#and she moved back to Taiwan to work for a bit and figure out what she wanted to do her MA in

[waugh-bao]

*

[chaoticpuff17]

A Dangerous Game

part 12

masterlist

Namjoon left in a huff after that leaving both Y/N and Jungkook in shock. Neither of them really knew what to make of his exit as they looked at each other with mirrored looks of confusion.

“Well that was interesting.” She laughed. “Shall we walk around the garden?” She suggested smiling at the younger man. What else were they really supposed to do?

She had the time but not the inclination to stay and contemplate what was going around in Namjoon’s head. That was a twisted mess she had no interest in detangling. If you entered the labyrinth that was his mind you were likely to never come out again. It was not a risk she was willing to take, and so instead they walked around the garden.

Jungkook, she found, was a rather shy young man. He didn’t say much, but he followed her like a shadow as they wandered about the gardens. She was looking for an exit. He was making sure she didn’t do anything Namjoon wouldn’t approve of. At least that was what they were doing before they were accosted by the happiest ball of fluff she had ever seen.

“Who is this cutie?” She asked kneeling down to scratch behind the dog’s ears.

Jungkook kneeled down as well smiling as he gave the dog attention as well. “This is Moni. He’d Namjoon hyung’s dog.”

“Namjoon has a dog?” Jungkook nodded. “That man, the devil himself, has a white fluffy dog?” Again, he nodded. And she couldn’t help but laugh. It just seemed so out of character. Weren’t crime lord’s supposed to keep tough dogs like Rottweilers and Pitbulls? But here was possibly the cutest little ball of fluff she had ever seen.

“Your hyung is a very strange man.” She told Jungkook. “Does he even have time for a dog? You know between the illegal activities and kidnapping women?”

“Moni spends a lot of time with the staff.”

“Well that’s no good. Moni and I will just have to be friends from now on. Won’t we, Moni?” She cooed smooshing the dogs face. It was her dog now.

“Come along, boys!” She smiled standing back up straightening out her skirt ready to continue their walk.  

She found out rather quickly that the gardens were enclosed by a wall, a very tall wall, but there were trees, trees that were very climbable. They could get her close to the top of the wall. The problem was that she didn’t know what was on the other side of that wall or how many goons Namjoon had watching the perimeter of the estate. And then there was her new problem. Jungkook. How was she supposed to get rid of her new shadow? Those would all have to be problems for another time though. She didn’t have the free reign she needed to properly scope out the area and plot.

Her days quickly fell into a new routine. She would wake up and go to her breakfasts with Namjoon in the morning and share a meal with him in the evening. Other than that she would be free to spend the day as she pleased, so long as she remained within the boundaries of the estate. Jungkook would be with her wherever she went or at the very least waiting just outside the door. The only time Jungkook was not with her was when either Namjoon or Jin was, but Jin’s visits could not be as frequent as she would have liked them to be. But she found a great friend in Jungkook.

The young man was like a younger brother to her now, and she no longer minded his constant presence in her life. He also came with the added bonus of sneaking her into activities that were not quite Namjoon approved such as Mario Kart tournaments or movie marathons. Of course the house staff knew of her activities, but no one could begrudge her a few luxuries without the boss’ knowing especially not when there was so little to keep someone occupied when you did the same things day after day. So they kept her secret, and Namjoon never knew of the little indulgences Jungkook allowed her.

It had been maybe three weeks since she’d been released from her rooms, and she was wondering the garden with Moni and Jungkook like she did most days. Her days were an endless cycle of wandering the gardens, playing the piano, and reading books that Namjoon had prepared. She and Jungkook would have tea in the garden. It wasn’t that harsh of a life. Namjoon treated her well in fact. The only real complaint she had, other than being a prisoner, was how monotonous her gilded cage was. If you didn’t know she was a prisoner, you never would have suspected it. She was treated as the lady of the house, Namjoon’s precious wife.

She was grateful for the gardens and for the piano room. She was even grateful for Jungkook, her guard, her shadow. When it was just the two of them and Moni, she could almost forget that she was a prisoner and that Jungkook was her guard. She could almost forget that he wouldn’t hesitate to turn her into Namjoon if she slipped up. But or a few moments at least, she could forget.  

“I’d heard that Namjoon had found himself a woman.” An unfamiliar voice spoke startling her from her reverie.

Looking up she found a man smiling down at her. He was handsome with a lovely smile that normally would have given her butterflies, but nothing was normal about her life these days, and everyone she met was in Namjoon’s pocket.

She stood up straight and smoothed out the fabric of her skirt as Jungkook watched carefully from a few feet away where he had been playing with Moni while she watched the Koi from the bridge. “He hasn’t.”

“Then you’re not the lady of the house I’ve heard so much about?”

“That depends on who you ask.” She scoffed a frown marring her features.

“And what do you say?”

Y/N laughed, the sound bitter. “You must be new. What I say doesn’t matter here. All of Namjoon’s men know who I am and what my position here is. And if you don’t know you’re probably not one of Namjoon’s men.”

“And if I told you I wasn’t one of Namjoon’s men?” He asked curiously.

“Then I’d say you’re an idiot for being here.”

The stranger threw back his head and laughed.  “I can see why Namjoon likes you. I’m Mark.”

“Y/N.” She replied shaking his out stretched hand. “So why hasn’t Jungkook removed you yet? He’s watching us like a hawk.”

“Jungkook?”

“The man staring daggers at you from the lawn.” She shrugged. “He’s here to make sure I don’t do anything stupid like try to hop the fence.”

“A caged bird then.” He hummed.

She narrowed her eyes taking him in. In all her time at the estate she hadn’t once met anyone who wasn’t under Namjoon’s thumb. But this man claimed not to be one of Namjoon’s goons.

“So who are you if you don’t work for Namjoon?”

“I’m an associate of his. I have a few businesses based in Taiwan and America”

“Legitimate business or Namjoon’s kind of business?”

He laughed again showing off a dazzling smile. Why were all these mafiosos so attractive? It was a carefree and happy expression, but there was something sharp lingering in his eyes. “A bit of both, darling.”

“Figures.” She sighed turning back to the pond and leaning on the railing of the bridge. “No one who comes here is anything less than shady.”

Mark gasped placing a hand over his heart. “Are you calling me shady? Darling, I’m offended.”

“I met you two minutes ago in a mob boss’ house.” She deadpanned.

“Point taken.” He shrugged nonplussed by her lack of enthusiasm.

“I suppose since you’re an associate of Namjoon’s I can’t convince you to sneak me back to the states.” She glanced over at him knowing full well he wasn’t going to get her out of this nightmare.

“Plotting your escape, jagi?” Her spine stiffened, and she immediately stood upright again at the sound of his voice.

There he was, sauntering up the bridge towards them as put together as ever in one of his suits. Y/N knew immediately that she was in trouble. Though he was smiling, his eyes were cold and hard.

“Tuan.” He greeted the other man with a curt nod.

“Kim.” Came the equally as curt reply.

“Jagi.” Namjoon beckoned her to his side, and she dutifully went unwilling to make him any angrier than he already seemed. He wrapped an arm round her waist, and pulled her into his side. “I do recall that guests are meant to wait in the parlor, Tuan.”

The other man smiled. “Yes, but you have such beautiful gardens. I couldn’t resist a stroll. And I got to meet the lovely, Y/N.” Namjoon’s hand tightened uncomfortably on her hip.

“Jagi, I believe Miss In has prepared tea for you in your rooms.” He squeezed her hip again flashing her a cold smile as she paled. “Tuan, I believe that you and I have business to discuss.” Namjoon motioned for Jungkook, who had moved closer during the encounter, to come and collect her. “There’s a lovely pavilion we can talk in since you enjoy the garden so much.”

He passed her over to Jungkook all the while maintaining his coldly polite smile. The message was clear. Her time in the garden was finished for today, and Namjoon didn’t want her anywhere near Mark. It probably didn’t help that he had walked right into a conversation about her trying to leave. She would probably be paying for that comment later.

“Until next time, Y/N.” Mark bid her goodbye with a sly smile as Jungkook gently herded her back towards the house, Moni following at their heels.

For the rest of the day Y/N was confined to her rooms. She wasn’t locked in like she had been before, but Jungkook stood guard outside making it clear that she wasn’t allowed out until Namjoon himself came to release her. As promised, Miss In had provided tea, but that was the last she had seen of anyone.

Boredom had quickly set in. She finished the book she had with her, and had resorted to rereading it when there was nothing else to do.

