one "Chosen by the Change God," the only one who survived the King's first attack, the only one immune to his ability to freeze time, the only dual-craft type of the game - just a lot of things. And her skill names reflect that facade she puts on herself - she can do this, she can win! She has to believe it, or else she starts doubting. This is how you get "Jolly Round Rondo" and "Mega Sparkle Heal" or "Adorable Moving Cure." She's styled every bit a sailor scout shojo heroine, and her moveset replicates the naming conventions of "In the name of the moon, I'll punish you!"

Even Bonnie, the Kid, who can't be controlled in combat, has named craft skills. And they very much reflect that Bonnie is, well, a kid. "Wolf Speed Technique" or "Thousand Blows Technique" are very much the phrasings of a child who learned one complicated word and now wants to use it in everything to seem cooler than they are, which is none, because they're twelve.

Siffrin's skills are all puns.

You have an IMMEDIATE feel for personality here. Between "Knife to Meet You!" and "Too Cleaver by Half," you know Siffrin's the type to always crack a joke no matter the situation, slinging witticisms around to put Sonic the Hedgehog to shame. It's just such a clever way to establish character using a game mechanic as old as the entire history of RPGs.

This is only the baseline of the way the combat system feeds into the story, though.

The timeloop, of course, feeds into it. Siffrin is the only character who retains experience upon looping, whereas all other characters are reset to their base level and skills. And it sucks (affectionate).

You're extremely likely to battle more often the earlier in the game you are - after all, you need the experience (for now.) Every party member contributes, and Siffrin isn't all that strong on their own, since they focus on raw scissor type damage with the addition of one speed buff. (Of course it's a speed buff. They're a speedy fucker. Just look at him).

At first, the difference in level between Siffrin and the rest of the group is rather negligible. Just a level or two. Just a bit more speed and attack. And then Siffrin grows further and further apart. Siffrin keeps learning new skills. He gets a healing skill that doubles as an attack boost, taking away from both Mirabelle's and Isabeau's usefullness. He gets Craft skills of every type that even give you two jackpot points instead of one - thus obliterating Odile's niche. Siffrin turns into a one-person army capable of clearing most encounters all on their own.

Siffrin's combat progression is an exact mirror of story progression - as their experience inside the loops grows, they also grow further and further away from their party. The party seems... weaker, slower, clumsier. Always back at their starting point, just as all of their character arcs are reset each loop. Never advancing, always stagnant. And you have Siffrin as the comparison post right next to them.

I also want to point out here a change from Act 2 to Act 3 - Siffrin's battle portrait. He stops smiling.

Battles keep getting easier. This is true both for the reason that Siffrin keeps growing stronger even when all enemies stay the same, but also for the reason that you, the player, learn more about the battle system and the various encounters, until you've learned perfect boss clear strategies just from repetition. Have you ever watched a speedrunner play Pokemon? They've played this game so many times, they could do it blindfolded and sleeping. Your own knowledge and Siffrin's new strength work in tandem to trivialize the game's entire combat system as the game progresses.

(Is it still fun? Playing it over, and over, and over again? Is it?)

You and Siffrin are in sync, your experience making everything trivial.

As time goes on, Siffrin grows to care less and less about performing right for their party and more and more about going fast. A huge moment in his character is marked by the end of Act 3; because of story events I won't delve too deeply into, Siffrin has grown afraid of trying something new. And his options of escape are closing in. They need an answer, and they need it fast. He doesn't have the time or patience to dumb himself down, so you unlock one new skill.

It doesn't occur with level up, or with a quest, or anything at all. At the start of Act 4, it simply appears in Siffrin's Craft skills.

(Just attack.)

No pun. No joke. Just attack. Once you notice, the effect is immediate - here you have it, a clear sign of how jaded Siffrin has become, right at every encounter. And it's a damn good attack, too! The only available attack in the game that deals "massive" damage against all enemies. Because it doesn't add any jackpot points (at least, it's not supposed to), you set up a combo with everybody else, but Siffrin simply tears away at the enemy with wild abandon. Seperated from the rest of the party by the virtue of no longer needing to contribute to team attacks (most of the time. It's still useful if they do, though).

Once again, an aspect of the battle system enhances the degree of separation between Siffrin and the static characters of his play. You're incentivized to separate him, even.

Additionally, there are two more skills to learn. They're the only skills that replace previous skills. You only get them at extremely high levels, the latter of which I didn't even reach on both of my playthroughs.

The first, somewhere in the level 70 range, Rose Printed Glasses, a paper type craft skill, is replaced by Tear You Apart. It's still a pun about paper, but remarkedly more vicious.

The second is even more on the nose. At level 80, In A While, Rockodile!, a rock type craft skill, is replaced by the more powerful Rock Bottom.

I didn't get to level 80. If you do, you pretty much have to do it on purpose. You have to keep going much longer than necessary, as Siffrin is just done. And the last skill he learns is literally called Rock Bottom.

What do I even need to say, really.

Your party doesn't stay static forever, though.

By doing their hangout quests, side quests throughout the loops that result in Siffrin and the character having a heart to heart, all of them unlock what I'd call an "ultimate" skill. You know the type - the character achieved self-fulfillment, hit rank 10 on their confidant, maxed out their skill tree, and received a reward for their trouble.

These skills are massively useful. My favorite is Odile's - it makes one enemy weak to all Craft types for several turns, which basically allows you to invalidate the first and third boss, as well as just clown on the King, especially once Siffrin starts racking up damage.

But the thing is. In Act 3, when you first get them, yeah, they're useful. But... do you need them? After all, they're such a hassle to get. You need to do the whole character quest again, you can't loop forward in the House or you'll lose them. If you want to take these skills to the King, you need to commit. Go the full nine-yards and be nice to your friends and not die and not skip forward or skip back. Which is annoying, right?

Well, I sure did think so during Act 4. After all, a base level party can still defeat the King, just with a few more tricky pieces involved. Siffrin can oneshot almost all basic enemies by the time of Act 4. It's this exact evalutation that you, the player, go through everytime you return to Dormont. Do I want this skill, still? Would it not be faster to go on without it? I'm repeating myself, but that's the thing! That's what Siffrin is thinking, too!

I also want to take a quick moment to note, here - all skills gained from hangouts have art associated with them, which no other skills do. This feature, the nifty art, hammers home these as "special" skills, besides just how they're unlocked.

Siffrin also has one skill with associated art.

Yeah, you guessed it, it's (Just attack.)

At first, helping the characters is tied to a hefty in-game reward, but that reward loses its value, and in return devalues helping Siffrin's friends every loop. It's too tedious for a skill that'll make a boss go by one turn faster. You, the player, grow jaded with the battle system. Grinding experience isn't worth it, everybody's highest levels are already recorded. Fighting bosses isn't worth it, it's much faster to loop forward.

Isn't this what all endgame in video games looks like? You already beat the final boss, and now... what challenge is left? Is there a point to keep playing? Most games will have some post-game content. A superboss to test your skills against, but ISAT doesn't have any of that. You're forever left chasing to the post-game. That's the whole point - to escape the game.

As most games get more difficult as time passes, ISAT only gets easier. The game becomes disinterested in expanding its own mechanics just as I ran out of new things to fight after 100%-ing Kingdom Hearts 3. Every encounter becomes a simple game of "press button to win."

The final boss just takes that one up a notch.

Spoilers for Act 5 ahead boys!

In Act 5, Siffrin utterly loses it. His last possible hope for escape failed him, told him there's nothing she can do, and Siffrin is trapped for eternity. So of course, they go insane and run up the entire House without their party.

This just proves what you already knew - you dont need the party to proceed. Siffrin alone is strong enough. And here, Siffrin has entirely shed the facade of the jokester they used to be. Every single skill now follows the (Just attack.) naming conventions. Your skills are: (Paper.) (Rock.) (Scissors.) (Breathe.)

To the point. Not a moment wasted, because Siffrin can't take a moment longer of any of this. Additionally, his level is set to 99 and his equipment becomes fixed. You can't even pick up items anymore! Not that you needed them at this point anyway, right? Honestly, I never used any items besides the Salty Broth since Act 2, so I stopped picking items up a long time ago. Now you just literally can't.

Something I've not talked about until now - one of the main equipment types in this game are Memories, gained for completing subquests or specific interactions and events. They all by and large have little effects - make Odile's tonics heal more, or have Mirabelle cast a shield at the start of combat. For the hangout events, you also gain an associated memory that boosts the characters' stats by 30. It lets them keep up with Siffrin again! A fresh wind! Finally, your party members feel on par with you again!

...For a time. And just like that, they're irrelevant again, just as helping them gave Siffrin a brief moment of hope that the power of friendship could fix everything.

In Act 5, your memory is set to "Memory of Emptiness." It allows you to loop back in the middle of combat. You literally can't die anymore. Not that Siffrin could've died by this point in the first place, unless you forgot about the King's instant-kill attack. This one memory takes away the false pretense that combat ever had any stakes. Siffrin's level being set to 99 means even the scant exp you get is completely wasted on them. All stakes and benefits from combat have been removed. It has become utterly pointless.

Frustrating, right? It's an artistic frustration, though. It traps you right here in Siffrin's shoes, because he hates that all these blinding Sadnesses are still walking around just as much. It all inspires just a tiny fraction of that deep rolling anger Siffrin experiences here in the player.

And listen, it was cathartic, that one time Siffrin snapped and stabbed the tutorial Sadness, wasn't it? Because who enjoys sitting through the tutorial that often? Siffrin doesn't. I don't, either.

So, since combat is an useless obstacle now meant to inspire frustration, what do you do for a boss? You can't well make it a gameplay challenge now, no. The bosses of Act 5 are an emotional challenge: a painful wait.

First, Siffrin fights the King, alone. This is already nervewracking because of one factor - in every other run, you need Mirabelle's shield skill, or else you're scripted to die. You're actually forced to fight the King multiple times in Act 3, and have to do it at least once in Act 4, though you'll likely do it more. Point is: you know how this fight works.

You know Siffrin's fight is doomed from the outset, but all you can do is keep slinging attacks. Siffrin is enough of a powerhouse to take the King's HP down, what with the healing and buff skills they have now, not to even mention you can just go all in on damage and then loop back.

(And no matter which way you play it, whether you just loop or use strategically, it reflects on Siffrin, too. Has he grown callous enough not even death will stop their mission? Or does he still avoid pain, as much as he can?)

This fight still allows you the artifice of even that much choice, not that it matters. The other shoe drops eventually - Siffrin becomes slower, and slower. Unsettling, considering this game works on an Action Gauge system. You barely get turns anymore. The screen gets darker, and darker. Until Siffrin is frozen in time, just as you knew he had to be, because you know how this encounter works, know it can't be cleared without Mirabelle.

And, then, a void.

Siffrin awakens to nothingness. The only way to tell you've hit a wall is if Siffrin has no walking animation to match your button inputs. You walk, and walk, until you're approached by.... you. The next enemy encounter of the game, and Siffrin's absolute lowest point: Mal Du Pays.

Or, "Homesickness," in english. If you know the game, you know why it's named this, but that's not the point at the moment.

Thing is, where you could damage the King and are damaged in turn, giving you at least a proper combat experience, even if its doomed to fail, Mal Du Pays has no such thing.

You can attack. You can defend. But it is immune to all attacks. And in return, it does nothing. It's common, at least, for undefeatable enemies to be a "survive" challenge, but nope. The entire fight is "press button and wait." Except, remember the previous fight against the King? The entire time, you were waiting for the big instant death attack to drop. That feeling, at least for me, carried forward. I was incredibly on edge just waiting for the other shoe to drop. And, as is a pattern, Siffrin is, too. As Siffrin's attacks fail to connect, they start talking to Mal Du Pays.

But he gets no response, as you get no attacks to strategize around. The wait for anything to happen is utterly agonizing. You and Siffrin are both waiting for something to happen. This isn't a fight. It just pretends to be. It's an utter rugpull, because Siffrin was so undefeatable for most of Act 4 and all of Act 5 so far. It's kind of terrifying!

and it does. It finally does something. Ma Du Pays speaks, in the voice of Siffrin's friends, listing out their deepest fears. I think it's honestly fantastic. You're forced to just sit here and listen to Siffrin's deepest doubts, things you know the characters could not say because it references the timeloops they're all utterly unaware of. This is all Siffrin, talking to himself. And all you, all Siffrin, can do, is keep wailing away on the enemy to no effect whatsoever.

So of course this ends with Siffrin giving up. What else can you do?

And then Siffrin's friends show up and unfreeze them and it's all very cool yay. The pure narrative scenes aren't really the main focus but I want to point out here:

A) Mirabelle is in the first party slot here, referencing how she's the de facto protagonist, and Bonnie fills in the fourth slot left empty, which shows all characters uniting to save Siffrin

B) this is the only instance of the other party members having act specific battle icons: they're all smiling brightly, further pushed by the upbeat music

C) the reflecting shield Mirabelle uses to freeze the King uses a variation of her hangout skill cut in, marking it as her true "final" skill and giving the whole fight a more climatic feeling.

It's also a short gameplay sequence with Siffrin utterly uninvolved in the battle. You can't even see them onscreen. But... it feels warm, doesn't it? Everybody coming together. Siffrin doesn't have to fight anymore.

At last, the King is defeated. Siffrin and co. make for the Head Housemaiden, to have her look at Siffrin's sudden illness. Siffrin is utterly exhausted, famished, running a fever. And this isn't unexpected - after all, their skills in Act 5 had no cooldown. For context, instead of featuring any sort of MP system, all skills work on a cooldown basis, where a character can't use it for a certain number of turns. The lowest cooldown is actually Siffrin's Knife to Meet You, which has a cooldown of 1. In universe, this is reasoned as the characters needing a break from spamming craft in order to not exhaust themselves.

Siffrin's skills in Act 5 having no cooldown/being infinitely spammable isn't a sign of their strength - it's a sign that he refuses to let himself rest in order to rush through as fast as possible.

Moving on, Siffrin panics when seeing the Head Housemaiden, because seeing her means one thing: the end. Prior to this in the game, every single time you beat the King, the loop ends when you talk to the Head Housemaiden.

Reality breaks down, the whole shebang. It's here that Siffrin realizes - they don't want the loops to end, because the end of their journey means their family will leave, and he'll be alone again. The happiest time of his life will be over.

Siffrin goes totally ballistic, to say the least.

As it turns out (and was heavily foreshadowed narratively), Siffrin has been using Wish Craft to subconciously cause the timeloop because of their abandonment issues. It's rather predictable if you paid attention to literally anything, but it's extremely notable how heavily Siffrin is paralleled to the King, the antagonist they swore to kill by themself at the start of Act 5. The King wants to freeze Vaugarde in time because it is, in his mind, "perfect," for accepting him after he lost his home - a backstory he shares with Siffrin.

Siffrin has become the exact antagonist he swore to kill, and it's shown by how the next fight utterly flips everything on its head.

Siffrin is the final boss.

In a towering form made of stars, Siffrin looks down at their friends. His face is terrified, because of his internal conflict; he can't hurt his friends, but he can't let them go, either. The combat prompt is simply changed to "END IT!"

This fight is similar to the previous, in that you just need to wait a certain number of turns until its over. However, this time, it's not dreadful suspense. It's... confusion, and hesitance.

You have two options for combat: Attack your friends, or attack yourself.

And... you don't really want to do either, I think. I certainly don't. But what else can you do? It's Siffrin's desires clashing in full force. Attack your friends, and force them to stay? Or attack yourself, and let them go safely without you?

Worth noting, here - when you attack Siffrin's friends, you can't harm them. Isabeau will shield all attacks. And when you attack yourself, Mirabelle will heal you back to full. And the friends don't... do anything, either. How could they? Occasionally, Mirabelle heals you and Isabeau shouts words of motivation, but the main thing is...

(Your friends don't know what to do.)

None of them want to harm Siffrin. Both sides simply stare at each other, resolute in their conviction but unwilling to end it with violence. It's of note that this loop, the last one, is the only loop where the King isn't killed. Just frozen. And now here is Siffrin, clamoring for the same eternity the King was. Of course everything ends in a tearfilled conversation as Siffrin sees their friends won't leave him, even after the journey ends, but I still have to appreciate this moment.

Siffrin is directly put in the position with their friends as his enemies, forced to physically reckon that keeping them in this loop is an act of violence, against both their friends, and against himself.

It's a happy ending. But... what does it mean?

Of course, ISAT is obviously about the fear of change. Siffrin is afraid of the journey ending, and of being alone. However, ISAT is also a game about games. Siffrin is playing the same game, over and over, because it's comforting. It's familiar. It's nice, to know exactly what happens next. These characters might just be predictable lines of dialogue, but... they feel like friends. Have you ever played a game, loved it, put countless hours into it, but you never finished it? Because you just couldn't bear to see it end? For the characters to leave your life, for there to be a void in your heart where the game used to be?

After all, maybe it became part of your routine! You play the game every day, slowly chipping away at it for weeks at a time. For me, I beat ISAT in four days. It utterly consumed me during this time. I had 36 hours of playtime by the end. Yeah, in that week, I did not do much more than play ISAT.

And once i beat it, i beat it, again. I restarted the game to see the few scenes I missed, most specifically the secret boss I won't talk about here. I... couldn't let go of the game yet. I wanted to see every scrap I could. I still do. I'm writing this, in part because I still do. It's scary to let go.

