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snarkwrites · 3 years

Text

ssw | embry call ; let me take care of you.

NOTES:

As I said yesterday... I’m going to break down the list of prompts I originally intended to use for just one one-shot into a few different ones for this because I just felt like the first one flowed so well using only the one... This is the second part to the one shot I posted yesterday. And there will be at least a few more parts after this. I can’t say when they’ll be coming, but I can say they will be coming eventually.

Again, same as yesterday.. I am not a medical professional. Nor have I ever had amnesia of any kind. I’m trying my best with this, so apologies if it doesn’t seem realistic or whatever...If it matters/bothers anyone, that is.

Question though.. Would anyone be interested in at least one part of this being written in his point of view? Because I feel like it’d be interesting to write that way... It’d be third person..

PROMPTS:

Taken from [ here ] or [ here ]. The prompt used for inspiration here was obviously, Let me take care of you.

FANDOM / CHARACTER:

Twilight / Embry Call x Imprint!OFC, Merisa.

OTHER WORKS EMBRY & MERISA ARE FOUND IN:

[ he looks down. she looks up. ]

WARNINGS:

amnesia tw, vague injuries mentioned tw, just gonna say her current soon to be ex boyfriend is an actual piece of garbage so.. yeah.. Sexual tension. Beyond all these, there’s not really anything else I can think of.

TAGGING:

@kyleoreillysknee is the only one currently on my Twilight taglist. If you see this and you’d like to be tagged also, add yourself to the doc below or lmk. It’ll make me super happy.

OTHER STUFF:

[ faq | request rules | sfw masterlist | tag list doc ]

The phone rang, shattering the silence and my train of thought. Okay, so it wasn’t a train of thought because I was more or less staring out the window of my grandmother’s living room and watching Embry Call work on my grandmother’s old car out in the driveway, but.. The phone was a distraction I didn’t want.

I grumbled when it didn’t go quiet. And after a few more seconds I’d had all I could take of the high pitched sound in all it’s annoying glory. I sprang up from the couch gingerly, grabbing up the remote to pause the true crime documentary I’d been engrossed in about Richard Ramirez and I hobbled into the kitchen, wincing every step of the way.

A scowl filled my face and I tensed up just as soon as I picked up and I heard Greg on the other end of the line. Upon hearing his voice, all sorts of unpleasant memories came rushing back. It was too much.

“Merisa?”

“What, Greg?” I snapped. Impatient. Peering out my grandma’s living room window. Biting my bottom lip as I watched Embry tug the stained tank top he was wearing up over his head and wipe at sweat on his forehead with it before tossing it on the concrete slab next to his open toolbox.

“I asked you a question.” Greg cleared his throat expectantly.

Is it bad that I was so caught up in watching Embry do mechanic things outside that I didn’t even attempt to make an effort to listen to a damn word Greg said? Because this is exactly what happened.

“I wasn’t listening.”

Greg gave an annoyed huff at my honest answer and I rolled my eyes. Grumbling. The crackle of static over the phone line breaking through for a second or two. Whether I asked for him to repeat himself or not didn’t matter at all because Greg went on and asked his question again anyway.

“I said don’t you think you should be planning to return to Seattle soon? You were only supposed to be gone for a few days. It’s been nearly four weeks.” Greg stated. Pausing for a minute to grumble to himself about how this was typical of me, telling him one thing and then doing something entirely different.

And I snapped.

“Does the fact that I nearly died three and a half weeks ago just not mean anything to you at all or..?” I snarled, going quiet for a second or two. Determined to stay calm. But exploding felt so damn satisfying. It was hard to resist. I got the feeling that I spent 90 percent of my time around Greg biting my tongue and that had me wondering why. What did this guy have that kept me with him? The more I wondered about it, the harder it was to come up with any real sort of answer.

“Sorry. I should know better than to ask questions I already know the answer to.” I apologized. In my own petty way, of course.

Greg took my apology as sincerity and he sighed. Disappointed, obviously because I wasn’t there to tend to his every stupid whim. “I’m sorry too, it’s just.. I told you we had plans. You know how important this weekend is to me and the fact that you’re not even trying to come back… I’m just disappointed, sweetheart. That’s all.”

,, well excuse the fuck out of me for grieving. excuse me for loving my mother enough to want to go to her funeral. Excuse me for nearly dying and needing to heal and getting in the way of your precious plans,asshole.” I wanted to say it so badly that I had to bite the insides of my cheeks and ball my hands into fists just to keep it in. I sighed. “Instead of making this harder than it has to be, you could actually be a caring boyfriend and come to make sure I’m okay… I mean.. I am dealing with memory loss and injuries...”

Surprise, surprise. He suddenly had a thousand excuses as to why he couldn’t -and wouldn’t, just do that. And my stomach churned. Did he even give a shit? Why was I still wasting my time? Why had I even bothered answering the phone in the first place this time?

I made up my mind right then. As soon as I got off the phone with him, I was going to block him on all socials. I was going to block his number on my cell phone. And if I saw his name on my grandmother’s caller ID when the phone rang, I was just going to walk out of the room.

“I’ve gotta go.” I muttered. Before Greg could say anything else, I hung up the phone angrily. Slamming it down on it’s cradle.

From the doorway, Embry cleared his throat and stepped into the living room. “Trouble in paradise?”

“If that’s what paradise is I’d hate to imagine hell.” I flopped back on the couch dramatically. Wincing when yes, it still hurts to move certain ways. Or too much at once.

Embry sat down in my grandmother’s recliner. Staring intently at the television which was paused on the clubhouse scene from Dirty Dancing.

I grabbed my cell phone from the end table and did exactly what I made up my mind to do. Blocking Greg on every single one of my socials. And out of pettiness, I changed my relationship status on Instagram to single.

He’d never even bothered to change his, if memory serves. Why had I changed mine?

There was still so much I had left to fill in as far as my memory gaps, but it was coming back in leaps and bounds. Something told me that the last thing I needed to have done was return to Seattle. Otherwise, I might not have ever remembered or even realized to begin with, what kind of man I was involved with because I’m pretty sure that Greg wouldn’t have started to really show his true self.

He’d done a pretty fair job of hiding just how controlling and easily irritated by the slightest inconvenience he really was so far, I mean, I hadn’t dropped his ass.

I smirked in satisfaction as I put down my phone.

I happened to glance over at Embry to find him staring at me. Like he wanted to say something or he was lost in thought. Before I could help myself, I was staring right back. Getting pulled into the depths of his eyes. Eventually dropping my gaze down. Lingering on his mouth when he licked his lips.

I couldn’t stop staring. This was starting to become habit whenever he was around. Especially if he wasn’t paying attention so I knew I could stare to my hearts content and get away with it.

I stood and cleared my throat. “I’m gonna go get myself some lemonade. Do you want anything?” I asked as I walked over to the doorway leading into the kitchen.

“If there are any more bottled waters?” Embry asked hopefully. I smiled and gave him a thumbs up. And as soon as I was in the kitchen, I leaned against the fridge. Fanning myself with one of my grandmother’s magazines that happened to be sitting on the counter.

After I managed to pull myself together just a little bit, I grabbed a bottled water for Embry and I poured myself a glass of lemonade. And when I turned to walk back into the living room, I found myself body to body with Embry as he stepped into the doorway between the two rooms.

My thighs clenched just a little at the way it felt to be pressed against him. Hard muscles against my own softness. For a second, when I opened my mouth to tell him I’d gotten his water like he asked for, the words hung in my throat.

Finally, I managed to get it out. “Your water, sir.” I held out the water bottle to him and after holding it against the back of his neck for a few seconds, he uncapped it, practically swallowing down half the bottle in one gulp.

Eyes locked on me the entire time. I know this because I’ll be damned if I could stop staring at him either. I tried. And failed.

He cleared his throat.

“Oh, right.. You probably wanted to wash your hands…” I stepped out of the doorway, pouting to myself a little because the second physical contact was broken, I missed the feel of his body against mine.

He walked over to the sink. Turning it on. Washing his hands. And I happened to notice he had a few busted knuckles.

“You need those sanitized. C’mere.” I nodded to the stool on the other side of the counter. Embry shrugged. Muttered that it wasn’t a big deal.

“It’s called infection setting in. And it can happen.” I insisted, nodding to the stool again. When he shook his head and took another sip of water and calmly insisted that he was fine, I shook my head and hobbled over. Grabbing hold of the hand that wasn’t injured. Leading him to the stool. “Sit.”

“Okay, alright. You know, you’re a lot bossier than I remember.” Embry muttered, gazing down at me. Even sitting down he was still taller. Bigger.

I stuck out my tongue at him. “If it keeps you from getting a nasty infection in your hand, I’ll take it.” I muttered. My gaze settling on him. Instantly getting sucked right back into those deep brown eyes and lost.

After a second or two of both of us staring at each other yet again, I cleared my throat. “I should go find the first aid kit.”

“It’s under the sink.” Embry answered quietly. I bit my lip. Nodding as I muttered mostly to myself, “Under the sink.” and turned away to get it.

“You don’t have to do this. I’m telling you, it’s fine. I deal with this all the time. Kind of happens when you work at a garage, Merisa…” Embry trailed off as I glanced back at him and stated in a firmer tone, “Let me take care of you, okay?”

I grabbed the bottle of peroxide and a rag. Sitting on the stool adjacent to his. Grabbing hold of his hand and placing it in my lap.

“You have tiny hands.” Embry muttered, almost sounding dazed. I glanced up at him through a curtain of hair as it fell right into my face because I bent my head just a little to see his hand better. I swallowed hard. Trying not to think of how good it felt to have his hand in mine. Or on my body.

When I exhaled, it was shaky.

That had me raising a brow.

If this man had one tenth of a clue just what he stirred up in me, I swear to God…

He jumped as the peroxide made contact with the open wounds, bubbling and fizzing as it cleaned the wounds out.

A memory came back to me… I was younger. Probably around five. My grandmother sat on the stool Embry currently sat on and I sat on the stool I was currently sitting on. My leg was in her lap and she was dabbing some red liquid on it that burned like the fire of ten thousand hells. I was crying and trying to jerk my leg away, but my grandma just held onto it. And when she finished, she leaned in… Blowing gently on my injured knee.

As the bubbling started to slow down, I raised Embry’s hand, leaning down. Blowing on the knuckles a little. Glancing up at him and teasing playfully, “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“I’ve felt worse.” he finally mumbled after we’d been locked in a quiet staredown for what felt like minutes instead of seconds.

It sank in that I was still holding onto his hand. And he wasn’t making an effort to pull his hand away, either.

My grandmother cleared her throat from the doorway and smirked at the two of us playfully as she came in, sitting groceries on the counter. “Am I interrupting something, Merisa?”

“No, not at all.” I answered. Smiling. Letting go of Embry’s hand as my cheeks burned. I felt like a teenager just walked in on by her parents.

Embry slid off the stool and brushed his hands over his jeans. “I need to get back to it.” he muttered. Hurrying out of the house. As soon as the screen door banged shut behind him, I let out a ragged breath. Fanning myself with the magazine again.

Trying to ignore the look I was getting from my grandmother.

When she couldn’t resist any longer, she spoke up. “He’s single.. If you’re wondering.”

“Grandma!” I laughed out, shaking my head. My gaze lingering on the window. Fixed on him.

My grandmother spoke up again. “It’s been so nice having you here, Mermaid… It’ll be a shame to see you go.”

Before I really stopped to think about it, I replied “ Honestly? I’m tempted to stay.”

My grandmother pulled me into a tight hug. Smiling at me as the hug broke. “I won’t stop you. The decision is yours.”

I nodded. Waiting until she was in the other room with one of her soap operas going full blast before I wandered back over to the window that faced where Embry currently was outside. Staring out at him with my fingertips pressed against the glass.

I thought he’d caught me one time because he stopped what he was doing beneath the hood of the car to glance around the yard. I moved away from the window quickly, shaking my head and laughing at myself about it.

I’ll repeat. If Embry Call had one tenth of a clue the effect he had on me...

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collecting-stories · 3 years

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Crazier - JJ Maybank

Request: heyy can you do one when she and jj date, and he sees her playing the guitar and finds it very attractive, please !!!! i love everything you write

A/N: I’m so sorry this took so long for me to get to!

TS Anthology Series | Outer Banks Masterlist

✰ Feels like I’m falling and I, I’m lost in your eyes ✰

In Mrs. Carrera’s constant pursuit to do something new and interesting at the Wreck, she had come to the conclusion that people really liked Open Mic Nights. And maybe somewhere in a sitcom from the 90’s or 00’s someone actually did, but there, in the Outer Banks, in the real world, Open Mic Nights were for weird people who confused the event with karaoke.

But Kiara’s dad, who usually shot down the outlandish ideas his wife had, agreed to this one. She borrowed equipment, and a person to set it up, from the Island Club. She put posters up for people to sign up on the restaurant's Facebook page and she asked all of Kiara’s friends if any of them would be interested.

“An open mic?” Kiara asked, raising an eyebrow in skepticism as she sat at the front counter with you, splitting a tray of fries.

“I think it would be fun.” Her mom defended, “like Nashville or something.”

“Mom, this is not the Bluebird and you are Connie Briton.”

“I’ll do it.” You cut in, looking between them both as they stared at you with mild shock. “I mean, just one song but...I’ll do it.” You and Kiara had been only started hanging out at the beginning of the summer, when JJ first decided to introduce his friends to his girlfriend. You fell in with them easily and sometimes you felt like you spent more time with Kiara than with JJ.

“Do not agree to this ridiculous thing just to appease my mom.” Kiara insisted.

“I’m not.” You promised, “I wrote a song...it’d be kinda cool to sing it in front of everyone.” It was only half decent in your mind, a little cheesy honestly but you’d been learning different songs on the guitar and had finally decided to write one of your own. “As long as JJ doesn’t come.”

“Why?” Kiara asked.

“Cause...it’s about him and I’ll be totally embarrassed if he hears it.” You hadn’t even mentioned to your boyfriend that you could play guitar, let alone that you fooled around trying to write songs.

“You wrote a song about JJ?” She seemed mildly surprised, as if she couldn’t imagine someone writing a song about her best friend. There were a lot of things a person could write a song about but she wasn’t entirely sure that JJ measured up to those things. Not that she didn’t love him, cause she did, but a song about him? “I definitely need to hear that.”

In her mind, Kiara kept her promise not to tell JJ. Instead she told Pope, knowing he would tell JJ, leaving out the part where you were performing and he was the subject of your song. She only told Pope that she was planning on going to the Open Mic night at the Wreck, the first annual, with you and that maybe everyone could meet up.

Most of the acts weren’t anything to fawn over, semi local talent or believed talent, getting up there to wow the crowded of tipsy patrons with songs or poems. Kiara sat at a table near the front with you as you tried not to bob your knee or break out in a sweat or do anything else that would give away your nervousness. You had been pretty gung-ho about performing when Kiara’s mom first suggested it but now you were starting to regret the idea. Just as you were starting to calm yourself down, the silent pep talk working, you felt someone’s hands on your shoulders, looking up to see JJ standing over you.

“Uh hey,” you were hesitant as you spoke, side-eyeing Kiara but she wouldn’t look at you. “What are you doing here?”

“Kie mentioned it to Pope, figured we could watch together.” A sweet sentiment, it wasn’t the one you wanted him to be offering by far.

“Yeah, of course.” You nodded, “it’s just…actually-“ Kiara’s mom had taken it upon herself to MC the evening and she chose that moment to call your name through the mic. You looked back at JJ sheepishly, “I’m singing.”

There wasn’t a lot that surprised your boyfriend but that clearly had, the look of shock and confusion on his face not going away even as you kissed his cheek and went up on stage. You had been adamant about not wanting JJ to show up just in case this entire thing was a complete failure and you were booed off stage, though that seemed like a bit of a stretch.

Pope pulled JJ into a chair and he leaned across the table to Kiara, “did you know she could sing?” He asked.

“Not until like, last week.” Kiara admitted, “you’ve never heard her sing?”

“No. Not at all.”

“Maybe you guys could shut up and pay attention,” Pope instructed, nudging JJ to sit up straight.

You pulled the stool in the corner of the small makeshift stage over to the mic so you could sit while you played. You had helped Kiara and her dad construct the stage out of pallets earlier in the afternoon. A little rough but this wasn’t some big city place, this was the Outer Banks. You sat on the stool, trying to keep your calm and also not to look at JJ. If you did you would definitely chicken out.

You sat your guitar, beginning the opening chords of the song you’d written a few weeks earlier, “I’d never gone with the wind…”

JJ sat back in his chair, a slow smile on his face as he watched you sing. He had never heard you sing before, had seen a guitar in your room but didn’t think about it long enough to actually ask if you could play. Now he sat there listening, his smile widening each time you glanced his way. He watched the way you fingers moved along the guitar, impressed with a talent he had never known existed before.

You managed to get through the whole of the song without messing up, stumbling a little off the stool at the end as the small crowd applauded. You left the guitar for the next performer and stepped off the stage by your friends. You’d have to face JJ now.

“Well?” You asked, holding your arms out and shrugging. Trying to play it cool.

“Babe, that was fucking amazing!” JJ said, grabbing your waist and pulling you into a hug, practically lifting you off your feet. You laughed as you wrapped your arms around his neck to keep yourself steady.

“Oh my god, that was awesome,” Kiara exclaimed, coming around the table to put her hand on your back. “I had no idea you could play guitar, let alone sing!”

“Of course she can, my girlfriend’s incredibly fucking talented.” JJ replied.

You pulled away from him, laughing, “you had no idea either.”

“Kiara, can you help me in the kitchen real quick?” Mr. Carrera called, walking over to your table.

Pope gave you a hug, congratulating you before following Kiara to the kitchen, offering to help her out, mainly just to let you and JJ be alone for a minute. The moment the two of them were away JJ pulled you closer to him again, pressing his lips against the side of your head.

“That was seriously amazing.” JJ reiterated. “What song was that?”

“Not the stuff you usually listen to?” You teased. The country-ish tune was far from the indie stuff that Kiara and JJ were always blasting in the car. “Actually, I wrote it.”

The mischevious nature of JJ’s smile told you that he didn’t need any more explanation than that to know that he was the subject of the song. “Oh really?”

“Just because I wrote it, doesn’t mean it’s about you.”

“But it is.” He replied.

“Maybe, maybe not.” You shrugged, laughing when he kissed you again. “Who knows?”

“I know. And I know it’s about me.” JJ said.

Taglist: @heavenlymama @vindictive-hearts @alexa-playafricabytoto @dontjinx-it @randomficsandshit @niamhobrien @strangerthanfanfiction713 @tovvaa @freckled-and-daydreaming @harleylynn @bibliophilewednesday @dpaccione @bolaurel @poguestyleskye @beautyandthebleh @under-a-canyon-moon @stevie-buck @bijleegiregi @vitaminekabc @minigranger @teamnick @just-smile-darling @obxsummer @damonsalvawhore27 @isqbella @tomzfrog @fangirlvoice @phantompogues @98starkeys @ilovejjmaybank @lemur46 @khiaraaa-in-spacee @babygal-babygal @niya-savage @divvrx @princess-of-the-fandoms @thecaptainsgingersnap @jenjie @yourprincess-maybe @wowmaybankk

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geekgirles · 4 years

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Chloé’s redemption arc

I know I’m probably late to the party, but I’ve been meaning to do this analysis for a while, as I think there’s still much to be discussed.

When I first watched Miracle Queen, I must admit it was not in the best viewing quality possible. I watched it when it first premiered, in Ukranian (I think? Sorry, since I know nothing about the language I don’t really remember), in clips, and with lots of major events lacking. So that didn’t help improve my opinion on the episode compared to what we were promised (i.e. we were bound to cry), and what we got in Love Eater.