“Jagiya.” She was startled from her book by Namjoon. He stood in the doorway with his arms folded across his chest his features set in a stern look.

She sighed uncurling herself from the corner of the sofa and setting the book aside. “I wish you wouldn’t call me that. I’m not your sweet heart or honey or whatever.”

“Jagiya.” The endearment was stated more sternly this time.

“Yes, Namjoon?” She asked keeping her eyes on her hands folded neatly in her lap. She knew full well that she was in trouble.

“Oh, jagiya.” He cooed crossing the room. One of his hands came up to cup her jaw forcing her to look at him. “Talking to strange men in the garden? What were you thinking? What if he had hurt you?”

She pushed his hand away. “I doubt that you would allow someone into the house who would cause disruption. You’re far too careful for that. Besides, Jungkook wouldn’t let anything happen.”

“I appreciate the faith you have in me, jagi, but I don’t appreciate you talking to strange men.”

“He was your guest, and we only spoke for a moment.” She scoffed.

He smiled at her, bu the expression was cold and sharp. “Yes, you spoke for a moment, and yet you still managed to ask him for help leaving me.” Suddenly, she found the yellow of her dress very fascinating. “Did you really think that was a good idea, jagi?”

“I didn’t think he’d actually do it.” She murmured plucking at the fabric of her skirts.

He tsked under his breath. “I thought we’d put all those silly thoughts out of your head, jagi. You’ve been so good recently.” One hand snaked up to grasp her hair at the nape of her neck forcing her to look up at him with a gasp of pain. “Don’t you like it here, jagi?”

“I would burn this whole place to the ground with you in it if I could.” She hissed.

He released her with a chuckle moving instead to cage her against the sofa with two hands on either side of her head. “I know you would, jagi.” The smile he sent her made her skin crawl.

They both knew that she didn’t have any power in the relationship, but that only made his condescending attitude worse. He’d kept her here for weeks and weeks neither of them budging. But there wasn’t really anything she could do anyway, not yet anyway. Even if she somehow managed to escape the estate, she would still be in a foreign city with no phone, no passport, no money, and no way to contact the only person she knew here. She didn’t even know if Eun-ho had recovered from their crash. No one would tell her anything.

“I want you to know, jagi, that if you did manage to escape, you wouldn’t get far. I can promise you that nothing would stop me from finding you and dragging you back to me. You are mine, my wife. There is nowhere on this earth you can hide from me.” He smirked cruelly bringing a hand to her cheek in a gesture that was far more gentle than his words. “Not even that little friend of yours bothering the police can help you now. He came all the way from America for you.” She felt her heart drop, plummeting into her stomach. “Anything you’d like to tell me, jagi?”

part 13

[thebirdandhersong]

Hey, so I've basically never watched any k-dramas, but I've read a lot of manga and manhwa and the automatic next step does feel like moving into k-dramas. You seem to have watched a number, so I was wondering if you could make a recommended list? Only if you felt like it of course, but it would be helpful! (Preferably of at least some which are on netflix uk, I looked up 18 again but it's unfortunately not on here in Britain :(. But if you have favourites I'd just like to know them so I can look out for them anywhere)

Also yay! Your term's ended!

(yanks open the door) did someone say RECOMMENDATIONS?? I DO have many!!! Boy do I have them!!!!

(YAY!! One last exam and I'm done for the summer!)

I love Eastern entertainment (manga, k-dramas, c-dramas, and movies from Korea and Taiwan) because of several reasons: the scripts are phenomenal nine times out of ten; Asian culture puts a strong emphasis on the importance of family, personal responsibility, learning from one's mistakes, expressing affection through gestures and acts of service, and friendship and I really love seeing that in a story; and they make good use of silence and stillness in shows and movies, which is pretty rare in Hollywood. The quiet moments between characters are more often than not some of the most important in the story and I Love That!!

The dramas I'm (briefly) listing are in bold if they're available on Netflix UK, and in bold and italicised if they're available on Rakuten Viki (which is a mostly-free drama streaming service, though unfortunately they're rather heavy on the ads). The Absolute Favourites are marked with stars (***). Though I can't actually see the whole list of dramas available in the UK, so some of these may be wrong, and it may be worth checking twice!

If you're in the mood for something fast-paced:

Descendants of the Sun (Viki); considered a Classic

- romantic comedy, medical drama, a bit of action

- The confident and charming leader of a Special Forces unit meets a reserved surgeon and they hit it off, after some... interesting misunderstandings. But after dating briefly and breaking up, they find themselves reunited on a peacekeeping mission in a war-torn country. Insert a lot of Suspense and Excitement but also a lot of Comedy and Sincere Declarations of Love.

- if you enjoy Song Joongki's performance, I'd also recommend his movie A Werewolf Boy. If you enjoy Song Hye-kyo's performance, I'd recommend her drama Encounter.

***Come and Hug Me (Viki, but I don't know if it costs money?)

- thriller/suspense, romance, this one genuinely stressed me out but the moments of peace and reconciliation (and the ENDING) were well worth it

- Their first loves during their youth ends in her mother's death and their separation. Years later, the lively daughter of the murdered woman is now an actress, and the introverted son of the serial killer has become a police officer. They meet each other again (Of Course) and have to tackle all sorts of Nonsense (including the serial killer's return, his murderous brother's return from prison, the Media, the ghosts of their past, etc. etc.) together. HUGE focus on forgiveness, hope, healing, unconditional and self-sacrificial love. Also one of the best redemption arcs (I did in fact bawl my eyes out)

- my friend just started crying when we first watched this drama together because the male lead is just so gentle and tenderhearted and steadfast :')

If you're in the mood for something a bit slower

***Goblin/Guardian (Viki); International Acclaim

- fantasy, drama, one of the funniest dramas I've ever watched, but also tears (I cried at a rate of around once every two episodes. This show talks a lot about life and meaning and the effect your actions and words have on the people around you.)

- Kim Shin, a general from the Goryeo Dynasty, is cursed to live as an immortal Goblin (a Korean mythical/fairy tale figure) until his destined Bride pulls the sword from his chest, thus breaking the 'spell' and ending his life. He really did not expect his bride to be the vivacious and irrepressible Eun-tak, though, and What's More!! He did not expect that he would start wanting to live again :))) Includes a surprising amount of comedy, a surprising amount of tears, and EXCELLENT screenwriting. (Descendants and Goblin share the same brilliant writer.)

- fun fact: parts of it were shot in Quebec!! One of the characters refers to Canada as "the maple nation" early on in the story and my friend and I just burst into laughter.

***Encounter (Viki, but I'm not sure if it costs money?)

- melodrama, romantic comedy, FAIRY TALE

- a cold and withdrawn woman, recently divorced because of her husband's infidelity, and a warm-hearted and optimistic young man meet on the streets of Cuba by accident, and upon separating without means of contact, find themselves back in Korea as boss and newly hired employee. This sounds like a recipe for disaster: stuffed to the gills with unnecessary workplace drama and gossip, etc. but the story focuses instead on family, vulnerability, transformation, sacrifice, about art, compassion, mending relationships, opening up to people, and about the beauty in bringing and receiving comfort and love.

- also. ALSO. Fairy tale!!! with illustrated opening and ending cards and everything!!! (they literally refer to her as the Ice Princess. And her Prince is the human equivalent of sunshine. I Love him)

- if you like Park Bo-gum's performance, I'd recommend Reply 1988, too!

***One Spring Night

- melodrama; quiet and understated but very beautiful

- A bright, clever, and sharp-tongued librarian meets a quiet, steady, and gentle pharmacist one day. It turns out that he's a single father, and she's trapped in a relationship that really isn't working out. Friendship! Family! Sisters standing up for each other and saying No I Won't Let You Treat My Sister Like This, You Jerk! Figuring things out! Learning how to love! I really don't know what else to say, except for the fact that I loved it very much!!

- if you enjoy Jung Hae-in's performance, I'd also recommend Something in the Rain (which should also be on Netflix!) for his acting alone. I just think he's neat.

Reply 1988

- slice-of-life, comedy

- In the late 1980s, five friends (four boys, one girl) who have grown up with each other since childhood are Going Through It in high school. This drama is all about the little things that happen in life, and about learning to understand your family and your friends. Deok-sun is just trying to survive all of This as the middle child, and as a young girl who is trying to figure this Romance thing out. In the present, adult Deok-sun is just as lively, and is now happily married..... but to whom? :))) A Lot of '80s Asian culture, daily antics, and good old friendship.

