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jokeroutsubs · 10 months

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ART BOX portal interview with Joker Out’s Bojan Cvjetićanin and Kris Guštin

“NEW WAVE: JOKER OUT – A NEW GENERATION OF THE OLD SOUND”

Interviewed by: Sara Stojev

The Slovenian band Joker Out performed for the first time in Belgrade, at this year's Beer Fest. Joker Out was formed in 2016 and has been present on the Slovenian and Balkan scene for seven years. They have two successful albums Umazane misli and Demoni. At this year's Eurovision Song Contest, the band represented Slovenia with the song Carpe Diem. They took 21st place in the final, but the band achieved significant success after the Eurovision. In addition to the previously planned Balkan tour, Joker Out is performing throughout Europe this summer. While they performed in Ireland in June, they have a scheduled Great Britain tour in July, and in September they are expected to tour the countries of Scandinavia: Finland, Sweden, and Norway (T/N: Finland is not a part of Scandinavia).

Joker Out. Photo: Ursa Premik

Joker Out attracted a lot of public attention in Serbia as well. At the Beer Fest, they performed in front of a large audience and created a phenomenal atmosphere. This band is proof that Slovenia has a music scene that can conquer the Balkans and achieve the success that the Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian music scenes achieved. The band consists of singer Bojan Cvjetićanin, guitarist Kris Guštin, guitarist Jan Peteh, drummer Jure Maček and bassist Nace Jordan.

We spoke with frontman Bojan and guitarist Kris ahead of their performance at Beer Fest.

Your music is a fusion of different genres. You stated that you do not define the band through one specific genre. How would you describe that fusion?

Bojan: All the members of the band listened to different music while growing up, but we all met in some English indie rock. Each instrumentalist expresses his own musical taste. For example, Jan prefers a mix of metal and hip-hop, while Kris is a big fan of the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac and Dire Straits, i.e. classic rock. I grew up with ex-YU rock. We all listened to some Slovenian bands such as Siddhartha, Big Foot Mama, and Dan D.

Kris: We actually have a definition of our sound, which is Shagadelic Rock n' Roll. We took Shagadelic from Austin Powers, and we think that phrase describes us the best.

Music is a broad concept in itself. We can conditionally divide it into pop music and the cultural-artistic scene. Your music certainly belongs to the cultural-artistic scene. How do you perceive such scene in Slovenia and in the Balkans in general? How does Joker Out fit into it?

Bojan: After talking with colleagues from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, we can conclude that the Slovenian rock and roll scene is currently the most active and receives the most attention. There are many bands in Slovenia that perform at gigs and festivals and also have the possibility of doing independent concerts. Those bands cover a wide range of generations who are fans of such music. In this spirit, a large number of fashion designers and graphic designers, for example, have appeared in the last five to seven years. Slovenia currently has a very positive view of the music scene and culture in general.

Kris: At the same time, we don't have a pop scene like there is in Serbia.

Bojan: That kind of music and the raft and club culture does not exist in Slovenia in the same way. Folk music is certainly played, but it often happens that these performers perform in the same place where some rock and roll bands perform, for example.

Joker Out, Belgrade. Photo: Vida Orahek

The band was formed in your teenage years. What were those beginnings like?

Bojan: We formed the band in high school. Joker Out was the product of a larger goal. Before Joker Out, I founded the band Apokalipsa in 2012. Kris and Jan formed their band Buržuazija a little later. We achieved minimal but significant success with Apokalipsa in a smaller circle in Ljubljana. Kids used to come to our gigs. Kris and Jan used to come, too. Everything was at the beginner level. Our wish was to raise it to a higher level. I went to a concert where I heard Kris and Jan play, I liked it and that's why I invited them to form a new band. Thus, in 2016, Joker Out was born.

What moment do you consider crucial for the transition from an amateur band to the successful band that you are today?

Kris: There are a few moments like that. The first is when we won the Špil League in 2017, the biggest band competition in Slovenia. Our second single Omamljeno telo was released after that, which achieved the first major success. We released the single Gola in 2019. The song was quickly picked up by major and commercial radio stations. We already knew then that we are going to do something big. I think that our decision to perform at Eurovision was also crucial because it happened at the right moment.

You have two albums behind you, Umazane misli and Demoni. How are they different and how are they similar? What is authentically Joker Out about them?

Bojan: We see more similarities than differences. We wanted them to be different, but it didn't happen to the extent we expected. Both albums are quite melodic. I think the first album had a slightly lighter tone, both thematically and sonically, and I would say a little less experimentation. The first album was the result of two years of making music, some singles developed into an album, so I wouldn't say it has a thread. Demoni had that, it was made as an album and we worked on it actively for five months. We stepped out of our comfort zone for the first time and went to other studios where we had not played before. I would say the second album is more coherent.

What will you change on the next album compared to the previous two?

Kris: We don't have any plans for the third album yet, but we want it to be a bit more thick, like the songs A Sem Ti Povedal on the first and Katrina on the second album. Also, we want it to have songs in other languages as well. In addition to Slovenian, we hope that there will be songs in Serbian, Croatian, English, Spanish and French.

Joker Out, Belgrade. Photo: Vida Orahek

This year you represented Slovenia at the Eurovision Song Contest. What was the experience like for you? How do you explain the success you achieved after Eurovision?

Bojan: Eurovision was a very positive experience for us. Everything we hoped for in our careers has happened after Eurovision. Our goal at the Eurovision itself was to remember the year 2023 as a year where the Slovenian national team was good, as well as to see if we could gain fans outside of Slovenia, which turned out to be possible. Eurovision is one of the biggest spectacles in the world. There certainly are big and powerful players there, it was the same this year. Although we didn't get the best place, we think we did a great job. The success we achieved is much more important to us than winning without anything happening in our career after the competition.

You are now doing a summer tour that will last until the end of September. What can we expect after the tour?

Kris: There will be new music for sure. We are planning a new single at the end of summer. The tour covers Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in our area. In addition, we will be touring the UK and Scandinavia. After the tour, we will hold our biggest concert to date at Arena Stožice in Slovenia on October 6th, which is already sold out. We will have two performances in Zagreb in November. We are performing in Novi Sad in October. We are planning more European and Balkan tours after all these events, as well as new music.

Collaborator of the Art Box portal with the band Joker Out in Belgrade. Photo: from a private archive

As Kris and Bojan mentioned, Joker Out returns to Serbia on June 28, with a performance at Arsenal Fest in Kragujevac. The band announced this week they will also be performing at SKCNS, at Fabrika.

Article translation by: Teo @/yiboego on Twitter DO NOT REPOST!

#joker out #bojan cvjeticanin #bojan cvjetićanin #kris guštin #kris gustin #jan peteh #nace jordan #jure macek #jure maček

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pink-ttes · 9 months

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ℐׅ 핑크 ─ ENCHANTED : A CHARMEINE YU STORY

“I’LL SPEND FOREVER WONDERING IF YOU KNEW,

I WAS ENCHANTED TO MEET YOU.”

CHARACTERS. charmeine yu, kyrie han, bae yoona, chantana kanarot

WARNINGS. marijuana consumption, very brief mention of sex, brief mention of kidnapping anxiety, i believe that’s all !

WORD COUNT. 4.3K

“I don’t know, he just keeps fucking off, and I want to settle down one day but I don’t know if he’s ever gonna stop,” Tana chatters, licking her vanilla ice cream cone.

The sun, sitting prettily in the faintly darkening sky, beats down on their backs, the sound of the waves crashing against the sand serving as background noise. It’s a hot summer evening, one that the majority of the company had spent at a beach party thrown by Hayden.

“And he’s gonna keep doing it because you allow it,” Yoona pragmatically says, scooping up ice cream from the waffle bowl and stuffing it into her mouth.

Tana’s nose crinkled listening to the older girl. She knew she was right but she was never one to listen, at least after the first, second, or twentieth warning. She was a person who asked for advice on situations, disregarded the advice and did the opposite of what she was advised, realized that things went wrong because she didn’t listen and still did the same thing again, just hoping that the outcome might come out different the next time. News flash, it never did.

“I think you just need to drop him, he’s a weirdo,” Charmeine interposes, to which Yoona nods in agreement.

Tana dismisses her, opting to pretend she didn’t hear her and asks a differing question. “Can I ask you guys something? And don’t think I’m, like, weird or anything.”

“Go on,” Yoona encourages, Charmeine turning to look at Tana anticipatingly.

“I know she’s your cousin and all,” she begins, shifting her eyes to Charmeine, “but do you think that Briar would sleep with him?”

Charmeine nearly chokes on her ice cream sandwich, letting out an obnoxious chortle. She nods her head aggressively, “of course she would.”

Yoona purses her lips, her eyes widening with amusement.

“But she’s my best friend and this is the first guy I’ve ever taken seriously,” Tana pouts, her brows furrowing.

“She’s my cousin and she fucked my ex before,” Charmeine casually opposes. “I don’t know why you’re acting brand new, Briar’s been like this.”

A low “damn” is all that Yoona can let out as she listens to the conversation before her.

“Wait, so do you think that she fucked my boyfriends before?” Tana asks, a newfound panic settling in her expression.

Charmeine and Yoona spare each other knowing glances, the conversation suddenly falling into an awkward silence. Charmeine looks away from the two, not wanting to give an unwanted answer to the lingering question before she narrows her eyes at a certain event playing out in front of her.

“No, seriously—” Tana picks up the topic once more, her tone gaining some edge to it but she doesn’t get to raise her concern fully.

“Holy shit,” Charmeine cuts the girl off.

“What?” Tana asks, turning to look at whatever caught Charmeine’s attention. Her eyes fall on three boys, two standing shirtless, one clad in a black tank top.

“Three-man?” Charmeine asks, a string of laughter from all of them following after.

Her eyes lock onto the one on the end, his skin radiant as the evening sun twinkles over his toned body. She’s seen him before, just never looking this good. She doesn’t know if it’s the summer haze taking over her mind, the heat causing her to think irrationally, or if this guy she’d never talked to and just seen around the bend every now and then was just underratedly hot.