But I got the jest: Chloé is no longer Ladybug’s ally.

Meaning all the time we spent hoping for her redemption was for naught.

And even so, I must admit that we should have seen it coming. Congratulations, members of the fandom who never believed in Chloé, you were proven right (this isn’t meant as a sarcastic remark, don’t worry).

What I mean to say is, the whole Queen Bee fiasco was foreshadowed during the season! Just like Chloé becoming Queen Bee was foreshadowed during season 2.

In season 2, whenever Chloé was given some focus, we got glimpses of her redeeming qualities, or aspects of her life/personality that were supposed to make us feel more sympathetic about her.

First of all, compared to season 1, Chloé didn’t cause nearly as many akumatisations in season 2, and when she caused them (directly, Malediktator, undirectly, Zombizou), she played an important role in the episode instead of being just their target.

In Despair Bear, thanks to Adrien’s coaxing, she tried to be a better person, and it probably would’ve done much more than just throwing a party, or trying to not be rude to others had Adrien hold her accountable for her actions longer (no Adrien salt, though. Just facts).

In fact, the first hint on Chloé’s heroic side was shown then, when she actively did her best to help/save Ladybug from Despair Bear.

Then, we have Zombizou.

True, her actions at the begining of the episode where far, far, far from heroic. Sabotaging Marinette’s present because she’d forgotten to bring one of her own was petty, mean, and childish. But she sacrifised herself for Ladybug and genuinely apologised to Miss Bustier.

In Style Queen she was clever enough to pretend to be on her mother’s side in order to prevent “being fired” by her, but she remained loyal to Ladybug and even tried to help her.

When it comes to Queen Wasp, even if Chloé’s actions were guided by the wrong reasons, in the end she acknowledged her mistakes, and even apologised. Hinting that there might actually be hope for her. Not to mention, she only used the miraculous when she was fed up with her mother belittling her in favor of Marinette, which, let’s face it, would be harsh for anyone.

And finally, we had Malediktator; the episode where Queen Bee became more than just a fantasy. That episode was the most hopeful of them all when it came to Chloé becoming a better person.

We saw Chloé displaying powerful emotions and intentions: sadness, courage, remorse...

She proved she was actually a competent wielder, and a loyal ally to Ladybug.

Heck, she was even nince to Sabrina.

See? Season 2 was meant to make us believe that Chloé’s change was possible. But season 3 threw many hints on the opposite.

In retrospective, the biggest hint would be Stormy Weather 2.

Chloé’s actions there were inexcusable: she bullied Aurore like she messed with Ivan when he got akumatised, she kept on mistreating Sabrina, and for the first time we saw her desire to be Queen Bee again, no matter the cost. (Which would have been taken more seriously had the episode premiered after Miraculer like it was supposed to...)

And the biggest hint of all: “Once a villain, always a villain.”

Honestly, considering we already knew the synopsis for Miracle Queen then, I don’t know how we didn’t see it coming sooner...

And her interaction with Chat in Bakerix could be taken as one as well. Just like in Startrain, Chloé seemed to be starting to believe that just because she’d been previously entrusted with a miraculous, that she would always be needed. No matter the circumstances. When in truth, 90% of the time Ladybug hands out a miraculous is because she needs some very specific skills that are granted by one specific miraculous. So it’s a given Chloé wouldn’t always get the bee.

And, of course, there’s Animaestro. Besides Stormy Weather, that’s the other episode where she was like her season 1 self the most. Just because she didn’t like Kagami, and because she was jealous of her bond with Adrien, she cooked up a plan to embarrass her and even talked Marinette into helping her. Just like she would do to Marinette during most of the first season.

But because they can’t just hand us a straight up answer about Chloé being redeemable or not, they threw Miraculer and its “Chloé resisted akumatisation” scene at us. But, to be honest, considering the level of entitlement she displayed during the episode, we should have kept our guard up for the finale.

This is something that was most likely foreshadowed in the ending card:

Chloé’s back was turned on us, symbolising her future betrayal. That she would turn her back on Ladybug. The only one smiling was Hawk Moth, meaning he was up to no good. And after Sabrina had been defeated, Chloé got rid of both her picture with Ladybug, and her costume of her, signifying that she no longer looks up to her like she used to.

And, of course, there’s the finale.

Many will say it was Marinette’s fault for entrusting the miraculous to Kagami instead of Chloé, but seriously? I actually believe she made the right choice.

No matter how you look at it, Kagami wasn’t in nearly as much danger as Chloé was. Sure, Hawk Moth knows of their secret identities, but Kagami only revealed hers to her mother (who’d forgotten all about it once she was deakumatised) and Hawk Moth, whose least concern at the moment was the actual akuma battle.

Chloé, on the other hand, had revealed her identity to all of Paris, including her parents. The ones who were akumatised at the moment.

One could argue that was all the more reason to give Chloé the miraculous, but considering Love Eater had no qualms in endangering their daughter when she had no powers, I wouldn’t put it past them to do the same if they were to battle. And don’t forget it was them who were at fault for Queen Bee’s akumatisation during Heroes’ Day. That was Hawk Moth using Chloé’s identity against her.

When it comes to Marinette, her only mistake was not detransforming when visiting Master Fu. Had she done it, and the most Chat and her would have had to face would be an akumatised Chloé. But not Miracle Queen.

Was Marinette troubled by her own emotions when she picked the miraculous? Of course. But, ultimately, when it comes to her chosen, she made the right choice.

Now Chloé, despite being emotionally vulnerable, could’ve done better. After all, she managed to do so in Miraculer. She also had plenty of reasons to trust Ladybug before Hawk Moth when he was trying to manipulate her.

I can’t take the fact that she tried resisting him at first from her, but you can’t take away from me the fact that she gave in, either.

When Hawk Moth was trying to convince her to side with him, he gave her reasons to betray Ladybug that were as easy to debunk as Lila’s lies. But just like that particular example, Chloé didn’t do something crucial; she didn’t think clearly.

“What has she ever done for you?”

“Nothing.”

That is the biggest lie I have ever heard! Not even Lila’s are that bad!

Because Ladybug had done so much for Chloé. And so many times! Arguably, Ladybug had done more for Chloé than her parents ever did.

She’s saved her countless times of akumas, many of which she’d caused.

She apologised for her mistakes (Antibug) or any action that might’ve hurt Chloé (Miraculer).

She entrusted her with a miraculous even when she had previously proved she wasn’t the smartest choice.

She listened to her problems and offered valuable advice and support.

Seriously, Ladybug has been more of a role model to Chloé than literally any other character in the show.

But did that mean anything to Chloé?

No.

In the end, her desire to be exceptional and celebrated outweighed her admiration for Ladybug.

In the end, the brat beat the hero.

And her immature rant and desperate attempts at the end of Miracle Queen didn’t really help either. She kept blaming Ladybug for not giving her the bee miraculous, which she constantly referred to as ‘hers’; she actually tried to grab the akuma Hawk Moth released after being defeated, she even tried to keep the Miraculous Box to herself!

Hate to say it, but it was kinda pathetic.

And, honestly? Now that she no longer has Ladybug as someone to look up to in her life, and her parents will probably be busier trying to rekindle their relationship than paying attention to her, I can only imagine she will walk down an even darker path. Especially given the debut of a new Bee Miraculous Holder.

A miraculous holder that looks, suspiciously, a lot like Chloé. But who we know it’s not her, mainly because it’s been confirmed, and she’s been described as “very sweet.”

Now, this is mere speculation, but I believe this might actually be the true introduction of Amber Bourgeois.

Remember her? She was thought to be Chloé’s sister and the original holder of the bee, a belief very widely spread until the SDCC2016/17 (?), where Rena Rouge and Queen Bee were first featured.

It would actually explain Lindalee Rose’s statement; “secret siblings.” And this is perfectly plausible if we keep in mind that Félix was supposed to have been deleted when they created Adrien. But, hey! He has an entire episode dedicated to him! Crazy, right?

But back to the point. If Amber were to appear and prove herself to be way more likeable than Chloé, that would surely put her in a foul mood. Especially if she were to receive the Bee Miraculous. And I’m not even saying that Chloé has to know her sister’s her replacement to be mad!

As I see it, it wouldn’t be impossible to believe that, one way or another, Chloé had always been in Amber’s shadow, especially when it comes to Audrey and her affection. Probably, Amber wouldn’t only be nicer and generally more likeable than Chloé, she would probably be more exceptional than her, earning her the attention and approval from Audrey that Chloé so desperately seeks.

Maybe, we’ll see Chloé was so attached to the idea of being a hero because she genuinely thought that was her only chance to be something her sister wasn’t. She might have thought she could only be exceptional if she was Queen Bee.

Which will only be all the more painful when she realises that she truly has no chance to ever wield the miraculous again, not only because she betrayed Ladybug, but because she’s been replaced.

Both scenarios, losing the miraculous to another or having her sister outshine her again, would actually explain her fifth and new akumatisation in season 4.

So is Chloé really capable of redemption?

If you ask me, she is. But she’ll have to earn it as Chloé Bourgeois, not as Queen Bee or through any external help other than the hard truth.

What do I mean with this? Simple; redemptions happen when the character actually faces the consequences of their actions, consequences that are as grave as the mistakes or crimes they committed. So if we want Chloé to be redeemed, she must realise that she messed up, big time, after her actions catch up to her.

It’s for this reason why I personally don’t see a ship such as Luckloé happening.

People argue Luka could be a good influence on her and they would really complement the other and bla, bla, bla...

Seriously, though. What could Luka possibly do that shouldn’t have been already achieved by Ladybug or Adrien?

It’s true Luka could call her out on her flaws, and maybe she would try to be better in order to appease him. But just like with Adrien, it’d only be that, an attempt to get in their good graces again, not a genuine attempt to be a better person. Meaning, the moment Luka, or Adrien, or whoever she might want to impress forgive her, she’ll be back to being her usual self.

And don’t try telling me Luka would actually hold her accountable for her actions for more than an episode, because if there’s something that should be learned when watching Miraculous Ladybug that is that feelings can blind us.

For starters, that is literally the reason Hawk Moth even has akumas!

Hawk Moth literally depends on his victims’ hurt feelings to make it easier for him to get under their skin and get them to agree to being turned into his minions. All for the sake of revenge.

Second, although I am going to go on a bit of a tangent here, that is also what happens to those involved in this show’s complicated love story.

Surprisingly enough, Kagami is the best example.

Despite being the most stoic one of the four teenagers that are romantically involved with each other, she allows her feelings for Adrien to blind her from things she doesn’t take kindly from other people.

For example, there’s the thing with moving on. Out of all the four of them, Kagami is the only one who’s shown no intention of actually letting go of Adrien. Because, even if Marinette and Adrien are certainly very attached to their own crushes, it’s been shown more than once that they have at least considered moving on from Adrien and Ladybug; respectively. And as for Luka, he’s made it very clear ever since Frozen that he would gladly let go of Marinette if it means she’ll be happy. Kagami, on the other hand, has made it very clear that she wholeheartedly believes Adrien and she belong together and that she refuses to let go of him entirely, preferring to wait for him to realise she’s the best choice.

There’s also the fact that Kagami’s stated many times she isn’t one to hesitate, nor does she have a lot of patience for those who do. Even going as far as saying Adrien’s hesitation was hurting her. However, that doesn’t stop her from still going after him, even when it has led her to doubt and don’t think highly of others.

See what I mean?

With this I’m trying to say that even Luka could be too blinded by his feelings for Chloé to actually make her rectify her behaviour if Lukloé were to happen.

And there’s also the fact that if there’s any relationship she should work to mend and improve first, it should be her friendship with Sabrina.

Summing up, while I believe not all hope is lost, I also think Chloé shouldn't be entrusted with a miraculous again. She should work to be exceptional as Chloé, not as a hero. She should learn to be a better Chloé Bourgeois, not a better Queen Bee.

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medea10 · 3 years

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Medea’s Worst Year of All-Time Anime/Game Superlative

Nobody saw this year coming…except for maybe Barbara Walters! Who could have predicted that this year would bless us with Australia burning, the entire west coast of the U.S. set on fire, stupid people setting fires because they wanted to reveal a baby’s gender, murder hornets, Ruth Bader Ginsburg dying, an almost war with Iran, serial killer mascots arrested, policemen killing unarmed black folks for having a counterfit $20, policemen killing unarmed black folks for breaking up a fight, policemen killing black folks for holding sandwiches, policemen killing unarmed black folks for fucking sleeping, a wide variety of “Karens” coming out of the woodworks, the end of Bojack, the end of Steven Universe, the end of Empire, and a pandemic so huge it’s killed the economy, canceled fun, and given the U.S. president the dumb-fuck idea of injecting bleach to kill the virus!?

SERIOUSLY, WHO COULD HAVE PREDICTED ALL OF THIS WAS GOING TO FALL IN OUR LAPS LIKE HOT COFFEE ON THE CROTCH?!

At least there was anime this year.

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At least there was SOME anime this year.

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Biden won the election and Vickeblanca came out with Black Catcher this year.

Hey internet, it’s Medea here to give you her trashy opinion on this years anime and games that she’s watched or played. Because for some reason, my loser-ass loves to do out-dated as fuck memes! I shouldn’t complain, this shit brings a lot of attention to my page every year when I do this. Yes, 2020 was a complete dumpster fire so large that Domestic Girlfriend is crying foul. Many of us had to go on lockdown and ended up binge-watching the entire 957+ episodes of One Piece. I did no such thing. I am one of those “essential workers” so I didn’t hunker down for 9 months straight. But when I was home, I was watching anime. Actually, I would have done that even without the pandemic. I’m an introvert and find the human race to be deplorable.

You all know how this goes. I go over the best this year had to offer me. I had to search really hard to find the good in this year, especially in the anime world. Many things had to be put on hiatus or were delayed to a later date. Just a reminder, I don’t discriminate in what year the anime or game came out. If something came out in the happier times of 2007, that anime or game counts! Let’s get at it!

First Fandom of 2020: Interspecies Reviewers

Did anyone expect a fan-favorite of 2020 was going to be a hentai? Did anyone have on their batshit 2020 bingo card that a hentai was going to grab everybody’s attention? At the beginning of the year, my mind was set on the Railgun sequel and Eizoken. It wasn’t until licensors, streaming sites, and TV stations in Japan dropped this series that I started to pay attention. And got immediately hooked! It’s about three men going to different brothels and reviewing their time with the ladies. And these ladies are of different species! So with every bang comes possible enlightenment, new kinks, or a night of having your dick sucked off more than humanly possible. This anime blew away all of my skepticism and first impressions right out the window. Maybe it’s because I’m a degenerate and am often curious about sexual content, but this was a guilty pleasure of mine this year.

Favorite Main Character of 2020: Moroha from Yashahime

I know the majority of this story is going to revolve around Towa and Setsuna, but can we please focus a little more energy on the spunky, quarter-demon girl?! I know they’re pitting Moroha as the comic relief, but I’m hopeful that she’s going to surprise us one day. We fans of InuYasha would spend the past decade and some change wondering what InuYasha and Kagome’s daughter would be like. This year, we got our answer with Moroha. She’s got this wild side to her, probably due to the fact that she’s spent her entire life on her own. And while she’s silly at times, she can get down to business in a pinch. She has her father’s sense of smell. She has a sword. She’s able to shoot sacred arrows much like her mother. And to top it all off, she has this special rouge that if she puts it on, she’s able to unleash that ¼ demon power inside her and become Beniyasha! Yeah, I know the power only lasts a minute, she’s only 14, give her a break! I will gladly go through another week scratching my head at the confusion this story gives me if I get to see one more second of Moroha and her crazy antics or her bad-ass slaying.

Favorite Villain of 2020: The Devil Believers from Black Clover

This was one hell of a year for Black Clover. It would have been an easy choice to pick the devil and possible super devil that appeared during the elf fight. But I’d like to give a nod to the filler arc villains. And you can’t blame this group for wanting the power of the devil. They’re literally the bottom-rung of the Clover Kingdom and ones with little to no power or mana. So I can agree with why they would want the power of the devil. For one thing, they’d have more power. And for another thing, they’d be able to exact revenge on those who have wronged them. On some occasions I agree with exacting revenge and when it comes to the nobles and some characters in Black Clover, some folks do deserve death. I mean, have you met the king of the Clover Kingdom? Plus, this town and many other poorer towns get looked over by the kingdom. Peasant uprise! Anyways, I thought these people were really crafty in their crimes. I mean, they were able to knock Asta out on his ass with specially made poisons. I was actually hooked to this story of Black Clover (despite it being a filler arc). I know we’ll never see them again as they have been exiled, but it did have me semi-rooting for them.

Favorite Video Game Character of 2020: Honey from Pokemon – Sword & Shield (Expansion Pass)

Sorry Raymond from Animal Crossing!

Honey is the saucy wife of Mustard…I did not expect that to come out the way it did, but here we are! She has one hell of a team you can fight once a day. She looks out for her husband, the dojo, and the students of the dojo like they were her own children by providing food, drinks, and others. However that does come at a price as you do have to give up a sizable chunk of your watts that you collect in raid dens. I’m sure a bunch of MILF chasers were more than happy enough to give her all their hard-earned watts just so they can have their one-on-one moment on the beach with Honey.

What won me over was when that one guy from a rival dojo bad-mouthed her husband’s dojo and she…I think she kicked this guy’s ass herself. I don’t think she used any of her pokemon. Game Freak won’t show it, but we all know she kicked this guy’s ass to a point where he’s begging for mercy.

Honey, for the win!

Favorite Game of 2020: Animal Crossing New Horizons

This game was just Zen for me. I know the release of this game came with some controversy like Gamestop saying it’s an essential business and will remain open for people to get their copies of the game. Hell, I was one of those assholes in line waiting to get a copy on March 20th. Did I predict that a pandemic was going to rage out of control when I got a prepay copy of this for Christmas 2019? NO! I only predict political things, not deadly pandemics! The good news, we social distanced, didn’t catch the covid and got the game.

Anyways, this game has been a non-stop calming and fun ride. I can even forgive their botch-up of Bunny Day. They even have events for holidays I never thought they would ever touch. I mean, does anybody know when Museum Day is? Probably not until Animal Crossing had an event for it! I’ve been able to let my freak-flag fly with designing my island. And this goes way beyond New Leaf for the 3DS. I can make a sign post with the words “Fuck Trump” on it and post it in my yard. I can dig up trees and plant them elsewhere. I can poop in a toilet. I can craft furniture and put my own design on it. My furniture can have Tracey Sketchit’s beautiful mug on it. I can sit on Tracey Sketchit’s face. I am a sick fuck and I don’t care. I can give Raymond and Bob maid outfits. Magical time in my game! My hopes for next year…I don’t know, get the Festivale furniture, get Papi and Olivia to join my island, maybe visit Danny Trejo’s island, who knows, sky’s da limit!

Favorite Het Couple of 2020: Nasa and Tsukasa Yuzaki from Tonikawa

This is one of the most unorthodox marriages I’ve ever seen. But in this 90 Day Fiance world we’re living in, I shouldn’t pass judgement on these two getting married in episode one and not knowing much about each other. Nasa meets Tsukasa as he was about to be plowed by a truck. Tsukasa saves his life. Nasa says she’s beautiful. Tsukasa says she’ll be his girlfriend if they get married. He agrees. She disappears. Four years later, Tsukasa appears in front of Nasa’s front door with a marriage registration form. Congratulations buddy, you’ve got yourself a waifu! In some way, this felt like watching Yamato and Takeo from My Love Story. I was fascinated with them progressing through their relationship. The only difference is that Yamato and Takeo took the old-fashioned route. This couple did everything ass-backwards in terms of having a relationship. But I couldn’t take my eyes off Nasa and Tsukasa’s relationship during each episode. I find them cute.

