#and yep she’s in loooooooove

[soshiharin]

better than this world tour: inglewood

SETLIST

STYLING

CELEBS IN ATTENDANCE

— issa rae

— america ferrera

— scott evans

— ariana greenblatt

— margot robbie

— alyssa liu

— becky g

HIGHLIGHTS

— underwater went hard on this day

— and so did plastic off the sofa

— better’s outfit… yep!

— during the beginning of language, someone shouted “you better sing girl!” and she laughed her way through the intro (the vocals were still present though)

— the crowd was a vibe tbh

— and they LOOOOOOOOVED bounce back

— let’s give it up for cheers!!!!!

— one thing about american crowds? theyre gonna SING during sweet fantasy

— the camera was on mrs issa rae, the only reason sweet fantasy was even released, for a short while

— like a witch and love me like are just heavenly

— and her ment check-in

— harin: mister mister

— but sones didn’t know which part she was singing so half the crowd said “NAL BWA” and the other half said “CHOEGOUI NAMJA”

— she was very much so side eyeing

— then it was the break between act 4 and encore stage and sones started singing girls’ generation

— harin was done getting changed by the second verse but she needed time to remember if she liked the song or not

— then she got on stage and performed the rest of the song

— props to the band for doing the instrumentals 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

— and sones were so happy they got her to sing girl’s generation

— then it was time for the actual encore stage

— sunny is beloved (both the song and the person)

— “oh by the way, happy mother’s day! no matter how conflicting of a day this may be for you, i hope you do what you feel you need to today”

— she covered love song by sara bareilles

— then my only love and then goodbye

©️ jang harin

[foreverinlovewithyousworld]

Hello!

I'm starting House M.D and I love him and Wilson together, so I made a little fic (or shot if you will) about them. It goes around season 2 of the show. Hope you like it!

Wilson woke up from a very vivid dream. It took him a minute to gather where he was. It was House’s couch. The headache hit him like a ton of bricks, the light from the outside hurt his eyes. 

“Finally, the sleeping beauty has woken up, I was worried that I might had to kiss you because you’ve been sleeping for 12 hours”

Wilson, freak out checked his arm watch. It was 2 p.m. He put aside a blanket that he didn’t remembered grabbing; just to see that he didn’t have any pants on.

“House…where are my...”

“Just so you know, you did arrive with them on, you only took them off after I put on that little Richie record on and danced to Long Tall Sally” House blurted while giving him a cup of coffee. 

Wilson begun to have some memories from last night event. After leaving House with Stacy at the hospital, guilt had swarm him over and decided to go for a drink. But a drink turned into tree, and then four, and so on. A feeling of sorrow drive him to get blacked out drunk, he felt guilty because he couldn’t come clean to House about his true feelings. About their own relationship, his jealousy he felt towards Stacy. He didn’t comprehend why House wanted to get back with her, after all the damage, all the sleepless nights he spend with House, to try make him feel better. He felt a little betrayed by House for choosing her over him.

“Aren’t you going to ask me what happened with Stacy?”

“What happened with Stacy?” Wilson said with a monotonous tone

“She is going to move out, with him”

Wilson’s heart sunk. Even if it wasn’t House choice, they wouldn’t be back together again, Wilson smirked a little. 

“House”

“Yep?”

“I need to tell you something”

“Are you going to say that you love me and that I was making a terrible mistake by wanting to be with Stacy? I already know it, don’t’ worry”

Wilson spit out his coffee and, while he was coughing, House grab him a napkin.

“Before you arrived, you left me a message in my machine, you want to hear it?”

“Oh god please no”

“Let’s hear it anyways” House grabbed his cane, and with it he presses the play bottom. 

“Houseeeeeee, house, house, houseeeeeeeeyyyy, listen to me ok? Are you listening?  You are making a bad choice House, am telling you, and am the one who’s been married three times, could you give me another?” Wilson burped 

The background noise told him that he was still in the bar when he called House.

“Please, House, stop it”

“Shhhh, shhh this is my favorite part” House answered while the message continued

“Oh… where was I? yeah you and Stacy could never work, you are an arrogant, selfish son of a bitch and she left you for it. You know what was the longest relationship you ever had? With me. I put up with all your crap because of a simple reason. I love you. Ok? I loooooooove you, I said it. And you are also the longest relationship I ever had. Why don’t we make it official and go to Las Vegas to get married? We can have Chase as a flower girl…boy…whatever. And have Cuddy as a witness, Cuddy is amazing you know? Well, this is all I wanted to tell you...also it’s 3 am and maybe you are sleep, so I’m going to go and tell you this in person, wait for me. Hey, could you give me the check?” The message had finished.

Wilson felt all the blood going to his head. He couldn’t believe that he told, who could be the love of his life, all his feelings while being blacked out drunk. He thought that he was better than that. 

“When you arrived, you forgot the real reason why you came here for, you told me that you gave my address instead of yours to your taxicab, because you forgot where you live and I believed you, because of your drunkenness.  I only listened to this message after 10 am” House gave a sip to his coffee.

“I... I don’t know what to say” said Wilson, while being visibly flustered 

“You said everything in the message. I do have a cellphone; you know? It could have been more romantic. You, waking me up in the middle of the night just to pour your heart out to me, almost modern age Shakespearian…Do you really mean all of that?”

“Yes” Wilson, almost for the first time in his life was left speechless- “Well, maybe not the getting married in Las Vegas, but apart from that, I did mean it”

“Too bad. I was already picking out a very nice tuxedo, also a very nice touch having Chase as a flower boy, but I always thought of him as a very cute golden retriever, the hair gives it away, maybe we could have him go to the altar in all four legs, its Las Vegas, they have seen weirder stuff”

“Do you?” Wilson asked 

“Maybe…” House replied “Someday I mean…Wilson, we haven’t even kiss yet”

“You did try to remember? In that news’s year’s eve party at Cuddy’s, you said It was very unlucky to start the year without a kiss”

“And you refused it, and now you are divorced for the third time, and I had an affair with a married woman that left me, I was right” 

The room was left in silence. House grabbed the Tv remote to put some background noise and break it.

“I mean, it could work out. As you said, you put with my crap, I put out with yours. No one is better for me than you” House said while surfing for a channel 

“Would you like to go on a date with me?” Wilson said finally 

“I thought that you never ask...oh look the O.C. is on” answered while putting the remote next to him

House hand was next to Wilson’s. He made the first move and grabbed his pinky. Even though that Wilson still had a massive headache, the comfort of House’s hand gave him happiness. After all these years, all it took him was alcohol and an answering machine to be able to express his repressed feelings over House. The anxiety, and the burden of this secret was finally lift of his shoulders. 

“Do we tell Cuddy?” Wilson added

“Let her figure out” House exclaimed “Maybe we could make out in the halls, make her see us, and when she asks us about it we could deny everything, it’s going to be so fun watching go nuts over us” House exclaimed

In all his three marriages, Wilson had never felt so at home than with House. No matter where they were. It had never occurred to him that House might felt the same way as him. He was his, and no one could ever take away from him. 

[miyakuli]

Fun game!! Okay, I'll ask you: Spy x family fandom, twiyor ship. Character Yor Forger. Have fun!

Yeaaaaah thank you for all of these!!! (and I like so much the manga so that'll be fun to do!!)

Send me a fandom/ship/character/2 fandoms, and I'll tell you...

SxF fandom :

Favorite character: Anya for sure xD she's so cute and funny!

Least Favorite character: I'm sorry but I'm gonna say Yuri xD he's not bad but I'm pretty neutral about him.

