#and someone who humours her when it comes to her old job? it's so refreshing and welcome.

[graviconscientia]

♡ for @scumscuttlers.

●●●●○ | ATTRACTION

●●●○○ | AFFECTION

●●●●○ | INTEREST

●●●○○ | LOYALTY

●○○○○ | TRUST

LOW | ●●●●● | HIGH

[cafedanslanuit]

♡ pairing — jumin han x gn!reader

♡ summary — jumin han is running for office. as it turns out, so are you.

♡ tags/warnings — political enemies to lovers, a bit suggestive, some angst, set after saeran’s after ending.

The first time you see Jumin Han is during an interview at a morning news channel. Your whole team is by your side, some of them taking notes while he spoke. Why would a businessman want to be Prime Minister? You don’t know but you don’t really care right now.

You scoff loudly when he starts talking about big data and AI and how they could be used in politics to make decisions.

You had been working since you were young to get where you were right now. You had gone to Law school with a scholarship and were chosen valedictorian. You had worked in politics the last ten years of your life, so to see the rich son of the CEO of one of the biggest companies waltz into the election like he’s supposed to be there just infuriates you.

The campaign is long and hard. You two never meet during interviews but you make sure to address the fact people aren’t numbers that can be predicted and that while big data can be helpful, you need to address the political and social nature and take them into account before making any decisions. You also mention Jumin’s lack of political experience but no matter how many interviews you go to, you see his numbers rising by the minute.

The debate is brutal. Even if you hate him, you have to admire how much his campaign chief worked because he had just the right information at any minute, information he used to win the debate. In a couple of weeks, he also won the election. You send out a congratulatory tweet to your opponent and then call the day off for you and your team, locking yourself in your apartment with a bottle of wine.

The very same night, you receive a phone call from none other than Jumin Han. He mentions how good of a job you did at your campaign and that he actually liked some of the ideas you had presented at the debate (the ones that weren’t opposed to his at least). He invites you to be a part of his team and you say you’ll think it over. The call ends and you take a swig from your wine bottle, wondering if it’s a good idea.

You end up accepting.

He invites you to dinner to go over the details and plans he has and you start realizing maybe he’s more than some entitled rich kid. There’s something that seems to be motivating him, something that sparked his political ambition and you’re determined to find out what it was.

Even though you see him every day at his new prime minister’s office, you end up having dinner with him two or three times a week. At first it’s because he doesn’t really have time to go over certain details with you, but soon enough the conversations start getting more personal.

You confess to growing up with little to no money and having to work your ass off to get a scholarship. He mentions having to resign from his position at C&R to be able to take care of his friends. You start remembering the whole scandal around his company and the previous Prime Minister. He talks briefly about the Choi twins, who you have only heard about from the news and he shows you a picture of them and a girl sitting on a field, big smiles on their faces.

Jumin's expression softens as he remembers the fate of every one of their friends. You learn that the twins and the girl are living in the countryside and are happy, Zen, the actor, is now on Broadway and Yoosung, a younger friend of his, is studying in Paris. Jaehee is the only one who stayed and the person he trusts the most.

There are so many things to learn about Jumin Han. You notice he always wears stripes and that his thirst for knowledge is never ending. His humour is refreshing and you find yourself laughing at his remarks. You see him a lot more relaxed during your dinners than at the office and start to long for the time you get to share a dinner with him.

You start wishing wondering if maybe, just maybe, there was a chance his lingering eyes on your face as you speak during dinner are more than just professional admiration.

A year goes by and you get to meet Chairman Han. He is a perfect gentleman with you and joins you and Jumin for dinner. He asks you if you’re single and not so casually mentions Jumin is as well, and he would love for such a capable and intelligent person as you to be a part of his family. You confirm you are single but make no comment about his son, hoping your burning cheeks don’t give you away.

Later that night, Jumin texts you and apologizes for his father’s behaviour. You call him to dissipate his worries away but you end up talking with him about everything and nothing deep into the night.

The day Jumin confesses his feelings is after an allnighter. You are the only ones in the office, dealing with a lot of paperwork and working on a proposal for a crisis the country is facing. Jumin orders in your favourite snacks and you make coffee for both of you as you keep working. It’s 6 am when you finally finish so you both just sit at his office and watch the sunrise together.

“I’ve really come to care about you a lot more than I planned,” he says and you smile at him.

“Thank you?” you tease.

“I think I’ve fallen in love with you.”

He says so in such a calming voice you wonder if he’s joking. Your head is turned to him, lips parted in surprise, your eyes big and cheeks flushed.

“Which is probably going to be a huge problem with HR,” he sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. You can’t help but laugh at his comment and he looks back at you, raising an eyebrow.

“I’ve fallen in love with you too, Jumin.”

Jumin is surprisingly good at managing a relationship in the workplace. After he makes sure everything is good with HR, he treats you as just another worker while you’re in the office, leaving the kisses and soft touches for the privacy of his penthouse. It’s a little strange for you at first but you adapt and learn to admire him even more than before.

It doesn’t take long before it’s public knowledge (of course Jumin had to mention something about the nature of your relationship during an interview). Photographers follow you around and you see your face in magazines already calling you the first lady. You roll your eyes but can’t help the smile that crawls up to your face every time.

Sundays at Jumin’s apartment were a dream come true. Breakfast is made of fresh coffee imported from Colombia, homemade strawberry pancakes from your lover’s hands and you wearing nothing but one of his shirts and your underwear around his penthouse.

You teach him how to dance in the kitchen and even make him look for you around the house in a version of hide-and-seek, only he gets to kiss you every time he finds you. Jumin orders lunch for both of you and watches you ramble about whatever you want, an enamoured look on his face.

You make love on his bed as the sun is setting, golden hour hitting Jumin’s face in such a way you feel you’re falling for him once more. He’s gentle and warm, holding you in such a way you can just know he’s never letting you go.

You know he’s told you before you’re the first person he’s ever been intimate with but if he hadn’t, you wouldn’t have had trouble believing he had previous experience. The way his fingers trace your skin and take the time to learn every inch of your body, paying attentio to every moan and shudder is heaven-sent.

Jumin is always focused on your pleasure rather than his own and will make it his case for you to come undone for him several times the moment you step a foot inside his bedroom.

Jumin Han’s ideas and work ethics are accepted by the people. They’ve noticed good changes around the country and how transparent he is about everything he does, the data of his plans always open to the public. They also notice your influence on some of the decisions he makes and even if it’s a couple of years away, there are already rumours about a reelection.

You tease Jumin about running again one day during dinner.

“I’ve actually given that some thought,” he admits. “But I’d rather have you run this time with me on the sidelines.”

You kiss him over the table.

Jaehee is a saint and you end up forming a friendship with her as well. You even convince Jumin to give her a week off and she goes to see Zen on Broadway. Zen and Jaehee went for a couple of drinks after the show and you notice the lack of photographs from the bar compared to the amount she had from before the show. Jaehee avoids your questions and then ends the call when you start teasing her about getting laid and if Zen used his wolf ears on bed too.

One of the off days you sleep at your apartment rather than Jumin’s, you find a package waiting for you. It’s a few days old, reminding you how little time you actually spend there. Jumin’s offer for you to move in with him replays on your mind but you wave it off, not wanting to rush anything and potentially ruin the best thing that has happened to you in the last few years.

You take the package to your living room and prepare a cup of coffee before you open it. There’s no name on it but yours and you start to get worried. Before getting more ideas, you open it and see a huge stack of papers. They are all part of an investigation you’ve heard about.

You have no idea why someone would send you information about the last Prime Minister and the RFA.

It’s almost 3 am when you end up revising all the documentation. There’s a missed call and an unopened message from Jumin you didn’t have the heart to answer. Not after all you’ve been reading.

“Can I please speak to you privately?” you say the minute you enter his office the next morning. Your stern voice makes everyone quickly walk away and Jumin raises his eyebrow at you. You lock the door behind you and walk over your boyfriend’s desk.

“You didn’t answer my calls last night,” he mentions but you ignore him, rather taking a seat in front of him.

“I want you to be honest with me, Jumin.” The lack of a term of endearment makes him squint his eyes. “I want you to be honest out of respect for the amount of time we’ve been working together and out of the love you say you have for me.”

“I am not a liar.”

“Did you really use your money and influence to get Jihyun Kim out of jail?”

Jumin and you stare at each other in silence, both of your faces hiding the turmoil of emotions behind.

“Rika is at a mental hospital,” you continue. “And you paid for Jihyun Kim’s lawyers and he got released in just a couple of weeks. His status or location is now unknown. So I’m asking: Jumin, did you get Jihyun Kim out of jail after he participated in a cult and helped Rika kidnap and torture people, including the Choi twins?”

Jumin crossed his legs, his eyes never leaving yours.

“Jihyun has been my friend since we were children—”

“I asked you a question.”

“How did you get all that information? Saejoon Choi’s testimony was private to the public.”

“You seem to have more enemies than you thought.”

“But who would—”

“Answer me!” you interrupt me, raising your voice. You take a deep breath to calm yourself. “Just answer, Jumin,” you plead.

His eyes look down and then back to your eyes. You think you must have really been in love with him to think there was a possibility the papers that were sent to you were forged.

“Yes,” he sentences.

"I trusted you. I thought you wanted to make things right, to make people accountable. You said so during your campaign, you said so to me,” you confront him, your heart breaking in a million pieces. “I looked up to you. I respected you. Looks like you're just like every other silver spoon."

Jumin stays in silence as he watches you leave the office. When Jaehee comes back, he realizes he’s been looking at the door the past couple of hours. She confirms you’ve left the building and also handed out your resignation letter. She doesn’t dare to ask what happened and he makes a point not to address the situation either.

You never ask for your stuff back. There’s a couple of books you had been reading, your slippers and a rose gold robe he had given you for cold days. He puts them all in a box and sends you the package.

He is not surprised when you return it, along with the documentation that was sent to you.

The next time he sees you is during an interview on the morning news. He’s sitting along with his team, watching you announce your campaign for the next term. The lady in front of you asks why did you decide to leave his team.

You give her one of your political smiles (Jumin has learnt to recognize every one of them) and shake your head softly.

“I don’t think it’s okay for me to disclose that,” you answer.

Jumin wonders if that means you still love him.

[theglguidetowebcomics]

Full review: Girly

What’s Pink, insane, NSFW, hilarious, and somehow heartwarming at points? This comic is a ride and a half, and I’m genuinely surprised more people haven’t heard of this one… I’ve been wanting to talk about this one for a WHILE. 

So let’s talk about the elephant in this room… Because I think it just ate someone’s couch. 

Slightly NSFW review with spoilers below.

Girly, by Jackie Lesnick was a webcomic that ran between 2003 and 2010, (and really has some of those early webcomic hallmarks). Its monochromatic pink, vertical, with a poppy early cartoon feel. It’s also listed as a romantic comedy, which is… correct, but cuts a whole lot of what makes this comic good, short. 

This review was always going to be one of the 4 I really struggled with. And not just because I lost it the first time without a back up in a code glitch, got distracted by a pandemic, then procrastinated my way to finally making a second version in my new backup folder… No, well also yes but no. This was a comic I read when I was younger (and should NOT have read  when I was younger), and have always had a soft spot for. I’ll admit as much as this comic has its flaws or weird moments or just weirdness in general, its one of the few comics I’ve found myself rereading in its entirety more than once. And no matter how much I know it's coming, find myself sobbing, uncontrollably, at the final panel. There’s surprisingly a lot of heart in this comic, and a whole lot of honesty in just the direction the author took this weird little thing. But, first let me take of those rose tinted glasses as much as I can… (actually that might not work too well with a pink comic seriously whats with all these early 2000s lesbian comics being PINK?). And give this old comic a look and a bit of a dust. but , first...

Sex.

Getting to the point - page 3 of “Girly”

Girly is a NSFW comic. It’s not shy about it either. It hits the audience (and the main character) over the head with it literally in the first pages. It has sex positive characters, a sex positive world, some characters with… sex powers almost, and Dildos, a whole lot of dildos. Some even with smiley faces on them. It’s a pretty unavoidable part of the comic that makes up a large core of it’s humour and is baked into its wacky world. So if that’s not your thing, and it’s not really skippable in this case, you won’t like this comic.

But, if you’re alright with that part of it this might just be a hidden gem. Moving on.

Art

Artwork is always interesting in webcomics. They’re usually one man shows, have a weird niche / strong influences, and or usually go on massive journeys as the art improves. Girly is no different here. 

Girly starts out rough. Some poses are wonky and its a bit scratchy. Technically speaking it has a few issues, which is fine. Its a free webcomic, from the 2000s that didn't copy and paste faces. (Won’t name names, you know who you are). You can’t be too harsh on a free comic, though.

However, what the art style does, even early on is set the style and feel of the comic. Anime inspired faces, bold outlines, and blocky silhouettes that were really popular with 90’s and 2000s cartoons. It has a newspaper, manga comedy strip vertical style, too. It fits the style of story well as a poppy wacky story. It's the perfect art style it could take.

Its rough in the beginning, but moves on from its scratchy days, to loose pen brush, to finally a polished free hand poppy style. It gets more technically advanced as it goes along, but it keeps its core style throughout. It’s fun, a little unhinged, and just pares perfectly.

The one issue I have with the art is it comes off as a bit cramped. It certainly matches the energy of the story, but it also feels like it doesn't let the characters have any breathing room in the frame. It comes off as squashed, and can make some character poses hard to read. That’s the only complaint I can find though. The issue even fixes itself later in the story, but just very very close to the end. It looks great there, but the majority of the comic is a little cramped. Still that’s just a small complaint.

Nitpicking here but some panels need a lil more room

This a humour comic foremost. It's the biggest part of what makes Girly specifically Girly.

Humour

The humour is mostly wacky nonsense, playing off its insane characters, physics defying world, everything being dialed up to 11. It also works a lot like satire, poking at what influences it, and playing with cinematic expectations. The first page has Otra shooting someone into space on a rocket because they annoyed them, the first “adventure” the character’s go on is stealing everyone’s pants because they couldn’t find anything else to do. Then there’s the kidnapping adventures, knight trials, and slice of life shenanigans that happen. All of it as wacky as the last. I haven’t really found any other lesbian comics like it. Its not everyone’s tastes, but it is certainly unique.

If you’re into a willy wonka tunnel of over the top characters and plots, you’ll like Girly.

Characters

Girl is a LONG comic, it ran for 7 years. The art evolved, the story writing, jokes, and themes along with it. It was originally meant to run for only 50 strips... and it ended up with 764. 

so, there’s a lot to unpack.

Firstly, the premise of the story is somewhat simple. It focuses on Otra. The kinda straight man to the entire universe. She starts out almost depressed, out of place, and bored of the wacky inhabitants of her world. Until one of those wacky residents smacks her over the head with a giant dildo and won’t leave her alone for the next 7 years of run time. 

What follows is the sullen Otra being pulled around by the always cheery and zany nonsensical Winter as the sidekick for bizarre adventures. Otra’s depressive grounded view keeps the bizarreness funny, while Winter cuts through her negative attitude and causes a lot of the over the top plot. Leaving Otra to warm up to the world, and Winter to get less reckless as they balance eachother out. It’s a fun dynamic, and works as an emotional core of the story. No matter how weird the plot and rules of the world are, their relationship keeps the story somewhat focused and rewarding to see develop.

