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dangermousie · 3 years

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Mousie’s absolutely subjective, very biased Top 10 web novels list

Please note that this is hardly aiming to be objective, if one can even be properly objective about a work of fiction. It is 110% based on my preferences, which means this list is heavy on the angst and has nothing set in the modern day. It is also heavily danmei-centric, even though I read way more het romance than danmei, because for whatever reason, most of the danmei I’ve read has been insanely good.

10. Return of the Swallow - one of the two non-danmeis on this list. Smart and nuanced and with a large cast of characters. Our heroine is a long-lost daughter of the family that is brought back in and has to cope with familial struggles, crazy royals, court intrigue, invasion et al. It’s SO GOOD! There is romance with the sexy smart enemy general but honestly, it’s the heroine that is the main selling point for me.

9. Transmigrator Meets Reincarnator - the only other non-danmei novel on this list, this was my very first web novel and what drew me into this insanity. This is just a ton of fun, probably the lightest novel on this list, not an ounce of angst to be found. But it’s hilarious and features competent heroine and tsundere hero and I will always love it for opening a new world to me. Anyway, our heroine transmigrates into the novel as the female lead. Unlike the original lead though she doesn’t want to seek adventures and angst - she just wants to comfortably live with the wealthy, nice husband heroine has. Alas, said husband is no longer nice since he has previously lived this story where he was betrayed by FL and then transmigrated/reincarnated into the past. Oh well, the heroine opens up businesses and makes friends. And eventually, her husband realizes his wife is way different this time around. This actually doesn’t have much romance, not until close to the end, but this is so fun I don’t care.

8. Lord Seventh - I am only partway through this so far, but it’s already on the list because it’s smart and somehow intense AND laid-back (not sure how this works, but it does) and is honestly just a really really solid and smart period novel, with the OTP a cherry on top of a narrative sundae. Plus, I love the concept of MC deciding he is not going for his supposedly fated love - he’s tried for six lifetimes, always with disaster, and he’s just plain done and tired. When he opens his life in his seventh reincarnation and sees the person he would have given up the world for, he genuinely feels nothing at all. (Spoiler - his OTP is actually a barbarian shaman this time around, thank you Lord!)

7. Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (MDZS) - oh come on, how are you even on this tumblr if you don’t know MDZS/The Untamed? This was my very first danmei and it’s so much fun! I love everything about it - the unreliable narrator, the looping structure, the main OTP, Wei Wuxian’s laidback, traumatized insouciance, everything. Anyway, the plot in the event you somehow transported here from 2005 is that the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, Wei Wuxian, was defeated by the righteous sects over a decade ago and fell of a cliff to his death. Only now that same Wei Wuxian opens his eyes in another body and everything that was supposed to stay in the past starts again.

6. Heaven Official’s Blessing (TGCF) - people either love its meandering narrative, picaresque structure and cast of thousands, or find it a detriment compared to much more compact MDZS. I love it even more than MDZS for those very qualities. It does have a rock-solid, darling OTP, but what really elevates it to me are the MXTX trademark combo of snarky/light tone hiding a ton of trauma underneath, the insanely intricate world-building, and what it has to say about the nature of grace and goodness. Xie Lian is one of my top 5 web novel characters and probably in top 10 from anywhere. Oh, and while MXTX’s stuff is not as angsty for me as Meatbun’s or even Priest’s, there are always exceptions, and there is one chapter in this novel that pretty much broke me and sometimes I still flashback to it and feel unwell.

Anyway, what is it about? There is a commotion in the heavenly realm - Xie Lian, the Crown Prince of a long-destroyed kingdom, has ascended to Godhood. That in itself is not so exciting. However for Xie Lian this is the third time (!!!!) as he’s ascended and lost his godhood twice prior. And now, the biggest joke of the divine realm is back, throwing the heavenly realm into chaos. And elsewhere, Hua Cheng, one of the four most powerful demons of that Universe, sits up and takes notice.

5. Golden Stage - my perfect comfort novel. Probably the least angsty of any danmei novel on this list (which still means plenty angsty :P) It also has a dedicated, smart OTP that is an OTP for the bulk of the book - I think you will notice that in most of the novels in this list, I go for “OTP against the world” trope - I can’t stand love triangles and the same. Anyway, Fu Shen, is a famous general whose fame is making the emperor antsy. When he gets injured and can’t walk any more, the emperor gladly recalls him and marries him off to his most faithful court lackey, the head of sort of secret police, Yan Xiaohan. The emperor intends it both as a check on the general and a general spite move since the two men always clash in court whenever they meet. But not all is at is seems. They used to be friends a long time ago, had a falling out, and one of the loveliest parts of the novel is them finding their way to each other, but there is also finding the middle path between their two very different philosophies and ways of being, not to mention solving a conspiracy or dozen, and putting a new dynasty on the throne, among other things. It always makes me think, a little, of “if Mei Changsu x Jingyan were canon.”

4. Sha Po Lang - if you like a lot of fantasy politics and world-building and steampunk with your novels, this one is for you. This one is VERY plot-heavy with smart, dedicated characters and a deconstruction of many traditional virtues - our protagonist Chang Geng, a long-lost son of the Emperor, is someone who wants to modernize the country but also take down the current emperor his brother for progress’ sake and the person he’s in love with is the general who saved him when he was a kid who is nominally his foster father. Anyway, the romance is mainly a garnish in this one, not even a big side dish, but the relationship between two smart, dedicated, deadly individuals with very different concepts of duty is fascinating long before it turns romantic. And if you like angst, while overall it’s not as angsty as e.g., Meatbun stuff, Chang Geng’s childhood is the stuff of nightmares and probably freaks me out more than anything else in any novel on this list, 2ha included.

3. To Rule In a Turbulent World (LSWW) - gay Minglan. No seriously. This is how I think of it. it’s a slice of life period novel with fascinating characters and setting that happens to have a gay OTP, not a romance in a period setting per se and I always prefer stories where the romance is not the only thing that is going on. It’s meticulously written and smart and deals with character development and somehow makes daily minutia fascinating. Our protagonist, You Miao, is the son of a fabulously wealthy merchant, sent to the capital to make connections and study. As the story starts, he sees his friend’s servants beating someone to death, feels bad, and buys him because, as we discover gradually and organically, You Miao may be wealthy and occasionally immature but he is a genuinely good person. The person he buys is a barbarian from beyond the wall, named Li Zhifeng. It’s touch and go if the man will survive but eventually he does and You Miao, who by then has to return home, gives him his papers and lets him go. However, LZF decides to stick with You Miao instead, both out of sense of debt for YM saving his life and because he genuinely likes him (and yet, there is no instalove on either of their parts, their bodies have fun a lot quicker than their souls.) Anyway, the two take up farming, get involved in the imperial exams and it’s the life of prosperity and peace, until an invasion happens and things go rapidly to hell. This is so nuanced, so smart (smart people in this actually ARE!) and has secondary characters who are just as complex as the mains (for example, I ended up adoring YM’s friend, the one who starts the plot by almost beating LZF to death for no reason) because the novel never forgets that few people are all villain. There is a lovely character arc or two - watching YM grow up and LZF thaw - there is the fact that You Miao is a unicorn in web novels being laid back and calm. This whole thing is a masterpiece.

2. Stains of Filth (Yuwu) - want the emotional hit of 2ha but want to read something half its length? Well, the author of 2ha is here to eviscerate you in a shorter amount of time. This has the beautiful world-building, plot twists that all make sense and, at the center of it all, an intense and all-consuming and gloriously painful relationship between two generals - one aristocratic loner Mo Xi, and the other gregarious former slave general Gu Mang. Once they were best friends and lovers, but when the novel starts, Gu Mang has long turned traitor and went to serve the enemy kingdom and has now been returned and Mo Xi, who now commands the remnants of his slave army, has to cope with the fact that he has never been able to get over the man who stabbed him through the heart. Literally. This novel has a gorgeously looping structure, with flashbacks interwoven into present storyline. There is so much love and longing and sacrifice in this that I am tearing up a bit just thinking of it. If you don’t love Mo Xi and Gu Mang, separately and together, by the end of it, you have no soul.

1. The Dumb Husky and His White Cat Shizun (2ha/erha) - if you’ve been following my tumblr for more than a hot second, you know my obsession with this novel. Honestly, even if I were to make a list of my top 10 novels of any kind, not just webnovels, this would be on the list. It has everything I want - a complicated, intricate plot with an insane amount of plot twists, all of which are both unexpected and make total sense, a rich and large cast of characters, a truly epic OTP that makes me bawl, emotional intensity that sometimes maxes even me out and so much character nuance and growth. Also, Moran is my favorite web novel character ever, hands down.

Anyway, the plot (or at least the way it first appears) is that the evil emperor of the cultivation world, Taxian Jun, kills himself at 32 and wakes up in the body of his 16 year old self, birth name Moran. Excited to get a redo, Moran wants to save his supposed true love Shimei, whose death the last go-around pushed him towards evil. He also wants to avoid entanglement with Chu Wanning, his shizun and sworn enemy in past life. And that’s all you are best off knowing, trust me. The only hint I am going to give is oooh boy the mother of all unreliable narrators has arrived!

The novel starts light and funny on boil the frog principle - if someone told me I would be full bawling multiple times with this novel, I’d have thought they were insane, but i swear my eyes hurt by the end of it. I started out being amused and/or disliking the mains and by the end I would die for either of them.

#cnovel #2ha #yuwu #to rule in a turbulent world #lsww #sha po lang #golden stage #return of the swallow #transmigrator meets reincarnator #lord seventh #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #heaven official's blessing #the dumb husky and his white cat shizun

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irgmugurg · 3 years

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Belphie's Music Taste

Mammon's Music Taste

Asmodeus's Music Taste

Belphie listening to lofi songs is simultaneously the cutest and funniest thing that I’ve ever heard.

Aw is the bratty little cowboy gonna listen to windchimes and sparkles. Yes. Yes, he is.

Aight hear me out. JUST LISTEN

Belphie listening to country music.

HE HAS THE COWBOY AESTHETIC ALREADY MIGHT AS WELL GO ALL THE WAY.

He’d start it as a joke but he’d gradually love falling asleep to the slow drawl of the music.

he thinks their super cheesy but proceeds to press play

"ugh more country music?" *clicks play*

Or even listening to those sad country army songs about being soldiers and missing your family

He 100% relates these songs to Lilith and having to fight for/against the celestial realm.

AT SOME POINT he’s layed with Beel and they both cried about country music/Lilith (think If Your Reading This and a bunch more by Tim McGraw, Arlington, and Your Gonna Miss This by Trace Adkins)

Butterfly Kisses by Bob Carlise. FUCK. I’M GOING TO CRY.

I know some of these songs are from the point of view of a daughter and their dad but Belphie can’t help but think of being able to grow up and show Lilith how the world has changed.

Doesn’t even care that most of country songs are religion-based and yeah sometimes he gets so angry at Father for what he took from him but he remembers that now Lilith is up there still. Doesn’t make it hurt any less though.

Wishes he could still hold her, see her grow up, him and beel being her best men at her wedding, connecting the human and celestial realm

listens to circus songs and fucking cries

NICKELBACK. (he isn’t THAT bad okay, sometimes his songs SLAP) ((lullaby,,,belphie relates this song to his feelings of overwhelming anger in the attic)

Falling asleep holding each others hands, reminiscing about Lilith and the times they had together.

Mammon and satan, just to piss him off, played the wild west theme songs (The Good The Bad The Ugly theme) whenever he walked in a room and he would go demon mode (only for them to laugh harder, cowboy looking ass)

gets embarrassed if you hear him listening to country music

changes the song quickly, he can't have people knowing he genuinely likes it

listened to If I Die Young once and thought of Lilith

proceeded to block all mentions of this song

Anyway LOFI MUSIC.

He loves how soft and sweet it is even though it doesn’t match his “style”.

This motherfucker can be berated by Lucifer and he’ll put on headphones and just watch Lucifer scream at him and only hear soft Lofi music.

Lofi hip hop, Jazz, pop. He does not discriminate.

Very often gets the beats and small portions of the lyrics stuck in his head.

LOVES Shiloh Dynasty and all the remixes

But that is not the only thing that Belphie listens to. Oh no, definitely not.

Loves nightcore. Alvin and the Chipmunks who?

Alternatively likes listening to slowed down songs

Listens to the front bottoms and thinks about punching lucifer in his face

OUCH! By Matt Watson

HE LISTENS TO SCREAMO AND EMO MUSIC.

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, SLEEPING WITH SIRENS, PIERCE THE VEIL.

Emo headass.

Is very much stuck in the 2010s (probably the last era he was able to listen to before getting locked in the attic and since getting out has been stuck there) and if MC introduces him to any more then even 2020 music.

It’s the emotions that he relates so heavily to but it also helps him stay awake to do tasks.

His turn to do dishes? Unearthly screaming comes from the kitchen. Please don’t worry he is just vibing.

He has the screamo voice. He doesn’t use it often because I don’t see Belphie as someone to sing along, more bopping to the music and swaying, MAYBE mumbling under his breath but nothing more.

Will do it with Lucifer around just to fuck with him

Why is the thought of Belphie on stage, smudged mascara, black leather clothes and screaming on the top of his lungs hot????

would 100% let you dress him up in that outfit but acts like he doesn't like it

Stop *bonk* being *bonk* a *bonk* belphie *bonk* simp *bonk*

He doesn’t like making playlists because its so much work so if he puts on Lofi to go to sleep to and he will stay sleeping on wild screamo music.

Listens to it most in the attic because that’s where a FUCKTON of his resentment/rebellious vibes come from and because he doesn’t want to bother Beel while they are sleeping.

Asshole probably doesn’t use his headphones anywhere else tho.

Asmodeus and Mammon don’t understand him but they love him nonetheless.

*demonic screeching* “Okay sweetie don’t forget about the student council meeting later today <3”

If Mammon vibes with a song he WILL scream along, incoherently though because he doesn’t know the lyrics.

Beel just kinda sits there. Doesn’t get it either but loves seeing Belphie look so at peace.

Old man lucifer “is that what you kids listen to today?” (but can he talk?? really?? listening to cursed records bc iTs InTeReStInG)

Satan gets it the most out of anyone else. When they have Anti Lucifer-League meetings Belphegor puts on the most rebellious, and relatable (for their cause) at least, songs and they both scream the lyrics.

he isn't shy showing these songs to you but has once attempted to show off his emo scream please don't laugh at him

OKAY BUT CLEANING UP THE LIVING ROOM WITH BELPHIE WHILE YOU BOTH SCREAM IS SO CUTE

Trophy Father’s Son by Sleeping With Sirens, Can You Feel My Heart, Keep Myself Alive, Sleepwalking by Bring Me The Horizon, Last Resort by Papa Roach, A LOT OF LINKIN PARK, Monster by Skillet, and OF COURSE Bring Me To Life by Evanescence

He probably wouldn't listen to wolf in sheeps clothing but *pointing* THATS HIM

Belphie has spent time crying over these songs. On late nights when he can’t sleep he cries about how he thinks Lucifer doesn’t love him and blames him for Lilith’s death. How MC must really hate him for how he’s acted. How different he is from his brother’s. (part of why he won’t listen to it in front of Beel)

please hold him and promise him that you don't hate him

He also LOOOOOVVES classical music but due to his history with it will not listen to it.

Aka how he used to lay on lucifer’s lap while he plays lullabies for him.

If Lucifer is playing classical music in the area tho? He can’t help but suddenly feel really sleepy. And no he didn’t fall asleep close enough to hear Lucifer scribble away on his paperwork (Lucifer knows he does and always has a blanket ready for when this happens).

lay with him and if you listen very carefully you can hear him mumbling the lyrics under his breath as he runs his fingers through your hair

One of my biggest things about belphie is that he is really smart even though he doesn’t like to put in the effort.

He likes to dissect these songs (typically passing thoughts and really paying attention, he won’t put to much effort into it) and get into them and it backfires because that means he’s really listening to these lyrics and it hits him THAT much harder. (STICKING LITTLE WHITE FLOWERS ALL UP IN HER HAAAAAIIRRRR)

End Note: Belphie doesn't have the largest music selection but the songs he listen to either help him sleep or makes him get all up in his feelings (bc he is emotionally stunted and its the only way he can cry).