- if you like Park Bo-gum's performance, I'd recommend Encounter too :)

18 Again (Viki)

- romantic comedy, fantasy/time travel (sort of)

- Nearly twenty years of marriage, and things have been going Wrong all over the place. His wife wants a divorce, he's no longer close to his teenaged kids, and he's just lost the job he's been faithfully working at for years. Daeyoung wishes that he could go back somehow, and finds himself 18 once again.... except he's still in the present. Interesting things ensue. He enrolls in school (it turns out to be the same one his kids attend), and decides to pursue the dreams he had to give up when he was a teenager. Antics ensue! But also Healing: he gets to know his kids all over again, and is able to view his relationships with Dajung (whom he still loves. Of course) and his estranged father in a new light.

- I have not finished this drama yet but judging from the first third of it, it is both well-written and well-acted. There are a few things that I am not a fan of, but on the whole Lee Dohyun's performance is wonderful and I have already cried buckets.

Other honourable mentions:

100 Days My Prince: historical drama. Prince caught in an assassination plot, loses his memory, wakes up in a village right when the king issues a marriage law that results in his marrying the spirited 'spinster'.

Still 17/Thirty But Seventeen: 17 year old violin prodigy in a coma after an accident, wakes up when she's 30; the boy who inadvertently caused the accident runs into her again after she wakes up and helps her adjust to her new life. Lots of wacky humour, very sweet!!

[war-sword]

the ilvermorny exchange (7)

Part 7 | index | masterlist

summary: You’re an Ilvermorny student, and you’ve applied to the International Magic Student Exchange Program to attend your sixth year at Hogwarts instead. You and your friends are excited to go to school overseas, but a certain blonde prefect has decided to personally make your exchange year suck. You decide to give him a taste of his own medicine. (draco x reader, enemies to lovers, female reader) words: 5,050 A/N: i unfortunately must say ‘welcome back’ AGAIN because it took me an embarrassing amount of months to create this chapter. sincerely sorry. at least i have something to offer in apology this time! anyway i won’t bore you too much ;) hope you all enjoy (look how this taglist has grown 🥺 and if you’re new and want to be added, just send an ask) taglist: @tragically-cordelia @mhftrs @2pumpkin-pasty @gingerlouisgirl @seriouslynotfunny @clockworkherondale @cherrie511 @songforhema @marvelrose @acciodracoo @eltanin-malfoy @socontagiousimagines @drawlfoy @purplelittlepup @trashysara @imatoiletpaper @laureldrakefics @definitely-not-spider-gwen @candune @wolfsbxnee @bubblybubbubs @nerd-domland @fricktheitinerary @bored-and-bothered @shawn-is-bruh @droppingthegloves

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The last time you remember being this excited for your first day of school was when you were eleven. The second you open your eyes and remember you’re in your dormitory, and not in your room at home, you feel wide awake. After the usual first day chaos of getting ready, you– along with Stella and Grace– meet Draco in the common room to head to breakfast. 

The Great Hall is already bustling, the outer tables packed with lower years filling up on their first Ilvermorny breakfast. Grace spots Alex and Ginny already seated at a table with Chris, and you make your way over. 

“Hey guys,” you say cheerfully as you all sweep into chairs. Warm breakfast foods cover the table, and you happily scoop grits onto your plate. 

“Hey,” Alex and Ginny say in unison. Chris merely waves his hand, eating and already engrossed in a piece of paper he’s scratching away on with a quill.

“You got yours already?” Stella says, peeking over Chris’s shoulder from her place next to him. 

“Yep,” Chris mumbles around a mouthful of toast. “And it’s so fucked up. I hate Herbology, and they always want to put me in it instead of my free period. I need that, otherwise I’ll never pass Ancient Runes!”

You watch in your peripheral vision as Draco very neatly arranges his breakfast on his plate. He’s being uncharacteristically quiet, but he at least looks more relaxed than he did last night. “Schedules?” He asks when he notices you looking.

“Yep. Alice should be bringing ours soon.”

Sure enough, about five minutes later Alice comes over to the table with a dwindling stack of papers. “Finally, I saved you guys for last.” She hands you, Stella, Grace and Draco pieces of parchment with your timetables on them. You give it a quick once over as she moves to the opposite side of the table. “Is it alright if I sit with you guys this morning? Everything else is getting full.” She gestures to the chair beside Ginny. 

“Of course,” Ginny says, moving her bag out of the way. 

Alice slumps down and pulls off her cloak, her sage-green Head Girl badge prominent against the black of her uniform shirt. “I swear I know everyone in Horned Serpent, but every year it seems like there’s at least five people I’ve never even seen.” She shovels eggs onto her plate unceremoniously. “I hate schedule duty.”

“You’ll never have to do it again, though,” Stella points out, lifting her fork. “But while you’re at it, can you tell Angeles that I want to switch to–”

“No.” Alice says flatly. “Once the paper is delivered, my work is done.”

Stella groans dramatically. Alex nervously picks at her omelette. “If stupid James doesn’t hurry up with ours, I am going to kick him in the balls.”

You put your schedule next to Draco’s to compare. You’ll have N.E.W.T. Potions together on Mondays and Wednesdays, and to your delight you see he has History of Magical Painting and Photography on Wednesdays and Fridays as well.  “You signed up for it?” You beam at him.

“Of course,” he says, smiling back. “You asked. And why not, it should be easy. What the hell is there to know?”

You shrug noncommittally. “And I’ll get to kick your ass in Potions again.”

Draco’s mouth drops open in false shock. “You’re not going to be my partner?”

“Uh, when Grace is in that class? Think again.” You turn back to your food with a smirk.

“Yeah, back off my Potions partner.” Grace puts her hand on yours for emphasis. “I’ve called dibs since second year.”

“Yeah, and you hoarded all your combined knowledge so I failed my freaking O.W.L.” Stella interjects.

“You were always shitty at Potions anyway, Stella.”

The familiar voice makes you all jump. Even though you knew he was coming, the sight of James standing behind Alex and Ginny with papers in his hands is enough to make your insides shrivel up. 

There’s a long stretch of silence at the table as everyone stares at him, Stella especially. If looks could kill. James seems blissfully unaware as he holds out the pieces of parchment to Alex and Ginny. Alex snatches hers away without a second glance, but Ginny takes hers with a look of amusement. 

“So, how was everyone’s summer?” James asks, continuing to stand there.

No one says a word.

You’re pushing your grits around on your plate– they’ve gone cold and now taken up the consistency of the remnants that Hiccoughing potion leaves in the bottom of the cauldron. You look across the table at Alex. She’s pretending to be engrossed in her schedule, but she senses you watching and looks up to catch your eye. You watch her bite her tongue and squeeze her eyes shut to keep from laughing. Next to her Ginny is doing something similar, both going entirely unnoticed by James who’s right behind them.

“Well, clearly I didn’t spend mine brewing potions,” Stella finally says, scathingly. 

You wish you could melt into your chair. Into the floor. You don’t even dare to look over at Draco. 

Chris, the only one at the table who’s not radiating ‘leave-us-the-fuck-alone’, shifts awkwardly in his chair. “Mine was fine.”

“Did you not have your birthday party this July, Chris?” James asks.

“Uh, no. We were in Taiwan the whole time.”

That was a lie. You had gone to that party.

More silence. 

“Okay, I’ve got to go. More schedules to give out, and all.” James says, but he’s now entirely empty-handed. “Catch you guys later.”

The relief around the table is palpable the second James is out of earshot, weaving his way between the tables.

“Fucking asshole,” Stella grumbles, flipping off his retreating figure.

Meanwhile, Ginny has broken out into giggles. “Galloping gargoyles, Y/N! Alex told me he was terrible, but I can’t believe you dated that wanker.”

Now you definitely want to melt into the floor. 

“You what.” It’s not even a question that comes out of Draco’s mouth, and it’s dripping with revulsion.

You slump down into your chair and let out a pathetic groan, covering your burning face. You feel absolutely mortified.

“You’re right, Ginny,” Grace says, totally ignoring your meltdown. “I think he does spend most of the day mentally jerking himself off for being so fucking funny.”

“I wish you’d gone through with kicking him in the balls, Alex,” Stella adds. 

“Uh, Draco? You good?” Chris interrupts. This gets you to move your hands down from your eyes. Just a bit.

Draco’s staring at you like he’s never seen you before in his entire life. Oh no. Is he really that pissed? “What?” You ask, putting your hands out.