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): Twiyor is so precious and I like the innocent love between Anya and Damian <3

Character I find most attractive: Yor is SO PRETTY////////

Character I would marry: Yor again <3 she's so sweet and badass, I squeal of two different ways with her xD

Character I would be best friends with: very certainly with Franky :)

a random thought: Melinda Desmond intrigues me so much, I kinda hope she'll have a bigger role in the future chapters

An unpopular opinion: I don't think I have one :p

my canon OTP: since twiyor is married does it count? XD

Non-canon OTP: at the same time they're not official yet so...twiyor again xD

most badass character: Yor OBVIOUSLY

pairing I am not a fan of: none

character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): until now I don't have any pbm with some character dvlmpt

favourite friendship: Yor & Camillia

character I want to adopt or be adopted by: well, Anya of course but she'll be happier with her own family <3

__________

Twiyor ship :

When of if I started shipping it: I started the anime before I read the manga, so that was during the explosive marriage proposal xD I was like "yep, they're perfect for each other" haha

My thoughts: this ship is super sweet and even though they're lying about their real job, they are still so honest about their feelings toward the other, that's adorable to see <3 but omg I can't wait to see when they'll know about their identities because CAN YOU IMAGINE THE BADASS FIGHTING COUPLE THEY COULD BECOME ahhhh/////// so sexy lol

What makes me happy about them: how they can act all shy & tender sometimes when they are both so badass normally xD

What makes me sad about them: the fact that since they can't be truly honest about their double life, they can't completely confide in each other for the moment ;v;

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: I'm picky about fics so for now I didn't read something that made me upset x)

Things I look for in fanfic: family fic about twiyor and Anya being adorable together <3

My kinks: Loid will loooooooove Yor's assassin clothes a lot lol

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: nope, it's together or nothing >o<

My happily ever after for: well, a epic ending with Yor & Loid fighting together to save Anya (I kinda imagine that maybe her powers come from an evil organization like with Bond and they'll find her so her parents will come to the rescue). And then they'll stay as a family forever, working together to save the world x)

__________

Yor character :

How I feel about this character: she's kind and protective and super pretty and badass and daaamn Loid is so LUCKY!!

All the people I ship romantically with this character: her cool husband Loid

My non-romantic OTP for this character: none for now

My unpopular opinion about this character: I don't have one either

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I actually would like to see more of her vulnerable sides////

my het ship: Loid

my fem/slash ship: none sorry

my OTP: Twiyor (surprise!)

my OT3: family OTP3 with Loid, Yor and Anya ;))))

my cross over ship: don't have any

my kink: Yor with loose and wet hair///////////////// just this image ahhhhh//////

a head canon fact: even though she dislikes bugs, when Anya is scared of one, she'll do everything to protect her from it xD (it implies a lot of screaming)

my gender bend: none

[onlyhereforangst]

WWR

I’m baaaaack bitches 😘 let’s be honest the last two episodes were shit & you wouldn’t have wanted that wwr anyways. SO let’s get into the ✨angst✨ that was Nick’s episode under the cut…

Oh but before I start, why yes, yes I called this theory too. Me and this writer share a goddamn brain or something because I’ve literally always guessed big plot points of his episodes correctly 😅

Ok Nick’s dad leaving like that, with poor bby Nick all sweet asking if he promises to bring him back his favorite pastry and him hesitating before he’s going to promise- NO. 

*picture Michael Scott gif here*

It’s not faaaaaair, little Nick deserved so much better- so MUCH better. And it’s only going to get worse as the episode goes on, so strap in for the walk down emo lane. 

Quick pit stop for cute banter because duh. Nick giving the real estate agent Ellie’s number cracks me up because bro you want this house with her don’t you 👀 you still keep her business cards on you when you could have just as easily gotten your own (or McGee’s) by this point 👀 you just want to maaaaarry her and move iiiiiiin with her I knooooooow it 👀 Ellie’s reaction the split second we see also has me dying because she’s like ha ha this is funny you had to talk to real estate agent you drew the short straw hey wait what the fu— you did not! Before McGee interrupts any protest she can hurl back Nick’s way and that’s just gold right there. Pure middle school flirting as per usual for them and I love it.

Oooooooh Kasie’s lab scene. The growth in this one. Nick worried his family and by extension him, is going to get implicated for murder (or is guilty) even though it sounds outrageous to him, he’s got PTSD from Mona Lisa (and who wouldn’t tbh). But Ellie immediately, like IMMEDIATELY goes and defends him. Is like uh-uh don’t even GO there, it’s not a possibility its just person of interest I don’t care if it’s literal hair at the scene of a man stabbed brutally seven times, he’s not a murderer. The grooooooowth Ellie, I’m so proud of you 🥺 we went from using that logical head to realizing it’s ok to listen to your heart and wade into situations with empathy (especially for the boy you ~*looOOoOoOve*~) And then Nick talking about his dad being dead and a deadbeat and walking out when he was 5, he looks at Ellie almost the entire time, only barely glancing over at McGee like he needs to have that connection with her, she grounds him when this is suddenly very jarring having a relative by semi-involved in a murder. And Ellie isn’t the slightest bit shocked when Nick dumps this news so clearly she’s heard it and by her look, not only has she heard this, but she does not like the man for what he did to Nick. She looks pissed his father hurt Nick like that because how dare any one hurt her man 😤

And oh here it is, we back on emo lane. Nick recognizing and seeing his dad for the first time in 30 years. It’s gonna hit like a 🎵freeeeeight traaaain🎵 at first he can’t even believe its him, he blinks like a thousand times because *surely* his eyes are deceiving him and then his dad goes and uses his nickname, his nickname people the CRUELTY. YOU DON’T GET TO JUST SHOW UP THIRTY YEARS LATER AND CALL HIM BY HIS CUTE LITTLE NICKNAME YOU GAVE HIM AS A CHILD. YOU DON’T MIGUEL. NOT IN THIS GD HOUSE. Ok and now nick is in pure shock because he just got confirmation that his dad is not only *not* dead, but he’s here in front of him, in DC no less, possibly a murderer no less. AND he’s finding this out by chasing him down *not* by Miguel reaching out to him while in DC. The shock and confusion and hurt my poor baby.

And when that shock wears off and it’s just barely contained rage, my heart 🥺 so of course Ellie goes in there with him and nows she needs to immediately be the support she knows he needs but he won’t admit to needing. Nick tries to deflect with a joke at first but oh honey it’s no use. But quick comedic relief for us on emo lane “sit down, no I don’t like sitting” AHAHAHA like father like son I’m cackling because the look Ellie and nick share and nick’s eyes warn her like don’t you dare fucking say it and she’s like yep yep nope I wasn’t gonna say a damn thing I’ll just look down and try to contain my laughter because now is NOT the time. But see I’m on my couch and I can laugh all I damn well please at this scenario that was gold from the writers thank you. On a more serious level this probably hurt nick even more seeing that he’s even got the smallest something similar to his dad. He’s probably desperate to be the exact opposite, he doesn’t want to even consider being capable of what his father was capable so this - while seemingly insignificant - thing like not wanting to sit in a chair will hit deep for him without him realizing it. If something so trivial is the exact same, wouldn’t something much much heavier like commitment to relationships and family be the exact same? Wouldn’t it?? And good god poor nick for going through that mental anguish, on emo rollercoaster lane. Because it just gets better when Miguel’s excuse for being in DC is “visiting family” like call your BULLSHIT Miguel you certainly ain’t visiting family and Nick now knows oh he lies too, great, another win for the Torres blood, fan-fucking-tastic. 

Quick peek at viewing room and we don’t believe in personal space, Ellie wants to be as close as possible to her hurting bby 🥺

But back to the emo stuff - Miguel just lying off his ass and Nick fed up with his father’s games because it’s truly just twisting that knife in his back that’s been stuck there for 30 years deeper and deeper. AND THEN Miguel has the audacity to yell out for “Nico” like bitch you do NOT get to call him that either. You walked out on him and never came back gtfo. And Ellie is trying so hard to keep it together but man she wants to do one of two things if not both at the same time - wrap Nick up in her arms and shield him from this deadbeat and/or punch this man through the glass to cause just a fraction of the hurt he caused Nick. But instead she just has to keep her cool to be the supportive girlfriend she is and ask nick what he thinks and then. Then. “He’s lying…because his lips are moving”

Well FUCK. Murder me right now. The anguuuuuuuish. Poor five year old Nick in a 35 year old Nick’s body. That little boy who was promised a big hojaldre in the morning from the next town over is right there. Right there to witness the father he thought he had, hasn’t changed. One of the only memories Nick probably has of his father is him leaving. Him lying and leaving. And what does he do when he finally shows up again? 

HE LIES AND LEAVES. HE FUCKING LIES AND LEAVES. (I know I’m getting ahead and technically at this point we don’t know he’ll leave again but whatever sue me because this shit is too much.)

Side note: Ellie talking about a “conflict of interest” that Nick didn’t interrogate his father is laughable considering she should have never interrogated Xavier but ok. 

