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#I’m optimistic and curious to see where the show goes for now
volvosandvampires · 1 year
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This is how Hell’s Paradise goes, right?
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eerna · 2 months
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Hello! This is incredibly random, but as a fanartist, enjoyer of critically examining media, and critic of capitalist corporations (*cough* Disney), do you have any thoughts about fan art being a form of unpaid labour?
Context is I’m writing an essay about digital labour and how fan creation is basically kind of like free PR for big corporations… and now whenever I do fanart I can’t get that thought out of my head uGH. I want to believe that drawing fanart is my own form of creative expression and way of showing love for the media, but at the same time I’m like “am I being exploited???” since I’m helping advertise smth for free and these corporations are just capitalizing on my love for said media??? and I can’t reconcile these thoughts 🥲🫠
Also I’m struggling with the essay LOL my eventual conclusion is that we as fans do have agency but we kind of still are being exploited… so it’s not a very optimistic outlook haha. Doesn’t help that the scholars’ articles I’m reading are all very negative about this digital labour thing. Help.
Sorry if this is unexpectedly deep!! 😅 just really curious to hear a fellow fanartist’s thoughts, and I respect you a lot for being unafraid to criticize media 🙏🙏
Hi! First of thank you for your kind words~ Second off, what a cool concept to discuss. Your message is pretty much how I feel. It is very frustrating to remember that so much of the media I love is so closely tied to the harmful cycle of capitalism. I grew up in a country that didn't have access to merch or much in the way of official media so piracy was my go-to most of the time. This means I was introduced to the concept of consumerist aspects of fandom via the Internet as a teenager and started feeling bad about "not supporting" stuff I love, but I told myself "Well I pay back by doing fanart and talking about it online". And then I found out about the way capitalism shapes the media landscape and started feeling bad for playing into it, the same as you. It gets even more conflicting when I am talking about something I dislike made by a company I dislike - yeah, I am probably preventing some people from interacting with the media for themselves, but I am also probably making others interested. What makes me feel better about the entire thing is that the "digital labour" I do is that I'm doing it for other fans like me, and to express myself. I love things so much that it makes me feel like I am going to explode, but pouring it out onto paper helps with it! Of course, I don't have to post it online for it to be worthwhile, but sharing it with others who feel the way I do makes the feelings even better. BUT one of the most important aspects of the issue is how willing those companies are to let me gain something monetary from the relationship. Are they ignoring fanworks being sold as fan merch, as commissions? It is illegal, but I feel like it should absolutely be allowed as a sort of unmentioned perk of being a fan worker, and the companies that don't allow that are evil. My audience gets bigger, I sell more prints, and so do they. (This is also why I never accept money for fanworks made by small creators, such as webcomics)
There's also the fact that lately I've been seeing the rise of "If you REALLY love this piece of media, it is your DUTY to consume it as much as possible and spread the word about it as much as possible and make the company as much money as possible if you want to see more things like it!" takes. These are utter bullshit and where enjoyment of media goes to die. The moment you reduce your love for something only to how much money it can make the evil capitalist overlords who allowed it to grace your eyes, you completely deny any kind of artistic worth. Media should exist because we deserve to have our hearts touched by stories, not because it makes someone money.
I don't have a clear answer or feel like my approach to the issue goes entirely along with my morality. But I don't think we can find a way to feel good about the entire situation as long as our media is dictated by capitalism. It's the sad reality of loving something in a system that will squeeze any money out of you that it can. But we gotta march on, remember that we are the ones allowing them to survive and not the other way around, and love while we do it. Good luck with your essay, stay positive!
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roydeezed · 11 months
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Shonen Jump Manga Round-Up(May 30th, 2023)
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Another week and more chapters! The format is still a work in progress so I’m still figuring things out. There’s a semi-leftovers section at the end but after the cut we get into the meatier discussions. See ya down there!
The Ichinose Family's Deadly Sins(Chapter 26)
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This was such a great chapter. It told a really solid story and had an arc that it completed all in one chapter instead of spinning its wheels like the series had been for the past little while. And for me, it helped to bridge an understanding of some of the themes it’s going for. I had been curious about the other family members now that Tsubasa is awake. And seeing Shiori sends a chilling message. Her parents have completely given up on her. This is another chance at life for Tsubasa so he’s doubly motivated but he was just like them before. They had all retreated within themselves because no one was trying to fix things. His parents worked with each other to fix things because their arms were reaching for help. They needed the encouragement of someone asking for help to help them out. And it’s valid that you can’t help someone unless they’re willing to help themselves out but Shiori is their child and they haven’t even tried to see her cries for help. And I think this blase attitude is meant to rub us wrong because despite their cheery disposition, their parents are still broken people. And at least right now the message I’m seeing from this series is that broken people can’t save other broken people. But! They can help each other heal. As we see in the panel above, where silently the siblings find comfort in each other’s company. Tsubasa acts optimistic because he has to. But he’s just as broken as the rest of them. And it’s also in this and the title that we find another major theme of the story. Separate, the family is fragmented, disjointed, and broken. Shells of their former selves because they pushed away the ones they love the most. But slowly, as Tsubasa brings them all close to each other, and they reach out to one another, they find themselves healing. As the chapter ends we get another hint that all is not right as Tsubasa is able to remember someone he only learnt about in his dreams. I hope he’s actually woken up and it’s not one of those IT WAS ALL A DREAM type of things. The twist the first time around was great but it could get repetitive and retread old ground if it happened again. Though if it does, I have faith that it’ll lead somewhere. 
Akane-Banashi(Chapter 63)
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This series has an incredible skill in telling the stories of side characters. And in an incredibly meta way, this method of storytelling goes back to the purpose of Rakugo in not only entertaining but telling these little slices of life of different people. Seeing how Akane called Rakugo a time machine, this series itself snips out moments of character from it’s supporting cast. And sure that method of character development is common, with the audience learning of character’s backstories as they appear more, but what Akane-Banashi does is just like how Rakugo emphasizes behavior, little quirks of character and moments of self expression, so does the story itself. Whereas a character might make some plot related decisions before their motivations are revealed, characters in this show behave in incredibly unique ways and that little snippet in time that we see of them justifies that behavior. Take Kaichi for example. While him being boisterous in this chapter was a conscious decision, it’s also just a part of his essence, just like how the mannerisms a Rakugoka imbues their character’s with is a part of their essence. Drunk, miserly, naive. All characteristics, just like Kaichi’s people-pleasing. And just as the story stories justify their behaviors and vice versa, so does the little looks into character’s pasts we get. I love these little stories and I especially love the character of Kaichi. He’s such an interesting and unique character. He started off seeming like someone doing Rakugo on a whim because of a mid-life crisis or some such thing but he’s quickly evolved into a very complex character despite having such a simple motivation. This also shows how motivation and backstory aren’t the only factors in making character’s complex, as his open defiance of the old school judge is what really contributes to his emergence as a three dimensional figure. 
Tenmaku Cinema(Chapter 7)
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Tenmaku Cinema continues its streak of being incredibly relatable by accurately relaying the feeling of shooting a short film. Especially a high school one. But before we get to the high school aspect of it, I want to talk about the above panel, where Tenmaku mentions the tension and euphoria of a shoot. The thrill of directing is like no other, and not having done any since the pandemic, I miss it dearly and have gained a lot of perspective on it. I think the best representation of it is in 8 ½ by Federico Fellini in which Marcello Mastroianni’s Guido balances the chaos of his personal life with the chaos of directing. While directing may be more chaotic and destructive, it’s a chaos that he thrived in. I felt the same too. I wonder what it is about it that makes so much sense despite being so chaotic. Perhaps it’s the finding of order within the chaos that’s the real beauty of the art. Moving on though, the idea of shooting that much coverage makes me wonder if we’ll see Hajime drop that going forward as he becomes more confident. He’s choosing a particular type of shot, while having additional hands shoot coverage. Coverage is good if you can get it, and the advantage of shooting on phones is that you’ll have enough cameras for it, but coverage can make people lazy in what should be a purposeful art. And I guess the manga won’t cover the nitty gritty of gear as different phone resolutions and picture quality could make a dissonant scene. But I think that’s for the better, as Hajime’s journey is to be a filmmaker and he needs to trust his crew. And speaking of crew, he’s got a dream team with him! I love the supporting casts' different strengths and look forward to learning about them. And them entering the film into a film competition also reminds me of Keep Your Hands Off Eiuzouken! which I read and is an amazing experience in manga form. The enthusiasm in that was more vibrant where here it’s slightly more muted in favour of Hajime, Hemeki, and Tenmaku’s characters and relationships. I love how the high school setting of this short film shows the duties of directing amateur productions other than the blocking and shot selection. The having to wait for people to leave and working around other’s schedules is an integral part of those duties. I’m really digging how Tenmaku Cinema picks and chooses aspects of filmmaking while ignoring others to make a picture that accurately reflects the feeling of shooting. It shows the authour’s mastery. 
Undead Unluck(Chapter 160)
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This chapter shows off Undead Unluck’s heart in such a great way. Undead Unluck has many great qualities, but to me, its heart and optimism is what shines forward the brightest. I don’t know if it’s just me but the Phil stopping the shuttle reminded me so much of Superman and in a roundabout way, the Iron Giant. Phil is ostensibly a weapon now, a living and unfeeling artifact. But Fuuko, Gina, and Nico help him realise that he doesn’t have to be a self sacrificing tool for other people. I wonder what the twist of Unfeel in this loop will be as it seems to be incredibly detrimental. I wonder if it’s something that helps him ignore fear and consequences about himself. In that case it shows why Union is so beneficial to him as they can protect him like how Gina did. They’re his friends and Nico even feels like a surrogate father to him as he calls him my boy at a certain point. In this way, if he can still feel emotions like love and happiness and just ignore certain ones, it strengthens the point of Union as they can support him in a way that allows him to be reckless. I recently started reading Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint and it helped me understand how Fuuko’s Union is different from Juiz’s. Fukko’s is kinder and where Juiz might have left people or their lives behind as acceptable sacrifices towards a better outcome, Fuuko refuses to do so. And this whole concept of looping also shows how important the one life you get is. Fuuko’s hellbent on making sure everyone gets the most out of this one life they have whereas Juiz was okay with the people suffering if it meant it was a more optimal build. In a funny way it reminds me of how in competitive games there’s a stark difference in playing the way you want versus the way that’s optimal. Fuuko definitely listens to the heart of the cards.
Maybe Some Left Over?
The only thing I have to say about the manga I’ve dropped discussing  is Wowee! The fight going on right now in Jujutsu Kaisen(Chapter 224) is so fun!
Moving on to manga I’m still discussing but didn’t have that many interesting thoughts on, The Elusive Samurai(Chapter 111) moves away from Tokiyuki for this chapter and focuses on Takauji. It’s building up his legend. It’s an effective technique at setting the stakes as it was revealed in the horrific showdown between Tokiyuki and Takauji how Takauji actually works. And after such an impactful reveal, he’s now allowed to be as ruthless as he has the potential to be without the main character in harm’s way. I love learning about history and knowing that this manga is very lightly based on history I am having to hold myself back from searching up how the battle chowed at the end of this chapter went as it looks as impossible as the battle Battle of Thermopylae.
Me & Roboco(Chapter 138) takes us back to Roboco’s Idol days and leaves us with one of the funniest and stupidest final panel’s in its history. Roboco’s compulsive need to be liked is such a good motivator for gags.
Fabricant 100(Chapter 23) brings the story back to themes of self-sacrifice, as 100 quite literally sacrifices part of herself to ensure her and Ashibe’s survival. And bringing it back to this idea of completeness, of healing, while this fire is an innate part of 100’s physiology, it furthers something that’s been itching at the back of my mind. And that was what the correlation between the themes of self-sacrifice and completeness are? And I believe the culmination of the two messages is the idea that chasing perfection, of trying to complete oneself through improvement or a need for some sort of fulfillment like revenge is destructive, quite often self destructive. It’s an impossible pursuit. And for being a battle shounen that’s quite a zen statement. So much so it reminds me of an old favourite in Shaman King. Another thing I noticed was the chapter’s title, Prometheus Flame. Not only does it conjure up imagery of the Greek Titan but also Frankenstein’s original title, The Modern Day Prometheus. In all three, the gift given, be it life or fire, is both a blessing and a curse.
Cipher Academy(Chapter 25) gives us a better look at Iroha’s upcoming opponents and hints at Toshusai’s backstory. Two things I loved about this chapter were how it showed off how clever and characterized the dialogue was and how Iroha has adapted the characteristics of his opponent into himself, such as Yosaimura’s camaraderie and Ano’s unhinged lies. You can see how characterized everyone’s dialogue is through their little affectations and this idea of collaboration and growth through working together as well as the idea of character affectations is shown wonderfully through Toshusai stealing Kogoe’s catchphrase of “Can’t say that too loudly, though…” right at the beginning of the chapter. One last note is how Kogoe’s catchphrase encourages hiding the truth while Iroha’s encourages open communication and demonstration.
This week’s Witch Watch(Chapter 110) had me howling with laughter. While Kanshi can be mischievous, Miharu is such a devious little shit-stirrer. I’m so glad Fran has been as prominent as she has been because the gags with her are the best. Jekyll’s transformation requirements are going to stay with me for a while.
Kill Blue(Chapter 6) pulls such a great move that I see why they ended the last chapter the way they did. Series like these, where character’s get reverted in age often have to tiptoe around the line of age-appropriate romance. Kill Blue set this up as early as it could so that it could firmly establish that it wasn’t going to fall into that trap. Also as a way to establish the fact that there’s a way to get Ogami closer to Noren as we saw at the end of the chapter there but it was mainly to reiterate the heart of the series. I really appreciate how quick Ogami was to shut down even the suggestion. Just as Ogami is normalized by Ryo, his sister and Noren, Ogami does the same for Noren. It’s tiptoeing a dangerous line once again but after this chapter I have faith in the storytelling.
Blue Box(Chapter 102) starts off with a hilarious character poll where Taiki has been absolutely crushed by Chinatsu and Hina and goes on to show an incredibly tender chapter where even in the vast and empty landscapes, our two protagonists think of one another. And in a twist of fate are brought together. It would be incredibly romantic if they do meet and confess to each other within the time they’re here so I’m eagerly waiting to see how this plays out.
This chapter of Do Retry(Chapter 4) made me realise what kind of manga Do Retry is and I think I’ll hang with it. Because alongside the exaggerated characters and the hyper violence is also a world that blends realism with grounded fantasy. The twisted world of Do Retry reminds me of a Jump oneshot from around 2018 or so I want to go back and see if it’s the same authour before the next chapter. I think the harsh nature of it also shows how the war twisted Japanese society in a really effective way. It wouldn’t make sense if the point of view was gentle.
Nue’s Exorcist(Chapter 3) makes me feel like it’s starting to head towards plot and abandon the loose fights. It’s weird, and I think it’s for very few people, but I really like this unfocused and unspecific atmosphere this manga has. It doesn’t explain everything but it feels like there’s an order to things we’ll slowly uncover. While it does leave a lot of room for potential, I love how it uses this vibe to strengthen characters. Gakuro Yajima is super milquetoast, but from the get Zenno has been a unique and strong presence and in this chapter, he’s joined by Kazusa. In this we also get the experience first and understand later as we find out about her as a character before we learn her name or her occupation as an exorcist. It’s getting interesting.
In what might be my favorite chapter of the series, Sakamoto Days(Chapter 120) brings this journey into the past to a close. I can’t recall if Kei was confirmed to be Slur, but it’s no surprise he is as this flashback was mostly centered around him. After a stunning set of silent scenes where in the middle the background drops away in the heat of the fight, before picking up as Sakamoto gains the advantage. The fight scene carries weight. It’s emotional and different from the comedy of an older Sakamoto. I honestly hope Sakamoto Days pivots from it’s looser comedy filled story into this darker story it’s dipped it’s toes in because it really works. I don’t know if they will as this was only a brief journey into the past but one can hope. 