#do you know how unbelievably angry i am writing these #he made me remember the old country songs I use to listen to #my dad use to listen to country and Spanish music often and as I grew up I slowly got out of that and into other genres #thats why this specific playlist is so nostalgic for me #ALSO GO LISTEN TO BUTTERFLY KISSES DONT YOU DARE SAY BELPHIE DOESN'T CRY AND THINK OF LILITH #i listened to it and went damn I can't believe I just lost my bby girl despite not having any children #obey me shall we date #obey me #om! belphegor #om! headcanons #hcs #headcanon #om! hcs #om! shall we date #swd om #obey me swd #shall we date belphie #belphie x mc #shall we date belphegor #belphegor headcanons #belphegor swd #belphegor x reader #obey me satan #shall we date satan #om! satan #om! lucifer #obey me lucifer #shall we date lucifer #om! mammon #shall we date mammon

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ga-yuu · 3 years

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~Kurama~Main Story Chapter 5~Part 1

Kurama is already in love with Yoshino, he just doesn’t realize it. Also yeah, I hope I did give a warning in Chapter 1.

Chapter 4

-----Part 1-----

Ibuki: “As usual, the powerful Onmyoji of this court is well experienced. As expected of my ‘master.”

Yasuchika: “Stop talking like a creep, you bastard.”

The tone of voice was harsh and unbelievable for a young child.

But Ibuki didn’t show any care....

Ibuki: “How can you be so cold to a cute child? Yasuchikaaa.”

Yasuchika: "Your catnip is too transparent. If you went to Kamakura, why didn't you just drink some of Yoritomo-sama's nectar?"

Ibuki: "That Shogun. Not bad for a playmate, but this time I found something cuter."

Yasuchika: "You mean Kura-rin? What would you have done if he found out we were messing with him? ......Well, you know what, I suppose it's no use asking you."

Ibuki: "You understand me very well, don’t you. I’m impressed."

Yasuchika: "That’s the worst and most disgraceful swear words I've ever lived to hear."

Without seeming to care Ibuki put one hand into his long sleeve and removed the heavy bracelet....

Yasuchika:"......................"

Ibuki: "Phew, I feel comfier in this body."

Ibuki sits comfortably in front of Yasuchika in his adult form, his well-groomed face intact.

His bright, wavy blonde hair was beautifully long, with two ivory-colored antlers peeking out of the gaps.

Yasuchika: "Take it on and off too often and you'll lose it, your charm bracelet."

Ibuki: "Captious as ever. In front of the court and the people in the Onmyoji dormitory, I have to wear the right disguise. .....No one should suspect that a demon is nesting in the mansion of the Abe family, a family of Onmyoji masters with a long history."

A sarcastic smile appeared in Ibuki's noble, slitted eyes.

Yasuchika: "That's enough. Now, where's the rest of the report? The original plan was to test the fox princess's strength and investigate her character, right?"

Ibuki: "And then Kurama poked his head in from the side. It's not my fault if he was there before."

Yasuchika: "Do you take me as a fool. You were aware of Kura-rin's presence, so you deliberately led the demon towards him."

Ibuki: "Have you been using those paper dolls to keep an eye on me? ....Geez, I can’t trust you anymore."

Yasuchika: "Why need a shikigami when I can predict how you’ll act based on my knowledge of your character."

Ibuki: "Are you also good at telling personalities?"

Yasuchika: "Well, of course. And your character is disgusting. You're irredeemable and love to play with people’s hearts."

Ibuki: "No more, or you’ll make me blush, Mr. Onmyoji."

Yasuchika: "Ibuki."

Yasuchika's dark eyes are filled with a murky gloom.

Yasuchika: "You're free to play as long as you don't bother 'him'."

Ibuki: "You really love him, don't you?"

Ibuki plays with Yasuchika's hair with his fingertips giving her a derisive look.

Ibuki: "Okay, don’t pout. Plans have changed, but we're still getting the bare minimum of information using remote monitoring techniques. Unfortunately, I couldn't listen to all the details of the conversation without Kurama noticing."

Yasuchika: "So?"

Yasuchika asked, not caring about the tousled hair and not blinking.

Ibuki: "First of all, our little fox princess is only taking baby steps towards using her powers. She didn’t even think about her fox powers."

Yasuchika: "But Yoshitsune-sama was able to make a wind blade, on the very night he made the pact."

Ibuki: "What I saw at that time, she was scared to be eaten alive, let alone face the demon by herself."

Yasuchika: "......I see."

Yasuchika murmured as if thinking about something.

Ibuki: "But above all that, she is a big softie and even tried to hide Kurama from her own allies. As a result, Kurama was intoxicated by it, so no one died."

Yasuchika: ".....Kura-rin being disturbed. That's something new."

Ibuki: "Isn't it?"

Ibuki laughs happily.

Ibuki: "Fox princess is the eye of the storm. If you play with it enough, it can send you into a tailspin, as I see it."

----Part 2----

Ibuki: "Fox princess is the eye of the storm. If you play with it enough, it can send you into a tailspin, as I see it. I'm sure it will be interesting to see Kurama, out of all people, would have anything to do with a human woman."

Yasuchika: "For better or worse, she's just a normal girl. I don't think she's got much chance of winning."

Ibuki: "It's true that she wasn't able to kill even one demon that time. Even Kurama thinks the same. .....But don't you know me already, Yasuchika? That I love to try humans."

Yasuchika: "I know. That's why I hate you."

Ibuki: "What? You too."

Yasuchika: "Yes."

Ibuki: "Anyways, do you have any interesting news?"

Yasuchika: "..... I hate to please you with all my heart."

Yasuchika picks up a letter from his sleeve and shows it to Ibuki.

Yasuchika: "----The Shogunate has asked me to help the fox princess who wants to practice slaying demons. Apparently, the brave princess is trying to overcome her fears herself."

Ibuki: ".......He...hahahaha...that's a piece of good news. This will be a most amusing game, Yasuchika."

Yasuchika: "Children who are absorbed in playing are apt to fall. You have to watch your step."

Ibuki: "I'll try my best not to fall."

With cold eyes, Yasuchika brushes his hair and looks at Ibuki.

Ibuki's eyes, on the other hand, were shining brightly.

Ibuki: "It's been a long time since I played with Kurama. It reminds me of the old days."

Yasuchika: "You've already harassed him enough when he was a child and you’re still greedy. If that's what you call love, then it's distorted. I feel sorry for Kura-rin."

Ibuki: "I don't need you to tell me about love. You are a misanthropic Onmyoji."

................

Yoshino: "Well, I'll be off then."

Yoritomo: "Are you sure about this, Yoshino?"

Yoshino: "Yes."

Kagetoki: "You really like strange things, don't you? Like going to wars."

The battle, said to be an outpost of Shogunate and the rebels, was about to begin.

Tamamo: “The war began between the Shogunate and the rebels’ respective countries. The two armies go to each other’s side of the battlefield, which has become a stalemate...”

Yoshino: “The two armies are not going all out ahead of the war. In other words...The aim was not to win the game outright, but to win the game in our favor.”

Kagetoki(smiles): “Well done.”

Tamamo: “Once again, I’m sorry I can’t be there for you.”

Tamamo’s shapely brows furrow languidly.

Yoshino: “That’s reassuring enough. Thank you, Tamamo.”

Yoritomo: “I’m sorry. I’d love to send him with you, but he’s got another job.”

Yoshino: “Yes. I understand.”

As a demon who has lived longer than Kurama, Tamamo has a wealth of knowledge about the other side of the sea.

Now under the pretense of being a guest from the Song Dynasty, he is helping to plan tactics for the war against the rebels.

(I’ll do the best I can with what I’ve got.)

Yoshino: “In a real battle against the rebels, you can’t rely on someone else all the time. It’s a good opportunity to practice.”

(Not only that.)

(If I, a pharmacist, go, I may be able to reduce the number of deaths on the battlefield.)

And the nursing regime we planned with everyone in the Shogunate.

If you can try it out on the actual battlefield it will be so much the better.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. I’d rather be doing something....

2. I have to be strong...(+4/+4)

3. If I keep trying...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yoshino: “Because I have to be strong...”

(To fight that Kurama proudly someday.)

Black feathers fluttered brightly in the scene behind my eyelids.

At that time...

Morinaga: “Ready, Yoshino.”

Shigehira: “.............”

------Part 3------

Morinaga: “Ready, Yoshino.”

Shigehira: “.............”

(They’re here.)

Morinaga-san and Shigehira-kun, who are going to this outpost, are already finished wearing their armor.

Yoshino: “I’m ready as I’ll always be.”

Shigehira: “I won’t listen to you whining once you’re on the battlefield. Okay?”

Morinaga: “I’m counting on you, but don’t take any chances.”

Yoshino: “Yes!”

I follow them tightly and put my feet on the stirrup of the horse that is being pulled.

Shigehira-kun and Morinaga-san, also jumped on their horses, too.

Yoritomo: “---Come home alive. For the sake of the Kamakura Shogunate and yourself.” (Spoilers: she’s not coming home. Come on! even if I don’t give spoilers here, I’m sure you guys will already understand that this is foreshadowing.)

Yoritomo-sama’s eyes, which usually have a teasing tinge, were serious today.

Yoshino: “.....I will.”

I replied with a strong will and went with Morinaga-san and Shigehira-kun to the soldiers.

............

A few days later, on a battlefield, the two armies arrive almost simultaneously...

As if to add fuel to the smoldering fire, the battle situation suddenly flared up.

Rebel soldier 1: “Enemy attack! Enemy attack!”

Rebel soldier 2: “Damn the Shogunate! How did they find out about our supply routes?”

Shogunate soldier 1: “Go! Push through----!”

The rebel wielded their swords in a desperate attempt to prevent the Shogunate soldiers from breaking through.

Swords clashed, arrows whizzed through the air, and the shouts of the soldiers filled the air.

Rebel soldier 1: “Ngh....this is not right. It wasn’t supposed to be this intense.”

Rebel soldier 2: “Oh, this is not a prelude.---- What the hell is going on?”

Rebel soldier 3: “No, no, no----”

Just when the rebel soldiers were moaning in despair----

Shogunate soldier 2: “Gwaa”

Rebel soldier 3: “......!”

Kurama: “----What a mess, I can’t stand it.”

As soon as Kurama, who had ridden in on his horse, jumped into the fray, he cuts down several soldiers with just one swing of his sword.

Rebel soldier 3: “Ku-Kurama-sama!”

Kurama: “It is shameful that a soldier of Yoshitsune should kneel on the ground. I’ll let you choose whether you want to be killed by me before the enemy kills you, or to die in vain in the service of the enemy.”

The heavy voice, which seems to push aside the clamour, naturally freezes friend and foe alike.

Shogunate soldiers 3: “Nn...don’t be frightened! He’s not Benkei or Yoichi, we don’t know his strength....”

Shogunate soldiers 4: “Yes! Don’t let the unknown soldier get away with it!”

Kurama(smiles): “.....Ha. It’s just that I’ve never had a name to tell you before. Why should I tell my name to a weak bug that going to be crushed under my feet, anyway?”

The white blade danced faster than the words, and by the time he had, finished several of the Shogunate’s soldiers had been knocked down without a sound.

Shogunate soldier 5: “Ah.......”

A few soldiers of the Shogunate realized that he was stronger than any normal human, began to retreat.

Kurama: “Too late. Not only were you born weak, but you have a fragile instinct to recognize the strong. Weak and stupid, don’t show me any more abominations than you already have.”

Rebel soldier 4: “Ah.....Kurama-sama, gave us a chance to win!”

Rebel soldier 5: “It's his words of encouragement. Even if we die, we can’t be called weak----!”

Awe and mortal fervour made the blood of the rebel soldiers boil.

They regained their momentum and pushed the Shogunate soldiers back again.

Kurama(Making the ‘I can’t understand humans’ face): “......... Samurai are so annoying.”

Kurama stated and swung his sword again.

.................

(.......It’s funny, the number of wounded is much higher than planned.)

Yoshino: “Excuse me, please bring the most seriously injured ones to this tent!”

Shogunate soldiers 6: “Yes!”

Rearguard troops were coming in and out of my tent.

Injured soldier: “Nn....Thank...you, Yoshino-san.”

Yoshino: “You don’t have to say anything. Everything will be fine.”

(Aside from the wound medicines I’ve been making....)

(With such a crowded situation, it’s going to be difficult to get the water needed for treatment.)

I stop the bleeding of the wounded soldier and wraps the torn cloth tightly around the wound.

Then----

Shigehira: “Yoshino-san!”

Part 2

#ikemen series #ikemen genjiden #ikemen genjiden kurama #ikemen mc #otome #cybird #cybird ikemen #cybird otome #main story translations

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starfiresupernova · 4 years

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The BAU and their Taylor Swift holy trinity

I know I’ve already made a bau/taylor swift post before, but i wanted to put more thought into it and elaborate a little more so here we go

PENELOPE

favorite album: Lover (it’s fun and pop-y and totally her aesthetic, she would bop to it all the time) favorite songs: 1. Paper Rings 2. Our Song 3. Gorgeous

EMILY

favorite album: reputation (it’s a bad bitch album with romantic undertones, it’s an album that screams emily to me and i think she’d love it) favorite songs: 1. I Know Places 2. Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince 3. So It Goes...

favorite album: Fearless (she seems like she’d love the country-pop early taylor stuff, and Fearless especially, but also the more sentimental family-centered songs) favorite songs: 1. seven 2. Fearless 3. invisible string

SPENCER

favorite album: folklore (i feel like this one is pretty self-explanatory. it’s such an intelligent yet also whimsical album, and he’d love everything about it. and he would also love Speak Now for the same reasons, but folklore is just better) favorite songs: 1. the lakes 2. Soon You’ll Get Better 3. Enchanted

DEREK

favorite album: reputation (he’s definitely the type to say he doesn’t like taylor swift but then blast this album on every road trip. he loves it) favorite songs: 1. ...Ready For It? 2. False God 3. Style

HOTCH

favorite album: Red (i don’t really know how to explain why this is his favorite, but i just feel it lolol) favorite songs: 1. Cornelia Street 2. This Love 3. Holy Ground

ROSSI

favorite album: folklore (it’s less pop-y and more subdued, though he definitely won’t admit that he hums shake it off to himself in the kitchen sometimes) favorite songs: 1. the last great american dynasty 2. Lover 3. The Last Time

LUKE

favorite album: 1989 (this is another one that i just feel in my soul. it’s one of his favorite albums of all time, i just know it) favorite songs: 1. I Wish You Would 2. Death By A Thousand Cuts 3. Delicate

TARA

favorite album: Speak Now (it has some of the more rock-like songs and we all know she likes rock music. plus it’s just an overall solid album and i feel like she appreciates it) favorite songs: 1. Forever And Always 2. State Of Grace 3. The Story Of Us

MATT

favorite album: Fearless (he and jj definitely bond over their love of old taylor, especially Fearless. idk why but maybe it’s because of their families?) favorite songs: 1. Afterglow 2. Love Story 3. Mine

ALEX

favorite album: folklore (she and spencer definitely discuss folklore a lot, i just know it. lyrically it’s the best, and alex knows this) favorite songs: 1. august 2. Sad Beautiful Tragic 3. illicit affairs

KATE

favorite album: Lover (she and garcia talk about it all the time, it’s a very fun album and i feel like kate likes the fun songs) favorite songs: 1. Dancing With Our Hands Tied 2. I Think He Knows 3. Red

ELLE

favorite album: reputation (a bad-bitch album for the baddest bitch i know) favorite songs: 1. You’re Not Sorry 2. I Did Something Bad 3. Dress

GIDEON

favorite album: folklore (the lakes was literally written about him asldjflsdkfj, also he likes it because it’s mellow) favorite songs: 1. epiphany 2. New Year’s Day 3. It’s Nice To Have A Friend

SEAVER

favorite album: Red (don’t hate me for giving her one, she isn’t a bad person she’s just boring aldsfdj ANYWAY, idk this is just another one i feel. she likes Red and that’s all i can say) favorite songs: 1. Back To December 2. This Is Me Trying 3. Everything Has Changed

CRUZ

favorite album: Speak Now (i had to make one for my man cruz. anyway, i just know Speak Now is his go-to because he’s a man of Taste) favorite songs: 1. Dear John 2. All Too Well 3. All You Had To Do Was Stay

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jazziehart · 3 years

Text

Taylor Swift Albums Reviews

Hello my lovely blog readers,

I want to thank those of you who stick around through all my crazy rants and long Glee posts. You guys are the real MVPs and I will always appreciate you.