“That bloke is your ex?”

“Uh, yeah. Unfortunately.”

This time his mouth is open in actual shock. “Y/N… I’m like, an eleven.” Draco points across the Hall to where James is now seated with his few friends. “He’s like, a two.”

Alex and Grace explode into laughter, and Ginny’s giggling only increases.

“Yes, I know, look how my taste has matured,” you drawl, but inwardly you’re glad he’s not already halfway across the Hall with his wand drawn. 

Draco is back to staring at Jame’s mop of mousy dirty-blonde hair with disbelief. “What a dickhole.”

Stella has gone into a coughing fit.

“Can we stop talking about this,” you plead, running your hands over your face.

“You mean you never told Malfoy about him?” Ginny gapes. “Sorry, then. But also not sorry because the look on his face right now is priceless.”

“It wasn’t important.” You grumble. The rest of breakfast is just a lively session of making digs at James, in which you do not partake but also don’t bother stopping. It’s not like any of your friends are lying.

Ginny is taking it all in with a wonderful glow, meanwhile Draco just looks more and more disgusted. By the time eight o’clock rolls around, you’re more than ready to head to Potions. You make the hike to the western side of the castle and to the classroom for your year with Draco and Grace. Grace picks a table for two near the side of the room, and Draco watches as you set your things down.

“You were really serious, then.” Draco says.

“Deadly.” You make a shooing motion. “Bye!”

Draco turns up his nose. “I hate you,” he says decisively, and sits down a few tables in front of you. You pull your potions book from your bag and then rest your forehead on it, letting out a long sigh.

“I also thought you were kidding. But thanks for not ditching me.” Grace says.

“Bros before hoes,” you mumble. How had your morning taken such a turn already?

You keep your head down while Grace narrates the room for you. “It’s gonna be a small class again this year, it seems. Oh hey, Sarah’s here. And Robert. Aw, he’s going to sit with Draco.”

You lift your head to rest on your chin instead, to watch as Robert introduces himself to Draco and sits down next to him. Robert plays on the Thunderbird Quidditch team with Alex, so you’ve seen him around. Draco says something to him and they both turn in their chairs to look back at you and Grace. Robert gives you both a friendly wave. Grace pats your head once they’ve turned back around.

“Had you not told Draco about James?” She asks, her tone changing to something a little more serious.

“No. I dunno, we’re not really… ugh it’s hard to explain.” You trace the letters on the cover of your textbook. “Casual isn’t the right word. We are more than casual. Maybe we’re both just very… secure? We’re just having fun, we don’t really talk about all that emotional stuff. It’s only been official for a few months. Besides, James was almost two years ago. And he sucks. Who cares?”

Grace hums in response. “Well I haven’t known him very long, but Draco did seem a little shocked. Just tell him the story about how James is a piece of shit and be done with it. Um, and it might be something to do soon, considering that he’s in this class.”

You look up at Grace, and then turn your head the other way to see where she’s looking. James is coming in the door, eyes sweeping the now almost-full room for an empty space. You drop your forehead to your book again, not particularly caring if it leaves a red mark. “Fuck me.”

“Lighten up, Y/N.” Grace pats you again as you hear the door close and your teacher, Ms. Zenik, walk in from outside. “It’ll be fine.”

Several hours later you sit near Draco in one of the hallways with big windows, already doing your Potions knowledge pre-exam sheet during a free block. This is another one of your favorite halls, and it’s got a fountain on one side that’s decorated with moving ceramic cherubs, collecting water in tiny jugs that they mischievously pour over students who get too close. 

Draco’s scratching away at his pre-exam with his stupidly elegant handwriting. You push your shoe against his, trying to engage him in a game of footsy. 

“Y/N, stop,” he says flatly. Your second attempt gets you a little shove from his elbow.

“What’s wrong?” You ask, already knowing the answer. 

Draco makes a big deal of setting his quill down and blowing on his parchment to dry the ink, before closing it in his Potions book. “So, when were you planning on telling me that your ex is one of everyone’s favorite topics of discussion, and you know, just telling me in general?”

You sigh, setting your own pre-exam to the side. “It really is not that big of a deal, I swear. I swear!” You say again in response to Draco’s raised eyebrow. “It’s just that you’re the first person I’ve dated since. And there was a long time in between, I suppose. And I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think it would matter. You coming here was a surprise, remember? I never thought you would have to interact.”

“Okay, but still.  Based on the way everyone reacted makes it seem like there’s a little more to it.”

“James and I started dating in fourth year,” you begin. “We dated for a year and a half. We were just stupid and young and thought we’d be together for a long time. But then he just broke up with me totally out of the blue. I was a mess for months.”

“He didn’t seem to care. He told me he was going to ‘give me space’, and wouldn’t even look at me or talk to anyone around me for an entire week. Even now we barely speak, it’s just too weird. He totally ruined it. That, and I heard from Jason he was talking to some other girl barely a week and a half after it happened.”

Draco’s got that disgusted look back on his face again. “What a piece of shit.”

“Yeah.” You rest your head in your hand. “He’s a dick. And insanely annoying, as you saw. But… I feel a little bit bad for him.”

“What?” Draco snaps. “Why? That's one of the shittiest breakup stories I’ve ever heard.”

“Yes, I know, I know,” you say. “It’s just that he barely has any friends, now. We were friends with all the same people before and while we were together. Chris was his best friend since first year. Everyone took my side after our breakup. Jason is one of the only people who will hold a full conversation with him anymore.”

“If they all stopped being friends with him, why does he act like they still are?” Draco asks.

“I don’t know! He’s an idiot. Maybe he feels bad. Or his two brain cells can’t string together the thought process that’s needed to evaluate human interaction.” 

“So far, I’m definitely seeing the second one.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” You turn and put your hand on Draco’s leg. “Just one favor though– don’t go bothering him. Even if he’s annoying. All that shit was a long time ago now, I don’t need you going after him all high and mighty. I just like to forget about it. Please?”

You give him your softest look, and all you get in return is one of Draco’s best unbothered faces. “What makes you think you could stop me from hexing him into next week?”

“Draco! Come on, I don’t want people to think you’re one of those fly-off-the-handle boyfriends.”

“I am not,” he says staunchly. “My retributions are always very exact and calculated, I’ll have you know.”

You roll your eyes. “Can I at least ask for you to keep the overt ass-kicking to the Quidditch field?”

Draco considers. “Alright, fair.” 

Since the hallway is almost entirely empty, you scoot as close as you can get and swing one of your legs over Draco’s lap. “Seriously.” you point your finger for emphasis. “Don’t go stirring the pot. Like I said, he barely ever talks to any of us. This morning was kind of an anomaly.”

“Okay, okay, I get it. Annoying, a right idiot, so dumb he can’t even be bothered with. Sound good?”

“Check check check.”

Draco takes one of your hands and presses his lips against your knuckles. “I’d also like to make it clear I would never do that to you.” He gazes up at you from under his lashes.

You purse your lips together to hold back your grin. “Thanks.”

You break at the same time, dissolving into laughter. Draco wrinkles his nose up. “That was weird, hm?”

“So dramatic!” You tease. You press a kiss on his cheek anyway and watch his blush blossom from the contact. 

“Alright, onto more important things. Tell me about the Quidditch.” He lets go of your hand to tap on your leg that’s still draped across him. “Tell me tell me tell me.”

“Ugh, I don’t know!” You pull your pre-exam back into your lap and lick the end of your quill. “I don’t even know who’s Captain for Horned Serpent this year. Ask Alex at lunch, she can tell you who to talk to, I’m sure.” 

Draco curls his lip. “Merlin, you’re so useless.” 

“Ooh, wait, or ask Gao when you get back to your room. He’s always been on the team. Except he might be skipping this year, he’s taking like, three extra N.E.W.T.s.”

“Well jokes on you, because that was a test and you failed,” Draco says, pushing you off his lap and pulling his own parchment back out again. “I already talked to Robert about it this morning.”

Your jaw drops. “What? Fuck you!”

You give him a shove and he pushes back. “Hey, quit you’re going to make me smudge–”

Draco is cut off by your loud gasp as icy cold water runs from the crown of your head and down your face. You wipe the water from your eyes and see Draco has a hand clapped over his mouth.

“You are cursing too loudly, young lady!” A tiny voice comes from your right, and you turn to see one of the cherubs glaring at you, empty jug under its arm. “You better watch your language, or there’s more where that came from!” It flies off in an angry huff. 