An example of bold wacky character designs from even early on

The comic isn’t just about them, though. As an ensemble comic there's plenty of side characters that go through arcs and beats as well. From el chubacabre, the man that woman find so irresistible that they sleep with him as soon as they see him; detective Clapjaw the street wise detective who is very bad at his job; Officer Hipbone and police guy from the cute P D; captain fist the ever popular bad at his job superhero who gets all the credit; the news reporter obsessed with captain fist; the woman with babies; Steak;  the elephants that just… appear and eat buildings; among many many others. A lot of whom also have nicely written character arcs and depth in later chapters. Many of the character however are simple and remain simple, which isn’t a bad thing. For such a large cast, having a diverse range of strange characters with strong identities and looks even if a bit simple stops it from getting bogged down. It strikes a good balance. Plus there’s plenty enough of characters with more depth later on. 

 All the character’s are insane, and over the top in a way that really sets up the world they live in and how it works... as dysfunctional as it is. There’s something very Cartoon Network about all the characters, but with some wider influences. something about  dumb characters, with very specific goals and quirks that work on their own physics to feed into the high energy insanity of the world. Its entertaining to read, and leads to a weirdly charming feel of the comic. 

Story and plot

For the bit people actually want to know about. What is it about?

Just a little bit of influences...

For the style itself the comic comes off as a mix between early 2000s slice of life-y anime, 2000s cartoon Network, and a dose of 2000s webcomic sarcastic action/adventure flare. It definitely has one of the most pronounced styles that I’ve seen, and even if it's very much a webcomic of it’s time it also goes a bit beyond that into something that feels personal to the author and honest. Its a batshit comic. But, it wears its influences on it’s sleeve and really plays with tropes and ideas the author found engaging at the time. It somehow comes off as refreshing in just how willing it is to go weird or niche for no other reason but because it wants to. It's what I appreciate most about the comic. It’s honest.

The overarching story of the comic is without a doubt about Otra and winter growing together as people. But with a comic that’s run for 7 years a little bit more happens in the journey, at least you hope it would. Girly runs on chapters, 15 in total (with 15 having sub chapters due to being the story’s climax), and each one of those chapters follows a different plot or adventure with Otra’s and Winter’s developing relationship gluing them together. 

The plots themselves are wild and vary a bit in quality. But for a long comic that’s understandable and expected. They go from solving elephant problems, super villains, body swapping, fantasy parodies, and all sorts of strange things. Sometimes a few plots drag and a few character arcs feel a bit bland. It still manages to be entertaining all the way through though. The plots themselves work to get the character’s to play off each other and explore the strange world it takes place in. Exploring evil teddy bears, or an entire town devoted to cheap gags. No matter what, all the plots work in fleshing out the world and pushing character’s out of their comfort zone or forcing them to change. There are some that are less fun than others, but none of them manage to be boring or useless. Which for a long comic such as this, is quite an achievement.

Conclusion

Girly is a hidden gem, Its an insane sex positive comic. A loose style and even looser physics. It’s bold and unabashedly itself. But, at its core it's about the love story of Winter, the wacky insane woman needing to slow down and open up, and Otra, a sullen woman who’s deemed herself only worthy of being on the outskirts of society. It’s two people growing together in a world that’s up to its ears in care bears, sentient dildos, earth shattering cloning, and jabs at 2000’s paste it comics. And somehow it all sticks together.

The characters resonated, at least with me, which may be the nostalgia talking. But by the end of the comic I can’t help but  think back on how long it took them to get there. The bits that made me laugh (a lot of them), the stupid parts, and the character’s arcs, as over the top they could be at times.  It may not everyone’s cup of tea. But it has a lot of heart at its core. (If you get past all the dildos). 

For all it’s flaws and weird bits. I still find myself going back to Girly. 

Maybe now, some more people will too.

[randomoranges]

the majority of the first part of this fic is based on a real thing that happened to me and my students yesterday

i applaud their ease at which all of this happened.

The Kids are All Right

 “M Édouard, est-ce que tu veux jouer avec nous?”

 It’s Friday afternoon and the first nice day of the week. The weather has been miserable, but luckily, he didn’t have to deal with indoor recess this time around. The group finishes in English class and he’s quite honestly killing time before he can leave them with their English teacher. He could have planned something exciting and fun, or ploughed on with another lesson, but he’s exhausted and doesn’t want to fight them. They’ve been – more rambunctious than usual these past two weeks and he’s been snappier with them than usual. He wonders if it’s the new seating arrangement or the coming of spring, but he’s counting down the days to the end of the school year and murmuring it like a mantra to himself on various occasions throughout the day.

 Still. Moments like these bring the smallest of smiles to his face.

 He likes to watch the kids play during recess, when he’s not aimlessly walking, and daydreaming about any other job he could have taken that wouldn’t be so taxing. This afternoon is one of those occasions. Most of the boys are on one end of the playground, playing a rather intense game of soccer, while the majority of the girls have been playing some invented game with a jump rope. The others are spread around; some are playing pear ball, others are sitting in clusters, but it’s nice to see that all the kids are hanging out with another kid and that no one is alone.

 He figures he can play with the girls this time around.

 Every now and again, he plays with the kids – when they ask him to, obviously and it’s a free bonding moment with them. He’s played some intense soccer and basket ball games, has played every version of tag and other such games, has learned to be decent at pear ball and he’s even been known to play hopscotch and jump rope. The kids love it. He also loves it.

 He nods and his student excitedly yells out “M Édouard va jouer!” which is greeted by loud cheers by the other girls. He gets a quick run through of the game; the person in the middle makes the jump rope go round, the others are gathered in a circle around it and they need to jump when the rope gets close to them. If the rope touches them, they need to tell a truth about themselves. Easy enough, really. He’s encountered multiple versions of this same game over the years.

 He offers to be the spinner, since the student who’d been doing it before had been struggling with the rope and the kids are delighted to let him have a go about it.

 The girls show no mercy when one of them gets touched by the rope and the questions they ask are harmless in nature; do you have a crush on anyone, what’s the most embarrassing thing you ever did, which of your siblings is your favourite, and so on. He politely reminds them that they’re not obliged to answer a question if they feel uncomfortable, and overall, everyone seems to have fun.

 On the fifth or sixth turn, the rope stops at a different student and the other girls flock around her chanting “Vé-ri-té! Vé-ri-té!” He joins them in, clapping his hands to the rhythm of the words and finally she gets them to stop as she thinks up of a truth to tell them, or be placed at the mercy of the counsel of questions.

 Finally, she graces them all with her truth, as the others wait with baited breaths, “Chuis bi,” She says easy as all else and the rest of the girls roll their eyes, laugh, and groan, complaining about how they all already knew.

 He’s – surprised by this. By the ease of the way she’s said her truth, but also by how not a big deal it seemed to be. He wonders, briefly, if it has anything to do with the talk he’s had with them earlier that week – about gender and sexual identities and such. Still, he marvels at the situation and it takes him a moment to recover, thinking of his own childhood and how long it had taken him to come to terms with his own sexuality. The fear he’d had. The anxiety it had produced. (And the relief, afterwards, when his parents hadn’t booted him out of their home.)  

 “Merci de nous avoir partager ça,” He says, because even if his fifth graders might not understand the full scope of it, he still wants them to feel that he accepts them as they are. He reminds them that they don’t have to share everything with him – or the others, but that if they do, he appreciates it and that he is someone they can come to and trust.

 Then, within the same breath, before they can start the game again, another one of the girls admits to being bi as well. Again, the rest of the girls react much of the same way; they laugh, they say they already knew, and they move on and it flummoxes him. He thinks back to being eleven himself and never in his wildest dreams would he have felt such ease in admitting something.

 Edward briefly wonders if maybe, just maybe, it has to do with the fact that they are girls and not boys. He knows it’s not the best way to think about it, but he feels that girls might have it just a little bit easier – with each other and their friend circle, whereas the boys – especially his boys this year, are still very much immature and very centered on the idea of being a Real Man (whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean.)

 Or maybe these students are just more open and more aware of themselves. It’s a better thought to have. He knows the discourse has changed, even if it isn’t perfect. There are now queer characters in media and literature that were very much absent in his day and age. Celebrities – young celebrities just a little older than his kids are using social media platforms to talk of their own experiences and doing their own coming outs and maybe that’s also helped make these terms less loaded.

 There has to be some good out of it, after all. It can’t all be about cyber bullying and fraud.

 Still, he makes it a point to remind them that they don’t have to “come out” to everyone just because and that it’s okay if they don’t want to tell people. They don’t own it to no one. They nod along and humour him and he wants to sit them down and tell them that no, he’s serious and that sometimes it’s not this easy. He should know. But – maybe it is this easy for them. Maybe it has become this easy for the new generation despite what he still hears on the news. Maybe, thanks to the new generation, different orientations will finally no longer be some big taboo and the world can be a better place.

 Maybe he’s still dreaming, but – it’s a nice hope to have. If anything, he can hope and appreciate that these two students seem to be very comfortable with themselves and for that, he’s happy. If they can have an easy ride of it, why the hell not.

 He leaves it at that and the game runs its course for a while longer, until recess comes to its end.

 “M Édouard, dites-nous une vérité!” One of the girls asks as they line up to go back inside. He laughs and stalls for a moment. Some part of him wants to share as well – tell them through his truth that they are not alone and that he’s gay. It would be easy, really, and he’d be an ally to them, or something – he’s not sure, but he likes that it’s not some convoluted over-thought process like most of all the other times he’s come out in his life. Thinking back to how casual the others were with their friends telling them, he figures they wouldn’t turn on him. They’d be surprised, probably, but – it’d be fine – he hopes.

 He opens his mouth to say it – to casually let them know that he’s gay, but then the words falter and die at the back of his throat; shrivel up as bile forms instead. He chokes over them and that same old fear creeps back in. He sighs, frustrated with himself. It’s not that the kids need to know, but part of him yearns to share and to show them that it’s okay to be like this – that they can lead successful lives while being themselves. Yet, even if these students would be okay with it, he fears they’d share the news and spread it – that it would then reach the ears of someone else, who would tell their parents, who would get upset, who would tell the school and ultimately, that he’d get fired and dragged through the mud.

 He doesn’t have the energy for that. Not now. And the fear ices his veins and suddenly, the pleasant mood from before is gone.

 The kids look at him, waiting for an answer.

 “Quand j’étais jeune, j’voulais être un astronaute.”

 It’s not a lie, but it feels like he’s just done them a great disservice. They don’t realise it and some other kid pipes up saying they too wanted to be an astronaut when they were seven, while another rattles off the name of a few astronauts they know. The moment passes, the kids move on to the next thing as they file back in and Edward breathes a little easier, even though the disappointment weighs him down. This could have been a great teaching moment and he’d let it slip through his fingers.

 He trickles in after them and tries not to over think it too much. After all, hadn’t he just reminded his students that they don’t have to tell other people about their sexual orientation if they didn’t want to? The same should apply to him, even if...

 Instead, he focuses on the fact that two of his students felt comfortable telling him, even if maybe they were only kidding and even if they went back on it at some later point. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that they didn’t feel the need to keep this truth about themselves hidden. That they felt zero shame and malaise sharing. That their friends welcomed them. If anything, it was refreshing to see. Hopeful at its fullest. It’s good to know that maybe the discourse has changed, after all and maybe, with time, he’ll come to terms with his own fears as well. He’s got to keep hope, if not for himself, but for them and maybe, with time, he can learn something from them along the way.

 (There will come a time, later, a few years down the road, during the last leg of his career. The context will be similar; recess, a Friday afternoon and the girls will be playing some other iteration of a truth game. They’ll ask him to play and he’ll agree, for a lack of something better to do and a never-ending need to bond with his kids in whichever way they want him to.

 It’ll be great fun. The kids will share truths about themselves that’ll range from heartfelt to funny and he’ll appreciate every single one of them. Eventually, as the kids are often known to do, they’ll turn on him and ask for a truth in return. Eventually, he’ll abdicate and confess to his own.

 “Je suis gai,” He’ll tell them, easy and simple as that, with a teasing grin to his face. They’ll roll his eyes at him, complaining all the while that they already know and that they want something new – a real truth. He’ll get them to settle and they’ll wait patiently, thirsting for a new truth about their teacher, “M Étienne et moi on est ensemble,” He’ll tell them next, laughing as they groan because it’s old news. They’ve known for ages – some since first grade. It’s the oldest news in the whole of the school. Hell, some have known since before since they had older siblings who brought the news home even before that.

 But Edward will laugh, pick up the game from where it left off and resume it. He’ll share the truth because it is one of his favourites. He’ll share it because, finally, after so long, he feels comfortable doing so. But mostly, he’ll share it for the kids. To let them know. To remind them, really, that it is okay to be this way and that even when they have doubts and even if it sometimes feels as though they have no one cheering for them, they’ll always have him.)

 FIN

[jimlingss]

Jungle Park [22]

Chapter 21 - Chapter 22 - Chapter 23

➜ Words: 5.6k

➜ Genres: Fluff, Light Humour (?), Slice of Life, Workplace Romance!AU

➜ Summary: The equation is simple. Hoseok needs to hire someone. You need a job. Except like any actual equation, it’s not fucking simple at all! Not when you have to add the fact that he was forced to hire someone he doesn’t want in his office, he has little respect for your job in general, and oh yeah...once upon a time you might have—*CENSORED*.

