#original idea for fierce bae!!

[elizabeethan]

The Days We Defend (Will Turn To Gold)- Chapter 5

Everything is perfect, until it isn’t. Killian and Emma have spent months building a life together after finally defeating Neal and Gold, but when the Dark One dies and his power becomes untethered, everyone in Storybrooke is at risk, and some decisions may have lasting consequences.

Sequel to Walk With Me (I Think We’ll Find A Way)

Prologue, 1, 2, 3, 4

Read on Ao3

Thank you to my good pal @the-darkdragonfly for beta-ing for me!!!!!! You’ve been such a great help bringing this story to where it needs to be 🥲💗

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Killian didn’t plan on staying here long. He’d hoped to find the book, find Emma, and break the curse.

It hasn’t worked out that way.

Each day he does the same mundane things: he wakes with a start alone in one of Granny’s rooms, realizes where the hell he is, has some form of tantrum that could likely rival his toddler’s, then goes about his cursed life. He eats breakfast at Granny’s, sometimes alone, and sometimes with Henry in secret, hashing out their plans. He works second shift at the docks, rolling his eyes inwardly each time Mr. Smee shouts an order at him. He visits with his daughter, but is never allowed to take her away from the dreadful place. He’s forced to call her Talia in front of the women who care for her.

It’s been three weeks of torture. Henry continues to insist that they need a plan to break the curse, and Killian insists that he already has one. He knows that during the first curse, Emma needed to believe in magic before True Love’s Kiss could break it, so that’s what he’ll ensure. He just isn’t sure how.

As it turns out, his non-plan hasn’t gotten them anywhere, so Henry has initiated Operation Rattlesnake. “I know who we have to find,” Henry says from across the booth, barely paying any mind to his breakfast.

“Aye?” Killian asks, stabbing his fork into his eggs. “Who's that?”

“The Sorcerer. There’s a few pages in here about Snow White and Prince Charming finding the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and he removed any chance of darkness from their unborn child. If the Apprentice can do that, then the Sorcerer should be able to get rid of the Dark One, right?”

Killian drops his fork, cocking his head as he looks up at Henry and considers his words. He looks back down at the pages and sees an illustration Snow and Charming talking with a bearded old man. “Where did these pages come from?”

“What do you mean?”

He raises a brow and scratches behind his ear. “Were these pages in the book all along?”

Henry shrugs nonchalantly and says, “I don’t know. I’ve learned not to question when weird things happen to this book.”

“Meaning…?”

“Meaning, there are missing pages, too. Here,” he says, turning a few pages and then rotating the book to face Killian. He points at the seam at the center and says, “see? These were torn out. The story after my grandpa died. What happened there?”

Killian nods, noting the very real depiction of the death of the Dark One in the room behind his shop, followed conveniently by absolutely nothing. “And what of this story about Snow and Charming?”

“You mean my grandparents?” he asks with a smirk. “Seriously, who are they here?”

“Seriously, not telling,” Killian mumbles, stabbing into his sausage link. “Show me that one.”

He flips through the book some more until he turns back to the story of the King and Queen, then explains its premise. It had been prophesied that their child had the potential for great darkness, so they used the Apprentice’s powers to remove the darkness altogether, thus likely making Emma the great proprietor of light magic, as Regina calls her. “Interesting.”

“Maybe that’s why my mom is the Savior,” he suggests.

The lad may have a point; eradicating any chance of darkness from Emma would certainly bode well for her becoming the Savior. “Perhaps,” he agrees.

“You’re weird,” Henry says suddenly, and Killian looks at him in shock.

“You’re weird,” he argues childishly.

“I’m serious! Some things you’ll tell me about before the curse, but other things are off limits? How come?” He shrugs. “Who are my grandparents? Who’s the Dark One?”

“I’m not telling you who the Dark One is, Henry. You don’t need to know right now.”

“What about my grandparents?”

“They’re lovely,” he says, looking up and smirking at him.

“So you do know them!” he says too loudly. “Can I tell you who I think my grandma is?”

He sighs, turning his head back down and taking another bite of his breakfast before saying, “you can tell me, but I’m not going to confirm or deny it.”

“My teacher, Miss Blanchard.”

He chuckles at Henry’s determination and wit, having to do his best to not give away that he’s completely right. He wonders if he knew during the first curse. He thinks he must’ve. “Can I ask you something, lad?”

“Sure,” he strugs, taking another gargantuan bite of french toast.

“Why is it so important to you that you know these things? What would it change if you knew?”

He purses his lips and narrows his eyes, the same way Emma does when she’s thinking, then shrugs again. “I don't know. I guess I’ve just always been thinking about it and now that you’re telling me it’s real…” another shrug. “And plus, maybe if I knew, I could help more.”

‘You’ve been plenty help, Henry. Truly. I would likely be in much lower spirits if not for your being here.”

He snorts and looks down, refusing to make eye contact as any almost-14-year-old would. “I thought you were supposed to be fearsome. Are you this gross and sappy without curses?”

“Worse.”

They continue eating in silence, Henry clearly over the sappy moments with the man he doesn’t know is his step-father, until he decides to speak again, bringing the conversation back to his original goal to gain more information.

“Did Regina cast the curse?”

Killian sighs, telling him, “I don't know,” instead of answering clearly. It’s not entirely a lie— it could have realistically been Bae who cast this curse, although he doubts it. He does wonder how they would have managed to cast it, what with the need to sacrifice the heart of the thing they love most, but he’s sure he’ll get that answer once it’s broken.

“Is it the Dark Curse? Like the one in the book?”

“I suppose so.”

“What about my mom? I know you know her somehow. It’s pretty obvious that you’re obsessed with her.” He blushes fiercely, shrugging. “And then there’s Tal- I mean, Corrine. You said she’s your daughter, but who the hell is having babies with Captain Hook?”

He snorts slightly, looking up at the lad through his lashes and then reaching for his mug of coffee. “I can assure you, her conception was not planned,” he mumbles.

“Ew.”

“Once the curse is broken, lad, things will make sense. I’ve no desire to destroy your concept of reality any further.”

“What does that mean?” Killian shrugs. “Is it about my mom?” He shrugs again. He’s never felt so childish around an actual child. “Oh my god,” he starts. “Is she… no way. You didn’t… with my mom, did you? Is Corrine my… my sister?”

He’s silent for a moment, unwilling to make eye contact with the lad as the pieces begin to fall into place in his mind. “Henry…”

“You kissed my mom?!”

He clears his throat, scratching behind his ear, desperately trying to stop himself from informing the boy that he’d done far more than kiss his mom. He considers how much it would destroy Henry to learn that they actually happily live together. “It’s not exactly what you think, lad.”

“I think I have a secret, cursed sister and my mom kissed Captain Hook!” he says a bit too loudly. Killian’s eyes bug out of his head and he holds up his hand, waving it in front of Henry’s face.

“You sound like a madman, Henry!” Killian hisses. He can understand the lad being outraged by the idea of his mother being with anyone, but he’s going to get them thrown into the asylum if he keeps up his shouting.

“You had a baby with my mom!”

“Aye, I did. And we need to break this bloody curse so that I can bring my child and her mother home. Now focus and tell me what we need to do to get a hold of this Sorcerer.”

Henry looks nauseated. “You live together!?”

He sighs, rolling his eyes and shaking his head as he leans forward to get Henry’s attention. “You live with us, most of the time. Now focus.” He hopes that giving him a task, a responsibility in solving their troubles, will help him to remain in high spirits. “You need to figure out how we find the Sorcerer. That’s how you can help me break the curse.”

“Ugh,” he says, shaking himself out. “I’ll check out some stuff from the library. I live with you?”

“This is why I didn’t want to tell you,” Killian grunts out, taking another swig from his mug and wishing desperately it was rum instead of coffee. “It only serves to distract you from Operation Rattlesnake.”

“Yeah, I don't think I want to know anymore,” he says with his face still screwed up in disgust. “I’ll meet you after school, usual spot.” Killian nods, placing some money on the table as Henry stands and walks out of the diner.

Despite his odd and confounding morning, Killian’s happy to finally have some semblance of a plan. Perhaps now, with Henry’s hunch that some Sorcerer can remove the darkness from Regina, breaking the curse will be easier. At least they’ll have an idea of what steps to take once it’s broken.

He anticipates having a somewhat good day, what with his plans to bring Emma to see Corrine once again. He’s found that the only source of joy over the last few weeks have been spending time with Henry, who allows him to speak freely about the curse (mostly), and seeing his daughter and her mother playing together as if they aren’t strangers to one another.

Each day that he spends time with Emma, he gets more information about her cursed life. She’s opened up to him quite easily and he continues to insist that she’s easy to read. It’s true that he has a lot of background knowledge on her already, but it’s also true that she’s always been an open book. He hopes that the more he talks to her, the more likely she is to remember her old life and perhaps long for it. Maybe that would be enough to make her believe Henry’s hunch.

Emma specified several times that, on the days that they go together to see Corrine, she’s only available during the afternoon, and she must always be home prior to dinner. Killian likes to see Corrine for lunch time so he can eat with her, then enjoy some playtime, so the schedule she insists upon works well. Several times a week, she meets him outside of Granny’s and they walk to the convent together, talking casually along the way.

In the days before this curse struck, Emma was distant. She struggled to open up to Killian unless they were in bed together, she was constantly on edge, anxious and angry, and she started to build her walls higher and higher each day. Walking along the streets with her now, it’s as if she’s a different person, and a part of him hates it. She's still closed off, but it’s in a different way. She trusts him, as she often tells him, but her made up experiences have vexed her. She’s not allowed to see her son without permission from Regina and Neal, the two people who should absolutely not have a say in when Emma sees her child.

She told him that she gave up Henry when the lad was born, but the reason she did it was because his father was sent to jail, and she didn’t think she could raise a baby alone. Neal found out about the adoption upon his release and reached out to Regina, then turned his life around and became the sheriff of the small coastal town. According to Baelfire and Regina’s reality, he made the noble choice and didn’t actually make Emma take the fall for his own crimes, then leave her pregnant in prison at seventeen years old. Rather, he found his son while Emma traipsed around Boston irresponsibly until Henry came to get her.

The Mayor is also beloved by all, apparently. Henry lives with her and visits his father frequently, so it would seem that their scheme worked. It also seems that Bae’s ploy to make everyone forget Killian worked based on his need to introduce himself to everyone he already knows, as if he truly is new in town. The only thing that makes no sense to Killian is the fact that Bae and Emma aren't together, at least it doesn't seem it. The entire situation makes him nauseous.

“Hello,” she greets as he walks out of the diner to meet her. She looks as beautiful as ever, in spite of the messiness to her hair and the shallowness in her face. She looks so stressed and tired, even though she seems happy enough, and he isn't sure what to make of that.

“Afternoon, love,” he says in return, stepping in time with her as they make stride towards the convent.

“So, tell me something,” she insists, tucking her hands into the pockets of her jacket and bumping her shoulder into his. “I feel like we’re always talking about my screwed up life.”

He chuckles. “And what would you like to know?”

“Why Talia?”

He rolls his eyes at her foolish made up name and says, “I had no say in naming her.”

She laughs. “No, I mean why her?”

Killian nods. He can't exactly tell her that he’s the child’s father and that Emma is her mother and Killian’s lover, so he thinks fast. “I believe I told you I knew her mother. I feel close to her, to both of them, when I see her.”

“Is that why you came to Storybrooke in the first place?”

“Uh,” he starts, clearing his throat. “I suppose so, yeah.”

“Is… um, is her mother coming back?”

He considers his answer carefully. He doesn't want to lie to her, but he also doesn't want to give her the impression that he’s unavailable or waiting around for someone who isn't her. Not that he suspects her to be anywhere near looking at him in that way, but he’d rather not chance in. “Not in this lifetime,” he settles upon, drawing a thoughtful hum from her.

“Well, I'm sorry she lost her mother,” she consoles, “and that you lost her, too. I’m sure she must've been important to you.”

He clears his throat again, scratching behind his ear as he considers how carefully he has to answer. How carefully he has to talk to her at all times. “Thank you. She is.”

When they arrive, the fairy escorts both him and Emma down to the communal room where Corrine is eating her lunch, and she smiles at him happily and tosses her cup down to the floor to reach for him excitedly. Before he can reach her, she’s starting to climb out of her seat just like she’d do at home, and she’s almost jumping by the time he catches her. It pains him to see her react so happily to him despite her not truly knowing who he is, though he wonders if a part of her remembers, just as it seems that a part of Emma trusts him inherently. He wonders if him being awake through the curse has anything to do with that. “Hello, darling,” he says as he lifts her into his arms and wipes her face with a damp disposable cloth.

“You're so good with her,” Emma points out as she takes a seat at the table, smiling at the lass joyously.

He smiles back, sitting across from Emma with Corrine in his lap. “She makes it easy, I suppose.” He doesn't miss the fact that the fairy hasn't left the room, continuing to watch him distrustfully.

“Hi!” she shouts to Emma, causing her to grin and blush as she leans towards the baby.

“Hello!”

Corrine reaches for her mother, making grabbing motions with her fat little fingers and grinning at her, and the sight squeezes his heart firmly. It took a few times meeting Emma for Corrine to fully warm up to her, confirming his thoughts that she’s under the curse as well, but now she’s comfortable with her. Part of him beams seeing the two of them sitting together once Emma stands to pick the babe up from his hold, but much of him tingles with pain and anger. It shouldn't be like this. Corrine shouldn't be spending any of her formative years not knowing that the woman she’s with is her mother.

They play with her after she’s finished her sandwich, filled with a strange mixture of fruity jam and peanut spread, and she looks so cute happily playing away with Emma. The fairy leaves the room eventually, which settles his nerves. He’s been here under this curse far longer than he thought he would be, so he knows he must stay in her good graces so that he can continue to see his daughter each day.

“Killian,” Emma starts, covering her eyes with her hands and then opening them up to shout boo! at Corrine.

“Boo!” Corrine says back, giggling as Emma tickles her belly.

“Aye?”

“Are you going to adopt her?”

He falters at her question, considering the meaning behind her words. What she means is that Killian isn’t her father here, and he would have to go through a tormenting legal system in order to officially claim a title that is already his.

He’s got to break this bloody curse.

“Dop!” Corrine says, grinning at Killian and pointing commandingly. “You, dop!”

“Yeah!” Emma agrees with a smile.

“I’m not sure,” he answers. “Perhaps I would.”

Blue summons them after two hours, coming to collect Corrine and see them off. Once she’s picked up by the fairy, she begins crying, reaching for Killian and Emma pathetically. He feels his own eyes filling with tears as he says goodbye and assures her that they’ll see her soon, although he knows she can’t fully understand.

He rushes from the area, desperate to remove himself and hopefully not drag out her tortured response to them leaving, and when they step towards the waiting area, they’re greeted by Henry. “Hey,” he says casually.

“Henry, you should be in school for another half hour, what are you doing here?” Emma asks frantically, guiding him out of the building towards the sidewalk and starting in the direction of the school.

“I actually came to see Killian, but I guess I should’ve known you guys would be here together,” he says with a repulsed look on his face.  

“Lad, you can’t be here. You need to get back to school.”

“I didn’t—”

“Henry!”

The three of them turn towards the sound of a car door closing and are met with Bae stepping out of a patrol car and hurrying to them.

Emma groans beside her son and glances nervously towards Killian. “Neal,” she starts.

“Emma, what the hell? What are you doing? He has to be in school!”

“I know, I was just—”

“This is exactly the kind of decision that makes me not want to let you see him!”

“Mate,” Killian tries, but he’s cut off.

“Stay out of this, Jones.” He turns towards Emma and continues. “So, now you're spending all your time with the town drunk, is that it?”

“Neal, that isn’t fair.”

“No, what’s not fair is you choosing a guy over your kid’s best interest, again. Come on, Henry.”

“Dad—”

“I said come on.”

“Neal— Henry!”

“I’ll see you at home, Emma, if you even decide to bother.” Neal says with disappointment dripping from his voice. Home.

As she watches Henry walk away, turning back once to stare at her apologetically, he feels her tensing beside him despite the fact that they aren’t even touching. Her bottom lip quivers and she bites down on it hard to prevent it from wobbling too obviously, turning to him and looking into his eyes with her sad and tearful ones.

“Sorry about what he said,” she tells him dejectedly.

He shakes his head. “Do you… do you live with him, love?”

She nods, the face she gives him telling him he should have known. “Yeah, he took me in when I moved to Storybrooke.”

“Ah,” he nods. His anger hasn’t dissipated. The more he learns of her life here, the more he sees how much Bae and Regina have manipulated all of them, especially Henry and Emma. Emma, who has a lucrative career in her non-cursed life, is jobless and forced to live with her ex while he does her job. Emma, who is perhaps Henry's only fit parent, is being told that she needs permission to see her own son. Emma, the strongest person he’s ever known, has been reduced to some pathetic thing who needs saving. It’s cracking his resolve, but he knows he must pull himself back together for her sake. “I hadn’t realized.”