Draco starts laughing deeply, and you flick some water at him. “Ah, hey, don’t get my homework wet!” He shields himself with his Potions book.

“Suck my–” you whip around to look at the fountain, where all the cherubs are waiting and watching with their beady little stone eyes to see what you’ll say next. “Toe.”

“Ooh, sorry. I’m not really into that.” He gives you a patronizing look. 

You shove your parchment into your knapsack and get up, off to a bathroom to assess the damage to your hair. 

༄

You felt slightly guilty of not finding the time sooner, but Ms. Bell didn’t seem at all bothered when you knocked on her classroom door on your second weekend.

“Y/N! Come in, I’m glad you were able to come hang out today.” She beckons you in, and moves all the papers she’s been grading off to the side of her desk. 

“Me, too.” You say, sitting down in the chair she pulls out for you. “I want to start by saying we’ve all been enjoying class a lot.”

Ms. Bell beams. “Really? I’m so glad. Tell me what you think about the scrapbooks!”

Stella was the only person who ended up joining you and Draco in your favorite teacher’s new class. The class was tiny, barely fifteen students. Draco’s prediction of it being easy had so far come true, but that was mostly because you were really enjoying the material. You’d been taking so many notes your hand was cramped by the end of each class. There was apparently a lot to learn about the evolution of magical art and photography.

“The scrapbooks are great,” you said, referring to the new way Ms. Bell was having you all take notes. “Stella’s is very neat. Mine is alright, but I think it’ll get better as we go on. I’m not really sure how I want to structure it.”

“So far I think yours has been looking very good. And Draco has some of the loveliest handwriting I’ve ever seen.” She reaches into her pile to pull out the worksheet you turned in earlier in the week, his tight and neat cursive covering the page. “Do you know how he learned to write like this?”

You shrug. “Fancy European stuff. I think it’s impossible to read. It was so embarrassing when I would have to make my mom read out parts of his letters for me over the summer.” It’s a memory that makes you want to cringe. After the third letter, you’d really had to bootcamp yourself into learning more of his cursive.

Ms. Bell smiles. “I think it is very sweet how you met while you were on your Exchange year. Tell me some more about Hogwarts. Did you learn lots?”

“Not so much schoolwise,” you muse. “But I did in general, I think. They had a much more comprehensive and hands-on Magical Creatures class over there, that was cool. But no wandwork classes.”

“Ah, I have heard that,” Ms. Bell hums. “So without it, what was Defense Against the Dark Arts like?”

“Pretty horrifying, I gotta say. Also very hands-on.” You thought back to your many lessons with Professor Lupin. While some were not so bad, you distinctly remember crying through several classes. It was scary, being expected to face so many real threats, with your previous classes being mostly textbook only. “I think it’s something Ilvermorny could improve upon here. Although, I guess there’s not much need…” You trail off, not even wanting to say ‘He Who Shall Not Be Named’. 

Ms. Bell nods, understanding where your trail of thought was headed anyway. “Speaking of, did you see him very often? Harry Potter?”

Now this was a part of your story you’d been dying to get to. “He was one of my first friends,” you say with a grin.

“What!” She gasps.

“Yes,” you say. “His best friend’s sister is that redhead girl who’s here on Exchange right now, Ginny Weasley? I think she’s in your History of Magic class.”

“Merlin, she is! So her brother is very close to him?’

“He apparently spends the summers with them.”

Ms. Bell is in a daze. “That’s incredible, Y/N. To be able to know the Boy Who Lived like that.”

“Well, he’s just Harry to me. And he’s pretty terrible about consistent letter sending. My other friend is much more timely.”

“Who’s that?”

You launch into a brief overview of your time at Hogwarts, telling her how you and Hermione became friends over Potions work, and moving into things like your little Christmas party and your sorting hat prank (glossing over a few details, of course). She very patiently sits and listens to the whole thing, and you appreciate how much she’s paying attention. You’re not sure what you’ll do without your favorite teacher to talk to when you leave school.

“It sounds like I’ll be needing to watch out for Jason this year,” she teases. “Although, I have to tell you we were all informed of that little escapade already. Principal Rittler read us all the letter she received from Dumbledore before we all went home for the summer. She could barely get through it, she was laughing so much.”

You gasp, clapping a hand to your mouth. “She knows? Everyone knows? Aw, Knuts.”

“What did you expect? From what I heard you caused quite a stir over there with it after someone apparently remembered it all.”

“Yes,” you say glumly, remembering that very clearly. Professor Trelawney had gone about yelling and screaming to the other teachers they’d been brainwashed, and Dumbledore had to set her straight himself. At least, that was the logical assumption everyone had been under. Why else would she have gone from hysterics to her normal level of paranoia in between lunch hour and dinner two days after?

When your eyes trail over to the clock in the corner of the room, you gasp again. “I’m so sorry, but I’ve got to go. It’s time for Quidditch trials.”

Ms. Bell raises an eyebrow. “You’re going?”

“Yes. I mean, no! I’m going to watch. No, I’d never dream of doing that.” You wave your hands in front of you. “I just told Draco I’d be there.”

“Okay, just making sure I hadn’t missed another new development,” Ms. Bell laughs. You both stand and have a quick hug.

“See you on Wednesday!” You call as you run from the room. 

The Quidditch pitch is a good twenty minute walk from the fifth floor of the castle too all the way across the lawn, even if you’re moving fast. It’d been a good three years since you’d gone to watch Alex try out, and beyond that you were pretty sure each Captain did their tryouts differently. Even though you were going to be a good fifteen minutes late, you were sure you would be able to catch some of the action.

You finally reached the Quidditch structure, panting and sweaty, dreading all the climbing you were going to have to do up the stairs to be able to watch from a good spot. A group of people were seated in one of the boxes near the middle; if you went and sat a few rows above you were certain that would be sufficient. 

Finally, you plop down and start to fan yourself, sweat rolling down the back of your neck courtesy of Massachusetts’ residual summer heat and your extreme cardio session. Clearly you’d been too sedentary over the summer.

Squinting against the sun, you scan for Draco. He’s quite easy to spot with his light hair and pitch black broom. The Horned Serpent Captain, Travis, seems to be testing for a good keeper, having one person throw the quaffle while someone defends the goal posts while everyone else hovers off to the side. Draco is leaning on his broom, looking bored. From this distance, he probably won’t even notice you.

Ugh, should’ve just stayed with Ms. Bell, you think. Or gone back to the dorm… I have that stupid wandwork practical this week.  

Draco’s practically falling asleep on his broom out there. You watch his tiny form, his hair moving in the blissful breeze that’s also drying your sweat. The sound of people saying your name brings you out of your daydream about Draco’s hair. 

“Y/N! Come down here!”

Below you, the large group of girls is beckoning you to join them where they’re sitting. A little reluctantly, you get up and walk down the sets of bleachers.

Some of them you recognize from your year, like Maddie and Ginger. The others look vaguely familiar, but their tan skin and brown hair that’s been permanently turned into glossy sheets from daily Sleekeazy potion use blend together, and you feel like you’ve run into a group of identical octuplets. 

You focus on Maddie and Ginger, the ones you do know. “Hi guys, how are you? Did you have a nice summer?”

“Mine was great! I went to work everyday with my aunt at the MACUSA, like an intern,” Maddie says. “New York is soooo crazy– tons of muggles!”

“I bet.”

“Mine was nice, thanks for asking,” Ginger says appreciatively. “How was yours? I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”

Ginger returning your question does not go unnoticed by you. “Mine was nice, too. And yeah, I guess it’s been a little over a year, huh?” 

“Ooh, that’s right!” Maddie says. “Where did you go again?”

“Hogwarts. England.”

The unnamed clones all Ooh the same Ooh. “Was it fun? Different?” One asks.

You shrug. “It was a lot of fun. It was a great experience.” 

“Okay, we’re so glad you’re here because we have a question,” another girl jumps in, wasting no time now that the formalities are past. “That guy, with the white-blonde hair, you know him right? What’s his name?”

“I’ve seen him sit with your friends at meals and I know y’all are in the same house,” another adds rapidly. “He’s from Hogwarts, too, right?”

“Super dreamy, look at those arms,” says a third, and a few others hum in agreement. 

For a moment, you feel furious that all these girls had been drooling over Draco while you’d been visiting with Ms. Bell. It quickly dissipates, however. A cavalier sense of satisfaction fills your chest at getting to say, “that’s Draco. He’s my boyfriend.”