Charmeine finally brings her attention back to the other two.

“Damn, they do look good,” Yoona eyes them, specifically checking out the tallest one whose long hair is perfectly brushed into place.

Tana gnashes her teeth, seemingly to bite back temptation before letting out a breath and rolling out her tense shoulders. “Go shoot your shot, girl,” she rouses.

She looks back at him, but unbeknownst to her, he’d been staring her down as soon as she turned away from him the first time. Their eyes meet and she brightens almost immediately. His lips curl into a tantalizing grin. He waves his fingers as if gesturing for her to advance to him.

Charmeine thinks on it for a moment, eyeing the sand beneath her feet before looking back at him. She stands up, making her way over to where he and his friends stood. They all look her up and down as she approaches, standing there as if she was more than certain that she belonged there.

“I noticed you staring at me,” Charmeine divulged, “you weren’t hiding it very well.”

“I wasn’t trying to,” he says, his sly smile betraying his words. He sends a look to his friends, signaling for them to allow him some privacy and once they finally pick up on it, they oblige, leaving the two alone.

He outstretches his hand, peering at her hand. “Kyrie,” he introduces.

“I know,” she takes his hand, shaking it, but keeping it there for a moment, savoring the feeling of his baby soft palm.

She doesn’t introduce herself because she knows he knows who she is. She often goes through events without having to introduce herself, a quality of life she’s grateful for. It saves for the trouble of awkward small talk and the ever-dreaded talking stage.

“I just happened to notice you scoping me out, too,” Kyrie shoots back, a flirty lilt in his tone.

She scoffs playfully, “I was looking at the sun, you were just in the way.”

“The sun’s right there,” he chuckles, pointing behind her. She turns around as though she hadn’t realized the sun had been placed in that spot in the sky for as long as they’d been here.

Kyrie pores over at Charmeine through low eyes, taking in the girl's frame, devouring her through mere looks. His carnal gaze doesn’t fall unnoticed by Charmeine. She can feel the fluttering in her stomach, tickling her from the inside. It’s been awhile since a boy has made her feel like that.

There’s a small breeze that blows Kyrie’s fragrance past her face, a scent mixed of sage, citrus, and weed.

“But you got the prettiest little smile,” he admires.

It makes her smile even harder on instinct, her cheeks glowing a faded tint of pink as she stares up and into his rich eyes. “So I’ve been told.”

He laughs at her playful cockiness.

“This music’s kinda loud, how about we get some privacy?” He suggests. The music isn’t loud at all. Sure, you might have to go up a few octaves to hear certain sentences, but it’s actually perfectly volumed, fueling the ambience with the trap-r&b songs playing over the stereo, the DJ proving to be more-than-efficient to the guests attending the party. Charmeine thinks that she should steal Hayden’s DJ for her next party.

“Sure,” Charmeine nods, taking his hand as he leads her through the crowd. She quickly gives Tana and Yoona, who were sitting in their same spot in the sand, a small jig of jubilance. They laugh, sending her two thumbs up.

They walk around to the back of Hayden’s vacation home. The sound of the ocean is soothing as they take their short walk, which is filled by banter and flirty remarks all the way up until they make it to their destination. In that little time, she’s learned his favorite artists, the way he views his friends, and the things he prefers to do at parties like these—all things needed to know how a person interacts with the world. Charmeine prided herself in being a very perceptive human being.

He leans against the fence, right next to a patio-like table and bench, surrounding the spacious home. “‘You smoke?”

“A little.”

Kyrie reaches into the pocket of his swim trunks, pulling out a few materials and sitting them down on the table she takes a seat at. “You know how to roll?”

Charmeine coyly purses her lips, sheepishly shaking her head, “no.”

He chuckles at her mannerisms. “You’re cute when you get shy like that.”

She playfully flicks her wrist at him, instantly heartening at his compliment. She’s always getting compliments but when they come from him, it feels more invigorating.

“I can show you, if you want,” he offers.

She nods enthusiastically and he smiles back at her before sitting across from her at the table. He lays the blunt wrapper and the weed out in front of him, focusing on the joint.

A cold sensation drips down her wrist, suddenly making her all too aware of the melting ice cream sandwich she had totally forgotten about. She gasps at the sticky feeling, squirming uncomfortably, her face contorted in disgust. She takes a bite of the cool treat, chewing it carelessly.

Kyrie takes a swift look up at her eating, before making a kittenish noise of disappointment. “Aww, your sandwich melted,” he frowns, a faux pout coming into play.

“I know,” Charmeine returns the gesture, dragging out the syllables and replicating his pout.

“Gimme a bite?” Kyrie supplicates.

She hums, bringing the sandwich to his lips, to which he leans forward a little and takes a bite out of the chocolate-y delight. When some of its vanilla insides drip down Charmeine’s finger and wrist, he maneuvers his tongue to lick up the ice cream, causing her to squirm at the ticklish feeling. He traces past the front of her wrist all the way back to the tips of her fingers and nibbles down gently.

“You bit me!” She gasps dramatically, to which he just laughs as he gets adjusted in his seat again, shifting attention back to the matter at hand. “Do you bite all your girls like that?”

“What do you mean all my girls?” Kyrie asks, his face twisting up in disapproval.

“You don’t have to lie to me, I know what type of boy you are mister-man,” she quickly replies.

“And what type of boy is that?” He scoffs.

Charmeine watches his agile fingers sprinkling weed in the wrapper, rolling it up with ease. He licks the sides, sealing it up. The joint is wrapped neatly, its size is a little thick but still perfect nonetheless. She’s impressed. She’s never seen such a perfectly rolled blunt, or someone roll it so effortlessly. His rolling skills are like a talent to her.

“You’re the type who doesn’t stay single for long…you hop from girl to girl. I know you have hoes,” Charmeine states in a matter-of-fact tone, her eyes switching from watching the blunt to his face.

“Wow, I don’t like to be perceived,” he says, his voice oddly relaxed. Charmeine can tell that he’s already been smoking, the way his words come out slowly, a mellow tone to every thing he says. “And I’m completely single.”

She hums, doubting him entirely.

“While you’re grilling me, I bet you got a whole roster,” Kyrie jokes.

“Uh-uh,” Charmeine quickly denies, even though what he’s saying is partially true. “I’m a free agent!”

He laughs at her, burning the joint with a lighter. “A free agent, huh?”

She nods proudly.

“So you don’t have a boyfriend, no side hoes—none of that?” He asks.

She shakes her head in refutation. He shows off the exemplary manufactured blunt, rotating it so that Charmeine can get a good look. She nods at him in awe, giving small jocular applause.

“You look too good,” Kyrie replies, holding the blunt to Charmeine lips, to which she obliges, opening her mouth and letting him sit the blunt in her mouth gently. He lights it up for her with his lighter, the warmth from the fire on the other end tickling the bottom half of her face. It’s an oddly comfortable warmth. She takes a pull, longer than usual. She begins to cough, feeling the smoke in her throat and chest, watching it trickle through her nose.

“Lightweight,” he teases with a snort, causing her to shoot a jesterful scowl his way.

After she catches her breath from her coughing fit, she affirms, “I’m single by choice.”

“Oh, really?” The corners of his mouth turned up, amused.

“These…these are little boys,” she says, moving her hands in a circle as she speaks, presumably gesturing to men as a collective.

He takes a long pull of the blunt, eyes narrowing as the smoke seeps leisurely through his nose. “I’m not a little boy.”

“You gotta prove to me that you’re not a little boy,” she quips. “A lot of little boys say they aren’t but they’re little ass boys.”

“That’s not me,” he responds, passing the joint back to her.

“Why do you care so much anyway, ‘you wanna be my man?” She chaffs.

“If you let me,” Kyrie says, catching Charmeine off guard. She pauses for a moment, holding the smoke in her cheeks. He lets the joke hang in the air before laughing at her countenance, “just yanking your chain.”

Charmeine lets the smoke out, coughing softly, a stupefied expression washing over her face, her high settling in quicker than his did.

“Why are you?” She questions.

“Why am I…?”

She laughs at herself. “Why are you single? You asked me, I’m asking you.”

“I didn’t ask, I just said you look too good to be single,” Kyrie clarifies, a chortle slipping through.

“But things happen—I fuck up from time to time.”

“Everybody fucks up from time to time,” she voices.

“Yeah, but I fuck up big time,” Kyrie admits, his sedate voice falling dulcet on her ears. “I don’t wanna fuck up with a girl that’s perfect for me. I could find something totally perfect for me and fuck it up because that’s—that’s what I do.”

Charmeine hums, listening to him speak.

“No amount of fuck-ups can push away your soulmate,” is all the slightly dopey girl says.

“You believe in soulmates?” Kyrie queries.

Charmeine just nods, watching him hit the blunt again. There’s something so alluring about the way he looks when he’s in such a partially dazed and genial state. And she doesn’t know if it’s the effects of the weed on her body but it feels like flowers are blooming in her stomach the longer she sits there with him.

A few puffs and a few roll-ups later, Charmeine found herself in Hayden’s master bathroom, her back pushed up against the countertop. Kyrie’s hands are roaming her body as he lifts her up and sits her on the counter. She wraps her legs around his hips, pulling him closer, his tongue sweeping past her lips with utmost desire. Her hands threaded through his fluffy hair, fingers massaging his scalp.

Passion on impulse wasn’t something that Charmeine was used to. She was accustomed to doing things at the right moment, after a long time, in a maybe-kind-of-sort-of fashion.

Kyrie presses kisses onto her lips that trail to her cheeks and down her jawline to her neck. He pays extra close attention there, sprinkling pecks of affection all over. His teeth tug at the skin, causing her to squirm with a giggle, her grip tightening just the slightest at his hair. He laughs along with her, but his chuckles are buried into the deep of her neck, the vibrations tickling her. It’s like he’s hungry for every piece of her, going all in yet savoring every movement.