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thebreakfastgenie · 10 months
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Science blues for WIP ask game
I really am planning to finish this soon because it's so close... I wrote most of it in 2017 and then just. Got distracted.
Kirk goes to a gay bar on shore leave, gets very drunk while pining for Spock, and ends up getting arrested (for public urination). The part I still have to write is Spock finding him and bailing him out and Kirk finding out that Spock, who previously refused to go on shore leave with him because it was "more logical" to mind the ship, signed out for shore leave before going to get him, keeping this embarrassing incident out of the official log. Kirk and Spock don't get together in this fic, because it ends there, but Kirk realizes Spock does return his feelings, and is optimistic that it will happen.
Designing a space gay bar was so much fun.
I know I've shared snippets before but I forget which ones, sorry.
“You in Starfleet?” a voice asked. 
Jim looked up to see the bartender. The light sparkled wildly off a silver top that exposed his arms and a significant portion of his chest and at least twelve visible piercings on his face. He was young, younger than Jim, thin, and human. The right side of his hair and his left eyebrow were dyed a vibrant purple. The other side and the remaining eyebrow were a sleek black that Jim suspected was no more the young man’s natural color than the purple. 
“What makes you think that?” he asked, surprised. In his green shirt and dark jacket he hadn’t thought it was that obvious. He usually didn’t bother changing out of his uniform for shore leave, but Bones had insisted it would be helpful in ‘getting his mind off this thing with Spock.’ 
“The hair,” the bartender replied, amused. “We get Starfleet officers in here now and then. They don’t all have the haircut, but nobody who’s not in Starfleet has sideburns like that.”
Jim ran his fingers absently over his hair, wondering if the man was right. He glanced around, searching for familiar faces, but in the large, dark room he wouldn’t have recognized his own brother. He didn’t think there were many Enterprise crew who would be interested in this place, but it wasn’t like he knew all 430 personally. 
“Relax, it’s not obvious to everyone. I’m a keen observer. My name’s Carmel. Welcome to the A&H.”
Jim turned his attention back to the young man behind the counter, who was gazing at him with a wry expression.
“Where’s that name come from, by the way?” Jim asked, curious. 
“Alexander and Hephastion,” he smirked. 
“Earth history,” Jim said approvingly. 
Carmel nodded. 
“We get all types in here, but our aesthetic is definitely Earth-based. Of course,” he said, pointing to the stage, where a drag show was beginning, “most of our talent is Andorian. Can I get you a drink?”
“A pint of whatever’s on tap.” 
“And who should I start the tab for?”
Jim hesitated. 
“Tiberius.” 
Carmel laughed. 
“He’s a piece of free advice. If you’re going to use a fake name, try something a little less ostentatious. And a little more believable.”
“My middle name,” Jim confessed, “but very real.” 
Carmel hooted with laughter. 
“I like you, Tiberius Starfleet.”
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apollos-boyfriend · 1 year
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I’m now curious on your thoughts on omori
okay so. this requires some background. directly before i played omori (like, literally the days before) i played through ANOTHER indie horror rpg, called end roll. end roll is, to this day, one of my favorite horror rpgs for a lot of reasons, but one of them is for its world-building, for lack of a better term.
end roll deals with a very similar concept to omori’s headspace, with the entire game taking place inside of the main character’s (russel) dreams/mind. and that is where my core issue lies. in end roll, EVERYTHING you encounter has some deeper meaning that reveals something about russel’s real life and the world he lived in. there is not a single detail that isn’t some metaphor or symbolism. every inch, every nook and cranny is PACKED with hints to russel’s upbringing and what led him to that point. i could write dozens and dozens of essays on the sheer amount of things packed into it and still not cover everything. the optional areas? all unlock more backstory. the side quests? all tie in somehow. it’s EXTREMELY well-done, and while some things are very in-your-face, some are harder to piece together. i could not praise end roll enough.
and when i went into omori, when i realized what headspace was, i was ecstatic. there was so much i could analyze!! what did the snake giving omori money represent? why did he see his source of income as a child as a snake? did he distrust them? it was clear that certain things in headspace WERE meant to represent the real world, because of the kids in the playground largely having real-world counterparts.
that is when i realized omori is very much trying to play both sides. it wants to be the symbolic dreamscape as much as it wants to be the nonsensical one. it wants to be just realistic enough to tie-in to the real world, but also play by “fuck it, anything can happen, it’s a dream” logic. and in-universe, it makes sense. omori/sunny uses the headscape as an escape from his real life and what he’s done. he’s a dreamer. of course it’s gonna be nonsensical. but as a storytelling perspective? it’s a cop out. it’s lazy. if something doesn’t make sense, or a piece of story/symbolism contradicts itself, it’s easily written off. “oh, it’s a dream, it’s not meant to make sense lol.” but at the same time, it clearly IS!!!
i also have an issue of how it tackles symbolism as a whole, as it’s. extremely on the nose and barely allows the audience to pause and think about it, as it’s just outright stated instead. there’s a scene in the beginning that perfectly sums up my thoughts on it, the one where they’re going through basil’s garden and he’s explaining how each flower connects to each kid. for each and every one, basil goes, “oh this is this plant, these are its attributes, attributes it just so happens one of you has, and that’s why i connect them to you!”
which. first of all. is very lazy storytelling. you are telling, not showing. we already knew hero was caring and the big brother figure. we knew kel was energetic and optimistic. we knew omori was stoic. we knew aubrey was hot-headed and spoke her mind. you didn’t need to TELL us that, because if you didn’t think we already picked that up from the interactions we’d had with the characters, that’s a testament to you not being a good storyteller.
but also. it’s just not a good way to have symbolism. or interact with the audience. it would’ve been a MUCH better scene if basil had described each flower without connecting it to anyone else, and the AUDIENCE was left to make that connection. i can’t remember the flowers and descriptions exactly so i’m just gonna make something up but. here’s the difference. one is “roses are charming, popular, and beloved by all! they remind me of hero for those reasons.” vs “roses are charming, popular, and beloved by all! i always feel loved when i’m around them.” <- very shitty writing but the point remains. it creates a lot more dynamic storytelling and gives the audience a lot more to play with if it’s not outright stated what character relates to what flower.
and i will admit. i am not into omori theorizing or really the fandom. so some of my criticism may come from me only having played one route/not being fully In with the meta. but i just. did not enjoy it as much as i was told i would. and every time i see someone play it i notice more issues (i only realized the flowers thing when watching sneeg’s playthrough) so at this point i’m fully convinced it’s just Not the game for me
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faeiasworld · 3 years
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~ Pick-a-card: What you don’t see about yourself ~
Hey everyone! Welcome to my first pick-a-card reading!! Well, I’ll just assume that you already know what this reading is about on the title lol.
How to pick a pile: Pick the pile you feel most drawn to. If you feel the need to, take 3 deep breaths. Use your intuition!
Piles 1-3 (from left to right)
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Pile 1:
Welcome Pile 1, first off I’m getting some air energy (gemini, libra, aquarius), as well as fixed energy (taurus, scorpio, leo, aquarius). Strong on aquarius energy.
Starting off, what you guys don’t see is how much of a big ball of sunshine you are. You radiate warmth and happiness. You don’t realize how you change the atmosphere of a room. I see a situation where a room of people who are really awkward around each other, looking at their phones, and avoiding eye contact. But once you step into the room, I see people sigh of relief because they know you’ll bring this optimistic energy into this situation. You can literally change people’s mood because of your presence. You make people feel energized and just overall just happy. LMAOO I can see you smiling at someone and just them getting hit with this slap of sunshine, then they feel energized the whole day. You just make people smile. 
You might be going through a transition right now, it can be as big as moving houses or something as small as how you dress yourself. I feel like you might not see this transition as a big deal but to other people it’s quite admirable. You are going through this transition with a lot of open-mindness and people are watching you like how can this person go through a transition like this, I don’t think I could ever do that. Like you’re not afraid of leaving behind something familiar such as your old favourite clothes. You’re so open to trying unfamilar things or just being in unfamilar situations. You don’t let anything hold you back. This is really seen in you, because of these transitions you’ve grown into someone so evolved. People really just watch you in awe while you go through these transitions.
Lastly, you don’t realize how patient you are. You’re not afraid to put everything on hold and just wait for the next step. Like you’re so self-aware, you know when you have behavioural patterns that don’t serve you and you actually stop and reflect. You actually do something to change these patterns and in my opinion that is so admirable. Also, I feel like people admire how you have a different perspective to things. LMAO I see like people always bothering you with questions like how you feel on this situation. Since your perspective is so eye-opening people might be crowding you for advice. You know when to put things on hold before they get out of hand. 
Some advice for you Pile 1 is that to stop forcing yourself to act happy all the time. It’s normal to experience sadness and it’s normal to not feel like you have to smile all the time. Stop thinking you’ll burden people with your emotions. There are people who care for you deeply, they won’t mind if you’re not smiley all the time. People love you for the way you are, don’t feel the need to act happy when you’re not.
Pile 2:
Hello my Pile 2′s!! Starting off I see some strong water energy (cancer, scorpio, pisces) and cardinal energy (aries, cancer, libra, capricorn). Really strong on libra and scorpio energy.
First off, you guys are so joyful and happy. You guys appreciate all the good things in life. I feel like towards other people you feel like home to them. You have such familiar energy. You’re just so supported and secure. LMAOO you radiate such big wifey/husband material. I feel like people really think that you’d be such an amazing partner to just settle down and start a life with. Also, I see that you’d really know how to throw an amazing party. I feel like if you threw a party people would be talking about it even months after it. You know how to have fun and just celebrate your efforts. I think you really know how to live in the moment and just let loose. You’re literally the whole package, you know how to let loose but at the same time you’re so supported and secure. Like what?!!? I feel like people would always  think to invite you to events because you bring such fun energy anywhere you go.
You guys are so emotionally mature and compassionate, it’s admirable. I feel like if life threw an emotional bomb at you. Instead of panicking, you guys would use your emotional maturity to take control of this situation. Even if you don’t realize it but you guys have such wise advice towards emotional things such as relationships and feelings. LMAOOO I see people asking you for relationship advice even if you haven’t been in a relationship yet because you radiate such maturity. You’re such an understanding person it’s crazy. People admire how you can be so compassionate towards people. I’m seeing people watching you, so they can understand how you can be like that. You’re words have a great impact on people, even if you don’t feel like a leader, people really view you as one. It’s like O majestic Pile 2, please offer you’re advice on this situation. LMAOAO
Lastly, you’re such a good friend. Like if someone lost you as a friend they would regret it so much because of how amazing you are. You’re like the ride or die type of friend. You’re so supportive towards you’re friends. Like you’re support really gives people motivation to do what they’re doing. You know how to have a good time like I see people smiling at your every word because of how funny you are. You’re again the whole package, you are always there for your friends, you know how to have a good laugh. Time really goes fast when people hang out with you. Even if you’re an introvert, you really do know how to socialize. People feel like you’d be the perfect person to collaborate with for projects because of how you are.
Some advice for you, is to be careful who you give out your energy to. There are some people who will use your compassionate heart for their advantage. So again please be careful to who you give your energy to.
Pile 3:
Hello Pile 3′s!! Starting off I see some earth energy (taurus, virgo, capricorn) and fire energy (aries, leo, sagittarius). Strong on the taurus, capricorn, aries energy.
First off, you guys have a really firm beliefs. You guys really stand up for what you believe in. You guys might be really passionte towards social injustices and you always spread awareness about it. It’s like you bring a light towards things that have been repeatedly ignored and bring justice towards it. You guys are really relatable and people admire the way you think. I see a scenario of people coming towards you to learn about your beliefs because of much you stand your ground on them. But the suprising thing about you is even if you have a firm belief in things you’re not afraid to learn about others beliefs. You’re curious on the ways of other people ways of thinking, it’s really respectable. 
You’re an incredibly nurturing person. You make others feel loved around you because of how you treat them. You’re love language might be acts of service and physical touch. You show love by doing things for others such as giving food or giving warm hugs. You’re like a mother to others. Not only just a mother but an incredibly hardworking one. You have such a good balance between home/friends and work. It’s super admirable. I can see people watching how you work and think how much they strive to be like you. You spread so much love and support towards everyone, you warm people’s heart. When people are around you they feel secure. They can just let loose and nothing bad will happen to them. You’re so compassionate, down-to-earth, and calm that people want to be near you because they love feeling this nurturing energy.
Lastly, you’re someone who can really plan ahead. Like you’re such an open-minded person towards growth and new possibilities. You explore every option you get and you decide which one you think is best. You’re not afraid to get out of your comfort zone and be in new experiences. You don’t doubt your self-knowledge and you charge in your path with so much courage. You always know your goals and you know how to fulfill them. It’s so admirable to other people because you know how to reach you’re goals and they wonder how they can do it too.
Some advice is to not be affected by people who shoot down your beliefs. You’re beliefs are your own, don’t let negative people ruin it just because they say some negative things.
Well that concludes this pick-a-card reading!! I hope it resonated and also I hope you enjoyed it. All of you are such wonderful people and I hope after reading this you know it too.
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Kia ora whānau,
I wasn’t originally sure if I wanted to post this here since my tumblr is a very disconnected social media from the rest of mine but stuff it, I want to spread this as much as I can.
I’ve decided to sign up for Shave for a Cure and I’m currently trying to raise money for it. I don’t know how well this is known around the world so I’ll explain in case anyone is unfamiliar with the idea. It’s pretty simple, you set a date to shave your hair and in the lead up to that you try and raise money for cancer research/patient support. Over here in Aotearoa, it’s connected to ‘Leukemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand’. The money raised goes towards providing financial assistance to cancer patients, information to families, access to support groups, research looking for a cure and they also have a super cool programme called ‘Monkey in my Chair’ that supports young people with a blood cancer (I particularly like this initiative!). 8 people a day in Aotearoa get diagnosed with a blood cancer which is rough, I want to help however I can.
I’ve set my shave date for the 22nd of April and I’m just trying to raise as much I can in the meantime. My goal is $500 (NZD) but that’s a little optimistic, I know.
There’s a LOT going on in the world right now, so PLEASE focus on yourself first, and the causes closest to your heart second, but if you CAN and you WANT to, I’d really appreciate any donation to my page. The link is here: or if you want to see the link so you know I’m not messing with you, it’s https://shaveforacure.co.nz/lindsey (you’ll have to click on that directly rather than copying and pasting it because I shortened it slightly). You can donate ANY amount, there are certain amounts listed in the donate area but you don’t have to give that much, there’s a box below to type in what you want. (Also if you’re curious about my hair length, there’s a photo of me on the page)
For anyone curious of why this is so important to me, there’s a few reasons: When I was a young teenager I lost my nana to cancer. It hit me really hard having to see my nana go through the process although she was upbeat and positive for as long as she possibly could be. I’m always going to miss her, I wish she had longer, but I’m so happy I got to have over 10 years where I got to see her. For me, shaving my hair is a way of remembering her, and also a way of showing solidarity and giving to those currently going through the cancer process.
When I was 14, I cut off my hair and donated it to the cancer society and raised a few hundred dollars to donate. I saw a video on youtube of a young girl with cancer receiving a wig and she was OVERJOYED, at the time I thought to myself that I did NOT care about my hair at ALL in comparison to how happy it made that little girl. So it was a no brainer to chop it off, it was at my waist and and I donated 30cm, leaving it shoulder length. They eventually let me know it was incorporated into a wig and given to someone who’d lost their hair. It’s not much to give but I didn’t have much else I could give as a teenager so that meant the world to me, I was incredibly happy to receive that information. I don’t have long hair to give anymore but I can still shave it!
I’ve seen someone facing cancer up close, and I’ve lost someone to it. Excuse my bluntness but it’s really fucking shit, I really do hate cancer. If I can raise any amount of money to go towards research, to go towards supporting those with cancer and their families, I’m going to do it. I want the future to be brighter. To be less scary and shit for people who do get diagnosed with cancer. I don’t have a large network that’d allow me to raise a lot of money, but the way I see it, ANY amount is a good amount to give.
