#00 line supremacy! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

asthmark · 3 years

Text

❝ chemistry ❞ o.st

synopsis → osaki shotaro moving to town means trips to the dance studio, boba dates, and the perpetual teasing of lee donghyuck.

pairing → shotaro, reader

requested? → yes! based off @onlyjihoons’s shipping game answer ♡

word count → 5.5k (this was supposed to be 1k.... goodbye.)

a/n → i enjoy writing texting scenes WAY too much ;; tbh this is like 50% texts im cryign but i had to convey how much i love 00 line .... and also how firmly i believe in lee donghyuck devil supremacy. as always, feedback is greatly appreciated and enjoy!

if someone were to ask you how you felt about your friends, you would without any hesitation, answer that you loved them to death. of course, if you were being completely honest, you would also have to add that you experienced the urge to strangle them from time to time. that might earn you a couple odd stares but you’re sure people would be more understanding if they knew who was in your inner circle to begin with.

for starters, there was lee jeno — tall, handsome, and the textbook definition of a gentleman. then, na jaemin, who you would consider to be the yin to jeno’s yang. an extremely energetic guy and, in your book, a total freak of nature ever since you found out that he inhales four shots of espresso on the daily. liu yangyang was a more recent addition to your group but, being as quick-witted as he was, he quickly fit right in. he also had a habit of going on somewhat aggressive rants in german which renjun found to be extremely amusing. speaking of, huang renjun was another one of your close friends — the shortest of the group, actually. (and, much to renjun’s dismay, that’s exactly how donghyuck liked to introduce him to people.) he was the type of guy you could trust to keep everyone in check which consequently made you mildly terrified of him.

however, it could never compare to the perpetual fear you have of lee donghyuck.

of course, you love him to pieces but sometimes you really wish he didn’t find so much joy in, well, making everyone miserable. you couldn’t deny it was funny to watch him tease and taunt your other friends. you still remember him purposefully messing up renjun’s game at the local arcade just when he was about to reach his high score — and also the way renjun had tackled him to the floor right then and there, resulting in the six of you being banned from the place. or, that time he offered to pay for everyone’s starbucks orders only to tell the barista that jaemin’s name was ben dover. (to no one’s surprise, yangyang had found that joke particularly hilarious.) you can also clearly recall how hard you had laughed in both of those situations.

but, donghyuck never let anyone laugh for too long.

according to him it was ’only fair’ to make sure each of his friends was at the receiving end of his gags. so, despite laughing at his latest victim’s expense, each of you knew that donghyuck would make sure you were in the same position sooner or later.

you definitely weren’t expecting it to be your turn one dull friday evening.

things are going slow for you as you sit at your desk, typing away on your laptop. school has been out for hours and your professors have decided to be saints and leave you little homework for the weekend. beside you, your phone dings, alerting you of the new text message in your group chat.

[4:23 pm] hyuck: i’m bored 🥺

[4:23 pm] you: plz never use that emoji again

[4:24 pm] nana: it’s misleading dude

[4:25 pm] yangx2: yeah like when have u ever made a face that isn’t this 😈

[4:25 pm] renjun: donghyuck is the devil = confirmed

[4:25 pm] nana: CALLED IT

[4:26 pm] hyuck: u guys are literally so evil

jeno laughed at “u guys are literally so evil”

[4:27 pm] jeno: look who’s talking lol

[4:27 pm] you: dangg u know it’s bad when lee jeno disses u

[4:28 pm] jeno: ...ngl it kinda feels like ur shading me rn

[4:28 pm] you: u would be correct :)

[4:29 pm] hyuck: um HELLO can u guys go back to paying attention to me???

[4:29 pm] renjun: what do u want, diva?

[4:29 pm] hyuck: i just wanna spend some quality time with my best friends ;(

renjun disliked “i just wanna spend some quality time with my best friends ;(”

yangx2 disliked “i just wanna spend some quality time with my best friends ;(”

you disliked “i just wanna spend some quality time with my best friends ;(”

nana disliked “i just wanna spend some quality time with my best friends ;(”

jeno disliked “i just wanna spend some quality time with my best friends ;(”

[4:30 pm] hyuck: OH COME ON

[4:30 pm] yangx2: i think what u meant to say is that u wanna make one of us very miserable today, right?

[4:30 pm] hyuck: .....no comment

nana renamed the group chat “hyuck hate club”

[4:31 pm] hyuck: ok i’m honestly feeling so attacked right now

[4:31 pm] jeno: well now u know what it’s like to be friends with u

[4:31 pm] you: so true king omg ur on a roll

[4:32 pm] hyuck: hmm okay so either jeno or y/n is gonna be today’s target, got it

[4:32 pm] hyuck: anyway can u guys come down to the dance studio now??

[4:32 pm] you: what makes u think i would go anywhere near u when i know ur plotting ur revenge on me as we speak

[4:32 pm] hyuck: because maybe i’ll have mercy on u and just terrorize jeno instead

[4:33 pm] you: good enough for me! thnx bestie, see u soon!!

[4:33 pm] jeno: HEY

nana laughed at “good enough for me! thnx bestie, see u soon!!”

[4:34 pm] yangx2: u literally cannot trust anyone in this friend group

[4:34 pm] renjun: ikr isn’t it great???

you might have been slightly out of your mind to willingly go see donghyuck knowing you had teased him in your group chat earlier. although, if there was a slight chance he would show you mercy if you did hang out with him, you were going to take it.

the studio was where you had first met donghyuck, along with the rest of your friends due to the dance classes you attended. after bumping into each in between classes and during practice, you began to get well acquainted. turns out, the six of you actually got along incredibly well and after a while, you began to share routines and tips, even choreographing together from time to time. obviously, this led to the infamous group chat being formed and lots of time spent outside the studio as well.

but, none of you had lost that love for dancing. in fact, forming your little clique had only made it grow. as you opened the front doors of the building you had made so many memories in, you wondered if donghyuck wanted your insight on a certain routine or needed some help choreographing. of course, there was also the possibility that he really was just bored and wanted you to suffer with him.

what you did not expect, however, was to see him caught up in conversation with another person. you couldn’t clearly see them with donghyuck in the way; all you knew for certain was that your best friend’s mouth was moving a mile a minute. you tentatively tiptoe into the room, hoping to not intrude on their discussion. but, at hearing the doors creak open, donghyuck puts his rant on pause to enthusiastically wave you over.

you sigh, putting your belongings down and approaching the pair. as you near, you notice that hyuck has a huge smile — no, smirk — on his face. you internally curse yourself for believing that he would ever pass up an opportunity to torment you, especially in front of a stranger.

“this is a very dear friend of mine,” you hear him introduce to his acquaintance. “her name is y/n. she dances, too.”

“oh, that’s really cool!”

the stranger’s unusually cheery tone prompts you to finally peek behind donghyuck and put a face to the voice.

and what a face he has.

“this is shotaro,” donghyuck informs you. “he’s new to town and quite the dancer. caught him in the middle of a routine.”

your knees almost wobble as you take in the stranger — shotaro’s — kind eyes that almost sparkle. (you aren’t sure if it’s because of the fluorescent lights of the studio or just part of his charm.) his lips are curved up into a friendly smile that makes you feel slightly giddy. his hair falls into his face almost perfectly, not a strand out of place and you’re uncertain as to how that’s even possible since, as donghyuck had said, he was dancing. not to mention, there’s not a bead of sweat on his face. did this guy come straight out of a disney movie or something?

“excuse her,” donghyuck chuckles. “good looking people tend to make her freeze up. don’t worry, this happened when she met me, too.”

you offer your friend a glare and an elbow to the side and you swear you hear shotaro chuckle. you turn to him instead, putting on a welcoming smile.

“my bad, i just—”

“got lost in his eyes?”

you pinch the bridge of your nose. “donghyuck, please don’t make me have to attack you in front of our guest.”

more giggles escape shotaro. (you swear it’s the prettiest thing you’ve ever heard.) you curiously tilt your head at him.

“sorry, it’s just that, you guys are too funny,” he admits with a sheepish smile.

you mirror his grin, slightly relieved he was amused instead of weirded out. “yeah, well, just wait ’til you meet the rest of us. it’s like a circus show, you’ll love it.”

“hello, clowns!”

“speak of the devil,” donghyuck murmurs, watching as yangyang and renjun enter, followed by jeno and jaemin.

“woah, who’s the cutie?” yangyang asks renjun, in what you presume he thinks is a whisper. however, yangyang has never spoken quietly a day in his life. renjun simply shrugs at his question.

having clearly heard the compliment, a faint blush creeps onto shotaro’s cheeks.

“guys, this is shotaro,” donghyuck answers, tugging the sandy blonde forward.

he gives a somewhat shy wave. “hi, y/n’s friends.”

jaemin erupts into laughter. “uh oh, looks like he likes y/n more than hyuck.”

“don’t blame him,” jeno mutters.

shotaro’s forehead creases, face suddenly twisted in worry. “oh, i’m sorry, was i not supposed to say that?”

“oh no, don’t worry,” donghyuck denies, quickly. “i’m sure y/n doesn’t mind at all, right?”

if you could crawl into a hole to avoid the embarrassment, you would. of course, donghyuck was 100% right; you really didn’t mind shotaro calling the group that if it meant you could hear him say your name over and over again. in fact, his sweet voice could probably make the dictionary sound like the most addictive song. but, donghyuck had no right putting you on the spot like that.

jeno suddenly speaks, catching on to your flustered state and donghyuck’s evil grin. “so, it’s y/n’s turn today? sweet, i’m off the hook!”

shotaro furrows his brows slightly. “huh?”

“oh, it’s just an inside joke,” jeno says, smile reaching all the way up to his eyes.

you wish you could strangle him right then and there for finding amusement at your expense but the last thing you want is for shotaro to think you’re some sort of psychopath. (although, with a friend group like this, you’re definitely beginning to think that’s where you’re headed.)

“got it,” shotaro responds, breaking out into a grin himself. “you guys seem like a really close bunch!”