Ooooo lets see some pissed off Nick. Let it loose baby, you deserve this. And I know I wrote about this in the tags somewhere but can we take a second to appreciate McGee’s growth??? Like bro went from straight up denial to acceptance and giving Ellie the look of “go talk to your boyfriend ok we need to make sure he’s alright and we both know your support is going to go a lot further than my support” and Ellie wordlessly kNOWS EXACTLY WHAT HE’S SAYING. She’s like yeah, of course I’ll go help my man why wouldn’t I. 

I don’t know why but Ellie asking Nick if he’s talked to his “mom and sister” is just so 🥰 I can’t explain this one to you but I love this dialogue ok. Actually I love this whole ensuing conversation. Nick still is bitter (he has every gd right to be), Ellie playing the supportive girlfriend but *tiiiiiniest* bit of devil’s advocate with saying he might be innocent. Once again, so much growth because honestly she knows what it’ll do to Nick if his dad actually *is* a murderer. Like can we for a second imagine if his dad actually was guilty, right? Nick already saw he was like his dad in trivial things like not wanting to sit in chairs. Nick has already had serious, serious doubts to what he’s capable of aka worried he could, if the right buttons were pushed, be a murderer on multiple occasions. Ellie has been there with him for all of that, she knows how low his confidence is when it comes to his perceived “goodness” and she knows just how much it would break him if he learned his direct bloodline IS capable of murder. She knows how he’d spiral if that was true and so she’s gripping to any small possibility his dad is innocent. But nick, oh poor Nick my heart- he’s done. He opens up to Ellie without literally any prodding. He’s baring his long buried soul to her, that troubled, broken childhood that he surely keeps locked away in fear of letting anyone see a weakness. He bares it without question because he feels so safe in her presence he can let her in to see his deepest shame and by extension his deepest worry 🥺🥺🥺 and poor Ellie, she’s a little lost at how to go about helping him because she does have a good relationship with her dad, so yes all she has here for him is saying his father was guilty of a crap dad but it’s because she’s still trying to convince them both he has to be good. He has to be good for Nick’s sake. Buuuuuuut it doesn’t really work does it, because oh shit pissed the fuck off Nick is a site to behold isn’t it 🥵 kicking down doors once again and his smart “still think he’s innocent” oooooooo damn. Ellie’s face says it all- she’s trying so hard to hold out hope for Miguel, so hard. She needs him to be innocent she’s willing to speak it into existence a thousand times but her face is like fuck this is going to kill him and I can’t do a damn thing about it other than just watch. 

More pissed off Nick 🥵 but when you think about it is so so painful, all I can picture is that little 5 year old boy who woke up the next morning waiting, waiting, and waiting. Staring out the window at each car that slows down but ultimately passes. Tugging on his Mami’s shirt asking for the hundredth time when papi is coming back from the bakery with his hojaldre, oblivious to the tears that are slowly sliding down her cheek because she still can’t find the words to tell him what she knows deep down. That little boy who when the sun starts to set the confusion sets in with it. Why hasn’t my papi come back yet? Where is he? He promised. The sadness and sense of rejection that starts to fill his little heart when his mami tucks him and his sister into bed and he asks one final time where papi is and will he say goodnight to them and his Mami has to say she’s not sure when he’s coming home and quietly to the side, “if he’s coming home.” The little boy who weeks later has finally abandoned watching out the window every, single morning. The little boy who had his heart ripped out and thrown to the side of the road when he realized his papi didn’t go to the bakery and instead he was thrown out by his father like a day-old hojaldre. So yeah pissed Nick is fine af but good god the angst underneath is suffocating. Because Nick in this moment doesn’t know the *true* reason Miguel left. He knows what he lived and what he lived is a piece of shit. Nick’s response to “is that what you think of me” is amicable because OOF he could’ve gone the fuck off right there and told him what he really thought of him but he stuck with only a slight dig. TO WHICH MIGUEL. FUCK YOU MIGUEL. IT HASN’T HURT YOU MUCH. FUCK YOU MIGUEL. FUCK YOU. SOUNDS LIKE YOU WERE A SHIT DAD SO YEAH PROBABLY A GOOD THING YOU LEFT. THANK HIM NICK WITH YOUR FISTS BECAUSE HE’S A LITTLE SHIT. FUCK YOU MIGUEL. TOUGHENED HIM UP SO MUCH HE SHUTS EVERYONE OUT. YEAH FUCK YOU. 

And then man here is the point where it all just muddies in Nick’s mind. The poor dude. He knows this line of work, hell he was undercover for almost a decade. He understands how that leaves almost no room for a family. He gets it, so deep deep deep down a tiny part of him realizes why Miguel likely *thought* it was ok to ditch his family. But for thirty years he’s felt abandoned- no reasoning can change that. 

“It’s good to know he was making a nice living while my family was starving” fucking GET HIM NICK. Damn I wish Miguel had been in the room for that. He deserved to hear that one. Ruthless. 

I do not know how I missed this the first time around but holy shit Nick asked to be removed from the case. Nicholas Torres- a man who does not back down. A man who bullied his way into finishing his first ever case with this team that he was arguably way too close to that one too. This is how much pain Miguel brings him. A man who does not quit, not in his vocabulary - was so pissed at getting sent home back when Reeves died, he asks to get sidelined. He actually asks to get sidelined. Holy shit Miguel did a number on Nick and I mean we knew this but 🥺😭😭 poor bby. No wonder you don’t trust yourself in a serious relationship. It’s not the girl you’re worried about it’s you. You don’t think you’re capable of staying, you’re terrified you’ll be just like your dad and leave. once again, you’ve seen the similarities with trivial things and so this just cements your fear of failing at commitment. And this is Nick in just so much pain he asks to step back. oof. I do love Leon stepping into a slight fatherly role for Nick right there though, he shows his support, his pride in Nick and in that moment I think Nick realizes while his father by blood is shit, he’s got several other strong role models in his life that care and that’s why he agrees to work with him. 

Nick’s smarts comment about leaving the note behind 🤣 oh classic Torres move. Also do yourself a favor and pause it on Ellie’s reaction to him. GOLD hahaha she’s like ooo-kay did you really feel the need to say that, let’s not. Honestly I think I’ve given this look to my husband almost daily. They married y’all. 

So married that she overhears Miguel trying to talk to Nick and her hackles raise!!! She’s like hold the fuck up do not traumatize my baby even more, Nick do you need me??? Because I will get you out of this, I will be here for you, I will fight this man, just say the damn word!!!! And Nick ugh, his look. They can communicate with just a simple look, he knows all that she would do for him in that moment and still nods her off, but that tiny bit of gratitude is present. Then we find out that yes Grace is really good at guessing theories “in order to keep his young family safe, it means he has to leave. Of course he can’t *tell* them why he has to leave so that they continue to stay innocent and safe. So he plays it like he’s a deadbeat dude who was “too young” to be a father and is just now realizing it and leaves his wife, little daughter & son behind. Flash forward thirty years and the NCIS case leads them to him. A piece of evidence pops up with his alias, they go knocking down doors to interrogate a potential suspect (Nick’s father) before our lovely CIA agent interfere and claims he’s innocent because he’s a CI…” like DAMN, I’m good. Hahaha any ways the reason I bring this up is because I feel like I predicted/analyzed Nick’s feelings really well back then in this theory and after seeing his expressions, they hold true. Nick is just absolutely warring with himself during this explanation, searching for anything to confirm his dad truly is a deadbeat (and yes he is still absolutely a piece of shit for what he did, but there’s a “good” reason for his leaving and that’s what makes it so- hard.) and as I said when I first broke this down, Nick understands undercover work and his dad (being the POS he is) brings that up to Nick. Like he should “get” it because wouldn’t he do the same thing since he’s in that life? But here’s where (and Nick doesn’t totally realize it yet) Nick and Miguel are different. Because Nick came back, Nick stayed. He stayed y’all and he says it here but he does not realize the implications of his words quite yet. He is NOT the same as Miguel. Yeah he doesn’t like to sit in chairs but he has stayed. He has stayed through some tough shit too but he’s stayed nonetheless. More than Miguel could ever fucking say, that’s for sure. So yes, when Nick has the come to Jesus and realizes that he is not the same as his dad and he can and will stay? Damn I can’t wait for that moment. Also I wanted to slap Miguel when he called Nick “mijo” because BITCH YOU DO NOT GET TO CALL HIM THAT. YOU DO NOT GET TO CALL HIM YOUR SON. NO. “I’m not perfect but I did the best I could” well fuck you too Miguel because look at this broken five year old boy inside a thirty five year old man’s body. Does that look like the product of a “best you could”?? Does he look “ok” to you??? Fuck you. 