Thank you SO much to anyone who read all this whether you give or not. I really really appreciate it. It’s a cause really close to my heart.
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travellingarmy · 3 years
Text
║Diluc║ Surprise!
Requested from Wattpad.
Female reader.
Fluff
Word count: 1.8k
All rights reserved.
---
You didn't know how long you have been like this-- constant nausea, vomiting, feeling sick in the morning.. You honestly thought you were just sick until the day that Lisa invited you for tea.
"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Diluc asks, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, watching as you brushed your hair. You look at the mirror and at the redhead, and with a smile, you answered. "I'll be alright, really."
You could tell that Diluc wasn't buying it, concerned about your wellbeing as you have been feeling unwell for the past couple of days. "Relax, Diluc. I'm really okay, but if something ever happens to me, Lisa will be there," you say calmly and hope that he would loosen up. "And also," you turn to look over your shoulders, "I am one of the captains of the Knights of Favonius. I'm pretty strong if you ask me." You grin, pointing a thumb at yourself.
Diluc straightens himself from where he stood, a small smile adorning his charming face, and moves to where you were. Once close, he cups your face, making you turn your head, and place a kiss on your head.
"Of course," he says right after. You smiled and he brings his lips close to yours until they were touching. He pulls you closer, tangling his bare hands through your locks of hair.
However, that didn't last long and you were the first to pull away to Diluc's disappointment. "You can't trick me into staying, Diluc. I'm still going," you said and lightly laugh. "Fine. Go before I'll make you stay," he said and you laughed once more before standing up.
With a peck on his cheek, you left to go meet up with Lisa who was impatiently waiting on one of the tables situated right outside at the tea shop.
"(Y/N), why took you so long? I almost thought you had forgotten your promise," Lisa greets, crossing her legs one on top of the other. "Haha, sorry.." Was all you could say and took your seat across from her.
"Ah, never mind, as long as you're here, we can spend our day off together enjoying the fresh air," she said. "As much as I enjoy being around the library, it's quite stuffy."
"Although I can't relate with your duties as a librarian, I can understand how nice it is to take breaks from work," you said, beckoning a waitress over to get your order and thanking her once she has written all of your order.
"I knew you would understand, (Y/N)." She sighs, "I don't understand how Jean manages everything all at once.. I insisted that she should take a break today as well but she refuses."
"Well, she'll continue taking all that work until the Grand Master comes back from his expedition. There's no stopping her right now," you said.
"Anyway, enough about work. I don't want to talk about anything related to that as it will ruin my mood," Lisa said, soon bringing up Diluc into the conversation as a change of pace. "So~ How is Master Diluc?"
"Huh? Uh, he's doing well. Why the sudden interest?" you returned with a question, eyes travelling to the waitress that came back with your drink and sweets. It was around quarter to 11 in the morning so you thought that it was okay to eat something a little sweet, and even if it wasn't, Diluc wasn't around to pester you to not eat sugary things around this time.
"What? I can't ask how one of the bachelors of Mondstadt that was suddenly taken by a charming woman is doing?" she jokes, chuckling as she takes a sip of her tea. "You're making me embarrassed," you said, hiding your red cheeks behind your cup
"Haha, you're quite cute like that. I didn't think that the fiery captain could blush like this," she says, continuing to make you embarrass. "Lisa!" She laughs, but stops with her teasing.
You stuff your face with a macaroon, feeling the tingling feeling in your cheeks fading out. However, just one bite and you felt sick, almost vomiting. Oh no, not this again, you thought to yourself.
Lisa was quick to notice and stood up from her seat, making her way to you and resting a gentle hand on your back. "Hey, are you okay?" she asks, clearly showing her concerns.
You waft one of your hands in small motions while the other clutch your stomach, your posture hunching forward. "I'm alright.. I've been having morning sickness is all.."
That was it. That was all that was needed to be heard for the librarian to ask a question you never thought you would hear yourself in public. "(Y/N).. When was the last time you and Diluc have intercourse?"
Your body froze and blinked a couple of times before turning your head back to look at her. "Eh?"
She sighs and goes back to sit down. "I need you to answer my questions honestly, okay?" she says, cupping your hands in hers. "When was the last time you guys, you know, done it together?" she asks.
Your face became warm and pink fast. It was an embarrassing question and felt really uncomfortable to answer, but Lisa was quite serious about this. "W, well, uh, we did it a couple of times the past couple of weeks, I think..?" you gave a vague answer.
She asked a couple more questions before coming to a conclusion. A sigh escape her lips and she looks straight into your eyes. "(Y/N), you're pregnant," she finalize.
"Eh!?" Surprise was written all over your face. You look at your stomach, almost amazed that a human was growing inside you for the past couple of days without your knowledge.
"Well, are you going to tell him?" she asks after she set her cup down, finally able to relax now that the questioning was done with.
You thought about it, taking the long silence to think it through. You loved Diluc just as much as he loves you so there was really no reason to hide this from him. "Yeah, I will tonight." You smiled. But how would should you suprise him?
-
Lisa told you that it would be best for you to go home and rest so here you were, in the comfort of yours and Diluc's home.
It would take another couple of hours for him to finish with work at the tavern, and with his Darknight Hero work, you estimated that he'll be back close to midnight. So, during that time, you were preparing the surprise.
You weren't the best at making clothes, seeing as you were a knight and not some housewife, so you got Adelinde's assistance. She was very excited to hear news that there would be an additional member of the family so she was more than happy to teah you.
"Master Diluc has been quite lonely since his father death and the separation with his brother," she spoke, cutting through the silence. "So when I saw how much he loved you, I was optimistic that he could find happiness again." You turn your head to look at the woman beside you and in turn, she looks at you, a smile gracing her face. You couldn't help but smile as well.
-
It was close to midnight and you had taken your work upstairs in your shared bedroom, telling Adelinde to get some rest.
Happy that you were almost close to finishing the surprise, you put your focus on it that you didn't hear Diluc entering the room. He was about to call for you but seeing as you were so concentrated with something on your lap, he became curious and moved quietly to where you sat. He watches over your shoulder as you stitch the last few loose fabrics curiously.
"I did it!" You smiled, raising your work up to your eye level. "Oh? That looks cute, love," Diluc says from behind you. Your skin jumped at the sudden fright and turned your head back to the redhead. "D, Diluc!? When did you.." You reflexively hid the clothing behind you.
"I came not too long ago. I saw how invested you were so I did not bother you," he said. "Can I have a proper look at it?"
You bit your bottom lip. It was now or never. "Before that, let me get something first.." You moved away from the curious man and over to your bedside drawer, taking a small wooden sword that you had someone paint to look like the sword he wields and then going back to him.
"Here you go." You gave him the sword. He eyed it, clearly not sure what to say about it. You then raised the thing you were working so hard on the whole day and waited for any reaction from him. It was much like his close but one fit for a child.
"Did you do that all by yourself?" he asks, not sure where the conversation would lead to. "Well, Adelinde helped teaching me the basics but other than that, yes!"
"I see. Although that is quite impressive, what is it for?" This is when your smile grew wider. "Take a guess."
"Oh? No hints?" He tilts his head to the side. "Hm.. Well, someday a little someone will get to wear this."
Diluc stood there with his fingers hooked under his chin, thoughts drifting off to what little possibilities there could be, eyeing on the tiny clothes.
That didn't take long as a look of surprise took the place of his once calm face. He stares at you, mouth hung open. "(Y/N).. Are you..?" He couldn't form the words, mouth dry from the news.
You nod, biting your bottom lip, a bit nervous of what he was going to say next.
What took centuries was actually a few, long seconds of silence. Then, he surprises you with a hug so tight and warm. Relief washes over you as you returned the hug.
"Please tell me that this isn't a joke.." he whispers. "It isn't, I promise," you reassured and you felt his hug growing tighter, but not enough to actually suffocate you.
He pulls away not too long after, eyes a bit red from joyful tears. "How did you find out?" he asks with obvious excitement. "Lisa told me," you answered.
He pulled you into a long kiss, arms wrapped around your waist, and you returned it with the same amount of love.
"Thank you, for being my light," he said in a low tone, that was close to a whisper, once he broken the kiss. "And thank you for bringing in another angel." You giggled at that.
"I love you, Diluc," you said, loving eyes looking deep into his red, fiery eyes.
"I love you too."
~♡~
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ask-feederjin · 3 years
Note
Hi!!~~ <3 So... How much has Jungkook's physical condition changed?
Do you think he tires easily with physical tasks? I can only imagine him puffing all the time ><
Jin had just put the final revisions on a work project when a notification popped up on his computer.
“Hi!!~~ <3 So... How much has Jungkook's physical condition changed?
Do you think he tires easily with physical tasks? I can only imagine him puffing all the time ><”
Oh if only, Jin sighs softly. He wishes he could say that their youngest does, but that would be a lie. Either way, Anon needs an answer!
-
Oh, he wishes! Poor Jungkook has a ridiculously fast metabolism, much to his dismay. It was great for him when he was a gym rat, effortlessly maintaining his washboard abs. But now it is his ultimate curse.
We’ve been doing research on how to lower or, in Jungkook’s words, “completely ruin” his metabolism.
So far, we’ve chosen to have him switch to a completely sedentary activity level, bulk up on carbs, flip into “starvation mode” between stuffings and replacing that banana milk he likes to drink with soda. We also heard that lack of sleep can contribute to a drop in metabolism, but I vetoed that one. Jungkook may be willing to suffer sleep deprivation to get fatter, but that’s not something I’m willing to support.
On the topic of him getting tired… Hmm… I think it would only really happen if he was going out of his way to be active? Like, him just walking around or lifting basic things doesn’t phase him yet, but exercise on the other hand… Give me one second!
-
“Jungkook!” Jin called out.
“Yeah?” He heard back. It sounded like Jungkook had just woken up from a post breakfast nap.
“Could you come here please, baby?” Jin was now curious. How has his physicality changed in the past two months? Would he get out of breath easily? Or has his years of exercise and healthy eating still blocked that?
“Do I have to?” He whined. Jin felt butterflies in his stomach at just how lazy his boyfriend has gotten.
“Yes!” Jin laughed.
After what sounded like some shuffling and grunting, Jungkook sleepily wandered into Jin’s office.
“You never make me come to you…” The youngest complained halfheartedly, scratching his tummy.
“Forgive me just this once, your highness.” Jin snarked back. “I just wanted to… do a little test.”
Jungkook perked up the the word ‘test’. Jin knew he would never pass up an opportunity to prove himself.
“What do I need to do?” The younger man asked excitedly, watching as Jin pushed his rolling desk chair to the corner of the room.
“Well… first I’m going to need you to stand riiiight here. There, perfect!” Jin maneuvered the taller boy to stand right in front of his computer screen. “Wait just a second, babe.”
The screen suddenly changed from spreadsheets to a camera screen. Jin pressed record…
-
The video starts off in a well kept room. Orderly bookshelves line the background, tiny potted vines trailing down the fronts.
Pulling away from the screen, you catch a blurry glimpse of knobby knuckles and trimmed nails. Front and center stands a rather tall young man. He has short, shiny black hair and warm brown eyes. Said eyes are currently large with confusion.
The young man is wearing a rather ill-fitting set of pajamas. The bottoms fit well enough, but the top’s buttons are slightly strained. A soft looking paunch hangs out from the too small shirt, wobbling as the young man shifts uncertainly. He rests both hands on the mass, rubbing slowly.
“Okay, -ahem-.” You hear a man’s voice says off camera say. “Hello, everyone! This is the first video I’ll be uploading to the blog, yay! It was originally going to be the third month weigh in, but it seems I just couldn’t wait.”
The young man on screen chuckles a bit, relaxing at the lighthearted conversation.
The voice resumes speaking, “Either way! We’re here now! This is Jungkook, some of you might recognize his face from the profile section of the blog, but if you haven’t then here he is! Say hi, Kookie.”
Jungkook blushes, waving at the camera. “Hi guys… I’m uh, I’m Jungkook.”
“Oh! And I’m Jin!” The disembodied voice frantically shouts. Jungkook bursts into giggles. “I’m Jin! The owner of the blog! I’m also apparently an idiot.” Jin ducks his head into the camera, giving you an unattractive, sideways close up of his eyes and nose.
“Veryprofessional, Jin.” Jungkook grins teasingly.
Jin’s too-close head turns, presumably to glare at the focus of the video. “Yes, I am a professional thank you very much. Now take your shirt off, fatty.”
Jin walks to the side of the room again, giving you a nearly full view of Jungkook’s body. The young man blushes again, levity gone, and starts to unbutton his sleep shirt.
With each button undone, the fabric gratefully springs to the side. Soon the boy’s tan tummy lays bare, angry looking stretchmarks decorating the lower part of it.
Jungkook tosses his shirt off camera, breathing slowly and evenly. “Wh-what now?”
“Jiggle it.”
Jungkook’s breath hitched, eyes closing slightly. He brings both large hands to his jello like gut and proceeds to bounce it up and down. For a minute of two, he shakes it briefly, only to let go and wait for the jiggly mass to settle. He stares at the camera, as if he’s watching himself in the feedback footage.
One hand slides up to cup his soft chest, while the other slaps gently at his belly entranced by the bounce.
“Now, turn to your side.” Jin’s voice startles Jungkook out of his self exploration. Jin himself walks towards the now sideways Jungkook, pressing up against his back. Jin reaches his arms around Jungkook to lift the younger man’s pot belly. He squeezes, pinches and lets it drop to watch it wobble.
“Tsk tsk tsk…” He pokes a long finger into the pliant flesh. “Someone’s let himself go it seems…”
“Ah~! I- I have!” Jungkook moans. “I’m soooo lazy, and- and greedy.”
“Lazy is right you little piggy.” Jin pulls away from playing with the taller boy’s belly button, walking back off screen. “Why don’t we give our viewer’s a little show? See how out of shape you’ve really gotten?”
Jungkook can only nod, face a bright red.
“Gimme fifty jumping jacks.”
“Fifty?! Jin! That’s too many!” Jungkook gapes at the man off screen.
“You used to do sets of eighty not even a year ago, I’m sure your fat ass can manage one set of fifty.”
“I’ll try I guess…” Jungkook doesn’t look optimistic. He gets in position anyway and starts counting out loud.
“One, two, three, four, five, six…”
The up and down movement vigorously shakes his little jelly belly, truly revealing just how much fat had accumulated there.
“Fifteen, sixteen, seh-seventeen, eight -hah hah- eighteen…” The poor boy’s face was tomato red and shiny with sudden sweat. His arms keep perfect time, but his legs move less far apart with each jump.
“Nine-hah-teen, twenty!” Jungkook is huffing now, tiny breasts quaking each time he lands. He is so out of breath now that he only mutters what vaguely sounds like numbers with each jumping jack.
“Twenty one, twenty two, twenty three…” Jin picks up where the out of breath young man left off. “Come on tubby, you were doing this in your sleep six months ago! What happened?”
Jungkook is gasping now, arms waving less with each jump, feet not even moving apart. A drop of sweat hangs precariously off of a perky nipple, only to fall onto his gut not even a second later.
“Are you seriously this out of shape?” Jin sounds genuinely surprised now, instead of teasing. Jungkook plops onto the floor panting. His previously neat hair stuck to his forehead with sweat, neck and chest pink from effort. “Kookie, you only did 31 jumping jacks.”
“I- gasp- I can’t…” The chubby boy leans back against the bookshelf. “I’m too fat…”
“Oh no. I’ll be the one to tell you when you’re too fat. Right now?” Jin squats down and smacks Jungkook’s sweaty belly, eliciting a moan from the boy. “You’re barely overweight.”
“I’ll get bigger! I promise!” The younger man pleads, having seemingly forgotten about the fact that he’s being recorded.
“Bigger? Eating like you are now? I don’t think so. You’re going to have to pick up the pace if you want to be the fattest boy in the house. Even Hobi will get bigger than you at this rate.” Jin gave Jungkook’s red, sweaty paunch one last wobbling pat before standing back up again. Jungkook stays on the ground, not even bothering to hide the bulge in his pajama pants.
