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hacked-by-jake · 3 years

Text

Take you home ²

𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞...

>𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝟷

Summary: Jake can’t accept that this has been done to you, the thought torments him, and all he wants is revenge, and he gets it.

Words: 4,2k

Genre: Angst / Fluff

Warnings: Swearing, insulting

A/n: Well, hi.

So, this one has taken on some dimensions again, they weren’t planned, about 3k. Now, it is a bit more. Actually, the whole thing should not be quite so extensive, but well, once Jake starts, he doesn’t stop.

Thank you alls so much for the support in part one, I was really surprised. And thank you very much for wishing Part Two, which means a lot to me. ❤️

So, that’s a bit more related to alternative two of part one. Actually, it was supposed to get a little darker and generally the plan was different. The ending should be different and longer, but I think it’s good as it is now.

I hope you’ll like it.

And apologize for the mistakes.

(I think I wanted to say more but I forgot xD)

Anyway, have fun, stay healthy and take care of yourselves.❤️🌹🎭

There lies the hacker now, in the early morning hours, not even the sun has risen already, wide awake, full of emotions and agitated.

In his arms, you, fortunately asleep, deep and firm.

He also wanted to sleep, he has been trying for two hours but it doesn’t work. And how should he? After the past hours it is practically impossible to sleep.

The only reason you sleep is probably the effort you had to experience. Your body was finished after the shower. You were still shivering from the adrenaline, agitated and yet so terribly tired.

So now he lies here, doesn’t know what to do with himself, doesn’t know how to react, how to feel. TThe pure fear that lay in your voice when the call came suddenly, gives him goose bumps again, crawling all over his body.

This fearful tone of your voice won’t let it go.

What if he hadn’t been there in time? If he hadn’t been able to save you in time? If it took him a minute longer? If something had gone wrong?

He can’t even imagine what could have happened. At this horrible imagination in his head, he pinches his eyes tightly. Try to remove the images from his head that make him sick, he would like to vomit, so horrible is the thought of it. He shakes his head, tries to drive away the thoughts, but they don’t go away. His fingernails drill deep and firmly into the skin of his palms. It hurts, it’s uncomfortable, and if he still squeezes even harder, he’ll start bleeding, but he has no control over it. In his mind, the worst scenarios circle and he can only imagine, if even he feel so bad now, how bad did you feel in this moment?

He controls himself to be quiet, exhorts himself to loosen up again so as not to wake you. You need sleep. You deserve sleep. But these pictures, these fucking pictures, they're not going away. The imagination that someone would touch you- NO!

The hacker opens his eyes wide! He must not go in this direction, he must look straight out and make sure that you get your revenge, as you deserve! That he protects your honor, that he makes everyone see what happens when someone wants to do something bad to you.

He’s Jake, one of the best hackers in the world and now he’s gonna show what he’s capable of.

His breath is so heavy, so full of anger and hatred, so full of negativity that he would like to hit the next wall.

He bites his lower lip when he thinks about leaving you here alone. He needs to be in his study. He just has to find out who this guy was. That bastard.

Just really reluctant, actually he would just like to lie here with you, but he has to, he's winds cautiously out of your embrace.

He can’t lie here and wait, he has to do something. Now!

Even if he feels weird with it, he opens the laptop that is in his bedroom and directs it so that he can see your sleeping shape. He will simply connect the laptop to his PC to keep an eye on you. As soon as you get restless or wake up, he could be with you right away.

That’s how he’s gonna do it.

He gives you a final and gentle kiss on the forehead before going to his study.

After he has prepared his work setup and everything is ready, he wastes no time and immediately gets to work. Quickly scan the data of the man who was tracking you.

Everything that had ever happened in his life, the hacker would find out now. And of course, the most important information is quickly obtained.

Name

Age

Date of birth

Address

All bank accounts

His social security number

Where he grew up

As what he works

What friends he has

With whom he is friends

His pets

On what elementary school he went

On what high school he went

Who his parents are

The siblings

All information about each individual family member

And at the very end, the police certificate of conduct with all the information who are important for him. And that’s more interesting than he thought. The further he read the information from the police, the more his emotional state changes.

It starts with drug abuse

Bodily injury in two cases

Insult

Gun possession

Domestic violence against his ex girlfriend

....

The list is shockingly long: a two-year stay in a prison, probation and community service.

The further Jake read, the more worried he is that he couldn’t have been there in time with bad luck. But he’s all the happier he could save you.

At the same time, he’s thinking about telling you who the guy is, because he doesn’t know how you’re gonna take this information. But he would worry more about that later.

As he glances at the laptop’s camera, a smile creeps up on his lips. Meanwhile, you are lying on his side of the bed, your arms are tightly wrapped around his pillow and your head is pressing into the soft fabric, as if you were looking for his proximity in your sleep.

How perfect can a person be? How perfect is this beautiful being lying in his bed? Immediately the tingling starts in his stomach, as always when it comes to you.

He’s so terribly in love. So insanely strong.

Again, he begins to regret that it has not progressed further between you. Everyone knows that he loves you, and everyone knows that you love him. And yet you both have not yet managed to finally do what you both so much want. But the fear of destroying everything is so great. You two spend so much time with each other, become best friends, best friends who feel more for each other than just friendship.

In addition, his fear of putting you in danger is added. He is not a simple man, no one who prefers a regular daily life, no fixed working hours, no fixed income, even if he earns more than most others. As a hacker you have one or the other possibility. Nevertheless, he is still wanted by the government. Not as strong, and the danger is not as great as it was a few months ago, but it still exists.

But last night’s incident somehow inspired him to think, and he feels different when he thinks about it. He wants you, he wants you with everything you have, he wants you by his side. He always wants to protect you, he always wants to be there for you, he wants you by his side, he doesn’t want to live alone in this apartment anymore. He doesn’t want to be alone anymore, he needs you, he has always done it and he will always need you, he wants you so bad!

This incident clearly shows that life is always uncertain, and this incident shows him that he is lying to himself. He wants to be able to say that you’re a couple, he wants it so badly. So fucking urgent.

"I want to share my life with you," the hacker murmurs, driving through his face with his hands. Now his thoughts have drifted in another direction again, but you’re just sitting in every corner of his mind. You are the biggest and most important part of his life and that since the first time you met.

But now something else is more important. After that, he can think of you a lot, but now revenge counts.

He breathes in and out again before turning back to the screens and begins to gather more information.

About half an hour later, he releases himself from his cramped posture. The further he delves into the life of the man, the more aggressive he becomes.

This guy’s not a petty criminal, the way he thought he was, this guy’s got dirt on him through and through.

And the further he reads, the more he wonders why this guy is on the loose and not in a maximum security prison.

From organized crime to gang activities. Drug dealing, counterfeit money, prositution. All the shit every gang is involved in.

Disgusting chat histories, images, threats of other people, extort protection money. And the hacker just assumed the guy is just a disgusting bastard. But he thought wrong.

And yet, it’s actually only good for him, really very good, because Jake has now a lot more options than he thought.

He thinks hard about how to proceed. How best to tackle this whole situation, so that he has the best chance of success.

But what’s also positive for is the fact that this guy really doesn’t deserve anything other than what the hacker’s up to.

To destroy a person’s whole life is actually nothing that he would do; he simply cannot reconcile this with his morality. Even if it’s about you, but now he’s not just doing it for you, he’s doing it for everyone. This is a favor he does to the whole society.

Oh and he’ll do it with pleasure.

Meanwhile, he has gained access to the man’s laptop and can take a closer look at the living room. He also got lucky and found some camera shots taken by a bakery that is on the street where you were being followed.

Unfortunately, it has no sound and yet it is more than enough. He saved the recording and censored you on it.You don’t have to be broadcast in video format all over the world.

But it is still clear that he's persecutes you. It is more bad than quite recognizable on the videos that he is angry and that he shouts something, but when you see the video, everything is explained by itself.

That was number one on his list.

Let's continue with point two.

And point two is a summary of all the information he could find that could even remotely involve anything criminal.

And this is a really long list, he can prove everything, he can prove every single point. With all the information that will help.

Videos, chats, pictures, recording of conversations. Locations, meeting places, other names.

Because his plan has changed, and it’s not just about destroying this man anymore, it’s about destroying all the criminals around him.

Point two, finish! Now, point three, and that’s the confrontation with the man.

The most important information is in front of him as he puts on his headset and leans back relaxed.

The recording program runs as soon as he turns on his microphone. The recording is automatically converted into the computer voice and then sent as a video along with his sign, the eye, as a gift to his new friend.

He puts one leg over the other and folds his arms in front of his chest.

"Hello Ted, my identity doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you’ve made some serious mistakes, and about this, I will teach you now."

And send.

Soon the man’s cell phone will start ringing, and it will only stop when he gets up and then listens to the hacker’s nice message on his laptop, which will breaking his little world in which he lives.

But it’s his own fault.

A look at the camera of his own laptop tells him that you still sleep quietly and calmly, which makes him happy. -

The ringing of the mobile phone and the terrible ringtone of the persecutor annoy the hacker so slowly. He didn’t think it would be that long before Ted wake up. But when it finally happens and a door is opened, a slightly arrogant grin appears on Jake’s face.

It’s Showtime.

"What the hell?" grumbles the sleepy guy as Jake makes the video file pop up.

The eye flickers on the screen and Ted skeptically approaches it.

He pulls back his desk chair and sits down.

"What the fuck?" he hisses angrily and pushes a button on the keyboard.

"Hello Ted, my identity doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you’ve made some serious mistakes, and about this, I will teach you now."

Amused and eager, Jake follows the course of the situation.

Ted becomes more and more hectic, the more facts the computer voice enumerates. He probably didn’t expect this to ever come to light. He wildly presses all the buttons he can find, tries to turn off the laptop but he has absolutely no control over it.

At the very end, after all the crimes have been enumerated, the computer voice informs him that he has video footage of his nocturnal activity.

"That was a big mistake, Ted, and it’s time you understood that you understand how unimportant you are in this world"

After Jake has decided to leave Ted alone, with the knowing that he can now say goodbye to his life as he knows it, he move on to point 4.

And point 4 involves sending all the information to everyone who can do something with it. But don't worry, that’s not the finale.

The finale will be something special.

Everything collected is sent first to the police in Duskwood. He doesn’t think much will happen, but the police will certainly not be the agency that will take care of Ted, in the end.

After the police, Jake sends the information to his place of work. He won’t be needing the job in a few hours anyway even longer.

Then his sister gets an e-mail with everything there is about her brother. Because Jake found out that poor girl always had to take care of him. Had to pick him out of the cell at night, had to pick him up of the hospital one or the other time and things like that. Among other things, good Ted broke into her apartment once, but this was not reported to the police. Jake saw in a chat that Ted promised to stop doing criminal things. This didn’t work out that way. The hacker feel sorry for the sister, she certainly doesn’t deserve it and yet this is about more than just that.

And after all the important people have received the information, he finally go to the final, which the hacker is most looking forward to before he can finally return to you.

Back to you, to his bed where you lie, this day can’t be more beautiful, can it?

Well, the morning show on TV sounds good, doesn’t it? The channel is littered with scandals and really unscrupulous means of getting attention.

No one will be angry with him if the actual broadcast is interrupted for a few minutes to do something good. And to appease his vengeance. All he has to do is fade in everything, play the video and the rest would come by itself. The spread on the Internet. The information is forwarded to other authorities like the State Police Authorities as it is about more than just the pursuit after revenge for his love. Gang crime is not liked by the state.

So then, curtain up, the final begins.

About half an hour later, now it is shortly before 9 in the morning, the whole took longer than he had expected, he sinks back on the soft mattress. Satisfaction spreads and seeing you sleep so peacefully also makes him tired.

Carefully he pulls the blanket over himself and then grabs again around your body to bring you back into his arms. He hides his head in your neck bend and a few moments he falls asleep with a smile on his face.

He couldn’t stop himself from posting some things on Ted’s Instagram page for his personal feeling. Pictures that Ted prefers not to watch for the Internet, but Jake doesn’t care; in a few hours, Ted will never have access to the Internet again. Hopefully Ted makes friends in prison fast, or it won’t be so funny for him.

Well, don’t mess with the hacker’s love.

----------

When you open your eyes, Jake still lies peacefully asleep beside you.

His hair stands wildly off his head and he has put his arms protective around you. Immediately a feeling of home spreads within you and you smile.

His body nestles warm against yours and you wish you could always wake up like that.

Bu, if you didn’t have to use the bathroom.

Carefully peel out from under his arms without waking him.

With leaving Jake’s arms and getting out of bed, the first pictures of last night immediately come back into your head. A few moments you stare at the wall before you shake your head. You don’t want to think about it. Actually, you never want to have to think about it again, you just want to forget it, focus on everything that’s more important now. And this is you, your feeling that you don’t want to get involved in this situation, you don’t want to leave room for this man. You don’t want him to have room in your life, and you don’t want to investigate any further. Actually, you don’t want to know who this guy is. You just want to focus on how lucky you were, that everything went well, that Jake saved you, and that nothing happened to you.

Jake!

You want to focus on Jake! And most importantly, that you finally want to be with him! He was there to save you right away. He was ready to help you immediately, he protected you, especially the way he protected you. The way he sounded, as if he was doing everything he could to save you. And this irrational fear that this could not work with you two, it’s bullshit! You want him with everything he has and you don’t want to be just friends anymore. You long for his lips, for his kisses that don’t just go on your forehead or cheek. You want to finally be able to say that you are a couple, you want him so badly, so damn badly.

Like a miracle cure, the thought of Jake really distracts you. You didn’t even know where your thoughts went, it just happened. But it always is, it’s just in every corner of your mind.

After you left the bathroom, you turned on the coffee machine. You’d stay awake and pass the time until Jake wakes up and you could have some breakfast. While the coffee is cooking, you drop down on the small sofa in the hacker’s living room and decide to pass the time with a little bit TV.

You switch through the channels looking for something interesting but don’t really find something you like.

When the Coffee machine gives you confirmation that the hot drink is ready, you quickly jump up and leave the remote control there.

While you prepare your coffee, you listen to an advertisement about an electronic toothbrush and then one about the latest vacuum cleaner.

With your cup you go back and then put a thin blanket from the sofa around your legs.

The News Show that you sometimes see starts broadcasting.

And you really expected a lot, really a lot, but you never expected what was actually going on.

While the news announcer reports on a gang crime, a picture is displayed. There’s a man to be seen, and you’re a thousand percent sure that’s the man who chased you yesterday.

Silently and with your mouth open you are listening as a whole gang was arrested, warehouses and factories were stormed. Drugs and counterfeit money were confiscated and in the end, how a hacker uncovered all this.

During the narration about hacking another channel and the materials shown there such as images and video, your heart begins to beat faster and faster.

And when it is shown what was published there, you put your hand infront your mouth in shock.

"Oh my-" you watch the camera shots where you can clearly see the street, which is only a few streets away from your apartment.

And then you see a censored shadow running, a few moments later a man.

You and the man who was now identified as Ted.

Jake.

That was Jake, you know it!

You don’t know how to react. While the pictures and videos scare you, since this man met you yesterday, you feel moved to tears on the other side. When the hell did he do that?

Did he do it because of you?

Where does he get so much information? Sure, he’s a hacker but THAT?

When the news anchor finally ends her post with the words "This man will probably never see the light of day again" and "The whole Internet speaks about this man and the victim who was persecuted by him. When you see this, we wish you all well!"

You have the feeling that you are breathing again for the first time. Like you’ve been holding your breath all this time without noticing.

You stutter at things, try to explain, sort out and understand your feelings. But somehow, just like last night, it’s too unreal.

"You shouldn’t know that in this way"

Startled you turn around as Jake’s sleepy voice appears behind you.

He's leaning in the door frame and yawns once.

With an open mouth you stare at him, "Did you-?" but you break off immediately because you have no idea what to say.

"Is everything okay? Shouldn’t I have do that? I wanted to tell you myself but now it’s too late. I wanted to teach you gently," explains the hacker, and his gaze slowly turns into a worried one.

"Did you- I mean- you were -" you stutter, can’t bring out a normal sentence. Point you to the TV, to you and back to Jake.

"I’m sorry, MC, I didn’t mean to hurt you or anything," he explains straight away." It was just, I don’t know, I was so mad! I still am! This disgusting bastard was following you, he-"quickly breaks off. His hands are clenched into fists, his eyebrows pulled together and his breath accelerated. However, he doesn’t want to remind you unnecessarily, even if that didn’t work out so well through the news. He really has to hold back from screaming completely and somehow making sure that Ted gets more than what he already has.

"No Jake, I-I" you just can’t find the right words and before you know it, you threw yourself awkwardly over the sofa, rolled over it and stood two steps later directly in front of Jake. Without control, you reach into his neck with one hand and pull his head down towards you. Not quite gently your lips hit on his.

And just as quickly as the kiss came about, you finish it as quickly.

"Oh, um, I... so.. I-" you laugh nervously, still holding his head. "Um, sorry?"

Jake also laughs nervously.

"I shouldn’t have done that," a little embarrassed, you let go of his neck and kick a few steps away from him.

"No, no, everything was fine, I thought it was great, so I mean-" a slight redness adorns Jake’s cheeks.

"Sorry" you mumble with a much too high voice and try yourself on a grin that probably looks like you’re in pain. Jake makes an waving off hand move, then it’s quiet between you for a moment. You chew on the inside of your cheek and let your foot slide across the floor in a semicircle, "Did you..- Did you say you thought it was great?" You ask as unimpressed as possible, as if it were a question about the weather.

Jake’s eyes grow big, "Did you find it bad?"

"No, no, of course not!" you assure him quickly." It was great, I would do it again and again."

You sigh.

Smiling, you put one hand to your forehead and look back at the hacker. Jake smiles too, and then you start laughing out loud. Until you have to hold your stomach and the first tears run out of your eyes.

"We’re so ridiculous," you chuckle, shaking your head over you two.

"Do you think?" Jake asks, grinning, "I find us great together"

"Me too" you agree and look back at him.

"Jake I-"

"MC I-"

At the same time you start to speak and then both of you are immediately silent to let the other go first.

"Do you first" you offer and he returns it to you.

"No, I’m fine, say what you wanted to say," you confirm.

"I can wait, you start"

You’re twisting her eyes again.

However, Jake understands this wrong and at the same time the magic words leave your lips "I love you"

Masterlist

And thank you @a-d-alison your submission gave me a lot of motivation🤭❤️

#duskwood #duskwood jake #duskwood mc #duskwood jake x mc #duskwood fanfiction #duskwood hacker #everbyte #everbyte studios #everbyte duskwood #everbyte game #duskwood game #duskwood everbyte #iamjake

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fruitcoops · 3 years

Note

This technically isn’t a tik tok trend, but I can totally see Sirius putting up a compilation of clips of loops playing hockey, both on the arena, and in his private rink!! Maybe as a surprise, or an anniversary of some sort, or maybe simply because he loves him so much. I know this is very vague... sorry!! I love your writing, and hope you have a lovely rest of your day/night!!

This ask is awesome and not super vague at all! It’s a different format than usual, but I hope you enjoy it all the same. Have a great day! Credit for Coops/ Sweater Weather goes to @lumosinlove!

Number One: Fastest Player on the Team

Two hockey players in gold and red tensed at a starting line, then took off in a flash when the whistle blew; within moments, the player on the left pulled ahead and zipped past the camera in a blur. He reached the finish line a full two seconds before his opponent and took his helmet off—Remus’ hair was damp with sweat, but his wicked smile as Finn collapsed dramatically on the ice showed no sign of exhaustion. “Hell yeah, baby!” someone shouted behind the phone.

Number Two: Freckles

A slideshow of pictures started to play: Remus grinning at the camera, Remus stretched out on a beach towel, Remus fast asleep in an old Wisconsin sweatshirt with his face squished against a pillow. Most of the photos must have been taken in the summertime, because dark speckles cascaded across his cheeks, chest, and arms.

Number Three: Bookworm

A still frame from their first Tiktok showed Remus holding an empty spoon and reading his book with a deep frown, then transitioned into a new video.

“Honey, did you walk the dog?” Sirius’ voice asked out of view. There was a murmured response. “Re?”

“In here.”

In the living room, Remus was sitting sideways in an armchair, hunched over a paperback like a gargoyle. “How long have you been there?”

“Shhh, I’m reading.”

“I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Number Four: Smart as Hell (Also a Nerd)

“—but it’s impossible,” Remus was saying to Pots, gesturing wildly. “That’s not how space works!”

“Are you an astronaut?” Pots countered.

“I don’t have to be an astronaut to know fire doesn’t ignite in a vacuum, James! If blasters existed—and they won’t until scientists figure out either cold fusion or miniature nuclear power, but that’s a different discussion—if blasters existed, and if one X-Wing shot an Empire ship in a weak spot, the Empire ship wouldn’t explode. Fires might start inside, but as soon as it was exposed to outer space all the oxygen would dissipate and it would just break apart, or maybe implode.”

“You two realize you’re debating the physics of a movie called Star Wars, right?” Lily asked drily.

“Yes,” the two men said in unison.