“the closest,” donghyuck corrects, overly sweet, as he wraps an arm around you. (you resist the urge to shove him off.) “you’ll fit right in!”

you believed that the torture was over the day donghyuck introduced shotaro to your group. you would probably just see him from time to time and the studio (hopefully without hyuck around) and it would all be downhill from there, right? the latest notification on your phone alerts you that you are absolutely wrong.

hyuck has added one (1) user to the group chat

[1:05 pm] hyuck: welcome shotaro!!

[1:06 pm] unknown: oh hey guys! :]

the emoticon almost makes your heart beat right out of your chest. you roll your eyes in frustration at how easily affected you were by this guy. seriously, why did everything he do have to be so cute? regardless, you quickly add his number to your contacts.

[1:06 pm] hyuck: why don’t we do a little roll call so shotaro can save ur numbers to his phone

[1:07 pm] yangx2: YANGYANG

[1:07 pm] yangx2: HA I WAS FIRST

[1:07 pm] jeno: ...

[1:08 pm] jeno: anyway this is jeno :)

[1:08 pm] nana: jaemin present!

[1:08 pm] renjun: hi shotaro, this is renjun

[1:10 pm] shotaro: haha cool thanks a lot, i just saved all ur numbers!

[1:10 pm] shotaro: but quick question, is y/n in this group chat? :0

you almost drop your phone at reading shotaro’s message although you’re unsure why. he just typed your name, get it together, you urge yourself.

[1:11 pm] you: heyy shotaro! i’m right here :)

[1:11 pm] shotaro: oh yayy! i’m so glad ^^

hyuck disliked “oh yayy! i’m so glad ^^”

[1:12 pm] hyuck: shotaro plz return my love what does she have that i don’t T-T

[1:12 pm] nana: a heart

[1:12 pm] yangx2: a brain

[1:12 pm] jeno: a conscience

[1:12 pm] renjun: a functioning moral compass

[1:13 pm] hyuck: wtf

[1:13 pm] shotaro: ahahaha it’s like i’m watching a comedy

[1:14 pm] you: told u it’s a circus

[1:14 pm] you: i say get out while u still can

[1:14 pm] shotaro: whaatt and leave u behind? no way!

nana renamed the group chat “shotaro x y/n supremacists”

[1:15 pm] jeno: my thoughts exactly

[1:15 pm] renjun: took the words right out of my mouth

you cringe at your friends’ blunt behavior, praying shotaro didn’t find their antics to be too strange.

[1:16 pm] shotaro: 😳

[1:16 pm] nana: aww someone’s shy

[1:17 pm] renjun: he wouldn’t last a day in itzy

[1:17 pm] yangx2: HELPP

you shake your head, laughing silently to yourself as you mute the group chat and place your phone back down. although, moments later, you receive a direct message. you presume it’s one of the boys trying to rope you back into the chat but the moment you see the contact name, you’re forced to do a double take.

[1:21 pm] shotaro: i hope i’m not bothering u but i just wanted to make sure ur okay .. you kinda went quiet in the gc :>

[1:21 pm] shotaro: it’s shotaro from the dance studio btw!

you can’t help but find the fact that he seriously thought you wouldn’t remember him adorable. how could you ever forget a face like his?

[1:22 pm] you: that’s so kind! i’m okay, i promise. i’ve just had to put up with those dorks for way too long, sometimes i just ignore them haha

[1:22 pm] shotaro: lol yeah they do seem like a handful! but i look forward to getting to know them better!!

[1:23 pm] shotaro: and u too ofc~~

it takes all your willpower not to spam dozens of heart emojis in an attempt to show shotaro just how he has reduced you to a lovesick fool. instead, your response is short and sweet.

[1:23 pm] you: right back at u, taro! ♡

“okay, take five,” donghyuck pants, pausing the music blaring from the speakers.

you gladly obey, wiping away the light sweat you had worked up from the latest routine you and hyuck were constructing.

you both belonged to the same dance class and frequently paired together for partnered projects. the rest of your friends attended different classes, which you constantly joked was for the best since there was no way one dance instructor could possibly handle the six of you together.

“how do you feel?” donghyuck asks you, running a hand through his tousled hair.

“the choreo’s great, i’m proud of what we got so far,” you reply. “of course, i would be happier if i didn’t have to get so up close and personal with you.”

donghyuck scoffs at your joke. “i can’t do anything about that. the teacher said the whole concept of the routine is supposed to be is intimate.”

you fake a gag, failing to contain a laugh when hyuck playfully shoves you in offense.

“i’m sorry i can’t be shotaro,” he adds, a smirk forming on his lips.

you roll your eyes. “oh, very funny.”

“c’mon, you’re acting like you wouldn’t kill to have him as your partner, especially with choreo as spicy as this.”

“well, it would beat being paired with you,” you remark, picking up your water bottle and taking a swig.

“hm, then looks like today might be your lucky day,” donghyuck replies, eyes trained somewhere behind you.

you follow his gaze, nearly choking on your water as soon as you catch sight of shotaro entering the studio. he meets your eyes, plucking out his earbuds and offering you a small wave.

“oh, hey guys!” he exclaims, cheerfully.

“hey ’taro,” you greet, rather quickly, earning you a knowing glance from your partner.

“’taro?” hyuck repeats, amused, as he folds his arms over his chest. “you guys are already on cute nickname basis?”

shotaro giggles, eyes squinting adorably as he does so. “it is a pretty adorable nickname, right? she’s the only one who calls me that!”

your heart beats faster when you see how oddly excited that seems to make him. did he somehow find it endearing?

“seems like the two of you are becoming quite close, hm?” continues hyuck.

shotaro nods enthusiastically before glancing at you tentatively, as if to check for confirmation.

“yeah, you could say that.”

your agreement causes yet another smile to grace shotaro’s lips — this time he seems relieved. you briefly wonder if the kid ever stops flashing those pearly whites of his. you certainly hope so, or else your heart may never catch a break.

“well, since you’re comfortable enough with each other,” donghyuck begins, flashing you a grin.

you’re not even sure what he’s gonna say but you already feel the need to put an end to it. after all, nothing good has ever come of donghyuck’s mischievous grins. you subtly purse your lips and narrow your eyes in an attempt to get him to stop whatever chaos he’s planning to ensue.

nevertheless, he proceeds. “maybe you could help me out with this choreography?”

you want to facepalm at donghyuck’s lame excuse of a lie. however, on the other hand, shotaro’s face lights up in delight.

“you’re working on choreo? what for?” he inquires, curiously.

“for our dance class,” hyuck explains, motioning towards you. “i have a couple ideas so i was thinking you two could maybe try out some steps i’m planning to include. you know, to help me... visualize.”

“that sounds awesome,” shotaro responds, oblivious to your friend’s untruths. “i would love to help you guys out.”

“great!” donghyuck claps his hands together. “just a heads up, the theme of the routine is intimacy, so i wanna see all that charm of yours, shotaro. it’ll, uh, help me choreograph.”

you cringe at the obvious fib. meanwhile, it’s as if a switch has gone off in shotaro’s mind. his smile fades and his eyebrows knit together. “hold on, i-intimacy? does that mean—”

“that you’ll have to get a bit touchy-feely with her? yeah,” donghyuck interjects, innocently.

“y’know... i’ve really been wanting to dance with her.” he faces you, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. “just never thought it would be like this.”

you offer him an apologetic smile. “i know, it might be a bit... uncomfortable. you can back out if you’d like. i promise hyuck and i won’t mind.”

shotaro’s head shakes, vigorously. “no, of course not!” he must realize how quick he was to deny your offer, making him suspiciously eager to be close to you as he immediately adds, “i mean, it’s good practice.”

you suppress a giggle. “sure thing. hyuck, should we get started now?”

the boy in question dramatically picks at his nails, acting as if he had been waiting on you both for hours. “if you guys are done flirting, then, yeah.”

you roll your eyes, shooting shotaro a mildly annoyed stare. he grins, finding it to be equally amusing as it is endearing. (what can he say, the faint pout that appeared on your face was cute.)

“shotaro, how about you get in position right behind her.”

shotaro obeys, making sure to leave a significant amount of space between the two of you. however, donghyuck doesn’t seem to approve.

“closer!” he commands. “the concept is intimacy, not social distancing!”

shotaro shuffles forward, pressing his front into your back. you can’t help but notice how firmly toned his chest is. curse his dancers body, you think.

“okay, now, lemme see your hands on her waist!”

you feel the breath of shotaro’s shaky exhale on the back of your neck as he obeys, sliding apprehensive hands around your midsection. there’s silence on donghyuck’s end and through the mirror you watch him observe the two of you, no doubt acting way more pensive than he truly is. you know he’s just prolonging your flustered state by keeping you in this intimate position with the younger boy.

although, shotaro himself might know it too, considering the fact that he begins to rub comforting circles into your sides that he’s currently gripping, as per donghyuck’s request, in an attempt to calm you down. you nearly melt right then and there. at the same time, you hope he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

donghyuck calls out your name, successfully startling you and putting an end to the peaceful atmosphere. “why don’t you go ahead and lean on his shoulder. just lay your head back nice and easy— good, very good! look at that chemistry!”

if you’re being sincere, reclining on shotaro feels way more natural and enjoyable than it should. he steadily holds you in place, almost as if he secretly wishes to never let go. you wouldn’t be completely opposed to the idea either.

“alright, last thing, guys! y/n, how about you hook your arm around shotaro’s neck?”

you do so, fingers brushing softly against his jaw. he shivers beneath your touch, erupting into giggles when you shoot him an odd stare.

“i’m ticklish,” he confesses, in a whisper.

you can’t help but smile widely. “is that so? hm, i might have to exploit that information sooner or later.”

“as long as donghyuck doesn’t find out,” he replies.

his comment certainly gets a chuckle out of you. “did you finally realize how evil he is?”

“if the torture he’s putting you through right now is anything to go by, then absolutely.”

“only a matter of time before it’s your turn,” you reply. you lean into his ear to add, “by the way, this is anything but torture for me.”

“hey! no whispering!” donghyuck reprimands.

for the first time, shotaro goes against the older boy’s orders to whisper back, “it’s mutual. if anything, i think this is the best thing i’ve done since i moved here.”

your heart melts at the sincere admission. you stare at shotaro in what you’re sure is a very obvious case of heart eyes. you’re taken aback to find that he, too, returns the lovesick look. perhaps he was immersing himself a bit too much in the intimacy concept...