Favorite Yuri Couple of 2020: Karin Asaka x Emma Verde from Love Live Nijigasaki High School Idol Club

AAAAAAAAAH! I’M IN IDOL HELL AGAIN! Yeah, no kidding! I came this close to putting Miu x Nicole from that abomination 22/7. But thank God for Love Live! There’s no telling if any of the girls from the Love Live franchise are confirmed to be lesbians. But fuck it, all of them attend all-girl schools, no males exist anywhere, and Sunshine gave us Kanan x Mari! Yeah, you know Kanan and Mari is canon as fuck, don’t at me. So naturally, I found more third-years to ship in the new Love Live series. Now I know I should have put up Ai x Rina or Ayumu x Yuu. Especially the latter due to recent events! But Emma x Karin is my OTP.

Now Emma is an exchange student from Switzerland and in coming to Nijigasaki, she first meets Karin and they became instant friends. When Emma said she wants to become an idol, Karin helped her quite a bit. Even though Karin had no interest in being an idol as her modeling career is starting up, Karin would occasionally help Emma out. And surprise, surprise, Karin ends up fascinated with the idol world and Emma helps her come to the light to be herself there. Okay, I’m totally reading this in some fragmented way, but I’m currently playing Love Live School Idol Festival All Stars and the app game has a lot more stuff involving stuff the anime has yet to talk about. Confirmed or not, Karin x Emma for the win!

Favorite Yaoi Couple of 2020: Eiji Okumura x Ash Lynx from Banana Fish

It took me a while to get here, but I finally made it to 2018’s overlooked gem. Forgive me for not being fully caught up, but from what I’m watching at the moment, I’m sticking to my guns and supporting the hell out of this. I mean, I could have mentioned The Titan’s Bride here…but fuck no, I ain’t goin’ down that mess! Ash has gone through a lot, I mean a helluva lot in his past. His cute boy looks have made him a target on the streets of New York, with mafia dons, and with prison inmates. But dude can kill if you mess with him. Then you have Eiji, who is just a literal example of a “pure cinnamon roll (until episode 8)”. These two are as opposite as you can possibly get. Ash is from New York and Eiji is from Japan. Ash likes hot dogs with everything on it. Eiji likes grilled fish and natto. Ash spent the majority of his life killing on the streets. Eiji was a track superstar. You get my meaning. But when we got these two together it’s quite adorable. Ash is really able to change when he’s around Eiji. Ash isn’t some heartless killer on the street about to kill a thug with prosthetic fingers. When he’s with Eiji, he’s a joker that can easily get scared of pumpkins. And even in later episodes, you got these two acting like a husband and wife.

Fandom That You Didn’t Expect to Get Into: Les Miserables – A Girl Named Cosette

Let me explain a little something. Les Mis! I have never seen the play, watched the movie, or read the novel prior to picking up this anime. Not a single one of those! And that’s a bit of a head-scratcher when you realize I was a bit of a musical theater nut in my teenage years. But one thing I do like is when Japan does an anime based on plays or historical events (like Romeo x Juliet or Rose of Versailles). The second I popped in Les Miserables the anime, I wanted to binge watch the whole 52 episode series. It is by no means a perfect adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel. Several key players end up surviving all the way up to the end of the story! But because this was my very first viewing of anything Les Mis, I took to the story of Cosette and was eager to see what was going to happen next in her tale. Unlike the movies and play, Cosette was the main focus of the story besides Jean Valjean and Javert. And thanks to watching the unfortunate stories of Cosette, Jean Valjean, the Thenadiers, Javert, Marius, and the rest, I thought it was time to watch the OTHER adaptations to Les Mis.

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Russell Crowe sucks.

Fandom That Made An Unexpected Comeback: Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni

Higurashi or When They Cry is one of my favorite fandoms of all time! So naturally when we heard that it was making a comeback, I was excited. It was also very odd that Higurashi was given this sequel or reboot. Ahem! There’s another franchise that needs a face-lift. Umineko still deserves a better treatment. Plus, now that this series was out of the faulty hands of Studio Deen, Higurashi will get the special care it deserves. Believe it or not, it wasn’t just the anime that made a comeback for me, but the manga as well. Since 2009, I’ve read several volumes (out of order) and would every now and then come back to read the story. Back to the anime, this reboot or sequel…you know what, I’m gonna call it a “rebooqual”! This rebooqual sucked me back to the town of Hinamizawa and all the murders. Every week, I find myself comparing the current episode to one from the 2006 version. But then the fourth episode of each arc seems to catch me off guard.

Where are they going with this story and these twist endings to our favorite arcs? I did not expect Rena to turn a simple attempted murder into the end of School Days! I didn’t expect Rika to die in the most disgusting fashion they could think of. Could someone kill Teppei fucking Hojo? I will pay ¥5000 for someone to do that job. So yeah, because I know how much of this plays out and who does what, I’m usually watching and reading while making wise-ass remarks. But I still have fun with it.

Fandom That Inspired the Most Crack: Konosuba

In a year where I caught up with the popular Isekais like Shield Hero and Re:Zero, I found the wacky misadventures of Kazuma Satou to be amusing as all get-out. From the first 5 minutes, I found myself laughing at Kazuma’s misfortune. Seriously, how the fuck do you mistake a tractor for a car, have a heart attack, piss yourself, and fucking die in the first couple minutes to the series? You can only get away with this shit in gag animes! But it’s not just Kazuma’s dumbass, there’s a mage who only does explosions, but loses all her energy after one blow-up. Then there’s a busty, blonde who gets turned on by getting hurt and can’t strike anything with her sword. Anime’s biggest masochist or Cheryl Tunt incarnate, I haven’t decided which one to believe! Then you have this loud, crazy goddess chick named Aqua. She’s also useless about 86% of the time! Watching their unfortunate missions is all the crack that I need to get through this year. Seriously, Darkness is just all kinds of fucked up, but we love her.

Last Fandom of 2020: Yashahime

That’s right, the InuYasha sequel gets top spot here! Even though week after week I find myself asking more questions than when the episode started, I’m still hooked. If you’re like me, you watched and fell in love with the series InuYasha. So if they’re doing a sequel, you’re expecting to see all of your favorite characters from the prequel like InuYasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Sesshomaru, Koga, Rin, and the rest. Actually, no! Quite the opposite! We’ve got Sesshomaru’s daughters, but no Sesshomaru. Rin is sleeping in a tree we think! We’ve got InuYasha and Kagome’s daughter, but they’re M.I.A. None of the girls even know a thing about their birth parents.

Now are these new characters a catch like the ones from the previous series? Some are! The three main girls, yes! Especially Moroha! I’ve already praised her name earlier in the superlative. Towa and Setsuna do take on some personality traits from their parents. Setsuna is definitely serious like Sesshomaru and Towa sometimes has a carefree yet loyal aura to her like Rin. I know I’m always skeptical when a series gives us a sequel featuring the offspring of the main characters. Especially when you’ve got some lame examples like Boruto and Eureka Seven AO (I might retract my diss on Boruto later)! As each week gives us a new episode, we’re unraveling new clues into a lot of things involving our old favorite characters, as well as the new ones. So I have high hopes for Yashahime for the time being!

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adultswim2021 · 3 years

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The Brak Show #1: “Leave It To Brak” (AKA “Mr. Bawk Ba Gawk”) December 21, 2000 - 5:15AM | S01E01 regular series version aired October 7, 2001 @ 11:00PM

I’m trying to break the habit of assuming only my friends are reading my various blogs, but I failed in one fundamental way: I didn’t really describe the premise of Sealab 2021, like, at all. Despite digging into it’s roots somewhat by watching it’s various pilots, I failed to include even a paragraph with the basic premise of the show. I’ll try not to make the same mistake with Brak. Instead I'll make a DIFFERENT mistake by writing way too long of a blog entry.

On December 21, 2000, after Sealab 2021, The Brak Show, then titled “Leave It To Brak” debuted. Who the fuck is Brak? Brak began life as a villain on the 1960s iteration of Space Ghost, a fairly garden-variety Saturday morning action kid’s show. He appeared in, I wanna say, a very small handful of episodes. I’ve seen the whole series, and I don’t think he was like, a regular or anything. Without looking it up I'll say he was on it twice. In the show he was a space pirate and had whiskers. He has a very memorable design. I’ve never been sure if we’re actually looking at Brak’s face or if he’s wearing a helmet. His fangs imply that we’re looking at his actual face (or at least his actual jaw), but that little curtain thing that hangs down from his, uh, ears? Is that a naturally occurring part of his head? It suggests that his wardrobe is actually his body, and vice-versa. He just looks absurd, making him perfect fodder for an absurdist revision.

Brak as we know him today was first used (barring some kind of Cartoon Network commercial that I’m unaware of) in Space Ghost Coast to Coast, appearing with Sisto. Sisto is his twin brother who appeared in the 60s show. Why Brak was targeted for comedic revision and not Sisto eludes me. I’m guessing “HI MY NAME IS BRAK” just sounds funnier than “HI MY NAME IS SISTO”. Anyway, in the first Coast to Coast episode they are voiced by C. Martin Croker (RIP) doing a Beavis and Butt-head parody. Eventually Andy Merrill took over the role, basically turning Brak into a, uh, childish adult. Okay, he’s basically doing a retarded guy voice. Sorry, but it’s time to grow up.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast debuted in 1994 and remained a cult hit on the network until it was moved to Adult Swim and eventually canceled in 2004. The concept of Space Ghost Coast to Coast was Space Ghost, a super hero from the 60s, now hosts a modern 90s late night talk show, interviewing live-action celebrities on a monitor that hangs over the set. Random obscure Space Ghost villains would show up with skewed personalities from their original 60s counterpart. Brak was easily the runaway star of the touted rogues gallery. He would come in and cheerfully sing a song about beans or something else equally wacky. He rarely had a definable role on the show, he was just a figure that was around and would wander into the set.

A second 90s Space Ghost spin-off was commissioned called Cartoon Planet. This was an actual kiddy show that aired during the day as opposed to Space Ghost Coast to Coast which was kid-friendly but meant for adults. This time Space Ghost, Zorak (Space Ghost’s bandleader on Coast to Coast), and Brak would host an hour of classic cartoons, with little absurd skits between segments set in a studio SORTA like the Space Ghost Coast to Coast set but different. LOTS of Brak’s fandom is based on these skits, which were a little more silly and lighthearted than the material on Space Ghost Coast to Coast. The skits were popular enough that they repackaged them into their own half-hour show, sans classic cartoons. This was an early point of confusion for me. Beloved Brak songs turned out to be from Cartoon Planet and NOT Space Ghost Coast to Coast, so I'd tune into Space Ghost wondering if they cut out all the Brak segments or what?

Cartoon Planet would answer viewer letters (conceivably real ones; they DID include various ways to contact “Ghost Planet” at the end of both Space Ghost Coast to Coast and, I’m guessing, Cartoon Planet, which I never did see in it’s original form). They actually answered the reason for Brak’s lack of intelligence (brain-damage caused by Space Ghost, using an actual clip from the 60s show). I bring this up not out of genuine concern for continuity or canon; these aren’t huge concerns for the writers of these shows. The real reason Brak is dumb is because Andy Merrill thought the voice was funny, probably. I bring it up because generally the premise of Space Ghost in the 90s is that even though he IS a super hero with super hero abilities, he’s also an actor who makes cartoons about being a super hero. So, it can be concluded Brak’s brain damage is from a stunt gone wrong and not carried over from the fiction of the show.

The premise of Space Ghost Coast to Coast is that Space Ghost has captured evil villains Zorak and Moltar and is forcing them to work on the show. But they also freely reference their personal lives outside of the show, breaking character. They are actors who are sticking to a premise only when it’s convenient. Yes, it’s fun for the kids to pretend that Space Ghost has enslaved his enemies to work on his talk show, but the reality is that when the camera turns off they all go home to their apartments or wives or whatever. This concept feeds directly into The Brak Show: we aren’t watching Brak’s real home life; Brak, cartoon character and actor, is playing himself in a sitcom. His mom isn’t his real mom. His Dad isn’t his real dad. Zorak isn’t his real best-friend. They are all actors. This isn’t played up in any significant way on the show itself except for a few moments and certain episodes, but THAT IS WHAT’S HAPPENING and you wouldn’t really understand that just by watching this episode and nothing else. You would have to have been paying attention all this time to Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Cartoon Planet, and also, yes, Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak.

Okay, Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak isn't REALLY required viewing for this series. But guess what? I watched it for the first time ever in preparation for this and now we all have to deal with Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak. Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak (sorry I keep repeating the full title which is Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak) was a two-episode special presentation that aired on Cartoon Network while Space Ghost was on hiatus and before The Brak Show's stealth premiere. It (Brak Presents The Brak Show Starring Brak, that is) was a Sonny and Cher style variety show, featuring Brak and Zorak on stage together performing songs, intentionally corny sketches, and a LITTLE BIT, but NOT A LOT of backstage drama; which could be argued to have been part of the show itself. Variety shows doing sketches fictionalizing the backstage antics of the production is nothing new. There are also live-action integrated celebrities, and the show comes to a screeching halt whenever they show up. Maybe their performances are hampered by having to perform on a green screen, but these segments come off lame and pandering. Space Ghost Coast to Coast would make it's name featuring washed-up, kitschy, or counter-culture celebrities. Here we are treated to Monica, Freddie Prinze Jr. (whose segment in particular really drives me up a wall), some wrestler guy, and a lady who's name I don't remember. Okay, I admit I fast forwarded through the second of the two episodes a LOT. Sitting through one episode in real time was just too much to bear.

Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak is written off by a lot of Brak fans as a substandard product, and they're not wrong. I myself never sought out the whole special until I started writing this blog. But there's one thing I'll give it, the visuals (minus the live-action celebrity parts) are actually pretty fun. There's a lot of weird character designs, and the same playful use of stock footage and kinetic editing from Cartoon Planet carries over into this. Skipping past the celebrity guests and watching the special on mute would be the preferred viewing method here. Honestly, I've never been that charmed by Brak's songs. I never cared much for Cartoon Planet.

Brak Presents the Brak Show Staring Brak eventually became The Brak Show, but with one more step: a scrapped audio-only pilot. This pilot appears as an audio commentary track on The Brak Show Volume 1 DVD set. I discovered it by accident. In preparation for this blog I popped the DVD in, saw there was commentary for Mr. Bawk Ba Gawk, and pressed play. Instead of Andy Merrill and Pete Smith dryly talking about their creative process, I was treated to what would have been the audio for a Brak Show pilot (there are stage directions being read in lieu of visuals), roughly the length of an 11 minute episode. This version plays up the backstage antics of Brak's variety show much more, kinda like Larry Sanders meets Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak. Returning from the show is Brak and Zorak, along with Allen Wrench, a talking Allen wrench that appeared in Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak. On Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak, Allen had a crazy high-pitched voice. In this audio pilot he sounds closer to Meatwad from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Also present in the audio pilot is Thundercleese, who curiously sounds like the regular series version of Thundercleese. In “Leave it to Brak”, Thundercleese sounds slightly different. Maybe they went back and rerecorded Thundercleese for the DVD?

That FINALY brings us to the actual episode. “Leave it to Brak” was the first episode of “The Brak Show” proper to air (though if I remember correctly from what was reported way back when, they wanted to call the actual show “Leave It To Brak” but couldn't for legal reasons). It feels more like a first episode than Goldfish does, which was the first episode I saw when Adult Swim officially began in 2001. “Leave it to Brak” introduces each character with fake studio audience applause. They even introduce Sisto, who simply walks in front of the camera, farts, and is not seen again. The premise of the show is this: Brak stars in a family sitcom. His mom belongs to the same species as Brak, but his dad is a tiny human voiced by George Lowe doing a Ricky Ricardo voice. According to this episode; Brak is roughly high-school aged, but it's all a pretense to get this cast of weirdos together under one roof. Again, Brak is a cartoon character playing himself here, so we're not meant to actually think these are his real parents; Brak is not half-human, necessarily. It's all just for the sake of this dumb show.

The plot of the episode is this: Zorak, Brak's best friend and worst influence, convinces Brak to help him kidnap the mascot of their rival high school, a chicken named Mr. Bawk Ba Gawk. Having done this, Brak grapples with the morality of his actions, tries to deceive his parents by dressing the chicken up like a little man, is caught, and is taught a lesson. There's a comedic final scene that reverses the lesson Brak supposedly learned, and then it ends. Somewhere in there we are introduced to Brak's giant robot neighbor who blows up Zorak for ripping up his lawn.

The Brak Show was possibly the most anticipated show when Adult Swim was announced. We all quietly ignored how much Brak Presents The Brak Show Starring Brak sucked; mostly because this was touted to be a show for adults. Afterall, Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak's biggest shortcoming was the fact that it was the first Brak-centric product to pander directly to children. Brak was always seen as a uniquely weird creation that just so happened to appeal to kids, kinda like Pee Wee Herman or Joe Camel. Also the idea of parodying the sitcom genre seemed novel, despite the fact that it wasn't really a new idea. Now it just comes off like a shallow observation: boy, old sitcoms sure were corny, right?

I don't know exactly how to pinpoint what was so disappointing about this show. I can see there was a genuine effort to make it funny. Dad was a decently funny character. They weren't just trying to mock sitcoms, they were trying to build a genuinely strange world that resembled our own. Brak lived in the suburbs but there were aliens and robots everywhere. Sci-fi situations casually reared their ugly heads into the lives of these characters. I mean, look at the plot description of Brak stealing a high school mascot; it's an ACTUAL SITCOM PLOT. There's no real subversion to it other than the fact that Brak and Zorak from Space Ghost Coast to Coast are doing it. This could have been decent as a one-off special like Tim & Eric's Bag Boy staring Steve Brule. But they made more.

Oh wait, I figured out why The Brak Show sorta sucked. It's the fact that the show was a musical. Fuck, I hated that so much that I blocked it out of my head until this moment. Every episode had musical numbers in it sung by Brak and the family. Ugh. They were supposed to be funny nonsense but I never liked it. In fact if there were ever an edit of the show without the songs I would probably remember it much more fondly.

This version of the pilot had very simplistically drawn backgrounds. When the show went to series they redid the backgrounds with photo-realistic settings and props. It's a much more appealing look. This version of the pilot was briefly featured in an episode of Sealab, where Murphy was flipping through the channels on his monitor. He flips past this and Aqua Teen Hunger Force and maybe Space Ghost? This was back in the early days when every show seemed like it was connected to each other. I miss that. The “regular series” of The Brak Show used to give the show a different parodic on-screen title; “Mr. Bawk Ba Gawk”, which aired fifth on Adult Swim, had the opening title “B.J. And the Brak”. “Goldfish” used “Leave It To Brak”, which causes some episode guides to get confused over which episode is which. In fact, Adult Swim's website features the pilot version of this show and incorrectly uses the plot summary for “Goldfish”. I'm not linking to it because the listing says it expires today. But go look for it if you want.

The other big difference between this version and the “regular series” version is there are a few missing bits here and there. For example, the pilot version starts with Dad asking Mom for another biscuit. She sighs and says “maybe later”, to which dad just shrugs off. There's also a cut song I call “Kiss you hot” that dad sings to mom. There's probably other differences here and there. Oh, Brak's clock is the beeflog illustration from Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak. Isn't my life fuller for being able to make that connection? God, I'm so glad I watched Brak Presents the Brak Show Staring Brak last night instead of getting an extra hour of sleep.