But yes here’s my take on where Nick is at: how do you forgive someone you’ve despised for thirty years once you know they “didn’t have a choice” (even though it will always feel like they had a choice or they could’ve explained it to you even if you were only five) and left in reality token you safe and give you a better chance at life? How do you reconcile the real dad and the one you lived with in your head for so long?? How???

And then you’re stuck still reeling from the night before and the bomb that was dropped and the reconciliation you’re attempting to your dad bringing in the ONE THING. The ONE THING he promised to bring home in the morning thirty years prior. How the actual fuck does one come back from that. Can I give another big FUCK YOU to Miguel Torres? Because seriously??? Why do you ever think that’s ok??? Hey I promised my kid I’d bring him hojaldres in the morning for breakfast thirty years ago so may as well make good on that promise right, only thirty years late that’s totally fine right? He won’t tell the difference right?

Fuck you, Miguel. 

And they’re still clearly Nick’s favorite because he’s brought Jimmy to a restaurant specifically for them and that just makes my heart break for the man he had to become without a father. He still held onto that love for them even though they were probably always associated with a horrible, horrible memory of being abandoned 🥺🥺 god damn Nick you’re so broken I’m so sorry. 

Ellie is still as supportive as ever and good god we clearly have lost all pretense of personal space at this point, what is her we don’t know her isn’t this normal for coworkers? But this conversation implies he called her after his talk with his dad and ugh yesssss 😩❤️ I still think he called her immediately after leaving the building, talked the entire car ride home and while getting ready for bed, needing the comfort of her voice on the other end of the line as he worked through his whirlwind of emotions and tried to come down off the cliff he felt himself on. All pretenses of a bad boy with a mysterious flare forever gone, his heart is open for her to see and he doesn’t give two shits about it anymore. But Ellie does a damn good job of girlfriend duties here and not only supports him but also gently prods him to see if he can maybe one day have a relationship with his father. The parallels she brings up makes him think (and also makes him look at her lips twice 👀 he’s just so close to her how could he not I mean right 😅) and I love that she’s still being v supportive but also trying to help him grow. 

And then Ellie giving Nick the option to go with his dad or go to the other location because she’s not going to push anything on him he doesn’t want and then when he chooses the embassy to avoid his dad her reaction had me laughing 🤣 but she respects it. And yet shortly after Miguel tries to team up with Nick and Ellie hears it from the other side of the bullpen, immediately all ears to step in if he wants to avoid him again despite giving him flack for it earlier. Nick can sense her worry and support and this is the moment he takes her advice in just a tiny step and accepts teaming up with his dad. But OMG KILL ME WHEN NICK THINKS HIS DAD IS DEAD BEFORE HE GETS TO TRY AT A RELATIONSHIP AGAIN. HIS WHISPERED “papa’s” I CAAAAAN’T. 

Ugh and then his last conversation with his dad while Ellie is checking on him constantly. It’s just too much, that little boy is back, desperately hoping for his dad to stick around. And Ellie is just so happy she can’t contain it for him and it’s perfect. He walks right to her, her hand on his back because they just need to touch each other after such a heavy couple of days and Nick echoes her advice back at her because he’s showing he listens and he values her insight and I just love it. 

AND THEN MIGUEL HAS COME TO RIP MY HEART OUT BECAUSE HE’S A PIECE OF SHIT REMEMBER. 

My poor bby Nick’s face when he realized his dad LIES AND LEAVES. REMEMBER. HE LIES AND LEAVES. God Wilmer killed it because Nick is literally on the verge of tears and my heart breaks and then yes he goes to Gibbs to see his pseudo-father who he then realizes is more of a father figure than Miguel will ever be and hell that’s okay but STILL. 

I will end this WWR with a I love supportive girlfriend Ellie and another big Fuck You to Miguel Torres.

Goodnight.

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #404: MDL: Conclusion (RWBY)

2:00pm at JNPRO Residents....

Oscar: (Sighs Relaxingly on the Sofa)

Ren: (Chuckles Softly) Someone's in a good mood today. I take it your whole "Mother's Day List" was a success?

Oscar: Yep. It actually worked out a lot more than I thought it would. (Smiles Softly towards Ren) And I'm sure none of this would be even possible right now if it weren't for you and the others' help.

Ren: I'm not sure I speak for everyone else.... (Gently Ruffles the top of Oscar's Head) but I'm really glad I was able to help you today. I read the letter you gave Pyrrha and Nora after you left and it was so beautiful that it almost moved me to tears.

Oscar: (Chuckles Lightly while Blushing ba Little) Thanks. I did mean every word in that letter, you know?

Ren: I know. And I couldn't be any more prouder. (Kiss the top of Oscar's Forehead) But speaking of which.....Why did you tried keeping this whole list a secret from them and the others?

Oscar: Well-

*Door Closed*

Jaune: (Sprint and Stop Towards the Living Room Sofa and starts Panting)

Oscar/Ren: Jaune?!

Ren: What's wrong?

Jaune: (*Pant*) Just.....(*Pant*) Give me.....(*Pant*) a moment.....(*Pant*).....('Whew') God, I hate running sometimes......

Oscar: Jaune, what happened? Why were you running here like that?

Jaune: I was trying to runaway from an army of moms outside. And they're alllllll looking for you too, bud....

Oscar: Wait-WHA-

*Door Opens*

Group of Female Voices: OSCARRRRRR!!

Once they heard the voices calling his name, Oscar, along with Jaune and Ren, turn to see Nora, Pyrrha, Glynda, Robin and the rest of Happy Huntresses making their way to the living room and staring down towards their Farm Boi, all with... Playfully Smirks on their faces.

Pyrrha: (Places her hands on her hips) You have a LOT of Explaining to do, young man.

Nora: (Simply Nodded While Crossing her Arms) Mmmmhmmm

Oscar: (Almost at a Lost of Words While Panicking inside his inner Thoughts) Uhhhhhh.....

Jaune: You know, as much as I would LOVE to stay and join this lovely Mothers and Son chat....I remember to do something upstairs. Sooooooo....(Immediately Starts Running Away Upstairs)

Ren: Yes....(Got up from the Couch) I suppose this is also my cue to leave.

Oscar: (Grab Whole of Ren's Arm while Whispering to him in fear) Please don't leave me alone with them.....

Ren: Oscar, it's very important that you and your mothers have a very.... somewhat important talk about this. Do I make myself clear?

Oscar: (Sighs in Defeat as he let go of Ren's arm) Yes, sir.....

Ren: Good. Now if you'll excuse, I'll be joining Jaune upstairs. (Gently Ruffles the top Oscar's Hair Once More) Best of luck my son. (Completely Ninja Vanished from the Room)

Oscar: (Took a Deep Breath before Slowly Turning back to his Moms, who are all still staring at him) H-Heyyyyyyy, you guys.....What are you ladies doing here altogether like that?

Glynda: No Reason. Except for the fact that we heard something VERY interesting from you today. About you having this "Mother's Day List" this entire time.

Oscar: M-M-Mother's Day List?! (Chuckles Very Awkwardly) That sounds sooooooo hilarious in hindsight. Cause you see...I....had....no idea what you're....talking about here...(Starts Checking his pockets by patting the outside of each of his Pant Pocket.....only to realize that list was nowhere to be found on both sides)

Robin: (Pulls out the list with a Smug Look on her face) Looking for this, kiddo? Joanna found it on the floor after you left.

Oscar: (Eyes Widened in Horror) Ah shit.

('GASPS')

Pyrrha/Nora: OSCAR EVERLYNN PINES!!!

Glynda: Watch your Language this instant, Young Man!

Fiona: (Starts to Dramatic Faint into Joanna's Arms) Ohhh! The Horror!!!

Robin: (Starts Glaring at Oscar) Hey! We didn't raise you to swear!

Oscar: I'm sorry! I just....('Sigh') really shot myself on the foot in this one.....

Pyrrha: ('Sigh') Oscar, why did you made this list? And why didn't you tell me and Nora you were planning to celebrating Mother's Day with the others as well?