“Okay guys!” The older man addresses the camera, winking. “It looks like Jungkook can still do thirty one jumping jacks before he gives up. You could say his stamina isn’t what it used to be! I’m gonna get this little piggy back to bed now. I think the poor thing’ll need another nap after so much exercise. Thank you for watching!”
Jin leans forward
The screen goes black.
-
I went ahead and attached a video instead of just writing down the answer ^-^;
I hope you don’t mind using headphones, haha! It got a little steamy there for a second… I should really get a video editing program so I can cut out those bits of me turning the camera on and off. Maybe even use my phone next time or something.
Oh well, lessons for later.
I hope that answers your question, Anon!
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virghogh · 3 years
Text
NCT Dream Birth Charts x Hexaco Results Analysis pt. 3
recently NCT Dream were on a new reality show called Mental Training Camp where they are doing a variety of activities and all of their behavior and interactions are being analyzed by professional psychologists
ofc my virgo sun mercury ass was thrilled and I had their birth charts pulled up the whole time to cross reference.
I wanted to share some of my personal thoughts on how the 2 might connect!
Thank you for all the support on the previous parts <3
part 1 // part 2 // part 3 
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**key: in the hexaco charts the blue represents the Dreamies, the orange is an average result of 300 college students who took the same test**
Haechan - “Popular and Ambitious” 
✨gemini sun // leo moon // cancer mercury // gemini venus // gemini mars✨
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they started Haechans analyses by labeling him as popular and ambitious, and even without looking at the hexaco or his birth chart these 2 traits are very easy to see in him. Haechans birth chart and hexaco are really interesting and almost refreshing to me because everything is so straightforward. I honestly think Haechan is a very what you see is what you get kind of person. I think the psychologists on the show were feeling some of that interest and refreshing feeling too because they described him as being very different from the rest of the group (and the college students), and kind of special. A somewhat rare personality.
the first thing they talked about was his insane level of extroversion. I have to say when I first saw that I choked on air a little. Not only is it just ridiculously high, but it’s also so obvious given his birth chart too. looking at the hexaco chart, the focus on extroversion and then how the other areas are either just around the average or below is very interesting to me. we saw something similar in a few of the previous dreamies too. Some of them had highly above average scores for one area and to me that says a lot about the dominant parts of their personality. 
Looking at haechans birth chart, we all know he’s practically on par with Seventeens Hoshi for being an iconic gemini. Having such a social, extroverted and excitable sign in 3 different planets will certainly make someone extroverted, but charts have to be looked at as a whole as well and he’s also fortunate to have a leo moon because it doesn’t add any kind of introversion. He is a pure excitable, affectionate and social extrovert. His extroversion can be seen in the ways he’s very interested in whats happening “out there”. Gemini’s are very curious and restless and like to explore the world and environment around them, and have a lot to gain from connecting with people. 
Right after they mentioned this though, they quickly added that it’s actually somewhat rare for highly extroverted people to be highly conscientious too. If you look at his hexaco his next highest scores are conscientiousness and openness. Even though gemini is a mutable sign and likes to try new things and stay entertained, they are some of the most determined people I’ve ever met. You do not want to get in between a Gemini and their work. Gemini is a very mental sign as well, they’re good with tasks and enjoy getting them done and focusing on their work. As well as his firey Leo moon. Leo is a sign that I often think can change quite a lot depending on the chart and houses but his with the gemini, is creating a highly focused, ambitious and driven person. 
they described him as the “relief pitcher” for the team when in crisis. He’s the one that comes into the game for a round or 2 when things aren’t going well to secure their win, then steps back out. If this isn’t the most accurate description for haechan and gemini/leo?! Leo and Gemini are both highly intelligent signs, I feel like people don’t talk about that a lot with leo but it’s true! Also his combination of leo with gemini is interesting because sometimes people have drive, ambition and passion, but there are other placement that kind of complicate how it gets expressed. And they can’t always fulfill all of their desires and passions. But having all gemini and that one leo is really in his favor, he’s very “this is what I want, so I’m going to get it”. It’s easy for him. He can easily bring his ambitions to fruition which is why he’s the “relief pitcher”. It’s gemini magic and leo talent honestly.
this was the extent of what they said for Haechan but I have more I’d like to add! 
his openness is on par with his conscientiousness and that is also no surprise because even though gemini gets a rep. for being “detached” it’s actually a fairly open sign too. What gemini is open about depends greatly on the other placements, and in haechans case with his only other influences being leo and cancer, he can easily be open about those traits and desires. The attention, validation, love and affection. They are all very big parts of him, and he also has no problem speaking his mind. But he also isn’t as obsessive as other leo and cancer combinations because of his overwhelming gemini. It’s very “in this second I want affection” and then the next second he’s over it. With haechan I’ve always found it interesting how he is so openly affectionate but it never seems like an unhealthy attachment thing? he isn’t reliant on it, and can easily go from wanting it, to not. It’s very uncomplicated. This is also part of the Gemini rep. they are very flighty and their minds change by the second, but are also very self-reliant and independent. This is also why his emotionality is low even though his openness is high. Again, I don’t think he’s an emotionally driven person, he’s just open with his desires. 
tldr; talented, confident, skilled, self-sufficient and independent. He is driven by exploring the world and people around him, he enjoys making connections. Very open about his thoughts and needs, but emotionally uncomplicated. His drive and ambition is bottomless, never-ending. What he wants, he gets. 
Jaemin - “Optimistic My Way”
✨leo sun // capricorn moon // leo mercury // virgo venus // leo mars✨
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I would like to start by saying that Jaemin is the sole reason that it took me so long to get this post out. This boy has always, and probably always will, confuse the hell out of me. And I’m sure he likes it that way. Actually, I’m confident he likes it that way because he admitted to the psychologists that on the test they took he answered number 3 for every question, so he wouldn’t have to reveal too much about himself. This is why they labeled him as “my way”, very “do what I want” kind of person. They said he really made them use a lot of brain power, and I relate lol. Even outside of this post every time I watch nct dream I’m always trying to understand Jaemin. So here goes my best shot at understanding this man. 
they mentioned jaemin is difficult and complicated, he’s hard to read, and he’s someone that cannot be perfectly described with one personality test. I agree, which is why I hope one day we can get those house placements please! 
The first thing that caught my attention based off his chart is how small his blue hexagon is. I actually had to double check that the blue was him and not the average😅 because of how he answered the test I don’t know how accurate the hexaco is? they didn’t really comment on that but they did continue to reference it. 
the main thing they talked about with Jaemin was about how he is very aware of what he does and doesn’t like, he knows who he gets along with and who he doesn’t, he has no problems showing when he doesn’t like something, and he is very uninterested and borderline apathetic when it comes to things and people he is simply not interested in. 
I think where I get really tripped up with Jaemin is because he has 3 leo placements, yet I feel like he doesn’t act much like a typical leo in my opinion? At least not to the cameras. I honestly think Jaemin might be someone who is very different off camera and at home. When I see jaemin I see flashes of it, but I get a lot of his earth influence. 
I want to start with his capricorn moon because I feel like it’s something i see the most in him. For starters, it is literally why he is so private. Even before this show, it was a well known thing amongst NCTzens that Jaemin is a very private person. He also comes off as very reserved, in control and calm. Jaemin answering every question with a 3, so that it neither over or under represents him, but puts him in the questionable middle, is very capricorn moon. Not wanting to be understood. Not wanting to appear as having any exact problems. They’re practical, controlled, level-headed... right? They’re not the ones with messy emotions, couldn’t be them.... That’s the whole capricorn struggle. The moon is put in a very tough spot with Capricorn. Scorpio moons are in fall and Capricorns are in detriment. But it works very differently. Scorpios have wickedly intense emotions that they are kind of scared of, so they hide them, but they want to be understood and feel safe enough to express them. Capricorn moons straight up deny their feelings. 
On the bright side though, I feel like his Capricorn moon is also responsible for the other part of his personality which is: how weird he is. Capricorn moons are also known for being ridiculously funny and weird. Very weird. I think this is also where his Leo comes in and kind of teams up with his moon. Leo’s are natural performers and sometimes when I watch Jaemin I find myself being like “he is really putting on a show right now” but not in a bad way, I’m always highly entertained lol. He is a natural performer.  
In haechan’s section I mentioned how, to me, leo is one of the signs that can change so drastically depending on the other planets and houses. I think jaemin is a really good example of this, because even without his hexaco chart we all know Jaemin is a huge introvert. He is actually a self-proclaimed introvert. He is open is the way he shows it, and he even said in a show that talking with people is hard because he loses so much energy. I think his Capricorn and Virgo play a big role in this and it’s why I’m so curious what his houses are and where that leo is. Because even though our moons affect us a lot, with 3 leo placements i would expect someone to be a little more extroverted. 
Where I also see a lot of his Leo though, is of course, with how affectionate he is. he’s also very creative and a huge provider. A big misconception with leo is that all they do is take. This is one side to leo, and Haechan is a good example of that side because he has the gemini and leo moon, but Jaemin is a really good example of the strong provider and caretaker side of Leo. With his earth placements too. he is definitely someone who prides himself on taking care of people. 
now to compare his hexaco to his birth chart, his extroversion, emotionality, agreeableness and honesty-humility is lower than average. Sure, part of that could be the way he took the test, but I also think it can be seen in his very controlling earth placements. Having earth in 2 of the planets that hold a lot of our emotions and expression, and the fact that it is virgo and capricorn and not taurus, is making him very in control of his emotions and expression, and he has strong boundaries. It also makes him more introverted. The low agreeableness is just his whole chart honestly. Leo is a fixed sign, and even though virgo is mutable, they still have very particular ways they like to do things, and capricorn is a leader and takes charge. 
His openness is interesting to me and I wanna say that I think it’s very similar to what I wrote for haechan. He’s open, but not necessarily emotionally driven. He is open about the things that drive him, so not emotions, but something else. Work. His morals and values. His boundaries. Things he does and doesn’t like! lastly, his conscientiousness also fits into this, virgo capricorn and leo are all extremely driven, passionate and hard workers and we know work and stability is a high value and priority of his.  
tdlr; hard to read, very private and likes it that way. He is driven by work, ethic, stability and providing. He knows his values, and has little interest in things he doesn’t care for. Optimistic, weird, funny and a natural performer. Likes to be in control and needs to recharge a lot. Probably the most different off camera and at home. 
and that’s part 3! Thanks you to everyone that has tuned into this series it was so much fun. Thoughts and feedback are always welcome <3
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oumakokichi · 3 years
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So what do you think of Kaede and Kokichi's relationship? And if Kaede remained the protagonist how do you think it would change?
Considering it’s Kaede’s birthday today I think this is a really fun question to come back to!
Kaede is an absolutely amazing character, and I love how different her relationships with the rest of the cast feel from Saihara’s. She and Ouma have an especially interesting friendship in their FTEs together (one of Kaede’s FTEs with Ouma might be one of my favorite FTEs ever, really), so I don’t mind going a little more in-depth on my thoughts about their dynamic, as well as about how that dynamic and the story itself might’ve changed if Kaede had remained the protagonist!
Warning for spoilers as always, though I’m pretty sure most people know about the chapter 1 twist by now.
I think one of my absolute favorite things about Kaede is just how easy it is to get attached to her in such a short amount of time. She’s only around for the prologue and a single chapter, but despite that (or rather, because of the sheer length of the chapters in ndrv3, which tend to be much longer than dr1 or sdr2’s chapters), we still get to see so many different sides of her and just how complex of a character she really is. And I think that’s largely the reason for her continued popularity to this day: Kaede might not stay around for long, but we still really feel like we know her by the end of it.
And really, I think that’s pretty similar to how the actual characters feel about Kaede themselves. Despite how short her time is with all of them, she leaves such a powerful, lasting impression, even after her death. This is a pretty big change from previous DR games, where the chapter 1 culprits especially tend to suffer a pretty big lack of relevance or relationship to other characters in later chapters. Often times the victims are at least somewhat memorable (Maizono and the Impostor both at least come up a few times in their respective games), but characters like Leon or Teruteru just don’t feel like they have much of an impact on the other characters or the plot itself after their trials are finished.
This is totally different from Kaede, whose positive outlook and outgoing attitude already makes her fairly likable to most of the others, but who also openly invites the others to rely on her once she establishes herself as a leader figure fairly quickly in chapter 1. Most of the other characters latch onto her almost immediately, either because she seems so reliable and helpful (Saihara and Tenko in particular seem to like this about her), or because they can’t help but respect her and what she’s trying to do for the group (characters like Momota, who really values group cooperation, come to mind).
Personally, I think Ouma fell into the latter category. He and Kaede have something of a complicated relationship almost right from the get-go in chapter 1, but it’s still pretty clear that Ouma did respect Kaede a lot and recognized that she had the group’s best interests at heart, even if he didn’t always agree with her methods.
Likewise, I think Kaede was somewhat curious about Ouma and really wanted to get along with him, despite how difficult he could be. We see in Ouma’s introduction, both in the demo and the actual game, that Kaede clearly recognizes on some level that part of his annoying attitude is really just his way of teasing others, and that he doesn’t seem particularly malicious. More specifically, she describes him as “having a childish streak that makes him hard to hate,” which is a pretty spot-on description of Ouma in a nutshell. In short, she knew he was annoying and childish (on purpose, most of the time) but she definitely didn’t think of him as evil or cruel. This may in part also be because she didn’t live long enough to see him embrace the fake villain routine by the end of chapter 4, of course.
Ouma has a few teasing remarks throughout most of the game, but it’s not really until the death road of despair is discovered that he and Kaede butt heads for the very first time. This is because of a big, fundamental difference between their ideologies: while both of them very much have the group’s best interests at heart, they completely disagree when it comes to whether it’s worth it to cooperate as a team or not.
By the end of the game, Ouma is extremely paranoid, refusing to cooperate with absolutely anyone unless it’s out of some mixture of chance and necessity (such as working with Momota in chapter 5). He keeps all his cards close to the chest, and refuses to confide in or trust any of his remaining classmates, believing it’s fully possible any of them could be the ringleader.
But before the events of chapter 4, we see that he’s actually not opposed to the idea of selective cooperation. He strikes up a tentative collaboration with Miu early on, commissioning her to create some extremely useful inventions with the intent of using them to try and end the killing game. He also extends an invitation of cooperation to both Kaede (in one of her FTEs) and Saihara (in chapter 4, in the parlor of the VR world), though he goes about this in such a sly, underhanded, and off-putting way that both of them shoot his offer down flat. Even he’s not beyond the idea of teaming up with people he perceives as “useful” or “smart,” as long as it’s a much smaller, one-on-one effort rather than trusting or working with the entire group.
By contrast, Kaede is someone who believes that group unity is almost a necessity if they want to escape the killing game. This is very much in line with the role she establishes for herself as a leader. Unlike characters like Momota, who has always sort of longed to embrace a “hero” role, or Saihara, who is considerably more awkward and unwilling to be a leader because of how guilty he feels, Kaede’s role is much more about boosting and maintaining the group’s morale.
This is lampshaded several times by the classical music pieces that she references, often in an attempt to either clam the others down or fire them up at the idea of working together and escaping. It’s also a fantastic little clue that her own positive outlook is something a bit more crafted than it seems on the surface; she always tries to be optimistic about things and face her problems head-on, but that’s in large part because she tries to energize herself and present that reliable, dependable persona to the rest of the group. In short, she believes that if she reveals her own uncertainty or lack of faith in her plans, the rest of the group’s trust and morale will fall too.
Like I mentioned, this difference in their outlook is really what begins to cause problems for them once they discover the death road of despair in chapter 1. Kaede sees the tunnel as their one opportunity to escape without having to rely on the killing game itself; even if it’s extremely difficult and damn near impossible to get through it, the chance of injury is a risk she’s willing to take, no matter how many times they have to start over. But Ouma disagrees with this mindset and criticizes her in front of the entire group, pointing out how everyone else is already exhausted and even injured, and saying that she has no right to make that decision for the rest of them.