So what's good in this? I REALLY like the scene where Bawk Ba Gawk is at the dinner table and everyone keeps stealing his little hat to wear. Mom scolds Dad for wearing the hat, to which he mutters “I'll do what I damn well please”. Mom then plucks the hat from his head. When we cut to the wide shot, she's wearing it. Funny! SOLIDLY VERY FUNNY. But the series generally suffers from them trying to cram in weird pointless bits of absurd comedy. Only sometimes does it work. Not sure why. But that's how it goes, I guess.

#the brak show #brak #space ghost coast to coast #space ghost #brak presents the brak show starring brak #adult swim #adultswim2021

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blodreina-noumou · 4 years

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since 7x08 was 90% new characters, I figured I’d recap the parts that are just about the prequel, so anyone who’s skeptical can spoil themselves and decide from there if they wanna watch either this episode or the prequel itself.

Under a cut, because it’s long:

The story, if you don’t know, begins just as the bombs drop. It follows the Cadogans and the other survivors of the Second Dawn cult as they live through the years directly following the nuclear apocalypse. By the time the episode reaches its end, we’re two years* out from the nuclear apocalypse, and Callie and others are in their late teens/early twenties.

(*I initially misheard and thought it had been twelve years, lol. I updated this to reflect that. Thanks to @justbecauseyoubelievesomething for correcting me!)

Calliope Cadogan, aka Callie, is a revolutionary environmentalist, and an outspoken biracial woman. She’s Bill and Gemma Cadogan’s daughter, Reese Cadogan’s brother, and the first successor of Becca Franko, aka Becca Pramheda. Her major ally right now is August. She is the main character.

Callie was in direct opposition to her father’s ideologies when the world ended. She instead idolized Becca Franko; and she worked with the environmental resistance group, Tree Crew (a clear precursor to Trikru, more on that later) to protest the continued destruction of planet Earth. She knows how to sew up a head wound, she lives in a really nice house where she’s made her bedroom as bohemian as possible, and she smokes weed. Basically, she’s a rebel!

She chooses to live when the bombs drop, not fully understanding the reality of life in the Second Dawn bunker - in part because she has to make the decision in a split second- and she also carries guilt for leaving her best friend to die. Callie continues to remain in quiet opposition to her father while she lives with the rest of the Second Dawn cult in the bunker, for twelve years.

When Becca leaves behind Polaris and comes back to Earth, Callie is one of the few who accepts her and her plans. Although Becca is burned alive for trying to destroy the Anomaly Stone (Becca claims to see “judgment day” in one of the worlds, but it’s unclear what she means, and she won’t elaborate,) she manages to pass on her nightblood solution and the password to The Flame to Callie.

Callie becomes the first true Heda, rebelling against her father, and leading several nightbloods out of the bunker and onto the planet’s surface, with plans to draw in other survivors and give them radiation resistance. The episode ends with this new group gathered and poised to become the very first Grounders. Although we don’t see her take the Flame directly in this episode, it is heavily implied that she will soon.

In short, many of the Grounder hallmarks that the fandom (and the show, in subtext) implied were Becca’s creation were actually Callie’s - the first Grounders, perhaps the braids, the creation of Trigedasleng, and even the influence of the environmental group Tree Crew, which became (presumably) Trikru, are all owed to Callie.

The clear antagonist of the show is Bill Cadogan, aka The Shepherd, who we already know a bit about from The 100. He is the creator of the Second Dawn cult, and leads several elites into the bunker under what later becomes Polis. He is a self-admitted fascist, a narcissist, and an authoritarian. He kills Becca for trying to destroy the Anomaly Stone, although she has a better understanding of it than he does thanks to her AI-enhanced brain. He then leads the remaining people in the Second Dawn bunker (those who didn’t follow his daughter, Callie, to the surface) through the Anomaly Stone’s portal, presumably to Bardo.

Reese Cadogan, a biracial young man in the Second Dawn military who has great allegiance and respect for his father, Bill Cadogan. Basically, he’s the total opposite of his sister. He’s obedient, believes in structure, and follows orders, even against his sister’s many wishes. He aids in killing Becca, and witnesses her death. He’s also the one who discovers The Flame (I believe by reading Callie’s journal) and is responsible for its safekeeping after Becca dies. As she is leaving the bunker, Callie challenges him to “deal with it like we would in the basement” which is a reference to their childhood that seems to imply the siblings sparred or wrestled as kids. She wants to fight him for the Flame.

When Reese tells Callie he used to go easy on her, Callie draws a gun, shoots him in the arm, and then trips him up. She takes the Flame, then orders her followers to leave. Before she leaves, she makes her brother a nightblood, giving him some of Becca’s solution, saying that they’re headed east, if he comes to his senses. When Reese confesses losing the Flame to his father, he also promises to utilize his nightblood to chase after his sister and take it back. He is poised to do so at the end of the episode.

The matriarch of the Cadogan family is Gemma, a black woman, Bill’s wife, and the mother of Reese and Callie. She’s sympathetic to her daughter’s cause without being nearly so revolutionary, and she’s the one who trained her daughter as a medic. At the time the bombs drop, she and her husband are only speaking about their children, and have been estranged for two years. However, upon hearing the code word: “Anaconda,” from Bill, Gemma knows the bombs are in the air. She convinces her daughter, Callie, to leave their lives behind and report to the Second Dawn bunker. For most of the two years underground, she lingers in the background. However, when Callie and the other nightbloods are making their escape, Gemma helps them by making sure the door can close before the guards can get to them. Bill punishes her by locking her out of the bunker and into the airlock, where she’s left with a choice - put on a radiation suit and chase her daughter down, to try to become a nightblood, or starve. She chooses the former, and the last we see of her is her incredulous face as she realizes both her husband and son have betrayed her.

There are two other named characters who survive the episode. Tristain, another man in the military, who appears to be friends with Reese. Tristain is exposed to radiation when Becca arrives, and she cures him with nightblood. When Reese is sent to chase down Callie and the Flame, Tristain offers to go with him, since he can survive the radiation, too. There’s also August, the presumed love interest of Callie. He’s also former Trikru, carries his guitar around a lot so you know he’s a musician, and is a big part of escaping with Callie. He also carries some guilt, as he was held back in the bunker and prevented from going back to die with his girlfriend when the bombs drop.

That’s pretty much everything that happens. I think it’s set up to be a pretty damn good show. That being said, production is currently up in the air. It was meant to start this year, but that was before the coronavirus. As of right now, no episodes have been filmed. The show is technically greenlit, but it’s tough to say whether or not the same actors can return, and how that’s going to impact storylines. Anyone who pays attention to BTS of The 100 knows how much cast members finding better shows can impact the plotline.

I’ll still probably check it out, though. I’m just a sucker for the premise.

#the 100 spoilers #the 100 s7 #the 100 7x08 #the 100 prequel

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dontletthishappentoyou · 3 years

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Shows Bonding - I had mild concerns in the first season that were absolutely addressed in the second. Overall, this was what I was looking for. I realized that I’ve been mostly doing cartoons for the past couple years, and it was nice to have some live action stuff that pulled off what it was going for with its characters as well as this one.

Community - Going into this one not knowing if it’ll have the things I like or the things I dislike about Dan Harmon. Turns out it has both, but right now I’m mostly enjoying it for the same kinds of reasons people enjoy Friends or all those other shows that let lonely people vicariously feel that they have friends, or a community. Ratched - What the heck was this? Somebody read and watched One Flew Over the Kuckoos Nest and thought “Nurse Ratched needs a spin-off seiries.” And then they actually clearly put a ton of effort into it? It kinda worked. I kind of wish I had known what to expect a little bit. Basically, what you should expect is kind of out there historical fiction that addresses things like coming to terms with your sexuality in the age of inhumane conversion therapy, mistreatment of the mentally ill, and also petty drama with the coersion and manipulation you might expect from a spy movie and a sitcom at the same time. It works if you’re ready for that. Russian Doll - Bingeable. I wouldn’t watch a second season, but enjoyed it for what it was. I’ve been super into digging into characters lately, and this hit that spot. I found it by just searching for ‘sadcoms’ and this was exactly what I’d hope for. After Life - Ricky Gervais. Very very Ricky Gervais. To the extent that the whole time I was kind of cringing hoping, but not confident, that some of his character’s flaws would be addressed by the end of the series. Most of them were, which I guess is fine. It kind of felt like watching someone figure out how to do something you consider simple. The character arc was a mediocre version of some stuff addressed in Bojack. If you really need more Bojack and can’t find anything good, go for it with this, but meh. She-Ra - Here’s the winner for things I’ve watched this past year. The plot does get convoluted, but I might do an actual video essay about its portrayal of a psudo-leftist utopia, although the political issues it addresses are very limited, since it obviously doesn’t really get into economics or anything like that. But heteronormativiy is out the window, body types are what they are and are portrayed as unquestionably lovable, acceptance is the default, while still refusing to tolerate intolerance and imperialism. It’s interesting to pair it with a series like Ratchet that addresses homophobia directly, but I don’t think it’s failure to recognize the challenges that these people have in the real world is a downside at all. It just exists to show what things would be like without any of that. The antagonist team is generally portrayed as imperialist, stuff you’d safely call evil, while still humanizing its individual members, often delving deep into the manipulation that led them to become a part of the Horde. Which of course gets back to character. Zuko tier stuff here. Not just with the obvious one. At first I kind of disliked the main characters arc, but watched a bunch of videos about it and actually kind of figured out that some of it is largely related to my own personal failures as a person in some of my ineffective attempts to avoid negative attributes. Anyway, there’s nothing I’ve watched that I’d recommend more highly than this in a long time. Movies The Irishman - I didn’t finish this one. It had a pretentious feeling to it that made me feel like I should take the intellectual respnosibility for enjoying it myself or else risk admitting a failure of sophistocation. But it is way to telly over showy and I felt comfortable just not participating in that after the first hour went by without anything I’d clearly identify as the inciting incident. Marriage Story - Watched this with Ivy on Valentines day. Wouldn’t recommend it in that context, but once again, dug into character. Made me freak out about custody, but I’m assuming it won’t have that effect on most people. People said the acting was good, and I completely see what they mean. If I hadn’t been occasionally paying attention and having that in mind, I’m not sure I would have noticed, but that did make it extremely engaging. Room - I really enjoyed the structure of this one. It felt like halfway through it could have been the end and we would have successfully surpassed a hero’s journey or whatever, but that would have ignored the emotional consequences of the kind of issues that the story addressed, so it kept going, introduced a whole new set of characters an hour in, and I don’t think there would have been any other way it would have worked for me. Definitely something I’d recommend. Music Red Velvet - I’ve been listening to this alongside BTS and Black Pink in my dive into K-Pop. With prog and indie, you get CDs, download stuff, listen one way or another, you get your friends to listen to it, then you go to concerts to get closer to the music, witness the viruosity in the case of prog, or connect more humanly with indie. With ska and electronica, you have friends who vaguely like the genre, you go to concerts because they’ll be crazy and fun. But I’ve been kind of exploring how different musics interact with culture over the last few years. Classical, traditional Celtic, folk, and now K-Pop. Y’all have seen the culture around K-Pop. People get deep into it in a different way. I can recognize Petrucci’s solo style, with the rapid picking in the middle register fast stuff, I know Mike Portnoy used a double pedal on a single bass drum in LTE but not DT, I’ve heard people talk about the different distortion pedals Steven Wilson uses, but when people get into Kpop, they know what year RM had different hair colors, what kind of family he comes from, they might have memorized a couple interviews with him, and it’s just taken a bit farther than boy band fandom was taken even in the 90s. I definitely used to see all that as extremely shallow, believing that music should be about the music, but I don’t feel so fundamentalist with my approach to how music ‘should’ interact with culture these days, so I’m seeing if I can get into it. Of course I’m failing a little bit. I mention Red Velvet specifically here because that’s the band who’s music I’ve gotten into most. I just listen to it in the background. I don’t know the names. I’ve been trying with BTS a little bit, but it’s tough when I don’t emotionally connect with the band. I’m trying to see if Red Velvet’s breaking of that barrier with their mildly complex harmony, occasional counterpoint, and diverse instrumentation and style can kind of be a gateway into that culture and I can stop listen to BTS thinking “they have seven dudes, why don’t they utilize their potential for awesome vocal harmonies?" and start listening to it on its own merits. 100 gecs - Nice. It has a playful tone to it. I can imagine doing similar things if instead of having Garage Band, I had been given and taught to use some more intricate production software. Often it sounds like they do the kinds of things people do when they discover new instruments and want to try it out and push it to its limits with no hesitation that people trained might have with more critical ears, but then it’s refined a bit and comes across as authentic and energetic with just a bit of the punk spirit to it, but adjusted to the modern zeitgeist. Other than that, music consumption hasn’t been as prominent in my life as it has and I’d like to get more of that going. I’ve been introducing kids to a variety of things, but that kind of gets me listening to stuff all over the place that I’m already very familiar with and have set associations with.

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thechildoflightning · 4 years

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Pumpkin Ch2- Funnel

Title: Pumpkin [Masterpost]

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Pairings: LAMP/CALM

~~~

Chapter Title: Funnel- Chapter Two

Summary:

Family traditions are something Virgil’s never really had in a good way before. He had traditions- rituals- in his life once. But they weren’t the good kind. After, well his father had tried and they did have small traditions. But for the most part, Virgil never had that chance, never had the chance to create small little traditions with his family.

And now he does. He has that chance.

Warnings:

[ao3 link]

~~~

Funnel- Chapter Two

It’s Kit who sees the pony first, just as they finally escape from the maze. His ears go on end and his nose points towards it, attention singularly focused on the mysterious animal.

“Kit,” Roman chides, not realizing yet what had caught his attention.

Kit turns back to Roman, focus waving between him and the pony, obviously wanting to behave but being distracted by the new animal and scents.

“He sees the pony,” Virgil comments, following Kit’s line of sight.

Roman turns, and his eyes light up.

“He hasn’t seen a pony before,” Logan notes from next to them. Virgil nods, and they walk towards the small animal pens.

Kit goes with them, enthusiastic but cautious. His ears are pricked up and his nose is sniffing like crazy, trying to decipher all the smells.

When they reach the fence, Kit goes right up to it, sniffing at the pony. The pony looks down at him in equal interest and leans down to meet Kit. The pony gives a wide snort, nostrils flaring, and Kit darts back a few paces before cautiously coming forward. He reaches through the fence and wacks the pony’s nose.

“Kit!” Virgil says unsure whether to laugh or admonish the pup. The pony sees fine and there’s no harm done, but Kit also can’t go around batting animals. Though to be fair, the pony is also something he has never seen before.

Virgil just settles for shaking his head, not bothering to correct it unless it happens again. He’ll keep an eye out, that’s enough for now.

“Look, there’s ducklings,” Patton says, pointing over to one of the enclosures. The follow his lead to the new fenced off area where a few ducks and numerous ducklings lie. Starting there, they go down the line, cooing at all the animals that are particularly cute. They get to the pigs later, and Logan reads out the names for them on the plaque.

Virgil doesn’t pay much attention, eyes locked on the critters, but the last name makes him pause.

“Wait what did you say the pig was named?” Virgil asked.

“Waddles,” Logan said.

“That’s from a thing. I don’t know what thing. But it’s from a thing. What’s it from?”

His spouses give him shrugs so Virgil pulls out his phone to check. He knows it’s from something, and it’ll bug him all day if he doesn't check now.

“Gravity Falls,” he says outloud, “It’s from Gravity Falls.”

“Oh yeah!” Patton says, “Yeah it’s Mabel’s pig.”

“Who’s Mabel?” Virgil asks.

“You know Waddles but not Mabel?”

“No,” Virgil shakes his head and tries to figure it out, “Like- I recognize both names. But I don’t know from what.”

He searches up Mabel from Gravity Falls, and he suddenly knows where he’s seen the cute animation style before.

“Picani,” he realizes, “Picani has a poster in his office.”

Well- Picani has many posters in his office. But there’s definitely a Gravity Falls one now that Virgil thinks about it. With a boy and a girl in the center with a pig and somewhere in the background there’s a floating triangle with an eye. Oh and a weird uncle.

“Hmm,” Patton hums, “We should watch it. It’s a good show. Cute. About these two twins who go spend the summer with their great uncle where a bunch of weird supernatural stuff happens. I think there would definitely be triggers for you though. We can check ‘Does the Dog Die?.’”

“Oh I think my sister’s seen this show!” Roman chimes in, “Wait is one of the twins trans? I’m like 90% sure she said one of them was trans. Or both. Was it both?”

“...Technically neither of them are trans?” Patton admits, “But they’re both trans now. Because I’m trans and I say so.”

“Valid,” Virgil says.

He’s quickly followed by Roman’s, “Mood.”

“Did Esther like the show?” Logan asks.

“Hmm? Oh uh- I think so?” Roman replies, face scrunching up into an adorable frown, “I can ask.”

“Is there actually any queer representation in it?”

“I think so,” Patton says, “There was something and I know it was a big deal but I don’t remember exactly.”

Logan hums and turns back to the pigs.

“Which one’s Waddles?” Logan asks.

“I think that one?” Roman says, pointing at the one in the far corner. “It has the same spots as the picture.”

Logan nods, and they stare at the pigs a bit longer before moving on.

The goats are last and by far the most fun. They seemed to almost play with each other, bleating and jumping around. They also engage in a bit of staring and bouncing with Kit and Trixie. The goats seem fascinated and entertained by the pups, and the pups seem equally fascinated and entertained in return.

In fact, they got so caught up in watching the goats and dogs tease each other, that they completely missed the last goat.

“Ow!” Roman yelps, falling back from the fence.

“What?!” Virgil responds instantly, narrowing in on Roman for any signs of harm or injury.

“It bit me!” Roman complains loudly.

“What?”

“The goat! It bit me!”

“Are you okay?” Virgil presses, still worried.

“Oh yeah I’m fine,” Roman easily dismisses. “But hey! It bit me! And it chewed through my jeans!”

He turns to face the tree of them, pointing out the chewed away fabric near his knee.

Patton stifles a giggle, leaning into Virgil’s side at the sight as Roman continues to look highly offended.

Roman ignores them, and instead struts right back over to the goats.

“That wasn’t nice,” he says directly to the goat that bit him, “That wasn’t nice at all. You’re mean.”

“The goat doesn’t understand you,” Logan inputs, “In addition I very much doubt it has the capacity to consciously make a choice to be mean or unkind or to feel similar complex emotions and intend to perform actions that follow through with those complex emotions. But I’m unsure. I don’t know much about goats. But it is a goat Roman.”

“I don’t care!” Roman says loudly.

Logan shrinks ever so minutely. Roman still isn’t facing them.

“I don’t care,” Roman repeats, and carries on, “Your goat facts are very interesting Logan, thanks for sharing.” Logan straightens a bit, and bounces on his toes. “But I’m human and I’m going to project my goddamn emotions on these evil goats if I so please.”

Patton continues to snort into Virgil’s side. Virgil wraps an arm around him and watches the entertaining interaction.

“As long as you’re aware that you’re projecting your emotions onto the goat,” Logan supports.

“Heck yeah. They’re mean goats. I’m doing the healthy anger projection thing. What’s that called?”

“You’re generally discouraged from projecting in therapy,” Patton adds, the same time Virgil adds, “Equine Therapy.”

“Oh yeah, animal-assisted therapies are a good example,” Patton agrees, “Cause sometimes we need to project. But projecting onto actual people can hurt them and hurt our relationships with them. Projecting onto animals can create a healthy release for certain emotions when done in a proper setting. Equine therapy is a great example of that.”

Roman nods, still glaring at the tiny goat in front of him.