Number Five: Best Dog Parent

Another photo compilation began, this time of Remus and Hattie. In the first one, he was cradling her like a baby while she slobbered on his chin; in the second, he was standing knee-deep in a small lake and calling to her. The final picture was one of Sirius’ favorites: Hattie was splayed on the living room floor in a ray of sunshine, passed out cold, while Remus curled protectively around her side as he slept.

Number Six: Closet Romantic

“Hey, baby?” Remus asked as he walked into the kitchen, where Sirius was eating a sandwich and scrolling through Twitter.

“Mhmm?”

“Are you French?”

“Well, kind of—”

“Because Eiffel for you.”

A vivid blush crept up Sirius’ neck and he set his sandwich down, dropping his face into the crook of his elbow. “Oh my god. Oh my god.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Sirius laughed without looking up. “Nobody believes me when I say you’re sappy.”

“I know,” Remus said, sounding rather smug about it.

Number Seven: Not a Morning Person

“Sweetheart, it’s time to wake up,” Sirius said gently behind the camera. His hand and forearm appeared as he shook Remus’ shoulder.

“Time is it?” Remus barely moved; outside, it was still dark.

“Uh, five thirty,” Sirius said around his smile.

“Fuck off.”

“Remus!”

“If this is for a prank, you’re sleeping on the couch,” he grumbled, turning over and pulling the covers back up around his shoulders.

“You don’t want to go on a hike with me?”

“Ask again at eight or take the dog with you. Your choice.”

Number Eight: The Laugh

A series of short clips played, each of Remus laughing. Some had Sirius in them, and each time the quick down-up of laughter happened, a dopey smile spread across his face.

Number Nine: You’re Competitive...

Remus sped down the ice at breakneck speed and slammed into an opposing player, stealing the puck away and turning hard to pass it to Sirius. His eyes flashed as the camera zoomed in and the commentators went wild.

The next video showed him at practice, clicking the puck through cones so fast it became a blur of black until it flew into the goal at the end of the drill. “Beat that, Talker,” he called as Thomas Walker skated into the starting position. Talker mumbled something under his breath and Remus smirked.

The final clip was from the gym, where he and Logan were locked in a competition. “Put more weight on,” Logan panted to Leo, rising from yet another squat with a wince. “I can’t lose to the fuckin’ PT.”

“You can and you will,” Remus shot back as he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and began a new set of squats. “Try me, Tremzy.”

Number Nine Point Five: …And a Willing Participant in Pointless Competitions

“Hey, how fast do you think we can ride these carts down the aisle?” Pots asked. Lily’s phone camera was clear enough to capture the look he, Sirius, and Remus shared.

Sirius grabbed another shopping cart. “There’s only one way to find out.”

“We’ll race to the strip of black tiles there at the end,” Remus said, sending Lily a quick grin. “Winner gets to ride in the basket for the rest of the trip.”

Number Ten: You Chose Me

Only one picture faded in this time. Sirius was beaming at the camera while Remus kissed his cheek, both still sweaty from practice and glowing like they had been lit up from the inside. On Sirius’ left hand, a simple gold-and-silver ring wrapped around his finger.

New words appeared on the screen in the same script as the numbering and titles. There are a million more things I could add to this list—your sarcasm, your singing, your mischief, your big heart—because I love everything about you, and I can’t wait until we’re married. Happy anniversary, mon loup!

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wavesmp3 · 3 years

Note

idk if you're still doing the title thingie but if you are maybe changmin with drunk on you 👀

drunk on you | changmin x reader | (disclaimer: the formatting of this story is something ive read before but I can’t remember where I’ve seen it)

vodka.

it begins when your teenagers. not actually, but it’s the first time you and changmin really hang out and talk apart from the past two years of shared classes and curt greetings. a party, you tell your friends when they ask where the hell you and ji changmin became friends the following monday, we shared a vodka shot. you don’t think to mention the way you both spit out the clear liquid immediately after.

jello shots.

university is underwhelming for the most part, a blur of all nighters and drinking too much caffeine before every exam. but at least you’ve had changmin by your side the entire time. you hadn’t arrived at university expecting to grow so close to him, but it seems fate had different plans. from evening strolls exploring campus freshman year to preparing jello shots in kevin’s apartment two nights before graduation. “one for the road.” you say, handing him a shot and holding one of your own, a sort of homage to all the shots you’ve taken together throughout the years. taking the shot from your hand, he jokingly warns you not to end the night in your own puke. you gasp, shoving his arm, “hey, that only happened once.”

his eyes widen dramatically at that, pupils darting around the room as if waiting for someone else to come to his defense. it’s just you two. bringing the plastic shot up to his lips he mutters, “it happened on your birthday every year but yeah, okay, sure.”

tequila.

going out tonight was meant to be something fun. after having a particularly rough week at work, you and changmin both decide a night out is what you need. but there’s something inexplicably off about the chill running down your spine and the tingling in your fingers. there’s something not right about how cold you get waiting outside for a car despite the number of tequila shots you took.

“what’s wrong?”

“nothing,” you shake your head at his question, hoping the lie becomes the truth, “just cold.”

clicking his tongue, he pulls his coat off and dumps it on your shoulders, muttering, “i told you to dress warmer.”

and with the warmth of his jacket draped over your shoulders, you seem to forget that anything was ever wrong to begin with.

beer.

“i told you a scary movie was a bad idea,” you complain, sinking further into changmin’s sofa as if it’ll get you farther away from the tv screen. the original plan wasn’t to watch a horror movie tonight, but when changmin realized the two of you have never watched one together, he insisted on it.

he turns away from the screen to look at you, bursting into laughter at the blanket you have pulled up to your chin. all you’re able to do is mumble a small shut up.

“i didn’t know you’d get this scared, but here,” he says, reaching over to take your hand in his, “just squeeze when you get scared. it’ll be fine. i promise.”

and in his defense, the tactic is effective because the moment he holds your hand, the movie is all but forgotten.

this shouldn’t feel so weird, you think watching the way he runs a finger over your knuckles. you’ve held changmin’s hand before. but then what is it about right now that ignites a flame in your chest and a fluttering in your stomach and—oh

you like him.

gin and tonic.

things get sorta weird after that.

hanging out with changmin becomes near impossible. because bluntly, you aren’t sure you can handle the way you feel like your heart will implode everytime he looks at you and makes you laugh. you start avoiding him, pulling out lame excuses with each text you get from him asking to hang out. it feels odd to not see changmin as often as you used to, wrong even. but there’s something more profoundly wrong and off about the way you’re up at night thinking about him that makes you say no when he calls asking if you want to go out for drinks that friday.

“you’re never free anymore,” he whines when you reject the plans, claiming to have to work late that day. you don’t respond to that, unable to make yourself lie to him again. he only sighs, a tired and frustrated sound, then murmurs, “i miss you.”

you hang up soon after that.

wine.

“let’s play truth or dare,” someone suggests at a gathering of old university friends. an entirely out of place suggestion when compared to the fancy cheese and expensive wine that kevin prepared for tonight.

(“what is this?” you had asked upon arrival, snickering at the display. kevin only waves you off beginning to name the different types of cheese. and when changmin arrives, five minutes after you and already laughing at the quiet jazz playing in the background, kevin gives you both a tired look and walks away, muttering something about adulthood.)

surprisingly, kevin is the first to agree.

and as you go around the circle, tipsily giggling when chanhee admits to being the one who broke kevin’s blender during junior year, you catch yourself thinking back on those days. it’s almost funny how simple things used to be back then and how complicated things have become now. watching changmin laugh at chanhee’s admission, you long for the days before you realized you were in love him.

“okay, changmin truth or dare?” chanhee asks.

“truth.”

“have you ever had a crush on anyone here?”

the question sends a few ‘oohs’ traveling through the air and your gut straight to your throat. you can’t bring yourself to look up from your wine glass.

“yeah.” changmin admits, clearing his throat. the whole room erupts.

“who?”

“that’s too much.”

“it’s no fun if you don’t say who.”

“i- well,” he hesitates, rubbing the back of his neck. and it’s in his small moment of hesitation that the room goes quiet. you look up, for the first time since the question’s been asked, and find changmin staring at you. it takes another second for you to realize that the entire circle is staring too.

“me?” you breathe, tapping your own chest in disbelief.

“yeah,” he laughs, covering his face with his hands, “back in college.”

the game continues and everyone, including changmin, seems to move on. you, on the other hand, spend the rest of the night thinking that perhaps college wasn’t as simple as you remember it being.

—

“i had no idea, you know,” you start, walking down the sidewalk with changmin who had insisted on taking you back home arguing that it was on his way anyways, “that you liked me in university.”

he chuckles shyly, “i sorta thought everyone knew.” you shake your head no. after some time, he says, “actually, if i’m being honest, i liked you before then too.”

“as in what?” you breathe, hoping your voice doesn’t give away how nervous you feel at the suggestion. “like high school?”

“yeah,” he shrugs in a nonchalant way that doesn’t at all match the erratic beating of your heart, “i probabaly started liking you the first time we met.”

you stop walking entirely, a sudden burst of fearlessness throwing the question “when did you stop?” out of your mouth before you can even think to hold it in.

he doesn’t answer immediately, visibly gulps, before whispering a ‘huh.’ the single word so quiet you would’ve missed it if you hadn’t been listening so intently for it. stepping closer, you repeat, “you started liking me back in high school, so when did you stop?”

and maybe it’s the faint smell of wine that’s hanging off your tongue or the sirens going off in the distance. or perhaps it has something to do with the flips your stomach is doing when changmin fails to answer again. but something about the night air and the numbness in your fingers, gives you just enough courage to make you step closer, lean towards the boy you’ve known forever, and ask, “did you?”

and for the third time that night, he doesn’t say anything back. instead he stands still, gaze flicking between your eyes and your lips like he can’t decide where exactly to focus.

“truth or dare?” he finally asks, so close you can feel the exhale of words before you really hear them.

“truth.”

he smiles at that. a small one that makes you feel as if it’s only meant for you. “do you like me too?”

this time, it’s you who doesn’t answer. choosing to close the distance and kiss changmin instead. and it’s almost cheesy how right it feels when his palm comes up to cup your cheek and how incredibly weak you get in the knees when he does. this is it, you think fisting his shirt in an attempt to pull him closer, this is where i’m supposed to be.

“so,” he begins, pulling away, “is that a yes?”

smiling, you mumble, “what do you think?”

#the boyz scenarios #changmin scenarios #q scenarios #the boyz x reader #changmin x reader #the boyz drabbles #the boyz fanfic #the boyz imagines #q fanfic #changmin fanfic #changmin imagines #changmin drabbles #kpop scenarios #kpop imagines #kpop fanfic #mine #drunk on you #asks #ask game

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ayuuria · 3 years

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Yashahime Translation: Livedoor News Interview

Please do not repost this translation without my consent! This includes screenshots of any type and amount. If you wish to share this translation, simply link to this post.

For more information regarding the use of my translations, click here.

The New Story That Continues the World of Inuyasha, Anime “Hanyō no Yashahime” Director x Producer Interview

With the Resolve to Reopen the Concluded “Inuyasha” World in Their Hearts. The Behind-the-Scenes Production of “Hanyō no Yashahime”

For 12 years from 1996-2008, “Inuyasha” (original creator: Takahashi Rumiko) which was serialized in “Weekly Shōnen Sunday” (Shogakukan) was a feudal fairy tale that depicted the heart of the battle between demons, humans, and half-demons for the Shikon Jewel.

Anime “Inuyasha” broadcasted from 2000-2004 followed “Inuyasha the Final Act” from 2009-2010, after the original work was concluded. It is a timeless masterpiece that is now loved around the world.

Continuing that world of “Inuyasha” is the new original anime, “Hanyō no Yashahime”, which began broadcast in October of 2020. Many Inuyasha fans were surprised at the shocking set up that the daughters of Sesshōmaru, a popular character in “Inuyasha”, would be the protagonists.

With everything from the production, background music, and cast performance having an Inuyasha flavor mixed in, being moved from seeing the new characters and the “Inuyasha” characters coming together on the TV screen, to the absolutely unclear mysterious developments, the hearts of fans around world have been grabbed once again.

Since broadcast began, despite having completed one cour (translator’s note: Cour = 3 months or 13 weeks/episodes), the full picture of the story still cannot be seen. We carried out an interview conversation with director Satō Teruo and producer Naka Toshikazu regarding the things of interest about the work up until now and ahead.

We Prepared a Device That Would Allow Inuyasha Fans to Enjoy (the show)

— One cour has passed since broadcast began. Are the responses reaching you?

Naka: The response is incredible. Especially on social media.

Satō: You’re right. I’m also on Twitter, so I get reactions from all over the world. I truly get a sense that it’s work that’s receiving a lot of attention.

When I look at comments on the official (Twitter) account, most of them are from overseas. Not only do I once again realize that “Inuyasha” boasts a worldwide popularity, I do my best while feeling the pressure of “Hanyō no Yashahime” being a work that inherits that world.

— Apparently the one who suggested the project was Suwa Michihiko of ytv Nextry, who was the producer for anime “Inuyasha” and “Detective Conan”. How did you two feel when you first heard about the project?

Naka: “We’re going to do a story that’s been neatly concluded once before again!? How!?” is what I felt at the beginning.

From the moment I first heard about it, I was still floating around what kind of story it would be. “I might make it a story about Sesshōmaru’s daughter.” was as far as I had gotten. I thought “If I’m not mistaken, if we make it like that, then there might be something to do”.

Satō: There were talks of “wanting to do it” for 2-3 years and Rumiko-sensei, Suwa-san, and the “Inuyasha” staff had mulled over the idea.

It’s just that not only was the story of “Inuyasha” itself was very neatly concluded, after “Since Then” (the special edition (chapter) depicting the after story) we had Rumiko-sensei tell us “There’s nothing left to do in “Inuyasha””.

There was a rather heavy responsibility in touching that and as an Inuyasha fan myself, it made me really think about “In order to create a new story out of a work that was neatly concluded, what sort of form does it need to take?”

I think Inuyasha fans would watch, so I felt that I wanted to release something that everyone would agree to as much as possible without breaking their (idea of) “Inuyasha”.

— In terms of the target audience for “Hanyō no Yashahime”, do you consider Inuyasha fans the main target? Or do you focus on the new audience that does not know “Inuyasha”?

Naka: For us, we want people to like the new characters so in that sense, we keep in mind the new people.

It’s just that a lot of time has passed since “Inuyasha” was broadcasted and I think among the people who watched “Inuyasha” back in the day are people who have become parents. I think watching it as two generations, parent and child (Mom and Dad who liked “Inuyasha” and the children who are touching it as a new work), is the most ideal.

Satō: The voice actresses who voice the three princesses (Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha), are from a generation that watched “Inuyasha” right when they were kids. They chit-chat while recording every week (laughs).

It would be great if the new target group could go back and watch “Inuyasha” because of “Hanyō no Yashahime” and think “There are demons that appeared in “Hanyō no Yashahime” too”. On the reverse side, I would like those who watched “Inuyasha” to enjoy “Hanyō no Yashahime” from the point of view of “It’s the demon from that time”.

For that reason, we inlayed different devices and components into the story.

Naka: We periodically put in devises that would make people who like Rumiko-sensei’s other works smile a little bit. Like the hoodlums who appeared in episode 2 or the monkey gag in episode 9.

— In other words, while still keeping in mind those who don’t know “Inuyasha”, you are of course creating a work that Inuyasha fans can enjoy as well.

Satō: Making sure we don’t destroy the image of “Inuyasha” characters is at the forefront of our minds, especially when we bring them out into the “Hanyō no Yashahime” world. This is so that people watching don’t think “That’s not the kind of character they were”.

Of course, when we bring them out, we always have Rumiko-sensei review the scenario. She’ll tell us “It should be fine if it’s like this” and apply that to the scenario which is how we’ve been doing it.

Naka: We’re careful so that when “Inuyasha” characters take the mound, they don’t eat into the spotlight of the new characters while also not losing their “status”.

— Among the fans, the way the broadcasting order of “Hanyō no Yashahime” to “Great Detective Conan” is similar to “Inuyasha” to “Conan” became a popular topic of conversation. Was that formation something Yomiuri TV-san was particular about?

Satō: The order is the same as when it was broadcasted during the golden hour of 19:00-20:00 (7-8pm on the 12-hour clock). We’re grateful that they’re nostalgic about it.

Naka: I don’t know if they were particular about it or not, but it was decided from the start that it would be broadcasted during that timeframe (before “Conan”). It’s possible that it just turned out that way, but from the production side, it felt “just like before” in the end.

Satō: It’s like (Yamaguchi) Kappei-san (role of Inuyasha and also Edogawa Conan/Phantom Theif Kid in “Great Detective Conan”) has 2 consecutive appearances (laughs).

Naka: Not only is the connection between the timeframe the same, but also when we heard that SixTONES would be doing the opening for the October cour, we thought the flow looked the same as “Inuyasha” since it would be a group from Jonny & Associates that would be singing (Editor’s note: In the past, V6 and Tackey & Tsubasa were in charge of the theme song for “Inuyasha”).

In the end, we’re also curious as to how the structure is the same as during “Inuyasha”.

A Character Cannot Come to Life Without Working Out the Fundamental Aspects

— Next, we will ask how story the of “Hanyō no Yashahime” was created. We just heard from Naka-san that “When I first heard about it “I might make it a story about Sesshōmaru’s daughter.” was how far I had gotten”, but were there any different ideas regarding the direction after that?

[Characters bios written following the question but I’m skipping it]

Naka: We proceeded with that intention as is.

It’s just that even if it’s a daughter, we couldn’t quite settle whether the daughter would be twins or an only child. We couldn’t decide until right on the line of “If we don’t decide what sort personality the character will have at this stage, we may have to relook things including the broadcast timing” (laughs).

Satō: We pretty much decided after directly talking to Rumiko-sensei.

— What did Rumiko-sensei tell you?

Naka: Regarding the character persona, she pointed out things such as “With only the setting, you don’t know why they speak that way” and “Why they dress like this doesn’t feel right to me”.

Especially with Towa, it took a long time for Rumiko-sensei to understand and agree to the part where “She dresses like a boy because she’s this kind of persona”. That’s where we struggled the most.

Satō: For Rumiko-sensei, apparently, she understood Setsuna and Moroha straight down like “So this is the kind of child she is”.

However, only with Towa did she say, “If you don’t clearly boil down and solidify how she will grow and what sort of foundation she’ll have, the story development will become blurred wouldn’t it”.

With that point, it was a lot of work deciding Towa’s character.

Naka: Not just the settings, but we had Sumisawa Katsuyuki-san (in charge of series composition for “Inuyasha” and now this work as well) vigorously write the scripts for episodes 1 and 2 and show Rumiko-sensei “With this story flow, Towa will respond like this” and “We’ll use this language”.

With that, we put things in order in a “But, we probably don’t need this kind of language after all, right?” kind of way.

— It was explained in the story that Towa dresses like a boy because “It’s easier to fight in”, but is that one of the settings that was solidified like that?

Naka: Yes. The result of coming up with different reasons and many ideas was that we ended up settling on a conversely simple reason.

Satō: Rumiko-sensei casually said “Isn’t “it’s easier to fight in” good enough?” (laughs). We were turning up a lot of different rationalizations. (translator’s note: Not confident on this sentence) For example, “As a girl, there was something she didn’t like”.

But it also became “I don’t think that’s true” …… It made us realize it was fine to have something simple and straightforward.

— So Rumiko-sensei was involved with the character persona starting from the foundation.

Satō: I learned a lot from speaking with Rumiko-sensei as I was creating the characters. Rumiko-sensei’s way of thinking is very logical and upfront. For example, “Because (she’s) this kind of child, (she) behaves like this” or “(She) Won’t say something like this”.

That’s why, people who view the work will see their foundation. In my head, I knew “If you don’t work out the fundamental aspects, the character won’t come to life” but I came to realize that once again.

In the anime, there were many people who put out ideas starting with Sumisawa-san, but I thought it must be a lot of work for Rumiko-sensei to create a manga while consulting with the editors.

We’re Mindful of the Composition that “Towa Sets the Story in Motion”

— With the characters solidified, did you receive any orders from Sumisawa-san as you planned the story?

Naka: With “Hanyō no Yashahime”, it started with Sumisawa-san first writing the scenario that would become the first manuscript.

In that regard, we discussed with him things such as “Keeping in mind of the development ahead, please pay attention to this part” or “Please put this device in”.

More precisely, there was a lot of discussion about Moroha’s position at the beginning. There was the fact that Moroha was the easiest character to move, but we wanted him to keep in mind as much as possible that she (Moroha) should show her concern for Towa and Setsuna in a way that ensures they’re at the forefront.

Satō: To the writer, Moroha is like a “Mini Inuyasha”. Hence there was a tendency to naturally center the story around her.

However, Sesshōmaru’s daughters, Towa and Setsuna, are the protagonists this time so we wanted (the writer) to keep that in mind.

Because Moroha is easy to understand with her character and Setsuna is a female version of Sesshōmaru, when their vectors become conspicuous, Towa appears overshadowed no matter what. “The protagonist getting overshadowed by those around them troupe.” is something that happens in original works.