Anyway onto why we're here, in the wake of Taylor rereleasing her albums I found it fitting to take a look back at her discorgaphy so far! Thanks to my good friend Aly, I decided to relisten to all of her albums which the order was randomly decided. I will be talking about the deluxe editions so enjoy!

Let's start off with the first album that was drawn first which was Red.

One of my favorite albums right off the bat with probably her best album cover. I remember how excited I was for 22, mostly because my girl Dianna Agron's name was in the liner notes. Let's dive into what I thought now about 9 years later!

Favorite Track: Begin Again Least Favorite Track: The Last Time (featuring Gary Lightbody) Bonus Track I Wish was on the main album: All of them!!! Favorite Bonus Track: The Moment I Knew Album Ranking: 6th/9

Overall I adore this album so so much. The only track I didn't care for in the least was The Last Time. I think you'll find a trend with me that my least favorite Tayor tracks tend to be her duets (the exception being Everything Has Changed which is also on this album and is the purest of all). The album has held up and even moreso I love it than the first time I listened. Crazy. Anyway onto the rankings of each song. DISCLAIMER: These are just my opinions and you can disagree with them but please be respectful.

1) Begin Again 2) The Moment I Knew 3) State of Grace (Acoustic Version) 4) I Almost Do 5) Stay Stay Stay 6) All Too Well 7) Everything Has Changed (featuring Ed Sheeran) 8) 22 9) Come Back...Be Here 10) Red 11) I Knew You Were Trouble 12) The Lucky One 13) We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together 14) Starlight 15) Girl at Home 16) Sad Beautiful Tragic 17) State of Grace 18) Holy Ground 19) Treacherous 20) The Last Time (featuring Gary Lightbody)

Honestly I adore this album so much as a whole and ranking every song was so hard. Holy Ground honestly had a lot of potiental I hated the arrangement but if I heard an acoustic version I would be sold, much like State of Grace which I wasn't huge on the original but the acoustic I'm obsessed with. Moving onto our second album which is one of Taylor's newest.

folklore! Funny enough on first listen I wasn't as into it as everyone else was but trust me, the relisten definitely helped me change my mind. I also heard the lakes for the first time which I loved. Since it's the only bonus track I'm going to say I definitely wished it had made the main album over some of the other songs on it. Let's dive into my thoughts and rankings.

Favorite Track: mad woman Least Favorite Track: invisible string Album Ranking: 9th/9

1) mad woman 2) the 1 3) the last great american dynasty 4) mirrorball 5) hoax 6) peace 7) seven 8) august 9) my tears richocet 10) the lakes 11) cardigan 12) betty 13) illicit affairs 14) epiphany 15) this is me trying 16) exile (featuring Bon Iver) 17) invisible string

Okay I know cardigan and betty being so low is going make people unhappy but honestly I just loved the other songs better listed above it. So many gorgeous songs and a great era for Taylor. It's not my favorite era and still falls in my lower half of her albums but I can appreciate the tracks on it more than I did before with the relisten.

Now onto Taylor's most recent album which came up next in our randomization in evermore

Unlike folklore on original listen I absolutely adored this album and had it in my top tier Taylor albums but will that opinion hold up? Let's find out.

Favorite Track: no body, no crime (featuring HAIM) Least Favorite Track: gold rush Favorite Bonus Track: it's time to go Album Ranking: 7th/9

1) no body, no crime (featuring HAIM) 2) happiness 3) champagne problems 4) willow 5) cowboy like me 6) dorothea 7) majorie 8) evermore (featuring Bon Iver) 9) closure 10) long story short 11) ‘tis the damn season 12) ivy 13) it’s time to go 14) coney island (featuring The National) 15) right where you left me 16) tolerate it 17) gold rush Okay let's talk about the relisten, it still held up but to me the one thing I didn't love about the album was the bonus tracks didn't add much to the original album so I kind of see why they were bonus tracks. I enjoyed the album none the less and I do think that most of my opinions are somewhat popular. I only see people being mad about 'tis the damn season being so low but honestly 1-11, I loved all the tracks so.

Up next is the rerelease that started it all, Fearless!

Now let's see after 13 years (hey Taylor's lucky number) if my opinion of this iconic album changed. Back in the day I was so obsessed with this album so let's see how I feel now!

Favorite Track: You're Not Sorry Least Favorite Track: The Way I Loved You Bonus Tracks I Wish was on the main album: Forever and Always (Piano Verison) and Come in with the Rain Favorite Bonus Track: Forever and Always (Piano Version) Album Ranking: 4th/9

1) You’re Not Sorry 2) White Horse 3) Love Story 4) You Belong with Me 5) Change 6) Forever and Always (Piano Version) 7) Fifteen 8) Hey Stephen 9) Come in with the Rain 10) Jump Then Fall 11) Fearless 12) Forever and Always 13) The Best Day 14) The Other Side of the Door 15) Breathe (featuring Colbie Cailaitt) 16) Untouchable 17) SuperStar 18) Tell Me Why 19) The Way I Loved You

I still remember when this album was first coming out how jazzed and excited I was for it. It was highly anticipated for me being that I had fallen in love with Taylor from her debut album and listening back it still holds up as one of my favorite albums. The only two tracks I wasn't into back then and still am not into are Tell Me Why and The Way I Loved You. Other than those two tracks the entire album is incredible to listen to. I'm so excited to hear Taylor's versions of all these songs and who knows maybe my mind will change on some of them.

Moving onto the next album to be randomly selected which is almost every Swiftie's favorite 1989.

Funny enough, originally this album isn't in my top favorites so who knows if my opinion will change on a relisten. Let's find out!

Favorite Track: Clean Least Favorite Track: I Wish You Would Bonus Tracks I Wish was on the main album: All of them?! Come on Taylor what's up with 1989 and Red having like some of their best tracks as bonus tracks. I'm mad haha. Favorite Bonus Track: Wonderland (gee I wonder why) Album Ranking: 5th/9

1) Clean 2) Wonderland 3) Wildest Dreams 4) This Love 5) You are in Love 6) Welcome to New York 7) Shake It Off 8) Blank Space 9) Bad Blood 10) Style 11) How You Get the Girl 12) Out of the Woods 13) New Romantics 14) I Know Places 15) All You Had to Do was Stay 16) I Wish You Would

Okay listening back. I now get the hype behind it. Listening to it with bonus tracks honestly makes all the difference. No joke. It's a much better album with the bonus tracks added. Honestly if Wonderland and You are in Love were on the main album it would've been top tier to me. Thank God for the deluxe version but team Taylor what is up with you hiding some of her best tracks and only releasing them on the bonus tracks? I'm mad. Also speaking on Wonderland, I adore the song even without the rumours of it being about my favorite celebrity Dianna Agron. Had the bonus tracks been on the main album it would higher but as a whole I love the album.

And now for our next album, which is reputation!

This is probably Taylor's most controversial albums, some love it and some hate it. I actually am somewhere in the middle. I love some of the tracks while others I could've done without. Let's see where it goes for me listening back.

Favorite Song: New Year's Day Least Favorite: Dancing with Our Hands Tied Album Ranking: 8th/9

1) New Year's Day 2) Gorgeous 3) Don’t Blame Me 4) This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things 5) I Did Something Bad 6) Dress 7) Delicate 8) Call It What You Want To 9) ...Ready for It? 10) Look What You Made Me Do 11) King of my Heart 12) Getaway Car 13) So It Goes... 14) End Game (featuring Ed Sheeran and Future) 15) Dancing with Our Hands Tied

Okay I feel like my choices here are controversal especially Getaway Car being pretty low on the album. Honestly I liked the song just wasn't into the hype that everyone else said about it, sorry you guys. Also Dancing with Our Hands Tied on the ALBUM is my least favorie song. I absolutely adored Taylor's acoustic version that was in the rep Tour. Had she released that on the album it would be after Look What You Made Me Do. The arrangement on the album I just didn't care for and I prefer acoustic Taylor which I think a lot of you gather from my top picks.

Anyway moving onto to our next album that was randomized which is...Taylor Swift!

Ah yes the album that started it all. 15 years ago I discovered Taylor Swift via this album thanks to CMT. I was a huge country music stan back in the day who knew how this one album would lead to a career I've been following for 15 years. Now how does this album hold up? Let's find out!

Favorite Song: Should've Said No Least Favorite Song: A Perfectly Good Heart Bonus Tracks I Wish was on the main album: Invisible and I'm Only Me When I'm with You Favorite Bonus Track: Invisible Album Ranking: 3rd/9

1) Should’ve Said No 2) Invisible 3) Cold as You 4) Picture to Burn 5) Our Song 6) The Outside 7) A Place in This World 8) Teardrops on My Guitar 9) Stay Beautiful 10) Tim McGraw 11) I’m Only Me When I’m with You 12) Mary’s Song (Oh My My My) 13) Tied Together with a Smile 14) A Perfectly Good Heart

This album still holds up 15 years later and made me so nostalgic. This had to be the hardest album for songs to rank thus far. Taylor hit it out of the park on her very first album crazy. She set the bar very high, funny enough it's the first album that a bonus track is my least favorite track but the entire album is a great listen, especially if you love country. It's very different from anything else Taylor did but that's what's so charming about it.

And now onto our second to last album which is another one of my favorites and the only album Taylor wrote fully on her own, Speak Now.

The album cover is up there with Red as my favorite and I'm excited to listen back to this album. I remember how much I enjoyed it when it was first released. Excited to see what I think 11 years later. Let's find out.

Favorite Track: Haunted (Acoustic Version) Least Favorite Track: Last Kiss Bonus Tracks I Wish was on the main album: All of them. Dang it Taylor they deserved to be on the main album. Favorite Bonus Track: Haunted (Acoustic Version) Album Ranking: 2nd/9

1) Haunted (Acoustic Version) 2) Long Live 3) Haunted 4) Better Than Revenge 5) Back to December (Acoustic Version) 6) Mine 7) Back to December 8) Mean 9) If This Was a Movie 10) Innocent 11) Dear John 12) Speak Now 13) Ours 14) Never Grow Up 15) The Story of Us 16) Superman 17) Enchanted 18) Sparks Fly 19) Last Kiss

One of Taylor's absolute best albms and it was incredibly hard to rank these songs. I know people are going to be mad about Enchanted being low but I just didn't love it as much as the other tracks on the album, this after all is one of the best albums she ever released so it's incredibly hard to make the call.

Moving onto our final album which I've called my absolute favorite, Lover.

It's only been an year since its release but will it hold up as my favorite album? Let's find out!

Favorite Track: Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince Least Favorite Track: It’s Nice to Have a Friend Album Ranking: 1st/9

1) Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince 2) Paper Rings 3) Lover 4) Soon You’ll Get Better (featuring The Chicks) 5) You Need to Calm Down 6) The Archer 7) The Man 8) Daylight 9) Afterglow 10) I Think He Knows 11) False God 12) Death by a Thousand Cuts 13) Cruel Summer 14) Cornelia Street 15) I Forgot That You Existed 16) ME! (featuring Brendan Urie from Panic! at the Disco) 17) London Boy 18) It’s Nice to Have a Friend

Yep it held up. This album is my favorite thing Taylor ever released. It was a tough call because I loved all of her top albums so much. Miss Americana still is my favorite performance which is no surprise, I was obsessed when this song came out 2 years ago. It's Nice to Have a Friend is the weakest track on the album but by no means is it a bad track. The entire album is a great listen all the way through, the only song that's hard to listen to especially if you have a sick parent "Soon You'll Get Better" I literally bawled after I finished it. So if you don't want an emotional song that might make you sad, it's best to skip it even though it's one of favorite tracks.

And that does it for us here. Hope you enjoyed my album reviews! Just to recap here's the rankings of all of Taylor's Albums:

1) Lover 2) Speak Now 3) Taylor Swift 4) Fearless 5) 1989 6) Red 7) evermore 8) reputation 9) folklore

Excited to see what's to come with the rerelease of Fearless and to hear the songs released from the vault. I've heard a few of her unreleased songs and honestly there are quite a few that I'm hoping are released. Thanks for enjoying us on this journey as always be kind and always spread love <3

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ad1thi · 4 years

Text

au masterlist

okay ive been meaning to do this for a while, and ive finally got the time to do it so here’s a list of all of my aus!! this is divided by ship for ease, and i do have a lot of pieces that don’t fit into any specific au - so this post is specifically for aus (this is a rly long post so im hiding it under a read more) (also please nobody comment on how similar the summaries are ive never had to think of how im summarising these aus before this post)

all my writing on tumblr // all my writing on ao3

buckytony

1. your pain (is my burden to bear) AU

Summary: soulmate AU where you can feel your soulmate’s pain, and marks that originate from your soulmate’s injuries can be found on your body

2. target and assassin AU

Summary: The Asset has been tasked with the mission of killing Antonia Stark. Falling in love with her along the way was never part of the plan.

3. park bench AU

Summary: they’re both running from their past. in New York, they find each other.

4. taste of your lips AU

Summary: TVD au. Bucky wasn’t planning to stick around in New York, just drop in long enough to fix whatever his brother had fucked up and then leave. But then he meets Toni Stark, and against all odds - he finds himself staying in the one city he’d sworn never to step foot in for all of his immortal life.

5. the second (love of his life) AU

Summary: greek gods AU, Aphrodite!Bucky x Hephaestus!Bucky . Bucky has spent over a thousand years resenting his marriage to Tony, content to ignore his husband in favour of his lover, Steve. but when he’s captured by Joann Schmidt and its Tony, not Steve who comes to his rescue - Bucky finds himself falling for the husband he spent so many years ignoring. Is it too late, or can he fix a marriage that was doomed from the start?

6. waste my time AU

Summary: Tony doesn’t do boyfriends. Tony has a boyfriend - Tiberius, or he will anyway once he convinces Ty that breaking up with him was a horrible idea. But then he meets James Barnes at a bar, and suddenly things don’t seem so black and white anymore

7. elite AU

Summary: a/b/o dynamics. Bucky isn’t planning on starting anything up in his new school, and would’ve been completely content to keep his head down until he graduates. But after a chance kiss with a bambi-eyed omega at a party in the beginning of the school year, things weren’t looking so simple anymore

8. 1000 lives (for you) AU

Summary: James hasn’t been subjected to the Chair in close to 3 years. After all, why would HYDRA use the Chair to control him when they’ve got his soulmate instead?

9. Secret Love Song AU

Summary: Marrying Steve wasn’t what Toni had in mind when she pictured the rest of her life, but it wasn’t any hardship. Of course, that was before James came into her life. (this au has been race and gender bent since the original post)

10. Dilwale AU

Summary: mafia au. Tony and Bucky used to be in love. Now they’ve sworn never to see each other again. ‘Course, MJ and Peter falling for each other puts a kink in those plans.

11. K3G AU

Summary: desi au. As a member of the illustrious Barnes dynasty, Bucky is expected to undertake certain responsibilities; chief of which is marrying someone from a respectable family. Tony Stark from Chandi Chowk might just put a wrench in those plans.

12. buckytony teen wolf AU

Summary: when Tony and Rhodey went searching for a dead body in the woods, a rogue Alpha werewolf was not what they were expecting to find. Overnight, their entire lives change

13. undercover cop AU

Summary: After the events of Afghanistan, Tony can’t bear to work at Stark Industries anymore. Handing over the reins of the company to Pepper, he quits and starts working at Midtown High. but the US government isn’t about to let one of the country’s biggest assets work at a public highschool without even the smallest bit of protection. Enter Agent Barnes, or as Tony knows him - Midtown High’s new gym teacher

14. the K2 AU

Summary: Bucky just wanted to live his life without the Army ever finding him again. Saving Tony Carbonell at a metro station and getting sucked into the intricate life of the italian mafia was never on the agenda.

15. Mara Dyer AU

Summary: fem! Bucky. Bucky was an extremely normal 16 year old girl - if you discounted the fact that her bestfriend and boyfriend died after an abandoned building collapsed on them; and that she was the only person to survive. Then bodies started dropping around her, people that she imagined dying who died in the exact grotesque way she pictured is. and suddenly, there’s nothing really normal about her at all.