“stop! pause! cut!”

you and shotaro (reluctantly) untangle yourselves from each other to face a seemingly unhappy donghyuck.

“can you guys please just focus on my instructions without falling in love with each other?” he pleads. “i mean, you haven’t even gotten out of the starting position yet.” he groans, exasperated. “actually, you know what, just take five.”

[2:03 pm] hyuck: good morning

[2:03 pm] nana: it’s 2 o clock in the afternoon but ok

[2:03 pm] hyuck: i just woke up, therefore it’s morning

[2:03 pm] shotaro: good morning :3 did u sleep well?

[2:04 pm] hyuck: i slept a wonderful 27 hours, thnx for asking!

[2:04 pm] yangx2: ?????? THERES NOT EVEN 27 HOURS IN A DAY IM SCREAMING

[2:04 pm] you: LOLLL WHY WAS HE HIBERNATING

[2:05 pm] renjun: i was just gonna ignore him but i am genuinely concerned now

[2:05 pm] shotaro: woww,, well at least you’re well rested now! :]

[2:04 pm] nana: shotaro, i am begging u not to encourage him

[2:04 pm] you: all it takes is one (1) supportive person and he becomes an unstoppable force of evil

[2:04 pm] shotaro: o_0

[2:05 pm] jeno: besides ur like the only other person here with common sense besides myself and maybe renjun. i can’t lose u to donghyuck :(

[2:05 pm] renjun: ykw i’m not even gonna argue with that

[2:05 pm] yangx2: yeah shotaro is a good guy™

[2:06 pm] hyuck: i hate u guys and ur goldfish attention spans

[2:06 pm] you: sigh what do you need hyuck?

[2:06 pm] hyuck: i want boba :(

[2:07 pm] you: that actually sounds really good but idk if it’s worth being around u

[2:07 pm] hyuck: i’ll pretend like u didn’t just say that <3 what if i paid?

[2:07 pm] you: ....

[2:08 pm] yangx2: LMAO HYUCK BEING NICE IS SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOR

[2:08 pm] renjun: ikr it’s making me super uncomfortable rn

[2:08 pm] hyuck: can’t i do something nice for my friends? :/

[2:08 pm] jeno: no

[2:09 pm] nana: nope

[2:09 pm] yangx2: nah

[2:09 pm] renjun: absolutely not

[2:09 pm] you: never seen it happen before so no

[2:10 pm] hyuck: u guys are so fake :( shotaro do u wanna hang out with me? if u say no i’ll scream :)

[2:11 pm] shotaro: yeah i guess i could :]

[2:11 pm] renjun: oh this just got interesting.. i guess i could tag along

[2:11 pm] yangx2: me too, i gotta be there to record whatever happens

[2:12 pm] nana: i’m in

[2:12 pm] jeno: same

[2:12 pm] you: hhhhh okay fine.. only to ensure taro’s safety

[2:13 pm] shotaro: (^з^)-︎♡

due to the fact that you believed donghyuck was going to try and officially initiate shotaro into your friend group with one of his infamous pranks, you decided to head to the boba shop. you hoped that if you showed up, you would be able to prevent whatever mayhem he had planned or at the very least, provide some damage control.

you pushed open the door to the quaint building, the bell dinging to announce your arrival. your eyes immediately lock onto the table in the far back since it was where you and your friends always sat — you had practically claimed it. you expect to see all the chairs filled but, to your surprise, only one person occupies the space.

osaki shotaro.

he beams, probably relieved to finally have some company in the otherwise empty shop. (after all, you weren’t sure how long he had been sitting there all alone.) nevertheless, you allow yourself to wonder — just for a second — if maybe he was just that ecstatic to see you. the way he enthusiastically waves you over seems to be in favor of that theory. it’s almost confirmed when you reach he table and he pats the chair beside him.

you let out a soft laugh. “the whole table’s empty, ‘taro.”

“i know,” he admits. “i just really want you to sit next to me.”

you swear you could break down in tears simply from the way he’s looking at you; like you’re all he needs. it’s pure adoration. you wonder if that’s how you look at him too. you can’t help but ask yourself if he, too, notices your longing stares.

you decide that you would be a monster if you denied shotaro his wish, so, you internally prepare yourself to sit next to possibly the sweetest boy you’ve ever known. yet, that proves to be difficult as said boy stands up to pull out your chair like the gentleman he is. you shoot him a grateful smile, mentally dethroning jeno as the most well-mannered person you know and passing the crown on to shotaro.

“so, how long have you been waiting for?” you ask, resting your elbow on the table and leaning into your palm to stare attentively at the boy to your right.

“actually, i only got here a couple minutes before you. we did agree to meet up here a quarter before three, right?” he asks, slightly confused.

you nod in confirmation. “honestly, i think we got set up.”

shotaro tilts his head. “really? why would they do that?”

“might have something to do with our ‘chemistry’,” you explain, quoting donghyuck.

the japanese boy’s mouth falls agape, as he comes to the realization. “oh, so they literally set us up.”

“mhm,” you agree, smiling ever so slightly.

shotaro must be paying closer attention than you thought because he picks up on your grin. “what’s with the smile?”

you shrug, feigning uncertainty. “i guess i just don’t feel so bad about being set up if it’s with a certain cutie i know.”

“oh?” he raises a brow, cheeks growing as he too mirrors your lovestruck look. “should i be worried about this guy?”

“certainly not,” you reassure him. “i’ve only got eyes for one.”

you see a faded tint of pink rush to his cheeks and you find it adorable how your confession flusters him. you can’t help but caress the supple skin as gently as possible. shotaro leans into your touch, his own hand coming up to cup your own, almost as if he were holding you in place. after a couple moments of basking in the intimate moment, you retract your hand.

“maybe we should try and get hyuck to include that in the choreo, huh?” you suggest, a teasing smile on your lips.

shotaro chuckles, “sounds good to me. i might even ask if i can fill his position, too. if not, i just might get jealous.”

you playfully shove him and he raises his hands in surrender. you chuckle, grabbing one of the menus that litter the table, planning to offer shotaro some help choosing an item from the list that is surely unfamiliar to him but it seems something outside the window behind you has caught his focus instead.

“looks like we have an audience.”

you take a deep breath at his words, preparing yourself for whatever it is you’re going to see upon turning around. when you finally do, all you manage to catch is five heads ducking beneath the windowsill, in a weak attempt to not get caught.

“of course,” you nearly laugh. “they’re so predictable.”

shotaro seems to find the situation humorous as well, if his amused tone is anything to go by. “to be honest, we should be thanking them. they got us together.”

“oh, so we’re together now?” you inquire, raising a brow.

“w-well, i mean, if you want to. i-i definitely want to.”

“no need for stuttering,” you reassure him, reaching over to stroke that one ticklish spot on his neck. “to quote a very wise — and handsome — young man, ‘it’s mutual.’”

he smiles at his own words being recited to him. “i don’t know about you, but i think we should seal the deal.”

“interesting. how do you suppose we do that?” you ask with faux curiosity. you certainly had some ideas of your own.

“maybe... a kiss?” shotaro leans forward, eyes closed expectantly as he taps his cheek. you resist the urge to pinch his lovely, round baby cheeks. he peeks one eye open to add, “for the audience, of course.”

you giggle, completely and utterly love-struck by the boy before you. in fact, you are so enamored by him that you decide to go the extra mile and press a sweet, chaste peck to his lips.

it seems as if he himself didn’t expect it as his eyes snap open, hand coming up to cup his lips in shock. when he finally uncovers his mouth, you see there’s a dazed, giddy grin on his face that let’s you know the smooch was very welcome pleasant surprise.

your phones simultaneously go off, alerting you of incoming messages. it’s a given that it’s none other than the group chat.

[3:15 pm] nana: that smooch was romcom worthy i’m so impressed right now

[3:15 pm] jeno: shotaro is living proof that being a gentleman has its perks! everyone in this gc should take notes!

[3:15 pm] yangx2: HERE IHAVE THE VDIEO OF THE WHOELE THIGN IF ANYOEN WANTS IT

[3:16 pm] yangx2: attachment: 1 video

[3:16 pm] yangx2: SORURY FOR THE TYPSO MY TEARS ARE BLURRIGN THE KYEBIOARD

[3:16 pm] renjun: can we get boba now?

[3:16 pm] renjun: oh wait my bad, congrats to the new couple :-)

[3:16 pm] renjun: to celebrate they should pay for everyone’s drinks.. just a thought

[3:17 pm] hyuck: ur welcome, y/n and shotaro ;)

413 notes · View notes

nochiquinn · 2 years

Text

campaign 3 episode 15: I hate it

I'm late bc I was watching yugioh with my partner

as one does

"good luck playing next to that tonight"

"save me liam"

laura's braids ❤

"cyrus had fucked up so deeply"

"meaty sword" is a euphemism from a 00's slash fic

cries

what's the bells hells poly ship name

t r a v i s

liam

laura

"youngin'"

"I'm literally bathing in wood chips"

fantasy uggs

"I wish to be difficult to kill" is a hell of a line

detect magic monocle???

"the wilds are fucked and we should abandon ship"

travis stop trolling your wife

"he just gave up at the end"

poor matt, it's 1v8 with every sentence that comes out of his mouth

me trying to answer any question my child asks

"like the shocker?"

"I don't believe in manmade spire change" SAM

flat exandrier

chetney: side quest cleanup time

map cam!!

"you can ride the donkey or you can take the tram, it is the same price"

chetney

somewhere in thedas shale's eyes light up

"they've got weird dead animal sayings"

horse girl imogen supremacy

imogen: I am aware of the general lifespan of horses around adventuring parties

SAMUEL

you ain't gettin me to no secondary location

we get it you own a thesaurus

"ooh, I speak marquesian"

THE SIT AND SPIN

god I want to give both of these people a swirly

oh, marisha has a stardew valley shirt!!

"they're smarter than they look" that's not hard

oh fuck o f f

"to see if the name sticks?"