His digits find their way to the tie of her orange bathing suit top, working at the material before hands are gently placed on his shoulders. He stops in his tracks, stepping back just slightly to get a clear of her face, picking up on her signal.

“Nuh-Uh,” Charmeine says, her mouth twisting as they stare at each other. “I don’t have sex with guys I just met.”

Kyrie flashes a lopsided smile her way.

“I shouldn’t even have kissed you,” she taunts, tapping on his chest after every word.

“Not even a kiss?” Kyrie asks, astonished.

“Kissing is way more intimate than fucking,” Charmeine reasons. Kyrie looks at her, perplexed at the idea of kissing being more intimate than having sex. He imagined having sex was the most intimate thing you could probably do with a woman. He imagined that a girl would be more mad that you fucked another girl than just kiss another.

“Okay,” he mutters, a little embarrassed at having gotten worked up so quickly. But in his defense, he’s had sex with girls on first meet more times than he’d care to remember. Though that fact doesn’t really help his case much, anyway.

He tightens the knot in her swimsuit, returning it to its original state of security.

“But…” she begins, making Kyrie’s ears perk up. “I’m hungry now.”

“Me too,” he agrees with a woozy chuckle. She returns the same stupefied laugh before putting her hand out for him to take it and help her down. He does just that, guiding her to the wooden floor. “There’s a gas station not too far from here.”

“But how are we going to get there?” Charmeine dizzily asks.

“How the fuck do you think I got here?” Kyrie deadpans. She gazes at him, waiting for an answer. “A car?” He laughs boisterously.

“I was gonna say that,” she playfully punches his arm.

He takes hold of her hand again, leading her through the house and to the front door. They keep venturing through the room and out the door, to where they spot a white Ferrari parked in its respective position. Charmeine doesn’t really like low cars, she likes to ride in big cars where she can look over everyone on the road. It’s not like she could drive either, anyway, considering she doesn’t have her license yet. She’s failed her test around three times now—and counting. Though the exterior isn’t her preference, she’s impressed by how clean its interior is.

She’s surprised that he could even keep it so spotless, the leather seating in perfect condition. The smell matches the mien, replicating Kyrie’s scent.

They get in the car, Kyrie starting it up and checking everything out before he starts driving. He fixes his rear view and lets down the windows of the car slightly, then nodding once everything’s to his liking. His last step is to turn on the radio, connecting his phone to the auxiliary cord and playing his playlist on shuffle. His taste in music is mostly hip-hop with the ever-so-often touch of soft R&B tunes in the mix.

Her eyes go straight to a pack of Backwoods lying in the glove compartment, sticking out partially. Kyrie seems to smoke a lot, is what she would say if she weren’t as high as she was already. Stupidly enough, she picks up the brand new pack and opens it up, pulling out the wrappers as he pulls off.

“You want some more?” He asks, shocked.

“Yeah, why? You can’t handle it?” She joshes.

“Can you?” He responds.

Charmeine ignores his words, only taking them as a challenge. She sits the wrapper in her lap, reaching in his pocket retrieving another bag of weed.

The music is blaring as he drives, rather recklessly might she add. Well, she would’ve added it had she been on her P’s and Q’s. He had to be breaking some kind of speed limit laws with how speedy he was going. His drifts were impressively heedless, whipping and weaving effortlessly. Some turns felt like she was on a rollercoaster, her heart dropping down into her stomach with every careless motion. Aside from the sound of the wind passing them by, his singing along to the songs serves as background noise for her.

She packs the paper, her tongue sticking out, her usual face of concentration. She then loosely rolls it up, weed falling out from the sides. She burns it up with his lighter, accidentally burning the tip of her finger in the process. Once she licks it up and “seals” it, she holds it up in the light.

“Look!” She says, proud.

He briefly looks over to her, examining the blunt before bursting into laughter. “What the fuck is that?”

“A perfectly rolled blunt!”

“That is the ugliest fucking blunt I ever fucking seen,” he ridicules, staring at the thick joint, which is practically waiting to fall apart.

She laughs with him, jokingly slapping his arm. She imprudently smokes the rinky-dink joint, choking on it as the insides fall out all over lap. Charmeine never thought she would be the one littering the interior of a neat Ferrari but here she is, fucking up his seats. She puts it up to his mouth next, watching him take yet another impossibly long pull.

When Kyrie said that the convenience store was “not too far,” his sense of time must’ve been incredibly warped. Charmeine was lost on why a house was so completely out of the way from every suitable average location in California. After nearly thirty minutes, the two arrive outside of the gas station. It probably would’ve taken more time had he been abiding by road laws.

Kyrie reaches into his glove compartment and pulls out two black face masks, handing her one before giving her his hoodie from the backseat of his car. She takes both, both of them putting on the masks and exiting the car.

The store is relatively empty aside from the very few stragglers who presumably stumbled in on a drunken night of partying, hungry for something cheap and fast.

“Go crazy,” he advises, instructing her to pick out the snacks she wants. She doesn’t take much time to get started, either, loading Kyrie’s arms with a variety of ice creams, chips, cookies, and candy bars.

Eventually, after watching her run around the star like a kid in a candy store, eyes wide with awe, hearts practically living in them, they approach the guy at the register. Kyrie pays for all of the snacks, something that Charmeine takes note of.

They return to the car, unloading the snacks and digging in. The car is filled with chewing and collective agreements on how ridiculously good the junk food they’re consuming tastes through hums and nods. That is, until their moment is ruined when Charmeine’s phone rings.

She lets it ring for a few moments before finally picking it up and reading the contact name: Yoona. Her eyes then wander to the top corner of the phone, noticing the time which read a shocking 3:45AM. She covers her mouth with a gasp, “did you know it’s almost 4AM?”

“Wow, really?” He asks, just as shocked as she is, completely having lost track of time.

She accepts the call, Yoona’s face appearing in the corner.

“Charmeine, where the hell are you?” Yoona queries.

“I’m just…getting food,” she answers, rather unnecessarily suspicious.

“It’s 3 in the fucking morning, I don’t want you out that late! Do you know what happens to girls at that time of night?” She grills. Yoona’s always on a tangent about what happens to girls in the dark hours. She sends the girls articles about missing girls, often followed by the phrase: “See what I told you?” She’s always been the worrywart, constantly worried for their safety. They love her for it, but it makes them never tell her when they’re going out because then it’ll start. They say it kind of kills the fun of living but they know she only does it because she cares.

“Who are you with?” Yoona asks.

“I’m with Kyrie,” Charmeine tells.

“Kylie? Who the fuck is Kylie?” She panics.

Charmeine and Kyrie both burst into laughter, listening to the older girl. “No, I said—” before she can correct her, she’s interrupted by a rumbling Yoona.

“I don’t care, just tell Kylie to bring you home!” She splutters before hanging up.

The two of them look at each other, faces looking like they just bit into a sour lemon as they try to stifle their laughter but fail miserably, tears leaguing in their eyes.

“Okay, let’s get you home before she beats my ass,” Kyrie says, starting up the car. “Where are you staying?”

Charmeine ponders for a moment, trying to recollect her thoughts before plainly shrugging. “You don’t know where you’re staying?”

“No…I can’t remember,” she responds innocently.

“Damn,” he says under his breath. “It’s either you stay at my place or you ask her.”

“I wanna come with you,” she whines. It instantly brings a smile to his face. He looks at her as she lies back in the seat, her eyes low and her high obviously coming down just a bit after the hours passing. She looks like she could use some sleep, but to him she’s cute when she’s tired.

“I know, but I don’t want her to be worried. I want you to come with me too,” Kyrie says softly.

She sighs in defeat, “fine.”

Charmeine sits up, her fingers taking to massage her temples, her unoccupied hand tapping through her phone. She clicks on Yoona’s contact, checking her location. She holds up the phone to Kyrie’s face, showing him what hotel they’re staying at.

He squints reading it before nodding and pulling out of the driveway.

Once they finally arrive outside of the hotel, he walks her to her room—which she hadn’t fully remembered the number of, so they spent a few moments trying her keycard on doors starting with 31 until they found the right one.

“You know I never got your number, right?” Kyrie notes, whipping out his phone.

“Oh, right,” Charmeine remembers, putting her number in and saving the contact. “I had fun with you tonight.”

Kyrie beams at that, unable to control his wide grin. “Me too. You’re a cool girl.”

“So I’ve been told,” she quips, he laughs. Something they’ve grown accustomed to tonight.

“Goodnight,” he leans down and plants a gentle kiss on her cheek.

“Goodnight, Kyrie.”

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castle-dominion · 1 year

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c3x4 punked

I like a good bit of steampunk & judging from the episode thumbnail this is going to be great.

Do they have mounties in the usa? ew

smorelette sounds genuinely gross & I like weird food combinations...

Even on my first watch-through I noticed ashley was a girl’s unisex name

You should have heard the sound I made when I heard him say “chocolate mousse chimichanga”

Diva’s honour uwu He looks so sweet & angry MR: Maybe it’s a nice murder, darling; brighten your day

PARISH IS SO RIGHT, GET HER A TEA (my family also spent five minutes arguing about funnel cakes, elephant ears, beaver tails (which are crepes & crepes are not pancakes), bear paws, white claws, monster energy, & bear claws. gee ess double-yu is a lot longer to say than gunshot wound. I propose: wed. tee yu vee, wed, ex, wy, zed. Much faster to say & it rhymes with zed to make it not alone.

KR: Photo on the ID matches captain underpants here (Everyone looks at him) KR: Sorry, my nephew loves those books. half my classmates read them but I actually never did (& then an inconsistency in which direction Esposito is facing)

Girl she probably just wears regular women’s underwear. (Also castle I’m shocked. You strike me as a boxer-briefs kind of a guy.) She actually might wear boyshorts.

Lol it’s my little brother, no social skills, sweetheart, dork, math genius... Wow that was some loud knocking Ryan Oh He looks... concerned (& is wearing a nice outfit as usual) RC: Anyone good? KR: *points, gestures, & waves* eughhhhh?????