16. ACOMAF AU

Summary: fem! Bucky. Bucky kills a wolf. Except its not a wolf, its a Faerie and the High Lord of the Spring Court comes collecting his pound of flesh.

17. centre of his universe AU

Summary: The Asset is fascinated by the Stark Heir.

18. one shot AU

Summary: highschool AU. nerd! tony x punk!bucky. Bucky has has a crush on Tony Stark for his entire highschool career, but he’s never thought he had a shot - choosing instead to pine uselessly while Tony dates what feels like the entire highschool body. Bucky’s resigned himself to the belief that Tony will never be his, until Tony breaks up with longtime girlfriend Rumiko Fujikawa, and suddenly - Bucky has one shot.

19. 1000 lives (for you) AU

Summary: James Buchanan Barnes and Anthony Edward Stark are impossible soulmates - separated by time, distance and space but brought together by horrible pain and suffering. This is their story. Starts from TWS, and is largely canon compliant.

stevetony

1. student of the year AU

Summary: Steve was supposed to keep his head down, get good grades and get a scholarship to a university far enough away that he wasn’t even breathing the same air as his family. But then he becomes bestfriends with Bucky, falls in love with Bucky’s boyfriend Tony - and things get a bit more complicated along the way

2. just friends(?) AU

Summary: Tony did this, thing where he fell in love with his friends. All of his friends, except maybe Steve. (too bad nobody told Steve)

3. captain americana and the heartbreak prince AU

Summary: Steve Rogers has known Tony Stark for 10 years, 4 months and 11 days. He’s been in love with him for the exact same time.

4. om shanti om AU

Summary: It should be noted, for the sake of posterity - that Steve usually wasn’t one to buy into the craze that surrounded celebrities. At the end of the day, they were still people. Tony Stark though, that was his exception.

5. stevetony lawyer AU

Summary: raising a 14 year old boy while juggling a demanding job at the DA’s office wasn’t easy, but Steve made it work. It wasn’t an easy life, but it was a good life. They were happy - and then Peter gets charged with the murder of his classmate Wade Wilson and everything falls apart. With his son facing life in prison, Steve does the only thing he can and calls the best defence lawyer he knows - his almost fiance Tony Stark.

6. schitt’s creek AU

Summary: David! Tony x Patrick! Steve

7. kidnapped! tony stark AU

Summary: Tony gets kidnapped and Steve loses his mind.

8. zindagi na milengi dobara AU

Summary: desi AU. in college, Steve, Sam and Bucky made a promise. 3 weeks, 3 activities, 3 boys and the country of Spain. 15 years later, Sam is getting married and its time for them to make good on that promise, to give him the send-off of the century. But between Sam’s conflicted feelings over his engagement, unresolved tension that threatens to break up the trio; Bucky’s secret agenda and Steve’s workaholic tendencies - it definitely promises to be a trip they’ll never forget

9. arranged marriage AU

Summary: desi AU. Steve has been in love with Tony for years. So when his mother asks him to settle down, he impulsively sends a rishta to the Stark residence; and thinks nothing of it. And then - they reply.

10. betrothed AU

Summary: Tony and Steve are princes of neighbouring kingdoms, promised to each other at birth. But the life of a royal is not as smooth as it seems.

11. the salacious bisexual life of tony stark AU

Summary: As a journalist, Steve Rogers is expected to write articles on a great many number of things. He didn’t realise that could include his ex boyfriend.

12. Civil War AU

Summary: everything’s the same except: (1) Steve and Tony are dating, (2) Steve doesn’t know Tony is Iron Man

13. stevetony lucifer AU

Summary: Tony is tired of being the Devil, tired of following Howard’s order, tired of all the bullshit that comes with divinity. Malibu isn’t great but its a refreshing change of pace, a nice break from the screaming and the pain. And then he meets Detective Steve Rogers and Malibu suddenly has a lot more to offer.

Note: this AU was started by @imposter-human and all credits for it rightfully go to her. i just piggybacked onto it and added a couple of my own thoughts, but this AU is hers.

rhodeytony

1. Dostana AU

Summary: Rhodey and Tony desperately need a new apartment, and there’s a brilliant one that’s close to where they both work. There’s only catch though, the landlord, Pepper (who is stunning) only accepts applications from couples. After a night drowning their sorrows in the local bar, they come up with the brilliant idea to pose as a gay couple for the apartment. They move in, and come up with increasingly stupid ways to impress their new landlord without exposing that their marriage is a shamNeither bestfriend likes to lose, and both of them have their eyes set on one person: Pepper (or do they?)

2. rajput tony stark AU

Summary: desi AU. Toni Stark comes from a long line of rajput royalty. (this au has been genderbent since the original post)

3. civil war rhodeytony AU

Summary: civil war scenes re-imagined with an established rhodeytony and a past stevetonyrhodey otv.

4. me and my bestfriend but make it rhodeytony

Summary: memories of me and LRP but re-imagined as Tony and Rhodey

5. meri pyaari bindu AU

Summary: To the rest of the world, he’s always be a Mr someone - but to Rhodey, he has and forever will be, his very first love, Tony.

6. doctor who AU

Summary: Doctor! Tony Stark x River Song! fem James Rhodes

7. female tony AU

Summary: Tony doesn’t like Rhodey’s new girlfriend. (he’s still trying to figure out why)

stevebuckytony

1. stephanie rogers AU

Summary: Steph Rogers was never supposed to find herself on the frontlines of World War 2. Then again, she wasn’t supposed to do a lot of things. - the mcu re-imagined with genderbent Steve. eventual stevetonybucky otv

2. on your knees AU

Summary: dom/sub AU. Tony is relearning what it means to be alive in a world where he’s not in the clutches of HYDRA, and misinterprets a scene between dom! Steve and sub! Bucky

samtonybucky

1. president tony stark AU

Summary: Tony Stark is sworn in at the 46th President of the United States. Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes are assigned to his detail.

buckytonynat

1. the Carbonell Family AU

Summary: Anthony Carbonell is the patriarch of the Italian Mafia, Natasha and James are his bodyguards (and lovers). Steve Rogers is the FBI agent who’s vowed to bring him down.

clarktony (superiron)

1. bound by blood AU

Summary: when Clark’s parents die, Howard Stark takes him in. Desperate to recreate the serum by any means necessary he starts experimenting on both his new foster child, and his own flesh and blood son in an attempt to create the next supersoldier. Years later, Clark has broken free of Howard and is now Superman; but he and Tony are connected in ways he couldn’t even begin to understand

gen

1. morgan stark’s villain origin story AU

Summary: Morgan Stark isn’t a normal girl. It might have something to do with the death of her father.

2. blind tony stark AU

Summary: Tony loses his sight when he’s 15 after a kidnapping gone wrong.

3. desi! tony stark AU

Summary: just a link to all pieces that have desi! tony stark in them.

4. slytherin! tony stark AU

Summary: just a link to all pieces that have slytherin! tony stark in them.

5. AU-gust 2020

Summary: a masterlist to all the AUs i did for AU-gust, spanning various ships and fandoms

6. sins of the father AU

Summary: Harley has always known who his birth father is. It just never occurred to him, that his birth father might not know who his son is. im3 compliant. slightly aged up harley keener (he’s in highschool not middle school)

#my writing #au masterlist #this genuinely took ages to compile so please appreciate this #and give my aus some love #making this made me realise how many AUs that i have to update or extrapolate #some of these AUs will probably never be revisited #but who knows maybe if someone shows interest in a dead AU #i might find inspiration to add to it

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darealpatyu · 3 years

Text

The Kingmaker Review: A Story of How One Family Screws the Philippines

Without a doubt, The Kingmaker is one of the best documentary films that I’ve seen in a while. I don’t know if that’s because it’s about a social issue that continues to haunt the Filipino people, or because the Marcoses are such a rare display of narcissism and greed that you can’t help but be astounded by the sheer incredulity of it all. The Marcoses are like the Filipino Kardashians, and it was both a treat and a pain to watch the whole circus of their lives unfold.

Could a Filipino filmmaker have made a documentary like this?

I would say that a Filipino couldn’t have created a documentary with this level of bluntness and sarcasm. Filipinos are more than capable of being sarcastic and artistic at the same time, but as a citizen living in this country, you can’t release a film as critical of current politicians as The Kingmaker was and not suffer consequences. You’d probably wake up dead if you did. Also, I think that the Marcoses wouldn’t have allowed a Filipino team to interview them and ask them about their regime because they already know that they have a band of haters in the country, and only haters want to find out more about that period in life. The Marcoses don’t openly acknowledge the haters, so I highly doubt they would’ve agreed to a personal interview like that. A foreigner conducting the interview, on the other hand, is a different story. The Marcoses love attention. If there’s anything they love more than money, it’s international acclaim. Interestingly enough, studies show that a telling sign of psychopathic tendency is their propensity to crave attention. I’m not directly saying that the Marcoses are psychopaths, but I’m sure you can piece two and two together. Anyways, Lauren Greenfield is an internationally recognized filmmaker, so you can imagine Imelda’s excitement when she found that she was to be her next subject. In the film, one of Imelda’s first lines is literally, “I miss the clout of being the first lady.” She misses the clout, everyone! Who even says that? Getting back to the point, I’m certain that the Marcoses and other prominent people agreed to be interviewed because they thought that they would be having a beautiful historical film about them – which is exactly what they got, in all fairness. Not only was this interview done for the clout, but it was probably also done because they knew that this documentary wouldn’t harm them in any way. They’ve already successfully revised history in the Philippines – they have a steadfast Marcos loyalist base that is only getting bigger. They literally have nothing to lose by taking part in this documentary. Think like Imelda – “I lose nothing, AND become relevant in the international sphere once again; I’ve gotta do it!!”

How were Imelda Marcos’ answers as the film progressed?

As the film progressed, Imelda was trying to portray herself as the victim of everything that had happened. She was trying to turn the experiences of all those innocent people who had suffered into her experience of suffering. I really lost my cool when she talked about how she was the mother of the Philippines and how she had been wrongly stripped away from her child. She would constantly try to victimize herself, probably because she realized that the interviewer’s questions were meant to attack her character, and not to give her the positive clout that she was expecting. When Imelda’s words of care for the country is contrasted with the reality of what happened in Calauit Island, it’s clear that she’s delusional. The historical information presented in the film was meant to be an antithesis to every word that came out of Imelda’s mouth because that’s the best way to expose a liar. You hear her saying she brought the beauty of exotic animals to the Filipino people, and then you see that she displaced over 200 families. You hear her feeling sad about the impoverished state of the country, and then you see her boasting extremely expensive paintings and giving out thousand-peso bills from plundered wealth. You hear her pride about the peace that Martial Law brought, and then you see the blatant disregard for human rights that occurred as accounted for by the Martial Law victims themselves. This presentation of historical truths, presented side-by-side with the proud lies of Imelda, was flawlessly executed. I could clearly deduce how far from the truth Imelda’s words were, and I’m certain that everyone who watched it experienced the same.

Thoughts on Sandro Marcos?

Talking about Sandro Marcos and his future role in Philippine politics, I do think that he has intentions to have a career in politics. I saw this 2017 article writing that Sandro had earned a Master’s degree in Development Studies from the London School of Economics. Given that his family has a solid reputation for lying about their academic credentials, I don’t think it would come as a surprise if he were lying too. Because the Marcoses heavily publicize Sandro’s achievements, I really think that they’re planning to make him continue the Marcos legacy of screwing our country as well. In the film, there was this part where in front of a crowd, Bongbong was telling Sandro that he’s ready to become a politician already – even though Sandro was only 21 years old at the time. This kind of mental conditioning – that you’re entitled to a successful political career even though you’ve achieved absolutely nothing and don’t have the passion for service – is the kind of conditioning that creates dictators at worst, and at best, corrupt political dynasties. When you have parents that constantly push you into thinking that your destiny is to dominate Philippine politics, you end up thinking that you’re entitled to it – willing to do anything to get what you want to make your parents and yourself proud. As a young adult, your entire self-worth becomes grounded on whether you become a successful politician or not. I assume Sandro’s conditioning to become a politician is the type of parenting that Bongbong was raised with, and look at how great he turned out, right?

My Three Takeaways on Leadership and Diplomatic Relations

The three takeaways about leadership and diplomatic relations that I got from the film are: 1) you need to be open to honest feedback to be a good leader, 2) just because you personally think a certain plan of action is going to be good for the group doesn’t mean that it’s good for the group, and 3) be critical of yourself and listen to your own words before and after speaking. My first learning was inspired by Imelda Marcos and her inability to acknowledge her haters. She seems like the kind of woman who listens to no one but herself. She hasn’t had any character development after all these years, and in the film, when she showed the picture frame of her acquittal from thousands of crimes, she had the audacity to say “the truth always wins” or something to that effect. She’s not open to feedback at all. My second learning was inspired by when Imelda brought all those animals to Calauit Island. She thought it would bring beauty to the Philippines when it actually had the opposite effect. My third takeaway is inspired by the fact that Imelda thinks she solved the Cold War. Leaders really need to listen to their own words and analyze their statements to understand if what they’re saying is factual and makes sense. If I were to compound all my takeaways into one unified idea, my one great learning would be: A great leader does not do anything that a Marcos would do.

What historical facts did I uncover through the film?

During the film, there were a lot of significant historical facts that I didn’t know about; these facts should really be taught in school. The historical facts that I was not aware of were: 1) exotic animals were brought to Calauit Island, 2) Ferdinand Marcos had affairs with other women, and 3) the reason why Imelda was the chosen diplomat was that the Marcoses were anticipating a coup d’etat. Also, I don’t know if this historical fact is verified but it shocked me when Imelda said that she checked into a psychiatric hospital before her husband became president. Is that true? I’m sure you can understand why I’m a bit wary of Imelda’s stories.

The Big Conclusion

To conclude this lengthy blog entry, I think that the greatest lesson to be learned from this film is that leaders are here to serve us, and not the other way around. They are not gods – they are fallible and must be held accountable for their mistakes. If we fear our leaders, follow them blindly, and make excuses for their incompetence, we encourage a culture of fascism, fanaticism, and corruption. Sadly, a parallel reality of the Marcos regime is happening today. If a dictator will not take advantage of the current political climate now, one will eventually find a way soon. That’s why this film should be making waves and reaching the masses. If only more of us knew about what is happening in the political landscape, we’d take the problematic status quo seriously. This documentary deserves to be acknowledged as educational material for the sole reason that history is being rewritten as we speak, and it is the duty of those who know the truth to let everybody know as well. There are so many material facts that remain unknown and hidden from the public, and it’s ridiculous that people don’t know about them. People need to know because we might just make the same mistake again, and that’s sad.

In conclusion, MARCOS IS NOT A HERO. THE FACT THAT THERE’S A MARCOS LOYALIST BASE IMPARTS A SENSE OF URGENCY TO THOSE WHO KNOW THE TRUTH. HISTORY MIGHT REPEAT ITSELF.

We really don’t want to see what happens if it does. #NeverAgain

#cobibmo imeldamarcos sandromarcos ferdinandmarcos NeverAgain

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mysticalmusicwhispers · 4 years

Note

Do you have any headcanons for any asian characters in hetalia?

Thanks for the ask anon!

The Asians (as a group and individually) have my heart so you can expect a lot of headcanons for them. I’ve posted a list of China headcanons here (scroll down and you’ll find them eventually), but I’ll probably put new ones in this ask too. Anyway:

- All the Asians love to take food pictures! I know this is a “fashionable thing” to do all over the world nowadays, but I feel like the Asian countries are like the epitome of food pictures. Taiwan, HK, Japan, South Korea, and maybe Macau would do this the most. They’d probably run a joint social media account just for food pictures (as well as food selfies, since they’re all super photogenic). I also think they might compete with each other to take the best pictures, and have people vote on whose is the best??

Also just imagine China cooking the food for them and then all the young’uns crowding around the plate taking pictures for a long time, after 5 minutes they hear China yell “Hey! The food’s going to get cold if you don’t start EATING!” *mutters “Sheesh, they’re too phone addicted”*

- A lot of people headcanon Yao/China as the boomer of the Asians (and in general), and make him like an old man not knowing how to use a phone and everything. But… literally, real China has so much social media and internet stuff, like they’ve literally almost phased out using cash because everyone just pays for stuff using WeChat on their phones… like literally, this stuff is way ahead of America’s cash rn, so I think China would be able to absorb his people’s phone/internet prowess and not be so “boomer-y” like everyone thinks?? I have to admit that the boomer China situation would be pretty funny but I just don’t think it’s very realistic?