22 is the new nein

"a 1 usually counts for two failures" "shut your mouth"

"you've got faces that say - " "run?"

I'm travis going through his notes early c1

"'I don't trust clarota' 'I don't trust clarota!' 'I! don't! trust! clarota!'"

I was waiting for a Nott the Best reference

this is an awkward exes conversation

"you have no spell slots. I filled them" 👀

ohhhhhhh

this is what happens when you date batman villains

crownset cavern 100% sounds like a pokemon route

two YEARS

"magically fascinating watching matt drag himself"

orym: I am uncomfortable with the energy we have created in the studio today

fcg: I don't know what to do with that

"I said I'd be his friend" yeah and that's a threat

travis: clear ur fuckin corners

the psychic damage I took at the phrase "self-quarantine"

damn

oh I hate it

psyche-locks

liam commiting to the bit hard

this is a mass effect 1 elevator

something something the buried

"did he just change the music"

every time I see sam's shirt I think it's captain hammer

matt do not call initiative at 1 am

fuck I checked !runtime, he's gonna call initiative at 1 am

yes. yes! mister is LOOSE!

DE ROLO PEE BREAK

time rage!!

I hate it

dice are bonkers tonight

storm orb...broken...

travis: blood maledict me: [kill bill sirens]

dice are BONKERS tonight!!

marisha forgot how to chair so hard she thinks table is chair

oh, I've been working, I didn't realize the walls have a Cave Setting

"y'ant to" I am Seen

so much campaign 2 salt tonight

she's got nippleless anime tiddies

oh I hate it

"everybody pray to fcg"

can't wait for this plan to go to shit in the first six seconds

see? see? what'd I say

hey? hey matt? hey matthew? hey matthew what the f u c k

#critical role #spoilers #crititag #liveblog #reaction post

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stormblessed95 · 3 years

Note

Okay, hard questions coming in. Ready yourself lol.

1) Favorite Twitter pic of Yoongi?

2) Favorite photoshoot look for Yoongi?

3) Favorite song of Yoongi's?

4) Favorite lyrics of all time in a BTS song?

5) Favorite hair color on Yoongi?

6) Favorite hairstyle on Yoongi?

7) Favorite award show look of BTS?

8) Glasses or no glasses (I love the round glasses!)

9) Beanie or bucket hat?

10) Favorite look of Yoongi (any year please!)

11) Favorite RUN episode?

12) Favorite look of RM? Hair color? Hairstyle?

13) Favorite look of Jin? Hair color? Hairstyle?

14) Favorite look of Hobi? Hair color (I loved him with red hair! He was beautiful!)? Hairstyle?

15) Favorite memes of all the boys (the new Tae one keeps popping up and it keeps making me wheeze)?

16) Favorite photoshoot concept of the boys?

17) Favorite documentary of the boys?

18) Favorite trait that Yoongi has?

19) Favorite BTS pic?

20) Cutest picture of the maknae line, in your opinion?

I just realized how long this is and I need to stop before I overload you lol. Good luck! Love your blog btw!

I was expecting some deep analysis type questions but this is almost WORSE. I'm horribly indecisive, why do you think I'm double biased?! Oh boy. Here we go!

1. Favorite Yoongi selca?

2. Favorite photoshoot look for Yoongi?

These ones. WHO GAVE HIM THE RIGHT?! IM FINE ITS OKAY

3. Favorite Yoongi song?

I can't choose and you can't make me! Its either Intro: Nevermind, Daechwita, What Do You Think?, Give it to Me or Moonlight. I love everything he touches though, let's be real

4. Favorite BTS lyrics?

I can't really pick favorites because I love so much of them. But I really do love the lyrics from Answer: Love myself:

When even the scars made by your own mistakes mark your constellations

I also really love the "and you're gonna be happy" and essentially the entire song from 00:00 I will probably end up with both of those tattooed at some point. They have such incredible lyricism.

5. Favorite Hair color on Yoongi?

Black or Blonde. Yes. I die over the mint every time, but the black and blonde hit DIFFERENT. His hair during Butter, the black with silver hues, SUPERB

6. Favorite Hairstyle on Yoongi?

Daechwita black hair undercut. Literally kill me now. The long blonde hair ponytail was my next bet. Basically this music video is really just top notch for me. I watch it often. Lol

7. Favorite Award Show look of BTS?

All of THIS. Minimoni especially!

8. Glasses or no glasses?

I love them either way but the way they ALL pull off any type of frames is amazing. Glasses for me!

9. Beanie or bucket hat?

Beanie. They look incredible in both but the bucket hats hide their faces more. Lemme see your beautiful eyes please!

10. Favorite look of Yoongi?

I'm assuming you aren't going to want me to continue to answer In The Soop for these favorite look questions i see farther down the list.... but I can't help it! They were GLOWING

11. Favorite RUN episode?

Again, you can't make me pick jusy 1. Sorry not sorry.

Episodes 33/34 where they jumped into photo frames and failed lol

Episodes 75/76 where they made directed their own short movie

Episodes 84/85 were hysterical

Episodes 97/98 they were all so cuddly and giggly it was so cute

Episode 109 with the voice dubbing

Episodes 131/132 debating with the water canons at the pool lmfao amazing

And the collaboration episodes with PD-Na were incredible and amazing

So that was a lot. Sorry. But I narrowed it down from simply saying ALL OF THEM by alot. You're welcome!

12. Favorite look of RM?

IN THE SOOP!!!! But if I had to pick something different, honestly him during the Butter era interviews with the dual toned blond/brown hair. It's WORKING for him and I'm having such a hard time taking my eyes off him lately. OR the Dynamite era. The way he KILLED that look. Could barely handle it

13. Favorite look of Jin?

IN THE SOOP!!! Lmao sorry, but otherwise PURPLE HAIR JIN SUPREMACY. And also his blonde hair now, chef's kiss! (I tend to be partial to dark hair BTS for the most part, probably plays a part in why in the soop looks are my favs)

14. Favorite look of Hobi?

You should all be expecting this.... IN THE SOOP! Lol but again, otherwise I'd have to go with the classic Dior Hobi. I love dark hair Hobi the most too. The blonde right now though is really working for him 😳

15. Favorite memes of the boys?

I don't really save memes on my phone too much. But they crack me up whenever I see them! Lol the Daechwita Tae is REALLY making the rounds right now 🤣 I love it so much

16. Favorite photoshoot concept of the boys?

YNWA Era concept with all the confetti

17. Favorite documentary?

Probably Break the Silence: the Docu Series and Break the Silence: the movie Persona

18. Favorite trait Yoongi has?

Physical? Probably the way he smiles in degrees until he just can't hold it back anymore and the way he sometimes smirks with half his mouth instead.

Personality? The way he is quietly there as a major support system for all the guys and his endless amounts of patience.

19. Favorite BTS picture?

This is mean. ALL OF THEM.

Maybe this one? Just them genuinely enjoying each other's company and taking a photo together because they want to 🥺

20. Cutest Maknae line photo IMO?

ALL OF THEM. But I'm definitely partial to the puppy pile cuddles

Thanks for all the questions! This was fun!

#anon #ask #20 questions #my personal favorites

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fuckyeahmarxismleninism · 2 years

Photo

Baltimore: Rittenhouse is Guilty! Protest Against White Supremacy!

Monday, November 22 - 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Edward A. Garmatz U.S. Courthouse, 101 W. Lombard Street, Baltimore

Hosted by Peoples Power Assembly

The Peoples Power Assembly will hold a demonstration on November 22nd, 2021, at 5pm outside the Edward A. Garmatz federal courthouse in Baltimore, Maryland, condemning a Kenosha jury’s not guilty verdict on all charges against racist murderer Kyle Rittenhouse. The Peoples Power Assembly demands that the Department of Justice press federal hate crime charges against Rittenhouse and pursue a maximum prison sentence.

Rittenhouse faced five charges of first degree homicide and first degree endangering safety with a deadly weapon. The charges originate from last summer when Rittenhouse shot three anti-racist protestors, killing two, Joe Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber. The protestors were attending large scale Kenosha demonstrations condemning the police shooting of Jacob Blake, an unarmed black man. It should be pointed out that there has been no justice for Jacob Blake. The cop that shot Blake in the back was never even charged, let alone convicted.

Rittenhouse traveled across state lines from Illinois to Kenosha supposedly to protect local business and provide medical care. The then seventeen year old Rittenhouse came armed with a semi-automatic rifle and no formal emergency medical training. This was a hateful gung-ho teenager looking for racist glory. As Rittenhouse fled the scene of the crime, local police provided him with snacks and directions. This scene is in stark contrast to that of Tamir Rice, a twelve year old Black boy playing with a toy gun murdered by the Cleveland Police Department. Details later emerged that Rittenhouse had a history of pro-police rhetoric and social media posts threatening anti-racist demonstrators with deadly violence. The message is clear: being black and unarmed is criminal, being a white armed racist is not.

A jury with eleven out of twelve white members passed down the disgraceful acquittal. During the trial, Judge Bruce Schroeder showed a continued bias against the prosecution and in favor of Rittenhouse. Rittenhouse’s acquittal demonstrates the importance of people’s struggle against the racist and hypocritical American justice system. While progressive figures like Mumia Abu-Jamal and Leonard Peltier rot in prison, fascists like Kyle Rittenhouse walk free.

This double standard is exactly why we must all continue to struggle against racism, mass incarceration, and police brutality. Please join us on November 22nd as we raise our voices against the Rittenhouse verdict and demand justice.

#rittenhouse verdict #Kyle Rittenhouse #protest #BlackLivesMatter #Kenosha #capitalism #racism #courts #fascism #Baltimore #PPA

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turtle-paced · 4 years

Text

A:tLA Re-Watch: Fine-Toothed Comb Edition

I thought I could probably do this for a series I love, too.

They won’t all be as dense (and long) as this recap (’The Great Divide’, anyone?), and no set schedule. But I hope someone enjoys reading this, because I enjoyed writing it.

Also, this isn’t going to be spoiler-free. Analysis assumes familiarity with the entire series.