D’André: *looks at castle* RC: Hey... KB: If you’re so innocent Mr D’André, why did you resist arreest & try to put one of my detectives through a wall? (I’d love to see that scene) RC: *looks back to the glass as if he can see behind the mirror* KR: You know, the right turtleneck, & no-one’s even going to notice bro. JE: *slowly turns to him with a huge-ass neck brace on, the poor guy. It pushes up his ears & cheeks & he looks frickin m a d* KR: Maybe a scarf JE: >:| KR: *hits him playfully?* JE: Ow

I mean castle is a bit high strung but when this buff mountain of a man stands up & you know he already put one of either ryan or esposito through a wall, like, I can understand it. Poor esposito DX JE: I want this guy to fry, beckett! (whipsers) ow, (ryan looks at him in concern)

This is one sexy episode RC: time travelling killer! *goes to high-five lanie but she is already walking off* (Mandolin version of theme song starts playing)

“time ripple” no it does NOT sound dirty castle wtf I like how Ryan half humours castle KR: Can’t be a time traveling killer; bullet had 200 years of rust on it; if the killer had been a time travelwe, the bullet would have been brand new I like abe sanrich. Lol D’André the giant. I just listened to an audiobook on the making of the princess bride actually.

JE: So uh, is Di Andre our guy? (For someone who can say spanish words perfectly his other latin skills seem to be lacking) KB: I’m afraid not. JE: What? Why did he go all hulk hogan on me? RC: Well why did the scorpion sting the frog? It’s in his nature. (Ryan almost looks more upset than Esposito, but then again, esposito can’t really make all the facial expressions one usually would be able to.) RM: I’ll see he gets the max detective JE: Thank you captain RM: You know you can take a couple days if you’d like? Catch some movies. RC: Read Naked Heat. JE: No. JE: No need, sir. RM: *goes to pat him on the shoulder* JE, not much of a touchy feely guy in the first place & also in pain: *eyes* RM: *single soft pat* KB: *doesn’t laugh doesn’t laugh doesn’t laugh doesn’t laugh I swear she is not laughing* JE: -_-

RC: Maybe the killer came through the time ripple naked & needed the clothes KB: RC: Like in the terminator KB: Sadly I don’t have a better theory at this point (Castle & esposito feed birds) (even tho esposito usually hates castle’s theories)

KB: Go check [xyz] out KR: You got it *turns around quickly, bumping into esposito* JE: mhhh XP

Beckett is so important in Castle’s raising of a teenaged daughter

RC: You said something about a giant moth?

Ok so Murphy is at the finance firm

RM: Any luck? (USE CTRL F U IDIOT) JE: turns around slowly KR: Nah. So far I’ve seen a lot of cool old guns on these sites. (I love a good cool old gun) RM: (talks about the cool guy with the cool gun on the site) Check it out esposito JE: *groaning as he slowly turns around* RM: *trying not to laugh or feel bad for getting esposito to move* JE: Yeah that’s nice. See back then they were into the artistry of it all KR: Yeah theyre like little sculptures.. that can kill (he says with his cheek on his fist all cute-like) (huertas probably liked this episode, he’s into guns)

RM: If I had that kind of scratch around I’d be putting it somewhere safe, like me mattress.

Podofski sent an audio file? RC: You think he offered him a blindfold & a cigarette?

KB: & can anyone vouch for that? IP: Me RC: Myself & I got your back too?

sir ACD is the time traveler, castle!

Except don’t old guns have no rifling & won’t ballistics be unable to match the gun? RC: Somehow they never prefer to be arrested for murder

RC: This has got to be a joke. Goldstein drives a DeLorean (My mum used to work at the airport & one of her volunteers owned a delorean that he had modified to look like the time machine. It was p cool.)

I love Ryan & his sunglasses They r just talking about the car, it’s valid, it’s a cool car KR: I hope [there’s something in the car that will help us], that’s a lot of doors to knock on (touches hand to car & gets burned bc it is sunny & south?) WOW FIRST NAMES? OK THEN. KR, seeing a guy with a bloodstained shirt: Hey Javi! NGL I love lord henry! Haberdashery across the park! At least it makes Esposito smile Oh poor esposito KR, with lord henry in a hold: U alright bro? JE with his gun out: I’m fine. >:{

KB: Alright, thank you ryan. RC: How’s esposito? KB: At home resting Finally the man took some time off

Castle is so cool, knows the actual period of the clothing (tho I can’t verify that). He did not go quietly into the night, he fired back

It is going to be HARD to metal detect that entire park bro, even just the area you want to check good framing & camera fun RC, walking off: Let’s say *walks back & starts moving Ryan around* Let’s say that our killer was standing over here (ryan looks like he’s had his feathers ruffled) Castle counted a bit off or had longer/shorter strides but different people have different leg length RC: It wasn’t a game! *holds up finger gun* It was an old fashioned duel! KR: *holds up his own finger gun*

I thought that castle was going to practice lockpicking actually.

OH WOW OK THEN (& I was right about the unisex name) RC: Yess well me meeting ashley has smeared lip gloss all over your face (I don’t like the guns but when you go to meet a girl’s dad that’s the only time when a gun is acceptable.) (still not acceptable actually but you get the point.) Castle knows a cool trick there! Ashley: Yeah sure, if it’s ok with your gun-- dad Ash: I respect her, she is respectable, I respect you RC: I like him. He’s respectful. (Cuz u waved a gun at him lol. Heck yeah bro XD)

RC & me: well at least some guy in ballistics had fun firing em off

Interesting motion with the coffee there

RC: Maybe it was about a girl. In fact, alexis’s boyfriend (who has a girl’s name btw) thought I was going to shoot him last night. KB: *Eyebrows go up, smiles & kinda nods.* KR: Hey RC: Hey, how’s esposito? (Asks ryan this) KR: He’s sleeping in,, mostly because he can’t move. (His voice is more melodic here, a different cadence & pitch.) (& ryan knows that esposito is sleeping in & can’t move) (Like girl the writers knew what they were doing)

Hamlet much?

Danny is a stand-up guy & gave you a job, you’re doing better because of him... Just making a note on troy kendsworth or w/e his name was

& they got the address from him.

What a sexy doorknocker WHOA I LOVE THIS GUY Mum & my little bro just watched around the world in 80 days (I think two different versions too)! I love a good rock shanty, I love adults playing dress up, I love punk, I love simplicity, tbh I’m more into solarpunk & cottagepunk than steampunk, Riding the penny farthing right through the club I love it Love the hats, love the time machine Sheer supercoolness of futuristic design if things were steam powered, not fossil fuels b’y Poetry <3 KB: Excuse me Mr Peterson-- RC: Can I try that?

You know what it is SO valid to ignore death here. Sadness like that is for the real world, this place is an oasis away from all that. Kinda goth with the poetry & meaning even in death.

Hey at least we know he wasn’t dead yet within the time-of-death. 11-1 but he was alive past 11.

Oh those are some sexy guns Sure beckett smell it & know they’ve been fired. Who’s adam again? Adam murphy from the finance place? RC: I THINK HE’S GOING FOR THE TIME MACHINE (When did ryan & esposito get the address & called over for interviews?) KR: it’s just a bunch of interviews, idk why you didn’t take the whole day off. JE: Because I’m fine! KR, badge in hand: *goes to knock* *door opens before he can* (the two look at each other) (Adam Murphey runs smack into esposito. Ryan is still staring at the door in shock. He turns around when castle & beckett come out.) RC: Hey esposito! (esposito is groaning & whimpering from the pain of being slammed down onto concrete)

RC: So if you couldn’t kill each other then what was the point of the duel? Me: Duels are cool castle!

Me: Go test it out! RC: Only one way to find out *handshake meme* YAY THE SANDWICH ANTIQUE GUN GUY I like this song. Ew come on pig leave the guy alone Aiming better now & still runs away from the cop lol. Hey nice guy the pig got him a sandbag. Hey nice guy he’s actually interested now & got a stand. Hey it’s just like mythbusters, remove the human touch. I like the progressions of companionship with this rando.

Castle you’re so cool /gen

I love this family. & even kind of in my ears. I hugged my mom so much during this scene & alexis is so adorable & rick didn’t even say anything. Castle answering the door in his steampunk gear: Beckett! How do you know when you’re in love? Beckett, missing a single beat: All the songs make sense Castle fulfills our need to be an adult who acts like a child.

Making ryan just climb a tree XD “hey BECKETT” (I HAVE A PROBLEM) Poor guy shot a squirrel. Poor ryan has to pick up the squirrel. RC: Oh no they took his clothes too! KR: Could you..? CSU: awwwww :’( KR: Yeah I know I’m sorry

Castle: *gets caught in crime scene tape*

Who is using a magnifying glass? I thought beckett said it wasn’t a thing since sherlock holmes (like around the turn of the century, murdoch & sherlock time)

Castle: Volcano in centre of the earth: sneffles!

Sciency ballistics thing

Right as the church bells chimed midnight. we now have an exact time of death

tragic... but understandable

I always like seeing that cute cop, the short girl with the red hair.

RM: Speaking of tragedy, did you hear about detective esposito? Me: he’s not dead, but the poor man has definitely had more happen to him... KB: no, what about him? (concern from both kate & rick) RM: Oh... he.. *gestured behind them* (wheelchair squaking) KB: Oh! D: JE: *rolled in by Ryan with some big brace on him & a big ol spider contraption on his head* RC: God no. Dude, what happened? (Ryan looks as heartbroken as esposito) KB: Esposito,! JE: No, I don’t want to hear it. No I’m ok JE: BOOM! *Jumps up, throws off the brace right into castle’s face* JE: No I really am fine, bro; we got this stuff from storage. KR: You should have seen your faces! JE: Captain you really sold that. KR: “speaking of tragedy did you hear about detective esposito?” RM: Hey KR: Sir RC: That was good, *claps esposito on the shoulder* JE: Ow, I’m not really that fine. KR: Oh yeah let me just... sorry JE: neck brace please, neck brace. Just lock it down, lock it. KR: Yeah yeah

& then some rando comes in & calls them boys (even tho they call each other boys all the time Ryan: *narrows eyes at this guy* & beckett has her nice helmet bc like we said in a previous episode she rides a motorbike (ryan outfit 10/10)

AC: I want to go on a date tonight RC, strained: Of course, great, have a good time. AC: I mean with you dad. (I miss going on dates with my parents. Just the two of us instead of all my siblings & both my parents...) RC: Did gram put you up to this?