- Ok this part is just a rant about South Korea. WHy in the worLd does he need to be all perverted???? Like why is he so obsessed with people’s body parts/breasts???? Like what, why can you not make him a normal person who is a tech savvy enthusiastic photogenic Asian who is definitely a nerdy jock (if those exist) instead of some random groper??? Ok anyway, I’ve got no idea what’s up with canon SK but I think he’d be like the Denmark in the asians? Very excitable, friendly, and overall gives off cool vibes. Also I think he just pretends to be dumb sometimes to make people laugh, but can read the mood pretty well even if people don’t think he can. He’s also pretty smart and good with technology, and can strike up conversations with a lot of people really quickly (this also leads to him getting a lot of connections if it’s in a Human AU) Overall, I think modern day SK’s got his heart in the right place, he just might mess up a few times.

- Ancient Times: the Asians in history are kinda complicated, because a) HK, Taiwan, and Macau are pretty much irrelevant right now, b) I am clueless about Southeast Asian history so idk what Thailand and Vietnam are doing at that time, and c) China, Japan, and Korea weren’t exactly friends all the time (and they weren’t really friends from WWI to the Korean War). Also to complicate stuff, Korea had three kingdoms: Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla; Silla apparently took over the other two later (with the help of the Chinese Tang dynasty) and became Unified Korea, and then the Korean War happened and it split again. So, idk what’s up with them (canon makes it more complicated because China took in Japan, I assume he would’ve taken Korea or the 3 kingdoms in as well because there’s a lot of shared history/trade/alliances between those three). There’s a lot of backstabbing and wars and stuff, some between China and Japan, some between China and Korea vs Japan, some between Korea and Japan, etc. If the countries were physically kids, I guess you could reason it out that they were just small bastards who were really rowdy and liked to fight, but I think that at least China would have been in his late teens/early 20s, and he took in Japan before most of the wars, so maybe that’s just Japan being a rebellious kid? Idk man East Asian history is complicated

- I think the young’uns are all fans of something (I think Japan and HK and maybe Taiwan are anime/manga fans, and SK likes his kpop idols) and they always get China to come along with them resignedly, to a convention or concert or whatever. But let’s be real, he hates on the others’ stuff but watches his own tv dramas just fine (although he hates the characters’ decisions a lot and rants a lot too)

- They get so competitive during sports! Especially at big things like the Olympics, or any international ____ competition (like swimming or something with lots of events). I think everybody would roast China for always failing soccer at FIFA (mens or womens) even if they themselves didn’t get in (usually Japan and Korea qualify, and they might even make it to like round of 8 or something). Other events, they’d just root for their own team and possibly make bets as to who’s going to win.

- I don’t know why China doesn’t have glasses in his design because literally so many people are nearsighted!!! (me included hhh) but idk I guess an explanation is he used to wear them and then was teased by his kids for being an old grandpa so he got contacts instead or something

- And because of genetics or something I think HK and Taiwan would also have nearsightedness but (I think in Taiwan at least) the trend is to get laser eye surgery, so I think both of them would’ve gotten it so they could keep looking cOoL (or something)

- All of them like TEA of some kind. Japan and China prefer to stick with the normal tea (brewed with tea leaves and stuff) but Taiwan loves bubble tea, and HK and Korea prefer iced tea more? But I think they’d all be able to switch between different types and not complain (except China, the old man)

- If China forgot he had a meeting scheduled and on that day, he invited all the others to his house, I think he’d begrudgingly put Japan in charge and leave, but I think Japan would let the others do whatever they want (he lowkey loves pranking China) and by the time China is back the house would either be wrecked or they’d went through all his stuff and now have a hoard of private things to ask him. China would throw them all out and then somehow find a way to get back at Japan

- I read a headcanon somewhere that they all think their own cooking is the best, and that would be very funny to write, but I think at dinners and stuff they’d all bring their favorite dish and just share, because nostalgia, sometimes they just feel like eating stuff that reminds them of their past or when they were at ____’s house (eg. Japan and Korea with Chinese food, Taiwan with Japanese food, etc.)

- Lots of family arguing and mutual pranks

- Lots and lots of low and high key roasts and lots of sarcasm (especially from the older ones).

Taiwan: “How do you think this dress looks?”

China: “Like you took fashion advice as bad as England’s cooking”

Japan: “I hate to say this, but China is 100% on point.”

Taiwan: D:

- Disapproval of clothing! China arguing at his kids that their clothes are too unconservative or show too much skin or something, and his kids arguing back that he dresses like he blindly picked out clothes without opening his eyes

OK yeah that’s it thanks for listening if you made it down here! I was originally intending to include Thailand and Macau and Vietnam but then realized I have next to nothing for them so… I’m sorry if you wanted some about them! Take my humblest apologies. Anyway, you probably noticed the Asians have my heart and definitely ask for more if you want! I’d never deny the chance to think about what dumb stuff they’d do lol

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fromtheringapron · 4 years

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WCW Starrcade 1990

Date: December 16, 1990.

Location: Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, MO.

Attendance: 7,200.

Commentary: Jim Ross and Paul Heyman.

Results:

1. Bobby Eaton defeated The Z Man.

2. Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament, Round 1: The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott) (USA) defeated Col. DeKlerk and Sgt. Krueger (South Africa).

3. Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament, Round 1: Konan and Rey Misterio (Mexico) defeated Chris Adams and Norman Smiley (United Kingdom).

4. Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament, Round 1: Mr. Saito and The Great Muta (Japan) defeated Rip Morgan and Jacko Victory (New Zealand).

5. Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament, Round 1: Salman Hashimikov and Victor Zangiev (Russia) defeated Danny Johnson and Troy Montour (Canada).

6. Michael Wallstreet (with Alexandra Yorke) defeated Terry Taylor.

7. The Skyscrapers (Sid Vicious and Danny Spivey) defeated The Big Cat and The Motor City Maniac.

8. Tommy Rich and Ricky Morton (with Robert Gibson) defeated The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael PS Hayes and Jimmy Garvin) (with Little Richard Marley).

9. Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament, Semi-Final: The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott) (USA) defeated Konan and Rey Misterio (Mexico).

10. Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament, Semi-Final: Mr. Saito and The Great Muta (Japan) defeated Salman Hashimikov and Victor Zangiev (Russia).

11. Texas Lariat Match for the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship: Lex Luger defeated Stan Hansen (champion) to win the title.

12. Street Fight for the NWA World Tag Team Championship: Doom (Ron Simmons and Butch Reed) (champions) (with Theodore Long) fought Arn Anderson and Barry Windham to a no-contest.

13. Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament, Final: The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott) (USA) defeated Mr. Saito and The Great Muta (Japan).

14. Steel Cage Match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match: Sting (champion) defeated The Black Scorpion.

My Review

The 1990 edition of Starrcade is an outright bad show. Amusingly bad, yes, but it’s still a pretty resounding failure. The cherry on the shit sundae, of course, is The Black Scorpion, one of WCW’s most infamous creative blunders. The storyline leading up to Starrcade was a lot of pulpy early ‘90s hokum⏤a mystery man, who may also be some sort of wizard, haunts world champion Sting for months with a groggy voice provided none other than Ole Anderson. It was completely ridiculous and demanded an equally ridiculous payoff.

What makes it suck so bad, however, is that not only is the reveal underwhelming, but it’s also boring. The Scorpion, first and foremost, is dressed like a masked jobber on an episode of WWF Superstars. Then it’s revealed the Scorpion is Ric Flair, the same man who Sting had already faced off with a billion times in the past two years. It’s admittedly interesting watching Flair try to completely abandon his style to play a new character, but the match itself is a by-the-numbers chore. Oh, and Dick the Bruiser is here as a terrible special guest ref who adds completely nothing. At least the Scorpion has the decency to enter the Kiel Auditorium through a spaceship that looks like your grandmother’s antique lamp.

But that’s not all, folks! We’re also treated to the Pat O’Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament, featuring teams from all over the world. A noble ideal, but the talent pool is, um, underwhelming to say the least. For example, we get wrestlers billed from “South Africa” who clearly aren’t from that country. Not that it winds up mattering anyway, because the whole point is for the Americans to beat them all. The matches are also hindered by some blown finishes that really kill the mood. It’s just a series of missed opportunities that could’ve been much a cooler concept if they’d thought more outside the box than “Welp, America wins LOL!”

It should be noted this is the second out of four consecutive tournaments WCW would book for their biggest show of the year. This is firmly ensconced in the era where the booking for Starrcade started to get a little wonky, anyway. I’m not sure how much of it had to do with them trying to distance themselves from the NWA name as much as possible or what, but it took away from Starrcade’s standing as a marquee show. It says a lot about this time period for WCW⏤constantly throwing one gimmick out there after another in hopes something would eventually stick.

It’s kinda sad, because it’s clear they didn’t need to go so far out of their way to establish their own identity. So many pieces of the puzzle are present in this show, from the production to the roster. It’s when they work overtime in competing with the WWF that things falls apart, a mistake they’d go on to repeat several times over. Collision Course is a fitting tagline for Starrcade ’90, and I’m not talking about the tag tournament. The show is a hodgepodge of half-baked ideas and, like any collision, the result is a mess.

My Random Notes

Apologies for the blurry quality of the poster above. It’s practically the best version I can find right now. Cut a queen some slack in the midst of pandemic, eh?

A few production notes: 1.) Why is the WCW logo on the entrance way always crooked? 2.) I love the blue and yellow ring apron, but the red and yellow ropes are a weird fit. 3.) We’re treated throughout the broadcast with Starrcade Stats, a cheeseball yet time-period appropriate concept giving us trading card details on each of the night’s competitors. For example, the Z-Man does a missile dropkick “if possible.”

Spot of the night goes to Col. DeKlerk who damns it all and hits one of most ill-conceived front flips of all time, which causes Rick Steiner to visibly corpse on camera.

Laugh at Team Russia all you want, but they absolutely would be at a singlet party in Provincetown during Bear Week if it were 2020.

I’m pretty supportive of having filler matches on pay-per-views, but what the hell was even the point of that Skyscrapers squash? Did they forget to book it on WCW Saturday Night and need to make up the minutes?

We get our first taste of the highly acclaimed commentary duo of JR/Paul Heyman. It’s a slightly awkward first outing. Heyman isn’t really the Heyman we’d come to know yet so he sometimes comes off as a second-rate Bobby Heenan. He tries making a joke that the Midnight Express broke up due to Yoko Ono, which is every bit as painful as it sounds.

You mean to tell me the best Canadian wrestlers they could find were Troy Montour and Danny Johnson, whom I’m not even sure are actual wrestlers?

This should go without saying, but the Fabulous Freebirds and their fetishization of the Confederate flag is, um, a huge amount of yikes in a 2020 context. I don’t know a whole lot about about the point of them having Little Richard Marley as their sidekick, but I don’t think I want to know.

As with the dawn of any new decade, the ‘80s were still alive in 1990 and you need to look no further than the Dynasty extras they put on this show as the flag-bearers, with hair almost as tall as those big ass stars on the entrance way.

This, amazingly, marks the first time I’ve seen Rey Misterio Sr. (or Rey Misteric, as he’s referred to in the Starrcade graphics). I’ve honestly never even Googled his name to see what he looks like. It does seem like his nephew has a much better handle on the high-flying maneuvers. He inexplicably launches himself over the top rope after his Round 1 match is over. I’m sure it made Col. DeKlerk proud.

#wwe network #wrestling #wcw #sting #ric flair #90s wrestling

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tiffany-of-wales · 4 years

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Tag meme

tagged by: @latristereina

I learnt a lot about my dear friend and I hope you learn something new too about me😀

jasmine; what mythical creature do you wish actually existed? -- I'm not really into mythical creatures but I quite enjoy mountain trolls particularly in "Herr Mannelig" legend

lavender; soundcloud or vinyls? -- I have no idea how soundcloud works as it is not popular in Russia but I use vinyls neither🤷🏻‍♀️

primrose; what book does everyone right now need to read? -- Hmm, good question. I guess, "To kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee as it is deep and sensual. Anyway, I highly recommend you all "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" by Nikolai Leskov

lunar mist; do you like wearing other people’s shirts/jackets? -- My mother often shares clothes with me but I enjoy my own shirts and jackets too

bird of paradise; what was the best thing that happened to you this month? -- I passed my math exam) Actually, I enjoy every day of my life.

gardenia; what’s a promise you’ve recently made to yourself? -- That I will try to be more pious and good in my thoughts.

lion’s fairytale; would you rather be the sky, the ocean or the forests? -- The forests

whirling butterflies; would you kiss the last person you kissed again? -- As I am ill now, no🍵😥

marmalade skies; do you plan your outfits? -- Of course!

apricot drift; how do you feel right now?--Tired, ill but ready to recover

everlasting daisy; what’s the last dream you remember having? -- It is very awkward but... Me being a wife to Ewan McGregor🤣

queen’s cup; what are you craving right now? -- Hmm... Going to Rome?

lavender dream; turn ons/offs? -- shy smiles/lack of manners

water lilly; when was the last time you cried? -- A week ago, I guess

lily of the valley; did the one person who hurt you most in your life apologize?

-- I do not remeber it, to be honest, but I forgave this person anyway😊

winterberry; do you bite or lick your ice cream? -- Both

honey perfume; favorite movie ever? -- "The Two Popes" or "Angels&Demons". I cannot choose. But if I really have yo, "The Two Popes"

desert rose; do you like yourself? -- I do

snapdragon; have you ever met or seen in person a celebrity? -- A few times

night owl; how many countries have you visited? -- Twenty... It is a long list, to be honest🌍

heliotrope; have you ever been in a castle?

-- Many times. I love Middle Ages culture, so I never miss a chance to visit a castle

creams and sky; what’s the craziest/bravest thing you’ve done? -- Ohh, I do crazy things a lot🤣 Perhaps, when I told my literature teacher that I ship two men of an infamous Russian classical book

lantana; what’s on your mind right now? -- "War and Peace" by Lev Tolstoy

pumpkin patch; what’s your zodiac sign?

-- Gemini... But does it matter?

tulip; name 5 facts about yourself.

1. My favourite actor is Jeremy Irons

2. I have a cat

3. My favourite female historical characters are Lucrezia Borgia and Margaret Beaufort

4. I live in Moscow

5. Tiffany isn't my true name

daphne; do you believe in karma?

Only in God's will. So yes and no

queen of the meadow; ever been in love?

In a romantic way - no

wisteria; whom do you admire and why?

My parents as they are independent, full of joy, hopes and they really love me

angel’s face; what was your favorite bedtime story as a child?

Cinderella

remember me; did you make someone laugh today?

My parents

iris; do you believe in ghosts?

lilac; if you could go back in time which time period would you visit?

Late XV century, I guess

caramel kisses; would you want to live forever? why/why not? -- In my religion our souls never die. But if you mean on Earth, no

primula; what makes you sad?

Suffering of innocent creatures

rain lily; was today typical? why/why not?

No, as I have my holidays

queen anne’s lace; who do you trust the most?

My family

Lady’s slipper; what did you have for breakfast today?

Pancakes🍛

forget me not; do you have any regrets looking back in your life?

No regrets

lunaria; what’s your favorite fictional universe?

ASOIAF, I guess

violet; favorite tv show?

The Borgias, probably

sunflower; share a favorite quote.

God answers all the prayers, but sometimes his answer is 'no'

snowdrop; what does your ideal day look like?

Like my typical day

tiger lily; do you have any hobbies?

Lots of, but my favourite is writing

peony; share a small random book passage that means something to you.

Can't think of any right now

tea rose; what’s something you always wanted to do but were too scared?

I don't know

honeysuckle; do you usually date people your age or older/younger?

I have never been in a relationship🤣

sweet pea; who means the world to you?

My family and my friends

love in the mist; best books you’ve ever read?

Ricard III, The Help, In the name of the Family, Margaret Beaufort: The Mother of a Dynasty

foxglove; who is your favorite cartoon character?

Cartoon? Anne Shirley, probably but I know there is also a book

magnolia; coffee or tea?

Tea

crown imperial; would you rather be extremely rich or extremely loved?

Loved, of course

snowflake; are you a dog or a cat person?

A cat person

bell flower; what is your biggest addiction?