Book 1, Episode 1 - The Boy in the Iceberg

(0:07) The series starts with an intro. It’s a bloody good intro. First, we go through the four elements and the styles, showing Pakku, Azula, and Aang.

(0:19) Then we see a map - and if you know what you’re looking for, you can find a bunch of the landmarks visited or mentioned over the course of the series - while the voiceover starts talking about her own historical knowledge. Before the story properly starts, we get the sense of a character as well as the history. This gives us the setting. Four nations, one Avatar to keep balance between them, but this was “the old days”.

(0:34) “But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked.” We pan to a shot of Fire Nation soldiers, who we can already tell are industrialised. More to the point, the animation shows the Fire Nation attacking, and they’re attacking the fourth wall. This helps get across the point; though the show goes into detail that the Fire Nation is made up of ordinary people, and the Fire Nation has suffered from the war as well, the war is nevertheless unambiguously wrong. Before we meet a single Fire Nation citizen, before we get a good non-intro look at the setting, the Fire Nation’s soldiers have already shot fireballs right at the neutral, uninvolved viewer.

(0:46) We’re told that what makes the Avatar different is his ability to use all four elements, and we see Roku doing so. We also see Roku vanish. So we’ve got this big, central tension in the setting established. The world is out of balance from the Fire Nation’s war of conquest, and the means of addressing this imbalance is AWOL.

(0:50) This brings us from the old days to the present of the story, where the Fire Nation are winning.

(0:59) We get more information on the character speaking. From the shots of ice and ships, a viewer might accurately guess by this stage that we’re listening to someone from the Water Tribes. Her father and the other men of her tribe left two years ago, leaving her and her brother behind. So this gives us some idea of the immediate circumstances we’ll be jumping into. Including a solid indication that the Water Tribes are patriarchal.

(1:12) Then, the most intimate character detail: the speaker, this Water Tribe girl, has not lost hope that the Avatar will return. We pan over an empty rock spire, up to the sky and the title screen.

This is a bloody good intro because in just over a minute, it’s given us an overview of the political state of the setting and the magic system in use. It gave us the narration, but it also showed the difference between the styles, the lines of the map, the Fire Nation attacking, and the Avatar using all four bending styles. On top of that, it gave us varying levels of detail as to the personal character context of Katara (who’s already got inner life), Sokka, and Aang (by implication, as the missing Avatar).

It took them just over a minute to do all that. Over the course of the series, we’ll see that the writers know how to say a lot with a little.

(2:00) The story proper starts with the siblings in the intro in a boat, in some very icy waters, a long way from anywhere. They’re fishing. We get a name for Katara.

(2:19) Katara grimaces and tentatively starts trying to waterbend the fish into the boat. So we see already that while she’s able to bend, she’s not got a whole lot of skill. We also get Sokka’s name at this point.

(2:40) Sokka ignores his sister in favour of concentrating on his own work and complains about Katara’s bending. He’s already the meat and sarcasm guy! More importantly, from his comments, it would appear that he isn’t able to bend. What’s also quickly apparent is that he doesn’t have all that much patience with Katara’s experimentation, and as a non-bender, does not feel this as a means of connection to his own culture (while Katara does).

(2:59) Sokka’s making muscles at his own reflection shows us early one of the biggest character flaws he’s going to have to work on: teenage insecurity.

(3:31) The show doesn’t go into detail here, but with the boat smashed, Katara and Sokka are in a real bad situation. ’The Desert’ levels of bad situation.

(3:42) Sokka is explicitly sexist here. The fact that he’s so openly sexist, to his sister’s face, is another solid indicator that the Water Tribes as a whole are patriarchal.

(3:49) While this is pretty straightforward ‘Katara gets angry and accidentally waterbends an iceberg into pieces’, look at the movement of the water following the movement of her arms. Specifically, we see waterbending when Katara makes those big dramatic sweeps of her arms, not when she’s making little jabbing motions towards Sokka. Who wants to bet that if Katara were a firebender, the accidental bending would be from the jabs, rather than the arm-waving? The animators put a lot of hard work and thought into the bending and it shows.

(4:29) The fact that Katara’s outburst was a fairly normal sibling disagreement is reinforced by the fact that Sokka immediately puts his arm around Katara to help steady her as they cling to the ice. They might shout at each other, but they’ve also got each other’s backs when things turn more serious.

(4:37) A glowing light appears beneath the water, quickly followed by another huge-ass iceberg. Even aside from the glowing and the vague figures inside it, this is also clearly not a natural iceberg. Far too round.

(5:12) Confronted with a strange glowing figure in a giant ice ball, Katara’s first reaction is “we have to help” and running forward to do so. An establishing character moment that shows her compassion, her courage, and her proactive nature. Sokka, by contrast, is more cautious - he follows Katara, but he emphasises that they don’t know what this is.

(5:37) When Katara breaks the iceberg, a giant beam of light flashes up to the sky, in a giant signal for anyone and everyone in the area, ‘Inciting Incident!’

(5:46) Establishing shot of a metal ship. Despite the hard lines and points marking this out as a Fire Nation ship like in the intro, the ship is all in blue-grey. No black. No Fire Nation colours.

(5:49) Someone else is involved in this inciting incident, too. A young man with red and black armour - so likely to be an antagonist, going by colour-coding - and a nasty scar on his face which can be identified as a burn scar. One shot and we can see that a) this guy is Fire Nation and b) this guy has been seriously hurt by fire. The first thing he says is “finally,” which tells the viewer that a) he’s been looking out for something of this nature and b) he’s been doing this for a while. Two seconds of looking at Zuko, folks. It’s some information-dense storytelling.

(5:54) Our as-yet-unnamed antagonist turns to “uncle” on the deck and asks him whether he knows what this means. Iroh’s first seen playing a game and drinking tea (from a Fire Nation-themed teapot), complaining that he won’t get to finish it.

(6:13) A quick exchange of dialogue and we’ve got Zuko’s name and title. It’s explicitly confirmed that Zuko is searching for a “him” who is incredibly powerful. Iroh, by contrast, is not fully on board with Zuko’s goals and wary of his nephew’s obsession. He’s motivated primarily by concern for Zuko’s wellbeing.

But what I paused here for is this single, throwaway shot, where we get to see Iroh’s game. The Fire Nation is big into fire supremacy, but Iroh’s playing a game where the ‘suits’ of his tiles are represented by all four elements. (The designs are in red, so I’m wondering if this is a colonial game, or whether fire is highest in the suit ranking.) You can see in the corners that there are secondary symbols on each tile representing the previous element in the Avatar cycle, and if you cared to, you could probably work out some of the rules to the game. And as Zuko and Iroh discuss the location of the (air) Avatar, Iroh’s trying to work out where to put his air tile.

This series has so many details like this. It’s nuts. It’s also one of the things that makes rewatching this show really, really cool. And worth it.

(6:25) “I don’t need any calming tea! I need to capture the Avatar!” Zuko shouts. Aside from the joke, this does get to some of the deeper issues here. Zuko’s not calm. He lashes out at people in his anger, which can be provoked by some pretty trivial things. He also considers capturing the Avatar to be a need.

Meanwhile, what’s on the surface the start of a joke about Iroh’s tea obsession is also an introduction to Iroh’s campaign to get Zuko to look after himself. Sit down and enjoy some tea. Sleep. Eat. Get a hobby. Do something that’s not unhealthily brooding about his mission to find the Avatar, and by extension, earning the approval of his abusive dad.

(6:52) Cut to commercial break on Katara and Sokka staring up apprehensively at a glowing, expressionless Aang.

(7:07) Other side of commercial break, Aang collapses down the slope, gets caught by Katara, and poked in the head by Sokka. Tension deflated! Not to mention repositions Aang so that the audience can see his vulnerability.

(7:17) Aang wakes up and stares into Katara’s face. This is a real love at first sight moment. Personally, I never thought the series was going anywhere but Kataang; the question wasn’t so much ‘are they in love?’ but ‘can they deal with their romantic feelings maturely enough to be in a relationship?’ Not until the end of the series, they can’t.

(7:30) Then we get our first idea of Aang’s character as he plays up the ‘tired and wounded’ demeanour, only to grin widely and ask Katara if she wants to go penguin-sailing with him. Mischievous, fun-loving, social. His enthusiasm for animals is also demonstrated.

I also love our first brief look at airbending, which Aang just uses to help him get around on the ice. (The first look we got at waterbending was similarly utilitarian.) Unlike Katara at this point, Aang is clearly a good enough airbender to use his arts almost without thought. Airbending is just something he can do.

(7:43) Meanwhile, Sokka wants to know why Aang isn’t frozen. Speaking of characterisation. Sokka wants to know how this surviving in an iceberg thing worked.

(7:55) We get a name for Appa before we get a good look at Appa. Aang’s rush to Appa and address of his bison as “buddy” establishes that Appa’s not just a pack animal but a friend.

(8:02) And the fact that Appa is not a common animal in the area is first conveyed by Sokka’s spectacular jaw drop.

(8:17) “Flying bison” is our first introduction to the weird and wonderful animals of the Avatar universe. Six legs included.

(8:32) Again, because this show is really good, I just want to highlight Aang’s simple advice to Sokka that the bison snot will wash out as excellent early characterisation. Aang’s not laughing at Sokka, he’s clearly aware of the non-effect of bison snot on clothing (implying that he’s been the one to do laundry before when a bison has sneezed on him), and he focused on a simple thing that can be done about the unpleasant situation of being covered in bison snot.

(8:46) Katara and Sokka disagree about whether Aang’s a spy for the Fire Navy. This tells us a bit about how Katara and Sokka each approach situations. Katara’s looking at the person in front of her. Sokka’s thinking of the broader situation and potential implications. And they’re both right - Katara’s correct that Aang is not a Fire Nation spy, her read on him better than Sokka’s. Sokka’s correct that the giant beam of light could attract Fire Nation attention, because as we’ve already seen, it has.

This is actually one of the things that makes Sokka one of the best depictions of “the smart guy” I’ve seen, and one of the things that makes the cast as a whole so compelling. The resident smart guy doesn’t know everything, doesn’t think of everything, and has personal issues (in this case, his untrusting nature) that get in the way of clear analysis sometimes, so he doesn’t just benefit from alternative points of view but outright needs them to be fully effective. Meanwhile, Sokka’s not monopolising the team brain, and the rest of the cast can and do make regular, intelligent contributions to group planning. Everyone gets to be smart.