They all gasp in unison. “You’re kidding me,” Maddie says, in a tone that kind of makes you think she’s not joking and actually hopes you are. 

“How did you manage to snag that, Y/N?” The first girl asks.

“Pretty much acted like I hated him for four months straight.” You decide to play dumb at their obvious digs, but you’re starting to regret giving any of them the time of day.

“Wow, and it worked?”

“If I had a guy like that after me, I don’t think I’d waste any time.”

“Well, I didn't really. He didn’t like me much either,” you grind out.

For the rest of tryouts, you try to tune out their babbling. Eventually they move on from Draco to another player, then another. You feel gross being an accessory to their objectifications, but Ginger at least tries to ask you a more normal question every now and then.

As soon as Travis is finished with his assessments, you bolt from your place on the bleachers and down to the rail that surrounds the Quidditch green. Draco catches your eye and walks over.

“And here I thought you were going to skip,” he says, watching you jump the rail to land on the grass. 

“Oh, no, it was interesting.” You wrap your arms around his waist, looking up at him. His hair still looks nice and windswept. “Can you do me a favor and kiss me?”

Draco cocks and eyebrow, but swings his broom around to rest on your lower back, pulling you closer. “Sounds suspicious. Why?”

“No reason,” you giggle as you lean in. You divulge yourself in running your fingers through his hair, and relish in the sound of girlish squealing coming from high up in the bleachers.

Draco pulls away after a few seconds and turns to look, but you push his jaw back towards you with a finger. “Don’t.”

“Y/N, what the bloody hell are you getting me into?”

“Nothing!” You chime, wriggling out of his grasp and hopping the rail again. “See you back in the dorms,” you say with a parting wink. 

Draco throws up his hands in exasperation. You fight the urge to look back up at the bleachers as you walk away, and consequently miss the Thunderbirds coming out for their tryouts with Alex on the other side of the field, James among them.

◈◈◈

A/N: i hope I can start updating this more frequently again. and I know the index has said nine chapters for a while now, but i’m pretty sure i’m bumping up to ten. love you guys and thanks for sticking with me <3

[fmdjoosungarchive]

plot train 4 event choo choo. this is partially for me to have an idea of what my kids are doing, but if any of these activities/prompts speak to you, feel free to give this post a like or message me directly! (& ofc if not, it’s all good)

sung

in general!

he’s doing alright atm, so this is a nice little vacation thing for him, esp since he’s in the middle of promotions

99% sure he’ll b rooming w daisuke

he’ll probably most frequent the library, game room, pool, and spa

color cards!

26th: red (work) sung loves christmas and is a lil bit sad he wasn’t able to spend the day with his family, so your muse and him can bring around some christmas cheer! alternatively, we can hallmark movie it and your muse can be the ceo who spent their whole life working and didn’t have time for children, so sung has to be the one to show them the joys of christmas and love

28th: yellow (mission) i fully expect sung to fail this mission. he can b smart but he’d probably get stressed with the challenge and would rather spend his time looking at the animals for a long time. maybe someone who also fails is looking for transport and they put their heads tgt to find something? or earlier on, your competitive muse helps sung get some of the animals up until he gets distracted

30th: blue (relaxation) free! mani! pedi! sung takes good enough care of his skin but he wants to be Pretty and get Painted (and proceed to try not to b insecure as hell abt it) maybe your muse encourages him into getting painted, or offers ideas on what to paint, or has general chitchat with him during the session, or meal afterwards

event prompts!

if duri suji yuanjun or minhee want birthday presents from sung, Leggo. otherwise, sung could give out christmas gifts/late gifts to just about anyone! he loves giving gifts, whether he’s getting one back or not

trying something new could be a new food, a book that sung wants to show your muse (book exchange?), a gift exchange with new items, some clothing items found while out n about

sung likes talking about the future so he could have a solid chat about going into 2021 right before new years

and he could def get lost. he’s too used to having his members and/or manager w him

andy

in general!

andy is still trying to be a functioning human being by Talking with Others so there are more opportunities for this grump in yalls muses lives

however he’s rooming with hwan which means he’ll be Unavailable a lot of the time

when he isn’t, he’ll most likely be at the bar, gym, or game room. he’d also like to catch a show at the theatre! and he’ll be going out in taipei, feel free to use him as your taiwan tour guide

color cards!

26th: blue (relaxation) i gave this one to him because i think it’s hilarious. andy can’t swim lol he’s not Afraid of water but he’s not gonna be partaking in underwater type pool games, and otherwise would be sitting on the edge of the pool. someone Pls expose him for not being able to swim

28th: red (work) andy is a good cook so he could be helpful for any muses who aren’t so skilled. or maybe theres some ‘friendly’ competition btwn andy and your muse for whose dish a crew member/production staff would like best

30th: yellow (mission) i’m not being all that nice to him so i’m gonna force him into blue group. sounds nice but he hates being touched and i’m entirely sure he’ll be found out because he’s sat there trying to relax enough for a facial and keeps freaking. again, pls expose his ass

event prompts!

i think the words prompt could work well maybe with andy (spinning a lie) talking to someone about fishing trips he and his family took. maybe while they’re docked so it can be more Smooth

charm member helping andy fix his microphone that keeps falling? maybe as a full thread, smth abt how it’s weird andy’s more chipper than usual

presents would be interesting. same as sung, i’ll offer andy giving a present, but just to yuanjun or minhee. otherwise, andy would be very shocked to receive a present from anyone else. gifts aren’t much of his Thing and i do love flipping the script w andy

jeonghwa

in general!

off of promotions and into a semi-vacation? she’s living. her usual self wanting to try everything and anything, get into trouble, have a blast. she’s a troublemaker and a lil whore so have at it, she’s down for anything. her job is complete if the camerappl have run away from what she’s doing at least three times

she’d most frequently be found at the pool, theatre, or every single one of the restaurants. yes she insists upon trying them all

color cards!

26th: yellow (mission) flash mobs are out of date, she says. this is the most fun mission ever, she says. your muse and her trying to figure out some dance moves to present to the group? your muse totally not into it and jeonghwa hyping them up?

28th: yellow (mission) like sung, she’ll be going to the zoo, but she’s determined to finish this. help her along? share what you’ve each gotten so far and part ways? maybe mislead her accidentally or purposefully?

30th: red (work)

the most boring of them Seemingly, but jeonghwa always tries to make everything fun. impromptu decipher’s dream girl rehearsal with mops? maybe shes getting tired and has convinced your muse to ‘help’ her? maybe while cleaning they find someone’s diamond ring and have to go on a hunt to find out who it is (except they end up just giving it to the staff’s lost and found)

event prompts!

new year’s kiss? i don’t think she’s had one before, so someone could fill up the 2020-2021 slot or the trying something new!

trying something new could be literally anything, though, jeonghwa’s never been on a cruise, big bucket list item checked off There, and she’s down for anything. even making gingerbread houses at the ball is something she hasn’t done before

lucid member or someone watching from the sidelines, maybe jeonghwa ~didnt sleep well~ some night and was doing dance moves facing the wrong way, and they help remind her

could also get lost, present giving open to all birthday ppl again, as well as christmas gifts!

[tenduw]

My hetacast as Mamma Mia 2 characters

Older Donna - Ancient Rome

Well, Donna in this film is mostly a ghost figure, so who better resonates with her than the ghost of hetalia himself - Rome? All that aside, Yes, Rome is a ghost, but his legacy clearly lives on in the heta world - through his legacy in museums across the world (i.e. Wales, the USA) and does have an impact on his descendents (The Italies, Malta etc.). More importantly, he does care about each of his descendents and proudly watches over them, stepping in when times get tough. He is very proud of his grandchildren, and will always watch over them, all the way until they eventually pass away themselves.

Younger Donna - Ancient Egypt

There’s something about Ancient Egypt that captivates people. Whether it’s her beauty, her vibrant personality, her wild and carefree spirit or a combination of all three, no one knows, but she is definitely the protagonist of any story she is in. Not that she knows this haha. She also has a very set idea on where she wants to go, and once she has found her ‘home’, she will never leave it. 

The thing that made me resonate Donna with her however, is how they both see their children. To her, her child means more than anything else in the world, and Egypt to her is her greatest treasure - To name a price on him would be unthinkable. And so it is her son, combined with her adaptable personality, that would push her on to keep trying, to keep being her - which in a land full of people who change at an instant, is remarkable.