Rarely do cases go on trial. Unlike most lawyer-related and crime television shows, family law has much less action than criminal or civil law. The most exciting things that happen are arguments that break out during mediation or reading case files and seeing all the things that transpired. Divorce can get ugly, that’s for sure.   But while you rarely get to see Hoseok in a court setting duking it out with his opponent, there’s still a lot of times when you get to see his passionate side.   Like now.   “God, have you tried this pineapple juice?! How did they even get this into a coconut. It’s spectacular! You have to try this!”   Okay, to be fair he wasn’t being passionate about his work right now, but it’s still cute and endearing. And you might just be a little whipped for this nerd.   “Isn’t this supposed to be a business trip?” You have your elbow propped up on the counter of the bar, cheek in your hand as you stare out at the ocean that reflects the afternoon sunlight, blinding your vision.   “It is.”   “Then why are we on the beach drinking pineapple juice?”   “Why not?” Hoseok smiles, all too casual in sunglasses, taupe cargo shorts and a loose flannel that screams he’s a tourist. No one would ever expect he’s a hot shot lawyer in this get-up. “Didn’t you tell me to loosen up and that it’s not always about work?”   “Yeah, but this just doesn’t feel like a business trip…..at all.”   “The trial finished early.” Jung Hoseok sips on his coconut, looking both cocky and comical at the same time. It was definitely a bizarre sight to behold. “I can’t tell you the details because of confidentiality, but the opponent may or may not have accepted our terms and now the father may or may not have his kids during weekends and thankfully those kids don’t or do have to be taken by the government.”   The beaming sun pierces in your eyes too painfully and you look away. “...you know, Jung.”   “Yes?”   “I’m kind of impressed you managed to bring me here since I literally have nothing to do with your trial.” The only people that were here was Taehyung, Seokjin, Naul, and then the two of you. It’s miraculous that the lawyer snagged you, an HR manager, to be here with him.   Hoseok merely shrugs. “I may or may not have a way with words.”   “I’m starting to feel like your sugar baby.”   The man’s mouth pulls into a smirk. He winks and leans closer until your knees and shoulders are bumping each other’s. “How much would I have to pay to spend a night with you, sweetheart?”   “Double my salary and we’ll talk,” you whisper back to him in a low voice, starting to like the sound of this.   His arrogant act almost crumbles into a fit of laughter, but he manages to keep it up. “How about I make this trip all-inclusive and you get free meals and you can spend two days in a hotel suite with me?”   You’re the first to break, laughing and pushing him away before the bartender walks past and really thinks there’s some kind of wild arrangement going on. “How can the firm afford this many trips?”   “I’m loaded, y’know.” Hoseok is being overly flirtatious and greasy — maybe the heat’s getting to him. But you hate that it’s actually working and that he knows it too. “In my wallet and in my pants.”   “Oh my god.” You snort. “You’re ridiculous.”   “Does that make me more appealing to you?”   “Would you really want me to be a gold digger?”   “You could be whatever you want and I still wouldn’t mind.” Hoseok openly ogles at your lips and your face hurts from your widening grin.   “What happened to being professional?”   He moves away on his own accord, laughing and throwing his arm over the back of your chair, returning to sipping on his coconut through the straw. “We stopped being professional the moment we both agreed to this. The attempt is still nice though.”   Your brow is lifted and you quip, “Agree to what?”   “You being my girlfriend and me being your boyfriend.”   “Hold up, hold up. I never agreed to that,” you point out, bringing this conversation to a halt. “I agreed to us dating.”   “And isn’t dating being boyfriend and girlfriend.”   “You make it sound so juvenile, like we’re high schoolers.”   “We’re still young, babe.”   “Yeah?” You play into his greasy act, smiling and staring at him like you’re being seduced by a stranger at a bar in the middle of your vacation. But then you deadpan, “Tell that to your declining eyesight.”   “Hey.” Hoseok sulks. “My eyesight is still good. At least I’m not blind like Namjoon.”   “Didn’t you tell me your back was hurting last week?” You reach over, stealing a sip of his drink. It’s indeed strange to be having pineapple juice from a coconut, but it’s very refreshing and makes you feel rejuvenated.   “That was because you blew out my back.”   You nearly spit out your mouthful. It ends up sliding down your throat into the wrong pipe while you do a double take, and you end up in a wheezing and coughing fit. Hoseok’s entertained watching you die, ignoring the old couple a few seats away who was eavesdropping and are now mortified. When you manage to see the light again, you wipe your mouth with the back of your hand, barely containing yourself. “Why are you like this?!”   “Why do I like you so much?” Hoseok grins, spinning around in the bar stool like a child with too much sugar. “Good question, I don’t know. Maybe because you’re too cute, too pretty, and too fun to tease.”   You slump into a pout. “You’re mean.”   “I know.” Still, Hoseok leans over and plants a kiss right on your cheek.   //   The three others decided to go on a sightseeing tour, a package offered by the hotel at a discount. But you and Hoseok opted out. He simply brushed it off by saying he wanted to finish something up and you said you just weren’t feeling up to it. In reality, you both ended up walking by the beach instead, having a little date on your own. You felt guilty for lying to them, but Hoseok made it all worth it.   “Hey.” He smiles, approaching them in the lobby, running into the group by coincidence. “How was it?”   “A lot of fun!” Taehyung already appears tanner, skin radiating with a healthy glow. “I got this hat, like it?”   “It’s nice.” You nod, admiring the round straw hat.   “Glad you got out and saw some sun too, Jung,” Naul notes in approval. “We thought you’d be cooped up all day working.”   “Nah. Y/N and I went to grab some of those fruity drinks the front desk were raving about earlier,” he stretches the truth without batting an eyelash. “It was pretty good. You guys should try some. And I finished all my work earlier, so I’m free for the rest of the day.”   “Are you guys doing anything now?” you ask them. “Do you want to eat somewhere later?”   “Actually…” Jin clears his throat, arms behind his back and revealing what he’s been hiding. They’re two slips that look like movie tickets, but they’re bright blue like the ocean. The paralegal tries to play it off nonchalantly as he sweeps his fingers through his hair. “I might've won two vouchers for a spa day earlier.”   Taehyung laughs and lifts his hands straight into the air, extending his arms above his head. “And he’s taking me! We also won tickets to watch a show tonight too!”   Hoseok’s impressed and he takes a look at the tickets. “Wow. You guys are lucky, huh?”   “Sorry.” Taehyung leans on him, smushed cheek on his shoulder and grinning mischievously. “Jin already promised to take me, boss. You can come too, but you’ll have to pay yourself.”   “It’s okay.” He hands them back.   “I’m going to my hotel room to rest,” Naul says, telling them about her plans. “I’m exhausted.”   “She fell asleep on the bus.” Jin hitches his thumb to the woman, appallment evident in his low timbre. “Didn’t enjoy the last half of the journey.”   “I’m old, I know.” She pats him on the back. “You don’t have to keep saying it.”   You nod. “Looks like you all have plans then.”   “Yup.” Taehyung shifts slightly, brown irises shining in his rounded eyes. “Did you want to do something with us?”   “No, it’s okay. We always have tomorrow morning. Hoseok and I might head out again after freshening up and using the washroom. There’s still a lot to see, so don’t worry about us and enjoy your spa trip.”   “Sounds like a plan.” Jin smiles. “Our appointment is starting soon.”   “Same with mine.” Naul already has her hotel card in her hand, envisioning the bubble bath and raiding the minibar for a nice drink. In the meanwhile, no one notices the way you exchange expressions with Hoseok. You’re satisfied either way as long as you’re with him.   //   The diner is small with few patronages. The fryer is heard sizzling from the kitchen, bell chiming every time the front door opens, and an old lady serves you with a smile, yelling at the cooks from where she stands. It’s a cozy atmosphere, a place you would imagine existing in a smaller town.   “Did Sunyi and Yoongi end up signing that form?” Hoseok cuts into his strawberry waffles with his knife, piercing it with his utensil and dipping it in the sweet syrup.   “They signed it.” You slice your own fluffy pancakes, holding it out and he eats it off your fork. “But apparently it’s complicated and they’re in the process of figuring it out.”   He hums, brows raising and sending an approval look at the taste. “I’m shocked that they’re...together.”   “You can never be as shocked as I am,” you snicker and he cuts his waffles again, feeding you. You stuff it in your cheek, sweetness exploding on your tongue, voice muffled as you chew, “but Sunyi complained about Yoongi every single day. I would’ve never guessed they were involved with each other like that.”   He agrees, exasperated at the thought. “And for two years?”   “Shh…” You giggle, ducking your head. “Keep your voice down.”   The corner of his lip tugs. “No one’s here.”   “Okay, yeah, but Yoongi never exposed us so we shouldn’t expose him either. Ah.” You open your mouth, twirling your fork in front of his own, this time feeding him and returning the favour.   Eventually, you’re both walking outside again. The breeze is cool, kissing against your warm cheeks, carding through the strands of his black hair. You’re both holding hands, fingers laced together, arms swinging back and forth, and making you laugh. “Do you think they’re a good match?” you ask in curiosity. “You’ve known them for so long...”   “To be frank...I do. Yoongi’s similar to me, but he’s only passionate about selective things. I haven’t seen him so happy to tease someone before in my life. They’re cute together,” Hoseok muses.   “And what about us?” You glance at him, blatantly fishing for compliments and being shameless about it. “Do you think we’re cute together?”   “We’re the cutest obviously because you’re the cutest.” He boops your nose, making a high-pitched sound and you giggle, shoulders tense and cringing at his gestures. But much to your dismay, Hoseok adds on, “also, I’m the cutest.” He puckers his lips, quirking his head to the side.   “Uh-huh. So cute it’s nauseating.”   The fountain show begins and you momentarily stop to watch. The water spritz up into waving streams, glittering with the multicoloured lights flashing from below. It creates a mist in the air, following with the rhythm of the music playing from the stereo. There are children gathered around with their parents, big eyes amazed at the show, friends and other couples around too.   “Are you cold?”   “Only a little bit,” you murmur.   Jung Hoseok gets closer to you. He bends his knees until his head is propped on your shoulder, arms coming to wrap around your frame before clasping his hands together. The man leans against you, giving you a side-hug, affectionate in his movements and you melt into his body heat. It’s comforting and calming, the same words you would use to describe his existence to you.   “Are you ever bothered by it?”   “By what?” he asks, matching your tender tone. You don’t notice that instead of looking at the water show, he’s staring at you softly. Your features are illuminated by the faint lights and it’s so pretty, Hoseok can’t keep his eyes away.   “That you don’t remember?”   “No...not anymore. Why? Are you bothered?”   “No. I’d be more bothered if you were bothered.”   He grins, slight dimples marking into each cheek. “Sometimes I feel guilty that I don’t remember, but then I look over and you’re here. We have the rest of our future together, right?”   A slight noncommittal noise is made in the back of your throat, and you finally look at him, smiling. It sounds exactly like something he would say. “To be honest, it doesn’t feel all that different. You’re not that different from how you used to be.”   “And how was I?” he asks while you walk away from the ice-cream parlor, mind still lingering on the topic. Hoseok’s eyes are pinned on your mouth and he motions for you to open. When you part your lips, he feeds you a spoonful of his chocolate ice-cream.   “Bright, energetic, outgoing…..annoyingly obnoxious.”   “Me?!” He gasps, wholly offended. “Annoyingly obnoxious?!”   You laugh, holding your hand out to placate him. The man is still not satisfied until he leans down and chops on part of your vanilla ice-cream cone. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding!”   “You’re beginning to sound like my sister.” Hoseok pouts, eating his own cold treat in his cup, scooping it up and eating with his mouth cutely downturned. “Are you talking to her these days?”   “No. I should though. How is she?”   “Fine. As usual. I don’t know what she’s doing these days aside from causing trouble. But speaking of which, I think my parents want you to visit soon. They keep asking me about you.”   “Have they found out about us?”   “No. They haven’t.”   Your shoulder bumps into his and you smile. “Then...should we tell them?”   Hoseok matches your smile, eyes slightly crinkled. “If you want to.”   After discarding the cup, spoon, and napkins, you both wash your hands. When you leave, he’s waiting outside the washroom for you, staring up at the night sky. But when you appear in his peripheral vision again, he eases and his warm eyes are all too inviting.   “We should tell them,” you decide. “It’s not good to keep your parents in the dark. I’m sure they would be happy anyways.”   “Okay.” He grins. “I’m just worried they’re going to cast me aside for you again.”   “Well it’s understandable. They’ve always loved me. Don’t you know how charming I am?”   Laughter bubbles from his throat. He never once disagrees and reaches down to hold your hand again, walking off with no destination in mind. “How does the weekend sound or is that too soon?”   “I’m fine either way. I miss Mickey too.” You turn your head, hesitating for a mere second before you decide to tell him, “you know...he used to be our dog.”   “What? Really?”   “Yeah, but we gave him to your parents before we moved and you went to law school.”   It’s quiet for a moment, Hoseok deep in thought. You wonder if it was a mistake bringing up the past that he doesn’t remember, if somehow he’ll end up feeling guilty for forgetting again even if it’s not his fault. But then— “Maybe we should take him back.”   “No.” You smile, poking his shoulder. “I’d feel bad for your parents. We can’t just take him back. Plus, he seems pretty happy living with them.”   “That’s true. But it’s no wonder he ran and jumped on top of you.”   You nod, looking over the horizon. The dim light of the stars appear ever so slightly, all spilling across the black sky if you stare for long enough and allow your eyes to adjust. Beside you, Hoseok slows down his pace, admiring them as well. “I think we should visit my mom too. She might not say it, but I know she’s been lonely these days.”   “Should we invite her to come with us this weekend then?” he suggests. “Didn’t you say my mom and your mom were friends?”   “Yeah…” You smile, happy that he remembers and is considerate enough to come up with the idea. “She’d like that.”   The pair of you continue on your stroll until he comes to a stop. Hoseok squats down on the side of the road and then he picks up a flower and jumps back up again. He holds the small daisy up. “Look! It’s me!”   You’re not impressed. “It’s you?”   “It’s me! See?” he happily announces, showing it to you. The delicate flower has white petals, and a bright yellow center that reminds you of the colour of the sun. It’s cute and you melt into a sheepish smile, about to agree just to placate him. But then Hoseok’s eyes flicker up and he gently tucks the flower behind your ear, right by your hair. “Wow...now there are two flowers side by side.”   “Oh my god,” you groan, pulling away and cringing while he laughs boisterously, quickening his pace to catch up to you.   “Why? Am I wrong?”   “You’re too cheesy. It’s giving me cavities.”   “But you like it!”   “Be thankful I like you because I wouldn’t be able to do this for anyone else.”   “What do you mean?”   Yet, as dumb and cute as Hoseok likes to act, you hate that he’s right. He could probably beg you to shave your head (and not like you would give in since you’re not a spineless idiot), but he’d get away with it. He could throw you into a flash mob right now, make you dance, and at the end of the day, you’d still be with this fool.   And that’s why you’re watching him fiddle with this baby blue bike that he’s just rented, like watching a two-year old about to cause chaos and doing nothing to stop it. It’s just too endearing to watch him this excited and upbeat. “C’mon, get on, Y/N!”   You look at the tiny rear passenger seat, sighing before getting on. “Do you even know how to ride a bike?”   “Course, I do! Learnt when I was five,” he boasts like it’s so impressive, having no clue just how hard it was going to be to pedal when there are two people on.   But Jung Hoseok manages. It feels like you’re in your youth again, jumping on the bike of some neighborhood boy and being taken for a ride. It’s like you’ve returned back to high school, a period before you even knew of his existence, when you were still young and naive and you didn’t know what you wanted to do. A part of you wishes you met him during that time.   The two of you probably would’ve never been high school sweethearts though. You did your own thing back then and he would’ve been that outgoing kid that was all too noisy — the biggest interaction you both would’ve had is you sending a glare across the room.   You quietly laugh at the thought of it.   “Y/N, let’s play a game.”   You hear him above the cool breeze whipping through your hair. Your arms are wrapped around his waist, head pressed against his firm backside, but you lift yourself up to make sure he hears your response. “If your game is leaving me on the side of the road, I’m going to push you off the bike right now to save myself.”   A soothing laugh tinkers into the crisp air. “No, why would I do that?” Hoseok inhales a breath. It’s an empty bike path, no one ahead or behind you at this time of night. The wide ocean is to your left, waters black but illuminated by city lights and reflecting the tall buildings and cityline. “Let’s play a game. Let’s pretend…..this is twelve years ago. But the difference is that I never left you and I never got into that accident.”   “Twelve years ago….?”   “Ready? Let’s start.” He slows his pedaling, sitting tall while your hands are still holding onto his waist, eyes pinned to the magnificent view. “We were in the same class together twelve years ago. How old were we again?”   “Twenty-one.”   “Wow, we’re old now, aren’t we?”   “You’re the old one, not me.” The corners of your lips raise meekly, shoulders slightly loosening from their tension.   “It was a finance class, right? You sat next to me?”   “We sat next to each other every day.”   “Then how was your first impression of me?” he asks with a tinkering laugh, sounding all too joyful and curious, mixing with the clinking sound of the metal chains when he stops pedaling and uses the built momentum to push you both forward.   “To be honest….I didn’t think anything of you.”   “What?! Was it not love at first sight?”   “No,” you manage through a fit of giggles. “You were just another face in the class of three hundred.”   “Unbelievable. Because I know for a fact that I would’ve taken one look at you and fallen head over heels.”   “Oh, yeah right!” You hit his shoulder lightly and the bike teeters from side to side, causing more giggles to ensue.   “I would!” Hoseok defends. “I would’ve taken one glance at you and I would be breathless. My entire world would stop. It was probably the most romantic thing in the universe, just like all the movies. We’d beat Romeo and Juliet.” Hoseok continues with a grin, listening to your laugh behind him, “And here on your side, you thought nothing of me! I’m offended!”   “You’re so full of shit!”   The lawyer lets out half a scoff and the other half is a laugh. You’re scared he might stop steering and you’ll both fall over, so you hug him tighter, listening to the sound of his melodic voice. You savour his warmth, his smooth timbre, lulled by the lights sparkling from the shops, a mosaic of hues fading together like watercolour paints. “Who was the one who spoke first?”   “You did.”   “See? If I was the one who talked to you first, then it means I was probably already in love!”   “I think you asked me for the previous class’ notes cause you missed it.”   “It was a tactic, a tactic!” he tries to convince you.   Eventually, the two of you get off the bike and he walks it beside him, enjoying the stroll even if you’re a bit lost and not sure where the hotel is anymore. There’s still a slight bustle on the other side of the street, a few on the shore and enjoying games. It’s an atmosphere worthy to get lost in.   “—and after I bailed on meeting you at the library, you sent me a huge angry text message. I had to scroll through the entire thing, that’s how long it was. I was so scared.”   You continue to recall the memories, one after another spilling from your lips, pouring all out without restraint. And Hoseok listens, providing his own commentary and thoughts, humming along. “It’s part of the push and pull tactic. You gotta show them your cold side and then your warm side. Jimin taught me.”   “You didn’t even know Jimin then!” Your cheeks ache, lips upturned and unable to be put down.   “He sent me a telepathic message from the future,” he says to you so confidently.   You tell him about the time you ran into him at the library, the time you didn’t end up meeting him to work on the project, the time he held your hand and you were so surprised that you thought it was an accident, the first date, the first time he kissed you. You end up recalling each and every one of these memories — memories that you thought were a burden….but they aren’t.   They feel like fun stories, tales that you remember were never sad in the moment until you made them that way. You recount each of them to him, some fuzzier than others and when you can’t recall the details, he fills in the blanks with his own silly thoughts, like how he wasn’t mad at you or that he probably wanted to kiss you a hundred times more.   You talk about history and he talks about the future.   “And then when we were twenty-five…” An inhale is stolen through your lungs and when you look at him, he already knows and squeezes your hands comfortingly.   “That was the year we got engaged with each other.” He leans in with a soft smile, affectionately brushing his forehead against yours before pulling away. “Thankfully, it was just a pregnancy scare because I’m sure neither of us were ready for kids yet.”   You snicker, agreeing. “Yeah.”   “You were pretty stressed about planning the wedding and I was too, but it got a lot better when we handed it off to both our moms who took a hold of it,” Hoseok’s ranting and you listen to every syllable of his story, believing this fantasy as reality. His side of the story that you never knew, he fills in with whatever he wishes. The gray areas become coloured, no longer a mystery held over your own head. “Of course, they would’ve taken too much control, but we were able to pick out the little things, like the colour schemes and the kinds of flowers we wanted.”   “Daisies.”   “A bunch of me’s.”   A rush of air comes out of your nose, too tired to laugh, but finding it still funny. “Yellow and violet colour scheme.”   “I like that,” he notes in approval before moving on. “And then when we finally got married, it would be such a relief that it was all over. Not that you were turning into bridezilla or anything….but you were kind of turning into bridezilla.”   “Well, of course, I want our wedding to be perfect.”   “I’m just happy that we’re getting married.” Suddenly, he stops. Hoseok halts his footsteps and turns you to face him. He swallows hard, eyes locked into your irises before flickering down to your mouth. He leans down and in, tilting his head timidly and planting a kiss on your lips. It’s soft and hesitant, feather-light. It’s as if you were standing at the aisle, under the arch with people watching, sealing the union and promise of forever with a kiss.   When he pulls away, a smile is on his face, watching as your eyes flutter open so slightly and you stare up at him through your lashes. You’re so beautiful, he feels an urge to kiss you again.   But Hoseok represses it, pulling you along, walking and listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the sandy shore. “Our honeymoon was a nightmare.”   “How so?” Something blooms in your chest, butterflies tickling your stomach and you curl your fingers around his tighter, feeling him squeeze back in response.   “We got stuck at the airport overnight because our flight got delayed, but thank god we made it.”   “And where were we?”   Hoseok sings a low note, considering all the places in the world before settling on one destination as he returns the rental bike. “Somewhere in French Polynesia.”’   “Fancy.”   “You deserve the best.” He flashes a grin and a wink. “We’d spend a lot of time by the beach.”   “Like right now?”   “Like right now,” he confirms. “We’d take a helicopter ride around the island and go to a vanilla bean farm and pick fresh vanilla beans for my dad and your mom. You’d probably tell me I’m picking up too many seashells after it takes up three quarters of our luggage. But also, let’s be honest here, we wouldn’t leave our little, private overwater bungalow that often.”   The mischief twinkling in his orbs only makes you give him a knowing look. “Why not?”   “Well, until we break the bed and we have to call the front desk, I’m not sure I would ever want you to leave.”   You expected nothing less from the man but the thought of getting maintenance and having to switch rooms because of a broken mattress makes you slightly embarrassed. While strolling together, you lean against him. Jung Hoseok is detailed, carefully describing year after year, filling in the missing time of your lives. And it sounds all too nice.   “—even though Jung and Park would’ve been running for three years, Jimin wouldn’t mind us taking time off together.”   “Are you sure he can handle running the office without his partner and without his HR rep?”   “He can handle it and if anything, you could hire a few more people before we take the break. Didn’t you say you wanted to run an entire HR empire and be their ruler?”   “I never said that.” You scoff, lightly smacking his chest. “I only wanted an assistant.”   “Sure, have your little, hot, young assistant.” The way he jokingly emphasizes each word makes it sound sexual and you don’t know if you want to smack him again or if you want to laugh. “But let me tell you, I won’t be jealous.”   “Why? Wouldn’t you have gotten bored of me and found me stale after being married for so long?”   “Course not!” Hoseok jumps up, blinking his big eyes, and being playful all at once. “I’m just saying I wouldn’t be threatened since you’re mine. And I’d never be bored of us. Every time I’d look at you, I’d be blown away.”   “That sounds exhausting,” you consider it realistically. “You’d be blown away constantly.”   He laughs. “But you being pregnant would make me even more blown away!”   “Wait. How many kids are you even planning? We still haven’t had this talk and we already have a kid on the way! And we’re still paying mortgage on the new house! Shouldn’t we be more responsible?”   “Okay, okay. Five.”   “Five?! Are you out of your mind?!” You’re almost screeching, for once being as loud as he naturally is. “You’re going to have to put insurance on my uterus!”   Hoseok grins, hugging your side again. “How many kids do you want?”   “Three. Or actually two seems like a good number.”   “One girl, one boy?”   “If it’s possible.” You nod, finding it the right number for a picture perfect family.   “How about three girls?” Hoseok muses.   “You don’t want any boys?”   “I’d like it if they were like you,” he says. “Three little angels with mommy’s personality and daddy’s beautiful looks. What do you think?”   Even if you’re joking around, you send an accusatory expression his way. “You wouldn’t want them to look like me?”   “Well, if they’re too much like you, my heart might just explode with love. But I’d love them regardless, so looks like I’m getting a heart attack either way.” He dramatically shuts his eyes, placing a hand over his chest like he’s about to go into cardiac arrest.   You keep walking ahead, mumbling about how ridiculous he is, but your smile is unmistakable.   At the end of the lovely night, you both manage to make your way back to the hotel, tired and sleepy. Neither Taehyung, Naul, or Seokjin are around to notice how you sneak into Hoseok’s room. It feels like you’re breaking the rules or back when you sneak into each other’s houses during spring break without either of your parents knowing.   You slip off your shoes, exhausted after spending the entire day outside, and you collapse on the plush bed side-by-side with Hoseok as he finishes writing up the future. “—and then at one hundred years old, we would die together, just like this.”   “Like this?” You turn and he does too, both facing each other in the peacefulness of the room.   “Together. Peacefully sleeping in bed….or like that old couple in the titanic.”   You prop yourself up onto one elbow, eyeing him. “Isn’t this too morbid?”   “Is it?” The corner of his mouth lifts and spreads into a grin. Hoseok opens his arms and rolls right on top of you. You’re stuck in your spot and he laughs, tickling your sides slightly until you wheeze and beg for mercy. Then he calms down, nuzzling against you like some kind of cuddle bug. “I mean, we’d be reborn and we could do it all over again.”   “Are you sure you want to spend lifetime after lifetime with me?” You stare into his eyes, murmuring from your slightly parted lips, caught off guard with what a hopeless romantic he is.   The man lifts his arms and holds your cheek in his palms, legs on either side of you. He leans down, pecking your lips once gently, finding no need to deepen the kiss and seek something different. “It would be my absolute pleasure, Y/N.”   You melt into a sheepish smile and after another extended moment of silence, of feeling his body pressed against yours, his scent surrounding your frame, you muse, “It sounds nice.”   “Which part?”   “All of it.”   “I’m glad.” Hoseok finally lays down, slightly crushing you, but he places his ear over chest, right where your heartbeat is. He shuts his eyes and listens. “It’s my goal to make you happy.”   You wrap your arms around his head, holding him close, becoming more and more sleepy. “I’m very happy, Jung Hoseok.”   And you mean it. You’re happy that he’s here. Happy that he’s in your life again. Happy that you’re both slowly, but surely going to make all these dreams and fantasies into reality.  