Also worth noting for the future, Katara sees the Fire Nation as evil, and Sokka does not disagree.

(9:10) With a mighty sneeze and an undeniable display of airbending, we get Aang’s name.

(9:21) While the subtitle “the Last Airbender” is a bit of a giveaway to the viewer that Aang is the only surviving human airbender we’ll see in the series, Katara and Sokka’s lack of immediate recognition of airbending and Sokka’s “pfffft yeah” reaction are the first in-universe indications that airbending, much like flying bison, is not often seen in the area.

(9:25) Sokka also refers to “midnight sun madness”, and indeed, while more than a day passes in these first two episodes, we don’t see actual nightfall. This is actually a bit of an inconsistency. The constant sunshine at the South Pole indicates that it’s summer there, yet as soon as we hit the Earth Kingdom, even the southern Earth Kingdom, it’s winter. So this is a minor error, something’s real off with the hemispheres of Avatar world, or the South Pole is the only thing in the series we see in the southern hemisphere.

This is also the sort of inconsistency I’m more than prepared to forgive, because it’s been done to keep the show’s timeline comprehensible and balanced. The series starts at the beginning of winter and ends at the end of summer. One season per element - water in winter, earth in spring, fire in summer.

(9:42) “The Desert”-style crisis averted via Appa’s presence, even if he’s not flying. Though since he’s got a saddle, the fact that Appa is a means of transportation was already clear.

(10:42) Meanwhile, on the Fire Nation ship, Zuko is out of armour and brooding.

(10:54) Iroh first hints, then openly states, that Zuko should get some sleep. (Sun’s still up!) But yes, again, we’re being shown that Zuko’s pursuit isn’t just an unquiet mind but not healthy, and Iroh’s trying not just to look after him, but to get him to look after himself. This includes outright discouraging Zuko from questing at all.

(11:12) Zuko’s response is a telling one. He’s not this dedicated to the goal out of the simple belief that the Avatar is alive and that capturing him would be good for the Fire Nation. It’s unclear at this point how or why Zuko’s honour could hinge on the capture of the Avatar, but it is clear that it’s a personal obligation to him.

(11:41) Katara knows Aang if he knows what happened to the Avatar. On Katara’s side, we see the importance of the Avatar to her. About all she can do to learn what happened to the Avatar is ask the new guy ‘what happened to the Avatar?’ and this is exactly what she’s done.

On Aang’s side, he still doesn’t know what’s going on - he thinks he’s been in the iceberg for a few days. He doesn’t know that the subtext of Katara’s question is ‘do you know how the war can be stopped, my family returned to me, and my home and culture preserved?’ His most recent experience is that being the Avatar loses him friends and family. So he lies and avoids that particular uncomfortable truth.

Though from the ‘just curious’ we can see that Katara doesn’t have much actual expectation that Aang will be able to give her a useful answer. Plus her non-reaction is used to make Aang’s denial all the more awkward for him.

(12:17) We get a sepia-toned nightmare sequence of Aang ending up in that iceberg. He and Appa were flying along when they got caught in a storm and dragged underneath the waves.

(12:30) Then Aang starts glowing, his demeanour drastically changes, and he waterbends the iceberg. Though it might be obvious from the title Avatar: the Last Airbender, the fact that Aang can use both airbending and waterbending would, per the intro, be a demonstration that he’s the Avatar. The show shows us these things.

(12:46) When Katara wakes Aang up, we get a shot from her perspective emphasising Aang’s tattoos. The meaning and significance of these is not explicitly stated, just highlighted as something outside of Katara’s ordinary.

(12:55) Establishing shot of Katara and Sokka’s village. There’s one decent-sized permanent structure, a low snow wall, and a bunch of tents, many of which aren’t in the best of repair. It’s obviously a barely-subsisting settlement.

(13:02) “Aang, this is the entire village,” Katara says. The entire village is 20 people, according to this shot. Aside from this low, low number of people, the demographics are obviously skewed. No adult men at all. The village is entirely women and children.

(13:08) The village also shies away from Aang when Katara introduces him. Sokka’s wariness of outsiders is the more common reaction.

(13:17) Gran-Gran gives part of it to the audience. Nobody has seen any airbenders for a hundred years. The fact that this coincides with the vanishing of the Avatar a hundred years ago may not be a coincidence. The intro gives this context to the viewers lets them piece things together in part, i.e., the airbenders must have been wiped out very early in the war, and this possibly has something to do with the missing Avatar. Without the intro, Aang doesn’t have that context, and is shocked at hearing that airbenders are apparently extinct.

Being Aang, however, he doesn’t pursue the thought any further. We’ll see Aang avoid things he doesn’t want to deal with again and again throughout the series, but it starts here, when he hears ‘airbenders are extinct’ and doesn’t immediately start asking for more information.

(13:32) Continuing to establish Sokka’s character and the world he lives in - he assumes Aang is carrying a weapon, because of course kids Aang’s age would need and carry weapons. He doesn’t recognise it, so he wants to know what it is. But his inexperience also shows because he just grabs the damn thing. What if it was a weapon? Very safe.

(13:44) The basic mechanics of Aang’s glider are explained by Aang himself telling a bunch of curious little kids how it works. The information asymmetry works both ways. Most of the other characters know nothing about airbending and the Air Nomads.

(14:00) Aang takes flight to the oohs and aahs of the people of the South Pole. We cut back between Aang’s smile, Katara’s smile, and the villagers to show that Aang doesn’t just enjoy flying, he enjoys making others happy.

(14:12) More good Sokka characterisation: he built a watchtower. As well as personal innovation, we see that Sokka isn’t training himself personally, but putting an emphasis on technology and development.

(14:20) Meanwhile, Katara retains her sense of wonder, and she’s not afraid to show it.

(14:32) At this point, Katara does not really identify herself as a waterbender. This goes back to waterbending as a means for Katara to engage with her culture. She can bend water, but she doesn’t have the knowledge of waterbending passed down by her tribes that would help her claim the title of a waterbender.

This also begs the question: why doesn’t Katara have this knowledge, or access to this knowledge?

(14:44) Katara’s lack of training is made clearer here, as she tells her grandmother that she’s finally got a bender to teach her. So we’ve just learned there are literally no other benders at the South Pole, and probably haven’t been for years.

(15:03) Meanwhile, back on the Fire Nation ship, we see something a bit different. Zuko’s squaring off against some opponents while Iroh watches. Earlier we saw Zuko yelling at his uncle. Now we see Iroh taking charge, acting in his capacity as Zuko’s teacher.

(15:14) Power in firebending comes from the breath, Iroh tells us. We’ll see that concept come up again, and reflected in the depictions of firebending throughout the series.

(15:22) Also note the warmer colour palette for this scene, and how the sun has been clearly placed in the frame.

(15:26) Iroh demonstrates his point with a small blast of fire that peters out in front of Zuko’s face. This shows us a couple of things. One, Iroh’s got a lot of control. He’s comfortable aiming that blast at someone. Two, visibly burned Zuko does not flinch when his uncle demonstrates a move with fire in his direction. Given that we learn later that Zuko’s wound was deliberately inflicted by a family member, this reveals a lot in hindsight about how much Zuko trusts his uncle.

(15:33) Zuko demands to learn more advanced techniques; Iroh refuses.

(15:53) Zuko points out that the Avatar has had a century to master the four elements. Again, for the re-watch - Ozai banished Zuko and told him he could come home if this teenage boy could find someone who’d been missing for a hundred years and capture someone who’d (presumably) had the time to master all four bending arts. Heads, Ozai wins; tails, Zuko loses.

(16:01) Another thing that we’ll see throughout the series is Iroh refusing to let Zuko bully him, without actually getting into an open confrontation. Yes, I’ll teach you the advanced moves, Iroh says - after I finish my roast duck!

Off the top of my head, I can only think of one instance of Iroh yelling at Zuko, in a moment of some frustration for Iroh (frustration born out of fear for Zuko, at that). Otherwise, he stays calm in the face of his severely abused nephew’s anger, yet does not reward Zuko’s poor behaviour.

(16:15) Meanwhile, back at the South Pole, Sokka is telling the ‘men’ that it’s important not to show fear when facing a firebender.

(16:22) The joke being that Sokka’s talking to a bunch of kids who must all be around five years old. There are some deadly serious undertones to this joke. Sokka’s speech might be overblown and inappropriate to the audience he’s addressing, but he is legitimately trying to prepare for an attack on his home. He’s a teenager. Why is this his responsibility? Why are there actual kids getting this lecture?

Note also that nobody’s talking about getting the adult women involved in the defence of the tribe. Not even Katara.

(16:59) Within seconds of Sokka’s very serious warrior talk, Aang’s enlisted Appa and grabbed a spear to make a slide for the Water Tribe kids. Just because he thought it would be fun.

(17:09) “What war?” Aang asks.

The fact that Aang Rip Van Winkle’d his way into the show’s setting means that thought he’s not a stranger to the physical mechanics of bending, most of his information about the social and political aspects of the setting is incredibly out of date. Aang has to ask questions about things that other characters take for granted, which is often a pretty graceful way of expositing for the viewer. Plus it’s a source of conflict and tension for Aang in its own right, but I’ll get into that next episode and the episode after.

(17:15) Just like the incident with the extinct airbenders a few minutes ago, Aang ignores the information that there’s a war on to go chase a penguin. (Which have four wings and whiskers, in this universe.) Right here, we’re setting up the reveal for Aang that he napped his way into what is, from his point of view, a post-apocalyptic dystopian future.

(17:52) Katara attempts to strike a deal with Aang to score some waterbending lessons.

(17:58) Aang’s willing, but notes that he’s not a waterbender. (Technically a lie.) This shows us the extent of Katara’s ignorance of the world beyond the South Pole. She doesn’t know how different waterbending and airbending are.