She sniffles, taking a few steps away from him and starting down the sidewalk as he swiftly follows. “After Henry found me, Neal took me in. But he found out about my past… I mean, I have a bit of a record. Not a big deal, but he sees it as an example of me making bad decisions.”

“What happened in your past?”

She shakes her head, rolling her eyes. “There was this guy, and he was just a bad influence. I was having trouble focusing on what’s important.”

“What, so he keeps an eye on you?” he scoffs. “Is that why you can only be out in the afternoon? Is that when he’s at the station?”

“It’s— no, it’s not like that.”

“Sorry. I realize that I’m overstepping, I apologize.” His voice was becoming vapid and he knew he needed to calm down. She shakes her head.

“No, it’s—” she stops herself from continuing, taking a deep breath and wrapping her arms tightly around herself as she walks. He wants to wrap his arms tightly around her. “It’s okay. I don't know why, but you're really easy to talk to. I mean, it’s easy to tell you stuff, even if it sucks.”

“You know you can, aye? Talk to me?”

She hums out a soft laugh and says, “yeah, I’m starting to see that.”

She stops walking to turn to him and smile, and he has a thought. He thinks she could kiss him right now— he would love to kiss her right now. But he wonders what implications that would have on the curse. Is he naive to think that what they have could be True Love? Does her cursed self have enough love for him to break the curse?

He doesn’t get the chance to test his theory. As her eyes start fluttering and she leans towards him, he reaches his prosthetic hand up towards her cheek and leans in but is interrupted by her phone ringing.

“Hello?” Emma asks into the phone, and he groans, wanting to press his forehead to hers but resisting the urge.

“Miss Swan,” Regina says, cluing Killian in to exactly who’s on the other end.

She groans quietly as well, separating herself from him and rolling her eyes in his direction, “madam mayor, hello.”

“What’s going on with Henry?” she asks, completely ignoring the greeting. “His father said he was with you rather than in school?”

“News travels fast,” Killian remarks under his breath.

“Miss Swan,” she says pointedly before Emma could answer her. “Need I remind you that your poor choices reflect poorly on any consideration we have for you seeing my son?”

“No, Regina, it wasn’t—”

“I really must insist that you take Henry into account when you choose who you surround yourself with.”

“I do! I always take Henry into account—”

“I hate to say this, Miss Swan, but you’re not doing a very good job at proving that. I suggest you consider your actions further, or this unsanctioned visit with Henry will be your last.”

She hangs up the phone before Emma even has a chance to argue with her.

Her bottom lip starts to wobble again and her eyes bug out twice their size and glass over in response to Regina’s abusive words. “Love,” he tries, but she pulls away, walls up, and starts walking again.

“Swan!” he calls after her as he runs to catch up.

“I can’t do this!” she shouts. “I can’t keep putting up with this! All I want is to see my son.”

“Swan,” he says again, softly as he takes her hand in his boldly.

“Everyone says I should just give up. Maybe they’re right.”

“No, love, that isn’t true.”

“All I want is for him to have a good life,” she says through her tears. “That obviously isn’t with me. It feels like everything I do is a strike against me, no matter what my intentions are. I think I might have to just go back to Boston.”

He pulls her hand until she stops walking and turns towards him. “You can’t, Emma.”

“Why?”

“Don’t let them dictate what you do. You’re Henry’s mother, no matter what anyone says.”

“Everyone says it. No one gets why I’m even here; Henry already has a mom. He doesn't need two.”

It’s crushing him to hear his Swan talk this way. She’s so defeated and he doesn't think he’s ever seen her so wilted and weak. Part of Regina’s curse must have been to punish Emma for not letting her see Henry, and if that were the case, he would say she’s succeeding. “Emma Swan, we will find a way to beat this,” he promises her.

She sniffles, her breath catching, and she looks up at him with watery eyes and rosy cheeks. “You think so?”

“I’ve yet to see you fail.”

She narrows her eyes again, cocking her head in thought as she considers his words. He wonders if she’s thinking back to three years ago when he said the exact same thing while she was searching for her son in Neverland, but he doubts it.

“I just… ” she sighs.

“Let me get you a hot chocolate.”

She draws her brows together and sighs, clearly downtrodden as she nods weakly and draws herself away from him. If this was really his Emma, he would take her in his arms and hug her close to him, but he doesn't dare do that now. “Okay,” she says softly, turning away and walking towards Granny’s.

When they arrive, she sits herself so heavily on the booth that he thinks she may break it. He orders a hot chocolate for her and a donut for himself, wishing he could rip a few pieces off and share them with Corrine, and hands her the mug as he sits down.

“I just…” she sighs heavily. “Henry keeps telling me something’s wrong, you know? And a part of me believes him.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, every time I talk to him it’s like he’s trying to convince me that something is… off. He’s always talking about his book and showing me stories in it, but it’s like he’s trying to convince me to believe that the stories are… like…”

“Real?”

She sighs, shrugging. “Can I tell you something?” Her voice is so timid that he can barely hear her in the bustling diner.

“Of course, darling.”

“Sometimes… sometimes when Henry talks about his curse and how we’re all fairytale characters…” she shrugs once again, “I don't know. It just feels like it could be real sometimes. I almost want it to be real.”

His heart starts racing and his palms begin to sweat at her words. “How do you mean?” he asks, hoping to encourage her to say more and perhaps stir up some memories.

“Just that I think life would be a lot easier if… if I was a character in a fairytale.”

“Aye, perhaps it would.”

She nods, not looking up from her mug as she continues. “It just feels like anything I do is the wrong thing. I have the worst luck. And, just… my life sucks,” she laughs. “This can’t be all there is.”

Rather than argue with her, as he so desperately wants to, he tries to lighten the mood just a bit. “You know, if the curse were true, that would mean that you would be the person to break it,” he points out.

She scoffs, rolling her eyes and smiling falsely. “There's no possible reality where I am a Savior. How the hell would I even break it?”

It becomes clear that, while she may not have lost her belief in the possibility of magic, she’s lost her belief in herself. “Why, True Love’s Kiss, of course,” he says triumphantly with a grin shot her way. It doesn’t go over quite as he wanted it to.

She rolls her eyes once more. “No one loves me, Killian. It doesn't matter who I love or how hard I try; no one can ever love me back.”

“That isn’t true,” he shakes his head, taking her hands in his and pulling them off of her mug until she finally looks up into his eyes. He can’t tell her that he loves her so he says, “it isn’t true, Emma.”

He’s never seen her like this. She’s completely defeated and overcome with a sense of failure that he thinks he might burst if this damn curse doesn’t get broken soon. He can tell that he’s close, but every second spent is a second too long.

“You’re…” she starts, glancing down but then right back up into his eyes. “You’re something else. Very intense,” she laughs awkwardly.

“Aye, I suppose I am.”

“I’m not really used to,” she waves her fingers around in front of his face, “all that.”

He smiles sadly at her, boldly taking her hand in his a squeezing, and says, “I think you may get used to it, love.”

She nods slowly and doesn’t pull her hand away. “Yeah.”

#the days we defend #walk with me #sequel #days we defend ff #cs ff #captain swan fanfic #once upon a time fanfic #ouat ff #captain swan #killian jones #emma swan

[rumbelleshowdown]

Author:  Detective Weaver's Badge

Prompt:  Dog person

Group: B

-

DUG

“Hey, can you hurry it up back there, I want my drink!” an angry customer shouted toward the back room in Roni’s bar.

“I’m sorry!” an exasperated Lacey cried as she darted out into the room with the man’s drink order.  “Here you are – rum and coke.” The man took a sip of the drink.

“The coke is flat,” the man complained, and he slammed the drink down onto the table.

“I – our soda machine must not be working right, I’ll check it,” Lacey whimpered.  Suddenly a little toddler darted out from the back room and latched himself around Lacey’s legs.

“Mama!  I thirsty!” Lacey sighed and looked down at the little boy.

“Gideon, sweetheart, I told you to stay in the back and play with your toys, mommy is busy.”

“What is this, a daycare?  Listen lady, I came here to drink, not to play Sesame Street.” The man stood up and slammed his chair forward into the table.  “I’m outta here.”  Lacey sat down at the table and cried.  Roni, the bar’s owner, had to go out of town for a few days, and Lacey volunteered to watch the bar for her.  She certainly needed the extra money.  Of course, she didn’t realize that a day after Roni left, her usual sitter would come down with the flu, and two of the bartenders decided to take the evening off, leaving Lacey alone, manning the place with her toddler son.

“Mama sad?” Gideon asked as he crawled onto her lap.

“Yes sweetheart, Mama sad.”  Lacey pulled the boy into a hug.

“Where Papa?” Lacey took a deep breath and held the boy tighter.  The truth was, she didn’t know where Gideon’s father was.  She didn’t even know WHO Gideon’s father was.  All she knew was she loved her son and was doing her best to raise him alone.  She may have made many mistakes in the past, but she wasn’t going to let Gideon suffer for them.  The door to the bar opened, and Lacey looked up at the man who was entering.  She smiled a bit at him.  Lacey secretly had a crush on Detective Weaver, one of Hyperion Heights’ finest officers.  Well – finest to look at, at any rate.  She heard all the rumors of how he wasn’t exactly one to follow the letter of the law.  But he was nice to her, he was a good tipper, and who was she to judge after all?

“Gideon, you need to get down love, Mommy really needs to work.” As soon as Gideon turned and saw Weaver, his face lit up with a smile that Lacey hadn’t seen on his face for as long as she could remember.

“Papa!” Gideon shouted, and he darted toward Weaver and wrapped himself around the man’s legs for a moment, then lifted his arms into the air.  “Up, Papa!  Up!” Weaver wore a puzzled look on his face as he glanced down at the young boy.

“Yours?” he asked Lacey.

“Um – yes, he’s mine.  Gideon, that’s not your papa, that’s the detective, leave him alone.” Gideon grabbed onto Weaver’s legs once again.

“No!  Papa!  I want Papa!” Gideon shouted.

“I – I don’t know why he thinks you’re his father, I’m so sorry,” Lacey said.  From outside a loud bark was heard, and Gideon perked up.

“Dug!” Gideon shouted, and he darted toward the door.

“Gideon!  Get back here, no!” Lacey ran after the boy, and Weaver followed.  A golden retriever with a black collar was tied to the patio, and Gideon ran toward the dog.  “Gideon, stop, you don’t just run to strange dogs like that!”

“It’s alright, it’s my dog,” Weaver said, and he went to the dog’s side.  The dog seemed happy to see the young boy, wiggling with glee and wagging his tail fiercely as Gideon pet him.

“Dug!  Papa and Dug!” Gideon exclaimed happily.

“Not dug – DOG,” Lacey corrected him.

“No – DUG.  My Dug,” Gideon retorted.

“I guess he’s trying to say dog,” Lacey said.  “I didn’t know you were a dog lover.” She looked up at Weaver and smiled.

“Well, I found him on the street when I was out and about a few weeks ago.  No one claimed him so – he’s a good dog.”

“What’s his name?” Lacey asked.

“Gold,” Weaver replied.

“You named your golden retriever GOLD?  Not very original,” Lacey teased.

“Well, I like the name for some reason.  So – are you open or what?”  Weaver sat down, and Lacey sat down with him.

“Well, I’m trying to be but – Roni went out of town, my sitter got sick, and everyone called off today, and trying to run a bar with a toddler underfoot isn’t exactly bringing in the customers.  I’m sorry – what can I get you?”

“Sounds like you just need to close up and go home,” Weaver suggested.

“Roni would kill me.”

“Nah – this is her slow night anyway, she’d understand.  And if not – I’ll have a talk with her.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know – but the offer stands.  Come on Gold – let’s get home so that Miss French and her little lad can be off.” Weaver reached for the dog’s leash, and Gideon started screaming.

“No!  Papa!  Dug!  You stay, I want Papa to stay!” the boy screamed, tears streaming down his face.  Lacey picked him up and hugged him.

“Gideon, I told you, this isn’t your papa.  Detective Weaver needs to go home.” Gideon turned and looked at Weaver and reached out to him.  “Papa!”  Lacey looked at Weaver in embarrassment.

“Would, um – I don’t know what’s gotten into him but – would you like to come over to my place?  You can bring the dog.  It’s been a rough week, and he seems to like you.  Maybe it’ll settle him down.”

“Well, I’m off for the night.  Why not.” Lacey grabbed a napkin and wrote her address on it, then handed it to Weaver.

“Give me about thirty minutes.”  Lacey headed back into the bar to lock up, Gideon still screaming in her arms.

“He seems to like the dog quite a bit,” Lacey said as she pulled several things out of the refrigerator to make something that resembled dinner.  Gideon was on the floor playing with the dog, who seemed very content to let the boy do whatever he wished.

“Yes, he does.  Can I help with anything?  Maybe make us some coffee or tea?”

“Oh, tea would be wonderful.  I have a tea set in the third cupboard; I hardly ever get to use it.  Honestly, I don’t even know the last time I pulled it out of the cupboard.  I mean – ever since Gideon I – well, I don’t have company much.  There’s several different tea blends there as well, make what you like.”

“Be glad to,” Weaver replied.  For as long as he could remember, he’d had a mild crush on Lacey French, which is why he made sure that he visited Roni’s bar when he knew that she was working.  He had no idea that she was living in such a tiny shack, nor that she was a single mother.  Why didn’t he know these things? he wondered to himself.  Weaver opened the cupboard to find a lovely tea set.  It was white with blue trim.  He took down two of the cups and was just about to reach for the tea blends when he noticed that one of the cups had a small chip in the corner.  He picked it up and was about to put it back when suddenly he was flooded with memories ….

Belle.  More curses than he could count.  Bae.  Gideon.  The dog they rescued when they were visiting in Storybrooke just before this new curse took hold – that Gideon had named Dug.  He glanced at his son, happily playing with the dog that was named Gold of all things – whoever cast this new curse certainly had a sense of humor.  They also must not have realized that children who are still in the age of innocence aren’t exactly easy to manipulate, which is probably why Gideon didn’t seem to understand any of this.  Poor lad – this had to be difficult for him.  But he’d fix it.  As soon as he made his wife remember, they’d fix it together.

“Lacey – look at this teacup,” Weaver said.  Lacey stepped away from the stove and took the teacup into her hands.

“It’s – chipped,” she stated, then gasped, nearly dropping the cup, but Weaver caught it just in time.

“Belle,” he whispered, tears forming in his eyes.

“Rumple,” she answered, her voice trembling, and they melted into a kiss.  

#rumbelle showdown 2020 #rumbelle fic #woven lace fic #Round One entry #author: Detective Weaver's Badge

[ryik-the-writer]

I was tagged by @abbas-ragamuffin (*kisssssess*

Rules: name ten favorite characters from ten different things (TV, movies, books, etc.), then tag ten people

1. Alice Jones - This character was breath of fresh air for OUAT. She was unique, talented and gave actual fleshed out LGBT+ representation for the show. I also love how Hook was re-written because of her existence, showing us that in another life that character wasn’t such a dick as his original version is.

2. Anko Mitarashi - I started watching anime when I was about 13 or 14, and I started watching Naruto after seeing her in the intro. Honestly, I thought she was beautiful and mysterious, and I was thrilled when she finally got her own arc. I love her story, and I even love her dynamic with the villain Orochimaru. I hate how she gets crap in the spinoff series Baruto because she gained weight...my bitch loves food man let her be happy! She’s kick-ass, crazy and a hell of a woman!

3. Dipper Pines - I love my smol boy so much! He’s such a great character and really shows how a real child acts with concepts like peer-pressure, romance, and hell, even PTSD. I hate when shows try to make seem like kids have to be the adult in the room when they’re are freaking adults right there, but Dipper was really balanced out as a problem-solver but also as someone who adults look after. He’s awkward, he’s fun and he’s going to make a hell of an explorer one day!

4. Sophie Hatter - Howl’s Moving Castle is probably my favorite Studio Ghibli movie...though I love all of them! Sophie particularly always stuck to me just because of her personality and storyline. I mean, her whole story is like a Beauty and the Beast remix/slice of life story that really has no plot but to engage and delight you. I found her ability to swing from ‘oh shit there’s a curse on me!’ to “oh there’s a curse on me gotta clean this damn castle/fall in love with this sexy wizard’ just unbelievable delightful. Young or old, she’s amazing!

5. Coraline Jones - My idol as a kid. As I mentioned with Dipper, I really don’t like the ‘kids have to save the day despite there being able adults’ trope, but this is one of the few stories it actually works. Coraline herself is just a great kid and puts the stamp on the ‘weird kid’ trope. I love the idea of her story continuing one day.