Oscar: I didn't want to leave anyone out on this. So I decided to celebrate it with each and everyone of you here. (Rubbing the Back of his Head Back and Forth) And the reason why I made this list and have Ren and Whitley helped me out on this was because....well....I love you, guys.

Everyone: (Heart Starts To Melt) Really?

Oscar: Yeah. I mean.....at first I thought having multiple moms figures was pretty weird, but....as time goes on, I starting to realize how much I appreciate you guys and how blessed I am to have you all in my life. So that's why I did all of this.... Because I love each and EVERYONE of you ladies in this room so much. And I wanted to show how much you mean to me separately rather than doing it altogether. So what better way to do that than on a day of celebrating Mothers?.....(Looks Down on the Ground in a bit if Shame) Granted, there really wasn't any excuse for me keeping that list a secret like that. So I apologise in advance....

Nora: (Walks Over to Oscar.....Picks him up out of the Sofa and Give him the most Loving Hug she could Possibly Give to him) Seeeeeee? We told you our Baby Boi is the sweetest!~

Oscar: Huh?

Glynda: (Chuckles Lightly) Yes, Nora. We can all clearly see that.

Robin: (Smirks Playfully) Was there really any doubt here?

Oscar: Okay. Seriously. You guys.... aren't mad at me right now?

Pyrrha: (Walks Over to the Duo and Joins them on the Hug) Of course we're not mad at you, sweetheart. We are a bit disappointed that you kept this list a secret from us, but we were never truly upset or anything.

Glynda: Yes. In fact, we're all very happy that you did whatever you could to give each of us the best Mother's Day of our lives.

Robin: (Smiles Sincerely) You've really went out of your way for us today....(Ruffles the top of Oscar's Hair) And we couldn't be anymore happy or proud of you right now, kiddo.

Fiona: And that's why we call you "Precious Farm Boi"......(Smiles Brightly) Because you're precious to us.

Oscar: ('Sighs Happily') Still wondering what I ever do to deserve you guys.....

Glynda: (Smiles Sincerely) By being yourself everyday. We honestly wouldn't have it any other way really.

Oscar: I know....(Smiles Brightly) I just... really love you guys, you know?

Nora: We love you too, Oscar. A lot more than you'll ever know in your entire life. (Kiss Oscar on the cheek while Hugging him) I promise.

Oscar: Thank you. So.....are we done here or-

Robin: (Chuckles Lightly) Not even close, squirt.

Oscar: Huh?

Glynda: Yes. Well, once we found out about the list, we all decided to show our love and appreciation to you by-

Nora: By giving you the Best Mothers-Son Cuddle Pile EVER!~

Oscar: (Eyes Widened) Seriously?

Pyrrha: (Smiles Sweetly) That's right. We told Robin and her team about it in case you were wondering.

May: (Giggles Softly) Not gonna lie, it's pretty cute in hindsight.

Oscar: Thanks?......I mean....As much as I would loooooooove to have ourselves a Cuddle Pile, I'm pretty the whole thing was Ruby's idea in the first place. So I'm not entirely sure she would-

Nora: Oh. Don't worry. She approved of it once we told her. In fact, we have evidence to back up that claim. Show him, teach!

Glynda: I'm not your- ('Sigh') Whatever. (Pulls Out her Scroll and Plays the Video Message Ruby Sent her)

Ruby: (Smiles Brightly On Screen) Dear Ladies......I approved. Now go out there and give Oscar some Motherly Love!

(*Video Message Ended*)

Oscar: .......................Huh. Well I'll be da-

Pyrrha: DON'T! You. Dare. Mister. (Boops on Oscar's Nose)

Oscar: (Blushes) "Darn"! I W-Was going to say "Darn"!

Robin: ('Tch') You better be or we're going have some problems.

Oscar: Yes ma'am.....('Sigh Heavily') You guys taking this whole 'Mom' thing too seriously sometimes.......

Glynda: We only want to set a good example for you, dear.

Oscar: I know. And I love you all for it.

Nora: And We love you too....NOW LET THE CUDDLE PILE COMMENCE!!!

And with that, Oscar and all of his mother figures are all Happily Huddled together in a Cuddle Pile. Before he can enjoy it entirely, Oscar's pulls out his scroll once he heard it buzz on his pocket and Begins to Silently read the message Whitley sent him.

Whitley: I made mother a Macaroni Art. She's loves it. (Message is Follow-Up with a Picture of him Showing the Macaroni Art while getting his cheek kissed by Willow)

Oscar: ('Sigh') (Smiles Lazily) Good on ya, Whitley.....(Turns his Scroll into a Back Screen and Continue his Cuddles with his Moms)

Happy (Early) Mother's Day

@optimisticfruitcup

@albion-93

@keyenuta

@miki-13

@maripr

@ma-lemons

@rozanime

[teaveetamer]

its like the moment some edelstans run out of arguments defending her they start making arguments that try to paint all the other characters as equally bad. like dude, i know rhea and dimitri arent innocent angels, but i also never pretended they were. i dont dislike edelgard because she starts a fucking imperial conquest, i dislike her because there are idiots that keep trying to argue that its a good and justifiable thing because its their waifu doing it.

Yep, they loooooooove falling back on the moral equivalency arguments. They also like trying to paint other fans as equally bad/hypocritical because they like their fave even though they’re “just as problematic as Edelgard” (even though no one has a problem with people liking Edelgard, we have a problem with people arguing that shit like “imperialism and genocide are totally chill and justified”).

I’ve personally never met a Dimitri or Rhea fan that was like “My sweet cinnamon roll never did anything wrong in their entire life!” like people do with Edelgard. It’s some bizarre shit. I like Dimitri, but even I can be like “Yeah alright so murdering women and children is a pretty un-cool thing to do.”

[slaygentford]

Silence of the girls rlly is so good like. In the first chapter when briseis makes eye contact w her own slave as the greeks are attacking and. Knows whats about to happen. And knows the slave woman is waiting for briseis to know what its like. like. That moment was a better examintion of class and slavery in the ancient world than like... the rest of my degree tbh. Also ur right patroclus in it is. What a portrayal. Damn. Anyway im glad ur reading it sorry for my emotions here.

YEP YEPYEPYEPEYPYEYEPEYEEYYEP i lOOOOOOOOVED that moment I wish she’d gone harder on it actually, like briseis suddenly learning empathy lol. Agamemnon is so fucking disgusting as well I'm like living. and the thing w Patroclus... I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVED the interpretation of like, one, achilles huge toddler (which idk if you remember this @brownbicon but this is verbatim how you explained achilles to me like 3+ years ago ) AND ??? what was I saying oh yeah like Patroclus being A’s mother and also fully murdering a kid when he was 10 like . this is my deal like Patroclus killing his first person younger then achilles has always been like baked into the myth but I feel, in novelizations, NEVER discussed and pat’s choice to capitalize on that and make them equal and opposite forces of destruction and gore is.. ye. the moment she wrote that they called  achilles “the butcher” I was like 

anyway pat gets it she’s so smart im still not done w the book bc I only have time to read it on my commute but I'm loving it 

[surreality51]

Guardian Meta: Love Song Edition

Can we talk about how the Guardian end credits song and the promo song are essentially love songs?

Disclaimer: In the great tradition of Western writers who think their opinion about things they have limited direct knowledge of matters, I’m about to screech about traditional Chinese views of love even though I am not from China nor do I know anyone who has lived in China past the age of 6. Everything I know about the matter comes from my Taiwan-born mother, whose relationship advice could be summed up as “never depend on a man.” You can guess what her love life has been like.

I’ve been listening to “Time Flight” and “Just Cared Too Much,” the promo song and end credits song from the Guardian drama respectively, on repeat lately and I just can’t get over how achingly romantic these two songs are. The opening theme song, “We Won’t Be Falling,” captures the can-do spirit of the SID team and the socialist brotherhood/power alliance between Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei that everyone associated with Guardian insists the show is really about, but the closing theme song and promo song will forever be the true songs for Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan to me and no one can convince me otherwise.

Just. look. at. these. fucking. lyrics:

*incoherent screeching*

It also doesn’t help that the official music video for “Time Flight/Flying Across Time” is nearly indistinguishable from the thousands of Weilan fanvids out there. 

I mean, the first shot of Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei has them framed with wedding decorations. The video editors were...not subtle.