Older Sam - France

Sam in the film has suffered a great loss. And I think the way he coped with said loss reminded me of France, who I see as someone who has also lost many past loves - not just Jeanne D’arc. He is someone who continues life after his loved one has passed, and makes it a point to think about the positives of the person and his ‘encounter’ with them rather than think about the grief he feels at their passing. He also would make it a point to step up for his deceased partners child/children, regardless of whether they were his child or not, because to him, this child has suffered a greater loss than he has, so why wouldn’t he be there when they need him most? 

Younger Sam - Spain

Now one interesting thing about Spain is that I believe he is an avid believer in the concept of ‘love at first sight.’ And so if he sees someone and ‘falls in love with them,’ he will pursue them. Regardless of whether or not he is in an already existing relationship or not, as to him, all of that stuff becomes null and void when he meets ‘the one’ and will totally engage in nsfw stuff. He will attempt to set things straight by ending the prior engagement/divorce and go back to trying to pursue his ‘love,’ however if they have moved on, he would accept that and just hope that they are happy (That doesn’t stop him from checking in a few years later)

Older Rosie - Namibia

Nami has a very bubbly personality, often saying straight up what she is thinking - regardless of whether or not it makes any sense. She is similar to Ancient Egypt in a lot of aspects, however a key difference is that whilst AE unintentionally takes centre stage, Nami tends to take much more of a supportive role, something which she herself sees as a good thing, because why would she want to be restricted in a way that most main characters are? 

That being said, she is very hesitant when it comes to relationships, even more so when it comes to reopening relationships. The only thing that would get her to change her mind tbh is someone showing her their vulnerability. That side - more specifically that human side, means an awful lot to her, and so will encourage her to allow herself to indulge in those more human emotions that she feels from time to time - Such as a crush, and maybe eventually, love?

Younger Rosie - Taiwan

Taiwan, like Nami, has a very bubbly personality. In fact the main area where the two differ in personality is that as she isn’t as old or experienced, Taiwan is not nearly as jaded when it comes to love as Nami is. And so, she will quite easily fall in ‘love’ with people (another avid believer of ‘true love’). She has a tendency to eat comfort food when that ‘relationship’ doesn’t work out whatsoever (often the person doesn’t know that she ‘loves’ them) but will move on relatively quickly.

Whilst she also is mostly content being a supportive friend, sometimes she can feel a bit of resentment and the fact that all of the ‘interesting’ stuff, such as romance and drama never really happens to her. She has never acted on this resentment though, as she has good impulse control (In the form of Vietnam) and if she ever did, she would probably regret it for a long time, if not for the rest of her life.

Older Tanya - Benin

Benin is a great supportive friend, once you get past her rather frosty exterior. She has a habit on falling back on sarcasm to get through a conversation, and so to people who don’t know her, they probably wouldn’t even know she was being sarcastic in the first place. A bit like Taiwan, she is rather tired of everyone around her except for herself finding love and establishing relationships, however unlike Taiwan, doesn’t need any impulse control and she is extremely good at hiding her frustration with this.

Younger Tanya - Vietnam

Another nation that uses sarcasm a lot, Vietnam instead tends to only use it in front of close friends rather than everyone. She is also very defensive of her loved ones, something of which they all very much enjoy. She is very good at acting as an impulse control, however if something happens to upset her, she will happily go to her comfort food to get calm again.

Older Bill - Tobago

Tobago has a great sense of humour and is not afraid to use it, with it often coming out in the randomest and the most awkward of times. He also has a tendency to come up with plans as he goes along, however as he is a very good actor, it never comes across as such a half baked idea. 

That being said, he does not handle grief well. Tobago has a habit of growing attached to humans alongside nations, so when they inevitably die, he tends to be rather inconsolable after the first few years of their passing. He will start to make jokes soon after, however that person will always be remembered by him and their name alone is probably enough to make him start bawling.

Younger Bill - Denmark

Well, Bill is a sailor and scandanavian - so there was no way he wasn’t going to be a nordic. Denmark is loveable, charming and an all round nice guy to meet and he can put a smile to anyone’s face - regardless of what mood they were in beforehand. He is also a great person to be a friend with benefits with, as he won’t consider a ‘one time thing’ as long enough to fall in love with the other participant. That being said, he is also a caring person and will put aside what he wants to help out others.

Older Harry - Austria

Well, that scene at the end with younger Harry dancing around older Harry really made me realise who resonates with the man. Austria is rather ashamed of his past to be honest. Not because of the friendships he had then, because those came and went accordingly, but of how different he was back then to who he is now. He would never do half of the stuff he did back then, but it did happen, and so he is ashamed to admit that. That being said, he does deeply care about family, and so would put aside many things - no matter how advantageous they were to him, for family, and would ultimately be there for that family member, and always will.

Younger Harry - USA

Ahh the USA, the only country I could see thinking that he has fallen in love after sleeping with someone. He, like Spain and to an extent, Taiwan, also believes in love at first sight and so, would absolutely chase after who he believes tobe ‘the one.’ It won’t work out however, but not due to a lack of effort on his part.

Sky - Germany

Now, I feel like Germany is very conflicted of the issue of choosing the work or the home. Like if he were to get a job offer, like Sky in the film, I feel like his ecstasy over the idea would probably cause him to forget the fact that his partner is very attached to the place where they grew up, and in an argument, would probably again not get it. It would only be after the fight, that he realises and acknowledges the issue - and as someone who also has a ‘home’ that he would never leave, would come back - as family matters more than any job does - at least to him.

Sophie-- Mexico

Now Mexico is someone that I see as very hardworking, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they did have a hotel somewhere that they worked hard to restore and honour someone’s legacy. They are also someone that I feel would have the mindset that their ancestors live on through them - So they need to do their best to honour that ancestry. They are also someone who cares very strongly about their area and their homeland, so the thought of leaving their country is just preposterous to them. Mexico also has a habit of focusing on little tid bits about their ancestors - stuff that builds a picture of said ancestor in their mind. They do make their ancestors proud and continue to do so everyday.

Fernando - Egypt

Egypt is very good at giving compliments. However at the same time, he is not the type of person to just show his emotions, so I feel like he would have quite the pokerface. The only time this would be dropped is if he is feeling too much of an emotion - whether it be anger, happiness, shock etc. And if he were to bump into an old flame...then those feelings would definitely be on show, regardless of how much he tries to hide them.

Ruby - Britannia

I see Britannia as someone who is very hands off when it comes to raising children - similar to England in a way, and so, although she would realise her mistake partway through and try to amend it, her children and their friends’ opinions of her would not be very high.

Antonio - Argentina

I just feel like Argentina is the type of person to jump into the ocean to confess his love, regardless of the fact that he can’t swim.

Appolonia - Chile

....And Chile is the person that would join Arg...even though he can’t swim either.

Sofia - Eswatini

And finally, Sofia. Eswatini makes it a point to judge others based on how they treat the world around them - so if someone doesn’t mistreat an animal, they are bound to go up in their books, but if someone broke another’s heart, they would go down. They are also very helpful to those they like - once they have set their mind about someone, it is almost impossible for them to change it, and so a human would essentially be guaranteed their aid for life. Another thing the two characters have in common is that they both have had a child named after them, as a result of them aiding a young mother who was on her own during labour.

I really liked this! Please send me an ask for a different show/tv/musical/movie/game/comic/animé (Yall know the point haha)

[mymemoirs]

Unrecorded Memories and Missing Taiwan #6

Yay, the last two weeks of my summer program experience! I’m glad that this series is going to be over soon. The last two weeks of my summer program, I remembered being too comfortable that I let myself feel all kinds of feelings: embarrassed, awkward, angry, etc. This is so different than when I’m in my first two weeks where I mostly confined myself in my dorm room and have little exchange with others except my group mates and a few classmates. So, the last two weeks was like a roller coaster of feelings but in a good way. In spite of the negative feelings I felt at those moment, I can still view them as a life enriching experience and see it in a good light. 

24) Creativity and Entrepreneurship program is the most laid-back class I have ever taken. I can’t quite remember the details of what I’ve learnt from the class, I vaguely remembered that we’re being taught about introduction to Bitcoin  (yeah, and that’s also the first time I heard about bitcoin) and business model. I still kept some of the teaching materials that our professors sent to us and realized that most of the materials he sent to us weren’t related to our program, it was just a bunch of journals or articles that he worked on. So, I guess I can’t reviewed what he had taught us before. Oh, well. 