6. The Gold family - Rumplestiltskin, Belle and Gideon Gold - I will not choose between these three. I love this family, and I love every version where Bae is included. We were robbed that we weren’t given more time with them.

7. Zuko - This guy has four seasons worth of character development and it shows. Zuko is just an amazing character, and Dante Basco’s role with his development just adds such a deep level to him. 

8.  Amélie Poulain - Amélie is a french movie about a women who honestly just goes around doing good deeds and figuring out her life. That’s it, but damn if this character doesn’t make it worth watching.  Amélie is shy, but very fierce and kind and just wants to be happy. There’s a lot of headcanons that she’s autistic or may have Aspergers, and I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if that’s comes out as cannon one day. She’s such a beautiful person. 

9. Jame Hook - Who couldn’t love this little psycho? I’m pretty shruggy when to Descendents franchise. I’m it’s certainly creative and has REALLY great casting, though crazy corny in a lot of aspects. Still, I LOVE this character. He’s so spontaneous and is just having the time of his life. Not to mention I stan a pirate who has the queen of the sea’s back.

10.  Cindy Campbell - Okay, leave your hate mail in the inbox. I’m a fan of the Scary Movie franchise, and I found Cindy absolutely hilarious. Yes the movies are horrible, but If I’m writing and I need some  background noise, I’ll turn this on and chuckle a bit. 

tagging: @justanoutlawfic, @queenofglassbeliever, @emospritelet​, @thatravenclawbitch​, @zoe19blink​, @jackabelle73​, @rumplefloofywoobiestiltskin​, @nerdalmighty​, @timelordthirteen​

[helloluckybouquetbearus]

Updated September 3 KST:  CLC’s Eunbin has also been confirmed for the cast of “Dear.M”!  Eunbin will play the role of Min Yang Hee, who is a student in the computer engineering department along with Cha Min Ho (played by NCT’s Jaehyun). She comes from a well-off family and while she’s a bit tactless, she has a charming innocence. An initial unconfirmed report also describes that her character develops feelings for Cha Min Ho.  (2)  Original Article:  KBS 2TV’s upcoming drama “Dear.M” has confirmed its starring cast!  On September 3, KBS announced that NCT’s Jaehyun, Kim Sae Ron, Bae Hyun Sung, and Park Hye Soo would all be starring in “Dear.M,” its upcoming spin-off of the hit web drama series “Love Playlist.”  “Dear.M” will tell the story of the campus-wide search for the mysterious “M,” an individual who is mentioned in an anonymous post on a Seoyeon University online community. The realistic romance drama will follow the changing relationships and budding romances between various characters in the wake of all the buzz about “M.”  Jaehyun will be making his highly-anticipated acting debut as male lead Cha Min Ho, a clever and imaginative second-year computer-engineering student who comes up with an idea to develop an exciting new app. Park Hye Soo will star as Ma Joo Ah, a cheerful second-year business administration major who has never had a boyfriend and is constantly meddling in others’ affairs due to her generous and inquisitive nature. The two sophomores are childhood friends who have been BFFs for the past 12 years.  Meanwhile, Kim Sae Ron and Bae Hyun Sung will be reprising their roles from the fourth season of “Love Playlist,” where they played Seoyeon University students Seo Ji Min and Park Ha Neul respectively. In “Dear.M,” they will continue to give viewers butterflies as a beloved campus couple, but the character of Park Ha Neul will also set out to achieve his dream of becoming a game developer.  The producers of “Dear.M” remarked, “‘Dear.M’ is a new KBS drama for which ‘Love Playlist’ writer Lee Seul has joined forces with Park Jin Woo, the director of KBS’s 2-part music drama ‘to. Jenny,’ and Seo Joo Wan, the director of ‘I Hate Going to Work’ and ‘Love Revolution.'”  They went on, “Please keep an eye on what kind of love and concerns each of the characters who is entangled with ‘M’ will experience, as well as how they grow amidst fierce competition, against a backdrop of relatable dialogue and sentimental direction.”  “Dear.M” is currently aiming to premiere sometime in the first half of 221.  Are you excited to see Jaehyun and Park Hye Soo join Kim Sae Ron and Bae Hyun Sung in this new spin-off? In the meantime, watch Park Hye Soo in her film “Swing Kids” below! Watch Now   Top Photo Credit: Xportsnews Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr by Korea Stars TV

#IFTTT #YouTube

[iuinspires]

Persona - One Lee Ji Eun, Four Personas

IU is perhaps better known for her identity as a singer-songwriter rather than an actress, but she has mentioned her love for acting on a number of occasions, explaining that it allows her to assume different identities and express emotions in a manner that she may not be able to in reality.

Persona, a four-part anthology on Netflix that marks actress Lee Ji Eun’s first foray into the world of film-making, allows her to do precisely that: take on the challenge of portraying four characters with completely different personas, displaying a wide range of emotions that fans have hitherto not seen from her. Comprising four short films produced by four critically acclaimed Korean directors, each film is greatly different in terms of style and tone, with no apparent connection to each other - but I think they all tackle the theme of love and passion to some extent, manifested in different forms: jealousy and anger (Love Set); deceit and betrayal (Collector); friendship and revenge (Kiss Burn); as well as separation and loss (Walking at Night).

I’ll be completely honest – as these are essentially indie arthouse films with ambiguous plots and cryptic characters, they are an acquired taste which may not appeal to everyone; being no film expert myself, I’m not sure I understood everything that the filmmakers were trying to convey. But I certainly had great fun watching actress Lee Ji Eun take on four very different personas in each story, and also reading the thoughts of my fellow uaenas who have enthusiastically dissected the films. Let me just share my thoughts on each of the films as well.

(WARNING: Spoilers ahead)

Love Set

This was the film which I had been looking forward to most before its release, for the premise seemed so intriguing from the trailers: an angsty and jealous IU locking horns with her prospective stepmother (Bae Doona) in a game of tennis with high stakes, where the loser would “end it all” with the man of their shared affections (IU’s dad and Doona’s lover). I was also excited to see how IU would unleash her character’s unbridled fury that seemed to be the key motif of the story, especially since she had mentioned in interviews how challenging it was for her to portray anger in such a manner that was contrary to her personality.

I must confess that I was slightly disappointed when I first watched the film though, for the story didn’t seem to go beyond what we already knew would happen – IU and Doona engaging in a heated battle on the tennis court. A significant amount of time was devoted to slow motion shots of them whacking the tennis ball, and close-ups of their hot, reddened faces of intense agony that was almost painful to watch. I was also somewhat frustrated by the seeming apathy and emotional detachment of the two male characters (IU’s dad and an unnamed Caucasian friend haplessly dragged in to “seduce” Doona) – both sat silent and almost expressionless with their heads turning back and forth rhythmically like puppets following the movement of the tennis ball – a direct contrast to the fury and fierce energy displayed by the women on the courts. I couldn’t quite fathom why IU’s dad seemed indifferent to his daughter’s angry outbursts or suffering, even calmly saying “Out!” when she missed the ball and fell down – did it signify the fact he cared more for his lover and was rooting for her? Why then did he seem emotionless even though Doona was winning?

I did however enjoy observing the dynamics between the women and their contrasting personalities – Doona, the older and more mature of the two, was clearly at the upper hand throughout, remaining level-headed and taking an almost sadistic pleasure in calmly taunting IU; poor IU, on the other hand, was a loser not just in the tennis game but in her complete failure to rein in her emotions, seeming like a complete wreck with her expletive-laden outbursts. Towards the end, however, Doona handed over the tennis ball to IU with a gentle stroke of the thumb in what seemed like a conciliatory gesture, and told IU that she didn’t intend to marry her father, suggesting that she had never been serious about their bet to begin with – and ending off the movie on an almost anti-climactic note.

One thing which struck me was the sexual innuendoes that was evident throughout the story – the suggestive shrieks and panting with each hit of the tennis ball, the sensuous close-up shots of IU’s lips biting a plum, and of the women’s hot, sweaty bare skin – but I didn’t quite comprehend how it quite fit in with the context of the story. One of my fellow uaenas, however, has offered an intriguing explanation: that IU and Doona were actually in a sexual relationship before, with Doona betraying IU by getting together with her dad – which explained IU’s extreme agitation at the entire situation, and at puzzling moments like Doona’s flirtations with the Caucasian. The sexual innuendoes would then be a deliberate hint of the relationship between the two, with the tennis match signifying a lover’s quarrel, and the caressing of IU’s hand at the end a romantic gesture on Doona’s part. I think that’s a fascinating and plausible interpretation of the story, and could possibly also explain the two men’s indifference and insignificance throughout the show – they are mere spectators on the sidelines, observing the relationship that is key to the story: the secret passion between IU and Doona.

Collector

Prior to watching the film, Collector left the vaguest impression on me for I wasn’t sure what it was about beyond a love story between a man and a woman; as it turns out, this was the most memorable film, and my favourite of the series for its surreal, eerie plot and rich use of metaphors.

Director Im Pil-Sung has explained that in making this film, he was inspired by IU’s song Jam Jam - which is essentially about a non-committal and superficial relationship between a man and woman, with jam serving as a metaphor for the sugar-coating of lies and pretensions binding them together. And indeed, this idea of deceit in a relationship was evident in the film with the character of Eun portrayed by Ji Eun; while she seemed tender and gently seductive at times towards her entranced lover, there was also clear indifference in her attitude, shown from her boredom with his conversation attempts, and her open flirtations with other men. Her lover, however, was not completely innocent himself, for it seemed that he had betrayed his ex-fiancé by breaking off their engagement to be with Eun. This fact was revealed through an abrupt switch of scenes from his conversation with Eun to an empty white room in a surreal, clinical setting that seemed to represent his subconscious mind. In one particularly gruesome scene, the man’s head was sliced off in his subconscious state, suggesting a blow to his ego after finding out that Eun had gone travelling with two male friends. Notably, his head was fixed back to his neck after he had waxed lyrical to Eun about his pompous theory on the superiority of females, probably representing a restoration of his ego from the self-pleasure of his intellectual discourse.

Nothing however, could rival the shock factor from the bizarre twist towards the end of the story, when the man, egged on by Eun, literally dug out his heart of his body and handed it to her. As he sat motionlessly in tears, now a heartless man, Eun carefully placed her prized possession in a jar, and smilingly declared that she would “salt it to prevent it from rotting”. This, I think, was a chilling but clever reference to the following lines in Jam Jam:

“Tell me that you love me

Say the pretty things smeared on your lips

Sticky sticky, I’ll keep it pickled

So it won’t rot, for a long time”

In the final scene, the man opened up a small box which Eun had handed to him as a gift, only to find a miniature version of himself trapped in the empty white room – which I interpreted as symbolising that her parting gift to him was the gift of conscience, a reminder of his heartlessness for betraying his original lover.  

The story left me unnerved and shaken with its gory and disturbing elements, but I loved its use of metaphors, and how it brought a whole new meaning to the lyrics of Jam Jam. What I appreciated most, however, was Ji Eun’s portrayal of the callous and mysterious seductress that Eun was; her acting was nuanced and deliberate, with subtle gestures and expressions that brought her character to life. I can never forget the look of rapt eagerness on Eun’s face, for instance, as she watched the man dig out his heart, and how she gently licked her lips at one point, almost like a predator anticipating a bite of its prey. Watching it gave me the chills, and made me forget that the Eun we saw onscreen was the lovable Lee Ji Eun who has inspired all kinds of emotions in me before, except for fear. In short, I think this film was the most effective in allowing her to take her acting skills at a whole new level, and to experiment with a different persona that viewers have never seen from her before.

Kiss Burn

Kiss Burn features Ji Eun as Hanna, a spirited school girl who visits the rural home of her good friend Hye Bok to seek her company, only to find her locked in by her authoritative father. Hye Bok’s hair has been shorn off by her father in a drunken fit, possibly as punishment for returning home with kiss marks after making out with a boy at a beach. Annoyed by his unjust behaviour, Hanna vows to exact revenge, and the two girls embark on a series of hilarious attempts at pulling off pranks to punish him.

Compared to the other films, the story is relatively light-hearted, with many comedic moments. However, it takes a slightly dark turn towards the end: while the girls’ deliberate and carefully thought-out pranks fail to achieve their desired outcome, a careless gesture – a flick of a cigarette butt into the chicken coop – eventually sparks off a fire, ironically turning out to be the biggest punishment for Hye Bok’s father, who works as a forest fire lookout.

Interestingly, the director chose to use chickens as a recurring motif to carry the dark humour of the story: in one of the early scenes, Hanna chomps on large chunks of roast chicken, and towards the end, the girls cheerily comment on smelling the aroma of fried chicken, blissfully unaware of the growing blaze presumably spread by a chicken which had gone astray after its tail caught fire in the coop.

In terms of acting, I think the role of Hanna was less of a ground-breaking one for Ji Eun, because it isn’t the first time we’ve seen her portray lively characters like that before. That doesn’t mean, however, that she didn’t do a good job in delivering her role – Hanna was a character with an endearing mix of rebelliousness and naiveté who found her way to my heart. For all her deviousness in conjuring pranks to seek revenge, Hanna still possessed an innocence about her, as evidenced from her curious probing of Hye Bok’s making out session, her amusing attempt at kissing herself to produce a hickey (after insisting wide-eyed to her friend that she knew how it was created), and her eagerness at visiting the beach (which Hye Bok claimed was a good place to “relieve stress” through making out). It was also a pleasure to watch Ji Eun’s chemistry with actress Shin Dal-gi, who played Hye Bok. Ji Eun had mentioned in interviews that director Jeon Go Won had employed unique techniques prior to the start of filming for the actresses to bond with each other, and that camaraderie was indeed evident onscreen, making the friendship between Hanna and Hye Bok a believable and funnily heartwarming one.

Walking at Night

Walking at Night appears to be a favourite amongst many uaenas, and I can see why: it is a hauntingly sad but beautiful and poetic piece, which would appeal to the sensibilities of those who gravitate towards IU’s sentimental ballads. I love it myself, and would rank it as my second favourite, after Collector.

Shot entirely in black and white, it tells the story of a man who meets his dead girlfriend in his dream, and together they revisit old haunts, reminisce their time together, and muse about love, life and death. Director Kim Jong Kwan had mentioned that he was inspired by the air of loneliness Ji Eun exudes despite her lively public persona, and indeed, the film delves into the theme of loneliness; mid-way through the show, it is revealed that the girl had killed herself because of her desperate sense of loneliness. Anxious, the man asks if he had caused her to be lonely, and she reassures him that he hadn’t:

“No. You were always there for me. There are people who know me and people who don’t. You were one of those who knew me, and there were others besides you. Those people were the ones who made me feel lonely. There were so many people who knew me other than you, but the way they treated me made me feel lonely. You were always there for me, but I just suffered in vain until I died.”

These poignant lines made my heart ache and struck a chord with me; it is so true that not being alone does not equate to not being lonely, for there have been moments in my life when I am surrounded by people, yet feel overwhelmed by an odd sense of loneliness.

Ji Eun’s words in the final scene are just as beautifully sad, a reminder of the ephemeral nature of our existence, and how we are all but transient visitors on this earth:  

“Dreams and death lead to nowhere. They will end up nowhere…and eventually be forgotten. We are here, but no one will remember us. Everything is gone, and only the night remains.”

I’m not sure if I imagined it, but as the camera pans out in one of the final scenes to show the couple embracing, there appears to be a silhouette of a man standing in the distance. I recall shuddering involuntarily when I first noticed it, and even now, I feel an odd mix of fear and intrigue as I ponder who that man could be. Is it the protagonist himself, looking on at himself with his lover, as how we are wont to view ourselves from a third party perspective in dreams? Is he desperately trying to cling on to his memories before they fade? Or is it perhaps an onlooker bearing witness to their existence, proving that Ji Eun’s words may not entirely true – for while death leads us to disappear from this earth, we will still leave traces of ourselves behind, in the memories of those we’ve crossed paths with? I guess the beauty of such films is that there’s no right or wrong answer.

Compared to the other films, Walking at Night has the simplest narrative, with no notable climax; but I think its beauty lies in its simplicity, which allows us to focus on the poetic nature of its dialogue, and ruminate on what it means. In the same vein, Ji Eun’s acting is understated and restrained; there is no need for dramatic expressions, for so much of her emotions is conveyed in subtle ways, like a simple gesture, an inflexion in voice, or the expression in her large, soulful eyes.

Conclusion

Ji Eun’s acting career has been a rocky one, and there will always be people who love to hate her acting. Yet slowly but surely, she has been establishing her credentials as an actress over the years; My Ahjusshi was a breakthrough role which gained her recognition for her acting skills, and with Persona, she has proven once again her remarkable versatility as an actress, and added another notable work under her belt. Persona is probably not a show which will have mainstream appeal, but I believe it is the kind of acting project which will fulfil Ji Eun’s desire for more creative freedom, and I hope she’ll continue to take on such projects that will allow her to find joy in doing what she loves.