He even goes a step further and accuses her of strong-arming the rest of them by “denying them the right to give up in an impossible situation.” He claims that by positing herself as an inspirational figure, she has the “moral high-ground” no matter what the rest of them do or say, and clearly doesn’t think it’s possible for them to continue down the death road without someone getting seriously injured, or worse.
These harsh words really take Kaede aback, especially since most of the rest of the group seems to more or less agree with Ouma. She’s extremely hurt—not just by the fact that no one seems to really want to keep going with her plan, but also, I think, because she felt as if Ouma was right on some level. In my opinion, this is why she cries once she’s alone in her room later: because she did feel as though she’d forced everyone else to go along with an unreasonable plan. It’s the first time that we really see the cracks in her leader persona beginning to show, as well as the self-doubt that she carries.
I honestly think many people who dislike Ouma on their first playthrough of the game may have started here, right at this moment. Because so much of this seems to be fairly black-or-white initially—Kaede is presented as the unequivocally good heroine, trying to get everyone to work together and escape, and Ouma by contrast seems mean and unreasonable for arguing with her in front of everyone. We’re not supposed to linger on the fact that he makes several good points about everyone else’s safety and exhaustion because how he goes about it is off-putting and unlikable.
Not only that, but we as first-time players aren’t supposed to know about all the similarities that Ouma and Kaede actually have in common, despite their differences on the matter of group cooperation. We’re not supposed to know just yet that they both want to save the group, no matter what it takes, or that both of them are willing to go to extreme, sometimes morally grey measures in order to try and stop the killing game. We’re not supposed to know right away that Ouma can be every bit as self-sacrificing as Kaede, despite the selfish things that he says in front of the others, or that when push comes to shove, Kaede is willing to lie almost as much as he is.
We don’t know any of that, initially—which is why that scene hits so hard and sets Ouma up to be so unpleasant. But I think going back on a replay and evaluating it again is pretty interesting specifically because of all these similarities that I’ve listed. The fact that they clash here is especially interesting, given the sort of roles they embody to the rest of the group, with Kaede deliberately choosing to be someone that the entire group relies on and finds trustworthy, while Ouma later sets himself up to become a villain who’s hated by everyone. And despite this, their goals are largely one and the same: expose the ringleader and end the killing game.
I think it’s specifically because Kaede realized she couldn’t continue pushing everyone to do the things she wanted them to, no matter how badly she wanted everyone to cooperate and escape together, and that’s ultimately why she turns to Plan B when she hears from Saihara about the bookshelf hiding the ringleader’s lair in the library. And for all that she does want to trust and cooperate with everyone else, she actually goes about this plan in the most Ouma-like way possible: by doing everything herself and without telling anyone her real intentions, not even Saihara.
Something I especially like about Kaede as a character is just how nuanced she is. Because she is simultaneously the brave, trustworthy, outgoing protagonist that we see her as, but she’s also so, so much more than that. She’s fiercely determined and cares about everyone else, yes, but it’s also because she cares so much that she’s willing to do things like lie and attempt murder behind everyone else’s back.
If we look at the audition videos as any sort of clue as to what the characters might’ve been like before the start of the game, I do think there was a somewhat more skeptical, cynical side of Kaede deep down that didn’t quite trust other people—and that’s all the more reason she wanted to trust them and work together with all of them, because she knew exactly how hard it was to do so. It’s such an interesting contrast from Ouma, who could easily have used all his lies and charm to cooperate with people if he wanted to, but who instead continually pushes people away because of his skepticism, all the while pretending to act completely arrogant and self-assured in his plans. Deep down, I think both of them were much more vulnerable than they were ever willing to show in front of other people.
And I think by the end of chapter 1, Ouma became more or less aware of that side of Kaede, once she confesses everything she tried to do to end the killing game. Prior to this, I personally think Ouma still very much liked and respected her guts and her attempts at leading the group, but that he ultimately thought she was doomed by her reliance on trust and cooperation when they didn’t even know who the ringleader was within their group. But I think that after hearing just how far she was willing to go to stop the killing game, including but not limited to lying to everyone else and going behind their backs with her own plan, he couldn’t help but respect her even more. Despite his accusations that she was too soft or naïve for trusting everyone else, her actual attempted solution was far closer to his own outlook than he initially gave her credit for.
This is why, just before Kaede is about to be executed, Ouma drops all of his usual acts and facades with her and gives her a sincere goodbye, telling her that she “wasn’t boring.” And this is really the highest compliment someone like Ouma can give: she did take him by surprise and surpass all his expectations from her, and I do believe he was genuinely sad to see her go when she attempted such a huge sacrifice for everyone else’s sakes.
Truly, the only part of her plan that I think he disagreed with was the act of (attempted) murder in and of itself. He felt that despite her good intentions, she had “crossed a line” that shouldn’t be crossed, and that she fell into the ringleader’s trap the moment the idea of murder crossed her mind. Considering how much DICE’s “no murder” taboo guided Ouma throughout the game, it’s not surprising at all that this is where he disagreed with Kaede. Though ironically, he himself crosses the same line in chapter 4 when he decides the only possible solution to Miu’s attempt on his life is to kill her himself, and therefore winds up getting his hands dirty without ever directly committing murder, much like Kaede herself.
Questioning how they might’ve gotten along if Kaede had actually lived past chapter 1 and continued being the game’s protagonist is interesting, mainly because so many factors would change as a result. Kaede and Saihara are so fundamentally different as protagonists, and Kaede herself is much more in line with what we would expect from a Hope’s Peak protagonist instead. Kodaka himself has described her in an interview as being extremely similar to Asahina, and I personally think she’s something of a combination between Asahina’s outgoing attitude and Maizono’s carefully crafted façade (not to mention moral ambiguity). So it stands to reason that the game and its themes wouldn’t quite be the same if Kaede were still the protagonist.
On the one hand, I do think there would be interesting potential for a possible alliance between her and Ouma, especially given how similar they could both be. Ouma himself proposes such an alliance to her in one of his FTEs, though she does get angry and shoots him down, as I mentioned earlier. But it’s interesting to consider if Kaede might’ve been more willing to cooperate in smaller, one-on-one alliances if she had attempted her plan in chapter 1 and failed without getting executed for it.
There’s also the fact that Ouma claims to remember her and everyone else adamantly in his FTEs with her, even going so far as to claim that she and everyone else forgot about him, even though he never forgot about them. It’s unclear whether he’s referring to his memories from before the game still being intact (which is likely, since he’s pretty skeptical of the flashback lights right away), or if there’s some other explanation for it, but personally, I don’t think it can be dismissed as a complete lie. Even if Kaede herself accuses him of lying and making it all up, he goes uncharacteristically blank and claims that “even he’s not that good at lying.”
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This adds huge potential to Kaede sticking around, as there could easily be an underlying mystery element. In addition to the trials themselves and the mystery of the outside world, it’d be very possible to explore their dynamic further, as well as why Ouma said the things he did and if he was actually telling the truth about knowing her and everyone else from before. Kaede is absolutely persistent enough that I feel like she would’ve pressed him for details about this, especially once it became clear in the main plot that their memories were unreliable.
On the other hand, it’s really unclear if Ouma would’ve still been willing to offer that alliance to Kaede once she had attempted to commit murder. Assuming the events of chapter 1 stay more or less the same and the only difference is that Kaede survives instead of getting executed, this raises some potential problems with Ouma actually working together with her or trusting her. She did, as he puts it, “cross the line”—even if her murder attempt wasn’t successful, Ouma claims that she was already too far gone the moment she even considered murder as a possible solution. This could definitely cause another clash of opinions between them, especially as Ouma is much too paranoid to work directly with anyone who he thinks might kill him.
Another potential source of conflict in my opinion is the Hope’s Peak flashback light in chapter 5. Unlike Saihara, who deals primarily with questions of “truth or lies” and is ultimately able to see through Tsumugi’s false ultimatum in chapter 6 with the choice of either the “hope ending” or “despair ending,” Kaede is, as I mentioned, much more in line with what you’d expect from a Hope’s Peak protagonist. She’s extremely smart of course, but she has a bit of a reckless, headstrong streak where she tends to act based on emotion rather than reason, and this could get her into quite a lot of trouble once Tsumugi started rewriting everyone’s memories in chapter 5.
Saihara was able to see that both of the choices Tsumugi presented in the final trial were bullshit and would ultimately keep the cycle of Danganronpa ongoing, but I’m not entirely sure if Kaede would realize the same thing, or even if she did eventually realize it, I’m not sure it would’ve been in time to stop it. Because of her self-sacrificing nature, I personally think she would’ve chosen to be one of the sacrifices for the sake of “hope,” much like Amami presumably did in season 52. This ultimately means that Kaede sticking around might have ultimately led to a “bad end” of sorts, where even if the rest of the group went free aside from her and one other sacrifice, Danganronpa itself never gets dismantled and lives to see another season.
The only possible way I see for Kaede to avoid falling into this trap and making this choice is if enough of her classmates rubbed off on her or helped her see things in less black-or-white terms like “hope” or “despair,” and in more nuanced shades of grey instead. But considering how completely fooled almost everyone was in the actual events of the game, it’s difficult to say if this would happen. She would definitely need to talk and debate with someone who viewed the flashback lights a lot more skeptically, whether it was Saihara or Ouma (or maybe even Angie), before she could reach the truth about what Tsumugi and Team Danganronpa were really after.
This analysis has gotten pretty long by this point, so I’ll just wrap things up by saying that I really do love Kaede and Ouma’s friendship, and I think they had more potential of getting along than either of them might’ve realized in canon. Despite their fundamental differences, both of them were two characters who went farther than almost anyone else in trying to stop the killing game, and both of them weren’t afraid of getting their hands dirty if necessary. I think the fact that Ouma claims to remember Kaede and everyone else from before the killing game is super interesting, and I would’ve absolutely loved to see it touched on more if Ouma had lived longer.
All in all, Kaede is such an amazing, morally grey character who really helps to establish what we can expect from the rest of the game, and I think that’s part of what makes her so memorable. Maybe one day we’ll get some sort of DR:IF equivalent where we get a semi-canon look into a scenario where everyone lives, and hopefully there we could see not only more of Kaede being a protagonist figure, but also more of her interactions with Ouma and everyone else.
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alyblacklist · 3 years
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Hey Aly! Since you were right about the scar and sea theory, im very curious what do you think will be the reveal next week? whats all this about? do you have a story in your head about it? Maybe you will guess right again ;)
I've always been in the "third man" category as they like to call it on Reddit. The camp who believes that Red is not biologically related to Liz in any way. Not as her father, mother, uncle, name your related flavor person. I have also never believed that his interest in her is romantic so that narrows my "camp" a bit further in terms of the "third man" segment of the fandom. I think the show has highlighted the theme of "chosen family" (i.e., where your unrelated friends are closer than your actual relatives) throughout this series and that Red will fall into that category with respect to both Katarina and Liz. Maybe it's because I feel closer to my good, lifelong friends than to most of my relatives other than my kids (who I adore) and my husband (who I chose). It's not difficult to me to conceive of Red knowing Katarina that well. I assure you my best friend could accurately describe how I felt during both my pregnancies better than my actual mother could.
I always liked the idea of Red being some sort of handler to Dom/Katarina or a partner to Katarina. Rassvet really set me back a bit because I liked the idea of him being an Ilya type - that definitely fit with my world view. And then of course they walked it back. I always felt Red understood the Ressler/Liz partnership dynamic as someone who had had a similar relationship with her mother. Someone whose life became intersected with hers, possibly unrequited love, possibly like Ressler and Liz are now where we know there are real feelings and love but circumstances - fraught circumstances - keep ripping them apart, whether that's danger or the wrong man at the wrong time or the mission etc.
I'm not sure what to expect from next week (except more double speak and non-answer/answers). I hope (but am not optimistic) that they kill Rederina and eliminate that second imposter issue and clarify that Katarina and Red were always two separate people both before and after the fire. I think it costs them little to do that except hurting some feelings (*cough* Troy). But who knows. I lean towards the fact that we will learn that Red - whoever he was - had a deep connection to Dom, Katarina, Ilya, Stepanov AND LIZ that goes back both before her babyhood and through the night of the fire all the way on to the present. He didn't just magically reconnect with her in adulthood after watching from a distance. He's been watching her, protecting her, all the way as only the closest of people would do. She's the center of his 30 year mission/project. We'll see and if I'm wrong, there's always fanfic!
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sserpente · 4 years
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Ablaze (Part II)
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A/N: I am way too excited about this TV series. I wonder how many theories will make sense in the end. Here goes Part II, enjoy everyone! ♥
Read Part I here.
Words: 4138 Warnings: there’s going to be a gory corpse
A dark scream ripped you from your uneasy sleep. Alarmed, you sat up straight, ready to defend yourself with the next-best weapon within your reach—a table lamp, in this case. But there was no one there to hurt you. Instead, you noticed Loki, the god who was practically holding you hostage in your own flat after setting the headquarters of TVA, the secret organisation monitoring the multiverse, on fire, thrashing in bed right next to you as if he was possessed. Wait… was he… dreaming?
“No…” He growled. “No!”
Still giddy, you switched on the table lamp and studied the heavily breathing Trickster by your side. His blue eyes were closed. So he was having a nightmare. Should you… should you wake him? What if he accidentally hurt you in his frenzy?
Biting your lower lip, and with your heart pounding in your chest like a steam hammer, you reached for him, carefully grabbing his bare shoulder. The singeing sensation of his remarkably cool skin under your palm made you flinch.
“L-Loki? Loki, wake up, you’re having a nightmare.”
You gasped for air, terrified, when he opened his eyes with a start, momentarily disoriented. His hand darted forward to snatch your wrist so firmly it hurt. You winced.
“Loki…”
It took him another moment to realise you were no threat to him. Finally, his deadly expression softened. His breath was shaky, sweat pooling on his forehead, his neck and even his chest, shimmering in the artificial light of your table lamp. It was, quite strangely, a sight which would have aroused you if it wasn’t for the fact he was a war and time criminal, held you captive and could have killed you in his sleep just a moment ago. God, how could you even think about his looks in this whole horrifying situation?
With a start, Loki let go of his wrists as if hot flames were licking at his cold fingers, defending your body.
He said nothing more. Instead, he merely turned his back to you again… almost as if nothing had happened at all. You would never find out that he noticed you spent the majority of the rest of the night wide awake. But so did he.
-
Drowsily, you blinked against the gentle sunlight fighting its way through your curtains. It was a beautiful morning, peaceful. You sat up, your eyes registering an empty mug and a dark stain on your carpet.
Your heart skipped a beat when you remembered. Last night, you had involuntarily fallen asleep next to the God of Mischief who had taken you hostage in your own flat after destroying TVA’s headquarters like a house made of LEGO bricks. You remembered his nightmare, too. The way he had had jerked and grunted, almost as if his own subconscious was inflicting serious pain on him… as if it was torturing him. What, for Heaven’s sake, caused such terrifying bad dreams? What… what had he been through opening and travelling through all those portals on your radar?
You were in danger, serious danger so. You had no clue if Loki planned to kill you anytime soon. If he forced you into doing his biddings with violence… no. No, he did not seem like the sort of person who would physically harm women simply for the sake of it. There were limits even to his malice, you were sure of it. Or at least, that was what you were hoping.
As expected, and much to your relief, the other side of the bed was empty, the sheets unmade. You could hear him in the kitchen, opening drawers and cupboards almost frantically. With your heart in your mouth, you made your way into the kitchen.
“Is there anything edible in your accommodation?” He complained, shutting the fridge shut without even spinning around to face you. “Where is the sweet hot chocolate mixture you used last night?”
“In the cupboard above the counter.” I mean, what was the point of lying? He would find it anyway, at some point, only angrier. You almost snorted at the thought of trading your survival for hot chocolate.