“I’m calling this mad-at-goats therapy,” he declares, before giving one last piercing stare at the ‘evil’ goat, before his face softens. “He’s kinda cute though. Now I feel bad for him. I’m sorry goat.” He reaches his hand back over the fence and the goat sniffs it gently. “Hey can we get a pet goat?”

A quick flip from hating goats to loving them isn’t exactly something Virgil would expect from most people, but from Roman it’s hardly a surprise.

“I’m vetoing goats,” Virgil informs him.

Roman grumbles, faux annoyed.

“We all agreed when moving in with Virgil that he got veto rights on any pets,” Logan mentions at Roman’s grumbling.

At the comment, Roman finally turns back to face them at all.

“I know,” Roman says, “I was teasing. I don’t actually want a goat, and I’m not mad at Virgil for vetoing the goat even if I did want one. It was very kind of you to gently but firmly remind me of a preestablished agreement we had come to.”

Roman rejoins them, and they continue to stand in eyesight of the goat enclosure, while still being out of reach and out of the way of all the other people who want to check them out.

“Oh. Okay. I don’t want a goat either. I suspect they would need exercise, but seem very difficult to walk,” Logan muses.

They all glance over at the leaping animals.

“Yeah,” Virgil agrees, “We can barely manage a puppy as is.”

Patton gasps.

“Don’t talk about my son that way!” Patton insists, glancing down at Kit at his feet. He looks back at Virgil. “Can you pick him up for me?” Virgil nods and reaches down to pick up the small pup before trading the puppy for Patton’s cane so Patton can hold his small body in two hands.

“Don’t listen to them Kit,” Patton coos, “They’re just mean. You’re a lovely perfect darling who could never do anything wrong.”

“Hey! I thought I was the lovely perfect darling who could never do anything wrong!” Roman protests.

“No love. You’re the darling who decides it’s a smart idea to stand up on your desk during college to debate with a classmate and then fall off it and get a concussion.”

“Okay, that was once!” Roman argues, “And come on, it’s not fair using that against me twice in one day.”

Patton’s eyebrows knit together.

“I mentioned that earlier?”

The sentence is much more of a question than a statement.

“Yeah. I almost fell off the hay bales in the corn maze,” Roman reminds.

“Ah right,” Patton nods, “I remember the hay bales You almost fell off?”

“I mean yes but nope. Completely fine. No near falls or misses or anything like that. But yes I almost fell.”

“He almost face planted,” Virgil supports.

“But I didn’t!” Roman says, voice rising at the end.

“You need to be more careful,” Patton chides. A shifts on his feet a bit and grimances slightly, “We don’t need someone splitting open their head at the pumpkin patch.”

A searing picture burns through Virgil’s mind. One of human skull and brain matter. Of blood and bones and-

Trixie presses against his leg. Virgil shakes the past from his mind and takes an even breath.

“Virge?”

“Hm?” Virgil responds, turning his gaze back to Patton as Trixie stays at his side. Patton watches him carefully.

“Oh, I’m good,” Virgil says, soothing Patton’s concern.

Patton nods and shifts again. Kit squirms lightly in his hands.

“Want to trade back?” Patton asks, nodding at his cane.

They switch again, and Kit gets transferred to Roman’s arms after Virgil instead of back to the ground. Roman holds him close and gives small cooing noises as Kit squirms enthusiastically at the attention.

“Can we sit?” Patton asks, “My hip’s hurting.”

The group quickly agrees and they find an open bench nearby. They take a minute, just sitting, taking in the scenery. The pumpkin patch is large, and the actual pumpkin patch part of the pumpkin patch is even larger. The fields stretch off into one direction, quite a few people wandering around them to pick their own pumpkins.

“We should get funnel cake,” Roman says abruptly.

“Oh yes.”

“I’ve actually never had funnel cake,” Virgil admits.

“What?” Roman says, whipping to catch Virgil’s gaze and mouth hanging slightly opened, “You’ve never had funnel cake? Ever?”

Virgil’s told his spouses a lot of weird, fucked up things over the years. But of course this simple detail about a dessert he has yet to try would be one of the things that managed to shock Roman completely.

“We didn’t exactly get dessert in a doomsday cult,” Virgil explains, voice light.

“Okay, first off, you weren’t in a doomsday cult just fucked up weird religious shit. Second of all, You had what…” Roman takes a moment to fumble over the dates, “fifteen-ish years since then. And you still haven’t had funnel cake.”

Of course Roman’s going to focus on the funnel cake.

Virgil shrugs in response.

“Unacceptable, we’re definitely going to get funnel cake now. You have to try it.”

“Don’t make him try it,” Logan immediately jumps in.

Roman turns to him, seemingly a bit lost for words.

“...Why not?”

Logan taps his foot on the ground. Patton reaches up to settle a hand on his shoulder before thinking better and dropping it.

“It should be Virgil’s choice. Don’t make him.”

Logan’s gaze is downcast and his hands wring together in what Virgil knows is an anxious stim. Roman seems to recognize the stim for what it is as well, and his face and body relax.

“Oh of course,” Roman agrees, switching from light teasing to pure honesty, “Sorry I was probably a bit unclear. I meant that I suggest Virgil tries it, and I encourage him to, but if he really doesn’t want to, I’m not going to force him.”

Logan nods, but frowns. He starts rocking slightly.

“Lo? You alright?” Virgil asks.

“I think-” Logan hesitates, “I think I’m overstimulated. I feel- not bad… but not good. It’s- static, but not static? Buzzing perhaps. I think I’ll stay with Patton if you’re going to get funnel cake.”

“Would you like a firm hug? For a pressure stim? Or touching in a different way?” Patton asks.

“Don’t touch me,” Logan responds immediately.

Patton nods, and listens.

“Apologies,” Logan says after a minute, “That was rude. I meant-”

Logan doesn’t finish and scrunches his shoulders in towards his body, face still downcast.

“Are words hard right now Logan?”

Logan hesitates before nodding.

“Okay,” Patton replies, “Well I don’t need an apology. I think ‘don’t touch me’ is a perfectly fine way of communicating you wouldn’t like touch. It was direct, and some people may take it as rude, but I know that wasn’t your intention and that communicating is hard right. It was a fine way to say that.”

“Okay,” Logan agrees.

“Do we still want funnel cake?” Roman asks for a moment, looking at the group.

Virgil considers, “Yeah why not try it?”

“Heck yes,” Roman says, “that’s the type of attitude I like.”

Roman pulls Virgil away to go get funnel cake, giving Patton and Logan a bit of space in the meantime. It seems to help somewhat, because when the return with treat in hand, Logan looks much calmer and less overwhelmed.

Roman presents the funnel cake dramatically, causing Patton to giggle and Virgil to elbow him gently. They pass around forks and dig in.

Virgil has to admit it’s not half bad. He wouldn’t want it every day- the flavor and taste being much too overwhelming for everyday consumption. But the treat seems to fit in perfectly with today, and Virgil can appreciate that. Some foods are just made for certain occasions. Like latkes during Hanukkah.

They finish the treat, throwing away the trash before settling on a bench all together to make a decision on their next move.

“Pumpkins?” Patton asks.

