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justshekthings · 4 years

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just for a moment - park jisung fanfic (part 1)

“Continuing to run you turn around with a huge smile across your face, locking eyes with the boy whos awestruck expression turns into a comforting smile. Somehow without even knowing each other's names you both felt as if you've managed to escape reality, like the two of you were the only people in the universe, a feeling so rare, a scene only in movies, an occurrence never forgotten and yet was just experienced by these two individuals, even if it was just for a moment.”

Park jisung x reader

Word Count: 8731

Reading time: 1h 7m

Italics = thoughts

“normal” = spoken

*IMPORTANT PLEASE READ*

Authors note: Since this a fanfic, therefore fiction, there story is set in your last year in highschool with the rest of the dream members who are all the same age. The school year will also be following the korean academic year system, just for some realism. I also made up a few characters with a korean name generator so please don’t overthink! I will also be releasing this story 4 chapters at a time with 3 parts in total, making a total of 12 chapters #quickmaths. Apologies in advance if my uploads are slow or my grammar is awful. Make sure to like and comment any suggestions or thoughts, but try to be kind, it’s my first time writing a fanfic.

Enjoy reading~

March: March, although somewhat an afterthought or rather a shadow of winter, left with only it’s remains, it sets the groundwork for the rest of the year. March plants seeds that grow from mere sprouts to full grown plants during the course of the year.

It’s early March, the month when the snow starts to thaw in preparation of the well anticipated season of spring. The feel of the winter air has managed to remain in Seoul, resented by the thousands of students forced to return back to school for the first semester. One of those poor unfortunate souls is you, y/n l/n, an 18 year old girl and you’ve come back to start and, hopefully, finish your senior year at Seoul Highschool. Although what does seem to make your experience there a little more bearable are your two friends Seo Kyung-Hu and Hu Mee-yon, while those two have been friends since primary school, you only met them in Middle school when you first transferred and they being the only nice enough kids willing to approach you, the three of you clicked instantly and ever since your trio have stayed a complete set.

Unlike your two friends, you could care less about school purposefully staying up late in hopes of sleeping through your alarm and having a valid excuse to miss the first day of school. And your plan worked… to some extent. Your mother on the other hand was keen to send you to the school you paid money for, as you should. You were fast asleep dreaming about exo performing as ot9 was suddenly awoken by the screaming of your mother. “YAH Y/N WAKE UP AND GET TO SCHOOL BEFORE I TAKE ALL YOUR EXO POSTERS AGAIN!” hearing that was enough to make you jump out of bed and start getting ready, not without a few complaints of course. Walking into your washroom you take one good look at your face in the morning, “oh god” you’re at least grateful your skin decided not to break out on the first day of school however your face was still puffed and quite dull. You continued washing your face, brushing your teeth and putting on that god awful, ugly, disgusting, and horrific uniform, as you described. Objectively your uniform wasn’t at all bad however you had the tendency to well… overthink. (the uniform looks like the A-teen beige uniform)

It being 8:35 and school starting at 8:45, you speed walked and slightly ran to school attempting to cut the initial 10 min walk in half with at least 5 mins to spare just in case. Fortunately enough you managed to get there on time to check what your classroom was, before the bell. Room 215? Ok… WHERE IS THAT AGAIN?! Somehow the break managed to erase most of your memory of the school, although there wasn’t much worth remembering about your most hated location on planet earth. You run around frantically desperately trying to find your homeroom before a teacher, or worse a hall monitor. You stop in the middle of an empty hallway to text your friends where the hell room 215 is, until you hear a unfamiliar voice reach out to you, “Are you lost babygirl” WHAT THEEE it took a second for you to process what the guy had said until out of instinct you start to laugh uncontrollably with your eyes starting to tear up. You turn around, hand holding your stomach, “What did you just say?” you ask, unable to take the male standing in front of you seriously. He stares at you, seeming to enjoy that you understood his reference, “What so you’re telling me you’re not totally turned on by that comment?” With a slight over exaggerated gasp at the end of his sentence, obviously showing that he was joking. “No no your question was valid just-” unable to finish your sentence you rerun the moment that had just unfolded through your head, succeeding in making you burst out in laughter again. His voice cuts through your laugh, “No but seriously you seem lost” finally regaining your composure, you take a minute to examine his appearance, and his attractiveness, and realizing you’ve been staring for a bit too long you panic quickly trying to cover it up, “YEAH UM i'm lost do you know where room 215 is?” “New student?” “no just dumb” He laughs at your honesty and points you in the right direction like a true gentleman. “Oh my god thanks so much, hope I see you again cute stranger!” you end your sentence with a wink and then run off after getting a glimpse of his dumbfounded expression although close enough to hear him yell out, “The name’s YangYang!”

The odds were in your favour managing to slip into class before your teacher arrived and you had a mini-mental celebration before choosing to sit in the empty window seat in the middle row with an empty seat beside you to limit the amount of human interaction you get. Sitting down in your seat and see the teacher walk in and start the generic beginning of the school year talk, you text your friends to pass the time, who were lucky enough to have their class together, while the class goes through the course outline. After waiting a few minutes at the front, you see both of your friends, Kyung-hu and mee-yon or as you called them kyuhu and mimi to simplify their names, walk out and you guys greet each other before the three of you walk in the direction of your neighborhood, talking about what you all did during the break, all the annoying teachers and most recent gossip.