Tumblr😂

cosmos; do you ever think about the galaxy?

No, I am not interested in it

moonflower; what’s your favorite color?

The colour of cardinal hat😂

freesia; do you have a good relationship with your parents and siblings? why/why not?

Yes, because... We love and respect each other

sundrop; are you a morning or a night person?

A morning person

poppy; have you ever dealt with a mental illness?

No, thank God

clover; how would your friends describe you?

Pious, childish (someone call me 'sweetly innocent'💕) and a bit of crazy😂

dandelion; do you consider yourself and extrovert or an introvert?

Extrovert

lilly; what’s something you love watching/reading but you are too embarrassed to admit you do?

Say yes to a Dress😂

anemone; describe yourself in 3 words.

Religious, optimistic and traveller

lotus; best memory as a child?

Going to French Disneyland🌟

angelonia; what is your eye and hair color?

Dark chocolate🍪

dahlia; do you like crystals?

No, not really

buttercup; if you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?

I would end poverty

baby’s breath; what’s your hogwarts house?

I don't like Harry Potter, so none

calendula; biggest pet peeve?

Lack of manners

blanker flower; would you rather go to a cocktail party with your best friends or stay home and read a book/watch a movie with your pet?

Cocktail party, aye😊

blazing star; share a secret.

No, thank you

carnation; would you rather live longer or happier?

I'd rather live righteous which means happier to me, but I cannot know how long I will live. I won't suggest

petunia; who’s story is your biggest inspiration in life? why?

Margaret Beaufort because she was clever, kind and full of hopes no matter what

bluebell; do you wear glasses?

Yes

nymphea; forest or river?

River

orchid; do you like exercise?

No, but I do it anyway🥦

pansy; do you like poetry?

Write or read? Anyway, yes

morning glory; any special talent that you have?

Writing, I guess

I tag: @madonna-la-cardinalessa @the-musical-thot @stellio-vulgaris

if they want, of course.

#tag game #fun #about me #personal

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ofangelos · 5 years

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hi it’s dani ( duh ) this is my trash son a*gel im v excited pls come plot with me :)

╰☆╮ SHAWN MENDES ─ ANGELOS ALESANDRO ALMEIDA identifies as CIS MALE and uses HE/HIM pronouns. they’re a RAPPER and they’re only TWENTY-ONE ! they’re said to be AMBITIOUS, but also DISHONEST. i guess that’s why they’re known as THE BLACK HOLE in the tabloids.

he was born in mykonos, greece to the ceo of the philip-morris tobacco distribution company. when i say angel is rich, i mean angel is riiiiich. his family is worth over 120 billion dollars. angel grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth, and has never ever ever dreamed of having anything less.

to better understand angel, u guys need to better understand the almeidas as a family. in my first intro, i sorta??? brushed over the fact but i’ve come to realize that they’ve had a huge impact on his psyche and his morals and everything??

to put it in short… have y’all seen dynasty on netflix? blake carrington is basically just… angel’s father. the carrington dynamic is the almeida’s dynamic to a t.

okay, being in charge of such a huge company that not only ruled tobacco distribution, but own 6 major cigarette brands that reach every single continent in the world meant that angel’s father hardly had time for him. it was only business with him. if he wasn’t at the office, he was cheating on angel’s mother - it was a habit the whole family knew about. it was no surprise. angel’s never been good at relationships because he experienced infidelity his whole life. his idea of love was really messed up at a young age.

tw: drug abuse but yes ! his parents never paid him any mind. his father was far too busy with work, and his mother was far too busy passing out on narcotics to bring some feeling back into her dull life and her awful marriage to take care of angel.

angel was essentially just raised by nannies, and they weren’t awful to him at all. they were dope and super nice to him? but he still managed to build up a resentment towards them because he didn’t have enough time to experience his parents and build up a resentment towards the people who actually deserved it

angel had a lot of pressure for him to do well in school - he was supposed to step up and be the ceo of one of the most powerful companies in the world one day, after all - so he constantly had tutors rolling in and out of his house to make sure he was the best and brightest he could be! he never got to go have play-dates and be a normal kid because his father was so focused on prepping 7-year-old angel to be a ceo. that’s all he was to his father - another him.

because of this inability to hang out with the other kids outside of school, angel had a really really hard time making friends??? he was a very lonely kid. he just couldn’t relate to any of them because he was constantly being prepped for public appearances and learning 7 other languages so he’d be useful by the time he was old enough to put on a suit.

angel’s father actually hired someone to have their kid be angel’s friend - and also lowkey a body guard that would take any hit and any bullet for angel, but angel didn’t know this and just thought he had a loyal friend dsjioad

but yeaaaa not having the opportunity to talk to people his age is what causes him to be so stand-offish and say such rude things sometimes?? because he didn’t get the chance to develop useful social skills at a young age? the only things he knew how to do were 1) demand things 2) speak an absurd amount of languages and 3) charm the press

when angel’s father did make the time to see angel, it was never for good reason.

angel used to be?? so upset about not being able to spend time with his father?? but as time went on, it clicked in his head that he was only relevant to his father when he was doing something wrong / bad, so he hated when his father made meetings with him

u read that correctly – meetings. angel stopped seeing daddy dearest at home when he was about 11. after that, it was pure business. he’d have to schedule an appointment with him just like anyone else. because being his father’s son was just a title - it didn’t actually mean anything. he was just another person.

tw: mental abuse anyways ! these meeting never went well for angel because all they were was an opportunity for his father to let out his pent-up frustrations about everything on his son. angel could miss one question on an exam, and boom – meeting ! he was essentially his father’s outlet. and at first it was just mental abuse - yelling at angel about how stupid he was, or how he’d never amount to anything, or how he was ruining the almeida legacy

which made angel feel terrible about himself?? i mean… duh … but like… he couldn’t do the /one thing/ he’s basically been trained like a fucking dog to do his entire life ??? he couldn’t just be perfect and it killed him??? because he tried so, so, so, so, so hard to come as close as possible

it’s not the typical acted-out-for-attention. eventually, angel learned that he didn’t want the attention because it was only ever negative. he acted wonderfully and tried to be the best he could possibly be to keep his father away from him

tw: domestic abuse, tw: abuse eventually, just yelling at angel wasn’t enough to express his anger, and his father fell into an awful awful habit where, whenever angel did anything to piss him off, he’d light a cigarette and then jab it onto angel’s arm and let it burn. angel has little circle scars up and down his arms that he’s tried to cover up with tattoos from this

angel always read in books or saw on tv that families were supposed to love and support each other, so he just assumed ??? that this was what love was like?? that it was tough all the time and sometimes cruel??? so he has a very twisted image of family and relationships and love and all of that

he has a very inflated perspective of self-importance because, in greece, he just is that important. he’s as close to royalty as you can get without actually being a king or a prince. his family essentially has a monopoly over the entire country when it comes to property and business, so, of course, the almeidas are well known. they’re the kardashians of greece without the hit tv show. they never showed their lives because they put up a beautiful facade of a happy family running a billion dollar business, when really, they were as messed up as they came

tw: drugs, tw: alcoholism, tw: addiction he ended up going to oxford university’s business school straight out of high school and dropping out when he was a sophomore / second year because drugs and alcohol slowly crept their way into his life just like how they had with his mother, and it got to the point where he was dependent on them to get through the day + couldn’t concentrate on anything else

the one thing he found solace in was music, so much to his father’s dismay, he began a career as a rapper ( vc is g-eazy ) aaand that’s what he’s been doing since he was nineteen.

i don’t really have much else to say other than that he’s a crackhead and heavily reliant on alcohol / drugs and a huuuuuge douchebag ok thanks

#excessintro #hi #i changed him jus a lil #abuse tw #drug use tw #alcoholism tw #addiction tw #domestic abuse tw

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goodnightkisseu · 5 years

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Park Jihoon & Park Woojin - Dynasty

Requested By: anonny (“ Can I ask for woojin friendship with jihoon scenario? Triangle love story angst but happy ending? Royal au will be great 😘 thank you ”)

Genre: Fluff and some Angst

Note: Admittedly, this fic took me a bit longer because I was having a hard time trying to figure out what type of friendship/love triangle I wanted to depict. I’ve written this one probably about ten times, and this was what I landed on. I wanted to explore a close type of friendship with Jihoon and Woojin, and I hope that it came across in this fic. It’s also a really long one (5k+ words) so you’ll probably want to set aside some time for it if you plane to read it x.x I hope that everyone enjoys it and as always, feel free to let me know what you think!

Enjoy~

Because of the situation with tumblr links, please check my bio for links to my masterlist~

- goodnightkisseu’s admin / ashley <3

The beautiful fields, lush and full of flowers and crops. The clear rivers and streams that ran through the country. Farmers worked hard to harvest their crops, while children played on the paths. This image was the embodiment of peace and prosperity. Yet about five decades ago, this beautiful land was war-torn. There was no order, no peace. It was filled with small clans, each vying for dominance, to be the ruler of the land. The land was scorched from the battles that broke out. The people were starved, forcing clans to form alliances to create larger factions to strengthen their cause. These factions built their own cities, the battlefield becoming any area without safe walls. Yet, resources continued to dwindle, and the people still suffered.

Realizing that the lives of their own were at risk, the four kingdoms, born from these endless pacts, called a truce. They advocated ending the war, for peace so that the nations could prosper. It wasn’t accomplished immediately, but once everyone laid down their arms, an order came to the people. They thrived in their kingdoms through trade, farming, and crafts. The land bloomed, becoming the beautiful place that it once was.

Now that each kingdom had its own system for its people, there was a growing interest to unify the nations. Not by way of merging the domains, but by pairing off their heirs. By marrying off their children to each other, the Kingdoms could sustain the peace between their nations. Thus, each royal descendent had started meeting with potential royal spouses, whether they were from a direct royal line or an adjacent one.

Woojin was not a child of royal birth. Rather, his family served as the personal guards to the royal family of the south for many generations. No, it was his friend, his charge, Jihoon that was to be married. Yet, if Woojin were honest, none of this sat well with him. He understood uniting the kingdoms through a marriage pact, but it just didn’t seem like a sure fire way to ensure peace. Woojin was involved in strategy meetings, and he was always one of the first to hear the new intel that came in. And this intel made him wary of some of the families. Particularly the princess that would be visiting today.

The sound of the large doors to the lecture hall opening pulled Woojin from thoughts that had plagued him for the last week. The familiar face of the young prince emerged from behind the large wooden doors, all those in the area bowed to those their respects. Woojin did the same as Jihoon descended the stairs, his guard close to his side. Seldom were the pair ever seen apart. Woojin had been raised side by side with Jihoon. It was to ensure that Woojin would understand everything about Jihoon, in hopes that he could protect the young descendent more effectively.

"Young Prince, you will be meeting with an eligible princess today, won't you?" Woojin inquired as the pair continued on their usual walk after Jihoon’s morning lessons.

Like every other day, this led the pair to the pagoda on the east side of the palace grounds. It was Jihoon’s favorite spot. Just far enough away from his family that he could be by himself, and the only place where Woojin was the only one who dared to follow him. Now that he was away from the watchful eyes of the scholars and palace attendants, he couldn’t help but make a face. "Woojin, how many times have I told you to call me by my name when we're alone? It's strange to hear you address me as the 'Young Prince' when there's no one else around," Jihoon instructed him, putting emphasis on his title in a mocking manner.

Woojin let out a small sigh as he relaxed in the presence of his long-time friend. When they were younger, Woojin always felt strange calling Jihoon by his official title, and the two young boys would often joke about it. Now, he felt the opposite. His family had instructed him to refer to Jihoon by his official title, no matter the situation. So, it now felt odd to be so informal and just use his name. Still, Jihoon was a close friend, and when it was only the two of them, Woojin felt like he could be a bit more lax, though not too much. “It’s equally as weird to call you, ‘Jihoon’ now.”

Jihoon begrudgingly nodded in understanding. "Try, please? When it's just the two of us, be my friend and not my personal guard. It makes me feel like no one sees me for me. I'm just the prince who needs to be protected."

"I'm both your personal guard and your friend, Jihoon. You know that."

"I know. It's just that, sometimes I feel like I'm surrounded by people that are only trying to make me happy. They don't actually care about me…” he said with a soft sigh, and though Woojin didn’t fully understand what Jihoon was going through, he did understand it to a degree. Jihoon didn’t have any siblings, not ones that were born from the same mother. He was the first and currently the only boy in the family. It had only been Jihoon and Woojin for so many years. Now that they were usually around each other in an official capacity, his friend was getting lonely. Unfortunately, Woojin couldn't do anything about it directly, and that was sad.

Woojin gave a small nod. “I’ll do my best. But my question still stands. You meet one of your possible wives today, correct?” For a split second, a pout had formed on Jihoon's lips. However, knowing that such a look wasn't befitting of a prince and future king when talking about court matters, he quickly wiped it away. Still, Woojin knew he was displeased that the topic had changed too fast.

"Yes. She's from the Kingdom of the East. From what I'm told she's the family's only unmarried daughter. The others are either too young or have already been married off. Last I heard her convoy was making its way here, so she should be arriving within the day."

"Have you met her before?" Woojin inquired. He knew that Jihoon had never been to the Eastern Kingdom before, but there was a chance that his future wife had made an appearance at a banquet thrown by his family.

Jihoon however, shook his head. "No, I haven't. Her family has, on occasion, come to the festivities thrown by my father, but she had not been at one. I've questioned the King of the East about it before, but all he told me was that it wasn't time to meet his daughter yet. I have no idea what that means though. He was pretty cryptic about it… Makes you wonder…"

It was as Woojin had feared, and his friend's answer did not sit well with him. Everyone, particularly those of power wanted to show off what they had. Wouldn’t a king want to show off his daughter, to be able to marry her off sooner? So, what was it about this girl… this princess… that her father was hiding her from all of the other royal families? "I see..." he said quietly in response, nodding pensively. There was no point in voicing his suspicions yet.

"You already sound suspicious of her," Jihoon said with a chuckle, catching on to what his old friend was thinking immediately. They had been together for far too long. It would have been strange if Jihoon didn’t notice.

Woojin, however, tried to play it off. "I'll withhold my judgment until we actually meet her. Anyway, we should head back. Your next lesson starts soon," the male insisted. And with little struggle from Jihoon, he got up and led the way.

It was a little past lunchtime when Woojin was notified by an aide that the princess had arrived. Jihoon was still in the middle of his afternoon lessons, so Woojin informed her that he would make sure that the prince was made aware when he was done. The young female aide said that the princess had taken a liking to the prince's garden, and could be found there before she left.

Not long after the aide had left, Jihoon's lessons came to an end. Woojin informed him of the princess' arrival as the pair made their way to the nearby garden. Woojin knew that Jihoon was fond of this place. Though the prince didn’t have much of a green thumb, he had learned what he could to keep it healthy. His mother had put it together for him, and it was his way of showing his thanks to her. Over the years it had grown, with gifts from other kingdoms and plants that he had become fond of. When the pair weren’t out in the pagoda, they were usually here.

The moment the garden came into view, it didn't take the two men long to spot the princess. She was wandering around the far side of the garden, the area where some of Jihoon’s favorite plants were located. Woojin stayed close as Jihoon approached her, and nothing seemed off… initially. But he couldn't help but wonder, just where her personal guard was? There was no way her family would allow her to travel here with only the escorts that arrived with her.

"You must be the princess from the East, yes?" Woojin heard Jihoon inquire, and this snapped him from his thoughts and back to what was actually happening in front of him. He watched as the princess stiffened, but didn’t necessarily jump at their sudden presence. Instead, you turned around to smile at Jihoon and at Woojin, while introducing yourself before inquiring if Jihoon was the crowned prince.

Woojin watched your exchanges with each other very carefully. Yet, as he monitored his friend's expression, he knew that Jihoon was already smitten with you. Behind his cool features, Woojin could tell that his eyes lit up, that he was particularly attentive to everything you said. Jihoon was not one to fall in love quickly. It had only happened once in the past, and it was this exact same look. And the fact that he was already enthralled by you, just made Woojin's worries skyrocket. He would hold his judgment until he knew more about you, but he worried what would happen if you were not as kind or truthful as his friend was hoping.

"A princess should not be without her guard. Where is your personal guard?" Woojin heard the prince inquire, to which you giggled in response.