There’s no objections, and as such, they all start moving towards the field of orange.

~~~

Taglist Below

-message me to be added or removed-

@mewithanie @eddies-spaghetti @lemonyellowlogic @savioursailor @goldteethandacurseforthistown @you-betcha-weirdo @gattonero17

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ladymelisande · 4 years

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TKEM Episode 13

Thank God I didn’t live blog this one because otherwise it would have been 90% swearing since it was a quite PM Koo heavy episode.

But since I am a at it. Here is my first point anyway:

FUCK PM KOO

Honestly watching this woman’s scenes had me taking out my hair. She is such a fucking narcissist that blames others for her disgusting behaviour and then uses her sex or class as a fucking excuse:

“It’s not your fault that you didn’t marry me despite my sexual harassing, Pyeha. You have everything and I was poor and climbed from the bottom. That gives me a total reason to be a disgusting creep. How dare you to fall in love with another person?”

“It’s y’all fault now that I am a murderer.”

“You all hate me because I am ambitious, so my corruption and spying should be fine since other people are corrupt too! LALALALA, I can’t hear you.”

And people somehow were mad... That this woman ended in jail at the end of drama?! Are you fucking kidding me? She apparently murders someone and blames others for her shitty actions. If she was the wonderful person that apparently had so much potential, she would have fucking reported Lee Lin and period. Jesus, what show people were watching?! I will be poppin champagne when I see her in jail. Man, the cognitive dissonance.

She is like freaking Cersei Lannister saying “I was told to sing and please and I am so much better than that... and oh by the way, get that person killed for me.”

Damn that KES really made a villain freaking despicable this time, I haven’t gritted my teeth at a character this hard since Wang Wook.

The only person I have pity here is her mother ‘cause I know she is gonna die and honestly if she was such a feminist heroine or whatever the hell they paint her. Or at least a woman that actually struggled as working class, she would have bought her mother a house. Not go to her to sleep when she is rich. I would do it if I had her money.

Okay, at least I have some pity for Luna, she is really pitiful, even if she creeps me out sometimes. And what was that of kissing Detective Unnecessary? That was so random?

So, it’s so ironic that Detective Unnecessary life is basically in Gon’s hand but Detective Unnecessary is still gonna be a jerk to him for no reason that being what he is and being Tae Eul’s boyfriend. Damn, kill that trope with fire.

Yeong, despite this fandom’s effort, I am really trying to not hate you. Don’t ruin it.

Tae Eul introducing Gon as her boyfriend was so cute.

Gotta love how everyone knows Detective Unnecessary’s crush on Tae Eul. Gon, Yeong, Luna. Literally everyone and nobody cares except Yeong but because he wants to separate Gon and Tae Eul.

That’s something I actually loved, that Gon is 0% threatened by Detective Unnecessary’s crush.

The look of pain and guilt in Gon’s eyes when he realised that wasn’t Tae Eul. My heart.

Also the fact that the poisoning is mentioned so often and handwaved by the residents from the Republic but it turns out to be an actual issue is something brilliant from KES’ part. Because I am pretty sure she predicted that general fans were going to insert themselves in the Republic characters because they are more “normal” or at least the ones in the Kingdom that they deemed as normal (like PM Koo and her redfem rhetoric tactics) and wouldn’t get why is so done unless they pay attention to all the characters not just the ones they are inserting themselves in. Which is pretty much why I think my dashboard was flooded with whining while the show was airing.

Despite the ironic fact that these tropes are common in sageuks... And they seem to get them well in that... Or maybe not. I don’t know at this point.

#may watches #the king eternal monarch

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brightblueinky · 4 years

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Long winded ramblings about a Bronycon video

So I’ve seen some hubbub about a YouTube essay going over the history of the Brony fandom up until the last Bronycon. (You can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fVOF2PiHnc ) I just got around to watching it today and I was...somewhat confused by some of the stronger negative takes I was seeing floating around Twitter, and I’ve been in a “fandom discourse” mood lately so, hey, I thought...why not talk about it. The first part of this was originally going to be a Twitter thread until I realized Twitter wasn’t going to let me keep going on the thread so I gave up and decided to put it here instead (lol) so it’s probably going to be a bit choppy since I was trying to keep it readable for that format.

So first of all, my background, so I can be completely honest about where I'm coming from and try not to portray what I'm saying as like...an end-all-be-all take here, because I don't wanna do that. I was never really an MLP fan. I watched the first season of FiM and really enjoyed it, but I didn't really engage with the fandom because by that point I'd gotten to where I didn't spend much time in huge fandoms. So I can't come at this from the perspective of an MLP fan. When I’m addressing the fandom here, I’m coming at it as an outsider in the sense that I am not a MLP fan/brony. What I AM going to do is come at this from the perspective of something of a "native" to fandom. I've always been a geek. I've engaged in online fandom in some form or another since I was about 8, which was in the mid 90s. I've been around the fandom block. Actually, I can even say that I used to lurk on 4chan a lot and I saw a lot of the early Brony discussions there. I also watch @JennyENicholson's videos, and yeah, there's been times where I've been bugged because we had a disagreement of opinions and felt like it was a little harsh. She's got a dry sense of humor and sometimes it's hard to read when she's joking and when she's being genuine. So like, I wasn't surprised when I saw some hubbub from some people online about her doing the video about Bronies. Not at all. But I gotta say...I am really surprised by some of the more INTENSE takes on the video after watching it?? The LARGE majority of the video is @JennyENicholson covering this fandom from an INSIDER'S perspective. She was an MLP fan before FiM, she was active enough in the fandom to be a BNF. A huge, huge amount of the video is positive and nostalgic. In fact I now wish I HAD been in the fandom! It seems like it was a lot of fun! The only thing I felt was maybe harsh in the video is I think she gave the impression that being "furry" is exclusively a sex thing, but by the end she talks about furries being a community that's a very inclusive, kind community with a lot of queer people, so even then I think if you're really paying attention to the whole video you're not going to come away with the idea that the furry community is bad. Just maybe could've had more nuance earlier in the video? So from glancing through mentions of her in a Twitter search (which is definitely not going to be a perfect sample) from what I can tell there's like two things that people seem to be upset about with the video: 1, the idea that the fandom is "dead" and 2...just...Body Pillows. So let's talk about the dead fandom thing first. As I mention, I have been in fandom a long, long time. Although I (usually) shy away from big active fandoms now, I started off in bigger ones--Sonic, Pokemon, Digimon, LOTR, etc. The two fandoms I currently care about the most, though, are definitely fandoms that tend to be called "dead" and were never HUGE to begin with (Princess Tutu and Chrono Crusade). I think I can count on my hands the number of ppl who actively discuss or create fanwork for CC. So I guess what I'm trying to say is, I've been on both sides of the coin here. And let me reassure Bronies: "Dead", while maybe too strong of a label for what it actually means, does not have to be a negative thing and you don't need to defend your fandom from it, IMO. I think the "dead" label simply means that interest in the fandom has cooled, the number of active participants is significantly down from the heydays of the fandom, etc. And I don't think that's an unfair label for brony fandom from what I know. If there was a large scale replacement for Bronycon then maybe it'd be unfair, but...yeah, if you're losing your large hubs for the fandom community, if the flow of fanwork and discussion has slowed, I think "dead", as it's used, isn't an unfair label. But again, I don't think this is a bad thing! I'd imagine that even the current state of the brony fandom is larger and more active than the Princess Tutu fandom at its greatest heights. It's a pretty relative term. It doesn't mean nobody cares, or that you can't still enjoy it! All the "dead" label really means is acknowledging the change in a fandom. It's not a bad thing. I might be 1 of ~30 writers for Chrono Crusade on AO3 but I still have fun writing fic and I still get hits and occasional positive comments. It's not bad. Just different. Okay so now let's talk about the body pillow thing and oh man, is this going to be a minefield, lol. Let's first talk about my personal lens I'm going to come at here... I've created NSFW fanwork. Some of it taboo. I'm also (somewhat) a part of the "proship" discourse on Twitter which is basically a community of people that push back against another community of "anti"-shippers who feel that some ships are problematic (because of character age, power dynamics, etc) and shouldn't be shipped. (I think that simplifies a lot of the discussion on both sides but it’ll do for the purpose of what I’m getting at here, I think.) At its worse this debate has lead death threats and suicide attempts. I have seen people get treated abusively for fanwork (sometimes NSFW but not always). (And I also want to add that while I think the major component of the pro-ship discussions on Twitter are anti-harassment, there’s been some ‘edgy’ types who think that it’s fun to harass antis with NSFW fanwork and the like and I want to make it clear that is ALSO ABUSIVE AND NOT OKAY.) Basically, I want to say I'm sympathetic to a knee jerk defensive reaction over NSFW fanart. Okay? I can get why people might want to push against criticism of stuff they enjoy/create, and that there’s an element of possibly being harassed for fanwork you create. But the thing is, I don't think this is really the attitude Jenny is taking in the video. She lightly mocks NSFW stuff and body pillows, but often describes it as "harmless" and "fine". The only time she's critical of it is when she notes that sometimes body pillows with suggestive poses could be on display at conventions where young kids were present--at a con celebrating a show MEANT for young kids--and that probably shouldn't have been allowed. She's not saying you can't buy a body pillow, or create one. She didn't even say that while discussing body pillows of characters who were 10! She expressed personal discomfort, but the only restriction she really suggested was "keep this out of the sight of minors." And I don't know why that would be a controversial take. I read lemons when I was younger so I'm not going to sit here and act like it's going to completely ruin kids lives or anything. But I ALSO think it's appropriate to have boundaries for sexual materials for kids (or anyone who doesn't want to engage for whatever reason). I want my stuff to be clearly labeled as NSFW, with tags being clear about the content, so people know what they're getting into. I’ve grown to care about this even more as I’ve gotten older. I don’t really want to know about minors reading my nsfw fanfic or anything. I’m not going to, like, parent them and shame them if they do, but I don’t want to engage with it, I want my stuff to be labeled, and I am DEFINITELY not going to put it on public display at a place where I know kids are allowed, ESPECIALLY not when it’s work based on stuff MEANT for children! I mean, I grew up in a fundamentalist Evangelical household and I will rant at you for hours about how damaging I feel that environment was, and that I don’t think kids and teens should be completely shielded from sex, etc. But that doesn’t mean that having boundaries in place is a bad idea, especially when minors are involved. I also think that boundaries are good just for the sake of consent, too? I’m not saying that someone accidentally seeing suggestive art is the same as them being raped, please don’t conflate it like that, but if people don’t want to see it for whatever reason they should be given the opportunity to make that choice as much as possible. The stuff that Jenny mentioned brony conventions would do (requiring stuff to be sold under the table, or having late night hours for the dealer’s room where 18+ merch could be displayed and sold) seem like really good policies and pretty similar to what I’ve seen at anime conventions I’ve attended (although occasionally some stuff that was maybe a biiit more suggestive than I’d be comfortable displaying in public...but hey, my local con allows kids but also makes it clear in their rules that it’s mostly geared for 13+ attendees and that it’s up to parents to decide what’s appropriate for their kids, and I think that’s fair). And yeah, I know, nothing that Jenny showed in the video being displayed at Bronycon was 100% explicit, just suggestive. She notes this in the video herself, saying that yeah, it doesn’t show genitalia, etc...and as I’m writing this I think I’ve maybe rambled too much about NSFW fanart when most of the stuff we’re talking about here is more “suggestive” than straight-up porn, since that’s probably muddying the waters a bit. But I gotta, gotta, GOTTA address the sentiment I saw multiple times on Twitter in response to her video: “Dakimakura/body pillows aren’t sexual and to say that is orientalist.” I...what? What the fuck? Okay, again, I’m going to make it perfectly clear what my background is here so that I’m not claiming to have some expertise that I don’t have: I am white. I am VERY white. My parents did the DNA test thing and the most “exotic” thing that came up is that my dad is 3% Spanish. Not latin american, I mean from Spain spanish. I am sooooo fucking white. I’ve studied a LITTLE of Japanese culture in college classes but that wasn’t even my field of study (Communication major on a Broadcasing track, minor in Theatre) so I’m not going to tell you I’m an expert on Japanese culture. I’m just a weeby geek that grew up in anime fandoms and never really stopped consuming Japanese pop culture. I have a very limited experience with Japanese culture. I am NOT an expert on what is and isn’t orientalist. I know I’m really hammering in this point here but I think it’s really, really important that I make it clear that I shouldn’t be used as an expert on this subject. But what I DO have a background in is someone who has engaged in Western fandom of stuff from Japan from a young age, I did spend a lot of time on 4chan, this is NOT the first time that I’ve seen some form of an “this isn’t sexual at all and you’re just a PERVERT” discussion about fanservice and...okay first of all, I highly doubt anyone saying this is any more qualified to define what is and isn’t orientalist than I am. I think this is bullshit and it feels like an attempt to make your opinions more legitimate by implying people that disagree with you are some form of bigot. (And look, I was a sheltered, insecure, stuck-up teenager in fandom, part of the reason I feel like I can recognize this is I totally pulled the same shit. I am not going to act like I have never tried to pull this and that I’m a pure innocent woke intellectual who’s never said something foolish, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let it slide, either.)

While writing this I googled ‘dakimakura’ to make sure I was spelling it right and noticed that Wikipedia does note that the origins of this style of pillow are sometimes used by Japanese kids as something like a security blanket, which I’m guessing is where the justification for the argument is coming from, but let’s be intellectually honest here--body pillow covers being sold at a convention aren’t primarily meant to be a security blanket for kids. And, okay, maybe you have a body pillow cover with a character on it that isn’t exactly in a sexual pose, just laying fully clothed on what looks like a bedsheet background. But I don’t think it’s an unfair argument to say that even THEN it implies a sort of intimacy, right, possibly a desire for a romantic attachment? Like, sharing a bed with someone doesn’t have to be sexual or romantic, I used to share a bed with my brother in hotel rooms when we were kids, but I’m also not going to share a bed with my brother and then hug him closely to my body no matter how he’s posed or what he’s wearing??? And look, maybe a body pillow isn’t ALWAYS sexual but to say it’s NOT sexual, which kinda implies NEVER, is so disingenuous. The top result I got when I searched for “anime body pillow” is a shop that includes categories like “18+ body pillow” and “sexy body pillow” and also SELLS FAKE BREAST INSERTS FOR SOME OF THE PILLOWS SO YOU CAN SQUEEZE THEIR BOOBS (obviously, NSFW link: https://www.dakimakura.us/ ) Like, COME ON, I don’t think it’s orientalist to say that something is sexual when Japanese people are actually selling body pillows they label as 18+. The second result even has a second for pillows you can insert sex toys into. And yeah I saw the guy saying “masturbation isn’t sex!” and sir at BEST you have a very narrow and incorrect definition of sex as simply being intercourse and, again, at worst you’re just being straight up dishonest. In fact, I’ll straight up call myself out for this. There’s a fanart body pillow of a fictional character I’ve considered buying several times! (Not porn but still probably NSFW link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/701912275/dakimakura-hypnosismic-doppo?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=hypnosis+mic&ref=sr_gallery-1-4&organic_search_click=1 ) Is this porn? No. You can’t see much. But on one side of the pillow he’s got his shirt untucked, you can see a bit of his stomach, and his fly is undone and you can see the band of his underwear peeking out. This is sexual. I’m not wanting it to like, get off on it, exactly...honestly it’s maybe a bit ironic, and a lot of wanting a body pillow in general is I like sleeping hugging onto something but I have a different sleep schedule from my husband I find him too big to hold all night and too warm in the summer anyway. But I’m not going to tell you that me wanting this PARTICULAR pillow case isn’t at all sexual, I know what I’m doing, I like the character and think the drawing is hot. I’m not saying don’t buy body pillows, okay? I’m not saying don’t sell them. I don’t think Jenny is either (she literally OWNS ONE that she shows in the video!!!). But don’t act like there isn’t ever anything sexual about it existing to try to defend their existence, okay? You don’t need to be a fucking coward about it, and you especially don’t need to say it’s racist if people call out something as being suggestive when, well, it fucking is. And I think it’s totally 100% reasonable for someone to say “hey I don’t think it’s a good idea to display suggestive art around kids, especially if it’s depicting young characters.” TL;DR -- Chill, guys. CHILL. Your fandom is getting smaller and the term people use for this is “dead” but that’s not a bad thing, you’ve still got the fandom, you can still enjoy it, there’s definitely no need to take personal offense over it. And enjoy your body pillows, but don’t be disingenuous about the fact that they can be suggestive and try to act like anyone that calls it such is racist, that is such bullshit. Like what you like, other people’s opinions of it is not automatically a personal attack on you, there’s no need to jump to being defensive every time someone says something vaguely negative about it. Chill, fandom friends. Fandom ain’t bad but it also doesn’t need to be the center of your identity and you don’t need to lash out against people for daring to have opinions about a thing you like. You especially don’t need to act like other people are perverts for noting something being suggestive. Chiiiiiiiiiill.

#long post #fandom #bronies #my little pony #youtube #ramble #fandom discourse

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binkysteebnpewter · 4 years

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Grace’s 200 Celebration

I didn’t expect to get this far when I started but I love every single one of you lovelies 🥺💗 thank you so much

To celebrate getting to 200, I’ve collected 200 questions for you guys to send in to me: with a limit of 15 questions per ask (I’m looking at you @nightunite )

200 Celebration Questions

1. What is your middle name?

2. Do you have any nicknames that aren’t derived from your actual name?

2. Do you have any allergies?

4. What is the longest your hair has ever been?

5. How well can you write in cursive?

6. Name one item on your bucket list.

7. Have you ever been on a blind date?

8. do you have a porch?

9. How often do you eat out at a fancy restaurant?

10. How grammatically correct are you when you text?

11. Can you drive stick?

12. What foreign country would you most like to visit and why?

13. Nutella or peanut butter?

14. what do you order at mcdonalds?

15. tell me about you favourite primary school/elementary school teacher

16. Have you ever hosted a wild party?

17. what is your aesthetic?

18. have you ever been on a road trip?

19. Have you ever donated blood?

20. From 1-10, how much do you like decorating for holidays?

21. Coffee or tea?

22. What is your go-to Starbucks drink?

23. Last show you binge watched?

24. Dogs or cats?

25. Favorite animated Disney character?

26. Have you ever cooked a big family meal by yourself?

27. Favorite winter activity?

28. are you violent when you’re angry?

29. Can you blow a bubble gum bubble?

30. How early in the year do you start celebrating Christmas?

31. What emoji best describes your life right now?

32. Are you fluent in more than one language?

33. What is the longest you’ve ever kept a New Year’s resolution?

34. can you remember your last dream?

35. Are any of your grandparents still alive?

36. How good are you at communicating through facial expressions?

37. Have you ever gotten a commercial jingle stuck in your head?

38. Have you ever left a movie theater before the movie was over?

39. who was your first ever best friend?

40. Does your home have a fireplace?

41. Favorite non-chocolate candy?

42. do you get on with old people?

43. Have you ever locked your keys in your car?

44. Do you listen to any religious music?

45. Do you drink soda? If so, which one is your favorite?

46. do you cry when you’re angry?

47. Rice or quinoa?

48. From 1-10, how good of a driver do you consider yourself?

49. Do you like horror movies?

50. How easily do you cry?

51. how many months until your birthday?

52. You are hanging with your closest friends. What are you most likely doing?

53. does it ever snow where you live?

54. Can you play any musical instruments? If so, which ones?

55. Are you more introverted or extroverted?

56. what is your least favourite colour?

57. Do you like roller coasters?

58. What day of the week is laundry day for you?

59. Have you ever played spin the bottle?

60. How long have you known your best friend?

61. Can you eat using chopsticks?

62. Do you have any stickers on your laptop computer? If so, what are they of?

63. How often do you say y'all?

64. Favorite flavor of ice cream?

65. How long was your longest relationship? Are you still with that person?

66. Star Trek or Star Wars?

67. are you still friends with your first best friend?

68. Have you ever acted in a play or a musical?

69. How often do you read/pay attention to your horoscope?

70. What is the shortest your hair has ever been?

71. Have you ever broken any bones?

72. Do you like to go fishing?

73. do you have/are you the gay cousin?

74. Favorite costume you wore for Hallowen? How old were you?

75. Real or fake Christmas trees?

76. How many pillows do you sleep with?

77. Do you live in an apartment or a house?

78. How many of your friends are of the opposite gender?

79. Have you ever had a near-death experience?

80. what is your mum’s name?

81. who did you last talk to on the phone?

82. How flexible are you?

83. Have you ever ended a romantic relationship?

84. Phrase you say the most?

85. Have you ever kissed anyone of the same gender? If so, did you like it?

86. Do you own any homemade clothing?

87. Do you like fast food?

88. Have you ever given anyone CPR?

89. Have you ever learned to do anything from a how-to video on YouTube?

90. have you ever had a hickey?

92. Favorite cereal?

93. Have you ever auditioned for a reality competition show?

94. Have you ever gotten a TV theme song stuck in your head?

95. Do you believe in ghosts?

96. what does the last text you sent say?

97. Have you ever given money to a street performer?

98. Your deepest fear?

99. Pancakes or waffles?

100. Are you still friends with anyone from high school?

101. From 1-10, how good of a dancer do you consider yourself?

102. How much of a patient person are you?

103. Do you know your IQ?

104. Do you eat meat at all?

105. Do you own any clothes from a garage sale or a thrift store?

106. Have you ever bought anything from a flea market?

107. What do you think about the most?

108. Have you ever gotten a song you dislike stuck in your head?

109. Any movie(s) you can watch over and over and over again and enjoy just as much each time?

110. Do you or have you ever worn glasses?

111. Have you ever skinny dipped?

112. Are your birth parents still together?

113. Have you ever been in the audience for the taping of a TV show?

114. Favorite type of cookie?

115. Have you ever been broken up with?

116. How often do you smile when getting your picture taken?

117. Have you ever accidentally dialed 911?

118. Oldest memory?

119. Have you ever been the victim of a nasty prank?

120. How often do you snort when you laugh?

121. From 1-10, how good of a singer do you consider yourself?

122. Favorite Disney song?

123. Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

124. What is your Myers-Briggs personality type?

125. Have you ever had a fortune cookie fortune come true?

126. Do you like to show affection?

127. Last musical artist you saw live?

128. Credit cards or cash?

129. Favorite fandom?

130. What is your astrological sign?

131. Complete the phrase: You cannot buy happiness, but you can buy____.

132. Any hidden talents?

133. Can you surf?

134. What motivates you to do well in life?

135. Your worst physical feature?

136. From 1-10, how much are you like your father?

137. How lucky do you consider yourself?

138. Name a moment in your life when you were pleasently surprised.

139. do you love yourself?

140. What type of shoes do you wear the most?

141. Favorite summer activity?

142. Favorite song to sing in the shower?

143. Have you ever lived with a roommate you did not get along with?

144. Have you ever lived on a farm?

145. Have you ever kept a diary or a journal?

146. TV show or movie you quote/reference the most?

147. How often do you get mad at yourself?

148. Have you ever gotten any stitches?

149. Have you ever been hunting?

150. Favorite YouTube channel?

151. Have you ever had a pet besides a dog or a cat?