#persona #IU #lee ji eun #love set #collector #kiss burn #walking at night #netflix

[calligraphist-artemisia]

Star Searching

Kidge Secret Santa 2018 – for @all27g who asked for “Anything Kidge (But I have a special love towards any AUs where Pidge and Keith knew each other before the Kerberos Misson or fall heads over heels in love without realizing it.)”

I hope you enjoy it!

Summary: Pre-Kerberos AU. There were a few things Keith regretting doing in his life, and he was sure that joining Shiro for dinner with Commander Holt’s family would be one of them. That was, until he met the youngest member of the family.

Also posted on AO3 and fanfiction.net, under the username “kishirokitsune”

Star Searching

The last time Keith felt that out of place was during his first day at the Galaxy Garrison. And just like then, he knew the only reason he was there was thanks to Shiro. He hanged back as Commander Holt's wife welcomed Shiro into their home, saying how good it was to finally meet the pilot who would be traveling with her husband and son to a moon of the furthest planet in their solar system.

Matt was at her elbow, teasing her for making such a big fuss about it. “Oh, come on, mom. He's only the best and brightest to have ever graduated the Garrison.”

Shiro turned pink at the attention.

“And you must be Keith,” Mrs. Holt said warmly, turning to him next. “Matt tells me you're in the piloting program as well. It must be wonderful to have a mentor with such experience around to guide you!”

“Um, well, yeah. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Shiro,” Keith answered honestly. He could feel his anxiety rise from her unexpected interest in him. His heartbeat quickened and he found himself having difficulty properly breathing. “Do you have a bathroom I could use?”

Mrs. Holt nodded and gestured to the nearby stairs. “It's just upstairs and across the hall. You can't miss it.”

Keith thanked her before fleeing upstairs, only able to relax once he shut the bathroom door behind him. He just needed a moment to compose himself. Then he would be able to go back and make it through dinner like a normal person.

“Why did I agree to this?” he asked his reflection.

He knew why.

All it had taken was one pleading look from Shiro and the sadness in his voice when he said that Adam had to oversee a detention and couldn't make it like they originally planned. After that, he'd hunted down the nicest clothing he owned (a red button down shirt and a pair of jeans) in order to join him for a celebratory dinner with the Holt family.

Keith took a few more minutes to get his breathing under control and prepare himself for how overwhelmingly nice Mrs. Holt was (just like Matt and Commander Holt, actually), then he left the bathroom. And while he had every intention of going straight downstairs, he found himself drawn to a wall of framed photographs instead.

It was the perfect display of a happy family. Or mostly happy, Keith corrected himself, noting one of the group photo's included a girl with long brown hair who was pouting. He assumed it was Matt's famed little sister, Katie.

Not for the first time, Keith wished he'd had a chance to save the photo albums his dad kept, before he was sent to the Home.

A faint sound drew his attention down the hall. It wasn't anything strange, except he was sure everyone else was downstairs. Weren't they? Keith furrowed his brow as he tried to recall. He was about to go down and find out, when he heard the sound of something falling and a pained groan.

Keith reacted before he could stop to think his actions through, barging through the half-open door to find the girl from the photographs sitting on the floor, rubbing her shin. She looked up at the sound of the door opening, her eyes wide.

At her side, an all-white dog stood up and fiercely wagged its tail before bounding towards him. Keith lifted his arms to protect his face from what he was sure was an attack, but all the dog did was stop in front of him and whine, pawing at his leg for attention.

“Bae Bae!” scolded the girl.

Keith slowly lowered his hands for the dog to sniff and was rewarded with a series of very wet licks from his fingertips to his wrist. He grinned at the overly affectionate dog, relieved that he wouldn't have to explain to Shiro how he got injured. He glanced up at the girl – Katie, he reminded himself – to find her staring at him, her expression unreadable.

He flushed with embarrassment. He could only imagine what it looked like to her. He was some stranger who came into her room without permission and then proceeded to ignore her in favor of her dog, who was only too happy to soak up all of the attention he was willing to give.

“Sorry,” Keith blurted out. “I, uh, thought I heard something fall, so I came to make sure everything's alright.”

She stared at him for a moment longer. “You're Shiro's friend? Kev- no, Keith?”

He relaxed a little. “Yeah. You're Matt's sister, Katie, right? Are you okay?”

Awkward.

It was all so awkward. The stilted conversation. Keith wished he could do something ridiculous like sink through the floor or transport back in time to stop himself from running into her room.

He barely heard her reply as he glanced around, almost immediately narrowing in on the telescope at her window. “Is that the Ouranos III? I didn't know you could get that outside of the Garrison.”

Katie stopped talking mid-sentence, following his gaze. There was a moment of hesitation before she answered. “Technically, I'm not supposed to have it. Dad brought it home as part of his personal research equipment a few years ago, but since he's helping test the new Ouranos IV, he let me use that one. You have a good eye.”

Keith shrugged. “I like looking at the stars. Knowing which telescopes give me the best view just felt like a natural part of that.” He paused, unsure of how much more to say, but with Katie looking up at him with a tiny smile, he pressed on. “Pops bought me an Orion growing up and we'd spend every night we could mapping out the stars. I'll never forget that.”

And that was it.

That was all it took for that awkward atmosphere to evaporate. Katie latched onto the topic and ran with it, happily bringing Keith along with her for the ride. At some point, he sat down on the floor with her and let Bae Bae sprawl across his lap, though he wasn't sure if that was before or after their discussion on whether or not the new line of SuperNova 9000's were really worth the hefty price tag.

Time slipped away from them. Keith only realized an hour had gone by when Shiro walked up behind him.

“So this is where you disappeared to,” he said fondly. “Dinner's ready, if you two are hungry.”

Keith reluctantly urged Bae Bae out of his lap before getting up. He sneaked a glance at Katie, and maybe it was just him imagining things, but he thought she looked disappointed by the interruption as well.

They all went down for dinner and Keith largely stayed quiet unless directly asked a question. Every now and then his eyes would meet Katie's and he couldn't help but wonder: had he made a new friend?

A warm feeling blossomed in his chest.

For so long it had only been Shiro, who was as much his mentor as he was a best friend, and quite a few years older as well. To have found someone near his own age who he got along with and actually enjoyed talking to...

He should say something. Add something to the conversation at the table. Ask her to pass the salt. Anything.

But Keith didn't and before he knew it, it was time to leave. He echoed Shiro's thanks for having them over for dinner and then they were out the door, heading to Shiro's car.

“Wait!”

Keith half-turned in time to catch Katie pushing past her parents to sprint over to him. There was a noticeable hue of pink across her cheeks as she thrust a piece of paper in Keith's direction. He took it, momentarily confused by the string of numbers written there, before his brain caught on. “Your phone number?”

Katie nodded, her eyes bright. “Just in case you want to talk some more. You still haven't convinced me that the Nova line peaked twenty years ago and has only gone down since then.”

“But I don't have a phone.”

Katie's face fell and Keith realized too late how that must have sounded to her. “I just mean, um, I can't text you, but the Garrison has land lines for us so use, so I could call using one of those. I'll...” He swallowed, well aware that Shiro was listening in. “I'll call tomorrow. At noon? And we'll figure out a good day for us to talk?”

She was smiling again, so he counted that as a good sign.

After a quick agreement to the plan, they went their separate ways. It wasn't until he and Shiro were well on their way back to the Garrison, that Keith had an idea.

“Hey, Shiro, do you think I could get a phone?”

#voltron #fanfiction #kidgemas #kidgesecretsanta #kidge #pre kerberos au

[siyeonrk]

MGA SEASON FIVE !      EP. 2 → PART ONE: MAIN SKILL CHALLENGE       ( SINGING ONE 0:59 - 2:59 )

she’s never felt as nervous as sitting amongst so many talented people waiting for each name to be called. for a moment, she’s bitter that her family name hadn’t been ahn or bae so the metaphorical band-aid could be ripped off early, but at least she isn’t yoon siyeon. a silver lining amongst her sweaty palms and trembling fingers, perhaps, but it isn’t enough, especially as they reach the nohs and she knows park must be next.

there’s no doubt in her mind that they’ll skip straight past her name. after all, hadn’t it been a miracle that she’d gotten here in the first place? being part of the top hundred ( for whatever reason ) had already been barely believable, but getting any further than this— isn’t it impossible? but then they skip straight past jeno and siyeon’s eyes widen and her jaw drops as she looks over at him, unsure how to read his expression. if they eliminated jeno, who undeniably brought far more to the competition than she did, there’s no way— but she does and she feels like her heart stops, her breath caught in her throat. 

and then the guilt settles in. not just for jeno, but for all the contestants who were easily more talented than her, more passionate, more desperate for this chance. she’s so grateful, of course, and still in shock long after the recording ends and they’re all sent home, but she can’t help the lingering thoughts that there are people who felt like this was their last chance or worse, their only chance, that she has taken the place of. 

“they chose you for a reason. they didn’t choose them for a reason. it might not make a lot of sense to you why, but they know what they’re doing.” her grandmother reassures her when they watch the episode together on the following saturday. “you worked hard, siyeonie. be proud of yourself.” 

she finally decides on a song for the next round on sunday morning. spending the last few days testing out different tracks from her endless spotify playlists, she’d become so overwhelmed to the point where she almost resorted to picking one from a hat, but the idea alone makes her grimace. putting her position in the show in the hands of fate seems like a risky move; siyeon’s never had much faith in letting things happen as the world intends. if you want something, you work for it, you don’t wait for it to fall into your lap, after all. 

it’s still a slower, softer song like the tracks she’s performed before. this time, however, it’s a piano ballad entirely in english. whether or not the choice to sing in a foreign language will backfire on her she doesn’t know, though she can’t imagine it would. even if they can’t understand the words, hopefully the emotion she intends to lace into her voice will be enough to move those watching regardless. 

her mirror is her audience for the following few days. at first, seeing her own expressions reflected back to her makes her cheeks flush to match her vibrant hair, but eventually, she grows used to the lines on her forehead as she puts her all into singing each word. she becomes familiar with the way her eyes delicately close towards the end of the pre-chorus, with the way her heart hammers in her chest as she belts out the outro.

as the filming nears, she becomes more energised, more nervous but excited. she has a good feeling about her performance — that even if she doesn’t make it to the next round, she’ll have at least stood and given her all, given something that she’s proud of. 

when she arrives and takes her seat, flattening her dress beneath her and over her lap, the nerves ultimately begin to take control. her eagerness to perform had dwindled seeing the forty-nine chairs laid out for the other contestants, some already in their places, and the five ceo’s seats, looming over them. singing for them will get easier, she’s sure, but for now, it’s still terrifying. they’ve seen, worked with, the best of the best and here she is; not a formal singing lesson to her name, barely even a singer at all, and yet standing on stage ( in due course, anyway ) and silently begging for a chance to continue progressing through such a heated competition. 

surely, this has to be the end of her journey here, right? she closes her eyes momentarily, stares down at the floor to recompose herself. 

eventually, filming starts. 

she’s fourteenth of twenty-one singers to go up if she remembers correctly. again, comfortably in the middle, with enough people before her to psych her out, but enough after that at least she doesn’t have everyone to follow on from. ( although, on the other hand, her performance would’ve been the freshest in their mind from singers, but she figures that with all the dancers and rappers still to go after them, it won’t make any difference. ) 

“park siyeon.” her name has never sounded so unfamiliar. she almost doesn’t realise it’s her turn, almost doesn’t move to take the stage once the previous girl has taken her seat again. she tugs on the bottom of her dress as she makes her way there, stands ready in her spot with a microphone in her hand. 

before the music can start, she transports herself to her bedroom in front of the mirror. she’s just singing to herself again, to her audience of old childhood teddy bears and her grandma who thinks siyeon doesn’t know she has her ear pressed to her bedroom door. she sighs an inaudible breath out, moving the microphone to her mouth only when she’s done. 

“hello, I’m park siyeon,” she announces in a smaller voice than usual from her. usually, however, she isn’t stood before fifty-four watchful eyes and countless cameras. “I’ll be singing one by lewis capaldi.” she shuffles on her feet, waits alertly for the music to start. she only has a single note, a single second to prepare herself to sing, after all. the worst thing she could do now is miss her opening cue. 

she gave you love, but it wasn't enough you had your mind set out on other things can't sleep at night, now you're paying the price you let another come and take your place

english, having been her primary language for the better part of three of the last four years, nearly sounds more comfortable on her tongue than her native. it flows smoothly, confidence spilling out of her perfect pronunciation, syllables clear and accent distinct. she’d perhaps had preferred a tinge to her voice not so ‘posh’, but how can she have avoided picking it up at boarding school? she loved her friends back in england but she couldn’t deny that they weren’t all the stereotypical queen’s english rich kids she’d seen in movies. that was their charm, though, and now it’s her’s, her voice unique against the other contestants. she doesn’t think it’ll give her much of an edge but every little helps, right? 

the song allows her to fully experiment with runs, lines often ending in drawn-out notes that the original singer flaunts his own colour through. her voice is softer than his as she moves through the second ( but her first ) verse, but it doesn’t take long for it to pick up both in volume and power. that’s where it stands out so starkly from the songs she’d sung previously. whilst it still has its ups and downs, a ballad such as this requires her to put a little more oomph into her tone than before. instead of making her audience feel relaxed or happy, he wants them to feel her gratitude — the singer’s gratitude for the man who didn’t realise what he had until she was gone, until she met the singer. siyeon hasn’t been through anything like that before, can’t completely relate to the emotions he’s feeling, but she knows she doesn’t have to have. what’s important is that she can convey it regardless, and she thinks of other things she’s grateful for that she could have easily lost or never had. her grandmother’s thriving health now that she’s here to help around the house. this opportunity. the love her parents showed her growing up, their support with this show, with any dream she’s ever had when they could have easily demanded she followed in their footsteps, been the heir to their business that they had been for her mother’s parents. as always, her eyes flutter closed as she moves through the pre-chorus, her voice fluctuating through strong and soft as she draws from all the fluttering in her heart and the nerves in her stomach. 

you don't know what you got till it's gone know when it's right till it's wrong in search of perfect when you had it with you all along you broke her heart down with ease now I'm pickin' up every piece you must be so hard to please

she takes a deep breath as she transitions into the chorus, finally hitting — so far — the highest notes and strongest belts. for others, perhaps this would be a walk in the park, but for siyeon, it’s meticulously practised, it’s smoothly executed thanks to countless hours repeating it over and over until it had been perfect and then over and over again to make sure it’s always flawless. hard work pays off, she reminds herself. viewers don’t want to see someone who can already do everything perfectly, they want to see growth, effort, passion. or maybe she’s just telling herself that. 

throughout the week, she’d tried her to best to push away her urge and instinct to belt the final word of the chorus a little too fiercely. her fear of falling flat overwhelms her each time, so much so that sometimes she doesn’t even realise she’s done it until she’s reaching the higher notes later in the song and realises it’d all been the same power instead of allowing the end to be the true climax of the song. it takes all of her focus and that becomes easier in the comfort of her bedroom, but even as she imagines she’s still there, she isn’t and her nerves push her voice a little louder, a little harsher than it needs to be as she repeats the last word, building up to drop back down for the bridge. 

I wish I could say thank you for all the mistakes thank you for all of the pain I guess somebody else's loss is another's gain I'm saying thank you to the one who let her get away, away

finally, the small contrast in the track arrives and allows her once again to experiment a little with what her voice can do. her control isn’t anything special but it’s enough to do a couple of fancy tricks even if they could be better thought out, better performed. realistically, she should have stuck to the original, copied it perfectly so she wouldn’t embarrass herself with a potential voice break or a flat note, but there’s nothing impressive about that in her eyes, especially with a song so easy to play with. when there are so many opportunities to add your own colour, if she didn’t, she already knows they’d ask her why. she’d rather do it slightly wrong but try than disappoint by not. maybe that’s her first mistake. maybe that’s not her first mistake, but amongst many. honestly, even with her eyes having reopened during the chorus, contact made with the judges, she can’t think about anything else but getting through this in one piece. anything she’s already sung is forgotten, only what’s spilling from her lips at the time and what’s to come important to her. 

thank you to the one who caused her heart to break oh thank you for giving me a soul to save thank you to the one who let her get away

following the bridge, the song drops down to its quietest, softest tone and so does her own voice. it’d been a little too deep for her initially during practice, but by now, she’s found a happy place where she can still capture the mood of such a drastic change, yet confidently pull off the vibe the verse requires. 

it only lasts a few seconds before she immediately builds back up to the chorus, her expression, her eyes finally conveying the song’s full desperate gratitude, the immense love the singer has for the woman who has captured his heart. she wonders if she’ll ever experience love like that, like something out of a movie. she’s still young, though; she has so much more to focus on for now, like getting through to the end of this song, to hearing the last piano note echo out over the venue. 

you know I wish I could say thank you for all the mistakes thank you for all of the pain I guess somebody else's loss is another's

oh I wish I could say thank you for all the mistakes thank you for all of the pain I guess somebody else's loss is another's gain I'm saying thank you to the one who let her get away, away

she’s breathing heavily when she finally finishes, her back immediately bending into a bow. she doesn’t know how well she’s done, whether she made any glaring mistakes, but it hardly matters. if this is the end of her journey, at least she’ll be leaving with her head held high. she’s proud of the performance she gave, proud of how far she’s come already. everything now is in the hands of the ceos. all she can do now is enjoy everyone else’s performances, will her heart not to jump out her throat. again, she flattens out her dress as she takes her seat. the next performer is already taking to the stage. 

she smiles to herself. a voice echoes in her mind. “you worked hard, siyeonie. be proud of yourself.” 