“Make us something to eat. I need sustenance.”
Make us something to eat? You clenched your fists, eyeing the coffee machine in the corner of the kitchen and wondering if you were less likely to risk your life by talking back once you had pumped your body full of caffeine.
Your heart was pounding. You barely dared to move around him. Loki glared at you but said nothing. It was like he felt you remembering what had happened last night.
“If you lose a word about what you witnessed last night…” He growled darkly.
“Don’t threaten me,” you whispered weakly. “It’s not like I have anyone left to tell anyway.” You paused, curious whether he was going to reply. He did not. “I-I’m having cereal.” You said, despite your lack of appetite. “You can have a bowl too.” As if I had a choice sharing my food with you…
You had just poured some milk into both your cereal bowls when a loud song ripped apart the tense silence in the kitchen. Your phone! Your eyes widened. Oh God, you still had your phone! How could you have been so stupid?
Starting for the living room, you were panting by the time you picked up. It was Isabelle, one of your co-workers. A fellow agent who must have survived! Your hands were shaking.
“Hello?”
“(Y/N)! Thank the Lord, you’re okay.”
“So are you! I-I am… more or less, I…” You did not need to turn around to feel his presence behind you. Loki was eyeing you threateningly, circling you slowly. The message was clear—if you told anyone he was here, you would be in some serious trouble. You swallowed thickly.
“Do you… do you know who else made it out?”
“I’ve been on the phone all morning but nothing’s confirmed yet. They’re optimistic but Jed is devastated. He’s trying to get us all back on track… whoever’s left of us, anyway.” Jed was your boss, more or less, guiding your missions and keeping a neat overview over everything that happened within TVA. You eyed Loki from the corners of his eyes, looking for anything to ease your mind. A hint of remorse, perhaps. Regret, pity, anything would have sufficed. He was like an impenetrable wall.
“Can you meet us? By the river? Jed is already on his way.”
“W-why?”
“We found traces of another portal but…���
“But what?!”
“This time… there is… (Y/N), someone has been murdered.” You took a sharp breath. Ever since Loki’s capture, you had almost forgotten about those mysterious portals that seemed to keep appearing out of nowhere. For a moment there, you had all assumed it had been Loki himself, repeatedly using the Tesseract. Given that he had been with you last night, however, and before that, had spent his time in custody at TVA’s headquarters... before he had… burned them all down… it could not possibly have been him. You swallowed. For once, you knew that he was innocent. There was someone else still out there. And they were, so it appeared, equally dangerous. “Where are you right now?”
It was then Loki snatched the phone from your grasp, clutching it so tightly the screen cracked… and went black. Fuck. You should have screamed bloody murder the minute you had picked it up.
“W-what…”
“Do you truly think I will let you tell them about your whereabouts so lightly?” He snarled.
“They will get suspicious if I don’t show up!” You yelled, your lower lip shaking.
“Show up where?”
“T-the crime scene. There has been a murder.”
Loki frowned. “I believed you are monitoring time travel, not petty crimes.”
Slowly, you shook your head. Murder was hardly petty. Well… perhaps it was to him, given you were only humans. Swallowing your anger, you looked up at him with courage. “We normally don’t but…”
“But?” He probed strictly when you trailed off. You flinched.
“There… we have repeatedly recorded interdimensional portals. They interfere with our readings. Something is… off about this and now someone is dead and I… we have been trying to find out what it is even before you came along and destroyed our headquarters, you know.” It was just that SHIELD wouldn’t let you. It was a fight over power and recognition, really.
“I want to see it.” Loki stated simply. Your eyes widened. “How many portals have there been?”
“Thirteen.”
“You believe they have a harmful cause?”
“We don’t know that yet. We are monitoring everything. Those energy waves did not go unnoticed by our radars, they are going to start tearing time and reality apart if we don’t stop whoever is creating them. SHIELD has already…”
Loki’s face distorted.
“You work with SHIELD?”
“We do, if we must but we prefer to keep our distance.”
He rolled his eyes. “I see. When did the first portals begin to appear?”
“A few weeks ago. Whoever it is… I don’t think they realise that they are being watched.” Hugging yourself, you took the opportunity to move away from him a little, watching from a safer distance how he pensively looked out of the window. Suddenly, the weather did not at all fit the depressing situation you were in, let alone the topic you were talking about.
“Yes… I can imagine that.”
“W-what?” You frowned. “What do you mean by that? Do you know who it could be? Is it one of your allies?”
Loki’s gaze darted back to you—seriously. “I don’t have allies,” he spat. “I shall join you.”
“You can’t just… walk in on a crime scene unauthorised.”
“I just walked into your flat, did I not?” He mocked.
“They will recognise you.” You argued, voice shaking audibly.
“They will not.” Loki smirked. “No one but you will be able to see who I truly am.”
Fuck. Did you have a choice? After what he had done last night… could you refuse him? You sighed, defeated. No. Probably not.
-
There were thunders in the distance when you left, the initially blue sky slowly turning grey. Heavy clouds pushed in front of the sun, blocking its light from reaching Earth. That is more like it. If you got suspended today because you brought a war criminal to a crime scene revealing important details about another potential threat, at least it would not happen in broad and warm sunlight.
You were nervous. No, you were terrified. If there was one thing your boss did not accept, it was weakness and fear of what might happen if you chose to prioritise your survival over protecting life in the multiverse. It sounded cruel and ridiculously altruistic but you had known what you got yourself into with working for TVA. There was only one thing worse than egoism. And that was treason.
Yet here you were now, approaching a crime scene with a criminal who had ensured you he would be looking like a normal Midgardian man to anyone you met. Spotting SHIELD first thing you arrived did not exactly ease your nerves. Taking a shaky breath, you approached them. Rain was falling by now, wetting the asphalt and your clothes. At least, part of your uniform was waterproof.
You could tell Loki was watching you intently as you tensed the closer you got. He was dressed in a surprisingly inconspicuous police uniform—plain beige trousers and a white shirt, a black tie and an equally beige police jacket with a badge.
Luckily enough, Jed arrived just when the SHIELD agent, Jeff, so you knew, lifted his arms to stop you from stepping over the barrier tape despite your ID. With his blonde hair fluttering in the wind, he looked a little like Owen Wilson. He even sounded a little like him too.
“What are you doing here, TVA?” Jeff groaned with dismay. “This is our crime scene. You have no business here.”
“Shut it. The energy readings we keep getting from these portals say something different. They have been interfering with our radars for weeks now. We can’t keep the world safe from potential threats in time and the multiverse if we can’t observe it properly. So I disagree. This is our crime scene too. Now get out of my way.” He paused, turning to you. “(Y/N), I’m glad to see you’re well.”
“You too.” You replied with a court nod.
“Who is that?”
“Uh… He is, uh, with the… the police.” You lied quickly. You couldn’t believe you were doing this. Help me, you attempted to scream with your eyes. You must realise that something is wrong! But he did not.
“Luke.” Loki jumped in, letting his charm do all the work as he offered Jed his hand. He took and shook it, his initial suspicion dying down once the God of Mischief gave him a sly smile.
“Right. Pleased to meet you, Sir. We’ll do our best to get the situation under control, then I promise we’ll leave you to it. A lot of my agents have been in a critical state in the hospital since that Asgardian arsehole escaped from us last night. There is no excuse for that faux-pas but he is… difficult to say the least. It’ll take us a while to make amends.”
“Asgardian arsehole?” Jeff interrupted. “What are you talking about? The war criminal Loki was taken back to Asgard by Thor years ago.”
Jed pressed his lips together to a thin line. “It’s complicated.”
Panicking, you gasped for air but much to your surprise, Loki did nothing whatsoever. He only smiled—maliciously so.
“I am deeply sorry for your loss.” He stated hollowly, making you swallow thickly. If Jed only knew… “So? What is it that interferes with your radars, agent?”
“We don’t know. It almost feels like…” Jed looked at you.
“As if there are remnants of… magic… it’s crackling.” The both of you were unable to tell him more than you already had. As a TVA agent, you were not dealing with murders often. Accidents, yes but actual murder? Hardly, fortunately.
Loki lifted his chin. “Show me this corpse.”
-
“Here,” you announced, taking a step back when you felt the energy waves pushing against every fibre of your skin. You had been focused not to give the dead body surrounded by barrier tape and a pool of blood more glances than absolutely necessary, to ignore the dreadful and almost sweet stench of decay. It had been… cut in half. The victim must have tried to enter the portal after whoever had created it—but had been too slow to make it through entirely. Scrunching up your nose, you resisted a gag. You were a TVA agent, for Goodness sake. Pull yourself together. There are worse things. Just like being kept hostage by a dangerous god without anyone even knowing. It certainly was a good sign he had not harmed you as of yet though, no? What, however, would happen once you got a chance to tell Jed the truth? Would he kill you after all? Set your flat on fire as well?
Gulping, you wiped your sweaty palms on your trousers, your heart speeding up in your chest when you felt his presence behind you. His body temperature was remarkably cool, yet you could practically feel the heat radiating off of him, making you feel small and powerless next to him. Still, there was this tiny part of you—a barely audible voice whispering in your mind—that enjoyed the fear and the excitement that came with being Loki’s… captive.
The urge to slap yourself rose.
“What causes this?” You managed to choke out.
You watched, almost in awe, how he brought up his palm to touch the remaining energy waves your radars had recorded prior to arriving at the crime scene. Unlike yours, however, his palms began to shimmer in a green light.
“It is unlike the gamma radiation the Tesseract emits. It’s more… crackling. That probably doesn’t make any sense.”
“Oh, it makes perfect sense.” Loki replied matter-of-factly. “The crackling, as you describe it, is of magical origin. On Asgard, we call it seidr. Few can wield it, fewer are able to take their skills beyond simple tricks.”
“What… are you saying that whoever is creating these portals is Asgardian too?”
“I am not…” Loki took a deep breath and pressed his lips together to a thin line before speaking on. “They might be. I only know one person who would be capable of finding a way to open doors to other realities like that.”
Glancing at him in utter shock, you waited for him to continue. He did not. Instead, he directed his attention at the person approaching you before you even registered the footsteps on the wet asphalt yourself. You were hauled into a hug, all air pressed from your lungs and your eyesight blocked by waves of her long ginger hair.
“Isabelle!”
“Don’t you dare scare me like that ever again! The connection was lost and when I tried to call you back, I could only reach your voicemail. What happened? I thought Loki attacked you!”
Well, technically… you swallowed thickly. “No, I, um… I was doing the washing up to distract myself from… you know… and the phone fell into the sink. I put it in a bowl of rice, it should be fine again tomorrow.” There went another lie. You would have to buy a new phone and you sincerely doubted that Loki would let you. Next to you, the God of Mischief chuckled maliciously. Bastard.
“Who are you?” Isabelle frowned at him.
“Luke. Officer Luke.”
“He’s with the… police.”
“I see. You are here alone?” She probed suspiciously.
“I am. I am merely here to ensure things are… taken care of, so to speak.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that. Your superiors are familiar with our work and how significant it is for all our wellbeing.” Loki only raised his eyebrows in a seemingly unimpressed manner.
You wondered, briefly, what would happen if you screamed bloody murder and warned her about him, gave away his identity. Would he kill you straight away? Torture you first? After he had set the TVA headquarters on fire, anything was possible. Bruce Banner had not been wrong. That man’s mind was like a bag full of cats.
“Where is the rest of our team?” You asked her instead. “Have they still not arrived? Jed said a lot of them are being treated in the hospital but…”
“They’re busy finding Loki.”
“Do you, um…” Your voice was shaky. Clearing your throat, you continued despite his threatening presence right beside you. “I didn’t dare to ask Jed back there.” Or Loki, for that matter. “How many agents died in the fire?”
“Only two. Pete and Roth.” The very same agents who had caught Loki. Loki barely put any effort into hiding his satisfaction. Clearly, he had planned this. Taken his revenge. It made you wonder what else he’d have in store for this world even without you spilling his dirty secret. But then again… you remembered how vulnerable he had looked last night in his sleep. There had to be more. So much more.
A loud and alarming bleeping tore through the crispy air with a start. Both Isabelle und you flinched, turning your heads towards the computer station Jed had by now stationed at the crime scene with the help of another agent. The radar was blinking red and purple, the noise downright ear-piercing.
“Jed, what is it?” Isabelle covered her ears.
“Another portal opened.” Loki answered for him, his expression hardening.
“What?! When?! Now?”
He did not reply—instead, he turned on his heel and ran, presumably straight towards the source of the readings.
“Officer! Officer Sir, no, it’s too dangerous! Officer! Damn it. (Y/N), stay where you are!” But you weren’t listening either. You hurried after him, for what reason you did not know yourself. Loki was perfectly capable of defending himself—you were not. If what he had said was true and there was another Asgardian wreaking havoc in this city, you’d do well to leg it and flee. Besides… why would you care? If he died playing curiosity kills the cat, your entire organisation had one problem less to deal with. Why, for Heaven’s sake, did part of you feel like you owed him in spite of this nerve-wrecking fear?
“Stay back!” He yelled.
Gnashing your teeth, you stopped dead in your tracks, blinded by the bright green lights illuminating the narrow alley Loki had run off into.
The energy the portal was radiating was numbing, almost. Like an invisible wall you were trying to step closer, tensing every single muscle in your body to no avail. Loki, however, seemed to have no problems approaching the hazardous time threat at all.
Finally, a tall, blonde woman stepped through. The portal closed behind her, drowning the alley in rainy darkness once more. The impact of the energy ebbing away nearly knocked you off your feet. Right before you could fall, however, a strong and cold hand wrapped around your wrist and pulled you up again seemingly without any effort whatsoever. Gazing up, bedazzled, you met Loki’s serious and reproachful glare.
“I told you to stay back.” He growled, his grip around your wrist almost painful. It was the one already forming a bruise from his sleepy attack last night. He let go as if he had burned himself when he noticed, leaving you there all exhausted and trembling. It was then an almost soft voice sounded behind him, making him stiffen and go pale—if only just a little. Your lips parted.
“By Odin’s beard… Loki?!”
The God of Mischief took a deep breath. “Sylvie.” He too, was surprised, to say the least. Yet if there was one thing Loki was really good at, it was hiding his feelings. So they knew each other. Just great.
“I would recognise that mischievous voice anywhere. What in the nine realms happened to your face?” With some words, it almost sounded like she had a lisp.
“An illusion. I am a fugitive, so it seems.”
“Oh, what have you done now, hmm?” Her laughter tore through the dark alley, next you thing you witnessed she had already thrown herself into his arms, her feet dangling in the air. Loki, albeit hesitantly, reciprocated the hug. “I missed you! Midgard is so boring without you.” She pouted. Never before had you felt as redundant as you did now. It seemed to have been your cue.
“Oh, not again…” She suddenly complained, her brown eyes finding you standing in the background. She glared at you darkly. “Didn’t you see what happened to the last human who attempted to follow me? You would do well to leave me alone if you do not wish to suffer from the same fate.”
“You look very human to me.” At least she was dressed human, unlike Loki when they had first found and brought them to your headquarters.
“Well, I am not. I am Asgardian.” Loki opened his mouth. He never got to say what he intended to.
“Put your hands up in the air and no harm will come to you!” It was Jed’s voice that ripped you all from this uncomfortable and undoubtedly dangerous situation. His gun was aimed at the blonde who rolled her eyes in response. “Officer, step away from her, please! She is likely a hostile!”
The curse Loki uttered sounded a lot like he had spoken it in a foreign language. “We need to leave, now. They have weapons which immobilise even me—long enough for them to shackle you.”
“What? Those meagre mortals? Oh, please…” While the strange woman crossed her arms, Loki reacted already. Unceremoniously, he pulled out the Tesseract out of… seemingly nowhere—your heart skipped a beat when it appeared in his hand and he held it without any sort of protection—and offered her his arm. The woman’s eyes widened. Without any hesitation, she took it. And then, everything happened at once.