What I clearly remembered during the class is how bored and unfocused I am. Having to go through from a very serious and fast paced class in AI to a more relaxing and slow paced class like Creativity and Entrepreneurship, my mind easily gets bored. I wasn’t the only one to feel that way too, sometimes I observe my classmates’ face and could sense that some of them were bored too. I think it’s normal to be bored during class, even back in my country, there were instances that I even fell asleep during class (please don’t do this!). 

One of the drawings I drew when I’m bored in class. Aside from drawing, I actually read comics too and was found out by my lecturer. Welp! Such an embarrassing moment!

To be honest, being in this program, I can’t guess what we will learn the next day. I also can’t guess what our activity would be if our professor didn’t tell us beforehand. Most of our class consists of team building activities like games that were arranged by the teaching assistants. We enjoyed playing inside the classroom and it’s also a good way for us to bond. We also have a lot of group discussions and presentations. The professor even let us have a day off in order for us to survey and make a video for our presentation. 

I personally think this is an ideal program if you only aim for the ‘fun’ summer program. Well most of the programs were fun, like the ones taken by my roommates which is about “Community Care Practice in Taiwan” (if I’m not wrong). I heard they went to a lot of excursions and they also have fun activities in the class too.

25) The second day of the class, the professor told us that the next day we would be going for an excursion. So, before the field trip, he told us to fill some forms which actually is an aptitude test for a job assessment. He told us something along the line of “knowing thyself” and letting us get this facilities while in his class. Well, to be honest, I’m excited and I’ve always enjoyed this kind of activities: getting a personality test and reading the results. 

After filling the questionnaires, we hand it in. Since it’s just an aptitude test, we could actually get the results pretty fast. However, considering they have to processed the questionnaires from all of the participants in our class, it would take a day or two.

Now, the day we’re waiting for: the field trip~! 

I actually had to search it up in the internet because the place won’t come up when I type it in. Turns out the name of the place were too common and they had a lot of branch so I had to find the specific one where we went on our field trip. For our first field trip, we went to a job center that have a makerspace. It’s usually a space for people to learn and create things, usually those who came there are taught about tech stuff. The makerspace is located in Nantou District. To be exact, I think the address is  No. 8, Sanhe 1st Road, Nantou City. Well, I’m not too sure about it, but as far as I remembered that’s the building I went in with my classmates. 

Once we arrived there, we were handed our aptitude results and a career coach explained to us the meaning of our results. She was speaking in Chinese, so there was a translator beside her. Fortunately, since I understand a little bit of Chinese, I can keep up with her explanation without waiting for it to be translated. 

She then proceeded to explain that in life there were occupation categories, such as: artistic, social/ volunteering, professionals. Unfortunately, that’s the only thing I remembered so I think I subconsciously wanted those types of occupation in my life. She also explained that as we live a different phase of our life, we might shift our activities to that of artistic, social, or even professionals. For example, on our 20s - 30s we would like to spend our time as professionals. After that, 40s - 50s in artistic or even social, and so on. I think this is a very interesting concept that stuck with me ever since. I would really like to apply it on my own life. Too bad, I didn’t jot down the details back then. If I had, I would be able to explain it in great detail. 

One of the Arduino/ Microcontroller projects in the makerspace. This project is an automatic watering system for plants. Okay, just take your time to think about this. There’s definitely a sensor that sense the humidity of the soil, but how the water travels from that pipe still baffles me. 

After the presentation, we were given an ample time to explore the maker space and also ate our lunch. We provided our own lunch by buying in the nearest convenience store though. Looking around, it was actually very fun. I see quite interesting Arduino projects and they also have interesting woodwork for it. I guess Arduino and woods are interesting, should put that as one of my prospective projects. There’s also a 3D printing projects laying around in the makerspace. 

26) The next activities that the career coach prepared for us is a team building activity. Since I’m always with my previous classmates from AI and most of our classmates are close to one another, our groups were instantly formed. Over the course of the game sessions, I don’t know what’s got into me, I became very competitive at that time. There weren’t even a prize for those who win as far as I remembered, but I think the point system were making me ambitious. I mean, it’s not really the first time I got too competitive, however my competitiveness kind of clouded my emotional thinking and I was a bit too harsh to my teammates. 

The games that we played were mostly games that involves problem solving. Each team were first given a wood puzzle that requires us to separate blocks of wood without breaking it. That piques my interest and I was so into it. Our team weren’t the first one to solve it, but since I knew the direction the game is heading involves thinking, I was really riled up for the next game. So, every time the career coach asked each team’s opinions, I was always the first one in my team to speak. Well, part of the reason was because I’m used to standing in for my teammates and they’re not confident with their English skills yet compared to me. But I later realized that was very selfish of me. 

There were also games that involves teamwork and communication which the career coach named “Noah’s Ark” (actually that’s the name of the board game). Basically we were told to balance animals figures on a board which looks like a seesaw and we must make sure not to let the board touch the surface of the table. The team that had more animals figures on the board wins. Every team had so much fun in the game, there were even a team that sings “Happy Birthday” after they messed up. 

When it’s our team’s turn, I was really stressed out. We should have take turns putting the figures on the board, but a teammate of mine was really excited that he was technically dominating it. I kept on telling them to take it slow and take turns but I guess everyone were focused on it. Also being the only one who didn’t speak Thai at all in the group was making it worst, since my teammates suddenly spoke in Thai the moment the game started. I guess they were excited. Some Indonesian classmates who were observing us playing suddenly said, “Semangat” to me which technically means “Hwaiting”/ “Fighting” in Korean (I didn’t know a word that suits this in English context). I could only sighed at that, because I think they knew that I was struggling in that particular game since I didn’t understand what my teammates are talking about. Of course, we ended up losing way faster than the others and the animals figures we had were the least. I was kind of irritated by that so when the career coach asked us what we’ve learnt from the game, I told annoyingly while looking at my teammates that “communication is important”. Yeah, I was kinda harsh at that time. 

27) At the end of our sessions, the career coach suddenly said that she’s actually been observing us the whole time and would like to share her observations. She mentioned teams and individuals that caught her attention. I wasn’t really expecting that she would mentioned me too, and she referred to me twice during her conclusion. I can’t remember the exact details but she had been observing us before we played the games. That’s why she told me that I was actually the first person to take the initiative to help the staff in moving the tables and chairs when we were going to play the games. I actually didn’t realized it but it’s good to have someone acknowledging it. I think my habit of tidying up the chairs back when I’m in a temple became something worth observing? *laughs*

At one point, she started to describe me. I think I’m such an open book, huh? I can’t remembered what she said, but it was like she’s literally praising me. Ah, if only I can remember, I was really flattered but embarrassed at the same time. The reason I’m embarrassed wasn’t even because of the praising but because of what she said after that. I guess that’s what stuck to me. My mind was interpreting it as her way of telling me that I’m wrong but subtly. 

She said while patting my shoulder, “You were always the one who took the initiative and lead your teammates. Every time you would represent your team. It must be tiring for you, yeah?”

Ah, the power of communication. Sometimes what you said can be interpreted in so many ways. I interpreted it as a criticism, I felt I was being selfish for not letting my teammates have a chance to speak. I felt I was hindering their development because if you don’t push yourself then you won’t be good at it. So after the career coach left our table, I immediately apologized to my teammates. They in return apologized back to me because they knew I felt left out at times. I really regretted it for letting my competitiveness get the better of me. 

28) Before going back, our class were offered a chance to use 3D printer pen. It’s really interesting how you can squeeze the polymer by using a wireless 3D printer pen. I’m not really good at using it though and I didn’t managed to make anything that’s worth taking back home. Some on the other hand were able to produce their own souvenir. Oh well, too bad. 

Wireless 3D Printer Pen

29) And on our way home from the excursions, I was sitting alone by the bus window. I was really drained out interacting with people from my class and that day I don’t really feel good either. It was at this moment, a Thai friend of mine, Phoom, who’s also my group mate sat beside me. He suddenly struck a conversation with me and taught me some Thai words out of the blue. 

I really appreciate his effort to make me feel better and I think I can say we end the day in a good term. Especially, as an avid language learner, I tried jotting down words he taught me. It was really fun and I think starting from that day, my Thai friend kept teaching me how to speak Thai with them. Although, I kinda forgot it now and I’m not really that fluent either. Anyway, I really appreciate those kind of people in my life. While it’s short, it’s really worthwhile to know them. 

-Reina

PS.  Okay, I know this post might be very wordy and the pictures aren’t really interesting. But I think, it’s one of my memorable moments during my Creativity and Entrepreneurship class.