[honourablejester]

Every so often I go through my document folders (which go back years) and basically click on anything I don’t recognise or can’t remember. And then I realise that I have written some weird random stuff over the years.

Exhibit 347, some Event Horizon type fragment of a thing:

Excerpt: The Lora Ellis

Metal. Warmth. Fat, silver ripples of light across the ceiling. The soft sounds of her own breathing and the rush of her own blood in her ears. Liquid warmth buoying her up, cushioning her, cradling her, coiling her safe with itself. A cosmic egg. Her own private universe, warm and shadowed and full of the scent of metal and stale water.

There were more than a few, she knew, who considered the meditation tank an almost unforgivable luxury out here. Water tanks in deep space. A private chamber on an already cramped vessel, useless for anything but its intended purpose. The worst sort of excess, and all the more incongruous for the blunt functionality of the rest of the ship around it. Oh yes. There had been quite a few clients who'd sneered openly at her indulgence here.

Fuck them all sideways, then. On this point before all others, Lena would never be moved.

There was no way her soul or sanity would survive this endless hell of a job without it.

"Contact with salvage vessel in fourteen minutes, Lena," Cora murmured from the comms, her voice a cool, placid ripple through the warmth of the tank, leeching heat and safety as it went. Lena closed her eyes, thin fingers of ice spreading through her chest, and nodded grimly in the dimness. Not that Cora could see that, of course, but it hardly made a difference. She would expect it. All of them would. They all knew the routine by now.

None of them would falter in the face of it. Not anymore.

She breathed out, a long, ragged exhale, and turned over in the water to get her feet beneath her. The floor of the tank was as warm as it always was, the feel of metal under her bare soles a comfort. She stood there for a minute to soak it in, her hair plastered to her skull, water dripping gently past her ears. Then she firmed her jaw, widened her stance, and reached up to grip the access bars at the top of the tank. The DNA lock released automatically at the touch of her palms, and a rush of cool air flooded into the tank from the hatchway.

Jason was waiting outside as she climbed out, a towel over one arm and a datapad in the other hand. His soft brown eyes skimmed across her as she emerged, judging the set of her jaw and readiness in her eyes. Lena arched an eyebrow at him, a weary, bitter sneer curling her lip. He shrugged easily and handed the towel her way.

"Preliminary reports from the salvagers are coming through," he murmured, looking away from her again as she scrubbed down and started pulling on her undersuit. "Target hulk is a deep space exploration vessel. Emeline Class, thirty to forty years old, equipped with the double fusion plants. There's a strong likelihood that she's either the Lora Ellis or the Wayfarer III. Profile, era, and general location are broadly correct for either of them. Salvage captain favours the Lora Ellis. He's something of an amateur expert when it comes to that period, apparently. He puts the odds pretty strongly in her favour."

Lena grunted, wrestling with her boots and ignoring the sinking in her stomach. She didn't particularly care what odds the captain put where. Or which particular Emeline it was, either.

The only thing that mattered was that it was an Emeline.

She'd known, of course. She'd known the moment the salvage team had called for them specifically. It seemed they were the Emeline experts these days. People rarely called them for anything else anymore.

"Let me guess," she growled, fingers locking down tabs with sharp, angry movements. "No preliminary evidence of ship-to-ship combat. No evidence of external impact. No evidence of internal rupture. No signs of life. No power anywhere on the ship. Intermittent sensor ghosts, focused on the fusion plants, the bridge and the crew quarters. Scans for biological matter subject to interference and unable to return results. Attempts to board failed, primarily due to unexplained panic or hysteria on the part of the boarding team and/or sudden equipment failures." She glanced up, expression tight. "How'd I do?"

The corner of Jason's mouth curled into a dark little smirk. "Bang on," he said lightly. "Though, credit to them, they didn't try more than once. Like I said, the captain is something of an amateur expert when it comes to the Emeline Programme. I think he tried the once to be sure it really was one of them. Took a fair few precautions as well, enough that he didn't actually lose anyone in the attempt. As soon as he knew for sure what he was dealing with, he backed the hell off and called for us. Not a stupid man, this one. For a change."

Lena grunted some more, but didn't actually disagree. They'd never been called to one of the Emeline hulks without someone already in a body bag. Maybe it was a refreshing change.

"Don't suppose he knows more about the Lora Ellis than the name, then?" she asked idly. Standing up, arching her back to test the give of the undersuit. She didn't anticipate much of an answer. Emeline's files had vanished thirty odd years ago, along with most of the ships. There were a few fragments knocking around, culled from god-knew-where by various enterprising and ill-advised souls, but nothing substantial. Generally speaking, the first anyone knew of a particular Emeline's horrors was on boarding her and bumping into them face to face.

There'd only been six of the original seventeen ships found so far, with this one the seventh. Lena'd been present for four of them. There'd been no preparing for it. Not a single time.

"Not much," Jason confirmed, leaning thoughtfully on the door as he watched her. "Just that she was the third they launched. First wave. If it is her, she's the earliest we've found so far. Not sure if that matters or not."

Lena paused in her stretch, her arms falling gently and absently back to her sides. Third launched. The six they'd found so far had been mostly from the latter end of the Programme, with one from the second wave. She'd been there for that one. She couldn't ... she couldn't quite remember whether or not it had been worse. They were all worse. She didn't know how much of that was her own fatigue. But that one ...

"Run triple checks on everything," she said, somewhat vacantly as she cast her mind back, ignoring his stir of motion at her side. "Everything. Especially Cora's links, and the remote grounding. Full hermit seals on the suits. Make sure there's nothing they can access."