Aang’s return question of “isn’t there somewhere here who can teach you?” shows his ignorance in turn. Like I mentioned before, his information about society and politics is so out of date, and his innocent insensitivity here stings Katara with the reminder of how alone she is and how much her culture has suffered in the war.

(18:11) But in a serious good point of his character, Aang just goes “okay, how about the North Pole, then?” looking for a solution for Katara’s problem.

(18:19) Katara reveals that the Water Tribes are actually cut off from each other, furthering the depiction of the isolation the war causes. As if the distance wasn’t bad enough.

(18:30) Aang is generous enough to offer to give Katara a lift to the other end of the planet. Like Katara just said, it’s not exactly turn right at the second glacier. Aang’s very casual about the distances and logistics involved. Travel isn’t a big deal to him. We’ll come back to this thought. Contrast to Katara’s hesitation.

Meanwhile, from Aang’s perspective, this is also a good way to avoid being the Avatar for a while longer.

(19:23) “I haven’t done this since I was a kid.” / “You still are a kid!” This is an oft-mentioned exchange that gets right to the heart of the differences between the world Aang grew up in and the world Katara grew up in. Aang’s a child and he knows he’s a child. (Again, more on this thought later.) Katara was forced to take on adult responsibilities years ago.

This is one of the most touching things about Aang and Katara’s relationship, though: they have fun together. It’s so simple, but Katara’s life was responsibility after responsibility. Aang’s presence in her life, his insistence on not taking on every single responsibility (at least not right this second), is a healthy way for both of them to make time for themselves and just enjoy life. Including, for Katara, age-appropriate horsing around.

(19:48) Aang and Katara come to a halt in front of something that casts a huge shadow. They stop right at the edge of the darkness the shadow casts, but don’t actually cross the visible line just yet.

(19:50) When we pan out, we see that it’s a Fire Nation ship, run aground on some more unnatural-looking ice. It’s an unmistakeable, unavoidable sign of the war’s presence at the South Pole.

(19:59) Since Aang doesn’t know about the war, he doesn’t have the same wariness Katara does about wandering into an old ship that might be booby-trapped. The dread isn’t ingrained into him like it is for Katara. And with that, they walk into the shadow of the war.

(20:28) We see here that waterbent ice punched right through the metal hull of the Fire Nation ship.

(20:56) Aang looks at the rack of Fire Nation weapons with confusion and dismay, while Katara gives Aang the rundown of how the ship’s been here since her grandmother was young, part of the Fire Nation’s first attacks.

(21:04) This, Aang can’t ignore. There’s a ship with weapons, run aground in not-too-accidental looking circumstances. He starts asking what the hell’s up with all this. In an owww my heart moment, Aang leads off by saying that this can’t be right, he has friends all over the world.

Remember that from Aang’s perspective, this is only a few days at most after the final flashback in ‘The Storm’, an episode that showed the senior monks are starting to get very worried indeed about a war starting.

(21:10) Katara spots the thread and works out that Aang was in the iceberg for a very, very long time.

(21:36) Aang reels at the news that he’s a hundred years out of time and there’s a huge war going on. At this point, I don’t think he’s got a real appreciation of what that means (because that’s something for episode three), but it knocks him on his ass anyway.

(21:44) Likewise, I don’t think Katara’s got a solid understanding of what this means for Aang, but she tries to comfort him anyway. Fittingly for a character whose inner life was illustrated by saying I still have hope, she tries to get Aang to focus on something positive. Aang, who’s also an optimist, says that at least he got to meet Katara.

(21:59) Unfortunately, before they can head back to the village, Aang sets off a booby trap. And why would Aang be looking for booby traps? He grew up in a world where he didn’t have to worry about this sort of thing.

(22:10) The result is to send up a signal flare.

(22:24) And someone is watching. From Zuko’s perspective, he can’t tell how old Aang is, but he can definitely see airbending being used.

(22:45) The pan over to the village, along with Zuko’s line that he’s found the Avatar’s hiding place, emphasises that Zuko poses a threat to the village as well as just to Aang.

(22:50) We get a lot of close-ups of halves of Zuko’s face over the course of the series, and it’s always worth noting which side of his face is being used to convey what, because he’s definitely got a duality thing going on. This time, we cut to the “to be continued” on Zuko’s unscarred eye, i.e., the side of his face where his resemblance to his father is revealed to be unmistakeable.

Given that he’s apparently gearing up to attack an already war-scarred village doing nothing but just trying to get by…fair enough.

#a:tla #fine toothed comb edition

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chaeryybomb · 4 years

Text

current wips

will i ever post these? i do not know. more will be added in the future.

title: sunny smiles pairing: hwang hyunjin x reader featuring: yang jeongin, han jisung and wang yiren genre: camp!au, exes to lovers current wordcount: 566

“Hyunjin! Jeongin!” Jisung yelled as he raced across to two other boys.

You furrowed your eyebrows at the unfamiliar names. Did Jisung already have friends here? You looked over at his direction and saw him with two boys with mops of black hair. Jisung noticed you staring and gestured to you to go over.

He grabbed you by the arm and pointed to the taller. “This is Hyunjin, my classmate,” and then to the one with braces, “and this is Jeongin! My neighbor.”

You shyly glanced at the two boys and bowed, hiding half of her face behind her hair. “This is Y/N, my cousin,” Jisung introduced you when he realized that you weren't speaking up.

You looked up at the boy in front of you, Hyunjin, he was beaming at you. “It’s nice to meet you Y/N,” he said. “I hope we can be friends!”

Thirteen-year-old you wouldn’t admit it, but your heart started beating quickly at his smile. That was the first time it did so.

title: (currently untitled) pairing: na jaemin x reader featuring: nct dream, skz 00 liner, jung yunho, yeh shuhua, choi lia & hwang yeji genre: lowkey enemies to lovers, college au, angst, fluff, jaemin’s a dick sorry- current wordcount: 851

“Are you sure this is legal?” you inspected the weird green looking liquid in your red solo cup.

Yeji lifted the cup to her nose and sniffed it. The liquid gave out a sickeningly sweet odor. She then turned to you and shrugged, but opted to not take a sip for safety measures.

“This looks like one of the ionic liquids I made in chemistry last week,” you said, swirling the liquid in the club. You made a disgusted face and placed the cup back down on the table, slightly pushing it back.

You crossed your arms and leaned against the counter. The sparkly tank top Shuhua lent to you did not really give you warmth, at least you managed to convince her to let you wear ripped jeans instead of a leather skirt. Yeji scanned the crowded area for your friends but she lost track of them the moment they entered the frat. (Hyunjin dragged them off somewhere, she doesn’t know.)

The air smelled like sweaty bodies and alcohol. You shifted uncomfortably in your place, Your heart was beating in your ears due to the loud music. Why did you let Shuhua convince you to come? You could’ve been at the library studying about human bone structures instead but no, you just had to come. And you don't even know where Shuhua went!

Your eyes roamed the dancing crowd, hoping to find one of your friends' faces. But to her luck, you locked eyes with someone else instead. Someone you hated.

Na Jaemin. The epitome of an idiot.

You both met at freshman year of college when Jaemin accidentally signed up for your biology course. He was a photography major. And an idiot, in your eyes. What kind of idiot mistakes “bio” for biography and not biology? He was also the reason why you got a C for one of their pair projects in bio. A C! And it wasn’t even a C+! That grade ruined your pristine grades for the first semester. Thankfully you were able to raise it back in the second semester, it was even better that he dropped biology then too.

title: (currently untitled) pairing: electric guitarist!han jisung x song writer!reader featuring: stray kids & itzy genre: friends to lovers, bulleted form, fluff current wordcount: 1.9k

"welcome to chan's studio" ヾ(^▽^)ノ

"chan this is your garage"

"studio." ヾ(^▽^)ノ

"it's a garage—"

"studio." ヾ(^▽^)ノ

"bu—"

"s t u d i o." ᕦ(#^▽^)ᕤ

(hyunjin, gulping in fear) "y-yes sir"

they play gigs at an underground club called jyp wow so original dhshdhs

usually on the weekends because they have school on weekdays—

"you guys are you still growing so you need your sleep—"

"chan you don't even sleep"

"shut up seungmin that's not my point, the point is—"

"is that you don't sleep"

"jisung I will kick you out from this band"

"YOU WOULDN'T"

"I WOULD"

title: anti-everything pairing: zhong chenle x reader featuring: nct dream, lee daehwii, osaki shotaro, yang jeongin, lee chaeryeong & honda hitomi genre: strangers to lovers, fluff, song fic song: anti-everything by lost kings ft. loren gray current wordcount: 823

"c'mon, y/n, it wouldn't hurt you to hang out with us," shotaro nudged you with his shoulder as he gave you his infamous eye smile.

"i can't skate, 'taro" you deadpanned.

"we can teach you!" he offered with a grin.

"the last time you taught me anything, we almost set hitomi's kitchen on fire," you retorted, scrunching your nose at the memory of hitomi's fire alarm going off because shotaro burned the sugar. (he wanted to make the dalgona coffee but ended up putting too little cornstarch powder and basically made burnt sugar.)

shotaro winced a bit at the mention of his one of too many failed cooking attempts. but he quickly regained his composure and defended himself, "that was one time!"