"I have one," you said through your light laughter. "Minho is right behind you."

At your words, Woojin was the first to quickly turn, coming face to face with the stoic male that stood behind him. He almost drew his sword on him, but at Jihoon's signal Woojin refrained from doing so.

"I'm sorry if that startled you. I usually instruct for my personal guard to follow at a distance when I want to enjoy things on my own. Not that Minho makes for bad company, but his presence can be overbearing sometimes..."

"I know exactly what you mean! Woojin is the same way! I can’t get him to leave my side for a minute! How did you get Minho to do that?" Jihoon asked out of curiosity as he approached you. Woojin, on instinct, was about to follow after him, because truthfully, Jihoon was right. He really couldn’t get the male to leave his side. But before he could, your personal guard placed his hand on Woojin’s shoulder.

"Why don't you and I let the two of them get acquainted? Let us watch from afar for a bit," the male suggested, and though it was against Woojin's better judgment, he agreed, taking a step back and walking with Minho as you walked side by side with his prince. It was weird being this far away from him, but maybe it was something he would have to get used to…

Your stay at the palace lasted for a bit longer than expected. Woojin could see the connection that you and Jihoon had, as could his parents, so they suggested that you extend your stay, giving the two of you more time together. Of course, the male had no say in it, and so he spent his days, following the pair of you at a distance, next to Minho. The two of them would spark up a conversation from time to time, but it was just small talk to break the silence every now and then.

The one thing that Woojin was well aware of was how happy Jihoon was now. Whenever he would walk his charge back to his room, he could see the spring in his step, the excitement in his voice. And though Woojin wanted to be excited for Jihoon as well, he had to be the level-headed one. He was still suspicious of your family, so without Jihoon knowing, he reached out to some of the palace's undercover informants.

From what he could gather, no one had anything wrong to say about you. However, your family was not getting the same glowing recommendations. Your father was a just king. He ruled the kingdom, and the people liked him well enough. However, his family was a bit of a struggle. His brother, your uncle, craved power, and though it wasn't spoken of, the chances of your father being overthrown were high. Woojin’s worries about this marriage started to grow. Did your father know that his brother was trying to oust him? If he did, was he marrying you off as a way to fend off the attack? Or worse yet, was marrying you off part of your uncle’s plan, so that he could indirectly control the Southern Kingdom as well? Woojin didn’t want to think the worst of you, but he had to remain aware of all of the possible plots.

Keeping all of this to himself was difficult, mostly when Jihoon could read him like an open book. It didn't take the prince long to realize that something was up with his personal guard. And it took him even less time to ask what that something was. Saying that he was a bit upset would have been an understatement.

"Woojin, you had no right to look into that," Jihoon said, his tone low. The two friends were at the pagoda, away from all of the others.

"Jihoon, as your guard, having your best interests at heart, I had every right to look into this. You’re too defensive about this. I didn’t say that she was here because of what was going on in her family," he countered, defending himself. He was protecting Jihoon. That’s all he had ever done.

"But you've already made up your mind about her, haven't you. This was the bit of information that sealed the deal, isn't it? Woojin, I like her, a lot. How do you think it makes me feel that my personal guard, no, my friend suspects my possible wife of doing this for sinister reasons?" he questioned, voice getting angrier as he spoke.

Woojin knew that his friend would be hard to deal with. He wanted to be level-headed, but he was upset too. Jihoon wasn't looking at the bigger picture. He wasn't thinking of himself. You may have been precious to him, but he needed to think of what this really meant… and he wasn’t. "She’s not your wife yet, and frankly, we need all of the facts. What if she is using you? Then what will you do?"

"You… hold your tongue, Woojin," he said through gritted teeth. "She would never."

"But you don't know that for sure, do you," Woojin spat back, and as he stared down his friend, instead of taking it any further, Jihoon stormed off. It was rare that they argued like this, but Woojin knew that this time was the worst by far. But he didn’t regret it. Jihoon needed to be more aware. It didn’t matter how he felt about you. He needed to be vigilant. Woojin was willing to take the brunt of the blame, even if it hurt that his friend wasn't talking to him...

========

The months following the argument had been rough on Woojin and Jihoon's relationship. Though no one in the palace seemed to realize it, their relationship was definitely strained. The trust was broken, and the pair was not as close as they were before. Truthfully, Woojin was taking it pretty hard. Jihoon being so closed off from him, even stopping their usual walks, was a hit that he hadn't been anticipating. He knew that this spoke to how upset his friend was. It was Jihoon's way of telling him that he had overstepped.

Today was another quiet carriage ride, in which Woojin was accompanying JIhoon to see you. Your visits with each other had grown in number, with both families excited about the budding romance between their heirs. These trips had become commonplace, and if he were to be completely honest, the more he had learned about you, the more that he had grown to like you. If not for the political tension in your kingdom, he would have wholeheartedly given his blessing by now. You were a just person by nature. Your heart was kind, and you spent a lot of your time helping your people, something those of your social standing didn't usually do. The people knew you, spoke highly of you, and truthfully, Woojin almost thought that the rumors of your uncle's coup were false.

That was until everything went downhill.

One late night, during their recent stay at your palace, Woojin heard a gentle, but rapid knock on the screen door that led to their quarters. Woojin was quick to get to his feet, sword at the ready in case combat was necessary. Yet, upon tentatively opening the screen door, his eyes met with Minho's. Though perplexed at first, Woojin was able to read the grave look on Minho's features, and a feeling deep down started to manifest. "Minho, it's late. Why are you here?"

"I don't have a lot of time to explain. I need you to trust me when I tell you that you must get the Prince out of here. I've arranged for one of our most trusted men to meet you in the back of this building. He will lead you to the safety of your carriage. Please make sure that he gets out of here safely," the male said in a hushed voice. That feeling in the pit of Woojin's stomach got worse. Minho was calm, but his eyes said it all. They were laced with concern, even possibly... fright.

"Minho, you must tell me what is going on," Woojin stated firmly, the male before him letting out a sigh. He knew that there wasn't much time, but he had to ask. He had to know what to do if Jihoon did end up in danger.

"The Princess' uncle has finally made a move for his takeover. I know that you are aware of it. The tension had reached a level that can no longer be contained. When the first group of insurgents broke in, the King and Queen instructed me to make sure that the two of you left safely. I was then to help the Princess. Please, there is no time left. Trust me and get Crowned Prince Jihoon out of here," he pleaded before turning his back and leaving, heading towards his charge's quarters.

The urgency was quick to wash over Woojin once your personal guard left. He sprang into action, quickly pulling on his things, knowing exactly how dangerous this situation was. If your uncle were devious enough, Jihoon could become a fantastic bargaining chip, and no one wanted that. After he had all of the necessities, he quickly, but quietly made his way to Jihoon, trying to rouse him from his sleep. Unsurprisingly, the Prince did not have it. “Jihoon, you have to get up,” Woojin pressed, voice stern.

"Woojin, I don't know what's up with you, but I know that it's late. Leave me alone, you hear? I don't want to talk right now," he retorted. Jihoon was ready to say more, he was prepared to give Woojin a piece of his might. At least, that was, until he saw the look in Woojin's eyes. They were no longer the calm ones that would often watch him, making sure that he was alright. No, they held a sense of gravity, of worry, and Jihoon was quick to swallow his previous words. "Woojin –"

"We don't have time. Let us talk about it once you're safe. Now please, get up and get changed. We need to leave immediately," came Woojin's instructions. And like that, Jihoon was out of bed and dressed in record time, ready to further follow instructions on their exit. Woojin led the way, being cautious with his choice of a path out to the back of the guest quarters. However, when the pair made it outside, the guard was quick to recognize them. Saying very little, he escorted the two men to their carriage. It wasn't until they were in the transport and heading out that Jihoon finally spoke up.

"Woojin, what happened?" he asked. And now that they were safe, on their way home, the Prince's guard finally divulged all that he knew...

========

Weeks turned into months. The seasons came and went, and in all of that time, Jihoon heard nothing about you. At first, it had been hard to come by any information. The coup had significantly disrupted the Southern Kingdom's intelligence network, and accurate details were hard to come by. With time, however, more precise information came to light. Your father and mother had been killed when the throne was usurped. Your uncle was now in the process of rebuilding the Eastern Kingdom in the way that he saw fit. No one was going to challenge him, at least not yet. But nowhere, in any of these reports, was any mention of you. At most, they said that you couldn't be found, and the hope was that Minho had gotten you to safety.

Initially, Jihoon had been headstrong about finding you. He called for his father to send out search parties. He had made attempts in the middle of the night to sneak out and look for you on his own. Yet every plan of his had been foiled by Woojin. His long-time friend, though he knew he was getting in the way again, had stopped very hasty decision. He begged that Jihoon be strategic about this. No matter how much his heart told him that you were still alive, Woojin urged that he be tactical to not cause more trouble to you and his family. And finally, Jihoon agreed.

The pair worked in secret, away from the prying eyes of Jihoon's parents and the rest of the court. A network of trusted informants was formed, and Jihoon used the excuse that he was grieving to hold off his parents' search for a new bride for him. When they could, they would sneak into the town to speak with traveling merchants or even wanderers that may have come from your kingdom. The worked tirelessly for new information, yet as time passed, Jihoon could feel his confidence waning. Though in his heart of hearts he knew that you were alive, there was no sure sign that this feeling was correct.

The longer he searched for you, the more apologetic he felt towards Woojin. Their relationship had been on the mend for some time, and the young prince was now feeling terrible for the way he had treated his friend. Woojin took all of the bad though. He knew that Jihoon's heart was in pain, and he knew that the only way to fix it was to find you.

One early autumn day, Woojin was out in the city, without Jihoon. His friend his extended lessons that were to preoccupy him for the entire day, so Woojin took the opportunity to head out to the city on his own, see what intel he could gather when he didn't have to worry about Jihoon being discovered. He had heard of a large group of traveling merchants stopping in the capital and thought that they may have some info. Of course, he couldn't go around asking about the Princess of the East, but he could ask if any recent traders had joined the group. That wasn't suspicious at all.

Slowly he glanced at the products that the traders had available, chatting with one from time to time to see what bits of information he could get. They had gone through the cities of the Eastern Kingdom, picking up some new members along the way. So there was a chance they had seen you. He would just have to do more digging.

But this was when something strange happened. As Woojin was weaving through the sea of sellers and buyers, he felt something. It was weird. It was a feeling he had never felt before. He felt a presence. It was as if someone had spotted him, and on impulse, he turned around. There was no one staring back at him, but his eyes did land on someone else, just in his line of sight. He knew exactly who it was. That familiar face, those gentle eyes. Time had changed some things, of course, but there was no mistaking it. You were standing right in front of him, and he knew he had to act.

Calmly, Woojin approached you as you talked to a store owner about the beautiful fabrics that he had on display. You asked about methods, and where he got his source materials. The chat was lively, civil, and you were so drawn into the elderly man's well-crafted words that you almost didn't feel the light tap on your shoulder. Swiftly you turned around, thinking that it would be Minho staring back at you, but coming face-to-face with Woojin was not what you had been expecting.

After you fled your Kingdom, you and Minho made your living among the traveling merchant party that moved from city to city. They took many people in, from nomads to those that had been disowned. All they asked was that newcomers helped to grow the business. It was hard for you at first. You didn't have many skills except for weaving, and that became particularly useful. In time you forgot about where you had come from. You and Minho took on new identities, completely forgetting about your past lives. That was until you saw Woojin again. It all came rushing back, and out of fear, you opted to act ignorant to it.

"Can I help you?" you asked with a small smile, feigning innocence.

“Jihoon was right. You really didn’t die…” Woojin said, astonished by your sudden appearance.

"I'm sorry. I think that you may have the wrong person. I don't know a 'Jihoon,'" you insisted, hoping that you could shake Woojin off. Yet the mention of Jihoon's name caused a sharp pain in your heart. There had been days where all you could think of was the Prince. Though you knew that you no longer had a place in his life, no longer having any power or wealth, you thought of him often. At least, until it became easier to forget him.

Quick footsteps approached you as someone worked his way in between you and Woojin. "Young miss, is this man bothering you?" Minho asked, though his stern look faltered when he noticed Woojin.

Though Woojin had considered pursuing the pair, to make them give up the charade, he knew better than anyone that there may have been a reason they were acting like this. Still, he had to leave an open offer. On the off chance that you had lingering feelings for Jihoon, he had to try and bring the two of you together.

"If there's a reason why you want to pretend here, then that's fine. However, if you would like to see Jihoon again, please meet me by the castle's eastern entrance this evening. It leads directly to the pagoda, and no one will find you there. Jihoon... he misses you dearly," Woojin said quietly, before disappearing and leaving the princess and her guard dumbfounded.

Many things were running through your mind after that chance meeting with Woojin. You had considered that this was a ploy, to get you out of hiding, but you also felt like you could trust him. Minho tried to talk you out of it, but against your better judgment, you showed up at the east entrance that evening. With Minho in tow, the pair of you approached cautiously, and you couldn't help the growing anxiety that overcame your every being. Yet, true to his word, Woojin was there to meet you, letting you into a place you hadn't been in years.

As always, the pagoda was void of people, just the three of you as you approached the path leading out to the structure in the water. As you drew closer, both guards slowed their pace, allowing you to move ahead of them, to set the pace for what was to come. And that was when you saw him. Standing there, in the middle of the structure, eyes staring back at yours in utter shock.

Everything moved quickly. You weren't sure if it was you or Jihoon, but you found yourself in his arms, encompassed by that warmth that you had missed after so long. You felt safe for the first time.

"I knew you would come back..." he murmured gently against your shoulder as he held you tightly. Jihoon was afraid that if he let go, you would just disappear. He had searched for you for so long, and here you were. You just... appeared.

"Jihoon... I..." you started, but heard a calming, 'shh' leave his lips.

"Let's just savor this moment, please..." he told you tenderly, and you finally let all of the tension wash away as you melted in his arms. Though there were still things to work out. Though there was still a lot to discuss, being in Jihoon's arms again, at that moment, it was enough to make you feel like you had finally come home...

#park jihoon #park woojin #wanna one #wanna one imagines #wanna one scenarios #kpop scenarios #park jihoon scenarios #park jihoon imagines #park woojin scenarios #park woojin imagines

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pavlagomba · 5 years

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Sleep-over in a Bhutanese monastery

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“Wow! You will sleep in a monastery with sixty monks practicing tantra?” My best friend’s voice reflected awe, worry, concern and even readiness for the same endeavour when I told her about my plans for the mission to Bhutan.

“Relax, cool down. Monks have to observe strict celibacy. They can’t even shake a woman’s hand,” I tried to dispel a common misconception about the Buddhist tantra that is often held by (not only) Czech people. “And after all, the majority of them are children – it is a monastic school.”

The Chorten Nyingpo monastery in the Kabjisa region was built more than 350 years ago. Before then, this place was deemed cursed, full of evil demons, and people were too frightened to come near. Drukpa Kuenley, the “divine madman” and distinguished lama, who lived in the 15th century had fortunately changed that. From the opposite hill, he threw a burned stick at the cursed hillock, by which he purified the place and expelled all demons. The stick took root and grew into shadowy, twisted tree that dominates the monastery main gate up to this day.

Unsurprisingly, even the way up to the monastery is deeply spiritual. After you leave the main tarmac road and drive along a narrow track in a steep slope, you will hurriedly say your prayers hoping that there will not be any vehicle in the opposite direction because you wouldn’t stand a chance in trying to pass by. If you are fortunate enough and make it up the hill into 2,7000 metres above sea level, on the left you can admire a breathtaking view of the white walls protecting the main temple. As if it was a fairy tale! If the villagers burn the grass before new planting, veiling the monastery into a puff of mystical smoke, the scene might bring tears to your eyes, as it did to mine.

Chorten Ningpo is a monastic school that prepares boys for their livelong mission. A few years ago, UNICEF built a source of drinking water, washrooms and toilets here, and now continues working with the teachers so that, in addition to mastering rituals and memorizing holy text, young monks obtain standard education and have also the possibility to play games, do sports, and are protected from bullying, violence, and abuse. It used to be a common practice for the Bhutanese families to send one of their sons to a monastery. Today, however, wealthier parents prefer to send their children to schools and universities abroad, and so monasteries rather cater for orphaned children or children of poorer background.

I am curious what has changed since my visit last year!