That’s why we’re conscious of the composition of bringing Towa into the center and using her to move the story whenever possible. That’s the part we especially placed importance on when putting together the story.

— Next, please tell us the appeals of the three protagonists. Starting from Towa please.

Naka: Regarding Towa, she inherited Sesshōmaru’s silver hair, has a boyish outfit, and has an outward appearance that would make girls think she’s attractive.

However, her values are surprisingly modern, and she has a naiveness about her which Setsuna calls out within the story. I don’t think there have been many characters who have been balanced like this thus far.

Although, at the current phase, there’s a point that what the goal behind her actions is might still be a little weak.

Satō: Just as Naka-san said, Towa has a half-hearted kindness and naiveté; how that will change as she travels with Setsuna and Moroha. Please look forward to that growth as you watch the story.

I think there are people who get impatient seeing Towa’s current indecisiveness (laughs).

What will that kind of protagonist experience and how will her feelings change from that. It will make me happy if people think “Towa’s changed; she’s matured” at the end.

Naka: I think having lots of room for growth is what gives her that protagonist feel. Conversely, Setsuna is a relatively standard character. However, on the one hand, she does have a kind side.

Satō: She does show a little affection after all (laughs)

Earlier I said “a female version of Sesshōmaru” so I think her nonchalant kindness is the same as his. The vector of her character direction is easy to understand which is her appeal.

— It seems Setsuna coldly pushes Towa away, but also shows concern for her. Despite saying, “The curse of the Dream Butterfly doesn’t need to be broken”, she goes along with Towa’s search for the Dream Butterfly.

Satō: Just as the line “I can’t readily accept that” in episode 3 said, Setsuna cannot accept Towa as her sister.

However, I believe she understands Towa’s virtues as an individual. We would like everyone to pay attention to how Setsuna draws the line of “I can understand Towa’s good qualities, but I can’t acknowledge her as an older sister” and the point at which that line is crossed.

Will the day ever come where Setsuna will address Towa as “Towa nee-chan” ……

— It feels as though the distance between them is getting shorter, like when she almost went along with Towa’s high-five in episode 11.

Satō: Little by little. Within that, we would like for you to please look forward to how their feelings intersect when the time comes.

Naka: In that episode, it looks as though she gets along with Towa, but when Towa tried to lay her head on her lap, she didn’t allow it. I was watching with great interest like “So that’s where she draws the line” (laughs).

— Next, Moroha.

Naka: Moroha is pretty much just what you see (laughs)

Satō: She’s a hybrid of Inuyasha and Kagome. If her theatrical elocution is like Inuyasha’s, then her actions are understandable like Kagome’s.

In that sense, I think she’s a character that viewers can easily connect with. There’s also the fact that currently, all the gag lines are relatively being placed on Moroha (laughs).

Naka: In earlier episodes, her level of participation was high but lately she’s been in charge of punch lines (laughs). For example, when they didn’t take her to the battle in episode 10 or when she got caught up in Setsuna’s attack in episode 11.

Earlier, we discussed how “We were careful not center too much around Moroha” but it put us at a disadvantage as a result and I feel a little bad (laughs). However, Moroha will be taking charge in episode 16 next week (1/23/21) so please look forward to that.

Satō: Not only will Moroha play a very active role, but it is also an important episode that depicts the environment that she grew up in. Why she has to collect bounties and what kind of relationship she has with Jyūbee will be touched upon. If you watch that, I think you’ll come to understand her actions up until now like “So that’s why she was doing things like that”.

From a composition standpoint, episode 15 revealed Towa and Setsuna’s past, episode 16 will reveal Moroha’s backbone, and furthermore, the story of Setsuna’s childhood will come hereafter. If you watch that far, the full story of this will work will become clear for the most part.

The first cour was a period of planting seeds, but now going forward, the composition is set up so that the fruit of the tree will ripen and fall, so please continue to look forward to it.

The Casting of Miroku Was Entrusted to the Sound Director for “Inuyasha”

— Next, please tell us about the casting. On what points did you decide the cast group?

Satō: It was fundamentally decided through auditions. If we don’t progress the script to some extent, sound director Nagura Yasushi-san can’t determine the direction of the roles, so when the script amount had accumulated, we gathered up people who could picture the characters and carried out the auditions from there.

It was right about the time when the COVID crisis was escalating, so we worried if we could really start broadcasting in October.

Naka: The balance between the three was the deciding factor. After we narrowed it down from a number candidates, we took a “If this person did this character, then the balance would probably become like this” kind of view and decided from there.

Satō: There’s going to be a lot of dialogue between the three of them not matter what, so in order to avoid having similar voice tones and similar ways of speaking, we created the characters based on that assumption.

Towa’s thought process and actions are modern and Moroha acts on her emotions. Conversely, Setsuna is always calm and collected like Sesshōmaru and makes decisions after observing the entirety of the situation. Then she’ll look for the best solution and take action.

Because each of the characters has that kind of nature, we ordered Nagura-san to look for a balance that enables you to easily tell the three of them apart when they’re conversing.

– Did you not look at it from a standpoint that the voices should or should not sound similar to those of the parent generation like Sesshōmaru, Inuyasha, or Kagome?

Naka: That is a point that we were not at all concerned about. We proceeded with a viewpoint that the person should match the outward appearance, the actions within the story, and the nature of the character.

When balancing the three of them, balancing the twins seemed difficult, so from there we decided on Moroha first as her position takes a step back. We decided on Towa and Setsuna at the end after looking at the balance between them and considering Moroha for a second time.

— What were the key points in selecting the cast outside the three girls?

Naka: We left it up to Nagura-san. There were times when he asked for our review and opinions.

For example, there was an idea for Riku (CV: Fukuyama Jun) to have a more feminine voice. But when we spoke to director Satō, he said “A masculine image”, so we went with that direction.

— The Miroku that Yasumura Makoto-san, who replaced the late Tsujitani Kōji-san, played was a hot topic but did Nagura-san decide on that casting as well?

Satō: Regarding Yasumura-san, we asked Tsuruoka Yota, who was the sound director for “Inuyasha”, to decide. We thought that fit more under the category of “Inuyasha” rather than “Hanyō no Yashahime”.

Of course, I’m sure the viewers knew (the voice) was going to change, but we received a lot of feedback saying “It’s Miroku-sama!” and “It doesn’t feel out of place at all!” when episode 1 was broadcasted.

I was in Tsujitani-san’s care many times as a sound director prior to him playing Miroku. I was still a newbie producer back then but even when I met him after that at the “Inuyasha” set, he spoke to me like “Hello~”

I was producing while my heart was pounding hard. During testing, when I was panicking because I couldn’t match up the lip-syncing, he reached out to me like “We’ll do the syncing so it’s fine”. The figure of him reaching out to me so nicely is strong in my memory.

It was such a shame that he died so young. However, this time Yasumura-san, who was also his junior at the same agency, is working hard as his successor, and I think he was casted well.

Naka: Director Satō, you said “The air around Yasumura-san is completely different now compared to when I worked with him in other works”.

Satō: In episode 1, it seems he was really nervous having to record with the cast of “Inuyasha” who are high level seniors.

He was relaxed to some extent in episode 13 which was Miroku’s episode. He said to me “I’m sorry about before when I was extremely nervous” (laughs).

Creating Scenes in A Way That’s Distinct from the Popular (Methods)

— In order to make viewers feel that this is a work that inherits the world of “Inuyasha”, do you do any devising on the production side?

Satō: I would say scene creation. We don’t really get onboard with the popular trends. We split the cuts and show things the way they did in “Inuyasha” in order to smoothly give it that “Inuyasha” feel. I think it’s distinct from what’s popular nowadays.

This might be weird way of saying it, but it’s like we’re using an old-fashioned way of creating. By purposely doing things in a “Works from about 10 years ago felt like this” sort of way, it brings out that “Inuyasha” feel.

For other parts, Sumisawa-san directs the theatrical elocution and we have the same sound team from “Inuyasha” working, so no particular explanation is needed. In that aspect, they’re making it a lot easier for me (laughs).

For me, “Inuyasha” was the first work I did as a freelance producer. Not only was it a work that taught me the fundamentals of producing, but I also learned (how to make) storyboards from “Inuyasha”. In that sense, it’s a very memorable work.

— At the beginning, you said you “Put in devices that connect to “Inuyasha””, but between episode 9-12, demons that appeared in “Inuyasha” were continuously making appearances and it became a topic of discussion.

Naka: That section was the “devoured by Mōryōmaru” series. We had to speed through things in “Inuyasha the Final Act”, so I brought out those demons thinking “If we could just use the demons that we couldn’t properly show back then, even just a little”.

Satō: After fall for Meiōjū, we only had the scene of Mōryōmaru taking the armored shell (laughs)

Naka: We explain that “The demon that appeared this time is actually in “Inuyasha”” on the official Twitter account. It would be wonderful if there are people who take an interest in “Inuyasha” after watching “Hanyō no Yashahime”.

Satō: I think there’s also a wonderful world laid out in that work, so we would certainly love for you to watch “Inuyasha” while enjoying “Hanyō no Yashahime”.

Picking Out Noteworthy Episodes and Explaining Them!

— From here, we will have you look back on episodes that have already aired. We have picked out a number of impressionable episodes, so please tell us some secret (behind the) production stories, memorable recordings, and scenes that left a lasting impression on you.

Episode 1: Inuyasha Since Then

Satō: It was like a “class reunion” (laughs). Although, we couldn’t have everyone record together due to the COVID crisis.

We had everyone take turns recording but they were all was greeting each other like “Oh my god~!” as they passed by one another. Likewise, it was a teamwork that went without saying.

Jaken (played by Chō-san) was adlibbing a lot and that situation made me really think “This is “Inuyasha””.

The first episode was mainly “Inuyasha” basically, but at the very beginning and end, we had the story connect to episode 7 of “Hanyō no Yashahime”. In that sense, the episode was pretty much full “Inuyasha”.

Naka: While we had director Satō do the storyboard and production, I saw the storyboard and felt “Ah, it’s “Inuyasha”. It will be okay”. Like feeling relieved (laughs)

Satō: When 10 years goes by, the producers from back then aren’t around anymore. The people I worked with are now at the director level. Explaining something like the rules of “Inuyasha” from square one to the new people is a hassle, so I was like “I’ll do this myself” (laughs).

The surprising thing is, we had the same group of people from 20 year ago with chief animation director Hishinuma Yoshihito (in charge of character design in “Inuyasha”. In this work, he oversees animation character design) and the animators from back then. It felt as though “Ah, nothing’s changed”.

I remember working while saying “Back then, I never thought we would do something like this 20 years later”.

Episode 2: The Three Princesses

Satō: You could say this episode was episode 1 for “Hanyō no Yashahime”.

Due to the COVID crisis, we couldn’t have the three princesses record together and it made me realize how important it was for everyone to record together. Even though it’s a conversation, when you have one person record first and the other person responding while listening (the recording), it changes the mood and rhythm.

Nagura-san tried to match up schedules so that the three princesses could record together as much as possible, but in the end, we couldn’t record with everyone. In a sense, episode 2 was very memorable to me in that it left the impression of “So we’re going to have to record like this from now on”.

I think all the works that started airing in the fall were in the same situation, not just “Hanyō no Yashahime”. Since we were recording in chunks, it became necessary to pay even more attention than before to ensure that we didn’t forget to record anything.

I’m grateful to everyone involved that we somehow managed to air every week, despite these difficult times.

Naka: The first demon that appears in episode 2, is a point where we kept “Inuyasha” in mind as we pulled Mistress Three Eyes from Mistress Centipede.

I think it was an episode where we appealed that “We’re aware of the “Rumik World”” by putting in the hoodlums mentioned earlier and Towa’s gag face.

Even though the original “Inuyasha” leaned a little more to the serious side, I think Rumiko-sensei’s taste of allowing a little bit of leeway while not shaking off just that (aspect) is there.

This time as well, including the broadcast time, there were views from inside stating that they didn’t want to make (the episode) too serious. However, director Satō had already added that kind of relaxedness even before that was directly said. He splendidly created that balance that wasn’t too serious.

Episode 7: The Apple Meeting

Satō: Riku, who appears in episode 7, is a character we aimed to have revitalize the story by plopping in a new character just when the story was about to get stuck in a rut. Rumiko-sensei also uses this technique; for example, Kōga and Mugen no Byakuya in “Inuyasha”.

I spoke with Sumisawa-san at the beginning, expressing my desire to introduce a new character to revitalize the story before viewers could start thinking “We’re going to just keep watching this journey?” as they watch the three princesses progress on their journey. He’s a keyman who stirs up the story.

Plus, the three Yashahimes are girls, so there was also the idea of having a romantic component like with Inuyasha, Kagome, and Kikyō. Although he ended up having the feel of a pick-up artist as a result of trying to add that component in (laughs).

Naka: Episode 7 is an episode that connects to episode 1. We intended to put in the device of connecting episode 1 to another episode when we organized it, but after watching episode 7 I thought “It connected pretty well”.

I think it was nicely organized as it turned into a spoiler episode where you found out why Towa was there and what Setsuna and Moroha were doing while Yotsume was telling the old tale.

Satō: Going forward, Riku will gradually involve himself with Towa, and we wanted to show why that is over a number of episodes.

I think you’ll understand to some extent in episode 15, but he’s a character that you don’t know which side he swings to (friend or foe?), so he’s a character to look forward to in that sense.

Episode 13: The Delicious Feudal Monk

Satō: It was a parent child episode with Miroku and Hisui (CV: Urao Takehiro) that we added with the desire to develop Hisui. He is the son of Miroku and Sango (CV: Kuwashima Houko) and I think everyone was wondering what Miroku was currently doing, so we thought it would be nice to introduce what Miroku was up to here and depict the parent-child relationship.

Naka: It’s an episode where Hisui finally plays an active role. It was a feeling of sorry to have completely kept you waiting in the first cour. I am glad we were able to give him an active role to some extent. Moroha ended up going somewhere else though (laughs)

Finally, Setsuna stole the show at the end when her true power was released. I think it brings out Miroku and other “Inuyasha” characters in a good manner while still having highlights for “Hanyō no Yashahime”.

Episode 14: The Mastermind Who Burned the Forest

Satō: This is the episode where the truth behind the fire that attacked young Towa and Setsuna is revealed. It’s a real binding episode you could say, and I think it’s a story that could be put in a modern setting.

Also, from this story, the distance between Towa and Setsuna that we talked about earlier will somewhat destroy a line, I think. There’s Towa who shows her anger towards Homura, the one who tore them (the twins) apart, and Setsuna who has some thoughts from seeing that.

If you can feel that, I think how you view episode 15 will change.

Naka: I thought Towa’s comparison to a smartphone at the beginning was a little off as she doesn’t understand the concept of jealousy (laughs).

Also, something that I thought was strange after rewatching episode 14 was how the gardener and the cook were fine with working in such a dangerous place (laughs). I thought it was amazing even though they’re just regular humans.

Demons and humans unexpectedly coexist in this world. In a sense, you could say it’s very open-minded for a demon. Demons were depicted in all sorts of places in “Inuyasha” too, so it was an episode that made me realize once again that it’s this kind of world.

Episode 15: Lunar Eclipse, The Sorrowful Parting of Fate

Satō: Why did Towa and Setsuna have to grow up separated (from their parents) when they were young? This is the episode that answers that and depicts the continuation of the brief flashback in episode 8.

Why Sesshōmaru and Kirinmaru confronted Inuyasha and Kagome becomes clear. With this, I think you can start to understand Sesshōmaru’s actions.

Naka: This episode was a little different. To begin with, we thought that patrons would be happy to see Inuyasha and the others at the end of the first cour, so we organized it so that the past would be discussed at this timing.

It’s just that it felt completely independent from the main story and Riku just suddenly narrates it, so I’m sure viewers were surprised. Riku was in there as like the navigator.

The three Yashahimes don’t particularly know this, and this episode was purely for the viewers. It would be great if everyone looks forward to what’s to come while keeping this in mind.

— Thank you very much. Lastly, please give a message to our readers who are looking forward to what’s coming up ahead.

Naka: Cour 1 has just ended and we have entered cour 2, so from here on you will learn the things that you wanted to know. Please see for yourself how Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha will grow as you look forward to the mysteries being unraveled.

Satō: After episode 15, “what each character must do” will continuously become clear, and it will become a story that pursues that. On top of that, it would make me really happy if you could enjoy watching what will happen to the three (girls).

#yashahime #hanyou no yashahime #yashahime: princess half demon #translation

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mamahersh · 3 years

Text

The Road to Hell (is Paved with Good Intentions) Chapter 5

“Season 8 was well underway, and the server’s first conflict is bubbling just under the surface. But BDoubleO can’t worry about that right now because he has an Etho to find so they can work on the Horse Course together. However when Xisuma calls a surprise server meeting on behalf of EvilXisuma, BDubs gets his answers about where Etho’s been in the worst way possible.”

(CW: angst, blood, gore, torture)

Chapter rating: M

Back to the rescue team and those left behind, focusing on BDubs and a surprise Mumbo Jumbo! (Bet you weren’t expecting Mumbo angst.) Thank you all again for your interest! As previously mentioned, if you enjoyed this, I was directly inspired by this fic over on AO3.

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 6

BDubs knew it was going to be hard trying to find where Etho and EvilX were hiding, but he neglected to remember how nerve wracking it would be with the added challenge of hearing his communicator go off every time someone died. Admittedly, it had only been the two times thus far, but checking and seeing they were both Etho made him want to go insane. The only boon they had, paradoxically, was the same curse keeping Etho stuck in that hell hole: that they were able to respawn in the same place they had died in. This at least meant that their progress wouldn’t be undone at a moment’s notice because someone died and got sent to their base halfway across the map in the opposite direction they were searching.

After he had checked his communicator to see the death message, “Ethoslab was slain by Ethoslab whilst trying to escape EvilXisuma”; BDubs decided he would stop watching chat completely. If someone died, he knew they would be fine, and he really didn’t need to know how else Etho was going to suffer till they found him. Plus, he had Doc keeping an eye on Etho for him. And he had Beef by his side, plus the Big Eye crew supporting him. He just had to keep reminding himself he wasn’t alone, it wasn’t the jungle again, he had his people with him.

“Hey BDubs, you see anything yet?” called out Tango, flying by on his own elytra. BDubs startled in the straps of his elytra, and focused more on the ground below.

“I got nothin’!” he called back, swooping to the back of the formation the big eyes crew had made to check the area stretching from the girls’ southernmost border to the northernmost border of Cleo and Joe’s shared territory. They had decided to first fly over their assigned strip of the x coordinate line to see if there was anything obviously wrong from a bird’s eye view. After that, depending on the results from the other search teams, they would dig down in strategic intervals to be as thorough as possible. They had calculated the size of the room based on the video feed before they had left, and so they planned on digging straight down every 9 blocks along the axis. As crazy as that was, they were hoping with forteen hermits all doing it at the same time equally spaced along the line, they would be able to find Etho within an hour or two. (This all assumed that EvilX hadn’t been lying, but this was the only thing they had.)

——————————————————-

Mumbo hated every decision that had led him to this moment. He hated every decision that others have made on his behalf that had led to this moment. (That was a lie, he blamed himself completely. Even though Grian had had the idea to institute him as the CEO of Boatem, it was still his final say as to whether he would actually complete the role assigned to him. It was his decision to step up to the plate and lead them at this critical time. Everything that was happening was entirely his fault.) As he watched, horrified, Etho having to stay strong without anyone by his side; Mumbo thought he would throw up. If he didn’t faint first that was. (How pathetic of him, that he couldn’t handle the consequences of his actions.) He stood miserable in front of the screen, promising himself the least he could do was watch every moment Etho was without help and in pain because of him.

Beside him, Xisuma frantically typed in his admin console, seemingly trying in vain to undo whatever EvilXisuma had done to the respawn mechanics. To his other side, TFC stood stoically, seemingly unaffected by what he was witnessing, though Mumbo was sure that if he looked over, he’d be able to see the disguised pain in TFC’s eyes. Behind and a bit to the side of Xisuma was Joe, who’s pain was obvious to see, but stood strong despite it. (Mumbo wondered why Joe was here at all, till he remembered how close Joe was to Xisuma). To TFC’s other side stood Doc, who looked about one more Etho death from finding a way to crawl through the screen and detonating in EvilXisuma’s face. And to Joe’s other side stood Scar, sympathetic tears trailing down his face and holding himself in a way that Mumbo knew he did when he was particularly missing the comfort of Jellie the cat.

Mumbo watched as Etho poofed back into existence, arm that he had mangled looking noticeably more mangled than before.(Though there was something off about the restraints and his arm’s relation to them that Mumbo couldn’t place. It didn’t help the camera’s resolution wasn’t quite perfect clarity, and a bit of a wide shot, so details were a little difficult to pick out. Though it didn’t stop them from seeing the next part just fine.) Once Etho was back, EvilXisuma punched him in the face, hard enough they could see a tooth fly out of his mouth.