"... I take it it does make a difference, then," he murmured, almost wryly, and Lena blinked back to stare at him a little bit. There was an odd look in his eyes. Not Cora's patient calm or Lena's own bitter acceptance. They hadn't been together that long, but she'd already noticed that Jason tended more towards a dark sort of humour instead. Amusement, in a black, fatalistic sort of way. She wasn't sure yet how much she liked it. She wasn't sure how much she trusted it to hold steady.

Though he hadn't let them down yet. Not once, and he'd been there for an Emeline before, and the Lorca V as well. Whatever sort of humour he ran on, he hadn't faltered yet.

"... I don't know," she told him. Honestly. "It might do. I'm not sure. I was there for the Oberon Grey, but a lot of it's gone now. The impact fades over time, at least for me. Probably good. I wouldn't have lasted this long if it didn't.”

End Excerpt

[eyebright-iris]

Review: Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

“I’m the one they should be scared of.  Not you, not Mr. J – me.  ’Cause I’m Harley-fuckin’-Quinn.”

A triumphant riot of not just girl-power, but the true indomitable spirit of women who have been wronged their entire lives kicking back at the ones who have tried to ruin them.

Birds of Prey is truly one of the greatest movies I have seen in a long time, and this is after having seen some fantastic competition.  Finally, a Harley movie that actually cares about her as a character, as a person, that shows off all the things that makes her great and somehow doesn’t have to make her the film’s sole lead to give her the space she needs to perform.  She’s naïve, excitable, an emotional rollercoaster in a pair of rollerblades and the most delightful not-quite-villain to watch on screen.  Harley has broken up with the Joker and set out on her own, but she never forgets the clown look she is so known and loved for.  Where so many Joker depictions try to show of the madness of clowns, the scary side to make the Joker a formidable villain, Harley Quinn is joyous.  She’s a jack-in-the-box with a rocket launcher, pigtails and smiley-face mallet and maniacal glee in every bit of mayhem she causes.  Yeah, in her own words, she’s not a good person – but you want to be her best friend anyway because you can’t help but love her. Every outfit was sexy but not sexualised, all about Harley’s wild self-expression and not about how much of her ass could fit into each shot; you can feel that this was directed and produced by women; created by women, a project loved by the women behind it. There’s enough emotion to make you really feel for the characters despite the comedy, but manages to flip effortlessly between genuine emotion and humour without cheapening the authentic feelings like other films have done in the past (looking at you, Deadpool).

The film also makes brilliant use of its 15 rating with an explosion of foul language and violence – but none of it gratuitous.  The fights are gritty, lively, and feature none of the signature lady-fighting technique synonymous with Black Widow that involves bringing a man down with her thighs around his face.  The women in this movie punch, brass-knuckle or bare-knuckle; they swing bats and break limbs, they smash windows and noses and get punched back themselves because they aren’t reduced to something pretty for the time of the fight; the fights are fun, but never feel fake.  There’s enough weight behind the combat scenes to carry each of them without losing the fun of watching them.  The Booby-Trap fight scene is the obvious standout, the title scene of the movie where we finally have everything the movie promised us delivered on perfectly, but there are so many others – Harley’s raid on the police station with the shotgun is another personal favourite.  And good news – rumours of Harley having an ex-girlfriend are in fact true!  Bisexual badass Harley Quinn takes centre-stage.

But speaking of Harley, this isn’t just her movie: I couldn’t review this film without paying proper homage to the other characters.  Renee Montoya, a detective overshadowed when her partner took credit for her career-making case, watching him be captain while she never gets the respect she deserves.  For a movie with a cop as one of its leads I was surprised (very pleasantly) at the general tone the film takes towards the police (in colloquial terms, BoP said “fuck blue lives!” and I love it).  Renee’s a force to be reckoned with, a good heart in a bad city and she knows it. The film openly makes fun of how she speaks like an 80s cop movie, but only for the cheese of it all, because the intention behind the cheese, the desire to do good despite the rules, is what this film is all about and while I won’t spoil Montoya’s ending, I was ecstatic for her.  Oh, and did I mention she has an ex-girlfriend who appears multiple times in the movie?  Dinah Lance, Black Canary, is an iconic heroine of DC.  A crime lord’s club songbird with a bite, she clearly has a rough history with police and a lot of mistrust, but there’s a heart of gold beneath it all and she breaks all the rules she’s set for herself to save an innocent life.  Dinah also gets to show off her powers in a fight and it does not disappoint.  Lastly of the Birds, we have Huntress.  A mystery for much of the movie, she’s a lot of motorcycling around and mysteriously killing people for reasons unknown. However, when she does join the gang and come into the light, she’s incredible.  A ruthless assassin with not great people skills which make her formidable but adorably awkward as well, her character realistically reminds the audience that childhood trauma can indeed make superheroes – but that doesn’t magically undo the fact that it is, in fact, trauma.  Her interactions with Cassandra Cain are touching and she’s a fascinating case of someone with no real stake in the affairs that all the other characters are caught up in but takes a stand regardless because it’s the right thing to do.  Also, all these ladies are in fact very beautiful and powerful and kickass and I am very gay.

Cassandra makes the last of the protagonists and she doesn’t let her young age or small stature make her seem any smaller against her co-stars.  Fabulously cast and brilliantly acted, Cassandra is a little shit that people can’t help but take a liking to, but also very much a child in a frightening world who has no idea what she’s gotten mixed up in.  I can’t lie, it’s also very refreshing to see a kid being played and acted like a damn kid, not a thirty-year-old in a schoolgirl skirt.  The Booby-Trap fight where the Birds and Harley are furiously fighting dozens of goons whilst working to protect Cassandra is a really powerful scene, not just for the technicolour girl-power but also because the sight of women working together to protect a young girl in ways they themselves could not be protected is…*chef’s kiss*.

I don’t want to spoil any more than I may already have done, but the villains are phenomenal.  Ewan McGregor does an amazing job with Black Mask, terrifyingly unstable and violent, yet so entertaining at the same time. Also, queer-coded (or canon, if you take McGregor’s own words on the matter) villains are absolutely no issue with me when at least two of our main cast of incredible ladies are queer on screen in this movie (and yes, imo, the bad guys are gay your honour).

Conclusion:

A supernova of harlequin madness and an absolute resounding triumph.  Birds of Prey is everything we needed when Suicide Squad’s own neon-painted violence failed to live up to its potential.  The movie is vividly coloured and non-stop fun.  It’s lurid, violent, and perfectly Harley.

10/10

[final-fantasy-mama]

Target Sighted (Ch.1)

Emet selch x Mature/Machinist WOL

I have revised this chapter, new pov, some rewording at the end. Previous version will be deleted.Enjoy! 

"Look it did cross my mind to simply side with Vauthry and kill you all. But that's no different than what Lahabrea did, and we all know how well that ended for him. And so while it is liable to be troublesome, I have settled upon a different approach.....cooperation." ~ Emet Selch

With the light warden of il Mheg slain and night returned to the Crystarium, the exceedingly happy and somewhat miraculous event brought with it something else: Emet-Selch. And that was something more a danger than any light warden nature could throw at the Hero. It wasn’t the first time a enemy just came right out and introduced himself but this one was a bit different. Instead of outright violence and another throw down between enemies, he offered something mutually beneficial. A sort of partnership that got more than a brow raise from her and her friends. But how on earth could they trust him. He was an enemy, after all, an Ascian loyal to Zodiark, the polar opposite of the Hero’s own goddess and benefactor Hydaelyn.

In a even more bizzarre turn of events, she accepted his offer of a suedo friendship, if that’s even what it could be called, with almost no hesitation. It was no question that at some point Emet Selch was going to turn the whole thing on its head, to his benefit exclusively. She knew more than likely she were going to end up being used, but she respected his odd turnabout approach and thus entertained his odd request. If anything it would keep him in her line of sight. She had already made short work of his other compatriots, so it’s not as if she couldn’t feasibly kill him should he betray her. Perhaps that was overconfidence on her part, but when one goes toe to toe with the Crown Prince of Garlemald and lives, Ascians seem like small business.

For now though, that was a problem for the future and she put it out of mind when she sat in her private quarters of the Pendants. In her oversized white nightshirt and hair slightly damp from the shower, she sat at her writing desk reading over a letter that was months old but always kept on her person.

The dim light of the gas lamp and the refreshing night breeze from the open window was a relaxing contrast to what was blinding daylight that plagued the land for nearly a century. She sighed happily as she read the letter and pondered how she should respond. Then the air in the room stirred and she felt a presence that was familiar, but not whom she would expect in the middle of the night. Honestly though, she shouldn’t have been surprised. The way Emet Selch looked at her upon their first meeting, was the way a thirsty man looked at a tall glass of water.

“Shouldn’t the hero of the hour be resting?” Emet Selch pointed out. She didn’t bother turning around but did a quick mental inventory of her gun locations, the one by her writing set being closest, the second closest squeezed between the mattress of her bed.

“Shouldn’t you knock before entering?” The hero said back in a disinterested tone. She took a clean sheet of paper from your writing desk and prepared your ink and quill. The small rimmed glasses on her face slid down and she pushed them back up without thinking.

“Afraid I might catch you doing something unmentionable?” He attempted to joke but it rolled off her. She didn’t care for his humour.

“Are love letters considered such?” She said back and dipped her quill in ink.

There was a small pause before he started again. “Ohhhhhhh? And who is the lucky recipient?" the tone of his voice way to curious for his own good.

The hero set the quill down with an exasperated sigh and spun her swivel chair around, giving him a good once over as if she were an executive sizing up a potential employee. The fact that he didn’t scare her nor impress her was plain on her face while he caught an eyeful of bare legs and shoulder, scarcely covered by her loose white shirt. She knew she looked sexy with the lamplight casting harsh shadows on her lythe body but she didn’t care, Emet Selch was not on her menu.

He stood across the room with his hands casually tucked behind his back and hunched over as he was wont to do. Oh how tempting it was to march up to him and straighten him out, slouching was her pet peeve and the reason she wore corsets and stiff leather bodices.

"Before I answer that, where are your manners Solus. Zos. Galvus.” She drawled out his full name. “You come into a ladies room in the middle of the night with nary an offering?”

He raised a brow and gave an innocent, as much as an Ascian was capable of, smile. “Ah, you know the imperial protocols. Forgive me.” and then he snapped his fingers. In his hands appeared a box of fine chocolates and bottle of wine. “Will these suffice?”

”Imperial or not its uncouth for a man to visit a lady without gifts.” She chided and took off her glasses.

He handed the items to her as she set the bottle on the desk and settled the chocolates in her lap, smiling when she saw the Garlean label. Eager fingers helped themselves to the first piece. With the smooth rich taste on her tongue she gestured for the man to sit down on the bed, the only other place that was comfortable at the moment. He gave a small bow as he did just so.

“The letter is for my daughter.” The Hero said simply, eating another piece.

He gave her an odd look. “Our hero is a mother?“ he asked carefully. His face showing obvious surprise.

She grabbed the wine bottle of the desk and walked over to your dining table where your glasses lay and popped the cork as she poured two flutes of wine. The Ascian’s eyes followed her carefully. "She is 8 years old and lives in Ishgard with her god parents.” and then she handed a flute to him and sampled your own. The crisp taste was a nice pairing with the chocolate. “I send letters to her often and don’t consider my being trapped in the 1st a good excuse for shirking that. When this is all over with, I will see her again and share with her all my adventures.”

”You hail from Ishgard then?” Emet Asked.

She had to laugh at that question and pointed to herself. “Please! Do I look like I hail from a place as stuck up as that?”

He gave a small apologetic wave.

”I hail from Gridania and so does my daughter.”

“Need I ask about the father?” Emet asked as he sipped his own glass.

The lady shrugged casually. “Nothing much to say there, he’s been out of the picture for a while.” And with that she flopped herself back down into the chair.

“A failed marriage?” He prodded.

“Are you just making conversation or are you seriously interested in that story?” She scrutinized with obvious disdain. It was rude to pry to deep into a women’s business.

“I thought I should take an opportunity to get to know our Hero, foster some sort of understanding and common ground if you will.” He smiled as he finished his glass and then stood up to refill it and then curteously walked over and refilled hers before sitting back down. She have a small nod at him for that and continued.

“Let me then ask you first.” She dared. “Considering that you were also married at one point in time, Did you love the Empress?”

He didn’t need to think on it. “She had her charm as well as her uses. She was a impeccable lady, passionate, demanding, devoted…..”

“That’s not answering the question.” she pointed out.

“I suppose I did, though it wouldn’t be what most people would call conventional or romantic. We enjoyed our time together and our shared passions but in the end it was rather political. I needed a strong women to lead the empire and mother my children and my decision on wives was rather on the pragmatic side.” He explained.

She gave a small off hand gesture. “Fair enough.”

“It’s your turn.” he pointed out as he reclined on the bed, stretching is long body out on your duvet and tucking his arms behind his head.

For a moment she wondered how honest she should be with him. It was really none of his business but she wanted him to have nothing to use as ammo against her later on. So she settled for complete and utter truth. “My Ex Husband was a good man, a hard worker, decent fellow…but he could never please me, despite all the promises he made. He was so caught up in always trying to make it big, strike it rich that he perpetually ignored me our entire 10 year marriage. After my daughter was born, I just couldn’t take it anymore. I was pulling the weight of three people in the family, his job, mine and taking care of my baby. And when I explained to him how I was feeling he kept feeding my one liners like: I promise tomorrow will be better. It was never better, he knew how he was treating me and figured if he fed me enough lies I’d just become complacent. It backfired on him. I took my child and the clothes on my back and left. He wasn’t a bad person but god was he a shite husband.”

That got a raised brow from the Ascian. “That was a exceptionally candid answer….”

“Satisfied enough to change the subject?” She asked with a hint of anger.

“If you wish.” He waved his hand in the air. “But I just gave you some rather sensitive information, can you not offer me something similar in return?”

“Sure but not in regards to my lackluster love life.” she laughed.

He rolled onto his side and rested his head on palm. “Something entirely different then. When we first met in the crystarium, Admittedly i tried to probe your aether and you effectively pushed back and cut me off. That is no small feat as most people would not recognize if someone were invading their aetherical aura.”

Oh yes, she remembered. When he first revealed himself in the crystarium he had mentally sized her up. His yellow eyes damn near staring holes through her very soul. She had felt it plain as day, like a pressure over your entire body. It was an annoying feeling so she shot it right back to him, all the while sending him the telepathic message: back the fuck off.

“My echo ability, aside from seeing memories of others is the retention of memories from my past forms.” You easily admitted. “One of which was a very powerful mage by the name of Lucyna. She was a soldier for a very prolific army and had several arcane abilities not limited to sensing the unseen. Though I choose not to use magic in my current life it wouldn’t be a far cry for me to do it again channeling her memories and abilities.”

“How deep do those memories go?” He asked with a straight face but just for a split second something changed ever so slightly. His thin eyebrows arching in surprise as something seemed to cross his mind but he quickly fixed his expression.

The hero gave him a coy look. “Oh please do you think i’d tell YOU that of all people?”

He gave a sly chuckle. “Can you blame me for trying?”

A half empty glass forced her to refill it. “Tell me something of equal value then.”

"You’ll have to be more specific dear.” He said.