She may be ginger but she’s very strawberry blonde for a redhead

She gets better at lying tho, like in s5 when they have their episode 100.

#castle 3x4 #castle 3x4 spoilers #castle s3 spoilers #castle 3x4 quote #the steampunk episode

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orchardisland · 2 years

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━━ 𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐠 “𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 “𝐲𝐮𝐲𝐚𝐧

Let me tell you the story of one of our unfortunate residents who seems to be a WEB NOVELIST on the island. Fate has assigned this individual guidance from THE FOOL card. But they needn’t worry, their secrets are safe with me.

DOB: december 18th, 1997 DEFINING TRAITS: optimistic, open-minded, compassionate, easily trusting, undecisive/fickle-minded, stubborn RESEMBLES: actress yu shuxin (esther yu)

YOU ARE PRESENTED WITH A PRISTINE DECK OF TAROT CARDS. TAKE YOUR PICK.

tarot cards. aster had dabbled in them once, back when she was schooling. they had turned off the lights in the dorm, seated around in a circle as they whispered and giggled, asking random questions such as 'when will i find my first love'.

she blinked, looking at the way the cards splayed in a fan. then she reached a frail hand, hovering over the cards until she reached the very middle, dragging it out with a finger.

"the fool," she whispered, reading the name on it. her first instinct was to frown, because no girl would like to be called a fool, but someone else laughed. the book was displayed to her, and while she had no interest reading the tiny text, the voice soon elaborated for her.

"the fool represents a person who is about to set off on a journey, isn't that pretty accurate? you're leaving for that island after all."

"and getting out of here, finally," aster chimed, then furrowed her brows. where was 'here'? it doesn't look like the patient's ward she had been in the last two years, but she didn't have time to ponder as the voice spoke.

"It marks a new start, a fresh burst of energy. and the card invites the asker to tap into optimism, light-heartedness and play. well, at least we know, you have no problems doing that, with your 'always positive' vibe."

aster giggled, nodded vehemently. "that is true. it sounds like a fragment of my life."

"...and finally, it wants to tell you 'life is an adventure and your potential is limitless'. aster, i want to tell you this too. never limit yourself to this box. you're more than that. remember how scared you were when we arrived here, but now your first web novel was already completed. we are never confined to our surroundings, but by our minds."

"our minds..." aster mumbled. whose mind? who else was here with her? the name was hanging on the tip of her tongue, but aster couldn't find it. people's faces flashed in her mind; her stoic father with concern hanging on his brows, the gardener from college campus that reminded her of the 'flower grandpa' in her childhood, the angry screaming of an ex, and the backview of a petite girl in uniform....

she felt a wave of dizziness as she closed her eyes. the cards and table disappeared, trapping her in a world of darkness as she fell into another

THE CARD FLUTTERS TO YOUR FEET. WHO WERE YOU BEFORE THIS STORY BEGAN?

at a glance, aster is no different from other girls at 24 years old. she's into the latest fashion and trends, enjoy learning new things and making friends with everyone she met, a rather bright, hard-working individual. one had even called her a bore, a mary sue off a typical romance story, but without the romance.

but only she knew how her last few years were a turbulent ride. having moved to the uk to further her studies since high school, yang yuyan, english nickname 'aster', worked hard to enter a prestigious college. her life was seemingly set on the fast-track; she came from a rather well-off family, had a best friend, good social circle, did well in academics, and even found love...

until it all came crashing down.

her best friend wasn't real, her social circles turned on her, her lover betrayed her, and yet amid it all, her distant father finally came to her...when she was battered, broken, and no longer yearning for his concern.

it was odd, how life always twist and turn in the most unexpected ways ever.

long story short, just as she was about to enter senior year, aster was admitted to a private ward, where she spent the next two years receiving tailored treatment mix of therapy and medicine. she turned to words to express her feelings, and earned a relatively good following from being a web novelist, but still, she felt lonely.

thankfully, she was finally given the opportunity to be discharged, and the first place she chose to start was kosmo, a healing stay in gwasuwon.

perhaps here, she would finally get a proper touch of reality.

( detailed bio here. )

#gsw:accepted #krp

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pikslasrce · 3 months

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heeeeey 😗💖 sooo you shared this song a while ago

which i have become super obsessed with like i always play it in the car omw to work to wake up and get in a fun mood etc and ive listened to a bit more of their discography and stuff and really like them <3 and i was wondering if you maybe have some more non-english music recommendations? trying to broaden my musical horizons and all that but i just dont know where to start 😩

ahh im rlly glad you like them i gotta listen to zana more i feel like they found me just when i need them most

ALSO.. WELL. YOU SEE. i love exyu music but i suck at actually listening to it... so here are some playlists i saved to broaden MY horizons

peace and love <3

#ask #sooo fun i love spreading balkan propaganda #piksla.mp3

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gradjaninsveta · 1 year

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Do not forget your old Maggy

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yeonchi · 5 months

Text

Kisekae Insights #36: Adapting the Rangers and Riders

This is Part 2 of the introduction to Gokaiger and Decade covering what Super Sentai teams and Kamen Riders have been adapted for both series. Keep in mind that this doesn't cover every new Kamen Rider or Rider forms that made their debut in Japan post-2015 – these will come in later instalments covering later series.

As a short rule of thumb, I only adapted all Sentai teams between Dekaranger and Zyuohger along with some teams post-Zyuranger, while all Heisei Kamen Riders up to Drive were adapted before expanding to Ghost and later Ex-Aid, Build and Zi-O. Showa elements making a reappearance in the Heisei era have been cut.

Anyway, we'll get right into it after the break.

The Superhero Project

My version of Gokaiger is probably the closest you will get to an adaptation of ToQger and Zyuohger for various reasons, such as trains not being as profound in the West or dinosaurs and ninjas being more marketable as gimmicks. Go-Busters was almost in that category until Power Rangers Beast Morphers was announced to be adapting that series. I am aware that ToQger and Zyuohger generals have appeared in Power Rangers series, but it’s not exactly a full adaptation per se.

The Power Rangers of this series are all grouped under UNIT’s Superhero Project. The scope of Super Sentai teams adapted range from the Dekarangers to Zyuohgers, along with the Zyurangers, Kakurangers, Ohrangers and Hurricanegers. The TV movie special also introduces three Ancient Ranger teams, namely the Gorengers, JAKQ and Dairangers (because the Showa era is practically ancient history for me lmao).

The only teams who have Megazords are the Gokaigers and teams whose Zord summoning/combining commands are explicitly integrated into their equipment, that is, their morphers have buttons to summon/combine their Zords. Those teams are the Boukengers, ToQgers, Ninningers and Zyuohgers.

The names, morphing calls and equipment voices follow those of the Super Sentai, with the addition of the “It’s morphin time!” pre-call. There is an exception here for the ToQgers’ equipment voices due to their nature and the Megazords for the Gokaigers, ToQgers and Ninningers. In the case of the ToQgers, I made (and remade) a post speculating what a ToQger adaptation would be like with names and all; their equipment would be voiced by Cheri Chan Yu-yan (陳如茵), the voice of Hong Kong’s MTR. As for the Ninningers’ Megazord names, they are named in the vein of “Shuriken Megazord” to differentiate them from the names in Power Rangers Ninja Steel, which was airing at the time.

The first wave of the Superhero Project, namely the Gekirangers, Go-Ongers, Shinkengers, Goseigers and Zyuohgers, are made up of members from Girl Power, who were antagonists prior to Series 10. The Go-Ongers don’t have Engine Souls, but they have generic Cell Chips to morph and power up their weapons.

The Magirangers are Takumi Kamijō’s team at Torchwood Pleiades, also known as the magical girls of Mitakihara. The Boukengers are the girls of the Light Music Club and the Kyoryugers are the Lucky Stars of Saitama. The Go-Busters are a separate team based at UNIT NZ in Auckland as an allusion to Power Rangers being produced in New Zealand, at least until this year. That team is listed in the Lucky Star instalment where I also covered the Kyoryugers, while two of the Rangers (and their commander) are detailed in #25.

The Zyurangers (with Kibaranger), Kakurangers, Gouraigers and Ninningers are made up of characters from Arthur as follows:

Arthur Read (AkaNinger)

Brain (AoNinger)

Buster Baxter (KiNinger)

D.W. Read (ShiroNinger)

Muffy Crosswire (MomoNinger)

Kinji Takigawa (StarNinger)

Binky Barnes (TyrannoRanger)

Rattles (MammothRanger)

Slink (TriceraRanger)

Molly MacDonald (TigerRanger)

Prunella Deegan (PteraRanger)

Nigel Ratburn (DragonRanger)

Bud Compson (KibaRanger)

George Lundgren (NinjaRed)

Francine Frensky (NinjaWhite)

Ladonna Compson (NinjaBlue)

Sue Ellen Armstrong (NinjaYellow)

Fern Walters (NinjaBlack)

Timmy Tibble (KuwagaRaiger)

Tommy Tibble (KabutoRaiger)

Cameron Watanabe (Shurikenger)

The Hurricanegers are a bit of a special case here as they appeared on Decade as Kamen Riders, but they are considered a Ranger team as well, particularly post-series, and their Gokai Changes are also used. It’s just that they never appear alongside the Gouraigers.

The Ohrangers, Dekarangers and ToQgers are teams made up of original characters, though they barely serve any purpose or have any development. Like Kinji Takigawa was with the Ninningers in this series, Sir Topham Hatt is KingRanger while Akira Nijino is ToQ 6gou. This was done as part of a special guest feature for the series, with Kinji and Akira’s actors reprising their roles in this adaptation. The Ohrangers and ToQgers are based on the Island of Sodor as a tribute to Thomas the Tank Engine.