Ever heard the joke term of "Postgame Depression?" It's when you just beat a game, and you're suddenly sad. Maybe because the ending affected you emotionally and you need to process the feelings it invoked, or you search for something that can now fill your time with it gone.

The game ends, for real this time, the last time you talk to the Head Housemaiden. But Siffrin gets... scared. What if everything loops back again? And so, his family offers to hold his hand. They face the end, together.

For all loops, including the ending, you never see what happens after. After they leave the loop for good. Because the loop is the game itself. It's asking you to trust that life goes on for these characters, and it holds your hand as it asks you to let go. There's a reason for Siffrin's theater metaphors. He is the actor, and the director, asking everyone to do it over one more time. He's a character within the game, and its player.

There's a reason I talked about endgame content. This, the way it all repeats, there's nothing new, difficulty and stakes bleed away as you snap the game over your knee - it's my copy of White 2 with two hundred hours in it. It's me playing Fire Emblem Awakening in under 3 hours while skipping every cutscene. Are you playing for the sake of play, for the sake of indulging in your memories, because you're afraid of the hole it'll leave when you stop?

Of note: the narrative never condemns Siffrin for unwittingly causing their own suffering. He's a victim of circumstance. It's seen as endearing, even, that Siffrin loves their friends to the point of rather seeing the world destroyed than them gone. But Siffrin is also told: we'll stay with you for now, but we'll part ways eventually. And one day, you'll have to be okay with it.

Stop draining the things you love of every ounce of enjoyment just because you're afraid of what happens next. I'm not saying to never play your favorite games again. Playing ISAT a second time, I still had a lot of fun! I saw so many new things I didn't before, and I enjoyed myself immensely, reading the same dialogue over and over. But... it makes me look at other games I love and still play, and makes me ask... is this still fun? Do I still need to play this game to enjoy it? Even writing this is an afterimage of my enjoyment, but it's a new way to interact with the game, to analyze it through this lens. Fuck, man, I write fanfiction. Look at me.

All of this, fanart, fanfic, analysis, is a way to prolong that enjoyment without making yourself suffer for it. Without just going through the motions of enjoyment without actually experiencing any. But one day, the thing you love won't be fun to talk and write and draw about. And it's okay. You'll have new things to love. I promise.

In the end.... I'm certain I'll replay ISAT one day. Between great writing, art, puzzles and unresolved mysteries, it's my shoe-in for game of the year.

But I won't replay it for quite some time. I've had enough, for now, so I let my love take other forms.

Siffrin is never condemned, because love is no evil. Be it love for another person, or for a game. And please, if you're overempathetic - it's still a game, at the end of the day. The great thing about games is that you can always boot them up again, no matter how long its been.

A circle within a circle indeed.

To summarize:

The repetitiveness of ISAT's combat, lack of new enemies, and Siffrin's ever increasing strength eventually allows you to snap the combat over your knee, rendering it irrelevant and boring. Though this may seem counterproductive at first, it perfectly mirrors how Siffrin has also grown bored with these repeated encounters and views them only as an obstacle to get past. The reflection of Siffrin's own tiredness with the player's annoyance increases the compassion the player has for Siffrin as a character.

Additionally, the endgame state of the combat system serves as commentary on the state of a favorite game played too often, much like how Siffrin has unwittingly trapped themself in the loop. Despite the game having no more challenge or content left to over, a player might return to their favorite game anyway, solely to try and recreate the early experience of actually having fun with it. This ties into ISAT's metanarrative about the fear of change and refusal to let go of comfort even when the object (here, your favorite video game) offering that comfort has become utterly bereft of any substance to actually engage with. Playing for the sake of playing, with no actual investment to keep going besides your own memories.

Later on, stripping away even the pretense of strategy for a "press button and wait" format of final bosses highlights the lack of options at Siffrin's disposal and truly forces the player into their shoes. Truly, the only way to win is to stop playing.

#feli speaks #in stars and time #isat #isat spoilers #lays down on floor. it's done. it's done #i actually narrowed down in scope to just focus on the combat by the way. and this is like. several thousand words

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bronx-bomber87 · 2 months

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Good evening fandom! Welcome to my inaugural mini review post. Holy hell I can’t believe we’re finally here. These probably won’t be as detailed as normal like I mentioned. Mini review is the goal. It’ll be initial thoughts and feelings. Which will be fun cause all the other seasons other than S5 I had ton of time to reflect on moments. These thoughts for S6 could change when I rewatch the season for review purposes this summer. The exciting thing is having those first reactions. That's what these will be.

So you're getting hot off the presses thoughts haha I just watched it couple hours ago. These are thoughts I had while it was happening. With some editing to make it readable ha Want my reactions be as authentic as possible with these. Why I avoid spoilers tbh. Be interested in seeing what everyone else’s are as well. The gif library was an absolute turd so I didn't get to use all the gifs that were made yet. So I made some. Anyways this so friggin exciting to delve into so let’s get started.

6x01 Strike Back

Tim got scruffier from the finale to now-and I’m here for it. Mm. Plus he's in Metro gear. Phew Lord. Something about scruffy Tim gets me going. Adore them riding together automatically after their battle. I truly love it. The little things I continually love with them. Also LOVING the Metro call sign. Yum If this going to be his call sign all season I am about it.

Oh my lord why is her sitting at his desk so squee worthy to me? It’s getting me all in my feels. I love that Lucy can just use his office as her own. So cute using it to steal it for some study time. I love this so very much. Then her asking if they can ride together so he can quiz her? Tim doesn’t hesitate for a moment before saying yes.

Still amazes me we’re in the place with them. The Tim of old would’ve groaned and moaned about such a task. He jumps right on it for her. Ready to help her out. Even though he’s not sure how much it’s gonna do. Clearly very aware Primm is out to get her. That is common knowledge now.

Lucy is right when she says it sucks. That she has to battle this and face possible wild cards.. It isn’t fair when she's earned her spot more than most. Fought and clawed for everything she's done in this department. Definitely more than Nolan... Hey wouldn't be a review if I didn't pot shot Nolan would it? lol I love Tim finding a solution for them. Saying they can take out do the box calls all day. Widen her knowledge a bit on it. Sharpen her skills with odd calls.

I love her grateful smile when she says 'Thank you.' Loves this man. Damnit they’re so cute their banter coming out of his office is on point. Tim saying she learns best when she’s pissed off. I mean if that isn’t her rookie experience with him in a sentence. Lucy saying this feels like she is giving him permission to be an ass. Heh it kinda is no matter what Tim says.

You know he kinda loves being able to make her his boot again in some form. He is going to enjoy himself with this. There is no doubt about it. That's why he's doing that smile of his. Lucy calling him out knowing this man so well. Pointing her finger and all. God I love these idiots so much. Tim trying to tell her just his smile. Uh huh sure it is Tim.... Lucy following after him with a smile of her own. These dopes I've missed them so damn much.

I’m very much loving Tim has not really shaved in 6 weeks ha. The scruffy remains and I’m excited about it. Lucy is starting to question asking Tim to help her. We all know she learns best from that man sitting next to her though. I also always enjoy when she gets to drive. Another micro shift that has changed that I love so much. Her heart eyes when he says Angela’s cop brain is just booting up LOL Loves this goober of man.

Lucy absolutely losing it and going on a rant of epic proportions had me rolling. LOL Massive emotional downward spiral happening here. I’m dying as I watch Tim take it in. God Eric the master of expressions crushing it again. This was a huge one for her holy crap. Nuclear really. Well done Melissa getting all that in with one breath basically. By the time she’s done I’m cackling at Tim’s expression. LMAO Oh my god these two. God I’ve missed them so much it pained me.

Lucy knowing Tim's reply without even looking at him. Just epic married status at this point. Doesn’t even have to look at him or for Tim to say anything. It’s already there because of that crazy good connection they have. How deeply they know one another. It’s so good. Tim being the smart man he is says nothing. Lucy knowing he’s thinking it haha

Lucy coming to conclusion she will do crazy wild card during the day and the manual at night. She will sleep when it's over LOL Tim shaking his head. Knowing there is nothing he can say right now that'll make this better. Or to derail her crazy train of thought. This is like S1/S2 them with the added benefit of them being together now. It’s glorious.

Getting serious Plain Clothes Day vibes from this episode as well. Except this time Lucy light years away from who she was then. Confidently reciting what she’s going to do Tim nodding along. Tim wouldn’t be himself if he didn’t rock her boat a little though. Lucy getting in her head about the crime scene now. Tim isn’t wrong she did tick all the obvious boxes. That the point of today is looking for wild cards. That’s what he wants her to engage that brilliant brain of her's in. It's why he's here.

To zero in on the 'Out of the box thinking'. Poor Lucy spirals out not being able to decide if she wants his help or not. I ADORE Tim telling her it’s ok to not know the answer. Not shaming her in the least just needing her to make a call. God how far we’ve come. Tim pushes her because he knows that is when she learns best. Trying to add a little urgency to her decision making. Unfortunately it backfires. I kinda loved them calling each other by their ranks in this heated exchange.

Lucy is so flustered it’s giving me PCD vibe once again in the best way. The sprinklers turn on and Lucy panics. There’s the wild card….We watch as a bullet leaves this man’s body and enters the storm drain never to be seen again. Lucy being so very disappointed in herself. It’s reminiscent of the disappointment she showed in s1 but only now she's far more experienced. So it hurts much more now….Oh Lucy my heart. You poor thing. Couldn’t have gone more wrong if she tried.

I can’t believe they played clown music upon her entrance.... Beyond cruel but that's cops. Always taking shots when people mess up spectacularly. Tim trying not laugh.... Babe she is spiraling right now maybe don’t lol Poor thing I would be mortified too. I love how both Tim and Lucy smile when they see Wes and the wee one. My heart. She wants Wes's opinion and he just crushes her with logic. Ugh She needs a hug. Bad day for our girl.

Lucy continues to break my heart as they sit in front of the crime scene. She is on the verge of tears. Verge of a breakdown it feels like as well. Killing me softly. Saying she should skip the detectives exam. My girl. Tim doesn't want her to give up. I will say this fight I feel like I would be Tim. Trying to be so supportive it’s come off as agreeing with her she can’t do it. When really he was just trying to be supportive of whatever she wants.

Can't win for losing right now Timothy. She is in a bad way right now. Lucy has some weight to her argument though. if I was her in this moment I would feel the same way. If I’m in a bad headspace I need reassurances. So I can relate to both of them in this fight. It’s not a fun time for either of them. Tim is still learning that emotional depth he needs to have with her in these moments.

Being supportive has worked before so he's not sure why it's backfiring right now. They’re solid but always room to grow beauty of them. Lucy spots someone pull up to crime scene crying. She has them peel out with Tim not really understanding why. Lucy catching her digging through her trash. She ends up getting a confession. Phew Well done Luce.

Oooh this final scene. Oh my damn lord. This is some PRIMO productive angst holy hell. Eric and Melissa came out swinging with it. I knew they were going to have one more scene about it. I just didn't think it would be this explosive. I adore Tim picking up on how short she is with him. Grabbing her by the arm and confronting her. Growth continuous growth for them both continues to show. Love it. Look at Tim being the one to come at this. I’m so proud of him.

Throwing her words from 5x21 somewhat back at her. Saying this isn’t going to work if she isn’t honest with him. Then Lucy really lays into him. Now do I think he purposely undermined her? No I don’t. Not ever. That’s not in his DNA to do that to someone he loves. I was deeply hurt for him when she suggested this. You can see how hurt he is when she says as such. He’s getting emotional and it makes me as well. I just wanna hug him.

Tim as we know is a DEEPLY loyal person. Also one of my main relations to him as a character. To purposely hurt someone they love isn’t fathomable to a loyal person. It's unthinkable. You have to hurt them first. To undermine Lucy would be to hurt her so he would never. To be accused of such by your favorite person? That cut's so insanely deep for him. I haven’t seen him this hurt since the 'Tim Test' line from her in 4x08. I’m legit wounded for him. He is so upset she could think that of him.

Now Lucy might be onto something with the subconscious part. He could’ve done it not realizing what he was doing. Because love isn’t rational. Man is hardwired to protect her and want to keep her safe. So I could see this especially with her psych background. I think this is solid guess at what happened. Now was this the right time to lash out at him for Isabel stuff? I don’t know…

Felt like a low blow when he was already down for the count. She is throwing him daggers with her eyes most of this conversation. Feels like its more than just the UC right now but that's just my guess at this point. Let's not forget she was having UC doubts towards the end of last season.

Now do they need to have these fights and conversations? HELL YES. My god this subject needs to be discussed. Especially with how 5x20-5x21 were. Want to reiterate this is my first impression. I was literally writing this as I experienced their fight for first time. When I rewatch it this summer this could change. My POV could shift. But right now I see a man who only thought he had her back and was raked across the coals in this moment.

So for me right now in this moment I feel like Lucy had pent up frustrations and took it out on Tim. The protective side of me for him isn’t pleased with that tbh. Doesn't mean I love Lucy any less. I adore her so much. You all know that. But my gut leaned towards Tim in this fight. That may be bias idk but it’s how I felt when it was said and done. Tim was very very defensive when she brought up Isabel. Which hasn't happened in awhile. But his emotions were heightened and he was on the defensive before they'd reach the topic of her.

Lucy basically kicked him while he was down and he felt it. I'm not discounting her feelings at all. She is allowed to feel overwhelmed. Has every right to be. She is STRESSED and it is coming out in all kinds of ways. Ways that aren't like her. I think she stewed on this thought the ENTIRE shift and it came out in the worst way. Which also isn't like her. What she did had him defaulting back to old school Tim. Cutting off the conversation before more emotions were to be had or he said something he would regret.