“You will regret that,” stated EvilXisuma, just barely loud enough to be picked up by the camera. (Mumbo knows Etho would normally have replied with something like, ‘you already said that’, but, well…)

“Any updates Xisuma?” questioned Doc, still staring intently at the screen looking for any clues as to the whereabouts of the the torture room.

“He’s still goin’ strong Doc,” replied Joe instead, peaking over Xisuma’s shoulder to see what he was up to. “You got any new clues?”

Doc growled under his breath. “No.” He sounded bitter to Mumbo, all acid and sharp edges.

“I can’t tell, but there’s something different about his arm I think,” said Mumbo hesitantly, nervously watching as the rest of the group stared intently up at the screen to see what he meant.

Scar spoke up, “I think I see what you mean. His arm isn’t quite aligned correctly with the chair arm, right?”

Mumbo nodded, pointing at Etho’s arm on the screen where it seemed to almost intersect with the cuff and was bleeding profusely. “I don’t know how, like if it was just a natural consequence of trying to move his arm in that direction as he died and respawned, or if it was just a one time fluke; but he seems to have gotten his wrist intersected with the cuff on the armrest and the stake from earlier seems off center.”

As Mumbo was trying to explain, EvilXisuma had begun to focus on Etho’s fingers, and starting on the opposite hand to the one they were observing, he began to break them individually. Mumbo was selfishly happy that he didn’t have to focus on Etho’s pain for a moment as he allowed himself to fully focus on the potential puzzle in front of him.

TFC suddenly spoke up, voice coming off as gruff. “Hrm, this is good and all, but it depends entirely on EvilXisuma not noticing this little update; which we’ve done a pretty poor job at not letting him on. What with him more than likely able to hear us, and all that.” Doc muttered a quiet, “fuck” under his breath in response, and they all held their breath as they waited to see if EvilXisuma would say anything.

Instead of saying anything, he continued to methodically snap more of Etho’s fingers, causing the group to flinch in varying amounts at each wet snap. However, as Mumbo was trying to take in details not relating to Etho’s pain, he could tell that the mic was picking up EvilXisuma’s muttering. But Mumbo didn’t have the super amazing hearing that someone like Ren or Grian had; but he wondered if one of the other people in the group here had more sensitive hearing. “Anyone able to make out what he’s saying?” muttered Mumbo.

Doc hissed a quiet affirmative, and muttered back, “Yesssss, but I need to focus. Please everyone be quiet, thanks.” Everyone but Xisuma nodded back, who was too busy still trying to figure out what EvilXisuma had done to the code to notice anything else around him.

Mumbo did his best to both suffer the consequences of his actions, while at the same time he couldn’t stand watching one of his fellow Hermits in that much pain. He could no longer distract himself, as he couldn’t make out what EvilXisuma was saying, and there were only so many times he could try to determine how many pixels on the screen related to the walls were just stone or his imagination trying to give him impossible answers. EvilXisuma had finally finished with Etho’s left hand, and he now moved to the right before he took a noticeable pause. Mumbo held his breath, hoping beyond hope that EvilXisuma somehow hadn’t noticed Etho’s weirdly placed hand. But that was an impossible wish after all.

“Well well well, how have you managed this then?” Evil Xisuma appeared to poke the part of the wrist that seemed to be poking part way out of the cuff. Mumbo couldn’t help but notice that Etho seemed so gone that he barely flinched at what should have been an incredibly painful jostle. “I’m interested in seeing how you struggle with this.” Evil X nodded at Etho. “Yes, I shall let you struggle. But we still have about 9 more bones to break, so on we go.” With that, he kneeled in front of Etho and started snapping the fingers on Etho’s right hand. Each wet snap ended with a muted whine and shudder from Etho, who seemed to have zoned out far enough that any reactions seemed mostly involuntary at this point. EvilXisuma seemed quiet for the first few snaps, before he went back to muttering in a just barely audible way. Mumbo could only assume that EvilXisuma was unaware that his mic sensitivity was set too high, and thought he was muttering in such a way as for those of them watching the stream would be unable to hear him. That, or it was an unconscious habit, and didn’t even realize he was doing it. Either way, Mumbo continued hoping he would continue to do so, so that maybe he would let something slip and Doc could post it in chat.

Meanwhile Doc had been listening closely to what EvilX had been saying, but none of it thus far had led to a clue. Most of what he was muttering were curses and the terrible things he planned to do to Etho. Honestly Doc wished he couldn’t hear what EvilX was saying, just so that he wasn’t obligated to continue listening to see if that scum slipped up. But the chance of catching something important was too high, so he went back to diligently listening to the stream, mentally cursing at every suppressed gasp or whine or wet snap from Etho.

EvilXisuma made quick work of Etho’s fingers, and seemingly tired of Etho’s lack of responses decided he needed to kill him. However, because he was feeling particularly vindictive, he gutted Etho, guts spilling over his knees before he disappeared in a flash of red. Mumbo, morbidly curious how the game would register the death, looked down at his communicator. “Ethoslab was slain by EvilXisuma.” He was selfishly grateful that the server messages were that generic. He watched further as Etho poofed back into the chair, though as before his killing blow hadn’t followed him through respawn, but all his previous wounds did. Mumbo looked very carefully at Etho’s wrists and saw that he had managed to get his wrist farther out, and the stake seemed almost completely out of his arm. Unfortunately for Etho, respawn managed to break him out of his trance, and he seemed far more present and aware (and in pain) for the moment. The only positive that Mumbo could see was that EvilXisuma seemed to have either turned off the speakers on his end, or was ignoring them completely. But Mumbo could only hope that either Doc would hear something soon, or the search parties would stumble across the hidden room soon; because he wasn’t sure how much more of this he could watch.

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indomies · 3 years

Text

#showyourprocess

From planning to posting, share your process for making creative content!

To continue supporting content makers, this tag game is meant to show the entire process of making creative content: this can be for any creation.

RULES — When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag up to 5 people with a specific link to one of their creative works you’d like to see the process of. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours!

sabrina @lanwangiji, my love, tagged me to share my process of making this typography edit! check out her explanation of her the untamed edit and her edit tag.

1. PLANNING

i once opened lyrics edit requests so i can learn and practice typography. this edit was a request as well. i asked them which lyrics they wanted to have and the colors they’d like. since i got several requests and it was hard to keep tabs on them, i made a trello board so i could organize everything. i’m still using the trello board for every edit idea i have, the board makes my life easier.

above is what i filled the card in the board with. basically just information of the requests.

1.1 INSPIRATION

once i got the request, my first thought was to find the vibe the song/lyrics exude. “it’s an old curse” screamed witchy vibes to me, so i went to pinterest to find some inspirations. at first i was looking for witchy poster designs and i came across this. i liked how it has smoke-ish graphic and i thought the smoke suited the “old curse” lyrics. and tbh pinterest is a rabbit hole, they gave me suggestions after suggestions, like this and this which became my inspiration for the color palette (i added the gold from those pics) and the sun moon design gave me the idea to incorporate space stuffs too. i somehow landed on this too, and because i wanted to include space theme, i made a simple phases of the moon. ultimately the hero of this edit was the lyrics, i didnt want the graphics took the center stage. i was inspired to make a crystal ball and do this kind of typography but after several trials i couldnt get the the typography right, so i scratched that idea and went with the space theme instead.

1.2 PICKING COLORS

after i was feeling inspired enough, i went looking for the right colors. i usually just type “color name” and “palette” on pinterest. example “dark grey color palette” and i chose the one i liked best. when the request only asked for 1 color, i always searched for either a complimentary or contrasting color to give it a jushz, to add sprinkles. that’s why i added gold on top of the dark grey.

1.3 FINDING FONTS

this is the hardest part. the fonts play important role to the design. they need to convey the vibes of the lyrics, in this case witchy/magic vibe. i needed to find fonts or font just as magical and a bit whimsical. tho i hoard fonts... i like to use new font for every typography edit lmao sue me.

i highly recommend going to creativemarket free goods site, pixelsurplus font freebies and behance to search for fonts. i always use 100% free fonts, that means i can use it personally as well as commercially. creativemarket gives me desktop license for the fonts, which means i can use it for commercial as well. the reason i do this because i want to open an etsy shop someday, and i want to have the right license when i sell my stuffs. i almost never buy fonts bc they are expensive lmao.

the fonts in used are “Vintage” for the main typograpy (i think i was a freebie from creativemarket) and “Morganite” for the title of the lyrics and the name of artist.

2. CREATING

once i have my materials and ideas, i open my illustrator and hope it doesnt crash every 5 min.

for this kind of typography edits, i use 600x700 px. tbh i dont like using 540px, the suggested tumblr size, as the width bc to me it doesn’t look as good in quality, so i up the px. but more on this sizing later. i utilize the artboards function in illustrator, and i use 2 artboards.

i use illustrator (ai) bc i’m working with vectors. when i work with vectors, the graphics/texts or whatever im making in ai wont become blurry or lose its quality when i enlarge or shrink it. in compare to photoshop, i need to make for example the moon graphic very big, so i wont lose the quality when i reduce and enlarge it again. with vector, i can start small and when i expand it, it’s still as good as when it’s tiny.

2.1 GRADIENTS

i started with the gradients first. i created a rectangle as big as 600x700px and with the “freeform gradient” tool in ai, i played with the colors. below is the color palettes i used

2.2 LYRICS AND GRAPHICS

once the gradients are done, i worked with the lyrics and graphics right away. when i first doing this edits, i made typos a lot lmaooooooo. so i copy and pasted the lyrics on top of my artboard, so i wouldnt have any typos.

i had 3 layers in my ai. one for the inspo pics and the OG lyrics. the rest for the edits themselves. i broke up “It's an old curse/dreamers diving headfirst” into to parts, hence the 2 more layers

i almost always started with the lyrics first then the graphics. but for this edit, i made the smoke first so i can layout where my text would be.

tbh the process of making the lyrics is a trial and error. i tried bunch of different stuffs and i chose whatever the best. but i worked like methodically, i made sure i finished the first part of the lyrics first then i could move on.

i was lucky with this font “vintage”. the font offers me several glyphs like these

and i chose the one at the bottom. you’re very lucky if you find a font and they have glyphs.

excursion: glyphs vs fonts

glyph is an individual character. It might be a letter, an accented letter, a ligature, a punctuation mark, a dingbat, etc.

A font is a digital file which is used to display a typeface, which contains the entire upper- and lowercase alphabet as well as punctuation, numbers, and other special characters.

after i was finished with all the lyrics i added some graphics to make the edit pretty like small stars or dots. i added the song title and the artist too, sometimes at the bottom sometimes at the top. and i added my watermark put it as small as i could and made it a bit invisible but still can be seen.

2.3 EXPORTING

exporting! this is where i’m going to go deeper with the dimension of my work. in ai, i always choose to save with “export as screens” function. it automatically divides the artboards i have and save them separately. i always save as png, bc the size is smaller than jpg but can maintain the quality.

now the export tab looks like this

see the formats? i always scale up my edits, 2-3 times the original artboard size. reason is, to maintain the quality. i have tried to save it as original, 600x700 px, but it turned out a bit blurry. bc everything in ai is vector, when i scale up it doesnt lose the quality. BUT once i save it as png, it’s not a vector anymore, and when you zoom in until a certain degree it’ll be pixelated. that’s why i always scale up, to avoid it becoming pixelated when it’s just zoomed 1 or 2 times.

2.4 FINAL TOUCH

i opened my photoshop and also pray it won’t crash. import the png of my edits, add some grains/noise. the reason i use photoshop is, the noise filter is way better than in ai. it’s smoother somehow. and then i export my edits.

(i have a timelapse of how i made one of my edits, it’s not this one, but it’ll give you a better visualization. find it HERE

3. POSTING

now the hardest parts are done, we go to posting!

i uploaded the 2 posters on tumblr as photos then i wrote the captions. for this typography edit, i always chose another lyrics that i like from the same song for the caption. i bolded the lyrics, add link to all of my typography gradient edits.

i always use this link to color my caption. i usually choose 3-4 colors, and i took the colors from my edit. but this was not until recently lmao. before i just took a guess and looked for similar colors that match the edit, but then i thought “why didnt i just use the color in the posters lmao”

ok after i have my html code for the caption, i go to this site to replace the “;” with “ “ so tumblr can read the code.

i’m not one who puts their edits in draft, bc i just cant wait to post it. i have to option here, either i post it immediately when the time is right (i usually post between 4-8) or i schedule it, if im finished before 4.

i put all the necessary tags and click post! i am done finally!

i’m tagging:

@thetriangletattoo for this amazing series

@deludedandlostcause for this impressive gif

@half-lightl for this spectacular edit

@gayndrew for this stunning drawing

@thechampagnelovers for this cool collage

@cloudslou for this incredible edit

@heyangels for this incredible edit

#bacotan belle #showyourprocess

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calpops · 4 years

Text

family | c.h.

A plan for dinner in which your parents are to meet Calum for the first time doesn’t go as expected but it shows you who your true family is.

1.3k words

dates with cal masterlist

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You stand with a heavy heart, patience running thin and hope shattering on the kitchen floor where you had prepared a dinner you hoped to share with Calum and your parents. Calum is beside you, his arm around your waist and understanding in his eyes. He knew of your rocky relationship with your parents and the troubles it could arise but he had yet to meet them. Tonight is supposed to be that night. You shift, head shaking and eyes burning.

“Are you sure you told them the right time?” Calum asks, trying to stay optimistic so you don’t crumble any further. His hand squeezes your waist to remind you he’s there even if they aren’t.

“I think so,” you say around a tight sigh and fish into your pocket for your phone. “I called them last night. They sounded like they wanted to come. They promised.”

Your parents aren’t prone to making promises and just the word was enough to elicit false hope into you. No messages light up your screen as you glance down at your phone.

“Maybe... your parents don’t like me?” Calum questions and tries to make it a joke, tries to make his tone light and take the burden off your shoulders.

“They don’t even know you,” you reply, suddenly resigned and defeated. You know waiting for them will be excruciating. Standing around in the kitchen with the cooling food as a reminder of their tardiness isn’t going to help. You busy yourself with wrapping the dishes to put in the fridge.

“What are you doing?” Calum’s voice comes from behind you as you slide a salad in.

“It’s gonna get gross if it stays out much longer. I’ll just put it away while we wait.”

Your tone verges on desperation and Calum senses it immediately. He sees the shine of your eyes and the way your hands clench around the handle of the fridge.

“We can wait,” Calum reassures, lightly rubs the small of your back to calm you down and helps put away the rest with you before heading to the living room couch.

Duke joins you, curls up on your lap as a comfort mechanism—able to sense your distress and sadness without even understanding why—Calum sits beside you, tries at small talk while time ticks by. It’s an hour past the time they said they’d be here. Your hope is all but decimated when you check your phone one last time and come up empty. You feel as if you shouldn’t be surprised. This is nothing new; they missed birthdays and graduations and everything in between, but for some reason—perhaps a reason that shines with diamonds, an opal and your entire future—you thought it might be different this time.

“They’re not coming,” you realize just seconds before a call lights up your phone and hope comes back to taunt you. You answer with a timid greeting. Crack out an ‘okay’ when the hope goes back to shards and hang up the phone with tears on your cheeks. “They’re not. They said they have some stuff at home. Some-something about a…”

You can’t even finish their lame excuse before a sob slips through and you hide your face in your hands. Calum’s arms wind around you without hesitation, he pulls you into his chest, hands falling from your face in favor of hiding against him. His hands stroke through your hair, down your back, up and down again and again until another sob breaks and you start to shake.

“Sweetheart,” he says and it’s more than you could have thought to say if the roles were reversed. His voice is soft and sincere when he continues. “I’ve got you.”

You know what he means when he says that. Your parents aren’t here for you, they never really have been, but he is and the ring on your finger is a promise that he always will be. You try to collect yourself and stop a sob in its attempt to escape you. Instead a hiccup comes out and you hear Calum’s little huff of a giggle; he’s always said your hiccups are adorable.

“I feel stupid,” you admit and wonder if Calum can even understand you through the muffle and shake of your voice. He does. He always does.

“It’s not your fault,” he reminds but you shake your head.

“I should know better by now. They do this all the time,” you begin, finally finding some voice for the aching thoughts plaguing you. You still won’t pull away from him, too content to bask in his comfort, unsure you can look him in the eye when tears still slide from yours. “They don’t even want to meet the man I’m going to marry before I marry him. They probably won’t come to the engagement party. It’d be a miracle if they show up to the wedding. They just don’t care. Family isn’t supposed to be like this.”

“Family is complicated,” Calum says but you don’t want any attempts at justifications, whether either of you believe them or not. You just want a family that cares.

“I should be used to it by now—I just don’t have a family, not really.”

“You do,”‘ Calum insists and doesn’t let you hide anymore, his hands cup your jaw and gently coax you to look at him. “You have me and my parents and Mali and the guys and all of our friends. We are here for you. We love you.”

You nod, unable to find words to express the thoughts now finding you. He’s right. He has been there for you since the day you met. His parents took to you the moment you were introduced to them and Mali even before that, she texted you and called you well before an in person meeting. The guys welcomed you with open arms and thanked you for making Calum happy. They are his family and made you a part of it. The friends you made in adulthood had become like siblings. You might be missing some pieces but there are other people to fill in the gaps and make you feel whole.

“I love you,” you finally manage to get out, wipe your eyes and sniffle.

“And someday”—Calum says, thumb brushing away tears you missed—“we’ll have a family of our own.”

You let out a breath, a smile trudging through the sadness at his words that kick up ripples of warmth from the inside out. You nod, this time with happiness and a yearning for that future. For that family.

“We will,” you say, sure about that. “I’ll never be like my parents.”

“I know,” Calum responds with just as much certainty and a smirk growing on his face. “How many kids do you want?”

You tilt your head to the side. “At least two. So they can always have a friend.”

Calum laughs and nods in agreement. “Two is good. D’you have any names picked out yet?”

You bite your lip and dart your eyes up to the ceiling. The way he knows that you do and is waiting to hear them makes you know the ring on your finger and all of the promises it comes with are meant to be. Your lip springs free and you grin.

“I have some thoughts,” you admit but want to keep them secret until the time is right.

Calum talks to you about the future. You both get lost in a world yet to come. Make plans that won’t happen for years to come but you would bet with your whole heart and soul will happen eventually. Calum wouldn’t lie to you. Calum wouldn’t string you along and break your heart. He’s your family now.

<< >>

If you’d like to be added to my tag list just let me know!

Based on the dates with cal engagement prompt: your family doesn’t like me? And @outerspaceisbetterthannothing message of: They plan on finally meeting her parents. She’s very nervous and the very last moment her parents ditch them, saying they won’t be able to come because of some shit and that it’s not so important anyway, they’re sure Cal is a nice guy and they’ll meet him at the wedding. And she’s really upset and Cal tries to reassure her when he sees her tears, saying he is her family now and she has his parents and his sister and all of the boys. That’s her family, she’s not alone.

Tagged: @rosecolouredash @irwinkitten @golden-hood @who-do-you-love-5sos @caswinchester2000 @wildflowergrae @empathycth @cuddlemecalx @malumsmermaid @babylon-corgis @outerspaceisbetterthannothing @mariellelovescupcakes @xhaileyreneex @goth5sos @gosh-im-short @feliznavidaddycal @loveroflrh @findingliam-o @flowerthug @g-l-pierce @talkfastromance4 @superbloomirwin @wastedheartcth @calumscalm @notinthesameguey @lukesfuckingbeard @myloverboyash @treatallwithkindness @haikucal @wiildflower-xxx @calum-uncrowned @egyptiangoldhood @drarryetcetera @another-lonely-heart @megz1985 @idk-harry @dinosaursandsocks @wildflower-cth @idontneedanyone @everyscarisahealingplace @myfavfanficsever @stormrider505 @karajaynetoday @333-xx @calumshpod @calumsphile @calumrose @justhereforcalum @grreatgooglymoogly @calumance @mantlereid @hemmingslftv

#Calum hood blurb #Calum hood imagine #Calum hood x you #calum hood x reader #5sos imagine #5sos blurb #5sos x you #5sos x reader #Calum hood angst #5sos angst #cal!dates #cal!engagement

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aceofspadegrass · 3 years

Text

Today Is A Wonderful Day

Characters: Arisu Ryohei, Karube Daikichi, Chota Segawa

Genre: General. Arisu is entering his own strange Wonderland.

5.2k words

Well, here it is, my self indulgent fic! I honestly had a great time just getting this out. Will I continue this storyline? Who knows, we'll have to see, won't we? Five hours of typing, my poor pinky~✨

Apologies if anyone seems off in characterization, this is again more self indulgence and a bare string of consistency.

The sun was bright, today. Perfect for a picnic, or to swing, or gardening.

It was such a shame he didn’t like going out much when he could spend all his days at his chair, headphones slipped over his ears, his grip around worn but well-loved plastic. Thumbs flick this way and that in accordance to what he needed to do with the avatar moving across the screen.