“Oh I don’t know…” She sighed as she offered to refill his glass again, feeling her own drink now warming her body and loosening the tongue. “I could ask your favorite color but I think the answer is obvious judging by your current attire. Or I could ask you about your favorite food but I suppose those things don’t matter to a Ascian…..or your favorite hobbies other than spying and plotting….”

“You’re babbling hero.”

“I’m getting drunk sweety, don’t interrupt.” She scolded him as if he were a child.

“You truly have no fear do you?” He asked in a amused tone. A Hyur scolding the emperor of Garlemald of all things! He could have had her executed for the slight if he were still on the throne. Not that he would have, that sort of bravery was a turn on for him. Instead he would have tried to conquer her, as he had done before with other strumpets who showed attitude.

“Of you? No.” She stood over him and smirked.

“Dare I ask why?"

"One, You’re too curious about me to kill me and Two, I’ve dealt with your great grandson. He is far more terrifying than anything I have ever faced in this world or the source. Third…..Is a secret.” she smiled oh so sweetly.

“I suppose I should apologize for that as i’ve not had a big influence in either Zenos or Varis’s lives.” Emet admitted sadly.

“Well technically you are supposed to be dead…Do you have any idea how much trouble that Great Grand kid of yours has given me? He was well deserving of the spanking I gave him.”

“Knowing him he would have enjoyed it.’

She shuddered at the thought but admitted, “He probably did.”

“But do I sense a bit of fondness mixed in there?” Emet teased.

“Absolutely not.”

The Ascian’s face softened as he looked her over. “You amuse me Hero.”

She wasnt sure how to answer that but the way he looked at her was nothing short of flirtatious. “Yay for me.”

A white gloved hand suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her down onto the bed. She landed flat on top of her Ascian Visitor, face to face and mouths so close if she had puckered up you would have been kissing him. Her head spun for a moment with the wine and when she realized the positition she was in, her cheeks lit up. She fought to keep her poker face on. One of his hands snaked across her lower back keeping her pinned to him and the other one rested on her bare thigh.

“What is the third reason I fail to evoke any terror in you Hero?” He breathed against her mouth, eyes half lidded and the ever so smug half smile on his face. If he was going to try to play her like a fiddle she were more than happy to throw it back in his face. A warrior, mother, gunner, savior of the world she was but she was certainly not an easy conquest.

She smiled as sweet as she could muster and bent to reach his ear, whispering,“ I have a secret weapon….”

“Do tell.” Emet cooed as his hand slipped further up her bare leg and stopped suddenly at the contraption hugging her upper thigh. Oh, a derringer belt. He heard the telltale click of a hammer being pulled back and felt something metallic and cold press against his jaw.

“I’ve got guns….lots of them…and i’m sure they’re bigger than yours.” The Hero joked as he put his hands up to fain innocence. She sat up and straddled him while keeping the small single bullet pistol aimed at his face.

He rolled his eyes. “Oh come now do you think shooting me will be of any avail?”

“No but it’s a inconvenience to you and will force you to find another body. Frankly I’d do it just to annoy you!” She smirked. “Besides, I’m a mature woman with mature tastes so don’t get fresh with me.”

“What a coincidence.” He smirked right back, something playful in his eyes. “I’m a mature man with mature tastes more than adequate to satisfy women like you.”

She visibly cringed and had to ask. “Do you even function in that way?”

He rolled his eyes at her and huffed. “Did I not just say I sired children?”

“Maybe you grew them in test tubes like you do these bodies of yours.”

“Zodiarks mercy…..” he groaned. “While that could be done…some things are best achieved the old fashion way!”

She had to pause and stare the man she sat on to consider it. "Emet Selch, you’re good eye candy but wayyyyy too old for me and i never thought I would have to say that because usually its the other way around considering im no spring chicken.”

“Oh is a few millennia too much for you?” He teased. “Think of all the experience.”

“Well…it takes the term grey fox to a new level…” She agreed but then shook her head. “I’ll pass on that. I’ve had my share of genocidal aristocrats.”

“What a cold woman you are.” Emet scowled sarcastically and conceded, his hands dropping to his chest in exasperation.

“That’s your type though apparently.” She surmised as she hoped off of him and opened her door, ushering him to leave.

He got the message and stood up, giving a small bow as he headed out but turned to her before leaving. “Come seek me out when you have time Hero. I’d like to talk to you again.”

“Annnnd If I refuse?“ She dared to ask.

He stood up to his full height, staring down at her so you could feel the weight of his presence and power. Something in his eyes glinted as he towered over her small hyuran fram and in a tone that was menacing said, "I’m a very patient man. I could wait for eons if need be. Something about what and how said it made her shiver a little and she watched him carefully as he turned away and vanished into thick wisps of black Aether.

When she closed the door, she let go the shiver and audibly gasped. All the tension she were secretly holding onto released as she put her derringer back into the leg holster and glanced at the bed Emet had been lounging on. She mentally high fived herself for being able to act so casually during what normally would have been a “interesting” situation.

“Who is this guy?….” She asked herself as she searched her own memories. Had there ever been anyone like him before in her life or any of her shards?

Though the memories afforded her were numerous not all the information they contained was useful. Sometimes it was simply the memory of a phrase, a name, a place that had no crucial meaning, and other times it was faces of people long since passed. The name nor face of Emet Selch had no meaning to her and yet there was an air of familiarity about him. She tried to dig a bit deeper in her mind for the answer but hit a mental wall, there was simply nothing to be found. The night was dragging on and she had bigger fish to fry and more light wardens to slay. So the puzzle of Emet Selch was one she could ponder on another night.

[thetelugucinimahub-blog]

To call Jersey just the story of an ex-cricketer Arjun (Nani) who fights conventions to get selected in the Indian cricket team is a grave injustice to the film, even if that’s how it sums itself up. It is also the story of the love of his life Sarah (Shraddha Srinath), who struggles to stay in love with the man he has become. It’s the story of assistant coach Murthy (Sathyaraj) who sticks by an orphan through thick and thin, even at his most irrational best, in hope that he will be able to aid him in achieving his dream someday. But, most importantly, it’s the story of a father who’s so enamored with his son Nani (Ronit Kamra) that he would do anything to not stoop low in his eyes and get him the birthday gift he always wanted. Despite the multiple threads and three different time frames that connect to Arjun, Gowtam Tinnanuri does a stupendous job of not tangling them all up into a mess. Arjun is an ex-Ranji player, the best right-hand batsman of his time and a cocky man who’s unfortunately soon grounded by reality. Sarah is the love of his life who marries him against her father’s wishes and now struggles to stay in love with the shell he is. The once in love couple now constantly seem at warring ends, but the ray of brightness in their life is their son Nani (Ronit Kamra), whose brings in a refreshing innocence to an otherwise hefty story. And then there’s assistant coach Murthy who pushes Arjun to maximise his potential, even when the latter refuses to. Jersey is a beautifully told tale which sees Nani delivering his career’s best performance with ease. If he’s good as the cocky batsman who knows he’s talented, he’s doubly good as the man who’s constantly beaten by life but refuses to give up. The actor trained and practiced cricket while shooting for the film and it shows in the scenes in which he picks up cricketers’ body language with ease. A while into the film, Nani simply ceases to exist and it is only cricketer Arjun you see, someone who’s as comfortable on the field as he is on the couch in his living room. The realisation of how well he performed especially comes through in key scenes which require him to emote without speaking a word. While Nani also shines through in scenes that require him to play cricket, the scenes between him and his son are the ones that steal your heart. Ronit Kamra nails his performance as the seven year old son who sees his father as nothing less than a superhero. The scenes between them don't just radiate love, but also an understated humour that keeps the film from being too serious. Shraddha Srinath makes an impressive Telugu debut, as a woman who’s head-over-heels in love with her husband, but is still not someone who will agree to put up with his carelessness. Sathyaraj breezes through his role as the constant backbone Arjun needs. While Gowtam Tinnanuri really takes the cake in this one, with his stupendous screenplay and narration, Sanu Varghese’s cinematography and Anirudh Ravichander’s music do their bit to simply pour life into the film. Naveen Nooli too does a good job with the editing, with the film, despite its long runtime and laggy bits, not ending up seeming like a cricket documentary.  SUBSCRIBE

[charsimatic]

All the super detailed questions for Faye please

YES. PLEASE. I am all for this!

My bby. 

1. What’s their full name? Why was that chosen? Does it mean anything?

“My name is Faye Elizabeth Ross. I’m not sure why my mom and dad chose my name, other than my mom liked fairies and my grandmother’s name was Elizabeth, for the middle name. I like it, though!”

2. Do they have any titles? How did they get them?

“Uh…titles? I’m a daughter, sister, aunt, friend, fiance, and mother. Do those count?”

3. Did they have a good childhood? What are fond memories they have of it? What’s a bad memory? 

“I LOVED my childhood, most of it anyway. I remember my mom and dad taking me and my sisters to Six Flags one summer. I was maybe 3? 4? So I couldn’t ride all the big rides Mads and Jaymie were riding cause I wasn’t tall enough, and I was SO mad. So my dad put me up on his shoulders and took me to go get ice cream. We hid it from my sisters!

Everyone knows the bad memory, but if you want me to refresh it, the last thing I remember seeing is trees rushing up towards the window.”

4. What is their relationship with their parents? What’s a good and bad memory with them? Did they know both parents? 

“My relationship with them was great. I have lots of memories where I was giggling and laughing and smiling, I was just an overall happy kid.”

5. Do they have any siblings? What’s their names? What is their relationship with them? Has their relationship changed since they were kids to adults?

“I have two older sisters, Madlaina and Jaymie. When we were kids, Mads and I didn’t get along AT ALL. I think it was the age difference. She tried to boss me around and I wouldn’t take it, and that would piss her off! She’s 11 years older than me. Jaymie and I have always gotten along. Jaymie was thrilled to have a little sister, and treated me more like a delicate baby doll and loved to play with me. I went to her for advice for everything. Since becoming adults, my relationship with Mads has gotten better, but she’s so busy with her career I hardly ever get to see her. We try to talk every day though!”

6. What were they like at school? Did they enjoy it? Did they finish? What level of higher education did they reach? What subjects did they enjoy? Which did they hate?

“I was pretty average, I think. I listened, but I got busted for talking. I got a detention for fighting another girl on the playground once, cause she called me a dumb blonde. I enjoyed it, and I did graduate high school, which was a challenge, because I had Sophia in my senior year. I decided not to go to college to focus on her, but now that I’m getting married and everything and will soon have FIVE kids to support rather than one, I’d like to go back to school for something.” 

7. Did they have lots of friends as a child? Did they keep any of their childhood friends into adulthood? 

“I was pretty outgoing, so I made friends easily. Keeping them was harder, especially after the accident. They didn’t know what to say to me. Two of my friends stayed in my life for the long haul- my fiance, Freeman, and my best friend AND maid of honor, Braylee! The three of us hung out all the time as kids and have always been close. I don’t know what I’d do without them.”

8. Did they have pets as a child? Do they have pets as an adult? Do they like animals? 

“We had a dog growing up named Missy. She was a lab and the sweetest dog ever. She died when I was five, though, she was old. I now have a dog with my family.”

9. Do animals like them? Do they get on well with animals? 

“I think so, my dog seems to love me! I also had an asshole cat, well, my sister did, who wouldn’t leave me alone when I lived with her. He was SO rude, but he loved me.”

10. Do they like children? Do children like them? Do they have or want any children? What would they be like as a parent? Or as a godparent/babysitter/ect?

“I LOVE children and I LOVE having children! While they drive me insane on a regular basis, they also bring me incredible joy and they are FUNNY.

I try to be as laid back as possible with my kids, but my anxiety has been bad lately with Freeman’s job, so I think that went out the window.”

11. Do they have any special diet requirements? Are they a vegetarian? Vegan? Have any allergies?

“Nope.”

12. What is their favourite food? 

“Food in general. Especially right now. Pregnant with twins? I’ll eat anything you put in front of me.”

13. What is their least favourite food?

“KALE. Who in their right mind eats that stuff?”

14. Do they have any specific memories of food/a restaurant/meal?

“My mom’s tater tot casserole. She made it for all of us, usually on Sunday’s. All three of us have the recipe, I just haven’t had the chance to make it yet. It is SO. GOOD.”

15. Are they good at cooking? Do they enjoy it? What do others think of their cooking?

“Eh…I’m getting better, since I have to cook for the kids most nights right now, whenever Freeman is on a job or working late. I used to absolutely suck at it.”

16. Do they collect anything? What do they do with it? Where do they keep it? 

“I don’t, really. Unless it’s deer things. I like deer.”

17. Do they like to take photos? What do they like to take photos of? Selfies? What do they do with their photos?

“When you have young kids, you have more photos than you know what to do with.”

18. What’s their favourite genre of: books, music, tv shows, films, video games and anything else

“Romance, romance, pop and country, comedy and drama, romance, and eh, I don’t really play video games.”

19. What’s their least favourite genres?

“Horror. And rap. Enough said.”

20. Do they like musicals? Music in general? What do they do when they’re favourite song comes?

“I LOVE musicals! I’ve made Freeman watch a few with me too! I’m always listening to music- when I’m cooking, cleaning, driving, whatever. And I dance. Badly. I make it a point to dance as terribly as I can. My kids hate it.”

21. Do they have a temper? Are they patient? What are they like when they do lose their temper?

“I was very quick to anger for a while, and sometimes, I still can be, but I’ve been actively trying to take a deep breath or walk away if I can until I’m not as angry anymore. I cry when I lose my temper and start screaming.”

22. What are their favourite insults to use? What do they insult people for? Or do they prefer to bitch behind someone’s back?

“I playfully insult my sisters. I’ll call them bitch, asshole, stuff like that, but I really don’t like to actually insult people.”

23. Do they have a good memory? Short term or long term? Are they good with names? Or faces?

“Next question. Sore subject.”

24. What is their sleeping pattern like? Do they snore? What do they like to sleep on? A soft or hard mattress?

“I sleep okay now, but for a while after the incident I slept like absolute shit. I tossed and turned and had nightmares every night. Now, with two almost preteens, a toddler, and twins in my tummy? I sleep like the dead.

Also, I like to sleep on Freeman.” *Grins*

25. What do they find funny? Do they have a good sense of humour? Are they funny themselves?

“I find a lot of things funny, and I think I have a pretty good sense of humor. I don’t know if I’m funny, but I make people laugh cause I can’t get through a joke or story without cracking myself up, and that makes other people laugh, so.”

26. How do they act when they’re happy? Do they sing? Dance? Hum? Or do they hide their emotions? 

“I sing, dance, hum, smile, I get really loving and cuddly, too.”

27. What makes them sad? Do they cry regularly? Do they cry openly or hide it? What are they like they are sad?

“Uh, what doesn’t make me sad? You know those EVIL commercials they play to try and get you to donate to animal shelters? Water works. I don’t really hide it, unless it’s something big that I’m not ready to explain to my children. I get really mopey or irritable, and I get angry at myself for not being able to snap out of it.”

28. What is their biggest fear? What in general scares them? How do they act when they’re scared?

“Losing my family and children. It’s happened before and they had to give me a tranquilizer.”

29. What do they do when they find out someone else’s fear? Do they tease them? Or get very over protective? 

“Middle? I dunno. I try to help them if I can, or try to soothe their fears.”