In an attempt to organize my thoughts around this topic, I’m going to take a step back and look at how the song lyrics reflect a traditional Chinese approach to love and why it’s impossible to interpret the songs as anything other than love songs (unless you’re a Chinese censor, in which case, yes, these songs are totally about platonic friendship).

Stereotypical Eastern vs Western Approaches to Love

Let’s face it, the stereotypical Chinese approach to love is practical nearly to the point of being mercenary. The first question any parent asks when presented with an offspring’s potential suitor is, “What’s his job? What are his prospects? What do his parents do?” In other words, who gives a fuck about things like personality or compatibility or feelings. Romance doesn’t put food on the table.

The concept of falling in love with someone and choosing your own partner is relatively new in Chinese culture and maybe imported from the West (someone back me up/correct me here, I’m too lazy to Google this). According to family lore, my great grandmother and her generation (born 1890s Fujian province, married 1910s) followed traditional practices around dowry and matchmaking, where essentially your parents pick your partner based on family relationships and social standing within the community. You get limited say in the matter.

Western ideals around love, attraction, passion, compatibility, personality, courtship, and romance were traditionally not factors in a relationship, at least in the beginning. Instead, traditional Chinese ideals value steadfastness, stability, loyalty, partnership, duty, responsibility, and a love that grows over time. Whereas Western depictions of love in modern media often focus on explosive passion, magnetic attraction, wild declarations, daring courage, individual charisma, finding that spark, and, in more modern relationships, choosing someone who fulfills your personal/emotional needs or as an avenue for self-actualization, love in traditional Chinese culture is steady, humble, something that grows out of mutual striving, something that takes root deeply and quietly through the day to day, like two trees slowly growing together until they are entwined.

In the Guardian web novel, Zhao Yunlan’s father expresses the traditional view of love during his discussion with Zhao Yunlan about his relationship with Shen Wei:

“Perhaps one day, when your hormonal levels are back to normal, you will regret this decision.” Zhao’s father maintains a calm and stately tone, relaxing and not at all intimidating. It’s much easier to persuade someone this way; he says, “Passion is attractive; I’ve been young. I know that feeling. But I don’t agree with difficult love, do you know why?”

[…]

“Love is strong yet frail; perhaps in the face of adversity, it can rise up with great power, transcending into a sort of exemplary ardour, and that is why it’s been praised since ancient times. But you have to remember the saying: ‘It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out; it is the grain of sand in your shoe’.”

[…]

“Difficult love can be overcome with perseverance and grit. But love has to subside eventually, have you thought of that?”

—excerpt from chapter 74, RainbowSe7en translation

Again, modern Chinese relationships are very different, where the feelings of the two people involved often do outweigh the views of the family, and relationships are viewed more as individual choices made for personal reasons rather than collective decisions made for the well-being of the whole family. As Zhao Yunlan expresses, the modern view of love is intimate and personal:

“Dad, I know what you mean, but there is always someone in your life, it’s not because of attraction, allure, obsession, or mere lust; it’s if you don’t treat this person right, then you’d feel like a worthless prick.”

—excerpt from chapter 74, RainbowSe7en translation

But my point is that love in Chinese tradition stems from a different perspective. It’s a perspective that views feelings as fleeting, romance as a luxury. It values durability over passion. True love is something that can withstand separation, hardship, and the long march of time. It is built on a foundation of duty to one another, responsibility, patience, loyalty, sacrifice, and a depth of feeling that does not necessarily need to be showy or even stated aloud, but that can be felt intensely in one’s heart and seen in one’s actions.

Themes in Guardian Theme Songs

Given this perspective on love, it’s a no-brainer that Guardian’s theme songs are love songs, but let’s dive into the lyrics anyways.

Note: all lyric translations are based on the Orange Biscuit Subs translation.

Separation

Chinese folktales and mythology is littered with stories of tragic love and separation. It seems like the more tragic the love story, the more popular it is, and parents loooooooove to tell these tales to their kids. (WTF, China? No wonder Chinese dramas are so overdramatic.) One story that my family liked to tell for the Mid-Autumn Festival is the story of Hou Yi and Chang’e. We would stand outside in the backyard and look up at the harvest moon, and my mother would tell us the tale of how Chang’e sacrificed herself by swallowing the pill of immortality and floated up to the moon, where she lives forever alone, yearning for her husband Hou Yi on earth.

Another very well-known tale is the story of the cowherd and the weaver girl. Per Wikipedia:

The tale of the cowherd and the weaver girl is a love story between Zhinü (織女; the weaver girl, symbolizing the star Vega) and Niulang (牛郎; the cowherd, symbolizing the star Altair).[3] Their love was not allowed, thus they were banished to opposite sides of the Silver River (symbolizing the Milky Way).[3][4] Once a year, on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, a flock of magpies would form a bridge to reunite the lovers for one day.[3]

Yep, separated lovers get to be together for one whole day of the year. This is peak Chinese RomanceTM.

Given this cultural context, the ending of Guardian, with its brief reunion and the promise between Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan to meet again in another life, is considered not only tragic, but could potentially be read as extremely romantic:

Their mutual pact to one day meet again echoes the themes of separation and reunion that form the backbone of so many Chinese love stories:

Then there’s the fact that “Time Flight” is playing in the background of this whole scene, which very unsubtly shows that the song is specifically written about the drama ending and about Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan. I mean, there’s dialogue in the scene that matches the lyrics for chrissakes:

Steadfastness, stability, loyalty, resoluteness

Related to the theme of separation, another favorite trope of Chinese romance is the steadfast lover who awaits news of her beloved (it’s usually the woman who does the waiting while the man rides off to war or whatnot) without losing hope. The chorus from “Time Flight” includes this concept of waiting for news while keeping the faith, but what’s really interesting to me is how things shift from the first chorus to the third.

In the first chorus (above), it’s Bai Yu singing the lines. In the second chorus, Bai Yu and Zhu Yilong share them. In the third closing chorus, they share the chorus again, but the lyrics change slightly:

We know that repetition and variation are significant in poetry and lyrics, so we need to pay attention to how this change affects the meaning of the song. I’d quibble with the translation just a bit, because there’s a difference between “deng yi ge xiao xi” vs “deng ni de xiao xi.” The former uses “yi ge,” which is generalized, i.e. “I’ve been here waiting for news.” The “from you” is implied but not stated explicitly. But in the third chorus, the lyrics change to “ni de,” which is explicit, i.e. “I’m waiting for your news.” It’s a lovely shift that makes a common romantic trope even more specific and personal.

The final line is also a shift, taking the last line of the chorus and changing it from “flying together” (yi qi = together / fei xing = flying) to “I remain in the same place.”

Those last few words deserve some unpacking, since video subtitles can’t fully capture all the context and implied meanings of such a dense language as Chinese. “Yuan di” is not just “same place,” but also “original place,” or “where I’ve been all along.” There are multiple ways to read this, from “Across time, I have remained in this spot unmoving, waiting for you,” which speaks to those themes of loyalty, hope, and steadfastness. Or “Across time, I have not gone anywhere, so you can always find me here,” which speaks to themes of hope for your loved one’s return and optimism about reuniting.

However you want to read that last line, you can’t ignore how it plays into the romantic trope of keeping the faith for your beloved and awaiting their return.

Words Unsaid

I didn’t notice until I started writing this giant brain dump of an essay that the first word here is “zao,” meaning “early.” So that chorus line could be interpreted as “Knowing from the start that we would be separated.” I just….can’t with these lyrics. 

Anyways, we know that what’s left unsaid is often more powerful than what’s been said aloud, and you can see it in these lyrics here. Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei never say “I love you,” but it’s implied in all of their actions and looks, and it’s one of the primary plot drivers of the ending of the Guardian drama. As @riceworkshop discussed in this fascinating meta on Dreamwidth, it’s the selfishness of that love and Shen Wei’s choice to essentially use his life force to heal Zhao Yunlan’s eyes—putting the individual before the whole, his feelings and needs before duty—that cripples him and leaves him an unequal match to Ye Zun. But their love remains unspoken, largely due to Chinese censorship but also partially due to the whole “two people from different worlds/this can only end in tragedy” thing.