It was easier to not have to think about the outside right now. His father was always looking at him with disappointment that he wasn’t the son he wanted, but then again, was he ever the son he wanted? There was his brother anyways, the model of a smart, well adjusted man. Ever since they were young his father’s eyes weren’t on him, the first child.

But he shouldn’t complain, he did this to himself, being practically useless and not up to the standards he should have been able to achieve. He wasn’t worth his father’s attention, even if he wanted even a little bit, just for a fraction of his acceptance and pride to be for him.

But it wasn’t like he was alone in life. He had friends, two of them, and they were supportive of him, and he was supportive in return. He couldn’t ask for better friends, really. The tallest of the three, Karube, was a bartender, and willing to let his friends in to sit at the counter and chat their hours away, even if he was mindful of any alcohol they consumed. The shortest, Chota, worked in IT, although he tended to skip in order to come join them in their little adventures and hangouts, or to indulge in his own whims.

At the moment they were both busy, so he couldn’t meet up with them out on this beautiful day. It would be fun, maybe, spending their hours at the park, or maybe heading down to the arcade. A smile works its way up to chapped lips, and he instinctively licks at them when the skin tugs the wrong way, to alleviate the feeling. Yeah, that sounds great. Hanging together with them is great, being around them is such a wonderful feeling for him.

The screen flickers with a 1st place banner, and he quietly cheers, shaking his controller in his hand as a burst of achievement hits him, washed through his chest and makes him straighten his posture after who knew how long. It sinks back to a more relaxed posture as he starts a new game, and he starts all over again.

Hours pass, and the sun is lower in the sky, and Arisu remembers he hasn’t eaten since yesterday.He gets up, groaning a little as his muscles remember how to stand again, and he shuffles over to the kitchen. There was a note on the fridge. He glances at it, eyes flickering over the neat scrawl.

‘ Will be home late. Buy groceries. - Dad ’

Figured. Arisu opens the fridge, just to see if there was anything remotely edible before he would have to inevitably head out to refill the fridge again so that they could eat all week. There was only condiments, a half bottle of orange juice, and some other bits here and there that Arisu wouldn’t have the slightest clue what to do with. Shoulders slump, and he shuts the door and shuffles towards his bedroom door to get changed to head out for the day. It wasn’t an outfit worth taking time to pick, as it was only a grocery run. He grabs some simple jeans, comfortable and stretchy, as well as a t-shirt, light blue with the picture of a dog printed just behind the pocket on the left side of his chest, an illusion of it sitting there.

There was money on the table when he heads back out on the table he didn’t notice before, with another note on it, simply labeling it as grocery money. Arisu pockets the money into his jeans as well as his phone, and with a goodbye to an empty house, he leaves and heads into the open, warm world.

The walk to the grocery wasn’t long, but it still took some time, so Arisu was left to his own devices, in his own thoughts. They were simple thoughts, like how sunny it was, how people were walking by with their own lives in motion, how he wished he could hang out with Karube and Chota. He could always text them, they’d respond to him, but he didn’t want to bother them because he was being too selfish. So his phone remains heavy in his pocket as he strolls along the street, glancing around every so often to make sure he was going the right way.

There was a ping on his phone, and he pulls it out, staring at the new message. It was an unknown number, Arisu frowning a little at the text.

‘ Would you like to see something Wonderful? ’

It was a strange text, and way too ominous. Arisu ignores it, and he slips it in his pocket and looks back up, his stride never faltering as he continues onwards.

The text never left his mind though. As he stands in the aisle of the store, trying to find a decent box of cereal to put into the trolley cart, the thought filters back to him as he picks up a box, turning it in his head. Just what was that? It must’ve been a prank, or perhaps a text bot. Maybe even a sex bot, there were way too many of those, and he wasn’t interested in getting duped. But this one, for reasons Arisu couldn’t explain, this one felt…. different, somehow.

A ping startles him out of his thought. He looks down, and his hand trails back to his phone, stopping just before he pulls it out, fingers on glass and fabric. What if the number texted again? Arisu bites the inside of his lip. He was curious, that much was sure.

What did it want with him?

Arisu takes a slow, deep breath. He couldn’t do anything if he didn’t know. The phone slides out of his pocket and held in front of him, just high enough for the screen to register him and turn on.

Just as he thought, it was the same mysterious number again.

‘ Have you ever wanted to experience something out of this reality? ’

It was….. strange. Confused eyes flicker through the text — once, then twice. There wasn’t a sign of an attachment, where usually there could be a picture attached, trying to get an interested soul piqued. That, and there was no hint of a clickbait to be seen. His other hand, which had been on the handle of the cart, tightens around the cool plastic bar.

To be fair, he always wondered, just a little, if life was different. If he would ever see something, experience something, that wasn’t only contained in digital formation. He would joke about it with Chota and Karube, sometimes, thinking about fictional situations and what they would be achieving. But that was it, it was fictional, and nothing more.

The rest of the shopping leaves that text floating around in his brain, a puzzle that Arisu was itching to figure out what it held, all the way to him paying and making his way back. The trip was ordinary, only letting it gently warm underneath the sun, baking slowly and rising until it overtook any other kind of thought. “ I’m home.” He said, to an empty house. He slips out of his shoes and makes his way inside, dropping the bags of groceries down by the kitchen, planning to get to them later. At the moment though, he needed to get this thought out or else it would bother him for a while. He pulls a chair out and takes a seat, taking his phone out of his pocket in the same motion, and opens his messaging. The little notification for that mysterious number lingers, but he ignores it in favour for the group chat that he shared with his two friends.

Arisu: i have a question

He didn’t have to wait long for a response, as he watches the grey bubbles appear.

Karube: what’s up

Arisu: i got this really weird text

Arisu: and i dunno what to do

Karube: what does it say?

Arisu’s fingers lull above the keypad. Was it worth telling them? They’d probably share the thoughts of it being some sort of bot or perhaps some odd pranks. It was natural, something explainable.

But this was eating at him, and Arisu needed other thoughts.

Arisu: they were talking about seeing something wonderful and out of reality

Karube: definitely sounds weird

Karube: did it link anything?

Arisu: no

Arisu: its just the messages nothing attached

Chota: Maybe its a dick pic

That earns a small snort, Arisu rolling his eyes. He would hope not. Karube: wouldn’t they have attached it anyways then???

Chota: Ah yeah true

Chota: Maybe they’re asking permission?

Arisu: why though

Karube: dunno dude

Karube: just ignore it

Arisu: its been on my mind for a while

Karube: srsly?

Karube: hmm…….

Arisu stares as his screen as the bubbles flicker in and out. He didn’t know what he’d do. His phone pings again, and the notification slides in from above. It was the number again.

‘ Come experience the greatest encounters of your life! ‘

Arisu frowns, and he quickly exits the chat and stares at the tab for this strange number. Now that he looks at it, the number itself looked odd. At first glance it was numbers in a format of a normal phone, but now that he looked closely, it looked a digit too long for a Japanese phone number, much less did he recognize the area code.

He wasn’t all that much of a phone number whiz though, so he could be mistaken.

There was a new text from Karube, and he opens the chat again.

Karube: if it’s really bothering you, no harm in playing along right? just see what it is and then back out

Karube: no hamr done

No harm done, huh?

Arisu sits there, finger hovering above the option to text back, as he thought through his options. He could always just delete it, or send a text telling whoever this was that he wasn’t interested. He could follow Karube’s idea of playing along, finding what this was before leaving it behind, free of his insatiable curiosity.

The notification pings with another text again, and it was three simple words:

‘ Do you accept? ‘

Arisu bites his lips, and he sets his phone down, screen down as he approaches the grocery bags. He needs to think about this.

The familiar feeling of his phone in his hand was comforting yet so stifling at the same time, Arisu staring at the now opened chat log. The strange texts were there, without a single response from him. There was no links, no images, no anything to reveal their intents. Hell, the log didn’t even start with those cheesy greetings of a hello, diving straight into its offer of something ‘Wonderful’. What even was the meaning of that? The capitalization of that one world made it even stranger. The other texts that followed only built onto this strange, supposedly otherworldly thing, whatever it was. It was persistent and curious, and Arisu didn’t know why he was so interested in figuring it out.

His fingers hover over the bar, worrying the inside of his lip with his teeth. Is it really worth contacting it back? All for his curious mind to stop thinking? What if it was nothing to even worry about, and he just got himself fooled into some weird scheme for his credit card or his location?

Who even was this strange, unknown identity?

Arisu blinks, and he nearly drops his phone when he sees the bubble on the right side, his side, already pasted into the log.

Arisu: who are you

He…. didn’t remember writing that. His fingers move to delete it, but a response comes before he could press the trash icon.

Unknown: Who I am doesn’t matter! Are you interested in seeing something out of this reality?

Arisu stills, and he accepts his fate. No harm in finding out what this was. Worse case scenario, he has fun playing along and he can push this to the back of his mind, so it can’t be that terrible.

Arisu: that depends

Unknown: So you ARE interested! That’s wonderful!

Unknown: Are you willing to see something Wonderful?

Arisu: what even is it?

Arisu silently watches the bubbles, which appear, the disappear, as if there was really a person behind this odd number, this strange offer of something far too vague. But it was that kind of thing that still pulled him in, curious like a child watching something fantastical in front of their young eyes.

Unknown: Something only you have only thought couldn’t exist before! Something that will catch you and bring you along on a journey you would never experience any time elsewhere in your short life!

Unknown: Don’t you want something more than what you have at hand now?

Arisu freezes. Did it know….? He shakes his head. No, it couldn’t have, this was just some elaborate thing. There was no way it could have the slightest idea of how listless his life was going. It was a blanket sentence, something to catch a large group without pinpointing a singular person without it becoming a case of stalking.

That doesn’t stop Arisu from quickly glancing around his room before he slowly slides underneath his blanket, hiding from the world for just a little.

Arisu: why do you ask?

Unknown: It’s an opportunity of a lifetime! All you have to do is say yes, and you’ll see something Wonderful.

Arisu: and if I say no?

Unknown: That would be sad, but you can do whatever you want. You can continue on with your life, and see where that takes you.

Unknown: But you’re getting the offer that most people never are given the chance to take.

Unknown: Just say yes, and you’ll see something Wonderful, experience something Wonderful.

Unknown: What do you say?

Arisu knows, in the back of his mind, that this was a horrible idea. These were kidnapper words, words that parents and teachers and everyone tells others not to listen to because it only means bad things. These were way too odd to take seriously, and any rational mind would back out now, delete the log and continue on with their lives and talk about the strange encounter in the future, as if were nothing more than a funny story.

Rationally, Arisu should have said no. He should have said no, went back to doing nothing all day but play games on the computer, on his phone, on the television. He should have said no and went back to being practically shunned by his family, to only really hanging out with his two friends, to merely existing and drifting through life.

He should have just walked away and said no. He should have walked away like any other person would.

But his fingers slowly type out his answer, and he seals the deal in only a few words.

Arisu: alright.

Arisu stares at the screen, his breath held in his throat as the bubbles pop out, squeezing his poor phone as his thoughts flood in, regret and confusion and a tingling in his head and in his arms and in his everything.

Unknown: Wonderful♥️ Welcome to Wonderland, Alice.

Arisu takes a deep, shuddering breath, darkness in his vision. It’s hot, it’s stuffy, it’s-

He frantically sits up, and his racing thoughts get ahead of him as he looks around, chest heaving. It’s dark, where was he? What happened? He tries to take deep breaths, and he squeezes his eyes shut as the ringing in his ears dissolves until it was only quiet whirs of what might be the air conditioner running. He counts as he inhales, holds, counts as he exhales, holds, repeats.

His body returns to him after a while, and he opens his eyes to his room. It was just his room, with nothing out of place, with the AC slowly whirring in the background. Everything was okay, nothing happened to him. Arisu presses a hand to his chest, faintly registering the blanket. It was over his head, his brain supplies to him once he was calmer, that’s why it was so stuffy. He didn’t remember falling asleep, or what…..

The text.

Arisu searches around for his phone, hands swiping over the bed until it hits a solid object, and he fumbles as he picks it up, turning it on. There was no new texts, just the screen he was used to seeing. He clutches it anyways, swiping. It was only to prove it wasn’t just some dream. Arisu opens the messaging app, and his breath catches once more when he sees the text, that text with the heart attached, the number that was clearly not from a strange dream. He doesn’t open the log, the sight of it enough for him as it stares back at him.

He really said yes. To what exactly, he couldn’t say. It was far too vague and fantastical to explain, but something in him made him agree. Fingers brush against the edge of his phone, and Arisu wonders if he made a mistake.

The thought was making him feel strange, and he needed a distraction. Karube and Chota were probably asleep at this time, so that was out. He goes to one of his puzzle games instead, the shiny colours staring back at him. He starts, and his attention becomes absorbed in swiping that box left and up and right, zoning out his thoughts.

Sunlight peeking through his curtains was the only thing that pulls him out, and Arisu faintly realizes he was playing his game for hours. He rubs his eye as he sets his phone down to stare at the partially sealed window, and he sighs, flopping and covering his eyes with an arm. No use sleeping now.

Arisu gets out of bed, and he stretches a little as he trods to the bathroom. He doesn’t know what time it is right now, but it was probably early. Maybe too early, as when he gets out he gets a whiff of coffee, and the sound of someone else awake. It was far from the bathroom though, so Arisu continues on his way to brush his teeth and use the toilet. As mint hits his tongue Arisu remembers he forgot to eat, and he grumbles lightly under his breath. He completely forgot. Arisu leans over the sink and spits the foam out his mouth. No matter, he can eat breakfast and he’ll be fine. Being home didn’t expend that much energy anyways, and he could survive with a skipped meal or two.

Arisu walks out to the kitchen, and he gets a glimpse of his father and brother making their way to the front door, donned in suits. He waves as they leave, but he gets nothing in return, his hand dropping to his side. Figures, they wouldn’t bother looking to say goodbye to him when Arisu wasn’t consistent with waking up as they left like this. Still he could say that he made an effort. Arisu turns his attention to the fridge, and he opens it, grabbing some random item and popping it into the microwave for breakfast. He stands there as he waits, watching the thing spin. Once it was finished, he pops open the door and actually checks what he even put in there. It appeared to be some instant breakfast sandwich still nestled safely in its partially opened package, Arisu sliding it out of its rectangular prison and onto the counter to cool a little before he even attempts.

When it was, he slips it from its nest and held it in his hands, the only covering now being a paper towel as he eats, grabbing a bottle of water on his way as he wanders a little around his house. Just like always, there was nothing of importance for him to attend to, his only plan being gaming all day and perhaps texting his friends.

His body moves towards the window, and he takes in the outside as he sips his water, the sun shining in the sky, undeterred as always. It was such a beautiful day outside, and yet it was such a shame he didn’t have any reason to-

Arisu’s attention catches on something, and he pauses, lowering the bottle as he squints to something in the distance. It was faint, but it was there, disappearing out of sight as soon as he focused on it. Something white, but also pink in colour, disappearing into the trees.

Arisu blinks, and then he remembers he doesn’t really live anywhere close to a park.

So why were there trees?

His grip tightens around his sandwich and his bottle of water, and something tickles at the back of his mind that he should go down there. Eyes narrow, and then the memory of yesterday comes back to him, and they widen once more. Suddenly he’s rushing back to his room, scarfing down the sandwich. The burst of energy was new, as was this sense of urgency, and Arisu didn’t know what to make of it just yet.

What he did know is that this was it. He chugs the rest of his water, and he’s slipping on some comfortable pants and shirt and rushing out of the house, only barely remembering to lock up behind him. The only thing he had on him was his phone and the spare house key, but that didn’t matter right now.That urge to follow that white and pink something, to see if that strange bunch of trees that he didn’t remember before was that out of reality experience.

Why he was convinced to go along, even he didn’t know. There was nothing stopping him from this, from finding out if it was really real, and so shoes pound against ground as he runs towards where he swears he saw the trees.

When he gets there, it only answers him with green foliage and deep brown bark. The trees were real, and Arisu was standing in front of them, the smell of wood and something natural amongst the scent of artificial manmade livelihood. He looks around him, people continuing on their daily lives, packs and individual alike, and nobody paid the trees in front any mind.

Arisu looks back at the trees, and his chest pangs with what he faintly recognizes as excitement, as a rush of something else that he can’t put the words to at the moment. Trepidation, perhaps. But he wasn’t afraid, not in the least.

He takes his phone back out, and he texts something to the group chat.

Arisu: lets see where it takes me then

With one definitive, solidifying breath, he tucks his phone into his pocket and walks into the forest. The smell hits him stronger once he crossed the supposed threshold. The ground was still the same pavement as he was used to seeing, but the area around him was definitely new to him. Trees lined the road, and it seemed to only go in one direction. Clearly sketchy, but curiosity overtook him, and Arisu lets his feet carry him onwards, deeper.

It didn’t seem to end, he realizes as he watches the trees pass by him. It was fairly quiet, with faint sounds that at least told him he wasn’t alone, not completely. With how long he’s been going forward, he wouldn’t be surprised if he’s walked through a building if this was any more real. The path was far too strange, far too simple and peaceful. The only reason he hasn’t given up now was the fact that it was so strange, and something kept beckoning him to continue forward on this peculiar path.

Come to think of it, he didn’t even feel tired, despite all this walking. His feet didn’t ache, his legs didn’t give up, his breathing was completely normal. Arisu was aware he wasn’t much of a healthy person and likely would’ve at the very least needed a break and a bit of water at this point, but Arisu only rationalized it being a side effect of this odd experience.

He doesn’t know how much time passed, but he finally stops when the path finally turns into dirt, dark and healthy. It didn’t look that well stepped on, and there were grey stones embedded in it, a natural rendition of the slate grey concrete stones Arisu had been walking across. Arisu stands there, and finally looks back, staring far into trees and the singular pathway. He squints, trying to see if he could see the way back into the city, but it was nothing more than a pinprick into nothing, and he turns back around to spot a glimpse of white and pink. He gasps, and from where he was, now upon more even, closer grounds, he could make out a human running away. “ W-Wait! Hold on, where’re you going?!” Arisu yells, and he pushes onwards, his feet racing across dirt and stones in an attempt to reach this mysterious figure. The white and pink remains in his visions, although far, and it was calling to him without uttering a single word. Words weren’t important here, just the urge that tugged at his chest that called him forwards, allowing him to run after this faraway figure. Arisu barely registers the lack of fatigue that should have taken to his body, strain from not getting nearly enough exercise to even make it this far. His attention was on that figure, which continued to run away from him, and he wanted to know who else was here with him, on this tree and dirt lined path.

Why was he so intent? Arisu didn’t know, but he continues until the pink and white gets closer. Only when he can make out the person clearly does he realize how odd the silhouette of this person was. Their hair was cut in a bob, and they wore a pink windbreaker with a white rabbit printed on the back, along with simple pants that looked rather easy to move in. From the back view, Arisu realized that it was a young woman, or at the very least had a slim and fit figure. Normal things, really.

It was the ears that caught him off guard, long and white and on the top of her head, bouncing as the same rate she she was running. Rabbit ears, just like the ones on her jacket, except she was definitely human. Maybe it was a headband, but her hair flowed and swayed freely, and Arisu didn’t think he could see any hint of any headband on her head. It was strange, and Arisu tries to pick up his pace.

“ Wait! Hold on, can I talk to you?” Arisu shouts at her as he chases the rabbit, and finally he catches her attention. Her runs slow to a jog, and Arisu slows in a less smooth manner, until they were both at a halt, the girl still meters away. “ Can we talk? Can I ask where I am?” Arisu asks, and he’s mildly surprised when his chest doesn’t heave like he expects, although he was breathing a little deeper as he expected.

The girl slowly turns around, and her eyes were a little confused yet calm as they lock with Arisu’s. She blinks, and she looks around, then back at Arisu.

“ You actually followed me.” She said, and Arisu nods in response. He didn’t know why she was so confused that he followed, there was only this one path after all. Was it because he ran after her? He looks at the ground in embarrassment. Hopefully she didn’t think he was weird for chasing her-

“ Hey, it’s alright. I was surprised you did.” Her voice was closer, and he jerks his head back up, and she’s closer. He sucks in a quiet breath when one of the ears twitches, his eyes locked on the white lagomorph ear. His staring was clearly evident though, as she gestures with a hand for his attention to get off, Arisu looking back at the girl’s face and bowing his head.

“ Ah- Sorry-“ He sputters, and her lip twitches upward.

“ No, it’s alright, I understand. It’s real, trust me. This is your first time, right?” She says, and Arisu nods. The girl copies him, as if to take that in, and her small smile drops into a thoughtful look, dark eyes scanning him briefly. “ What’s your name?” “ Ah- My name is Arisu Ryohei, it’s nice to meet you-“ Arisu bows again, this time in greeting, and she lightly chuckles.

“ It’s very nice to meet you then, Arisu.” She greets, and she bows a little in return. “ My name is Usagi.” Arisu looks at her again, eyes wide. Her name was Rabbit? A little on the nose, but Arisu wasn’t about to judge. After all, his own name was the same pronunciation as Alice. “ So….. where am I?” Arisu asks again, and Usagi looks to him.