30. Do they exercise? Regularly? Or only when forced? What do they act like pre-work out and post-work out?

“I do exercise. I gained a LOT of weight in the hospital and hated myself, and I’ve finally gotten to a place where I’m happy.”

31. Do they drink? What are they like drunk? What are they like hungover? How do they act when other people are drunk or hungover? Kind or teasing?

“I don’t really drink, but I’ve gotten tipsy a couple times with Braylee over girls night.”

32. What do they dress like? What sorta shops do they buy clothes from? Do they wear the fashion that they like? What do they wear to sleep? Do they wear makeup? What’s their hair like?

“I’m a mom, I dress like a mom!” *Laughs* “I try to find things that are 1- on sale, 2- cute, and 3- comfortable. Bonus if it can be easily washed because I’m clumsy and, again, I have a toddler.”

33. What underwear do they wear? Boxers or briefs? Lacey? Comfy granny panties?

“Comfy granny panties if I’m lounging around the house or it’s shark week. Lacey when I’m uh…” *Clears throat* “I’ve also been known to wear Freeman’s boxers, but that sorta…drives him wild…so I have to be careful.”

34. What is their body type? How tall are they? Do they like their body?

“Slim but curvy. Curves came after kiddos. My dancer body is all but gone.”

35. What’s their guilty pleasure? What is their totally unguilty pleasure? 

“Guilty pleasure? Dance moms. Sorry not sorry, I’m sucked into the drama and I love critiquing the dances. Unguilty pleasure? Chocolate. Who doesn’t love chocolate?”

36. What are they good at? What hobbies do they like? Can they sing?

“GOODNESS no, I can’t sing. But I do still like to dance a bit, and bake.”

37. Do they like to read? Are they a fast or slow reader? Do they like poetry? Fictional or non fiction?

“I read every night before bed. I’ve been reading forever, so I read pretty quickly. I like fiction. I don’t really like poetry.”

38. What do they admire in others? What talents do they wish they had?

“I wish I could sing! My niece, Emily, can sing, but she doesn’t plan on doing anything with it, which makes me sad. 

I admire truthfulness, kindness, and a soft heart. That’s hard to keep.”

39. Do they like letters? Or prefer emails/messaging? 

“Freeman and I leave each other little love letters all the time!”

40. Do they like energy drinks? Coffee? Sugary food? Or can they naturally stay awake and alert?

“Coffee, and I drink it throughout the day because I’m trying to keep up with Caleb, organize the girls schedules, and get them to and from their sports and stuff. I just started driving again, it was a necessity.”

41. What’s their sexuality? What do they find attractive? Physically and mentally? What do they like/need in a relationship?

“My sexuality is Freeman!” *Giggles* “Look at him. That’s what I find attractive. He’s hot. He’s also incredibly loving and caring, hilarious, and a fantastic father to our children. He’s also..” *Breaths and blushes, fanning herself* “Amazing. In bed.”

42. What are their goals? What would they sacrifice anything for? What is their secret ambition?

“I want to raise my children to the best of my ability and make sure they’re healthy and happy. I would sacrifice anything for them. And my secret ambition? I’ve been thinking more and more of opening a cafe…”

43. Are they religious? What do they think of religion? What do they think of religious people? What do they think of non religious people?

“I believe in God. He’s saved me and my family quite a few times. I don’t…think anything of non-religious people? Believe whatever you’d like, it’s not harming me or anyone else.”

44. What is their favourite season? Type of weather? Are they good in the cold or the heat? What weather do they complain in the most? 

“Season, summer. Weather, a good mix between sunny and rainy. I’m better in the heat, and I complain when it’s too cold!”

45. How do other people see them? Is it similar to how they see themselves? 

“I don’t know how others see me. I hope they like what they see!”

46. Do they make a good first impression? Does their first impression reflect them accurately? How do they introduce themselves?

“I just try to be myself and be approachable.”

47. How do they act in a formal occasion? What do they think of black tie wear? Do they enjoy fancy parties and love to chit chat or loathe the whole event?

“I don’t mind dressing up every now and then. It makes you feel good. Pretty. But I usually can’t wait to kick off my heels and curl up in my pjs as soon as we get home!”

48. Do they enjoy any parties? If so what kind? Do they organise the party or just turn up? How do they act? What if they didn’t want to go but were dragged along by a friend? 

“I like having friends over, but I’ve never really been a party-er”

49. What is their most valued object? Are they sentimental? Is there something they have to take everywhere with them?

“A shirt of my mom’s and my dad’s watch. They’re both in my closet, in a safe.”

50. If they could only take one bag of stuff somewhere with them: what would they pack? What do they consider their essentials?

“Clothing for daytime and sleeping, shoes, sunglasses, chargers, first aid kit. And a book. And a sippy cup!”

[ladyherenya]

Books read in October

This month included a short children’s novel, two novellas, a short story collection I’d already read some of, another short story collection I only read some of, and a novel I abandoned. Which may mean less reading than this looks like. On the other hand, I read at least two of these books twice...

I’ve asterisked my favourites. 

(My longer reviews and ratings are on LibraryThing. And also my Dreamwidth blog.)

Notebooks of a Middle-School Princess: Royal Crush by Meg Cabot: The third in the  series. I like Olivia and enjoy seeing Mia’s family through someone else’s eyes, but have little patience for Olivia’s middle-school social dramas… which leads me to conclude that I am not the right audience for this book.

Penric and Desdemona, novellas in the World of the Five Gods by Lois McMaster Bujold (narrated by Grover Gardner):

* Penric’s Mission: My favourite of these. Penric arrives in Cedonia with a message for General Arisaydia, but before he can deliver it, he is arrested and thrown into a bottle dungeon. Meanwhile Arisaydia has been also arrested, albeit under rather different conditions to Pen, and Nikys, his widowed sister, tries to rescue him. This is a gripping, high-stakes adventure with excellent character dynamics. I was initially surprised by how much time has passed since Penric and the Shaman, but then really liked how this story fills in some of the gaps.

Mira’s Last Dance: follows directly on from Penric’s Mission but is rather different in tone and setting. Penric and his companions try to escape Cedonia and Pen assumes an unusual - and unexpected - cover identity.I’d become fond of Desdemona, but this is a reminder that she's a conglomerate of personalities and her relationship with Pen is not simple. I found this a little confronting - which may be the point, since one of the characters shared my reaction. The shortest of the Penric novellas, this feels like a TV episode. The immediate problems are resolved but I want to know what happens next!

* The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson: In the summer of 1914, medical-student Hugh and his cousin Daniel became caught up in their aunt Agatha’s latest project: appointing a woman as the Latin teacher at the local school. Then war is declared, interrupting the tea parties but not all the small-town politics. This is a tightly-focused exploration of social politics, prejudice and and consequences of breaking with convention. The story pulled me in and then broke my heart. I fell in love with the characters, especially Agatha and Beatrice, with their passions for change, for education, for helping others, and their very human limitations.

Mary Russell’s War and other stories of suspense by Laurie R. King: A collection of short stories about Russell and Holmes. I had already read two of these (“Beekeeping for Beginners” and “The Marriage of Mary Russell”). Out of others, my favourites were “Mary Russell’s War”, which contains the diary Russell keeps during the first year of WWI up until her meeting with Holmes; “Mrs Hudson’s Case”, a story about a case Holmes doesn’t solve in 1918; and “Stately Holmes”, which takes place after the most recent Mary Russell novel, about Russell and Holmes spending Christmas at Justice Hall.

First & Then by Emma Mills: A story about high school, (American) football, rereading Jane Austen, embracing change and making new friends. As Devon enters her senior year, she’s uninspired about writing college applications, unimpressed about having to do PE with a bunch of freshmen, uncertain about having her 14 year old cousin Foster come to stay, and holding onto unrequited feelings for her best friend. This is a hopeful, deftly handled story. I really enjoyed this.

Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here by Anna Breslaw: I breezed through this and enjoyed Scarlett's snarky narration. But in hindsight, although I liked some of its ideas and the subplot about her eccentric elderly neighbour, the way everything came together is rather unsatisfying. As was the way it handles fanfiction. Scarlett, mourning the cancellation of her favourite TV show, populates her next fanfiction with fictionalised versions of her classmates, sort of like a 21st Harriet the Spy… and thoughtlessly uses people's full names. Aarghhhhh! At least try to be subtle? Basically, I wanted this to be a cross between Fangirl and Miss Buncle's Book, and it is not.

Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E. K. Johston: A loose retelling of Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale. Hermione Winters, co-captain of her small-town high school cheerleading team, is drugged and raped at summer cheer camp. For a book about a traumatic event and its aftermath, this is realistically hopeful. Hermione's family, friends and teachers are (with some exceptions) incredibly supportive. Given that there are many darker stories about coping with trauma, it was refreshing to read something which suggests that lacking support isn't inevitable. My favourite part was Hermione's long-standing friendship with her co-captain, Polly. I also really liked how the title fitted the story.

Jackaby by William Ritter: When Abigail Rook arrives in New England in the winter of 1892 the only job she can find is as an assistant to Jackaby, a private detective whose speciality is “unexplained phenomena”. Soon after, she is following along to the scene of a murder. This is a solid historical urban fantasy murder mystery, interesting and unexpected. And although I enjoyed it, it was very easy to put down. I suspect it would have grabbed me more if Abigail had grown more as a character throughout the story, or if the stakes had felt higher for her personally.

* The Girl of Ink & Stars (US title: The Cartographer’s Daughter) by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (narrated by Victoria Fox): Isabella’s father is a mapmaker, but since the governor closed the ports, he has been stuck on the island of Joya. After Isabella argues with Lupe, her best friend and the governor’s sheltered daughter, Lupe disappears into the island’s Forgotten Territories. Isabella, with her father’s star charts and her mother’s map, has to lead the search party to find her. But the island has bigger problems... The atmospheric mystery of the first part was stronger than the fast-paced action of the second part but it continues to be a gorgeously written, poignant coming-of-age story about friendship and legends.

London Celebrities by Lucy Parker: These contemporary romances contained two of my favourite things in stories: “a strong sense of place” and “references to other stories”. They also reminded me that I like stories about the theatre.

Act Like It: Lainie’s male co-stars are talented actors, but she has a low opinion of them as people. When Richard’s public image threatens to affect ticket sales, Lainie is asked to be seen with him in public, generating positive publicity through rumours they’re together. This is a lot of fun and hooked me from the opening paragraph. I enjoyed the very British vibe and vocab, and the banter. I like that Lainie calls Richard out about his behaviour and that he listens. I like how their relationship develops, and how it is based around being able to be honest with each other and support each other.

Pretty Face: More romance-y than I’d personally prefer, but this bothered me less than it would in a different book. It’s an interesting look at the impact of media attention. The dialogue is very funny. I like Luc and Lily's hesitation, their awareness of the personal and professional quagmire of pursuing a relationship, their ability to be honest with each other and how much they care about each other's emotional wellbeing. And this just includes a lot of things I really like! Like references to Ngaio Marsh's mysteries, references to other stories and a brief detour to an Oxford library…

A Pocket Full of Murder by R.J. Anderson (narrated by Janine Cooper-Marshall): A mystery about politics, power, poverty and religious prejudice set in a city powered by magic spells. In the Breck household there isn't enough money to buy meat, let alone much-needed new shoes for 12 year old Isaveth and her sisters. But when their father is accused of murder, circumstances become even more desperate. Isaveth takes inspiration from her favourite heroine and sets out to prove his innocence, with the help of her new friend, an eccentric street boy. I enjoyed this, and became steadily more engrossed as the story progressed.

“Nocturne” by Sharon Shinn in Angels of Darkness: I've no plans of reading Shinn’s Samaria series but I like her short stories, so I borrowed this to read the Samaria story “Nocturne”. Moriah, a school cook, discovers a blinded angel is secretly living in the headmistress’s tower. As she pesters the angel out of his despondency, her own secrets are revealed. I enjoyed Moriah’s curiosity and her feistiness, and I liked how this is a story about learning to deal with disability. Also, flying! I flicked through the other stories in this anthology and confirmed that I'm not interested in any of them.

All The Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater: Unusual and seems highly original. I like the characters introduced in the first chapter. I appreciate the writing style - well, I appreciate a lot of the sentences. But I didn’t appreciate the narrative’s tendency to go off on tangents, particularly about minor characters who I don’t yet care about. I got to page 100 (out of 311) and thought Why am I reading this when I could be reading an Angela Thirkell novel? Unless I’m suddenly beset by curiosity about how this ends, I’m not going to give it another go. 

Northbridge Rectory (1941) by Angela Thirkell: This is Thirkell at her strongest, even if the wartime setting doesn’t lend itself to the same blithe humour of her earlier novels. It has a strong sense of place and atmosphere, nuanced characterisation, surprising developments, and in spite of ostensibly being plotless, is tightly focused. The story revolves around the Northbridge Rectory, particularly the rector’s wife, Mrs Villars, but it is also about Mrs Turner and her nieces, and Miss Pemberton and her lodger. I enjoyed Mrs Villar’s observations, appreciated her self-aware commentary on her mixed reactions to being idolised by a young officer, and kept bookmarking quotes I liked.

[drink-n-watch]

  Genre : Comedy, Slice of Life, School, Short

Episodes s1: 13

Episodes s2: 13

Episodes Mi: 12

Studio: TV Saitama

  I’m a short person and I understand Atsumi’s pain. When I was in university I was asked not once but twice if I was looking for my parents. Anyways, Atsumi is a high school student but her short stature and youthful looks make people mistake her for younger all the time. And beyond that it’s just though to reach things when she goes shopping and stuff. Thankfully her younger brother Atsushi seems to have avoided the short gene and he is quite tall. So tall in fact that despite being in fifth grade of elementary school he looks about 30! As you can imagine, misunderstandings abound!

In case you guys didn’t know a recorder is a type of flute and a very common instrument to learn in grade school. I had to. And a randsell (randoseru) is a type of hardcover backpack that is more or less standard for younger students in Japan. Now you know everything I did going into this series.

this happens a lot…just me?

Every time I review a short series I mention that I have lowered expectations on the production side. Typically these shows have drastically smaller budgets and teams and I think it’s only fair to keep that in mind. That doesn’t mean you can’t do anything great with it but just don’t expect luxury!

Seasons 1 and 2 of Recorder and Randsell are fairly run of the mill as far as visuals go but the voice acting is pretty good, particularly in the leads Atsushi and Atsumi. Even more particularly for Atsushi who has to sound like an adult, as in have a voice timber that would naturally come out of a full grown man’s body and vocal chords, but still act like a child. And not a crazy child or anything. It’s a tough act and I think he does a great job!

Recorder and Randsell Mi is effectively the third season and it went through a visual overhaul. The backgrounds now seem to be colourful photographs with a heavy are filter on them. The character models have been refined the the animation is visibly smoother. The comparison is almost shocking and I must say, Recorder and Randsell Mis a visually interesting show that stands out. I’m not sure if mu screencaps really show it. Let’s see…

Seasons 1 and 2:

Mi:

You would think that having a premise that naturally puts children insinuations that aren’t suited for their age would be just rife with landmines Just look at my gif…It’s one of the only ones I could find… but I have to say, seasons 1 and 2 were actually very sweet. There is a running gag where Atsushi gets mistaken for a pedophile while walking home with his little friend from school but that’s as raunchy as it gets. There is no fanservice whatsoever, no real loli or shotacon to speak of and the bulk of the episodes centre on the rather caring and supportive relationship between two siblings.