First and foremost, the monastery has a new head. Lama Nado (my Bhutanese colleague Phuntsho tells me that in the Dzongkha language that means dark) meets us for the first time and is quite reserved. He lifts the door curtain of the main room where teachers stay and beckons us to enter. First of all, we are invited to drink butter tea sudja that is inseparable from every visit in Bhutan. A surprisingly cold, wood-panelled room is decorated with pictures of the royal dynasty on one wall and all manifestations of Guru Rinpoche, who brought Buddhism to Bhutan, on the other wall. A blue carpet lies on the floor, sheer luxury! Swarms of bees on the carpet that look as if they were still alive. That hunch was correct as painfully confirmed by my colleague Phuntsho. I attempt to explain the objectives of our mission in a friendly and yet fair and humble tone – and it paid off in the end: I noticed a faint smile on lama Nado’s face. Perhaps he had just been stressed by the visitors from abroad and relieved his anxiety once it turned out that we are quite normal.

Young monks’ day starts even before the dawn – at 4:30 in the morning. Two teachers wake them up by banging the gong that is strategically placed in front of the boys’ bedrooms. Within a few minutes, first little figures wrapped in red robes leave the rooms and descend the stairs to the bathrooms. The teachers keep banging, they are now faster and more insistent, so in a quarter of an hour no sleepyhead stays in the bed. Breakfast? Not even close. At five o’clock, young monks sit on the floor of the classroom muttering their prayers. That takes an hour, then the lessons begin. They are not much different from prayers: boys recite holy texts; however, they are less coordinated and shout at one another.

By the law, the monasteries should only accept children that are at least seven years old. Yet the smallest children here look younger – five or six years old. The cause of this may lie in the fact that every fifth child in Bhutan is stunted due to mother’s anaemia and chronic malnutrition in pregnancy or undernourishment in their first years of life. That is damage that cannot be compensated later.

First meal of the day is served at eight. Small monks are awake for more than four hours, and unlike me, they look quite fresh and lively. Breakfast picnic! Looking at two rows of monks sitting on the grass in front of the main sanctuary, I just cannot avoid thinking about this association. Older monks serve rice and chilli from big bowls. All of them must be terribly hungry, yet each of them first makes a small rice roll as an offering and puts it aside. This is eagerly awaited by the dogs that live in the monastery. Bhutanese people believe that a dog is the closest reincarnation to a man. As a result, any good you do to a dog you are likely to be rewarded for even within this life. If by any chance the supreme judge of karma decided that I was too naughty in this life and couldn’t possibly return as a human, I wouldn’t mind becoming a dog in the Chorten Ningpo monastery :-).

After breakfast, it is again time for study. The boys stay in the classroom for the entire morning. At one o’clock, young monks get lunch: the most modest meal of the day consisting of tea and few biscuits. This is a great time for having a siesta – waking up very early made me so tired that part of my body would relish a nice afternoon nap. “Will they go to bed now?” I ask full of hope. Lama Nado smiles faintly: “No, no, they must study more. It requires discipline and self-restraint to become a monk!”

The boys come back to the room, and though I am dead tired, I pretend to be very involved and excited. The afternoon is time for rituals. The boys take turns in groups scattered around the monastery: they practice their musical instruments (thought there is not enough of them for every boy, so some young monks substitute a trumpet with their robes), or they made ritual objects from dough, older ones devote their time to “religious polemic”. This means that half of them sit on the lawn and the second standing group “demolish” them with arguments. The topic is prayer flag colours: white stands for purity/wind, blue represents water, green is for nature, red is for fire, and yellow is the colour of the earth. I’m trying to find out more about this when a group of young monks pulling a body of a dead dog disturbs this philosophical debate. Each of them holds one of the dog´s leg and even though it is unlikely for a dog to be so heavy, tiny boys’ backs bend under its weight. My surprised face made lama Nado explode with laugher: “No, the dog is not dead. They only have it castrated down in the village.” And he points to a pile of wood behind the sanctuary from where I hear many whimpering weak noises. Perhaps, I will need to rethink my reincarnation plans.

The sun approaches the summits and ancient trees surrounding the monastery cast dense shadows. Lama prepared afternoon tea for us. Now it is black, without milk, yummy! The monks brought the kitchen table outside, and I realize how special this moment is. “Are there any tourists here?” I ask. “Recently, we have had more of them. They built a new hotel down in the valley and the tourists sometimes visit us too. One American donor even pays an English teacher who arrives once a week.” It is just a matter of time when someone finds out that the tourist who pay 1.2000 dollars a night won’t hesitate to pay at least as much for a picnic with a lama. The unique magic of this place will be lost though. I secretly wish that tourist found a different source of amusement. And I am even more proud of UNICEF’s programs that always respect the local tradition and culture, wherever we work.

“For monks, water and hygiene is very important. Since the bathrooms were built, the boys have been sick only rarely, even in winter. Before that they had often developed skin diseases or infections, but it has radically improved lately. Water is also needed for rituals in the temple. Anyway, we need to extend the source of water because it is dying down.” The monastery has also embarked upon higher monks’ education and stirred up considerable interest that necessitates increasing the capacity from 50 to 100 beds and building a proper retreat facility. In order to become a lama, you need to spend 3 years, 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days, and 3 hours meditating in a secluded place without any contact with other people.

At five o’clock we have dinner. Young monks gather in the dining room. Every boy carries his own metal plate. He will need to wash it on his own after dinner. It is practical: older monks who are in charge of the kitchen do not have to bother with all plates but clean only big pots in which they cook – nothing other than – rice and chilli sauce. Most monasteries are vegetarian as ordered by the chief abbot. Nothing surprising in a country where Buddhism is recognized as a state religion and slaughterhouses are banned. On the other hand, a lack of proteins contributes to anaemia in 44% of Bhutanese children. 15 years ago, it was a terrifying 80 percent. Among other things, the percentage decreased thanks to UNICEF’s programme at primary schools that started “iron Thursday” and advocated for the fortification of salt with iron.

Today’s dinner in Chorten Ningpo would not please nutrition specialists – again it consists of rice and chilli. That is why asking children here about their favourite food is ridiculous. They eat whatever they get. That is monk’s life: they do not eat when they are hungry, they do not rest when tired, they do not wear what they would like to wear – austerity and adherence to a strict routine is a way of fulfilling their duty.

The dinner is silent. Extraordinary, considering how many children are there. Noble silence is probably part of a ritual, and I am grateful for it right now because I am at the end of my tether, too exhausted to talk. Some boys gather in bigger groups while others sit alone or with one mate – I am thinking about what kinds of relationships can be forged in the artificial environment where the youngest children are unsupported by parents and must be largely self-reliant.

It must be difficult for the newcomers to get used to following such a strict programme. While other young monks go outside to wash their plates, seven-year-old Younten, who has been living in the monastery only for three months, stands behind the dining room with eyes full of tears. He is embarrassed by strangers, so he swiftly dries the tears, tidies his robe, and joins his mates. His parents separated and he had to live with his grandma. She was, however, too frail to take care of a small child. So the monastery is the only Younten’s option. He has to get used to it.

Separation from the family is the only disadvantage that 17-year-old Dawa Tashi, the best student of the school, mentions as well. He has been living here for five years and has coped with it so well that he sometimes looks more self-confident than the lama himself. “I like it here. The major benefit of being a monk is profound wisdom and knowledge. I would like to become a teacher and be a role-model for the others,” he says determinedly. I trust him.

Time after dinner brings some leisure pursuit. The monks set up a net on a holy tree, wrap their robes around the knees so that the clothes won’t bother them, and one of the monks brings a volleyball. Even though it is getting dark and the ball is hard to see, the boys keep playing, passing, setting and hitting the ball – relishing every single moment of being children again.

But Younten does not play. Perhaps he is too small for volleyball or not in the team yet. He sits by the pile of wood and plays with eight little puppies. Lama Nado expresses sympathy for that. He sits next to Younten and speaks with him while the puppies are biting their toes. Some people might say that this is too cute to be true, I am thinking as I look at the photos that I had taken. “Pavla, Pavla, mother is coming back!” my colleague Phuntsho cries with urgency. She worries that the puppies’ mother may attack me. I’d rather take a step back.

The monastery and its surroundings were plunged into complete darkness, and I am looking forward to creeping into my tiny room on the first floor. My mattress on the floor and a thick blanket look as if it was the best place in the whole universe after the exhausting day.

I should conclude with something wise. But the day has not yet ended for young monks! They hurry to the temple for an evening prayer. I can barely catch up with them. Recitation, songs, holy scrolls reading peppered with clinking and drumming – over and over again. Huh. The smallest kids also have enough. Some of them have fallen asleep in the lotus position with their heads falling forward and back until their mates poke them into their ribs to wake them up. The supervising teacher generously overlooks that. Every time the singing stops, I wish it were the end, but my hopes are dashed. The evening prayer last until eight p.m. – one and a half an hours. “It usually takes only an hour, but one villager passed away yesterday, and the relatives asked the monks for a prayer for his soul, so it’s longer today,” my colleague whispers to me.

Lama Nado finally gets up and leaves followed by the teachers. Hallelujah, done! But what is going on again? Young monks have to stay in the classroom! “They will have one more hour of study, their day ends at nine,” Phuntsho answers my unspoken question. And really, boys pick up their books and recite the texts even a bit louder than during the prayer. That made my jaw drop!

After nine they finally leave the classroom. The yellow light from the dining room glances softly. Lama Nado and I stand in the darkness outside and thought the window, we look at about ten boys sitting on the benches and sipping their tea from tin mugs. The dining room looks chilly and inhospitable. I wrap myself subconsciously into my jumper soaked with cool Himalayan air and ponder what warmth could a thin polyester fabric used for monks’ robes retain. “The evening tea is not compulsory, only some boys would come,” says Nadu. Five, ten minutes for tea, then they wash their faces and brush their teeth and at half past nine the boys are in their beds. I thought that I would see a sky full of stars in the Himalayas. The air is clean and fresh, but the night is cloudy, so the only light steams from the hotel down in the valley.

I do not want any tea now. Because I would need to turn on light, tiptoe on creaky floorboards, go down the steep wooden stairs and then cross the whole 100-meter wide courtyard to enter the bathrooms at night. For now, I will not stick to my water intake.

Last glance at the sanctuary and the flags that take all prayers to heaven. At night, the monastery looks completely different than in the daylight. I feel great ADMIRATION and RESPECT for the small monks that did not choose this way of life.

I know that monasteries have a prominent role in the Bhutanese society which we, the foreigners, admire so much. And that monk’s life is devoted to discipline, modesty and self-denial which may ultimately lead into the enlightenment. Yet I can’t help thinking about their right to have a standard childhood. They have a right to be with their parents, right to play, right to rest, right to acquire standard education.

One night in the monastery has changed a lot for me. Now when I wake up in Prague in the morning, I have to think about how much these boys had already done. When I feel tired after work and glance at my watches, I count how many hours more the monks will have to study. I decided that I will never complain again when I am in a hurry, exhausted or drained. And one more thing: I am proud that we take a small part in supporting these children to have clean water and hygiene facilities. Together with the local authorities, we work on improving the conditions these children live in – helping to protect the special and irreversible period that is called CHILDHOOD.

Photo Pavla Gomba and Vít Bělohradský, translation Petra Běličová.

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ofangelos-archive · 5 years

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╰☆╮ SHAWN MENDES ─ ANGELOS ALESANDRO ALMEIDA identifies as CIS MALE and uses HE/HIM pronouns. they’re an OLYMPIAN / SINGER / RAPPER and they’re only TWENTY ! they’re said to be AMBITIOUS, but also DISHONEST. i guess that’s why they’re known as THE BLACK HOLE in the tabloids.

ahhh yes … my son … angel DSJAIADS angel wasn’t meant to be this goofy and willing to change and willing to try and be a nice person. so he’s not gonna be :)

to put it in short… have y’all seen dynasty on netflix? blake carrington is basically just… angel’s father. the carrington dynamic is the almeida’s dynamic to a t.

when angel’s father did make the time to see angel, it was never for good reason.

angel always read in books or saw on tv that families were supposed to love and support each other, so he just assumed ??? that this was what love was like?? that it was tough all the time and sometimes cruel??? so he had a very twisted image of family and relationships and love and all of that

great that’s all terrible! let’s talk about his career

angel went to the rio olympics when he was 16. and i know that doesnt fit the timeline of his actual age being 20 but we’re gonna deal with it ok? ok. he was a track star. he won two silver medals and one gold medal in short-distance sprints. he was on top of the world because, for once, his father didn’t have shit on him. he was one of the most celebrated athletes around the globe… tw: domestic abuse, tw: abuse, tw: violence that was until his dad did have shit to say though. he was not happy that angel was ‘wasting his time’ with such an activity that didn’t make him any better of a business man. he wasn’t happy that angel wasn’t fitting into the mold of the person he wanted him to be. so he beat him to a pulp. and all angel could do was smile for the cameras and tell them the bruises on his face were from him celebrating his wins a little too much and tumbling off a table… or down the stairs… his stories changed a lot, but he never ever spoke about that night to anyone.

tw: drugs, tw: alcohol, tw: addiction so he turned to drugs and booze. just like his mother did. he turned into an absolute shell of himself. he was terrible. the absolute worst person he could possibly be. he raised hell anywhere and everywhere he went. completely gave up on his dreams of ever going back to the olympics.

tw: drug use examples of things he did while being so terrible: was in a terribly toxic relationship with tahnee where he convinced her to skip out on meet and greets / performances to lay up with him and do drugs, was manipulative and awful to margo while they were in a relationship because he figured out she’d do anything for him and he wanted everything, slept with his father’s secretary… and the next one after that one got fired… and the one after that too :/ , showed up to his cousin’s funeral high as a kite with not a clue in the world about where the fuck he was, snorted coke in the middle of wren’s first starring ballet recital and got the cops to shut the whole thing down to come and arrest him

when i say he was bad i mean he was big bad, okay? like genuinely. and he didn’t give a fuck

he moved to new york when he was 18 because then his father was harping on him about being a mess, and he didn’t want to hear about it or risk getting himself hurt. so he just left with nothing but his black amex and his private jet.

he was just fucking around in new york for a long while, ruining people’s lives for a long while before he finally decided to get sober after meeting marnie. it was not love at first sight, to say the very least, but to put a long story short, they realized that they could actually help each other and grow as people together, and so they both helped each other get clean and better themselves as people ???

and even longer story short, after many arguments and engagements and calling off engagements, marnie and angel are in a stable relationship and have a son named xander theo almeida. angel is…. absolute mush for him and loves him so sososososo much. more than he ever thought it was possible. he’s very soft when it comes to marnie and xander. he considers them to be his real family because they showed him what real, true love was like and fixed his twisted view on things like that

which is great and all honestly good for him !!! but he’s literally still a bitch to everyone else. it’s that trope where he’s bad to everybody except his girl :/ sorry bout it :/ :/

he’s a better person in the fact that he’s sober now, not that he suddenly cares about people. because his viewpoint and social skills are still completely fucked so he’s just??? not a nice person ?? he’s not gonna automatically fight you or anything, but he’s just perpetually grumpy and pessimistic and likes to ruin people’s moods

overall, not a nice person. isn’t completely batshit crazy like he was before but ! unless ur his bro, he’s not gonna be all smiley and polite with you.

also ! what also helped him get / stay clean ( at least for a while ) was ??? music ? he learned to play guitar because it looked cool and he wanted to be cool, and he sorta just had a natural affinity for it ??? and he ran a demo for eden and she was like … talent ! so now he’s signed to her. he released his first album “angel” which has songs by one of his vcs… shawn mendes .. duh … dajdiffhf and then while him and marnie were warring with each other he released his second album, “bomb: back on my bullshit” with his other vc g-eazy, so he’s kinda in a limbo between the two genres of music and figuring out what he wants to do

ok i think that’s all ihave to say about that

also he’s chuck bass sorrynotsorry he does that “i’m chuck bass” thing with the look … u know … but “i’m angelos almeida.”

ok im gonna shut up if u want to replot lmk otherwise im jus gonna assume we’re keeping the same shit goin

#revamp #ooc #tw: drugs #tw: alcohol #tw: addiction #tw: abuse #tw: domestic abuse #tw: mental abuse #tw: neglect #sheesh #mostly just read this if u wanna understand angel's psyche better #tl;dr: he's a jerk

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