“Sir, what are you… the Tesseract. This is Loki! Everyone, this is Loki! Fuck!” More guns were aimed at you all, a low chuckle from the God of Mischief sending ice-cold shivers up and down your spine.
“Wait, don’t shoot! (Y/N) is in the line of fire!” Isabelle’s ear-piercing scream barely reached you when the first gunshots tore through the air as wild as a swarm of wasps. So this was it. You would be shot by your own colleagues and a handful of SHIELD agents.
The last thing you expected Loki to do, however, was to grab you, pull you flush against him and tear you with him into the unknown.
-
A/N: Stay tuned for Part III!
Check out my blog to find more Imagines and take a glimpse at my first (to be) published novel! If you enjoyed this story, I would appreciate so much if you supported me on Kofi! ko-fi.com/sserpente ♥
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wallgirl · 3 years
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The Little Nereid Part two
2200 words, part two of a five six part fanfiction
Poseidon x OC
Dynamene, youngest of the 50 Nereids, has lived most of her adolescence as a servant alongside her sisters at Poseidon’s palace. But with her coming-of-age birthday and other developments, what she initially thought was just admiration of her master blossoms into something stronger and more passionate… and painful.
Categories: Romance, angst, unrequited love, coming-of-age, earn-your-happy-ending; no NSFW content
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               Once she had collected herself and spent enough time admiring the bracelet on her own, Dynamene rose from the bed with a sigh and went to her door. No doubt her family would be wondering what her running was about.
               Upon opening it, several of her sisters nearly fell into the room.
               “Why-! What are you all doing here?” Dynamene gasped, quickly stepping out of the way.
               “We heard you received your gift, and we didn’t want to disturb you, but we were just so curious…” One of the nymphs tweedled her fingers.
               “Ah, yes! My birthday present from Lord Poseidon!” Dynamene beamed and held her bracelet-clad hand up to the light, allowing her sisters a good look at it. They crowded around in awe, cooing with admiration.
               “Dynamene! Are you alright? Ianeira said you came running like a madwoman from Lord Poseidon’s quarters…” Actaea halted with relief at the sight of Dynamene showing off her new bracelet. “Oh, I get it now. So he did give you your gift himself, did he?” She gave Dynamene a rather knowing grin.
               Dynamene blushed. “I mean… Yes, he did. I was very surprised.” She began to turn the beads of the bracelet over in thought. “I’m very happy with it. It’s even mother-of-pearl.”
               “So it is!” Actaea stepped closer to get a better look. “It goes so well with the pins I gave you. You look absolutely spoiled now.”
               Dynamene giggled. “I do have to say that I’m very happy with the presents I’ve received thus far.”
               “Then you’re going to be even more delighted here in a moment,” another sister called from the far end of the hall. Slender Callianassa stood holding her treasured lyre in both hands. “Why don’t you all come down to the sitting room here? I’ll play you anything you’d like, Dynamene.”
               The sisters crowded together down to the large sitting area, one of over a dozen spread out throughout the palace. Dynamene took a place of honor, draped on the side of the couch closest to where Callianassa perched on a gilded chair. “What would you like to hear, Dyna?” Callianassa asked, lightly strumming the instruments strings.
               “Play me something by Erik Satie,” Dynamene said thoughtfully. Her thoughts continued to drift back to that moment in Poseidon’s quarters, where she had stood face-to-face with him.
               “Oh, Erik Satie! That’s furniture music,” Thoe scoffed from where she had begun brushing Actaea’s hair.
               “You’re so old-fashioned, Thoe,” murmured Callianassa. “Let’s see… I’ll start with the Gymnopedies, Dyna.” She began to softly pluck at the lyre.
               Dynamene gave a sigh of contentment and allowed herself to close her eyes. It really had been such a wonderful day thus far. She felt so lucky and at peace to be here, surrounded by her loving sisters, enjoying a calm afternoon on her birthday. The golden sunlight washing in through the open windows caressed her skin with warmth. The gentle, bittersweet melody began to envelop her, and she found herself picturing Poseidon’s unwavering grey gaze. The tender somberness of the song brought to mind the emptiness in his eyes. How was it that someone so beautiful, so mesmerizing, felt so completely cold and void?
               And yet a powerful aura emitted from him wherever he went. He was heartless, but he was also smart and strong. What he lacked in sentiment he made up for ten-fold as a god with his vast knowledge of the ocean and his subjects.
               The ocean, his domain… How fitting for a man as unfathomable as he.
               The sound of familiar footsteps echoing along a distant hall brought a stop to Callianassa’s playing, and Dynamene looked up. The rest of the Nereids halted whatever they were doing and stood; those footsteps could only belong to one person. Dynamene quickly got to her feet as well, straightening her peplos with quick hands. She felt that strange tingle returning to her veins, creeping from her wrists up her spine.
               Lord Poseidon entered the room, and the fifty sisters immediately dropped to a quick curtsy. As the eldest, Ianeira stood at the head of the group, ready to engage their master.
               He said nothing, as he was typically wont to do, for a moment, taking in the room. “We will be receiving Lady Hera here tomorrow afternoon.”
               Several of the sisters tilted their heads or tapped their chins in reaction to the news. Lady Hera didn’t visit that often, but she was one of the few Olympians to make it a point to see her brother from time to time. Unfortunately, Lord Poseidon and Lady Hera didn’t often see eye-to-eye, and her visits often ended with him annoyed and her in a rage.
               “I will be meeting with her in my quarters. There is no need to prepare the guest suite,” he finished.
               That part wasn’t unusual. Poseidon did his best to keep his interactions with his family private affairs, usually entertaining them in his sitting room in his private quarters. The sisters exhaled silently in relief. Hera was always polite to them when she visited, but she had incredibly high standards of cleanliness, not unlike her brother. Preparing a suite for her was always nerve-wracking.
               “Of course, my lord,” Ianeira replied. “We will see to it that the palace is fit to receive her.”
               His instructions finished, Poseidon turned and left as abruptly as he had arrived. Dynamene stared after his vanishing figure, her hand lingering on the bracelet.
               “We have our instructions,” Ianeira said, turning to the others. “We’ll start the preparations after lunch.”
               With that, most of the sisters returned to their leisurely activities, some breaking off to have lunch early. Callianassa took her lyre up once more, and Dynamene returned to her perch on the couch. But her mind was now racing with the news of Hera’s visit. Hera usually came to Poseidon’s palace with one goal in mind…
               Convincing him to marry.
               It was just in her nature. As the goddess of matrimony, she worked hard to pair up her relatives and see them happily settled. A loner like Poseidon who refused to take a partner irked her to no end. Dynamene wasn’t entirely sure what her end goal was in seeing Poseidon married, but that mystery was best left to the Olympians who knew her well. Perhaps she considered Poseidon’s refusal to marry a personal affront to her own nature as the goddess of marriage. No matter her persistence, however, Poseidon would never bend. That was why their visits always ended in both parties with a sour mood. Dynamene often wondered why he bothered to entertain her coming in the first place, but then again, Poseidon was a pragmatist in these matters. He probably allowed her to make her arguments simply to keep the peace between him and her – and by extension, her husband Zeus.
               Not that Hera herself was someone to trifle with on any accounts. One disastrous visit 700 years ago had ended with Hera punching a column that upheld Poseidon’s personal balcony, completely levelling it in the process. It had taken forty skilled workmen seven days, working day and night, to restore it to its prior condition. Hera was the most feared goddess of the Greek pantheon, sheerly on account of her wrath. Not to say that Poseidon could not take her in a fight; he mostly certainly could, and he would win. But Hera’s destructive fury wouldn’t leave him unscathed, if things came to blows.
               Dynamene swallowed and forced herself to come back to her senses. There was no point in letting her fears run away from her. Since that incident so long ago, Hera had been largely successful in reining in her violence around her brother and his palace. Nowadays, when she visited, only harsh words were exchanged.
               And yet, Dynamene found herself dreading Hera’s arrival. Was it because of Hera herself?
               Or was it because of the topic that would no doubt be broached yet again?
               “Alright, sisters,” Ianeira called, clapping her hands. “Lunch is ready for all. We’ll begin work after.”
               With a sigh, Dynamene pulled herself from the couch. There was no use worrying now.
               Several hours later, with the great entrance hall freshly scrubbed and polished, and the special velvet carpets laid out, the Nereids’ work was done for the day. Dynamene slipped out onto one of the smaller balconies overlooking the ocean for a breath of fresh air. She inhaled the scent of the seawater with relish; as a sea nymph, it would always be her favorite scent. The door softly opened and closed behind her, and Actaea stepped forward in the moonlight to join her.
               “Finally, everything pristine and in its place,” her older sister sighed, gazing out at the ocean. “I’m sorry the latter half of your birthday was so dull.”
               “No, it’s fine,” Dynamene smiled. “I got to spend plenty of time with all of you, and several nice presents to boot. I’d say it was a pretty fine birthday.”
               “Always the optimist,” Actaea tousled her hair fondly. “Well, I’m glad you enjoyed it. You won’t have another for the next century!” She sighed, voice full of reminiscence. “I cannot believe you are a woman now. It seems not long ago, when we first arrived here, you were hiding behind our skirts and shrinking behind furniture. And now look at you; a smart, well-read, considerate young lady.”
               “I still don’t feel that… grown up,” Dynamene confessed, looking down at her hands. “I still look so childish. And I’m still so clumsy.”
               “Coming-of-age is just the line drawn by the world, the official cut-off point between child and adult. The task of growing up is a giant blur; not one you can compartmentalize. Give it time, and you’ll feel grown-up soon enough.” Actaea smiled kindly.
               Dynamene took a deep breath, deciding to share what was weighing on her mind. “Truth be told, I am… worried about Hera’s visit tomorrow.”
               “Oh, everyone is worried about that,” Actaea laughed. “But she’s been well-behaved these past several centuries, no? I don’t think we have much to fret about.”
               “Well, yes, but… It’s not just Hera’s temper. I mean… She always comes to talk to Lord Poseidon about one thing,” Dynamene continued lowly, twisting her hands.
               Actaea looked mystified for a moment, then her eyes widened lightly as it dawned on her what Dynamene was referring to.
               “If Poseidon marries, we’ll have a lady-of-the-house,” Dynamene ventured. “And I suppose I’m just worried about what that would mean for us.” She turned her bracelet over on her wrist. Its iridescent surface caught the moonlight in haunting cool hues.
               Actaea was quiet for several moments. “Dynamene, you know as well as I do that Poseidon will never take a bride,” she said softly.
               Dynamene looked up at her older sister’s face. There was something she couldn’t place in her sister’s eyes. She slowly turned her face back to the ocean, gripping the balustrade tightly. “You’re right,” she replied. “It’s not something we should worry about.” A tight pricking sensation came to her chest.
               Actaea squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. “We should head to bed now, little sister. We’ll want our energy for whatever Hera brings our way tomorrow.” She grinned dryly before going back inside, leaving Dynamene alone again with her thoughts.
               Dynamene gave the dark ocean with its frothy foam one last longing glance. Her thoughts had been in a dizzy whirlwind all day long, it seemed. She desperately wished that she could go down for a swim, just to clear her head…
               The more she considered it, the better it sounded. The idea was tantalizingly delicious in the face of the strange weight in her heart. With quick, quiet footsteps, she rushed through the dark palace and down those 150 steps to the shore. She took a moment to take in the vast ocean again, with its white foam crests and the soothing rush of its waves. Stripping off her peplos and chiton, she folded them and placed them atop a nearby rock, making sure the pins gifted to her by Actaea were wrapped well within. Dynamene looked down at her wrist, momentarily debating taking off the bracelet as well, but couldn’t bring herself to remove it. Surely, as mother-of-pearl, it would be just fine in the seawater, wouldn’t it?
               With eager steps, she waded into the cold ocean water, allowing the spray of the waves to pelt her skin in its soothing rhythm. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to concentrate. Her older sisters were much more skilled in joining themselves to the water, but she still needed more time to focus her energy. Before long, her body began to slip away in the ocean, melting into foam. She gave a sigh of contentment. Although they might spend the majority of their lives in humanoid form on land, the Nereids were really most at home in the sea, their source of life and spirit. The dark, powerful waters cradled her fluid form, not unlike the weight of that presence she cherished back on land.
             With her body now joined to the water, her essence little more than a current, she slipped deep into the darkness and allowed her thoughts to melt away.
---
Author’s notes: A new sister added to the bunch. The Nereids asides from Dynamene are:
Actaea – caring sister
Callianassa – musically inclined sister
Eione – tomboy sister
Thoe – rude sister
Ianeira – oldest sister
I did my best to pick names for them that are each unique, to help differentiate them. These are all names of Nereids mentioned in real Greek mythology, but the resemblance largely stops there.
Now we’re starting to bite into the meat of the story; the main conflict. You know, Poseidon is a really static character to have as a love interest, but I have plans to flesh him out a little bit more in the next parts, so it doesn’t seem like Dynamene’s in love with a freaking statue (though with the way he acts most of the time, she might as well be)
What is the time period this fic takes place in, you ask? no one asked that
Well, it’s kind of an anachronism-stew situation. If we try to put a time on when Poseidon rose to power as king of the oceans, we might be able to slap the date on that as 1000 BC, roughly around when the Greek Pantheon as we know them started to be widely worshipped. Assuming that the Nereids came to serve Poseidon around the same time period, and that it’s been 1000 years since, that puts us around the year 0. However, Erik Satie composed the Gymnopedies in the late 1800s. So who knows? I’ve given up on making it make sense
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arcticrxt · 3 years
Text
Some dream smp mbtis and enneagrams bc I love it!!!
@dreamsclock here it is!!
Characters:
Wilbur
Ghostbur
Tommy
Dream
Tubbo
Quackity
Karl
Under the cut bc they’re kinda long. Keep in mind this is the characters and not the content creators :]
WILBUR
Personally for me I’d type c!wilbur as ENFJ which is interesting for a villainous character. When he spirals into madness, you can see his dominant function (Fe) become more unhealthy, leading to him being very manipulative. He shows Ti-grip when his Fe is left to burn out, becoming critical of others and their methods, preferring he do it instead (seen with tommy during their exile). Ni auxiliary is shown in his ambition and drive for his goal of L’manburg.
For his enneagram, i know wilbur said he based c!wilbur off of the song eight by sleeping at last, but hear me out,,, I was thinking maybe a 3w4. The 8 characteristics could be seen in a tritype of 368. Type three is named the achiever which in itself stands for his vision and ambition of L’manburg. 3w4s are often working towards personal growth and professional success. When unhealthy, 3s can get extremely competitive and prone to one-upping others. May reject their sense of self and develop intense mood swings. At worst they can backstab ruthlessly (tommy and the whole of L’manburg and pogtopia) and destroy others reputations solely for their benefit (“if i can’t have this no one can”). The tritype Im a bit if-y on but I’ll say 368 because it focuses on working hard, achieving personal best and developing a winning image. They will want to protect others from those they perceive as a target (dream, Schlatt), they will warn and caution others and seek “worthy” authorities they can respect.
GHOSTBUR His Si is incredibly high so imma say ISFJ. His main motive (id say) is wanting to collect stories of his past and the history of the nation he built, his “unfinished symphony”. Fe auxiliary is very strong as well as he shows a lot of compassion to others, offering them some blue in times of need and also not wanting anyone to feel sadness like he feels it. Ghostbur ignores his own feelings in order for others to feel safe. His Ti is shown through his need for gathering knowledge to understand alivebur and i could also see it through his internalised logic that the blue will help people. Not sure on inferior Ne, maybe through not wanting to see other possibilities in regards to his resurrection, however he was under a lot of stress since his home just got blown up, and friend died, so I can’t blame him.
He clearly doesn’t want conflict so I’ll say type 9. Needs peace and harmony (he gives out blue to help people). Soothing voice, and collected (except when Phil blew up L’manburg but that’s reasonable). He’s complacent, and humble, and will go the extra mile so long as to not rock the boat. Appreciative of the small things in life and enjoy simple pleasures.