Basically cut the fight off at the knees and walked away. Lucy’s face says it all when he walks away. She wasn’t expecting that. Shocked he just left her like that. Oh Lucy, you wounded him more than once and he retreated HARD. Leaving her standing there wondering what the hell just happened? God this is so good though everyone. This is the type of angst I'm all for. What a way to start the season off hot damn. Hurts so good angst to get us going. I could not be more excited for where we go this season. Feel free to comment on this. Love to chat with you all about this. All uncharted territory for us all. We're in for quite the ride.

~~~

Side notes-non Chenford

Who are these friggin people? They’re insanely ruthless. Like Rosalind level ruthless in how they just dispose of people. Sending two their team out as a distraction to be blown up. Jesus. Then sniping their own guy. They’re smart but cold af. Then killing who I thought was the boss at the end. Shit. Consider me intrigued.

I liked the 6 weeks later. Makes sense need to do a time jump.

Celina being more afraid of Tim than Harper. LOL little does she know they’re basically the same person haha

Poor Aaron wants to be back in the game and can’t be. I agree with Grey he’s not ready even if he thinks he is.

God I love Nyla Harper. Took that mofo out like the complete bad ass she is. Came with repercussions which made me sad for her.

Angela being more excited to see burritos than her husband lmao I love this woman.

Feeling little potential flirty action for Aaron and his therapist.

#Caitlin's Mini Reviews #chenford #S6 #6x01 Strike Back #the rookie 6x01 #otp: doing my job #otp: unless it is #the rookie #tim bradford #lucy chen #tim x lucy #lucy x tim #eric winter #melissa o’neil

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cicadadust · 4 months

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I promise I'll get back to drawing canon characters soon. But woo- took me three days to finish. But my boi Kaiba is complete! This is probably the most cluttered ref I've ever made haha.

Potential Rakuyou arc spoilers ahead so be warned:

Originally he was inspired by a post where someone mentioned the artist phenomenon of a canon character basically turning into their OC after awhile.

And it all started with well, I love Kamui. And I love his first official appearance with the bandages obscuring his face - maybe I could work with that. But then I shoved so many of my AU things and other ideas I enjoy into this character that he's mutated so much that he barely has any trace of Kamui left in his character. Definitely not story wise, nor personally, maybe a few elements design wise still along with the fact of being a Yato. Kaiba actually ended up being much more like Kouka story wise than I intended though (*cough* probably because Kaiba was mainly based on my AU of Kamui being the sole Altana mutant on Kouan instead of Kouka *cough*) but eh, I'll live with that.

Despite being a yato and Altana mutant...I may have taken a few creative liberties design wise. But I have my excuses! One thing is, I absolutely love Yato- but wish they had a few more I guess inhuman traits. Like please give them larger canine teeth and reflective pupils please🙏🥺. I thought the reflective pupils for Yato would be really cool, or funny, if Kagura had em too. So I tossed those traits into there. And I know Yato are supposed to be fair skinned- but I had an idea! Since Yato seem to be able to build up a slight tolerance to sunlight, like with Kagura being able to be out in broad daylight, while Housen who hasn't been exposed in a long time immediately started dying. I figured what if during Yato disopra, one of the groups of survivors who had fled Kouan ended up on this sunny desert dwarf planet... probably not by choice. Though there, the survivors perhaps started to build up a higher tolerance to the sunlight. But yet they're still not immune to it. And could have been the downfall of the few generations that had managed to survive for long enough. Kaiba was from this specific clan of Yato that had settled on the dwarf planet. With a slightly higher tolerance to sunlight than the typical Yato, and with the combo of being an altana mutant. Kaiba was free to enjoy the sunlight for much longer before feeling the effects of it, allowing him to gain more of his tanned complexion. Also just shares the same reptile brain as me, with the desire to just lay out in the sun on warm rocks. Though if he's an altana mutant, how come he has a scar? That should just heal right? ... Well, I have absolutely no excuse for that for now! I just wanted to reuse a scar design from one of my older characters because I thought it'd look nice on Kaiba 👉👈.

Now to get a little more into his story and such. It starts off similarly to Kouka's. As again Kaiba is the last member of his clan surviving alone on his birth planet due to him being a mutant. The forgotten dwarf planet, which I've named Ardoros, is covered in reddish orange sands, stone, and a whole bunch of space junk wich collects on its surface. With so much metal and scrap around, Kaiba developed a skill in metal working. And even managed to find a junked ship one day. This was obviously very exciting as he managed to get it to function- just barely. With many days having spent wandering Ardoros previously, he had already discovered one of its altana crystals. Albeit small, he fashioned it into an earring to serve as a battery in a way before he finally left. But being the absolute hunk of junk it was, Kaiba's ship broke down when he managed to land on another planet. And with no money or anything to fix it, he's began relying on hitchhiking. Traveling all over the universe with the aid of strangers. This got to go on for years, exploring new planets, trying new food etc- he absolutely loved it. But, the crystal he wears is almost depleted along with his own altana energy. He continues to hitchhike, yes. But now determined to find his way back to Ardoros before it's too late. Thing is - he's never been skilled at navigating, always leaving that up to whoever he was traveling with. He has also encountered no one else who's even heard of Adoros, no one else knows it's location either. And currently his latest stop during his attempts to get home, is on earth.

#gintama #oc #fanart #fan character #gintama oc #original character #yato #altana #altana mutant

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inlovewithkobenihigashiyama · 11 months

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Cube reads: Chainsaw man Chapter 131

Typical warnings for canon typical violence, vomit, and SPOILERS!!

Okay aside from Fujimoto literally just flexing his art skills again. THERES SO MUCH GOING ON!!?!?!?

Ok first thing that caught my attention:

Meal made with love. We saw parts of her cooking process, and I don’t know what to make of that statement? Her love of murdering people? Her love of cooking? More interestingly, love seems to be the weakness of devils, so then how would she make something with love if it is dangerous to her? Personally I think that it refers to Denji’s love for Asa, or just Denji’s love in general. He loves the world and believes good things can happen, despite all he’s been through. Also apparently Chainsaw man tastes bad to devils in general, as the both the Bat and Fox devils stated that denji tasted very bad to them.

It’s funny that she gets so upset about this, but also shows in what ways devils are similar to humans. She does have feelings, and her feelings can get hurt. She likes what she does, she has hobbies, she has relationships with others (Famine, as her employee but still). On another note, it also highlights the differences because most humans don’t point at someone and explode them with their mind whenever they are insulted.

Also. Famine devil is her employer??? Kind of makes sense I guess lol.

Famine devil states that she can make the “starved” into her pawns, which is why she wanted to starve Asa/Yoru/the war devil. In a literal sense her pawns seem to become very small, and while not COMPLETELY controllable by her Famine definitely has power over them. Does she just keep her pawns in her pocket? They are very small, so I wonder what will happen to Falling now. She is obviously still alive! Tbh giving me pokemon returning to the pokeball vibes.

Again to the prophecy, it very clearly has to do with Denji, and now with Famine’s plan to stop it, Asa/Yoru. I love her motive for preventing an “age of devils”. She’s right. Pizza and chinese food would stop existing if humans stopped existing. She’s right, and what’s even funnier is that she describes this as the “worst possible scenario”. For her it makes sense, we see how much she loves food from the cafe scene with yoshida. (speaking of, WHERE IS YOSHIDA?!?!?!?!!). Nayuta though. She’s the control devil, she doesn’t really have any motive to stop a devil revolution? Of course, she is a reincarnation of the control devil being raised by denji, so she probably appreciates food on a similar level to Denji. Also that she was basically born by Denji eating Makima, so food and eating is somewhat important to her in that sense. I don’t know if she knows how she was born, but she knows about devils and her own powers and doesn’t question Famine and her being sisters.

Though she is very powerful, she is very much a child! She has been through a lot and is constantly at risk of losing the only person she cares about. I love that she prioritizes school over literally saving the world. I think that reflects a lot of Makima in her, in her pursuit of knowledge. Makima was the only one who remembered the names of the devils chainsaw man ate. Makima was very clever, and knew a lot, although she didn’t go about using her skills in a helpful way. Makima’s main motivation as a character was to have an equal and caring relationship with someone. Nayuta already has that, with Denji.

While Denji supports her and encourages her to go to school, he never went to school, and he is also a child! He prioritizes saving other people over himself, and there is no way that Nayuta doesn’t know this with him running off to fight devils and save people. Denji mentioned that Nayuta is very smart, and with this combined with her prioritizing school over preventing an apocalypse, gives us much better insight into her character and motivations. She’s a nerd.

Nayuta is a very interesting character because while she is a child, she’s also a devil, and there is no precedent in the manga for how she will behave and grow up. It’s a very Nurture vs. Nature situation. I think that if she were growing up in a safe and stable environment she would turn out much like any human child. However, she is a devil, and has devil powers, and could be influenced by other devils like Famine. Famine has her own interests, but she was easily able to convince Nayuta that actually, an age of devils wouldn’t be fun, despite Nayuta having the exact opposite opinion before their conversation. I think this sets up Nayuta’s character arc for a conflict of her inherent nature as both a devil and being created by Denji, and outside influences both from Denji raising her, and other devils.

I’m so hyped for the next chapter omg i love this manga aaaaaaa!!!!!

#chainsaw man #csm #csm spoilers #cube reads: csm #csm manga #chainsaw man manga #csm part 2 #denji hayakawa #famine devil #falling devil #csm nayuta

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canonical-transformation · 1 year

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Celica gets Engaged(*) [A'lear Part 5]

(* but nobody thinks it's incest this time)

(Spoilers up to Chapter 4 of Fire Emblem: Engage.)

Chapter 4: A Land in Bloom

Florra Mill Town, featuring windmills and fields of blooming flowers, is on the road to Castle Firene. It's beautiful and... being attacked by the Corrupted, apparently.

Prince Alfred will not stand for this. Time to fight.

Meanwhile, near the centre of town, we meet Alfred's sister, Princess Céline, and her retainers Louis and Chloé. They're fending off some Corrupted.

(This pattern of "two royal siblings, each with two retainers" accounts for 2/3rds of the playable roster. Just like Corrin, I guess?)

Céline (unique class, swords+tomes and eventually staves) has the makings of a consummate stateswoman, one who would rule firmly yet kindly. She frets for the health of her brother, the Crown Prince, and in many ways has tried to shape herself to counterbalance his gentleness... despite being a gentle soul herself.

All this is entirely overshadowed by the writers deciding that "enjoying tea" is a quirky personality trait that should be, like, the one and only thing Céline ever talks about. Also the floof skirt. Between her petticoat and her hair, she is the walking definition of A-Line Silhouette. She's lovely, in other words.

Louis (lance armor) is a stocky gentleman whose eyes are permanently doing the ^_^ thing. He is a rather philosophical fellow who spends his time appreciating(?) pretty ladies(???).

Chloé (lance flier) loves fairy tales and will in due course be delighted to find herself living in one. She has enough girl next door vibes to paralyse my little lesbian heart is fond of folk food, the kind that uses whatever ingredients are around. Escargot, unagi, witchetty grub, hormigas culonas, she's into it so long as it's authentically rustic.

Chloé and Louis tell their Princess to run. It's imperative that she finds Alfred and warns him that the castle is under attack (oh no!, the castle is under attack!). Céline reluctantly flees, leaving her retainers to stand back to back and exchange quips. Louis opens his eyes (they're green) for two seconds, which is basically the only time we see them for the rest of the game.

This is more cutscene badassery than most of the other retainers get, which is very sad.

Céline runs straight into Alfred and A'lear, who are getting ready to fight. After getting over her shock at seeing A'lear awake and walking about, Céline fills them in. The Queen entrusted an Emblem Ring to Céline before bidding her to flee the castle.

An Emblem Ring? A'lear is something of an expert on those.

Meet Emblem Celica: princess, brother-wedder, and the only(?) female Lord before FE7. She detests war and violence, but she'll do what she must in the name of peace.

Celica is a dedicated magic support, offering a Mag/Res boost (and a little Str) to her sync partner. She offers damage reflection against Corrupted, and after a few bond levels, her Resonance skill(*) is pretty good. When Engaged, she gains a special skill, Echo (🥁), which allows her to perform two magic attacks in a row at 50% damage each. (60% for Mystical units.) (*) What's more, her Seraphim tome is effective against Corrupted.

Celica's ult(**) is Warp Ragnarok, which warps up to 10 tiles away and rains fire down on a single opponent. (100% hit, 0% crit, and no counterattack, like most ults.)

The battle begins with Princess Céline and her retainers unlocked. Céline is perfectly set up to Engage and Echo, killing an armor knight and significantly chipping down another. (She doesn't, because we're saving the Engage, but she could, and that's a lovely bit of hidden tutorial design.)

To begin with, Louis and Chloé are alone in the center-east of the map, fending off enemies from either side. They hint to the player that Chloé should deal with the incoming mages, and Louis with the incoming archers and fighters. They do exactly this, and buy themselves a couple of turns.

(...oh no i forgot to take screenshots during the chapter 😐 Um, have some photos of Céline and co. having drip)

A couple of turns is not enough for A'lear and co. to make it to them, not with the nearest bridge broken. Fortunately, the Emblem rings give us a way of getting there quickly.

First is Sigurd, who, when Engaged, grants an extra 5–7 movement, allowing for huge sprints. But that's not quite enough to reach Chloe and Louis in time, and Sigurd's wearer would probably get killed en route.

Instead, Céline&Celica use Warp Ragnarok to cross the river, helping Chloé fend off an enemy flier who had her on the ropes. Then, the two of them swing around to reinforce Louis. The retainers remark on Céline's changed appearance — glowy magical girl costume, red hair, etc. — while they hold a fortification.

(here's a photo with a Levin sword)

Everyone else makes their merry way along the south bank of the river, watching their footing and fighting enemies like in a normal Fire Emblem game. Vander briefly cavorts off to stall an enemy cavalier, gets his ass handed to him, and runs back to ask for help from Alfred.

Then the boss suddenly decides to move in on Céline and Chloé and Louis, and the rest of the team is nowhere near close enough to help.

A'lear curses. "Everyone, this way! Emblem Sigurd, with me!"

But it's too late. By the time A'lear and the main force catch up, Céline and her retainers are having a tea party on the boss's smouldering remains.

A'lear pauses to admire the scenery, which is gorgeous. Truly the Land of Flowers. But in her musing, she lowers her guard, and a Corrupted nearly gets the drop on her.

She's rescued by a someone wielding a Fire tome. This mage turns out to be a small girl, who shyly introduces herself as Veyle (pronounced like veil).

Veyle has white hair with black highlights, which sort of feels like the devs stole my original character A'lear, but whatever. (It's less of a left-right thing and more evenly distributed.) She's barefoot, wearing a fascinating dress made of cascading white feathers. The feathers have very slight blue and red streaks, the only real colour visible on her besides her violet eyes. A matching headpiece encircles her protectively, obscuring a black circlet. The look is completed with dainty arm-length gloves.

To me, her design evokes "baby bird", or something in that vein.

A'lear thanks Veyle, who says there's no need—she's just doing what anyone would have done. But before they can speak much more, Veyle runs off while A'lear is talking to Marth. (Was she spooked by Marth's appearance?)

What an odd character. I'm sure we'll see her again. After all, this is not the first Fire Emblem game to introduce a mysterious little girl with an exotic hair colour and strange powers wander in from offstage right, seemingly on her own.

(I'm implying that, just like Ninian and Sothis and Tiki and Lilith and etc. and etc., Veyle is [TODO: finish sentence])

Wait, I hear you say, you said barefoot. Does that mean Veyle has feet?

Rest easy, dear reader. Veyle definitely has feet.

But are you sure?, I hear you say. Maybe that was a fluke. Remember Awakening? Intelligent Systems is bad at drawing feet.

Um, let me see if the lead character designer, Mika Pikazo, has anything to say on the subject.

...yep, can confirm, those are some well articulated metatarsals, and some pleasantly long phalanges. Oh, and look how pointy those toes are!

Truly, a vintage year.

Wait, what was I talking about?

----

(*) Resonance is mutual guaranteed damage, a la Echoes: equipping a tome causes Celica's partner to lose 1HP at the start of every combat in exchange for 2 extra damage. (At time of writing, forgetting about Resonance has caused me to get Céline killed in player phase multiple times.)

Echo is great for picking off multiple weakened targets (and/or Armor Knights), for exacerbating flat damage bonuses like Resonance or A'lear's passive or poison, and for triggering tons of Chain Attacks.

(**) The in-game term for a once-per-engage superpower is Engage Attack, but not only is this confusing to distinguish from Engage Skills like Echo, but also: not all "Engage Attacks" are even attacks! I'll go with "ult" because it's short and fairly common parlance.

I might not have mentioned, but Sigurd's ult is Override, which skewers through a group of enemies standing in a line, hitting each of them once and emerging on the other side. (100% hit, 0% crit, no counterattack.) You'll see a screenshot of this next chapter. It's brutal tbh.

Marth's ult is Lodestar Rush, which is more or less like Astra from other Fire Emblem games. It does 7 hits at 30% damage (100% hit, 0% crit, no counterattack). 8 hits for Backup units, 9 for dragons.

Marth's Engage passive skill, Divine Speed, makes an extra 50% damage follow-up attack, which is fine but honestly kinda forgettable.

#apostrophe a'lear liveblog #fe engage #fire emblem engage #fire emblem spoilers #playing engage #fe alear #fe céline #fe chloé #fe louis #cw: celica of zofia

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wondereads · 2 years

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Personal Review (09/04/22)

Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong

Why am I reviewing this book?

Not only have I been looking forward to this book, but I received it as an ARC! As such, as the release date draws nearer, I'm getting my review out now.

Plot 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

In the aftermath of the Nationalists taking power and dissolving of the two ruling gangs in Shanghai, Rosalind grapples with her past actions. On top of that, she has been granted practically immortality through a dubious experiment; she no longer ages, and hardly any injury is enough to kill her. She now utilizes her skills under the Nationalists as an assassin with the code name Fortune, but when targeted killings begin to spread, she is forced to team up with another Nationalist, Orion, to infiltrate a Japanese company and find out their motives.