In the novel, Shen Wei knows explicitly from the beginning that anything between them can’t last and will only lead to ruin. In the drama the situation is different, but he no doubt senses that their time is limited, given the clues about Ye Zun’s coming and the fact that he already lost Kunlun/Zhao Yunlan once. When it comes down to it, “Just Cared Too Much” is literally the crux of Shen Wei’s problem.

(It’s Zhao Yunlan’s problem too, because if he weren’t so in love with Shen Wei, then he wouldn’t have gone back in time and looked at young Shen Wei like this:

And like this:

And said things like this:

Which caused young Shen Wei to fall madly in love with him.)

In Conclusion

In conclusion, China loves tragic romance and keeping soulmates apart for shits and giggles, Guardian’s theme songs are love songs, and I have spent way too much time thinking about Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei’s stupid faces.

[qqueenofhades]

EXCUSE YOU, WRITING A CHAPTER LIKE THAT AND MAKING ME CRY REAL HUMAN TEARS THAT DIDN'T TURN INTO DIAMONDS. I LOOOOOOOOVED IT. And look at Matija finding some humanity again! Because of Lucy! I love him! I love my two idiots, who aren't being as idiotic anymore!

Yep, I think that was what happened, that she helped him feel/experience a bit of his lost humanity after 400-odd years in Faerie, and that he didn't want to do the same thing to her that he had done to his last wife. I was very conscious of the fact that I wanted to subvert the trope of two men fighting over Lucy (as Flynn already noped out of doing when he pointed out he couldn't fight Korvin anyway and would not stand in the way of Lucy making the choice if she did want to go with TRK). So it's not that they have to fight their way away from Matija and that he remains in his old/toxic masculinity ways of doing things, but rather that he is changed for the better by meeting her and by seeing Lucy and Flynn's love and not wanting to do the same thing again. And that is what makes him voluntarily decide to let them go, and to decide that laws without mercy might be bad laws, and that he wants to change his own behavior as a result.

As noted in the chapter itself, there are also some literary echoes (Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot) and a call back to traditional fairy tales where the lovers find their way into Faerie and have to prove their devotion to each other through trials and thus become worthy to return to the world (aka Hero's Journey stuff, heh). So that was where my thinking was with that, and it was fun to play a bit with Faerie and the magic of that.

AND GOD YES. IT ONLY TOOK 200K WORDS FOR THEM TO STOP BEING IDIOTS, APPARENTLY. I LOVE THEM BUT I AM ALSO STILL SLIGHTLY WONDERING WHAT THAT WAS ABOUT. GUYS. JEEZ.

[mentacose-archive]

tagged by @forever-painting-roses​ thank u josie aaaaaaaaa !!!!!!!!!!!

Are you named after anyone? i don’t think so???? as far as i know?

When was the last time you cried? last week. friday. i think

Do you like your handwriting? sometimes. depends on how good it is

What’s your favorite lunch meat? i don’t eat lunch meat. unless you count tuna

Do you have kids? i have plenty of oc’s who are my kids thank u

If you were a different person, would you be friends with you? eh why not??? depends on how well we can get along

Do you use sarcasm? sometimes, when i’m joking and being snarky

Do you still have your tonsils? yep still there

Would you bungee jump? dude i’d love to try it

What’s your favorite cereal? fruit loops, though i haven’t had them for years cries....

Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? no never i tie them once and that’s it

Do you think you are a strong person? n ope

What’s your favorite ice cream? im gonna be super generic and say vanilla

What’s the first thing you notice about people? their shape. like their hair, whether or not they’re tall/ short, if they have big/ small noses, that kind of stuff

What’s your least favorite physical thing about yourself? lskfjd heck im gonna go with second least fave cause my first is a tad depressing so im gonna say my legs cause theyre too hairy

What color pants and shoes are you wearing right now? im wearing black pants and no shoes i want my feet to be free

What are you listening to right now? crying out by hyland

If you were a crayon what color would you be? the light yellow that you can only see by squinting

Favorite smell? oooh boy either lavender or cinnamon

Who was the last person you talked to on the phone with? my mom she’s the only one i call

Favorite sport to watch? i don’t watch sports ever??? this is hard idk i guess swimming

Hair color? classified but my online self has blue hair

Eye color? also classified but my online self has blue eyes. i am the miku

Do you wear contacts? dont need them :33

Favorite food? strawberries !!

Scary movie or comedy? comedy i can’t handle scary

Last movie you watched? princess mononoke

What color shirt are you wearing? this sort of. dark meadow green i think

Summer or Winter? summer yo

Hugs or kisses? hugs. i loooooooove hugs

Book you’re currently reading? heck i just got done with narnia i guess im gonna have to say lord of the rings now

Who do you miss right now? some of my friends rip

What’s on your mouse pad? i dont have one

What’s the last TV program you watched? flex fighters. it looks cheesy and it kind of is but i promise you there are good plot twists

What’s the best sound? ocean waves !!!

Rolling Stone or the Beatles? who they

What’s the furthest you’ve ever traveled? i’ve traveled to different countries bud i’ve traveled far

Do you have a special talent? procrastination

Where were you born? i’ll let you guys keep guessing

heck idk who to tag uhhhhh @my--darling--dear @princess-pidge @markhamillz @topazpearl

heck literally anyone who wants to do it. do it. i tag you

[shinee6-remade]

hi hi!!!!! @chocoulat tagged me to do a get to know me tag, below the cut! ⭐️

RULES: you must answer these 92 statements and tag 20 people

THE LAST:

1. drink: i had coffee this morning nd i drink water pretty much 24/7

2. phone call: an uber driver asdfghjk

3. text message: my friend monica!

4. song you listened to: nikes - frank ocean

5. time you cried: this morning over yixing asdfghjkl

6. dated someone twice: nope

7. kissed someone and regretted it: no

8. been cheated on: nooo

9. lost someone special: yeah i guess?

10. been depressed: yEP

11. gotten drunk and thrown up: no thank god

LIST 3 FAVOURITE COLOURS:

12-14. orange, pink, white (i guess white isn’t technically a color but i don’t care lol)

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU:

15. made new friends: yes a few!!!

16. fallen out of love: nope

17. laughed until you cried: yes omg

18. found out someone was talking about you: ummm not this year but definitely last

19. met someone who changed you: um i don’t think so

20 found out who your friends are: yeah

21. kissed someone on your Facebook list: i don’t have a Facebook lmao

GENERAL:

22. how many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: see #21

23. do you have any pets: yes! 2 dogs and one cat

24. do you want to change your name: no i’m fine with my name

25. what did you do for your last birthday: went out to dinner with my parents at a really good italian place and then to a bar near my house

26. what time did you wake up: i woke up around 9:30 or 10 but i didn’t really sleep last night…. i went to bed at like 6 am oooops

27. what were you doing at midnight last night: yelling about the pics of jonghyun in his taemin merch

28. name something you can’t wait for: for all my online orders to get here lmao!!!!!!!! my reason for living

29. when was the last time you saw your mom: like five minutes ago

30. what is one thing you wish you could change in your life: i wish i had more friends in the same city as me to hang out with and do fun summer things

31. what are you listening to right now: stronger by clean bandit just came on shuffle haha

32. have you ever talked to a person named tom: i think my dad has a friend named tom so yes probably

33. something that is getting on your nerves: how…. annoying my younger brother is and how rude he is to my mom all the time

34. most visited website: tumblr and youtube

(35-37 apparently got lost lol)

38. hair colour: i’m assuming this is asking my hair color not like my favorite?? my hair is reddish blondish rn

39. long or short hair: i have short hair and I’m gonna cut it today!!

40. do you have a crush on someone: no I’m so boring rip

41. what do you like about yourself: i like my eyes

42. piercings: i have 5 ear piercings, 2 on both earlobes & one cartilage and i almost impulsively go get another one like once a month but someone always talks me out of it

43. bloodtype: i have no idea….. i wish i knew though i did a paper last semester on blood type personality theory

44. nickname: i wish i had one :(((((( someone give me a cute nickname pls

45. relationship status: singleeeeeeeee

46. zodiac: virgo

47. pronous: she/her

48. favourite tv show: avatar the last airbender, the office, shadowhunters

49. tattoos: none, i really wanted to get one this summer but i think I’m chickening out

50. right or left handed: right

51. surgery: none

52. piercing: didn’t it already ask this

53. sport: soccer!!!!!!