I am, grandma. I am. 

#rkmga5 #rkmga5skill #* mga5! #* solo! #( wc; 2138 )

[baenxietydad]

Bae Mu-yeol/Marlin Bae Personality Profile

Slytherin Primary, Ravenclaw Secondary, Hufflepuff Secondary Performance - Type 5 - ISFJ-T - Neutral Good - Taurus Sun, Aquarius Moon, Libra Rising

Psychoanalyzing Marlin is interesting because there exists two Marlins - if not three - inside the same person at the same time. There’s the Marlin that he originally grew up to be and in some ways still is underneath all the layers of grief and trauma that have warped him into a different kind of person as a base, and that warped version of him has been further twisted by both himself and all of the lies he’s telling Nemo, and by fairy society’s stipulations for being allowed the safety of a Hollow.

 To talk about Marlin, you have to talk about him like Shrek. Bitch got layers. And all of his layers are there for a reason. Some are like a peacoat, worn mostly for the Look ™ , but kept safely in the coat closet when not necessary. Others are are permanent as the bones beneath his skin.

 What is your character’s Hogwarts House/Hogwarts Houses? What trait do they most relate to? What trait do they least relate to? 

 Slytherin Primary, Ravenclaw secondary, with a Hufflepuff Secondary Model (or Performance hm)

 Y’all. I straight wasn’t even gonna touch Sorting Hat chats because it honestly confused/es the hell out of me. But I braved it and holy COW did I come up with some stuff for Marlin! Actually. It more jumped out at ME like “HEY HELLO YES.” So now here’s my super extra ™ analysis.

 I initially through Marlin was a Ravenclaw Primary with a Puff Secondary, but it quickly became clear to me that a bitch was way off.

 The below excerpt from Sorting Hat Chats is what made me realize Marlin was very much a Slytherin primary.

 A Slytherin does not generally feel guilty for valuing themselves [...] or for sacrificing other things for the safety and happiness of the people they love […] An exception to this is a Slytherin who’s managed to kick themselves out of their inner circle. For whatever reason, they don’t feel like they deserve their own help or kindness. Their “me and mine” priorities are still apparent but now it’s only “mine.” They fiercely and selflessly prioritize the individuals they love, value, or feel responsible for, while excluding their own self.

 Marlin’s “mine” is only one person right now. His son, Nemo. Nemo is his entire world and everything he has done since losing his wife has been in an attempt to keep Nemo safe and make him happy. Marlin is perfectly content with living a lonely existence in a Hollow where few fairies want much to do with him, if it means Nemo is safe. He misses his parents, cousins, siblings, and friends from his Hollow in South Korea, but he feels no guilt for literally ditching all of them to whisk Nemo away to Swynlake’s Hollow because he deemed Swynlake a safer place to raise his son.

 As a Constructed House, Slytherins build a morality system to follow and make judgements with. Unlike the Ravenclaw, who holds this built system at the heart of the way they interact with life, this is a supplemental thing for the Slytherin. Their core morality is felt, an empathic need to protect and support their own, but that strong sense of personal loyalty gives little hint about what to do in situations that don’t involve the Slytherin’s people directly.

 Marlin’s self-sacrificing nature led me to believe he’d be a Hufflepuff at first. But it soon became clear to me that Marlin would only help the bleeding man on the road to Jericho if doing so would not cause any harm or any potential for harm to his “mine”, to Nemo. If presented with the hypothetical of pulling a lever to heal all the sick in the world at the cost of Nemo, Marlin wouldn’t pull the lever and would not at all regret it. While Nemo would probably beg his father to trade him to the literal rest of the world, Marlin would never even consider it.

 Regarding his Ravenclaw secondary which I thought was his Primary:

Ravenclaws’ efficacy often relies on what situation they are in: what the problem is they have to solve and whether or not they’ve prepared the proper tools for that problem. [...] Do they know how to ride horses? Speak Greek? Do they have contingency plans for earthquakes, zombie apocalypses, or a surprise visit from the in-laws?

 If they’ve already built themselves a tool set for a situation, they’re likely to excel at it. If they have not, they’re likely to blink a few times while they try to either invent something new for themselves or to cobble up something approximate from their existing resources.

 Marlin is a jack of many trades and a master of few. He has a wide set of skills he’s picked up largely out of necessity. In order to make enough human money to pay for his son’s dance classes, Marlin has to occasionally find work outside of the Hollow. Over the years he’s done yardwork, has worked some construction jobs, was a seasonal laborer on a farm in Besydus, occasionally works with temp agency in NTO primarily at banquet halls, and has thrown himself into learning new skill sets all the time because he needed the money to make Nemo happy.

 While he’s learned few of these skill sets to perfection, he learned them well enough to get what he needed. 

 Socially, Marlin can navigate the social politics of fairy society and talk with humans about topics he’s versed in - literature, music, East Asian particularly Korean culture, philosophy - but he would (figuratively) die if asked if he supported Liverpool or Manchester.

 He isn’t an improviser at his core, he likes to have a plan, but he can sometimes improvise by pulling on his previous knowledge. 

 As for his Performance/Model of Hufflepuff Secondary. Fairies are communists. They put community first. And Marlin is a very bad fairy communist. He values him and his above the rest of the community. His being his son. And having lived in mundus Seoul for years with his wife, he became accustomed to treating community as important but not the end all be all. But in order to keep being allowed to live in the Hollow, he’s crafted a nice respectable fairy of himself.

What is your character’s Enneagram? How does the “basic fear/desire” influence their actions? 

 Enneagram Type 5w6 - The Problem Solver

Perceptive, Innovative, Secretive, and Isolated

Basic Fear: Being useless, helpless, or incapable

Basic Desire: To be capable and competent

 Fives are alert, insightful, and curious. They are able to concentrate and focus on developing complex ideas and skills. Independent, innovative, and inventive, they can also become preoccupied with their thoughts and imaginary constructs. They become detached, yet high-strung and intense. They typically have problems with eccentricity, nihilism, and isolation.

 Honestly, this Type 5 page read Marlin for filth, y’all. I believe that this is probably the most...consistent one. Meaning, he’d still have been this personality type even if he hadn’t lost his wife and developed the depression, PTSD, and anxiety following that. Because while current!Marlin has given into isolation most, ideal!Marlin would have more of a nihilist streak, and both versions of Marlin are/would be quite eccentric. 

 Negative-to-neutral qualities of Type 5s would have manifested in less severe ways in Marlin without his big trauma, but have just run wild in him now. 

 The basic fear and desire bit is interesting because like. Marlin in the state he is now literally only cares about Nemo and taking care of him. Untainted Marlin was just so vibrant and chased after several interests outside of his son, but now, he only cares about being a good father. So literally every action is an attempt to be good to Nemo because that’s the only thing, to him, he is even capable of being good or bad at is being Nemo’s father. He has no worth or purpose apart from raising his son. 

What is your character’s MBTI? Out of the four elements, which is strongest and which is weakest? 

 MBTI: ISFJ-T- The Defender

Love only grows by sharing. You can only have more for yourself by giving it away to others. - Brian Tracy

 I- 81%

S - 51 %

F - 60%

J - 69% (nice)

T - 68%

 Damn, so honestly I feel like Marlin’s personality type either changed over the years, or, his inclination toward certain traits changed. Particularly, the introvert v. extrovert one. Marlin has always leaned more toward the introvert side, however, 81% is high for Marlin in his natural ,untraumatized state.

 He has always been someone who needed to rest after being extra social and recharge, but he used to genuinely enjoy things like parties, events, concerts, and even hosting groups of people at his and So-yeon’s home. Like, I’d say he naturally would exist at about 60% introversion, but because of over a decade of isolation and extreme loneliness on top of his depression and PTSD amplifying his need to not be too drained too often by other people/fairies, it’s got him at over 80% now.

 His lowest being  Sensing v. Intuition at 51% toward the Sensing side honestly tracks. Because he does lean more toward that side but not strongly. He’s damn near in the middle here. From myersbriggs.org, 

Sensing (S)

 Paying attention to physical reality, what I see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. I'm concerned with what is actual, present, current, and real. I notice facts and I remember details that are important to me. I like to see the practical use of things and learn best when I see how to use what I'm learning. Experience speaks to me louder than words.

 And

 Intuition (N)

 Paying the most attention to impressions or the meaning and patterns of the information I get. I would rather learn by thinking a problem through than by hands-on experience. I'm interested in new things and what might be possible, so that I think more about the future than the past. I like to work with symbols or abstract theories, even if I don't know how I will use them. I remember events more as an impression of what it was like than as actual facts or details of what happened.

 Marlin leans toward the first just barely. 

What is your character’s moral alignment? How does this affect their decision-making process? What about their relationships to authority, their family, their friends? 

 Projection: Lawful Neutral

Self: Neutral Good

 Fairy society is Lawful Neutral and you can’t change my mind:

 Lawful neutral is the philosophy that law and order are desirable ends in and of themselves. It is a philosophy of pure equitistic collectivism. This philosophy holds that the best way for all beings to pursue a rational self-interest is within the framework of a strong social order. By putting the needs of the state or social order ahead of individual desires, each being can advance the self-interest of the collective as a whole. Lawful neutral can also be associated with ethical equitism and natural law philosophies. As the philosophical "average" of altruism and egoism, equitism holds that harm to others should be minimized when advancing the self and that harm to the self should be minimized when advancing others.

 Lawful neutral philosophers generally maintain that there is metaphysical order in the multiverse and thus may support doctrines of hard determinism, predeterminism, fatalism, predestination, and/or necessitarianism. They may believe in fate or destiny. They tend to be moral objectivists, holding that values exist in the external world independently of and external to our comprehension of them; that they can be found and known; and that they must be used as principles for human judgments and conduct.

 Marlin himself, however, is Neutral Good, which can sometimes conflict with expectations from fairy society.

 Neutral good is the philosophy that goodness should be advanced by using whatever means provide the most benefit. It is a philosophy of altruistic consequentialism. This philosophy holds that people should behave altruistically and balance the needs of the collective as a whole and the needs of the individuals making up the collective. Neutral good can also be associated with act utilitarianism and ethical altruism.

 Neutral good philosophers generally maintain that there is metaphysical balance in the multiverse and thus may support doctrines of soft determinism, pragmatism, conventionalism, and/or instrumentalism. They may believe in free will or choice. They could also embrace skepticism or suspend judgment on philosophical issues. They tend to be moral relativists, holding that values differ from society to society, from person to person; that they are conditioned by the peculiarities of the society in which they arise; that they are not universally applicable at all times or in all places; and that they are correct or incorrect, desirable or undesirable only relative to whether or not they conform to a common norm or to common acceptance.

What is your character’s sun house? What trait do they most relate to? What do they least relate to? 

 Taurus Sun short description:

 He is strong-willed. He has charm, and he is tolerant and stoical. He likes pleasure and the

good things in life. Appreciates the Arts.

 Weaknesses: obstinacy, laziness. He can be materialistic.

 Aquarius Moon short description:

He is sociable, intelligent, and lucid. Thanks to great sociability, he has many friends. He is

modern, original, inventive, non-conformist, and is likely to bring new life to everything he does.

Potential issues: He is eccentric with sharp mood swings. Complex love life.

 Ascendant is Libra

 Everybody seems to like Libra Ascendant natives. They just come across as nice, pleasant, and fair. Look a little closer at their lives, and these nice people may have had quite a few problems in their relationships. Some of them have had a string of relationships, and it can be hard to imagine why! These natives attract others to them effortlessly. Besides, they simply don't know what to do with themselves without a significant other. Libra rising generally appear to be smoothing everything over. They have charming smiles, a gentle approach with others, and an easygoing image. Even if they were not endowed with good looks, they are attractive. Most pay a lot of attention to their personal appearance -- the colors they wear, their hair, the way they walk. 

HONESTLY. Marlin’s entire natal chart read him for filth. 

 Like

 -81 Opposition between the Sun and Lilith

There is a self-destructive side to you that should be managed by confronting your fears.

 FFS this is an ATTACK.

#bdrptask #&&...hc

[rkevent]

MGA SEASON 4: THE SEMI-FINAL STARTS NOW!

The sun shines brightly for the first time in a while. This season was submerged in the summer, but mostly hidden away in closed sets. Maybe the summertime challenge had already passed, but that didn’t stop the semi-finals from taking place right under the sun for the city to watch. Anyone who had some time to spare showed up in Hongdae to watch the performances of the week live, while some others… well…

“I told my boss I was sick so I could come watch,” a woman stated without a trace of regret. Her friend covers her own face in embarrassment. “And who did you come to support?” the interviewer asked. “Kim Yongsun! Teacher, fighting!” The microphone moved towards the friend and the first woman is quick to elbow the second so the latter would remove the hand from her face. “Ah, I… like Choi Yoojung.” She then returns the hand to her face, now embarrassed for herself as well. “What if our boss watches this?”

The next to be interviewed are a small group of male students holding banners of their obvious choice. “Jung Jinsoul!” They all cheer in unison. “For you, I’d give out my soul!” There’s another group of males, but who are all comically dressed in suits while trying to harmonise a cheer together. “Lee~ Lu~ Da~!” A girl then stands by herself in front of the camera. “Don’t you think I look a bit like Kim Doyeon?” A quick split of the screen shows their faces for comparison, her statement clearly proven wrong.

As much as the sun shines, with a crowd overly excited, the scene transitions back into the usual set, showing images from the previous week. The contestants are told to go one by one to choose their challenge of the week. Firstly, the camera shows Lee Luda as she walks inside the familiar room. She was the chosen “best singer by” the judges, and the weight on her shoulders shows by the time she spends simply staring at the options.

Her song of choice is “All Night” by ChiChi, and, followed by her, Kim Yongsun picks the song as well. Jeon Somi joins the team. “I’m picking All Night!” she says while clapping her hands together before pressing them on her cheeks. To complete the team, there’s Minatozaki Sana and Kim Doyeon, making this the first all-girl group of the season.

When they meet for the first time inside the practice room they all seem to be very excited to be with each other. Somi and Doyeon hug each other, and everyone seems to have already worked with at least one of their teammates. Still, the girls make sure to introduce themselves again so everyone’s on the same page. “Mm- before we start…” Doyeon hesitates for a moment, but she soon continues with what she’d like to say. “We’ve come this far and knowing for sure one of us won’t make it to final is sad to say the least, I know, but let’s try to work well together and have fun this week,” she says with an encouraging tone, offering a smile to her teammates. “I guess this is the first girls-only group here, so let’s make it memorable!”

They start giving out ideas for their team name, and after some suggestions have passed, Yongsun raises her hand. “Since we are all girls this week, how about something like Girl Power?” All the other girls agree on it, and their team is finally settled. Yongsun also volunteers herself to distribute the lines, and Doyeon asks to join. “Unnie, you can give me lines and higher notes this time, okay? I’m confident now,” she says cheerfully while sitting next to the other. “You raised me well.” And then she winks.

Once they’re done, they show the finished sheets to their teammates. Sana quickly voiced her desire to sing one of the lines given to Yongsun, and the older gladly gave it away. “Of course you can have that one.” The team starts practice as a well-oiled machine. All the girls seem to get along well with each other, and not only do they have strong vocalists, but they have strong dancers as well.

In one of the breaks, Luda sits by herself in front of the mirror to practice her expressions. She starts by trying to flex her non-existent bicep muscles and tries to look tough while doing so. The more she tries, though, the cuter she looks. The fierce look on her face only truly looks like she’s pouting, so the girl ends up settling for a wink instead of anything too fierce.

The scene changes to the group appearing at the top of the stage being welcomed by the roaring cheers of the crowd, and the reason for Luda’s practices is quickly shown. “Hello, we are Girl,” and as they’re about to say the second part, each member shows off their biceps. “Power!” They all end up laughing at it themselves, and once they’re done giving their individual introductions they move to their starting positions.

Sana starts the performance as center, delivering the cute line of “I like to party!” Even if they have a smaller number of members than the original performance by ChiChi, the group still manages to move in unison and make the stage feel complete. They raise their legs as the memorable dance move of All Night, and the crowd cheers in return. Their shiny outfits reflect the bright sun above, making the performance even more spectacular.