I actually like the plot of Foul Lady Fortune more than Gong's previous duology. It seems that this book embraces the fantasy side of historical fantasy a bit more, and I kind of just enjoy how almost ridiculous this story is. It's far-fetched and unbelievable at points, but I personally like it that way. Especially since I want a lighter tone in this book as it's based on a comedy (As You Like It).

Rosalind and Orion are trying to discover why these chemical killings are happening, and you'll probably figure it out early on. The context clues are a little overkill. I will say, there is a great plot twist around 2/3 through the book. It's predictable in a very good way, the way that makes the reader feel vindicated that they were right. I, unfortunately, came to that part and then had to put the book down, and I was truly thinking about it until I could pick it up again.

The big thing I didn't like was that Rosalind's newfound immortality is gained entirely off-page. Apparently, she got very sick and Celia took her to a doctor of dubious morality who then turned her immortal. It's glossed over for the most part, which felt rather odd to me. Other than that, it was predictable but a lot of fun. (Bonus! There are some allusions to some characters I didn't think we'd be seeing again!)

Characters 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

It's hard to root for Rosalind. Most of the readers of this book will likely have read These Violent Delights before, and—spoilers—Rosalind betrays Juliette and Roma in that one, pretty severely too. She doesn't get closure, and that is reflected in her character this book. Her past actions haunt her to the extreme, which I loved. Despite my initial aversion to her, getting to see her side of things and the intense manipulation she went through; it was all just done very well. It also gave a good reason for her hostility towards romance, which was actually done right; Rosalind has a genuine, personal reason to not want to be romantically involved with Orion and she doesn't immediately throw it out the window. It takes a while for her to even consider it, and then everything goes to shit anyways.

Speaking of Orion, he was pretty flat for the most part, but I have high hopes for book two. Gong really put this poor boy through a lifetime's worth of trauma in the last fifty pages of this book, and he's going to be all kinds of screwed up in the sequel. As for the romance, all I will say is that Miss Gong is definitely reading Stucky fanfiction in her spare time, especially considering that ending.

This book also sees the return of other beloved characters, such as Alisa and Celia who are also coincidentally assigned to coinciding assignments by the communists. Even though it is very convenient, I liked the decision since I do love these characters. Personally, I am rooting for a book focused on Alisa.

Writing Style 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

As I've mentioned before, I love Chloe Gong's writing. It's detailed, flowery, and a great medium for descriptions. It's not for everyone—I know people who have DNF'd because of the writing—but this style is one of my favorites. I think it especially contributes to the atmosphere of the setting since everything is so vividly described. Sometimes certain settings, particularly historical ones, get away from me in that I forget the time period and can't properly picture things. I've never had that issue with Gong's books. Also, I just enjoy long-winded writing sometimes.

Overall 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I really enjoyed this book as a high-stakes fantasy, even if it did feel a bit ridiculous at times. I liked that Gong leaned into the comedy of the original play, even if the story itself is pretty serious. I think if she'd done another tragedy it wouldn't have been able to distinguish itself from her previous books. The story itself was separate enough but Rosalind's character development was based on other books, so there wasn't a complete divorce. Rosalind as a character is very well done, but I'm hoping for some more depth to Orion. As always the writing is stellar, and I do think the pacing has improved from Gong's previous works. Although it has its faults, I liked this book and I think it shows that this author will only continue to improve.

The Author

Chloe Gong: Chinese-New Zealander, 23, also wrote These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends

The Reviewer

My name is Wonderose; I try to post a review every week, and I do themed recommendations every once in a while. I take suggestions! Check out my about me post for more!

#books #reviews #foul lady fortune #chloe gong #ya #fantasy #historical fantasy #shanghai #1930s #immortality

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creatorofarcadia · 5 months

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Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter Review

Very mild spoilers maybe? - mostly just the synopsis and character names

Ripe introduces us to Cassie, a depressed, deeply disillusioned woman, working at a competitive Silicon Valley start-up. Trapped in an environment that encourages productivity to the point of self-destruction, Cassie struggles to cope with the long hours, unethical practices and exacting standards of her once dream job. Although isolated from her 'Believer' peers, who seem to swallow the company dogma easily, Cassie is never alone, as she is haunted by a black hole that no one else can see.

I adored this. Just to be clear, I don't think Ripe is going to be for everyone and I completely understand any dissenting opinions. This book is slow, meandering, heavy on the atmosphere and without any startling plot twists to keep you engaged if that's something you enjoy. Furthermore, our narrator Cassie is in a bad place here, her sardonic and frankly depressing musings reflect that. If that sounds unappealing, this probably isn't for you.

For me it was perfect. Etter manages to capture the cynical tone of someone disillusioned with life and late-stage capitalism in a way that is heartbreakingly relatable. It truly felt like she had read my most world-weary thoughts and put them on display for the world to see, making Ripe an incredibly cathartic read. Etter's descriptions are rich and visceral, with plenty of re-occurring themes to sink your teeth into. In particular, Cassie's narrative voice was reminiscent of Fight Club's Narrator, due to her cynicism and borderline violent imaginings when describing the Silicon Valley culture. As a fan of Palahniuk's most infamous novel, it was a joy to see.

I also have nothing but praise for the side characters that Etter presents us with. Some, like the CEO are delightfully satirical and two-dimensional (not even having names), which works wonderfully to emphasis Cassie's intense isolation as she navigates a world of zombie-like husks. Other characters like Cassie's Father, provide some really tender moments, granting much needed relief from the harsh world Cassie occupies. There are also characters such as Sasha, who occupy a sort of liminal space between caricature and real person. Initially appearing completely heartless, Etter lays enough groundwork to imply that Cassie's viewpoint of Sasha is unreliable - Sasha may have a vulnerable underbelly after all.

On the topic of Cassie's unreliability, the moments Etter reminds us that Cassie's perspective is fallible are among some of the strongest in the novel, inviting you to question how much Cassie's bleak outlook contributes to her poor mental state. Her material problems are undeniable and her disillusionment understandable. However, Cassie's skewed perspective often simply hinders her further and I appreciated the skill with which Etter revealed Cassie's biases while remaining tied to her point-of-view.

The unique structure of Ripe was lovely to absorb, keeping things fresh and entertaining from the first page to the last. In particular, the use of the definitions to start each chapter helped to keep the reader grounded as they traversed through a multitude of vignettes.

Finally, I thought the art included was lovely, particularly the recurring image of the black hole, which grows bigger with each recurrence. Overall, a fantastic read with excellent musings on capitalism, feminism and mental health.

#book tumblr #book review #ripe #sarah rose etter #book recs #booklr #reading #book recommendations #book recs 2023

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quirklessidiot · 3 years

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Title: pretty eyes [short story] Pairing: Gojo Satoru x gn!reader [soulmate au; takes place eight years before the yuuji and sukuna fusion] Genre: josei, romance, fluff, comedy, and your normal tragic angst!

Summary: in which the right eye is mine and the left eye is yours and when we meet for the first time, you see your own eyes staring back at you. Warnings: language, blood, minor manga spoilers, mild ooc gojo and death

Notes: can we all just sit down admire satoru? Like the eyes man, the attitude omg... Ah im so sorry in advance if hes ooc here sksksk it is my first time to write about any jjk characters and I havent fully grasped them yet despite reading the manga anyways i wont be online next week and tomorrow so i decided to publish this ahead of time. ily all and again thank you for the love and support, it does mean a lot *bows down* see you all again when i’ve got time? jskskss i fucking hate college and online classes, satoru save me please soulmate au’s [not read in any particular order nor are they connected, they just share the same trope] Pretty eyes [gojo vers.] || lasting blues [toji vers]

tragic soulmate au series || taglist

“Pretty.” were the very first words you uttered in complete awe as you saw yourself in the mirror and no, this wasn’t directed to your physical appearance. It was directed to your left eye, the eye of your soulmate.

Contrasting to your normal boring color on the right, your soulmate’s eyes were ethereal and unreal. How could someone have such pretty eyes? It was completely surreal at that point that you refused to believe that someone with these eyes were actually human.

You placed one hand and gently caressed the left side of your face where the pretty eye rested, “You must be an angel.” you muttered, “Only angels have pretty eyes.”

Thus like every child you gave your soulmate a nickname, ‘pretty angel’ and every night before you slept, you’d wonder out loud how your pretty angel was doing, if they were nearby, or anything like that. You wonder what type of food they like, do they like to leave the window open for a cool wind or do they like their chocolate hot or iced.

Yet as you grew older, the pretty angel faded out into your thoughts. The pretty idea of soulmates and love disappeared like the story books you read as a child. The pretty blue eyes on your left is forgotten as life takes a toll on you.

They say death was inevitable, when your mother died in middle school, you watch as your father’s left eye turn to your mother’s color. You watched as he clenched her hand, like it was some last resort of plea. You watched him cry as he passed by the mirrors and you wondered, would it hurt like that too?

It baffles you how beautiful and cruel the soulmate system was.

How every time your father would stare at his own reflection, his left eye would be nothing but a reminder of your dead mother.

You let out a second meek cough in the quiet bookstore that night, the sounds of the car passing by were nothing but quiet noise to you as you immerse yourself in the literature book you were reading, your students would surely love this one.You let out another cough as you turn around to find a small space to read since standing for too long made you tired too quickly.

You’re too enchanted by the words of the author that you don’t even notice the rather tall man in front of you.

You look up, ready to give a quiet apology but stop short when you notice how ethereal the stranger looked. Albeit he wore a pair of weird Lennon shades at this time of night, he reminded you very much of an angel with his snow white hair.

You don’t even notice how your left eye is returning back to it’s normal color, the stranger does though and it surely was odd to see his eyes on a stranger.

“Well,” the stranger has a shit-eating grin decorating his handsome features, he definitely looked like trouble for sure, “This is unexpected.”

He lowers his shades and your eyes immediately widen as you suddenly cup the left side of your face, you’d recognize those unique eyes anywhere, after all, you had those on your left eye since you were born, “Y-You.” you muttered, the shock momentarily eating you up.

“Yeah, me.” He grins, loving the sudden attention, “Wow, I was expecting something like fireworks or flowers to appear.” He suddenly teased, bending down to your level.

Now that you notice it, he was very, very tall.

“I…” You blink, trying to gain your composure, “Wow…”

“Did I pass your expectations?” it’s been a few minutes since you started talking and all he has been doing is teasing you.

“You do look like an angel.” You complimented and his eyes widened at the rather out-of-place compliment, “Your eyes are very pretty, thanks for letting me borrow them for twenty-two years.”

Gojo Satoru thought he had the upper-hand, after all, you looked quite meek but when you said those compliments, he was sure that you were going to be the teasing one in this whole-soulmate thing.

So he tries to one up you.

“I’m Satoru Gojo but you can call me tonight.” He grinned, trying to tease you once again, the corny pick up line sounds suave but your blank expression says otherwise.

“I’m Y/N L/N and think I should call you in the morning, it is quite late right now and I still have classes at eight am.” You mumbled, looking down at your watch, “How about you just walk me home, then?”

“Okay.” Satoru immediately raises his hands, signaling that he was giving up, “First off, you should be more hyper aware that I may be a serial killer.”

“Are you?”

“What?”

“Are you a serial killer?” you repeat, “That would be awfully disappointing if my soulmate was one since I’d immediately give you up on the police. I’m not interested in being in a Bonnie and Clyde type of thing and I think it’s too early for me to die.”

“You’re very upfront about these sorts of things.”

“Well, you’re very teasing for someone who just met their soulmate a few minutes ago.” you shrug, “So, are you going to walk me home or not?”

“Ah, bossy too. I love the attitude already.”

“We’re spending our whole lives together. You might as well get used to it.”

You’d think the idea of soulmates would scare you after the firsthand experience with your parents but curiosity always got the best of you and the white-haired man proved that maybe it would be different this time.

Throughout the few months you’ve spent with him, You’ve noticed that Gojo Satoru and you may be alike in some ways but in most ways, he was different.

First, he was enigmatic. You’ve known the man for a couple of months now and you’ve been going out on dates but you don’t know much about him except that like you, he’s a teacher at a good school and he tends to be conceited when he talks about his personal skills as a teacher.

“...What are you doing?” Satoru asked, peeking from behind your shoulder as you type in the grades of your student for your class.

“I’m grading my students.” You muttered, it was after dinner at your place and he was lazing around your place, the sound of faint jazz music could be heard throughout your small space and the wafting smell of freshly baked brownies filled the room, “Aren’t you supposed to be doing something since you're a teacher?”

Satoru quirks a brow as if you had said something odd then it seemed like realization had dawn upon him at that moment.

“Ah, I’m not doing much since my students are on break.”

“Didn’t you say that last time?”

Silence filled the room and Satoru breaks it off with his very famous ‘heh’ that made you inwardly roll your eyes and chunk the pillow that you’ve been hugging towards his direction, “Stop slacking off, you’re a teacher.” You scold him mildly, followed by a small cough.

“Ah, Y/N-chan. You’re so mean to me,” He frowned, handing you the mug filled with water, “...No fair.”

“You're a teacher and you’re slacking off.” You deadpanned, ignoring his sly ways of trying to get you in his arms, “How is that even fair?”

“My students can handle themselves so well that I don’t need to babysit them.” He hmphed, arms crossed and head held up high in a rather arrogant manner. You could only only scoff back a reply at his rather haughty attitude but you’ve gotten used to it to the point where you just roll your eyes.

“You’re a very bad teacher, Satoru.”

“Hey, I am considered one of the best and it’s an honor-”

You clicked your tongue and just pinched his cheek in reply to get him to stop drawling on about his achievements. You wondered if you dated a man child or something.

Second, despite his teasing nature and good looks, he’s a rather shy bean and has some insecurities about it too, maybe it was because there were moments where you couldn’t really understand your soulmate and his puzzling life. He didn’t tell and you didn’t want to pry because you technically both had your whole life to get around that subject.

Luckily, you seem to have found a remedy for moments like that.

“Satoru…” You called out to your soulmate who was staring at the nutrition content of the wafers on his hand, “Satoru!”

“Oh, sorry. What were you talking about?” he finally snapped out of his daze and turned to you who was standing there, hand on your hip. The crispy wafers on his hand are long forgotten.

Your soulmate is good looking, alright. If anyone were to pass by him they wouldn’t see the minor zilch of worry in his eyes.

“Are you alright?” You ask, walking closer to him, completely serious.

“...You aren’t going to leave me, right?”

You raise a brow at the sudden question, wasn’t he too young to have some mid-life crisis? Was this because of the soulmate movie you watched late last night about the soulmate leaving their other half to rebel against the system and because of his partner’s family?

“Why would I leave you?”

He blinks once, then twice, the only sound that could be heard was the familiar music playing throughout the grocery store, it was as if no one was there during the mid-day. Satoru proceeds to look away, “I don’t know. What if you realize that you don’t like me as your soulmate and you followed what the dude did in the movie?” he started to mumble, mouth pressed on a straight line.

“Ah, the whole rich in-laws.” you blinked, “Don’t tell me you’re a son of some huge clan in japan that’s loaded and I’m going to be a disgrace to your family name or something?”

It came out as a joke at first, it really did and you were going to laugh but when you notice the straight face he has on, you realize it was anything but a joke.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, Oh.”

“Aren’t I supposed to be the one asking that question then?”

“What?” He almost half-yelled, eyes wide behind his usual shades that he seemed to wear a lot, “That doesn’t make sense!”

“Neither does your question, Satoru.” You frowned, massaging your temples, “I should be the one asking you that, are you going to leave me?”

“Of course not.” He sputters out.

“Then there goes my answer too.” You replied, huffing out as you grab the sweet wafers on his hand to put into the cart, “You’re very weird.”

“You’re weird.”

“No, you are.”

“You seriously asked me if I’d leave you because of your rich family in the middle of the day.” You deadpanned, inching closer to him to the point where your lips are brushing against his.

“This is unfair.” He huffed, suddenly turning red, “You’re attacking me in broad daylight.”

“Oh dear.” Your beguiling eyes, enjoying his rather embarrassed state, “This isn’t attacking, Satoru.”

Then you closed the distance between you two, his eyes seemed to widen behind his shades at your forward approach, clearly you guys never did PDA. You took this as an opportunity to lick his lower lip so you could slip your tongue in and as he starts getting into it and placing his hand to cup your ass, you pull away with a big smile on your lips, “That’s attacking.” you grinned.

Satoru seemed to have regained his senses quickly after that rather heated public make-out session, he placed his hand on top of his mouth and feigned embarrassment, “My, My, I didn’t think you’d enjoy those types of things in public.” he was back to his normal teasing self.

Well, that seemed to have worked very well.

“Mhm,”

Yet unknown to you those thoughts still lingered in his head, it wasn’t just his family that he was worried about, it was also regarding his job as a jujutsu sorcerer something he has yet to mention, he’s not even sure if you’d believe him it’s a normal occurrence for people like him to die in this occupation and he’s scared that one day, you’ll see your left eye turning back to his eye color with no valid explanation.