55. vacation: um i just went on vacation to chicago which was pretty fun but if this is asking for like dream vacation, i would loooooooove to go to peru or greece or japan

56. pair of trainers: my black old skool vans which i just got & i wear literally every day now (but i have sooooo many other sneakers)

MORE GENERAL:

57. eating: i had a lemon poppyseed muffins for breakfast

58. drinking: water

59. i’m about to: go fold some laundry

61. waiting for: my city’s pride weekend!!!!!!! its in july which is weird

62. want: a bunch of skincare stuff i have….. so many things in my amazon shopping cart

63. get married:  ehhh maybe??? depends on who its to i guess

64. career: somehow be able to travel and teach in a bunch of different countries??? I’m working on getting my degree in teaching preparation

65. hugs or kisses: hugs omg :(((((( i feel like its been so long since i have like a Good hug

66. lips or eyes: both

67. shorter or taller: it doesnt matter to me

68. older or younger: also doesn’t really matter to me, within reason. like anything more than a 2-3 year age gap i think might be too much for me but idk

70. nice arms or nice stomach: arms i guess?????

71. sensitive or loud: depending on who i’m with i can be both lol

72. hook up or relationship: relationship

73. troublemaker or hesitant: me? definitely hesitant i hesitate over like…. everything

HAVE YOU EVER:

74. kissed a stranger: nooooope

75. drank hard liquor: yes

76. lost glasses/contact lenses: no bc i have neither

77. turned someone down: yep

78. sex on the first date: no

79. broken someone’s heart: not that i know of?

80. had your heart broken: not in the romantic sense

81. been arrested: no

82. cried when someone died: yeah

83. fallen for a friend: yes……. god its not fun don’t do it

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

84. yourself: occasionally

85. miracles: yeah i think so

86. love at first sight: not really….. lust at first sight but i think you need to know much more about someone than how they look to love them

87. santa claus: lol no but i have to pretend i do a lot at work during christmastime

88. kiss on the first date: yeah for sure!

89. angels: maybe?

OTHER:

90. current best friend’s name: ummmmm idk i don’t really have One single best friend

91. eye colour: my eye color? green

92. favourite movie: pride and prejudice or lilo and stitch, really only bc i could watch them all a thousand times (and i have) and never get tired of them

thank you so much for tagging me!!!!!! i dont think ive ever done one of these on this blog theyre so fun. i am not going to tag 20 people but i will tag...... @1hoseokie @cyypher @ilysmjhope @yeoltae only if you want to do it dont feel like you have to lol its very long 💖

[skarletterambles]

Additional thoughts about 7.1: “Dragonstone,” jotted down while re-watching the episode with a family member who wasn’t home to watch it earlier:

Meera:  “This is Brandon Stark, son of Ned Stark.”

Mighty informal, there Meera.  Since when do you get to call him “Ned”?

“You’re as far from Joffrey as anyone I’ve ever met.”

Way to have high standards, Sansa.  "Better than Joffrey” isn’t saying much.

So Jon gets a raven from “Queen Cersei” and his first reaction isn’t, “WTF?  What happened to Tommen?”  Are we to assume word of the Great Sept going kablooey somehow reached Winterfell already?  How much time passes between episodes?  How fast do they think ravens can fly?  Is Littlefinger in another room watching CNN or something?  Wouldn’t Jon and Sansa’s reaction to what Cersei did have been a worthwhile use of screen time?  

For that matter, why aren’t we seeing ANY reaction to Cersei’s little pyrotechnics display?  Jaime gave her a disapproving scowl at the end of last season, but now he’s only talking about Tommen, not the fact that she blew up a major religious landmark and a large number of people along with it.  Aren’t the people of King’s Landing upset?  Rioting?  Fleeing?  I’m trying to give the show runners the benefit of the doubt and assume we’ll have more of that eventually, but I’m not holding my breath.  The parallels between the Mad Queen Cersei wanting to burn the city and the Mad King Aerys wanting to burn the city, and Jaime’s close involvement with both of them, absolutely beg to be explored.

Cersei:  “Are you afraid of me?”

Jaime:  “Should I be?”

Cersei:  *goes on to list all the things she indirectly blames him for*

Me:  RUN, JAIME!  RUN TO BRIENNE AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!!”

“We can’t win a war if we can’t feed our men and our horses.”  Jaime, get out of here with your logic.  This is GoT, where logic, practical concerns and travel distances change according to the needs of the episode.

I love love LOVE Jaime’s sass in this episode.  He snarks at Cersei, he snarks at Euron...he’s just so fed up with all this shit.  I love him.

LOL @ “The place was getting crowded.” ~ Euron, shrugging off how many of his people Jaime killed during the the Greyjoy rebellion

Cersei:  “You murdered your own brother.”

Euron:  “You should try it.  It feels wonderful.”

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh snap.  And this was right after he bragged about having two hands.

I don’t want to like Euron (and he was written awfully last season), but damn.  He’s got a way with words.

Thanks, HBO, we really needed a montage of Sam gagging over cleaning chamber pots. Yep, quality television, there.  Totally worthwhile use of resources.

Sam really needs to find Hermione Granger to help him break into the restricted section of the library.

Tormud to Podrick after Brienne beat him up:  “You’re a lucky man.”

Brienne:  *skin crawling*

Me:  RUN, BRIENNE!  RUN TO JAIME AS FAST AS YOU CAN!

Sansa’s sass is almost as good as Jaime’s.  She ain’t takin’ any of Petyr’s shit.

ED SHEERAN CAMEO!  I’m a fan, so this was great.  <3  I want a full-length recording of that song he was singing.  I know some people were annoyed by it, but I thought he fit seamlessly into Westeros.  If I hadn’t known who he was, I would have just thought it was a normal scene.

Guy with Ed Sheeran:  “My mother always told me to be kind to strangers, and strangers will be kind to you.”

Error message inside Arya’s brain:  * FOOTAGE NOT FOUND *

“Are you old enough to drink?”

Since when is there a legal drinking age in Westeros?!?!

“You’re a grouchy old bear, aren’t you, Clegane?”

No, he’s a grouchy old HOUND.  Pay attention, Thoros.  :P

Would it have killed them to C.G. Sandor’s vision into the flames?  Wait, that might have taken away from the budget for more dragon scenes, so NEVER MIND!

Show runners to book readers:  “SEE?  WE HAD SANDOR DIGGING GRAVES!  ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?”

Book readers:  *very slow golf clap*

Context?  What’s that?

So apparently the guy with the diseased arm that scared the crap out of Sam in the Citadel was Jorah.  I didn’t catch that on first viewing, and if I hadn’t read that it was him, I still wouldn’t have known it was him the second time I watched the episode.  You don’t really see his face, just a brief profile in the dark.  I guess bigger fans than me recognized his voice, too. 

How the hell did he end up quarantined in the Citadel?  Last we saw him he was on the other side of the ocean.

On one hand I looooooooved the music and visuals of Dragonstone.  The long shot of the dragons flying around it was amazing.  The path up to the castle itself was breathtaking.  The obsidian throne was very cool.  

But, um, could SOMEBODY SAY SOMETHING?!  ANYTHING?!  OR EMOTE???  Come on!  I don’t normally dislike Emilia Clarke’s portrayal of Daenerys, but if she was ever going to show raw emotion, finally returning to the place of her birth, seeing the remnants of her family’s past glory, watching dragons return to Dragonstone...that would be the time!  

Even if she refused to show it in front of her entourage, it would have been really nice to have a moment of her looking out the window, blinking back tears, and then composing herself to face them again.   Or a triumphant smile at finally setting foot on the right side of the ocean.  Or instead of silently ripping down the banners, she could have said something like, “Take down the usurper’s colors and burn them.  Only the three-headed dragon will hang on these walls from this day forward.” Or a tiny flashback to her as a newborn, fleeing the island with Viserys.  Just...SOMETHING to show an emotion other than “ :| “

Having said all that, however, that was still my second-favorite part of the episode, after Jaime copping an attitude.

Overall, it was about what I’ve come to expect from GoT:  vulgar language, gross-out moments, elephant-sized foreshadowing, scenes that are too dark to see what the hell is going on, amazing costumes, breathtaking vistas, awesome dragons, a few good lines, stuff that doesn’t make sense if you stop and think about it, and a couple moments that made me go “awwwwyeah.”  A mixed bag, in other words, but still entertaining.