“ This place has no real name, but if you want, people before you have called this Wonderland. Although… we’re not in the one you immediately think of.” She says, and she jerks her head to signal to him to walk with her, Usagi taking simple strides. Arisu matches her pace, and he nods.

“ Alright. Fair enough.”

The walk was just as peaceful as it was before Arisu even met Usagi, but it was just as comfortable as it was beforehand, if not a little awkward knowing he now had company. His gaze couldn’t help but occasionally look towards the lapin ears, curious. His hand comes up before he realizes what his brain unconsciously did, and they brush against soft fur. Usagi steps away in surprise, looking up at him as her ear twitches. Arisu backs away in return, and he feels his face heating up.

“ A-Ah- Sorry-“

Usagi frowns a little, but it wasn’t one that was really sad, just annoyed. Arisu can only bow his head and apologize again, and she lets out a soft sigh. “ Next time just ask, okay?” Arisu nods, and they continue onwards, Arisu holding his hands into his pockets to prevent another strange incident. At the very least he now knew that they were 100% real, and that she could feel them.

“ Where are we heading towards?” He asks after a particularly long stretch of silence and walking along the dirt and stone path. Usagi glances up at him, Arisu looking down at her and tilting his head slightly.

She looks straight once more, and she points to something Arisu doesn’t see. “ Somewhere you have never seen before, something that you won’t forget for the rest of your life, Arisu. Are you ready?” Arisu nods. He’s already made it this far after all, and she nods once, and she starts into a jog. Arisu blinks, and he picks up his pace, and he can’t help but smile a little, hoping what she said, what that strange text, really meant it.

He wanted to see this Wonderland for himself.

#aib #alice in borderland #aib fanfic #alice in borderland fanfic #arisu ryohei #karube daikichi #chota segawa #usagi yuzuha #completely and utterly self indulgent where things are not quite what it seems now #oh and there's the barest cameo of arisu's family but so brief it doesn't matter #arisu needs a solid eating schedule #if i continue oh boy you're in for a strange ride #it's wonderland but also not at the same time #how does nobody question the appearance of trees? well.....

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my-sherlock221b · 3 years

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Supernatural Rewatch Ramblings: Dead in the Water

This episode is the first one to be directed by Kim Manners. It was written by Raelle Tucker and Sera Gamble. It is still the MoTW format and once again the ‘monster’ is something that was created by human action. Ordinary seeming stories—of bullying, lies, cover up—with deadly consequences.

Read below the cut for more and also watch out for the add-ons by my partner in crime @soulmates-for-real who does the most amazing gifsets and image galleries 😎

It reminded me of this quote:

“If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?” Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956

It is a chilling experience—both the actual monster when we do finally see it and the backstory of what really happened. These monsters are all created by the flawed human beings. Here is another quote from the same source which could well be the underlying bedrock of the two very different approaches we see Sam and Dean take in later episodes to the whole saving people hunting things.

“Since then I have come to understand the truth of all the religions of the world: They struggle with the evil inside a human being (inside every human being). It is impossible to expel evil from the world in its entirety, but it is possible to constrict it within each person.” .

Philosophical overtones aside, we are also getting more glimpses into the heads and hearts of the two leads.

It is already obvious that Dean has put the whole ‘Dad- is- missing- and- hasn’t- been-home-in -a -few-days stuff’ on the back burner till …ummm forever ? cos he has Sammy in front of his eyes who is sitting shotgun and being completely brotherly and sniping and bitching while also being boyfriend- level possessive.

As I said in the earlier review- I was just so swept away by the swashbuckling swagger of Dean that so obviously was an armour for his vulnerability that I almost didn’t notice Sam much. This is the episode where he became something more for me. Someone who was also finding out what Dean was all about at the same time as we were.

Someone who could pull him down to earth with a sharp: ‘People don’t just disappear, Dean. Other people just stop looking for them.’

But also reach out to him and remind him that they ‘can’t save everyone’.

In an early scene in the episode Sam scolds Dean for even starting to flirt with the waitress.

He smirks when Andrea shoots Dean down. He mocks Dean’s pick- up line about kids are the best. He seems pleased in a very petty way that Dean’s attempt has failed and that he has no choice now but to hang out with Sam and to give him his full attention.

The episode does have plot holes –that house Lucas draws and the history of the friendship of the two men and the missing boy surely must be well known to everyone in that small town, including Lucas’s mother and how come no one joins the dots etc. etc.

But small quibbles aside, we get to see that the past casts long shadows—whether sins of the past or just events of the past. ( again a parallel to the lives of the Winchesters themselves. And in later seasons we find out just how far back into the past those shadows reach!)

We see that Dean connects with the mute boy, Lucas, but then we learn that he can do this because he had also shut down after he saw his mother die and he knows how scary the world can seem and how he needed to make himself brave to carry on.

Sam watches from the sidelines and we can see him have an ‘oh ok’ moment as he stores away this information because it has clearly never been discussed in the family earlier. Kudos to Jared for being amazing with the ‘active listening’ that Sheila O’Malley references so often.

So despite Sam challenging him to name 3 kids he even knows, we see that Dean actually focusses on the kid throughout. The shared sense of loss aside, maybe Dean also sees himself as the protector of all little kids especially after the Shtriga incident. (which we don’t know anything about yet) (and we do see him bond with kids in every episode that involves kids. It is adorable !!)

In this episode Dean is almost drowning in his dad’s leather jacket and the way the silver ring looks on his hand is just ridiculously sexy…sigh….and that amulet right where it belongs…..deeper sigh. Then the cocky grin, the unsubtle flirting, all macho/manly/me- so- hetero/me- see- me- conquer on the outside but the soft squidgy child- whispering caramel centre, the trauma of being a motherless kid—having become motherless in a brutal way, a missing and probably almost cruel dad, a brother he raised as his own who walked out on him to go seek his own dreams….all these layers are being put together slowly for us.

Dean is not what he seemed to be and that brash swashbuckling exterior hides a very complex and interesting person. The script and direction were excellent of course but Jensen brought to it just the perfect balance of bad-boy + I wuv hugs.

Sam is still finding his way into the story and we are still watching things from Dean’s perspective as narrator which is fascinating to realize during the re-watch. As I have mentioned earlier, I was so swept away by Dean that it took me a very long time to focus on Sam as a separate person.

Ok, now, all together shout--- --WHY do people DO the following things??!!!

Put hands elbow deep into a sink, give lifts to obvious deranged malevolent spirits in human form, ‘let’s split up so we can cover more ground’, go into a shower/bath in a scary scene—can’t they HEAR the dun-dun-dun music score in the background?!! Sheesh.

Anyway. *eyeroll*

In a not- at- all- very- surprising turn of events Sam and Dean’s fake identity is called out and they are asked to leave town, which they do. But ….of course Dean does a very dramatic turn on the highway and takes them back to make sure the kid is ok!

Then Sam rescues the mother from the lethal bath- tub while Dean makes sure the kid is safe. Then they start to connect even more dots and eventually we see an incredible heroic rescue scene in the scary lake with Dean and the boy.

Jensen had described this shot in some interview as the most terrifying scene he had ever done apparently because he was responsible not only for doing the scene right but also for the young boy’s safety underwater.

What a fabulous visual we do get finally, with the boy in his embrace as they shoot out of the water!

That lake with its dark water is one super creepy place. That very first scene where we see the girl swimming from an underwater perspective had me yelling at the screen for her to GET OUT NOW.

So, finally, all is sorted and revenge has been had and bad folks die, good folks live and as they leave the town of course Lucas chats with Dean and they high five and just like the sister in the Wendigo episode, the young mother in this one also gives Dean a kiss on his cheek. Dean of course blushes and goes all gruff and drives off with Sam smirking in the shotgun seat.

The pattern is beginning to be established.

I am loving it!😍

The gag reel of this episode shows Jensen leaping into Jared’s arms.

This is the third episode only. So they have known each other only for a couple of months at this point?! Hmm…my J2 tinhat is also shining. And also wow. I mean Jensen is NOT a tiny guy.

Here are some other possibly more erudite and informed reviews if you would like to go down that rabbit hole like I did.

This one is cool https://the-orbit.net/entequilaesverdad/2016/05/10/supernatural-s1-e3-dead-water-summary/ and gives a fun and interesting score at the end which goes like this

Episode 3 counts:

Woman in the Fridge: 1

For Sophie Carlton being the first to get murdered by the vengeful spirit. It’s obviously meant to hook us harder: I mean, nobody would care as much about obnoxious brother Will, right?

Revenge from Beyond the Grave: 4

Sophie Carlton, Will Carlton, Bill Carlton, and Jake Devins.

Brotherly Love: 2

I had to give one to Sam for cock-blocking his brother right at the start. Another point goes to Dean’s sick-of-your-attitude lecture to his little brother, throwing Sam’s decision to go to college while Dean stayed behind with their dad in his face.

Toxic Masculinity: 1

For Dean downplaying his grief when Sam draws him out about the aftermath of their mother’s death.

Swimming in Sexism: 2

For Will Carlton’s comment to his sister that “guys don’t like buff girls.” I added a point for all the times they had Dean hitting on any available woman. They do want us to be extra-very sure he’s hetero, don’t they?

Cumulative Counts: Dean’s Man Tears: 3

One point awarded for all Dean’s choking up about Mom. We’re now three for three, folks.

This review totally calls out Dean LOL. I love the reviews that were written as first watch because they are without the benefit of hindsight we have on a re-watch.

http://markwatches.net/reviews/2013/11/mark-watches-supernatural-s01e03-dead-in-the-water/

“It was fascinating to me, then, that through this, Sam was able to learn about Dean’s own emotional reasoning behind his hunting. Of course, Dean, being the most stereotypical dude of all dudes who ever duded, has to immediately act like feelings aren’t cool because BLEH. Okay, that is one aspect of Dean that I’m not terribly interested in, especially since he expresses feelings like every five seconds. The whole “I am a straight man and I’m very straight and look at that butt straight I’m straight” thing is already exhausting because I get it. You don’t need to tell me this every five seconds.”

The comments to this review are also super entertaining with gems like this:

“So, if you knew that someone had drowned in the lake recently and their body was never found, WHY WOULD YOU STILL GO SWIMMING IN THE LAKE? Especially if two people had. It wouldn't make you think, "Hey, maybe there's something dangerous in that lake?" This show has some of the least genre savvy people EVER. Like, for example, once this mysterious death thing shows up in a sink, why would anyone want to take a bath or really ever fill any basin with water again? Seriously, is this the Bad Decision Olympics?”

Here is an awesome review from Fangasm also

https://fangasmthebook.com/2021/01/13/looking-back-on-dead-in-the-water-classic-supernatural/

#spn meta #spn #spn review #j2 #j2 tinhat #wincest

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ncisfranchise-source · 3 years

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Although much has changed for NCIS as the CBS mainstay enters its 19th season, the plan is to give faithful fans the familiar show they have long known and loved.

Among the on- and off-screen shifts: Two characters were written out last spring, a pair of series regulars have been added for fall, Gibbs’ suspension took a deadly turn when he and his new boat went boom…. And on top of all of that, TV’s most watched drama has been handed its first time slot change ever, moving from Tuesday’s leadoff spot to Mondays at 9/8c (beginning Sept. 20).

TVLine spoke with showrunner Steven D. Binder about navigating this transition, bringing the big orange room’s “band back together,” and inviting fans to rediscover a familiar favorite when they now tune in on Monday nights. (Tiny bits of this Q&A have previously appeared in TVLine scoop and Fall Preview columns.)

TVLINE | We said goodbye last season to Jack (played by Maria Bello) and to Bishop (Emily Wickersham). You have since added Katrina Law full time, as well as Gary Cole, and we’re reportedly getting a bit less Mark Harmon. How does this season rank as far as the challenge of transitioning? The biggest transitions we’ve had to face were last season — trying to find a fitting end to the Jack Sloane character and then a fitting end to the Emily Bishop character. Now, Katrina’s here, so we’re getting a chance to get to know [Agent Jessica Knight], but as you might imagine, there’s some cleanup work we have to do based on the season finale that takes precedence over the more subtle character moments. Gibbs blew up in his boat, so we’re not going to open up with light banter in the squad room.

TVLINE | How much time has lapsed since Gibbs went boom? We’re going to go fairly real time. We decided it’s too interesting of a moment to skip ahead of unless you’ve got a really good reason to do that, and we didn’t.

TVLINE | As I noted after the finale, Gibbs swam away on his own volition after “playing dead” for what seemed to be a purposeful amount of time. Did I read that right? Yeah. We shot a lot of different things for that and there were a lot of different ways to cut it, and what we left with was something that we felt in many ways left all possibilities open. You see someone swimming away with purpose but he was pretty badly injured. Just speaking from experience, I got nailed by a car when I was 10, and if asked me how I was doing, I’d tell you I’m fine, and I wasn’t fine. So, all things are still possible with Gibbs. He’s not dead and we know he’s able to swim well enough to do that broad stroke we saw, but any number of levels of injury were possible for him at that point.

TVLINE | Is there anything else you can share about what Gibbs is up to when Season 19 opens? Well, he’d been hunting down a serial killer, with a reporter (Marcie, played by Pam Dawber) who doesn’t really necessarily have the tools to deal with a serial killer. And he’s been cut off from his team, from that portion of his world. In the beginning episodes, that’s going to change. We’re going to “bring the band back together” to some degree so they can do what we have liked watching for 20 years, which is these people solving crimes together.

TVLINE | It was made very clear that Gary Cole’s character, FBI Special Agent Alden Park, is not “replacing” Gibbs. But is he there to fill a void as “the well-seasoned law enforcement agent”? This is something I’d been saying we should do for a very long time, and when I took over as showrunner it was like, “We’re going to do this” — and then we just didn’t for a little while. I have been saying that we need to populate more characters in this show, in the vein of Joe Spano who plays Fornell, Muse Watson who plays Mike Franks…. The way you get those people who are really fantastic characters is you bring people in and you try them out and you see how it goes.

That was what initially motivated [the casting of] Katrina [Law]. With Gary Cole, you can almost imagine [that Agent Park] may be too close to Fornell in a lot of ways — he’s from the FBI, he’s in the same demo — but that was the initial impetus for bringing in characters. And we’re trying to do that this season with a little more forcefulness, bringing in people in the building who you haven’t necessarily seen but you know have been there doing stuff. And if something clicks, we’re like “OK, let’s bring that person back.”

TVLINE | But now some fans are worried that we won’t see Fornell again. I can tell you that we will be seeing Fornell for as long as Joe Spano would like to be on the show. He’s just fantastic. We have him at least in one [Season 19 episode] and possibly more. Possibly more.

TVLINE | What do you want to say about Mark Harmon’s reportedly reduced presence as Gibbs this season? I’d say that a lot of things are reported on the show that aren’t necessarily true. We are focusing right now on telling the best stories we can with the characters we have, and Gibbs is a part of that world, and I think we’re doing a pretty good job with that. It’s a little more complicated under the COVID regulations we’re under again, but one of things that we felt was missing in the last half of last season was that we had broken our band up and we wanted to get them back together. That’s really what we’re focusing on now.

TVLINE | I’m surprised to hear you say that, because it sounds like Gibbs might become some form of team leader again. I will tell you that it’s not necessarily in a form or shape you might have expected. It’s not typical, but it will be something that is ultimately really enjoyed.

TVLINE | What’s the aftermath of Bishop abruptly peacing out on Nick and us? It would be a really sad commentary on the Nick Torres character for her to just disappear like that and have it not affect him in some way. It could affect you in a lot of ways — you can be generally affected, you could be walking around telling everyone you’re fine and clearly you’re not…. But Nick Torres is tough exterior, soft interior, and we get a look at that soft interior.

TVLINE | Can you clarify what Ellie meant by when she said to Nick, “I didn’t mean for us to happen”? Was that not necessarily their first kiss? I think there have been hints dropped along the ways that that was not their first kiss. And you will get some more hints of the extent of their relationship. Normal people might leave toothbrushes at the other one’s house, but Nick Torres might do things a little differently! You’ll get more clarification on exactly how far that relationship might have gone, although, as you could guess, when consenting boy adult meets consenting girl adult, and they like each other, things happen.

TVLINE | Once you’re done with the early-season “cleanup work,” will NCIS return to a typical Case of the Week format? That’s the other thing we talked a lot about, and I will tell you that after we put some of these things to bed that we have been running with for a while, one of the things we said to ourselves was, “Let’s get back to some interesting cases without any overarching arcs.” Out of 400-plus episodes, 360 of them are described that way, but we’ve been not doing that for a while, so I think it’s time for us to sort of regroup and get back to telling good mysteries of the week with interesting characters, interesting stories, emotional hooks, and a satisfying ending.

TVLINE | Was going back to that trusted formula especially important with a brand-new time slot? So that if and when people do find you, they’re getting something familiar? That could be a reason we would give, and it’s great that it worked out that way. As a writer working with writers, some of us are eager to get back to doing the things that we know. When we get off brand, that’s not what our training is in. Sometimes you get the more interesting episodes that way, because people get pushed past their comfort zones, but I think we’re all feeling it, too, that want to go back to what works. It’s a new time slot, so let’s not make everything new right now.

TVLINE | Any germ of an idea yet for doing a crossover with NCIS: Hawai’i at some point, to bridge the two shows on Monday night? You know, I thought we left some good stuff on the table by not doing more of those in the past. I would love to do something like that, especially if I wrote it and got to fly to Hawaii while it was shot!

TVLINE | Hey, only if I in turn get to do a set visit. [Laughs] Exactly. We haven’t discussed it yet, but I’ve worked with and known [NCIS: Hawai’i co-showrunner/former NCIS co-EP] Chris Silber for a really long time, so that always makes those sorts of things easier.

TVLINE | Lastly, is there any contingency plan in your back pocket in case someone decides that this is NCIS‘ farewell season? There’s really a couple possibilities here. One is that we get cancelled tomorrow and then there’s nothing to be “contingent” about. The other option is that Gibbs is either solving cases in his 90s, or he gets a gold watch and retires. Neither of those things sound interesting to me, but at some point in time when that happens, if we find ourselves still on the air and people are thinking of retiring, you have to think about something befitting that character — and a gold watch ain’t it. But we’re not really thinking too hard at this moment about such things.

TVLINE | A handful of fans have been very doom-and-gloom, bleating “they’re putting the show out to pasture!” with a time slot change and all. I’m like, it’s TV’s most watched drama; it’s not going to lose its entire audience because of a time slot change. That’s our reaction, too. When a show is on the bubble and the time slot changes, it’s usually to Sunday at 10 pm, and that’s not what we got. We got Monday, an hour later.

TVLINE | And you’re leading out of two solid sitcoms, and teeing up a buzzy new drama. That’s right. We’re always the one leading in for everybody else, so I’m somewhat excited to be the show that gets a lead-in!

TVLINE | It’s pretty crazy, man. Nineteen years without a time slot change. Yeah. Like you said, it’s a No. 1 one show, plus it’s 2021, not 1921. People watch TV differently now. As someone said to me, “Oh, it’s just going to be available a night earlier?” These days it’s not all about when a show drops. But you can watch it when it drops, and now it will be available to watch a night earlier, that’s how they thought of it.

#ncis #interview

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elsanna-shenanigans · 3 years

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April Contest Submission #30: Break Me Off

Words: ca. 3,000 Setting: mAU Lemon: no CW: none

“Can I try yours?”

Elsa’s head snapped up from the book she was reading to look to her left. Her baby sister was looking expectantly, her small hand outstretched and waiting expectantly, fingers wiggling in a grabby motion.

“Sure,” she answered with a smile, and passed her barely started dark chocolate KitKat on to Anna. “I don’t think you’ll like it though.”

Anna ignored that statement and immediately put the candy bar in her ‘some teeth missing transition period’ mouth, and bit off a sizable chunk. She chewed for a few seconds before her chocolate-covered lips twisted in a grimace, and she threw the KitKat back in Elsa’s lap.

“Ewww,” she said once she finally swallowed the bite (she at least had the decency to not spit it out like she used to a few years ago, something Elsa could bet would drive their father nuts if she did it in the new car), then gave Elsa the dirtiest look ever. “It’s so bitter! Why are you doing this to yourself…”

The last words were said with an overly-dramatic flair as Anna put her hand up to her forehead and pretended to faint like an old-timey movie lady on an ottoman. Which would work much better if she wasn’t stopped by the seat belt.

“It’s not that bitter to me.” Elsa shrugged as she picked up the discarded KitKat and continued to eat it as if nothing ever mattered. “You just still have a baby palate,” she said around a mouthful.

Anna blew her a raspberry, and her gaze dropped to Elsa’s book. “Whatcha reading anyway?”

Elsa swallowed the KitKat. “Harry Potter.” She flipped the cover to show it to Anna, who immediately started tracing and mouthing the letters of the title. “The fifth part comes out next week, so I wanted to re-read it before then.”

“Can you read it to me?”

“Later,” she lowered her voice and glanced in the rear-view mirror at their father’s concentrated face. It wasn’t the best idea to read–and have Anna interrupt with her loud comments–while he was driving. “When we’re settled at the hotel, I’ll read some to you.”