Not only that but the amount of people who’d go after you to get to him, he clenched on the shopping cart tightly

“I’m tired.” You cut his thoughts short and Satoru turns to you, unlike him, you weren’t physically active so you tire easily, even joking around that you were a granny in a child’s body, “Can we sit down after this and get some gyudon?”

“Sure Y/N.” he grins, giving you a one-arm hug and kissing your temple.

Third, he’s terrible with kids, period, no questions asked.

Your eyes narrowed to slits as he brought in one of his students named Megumi, the boy is quiet and compared to your giant and teasing soulmate, he’s serious. In fact he was more serious than the tiny pinky of the white-haired man.

“...Are you kidnapping a third grader?”

“He’s one of my students.”

“You don’t even know the first thing of looking after kids.” You pointed out, “And didn’t you mention that you teach high school students?”

“Well,” he drawled on, “It’s kind of a long story but he’s technically a genius.”

You let out a stifling sigh, “You’re impossible.” you mutter, bending down to the small boy’s level, “Would you like something to eat in compensation for him annoying you?”

The boy nods mutely.

“I wasn’t annoying him!” He corrects.

“He looks very annoyed standing next to you.”

“That’s literally what he looks like!”

You roll your eyes in reply and turn to the young boy, handing him a pastry that you had brought earlier. You watched Megumi eat his pastry in front of the television that played some child-friendly show as you let out a soft cough and pour yourself some water

“Are you alright?” Satoru asks, resting his head on your shoulders.

“Yeah,” You replied, “Why’d you ask?”

“You’re looking quite pale these days.”

“Maybe it’s the allergy season, already.” you nonchalantly replied, taking another gulp of water, “You’re terrible with kids, by the way.”

“That’s why I’m a high school teacher, Y/N.”

This connects you to your fourth observation, he’s nonchalant and easy going but he harbors a rather deep worry for you to the point where you wonder if he was really your soulmate or your mother incarnate. Three years into the whole soulmate thing with him, you still couldn’t help but think that he’s doting nature was quite adorable.

You feel like you’re coming down with a cold these days, your head has been throbbing and your cough is worsening. Satoru’s eyes are filled with nothing but worry as he handed you some medication. Your soulmate was now a mother hen and if it were different circumstances, you’d laugh it off.

“We should go to the doctor.” He nagged you once again.

“I’m literally going to sleep it off.” You hoarsely replied, “I’ll be fine, Satoru.”

“You literally sound like you smoked a pack with your voice, are you sure?”

“I am.” You glared, “Don’t sleep-”

Before you could even finish what you were saying, he flops right next to you in the bed, “-I literally told you to not sleep next to me.” you scolded him.

“A mere cold won’t phase me.”

“I swear to god, Gojo Satoru. I’ll kick you out.” He ignores your ministrations and snuggles his head on your neck, his warm breath tickling it, “You’re impossible.”

“You love me.”

“Sadly.”

“Hey.”

“I’m kidding.” you let out a quiet chuckle, looking down at your soulmate and running your hands through his white hair, “I love you very much, you idiot.”

“Hard same.”

“Never mind, I take it back.” you giggle.

And after a rather short playful banter between you two, you find yourself sleeping and snuggling on his long limbs. You think all is well, you really do. That was until you wake up later at three am in the morning with a loud coughing fit. Satoru immediately sits upright and opens your nightlight but what he sees next, scares him more than the curses he has ever encountered.

Your sheets are now stained in blood from the coughing fit that had just happened and you're completely taken aback too, completely breathless.

“Y-Y/N…” He gulps down, quickly taking the sheets away from you, “Let’s go to the hospital now, please?”

“...L/N-san, have you been getting coughing fits before this?” the doctor asks, looking up from your chart. Satoru watches you shake your head as you clench the paws of his jacket, the doctor takes off his glasses, “How about coughs that don’t seem to go away? Getting tired too easily?”

Satoru doesn’t like where this was going, he doesn’t like where this was going at all.

“Um, just some dry coughs and I’ve always been an inactive person.” You quietly replied, contrasting to your usual bright and teasing demeanor, you looked too tired this morning and Satoru just hopes it’s because he dragged you out of bed at four am to get yourself checked asap.

“Y/N-san, has any of your family members been diagnosed with lung cancer?”

The whole room is silent and you could almost hear a pin drop, Satoru feels his knuckles suddenly turn white, “I recalled my okaasan died because of that.” You replied silently and the doctor nods feverishly.

“...Y/N-san...It pains me to say this but the reason you’ve been experiencing this is because of the tumors located in your lungs.” Satoru feels his heart drop when he hears those words, “We have to do further tests to confirm-”

“Do it.” Satoru cuts the old doctor off, his hands are visibly shaking already, he hopes that this was just a misdiagnosis, that this doctor was just a bad one or better yet whatever excuse his mind could make up at that moment, “Do all the tests needed for Y/N, please.”

Fifth, he’s very supportive towards you and your impulsive decisions. If he could join you in it, he would but you usually decide against it.

It’s another quiet night for you as you sit across from your soulmate at the dinner table. You’ve grown awfully thin and your hair was starting to fall off due to the chemoradiation, this day marked the third month since you found out that you have lung cancer just like your mother. Surgery was apparently too risky so the safest option right now was this treatment.

You don’t deny the anxiety eating you up every day, specifically the fear of death, you’re even more worried for Satoru since not only had he been paying for your treatment but he had opt to take care of you, saying that his job would be fine without him since you were going to get better soon anyways.

“Would you still love me if I shaved my hair?” You asked, your voice still quite hoarse.

“You kidding me? I’d still love you even if you turned into a roach.”

You immediately crinkle your nose in disgust, “That’s disgusting.”

“Honest reply.”

Truthfully, the man had been your rock these past three months. You knew how hard it was for him to be happy around you, how he had put on a brave front and remained positive saying that this was just going to be a rough couple of months and you’d be back in no time despite the bleak outlook.

It kept you sane amongst the tragedy.

“I wanna shave my hair.”

“Like right now?”

You nod, “Can we use your electric razor?”

“You want me.” he points to himself, “To cut your hair?”

“I wouldn’t want anyone else to do it.” You grinned.

And that’s how you ended up in your bathroom after dinner, Satoru’s shades on the side and his concentration directly on your scalp. You had literally told him that he just needed to do it the same way as he shaved his beard but he was still scared. Apparently, he had never shaved anyone’s hair before.

“...Okay, Y/N. Here goes…” He proclaimed, switching the razor on. As bits and pieces of your hair fall to the ground, you feel your cheeks getting wet and your shoulders tense, Satoru is quick to notice the switch of emotion and immediately turns the razor off before bending down in front of you, “Woah, woah… Y/N….”

“I-I…” Your lips are quivering as the tears fall faster when you see his pretty eyes staring back at yours, you try to let out a laugh but instead it comes out as a choke sob, “Sorry, this is stupid. I’m literally crying over fucking hair.”

“No, of course not…” He replies, enveloping you in a hug, “Of course not.”

Satoru feels you start to shake in his arms and he knows he should keep his emotions in check, he’s a sorcerer for crying out loud but seeing you break down for the first time in three months had him shaking too, you didn’t deserve all this, fuck, you didn’t deserve any of this at all!

“Would you like me to shave my hair so you’d feel a bit better?” he asks. After recovering from your breakdown, you had asked him to continue shaving your hair because you might as well be done with it.

“Please don’t.” You reply, wiping your tears away, “We’d look like eggs.”

“Cute eggs, you mean.” He corrects, teasing you and trying to cheer you up, this was all he could do and he hates it.

He really hates it.

What good was the title of being the strongest when he couldn’t save you from all of this?

Lastly, if you hadn’t highlighted it enough. He has pretty eyes, contrasting to your dull and boring ones, you always loved how different his eyes are. Sometimes you wondered why he dared to hide them behind his crappy and overused Lennon shades.

“Can I see them?”

Your room is dimly lit as Satoru sleeps next to you on the hospital bed, you were growing weaker and frailer by the day and you could see the toll it took on your soulmate. You were heavily reminded of your father who was sitting right next to your mother on her deathbed.

“See what?” He yawned.

“Your eyes.”

“You’re awfully in love with them, huh?”

“I’ve always been in love with them from the moment I saw it in the mirror.”

Silence envelopes the room with your statement and as requested, he takes the shades off and now you’re greeted by the most beautiful blue eyes that you love to look at in the reflection since you were a child, “Pretty.” You muttered, raising your frail hands slowly to cup his face, “Pretty eyes.”

Satoru takes in a deep breath as he places his hand on top of yours, the silence is heavy. You both know what’s about to come in the next few days, you’re lucky if you even last a night. Yet he doesn’t want to talk about it, he shuts the topic off quickly when you try to even raise it.

“Yeah.” he mumbles, staring at you, “Pretty.”

You let out a quiet laugh, “I doubt it, I’m anything but pretty now.” your voice hoarse, making him lightly squeeze your hands, “Will you be bringing Megumi tomorrow?”

“Yeah, the brat said he saved enough money to get you your favorite pastry.”

“That’s good.” you blinked, “I’m tired.”

Satoru feels his shoulder tense at your words, they were so plain yet at the same time so heavy, “Should I call the doctor?” he asks. You shake your head and just snuggle on his chest.

“No,” You mumbled, inhaling his scent and basking on his presence, “I want your warmth next to me.”

“Y/N?”

“Hm?”

“You know, you’ve always had prettier eyes.”

Yet you don’t reply and he feels your grip on his sweater lessen, he doesn’t even need to see his reflection to know that his left eye has returned back to your (e/c) ones.

taglist [if crossed out, it means you aren’t available for tags!]

@airybnb ; @hcn421 ; @shinhiromi

#jujutsu kaisen imagines #jjk angst #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen headcanons #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen scenario #jujutsu kaisen fanfiction #jujutsu kaisen gojo #gojo saturo x reader #saturo x y/n #jjk gojo #soulmate aus #pretty eyes

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qqueenofhades · 3 years

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Hi. You made a post a couple of days ago about how queer historical fiction doesnt need to be defined only by homophobia. Can you expand on that a bit maybe? Because it seems interesting and important, but I'm a little confused as to whether that is responsible to the past and showing how things have changed over time. Anyway this probably isn't very clear, but I hope its not insulting. Have a good day :)

Hiya. I assume you're referring to this post, yes? I think the main parameters of my argument were set out pretty clearly there, but sure, I'm happy to expand on it. Because I'm a little curious as to why you think that writing a queer narrative (especially a queer fictional narrative) that doesn't make much reference to or even incorporate explicit homophobia is (implicitly) not being "responsible to the past." I've certainly made several posts on this topic before, but as ever, my thoughts and research materials change over time. So, okay.

(Note: I am a professional historian with a PhD, a book contract for an academic monograph on medieval/early modern queer history, and soon-to-be-several peer-reviewed publications on medieval queer history. In other words, I'm not just talking out of my ass here.)

As I noted in that post, first of all, the growing emphasis on "accuracy" in historical fiction and historically based media is... a mixed bag. Not least because it only seems to be applied in the Game of Thrones fashion, where the only "accurate" history is that which is misogynistic, bloody, filthy, rampantly intolerant of competing beliefs, and has no room for women, people of color, sexual minorities, or anyone else who has become subject to hot-button social discourse today. (I wrote a critical post awhile ago about the Netflix show Cursed, ripping into it for even trying to pretend that a show based on the Arthurian legends was "historically accurate" and for doing so in the most simplistic and reductive way possible.) This says far more about our own ideas of the past, rather than what it was actually like, but oh boy will you get pushback if you try to question that basic premise. As other people have noted, you can mix up the archaeological/social/linguistic/cultural/material stuff all you like, but the instant you challenge the ingrained social ideas about The Bad Medieval Era, cue the screaming.

I've been a longtime ASOIAF fan, but I do genuinely deplore the effect that it (and the show, which was by far the worst offender) has had on popular culture and widespread perceptions of medieval history. When it comes to queer history specifically, we actually do not know that much, either positive or negative, about how ordinary medieval people regarded these individuals, proto-communities, and practices. Where we do have evidence that isn't just clerical moralists fulminating against sodomy (and trying to extrapolate a society-wide attitude toward homosexuality from those sources is exactly like reading extreme right-wing anti-gay preachers today and basing your conclusions about queer life in 2021 only on those), it is genuinely mixed and contradictory. See this discussion post I likewise wrote a while ago. Queerness, queer behavior, queer-behaving individuals have always existed in history, and labeling them "queer" is only an analytical conceit that represents their strangeness to us here in the 21st century, when these categories of exclusion and difference have been stringently constructed and applied, in a way that is very far from what supposedly "always" existed in the past.

Basically, we need to get rid of the idea that there was only one empirical and factual past, and that historians are "rewriting" or "changing" or "misrepresenting" it when they produce narratives that challenge hegemonic perspectives. This is why producing good historical analysis is a skill that takes genuine training (and why it's so undervalued in a late-capitalist society that would prefer you did anything but reflect on the past). As I also said in the post to which you refer, "homophobia" as a structural conceit can't exist prior to its invention as an analytical term, if we're treating queerness as some kind of modern aberration that can't be reliably talked about until "homosexual" gained currency in the late 19th century. If there's no pre-19th century "homosexuality," then ipso facto, there can be no pre-19th-century "homophobia" either. Which one is it? Spoiler alert: there are still both things, because people are people, but just as the behavior itself is complicated in the premodern past, so too is the reaction to it, and it is certainly not automatic rejection at all times.

Hence when it comes to fiction, queer authors have no responsibility (and in my case, certainly no desire) to uncritically replicate (demonstrably false!) narratives insisting that we were always miserable, oppressed, ostracised, murdered, or simply forgotten about in the premodern world. Queer characters, especially historical queer characters, do not have to constantly function as a political mouthpiece for us to claim that things are so much better today (true in some cases, not at all in the others) and that modernity "automatically" evolved to a more "enlightened" stance (definitely not true). As we have seen with the recent resurgence of fascism, authoritarianism, nationalism, and xenophobia around the world, along with the desperate battle by the right wing to re-litigate abortion, gay rights, etc., social attitudes do not form in a vacuum and do not just automatically become more progressive. They move backward, forward, and side to side, depending on the needs of the societies that produce them, and periods of instability, violence, sickness, and poverty lead to more regressive and hardline attitudes, as people act out of fear and insularity. It is a bad human habit that we have not been able to break over thousands of years, but "[social] things in the past were Bad but now have become Good" just... isn't true.

After all, nobody feels the need to constantly add subtextual disclaimers or "don't worry, I personally don't support this attitude/action" implied authorial notes in modern romances, despite the cornucopia of social problems we have today, and despite the complicated attitude of the modern world toward LGBTQ people. If an author's only reason for including "period typical homophobia" (and as we've discussed, there's no such thing before the 19th century) is that they think it should be there, that is an attitude that needs to be challenged and examined more closely. We are not obliged to only produce works that represent a downtrodden past, even if the end message is triumphal. It's the same way we got so tired of rape scenes being used to make a female character "stronger." Just because those things existed (and do exist!), doesn't mean you have to submit every single character to those humiliations in some twisted name of accuracy.

Yes, as I have always said, prejudices have existed throughout history, sometimes violently so. But that is not the whole story, and writing things that center only on the imagined or perceived oppression is not, at this point, accurate OR helpful. Once again, I note that this is specifically talking about fiction. If real-life queer people are writing about their own experiences, which are oftentimes complex, that's not a question of "representation," it's a question of factual memoir and personal history. You can't attack someone for being "problematic" when they are writing about their own lived experience, which is something a younger generation of queer people doesn't really seem to get. They also often don't realise how drastically things have changed even in my own lifetime, per the tags on my reblog about Brokeback Mountain, and especially in media/TV.

However, if you are writing fiction about queer people, especially pre-20th century queer people, and you feel like you have to make them miserable just to be "responsible to the past," I would kindly suggest that is not actually true at all, and feeds into a dangerous narrative that suggests everything "back then" was bad and now it's fine. There are more stories to tell than just suffering, queer characters do not have to exist solely as a corollary for (inaccurate) political/social commentary on the premodern past, and they can and should be depicted as living their lives relatively how they wanted to, despite the expected difficulties and roadblocks. That is just as accurate, if sometimes not more so, than "they suffered, the end," and it's something that we all need to be more willing to embrace.

#history #medieval history #queer history #meta #long post #anonymous #ask

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lokeanwelcomingcommittee · 2 years

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HI! I am just beginning to feel attached to Loki. I would like to know if he supports creativity and music, or is he somethin else.

oh he's definitely something else let me tell you wha-

Anyway, hi anon! My bad jokes aside, there's not really anything in terms of an overt mythological and social link like you would have with, say, Óðinn and poetry. With that said, you'd likely be hard pressed to find a Norse god that does have a comparative situation with one of the arts, but music and artistic or crafting endeavors certainly seem to be appreciated by most deities, Loki included (our art tag has a number of examples).

While as always recreating something historical to the letter or even necessarily having an offering based on previous information or accounts isn't a, well, necessity, I did read something recently in a paper that's relevant to this ask: it's from William Sayers' "Scarfing the Yard with Words ("Fostbrœðra saga"): Shipbuilding Imagery in Old Norse Poetics," which perhaps obviously is not essential 101 material, but if you ever have an interest in ships or poetry in the future, you know where it is. In any case, the relevant excerpt:

The association of poetry and woodworking, in particular ship building, does not have mythological antecedents to authenticate it, at least not in the preserved stories for which Snorri is our only source. But it does seem very much at home in early northern culture, and for a self-reflective simile, metaphor, or metonymy-- poetry talking about poetry-- poets and their public did not have far to look. The supernatural and organic origins of poetry are complemented by proclaiming its secular affinity with human handicrafts, the skilled production of aesthetically pleasing, effectively functional artifacts.

For context, if the title wasn't a spoiler the article's all about poetry and ship building metaphors, hence the focus; I promise I am not demanding you build a boat (I will demand that if you do for some reason you should submit pictures). The notable thing here is that skálds weren't just making poetry/ship metaphors, they were making references to the actual process of the craft: specific things like joining and planing along with comparisons to the actual construction process and tools/materials used, and doing so favorably-- they recognized that even if there wasn't a specific myth or story behind the craft, other arts or handicrafts were certainly comparable to and indeed, complimentary to ones that did. (A skáld's not going to compare their work to something that doesn't make it look good, ya know?) Again, I don't think boat-building necessarily has to be a modern ideal, especially since part of the reason Sayers theorizes it's so prevalent with the Norse is that seafaring was important to the culture, and that may well be different for many folks today. But the main idea-- that the effort and skill put into any craft, and I might say creating in general, is a thing held in high regard whether it has a specific myth or story behind it or not-- is a pretty good one, IMO.

In any case, anon, I hope some of that kind of tangential storytime was helpful or interesting to you (or at the very least, the links, haha). Best of luck and feel free to write again if we can be of any further assistance.

- Mod V

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shinydelirium · 3 years

Text

MLQC Season 2 Chapter 21 (Kiro) Part 3 [Taking a Risk] & [Little Star] Translation [CN]

***SPOILERS*** THIS POST CONTAINS HEAVY SPOILERS FOR CONTENT NOT YET RELEASED ON EN SERVER!!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!***

For previous translations of chapter 21: Part 1/ Part 2

[Taking A Risk]

Warm light reflects off the vintage crystal chandelier, casting fine shadows on the wall.

I returned to my room the next day. The service of storing Evol seemed to require a special number to be called.

I looked at the introduction in the hotel guide and dialed the number written on it.

Waiter: Hello, what can I do for you?

MC: Ahem, hello, I want to enjoy the service of storing Evol. How do I do it?

Waiter: What is your Evol type?

MC: ….My Evol deals with memory.

Waiter: Okay, the information has been registered for you.

Waiter: Please wait in the room for a moment. We will send a dedicated service staff to serve you.

I put down the phone and looked at Helios standing to the side with a worried look.

Helios: Now, we wait.

However, a few hours passed and there was still no sign of movement.

I leaned on the soft pillow a little nervously, looked towards the cabinet opposite me, and spoke quietly.

MC: …Helios, are you asleep?

After a while, a questioning sound came from the cabinet.

Helios: I’m asleep.

Hearing what he said, I couldn’t help but smile.

MC: Then Mr. Sleep Talker, shouldn’t you open the cabinet door a little bit to let some air out?

MC: Besides, this room has been checked and there’s no monitor, so you don’t have to hide so soon.

The air fell silent again and soon the cabinet door creaked to reveal a gap.

The light outside the door instantly spilled in, making those azure blue eyes clearer.

I lowered my head and looked at the closet. The space inside was really small. He could only sit down on the wooden board with his legs bent and his knees pressed to his chest.

Such a well-behaved sitting position matched with that expression.

I snickered in my heart and rested my head on my hand.

MC: After we leave this place, shall we go on a walk together and bask in the sun?

Helios: ….

The cabinet door became quiet again and occasionally I could hear shallow breathing.

I was about to change the subject when the doorbell suddenly rang.

Almost instantly, the faint beam of light from the cabinet door disappeared once more.

??: Dear guest, the service you requested has been processed.

??: If you’re ready, please press the button inside the handle.

MC: Okay.

I walked past the closet and knocked lightly with my fingertips. I went to the door and bent down.

With his reminder, I noticed that there was an extremely tiny button on the deep side of the handle.

MC: …This is too secretive.

The moment the button was pressed, the side wall suddenly pushed back and slowly pulled away to the left.

A waiter stood behind the hidden door and politely bowed.

Waiter: Pardon me.

MC: …Don’t you think this is a bit scary?

Waiter: In order to ensure the privacy of each guest, I am sorry that it has brought you a bad experience. We will make better improvements next time.

MC: …..

Waiter: Please follow me.

I walked into the secret door with no expression on my face. Then, I turned a corner into a deep corridor and I secretly felt that it was no wonder that Helios couldn’t find it.

This is too well hidden.

We walked into the elevator and the waiter pressed the only button on the panel.

The elevator shook slightly. The waiter frowned and looked up.

I vaguely guessed the reason for the elevator shaking so I spoke up. ***Is Helios gonna take a ride on top of the elevator??? So badass!!!***

MC: What’s the matter?

Waiter: Ah, I’m apologize for making you feel anxious.

Waiter: This elevator doesn’t normally shake.

MC: Probably your imagination? This elevator feels very stable to me. ***MC is getting better at her acting skills 😆***

The waiter nodded and faced the elevator door again.

The ride took longer than expected and it took about a minute before the elevator slowly came to a stop.

After we walked another long corridor, we finally stopped in front of a wooden door. The waiter knocked gently on the door before pushing it away, turned around and made an inviting gesture with his hand to me.

I walked in and found that it was just an extremely normal room. There was nothing around that indicated a device to store Evol.

At the table in the middle of the room was a man who looked seventy or eighty years old, and behind him stood a very burly man.

The elderly man was very old. His thick eyelids were pulled down low, almost covering both eyes.

He raised his eyes laboriously, reached out his fingers and tapped on the table, motioning me to sit down.

I sat in front of the old man. My other hand quietly touched the anesthesia gun at my waist.

Old man: Extend your hand.

MC: Before I do that, can you tell me the process of how Evol is stored first?

MC: Even though I requested the service, I also have the right to ask how it works.

The old man didn’t speak as if he was about to fall asleep.

Man: Guest, your hand is part of the process.

The man behind him replied in a low voice and walked to my side with a sense of unspeakable oppression.

MC: …

Man: Guest, is there a problem?

??: The problem is you.

An intense silver light appeared behind the man like a ghost and the chilling light made those blue eyes look even colder.

Almost instantaneously, his question was interrupted by the sound of broken bones in the air.

The swift figure resembled a crescent silver moon, leaving traces like a shadow.

The man was unresponsive as if he didn’t care about his slightly twisted arm. A silver pillar made iron steel condensed in the palm of his hand and he swung it at Helios.

Helios pulled out two handles from behind his waist. The knife blades clashed against the silver pillar, making a harsh rubbing sound.

At the same time, I immediately grabbed the stiff and somewhat lethargic old man and hid off to the side.

This old man is definitely a certain key and we can’t let him get injured here.

I can’t help much at this time but at least I won’t hinder Helios.

A look of surprise flashed in the man’s eyes. After thinking for a bit, he waved his hand and countless small, silver needles appeared in the air, shooting them straight at Helios.

Only the silver light is no longer there.

In the moment of confusion, Helios had already appeared behind him. The cold knife reflecting the man’s terrified eyes.

Helios: Fool.

There was not even a scream but a faint voice came.

Helios held the dagger and walked towards the old man with a blank face, covering most of the light in the room, looking at him condescendingly.

Helios: I don’t have time for nonsense.

Helios: Who are you?

[Little Star]

The old man shivered at the figure shining in the cold light, breathless with fear.

Old man: Don’t kill me. I, I was threatened….

He opened his mouth blankly, ready to say something.

All of a sudden, the air around him instantly became distorted, gradually swallowing his body and began to dissipate like a bubble.

In the middle of disappearing, the old man tried hard to hold onto Helios’ hand.

But it only passed through his body.

Old man: Please, you….must help me….

In the silent room, there was only a trembling echo, as if the old man was never there.

I stared blankly at what was happening, a bit in disbelief.

MC: Helios, he’s…

Helios: Leave here first.

As he said that, he stretched out his hand to pull me.

Suddenly, the floor under our feet began to shake, and an inexplicable sense of dizziness filled my entire brain which caused me to lean back.

Helios: MC!

A black line ran across us suddenly like a crack. I stretched out my hand and in my peripheral vision, I saw Helios preparing to jump—

In the next second, the entire space seemed to rotate violently and the huge inertia forced me to slam into the wall on my right.

The scenery in front of me is like a pop-up book that has been quickly flipped through, continuously changing and becoming blurry.

I curled up in pain. The heavy pain constantly eroding my willpower.

MC: Helios…

I feel like I lost consciousness.

Under the night sky, in the center of the fountain with exquisite patterns, water gushed out of the nozzle from the statue.

A man was sitting on a recliner by the fountain, looking at a Rubik’s Cube suspended diagonally in the air.

He raised his head, staring alertly at the old man sitting on the ground.

??: You’re really going to cause trouble for me.

While he said this, the man’s eyes flashed with excitement and madness, his fingers shaking.

The Rubik’s Cube began to flicker with strange lights and flipped over.

??: But I also see that he’s been quite the eyesore for a long time. I can finally crush him now, right?

Helios: ….

Helios: ….MC.

Helios: Kilo, display location.

Amongst the chaos, I vaguely heard an extremely anxious and nervous voice reach my ears.

Helios: Damn it.

Helios: MC!! Can you hear me?!

I opened my eyes slowly and my body felt like it was falling apart. I wanted to lift my right arm to prop myself up, but immediately felt the sharp pain.

The scene in front me seemed to be split with half of it that was the room I was previously in and the other half a dense bamboo forest.

MC: ….I can hear you.

As soon as I made a sound, the rapid breathing in my ear seemed to stop for a moment.

Helios: Are you hurt anywhere?

I smiled bitterly, pulled myself and sat in a corner, trying hard to stand up.

MC: It seems that I hit arm when I crashed into the wall.

Although it was very painful that I wanted to cry, I managed to make my voice not sound so weak.

Helios: …Does it hurt?

His voice was very soft, with some far-off and familiar tenderness in it, making my nose tingle instantly.

For a while, I was a little confused, either from the intense pain or the softness that I hadn’t heard for a long time.

***If you choose the top answer: “It hurts”***

MC: ….It hurts.

MC: *sniffles*….It really hurts.

I couldn’t hold back the emotions surging in my heart and the grievances I had suppressed also came pouring out.

Helios: …Don’t cry.

I rarely heard his voice sound so flustered. It sounds just like the bewildered boy in my memory.

***If you choose the bottom answer: “It doesn’t hurt”***

MC: I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt at all.

I was full of vigor and laughed, holding my arm. Gritting my teeth, tears came from my eyes unconsciously.

MC: What about you? Are you okay...?

Helios: MC.

On the other side of the line, Helios interrupted me smoothly.

Helios: The sound of your tears falling on the ground is loud.

I blinked, pressed my mouth, and vigorously wiped the tears with the back of my hand.

MC: How can that be...

A soft laugh came to my ears, like a feather, warming my heart.

Helios: I will be by your side soon so don’t cry.

MC: Then sing to me and I’ll stop.

Helios: ….

As soon as I spoke, I heard the sound of heavy objects rolling along the ground.

The sound of the wind kept passing by and Helios seemed to be running quickly, with a slight gasp from time to time.

My heart lurched suddenly and I felt a bad premonition rise up.

MC: What happened to you…..? Are you in some dangerous space again?

After a moment of silence, Helios replied with an answer that was completely irrelevant to my question.

Helios: What do want to hear me sing?

I was stunned. The whistling sound in my ear continued.

MC: It doesn’t matter. You must ensure your safety first!

Helios: How about “Little Star” (aka “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)?

MC: ….

The sound of the heavy objects rolling was getting closer and closer in my ears as if they wanted to run him over.

In the huge roar, a leisurely singing voice rang in my ears.

Helios: Twinkle twinkle, little star….

Helios: How I wonder what you are.

Those loud noises seemed to be shielded by a transparent film and only his faint singing voice remained in the whole world.

Gentle and firm.

His singing was mixed with rapid breaths and at this moment, it was like a soft embrace that enveloped me in it.

When the last melody descended softly, the chilling sound of a dagger being thrown ended the roar altogether and the world fell silent.

Helios: Don’t cry anymore.

His uncertain questions made me rub my eyes dumbfoundedly.

MC: Amazing, it doesn’t hurt anymore.

A soft laugh came from my ear and I seemed to be able to imagine his helpless smile.

MC: Helios, where do I go?

Helios: You’re injured so stay where you are.

MC: My hand is fine! Although I still don’t understand the operating structure of this space….

MC: But if we both head in the same direction, it will definitely be quicker!

Helios: ….

MC: Let’s go together.

I straightened up, looked at the door I front of me and said firmly to him.

The silent sound of running and the “whoosh” of a knife blade rushed into my ears. I quietly waited for his response.

Helios: Alright.

Helios: Let’s do it.

He let out a long sigh of relief, without saying a word, as if looking for our next route.

Helios: Open the door behind you.

Helios: Walk slowly.

MC: Roger!

I held out my arm and opened the door without hesitation in accordance with his instructions and strode inside.

I looked around and found myself standing on the stairs of an abandoned building. His voice immediately came to my ears.

Helios: Go up and push open the door on the top floor.

I turned and moved precisely according to his directions.

Obviously we are far apart from each other, but he knows where I am at this moment. It felt like he was right beside me.

I opened the door and was greeted by the bright sun shining in my eyes.

Taking a look, I found myself standing on the roof of a bell tower.

Helios: Grab hold of something. The Rubik’s Cube is about to turn.

I reacted instinctively and immediately grabbed a heavy rope after hearing his words.

Right afterwards, the familiar feeling of inversion came and I closed my eyes and held onto the rope tightly, waiting for the rotation to stop.

Soon the world returned back to normal. I opened my eyes and found that the scene in front of me hadn’t changed much.

***THIS IS SO INSANE AND I LOVE IT!!!***

Helios: Is your arm okay?

MC: No worries!

He was quiet for a while as if deciding on something.

Helios: MC, jump down.

I couldn’t help being startled, moving my feet and looking down.

The bell tower extends into the clouds. Thick clouds hang in the air and the howling wind beats against me, constantly reminding me of how high the bell tower is.

Breathing deeply, I climbed to the edge of the clock tower.

Helios: You can also wait for me to come see you.

He seemed to guess what I was thinking and his tone was softer than before.

MC: It’s no good if only one person is doing all the running.

After speaking, I took a deep breath and jumped.

The light, shadow and wind rushed past my ears, but I didn’t have the slightest timidness in my heart.

Because I know that this can get me a little bit closer to him. ***YES!!! THAT’S MY GIRL!!! GO TO YOUR MAN!!!😭😭😭 KIRO AND MC RUNNING TOWARDS EACH OTHER HENCE THE REASON WHY THE KARMA IS CALLED “RUN TO YOU” 🥺🥺🥺💕💕💕

As I continued to fall, the space on the ground became distorted again until finally forming a door.

On the other end of the gate is a net woven with countless colorful soft bands which safely stopped my fall.

I steadied my heartbeat and looked up to find that this was a trampoline.

Sponges of different shapes were staggered and stacked and there was a door on the diving platform directly above.

MC: Helios, there’s a door on the platform not far away. Should I go there?

Helios: MC, go…

His voice became sporadic until a harsh electric static rang out and then nothing.

MC: Helios….?

I called his name but I didn’t hear any response.

MC: Did the communication get interrupted?

I looked at the door in the distance, thinking about what Helios didn’t finish saying.

Does he want me to go there? Or does he want me to choose another door?

I pursed my mouth, looked around, and found that there were several identical doors in the distance.

I hesitated and finally my eyes came back to the door on the diving platform.

Inexplicable intuition told me that he wanted me to go through this door.

MC: Take a gamble.

I stood up, climbed onto the platform, and grabbed the upper door handle—

Then, I was met by an endless stream of cars whizzing past me.

[End of Part 3]

This chapter is crazy!!! So much excitement, action, and sweet moments between Kiro and MC!!! My heart!!!🥺💕

#spoilers #mlqc #mlqc spoilers #translations #mlqc translations #mlqc season 2 translations #mlqc season 2 #kiro #kiro spoilers #kiro season 2 #helios #helios spoilers #helios season 2 #love and producer #mr love queen's choice #mr love dream date #mldd

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canary3d-obsessed · 4 years

Text

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 03

(Masterpost)(Previous Episode)

Warning: Spoilers for all 50 episodes!

Wei Wuxian demonstrates the purple nurple technique of the Jiang Clan

Should’ve Used Trivago

The Jiang Clan’s reservation got cancelled while they were on the road, so they are going to wander around this small inn for hours being fussed about it, rather than trying another inn. Yes they say the other inns are all full but…so is this one, now.

The Jin Clan sends an advance party to fancy up the inn for them.

Fuckboi Wei Wuxian

Wei Wuxian decides to use his considerable powers of prettiness to get them a room. He drops some poetry on Mianmian and brazenly flirts with her before shifting to properly introducing himself and asking for a room.

This actually works.

...until her boss shows up.

(Much much more after the cut!)

Worst Person // Best Jin

Jin ZIxuan is an ass and a snob.

I guess we have to give him credit for having a beautiful sidekick and never hitting on her, given that his dad is a rapist and one of his half-brothers is (reputedly) a sex pest and the other half brother is (definitely) an incest perp. But I feel like it doesn’t take much to be the best Jin of his or his father’s generation.

The Jin folks are snobs and talk about how great their fancy and expensive stuff is. It’s an interesting contrast with true connoisseur Nie Huaisang, who loves everything that is fine and beautiful and can quote stacks of poetry off the top of his head, but is not even a little bit of a snob.

This Tea Smells Like Farts

Ok, let’s talk about generation names in the Jin clan. Ru is the name for Jin Ling’s generation, hence his courtesy name Rulan. The name for the current generation is apparently Zi (子), because both Zixuan and his jerk cousin Zixun have that as their name. Sect Leader Jin Guangshan would seem to be using the generation name Guang, but then names his son Jin Guangyao so…the whole system breaks down.

Anyway, my point here is that even considering generation names, if I had a baby and named it Zixuan, and my sister-in-law promptly had a baby and named it Zixun, I would slap her.

Find you a lover who does not make you feel like this