152. From 1-10, how well do you work with others?

153. Are you friends with any of your exes?

154. Apple or PC?

155. Do you collect anything?

156. Have you ever seen any Broadway plays or musicals?

157. Any missed opporunites you wish you had taken?

158. what was the last reason you really cried?

159. Do you have a pool at your house?

160. What is the longest you’ve gone without sleep?

161. Last thing that made you laugh?

162. Disney or Nickelodeon?

163. Name one celebrity you wish was still alive.

164. From 1-10, how much are you like your mother?

165. Your best physical feature?

166. Earbud or earmuff headphones?

167. Have you ever wished you were born the opposite gender?

168. Do you have any piercings anywhere besides your ear lobes?

169. How often do you wash your hair?

170. Showers or baths?

171. Have you ever been a bridesmaid or a groomsman?

172. Bottled or tap water?

173. What was your favorite TV show when you were a kid?

174. Any guilty pleasures you’re willing to discuss?

175. Favorite video game?

176. Have you ever gotten a New Year’s kiss exactly at midnight?

177. How many of the United States have you visited?

178. Have you ever given money to a homeless person?

179. Have you ever gotten a surgery?

180. Your least favorite food?

181. From 1-10, how competitive are you?

182. Do you like wearing hats?

183. How much of a jealous peron are you?

184. are you an optimist? why or why not?

185. what’s a random history fact you know?

186. Does anyone in your family currently serve in your country’s military?

187. Snowboarding or skiing?

188. are you good at lying? what’s the biggest lie you’ve ever told?

189. Have you ever been a Boy or Girl Scout?

190. Have you ever dyed your hair?

191. From 1-10, how good of a cook do you consider yourself?

192. Do you have a significant other?

193. How many things can you do with your weaker hand?

194. Were you involved in any academic clubs in high school?

195. Have you ever played hooky from school?

196. Are you comfortable with watching rated R movies?

197. Do you root for any sports teams?

198. First thing you do when you wake up in the morning?

199. Tell something about yourself most people don’t know.

200. Your own question that you want me to answer

#grace speaks #200 follower celebration #200 questions celebration #send in some questions 🥺#im so thankful for you all 🥺💗#i love all yall lovelies 💗💗😚

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edharrisdaily · 4 years

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Ed Harris Has No Idea What’s Happening on Westworld Either

Ed Harris has enough iconic characters in his 40-year career to make other actors jealous — and that was before he added Westworld’s Man in Black to his repertoire. We’ve learned more about Harris’s character, the ultimate player of the game, in season two of HBO’s epic drama as he has progressed deeper into the park amid a robot uprising. In Sunday’s episode “Vanishing Point,” Westworld reveals the most traumatic moment of William’s life — the suicide of his wife, Juliet (Sela Ward) — and pushes him to the absolute edge of cruelty and sanity: After shooting his own daughter, Emily (Katja Herbers), he’s last seen slicing open his arm to see if he’s actually human. Ahead of the episode, Vulture spoke with Harris about “Vanishing Point,” why he’d never want to direct an episode of Westworld, what he thinks of the show’s fandom, and why he loves Atlanta.

Westworld is a famously secretive show. How much of William’s arc do you know in advance? And how does that affect the way you play the character?

The first season was different than the second season. The first season was full of surprises as to what was revealed to almost all of us every episode. We found out things in like episode five, six, and seven and were like, “Wow, that’s news.” The second year, I knew the path that my character was on and where I was headed.

How is this project different from others you’ve worked on?

I’ve never really done this kind of episodic series, so that’s different unto itself. And the length of the season is pretty long. The first year was ridiculous. We stopped and started again — six, seven, eight months. You work two, three days a week max, some weeks you don’t work at all. And this particular show is so complicated. There’s so much being shot. The end of the second year, they had three or four crews working on different episodes. I’m glad I’m not the person trying to keep track of it all.

When even the writers aren’t sure of the backstory, how does that change your approach?

Even when they are sure, they don’t tell you. [Laughs.] I would say, “Hey, look, I just did 125 performances of a play in London. I knew what was going to happen every night. And I was still very present and fresh. You can let me know whatever you want to.” What I didn’t know, I didn’t know. I was going episode by episode, particularly scenes, characters, who I was working with, and what was going on. I didn’t really fret about what I didn’t know because I didn’t know what I didn’t know.

More in the moment.

Very much so. For me, anyway. I took it a script at a time, scene at a time, line at a time. Be present and real and tell the truth.

What’s the most challenging part of this role?

In terms of where it’s going, I guess the difficult thing is just gauging that and trying to understand it. For instance, the episode Lisa [Joy] directed, episode four, she was great to work with because she knew more about [William’s] intent than I did. She was very helpful, in terms of “this is what’s going on inside of him now and this is where it will lead.” When you play a character, you try to get as deep in there as possible. When certain things are revealed to you, it’s very helpful.

How much of the buzz around the show do you pay attention to? The fandom is pretty vocal.

Absolutely none. My wife, who’s a news junkie, will say, “Ed, they’re writing about blah blah blah,” and I’ll say great. I’m very happy it’s a successful show and I love working with the directors and the cast, but I don’t really pay attention to all of the guesswork and what people are trying to figure out.

Is this true across your career? Do you read your reviews?

I really don’t. I remember things that were said to me when I was 28 doing theater in L.A. that I don’t need to have in my head, you know what I mean? If you’re doing a play today in New York, you can’t help but find out if it was positive or negative.

Did you discuss the character at all with Jimmi Simpson? Compare notes?

A little bit. We have a good relationship. I said, “Anything I can help you with, let me know.” He would email me some questions every once in a while, but I didn’t even know there was a younger me until I saw a guy walking around the trailers and said, “Who’s he?” “That’s you.” “Oh. Really? Thanks for telling me.” I think Jimmi does a great job establishing the whole history of this guy.

What did Sela Ward and Katja Herbers bring to “Vanishing Point” that made the episode different?

It’s nice to be out of the Man in Black suit and just be William, the family man, however poor he is at it. Sela was brand-new to the whole situation, so you just try to make somebody like that as comfortable as possible. Work with them. Have them welcome. Get rid of whatever nerves they have. Katja is great. She’s not afraid to ask me things, acting questions. I love talking about it. If she has something that’s bugging her or is stuck in something, we can discuss it.

The episode is about obsession, especially the kind that can blind us from what really matters. Have you ever been obsessed?

I was definitely obsessed with Pollock in the ‘90s, but it was a good obsession. I wasn’t blinded by anything. Let’s see. I like to get into things. I like to do things well. I can get pretty easily obsessed with something I care about, but not necessarily blindly.

Do you have any character or story input on Westworld?

Hmm, we probably had some discussions. Never any major points of disagreements. I did say in one public forum, “I don’t want to be in a samurai suit and I don’t want to be naked.” There are two things I suggested.

How do you pick parts at this point in your career? What’s important to you?

What’s important to me at the moment, which I will know in the next few days, is if I can get financing for this film I want to direct in August or September. It’s a Montana novel called The Ploughman — Robert Duvall, Garrett Hedlund, my wife Amy [Madigan], my daughter [Lily Dolores Harris]. I wrote the screenplay and I’ve been fighting to get the money I need. If I don’t, we won’t be able to make it for a while.

Why is that so important?

Well, I’ve only directed two movies and I haven’t directed in ten years. I really love doing it, and this is a novel that I think could make a really cool movie. I adapted it a couple years and I’ve been trying to do it for the last three years. I really, really, really want to do it.

It sounds like a big, challenging project. When you’ve accomplished so much, are you still looking for things that challenge you?

Yeah, definitely. I just did this play in New York, Good for Otto, the new David Rabe play with my wife Amy. And it was definitely a challenge. A 14-character play. Every night, you’re out there and you’re trying to make it work. I still really enjoy what I do. The acting part of it is more fulfilling in theater than in film work, in a certain way. One of the things I love about directing is you’re constantly focused. You’re constantly occupied. For instance, in Westworld, I’m on set two days a week, and then I may not work for two weeks. I may not know I’m not working for two weeks because they don’t know yet. You’re on set for 12 hours and on camera for ten minutes. It gets a little bit old after a while. You try to keep a good attitude.

Would you consider directing an episode of Westworld?

Jon [Nolan] and Lisa mentioned it to me a while back, but I don’t think I’d be a good director for Westworld because I have a hard time understanding it. [Laughs.] I’m as confused as anybody else watching this thing. I don’t always know what’s going on.

Do you watch your past work? If The Rock is on cable, do you watch it?

If I’m flipping and I happen to see it, I might watch it for a little while. Just for fun. I won’t hunt it out to see something that I did.

What’s your airport question? What do people recognize you for and what do they ask you when they do?

It’s a wide variety. Sometimes people come up and say something like, “Milk Money is my favorite movie.” “All right, I’m glad you enjoyed it.” [Laughs.] A lot of guys go “The Rock! The Rock!” Or I’ll hear, “I really liked you in The Hours.” “Pollock is my favorite movie.” Now Westworld. More people have probably seen that than all the films I’ve ever made. It’s a little bit strange, but it’s alright. You get used to it. I kind of skulk around. I don’t ask to be recognized. I’m always wearing a hat and glasses. I don’t mind if people are polite about it.

You’ve been acting for 40 years. How do you think film and television have changed?

You’ve got, what, 500 scripted shows? I was talking to Amy the other day, and we get all these Emmy screeners in the mail, how could anybody possibly watch all of this stuff? They should have categories. Emmys for HBO. Emmys for network. Emmys for Hulu. That’s the main thing that’s changed — the amount of stuff being put out there is amazing. And in film, it’s all tentpole business. You go to a ten-movie theater and eight of ‘em cost $200 million to make. It’s very different.

So, how do you find what’s good through all the clutter?

There are a lot of good things. I was watching Atlanta last night and I just think the originality of that show is beautiful. You never know what’s gonna happen week to week. It’s so quirky and fun. It’s cool. That’s one of the good things. There are a lot of really good things written, produced, and directed that would never be done in film.

Do you think TV is at a more creative point in its history than film?

You know, there are so many independent films being made that you don’t even know about, I can’t really say. I think there’s a lot of wonderful, creative work being done. I go out the Sundance Film Lab every June if I’m not working. They’re very creative. They’re wonderful.

What’s next? Hopefully the Montana film, right?

If it doesn’t happen, I don’t know what I’ll do. I’ll keep working outside in my yard.

Is that what you like to do?

Yeah, I got some acreage. That’s what I like. Be outside. Close my mind.

#ed harris #westworld #misc.#interview #vulture #2018 #q

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mayfuji · 5 years

Text

Oneus Twilight full comeback review

When I say full comeback review it’s because it’s a FULL comeback review. From the concept films to the Japanese verison, were gonna cover a lot so get a cup of something to drink cause this will be hella long aka Bible (I’m a nice person I’m telling you this beforehand).(You should do a Youtube video review then… nya… BORING)

So let’s begin. This is not the first time I follow a group comeback in real time… You know… Checking everyday the performances, so I kinda know how it works. We have gone through a lot of stuff… KARD You in Me, GFriend Fingertip, Red Velvet Peak a Boo, Dreamcacther as whole, BTS Fake Love, F(x) Dracula, BTS Wings album as a whole and last but far from least BTS Blood Sweat and Tears. I wouldn’t call some of them dark concept, I also wouldn’t call some of the sexy concept. By these examples you can see I have my standards pretty high. I’m that annoying perfectionist old uncle and declare myself guilty. For years Blood Sweat and Tears was the top song for me. (I’m a sane person ok… That doesn’t mean I listen to it 24/7). The MV had very beautiful aesthetics and I liked the lyrics and the song. Clothes were cool and the coreography too. F(x) Dracula would come in second and I never thought something could also join these two. Until… It happened. I knew RBW was releasing a new group but I just waited. Turns out I found out the group some months later then the actual debut. Oneus debuted with Valkyrie. The way they changed the coreography every stage, the amazing fashion sense, song was good quality. They had vocal thecnique, they had dancing it caught my attention and Valkyrie was straight to my playlist. Then… it happened. The group’s first comeback. I don’t know how, when or even who am I but I found out about the comeback EXACTLY AT THE RIGHT TIME (Technically not because I was 16 hours late). I know you know we know, we are not going retro like 80’s or 90’s. We are not going retro like acient Corea like BTS Idol. We are going retro 1500/1700 not Japan, not China, not Corea, EUROPE. Welcome to the renaissance. The MV was shot in Italy, the amazing fashion sense strikes again (I swear to God stylist min is communicating with me), the song, the lyrics, the coreography, the cool colored camera filters, I need to mention the vocal technique again, the rest of the album being consistently good (BingBing), I dare say nothing is perfect… But man… This gets 99,99% of what I call perfection. It’s a shame they didn’t win any music show… Because they are a newer group and still don’t have a large fandom? WHO CARES. Let me tell you something BTS sucess should have been in 2017 Wings… The high point of their artistity… Ateez was also a newer group AND THEY DID WIN. I give congratulations to them but Oneus needed to win and it had to be with Twilight nothing changes my mind. (Don’t come to me saying we can give them their win next comeback, it won’t do it) This type of thing only happens once in a lifetime, why? Repeat and it gets boring, they can do the same concept again but it won’t be the same, same for BTS wings. It’s not about quantity is quality. Veiws never mattered to me and now I can say with all my mighty that wins do not make art. (I was never a fan of streaming but you count my ass off this mess cause YES I did some small streaming of the MV, I did my homework) (Take in account they did this comeback with BLOOD IN THEIR EYES) (Please give Dreamcather and KARD their first win too. Did you know that with You and I Dreamcatcher also had comeback with blood in their eyes??). Let’s start with the song name… Twilight. Remember 2009 movie sensation Twilight? Yup that’s it… I know you know we know, we are going deep in the vampire/ werewolf style in here and why I said I know you know we know? Xion posted about it on Twitter…

THEY ARE AWARE therefore I know you know we know. JUST IMAGINE THEIR LIGHTSTICK AND FANDOM COLOR AND END OF YEAR PERFORMANCES. CHECK OUT ONEWE TOO.(I took the liberty of making a playlist with extra post promotion content (with English sub) - cause I know you all love content - linked below, you don’t need to thank me, not I’m not putting english girl, focus on Twilight)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTiTzw8HrCfxRiB1DyD77ktE9UQm6sBeQ

Just in case you haven’t watched this beautiful MV here it is.

youtube

Song, yes. Lyrics, yes, coreo yes, key point of coreo YES, Keonhee vocals YES (I trust this legend vocal thecnique more then I trust myself). Aesthetics? YES. Italy? I need to sneakly and illegally go there RIGHT NOW. This is a whole YES. ( Sir... If you think I haven't noticed the moon changed from previous album you are wrong cause I noticed. Sir are your albums going to complete the moon please say yes... Also... Have you noticed Woongie used the wet hair effect? + his brown eyeshadow is stunning.

Also line and center distribution is on the playlist for in deepth study... Twilight is basically Seoho eating up all the line AND center distribution and detail... the only thing he does is SING THE CHORUS. Also thanks Keone Madrid for making this coreo for Oneus (he also did BTS Blood Sweat and Tears - DO YOU SEE THE PATTERN). Also rumors that Oneus actually created about 40-50% of the coreo so also thank you Oneus hehe.

Bitch it's me we are taking about do you really think I would miss a possible plotline?? Xion is with a red diamond and later he breaks it into dust (I'm scared). Keonhee is with a ring. Ravn is looking at his own reflection in the water and Seoho is looking at his own reflection through a broken mirror. Woongie is with a necklace. I guess the high point in Leedo's individual shots is the wolf (question mark)... Woongie and Keonhee are the only members that change the eye color. Seoho and Woongie are the only members that simulate super powers (question mark). Summary they all lost someone.... Silence is also a way of communication... I'm not a huge fan of theories or the fanfics I know ya'll write later in wattpad but fell yourself served, you're welcome, no need to thank me.

Now some highlights.

Ok this goes straight up to the hall of iconic earnings… (Man... But his walk was so POWERFUL)

How ASIA did not notice two SKULLS in here and how they are not SHOCK??? The ring is small… BUT POWERFUL.

Question time, if they had money to do the CGI then why didn’t they erase this little hairs in Leedo’s eyebrow?????? We’ll never know...

MV behind (english sub cause I love you all ~~ plays english girl in reverse in the background ~~)

youtube

Humanity mystery here. They recorded a version of the coreography when the sun was actually falling down in real life and we see those scenes in the MV. But if the whole staff was SHOCK about the key part of the coreography being extremely perfect and beautiful then why not use it on the MV? Sure the version they used outdoors was pretty too but this was ALSO awesome and I think I need as many version of the MV as I can.

Album review

Of course I would listen to the whole album.

Intro - What can I say... it fells so chill out, kinda minimalistic I just loved it. Twilight - Just amazing... I liked the dumbstep, the music is confusing witch I find extreamly cool. English Girl - Let em tell you not my type of song... but the lyrics are extreamly funny and relatable... so I forgive (I’m waiting crazy ho now Oneus, do not disappoint me) BingBing- YOU DON'T FREAKING START A SONG IN FRENCH IF NOT AIMING FOR TITTLE TRACK LEVEL. Ok and can we talk about the coreography???? BEAUTIFUL and I want to know the mastermind behind it. I just don't know why this was not above English Girl on the tracklist... White Night - Ok a more slow song but as always Oneus always delivers. (low key Red Thread sequel??) Now - This gives me Calvin Harris vibes. More dance eletronic standard pop but it's good...

PACKING-

Look... the CD case is very unique but think about it... if you take your album from above there is a risk everything wil fall... (1theK unboxing on the playlist, cause they were the cover for 1theK youtube chanel so 1thek is Oneus bitch)

1theK Suit dance and Dance cover contest

youtube

Please give Seoho something that WILL NOT FALL FROM HIS SHOULDERS cause clothes are made to be comfortable. What is the point to take off the jackets when the night is COLDER??? (Wait.. let me answer that one… cause you can’t see black in black… I get it… BUT REGARDLESS) one of the mysteries we’ll never know. (Poor ties must have suffered a lot in the middle of the harnesses)

Now before we jump into the important stuff let me tell you a secret… Keonhee is the most difficult member to dress… why? He’s 1,81 cm tall… anything you give him to wear can make him look even taller and his face is more projected (did you know he uses braces?) so you really need to pay attention to his hair. We’ll use this information latter.

So the first performance ever was… Guess what… Before the MV was released and where? JAPAN (My half japanese ass is shaking). So people there kinda received a spoiler (clothes too) and Mnet uploaded it in the same day of the MV release so other people that weren’t at the kcon wouldn’t receive a spoiler. No complains here except Ravn chocker being TOO BIG and Keonhee clothes making him look taller. (Nice expensive microphones you got in here)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaxWHKRm9xo

Now the actual comeback in Corea begins. (Images cause tumblr won’t let me upload the videos) (I’ll upload the links below the image) (No… before you ask I’m not uploading english girl, too much work… focus on twilight) ( As I spoiled above English girl was the chosen B side. Look... I know it's us international fans unofficial anthem but c'mon... BING BING) (I know I'll miss camerawork in here but I'll eventually get the hang of it) (Don't ask me about make up cause unfortunately I don't have 4k 360° to get THAT close up. But from other close up photos I trust their make up artist)

WEEK 1

31/05/19

https://youtu.be/qe2p_nKZ7uo

First choice was the ACDC Black in Black 1.0 clothing set from the MV, Keonhee clothes making him look taller as usual… Pretty clothes but… YELLOW LIGHTS??? with red?? is this ketchup and mustard? The lighting did not appeal to me and shout out to the physics mystery.

2:03 (Time stamp cause I love you all) HOW ON EARTH DID HIS EARPIECE END UP THERE? I guess we’ll never know.

01/06/19

https://youtu.be/adhuo5pMVbw

Keonhee clothes making him look taller as usual… but oh his hair was NICE… Fight me I’m the last person in the world to advocate in favor of coconut hair but it looks nice on him. No yellow lights so it’s a win situation, I like to call this the GLOVES set of the MV.

02/06/19

https://youtu.be/j7DhdicaV9I

Kudos for the physical scenario and Woongie earings (same as the MV). Keonhee clothes making him look taller as usual… no yellow lights… and this comeplete all the clothes they wore in the MV. Please… save Leedo from his chocker… too large.

04/06/19

https://youtu.be/Rl1f0vSxP14

THE SUITS a whole YES. Keonhee clothes were good but we got yellow in here and this is a NO, Woongie coconut hair was also a no but Seoho red highlights? YES. Also… Woongie… the harnesses should go UNDER the jacket not ABOVE it…

05/06/19

https://youtu.be/xmLNWuAyc9Q

Repeating clothes… but this doesn’t bother me. Ketchup and mustard lights is a no. Woongie earing yes and in case you haven’t noticed Seoho gold huge ass rings… blame the yellow lights. Keonhee hair was actually nice.

06/06/19

https://youtu.be/LcRe_SUL7Ok

Physical scenario yes, yellow lights no, clothing NO, Seoho huge ass rings YES. That’s the summary.

07/06/19 v1

https://youtu.be/hlrKa9b_P60

Uniforms? Approved, Leedo earing approved, Physical scenario approved. Orange? NO. Keonhee harmonizing with himself 1.0? YES

07/06/19 v2

https://youtu.be/3bI3GY4nALE

So… they blessed Japan with that set of clothes now it’s Corea time. Ketchup and mustard lights is a no. No earings or rings today… but Keonhee harmonizing with himself 2.0? YES

08/06/19

https://youtu.be/0K1bhbuvYYU

You know what this SMELLS like? PERFECTION. Purple, black and red the holly trinity of colors. Keonhee clothes finally making justice to him, his hair was also nice. A LOT of light in the scenario to get THAT CLEAR LOOK cause I want to SEE things. Not a single yellow light… Woongie earings? YES. Please save Ravn from his chocker. Seoho dear… what is the point of wearing a black waistcoat… WITH A BLACK SHIRT? (But it’s approved regardless).

09/06/19

https://youtu.be/kf_C_GaCeGA

I present you Michael Jackson Black or White 1.0 clothing set. Woongie earing? YES. The light was a bit tricky. Chorus was beautifully black and white. We also had blue/green. In the red one we had yellow lights but it didn’t bother me at all. Overall it’s approved to me.

WEEK 2

11/06/19

https://youtu.be/eQcu7UH3354

They repeated clothes, but it didn’t bother me. Seoho rings? YES. No yellow lights. This is also super good and I can’t choose between the two times they wore this clothes.

12/06/19

https://youtu.be/DdI37HMWAJk

They repeated Michael Jackson Black or White 1.0 set. Ketchup and mustard? Purple? Lighting was a no. Seoho ring was a yes.

13/06/19

https://youtu.be/hBGhwPXRVec

New clothes yay. Keonhee hair and clothes were nice, I don’t know what to think about this set of clothes because I was never a fan of prints or this variations of cream and brown. The way the lights were positioned was tricky but the small amout of yellow lights didn’t bother me at all. No rings or earings today unfortunately.

14/06/19 v1

https://youtu.be/8jyzbTMMUgw

Clothes were repeated witch is a no. Do not think that instead of wearing silver or gold wearing black jewelry will make me forgive the clothes. No rings or earings today unfortunately. Ketchup and mustard lights is also a no. Keonhee clothes making him look taller as usual… This whole performance was a whole no.

14/06/19 v2

https://youtu.be/7fIFwRPK9tk

I present you Michael Jackson Black or White 2.0 set. IT’S HIGH END JEWELRY YOU WANT? IT’S HIGH END JEWELRY YOU’LL GET. Seoho rings (in both hands), Woongie earings, Keonhee double necklace, Leedo earings and TRIPLE necklace, do you know how powerful you have to be to use a triple necklace? The only things that killed it were the hand microphones and the yellow lights…

14/06/2019… I will never forget this day… How do they DARE to arrive at the recording… like THIS?

and when it’s performance time they step down the clothing? Well the clothes they were using ARE pretty but the ones they arrived? STUNNING ( aka ACDC Black in Black 2.0). Stylist min there are occasions you need to save the outfit to use… just arriving at the recording with those clothes is a waste of fashion. It could easily replace one of the times you repeated clothes. (I may say make up and contact lenses were on point too)

15/06/19

https://youtu.be/4LticXTZC8U

(Thank you music core for the low definition)

Yay new clothes, the hairs and clothes look SO FLUFFY. Seoho rings yes, Woongie earings yes, Leedo rings YES, lighting was good, no complains here.

16/06/19

https://youtu.be/z1A7pgFJMVE