+++

“Hey,” Anna whispered, leaning over the wide armrest so she could reach Elsa’s ear. “You wanna try a bite of mine?”

She offered her the obnoxiously white KitKat, and Elsa immediately took it, as if its glow-in-the-dark properties could be seen by the row behind them. Without thinking much, she chomped down on the half-eaten candy bar. The overwhelming sweetness exploded in her mouth and seemed to coat her tongue with a thick, fatty film.

“You like it?” Anna whispered again, absolutely disinterested in the screen, her eyes locked square on Elsa’s face. “It’s kinda sweet, but I think I dig the white chocolate.”

Fighting through the nausea, Elsa finally managed to push the saccharine mush down her throat. “It’s absolutely disgusting,” she whispered back, then chuckled at Anna’s betrayed face. “I can see why you’d like it.”

Anna opened her mouth to say something (presumably snarky, she was hitting that age) in return, but an angry shhh came up from behind them. Elsa glanced at the people sitting in the back row and mouthed a sorry.

She turned back to the screen and tried to catch up on what she’d missed from the movie. So far The Goblet of Fire was proving to be worse than the previous parts, but she still wanted to know how they managed to work out the lake task of the Triwizard–

When Anna opened her mouth again just a few seconds later, Elsa stuck the white chocolate KitKat in it.

+++

“Hey, tradition!” Anna screamed suddenly as Elsa unwrapped her finals-study-motivation KitKat, almost making her drop it. “Lemme try!”

Elsa blinked. This was just the dark chocolate variety, one that she was sure she’d already let Anna try at some point in her life.

“You already–” But before she could finish, Anna’s shark jaws locked around the still barely unwrapped candy bar in Elsa’s hand with a loud crunch.

She munched for a moment, a thoughtful look on her face as she was considering the flavor. It quickly gave way to a disgusted scowl.

“Ew,” she said with a fake gag. “It’s as bad as I remembered.”

So Elsa did let her try it before. She rolled her eyes and half-heartedly swatted Anna away.

With a devious snicker and a hurried good luck with the exam!, Anna skipped out of the room and left her alone to study.

Elsa shook her head and finally returned her attention to her long-awaited snack award.

For some reason, the sight of Anna’s glitter lip gloss on the dark chocolate made her stomach twist.

+++

KitKats turned out to be the best way to go through her finals that year, and the next semester, and the next next semester, putting in the required fuel, feeling of accomplishment and the calories missing from not having time to eat proper meals.

It was also one of her little pleasures to find and test new flavors, especially those not available locally. It was Anna’s little pleasure to never say she wanted to order some for herself, and instead take bites off of Elsa’s, ‘just in case I don’t like it and don’t wanna finish!’

And over time it was one of Elsa’s little pleasures to look at the print of Anna’s lips on the chocolate and tenderly place hers on top to match the shape.

That little pleasure turned into a major curse when she realized she was daydreaming about placing her lips on Anna’s directly.

From then on, she would only buy the 4 finger breakable Kits.

+++

“I don’t really like this one,” Anna said around a mouthful of the Ruby cocoa KitKat. “It looks super cute, but it just tastes kinda waxy.”

Elsa shrugged. “Honestly, it’s just like the regular, but pink.”

“No, it’s different.” There was no point arguing with Anna on that. While Elsa preferred to try out new flavors, Anna has always been a hardcore true fan and real connoisseur of the regular Kit, so all she could do was to believe the expert. The currently pouting, cutely irritated expert. “Do you wanna finish mine?”

Elsa’s blood froze.

The whole point of the 4 finger Kits (which she personally considered inferior as the ratio of chocolate to wafer was just not quite on par with the single stick) was to not kiss Anna by proxy. Is what she came to call it.

But Anna was holding out the pink KitKat with a darker pink lip gloss outline in her direction, looking at her expectantly.

“N-no, I’m fine,” she answered a little too quickly and in a little too nervous of a voice. “I don’t really like it either,” she lied.

Anna’s brows furrowed. “I thought you said it tastes like the regular to you.”

Elsa could feel herself sweat. Damn, the stupid act of sharing a KitKat, something they’ve done since they were little kids was making her sweat.

Probably precisely because they’ve been doing this since they were little kids. Growing up together. Being sisters. Who should not want to kiss each other, yet there Elsa was, looking away from Anna’s perfect cupid bow glossy lips like a teenager (which she was definitely not anymore, on the final stretch to obtaining her bachelor degree) in love.

Her own lower lip felt numb from biting down on it. Fuck, she was in love.

“Yeah, but you’re right,” she said, mouth dry. She was in love and she was just now realizing this because of a stupid Ruby KitKat. “It is waxy.” Stupidly good Ruby KitKat that she was going to deny herself because her sister’s lips touched it and she would burn in hell if hers did too. “Just toss it out.”

Anna’s face looked like she just told her she actually was planning to vote on Trump for the pure fun of it, but she didn’t say anything.

+++

“Hey, I’m just about to head out– oh is that a new one?”

Elsa almost dropped the half eaten candy bar on the floor. She was not expecting Anna to come in her room any time soon, and like the true disgusting goblin she was, she decided to partake in her secret stash of imported KitKats.

Her dirty little secret stash of single stick KitKats that she couldn’t find in 4 finger format, and thus could not ever, ever let Anna know about because even if she ordered two pieces of each kind Anna would refuse to try an entire bar on her own.

‘I mean, what’s the fun in that? Half of the joy of KitKats is sharing!’

Not really seeing any way out of that, Elsa admitted defeat. “…Yes.”

“Oh, cool!” Anna bounced over excitedly to drop down on the bed next to her. “Oooh, white chocolate and peach? So fancy! Is it from Japan? It looks about the size of the Japanese ones I saw online…”

Her pure, genuine excitement only made Elsa feel even worse about hiding in her room like Gollum with his ring. Then, right as she was reaching for Elsa’s KitKat, Anna’s face and hand suddenly dropped.

“Wait…”

Elsa gulped.

“…you… you were going to eat it without me, weren’t you?”

She focused on the pattern of her carpet.

“Oh my god, Elsa! You stinker!” Anna sounded full-on betrayed, and Elsa could honestly not blame her for that. “I thought KitKats were our thing!”

Elsa blushed, for many different reasons. “I-it’s not like that,” she started explaining herself, fully aware of how pathetic she sounded. “It’s just cause you never want a full KitKat of a new flavor and I couldn’t find them in the sharing format–”

“So? I didn’t know we were suddenly only allowed to share the break-apart ones.”

Elsa sighed. Right, to Anna it didn’t make any sense, because Anna was a normal person who didn’t fantasize about kissing her sister. Or flustered about indirectly kissing her. “I-it’s just easier to portion…”

“I’m pretty good at portioning a bite, thank you very much.” She still sounded a little miffed, but she did smile towards the end– right before her eyes turned very round and glistening. “Did you eat many without me?”

Holy shit, she was looking like the pleading emoji and Elsa was at her wit’s end. “No!” she denied quickly and truthfully. “I-I bought more, but this was the first one I was going to try…”

Anna crossed her arms.

“Aaand now that you know about it I guess there’s no point hiding,” Elsa continued sheepishly. “I’ll uh– I’ll go to the kitchen and cut you off a piece.”

She stood up quickly, holding the KitKat like a relay sprinter holds the baton, clinging on for dear life with the prospect of glory and escaping the rivals, or in this case escaping her sister before she could–

“Wait.” Anna’s hand was on her wrist and Elsa almost yelped. The rivals outran her and the finish line was nowhere in sight as she fell on her knees, defeated, and only metaphorically speaking as in real life she was just standing stiff in her place. “What? Just let me take a bite, it’s easier–”

“N-no,” she interrupted quickly, trying to pry the wrist away from Anna’s surprisingly strong grip. “Cause, uh– umm, that way I can make sure to cut in the middle and give you a fair share.”

Yes, that was a splendid save.

“I just want a bite, I’m not sure if I would like a whole half.” And a gloriously crushing response from the opponent. “Just let me–”

Her peach pink lip gloss would look amazingly fitting on the white chocolate and peach KitKat. Or on Elsa’s lips. Applied with her lips. On her lips. Kissing–

“No!” She yanked her hand away. Anna’s eyebrows shot up in shock, and Elsa realized she yelled that very loudly, even though she was mostly responding to her own dirty little secret thoughts. “I mean– I don’t wanna…”

What? What was she supposed to say to get out of this? There was literally no logical reason she could not be wanting to simply share the KitKat like they used to for so many years, aside from the obvious plague that was currently rotting her mind, but she could not tell Anna that–

“…are you disgusted by me?”

She said it in such a small voice, looking up from where she was sitting on Elsa’s bed with hands folded neatly in her lap, her big teal eyes glazed with a sheet of tears and Elsa’s heart broke into a thousand shards.

“Oh god, no!” Her hands moved on their own to grab Anna and pull her into a hug, but she stopped herself on the way, now with her hands awkwardly hovering at Anna’s eye level. “Why… no, I’m so sorry you would even think that, I–”

“Then what is it, Elsa?”

Fuck. Fuckity fuck shit fuck what was she–

“Just say it,” she damn near sobbed. “Out loud.”

“Your lip gloss,” she said in a flat voice, grasping at straws to not lie, but also not tell the truths. “It stays on the KitKat when you bite it.”

Anna’s eyes went wider. “You don’t like my lip gloss?”

Why the fuck was she sounding this hurt by the idea? “No, I–”

“I thought you said it looks good…”

“It does!” She could clearly feel herself getting flustered. “I like it, and it looks very good on your li– on you. Really good.” God, was she sounding as borderline creepy to Anna as she did to herself? “B-but it leaves a– a stencil of your lips on the…”

She trailed off, not really sure how to get out of the corner she just talked herself into.

Anna gave her a puzzled look. “So you don’t like… my lips?”

“No!” Jesus why was communication so difficult and why was the room so hot and why was Anna looking at her like this? “I love them. Like! I like them. I like. Them. Your lips. Like them.”

If Anna got up and called the ambulance right now because ‘my sister is having a stroke!’ Elsa would find it completely justified.

“Ookay…” Anna said slowly, not reaching for the phone, and instead continuing to try to read Elsa’s face (but what she could potentially read was that inside Elsa’s head there was a wind-up monkey puppet playing the cymbal, and nothing much beside that.) “So what is the problem?”

Elsa mumbled in response.

“I’m sorry?”

“It feels like we’re kissing,” she said weakly, absolutely giving up on her hopes and dreams in that instance. “When I bite the KitKat.”

Anna blinked at her. “That’s it?”

Elsa nodded.

“I mean, that’s all?”

It was Elsa’s turn to wear a confused expression.

“You’ve been getting only breakable KitKats for a year just so you could share with me without feeling like this?”

Elsa nodded again, albeit cautiously. She had no idea where Anna was going with this.

“And denying yourself flavors that don’t exist in that format so that I wouldn’t feel left out?”

Nod again.

“I’m sorry.”

Record scratch. “What? No, why are you sorry?”

“Because you were feeling uncomfortable because of me?”

“No, I– I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable knowing I want to kiss you.”

Wait, no– oh no no no no holy fuck no backtrack backtrack backtrack–

Her stomach sunk. There was no way to backtrack.

Red alert, escape the room.

Anna caught her hips before she could dash for the door and spun her around to face her again, this time meeting her at eye level. She reached for Elsa’s hand–which was currently hanging limply at her side, and still holding the goddamned half-eaten KitKat–and clasped it gently in hers, then brought it up until it was between them, right in front of Elsa’s mouth.

The scent of peach and white chocolate hit her before her brain registered the development.

“Bite,” Anna said softly, but with demand. “And hold.”

Elsa’s mouth opened on its own as her sister pushed the KitKat in, and obediently she clamped her teeth down on it–just enough to break the chocolate layer, but not all the way through.

She stood there patiently with the candy bar sticking out of her mouth, watching Anna remove the remaining wrapper as if her body was not hers to steer, as if she was just a passive observer as her mind was struggling to pick the pieces of what her sister was doing without going for what she really wanted Anna to be doing in her heart of hearts.

Once the wrapper was off, Anna climbed on her tiptoes and– Elsa could swear she saw her smirk right before the free end of the KitKat disappeared in Anna’s mouth, slowly, until their lips finally touched.

Their lips touched.

She was kissing her sister.

She was kissing her sister around a fucking candy bar.

And in just a few heartbeats she heard the tell-tale, trademark KitKat crunch as Anna’s teeth broke through the wafer, and with a final brush of her glossed lips she was off, leaving behind only a chunk of white chocolate and peach mousse in Elsa’s numb, speechless mouth.

“It looks good on you too,” Anna said with her mouth still full and gaze dashing between Elsa’s lips and eyes. “Bet it would be even better without the melted chocolate.” She swallowed down her bite, and let out a satisfied hum. “Mm, I like this one. Funny how the flavors work together so well… chew, Elsa.”

She brought her hand up to Elsa’s chin and pressed on it, and Elsa mechanically picked up the chewing motion, earning a delighted smile from her sister.

Anna glanced down at her watch. “Well, I gotta go. The sea and beach won’t run away, but my friends just might if I keep them waiting any longer.” She placed a soft, sticky kiss on Elsa’s boiling hot cheek. “But I’m really looking forward to trying the other flavors you got.”

With a wink, she pushed past her and out the door, leaving Elsa to deal with the lump (of KitKat) in her throat.

#elsanna #submission #April 2021 contest #prompt: break

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repentantsky · 3 years

Text

6 Unpopular Gaming Opinions

I have a lot of unpopular opinions, and if you follow me on twitter, you might have seen a few recently. However, a simple tweet here and there hardly covers my opinions in gaming that might not sit well with people in this space. I know a lot of people get mad over differing opinions these days, but I have more unpopular than popular opinions, and I think I’d like to talk about a few.

6. If you’re mad about Pokemon games, you’re wrong

Yeah, I’m getting into it right away, and again if you follow me on twitter, you might have seen this once or twice recently, but getting mad about Pokemon to me, always seems foolish. Pokemon as a series has always been what we call a double A experience. Not quite an indie, but clearly not a AAA experience either. In other words, Pokemon is simple, and the crazy amount of Dexit hate, and other controversies about Sword and Shield, the most recent releases in the series are in my eyes, just plain stupid. It’d be one thing to be mad about something not being done if developers were in a similar situation as say, CDPR devs, but to our knowledge that’s not the case. Pokemon, fun as it is, isn’t that serious.

5. Western RPG’s are inferior to JRPG’s by default

There’s a simple reason for this. Games made with the western audience in mind, tend to have the same major flaw that a majority of western games do, they don’t explore the emotions of their male characters, espeically if the lead in a male character, half as well as Japanese RPG’s do. On the one hand, I get it, people still talk about FFXIII like the characters are bad, despite their “major flaws” in many people’s view in the west, simply being that they express their emotions openly. It’s a major problem in Western RPG’s though that the main character if male doesn’t show emotions, and that male characters that do, are seen as weak in the games themselves. This leaves female roles to carry all the emotional weight, which in turn pushes the male power fantasy too far in my opinion, and leaves the main characters boring. Many a western gaming fan would pick Geralt of Rivia as one of the best characters ever made, and while he does occasionally get to show some emotion, my pick would easily be more along the lines of Sora from Kingdom Hearts, or Rean Schwarzar from Trails of Cold Steel, because their emotions makes them more relatable and endearing.

4. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is better than Breath of the Wild

I’m of the opinion as it is, that Breath of the Wild is an overrated game. The climbing mechanics are frustrating, breaking weapons is annoying, and for all the world building and lore that Zelda has as a series, the story is a mess and can easily be told out of order. While Age of Calamity does tell an arguably less emotional story as characters fates are altered from Breath of the Wild, it also tells a more engaging one and characters being on screen longer than they were in the Breath of the Wild, also gives them more time to develop, and be characters we should care about. The Warriors format itself is pretty enjoyable as is, but combined with a story I was more invested in, characters I got to know better than Breath of the Wild ever tried to make them known, and just an overall superior representation of this version of Hyrule, it was simply just a better experience. I can only hope Breath of the Wild 2, ends up having that much story and that much fun gameplay to offer.

3. The Grand Theft Auto series, is kind of garbage

Now I’m really digging deep. The question is whether or not I’m just going off the rails, or digging my own grave. But seriously, these games are boring. The idea was novel at first when we finally San Andreas, be the bad guy, do whatever you want, all that. Sounds good, and it was kind of fun, but the problem is, GTA hasn’t really ever evolved past that. Sure it starts to look better, but the characters in it are stupid, annoying, and bland, games like GTA V don’t know when to end their main campaign, the series never really took the time to develop the few interesting characters it does have, like Franklin, because they just have to fall into the narrative of crime is good, and it’s just not a fun series because the controls aren’t great. You could do worse, sure, but you can also do better, and it doesn’t feel like Rockstar really wants to try. I’m sorry but the GTA games, are just boring and uninteresting after their novelty wears off.

2. Final Fantasy VII is just, okay, the remake is also pretty mid

To me personally, Final Fantasy VII is one of those games that really survives on nostalgia, and little else besides. Like, it’s a fine game, passable in the world of Final Fantasy as a whole, but some of it’s plots are not well handled or don’t seem to go anywhere, the ending kind of makes everything you do past a certain point completely moot, and Cloud’s pride is the cause potentially thousands of dead people because he didn’t back away when he knew he should have. Sadly, the remake doesn’t do much better. While it does give more detail to the story, and takes better care to make it make sense, it also is still pretty much the same story, and that’s boring to me. I’ve played this game, I know how it ends, (though possibly not in the remake) it just doesn’t grab me like it seems to have done for so many people. Even saying that, I still like the game a lot, because it’s Final Fantasy, and the series will always mean a lot to me, even the worst of it, but Final Fantasy VII, for me, is just okay, and the remake telling pretty much the same story again, doesn’t endear it to me.

1. The Last of us Part II, is fantastic

Yeah, something a little more recent to spice up this wild list, why not. The Last of Us Part II, is simply a fantastic game, with a well told story, fantastic characters, and great pacing. It doesn’t shy away from problems in our current society like sexual identity, it’s open to the fact that people are different than each other in ways that many people aren’t comfortable with, and it does it’s part to make open-minded people uncomfortable, by having them play as the woman that killed Joel. A lot of people who hate this game, seemingly can’t get past the fact that it does these things, and look at the game as it’s face value, which is sad, because if you’re willing to challenge yourself, you might find an amazing experience here. Yes, the gameplay isn’t the best, but just like the first game, the story is something far more in depth than anyone could have prepared for. It’s a masterful story, and a great send-off to Naughty Dog, who I personally cannot see myself supporting unless they change the way they develop games. Still, I admire what’s here, and what the developers did with what they were given.

And there’s some of my unpopular opinions, do you have any of your own? Let me know in the notes below, and share this if you feel so inclined. If you want to see more of my unpopular opinions, feel free to follow me on twitter @RepentantSky, since that came up twice, and have an excellent day.

#the last of us #the last of us part 2 #final fanatasy 7 #final fantasy 7 remake #gta #gtacommunity #gta5 #hyrule warriors #breath of the wild #JRPG #western #rpg #pokemon #nintendo switch #ps4 #ps5 #witcher 3 #cdpr #cyberpunk 2077

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voltagesmutter · 4 years

Text

Pregnancy HeadCannon (Gavin/Kiro)

It’s an emotion, fluff kinda day.

Gavin:

“Do you we really have to do this?” You groggily questioned, taking lazy steps as you held your husband's hand. The cool air of the Sunday morning brushed against your exposed knees, sending a light tickle across your body.

“It will be fun! And you’ll finally get that morning exercise you always go on about,” A laughter in his voice, this is not the morning exercise you were on about.

The sun glinted down on the soccer pitch, the reporters had warned it was a heatwave of a day which was beginning early in the day. You and your husband were attending the annual event of a soccer match with a rival precinct from another sector. Three games consisted: Cops, spouses/partners, mixed. And because your wonderful husband thought it was a brilliant idea, signed you both up to participate. That the first time you ever looked at Gavin and thought of a divorce. You hated being up early, you hated soccer, you hated any sport for that matter and now the two now combined on your day off work was just pure torture.

“Beside, you look really hot in that uniform,” The blush grazing his cheeks as he swung your intertwined hands. Oh Gavin, I do love you.

The rules explained, 6 a side game for all matches and pleasantries made with the rivals, the games were ready to begin. Gavin and five other offices from his team took their positions, taking 2-2-1 formation, Gavin taking a defender position. Your eyes were unable to stop watching your husband in such a physical form, almost jealous of the beads of sweat that dripped off his forehead, a physique that even the gods would envy.

The ball kicked from foot to foot, balls being sent flying across the pitch in hopes of reaching the netted goal. The team rippled with stamina, none of them even losing an inch of fatigue through the 30 minute game. You on the other hand, you were exhausted just watching.

The partners and you all cheered as they managed to score a winning goal within the last minute, one of the sergeants dodging the attackers perfectly to hit the ball into the net. Walking off the pitch he gave you a quick peck on the lips, neither of you wanting to show too much PDA in front of his colleagues.