Jin Zixuan is mildly intrigued by his betrothed, and expresses it by being rude to her in front of Wei Wuxian, starting a chain of events that will culminate with Wen Ning’s fist going all the way through Jin Zixuan’s chest.

Side Note: Look at these young Jiang Brothers and their casual shoulder hugs. Sigh.

Wei Wuxian’s Combat PlayBook

When Wei Wuxian wants to throw down, he starts with smack talk, moves along to boundary crossing, then to direct threats, and then brings out a weapon if he hasn’t won already.

Here he starts shit with Jin Zixuan by complaining at him for taking up too much space and having too many sycophants. Then he goes for the unwelcome shoulder touch.

Having been sufficiently provocative to get someone to draw a sword and threaten him with physical violence, he shifts to formal verbal sparring.

This gets the other guy to back down, because even at this age no-one actually wants to tangle with Wei Wuxian, and Wei Wuxian gets to claim the moral advantage, although he still doesn’t get to keep his hotel room.

Actually Not A Fan of My Sister’s Betrothal

Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli have the first of many, many moments of heterosexual ineptitude together. Wei Wuxian quickly rescues them.

Hi, I’m Young Master Cockblock.

Neither of the boys understands what Yanli sees in Zixuan and neither do I, at this juncture. He does improve later after multiple beatings from Wei Wuxian.

This Is The Day Your Life Will Surely Change

Yanli’s encounter in the Inn is the first step toward the inexorable end of the three of them as a unit, although it’s still a long ways off. They are all growing up and she and Wei Wuxian are both going to fall in love at summer camp, like in a 1980s teen movie but without the virginity betting (presumably).

Meanwhile poor Jiang Cheng is going to be swept along just trying to keep up with events, which becomes the story of his life for the next two decades.

Welcome to Transylvania

We meet Wen Ruohan. He is boring and he sucks. Also I’m summarizing the Transylvania parts out of order because they break up the rhythm of the story. And are boring and suck.

We meet Xue Yang. He seems nice.

Wen Ruohan’s living room is like a shitty nightclub where everyone is too drunk to dance except Xue Yang.

Dee Jay: Undead undead undead, Bela Lugosi’s dead

[OP can’t get a video to embed in this post with looping enabled, so the alternate version of this joke has its own post right here. That will teach OP to get fancy.]

Anyhoo

We meet Wen Qing. She is the bestest most wonderful girl in the world but this isn’t actually when we find that out.

Right now we just find out that she is absurdly pretty, that she loves her brother deeply, and that she is helping Wen Ruohan with his “take over the world by murdering cultivators” project. OKAY, PROBLEMATIC, BUT SHE IS THE BESTEST GIRL OKAY?

Gatekeeping

The Jiang Clan don’t get another inn but they do manage to change into immaculate white robes while they’re out on the street, so - nice work, Jiang Clan. Be free!

They get stuck outside the gate because they don’t know that the secret to getting into Cloud Recesses is to set the gate guard on fire.

Walking Thirst Trap Hanguang-Jun

Lan Wangji shows up and everyone except Yanli, who is already in love with Sir Golden Pants, makes thirst faces at him. Including Jiang Cheng tho he will never admit it. One girl in the background is actually biting her knuckle.

Note: Lan Wangji knows exactly how fine he is. Look at his fucking hairstyle.

He is sixteen years old. The only person in the entire cultivation world with fancier hair is Nie Mingjue, and that’s because he indulges his dìdi’s braiding hobby.

Wei Wuxian loudly stage whispers that LWJ is their key to getting in and LWJ is is like, not fucking likely, person I didn’t glance at yet.

But then Wei Wuxian says a smart cultivator thing about the puppet dude, and Lan Wangji turns around and has the first of many long mutual staring sessions with this boy he totally isn’t going to like at all.

Jiang Cheng has a bad feeling about the future: a 2-frame gif

Unrelated gardening note: the red-crack puppet is more commonly grown in Gusu and Dafan, while the black-line puppet is native to Yiling

I Must Arrange a Date with this Uninteresting Boy

The rest of the evening is a series of tests that Lan Wangji puts Wei Wuxian through. Wei Wuxian doesn’t know this and Lan Wangji probably doesn’t exactly know it either.

First he sends WWX back to town to get the invitation. Yes, go get it. Not your entourage; YOU, talky person who thinks he can manipulate me and is smart and looks...intriguing. Go find it and come back.

When Wei Wuxian complains, Lan Wangji silences him, which is literally the most boss move he could have used on smooth talking Wei Wuxian.

You tried, Fuckboi.

Would you like to try some more because I think I would like you to try some more

Jiang Cheng is the Better Baby Brother

Sorry, he just is. Wei Wuxian is all about being taken care of and adoring Yanli without actually doing much for her. Jiang Cheng is the one who thinks about her feelings and giving her what she needs, even to the point of arranging that wedding rehearsal dinner so she can be with her favorite brother again -- the favorite who isn’t him, much as she also loves him.

Date Test 1: Can You Get In.

Once Wei Wuxian is definitely gone, Lan Wangji shows up again and collects the entire retinue, guaranteeing that Wei Wuxian will be stranded outside the gate when he gets back. LWJ doesn’t wait by the gate; he goes and waits up on the roof instead of going to bed or whatever else he’s supposed to be doing. Because he already knows the route Wei Wuxian will be taking.

Wei Wuxian passes the “get in through the wards” test with no problem besides a minor headache and bent fingers.

Is that Xiao Zhan’s hand or did they use a double-jointed hand model?

Date Test 2: Fight Me (Lan Wangji’s Combat Playbook)

As soon as Wei Wuxian shows up on the roof, Lan Wangji picks a fight with him.

LWJ fights all the time; he’s perfectly comfortable when he’s fighting and it’s a good venue for him to express himself. His style is graceful and aggressive.

Attack attack attack strike a pose, vogue, you know it.

He starts by going all in on swordplay, but that doesn’t gain him the advantage; Wei Wuxian fends him off without ever drawing his sword. Which is probably the hottest thing that has ever happened to Lan Wangji in his young life.

Do you like me better when I’m horizontal?

Next Lan Wangji deploys the pettiness by breaking WWX’s wine. Then when Wei Wuxian starts insulting him he upgrades to next level pettiness by dropping another silence spell, this time with the added bonus of preventing WWX from drinking.

Wei Wuxian’s Combat Playbook, Redux

Meanwhile Wei Wuxian is running his own fight routine, starting with a charm attack, which doesn’t work at all.

Are you admiring the moon?

He keeps trying to de-escalate for the first phase of their fight, until they reach a pause and he reflects that Lan Wangji has real skills. As soon as he makes that determination he goes on the offensive - with words.

He very formally says he’s too busy to continue fighting, and turns away, which is a pretty solid roast when you say it to someone who’s been trying really hard to kick your ass. Then he continues defending easily until Lan Wangji uses the wine against him.

At this point the gloves come off, with Lan Wangji lecturing Wei Wuxian, Wei Wuxian making ad hominem attacks, Lan Wangji forcibly shutting him up...

...and then throwing him on the floor in front of Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen.

Sincere Grief for the Death of our Colleague

Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen feel really bad for their disciple who has been horribly turned into an undead creature. Ha ha j/k

Date Test 3: Face the Authorities

Lan Wangji gets to pick Wei Wuxian’s punishment. This probably won’t awaken anything in him.

Surprise surprise, Wei Wuxian actually passes the Authority test with flying colors. Lan Qiren doesn’t like him, but listens respectfully to his thoughts about the undead cultivator. And Lan Xichen clearly does like him.

When Wei Wuxian learns that Lan Wangji was nice to his sister, his entire demeanor changes, to such an enormous degree that Lan Wangji starts to run away.

He’s not going to let this boy (who has passed all the tests oh no he passed all the tests) make out with him in front of his family like he is obviously planning.

But once again, Wei Wuxian’s cultivation knowledge captures Lan Wangji’s attention and breaks through his reserve.

This Hardy Boys moment is the beginning of their cultivation partnership.

Lan Wangji is brave but is extremely constrained: by the authorities in his life and by his own rigid reserve. Wei Wuxian is brave and is also free. His companionship gives Lan Wangji an opportunity to engage with a much broader range of the things that interest him than he’s ever had before.

After Wei Wuxian has been sent to bed, Lan Wangji stands outside and -- just as WWX had suggested at the beginning of their date/fight -- admires the moon, with an expression that’s anything but upset.

Sure, sex is cool (probably), but have you ever analyzed a walking corpse with a beautiful boy in the moonlight?

If you’ve got your true honey Life can be pretty funny If you've got money, money to burn Rooty toot toot for the moon It's the biggest star I've ever seen

The Fine-as-Hell Brothers

Alone together, Lans Xichen and Wangji talk over the various things on their minds.

Xichen: What the fuck is up with you? ...Rooftop fights and dropping spells on boys?

Wangji: You and uncle were ignoring me so I was making my own fun

Xichen: Yeah, we are dealing with this zombie situation; shit’s going to hit the fan

Wangji: what are you going to do about it?

Xichen: fuck-all

Wangji: Well, you can rely on me

Xichen: I totally do. So how about you get to know this Wei kid, he seems like a fun ride.

Wangji: *death glare*

Xichen: You know, since Dad died you’ve become even more uptight. I wonder if I’ve been too strict with you?

Wangji: Um, you think? 3000 fucking rules, dude. Fortunately I’m not going to go off the rails and fall in love with my polar opposite and cause havoc in the cultivation world or anything like that.

Xichen: good, me neither

Outtro

Writing prompt: Lan Xichen’s secret nightly letter to his Mom’s memory or spirit (your choice), in which he confides in her about his day. May be written in flute solo form.

(As always if you use this prompt feel free to post a link to your fic in comments!)

Soundtrack: 1. This Is The Day by The The 2. Bela Lugosi’s Dead by Bauhaus 3. Rooty Toot Toot for the Moon, Greg Brown version 4. Madonna, Vogue

Bonus: FineAsHell-Jun

Episode 04 Restless Rewatch coming soon!

465 notes · View notes

link4eva · 3 years

Text

Kiro’s Culinary Date Translation [CN] (Season 2)

Hi, everyone! Just a couple of notes before you begin reading. I don’t actually know Chinese so this translation was done through the power of Google Translate and with help from @keliosyfan. Thank you! 💛

This translation contains spoilers for a date that has not yet been released in the ENG server. This date is set is Season 2 but doesn’t contain any major plot details. If you wish to not be spoiled, please don’t read beyond the cut.

Hope you enjoy!~

*Spoilers below for future content!*

[First Part]

“Ding Dong!--”

I stood in front of a villa full of sunflowers in the yard and rang the doorbell.

Recently, in order to create a gimmick for the new show, the company intends to let Kiro participate in an observation variety show.

The stars in the show will experience different professions. The profession of this episode is to run a restaurant. To create more entertainment, a culinary competition is also set up.

Whoever makes the food that receives the most praise will win the final prize.

But I wasn’t so sure about Kiro’s cooking skills….

??: I’m coming!

The familiar voice interrupted my thoughts.

Accompanied by a rush of hurried footsteps, the door was swung open and golden hair instantly came into view.

Kiro: Good afternoon, boss!

Kiro: I just saw your text message, why did you come to me so suddenly?

Kiro put one hand behind himself, his always-smiling face now even more enthusiastic.

A strange smell hit the tip of my nose. I seemed to distinguish something but kept it calm on the surface.

MC: I heard Savin say that you rarely go out recently and don’t answer the phone very often. So I just came to see what the situation was.

Kiro: So that’s what it was. That’s because….

Kiro moved his eyes towards me and smiled.

Kiro: I recently became obsessed with a new video game series so I couldn’t check my phone as often.

I nodded and accepted the explanation.

MC: There’s another thing; you’re going to be on a new variety show.

Kiro’s expression suddenly became very serious. I couldn’t help but want to tease him, pretending to be serious.

MC: You should have known already about your appearance on the show and how you need to show your cooking skills in front of the camera.

MC: But I don’t think this should be a problem for Kiro, right?

Kiro looked shocked. But not long after, he smiled confidently.

Kiro: Of course.

Kiro: I’m actually very good at cooking.

MC: So confident--

Kiro: What’s up?

Seeing Kiro’s confused eyes still showing a hint of a guilty conscience, I couldn’t help but finally express my doubts.

MC: Kiro, were you really playing video games?

Kiro: Yes, I was….

MC: But why do I smell something weird?

Kiro: ….

Kiro: ….So you knew already!

After a while, he sighed slightly, and put down his hands behind his back like he had accepted his fate. He was holding a bear apron in his hands.

Kiro: Miss Chips, do you want to come and take a look at my kitchen?

[Second Part]

Although I was mentally prepared when I walked into Kiro’s kitchen, I couldn’t help but look on in shock.

The kitchen utensils are stacked in a mess, there are many broken eggshells on the ground, and the dishes were piled high in the sink. With that, there were also some “unidentifiable objects”...

Everything in front of me seems to show what kind of “messy” experience this was.

Kiro also looked a little embarrassed.

Kiro: Ahem, it went well at first, but I don’t know which step went wrong.

Kiro: The taste and appearance are a little bit different from what you may expect….

Suddenly, he turned his eyes to look at me.

Kiro: In order to find out which step went wrong, I plan to do it again!

Kiro: However, it’s best to have personal supervision next to you….

MC: I can help you. Also, I can show you some new things. *changed some wording*

As if he had obtained the answer he wanted, Kiro’s brows and eyes were curved slightly, and a smile appeared on his face.

Kiro: Great, then let’s get to work!

Seeing a glimmer of success in his eyes, I suddenly realized that I was fooled!

He had planned to bring me to the kitchen all along!

Twenty minutes later, with my help, the cooking was finally completed decently.

Seeing the steaming food on the table, Kiro couldn’t wait to pick up the spoon and took a bite.

MC: How is it?

Kiro: Hmm….

He blinked and then gave me a thumbs up.

Kiro: Super delicious! Miss Chips should really consider opening up a restaurant!

Although I knew his evaluation was exaggerated, I still breathed a sigh of relief.

MC: That’s good.

Kiro: However, I’m afraid there’s no way I can make such delicious food for the time being….

He lowered his eyes and his long eyelashes cast a small shadow in his eyes.

Knowing that Kiro has always been a perfectionist, I thought about it and spoke slowly.

MC: Actually, to make delicious food in addition to certain cooking skills, you also need a special recipe.

Kiro: Huh? What is it?

I stretched out my hand, poked Kiro’s face lightly with my finger, and made a smile on his face.

MC: The chef’s mentality is also very important.

MC: If you put yourself in a happy mood, you will definitely feel it. And….

I also smiled at him.

MC: Enthusiastically greet every challenge, isn’t this what Kiro is best at?

Kiro was taken aback for a moment, a strange emotion flashed in his eyes. After a while, he smiled and took my hand.

Kiro: Well, MC is right.

Kiro: By the day of the show recording, my performance won’t disappoint anyone’s expectations.

Kiro: However, I still want you to promise me one thing.

MC: What?

He leaned closer, his warm breath fell on my cheek.

Kiro: Can you come to the set on the filming day?

Kiro: If you do, I think the food will be better than perfect.

[Third Part]

The sun was shining brightly on the filming day, and the temperature was several degrees higher than usual.

I arrived at the shooting location as agreed with Kiro. Seeing that it was still early, I walked towards the lounge.

(Cut to lounge)

As soon as the door was opened, I saw him sitting on the sofa alone and intently looking down at his phone.

Hearing the movement, Kiro raised his eyes to look at me with undisguised joy on his face.

Kiro: ….MC, there you are!

MC: Well, I’m here to cheer for you.

He subconsciously turned off the phone screen. Although it was just a quick glance, I saw that he seemed to be watching a cooking tutorial.

Kiro: The sun is so nice today, it’s good weather to go out in.

Kiro: There should be a lot of customers in the restaurant later.

Kiro looked out the window, his face thoughtful.

MC: Well, you don’t have to put too much pressure on yourself. After all, this is a variety show, and cooking is only one aspect.

MC: So all you have to do is show your truest appearance and enjoy the process.

Kiro: I know, it’s just that I haven’t figured out what to do yet….

MC: Huh? You haven’t thought about it yet?

MC: Didn’t we practice a dish at your house last time?

Kiro: But….

Kiro paused. After a while, he seemed to have thought of something, his lips raised in a beautiful arc.

Kiro: But now I have changed my mind.

Kiro: I’m going to keep it a secret for now and surprise you later.

Although there were some doubts in my mind, I also believed Kiro could handle it well. So, after a while, I nodded.

MC: Ok.

MC: If you have any questions, you can send me a text message and I will be there later. Also….

Kiro: Don’t worry, Miss Chips, I have my own coup.

Kiro took my hand and interrupted me with a chuckle.

Kiro: And have you forgotten? No matter what kind of food, I have my own “exclusive recipe”. *changed some wording*

As he said this, he poked my cheek lightly as I did to him before, and also sketched a smile on my face.

Kiro: I will get the best result while enjoying the process.

His eyebrows are curved and my figure is reflected in his clear pupils.

Kiro: So, please wait and see.

(Cut to shooting location)

The bright sunlight passed through the leaves. *changed some wording*

The show officially started filming. Stars who usually have a certain distance from the public are now wearing aprons and running an ordinary restaurant.

I was sitting on a seat in the restaurant and found that the surrounding area was filled with people.

Seeing popular movie stars or idol singers passing by one after another, many guests showed surprised expressions.

Female Star: Hello, this is my chocolate cake.

The female star gave me a sweet smile and the dessert on my table. After thanking her, I took a bite and the sweetness instantly melted in my mouth.

Girl A: Wow, this cake is delicious!

Girl B: Is it? I’ll try it too.

The voices of the two girls from the table over fell into my ears. I glanced around and saw that many people seemed to be very satisfied with the food.

Girl A: The celebrities’ culinary skills are so good too!

Girl B: You’re so stereotypical. By the way, I heard that Kiro is also here. Our “Little Sun’s” cooking skills are guaranteed to surprise you!

Hearing the girl’s words, I couldn’t help but glance at my phone screen. The last text message sent was from Kiro ten minutes ago.

“I’m ready to play!”

I put down the spoon in my hand and couldn’t help but guess what kind of food Kiro intends to make….

After tasting different delicacies one after another, everyone’s expectations were getting higher and higher.

Initially, I just advised Kiro not to be too stressed out but I couldn’t help but feel nervous at this moment….

??: This guest, would you like a delicious mango smoothie?

A familiar voice rang in my ears and I turned my face to meet a pair of sky-blue eyes.

MC: Ki-!

Everyone: AAAAAAHHH IT’S KIRO!!!

The enthusiastic cheers drowned out my voice.

Kiro smiled brightly at them and the screams suddenly became louder. Immediately afterwards, he suddenly turned around, avoiding everyone’s gaze--

He gave a wink towards me.

I couldn’t help but feel my heart beat frantically.

The golden light shone on Kiro’s hair and the person in front of me seemed to be more dazzling than the sun.

Kiro: I saw that you’re sitting there all alone. Don’t you feel a bit lonely?

Before I could answer, he took off the bear doll from his waist and placed it on the seat opposite me.

Kiro gently covered the microphone pinned in the collar and whispered in a voice that only the two of us could hear--

Kiro: Let it temporarily replace me to accompany you.

As soon as his voice fell, he straightened up and looked at the people present.

Kiro: Does anyone else want to try a refreshing fruit smoothie?