The youngest, Somi, does the rap after the chorus, gaining a lot of screaming reaction from the audience. During the dance break, the three dancers take the center and, as expected from a ChiChi song, the crowd chants along to it. The ending chorus has Sana as center again, and the girl finishes the performance. As the song comes to an end, they turned their backs to the audience again, but turned their heads, so their side profile was visible. The crowd claps and cheers, and it’s time to move on to the next group.

The first person in the room is the chosen best rapper, Kim Taehyung, and he picks “Fxxk It” by BIGSTAR as his challenge. Kim Junmyeon chooses the song as well, followed by the young Lee Minhyung. “Their rappers are what I aspire to be. I want to be as charismatic and talented as them so I’ll work hard to make sure they’re well represented.” Along with them, there is Seo Soojin and Kim Mingyu, who complete their small team.

On the first day at the practice room, Taehyung walks in with his hair dyed bubblegum pink, and all of his teammates give positive remarks about it, hyping him up. The boy runs his hand dramatically through his hair, and everyone else cheers in response to the sight. Just as the team before, this team seems to be getting along well.

“I’d like to do the opening verse that Raehwan sings.” Junmyeon says, but Soojin quickly cuts in saying that she’d like to do it as well. It’s an important part of the song, and whoever sings it would get a lot of attention to themselves. At first, there’s silence, but then the girl suggests they share it. Junmyeon nods and gives her a thumbs up. “Sharing sounds good to me. We can split all the vocal parts this way so we both have an equal chance to show our talents.” They high-five each other, and peace is once again settled in the practice room.

When it’s time to decide on a team name, Junmyeon looks at Taehyung with a smile before suggesting something. “Well, we were team Little Star week one… how about something to do with stars now?” A quick cut of their first performance with a different BIGSTAR song plays on the screen before returning to present time. They settle on ‘Rising Star’ and everyone seems to be content with it.

A few days into rehearsal, Soojin brings a tie with her for Junmyeon to wear. The woman ties it herself, and his face slowly turns an obvious shade of red. When she pulls away, he covers his cheeks, but it’s still obvious that he is embarrassed, especially when he starts to fan himself. When they start practice again it becomes obvious why she brought the tie with her. It’s their starting verse, and the woman grabs at the tie, pulling Junmyeon closer to her. His face turns red all over again, and once Soojin is done he crumples to the ground with a nervous laugh. Soojin doesn’t seem to be afraid of pushing physical boundaries, however, and different cuts of her pinching Minhyung’s cheeks is shown before returning to her grabbing onto Junmyeon’s tie multiple times.

They step onto the stage together and greet the cheering crowd in unison, their hands imitating twinkling. “Hello, we are Rising Star!” After their introduction, most of the members exit the stage, leaving only Soojin and Junmyeon to start it off. Their practice move with a tie is executed perfectly, this time without the man shying away. They move away when it’s time for someone else to sing, and the stage is only complete when it’s time for the chorus. The performance is much more on the chiller side, and they all seem to be having fun on the stage.

The youngest, Minhyung, who was most commonly knowing for his rapping abilities, sings the bridge of the song. The crowd cheers in surprise, and the song slowly gets closer to its end. The long-awaited final chorus arrives, and as each member sings their assigned line, the crowd moves their hands up and down to the rhythm of the music. Once they’re done, the audience claps at the performance, and the screen wobbles back to the empty room.

Kim Chungha is the first to appear, gladly choosing H.A.M’S ‘Why So Lonely’ as her song. However, the contestants that follow don’t have the freedom to choose. “Ah, this is… not what i would’ve hoped for,” Bae Joohyun says, “All is taken but this one… okay.” Kim Bora is next, this one actually with a smile on her face. “I guess I have a knack for picking songs nobody wants anyway,” a reference to the team of leftovers she was in last week. Jung Jinsoul joins them, as well as Ji Changmin. “Ah, last again, uh?” he says.

The first one to arrive is Bora, who excitedly screams as she walks into the room. “Now I’ve been in all the company buildings.” As the rest of the members join her, though, it’s clear that most of them didn’t actually want to be there, except only for Bora and Chungha. They start things off by discussing their ages so they can address each other accordingly. Chungha’s eyes widen in shock when Jinsoul reveals she was actually born in 2000, and Changmin is the youngest born a year later. Joohyun was the eldest, but Chungha drops a comment so they wouldn’t both feel bad. “Don’t worry, women age like fine wine. And you’re very fine, unnie.” The eldest immediately blushes, but returns the compliment.

Jinsoul sits by herself while eating a pear when someone starts playing their music. The girl looks up to stare at herself in the mirror and quickly swallows her food. What follows is her lip syncing to the song, as well as dancing from her waist up. Her eyes keep focused on the mirror, though, and Jinsoul tries out all of her best facial expressions on herself.

The two youngest seem to be the two most conflicted about expressions. Changmin approaches Chungha for some help (while comically calling her ‘Chunghaha’) and the woman gives him some advice. The boy ends up walking towards one of the cameras, showing off his best newly-learned expressions. “Good, right?” he whispers to the audience, “Chunghaha noona taught me!”

Finally, the day of the performance arrives, and the team introduces themselves. “Hello, we are team Wonder Child!” After their individual greetings, they move over to their starting positions. This song has a more different vibe from the other ones from the day, but the team still gives their best to make this just as exciting a performance. Jinsoul and Changmin show off their practiced expressions. It’s a mature song when comparing it to their age, but the two manage to perform it well. The girl even gets a lot of center parts, both in the dance and vocally. Eventually, the performance comes to an end, and the crowd claps for the contestants, just in time for the scene to change back to the empty room.

Lee Sungyeol appears, and his song of choice is ‘Can Be Better’ by ChAOS. Choi Yoojung picks the song as well, and then Joo Haknyeon enters the room. Three of the five songs were already chosen, but the boy throws a fist up in the air out of happiness. Dong Sicheng and Kim Jonghyun pick that same song, and, just like that, their group is formed.

When they enter the practice room, there seem to be a few familiar faces. Yoojung and Haknyeon share a high five, and others greet each other with known smiles. The idea for a team name comes easily when Sungyeol suggests one of his ideas. “Maybe we could be Control. Like our song is by ChAOS, what’s the opposite of chaos…?” Everyone agreed with the idea, and so their name was chosen.

The line distribution proves to be a bit more troublesome. They’re a team composed of three rappers, but the song is heavily focused on vocals. Jonghyun shares his concerns about his voice. “I don’t feel skilled enough to pull off either– I don’t want to drag the team down with that.” The team still tries to work something out, and decide on breaking some verses to make it easier for their rappers to shine.

However, Jonghyun didn’t seem to have much confidence in himself. Sungyeol tries to help by cheering him up with one of Haknyeon’s tangerines. He puts it on a fork, and tries to make the boy eat with words meant for babies. “Here comes the airplane! Whoosh whoosh…” The younger looks at him in surprise but Sungyeol marks it as a win. Haknyeon himself approaches Jonghyun later on. “Hyung, something’s off. What’s up? Did you hurt yourself while practicing?” But Jonghyun’s reactions tell him no. “I keep wondering if I am skilled enough for the semi-finals… am I good enough?” As expected, Haknyeon knows just the right words to cheer him up. “Hyung,” he begins, “You’re good. You’re very good. You might not think you’re good enough but the judges do. They saw something in you and that’s why you’ve made it this far. Don’t doubt yourself hyung.”

The mood seems to go up a bit, and the teammates have fun with each other while practicing. Even after making a mistake, Yoojung laughs it off and continues to dance. Haknyeon throws himself on the floor and shouts out one of his lines before just as quickly returning to practice. As much as having fun was nice, they also knew the importance of serious practice.

With the cheers from the crowd, the team goes up on stage and introduces themselves. “Hello! We are Control!” The audience screams in response, and the members walk over to their starting positions. The song is fun and exciting, and the crowd can’t help but dance along to the bright rhythm. Yoojung winks at the camera after her verse is done and the song goes on. They all could have been stressed at the thought of an end being so close, but the looks on their face showed their excitement of being on the stage. It ends, and the audience claps at their performance.

The famous empty room is taken over by Jeon Wonwoo, the chosen “best dancer” by the CEOs. He chooses ‘Tell Me’ by MYNAME, a group notorious for their dancing. Followed by him is Kim Jinhee, Hwang Hyunjin, Kim Hyunjung and Moon Bin. They gather for the first time inside of NOVA’s building, and, as expected, most people already know each other from a previous performance during the competition. It only serves to bring forth a reality check on how close to the finale everything was.

Firstly, they needed to choose a group name for themselves. Jinhee suggests one of her ideas quietly at first, it either being Reset or Redux, but eventually raises her voice a bit to explain it. “You know, it goes along with the story in the song.  And I think it conveys the group’s mindset right now... that we want to restart.  Let’s reset the way they look at us.” The members seem to agree with it, but the discussion wouldn’t end without one of Bin’s witty comments. “It’s not Kpop without a number in it.” And so, their name is chosen to be RE5ET.

Hyunjin and Hyunjung sit by themselves one day, and the girl lets out her sad thoughts and nervousness. The boy confides in her his own thoughts and worries, commenting about how his last performance involving a MYNAME song hadn’t ended up too well. Trying to cheer him up, the girl decides to share her own lacking area by coming up with a ‘rap’ which involved mostly the names of different foods. They both end up laughing, and the mood is lifted up.

They take some time to actually relax and have fun while practicing. Stil, Bin even manages to make Jinhee ‘woof’ as a reference to a previous team they were in together. On Thursday, they all decide to sleep next to each other in the practice room before the day of recording. They buy food and eat together until they all fall asleep.

It’s the day of the performance, and they go up on the stage together. “From the top, we are RE5ET!” The crowd cheers at them, and after each member introduces themselves, they move to their starting positions. Hyunjin starts by walking towards the camera, with perfect eye contact and expression when he delivers the opening line. His lines are spread all across the song, with the other members getting to shine in between. Bin and Hyunjung take most of the heavy vocal, while Jinhee and Wonwoo manage to keep up with the dancing. In the end, the crowd cheers for them, and there are no performances left.

The only thing left to do is something completely different from the previous episodes, and a chance to interact with the viewers. A hi-touch event starts, involving 200 lucky fans who’d get to meet the contestants. The camera highlights a few of them as they receive the affection with a smile. First it’s Kim Jonghyun greeting the viewers, and then the young Jeon Somi. Kim Junmyeon is shown as a sea of fans walk over to greet him, and Minhyung, by his side, only gets a couple of high fives. Soojin, beside him, is completely ignored. She started looking down to the floor, already losing confidence, when the people beside her give her a nudge to notify her that someone was standing in front of her. After touching each other’s hands, Soojin walks to the back and hides her face before she started to cry. More people came to greet her later on, and, eventually, the event came to an end.

The usual set comes into view, and what is about to come is almost obvious. The CEOs make their first appearance, sitting at their designated chairs while the groups remain standing on the stage below. There’s only one thing left to do, and the look on Baek Jiyoung’s face could easily fool anyone. “Welcome back to the set! I hope you had fun outside.” She chuckles, looking at her fellow judges before returning her attention to the contestants. “We certainly had a lot of fun monitoring you from a room with air conditioning.” The rest of the CEOs chuckle in agreement.

“I’ll start by announcing the rank between the teams. Since you went out and had the opportunity to interact with the public, we also took the chance to hear their opinions and reactions to the performances, and took that into consideration.” She fixes the microphone on her hand and looks at the paper in front of her before continuing with the first announcement. “Firstly, we’ll start with the third rank, and then make our way up.” Jiyoung nods at the contestants and then parts her lips to speak: “The team who ranked third this week is… Team Tell Me.” The woman gives them a big smile. “You all did great on dancing, which is the thing people worry about the most when it comes to MYNAME, but the song was simply lacking here and there from an overall standpoint. You weren’t the best, but you didn’t do terribly bad, so the third place suits you. You did well.”

So Jisub takes his microphone next, ready to announce the next rank. “The team who ranked second this week is… Team Fxxk It.” He gives them a nod from his chair before proceeding. “You were lucky with your team composition, and everyone got to show their strengths, as well as some unexpected talents. There was also great chemistry not only between each other but also with the stage, which is always great to see. We’ll look forward to you in the future.”

The grand rank is next, and Katie Lee will be the one to announce it. “There are only three groups left, and between you, one will be the great winner of the week. Since we’re already at the semi-finals, it should feel good right?” There’s the typical sly smile on her face. The woman pauses for a second to build up the atmosphere before she continued speaking. “The winner of this week is… Team All Night.” She spares a few claps by tapping her hand against her microphone before proceeding. “You had a very exciting song in your hands, and you managed to deliver it perfectly. ChiChi has a lot of songs that people usually cover, but that doesn’t mean they’re always good covers. You had the vocals, the dance, and, surprisingly, the rapping to do it, and you did it. Congratulations.”

Tiger JK takes his own microphone, ready to give the bad news. “So, we’re left with two teams. Ranking isn’t a good feeling, and it shouldn’t be. The eliminations today will be made from every team, and we hope that people take this as a time to reflect on their abilities and, also, on themselves.” The man clears his throat and takes his cheat paper to deliver his announcement. “The team who finished last today is… Team Why So Lonely.” He spares a look to the contestants before proceeding. “A lot of you worried that the younger members wouldn’t be able to express themselves too well, but we think they did well. Even if it was a more mellow song, we expected you to control the stage a bit better, and captivate the crowd like H.A.M does but, sadly, it didn’t work out too well. Still, we’ll be continuing to see most of you here, and hopefully you’ll improve in that area before the next episode.”

“As for the fourth team… Team Can Be Better.” The CEO spares them a look this time. “There was good teamwork between you, and you managed to pass on the great energy that came from the original song. You had no control over who would be your teammates, of course, but we think that was what tugged you all down. There were a lot of rappers, and you ended up having to break the structure of the song to try and give everyone lines. Energy-wise you all did great, but, sadly, it wasn’t as good as we had hoped.”

The ranking announcements were done, meaning there was only one thing left to do. Eliminations. Hyun Bin is the one left, and so, he starts speaking into his microphone. “One person will be eliminated from each team, meaning five of you will be going home today. Those who stay will officially be the finalists of the Mnet Global Auditions Season 4.” He stops speaking, and the usual tense song starts playing in the background.

“The contestant from team Why So Lonely who will be leaving us today is....” The camera focuses on each of the member’s faces before landing back on the judge. “Kim Chungha.” The music stops, and her face is the only thing on the screen. “You’re a very well-rounded contestant, and maybe that was what was missing. You’re a good dancer, but your singing could still use some work. You had to use a lot of it today, and it wasn’t as good as we’d have liked. We hope you’ll keep on practicing, and good luck on your future endeavors.”

Baek Jiyoung goes next, holding onto her mic. “The contestant from team Can Be Better who will be leaving us today is… Lee Sungyeol.” She gives him a close-lipped smile before proceeding. “You’ve made a great journey so far, but you won’t be joining us next week. Even if the dancing this week was more simple, you still need to improve on it, and actually bettering your vocal skills would do you well, as well. We appreciate your time here, and wish you well on whichever path you take in the future.”

There’s only three left, and So Jisub is the one to announce it next. “The person from team Tell Me that’ll be leaving us today is… Kim Jinhee. You’ve worked hard so far, but we thought it was time for you to go. You’re a good dancer, which is what was mostly keeping you afloat. Your voice could still use some practice, as well as your expressions. Keep working hard, and we’ll be waiting to hear more from you in the future.” He settles his microphone on the table and looks over to Katie Lee for her to continue.

“The person from team Fxxk It who’ll be leaving us today is… Kim Taehyung.” The result would probably come out as a shock, but it isn’t the first shocking thing to happen that season. “You were chosen as the best rapper last episode, but it’s important to know that isn’t the only skill needed in this path. We hope you’ll keep working on how to capture the audience and control the stage a bit better. Your teammates were better at that, and maybe if you were in a different team you would have continued with us. You have a lot of potential, but, sadly, not to continue on this competition. Good luck in your future endeavors.”

Finally, the last elimination is about to be announced. Tiger JK gets the attention for this one, and the suspenseful music starts playing as intensely as ever. “And now, the last person to leave us today, from the team All Night, is… Minatozaki Sana.” He gives the girl a knowing look before continuing. “Your entire group was very well constructed and, honestly, you could have passed for a group of trainees set to debut. Sadly, one of you had to go home, and we chose you. You have a good talent of grabbing people’s attention but, most importantly, we think you must still work on your singing ability. We hope you’ll continue working hard, and we’ll wait to hear more from you in the future.”

The eliminated contestants leave the grand stage, and remaining on it are only twenty people left. Tiger JK continues speaking into his microphone, now addressing the rest of the contestants. “All of you standing here managed to very nearly complete your journey. You are, officially, the finalists of this season. There’s only one more challenge in front of you, and we hope that you give it your all. Congratulations.”