You took position as a defender, the rules had been explained but you still didn’t fully understand, your aim was to run around and kick the ball towards the goal. Normally balls flying to your face wasn’t something you minded, but in this circumstance it was. Having to duck and dodge every so often, a rival player profoundly booted the ball every time it came near them, almost smacking you square in the face at one point.

Your muscles ached from the running, only a few more minutes until the game ended, the rivals winning by over 2 points; the whole team out of breath, it was evidently clear none of you had fitness like your partners. By now the sun had risen, blaring down on the field, your skin tingling from the heat.

Only four minutes left.

You saw an opening, the ball passing from directly in front of you. You sprinted with the last of your energy, the ball blocked by your feet from the opposition.

Three minutes left.

You ran up the pitch, the wind pushing with a light graze behind you to help your speed, the opposition feeling it heavily push against them. What’s the fun in having a wind-controlling husband if he can’t use his powers to help his wife every so often.

Two minutes left.

Even if you didn’t win you still wanted to attempt at a goal. As you waited for an opening, the side of your foot hitting the ball, your skin tingling with a blaze.

One minute left.

Your vision popped with white, Gavin looked in horror to see the colour fade drastically out of your skin, your knees buckling from under you as your eyes rolled to the back of your head. A strong pair of arms swooping under you to catch your fall, black taking over your vision.

“Hey,” A soft reassuring voice filled your eyes, the warmth of a hand over yours as your heavy eyes peeled open. The brightness of the light made you hiss slightly, holding up a hand to block it as your vision adjusted. You lay on a blue leather chair in the emergency room, Gavin flying your limp body in recording timing after you fainted.

An iv drip inserted into your arm, even looking at it made your stomach queasy. Gavin sat to your right so you didn’t have to look at it, his eyes slightly bloodshot and the faintest wetness graced his cheeks.

“What happened?” You asked, adjusting yourself to sit up properly, Gavin bolting forward to help you.

“They said you passed out from the heat,” Gavin squeezing your hand before pulling you into a tight embrace, “Please don’t scare me like that again”. The warmth of his words sent your heart fluttering, your whole world clutching you tight to him.

A doctor came into the room only moments later, clip-board held close as he examined his notes. He reassured both you and Gavin that everything was fine, until a sentence sent your heart racing to the point the heart-rate monitor was pounding against the screen.

“Fainting is very common in the early stages of pregnancy, everything with the baby is fine”.

The room in the air almost stilled, you blinked a few times before asking the doctor to repeat.

“Mrs.Bai you’re pregnant,” The hand on yours twitched slightly, “I assumed you both knew,”.

The look shared between your husband and you was one of pure love, no need for an exchange of words as he cradled you close, tears from both of you ran down your cheeks.

It didn’t matter to either of you about the game that still continued, both of you winning in a completely different sense.

A life created from the purest of love in the universe.

Kiro:

The third wave of nausea hit you at work, barely making it to the bathroom in time as the contents of your breakfast came up in the porcelain bowl. Your stomach cramps throbbed, almost bringing you to tears. Never had your pre-period cramps been this bad.

You freshened up, noticing how you skin breaking out in the corners like it did as a teenager, you looked like you'd been hit by a brick wall. You felt like it too.

“You look worse than normal,” A stern tone met by a purple gaze. The CEO who you was just giving a report to moments ago in his office stood outside the bathroom.

“I feel it,” You mumbled, followed by an apology, face red with embarrassment from rushing out of your 1-1 meeting.

“Take the rest of the day off,” His tone not be argued with, “Go rest and do this right tomorrow”.

You didn’t argue or put a fight, too tired to battle a losing fight.

You almost had a heart attack when you came home, Kiro sat on the couch, game controller in hand.

“Miss.Chips! Your back!” Dropping the controller and running to pick you up in his arms. Still shocked to see your boyfriend who should be away on shoot for a few more days in your shared home.

“K-Kiro put me down!” You squealed playfully, a hand clutching to his shoulder with a slight lightheadedness, What are you doing home?”.

“Do you not wish to see me Miss.Chips,” He pouted, unable to hide his playful smile as placed your feet back on the floor.

“Of course I do, but your meant to be filming for four more days,”.

“We wrapped up early because of the good weather, so I’m all yours now,” A smile from his lips that would light up a room, your own personal pocket of sunshine.

“But why are you home so early?” He tucked a stray piece of hair behind your ear.

“I don’t feel to good,”. Not telling him about your sickness, he didn’t need to know about that.

“Well it’s a good thing I’m home! Let me look after you,”.

He ran you a bath, heavy essences of lavender filled your home as the salts mixed in with the hot water. He held you close to his chest as you sat between his legs, massaging bubbles into your skin as he bathed your body with gentle touches. The brush of the clothed towel was pleasantry, letting the exhaustion win you over as Kiro carried you to bed. One hand pressed flat on his chest as your cheek pressed over his heart, the sound of his heartbeat lulling you to sleep.

You awoke to a horrific scent, one that bad your toes curl and the hairs inside your nose burn. Whatever Kiro was doing, it toyed with your sense of smell, the wrenched feeling of throwing up happening again.

Kiro dashed into the bathroom after hearing your sobs, stroking your back softly and whispering sweet words of reassurance.

“Your probably just over worked, I know how hard you push yourself,” His voice weathering slightly, the slight knotting of his brow.

“Is this why you came home early?”.

You answered in silence, a nod speaking for you.

“Is it… that time?” He asked bashfully as you gave another nod.

“What was you making?” Pulling yourself away from the toilet and leaning back against the wall.

“Your favourite of course! Them chocolate pop tarts,” His voice soft and gentle, his thumb stroking over yours.

“What did you do? Burn them?”.

“Silly Miss.Chips,” He chuckles and playfully rubbed your head, “You should know I’m a master at making them,”.

“But they smelt awful, that’s what made me sick,” Taking a few deep breaths, trying to clear your mind of the smell before you threw up again.

“How dare your nose betray your stomach like that!” He laughs, standing up and picking you up, carrying you bridal style back to bed, “You must be really unwell if you can’t eat your favourite treat,”.

He tucked you into bed, bring you a hot water bottle as he stroked your hair.

“Miss.Chips?”

“Yes Kiro?” You already knew what he was about to say.

“So since your not going to eat them pop tarts…” He sang sweetly.

“Fine, I guess you can have them,” A laughing sigh followed you response.

You spent the rest of the evening in bed, playing video games together, as always Kiro player one and you player two.

—

A week on and you hadn’t improved, in fact you were vomiting now every morning and Kiro’s concern was growing.

“It’s fine, I’m fine,” You tried to play it off but the way you dashed to the bathroom in a hurry, hand clutched over your mouth as you speed from the living room in a bolt of lightning.

“Miss.Chips I’m worried about you,” The tremor in his eyes made your heart melt.

“I’m fine,”.

“Miss.Chips”.

“It’s nothing,”.

“Bella…” He only called your name when he was serious.

But it wasn’t fine and you both knew it. You could have blamed it on your period as you originally had done so but the fact of the matter was you were late, your heart stammering. You were never late, regular as clockwork when it came to your periods so all of this lit your nerves on fire.

It frightened you to admit it but there was a possibility you could be pregnant, the symptoms all lined up and accidents can happen. It wasn’t as if Kiro and you hadn’t been spending every minute of free time after he came back from a tour ravishing each other.

“I’m late,” The words that had been harbouring in your mind for the last several days finally came a shore.

“But we’re not going anywhere?” The purity and innocence radiated off him as his slight delay in understand what you meant

A cocked eyebrow from you, the silence before a dropping gasp, penny dropping.

“Are you-“.

“I don’t know,” You cutting him off before he could finish his sentence, taking deep strides to pull you close.

“Do you think-“.

“I don’t know,”.

The pounding of heartbeats could be heard through both of your ears, an undoubtable flood excitement lingered in the air between you.

“Do you want to-“ He started, bringing a finger to your lip to halt your words.

“Do you want to find out?” His words laced with nerves but the calmness stayed in-control in his eyes and all you could do was nod in response, finding yourself lost in the hazy shade of blue.

—

The tears of pure joy and happiness range through your home that night. Joy that neither party could exchange in words to find out that player three had joined the game.

#mlqc #mlqc gavin #mr love queen's choice gavin #mr love bai qi #mlqc kiro #mr love kiro #mlqc zhou qiluo #mlqc zhou qiluo #mlqc fluff #mlqc headcanon #birdcop celebration #birdcopcelebration

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prorevenge · 3 years

Text

Causing my group to loose out on paid internships.

I do a computer science degree at university. We had a group work project which is set out in two stages. It involves making an application with a report about it in the first. Then the second is to improve both the code and report based on feedback from module organiser.

I was with four others and we each picked a parts of the work that we would do. I was the groups most confident coder so assigned myself alot (~ half) of the code and no report work as I suck at it and hate it.

I do all my work for it and say this to the group, this is immediately met with "can you do my bit of the code too" type stuff. I willingly do so saying I will note this for the group contribution report. (A report that each member of the group has to submit saying how much each person contributed and our marks were based of this).

I ended up producing this entire application which was worth half the marks for the first stage. I contacted my module organiser and they suggested if people weren't pulling thier weight to leave the group (taking my code with me) and do the report. That would mean I would need to work flat out to produce the report. I didn't want that.

But then I got asked to do some of the report to about how the code actually worked, alot of the report was stuff about end users etc which they could do but they needed me to do this as they didn't know what the hell all my code did. I again (probebly for like the 5th time) said I would, but will note if for the GCR.

All in all I worked out that I had done ~60% of all the work for 5 people in the group. With all our work done we were ready to submit but all needed to do the GCR. There was talk amongst the others of all writing that we each contributed 20% of the workload to "make us look better as a team". I flatly refused. They exploded calling me with every name under the sun, swearing at me. I explained that half the marks for the project go to the code and half to the report. So I said that we have each done 1/5 of the report and that I had done all the code bringing my total to 60 and thiers all to 10. They weren't happy. I sent this off with those values. And thought that was that.

My module organiser then emailed me asking if I had any proof of this as I put myself alot higher than everyone else did. They all put me at 0% apparently and themselves at 25%. Essentially out casting me from the "team" and trying to give me no marks for all my hard work.

This is where the revenge comes in.

I emailed him back linking him to the github I used to share the code with the team (github is a source control that shows who made changes to the code) and showed him that all the commits were done by me Proving that I did all of it. And thankfully we did the whole report on Google drive so I could also see the history on that document and send him screenshots of all the alterations made by me proving that I wrote ~20% of the report also.

He added it all up and made a special exception for my group. Saying he would give me most credit for the work. The way that he calculated our marks was: He marked all our work normally. I got most of the credit so got the highest mark. They all did 6 times less work than me and therefore deserved 6 times less of a mark.

I think I ended up with a 65 and they all get 11 for the whole coursework section 1.

Now this course is 100% of the marks for the module meaning they just got 11% for 50% of a whole module. Which is a biiiiiggg fuck up.

Section 2 is fixing the feedback the teacher gives and improving your report and code. So turned out I fucked up a bit on the code only getting about 50% of the marks with like a massive issue in it (dumb me) but my report sections were near perfect. Spelling mistakes and formatting etc. There were a few glaring mistakes from the report but other than that not bad.

When they found out thier marks they started calling me up and emailing me and messaging me almost for about 3 hours, I was happily rowing at the time (teacher sent an email explaining that they had lied and he had proof about it so corrected the marks according).

At this point I quit the group, and decided to work on section 2 by myself. TAKING ALL OF MY CODE WITH ME. Removing thier access to all of it. I of course asked my module organiser first and they said it was fine as it was my work and if I was no longer in thier group the others couldn't submit it.

I fixed the error in the code in about 2 weeks. Then did the whole report from scratch almost and added a load about the fix taking me about 7 weeks.

I ended up submitting 2 weeks early for the deadline and got 100% on the whole section 2. Which is basically unheard at university, especially by your self for group work.

Later that day I get an email from a plaugurisum and collusion officer. Not someone you ever want to get an email from. Basically says I'm summoned to a hearing as an external body looked at both my group (me, myself and I) and my old groups coursework and thought it was very similar. I get the whole project that my group handed in and my own back as evidence so I can look and prepare my answer. So this is a virtually meeting (yay, virus). I email back asking if I can have my module organiser present too. They say he has already been invited. Perfect.

I email my module organiser ask if he supports me in this because basically they can punish all of you or 1 group (never nobody). He says yes he supports me in this. Perfect.

I prepare for this meeting by going though the hundreds of commits I have made while they had access to find the one that is most similar to it. I find a PERFECT match, 0 differences, not even a single character. Through the thousands of lines of code.

So I turn up to this meeting there is the VP of computing there (guy who could basically do whatever the hell he wants to us). My old group when asked to present thier answer as to why this has happened go on about how they did all of it by themselves blah blah blah. You get the point, this goes on for about 10 mins. Then I am asked to present my argument. I ask if I can share my screen. VP: "yeah... Okay..." puzzled. So I share it. Show me downloading a fresh version of what they submitted, and a fresh version of one of my commits on the github, and running it through the universitys own comparison software (which I also asked for). I narrated this to explain what I was doing just to be clear. Took a while but came up as I knew it would 0 differences. Everyone was stunned. One of the group members uttered "but...". I just laughed. And was quickly asked to hang up as I was no longer involved.

Turned out they had cloned one of my commits and not been able to fix it atall so just submitted it and hoped for the best.

Then one of my friends who is friends with one from my old group asked what grade they got and they said that they failed the whole module and would have to retake it over the summer costing them and everyone in my old group thier placement year jobs, after all who wants someone who failed a module so badly working for them. This ment that they all lost out on being paid ~20k each for the years work. Which goes a long way for a uni student. While I happily get mine.

TL:DR Old group tried to screw me over, so I screwed them out of 80k total.

(source) story by (/u/notABadGuy3)

#prorevenge #by /u/notABadGuy3 #pro revenge #revenge stories #pro revenge stories #pro #revenge #last10

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fandompitfalls · 3 years

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Fandom, Misogyny, and the Struggle for "Clarice"

Originally posted 2/24/21

There’s a quote that, summarized, says, in order for a woman to be seen as an equal to men, she has to work twice as hard. And never more what that brought to light outside real life than Valentine’s Day weekend when CBS aired the premiere of Clarice.

In 1991, Silence of the Lambs, a runaway hit thriller staring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins came onto public consumption and introduced the world to the phrase “quid pro quo” and the name Hannibal Lecter became a well-known name.

In 2013, a series by the name of Hannibal staring Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy premiered on television and was immediately embraced by the fandom community. Dating long before Silence of the Lambs, the show features a BSU consultant by the name of Will Graham who is called into service because of his unique ability to profile serial killers. He develops a professional and later, a personal relationship with Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

In the beginning the question of Will’s mental state was brought up, the reason Lecter was introduced into the series, he was hired on assess Will Graham after cases to make sure his fragile mental state was not deteriorating. It allowed Hannibal to get close to Will and manipulate him in an attempt to turn Will into a killer like himself. The show ended after three seasons and during those seasons, the show’s creator, Brian Fuller, made cinematography magic with his sets and scenes, a lot of them gruesome yet exquisite.

Hannibal became fandom’s gory darling, the relationship between Will and Hannibal being the main fodder. This was furthered by the support of Bryan Fuller’s comment in Collider stating that he saw Hannibal as being in love with Will Graham. https://collider.com/bryan-fuller-hannibal-silence-of-the-lambs-interview/

Just this past week, a new twist on the Silence of the Lambs timeline premiered with Clarice. Clarice takes place a year after Silence of the Lambs and the Buffalo Bill murders. She is pulled from the BAU and sent to a task force run by Ruth Martin, the mother of Buffalo Bill’s only surviving member, Catherine. Created by Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet, Clarice is not affiliated with Hannibal, the Series, in any way, rather, it is a telling of Clarice Starling’s story after the events of Silence of the Lambs.

Here’s where it differs. And remember, this is only the first episode. By the time I post this, there will be two episodes out.

In the opening scene, Clarice Starling is sitting in a therapist’s office. The therapist, a man with no name as of yet, is trying to get her to tell him about her feelings regarding the one-year anniversary of the Buffalo Bill murders. He even has a copy of a magazine that features her on the cover with the title “Bride of Frankenstein.” The more he pushes the more she holds back, telling him the rots answers that most FBI therapists want to here. Finally, she mentions the magazine was bought by him as a trigger to see if she would break and he tells her that he thinks she’s not stable enough to go back in the field because she refuses to use to the “survivor” in relation to her encounter with Buffalo Bill. She is not a survivor, she was never kidnapped, she was an FBI agent doing a job. He also cites her relationship with Hannibal Lecter, insinuating that it was more personal in nature than he thought necessary.

Before he can put her at a desk, she is called back into the field by Ruth Martin and put under the team led by Paul Krendler, a man who Clarice “upped” in the movie when she was a trainee. He doesn’t want her there, insists on a profile after seeing the first two bodies and when she can’t give an accurate one because she doesn’t have all the evidence, he tells her she had to tell the press it’s a serial killer.

It’s already shown that Clarice has a bit of trauma with press conferences and this is something that keeps coming back. The press want Clarice and Paul Krendler just wants her to be the face of his team and tells her that she will say what he tells her to say. Clarice is not taken seriously by Krindler, by anyone else in the office, (there’s a scene where men from the other unit that share an office, coat her desk drawer with lotion and leave that lotion and a basket in the drawer and then laugh about it). Clarice is blocked at every turn by men, even her therapist calls Krindler and tells him to bench her because he’s worried about her mental state.

The first time we meet Will Graham, his mental state is mentioned as tenuous, yet the FBI have no problem throwing him right out into the field. Clarice was a trainee who managed to catch a serial killer, and somehow she’s considered too “fragile” to be put on any cases other than desk jobs. In fact, throughout the entire first episode, the only person on her new team to take an interest and believe what she says is Thomas Esquivel, an ex-special forces soldier turned agent who believes in what she says.

From the first moment of this show the misogyny was right out on view, there is no hiding that all of the men in this show do not like Clarice because she’s young, she’s a woman and they are intimidated by her talent. Her only support comes from Agent Esquivel and her friend and former trainee Ardelia Mapp.

I mention the misogyny because it’s not all on the show. It’s from the fans as well. The first time I was reminded the show was on was when I noticed Hannibal was trending on Twitter. The day and time frame Clarice aired its premiere, Twitter was lamenting that they wanted a season four of Hannibal. While researching for this blog, I used IMDB to get names and plot points. And came across this comment about the premiere:

“Can we bring back Hannibal, please?

12 February 2021 | by [redacted]

And by that I am of course referring to the excellent series featuring Mads Mikkelsen's amazing portrayal of Dr. Hannibal Lecter. That series had great style, fantastic atmosphere, and stellar directing, editing, and acting. They planned to tell the ultimate Hannibal Lecter story but only were able to make three seasons out of a seven season plan. So, here we have a Clarice Starling series that had been in the works for years but didn't get the train running till now. So the premiere - Meh. Rebecca Breeds makes a very good Clarice but nothing else is up to her level. The cinematography isn't bad but the atmosphere is lacking, the characters are none too memorable, and the storyline isn't attention grabbing enough. I give it about a season at least.”

I don’t know the time when this posted, but I’m not surprised by the comment at all. Comment and review bombing seems to be the way that fans express their “disappointment” about their old shows not getting anything…or rather, their favorite male characters not getting more screen time.

On the same page, the below link was posted. This was one day after the first episode of Clarice premiered:

Clarice: Season Two? Has the CBS TV Series Been Cancelled or Renewed Yet? 13 February 2021 | TVSeriesFinale

A freshman series about a female criminal profiler who is pushed down, ignored, harassed because of her sex. It’s almost a case of life imitating art.

I was going to leave this post as it was and post it today but last week the second episode aired which showed Clarice pushing past childhood trauma to face down a cult leader and a corrupt government system thereby earning Krendler’s respect and her position on the team. And while Thomas Esquivel told her that a team is only good if each of its members understand that they can trust and support one another, thereby hopefully foreshadowing that this team will eventually accept Clarice as one of their own and in turn she will do the same, it took her risking her life by going back inside the compound, disregarding orders and singlehandedly getting the information needed to put both the cult leader and head of the County Sheriff down for the count for Krendler to finally see her worth and decide to keep her on the team.

I liked Clarice. It was hard to watch at times, not only because of the trauma she is dealing with as well as the survivor, Catherine, calling her and harassing her, but because of the anger I felt watching Clarice get stepped on time and time again by the men in this show, only to get up and do her job. Her final speech she makes at the end of episode one about her grandmother is inspiring and gives the viewer a bit of a “in your face” to the men behind her, especially Krendler…even though we all know he’s going to make her life a living hell when they get back to the office because she didn’t follow his rules. That said, this show is very much a procedural, much like CSI or Criminal Minds. The series follows the format of the movie. This is not Hannibal. It’s not trying to be Hannibal, It is trying to be Clarice. And, as the quote goes, it’s going to have to work twice as hard to even get one half of the respect it deserves.

#FPBlog #Clarice #misogyny #fandom #televison #blog post #toxic fandom

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