The sun was shining, and after tasting many dishes, everyone happened to be a little thirsty. So, they raised their hands enthusiastically.

Kiro: Just hold tight, I’ll come back right away!

Holding the tray, he walked towards the other table of guests. In the scorching afternoon, Kiro’s fruit smoothie became the most popular dish.

Looking at the blond boy walking through the crowd, I couldn’t help but curl my lips up into a smile.

It turns out that this is what he meant by “coup”.

Looking down, I saw Kiro with one hand behind him, making a “V” gesture in my direction.

My smile grew even more. I picked up the mango smoothie on the table and took a sip.

--The taste is really sweet.

[Fourth Part]

As the sunset slowly falls, the shooting is gradually coming to an end.

According to the process, the program team will determine the final prize based on the customers’ evaluation of the food. As a result, the awards were announced one by one with suspension--

Kiro didn’t win.

Kiro: MC!

I looked towards where the voice came from and saw that from not far away, Kiro was walking towards me through the staff surrounding him.

MC: Is it finished?

Kiro: Well, they’re checking out the shooting material.

I thought that Kiro would be a little disappointed if he didn’t win the prize but his face didn’t show the slightest bit of disappointment. Instead, his smile remained the same as usual.

A light flashed before my eyes and I realized that he was holding a golden trophy in his hand.

MC: What is this?

Kiro: This….

He followed my gaze and winked slyly at me suddenly.

Kiro: There are too many people here. Let’s talk about it somewhere else.

(Cut to lounge)

MC: “Most Popular Award….”

In the lounge, I took the trophy from Kiro and repeated what he said.

Kiro: That’s right.

Kiro: They said that because of the popularity of “Kiro’s Special”, the program team made this award.

Kiro: I told you that I wouldn’t break my promise, right?

Kiro said somewhat proudly. I can’t help but smile.

MC: Well, I was a little surprised. But I know that Kiro never disappoints.

MC: By the way, something hasn’t been returned to you yet.

I took out the little bear doll that I had always taken with me. I wanted to give it back to him but he shook his head.

Kiro: This was actually a gift to you to thank you for teaching me how to cook.

MC: In that case, I will accept it without any hesitancy.

As I was talking, a question suddenly came to my mind.

MC: I don’t seem to remember you telling me why you suddenly decided to make a smoothie instead?

Kiro gave me a look and smiled helplessly.

Kiro: When I tell you, you mustn’t laugh at me.

MC: Of course not.

Kiro: Actually, after we started cooking together that day, I practiced many times in private.

Kiro: After all, I’m going to be on the show. I hope that no matter what I’m doing, I can let everyone see my best.

Kiro: But that last time, I still felt that it was not enough.

Kiro’s tone was indifferent but I seemed to hear a little reluctance from it.

Kiro: But after coming to the lounge today, I saw the light outside was very strong.

Kiro: Thinking of everyone sitting in the sun all that time, it must’ve felt a little hot. So, I suddenly came up with an idea.

Those bright blue eyes lit up again and the corners of Kiro’s lips curled up slightly.

Kiro: I think if it were me in this hot weather, I would want a refreshing smoothie more than one of those meals.

Kiro: And this method was a very simple one--

Kiro: It was within the scope of my cooking skills!

I couldn’t help laughing.

I saw that the name tag on his chest was a little crooked, so I stretched out my hand to fix it for him.

MC: So, our “Chef Kiro” decided to make a smoothie?

MC: It was indeed a great idea.

I nodded approvingly. Kiro’s eyes flickered slightly and he suddenly took my wrist.

Kiro: Speaking of which, you brought me this inspiration.

MC: Huh?

Kiro: Didn’t you say that if you put yourself in a happy mood, other people will definitely be able to feel it?

Kiro: Because I was inspired by you, I gradually began to worry less about satisfying everyone and more about what to do to make myself feel satisfied….

Kiro: Therefore, this trophy is also yours.

Kiro winked as he spoke and his lips curled up softly.

Kiro: I wonder how Miss Chips would rate my performance today?

MC: Do you need to ask?

MC: Of course it far exceeds full marks!

Kiro: Even if I didn’t make good enough food?

MC: Even if you didn’t make good enough food.

I repeated it with certainty.

MC: Remember, because you have the most unique “recipe”.

MC: That is Kiro’s signature appeal.

I smiled at him.

MC: During the filming, many people including myself, were affected by your smile and enthusiasm--

MC: It was such a pleasant afternoon.

MC: I believe that this happy mood will be conveyed to all viewers when the show is broadcasted.

MC: Rest assured.

The light in Kiro’s eyes shook slightly and then the corners of his mouth rose even more.

Kiro: Is MC’s evaluation of me that high?

Kiro: Actually, it’s more than that.

Kiro: In fact, there are other “exclusive recipes” that I found.

He pretended to smile mysteriously, held my hand more tightly, and then went on to say--

Kiro: She not only taught me how to cook, but she also gave me great inspiration;

Kiro: And she also told me that no matter what challenge I encounter, I can solve it in Kiro’s fashion as usual.

Kiro: So, when I saw her at the shooting today, I felt confident and smiled uncontrollably….

The gentle voice fell in my ears and I felt my heart beat faster.

Those sapphire eyes looked at me for a moment. In the next second, a chuckle came into my ear--

Kiro: So….

Kiro: For me, she is the recipe that makes everything more perfect.

[End]

You can read the call that comes after this date here!~

#mlqc spoilers #mr love queens choice #mr love #mr love game #mlqc #mlqc kiro #mr love kiro #mr love dream date #周棋洛 #date translation #he's so cute

30 notes · View notes

wntrsnat · 3 years

Text

࿐Another Autumn Night

✧ Pairing: BuckyNat/Winterwidow

✧ Warnings: Depressive thoughts, low self-esteem and lots of self-blame, basically Spoiler-free.

✧ Word count: 1.5k words

✧ A/n: following one-shot takes place somewhere around Ed Brubaker’s Captain America comics, where Bucky took the that mantle. It was originally published a few months ago by me on Marvel Amino, so this is basically a late repost!

The night sky was full of stars but no moon. Skyscrapers shone bright, spilling the color upon dark night. The city came alive when noises had filled the streets. The lights and sounds of the big city have always delighted Bucky. Although the lifetime passed since his youth, he still heard the gunshots; bombs dropping everywhere; the desperate, angry screams; the lifeless bodies falling down, staining the earth with the blood – sounds of the war. The lively, loud streets reminded him that people were living their normal life without the war, without deaths and tortures.

Well, at least most of them lived it that way, normal way. For others, the war had never stopped. Instead, it mutated. There was no black and white anymore. The spectrum was all grey. And people? People just played along with it all. They were puppets who’s master always changed. Bucky knew it better than anyone.

It felt like he had been a puppet his whole life. Yet, he still blamed himself for everything. After all, blood was on his hands. He was the one victims remembered and hated. He destroyed their lives. They were deep down in the ground, dead. Their families grieved and cried, burying the dreams of happy life while he stood here as national hero, symbol of the country. He didn’t deserve to be here, walking down the street with his girlfriend, cherished by people.

“You need to stop thinking so much” Natasha remarked, wrapping her slender fingers around his waist. She hated when James brooded over his thoughts. It was easy to guess what they were. It felt like it was only thing on his mind ever since he took up the mantle of Captain America.

She was concerned about him. She couldn’t recall last time James properly slept. She always found him awake in the middle of the night, absent from their bed. Winter Soldier, murders, survival and Captain America- They always had same conversation each night. Tonight was no different. Except that Natalia convinced him to go for the walk. New York was quite a sight at night, especially during autumn. She hoped that it’d help him to get out of his head for a while.

Bucky sighed out, turning his head to her. He said nothing. Instead, his gaze lingered on Natalia, noticing the worry in her emerald eyes. At moments like this, he couldn’t help but wonder what did he do be loved by a woman like her. He had her right next to himself, walking down a park painted with orange, red and yellow leaves. Her fiery red hair sprawled on her shoulders, cold breeze brushed past her brown coat as street’s warm lights fell on her face, cooling down her dark red lipstick – she matched the autumn, looking better than mother nature herself. And Bucky, a complete idiot, phased out in his thoughts instead of enjoying their moment.

He didn’t deserve her either but here she was, unconditionally loving him. He didn’t understand what she saw in him. Natalia deserved the best and he certainly wasn’t it. Nevertheless, he was grateful for her. She made it all little easier for him. She was the reason James lived and fought. If not her, he would have put bullet through his brain to quiet the ghosts.

“It’s just” Bucky mumbled under his breath. He moved away his gaze, unable to look into her eyes. He didn’t want her to be worried about him. Natalia already had enough on her plate, he didn’t want to add on. Still, he knew that it was impossible to avoid “There’s too much rattling around in my head, lately” he said and rubbed nape of his neck.

“I know” Natasha faintly nodded, pressing her lips together. She knew it wasn’t just lately. At one point or another, there was always rattling around in his head. She could relate to that feeling. She wouldn’t even be worried if it wasn’t James who would beat up himself for his past, put himself in danger and damage his health all because he thought he deserved it. “That’s why you should stop thinking, милый мой (my dear)” she said, referring to what she had told him earlier.

“Well, you do have a point there” Bucky quietly commented. He for sure couldn’t say she was wrong; thinking so much, in such state of the mind, wouldn’t bring any good to him. Yet, how could any of his thoughts do him good. They just kept dragging him back to old, torn pages which he couldn’t fix. Bucky’s eyes moved back to Natalia, trying to hold on the moment. He caught himself almost zoning back out. Stop thinking, stop thinking – he told himself, breathing in cold air.

“Don’t I always?” She said with a small smile. She saw how James looked at her; she knew that he tried hard for her. She knew he tried hard to put away all negativity when he was with her. But that’s not what she wanted. She wanted him to try hard for himself. She wanted him to ignore negative thoughts for *himself*.

“Hmm… do you?” James hummed out, a faint chuckle left his lips. God, he loved that smile of hers – confident and self-assured in the best way possible. There was nothing arrogant about it, about her. Natalia knew herself, her skills and abilities; he adored it about her. He thought that it was what made her as strong as she was. That was quite important trait for agent or assassin; Exaggerating or underestimating your competence could lead to fatal outcome. And that is not what anyone wanted “you *can’t* be always right” He jokingly said, truth present in his words.

“I have never said I am always right” Natasha defended herself, throwing hands in the air as the sign of innocence. Indeed, no one could always be right, even Captain America himself. No matter who you were, you’d anyway manage to make a mistake “I meant that I always have a *point*. There’s big difference” she said and raised eyebrows, giving him a small look. More than often there was a bit of truth in everything; more or less, at least. Even villains themselves had some truth in their motivation, but it still didn’t make them right. That was difference between being right and having a point; you had truth in your words yet you were wrong in many ways as well.

“What’s the difference exactly?” Bucky asked and got closer. His flesh arm had been wrapped around Natalia. He hid the other one in the pocket of his jacket; the streets were filled with lights; he didn’t want metal to reflect them. It would cause unnecessary attention. Tonight, all he wanted was to relax with his girlfriend. Everything was rather beautiful and he didn’t want to miss out on that anymore. He didn’t know if it was only him or the autumn really did make everything so mesmerizing; except for Natalia, she always looked stunning.

Autumn reminded him of her in the way. It was odd enough to compare season and person but they really did match quite well. He thought they had similar temperament; one minute it could have been like this – calm and soothing, just a faint, cold breeze brushing past them and another minute, you could find yourself in home-wrecking storm or incredible rainfall; you never knew what you’d wake up to. You only knew one thing for sure, no matter what it’d be, it would still be amazing.

“I mean I can explain it on lots examples” Natasha exclaimed and got on her tip toes. She let silence fall between them as she thought what to say. She had lots of examples on her mind, for instance his thoughts: James thought it was his fault that people died – it was impossible to deny that there was bit of truth in that, he had a *point* but at the same time, he was very wrong. Or second example of this phenomenon was Tony Stark, the man was walking definition of ‘having a point’ himself. “But I’m too tired for that” She whispered against his lips, softly locking them together. Natasha decided to stay quiet. She didn’t want to remind him about either of those things. She didn’t want him to start thinking about it all and again lose himself in the thoughts. She’d rather appear defeated in James’ eyes than make him upset him.

“I bet you are” he ironically replied right before they kissed. A flush crept up his face, cheeks redder than leaves that hung on the trees. Bucky had been with lots of girls but none of them were quite like Natalia. She was only one who he could open up to. She was only one who would understand. There was something about her that touch his soul, his humanity. Neither of them made him feel the way she did.

They stood like this for quite a time, kissing under the weak, lamp lights - the only thing that lit up an empty park, showing them path to unknown. It felt like time had stopped around them. Nothing seemed to matter anymore; not even his worries, the cold breeze or the beautiful surroundings that autumn itself had painted. He didn’t deserve this happiness, not after everything he had done but damn, he was thankful to have her with him.

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes x natasha romanoff #bucky barnes x reader #natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff x reader #buckynat #buckynat fanfic #marvel fanfic #marvel comics fanfic #omg #omg page #winterwidow #comics winterwidow

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anonymousbaev · 3 years

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Hi! Hope you have time for this one! Rfa+minor trio would they be heros or villans say if they were in some kind of superhero crap and what kind of hero/villan would they be? Sorry weird request hehe

RFA+Minor Trio+Rika and Mc Hero/Villain Headcanon

Hello thank you for the request! Not at all is it weird, the idea's very fresh, I love it! (I needed a break from my cheating fics so here's a mini headcanon!) ^~^ *WARNING: Slight spoiler for Tower Of God and Mystic Messenger (obviously haha)*

☆Yoosung☆

Yoosung would most definitely be a hero, and his hero life is probably a sitcom.

Comedy-wise Yoosung is probably the clumsy kind of hero where he makes cute and silly mistakes.

But at the end of the day, all goes well and the world is once again rescued by the great and mighty Yoosung.

In a more serious theme however, Yoosung is probably one of those protagonists that start out to be really innocent and clueless on the topic of fighting.

Later becoming really skillful with character development after a tragic event triggers a power in him? Lol (Kind of like Bam in Tower of God, anyone read that? Yes? Just me?)

☕️ Jaehee ☕️

A freaken cool hero. An ordinary office assistant for a hella bossy trust fund kid, until... evil arises and hero Baehee to the rescue.

She probably has to make a lot of unconvincing excuses to Jumin in order to go out during work and save the day.

By night, she's probably so fed up with everything. Nothing and nobody will get in her way, all she wants to do is finally get some rest and cuddle in for some Zen DVDs.

But nope, apparently the new villain is in town, she practically has to drag herself out with the most dreadful eyebags under her eyes.

Somebody please give this poor woman a break.

♬ Zen ♬

Freaking sexy villain that steals hearts, literally. But he wouldn't be a total villain, cause, hell-o? He's a sweetheart? He would never harm innocent people?

At first he'd be introduced as the 'bad guy' but you'll later realize it was all a misunderstanding. He was even helping the protagonist behind the scenes and later joins the good team.

Plus, Zen would be one of those handsome villains you just cant hate:

"B-but I have to cheer for the protagonist... bUtt I JUST CANT CAUSE UGH WHY IS THE ANTAGONIST (ZEN) SO H0T?"

Oh and, if you're the protagonist, he'd probably flirt with you.

♛ Jumin ♛

Semi-villain, and probably misunderstood like Zen. Later he would join the 'good team' as well.

You just assume he's a villain because he's the heir of the 'bad guys' company. But he's such a darling.

He would probably be the most powerful and important character in the whole plot. He got that money and bodyguards, people working for him, etc.

People's first thought to assuming Jumin is a villain would be:

"ANOTHER FREAKING HOT VILLAIN?"

👓 Saeyoung 👓

"Defender of Justice, 707 to the rescue!"

He would be such a well written hero, his story will go down in history.

A cheerful and happy go lucky hero with backstory. His character has so much of depth.

Hard to not like this fellow.

You better not mess with Seven or anyone he cares for though, because he's not playing games when you do.

All jokes and cheery, till it becomes serious and he turns into a smoking hot hero.

Cue dramatic transformation scene and he becomes extra sharp and handsome without the glasses.

♧ Jihyun ♧

A villain.

Of course the poor baby had and still has the bestest of intentions.

He only wants to bring everyone the peace and happiness they deserve.

But get too greedy, cause the world doesn't work like that and your actions can reflect to have the opposite effect.

He's lost, and he never meant for it to happen. But things that already happened, happened and scars are bound to be left.

But maybe... someone out there can show him, it's not late to make things right.

🌚 Saeran 🌚

A villain and a puppet, controlled to complete evil deeds.

But for the most part, he would be a character you will feel sympathy towards, because you know those actions aren't his intentions.

He would also be a victim saved by the hero at one point of the story.

Also would join the good team after healing to get revenge on the people that controlled him and help other victims still held captive.

🧸 Vanderwood 🧸

Vanderwood would probably be a villain, cold and distant, that being the only thing he had grown up to.

He sees no more good in the world. People never learn with kind words, which is why he believes the only way is to fight fire with fire.

Until maybe... *poke poke* you show him there's still some love and positivity left in the world?

And it may not be told at first but, secretly, he's a "violent hero" in his own way, because he only punishes people with guilt.

Bonus: Mc and Rika

🔅 Rika 🔅

She would be a villain, no questions, no question marks, she's a villain.

People would have split opinions on her character, some may call her a snake, while some may say she needs a chance of redemption. (Hehe basically Rika's situation)

But like most well written villains, she has a reason and though her actions may never and can never be justified...

With some real love and help, her evil deeds may one day come to a red light.

💖 Mc (You guys) 💖

A saint, an angel, a hero.

I swear Mc's heart is made out of gold, and they're so patient.

And though Mc's heroic story, isn't one of the typical, not all hero's wear a cape.

Mc would help a group of heartbroken fellows, either helping them through a painful past or helping them become a better person.

It might've been stressful and hard at times, but Mc made it through, they played through it, to see the Mysme crew that Mc loves and adore, obtain the happy ending they deserve.

#mysme headcanons #mysme #mystic messenger #mystic messenger headcanons #mysme v #mysme zen #mysme jaehee #mysme jumin #mysme yoosung #mystic messenger v #mystic messenger headcanon #mystic messenger hyun

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