I was looking for an anime to distract me from a brilliant but emotionally taxing series I’m watching and Recorder and Randsell was exactly what I needed. I watched all 26 episodes in a row and it left me feeling light and refreshed!

You may have noticed that I’m only talking about seasons 1 and 2. Well Mi takes a bit of a step back narrative wise. There are still a lot of sweet moments and I giggles a few times. I am happy that I watched Mi. But this is where the humour starts to go more the shota/loli rout. Most of the 12 episodes of Mi revolve around adult women openly finding 10 year old Atsushi attractive or a 17 year old wanting to date Atsumi because she looks 12 but is legal, and his friend trying to be matchmaker because he’s afraid if that relationship doesn’t happen the guy will end up in jail after going for an actual grade schooler. It’s presented in a much softer way than I make it sound and still mercifully free of fanservice. Like I said, it does have a few good moments as well, even in this context. I liked that the aggressive lolicon had an older brother who was very disapproving and only attracted to much older women. We then see him a few times in backgrounds going after little old ladies and that was pretty funny and subtle touch. Still, on the whole I just didn’t find Mi anywhere near as charming as the previous seasons if more pretty to look at. You win some, you lose some I guess.

uhm

Still, considering the core premise and all the potential pitfalls, I gotta say Recorder and Randsell did pretty good for itself. To the point that I would watch another season if it came out. It really wasn’t what I was expecting at all, and I can’t quite think of any other show I can compare it to.

Favourite character: Kobayashi – the only character to have age appropriate romantic interests well along with Atsushi actually….

What this anime taught me: Keep an open mind but not too open

“No great story ever started with someone eating a salad”

Suggested drink: Coming of Age

If you do this one watch a single episode a the time – not all 38 in a row like me…..

Every time Atsushi gets mistaken for an adult – take a tiny sip

Every time we see Sayo – cheer

Every time someone mentions height – take a sip

Every time Hina smiles – take a sip

Every time Atsushi is in class – take a sip

Every time Atsumi goes shopping- take a sip

Every time Take quits his job – sigh

Every time Atsushi gets new clothes – Anticipate!

Every time Atsumi cooks something – get a snack

Every time we hear sirens – stash the booze…

Every time Atsumi gets pulled around – take a sip

Every time sensei runs away – take a sip

You know the drill – Pinterest has tons of pics and I’m adding a few here

Recorder and Randsell -A Risky Endeavour Genre : Comedy, Slice of Life, School, Short Episodes s1: 13 Episodes s2: 13 Episodes Mi: 12…

[lindyhunt]

The Female Comedians Taking Canada by Storm Right Now

Thousands of T-shirts can’t be wrong: The future really is female. Especially when it comes to comedy. Funniness, like feminism, is best when it’s intersectional. Meet Canada’s newest comedic stars.

Photography by Carlyle Routh. Courtney Gilmour is wearing KAT VON D Everlasting liquid lipSTICK ($24) in “LOVECRAFT,” available at Sephora.

Courtney Gilmour

Canadian comedy fans see more of Courtney Gilmour than they do of their own friends. Did you take in shows at the JFL42 comedy festival? For two years running, Gilmour has been one of the only Canadian women included in the 42 acts. Making the pilgrimage to Just for Laughs in Montreal? Last year, she was the first woman in the competition’s 19-year history to win the Homegrown Comic Competition, and this year she did a Comedy Network taping at the fest. She has also opened for Chris Gethard and Sasheer Zamata. Gilmour, 33, is everywhere. Zaniest of all? This is only the Waterloo, Ont., native’s first year doing standup full-time.

Gilmour, who was born without a left leg or forearms, delves into her experiences with disability in her act. She talks about how some people seem let down by her origin story—so she makes up new ones. Her favourite? Abortion survivor. “I fought back!” she crows. “I had someone describe my comedy as ‘a tiny woman screaming vulnerabilities at you,’” says Gilmour. “And I loved that.” She skewers people’s reactions to what she affectionately refers to as her “nubs,” describing a cab driver who equated her lack of limbs with his wife’s occasional back problems.

Hearing what Gilmour has to endure is jaw-dropping at times, but in an entertainment world populated almost entirely by able-bodied folks, it’s a narrative we don’t hear enough. “I’m annoyed when people ask if I feel obligated to talk about being an amputee or ‘How do you balance writing that material with regular material?’” she says. “If I wanted to tell [amputee] jokes just to get it out of the way, I’d write hacky puns about hand jobs or whatever. Being an amputee is my life, and I need to talk about it. It’s funny how people think of it as a novelty act and then a guy goes up and does 15 minutes on how crazy his girlfriend is and no one’s like ‘Oh, it’s the Crazy Girlfriend guy!’”

Photography by Carlyle Routh. Hoodo Hersi is wearing fenty Beauty mattemoiselle plush matte lipstick ($23) in “PMS,” available at sephora.

Hoodo Hersi

Most people know that there is some small element of risk in choosing a front-row seat at a comedy show. There’s always a chance that the comic might tease you a little. At a Hoodo Hersi show, however, no one is safe. The Toronto-based comedian, 27, keeps up a running commentary on the audience’s reactions to her work. Hersi, for example, will launch into her bit about the Muslim ban. “I’m fine with it,” she says. “Like, I want to ban white guys who go to Thailand.” The laughter crescendoes and then Hersi pauses, a mischievous smile on her face. “There’s always one white girl in the audience who’s like, ‘My dad’s been to Thailand, like, four times, so this joke is not for me.’”

Hersi fearlessly tackles race, religion and gender. Or, as she puts it, “all the fun stuff!” Audiences are wild for it. This year alone, she was named a Homegrown Talent at Just for Laughs and taped a performance that will air on the Comedy Network. She has done CBC tapings at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival and the BBC World Service Montreal comedy show and was selected as an Audible New Voice at SF Sketchfest. She has also opened for Gina Yashere, Moshe Kasher and Eric Andre. Once a month, she co-hosts The Ebony Tide, a showcase for comedians of colour. “One of the goals is for people to understand why terms like ‘black comedy’ and ‘ethnic humour’ just don’t make sense,” she explains.

In a comedy scene often dominated by white men, it is refreshing to see a black Muslim woman performing in a hijab. Hersi takes the occasional cringe-inducing comment and incorporates it into her act. She remembers when a woman told her she was so brave for doing what she does, clad in her “Muslim garb.” “This is from Forever 21!” cries Hersi. “I’m culturally appropriating my own culture! I’m part of the problem!” The room erupts into laughter, but Hersi is already moving on to the next bit: no hesitation, no apologies. “No segues!” she announces. “Next joke!”

Photography by Carlyle Routh. anasimone George is wearing Giorgio ARMANI Beauty rouge d’armani matte lipstick ($46) in “400,” available at Sephora.

Anasimone George

Day after day, Anasimone George went off to her interior design classes. And day after day, she hated her life a little bit more. She detested design school but felt obligated—to her family, to her Egyptian-Canadian community—to get a degree. Then she flunked out. She got a job working at Starbucks as a supervisor. Loathed that, too. Finally, George says, she knew it was time to turn to her true love: comedy. “I had already failed so much, I literally had nothing to lose.”

Her first few months onstage were rocky. “A lot of my old stuff came from a place of trying to fit in, and a lot of my work reflected a ton of internalized misogyny and racism. And if I ever tried [to discuss these issues], I was deemed ‘the girl who talks about race too much.’ But once I grew out of caring what the white gaze wanted, I figured out my voice.”

There was just one problem: Now that she had something to say, there weren’t many places to say it. Sick of waiting around for bookers to give a queer WOC more stage time, she took matters into her own hands and started a monthly comedy night, SHADE, to showcase people of colour, LGBTQ+ folks and woman-identified and non-binary people. “I wanted to create a home for marginalized performers—and make money and actually pay people,” she says. SHADE sells out every month. George—who hails from Scarborough, Ont., and is just 25—is a raucous, engaging host with a big head of curls, her curves barely contained in hot pants, knee-high boots, mesh bodysuits and plunging tops that offer a peek at her ornate breastplate tattoo. Pump-up jams blare from the speakers and make it feel less like a standup show and more like a party. George’s confidence is awe-inspiring—and infectious. She remembers one show where a young woman of colour came up to her afterwards and told her that she was so happy to see someone like herself on a stage. “That shit really melts my heart and makes me tear up every time I think about it,” she says.

[theboh3mianraspb3rry]

When my alarm went off this morning for the first time in yonks I didn’t hit the snooze button. Why, because I was attending my first ever flower show and man was I excited. Despite doing a Q&A piece with Harrogate Flower Show prior to attending, I was still not exactly sure what I was in for.

We arrived in good time being a Yorkshire resident and there was no traffic on route. We got parked up nice and close to the entrance even though we were only 10mins ahead of the doors opening. We joined the queue and had a chat to the nice folk behind us before the queue shuffle started and then we were in!!

Now in my Q&A with the show their recommendation was to head straight to the plant pavilion, however on route to the show one of my amazing followers tweeted me with advice to head straight to the floral exhibition and I am sooo grateful for the tip off as being in quite early and marching straight to the far end of the show when we got there and it was lovely and quiet. Whilst everyone else were off shopping I got to admire the magnificent art work in the exhibition and also take some pics of them too – however I will be sharing these along with my choice for best in show in another Blog that I will release tomorrow so keep a look out for that!

We then visited the ‘Made In Yorkshire’ tent and being a Yorkshire lass it would be rude not too really. In there was a wonderful potter from Sheffield who had made a beautiful pot for a bonsai tree in the exhibition hall.

My mother-in-law who accompanied me to the show teaches ceramics and had a lovely conversation with this chap, who was full of passion and happy to talk openly about his methods and creations which was very refreshing – it’s not just us gardeners who are friendly!

We then made our way into the Gardening Hall for Kitchen Garden magazines talk on ‘Practical Plots’ I managed to bag a front row seat and I was really looking forward to this as having two allotments, one which is brand new and being a reader of the publication I thought it was the one that was the most suited for me! The talk started at 12pm and it was now 12.10pm so the audience began to scratch there heads! What’s going on, is there a time mix up or something? It then got to 12.20 and I had to toddle off to see what on earth was going on? Turns out that nobody actually knew who was delivering this talk, it was represented by KG but the show apparently organised it?

Well anyway two lovely KG representatives (Steve & Emma) who had a talk scheduled after ”Practical Plots’ stepped up to deliver the talk. I am guessing the talk was totally off the cuff without a plan prepared and hats off to them, they did a lovely job. Unfortunately I wasn’t learning anything new and by this point my tummy after an early start was rumbling “Lunch” so after watching half I left. Time fleets when you’re having fun and there was lots more to see and BUY!!

For lunch we decided on a picnic platter which you could pre-order or buy on the day for a little more money. There was a choice of Ploughman’s, seafood or vegetarian and of course I wanted a veggie one which you couldn’t just pick up but the caterers said there are always a few extra made up so they will order one in for when I return after the KG talk. So when we returned for lunch, there it was, which I was thrilled about! The platter consisted of roast veg, a mini quiche, falafel with riata, cous cous, salad, bread roll and strawberries and cream and of course I had a glass of Pimm’s to wash it down with. My mother in law went  with the seafood option and I think she got slightly better value for money if I’m honest!

Obviously being the lunchtime peak there were no tables left so I threw a paddy……. nah just kidding two lovely dear’s let us share their table and it was grand. I love speaking to people especially those who share the same passion. There was a lot of good humour and gorgeous food, the sun was out an I was really enjoying myself!

After lunch it was a wonder through the show gardens, which actually I was surprised to find that there weren’t all that many I think there were around 5 or 6 in total maybe I expect too much? The garden that received first place was a lovely tranquil design, somewhere I could find myself sitting for hours just watching the world go by. I loved the soft unforced natural planting around the stone wall, it reminded me of being a child at my grandparents old home.

We then wondered into the Gardening hall again to have a nosey around the stalls and some of the Hort Couture displays, which were absolutely stunning. The world of horticulture has inspired the world of fashion for decades and I thought it was a truly fantastic theme, I even wore my floral jeans to pay homage to it!

Some of the floral displays were truly breath taking. I thought I had seen my fill in the exhibition hall but no, as I was wondering around the hall catching a new display around a new corner I was like a child in a sweetshop my jaw would drop and I think I totally over used the word ‘WOW’ today!

I can’t begin to imagine the sheer amount of time, effort and preparation that has gone into these truly inspiring displays and the people behind them all deserve a huge congratulations for pulling it off. My favourite display had to be the ‘Green Room’ I just wanted to climb into the room and live there! Instead I settled for a hovering squat over an arm chair!

Then the real fun started it was off to admire the plants in the plant pavilion, where I had to resist the temptation of buying EVERYTHING!

As I wondered down the halls it was apparent that the HOT plant trends for 2017 were most definitely Bonsai, Succulents, Cacti and Acers. I’m not very good at keeping indoor plants alive as I’m always playing outdoors I tend to forget about them. However I couldn’t help but fall in love with this ‘Echeveria Cheyenne’ which I have named Maleficent because of the way the flower stem falls like the horns of the Disney character or is that just my interpretation? I’m hoping I don’t neglect or worse kill her!

Next on my purchase list was an adorable and the tiniest daffodil I have ever seen called ”Kidling’ with 2 blooms per stem and flower heads no bigger than a 5p but what this irrisisible plant lacked in height did not lack in scent. As I picked up the plant to admire it the strongest honey fragrance I ever did smell wafted my way I had to have it! In fact I wish I had gotten a couple more. This is someone who proclaims to not actually be a daffodil fan – funny that!

My next purchases were from the same stall Triffids Nursery and they were Lamium orvala which is a clump forming perennial with lush dusky pink flowers which are almost orchid like and although it’s flowering season is coming to an end I look forward to this being in full bloom next year. I also bought Persicaria bistorta ‘Superba’ which has dainty pink fluffy poker like flowers.

I then headed to Hardy’s Plants stall and instantly saw two gorgeous Geums. I fell in love with Geums whilst researching for the build of my cottage garden. The two I purchased were ‘Totally Tangerine’ which as the name would suggest has beautiful tangerine coloured flowers and ‘Scarlett Tempest’ which has deep burnt orange flowers. Rob Hardy was brilliant in informing me about the plants and how they perform but how to care for them and at 3pm after a LONG day he was still beaming with passion and pride and was incredibly friendly, so Hardys get’s my vote for best plant stall in the plant pavilion. Good customer service goes a long way in my book.

Then with my arms full, next on the agenda was a cup of tea! It was at this point I realised I was beat and I had done all I needed too, so feeling truly inspired to tackle my new and upcoming projects we decided to head for home.

I have had an amazing first ever flower show experience and think the organisers behind the show have done a phenomenonall job. I can definitely see why it has been awarded by Which? as best gardening event.

Well it has definitely warmed me up for the rest of my tour this year, roll on next month for RHS Chelsea!

I would love to hear all about what you loved, bought and was inspired by at Harrogate Flower Show this year, please leave a comment below!

Thanks for reading and don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE.

Brightest Blessings,

Bo x

Harrogate Spring Flower Show 2017 – Review When my alarm went off this morning for the first time in yonks I didn't hit the snooze button.