The Gorengers, JAKQ and Dairangers were a spur-of-the-moment addition made for the TV movie. Aside from Sammy J and Randy Feltface for RyuuRanger and ShishiRanger, the rest of those teams were played by the casts of Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell and The Checkout, both being satirical comedy programmes broadcast on the ABC.

Kamen Rider Project

Originally known as Project Decade, the Kamen Rider Project is something I put a lot of heart into as it became something I preferred over Super Sentai or Power Rangers. Unlike the Superhero Project Power Rangers which were entirely developed by UNIT, various Kamen Riders were made by different organisations including UNIT, with Decade as their unifying mascot Rider.

The scope of my Kamen Rider adaptation covers the entire Heisei Kamen Rider era with some changes. For fear of scope creep I had no intention to include Showa elements, with the exception of Dai-Shocker and the Shocker Combatmen for the series only.

The Nine Riders of my Decade adaptation are different to the Nine Riders of the original series:

Original: Kuuga, Agito, Ryuki, Faiz, Blade, Hibiki, Kabuto, Den-O, Kiva

Adaptation: Kuuga, Agito, Ryuki, W, Blade, Ninja, Magica, Shugo, Drive

Originally, the plan was to create original Riders or adapt the Riders and give them new names for the adaptation. In the end, I decided to adapt the Riders with their original names because of footage reasons, plus I didn’t think it was respectful to the original Riders to just change their names like that. A number of original Riders did make it through to the series for reasons that I'll explain now.

At first I didn’t want to adapt Hibiki, then I changed my mind after seeing how interesting it was and how I could stuff a lot of Riders into the series thanks to the many Oni featured. My first impression of Faiz and Kabuto was that they were villainous Riders, probably because of their nature (Faiz being an Orphnoch or Smart Brain/ZECT being villainous organisations), so I classed them and Hibiki as Narutaki’s minions in the series. The idea of Hibiki being a Rider but not exactly a Rider in the way they transform and fight was used to create Kamen Rider Magica, a Rider influenced by Madoka Magica and GARO.

My decision not to adapt Den-O was basically “Why do we need the Den-Liner when we already have the TARDIS”, plus the Taros are pretty overrated characters, especially Momotaros, who has reappeared practically every year in the 14 years since the series ended (plus it’d cost us money to hire voice actors lol). As for Kiva, I wasn’t entirely with the idea of a vampire Kamen Rider, so elements from it and Den-O were mixed to create Kamen Rider Shugo - a Rider resembling Den-O but using unique weapons in each form like Kiva instead of a weapon in different modes (DenGasher).

Kamen Rider Ninja, another original Rider, is HurricaneRed, Hikaru Azuma, an autistic boy from the manga With the Light. His sister, Kanon, and their friend, Moe Nakajima, are HurricaneBlue and Yellow respectively; while they are summonable by Diend, they were not considered Riders or given Rider names until their reappearance in Kamen Rider Zi-O, at which point they were called Kamen Rider Mizuna (ミズナ/水波) and Kamen Rider Okachi (オカチ/陸地). Kamen Rider Shinobi ain’t got nothing on Ninja lmao.

In summary, Faiz, Hibiki and Kabuto's places as part of the Nine Riders were replaced by Ninja, W and Drive, while Den-O and Kiva were replaced by Magica and Shugo for the entire adaptation. To put my original Riders in context with the rest of the lineup, here is a sneak peek of Decade’s original Extra Final Form, Ultimate Complete Form, with its activation sequence:

Ultimate: Kuuga, Agito, Ryuki, Faiz, Blade, Ninja, Hibiki, Magica, Kabuto, Shugo, W, OOO, Fourze, Wizard, Gaim, Drive

OOO, Fourze and Wizard made cameo appearances in the TV movie special before appearing in the New Worlds Arc. Ghost wouldn’t appear until the Age of Riders movie trilogy, but he made cameo appearances in the TV movie special and the final episode.

I've covered a number of Rider groups in previous instalments of this series, so I won't go into full details about them. Here’s a quick list of them:

Kuuga: #7

Salacian Riders (Agito/Ryuki/Hibiki/Amazons et al.): #11

Blade: #17

Magica: #19

Shugo: #25

Fourze/Wizard: #32

Instead, I'll just cover the Rider groups we haven't covered before now.

Faiz: Kamen Rider Faiz is a pig named Old Major (named after the character in Animal Farm) who became a bipedal humanoid thanks to the power of the Faiz Gear granted to him from an animal activist group called Food Chain Breakers (FCB) when they saved him from the slaughter. Kaixa and Delta’s users are from a mercenary group who is an enemy to the FCB.

The Orphnochs in this series are actually evolved Sandmen from those seen in the Doctor Who episode Sleep No More, being able to take on monster forms and disguise themselves as humans.

Kabuto: The users of the Kabuto and Gatack Zecters, Tommy Cooper and Kyle Bonlin, are members of the New Tongmenghui, a successor to the original group that fought for children’s rights and the overthrowing of oppressive parents. The Hopper Riders, aka the Hells Brothers, Daniel and Nathan Trindall, are of unknown affiliation. As for TheBee, Drake and Sasword, they were given to Salacians Lorah, Hugo and Tata when they joined Narutaki.

The Worms are a splinter species of the Zygons; when their home world was destroyed in the Time War, half of the Zygons managed to escape while the other half were mutated into Worms. They retained their ability to mimic humans while also gaining the ability to moult into monstrous forms and Clock Up into super speeds.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking, B1?” “I think I am, B2…” “It’s morphin’ time!”

For the series, I had planned to make some Rider showcase posters (from existing art), however I only ended up making two. W is one of them and the other one is for Gaim.

Double’s users are B1 and B2, respectively comprising the mind and body portions of the two-in-one Kamen Rider. Double (along with Skull) was the only Rider from W to be adapted into Decade, with said Rider replacing Faiz as part of the Nine Riders. Accel was not adapted because I didn't like the idea of him turning into a bike; due to footage reasons in Zi-O, Accel was introduced in Soulbound Series 4, with its user being a member of the former Girl Power who is also in a relationship with Narutaki.

OOO: The user of the OOO Driver is another member of the former Girl Power, whose counterpart in the TV Movie Special was Gaim, reflecting previous plans for said movie. Additionally, he has a dream world counterpart dark Rider whose form uses Putotyra Combo. Soulbound Series 4 would feature the debut of the new Combos of the CSM OOO Driver, along with Super Tatoba Combo and the original Yadopangaru Combo (Yadokari/Hermit Crab, Panda, Kangaroo).

Birth's user is another member of the former Girl Power whose dream world counterpart dark Rider transformed into Kamen Rider Skull. His upgrade form, Birth X, would make its debut in the post-Zi-O specials.

Aqua and Poseidon were also introduced due to footage reasons for Zi-O, but Aqua was replaced with another Rider in the end. See #20 for more details.

Gaim: The main Riders of Gaim are Morgan, Amy, Lulu and Rat in a Hat, taking on the armours for Gaim, Baron, Ryugen and Zangetsu respectively. The Genesis Driver users, Duke, Sigurd, Marika and Zangetsu Shin, are Narutaki, Topsy the Kangaroo, Melanie Yang and Rat in a Hat.

Duke's armour was originally used by Tsukasa Amakawa of Torchwood North before it was stolen by Narutaki for her own use. The armour would then be passed onto Akari Ichigo after she decided to become Gold Drive following a period of interchanged use.

All the equipment for the Gaim Riders came from another universe where more Lockseeds were in use. But how did they get to our universe in the first place? The question will be answered eventually…

Drive: Drive's user is Shinnosuke Tomari thanks to a guest appearance from Ryōma Takeuchi. However, due to Takeuchi's popularity in Japan, Shinnosuke was replaced by Akari's cousin and former Girl Power/Kurayami Alliance leader Daniel from Soulbound Series 4.

Mach's user is Akari's little brother Michael. He is the only Drive Rider who isn't replaced following his debut.

Mr Carburettor was Mashin Chaser before Flash would later take on his mantle as Kamen Rider Chaser. You will find out how it happened when I get to it.

This has been the introduction to my version of Gokaiger and Decade. From the next instalment, we’ll begin diving into Gokaiger and seeing how I would do it better than Super Megaforce.

#kisekae insights #super sentai #kamen rider #kaizoku sentai gokaiger #kamen rider decade

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bewitchingfanfiction · 10 months

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Yu-Gi-Oh Arc V (2020/09/16)

"Begin!" The coach had shouted when everyone was in position.

Duelists, or rather, soldiers, were training together in one of Academia's training facilities. Nothing special, just their daily workouts.

Sora flipped the boy in front of him and slammed him to the ground, then jumped on top of him and slammed his knee into the boy's stomach, causing him to gasp out in pain. Sora then placed his duel disk to the boy's neck and made a motion as if preparing to card him.

"Good, Sora you can take five." The coach informed him before going to observe other matches.

Sora stood up and went over to the water cooler, he didn't bother helping up his opponent. Why would he?

"Tch, that kid...every morning, he's like a wild animal." Someone sneered from near by. Sora pretended not to hear them.

"I heard he's got no family, the professor found him on the street."

"Why would he bother? What skills could a street rat possibly have?"

Sora smirked to himself as he got a glass of water.