TOMMY For Tommy I think ESFP which is probably one of the ones I’m up for more opinions on bc I’m not completely sure of his type. Se as dominant as he thrives on living in the moment but in an unhealthy way (unnecessary conflicts) He’s got a strong Fi auxiliary and you can see that through his personal morals and the way he usually makes decisions based off of emotions rather than objective facts and logical reasoning. He’s good at planning, but not at thinking out the longevity of it. Eg when heady exile and found technos house and lived under there, thinking techno would find him, this all shows Se-Te loop. He gradually develops an unhealthy Fi which leads to him disregarding external relationships (his friendship with tubbo) and commitments to maintain his internal love of the discs.
Enneagram wise, I’m definitely leaning towards 7w6. 7s are usually jumping from one thing to another and are constantly getting bored. The wing 6 brings loyalty and protectiveness. When unhealthy, sevens become narcissistic in their actions and presentation (see his confrontation with tubbo after tubbo thought he was dead, and the “the discs are worth more than you ever were” granted he quickly realises what he said but the mentality was still there).
DREAM I think he’s a fairly obvious stereotype unhealthy ENTJ. He has a very low Fi. When we see him driven by emotion (usually anger) it’s terrifying and we have no context about it at all except that it’s for a need of control. He knows how to manipulate people through his charisma and power in an ENTJ fashion. He lost attachment to his things very quickly (using Te and Ni to go forward logically while also showcasing his inferior Fi)
Dream is a very painfully obvious 8, probably an 8w7, but he is defined an 8. The eight has fiery passions and is usually stubborn and headstrong, they are serious about control over their environment. They are goal-oriented and self-competent. Eights are direct and aren’t shy when taking the lead and making tough decisions. They are often seen in leadership positions. The eight type is part of the “body based” triad and they often act impulsively. They crave respect and enjoy being likes by the group. When unhealthy, eights can become tyrannical and intimidating, scaring off others at first glance. They become addicted to the pursuit of power and will destroy anything blocking their path. Feelings and emotions become insignificant (spirit :’)) challengers become stone-cold and take an antagonist stand to anyone who questions them or their motives. This is the one I’m most most sure of out of every typing I’ve done bc it seems painfully obvious.
TUBBO I’d say probably an Fe dom so maybe ENFJ/ESFP but I’m leaning more to the ENFJ side. Tubbo realised after he thought tommy had died that, without tommy he was himself. Something Fe doms struggle with the most is self worth and personal identity. They’re caught up in wanting to help others that they don’t tend to their own needs. He’s careless and self sacrificing when it comes to the needs of others (him giving up his life so that tommy could have the discs and be happy) and bc he has such low self esteem he doesn’t realise that that’s not what tommy wants. The reason I’m more leaning to ENFJ is because of his inferior Ti. Though he didn’t want to due to dominant Fe, he was lead to believe exiling tommy was the best possible solution. You can see he regrets it after tommy and dream had left. When he was working under schlatt we saw his remorse and guilt even though he knew it had to be done. We see his dominant Fe during his time as president when others push him to do things and he usually agrees. He was manipulated through guilt by dream which is very unhealthy ENFJ.
(I wrote this before the ghostbur one so sorry for any repetitive language) For enneagram, type nine: the peacemaker. Type 9s are motivated by their need for peace and harmony (tubbo was manipulated into believing that getting rid of tommy would achieve this). They have a calm demeanour and are agreeable. They’re hardworking, friendly, and modest but also more serious and diligent than expected. (I’m not too sure on his enneagram which is why this is so short)
QUACKITY Estj imo. Like dream, he’s unhealthily obsessed with power, (unhealthy dominant Te). He abandoned L’manburg because schlatt wouldn’t let him have any say, and he was shoved to the side, despite it being a coalition government. He is very logical and controls others. He makes sure he comes out as the hero and that his hands are clean, learning it from past experiences (Si). He quickly finds ways to get out of situations through the use of tertiary Ne. Doesnt show a lot of Fi and he usually underestimates his opponents abilities and/or strength due to his overconfidence. He’s willing to kill anyone who goes against what he thinks and is stubborn and argumentative. He doesn’t like it when people are lazy and don’t contribute.
Also, similarly to dream, I’d type his enneagram as 8w7. The same with his obsession of power, and his strong/weak mindset where he thinks the world is made up of protectors and those who need to be protected (see him taking it upon himself to execute technoblade for the better of L’manburg) which is all very textbook 8. The opinions of others don’t have much effect on him. Eights are concerned with justice, combating oppression, and protecting the weak. He takes the lead in making tough decisions (he’s the butcher army leader). He becomes more antagonist and villainous with his actions against technoblade, believing he’s in the right. (I didn’t want to just copy out what I said for dream so this is a shortened version)
KARL Torn between ENFP and ESFP but leaning toward ENFP. He’s time travelling because he believes it’s the right the to do which is more so Fi, but could be Fe wanting to help others at his personal cost. But also the Fi-Te pair keeps him going and he won’t stop until it’s fulfilled (which is pretty Te imo). He is creative and good with imagination and ideas (Ne) (at the masquerade, although it was a comical excuse, he came up with minecraft streamer quickly, he was also able to answer billiams questions pretty quickly).
Even though it’s now canon he doesn’t choose when and where he travels to, which would have been a stronger argument for a type seven, he’s still enthusiastic at the times he travels to. He’s optimistic (with the mentality everything will go right for him because he believes it has to, even though he’s loosing a lot of memories atm). He’s got childlike energy and curious eyes. He wants to bounce from one place to another, he created two towns already, although one technically no one knows about gogtopia except for the founders and tommy who travelled through it. He’s well like and popular, which is often a 7 trait. The type 7 is part of the “heart-based” triad, and we can see him act through this with the way he seeks excitement as a means to distract himself from the darker, and more painful things in life. He ignores his fears in favour of positive experiences. For a wing, probably a 7w6 in favour of 7w8, the same as tommy. He’s loyal and a strong leader over being tough and more career-driven. If he was to turn unhealthy in the future, we might see him loose his groundedness, and start to live in a perpetual fantasy instead of reality.
Sorry for any typos or bad grammar :]
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franniebanana · 3 years
Text
CQL Rewatch - Episode 6
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What I learned from this scene: Jiang Cheng is really picky about women and Wei Wuxian is perfectly happy being without a woman (as long as he has alcohol), and THAT parallels what Lan Wangji says later on that he’s fine being alone too. A little thing, but it shows that while Wei Wuxian talks big about all the cute women in Yunmeng, he has zero experience and isn’t really even interested in them. Jiang Cheng, on the other hand, IS interested, but is terrible at talking to them.
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Call me crazy, but I don’t actually think Lan Wangji walked in there just to punish them for making noise/disturbing others. By the way this scene is acted, it seems like Lan Wangji is genuinely curious about what they’re up to, to the point where it almost feels like he wants to join in. Like he’s really taken what Lan Xichen has said about making friends to heart. And that all is super cute to me if that’s true. Like he hears the noises coming from their room (maybe he was already going there to see Wei Wuxian anyway!) and thinks, “Sounds like they’re having fun! Maybe I can join.” I don’t think it’s outside the realm of possibility for him to think that way, albeit probably hesitantly. And it’s not like he walks in with a dour expression, ready to throw the Gusu Lan Sect rules in their faces. It’s not until he sees the alcohol/Wei Wuxian asks him to drink with them that he pulls the rules card out.
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Lol his look here. DON’T. TOUCH. ME. The phrase “if looks could kill” was made for people like Lan Wangji. He has nailed that glare. But like, how ballsy is Wei Wuxian to suggest drinking? He KNOWS Lan Wangji will not willingly break the rules, and if he doesn’t know, then he’s a dummy!
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I love how quickly this whole thing unravels for Wei Wuxian. He thinks it’s so funny at first—stick Lan Wangji with a talisman, get him to do what you say—only he has no idea that Lan Wangji has absolutely zero tolerance for alcohol and his response is to immediately pass out. The sheer panic in Wei Wuxian’s face and voice is delightful to watch, honestly.
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I’ve watched this scene so many times in the last week or so. I like it better in the special edition, since we get more wangxian and more drunk Lan Wangji—two things that I will always take more of. The part I like is that it shows how much Wei Wuxian commits and takes responsibility for his actions. He gets Lan Wangji drunk, so he spends half the night making sure Lan Wangji is okay. It’s a very sweet scene: the two open up to each other about their parents and it’s a very unifying moment for Wei Wuxian, finding out that Lan Wangji has suffered, just like him—that he is a human being with emotions, parents, that he’s experienced loss too. Wei Wuxian, up to this point, has dealt with his troubled past by clowning around and being generally optimistic, which is obviously not how Lan Wangji has handled his own past.
Lan Wangji probably remembers nothing of their conversation (or very little) but Wei Wuxian, who can hold his liquor a lot better, remembers all of it. It’s still fun watching them grow together, even after watching this so many times. Every time they experience something together, it just brings them closer. Really calls to mind themes of fate and destiny, though I like to believe that fate had nothing to do with them falling in love.
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And here’s where Lan Wangji says he’s fine being alone, to which Wei Wuxian basically goes, “EH?!” in his mind, but instead calls him and his father boring. And then things get a little heavy, since Lan Wangji fully admits that he has no mother (in other words, his mother is dead). I assume (and Lan Xichen says later) that Lan Wangji would never have divulged this information while sober and it’s interesting that Wei Wuxian never lets on that he knows. It’s kind of a shame, really, that they never talk about it again. He only talks about it with Lan Xichen, but it would have been nice to see the two of them really talk about their parents.
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In my mind, they slept in the same bed. Like, not that they did anything, because let’s be honest: they passed out. In my movie, Lan Wangji would have passed out again, and then Wei Wuxian would have put him in bed, and then passed out right next to him. It’s sort of strange that Wei Wuxian dragged himself across the room to sleep upright on the floor. He doesn’t seem like the type to do something like that, and why should he care if they share a bed? Especially given the fact that he’s also drunk.
It’s also super cute how Wei Wuxian is only like half-dressed (I say half, but it’s more like three quarters): his overdress is not pulled all the way on. His shock, then laughter here kind of indicates that he doesn’t remember much from the previous night, or maybe he forgot, and then remembered. The amusement is short-lived, though, since as soon as Lan Wangji wakes, up, he flips the fuck out and drags them all to get punished. I kind of wish we’d gotten to see that, although I do love the way they wove in the conversation between Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen.
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His fucking face. He goes from, “Ah, Wei Wuxian, that rascal!” to “Wangji, WTF?!” I love that so much. And the thing that makes it funnier is that Xichen was the one to suggest that Wei Wuxian might be a good friend for his brother, and now it kind of ends up biting him in the ass, since he’s KIND OF a bad influence. Obviously, the next scene shows that this hasn’t really had a negative effect on Lan Wangji, since he is willing to accept punishment for something he had absolutely no control over, even when Wei Wuxian chastises him for doing so, and announces to Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen that, in fact, Lan Wangji was forced to drink the alcohol.
Which brings me to the punishment scene. I like this scene a lot too. I love Lan Wangji’s tenacity here, how he refuses to try and get out of the punishment even though he drank the alcohol against his will. I love how Wei Wuxian immediately comes to his defense to try and get Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen to stop the punishment for Lan Wangji. This is a good contrast to earlier scenes when Wei Wuxian would not admit to breaking the rules and was always trying to make an excuse for himself. Here he doesn’t do that at all. He fully admits to breaking the rules and to dragging Lan Wangji down with him. I know Lan Wangji is upset here, but I think he’s mostly upset with himself for allowing himself to break the rules (even though he really had no choice in the matter).
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Another great Yunmeng siblings scene. Wei Wuxian complaining about being punished and Jiang Yanli just keeping it real: you shouldn’t have broken the rules. She’s such a good big sister, though, because while her speech has a touch of disapproval, she’s still very sympathetic to their injuries. I do feel like she’s a little harder on Jiang Cheng, because she knows he’s better than that and he has to be better than that if he’s going to be a clan leader someday. As usual, she’s softer with Wei Wuxian, who she just has an abundance of sympathy for. And I don’t see that as a bad quality at all—I think she and her father are willing to see past some of his behavior because overall he’s well-intentioned and, as is discussed later on, he’s not going to be clan leader. His job will be to support Jiang Cheng, not to run the place, and he’s a fierce friend and extremely loyal to the Jiang Clan.
But anyway, this scene is cute how both Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng tell Jiang Yanli that they need more protein to heal and she should really add some lamb to the soup.
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A few minutes ago, he could barely walk, and now he’s literally running down these steps. Maybe you don’t need that cold spring, after all.
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RIP that other shoe that he originally kicked off right into the spring.
I love all of Lan Wangji’s expressions here and his responses to Wei Wuxian’s advances (I can only call them that, because he’s such a flirt here). You can totally read this scene that Wei Wuxian is just teasing and taking the piss with Lan Wangji, but I’m not going to, and I’m assuming, if you’re reading this, you aren’t either.
Wei Wuxian was delighted when he saw that Lan Wangji was also at the cold spring. He clearly went there for his wounds, but I think the wounds are all but completely forgotten as soon as he sees Lan Wangji.
I also love how shy Lan Wangji is, that as soon as he hears him coming, he immediately dresses again. He doesn’t leave, but he doesn’t want to be seen without his clothes on. That’s incredibly endearing to me that he is so modest. And then you have Wei Wuxian, who threatens to take off his clothes several times (although this is the only time he does it for reasons outside of teasing Lan Wangji). He does not care—he’s seemingly not modest about his appearance at all. I really do love all the contrast between these two characters—it’s not that they’re opposites of each other—it’s not that simple—but there is a lot of contrast which I think just keeps things interesting. I have nothing profound to say about it (or anything else, really), but I just find it really enjoyable to watch. And a side note, the contrast between Lan Wangji and Wang Yibo constantly leaves me in awe; it’s hard to believe that Yibo pulled off this character so well because he was such a goof on set.
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Wwx: A lot of benefits come with being my friend.
Wwx: [immediately starts undressing]
I see what you did there, writers/directors.
But ironically, it turns out that a lot of not-so-beneficial things come from being his friend. Because Lan Wangji becomes so devoted to him, he ends up getting in a lot of trouble within his clan and without. Obviously he’d do it over and over if he had the choice, but the fact remains that Wei Wuxian becomes a pariah and, to a lesser extent, Lan Wangji was headed that way as well. Really, if Wei Wuxian hadn’t died, Lan Wangji might have ended up living with him in Yiling. That would have been quite interesting, actually.
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I don’t care how many times I’ve seen this episode—this scene will kill me with its cuteness. Wei Wuxian so wants to be Lan Wangji’s friend here! He’s adorable! “Don’t leave me alone!” and “Come to Yunmeng, and I’ll pick lotus seeds for you!” and “There’s cute girls at Yunmeng!” Oh, wait, Lan Wangji doesn’t care about cute girls haha. I just love the change in the relationship. Wei Wuxian approves of and respects Lan Wangji and wants to be closer to him. It’s not just an interest or a fascination now—it’s something deeper. It’s the shared experience at Biling Lake, it’s the drunken confessions about their parents, it’s the 300 hits of the bastinado, and the secret cold spring pond where they can heal together.
Note how long it takes Lan Wangji to actually try to leave here. That’s telling enough on its own, how long Lan Wangji tolerates Wei Wuxian. He’s willing to put up with the jabbering and the endless chattering from Wei Wuxian. This is so much progress!
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I have absolutely nothing to say here, other than that Yibo looks so fucking hot in this scene.
Because other than him and of course the headband, I find the stuff with Lan Yi to be kind of boring. I like her and all, but it’s just like, meh on all this Yin Iron stuff. I read about how this is just a big trope in cdrama, so it is what it is. Personally, I found the book to be compelling without all these shenanigans, but I understand that the written word doesn’t always translate well to the screen (especially when you are censoring the relationship between the two main characters).
Oh, and the rabbits are also fucking adorable. The more rabbits, the better.
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Aaand now you’re married. Thanks, bye. Other episodes: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
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