To see all of this season’s finalists, click here!

And now, let’s see what’s in store for our final episode!

It’s been a long journey, but the grand finale is right around the corner. Only 20 contestants are left to fight for big title of the winner, but not everyone will get to win. The final challenge will happen on a live stage, except this time the stage is much bigger. The set can fit up to 3000 people in the audience and the episode will be streamed live on the MGAs official website for everyone across the world to watch.

To prove themselves, each contestant will have a maximum of 150 seconds to show a solo performance at the live stage. Special stage effects such as professional lighting and dry ice will be allowed to use, as well as a maximum of 4 backup dancers. However, there’ll also be a second performance which everyone will need to take part in. With 10 female contestants and 10 male contestants, two original songs were composed especially for the final episode of the MGAs.

The group songs for this week are as seen below:

GIRLS

Like A Star (line distribution)

Vocal 1 - Lee Luda

Vocal 2 - Kim Doyeon

Vocal 3 - Jeon Somi

Vocal 4 - Jung Jinsoul

Vocal 5 - Kim Hyunjung

Vocal 6 - Seo Soojin

Vocal 7 - Bae Joohyun

Vocal 8 - Kim Bora

Vocal 9 - Kim Yongsun

Rapper 1 - Choi Yoojung

--

BOYS

Stand By Me (line distribution)

Vocal 1 - Kim Junmyeon

Vocal 2 - Moon Bin

Vocal 3 - Dong Sicheng

Vocal 4 - Kim Jonghyun

Vocal 5 - Jeon Wonwoo

Vocal 6 - Ji Changmin

Vocal 7 - Hwang Hyunjin

Vocal 8 - Joo Haknyeon

Rapper 1 - Lee Minhyung

Rapper 2 - Kim Mingyu

As you can see, the lines were already separated into different parts for the contestants to choose from. However, the members who ranked the lowest will get to choose their parts first. That’s right. The lowest ranked members will pick their parts first. Of course, there is always a trick. After they’ve chosen their part, any other higher ranked member has the power to take it for themselves and will have to place the lower ranked member in any other available part there is. Therefore, for the first time, the rank of all team members from the previous mission will be revealed, as seen below:

ALL NIGHT

1 - Lee Luda 2 - Kim Doyeon 3 - Kim Yongsun 4 - Jeon Somi

FXXK IT

1 - Kim Junmyeon 2 - Seo Soojin 3 - Lee Minhyung 4 - Kim Mingyu

TELL ME

1 - Jeon Wonwoo 2 - Moon Bin 3 - Kim Hyunjung 4 - Hwang Hyunjin

CAN BE BETTER

1 - Joo Haknyeon 2 - Kim Jonghyun 3 - Choi Yoojung 4 - Dong Sicheng

WHY SO LONELY

1 - Jung Jinsoul 2 - Kim Bora 3 - Ji Changmin 4 - Bae Joohyun

For this mission, two boards (one for each song) were taken to the stage with the available vocal/rap spots listed and pictures of each contestant available for them to lift and stick to their desired spot. This means all of the contestants were able to see with their own eyes as each person placed their photo on their desired vocal spot and move the previously-positioned person.

There will be no leader system for this episode, but all members should still come up with a team name that will represent them.

After both performances are done, the two groups will join each other on the stage to perform a quick mashup of both songs, of which the details can be found here.

For this week, two practice rooms in the Seocho Training Complex were landed for use, one for each team. On the first three days after the challenge announcement (Saturday, Sunday, and Monday), the contestants are to be present in the rooms to learn the team song choreography. On the first two days, they’ll have the help from the original choreographers, while on the third they’re to practice by themselves. Any other day, the rooms will be available for anyone to practice either their group song or their solo performance (girls still separated from the boys.) Those who requested backup dancers may enter get in contact with the staff to reserve the room to teach them the choreography if needed. You may also give a video reference to the staff and use the time simply to practice. A schedule will be found properly taped to the front door so no one will use the room during someone else’s time. Solo practice footage will most likely not be aired, and anyone who’d like to practice at their own home or studio is free to do so without pressure.

The group performances will have their outfits specially made for them. Their measurements will be taken on Saturday afternoon at the Seocho practice room. The first fitting will be on Wednesday, and the second on Friday. A sound and stage check will happen all through Sunday until the show starts at night. Starting at 8am, everyone will have to perform their solo songs as well as the group performances in casual clothes, and then at 3pm there’ll be another full check, except that this time a dress rehearsal with the performance clothes.

The gates will open for the audience to enter the set at 7:30pm and the show will start at 9pm. It’ll last somewhere around 2 hours.

                          Tune in next Sunday, the 26th, for our final episode!

MGA Season 4 episode nine preview: The final episode has finally arrived, and only the best contestants will get to perform a solo stage for the entire world to see. Did your favorite contestant survive until the end? Will they get the win? Will someone else win your heart with their final performance instead? Tune in next week to find out!

SURPRISE! On Friday, after their second fitting, all contestants are told to wait in the room. Once everyone is done and back in their usual clothes, the contestants will be moved to the Seocho auditorium where they’re told to sit next to each other. Once everyone is seated and comfortable, a video will start playing with clips of everyone’s auditions which took place over two months ago. What will be shown of each contestant can be found here. Once the clips are over, a new video will start playing, showing scenes of the remaining contestants working their hardest in the practice room, and small snippets of their latest performances. You’ve worked hard, contestants!

[ All teams had their introduction and performance aired. Any other part only made it to the final cut if it was mentioned in this post.

Muns will be approached one by one in order of ranking based on what’s written on this post by Mod Bianca to choose their song part for this week.

Contestants have until 5PM EST of Sunday, the 26th, to post their 200+ words solos about their solo performance on the final stage. That’s at 5PM, not midnight. Please tag all related posts with #rkmga4 and #rkmga4final.

Contestants may also write a 200+ words solo about their group performance to win a bonus +1 CHARISMA and +1 SHOWCASED SKILL. Posts should be up until 5PM EST of Sunday, the 26th. That’s at 5PM, not midnight. Please tag all related posts with #rkmga4 and #rkmga4final. After the solo is up, please link this post as verification.

To win +1 CHARISMA, contestants may write a 200+ words solo describing their time watching the old clips of themselves with the other contestants. Posts should be up until midnight EST of Friday, the 24th. It should include, at the very least, their reactions to their own clips to count for points. Please tag all related posts with #rkmga4 and #rkmga4memories. After the post is up, feel free to add +1 CHARISMA to your points sheet! Please link this post as verification.

When at Seocho Training Complex, contestants should not interact with any trainees and should mostly keep themselves inside the practice room except for meals or bathroom breaks. This time around, muses not part of the MGAs may be part of the live audience. More information about this will come in a future post.

Any group chat made as a way for the muns of the contestants to interact with each other for this mission should have Mod Bianca and Mod Mira (@luvseungjoon and @allevicte on twitter) added to it. They will be there to monitor everything, but any questions should be sent to the rkevent inbox in case someone else had the same question and so it won’t be seen as an advantage to your group.

To award everyone for making it to the semi-finals, feel free to add +2 CHARISMA and +2 SHOWCASED SKILL to your points sheet! This includes members eliminated on this episode. Please link this post as verification.

For writing purposes, this is the order things will happen during the final episode:

CEOs start the show and invite all the contestants to the stage where they’ll each have a moment to quickly introduce themselves before they leave.

First half of solo performances in order of contestant number.

Airing of the contestants watching their old clips

Second half of solo performances in order of contestant number

Girls practice cut, Girls group performance

Boys practice cut, Boys group performance

Joined performance

Final ranking announcements and winner

The end. ]

#rkmga4 #rkmga4senior

[levierenlove]

The Thing He Hides V2

Bae said I should post all my works for y’all to read. I don’t really know if they’re worth reading, but maybe someone out there will enjoy this story. 

Summary:  This was a prompt from kinkmemes. Levi has wings and they are super sensitive to the touch. My take on what happens when Eren discoveres Levi's secret.

Author’s note: For those of you who liked the original version, apologies. The last couple of months I'd been thinking about rewriting it, and then this idea came to me. I personally feel that it is better written and gives a more in depth look to Levi's feelings. The other version, while good, just wasn't what I wanted it to be. So I hope y'all enjoy this version of it.For those of you who do prefer my original version, you can find it here: http://raevenwing.tumblr.com/post/55555026883/the-thing-he-hides

For as long as there had been Titans, the Survey Corps had existed to fight them. Captains rose and fell like the tides, prey for the Titans they fought against. Just because they had reached a higher military rank didn’t make them invincible. Just harder to kill. But they were still human. So time progressed, with the humans steadily losing… until the one born to be a Captain arrived…

Eren Yeager, resident Titan shifter of the Survey Corps, watched through narrowed eyes as his Captain walked away from everyone yet again, disappearing to who knew where. This happened several times a day. Someone as observant as Eren was with Levi would notice how uncomfortable the Captain was right before vanishing. He would often bite his lip, shifting from foot to foot. It confused Eren that the normally stoic Captain would do such things. And he was annoyed too.

It was obvious, also from watching, that everyone in Levi’s squad knew what was going on. Even Erwin and Hange apparently knew. Sometimes, although rarely, one of them would accompany Levi on his disappearances. Frankly, it miffed Eren. After all, he was part of this squad now too. Shouldn’t he be aware of any secrets they had?

“Why does Heichou keep vanishing?” He finally asked one day. “Where does he go?”

Erwin, the Commander, looked at Eren, his eyes cold. “Where Levi goes is none of your business. You need only to go on fighting Titans, and to obey any orders Levi gives you.”

Eren grit his teeth against a retort. Was the secret really that bad? He already knew, through Petra, that Levi had been a thug before joining the Survey Corps. Was it possible the Captain was going off and doing something illegal? No, not Levi, Eren decided. The Captain was too honorable for that. He valued life, although he often pretended otherwise. It had to be something else. Still, Eren felt sour about being left out. As a result, he sought out the company of Armin and Mikasa. At least they knew him and didn’t often keep secrets from him. …………………………… Levi groaned as the last strap fell away. Finally he could spread the wings he always had to hide. As his back muscles moved the wings he craned his head to look at them. One black, one white, both large and feathered. It was ironic that wings were the symbol of the Survey Corps. Wings that looked just like his…

“The straps are starting to cause permanent damage.”

Shooting Hange an irritated look, Levi closed his wings with a muted snap. “I never use them, so it doesn’t matter. I’ve told you more than once that we should just cut them off.”

“But Levi, they’re beautiful! And so rare! You could be the only human to have wings!” As Levi’s scowl deepened, her expression grew serious. “We don’t know how your nerves and blood vessels are connected to them. The wrong cut could end your career, possibly even your life.”

“I know that, you’ve told me before. The damn things are just so annoying.” Walking to the window, he peered out. He could see a couple of new recruits relaxing in the courtyard. One of them looked like it might be Eren.

“He wants to know.”

Levi whirled, wings flaring. “No!” Panic edged his voice as his control cracked.

The look Hange gave him was almost pitying. “Levi, he knows what it’s like to be shunned, to be called a monster. Do you really think he’d judge you?”

“No. I will not tell him. Too many people know already.” He closed his eyes against the sudden sick feeling. He cared about Eren way more than he should, more than a Captain should to his subordinate. He didn’t ever want to see disgust in those beautiful bright eyes. …………………………………. Levi grimaced, shifting to try and alleviate the pain of the straps. He hadn’t yet had time or opportunity to remove them today. There had been endless meetings, as well as training the new recruits, all to prepare them for the next expedition outside the walls.

Thinking he was alone, Levi groaned, leaning against the castle wall.

“Heichou?”

The Captain whirled, eyes wide. He masked his expression carefully when he saw that it was Eren. “Brats are supposed to be resting right now.”

He felt the edge of panic when Eren stepped closer, practically pinning him against the wall. “What’s wrong?” The brunet asked, concern in his voice.

“Nothing’s wrong, Eren. Now if you’ll excuse me...”

Fingers caressed his chin. When had Eren moved his hand from the wall? Levi glared up into Eren’s beautiful eyes. He was frozen by shock as gentle lips met his own.

The feel of Levi’s lips against his own was exquisite. The shorter male’s mouth was surprisingly warm and soft. Eren wanted to press further into the kiss, but found himself roughly shoved backward. He caught sight of Levi’s face and forgot to breath. The Captain had a fierce blush across his cheek, and a hand up to his mouth, almost as if he couldn’t believe that had just happened. Before the male fled, Eren could have sworn he saw panic in those steely eyes. …………………….. He didn’t try anything again, didn’t even have the opportunity. They’d gone out beyond the walls, and everything had gone so horribly wrong. Since the deaths of his squad, Levi had shut himself in his office, admitting no one. Eren knew the Captain had been injured while rescuing him, and he really wanted to check on him. And to apologize. But Levi had given specific instructions that no one was to bother him.

The shifter fidgeted, pacing Hange’s workroom. Even the scientist was unusually subdued, watching him. “You wish to know what he is hiding?” She finally asked.

Eren paused, looking at her with surprise in his eyes. He hadn’t even been thinking about that. “I… just want to help. And to apologize. I know he is blaming himself. But it isn’t his fault. It’s my...” He sighed. “But yes, I want to know that too.”

Hange ran a hand through her hair. “Levi doesn’t blame you, Eren. It isn’t your fault, even though you feel it is. As for the secret, he has his reasons for keeping you in the dark. I don’t agree with them, but I do respect them. Still, as much as he won’t admit it, he needs help. And I believe you can help him.” She handed him a small key. “This will get you into his office. Don’t be surprised if he immediately kicks you out.”

Eren took the key. “Thank you, Hange.”

Standing in front of the closed office door, Eren hesitated. It was true that Levi would probably be pissed at seeing Eren. After all, he was disobeying a direct order. Not to mention he could still remember the panic in Levi’s eyes… The shifter shook his head. No, he was doing this. He couldn’t let Levi blame himself for this.

Carefully he unlocked the door and slid it open, slipping inside. Closing it quietly behind him, he turned, and his mouth fell open in shock.

Levi sat in his chair at the desk, head pillowed on his arms. Papers were scattered across the desk as well as the floor. Faint tear trails marked a face that, even in sleep, didn’t relax. Straps, shirt, and cravat had been removed, giving Eren quite the opportunity to look at Levi’s pale, scarred skin. But that wasn’t why he stared.

Feathered wings rose from Levis back, one black, one white. Large and beautiful, they bore the marks of straps across feathers and muscle. No wonder Levi sometimes looked like he was in pain; strapping them down must hurt.

Eren felt no fear, no hate as he looked at those wings. Only wonder and a desire to touch. Were they as soft as they looked? He stepped closer, hand reaching out, before he was aware he’d done so.

The feathers felt like velvet under his fingers, softer than he’d imagined possible. He ghosted his fingers along a deep strap mark, frowning when he discovered a few droplets of blood. Levi was really hurting himself.

Levi shivered, shifting restlessly in his sleep. When he quieted again, Eren slid his fingers deeper into the feathers, caressing gently. His fingertips found the bone, skin, and muscle under the protective feather covering.

The Captain moaned, swaying as he sat up, eyes not yet open. “I don’t care how good it feels, Erwin.” He mumbled sleepily. “Sex won’t help, and I’m not interested in you like that.” Yawning, he blinked open his eyes, focusing blearily on Eren. Seconds passed.

Eren saw the exact moment Levi woke up enough to realize it was him. Panic filled those grey eyes and also… terror? He only really had a second to look before feathers whirled and Levi tore past him.

“Wai- Heichou wait!” But the Captain was gone. Eren scrambled after him, trying to figure out what had just happened. Why had Levi been so scared? Just because Eren found out? That didn’t make any sense!

The shifter slammed into a hard body, nearly falling backward. Strong arms gripped his shoulders. “What are you doing here?” Erwin demanded.

“Let me go!” Eren screeched, struggling. “I have to get to him!” ……………………….. Levi panted, hands on the edge of the wall. His breath came in painful gasps. Eren had found out. Eren would hate him. It was all over. The Captain had fled to the roof to hide, but footsteps persisted on the stairs. Someone was coming after him. He had no choice. Spreading his bi-colored wings, he jumped. He flapped furiously, trying to gain altitude.

The problem was, Levi had never flown. Pain seared through his back as muscles seized up. He tilted, falling headfirst from the sky.

By luck, he landed in the lake. It gave him a moment to think. Feathers weighted him down, keeping him from surfacing. But maybe it was better this way. He’d never have to see Eren look at him in disgust. Eren, whom he loved. Exhaling, Levi closed his eyes.

There was a sound like an explosion, and something large suddenly plunged into the lake. Levi found himself trapped by large hands as he hacked and coughed, water streaming from his mouth, nose, and eyes. His wings, sodden with water, hung limply from his back. His eyes met Eren’s Titan ones. “N no!” He stuttered, still coughing up water. “L let me go!”