He had more skills than all of these other guys put together.

~~~

"Sora, not that I don't mind the help, but are you sure you wouldn't rather go do something else? Yuzu asked with a frown. She was out at the mall shopping, behind her stood Sora, who was effortlessly carrying dozens of shopping bags for her, so she didn't have to carry anything.

But the blue haired boy shook his head with a cheerful grin. "Not at all, what kind of gentleman would I be if I left you to carry these bags right?"

"...If you say so..." Yuzu trailed off, seeming doubtful.

And it wasn't as if her doubt wasn't justified. Sora knew he was probably acting weird to her...

But...he just wasn't sure what else to do.

Without the professor giving him orders, without new battles to prepare for, without a war...a solider like Sora was...useless.

It wasn't fair. The world was at peace and now people like Sora were just expected to carry on and have a normal life? Where was he even suppose to start?

'This is enough for now...I...' Sora frowned to himself as Yuzu turned her back to him and continued walking along. 'I'll protect you, even if there's no danger.'

If he couldn't be a solider, maybe he could be a bodyguard.

But just as Sora had feared, there was no real danger.

He couldn't stick to Yuzu like glue but that wouldn't mean anything bad would happen to her, no one was after her, everything was fine. She didn't need protecting, not anymore.

It made him feel a bit guilty, when he realized in a weird way...he was hoping for something bad to happen.

Because if something bad happened, it would give him purpose again.

~~~

"What do you mean you don't want to duel!?" Sora hissed angrily as he confronted Shun.

Shun looked at him with disinterest. "Why would we duel?"

"W-We're enemies! Y-You're XYZ scum a-and I'm fusion! We were born to be enemies!" Sora exclaimed.

"This is a new world. A world that's finally at peace. Why would I try and start up conflict again? Let's say we duel and I defeat you, and even go as far as to hurt you, people will come after me and war will start again." Shun told him simply.

Sora gritted his teeth, eyes flashing dangerously.

Was Shun mocking him?

Who the hell was gonna start a war over him? Who would come after him?

"You should go home, ex-solider or not you're like what, twelve?" Shun asked with a frown.

Sora sneered. "I'M FOURTEEN!"

"Either way, go home." Shun deadpanned, already turning to head back inside his own house.

Sora's hands balled into fists, he couldn't help chuckling bitterly.

What home?

~~~

"Hey Sora, me and the others were gonna go to the new amusement park that opened, wanna come?" Yuya asked excitedly when they were at You-Show.

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Who's going?"

"Me, Yuzu, Shun and Yugo." He explained.

But Sora's eyes widened in disbelief at this. "W-What? You're bringing along someone from XYZ AND Synchro!?"

Yuya scoffed a little, waving him off. "Labels like that don't matter anymore, who cares where they're from? You're from fusion and that doesn't matter either."

"Doesn't matter? What the hell does that mean!?" Sora snapped, growing defensive.

Yuya's eyes widened, he raised his hands in defense. "Hey chill out, Sora. I'm just saying that where we're from doesn't matter, we can all be friends now. So we should hang out together."

"I would never be friends with XYZ scum." Sora hissed.

Yuya gasped. "How can you say that!?"

"Because XYZ are our enemy!" Sora exclaimed.

"Who's enemy!?"

"Academia-" Sora cut himself off with a gasp, eyes widening in realization. He gritted his teeth.

That's right...Academia had been shut down when the war ended...

Academia couldn't have enemies...because...it didn't even exist anymore...

"Go without me, I...have things to do." Sora trailed off rather weakly, eyes dulling as he turned to walk away from Yuya.

"Sora-" Yuya started with concern, but the blue haired boy was already running off, jumping onto the roof of a building with skills he picked up from all his harsh training over the years.

~~~

"Card him." The coach demanded, gesturing to the trembling boy sitting on the floor fearfully, tears filling his eyes.

Sora stared at the boy with hesitation, eyes narrowing. "Who is he?"

"A former member of Academia. He was caught saying he didn't want to battle XYZ, and that he actually felt bad for him. We don't need that weakness in our mix." The coach explained coldly.

The boy looked close to sobbing. "I...I'm sorry, please, I'm loyal to Academia! I swear! It won't happen again!" He pleaded for his life.

"Card him. You'll have to card people out on the battlefield, show us you can do it." The coach told him simply.

Sora looked down at the trembling boy, eyes narrowing even more. '...This guy...he's...innocent...' He hadn't performed any crimes, he didn't actually betray anyone...he simply stated an opinion...

"Is there a problem?" The coach questioned him with disgust, clearly irritated that Sora had yet to do anything.

"Please..." The boy begged tearfully.

Academia had no place for the weak.

So, Sora did the only thing he could. He carded the boy without anymore hesitation.

~~~

"Blaaaargh!" Sora puked up his dinner later that night, head hung out the window of his room. The boy trembled as he slowly fell to his knees, tears welling up in his eyes as he stared down at his hands.

What had he done? How could he end a life so easily?...

He was going to have to do this to others, women, men, children, the elderly, anyone from XYZ.

"XYZ...they're scum...s-so it's fine right?...he deserved to be carded?...right?" Sora asked himself in a choked out voice, desperate to accept that what he had done was okay.

He had to believe it was okay.

~~~

"Excuse me, are you alright?" Sora opened his eyes in surprise to see an elderly woman looking at him with confusion.

It was late at night, Sora was sleeping on a park bench.

Because...where else was he suppose to go?"

He grinned at the lady. "Oh yeah, uh, just doing some late night thinking. I'll head home now! Goodnight!" He told the woman easily before running off, she didn't have the chance to say anything else.

When he was a safe distance away, Sora grunted a little and placed a hand to his stomach as it let out a big growl. When was the last time he had a real meal?

Suddenly, someone was grabbing Sora by the back of his neck, wrapping their arm around his neck to keep him put. A hand was groping his hair and holding it tightly. Sora struggled against the person and scowled. "What the hell!? Let me go!"

"Give me your cards and money and I will..." A male voice hissed into his ear, yanking on his hair even more.

But Sora wasn't scared, quite the opposite. He saw red.

Elbowing the man in the gut, Sora ripped his hair out of the man's hold and spun around. He slammed the man to the floor and kneed him in the stomach, causing him to gasp out in pain. Sora placed his duel disk to the man's neck with a cold scowl.

It wasn't anyone Sora knew, just some older man who was clearly in need of money. He was nothing.

So Sora didn't feel any sympathy as he prepared to card him.

But then...a voice called out to him that froze him in his tracks.

"Sora! What are you doing!?" Sora slowly turned his head to see Yuya rushing over to him with concern.

"Yuya..." He trailed off, but his weight shifted and weakened on the man, allowing him to shove Sora off and run off into the night.

He scowled. "Dammit, you let him get away!" He hissed at Yuya.

"What were you planning to do!? Were you gonna card him!?" Yuya asked in disbelief.

"That's right. He attacked me." Sora snapped.

Yuya gave a look of disapproval. "That doesn't make it okay Sora! You should call the police!"

"I don't need help from the police. I was handling things just fine before you showed up." He insisted.

"Sora...you've been acting strange. Everyone can see it, ever since things have calmed down..." Yuya's angry face turned to a look of more concern. "You never hang out with anyone except for Yuzu sometimes, and you're still...well..." He gestured to Sora's clothes.

Sora's eyes widened, he stared down at his Academia uniform. Then, his eyes flashed dangerously at Yuya.

"What!? I can't wear my uniform!? I thought the whole point of being at peace was that we didn't have to worry about stuff like that!?" He exclaimed angrily.

"That's true, but..." Yuya trailed off sadly.

"You may not like to hear this Yuya, but Academia was my home. You can't expect me to act like they never existed, they're the closest thing I've ever had to a home!" Sora told him coldly.

Yuya looked at him with pity. "And that's sad, that's not right Sora. You're just a kid..."

"What difference does that make!? I've always been a solider! It's my duty to battle!" Sora exclaimed, almost desperately. "But no, you had to take it away, you took away my purpose!"

Yuya's eyes widened in disbelief. "Your purpose? But...Sora, you can't really believe your only person in life was to be a weapon for war."

"War is all I've ever known, and I liked it that way. Now thanks to you guys I...I'm confused, everywhere I look is peaceful, but there's still people like that guy who just tried to mug me! Why shouldn't I just card him?" Sora questioned with a frown.

"Because it's not your job to kill, Sora. It never was." Yuya told him gently, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Sora's bottom lip wobbled as he stared at Yuya's face of pity. He gritted his teeth. "Just stop..."

"Huh?" Yuya frowned.

"STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!" Sora shouted angrily, shoving Yuya away and running off at a speed he knew Yuya wouldn't be able to keep up with.

~~~

"I thought I'd find you here." Sora scowled as he heard the feminine voice. He was sitting in the classroom of You-Show. He turned his head to see Yuzu walking in with a kind smile.

"What are you doing here? It's late." He told her simply.

Yuzu's smile didn't fade as she sat next to him. "I came to see you silly, Yuya told me how you guys fought."

"Oh great, so you're gonna lecture me too?" He groaned, rolling his eyes. "Look I'm sorry I snapped at Yuya, he wasn't who I was really mad at and it was wrong. Are we done here? I'll apologize tomorrow-"

Yuzu suddenly leaned down and kissed his forehead, making his eyes widened in pure disbelief.

He backed away from her and stared at her with shock and confusion, a hand slowly going up to feel his forehead. "What...was that?"

"You've never known a lot of affection, huh Sora?" She asked softly, looking a little sad.

Sora pouted slightly, looking away from her with crossed arms. "So what? I don't need affection, all I need to live is candy and my fusion monsters."

"Then why did you help rescue me?" Sora froze at those words.

Yuzu smiled sadly. "There was a time when you would've given up everything to save me. Am I...not important to you anymore?"

"Of course you're important! You and Yuya are..." He couldn't use the word he wanted too. It wasn't his right. "Very important to me." He settled on instead.

"Then come home." Yuzu pleaded.

Sora tilted his head. "Huh? Come home? Uh... that's a little hard, I don't have a home?"

"Are you stupid!?" Yuzu exclaimed, suddenly gripping him by his shoulders. Sora's eyes widened. "You home is with me and Yuya isn't it!? So stop worrying us and go home to Yuya!"

"I don't...understand..." Sora trailed off, a little dejected at the fact that Yuzu was obviously scolding him.

Yuzu pulled Sora into a hug, his face resting against her chest. She ran her hand through his hair. "You've been through things no kid should go through...it's sad, but it is what happened. So try to understand, we're just so scared to see something happen to you again. Please come home, where you're safe and with people who love you." Yuzu pleaded, tears building up in the corners of her eyes.

"Yuzu..." Sora trailed off. He couldn't explain it. He was feeling emotions he's never experienced. Before he knew it, tears were bubbling in the corners of his eyes and sliding down his cheeks. It was weird. It was like he felt pain in his chest and yet...

Slowly, Sora began to hug her back. "I did terrible things to people...I killed them...I tortured them...I was a part of war..." He gripped the back of her shirt tightly as he shut his eyes tightly, the tears continuing to stream.

"I'm terrible but...I still think of you and Yuya as my friends...is it really okay? Can someone like me really...think that way?"

Yuzu broke the hug to smile at him, tears still in her eyes as she spoke with such kindness. "You're not terrible at all. You're just a person who's done terrible things. But you know...all that means is now you just have to do good things from now on, and calling me and Yuya your friends is the first step."

Sora broke down all over again and started to sob harder. The pain of war, the need to survive, the fear, all of it crashed down on him at once, it felt so terrible.

But there was something about being in Yuzu's arms that made it bearable all the same.

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babaroqa · 10 months

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modern bloofer lady for ex-yu dracula fans: detektivska priča by videosex (name of the band, anja rupel is the singer), if you know it, you will know

#i'm just 😍😍😍#continually in awe by the yugoslavian new wave music #creme de la creme #ex yu music #novi val #idk how i usually tag this because i usually only gush about ogledala

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cuddlybitch · 1 year

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hello hannah! hope you're having a great christmas weekend with great food (it also involves a lot of nice food in my family - my parents love to cook and bake) ✨

I'm definitely adding rookie cops on my to-watch list and I'm curious, what are the dramas you're planning to watch next? I haven't checked yet what's coming next year but I'm curious about the fabulous (I studied fashion so I'd like to see how a drama represents the industry)

I completely understand your type being women (and it seems like the ones you mentioned were written with a great personal journey both professionally and personally) it's mostly the case for me too, I like that many dramas take the time to really tell a woman's story and that they're quite varied in their personalities and experiences.

since you said you also watch for romance, what are your favourite couples ever? and do you have any favourite romantic scenes?

I also wanted to let you know that your gift will be coming just before new year (life - aka christmas prep - kind of got in the way for me too lol) 💜

your secret santa 🎥

Hi secret santa!! Christmas went pretty well~ Lots of food, but this year we got lazy with cooking, so my parents just ordered some food. Sounds like you also had a great Christmas celebration, at least that’s what I assume every time good food is involved ;D

Hmm I haven’t thought about what drama to watch next (like at least during January) since I haven’t kept up with the news, but I know I’m excited to watch Jeon Yeo-been’s upcoming drama, A Time Called You. Also excited for the upcoming drama by the CLOY writer, Queen of Tears, but not sure when that’s coming.

I started watching The Fabulous, only 4 eps in, but there’s a good group of friends there as the main characters, so you know I already enjoy it more than most dramas cause of that. :P I can’t comment on how fashion industry is represented there, but there was one scene to me that would definitely not happen IRL but had to hand wave cause… this is fictional lol. I’m enjoying the romance in this so far, too! Minho and Soy-bin has good chemistry so far with each other.

Although a lot of dramas have good personal journeys for women, I think Korean drama still lack a lot in relationships between women… whether romantically or not. This discussion kind of came up in a network I’m in, and I can count on one hand dramas with good relationships between women from the past year. So I think there’s room for improvement in that front for Korean dramas. They’re doing so well with showing women’s personal growth sometimes, but there’s still a lot more tropes where women are pitted against each other.

Oh my gosh… I suddenly can’t remember any couple I’ve liked lol!!!

Yeon-soo/Woong (Our Beloved Summer) - enemies to friends to lovers to ex-es to enemies to friends to lovers. Enough said.

Si-mok/Yeo-jin (Secret Forest) - :P not romantic in canon but they’re practically my OTP in all kdramaland lol

Vincenzo/Cha-young (Vincenzo) - SJK and Yeo-been’s chemistry was so delicious, but also I love how their partnership develops through the episodes

Yu-mi/Woong (Yumi’s Cells) - even though they broke up, I thought it was a well done portrayal of a relationship from courtship to the end (and in Yumi’s Cells 2, what happens after you see your ex after a break up). Since we can see their “cells”, therefore their inner thoughts, it’s like you get a full view of how they worked as a couple, but also the signs leading up to their eventual break up. I don’t know, every time Like a Star OST comes on my playlist, I just remember them and want to sob.

xD I probably like a lot more but those are the four that immediately came to mind so maybe those are the ones I enjoyed the most.

How about you? Who are your favourite couples? And what is your favourite romantic drama?

PS: take your time secret santa. I am on the same boat as you!

#ask #Anonymous #kdramasecretsanta2022

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outsidesoap · 2 years

Text

three months in between

Between the airport and Planet China, so much has happened.

AKA: perhaps my first time writing fan fic

Canon, but liberties taken with the characters!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Minutes after Vivian leaves, Wil thinks about texting her.

She types a simple: "hope you have a safe flight", before deleting it, remembering how Vivian walked away from her, never once looking back.

A day after Vivian leaves, Wil finds herself by the Hudson river during her lunch break.

For the luxury of being able to sit by the water-- rather than in a cold break room full of pagers beeping--, she had promised her coworker an extra pack of M&Ms.

She thinks about hot dogs -- packed with carcinogens, Vivian, and how the first time they sat close together, Vivian sneakily intertwined a pinky around her pinky. Wil remembers jumping, almost dropping her hotdog, and Vivian's ensuing laughter. The next time Vivian reached for her hand, Wil tried to calm her heartbeat and forced the waves in her ears to die down.

A week after Vivian leaves, Wil's mom moves out. Xiao Yu comes to help carry over some boxes to the new apartment, and Wil willingly ignores the lovesick look he gives to her mom, and the pitying ones he sends when he looks her way.

When all has settled, and Wil is left alone in her apartment for the first time in half a year, she looks around. Her mom had left the red bedsheets, insisting it was good luck, and many containers filled with food. Wil finds herself 'tsk tsk tsk'ing at how her mother left as she came in -- a storm, almost as if she was moving things around with wild abandon, unearthing objects that Wil thought would be lost forever. That's how Wil finds herself looking at the flowers Vivian brought by, three weeks ago, when meeting Wil's mom for the very first time. The flowers were put in a new vase recently, the water inside still fresh and plentiful.

Suddenly, the walls of the apartment feel as though they're closing in, and Wil just about bursts through the doors and into the hallway in time. She knocks on Jay's door, and before he even is able to greet her, she asks: "Can we go grab a drink?"

Her always-reliable friend nods, and they head out to the bar around the corner.

Around the third beer, Jay nudges Wil and points to a girl at the bar. Wil's heart stops for a second, her beer-fogged brain mistaking brown hair for black, before noticing the face is different. The girl winks, and Wil, in her desire to stop comparing her--anyone, everyone-- to Vivian, smiles back.

That night, as Wil lies in her bed with the girl next to her, her stomach churning either with regret or the beers that she drank, she looks over and spots those flowers again. It's been three weeks. Wil wonders why they haven't died yet.

A month after Vivian leaves, Wil texts her for the first time.

It's simple, a "Hello, how is Paris?" kind of text.

Nothing like what Wil wants to say, which is -- "Hello, I miss you and love you, and at night, I think of your face and your touch."

Vivian never responds, and Wil starts spending all of her time either at work or at the bar.

Two months after Vivian leaves, Wil realizes she may or may not be dating someone.

Jessica is, well, nice. They were set up by Wil's coworkers, telling Wil that they were a match made in heaven-- "You'll love her, she works as a teacher", "She loves going on walks around the city", and "Her health is nearly perfect, *and* she's got 20/20 vision". Wil decides last minute to go on the date, and it's nice. Jessica is shy like Wil, polite, and doesn't push or prod when Wil refuses to answer questions about her ex. Wil thinks that they could be a good couple together.

Two and a half months after Vivian leaves, Wil is single again.

It ended amicably. Jessica had asked to meet Wil's mom, and that idea brought back the time Vivian met Wil's mom. The flowers Vivian had brought still rested in a vase on Wil's kitchen table, now slightly wilted. After that, Wil couldn’t stop comparing the two. Jessica is shy, whereas Vivian was bold. Polite, whereas Vivian was sarcastic. Jessica never pushed or prodded, and knew little to nothing about Wil, besides where she worked and if she liked it (the answer: a “yes” on some days, a “no” on other days). Vivian knew everything about Wil after the first date, asking question after question as they perused men's clothing at a thrift store. And so, Wil decides she has no choice but to break it off. Jessica is sad, but not surprised, and when Wil walks away, she doesn't look back.

Three months after Vivian leaves, Wil is at Planet China again.

Her mom had insisted that she come, an odd thing to insist on, since her mom’s main topics of conversation are about the baby, the apartment, and Xiao Yu. Wil figures that maybe an engagement was to be announced, so she better show up. Her mom fusses over what Wil's wearing -- so boyish, not flattering at all -- but Wil couldn't care less. It wasn't her engagement announcement. As she walks through the door, she's instantly swarmed by aunties and uncles, people she hasn't seen in the past few months, asking about her job, her (lack of a) boyfriend, and everything else in between. Deflecting questions, she tries to slip out of the swarm and finds herself on the edge of the dance floor. Looking across, she spots someone.

Three months after Vivian leaves, Wil sees her again.

This time, it's actually her. They lock eyes, and the room freezes. Wil can see the anger flash through Vivian's eyes, and can read Vivian's lips as Vivian mutters to her mom, "I thought you said she didn't come here anymore". Wil takes a deep breath, and starts to make her way through the crowd.

Three months after Vivian leaves, Wil stands in front of her.

"Dance with me." Wil says, and her eyes say much more.

After a brief pause, the anger leaves Vivian’s eyes, replaced by tenderness.

"There's no music," Vivian says slyly.

Three months after Vivian leaves, and finally in Vivian's arms again, Wil feels at peace.

#saving face

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