"the burnt marks are still on the pot," hitomi chimed in from the side and you can hear chaeryeong stifling a laugh while daehwii and jeongin did nothing to hide their laughter.

title: (currently unamed) pairing: hwang hyunjin x reader featuring: skz 00 line, seo yoorim(aisha) and wang yiren genre: college au, strangers to lovers, fluff current wordcount: 490

is roomies with felix because i believe in hyunlix supremacy

was actually roommates with jisung for the first year but jisung doesn't shut the fuck up so he traded roommies with seungmin

despite seungmin's protests

he tries to sneak kkami in for god knows how many times but is always caught by the TA

#navigation #wips #drafts #kpop #nct dream imagines #stray kids imagines

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victimhood · 3 years

Text

Perhaps We Are Our Ancestors’ Wildest Dreams

Or liberation was bludgeoned by so many reforms it stopped showing up on picket signs maybe wildest dreams tripped on a pile of chain-linked orange jumpsuits then fell down by the riverside waded in forehead-height water but couldn’t swim maybe capitalists are ravenous beasts with recyclable diets for the wrong skin all parts of human existence turn plastic maybe as long as there are cages there will be mouths to feed off of them Or we were en route to another planet but fell off the back of the magic school bus and every decade we invent a dance / a new language / to plan our escape back home Or America should be in our stomachs maybe we was the flood god sent four centuries ago that didn’t finish its plate maybe Denmark Vesey had a solid blueprint but needed more people on the job maybe civil rights is a carrot dangling in front of a rabbit on a treadmill Or the sky called and wants its children back but the earth is a selfish tantrum holding onto toys that don’t belong to it Or, and hear me out, we just out here tryna function maybe black excellence is white supremacy’s baby cousin maybe excellence is the unstained white collar on my father’s favorite blazer after a night of line dancing and endless refills on scotch maybe $10 before 11:00 is the closest thing we got to a revolution tonight perhaps the neon gold glisten off a rope chain is a kind of rebellion Or it’s just a wonder we survive the genocide.

by Darius Simpson

#darius simpson #poetry

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bexterbex · 4 years

Text

A Soul to Mend His Own | Ch. 10

Warning, if it hasn’t been obvious in the movies there is Nazi symbolism within the First Order. I will expand on this much more throughout the story. If this is something that bothers you, please just exit the story. The author does not condone any Nazi ideals, this is just for fictional uses only.

A Kylo Ren x Modern! Reader in a soulmate au with some canon divergence. —————————————SLOWBURN————————————–He is already the Supreme leader, searching the universe to find you, his Empress. Your name on his wrist has been the only constant in his life, while you have doubts about his existence and his acceptance of you. He isn’t in the database and why did the name Kylo Ren cover Ben Solo?

Originally posted on my Ao3 Crystallclover (If you can’t find it here)

Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7a | 7b | 8 | 9a | 9b |

Let me know what you think in the comments.

Chapter 10: Of Pageantry and Health

Summary: “It is an honor to meet you, ma’am,” said General Pryde who bowed slightly. This made you feel weird, being treated as something you are not, or at least not yet.

_______________________________________________________________________

Now strapped in the general received a message on his data pad. “The Supreme Leader would like it if I talked you through how this evening will go, both at the public address and when we return to the Steadfast tonight. Once the first step of First Order occupation of Earth is complete, the Supreme Leader will leave a general in charge and you will be taken to the Supremacy,” said Allegiant General Armitage Hux.

“May I take some notes,” you ask. The general nodded and you proceeded to take out a small notebook from your work tote.

“Tonight you will not be on main display at the public address but you will be present. At precisely 7 PM EST the Supreme Leader will give his public address on the dais outside the White House to all media. It will be brief but effective, then I will give my own public address immediately afterward once that it is finished it will be the first time your planet will hear the First Order anthem, which will conclude the address. You will most likely be standing off to the side with the other High Command officers. Once the address has been concluded you will be taken to an Upsilon-class command shuttle, Supreme Leader Ren’s private shuttle, and you will be escorted by TIE fighters to the Steadfast,” the general said pausing as you were struggling to keep up with the information. When he had seen that you had caught up he continued.

“When you embark on the Steadfast there will be a full salute from on-duty officers and a battalion of stormtroopers in the hanger bay. You and he will probably pause, you behind him, and they will salute and you will go on your way to his quarters. He will probably give you a tour of the Steadfast tomorrow morning or that evening if there is time. Moving about the ship you will use your FOI to gain access to different places,” noted the general.

“You will also notice that day and night on the ship are simulated when the night is simulated the lights and hallways of the ship are darker. The worker shifts are split up into 6-hour increments, Alpha from 04:00-10:00 hours, Beta from 10:00-16:00 hours, Gamma 16:00-20:00 hours, and Delta from 20:00-04:00. Currently, we are matching Earth’s cycle and matching to EST, as that is most convenient for the Supreme Leader and High Command Officers. This should be something worth noting as we have yet to have a base planet so you may be spending lots of time onboard ships,” said the general.

You caught up to the general again now realizing something, “I wasn’t given a First Order Identification number. I didn’t really finish my registration, they escorted me in the middle of it I believe.”

“Yes, I’ll pull up your file,” he said while pulling out a data pad. “That is easy for your identification

The number is AA-0002. The Supreme Leader’s is AA-0001. That should be easy for you to remember but I will have dog tags commissioned for you so you will not have to enter it every time you want to change basic access rooms.” With that, you saw him type in some messages into the data pad and he returned back to you. “Do you have any other questions so far? We are almost there.”

“I will just be standing off to the side during the public address and will not need to do anything else, correct,” you ask.

“Correct, unless the Supreme Leader asks you to, but I doubt he will make you do anything more today.” Then the pilot informed the general of your arrival back at the White House and you departed the ship. This time you were graced by the presence of the Supreme Leader himself.

“Do you have everything you need,” asked Kylo, his voice still distorted under the mask.

“I believe so. How much time until your address,” you ask.

“An hour, we can return to the sitting room if you would like,” you nodded in response. Kylo had ordered a junior officer to take your bags to his ship. You took your phone and notebook out of your work tote before handing it over. You followed Kylo to the same red sitting room you were in before. He ordered a junior officer to bring you some refreshments. Once the officer left he took off the helmet. “I hope that your flights today weren’t too exhausting.”

“They were fine, more like long car rides than flights. Did your meeting last the entire time while I was gone,” you asked.

“No, I have had two more since then. Trying to bring your home planet up to speed. Today we discussing health regulations. Unfortunately, many people on your planet are behind on simple things such as vaccinations and health check-ups, some places lake basic hygiene. Along with education, this is a priority within the First Order. Unfortunately, this will make the first step much longer. I have had to call upon the Finalizer to be based here so we can speed up the process but even with light speed they will take 3 days two get here,” commented Kylo.

There was a knock on the door which prompted him to put on his helmet. He told the junior officer to come in and leave the tray of coffee and light snack food. Once the officer had left he removed his helmet and joined you. “I hope you don’t mind we will be eating dinner on board the Steadfast tonight after the address.”

You shook your head no in response, enjoying your coffee. “The general informed me of how tonight was going to go, I assumed because we were getting back so close to the address and that we would be leaving right after that this was a possibility.”

You saw him give a ghost of a smile at this. You had so many questions you wanted to ask but now didn’t seem to be the time, nor the place. Finishing your coffee and a light snack you placed your cup back on the tray.

There was a knock on the door, Kylo once again put on his helmet and told whoever was at the door to come in.

General Hux walked in, “Supreme Leader, the preparations for the address are about to begin. It has been requested that we go to the dais.”

“Very well,” responded Kylo who moved to stand. You followed his lead and followed both of them down the hall and out to the front lawn.

There you could really see what you only saw on the tv the past few days. The large red banners, the battalion of stormtroopers. The line of officers off the side of the stage. The huge number of media personnel, waiting for your arrival. While Kylo took to the stage the general took the time to bring you to the other officers and instructed you that General Pryde would help you during the address.

“It is an honor to meet you, ma’am,” said General Pryde who bowed slightly.

This made you feel weird, being treated as something you are not, or at least not yet.

“If you will stand next to me, we shall be standing during the whole address. During the anthem stand at attention and place your left hand over your heart, I believe you do something similar for the U.S. anthem anyways,” said the general with an eerie air about him.

You moved to stand next to him. He on the outside of the aisle in the front row and you the next person in line. About 20 other officers were in your row and about for rows deep were the ones present. You glanced up at the stage knowing it would be soon that the address would begin, you saw Kylo glance in your direction to you it seemed as if he was looking directly at you, but with the mask, you couldn’t be sure. But you swore he was looking at you, a small shock went through your spine and made you break your unknown eye contact. 7 PM struck.

Kylo or Supreme Leader Ren began to speak, “The First Order takes pride in the health of its citizens. Currently, the health of your planet is substandard to the high standards that the First Order keeps.

When intergalactic trade becomes available to Earth you will be exposed to a number of possible new diseases. The First Order takes many precautions to the health of its citizens so a new mandatory health regime will begin once you have been registered.

Vaccines against intergalactic diseases will be administered. This is so we can preserve life and prevent any death that we can.

First Order citizens are the healthiest and happiest in the galaxy. We are pleased that Earth will now be brought up to speed medically. That is all.” With that, he stepped back from the podium and Allegiant General Hux stepped forward.

“Starting tomorrow alongside registration stations you will find medical facilities to be able to receive these new vaccines and health check-ups. Only once you are registered may you receive these vaccines. Once you have received this health check-up you will receive a health schedule and regime along with standard-issue medications from the top of the lIne First Order medical staff.

It is paramount that all First Order citizens take their health seriously. A strong individual makes for a strong empire. A strong and healthy citizen is a good citizen within the First Order. Any citizen who has an issue with this health regime should direct their comments and concerns to any Stormtrooper or First Order officer at their local health station. Personal health is part of the foundation of organizational purity.” With that, the general stepped back and Kylo stepped forward.

The anthem started, TIE fighters flew overhead in a blue angels sort of style. There were no words being spoken. The anthem had a march-like quality to it, and a dark one too. At the end

You saw all of the officers and stormtroopers raise their left hand into the air as a sort of salute. Kylo had his left hand over his heart in a fist with his index and thumb showing. You kept your position as it was what General Pryde had instructed you to do.

Once Kylo dropped his hand the officers did too and then the stormtroopers. He moved to leave the stage as did General Hux.

“Follow me,” said General Pryde. And you did, he brought you over to where a large closed book looking ship was, and where Kylo and General Hux where along with the silver armored stormtrooper you know to be Captain Phasma.

Kylo gestured for you to enter the ship first, which was somewhat of a shock to the generals, but you obliged. You entered and paused not knowing where you were to sit. Kylo was right behind you. He sat in the middle right, you sat to the left of him and started to buckle. Once you were buckled in he reached over to check the straps, to make sure they were secured. This made you blush and sneak a peek at him. He glanced up at you, although still wearing his mask you felt as if you locked eyes for a second before he sat back in his seat and buckled himself. The pilot informed you of departure and you were off to the Steadfast.

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