Eren growled at him. The audacity of it surprised Levi so much that he just simply stared back. Large fingers curled around him, caging him. The Titan brought those hands against his chest, cradling Levi.

The sound of horses made the Titan turn. He watched Erwin dismount, with Hange close behind. The scientist seemed thrilled to see him in his Titan form. “Very good, Eren.” The Commander commented quietly. “You can let him go now.”

Eren shook his his, growling again as he looked at the lake.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Levi wouldn’t do something so stupid. Let him go!”

The Titan narrowed his eyes. The softest of touches against his fingers made him uncurl them slightly. Levi was wrapping his arms around Eren’s giant fingers, shivering hard. Eren’s Titan features were not capable of frowning, but he was mentally doing it. Levi needed the warmth of Eren’s Titan body right now. And he needed to get him away from the lake. Clutching Levi once more against his warm chest, the Titan turned heel and ran. He could hear Erwin calling after him, but he ignored it. Levi was more important.

Eren stopped at an area that was still near the castle, but secluded enough for a serious talk. But once there, Eren hesitated. He needed to leave his Titan form in order to converse, but he was afraid Levi would run off again.

“You can change.” The Captain’s tired, dull voice came from within the cage of giant fingers. “I won’t do anything stupid.”

“Eren made a soft sound in his throat, gently setting the male down on the ground. Levi sat still, wings limp, as Eren forced himself free of the Titan body. Connective tissue still lined his face as he made his way to Levi. “What the hell were you thinking Heichou??!” Oh yes, he was pissed.

Levi winced from the tone. He had his knees pulled up against his chest and his arms around them, face hidden in his arms. “I didn’t want you to hate me.” His voice was muffled, but Eren still heard him.

Whatever Eren was expecting, it wasn’t that. “Hate you? Why would I-” He cut off as Levi lifted his head enough that Eren could see his beautiful grey eyes. There was so much misery in them.

Eren knelt down carefully. “Heichou… No, Levi… haven’t you realized yet? I don’t hate you. I love you.”

That made the Captain stare, his mouth slack in surprise. “But… I’m hideous! I have wings-”

“And your wings are beautiful.” Eren commented, cutting Levi off. “As is the rest of you.” He moved a little closer. “Levi, I love you. You having wings doesn’t change that. I’m the monster here, not you.”

“I don’t think of you as a monster, Eren.” Levi retorted.

“And I don’t think of you as one either.” He reached a hand out. Levi flinched, but Eren persisted until his fingers brushed against Levi’s black wing. He could feel light trembling as he threaded his fingers through the drying feathers.

Levi blushed, looking away. “Th… that...” He swallowed, trying again. “That feels good.”

Eren smiled, maneuvering until he could touch both wings. “How did you get wings?”

The Captain sighed, looking at his hands. “I was born with them. Erwin says they’re a sign that I was born to be a Captain. Hange enjoys touching and running experiments on them. I just wants to cut them off.”

“No!” The exclamation was vehement and suddenly there were arms tight around him.

“E- Eren??”

“Please Heichou, don’t cut them off! They are a part of you. You need to stop hurting yourself!”

Completely flummoxed, Levi just sat there. His feathers were nearly dry, his body warm from Eren’s body heat. “I can’t even fly.” He finally mumbled.

“That’s okay, I can’t either.”

Levi blinked… and then huffed a laugh. He fluffed his feathers and carefully turned until he could face Eren. “Very well, I’ll try it your way. But I’m keeping them bound. I don’t want anyone else freaking out.”

Eren frowned, but it made sense, as much as he hated it. “I can massage them for you at the end of each day?”

“See that you do.” Something sparkled in his eyes, and emotion that he hadn’t allowed to show before. “Now kiss me, Eren.”

Happiness bloomed across the shifter’s face as he leaned in to do just that.

#snk #aot #attack on titan #ereri #my story #therenyeager #see I posted it #/////// #wingfic

[blackgirlempowermentbylahart]

Brown Skin Girl Challenge! Empowering and Inspiring Quotes that Celebrate Black Girls and Black Women by Stephanie Lahart: Author and Poet “Melanin Fiercely Poppin’ on Purpose.” “I am an Exquisite Black Queen... Respect is Mandatory!” “I rock on a phenomenal level!” “She's an Exquisite Black Queen. She is Me.” “Bae: Black and Exquisite.” “Black Girls create magic, so that makes me magical.” “My skin tone is exquisite!” “I’m not like the rest, I’m an Unapologetic Exquisite Black Queen!” “My Black is Exquisite Beauty.” “Black Girls… Magical since birth!” “I won't apologize for being exquisite!” “Black No Extra Additives.” “Unapologetically Brainy Black Girl!” “Team Light Skin? No. Team Dark Skin? No. Team Brown Skin? No. TEAM MELANIN… Black Women and Black Girls are Exquisite Beauty in EVERY Shade.” “This is what an EXQUISITE BLACK QUEEN looks like.” “Black Girls… If you ever find yourself being the only black girl in the room, hold your head up high and know with 100% confidence that you belong there, too! There’s no need for you to feel intimidated. You are GREATNESS… You are EXQUISITE… You are POWERFUL, and you ROCK.” “Exquisite... I was born this way!” “I am a Black woman... Exquisite from the inside out.” “Dear Black Girls and Black Women… WE matter. Our presence matters, our voices matter, and our votes matter. Make no mistake about it… WE ARE POWERFUL. We disrupt the norm and change the system for the betterment of ALL people.” “My natural hair is an exquisite crown.” “Melanin Poppin' and No Worries!” “Dear Exquisite Black Queen… You are original, unique, and exquisite! Embrace your imperfections with confidence and self-love. Your authentic self is your best self! Flaws and all, you’re still a rare gem! Black woman, you are phenomenal, please believe that!” “Authenticity is Why I Shine so Bright! My confidence, fearlessness, and success are a direct reflection of me being my unapologetic and authentic self. I am an Exquisite Black Queen… Phenomenal!” “Black Girl… She can, she does, she wins!” “Black Barbie? Nah… I’m an unapologetic Exquisite Black Queen who’s intelligent, creative, courageous, confident, ambitious, and authentic. My beauty is just a bonus!” “Dear Exquisite Black Queen... No matter what shade of MELANIN you are, know that your skin tone is brilliant. You, my Queen, are phenomenally made!” “Black female entrepreneurs don’t make excuses, we find solutions. We’re leaders, resourceful, ambitious, hardworking, and creative. We’re powerful, unstoppable, confident, smart, and fearless. We’re Exquisite Black Queens that represent Black Excellence… We are success! There’s no denying it… Black female entrepreneurs are resilient and we rock!” “My Blackness is just too much for some people to handle. I’m a confident, intelligent, beautiful, and powerful Black woman with greatness inside my DNA. I’m also straightforward, authentic, and unapologetic. I’m a driven, resilient Black woman with integrity and I gladly take on challenges with my head held high. I’m not afraid to use my voice, I’m not afraid to be uniquely me, I’m not afraid to stand alone, and I’m not afraid to step outside of my comfort zone. I’m a Black Queen that doesn’t make excuses, I find solutions. I won’t apologize for being exquisite!” “I’m an original! I have no desire to be like you, her, or them. This Unapologetic Exquisite Black Queen is unmatched! There is absolutely no reason for me to compete, copy, or envy other women. I rock on a phenomenal level!” “Black Girls… Dare to succeed without apology!” “Black Woman… She can, she does, she wins!” “Black Girls… Just be BRAVE.” “I've got self-love, self-confidence, and self-motivation... I AM POWERFUL.” “Black Girls… Dare to be bold and brave… Dare to believe that you can… Dare to make your dreams a reality… Dare to get out of your comfort zone and soar… Dare to live your life limitlessly… Dare to be your authentic self, and be comfortable in your own skin. DARE.” “Black, intelligent, and educated... Now that’s POWER.” “Black Girls… Wanna be perfect? Just be uniquely YOU.” “Accept it… Black women and Black girls are beautiful, pretty, gorgeous, appealing, elegant, attractive, lovely, stunning, and exquisite.” “A Black Queen knows that her beauty is just a bonus. She is far more beautiful than the eyes can see. She’s a quality woman… A phenomenal Black Queen… Beautiful inside and out!” “She is Black Girl Excellence. She is Me.” “Black Girls… Beautiful in EVERY shade and size. We’ve got that special something! Our melanin is exquisitely beautiful! Love & embrace the skin that you’re in. Our skin tones represent beauty. Light, brown, and dark-skinned girls are equally gorgeous!” “I’m an Exquisite Black Queen! I like, love, and celebrate myself. I don’t fit society’s beauty standards, but I’m beautiful to me. I know my worth and I respect who I am as a woman. I’ve got beauty on the inside and that makes me empowered and powerful. I’m fearless and comfortable in my own skin. I’ve got flaws, but I’m still confident! This Queen right here is flawed yet phenomenal, valuable and unique!” “Black Women… Dare to succeed without apology!” “Black Girls and Black Women… Respect the Complexion! Our skin tones are exquisitely beautiful in EVERY shade!” “This Queen right here is educated and beautiful with a degree.” “Her INNER BEAUTY is what makes her outer beauty exquisitely beautiful.” “No, I’m NOT Team Light Skin. No, I’m NOT Team Dark Skin. No, I’m NOT Team Brown Skin. I’m Team Melanin because we are one! I’m a Black Queen that celebrates ALL shades of Black beauty. Black women and Black girls are equally beautiful in EVERY shade. Our skin tones are Exquisite Beauty. Respect the complexion!” “Dear Beautiful Black Queens… Never underestimate the beauty of just being YOU. Being your authentic self is powerful, sexy, and courageous!” “They tried to stop her, but they failed miserably. They overlooked her, tried to discourage her, and sabotage her, but she persevered through it all with her head held high. They talked behind her back and plotted against her, but they didn’t realize that they were messing with an unstoppable, resilient Black Queen. She’s ambitious, intelligent, self-confident, and bold. She’s a Phenomenal Black Queen that didn’t have to compromise her integrity to get ahead. She’s genuinely happy, successful, and free to be herself. She can, she does, she wins!” “Melanin is an incomparable beauty. From the lightest to the darkest skin tone, Black women and Black girls are exquisite beauty in every shade. Yes, Black females have that special something that just can’t be ignored. We are Melanin Queens, beautifully created! Respect the complexion.” “Black women were beautifully created at birth. We were blessed with melanin in our skin, which makes us Exquisitely Beautiful. From the lightest to the darkest skin tone, our melanin is Fiercely Poppin’ on Purpose. There’s no denying it, a Black woman’s beauty is elegant! We are Black Queens... Uniquely perfect, flaws and all!” “Black Girls… Encourage yourself, believe in yourself, and love yourself. Never doubt who you are.” “She’s an original! She doesn’t need to compete, copy, or envy other women. The confidence that’s within her won’t allow her to stoop that low. She’s a Queen, and jealousy isn’t something that she cares to entertain. Insecurity isn’t in her DNA. She shines! She succeeds! She’s a quality woman with purpose! She empowers, inspires, motivates, and celebrates other women. But depending on how you feel about yourself, you’ll either admire and respect her or hate on her. Listen, it’s okay to acknowledge other Queens! Don’t be an undercover hater. Have self-confidence and allow YOUR light to shine.” “Black Girls… Don’t be afraid to use your voice. Your thoughts, opinions, and ideas are just as important as anybody else’s. When you speak, speak with boldness and purpose. Have courage, be confident, and always be true to yourself! Live your life fearlessly! Your voice has GREAT power; don’t be afraid to utilize it when needed. You’re NOT an angry Black girl; you’re a girl who has something important to say. Your voice matters and so do YOU.” Want to Tag Me? I welcome it! #StephanieLahart TIP! Google my name for quotes, poems, articles, videos, books, and MORE. NOTE! I'm on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook. - Stephanie Lahart: California Author and poet

#brown skin girl challenge #stephanie lahart #stephanie lahart quotes #black women #black girls #exquisite black queen #black girl empowerment #black women empowerment #black people #african american

[pikachugirl1250]

Holy crap...it's finally done and posted. You guys have no idea how long it took me to do this. It was so tedious. Sometimes I still wonder to myself why I even do these things since I'm not an artist myself, although I've really wanted to draw. But I just...gave up on it. Anyway, enough with the sap. I've wanted to make this edit cause I've been so much in love with Cinderella Phenomenon since the minute I started playing it. The characters were great, the story was so well-written, and I love the idea of the Fairytales used as curses. Not to mention, I'm a complete sucker for any game or great story set in the medieval times or at least in a fantasy land involving a kingdom with royalty. As you can see, in the slots where the characters would normally be (after you've completed their routes, of course), I inputted my favorite fictional baes from different games and franchises. From left to right: Zen (from Mystic Messenger), Shadow the Hedgehog, Ash Ketchum (from Pokémon), Pit (from Kid Icarus) and Sonic the Hedgehog. And on the bottom, is who I consider as me if I was in the game. In my opinion, the bottom part was the hardest to replicate. It may not be perfect or exact to the original, not to mention it took a lot of trial and error, but I think it looks good enough from my skills. Here's the reason(s) I involved these baes with the corresponding curses by the original characters: •Mostly by appearance, Zen works really well with the Beauty's Curse because of how handsome he is and a lot of girls already fall in love with him (in the game he's from). Although I don't really think he would look as good as a lady like how Karma did. Another fact, he does love to call himself "Zen the Knight." Aaaaand he does try his best not to release his "beast" in front of the one he loves. 0.0 •Shadow would already look as fierce as a wolf in some way with his Red Riding Hood's Curse, but I actually think if Shadow were involved in this, at night, he would be one hell of a big, bad wolf in his own Werehog form. I kinda thought the multi-personality concept corresponding with the original curse was odd, so I figured that Shadow would just be under order by Mythros to try to kill my friends, but not me. Oh and don't forget Shadow's medieval counterpart, Sir Lancelot. :3 •Ash is my #1 favorite of the baes so I thought he'd be the best for last, but that's not the only reason. Since Ash is like "forever 10" in the Pokémon anime, the child form during the Neverland Curse works for him, then when his curse breaks, he'd be much older. Now about the witch powers...how about the fact that Ash can wield the power of aura? :3 •Pit's was a bit hard to come up with, but I think there's one good reason why I chose him under the Rumplestiltskin Curse. Because Pit is incredibly selfless. •To be honest, there are two reasons why I chose Sonic for this part. One: the promotional art from the art book shows Rod drowning, and since Sonic can't swim...well, it's self-explanatory from there. The second reason is cause of the "forbidden love", as I call it. Not really as family, but as human and hedgehog. Oh and BTW, both Fritz and Walter got onto my list of baes because of this game. :3 @dicesuki please don't hurt me for making this. ;-; Oh and in case you're wondering about the crappy quality, it was like that when I finished. Trust me, I really wish I could do something about it. :|

#cinderella phenomenon #ash ketchum #ash #satoshi #shadow the hedgehog #shadow #sonic the hedgehog #sonic #sth #mystic messenger zen #zen #hyun ryu #kid icarus pit #pit

[discordrpdirectory]

Coexist

Coexist

Original

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Owned by: @coexist-rp (goldennotmaknae#2621) Server Page: @coexist-rp Invite: https://discord.gg/p8jP5Nk

18+ Age Limit

Adult Content Allowed

NSFW Channels

No Character Limit

No Icon RP

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Golden Star Entertainment, RealDeal Entertainment, and Star Shine Entertainment, the big three entertainment companies run separately by the three former members of the disbanded group Fierce Rose. Golden Star and PD Oh Woobin, former leader, main vocalist, lead dance, and visual of Fierce Rose, broke into the scene first, debuting his first group, seven member Golden, to moderate success and rapidly growing popularity. Not one to be outdone, Star Shine Jung PD, former main rapper, lead vocalist, and maknae of Fierce Rose, debuted his first group WeR7 shortly after Golden’s debut to pretty much the same reception. Finally the third and final member of Fierce Rose, Bae Minhyuk, former main dancer, lead rapper and sub-vocalist of Fierce Rose, PD of RealDeal, burst onto the scene, with a different concept, a twelve member group, EGD, short for Every Girls’ Dream, to roaring success.

Three years after shooting to popularity, the fans of the groups the big three put out think they’re rivals and constantly at each other’s throats and fighting, so they thought up the idea of the show, Coexist, which shows them doing just that, coexisting with each other, showing that they’re friends and all the behind the scenes that happens in their industry between the three companies. Two years later and the show is still going strong and it’s even sparked more shows, survival shows to help the big three form more groups.

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#Discord Roleplay #Discord RP #[Original] #[NSFW] #[NSFW Channels] #[No Character Limit] #[NO Icon RP] #[Age Limit 18 and Above]