First of all I’m really mad because they cutted the song. Second I’m really mad because they didn’t upload on YouTube. It’s seems like this is was pre calculated beucase it was EXACTLY WHEN THEY CHANGED THE COREOGRAPHY. I don’t know if they changed because they knew the song would be cut or if it was really a coincidence… humanity mistery again. Lighting was so beautiful until they came with the yellow… Woongie hair was so fluffy and earings was a yes. Clothes were Michael Jackson Black or White 3.0 and that’s it… That day I learned my lesson… you either are team rings or team gloves… there is no in between.

WEEK 3

18/06/19

https://youtu.be/xGnQRWIejOc

They repeated Michael Jackson Black or White 2.0 set. Yellow lights? This is a no.

19/06/19

SKIPPED CAUSE WEEKLY IDOL

20/06/19

https://youtu.be/uDQhH1X6SCk

I present you the new year eve set… Happy new year everyone, white and gold. From the same writers of black waistcoat with black shirt we have white waistcoat with white shirt. Ketchup and mustard lights? No. Seoho rings, YES. Woongie earing? YES. Shout out Ravn looks super good and Leedo chocker was middle term. Xion was not present and they had to do small changes (I SEE YOU SEOHO THANK YOU SIR)

21/06/19 V1

https://youtu.be/OOdS62gRMOg

Suits YES. Seoho rings, YES, we didn’t have earings… I’m sad. Ketchup and mustard lights? No.

21/06/19 V2

https://youtu.be/gU8cdpbEK0k

I’m sorry… WHAT????? Clothes are a no… Grey? With black purple and red? No. Noodle hair Woongie? NO. Woongie earing? Yes. Hand microphones? No. Yellow lights? Like…

SERIOUSLY??? NO.

22/06/19

SKIPPED

23/06/19

https://youtu.be/dBDRVdC9ntQ

(I’m so sorry for the low definition here)

Same old story. I’m mad they cutted the song, didn’t upload on youtube and exactly when they changed the coreography. On the other side we have new clothes yay. It’s not only black and gold powerful match. It’s black and gold with snake print cause I’m a bad bitch. It’s the only place where they NEEDED to use the yellow lights and I’m actually mad they used black and white. Someone save Seoho from his chocker. Color scheme was great but it’s not like the clothes desing are bad. I just feel it could have been better. We didn’t have earings or rings today BUT HEY, FANSING, BING BING HAS A COREO AND ITS AWSOME. 23/06/19 will be in my heart (even though it was just a sneak peak).

4 WEEKS BICTHES

Ya’ll misbelievers will hear this song untill your ears BLEED

25/06/19

https://youtu.be/rg_x8oKwibs

Woongie you really fooled me here I was scared. He only did the fingerheart cause it was their last performace at that specific program. Repeating clothes… Lighting was good, no earings or rings… Well really tricky. I don’t see roots so you all did a touch up on the hairs and Woongie got a little bit blonder… I don’t like it, it don’t think the color suits him. Keonhee hair got a little darker but no problems… That’s it.

26/06/19

https://youtu.be/dMUSRroP1K0

Repeated the new year eve set. Seoho had to repeat the clothes for me to understand the clothes. Seoho ring yes, Woongie earing yes. Lighting was huge no, all crazy combinations like blue and yellow and purple and etc. But in the ending even though it was yellow the lighting was pretty.

27/06/19 ~~FINALE~~

https://youtu.be/TfEpkKwGQuA

We going Marilyn Monroe Woongie? His earings as always YES, Lithing... well… very tricky since we almost couldn’t see it but it didn’t look promissing. White and cream with black look more promissing then grey with black and red and purple… but not my favorite clothes, they have better weapons… Well… that’s it.

I wish they would go the whole week but they didn’t…

SUPRISE BITCH, YOU THINK 27/06/19 WAS OVER? THINK AGAIN

Oneus first photobook in Milano was announced. I won’t go into detail cause this is not the goal here... but we get it... YOU WEREN’T JOKING AROUND IN ITALY. Usually it takes a lot of time for a group to come up with a photobook so I’m proud and that was pretty smartass way to finish promotions if I may say...

Now… you have seen me against the yellow light for the whole post and you must be asking yourself WHY? Well… when you have the work to color correct the entire MV to cool colors YOU MUST AS WELL DO IT ON THE PERFORMANCES… that’s it… it’s called color pallet and you should respect it. Or in other cases like when they used black and gold respect the color palette of the specific performance.

Now let’s go to 05/07/19 Oneus is a newer group so I wasn’t even dreaming about this cause again... It takes a while for this to happened. My spider senses told me something was off when they announced they would be attending breakout in Japan and SURPRISE. Twilight japanese version was announced. Versions A/B/C and CD+DVD. Some questions were raised. There will be another version of the MV and new clothes? If yes I WANT SOMETHING ON THE SAME LEVEL. Will there be a instrumental version? Will they put Valkyrie japanese version too? They would all be answered later... AND MORE. They had the audacity to show BingBing complete coreo for the first time. They must really love Japan. Legends also say that they already performed the japanese version in this festival.

I was getting uneasy with the release date coming closer and no photos of the covers of the CD’s... then 25/07 they released a schedule... I wasn’t really expecting a schedule but I was happy cause next day we would have a teaser of the MV and surprise, it was basiclly the same thing. Good because is quality stuff but bad cause I was waiting somehing new... 29/07/19 We got tracklist and GUESS WHO WAS THERE?? EXACTLY, VALKYRIE JAPANESE VERSION +++++ TWO new songs.... We are blessed.. until 30/07/19 where we got what actually was happening...

IS THIS WHAT YOU CALL LIMITED CD+DVD? It follows Raise US desing but I wanted something more... It fells like it’s missing something...

Version A (Clearly Valkyrie) IT’S INSTRUMENTAL YOU WANT? IT’S INTRUMENTAL YOU’LL GET. But I’m sad... where are the other two new songs you may ask?

Verson B OOONNEEEE of the new songs (ok we also have it’s instrumental too and cover is ok)

Version C THE OTHER SONG (we have it’s instrumental too and I didn’t know people had silver skin...)

Do you see the strategy? Each version has one of the songs so you have to buy all the versions... And I didn’t like this...

07/08 The MV was released. They don’t have official youtube chanel so they uploaded in the company that represents them in japan.

youtube

The major changes were the individual shots as they had to sing in japanese. Nothing to complain in here, their pronunciation was good but the lyrics timing didn’t seem to match the song. Valkyrie had a better japanese version then Twilight... I loved the two new songs we got too.

(Bless the person who putted Korean and Japenese side to side, I saved the video on that huge playlist)

Also, can we appreciate how well Oneus and Twilight was received in Japan? They went to national television, topped Oricon AND Billboard Japan. Tower Records was EMPTY on the first day and they promoted for almost a whole month with shows. Japan basically adoped Oneus.

But nothing is flowers. It’s was extreamly difficult to buy this single online outside japan.LET ME TELL YOU. CD japan? Nothing, Amazon japan? Nothing, Yahoo Japan? Nothing. Rakuten? Nothing, YesAsia? NOTHING. THE ONLY PLACE I COULD FIND TO BUY THIS ONLINE IS TOWER RECORDS OFFICIAL WEBSITE WITCH GUESS WHAT IT IS IN JAPANESE. AND TO BUY OUTSIDE JAPAN YOU DON’T BUY FROM THEIR WEBSITE. IT’S FROM ANOTHER WEBSITE WITCH TOWER RECORDS THEMSELFS PUTED THE LINK IN THOSE HUGE ASS BANNERS IN THEIR WEBSITE. Summary it was literally giving birth to buy this online.

I tought I could rest BUT NOT. They would attend Soribada Music Awards... THEIR FIRST AWARD SHOW. Look I love Valkyrie... but I want Twilight to be performed and I WANT FASHION OK. I’m full of expetations, do not disappoint me Oneus. The day of the award show came and well... I was actually disappointed. Simple suits and the performance clothes? They repeated one of the worst weapons in their closets. C’mon... if you are going to repeat you have better choices IT’S NO EXCUSE... that’s the summary...

Well, from now I have covered everything... Don’t sleep in Keonhee vocals, Oneus has TWO MAIN VOCALS, appreciate Woongie vocals, that’s it.

If y’all want in my research I have build a really small database of Woongie earings in this comeback, maybe in the future I can do a compilation.

And that’s the end… if you got here congratulations you are a warrior and me too for the hours of links, print screens and editions… Byeee

#oneus #oneus kpop #oneus seoho #oneus keonhee #oneus hwanwoong #oneus ravn #oneus raise us #oneus xion #oneus twilight #oneus leedo #kim youngjo #oneus youngjo #lee seoho #kim gunhak #oneus gunhak #lee keonhee #yeo hwanwoon #son dongju #oneus dongju

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krreader · 6 years

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BTS scenario (College!AU) → falling for their teacher.

pairing: student!bts x teacher!reader fandom: bts warnings: college!au ; non idol!au genre: fluff ; crack ; mentions of smut ; a hint of angst

a/n: I’ve decided to go with college au, since student x teacher relationships in high school are like.. not cool lol.

ask box | masterlist | masterlist for original stories | fandoms | faq

kim seokjin

Jin hated this. He hated how you made him feel.

With anyone else, he was the most confident man in the world, but with you? He turned into a stuttering mess.

And now his friends had dared him to go up to you and tell you that you were pretty and all he had been doing for the past five minutes was either stutter or stare at you.

“Mister Kim,” you smiled, “I do have another class to attend, so could you just..-”

“You're the prettiest woman in the whole world,” he said in one go, almost stumbling over his words, that’s how fast he had said them.

And immediately, you both could hear his friends laughing. You glanced behind him, finding all of them standing at the door, but they were laughing too hard to notice that you saw them.

“A dare?”

“I'm so sorry,” he shook his head, “They made me do it, they..-”

But before he could say anything else, you placed your hand on his shoulder and kissed his cheek. And then the laughing stopped.

“Don't ever do anything you don't want to do, Seokjin. You're too good for that,” you whispered encouragingly as you leaned back, “And thank you very much for the compliment.”

And as you walked away, Jin realized that he was so in love with you, that it actually hurt him.

min yoongi

Yoongi had thought the second he'd step out of high school would be the second those awkward boners in school would stop.

And to be fair, they did for the first three semesters.

And then..-

“Hello,” you said with the most gorgeous smile he had ever seen in his life, your heels clicking against the floor, your blouse buttoned up just enough to hide the important parts, “I'm professor (Y/L/N) and I will be your teacher for this class for this semester.”

Yoongi fidgeted in his seat, trying to think of his goals, about why he was here. Reminding him that these were the reasons he was here.

But sooner rather than later he realized that the only real reason he continued coming to this class wasn't the class itself, but you.

Even if he had to deal with awkward boners again.

It was worth it.

jung hoseok

You all know this situation.

The people around you talking and yet somehow the teacher thinks you're the culprit and calls you to answer the question she had just asked.

And true, Hoseok hadn't listened to a word you've been saying, but not because he was talking to his friends, but because he had been staring at your.. well.

“Can you answer my question, Mister Jung? Then please come to the board.”

Oh god, he'd make an absolute fool out of himself. Yet, he still got up and hesitantly walked over to the board where you were waiting for him.

“I.. don't know the answer, professor,” he whispered, so that only you could hear it.

“Then you really should stop staring at my ass and pay attention in my class,” you whispered back, but smiled anyways.

Fuck, that tone you used on him just now..

Exactly HOW was he supposed to focus?

Hoseok liked to consider himself a very dominant person, but god, for you, he'd drop to his knees any day.

kim namjoon

“Namjoon.. could you stay for a second?”

Namjoon was the last of the students who wanted to leave, the thought of being alone in a room with his hot professor making him both excited and nervous at the same time.

“Sure, professor,” he turned back around, slowly walking over to your desk.

That smile of yours that you showed him..

..god, he was so in love with you.

“I read hundreds of essays each semester, most of them making it clear to me that the student either wrote it the night before, or just copied most of it out of the internet,” you pulled his essay out of your bag and smiled fondly, “Yours, however.. well, let me just say I've never read one where a student was so passionate about a subject like this.”

“Thank you,” he had worked hard on it, so it was nice to see that you valued that.

“In fact.. I made a few calls to a couple of friends of mine working in this field. All of them have agreed that you would be an asset to them. So, if you ever want an internship or maybe even just a small job.. give them a call. It would be a shame to let your talents go to waste.”

So not only were you the most beautiful teacher he had ever met, but also incredibly supportive? He got compliments from professors all the time for his hard work, but never did one of them offer him a chance like this.

And he would never forget that.

“Thank you so much, professor. Seriously. You mean the world to me..- I mean..-” his eyes instantly widened, “This! I mean this means the world to me.”

Ah, he was just so cute, wasn't he? Cute and smart.

park jimin

It wasn't hard to see when a student was attracted to you, especially if that student was a guy.

There were the obvious stares and dropping jaws, but there were also.. other parts that they couldn't control.

Park Jimin however, was definitely one of the cutest students that had ever fallen for you. You knew that he could barely focus in your lectures and you were actually 90% sure that he never wrote down what you wrote on the board, way too far gone to watch your every move.

So at one point, you asked to speak to him after class. Because as cute as he was, you had to fail him if he didn't start paying attention.

“Mister Park.. can I see your notes?”

“My..- my notes?” his eyes widened.

“I'm just curious,” you smiled politely, but from the way Jimin blushed, it was clear that he didn't have any notes, “Listen. I think it's very sweet that you like me so much, but I need you to pay attention, alright? I don't want you to fail my class.”

“S-Sorry, Professor,” he immediately lowered his head.

“It's okay. Just.. please try to pay more attention in class.”

“I will,” he wouldn't. He couldn't.

kim taehyung

“Why is everyone so excited?”

“Didn't you hear? The substitute professor is super hot,” Taehyung's friend said happily.

No, he didn't hear about that.

So he wasn't at all prepared for who walked through the door.

It really was like in the movies, slow-motion, your hips swinging from side to side, while your eyes held a certain sparkle in them.

The reality was much different however, and when you walked past Taehyung, he accidentally said: “Fuck me,” all eyes immediately on him.

Including yours.

“What was that?

“Ah, I said uh.. lucky me. For having such a smart and beautiful professor. Really lucky me,” Taehyung coughed, trying to pretend like he wasn't just having an existential crisis.

jeon jeongguk

Jeongguk was a nice student. One of the quiet ones that mostly kept to himself and never raised his hand in class, even though you knew he was by far the smartest kid.

However, you also knew that he was in love with you. It wasn't hard to tell by the way he was always staring at you when you weren't looking and every time you did look at him, he quickly lowered his head and blushed.

What you were scared of was the idea of his grades dropping because of this crush on you. You wanted him to pay full attention in class..

And so after class, when everyone was out, you decided to take a seat next to him and talk to him in private for the first time ever.

“You know that there are many girls your age out there, right Jeongguk?”

“Huh?” his eyes widened.

“You're an attractive young man, smarter than most men I know that are older than you. You basically just have to snap with your fingers and ladies will line up to talk to you.”

He was too much of an introvert for that. He'd rather spend his nights at home and play video games than going partying.

“Why are you saying that?”

“I'm just trying to make you understand that there are more women out there just waiting for you.. women.. that aren't your professors,” ah. So he had been too obvious after all, “You are so smart, kid. Don't stop paying attention in class because you're looking at my breasts or..-”

“I never did!” he quickly said, a smile spreading on your face, actually believing him.

“What I'm saying is.. I don't think I'm right for you.”

He'd like to disagree, but he was way too shy to do so. Maybe, one day, when he was successful and had more confidence, he'd come back here and sweep you off your feet like he wanted to do now.

#bts imagine #bts reactions #bts x reader #bts #bangtan #bangtan reaction #bangtan boys #kpop #kpop imagines #kpop reactions #bangtan sonyeondan #reader #bangtan x reader #bangtan boys x reader #requests

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tassium · 5 years

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#TAYLOR SWIFT APPRECIATION LIFE

PART 6 - reputation

(part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5)

Listen. This was by far the hardest review for me to get going into properly. I love every single track on this album without exception, and it was SO HARD for me to come up with coherent comments to make on all of them.

But I think I managed alright, and we’re finally about to embark on the wild ride that is @taylorswift‘s 6th studio album, reputation.

Hang on tight, and please keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times.

1. ...Ready For It?

No, Taylor, none of us were ready for this, not even a little bit.

Can we just talk about that introduction? like. What a way to kick off an album. This track grabs you by the hand and just pulls you along for the ride, like “get in losers”. That little throat clear at the beginning! the beat that drops off and lets her voice go all light and ethereal! This song is a wild ride from start to finish, and I love it. “Let the games begin” indeed.

And that MUSIC VIDEO!!! I want the rest of that movie, please.

I made a reaction video to this track/video and if you wanna check it out, click here

2. End Game

I love the synths at the beginning of this song, but I’ll be honest that Future’s verse took some time to grow on me. Ed’s verse and Taylor’s on the other hand? Boy. Those grabbed me from the start, as did the harmonies that are laced all through this track.

Is it just me or was this the first time she used the word enemies for the people she’s clashed with? I feel like that’s a new thing.

I also reacted to this one when the video dropped, click here to watch

3. I Did Something Bad

Okay so first and foremost. Taylor Alison Swift, in the year of our lord 2017, swearing on a track out there in front of god and everybody. I feel like if there was any remaining ‘oh she’s just a sweet young thing’ attitude from anyone, this album shattered it to pieces in the best way.

The production on this track, I can’t even. This is an explosive track, it just hits you like a train and drags you along for the ride. There’s a bit on the way out of the track where she says “I did something bad” in a straight spoken voice and it is. Too much for this weak swiftie!

4. Don’t Blame Me

This sacrilegious hymn of a track. I swear. That almost broken electronic wavering synth behind the chorus. The choir effect on her voice. The stripped down beat-driven verse. The lyrics in general? My dude. I can’t. Also anyone who still thinks she has no range can physically fight me after that note after the bridge. That’s power is what that is.

Also can we talk about that behind the scenes clip of her filming the angry distant vocals for the chorus? I’m weak.

5. Delicate

Another thing I’m weak for is use of vocoder. And that beat that comes in for the verse! AND THAT LITTLE ‘delicate’ IN THE CHORUS!! kills me every single time. I’ll be honest here and say that the video for Delicate didn’t really grab me as much as some of the others, but the song itself certainly did.

Can we just. Talk for a second about how sad it is to think about that concept of ‘wow. you must really actually like me if you’re hanging around through all this mess.’

One of my favorite things in this track is the descending harmony behind “sometimes when I look into your eyes”. I always want to sing along with the harmony instead of the melody on that part because I find it so compelling.

6. Look What You Made Me Do

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN! that building drumline is absolutely gorgeous and I can’t not air drum to it - I don’t even play drums!

Also, yes, I am fully aware that I JUST SAID on the 1989 review that Out of the Woods was too repetitive for me, and here I am raving about this song which... honestly. Is just as repetitive if not more so. But this song just grabs me so much more and so instantly that I really get into the repetition (And maybe that has something to do with the familiarity because of the sampled melody).

That plinking lead line thing, and oh my god, the percussion on the second chorus. I can’t.

The old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now CAUSE SHE’S DEAD. And I feel like with lover about to come out, maybe we’re killing off yet another “old taylor”

click here for my reaction video

7. So It Goes...

I read somewhere that the tracks with the ellipses on them mark out the edges of the “side A” part of the album, and it’s the spot where things shift over to a different feeling, and I believe it.

Again, this track has absolutely outstanding production on it, the softness dropping into the driving beats, and the bridge. Oh my god. I’m still not over that whispered “1 2 3″. And that line “i’m not a bad girl but I do bad things with you’ reminds me of blank space and that “I can make the bad guys good for a weekend” it’s like the inverse of it.

Also welcome to the first track on this album that I refuse to let my dad listen to - “scratches down your back” indeed t a y l o r

8. Gorgeous

Adorable baby voice!! This song is so great, I love it to pieces. I love the sort of bitter quality about it and the way she’s taken how tumblr and twitter fandom talks about celebrities and made it just a mainstream piece of her song.

Also is that a bell like the kind they put on counters to get the attention of the person working? because I can’t help but hit the bell (air bell!) when it comes in and that’s what I always picture when I do so.

I can’t come up with anything more coherent so .... guess I’ll just stumble on home to my cats.... ;)

9. Getaway Car

More vocoder! I love. The wording in this song is so evocative and brings up such perfect, crisp mental images for me, and she applied that to perfect metaphors for the situation in question. I love the idea of how.... like. It’s a rebound relationship, right? but it’s the getaway car from the previous relationship. And really, you can’t be surprised when something like that doesn’t last as long.

Also that outro beat? Be still my heart!

10. King of My Heart

THIS SONG!!!! More gorgeous vocoder use, of course, but then also. So many little things about the lyrics that get me! “Salute to me, I’m your American queen” and “jag-u-ars” and the way she sings “luxury” and just!!! so much!

As for the musical side of things, I absolutely adore that really subtle acoustic guitar in the chorus, and the DRUMS in the post-chorus (or whatever you want to call that bit). They’re so full and almost feel-it-in-your-chest even just in headphones! (I’m still not sure I survived that concert)

11. Dancing With Our Hands Tied

Early on I had a half-baked theory that this song is about John Mayer, but the timeline doesn’t work at all, so... definitely not. Still though, think about it. “slow dancing in a burning room”/”swaying as the room burned down”

That aside, though, this song makes me think of the Halsey track Bad at Love if ONLY because of the theme of melancholy looking back at relationships that felt doomed from the start (or didn’t, as the case may be, I don’t know)

But also just. Taylor’s vocal performance on this song. Those ‘ad libs’ in the background of the final chorus have so much power in them.

12. Dress

And here we have the other Taylor song I won’t let my dad listen to. He would be scandalized to death by this song.

I love that lyric about the golden tattoo. I can’t really explain what it is about that line that gets me so much.

More beautiful production - something about the tracks on this album feels so grand for lack of better word. Plus there’s that moment in this song “say my name and everything just STOPS” and the whole thing goes silent... I will never forget the feeling of that line coming out and the way the whole stadium went dark.

13. This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

Ahhhhh I love this song. Gotta love a nice sassy Taylor style clapback, right? Beautiful.

“Feeling so Gatsby” is the best line for getting her point across. You don’t even have to be particularly familiar with the work that references, it just brings the opulence to mind effortlessly.

That laugh in the bridge though, and the tumbling low piano crash afterward, I love it so much. Again to reference the tour, it was such a great extended moment of laughter. So great.

14. Call It What You Want

This... Is probably my favorite track on the album, if I were pressed to name one. I adore this song so completely. I still get just emotionally overcome if I take the time to really pay attention to this song when it comes on. I love it so much, and it’s such a beautiful hopeful song. Like, yeah, my life’s been a right mess but it’s better now with you in it, and just.... this song fills me with feelings like that one animation in the lizzie mcguire movie. 90s kids, you know the one I mean. (lover, the song, gives me those same feelings, just amplified like 30x)

The smile in her voice on “yes” can almost bring me to tears all by itself.

my reaction video can be found here

15. New Year’s Day

Speaking of beautiful mushy-feelings-bringing tracks... The fact that these two are paired back to back like this is just bringing both barrels to my emotions. Gosh.

At the show, I’d taken my shoes off literally two songs prior - I was the girl carrying her shoes in the lobby.

I love so much that it’s just her with a piano and then a little bit of guitar, and those soft self-harmonies on some parts - “please don’t ever become a stranger” reminds me of Enchanted.

This song will without fail make me cry because it’s just so soft and I’m so happy for her. I can’t believe how long it’s been and she’s so happy and in love and. Even when this song came out. Gosh.

We did it, yall. We’ve made it up to date, and it’s almost time for Lover to come out! I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready. My emotions aren’t ready. Gosh.

Anyway, thanks for coming along with me on this ride. See you on the other side of the release!

#taylor swift #reputation #album review #Taylor Swift Appreciation Life #Our Lady and Savior Taylor Swift

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