You’d notice that the first week of school would follow this routine, passing by quite quickly and finding it uneventful as your teacher didn’t give a lot of homework as it was the first week of school. During the first week you concluded that there was no one in your classroom, or in the school for that matter that piqued your interest except for the fellow that helped you on the first day but has managed to slip your sight every time you scanned your surroundings to find him. Although just as fast as the first week passed by, the weekend went just as fast, and based on how your school operates, it’d be the only free weekend you’d have in a long time. And much to your dissatisfaction, you found herself in the same situation from a week ago, tired, lazy and lacking any motivation to go to school. Despite this you actually made an effort to wake up early, too early, to get ready for school to escape the never ending nagging from your mother over calls from the office over your tardy attendance. After eating a good enough breakfast, you open your door expecting a cold breeze to meet you as it did last week but to your surprise the outside was bright and dry, with no traces of snow, almost as if the weekend magically changed Seoul from winter to spring. However the leaves on the trees would need a lot more time than a weekend to grow back to their former glory. Remember when I mentioned you woke up too early, you were exactly two hours early when you arrived at the school, which suddenly made sense to you when you realized that no one in your house was awake yet and the roads in your neighborhood felt deserted. After walking around the campus you finally settle on a familiar tree on the outskirts of the school grounds, its location the very reason why you and your friends chose it as your casual lunch location for the past two years. You set your bag on your lap hugging it like a pillow laying your head on it for support and almost immediately you start drifting off the sleep.

Unbeknownst to you, your perfect sleep would be ruined by one Park Jisung, you see park jisung made the mistake of waking up 20 mins before school started not taking into account it was his very first day at the highschool and he was bound to get lost on the way to school and if he even managed to find the school, he’d have no idea where his classroom as he also missed orientation for all new students. Late and lost, jisung looked around the front of the building in search of someone to help him but since school had already started most staff and students were already inside. Although it would’ve been easier for jisung to walk inside the building somehow he noticed a figure under a tree not too far from him, jisung assuming it was a student figured it’d be easier to ask a student then suffer a scolding or even awkward small talk with a teacher. He runs up to the sleeping person under the tree and realizes it’s a girl from the long hair and skirt, legs criss crossed under a bag you is hugging and sleeping on. Reluctant to grab your attention, awakening you from your slumber, but he must do so if he ever wishes to get to class. “Excuse me?” Jisung repeats this a few times first with a shy voice growing in volume in desperation to wake you up. In your dream EXO OT9 were just about to sing love shot, one of the comebacks lay missed out on, when you heard a reluctant voice repeatedly saying excuse me disrupting your peace and not to mention exo’s performance. Jisung seeing that his voice was not enough to wake you up he starts to get physical. You try to ignore the voice hoping it’d go away until it actually starts poking your shoulder, now you have no choice but to let go of your perfect dream and wake up to respond to the thing that dares interrupt your nap. Jisung notices the girl moving, satisfied that he finally woke you up, he watches as you yawn and rub your eyes, cute he thinks to himself admiring the girl’s sleepy and adorable state. You open your eyes to see a timid but tall boy crouched beside you, finger still pointed after persistently poking you. “Yes?” glaring at the poor boy with the rudest voice you could muster expecting him to get the hint to leave you alone. “U-um can u help me?” Looking at the nervous state of the boy you empathize with his confusion seeing as you were in a similar dilemma a week ago. Softening your expression you say, “yeah what's up?” using a tone completely opposite of the one a second ago, causing Jisung to relax and become more at ease after noticing your change in attitude, “oh can u tell me where this classroom is?” Jisung points at his paper, saying Room 215. He watches your face light up, “Oh! That's my classroom you can just follow me!” And you give the boy an eye smile, happy that you can help him and possibly become friends with the boy. Jisung’s ears turn pink admiring how cute your smile is and touched by your hospitality. you stand up dusting off your skirt and checking if you had any dirt on your clothes or legs. Putting your backpack on and adjusting the straps you ask the boy what time it was. “Oh it's 9:00 am” Jisung says to you sheepishly hoping he doesn’t shock you by how late they both are, “OH SHOOT'' After hearing the time realizing just how fucked you were, acting quick you grab the new boy’s hand and start running towards the building. Jisung trailing behind the small girl is blushing due to the sudden skin ship and can feel his heart pounding due to the spontaneousness of the girl's actions along with the running not at all helping with his heart rate. Running across the field underneath the sunlight causes an increase in heart rate, a mutual feeling felt by the two, but you both recognize it as a mere adrenaline rush as you both try to take in the predicament you find yourselves in. Jisung staring at the hand who had taken his own so boldly, looked up staring at your hair that had turned from a raven black shade to a chocolate brown in the sunlight admiring how it swayed while you ran. Continuing to run you turn around with a huge smile across your face locking eyes with the boy whos awestruck expression turns into a comforting smile. Somehow without even knowing each other's names you both felt as if you've managed to escape reality, like the two of you were the only people in the universe, a feeling so rare, a scene only in movies, an occurrence never forgotten and yet was just experienced by these two individuals, even if it was just for a moment.

April: April bears us spring, which in turn prepares us for summer. The weather is unlike any other, it follows the frigid temperatures of winter and yet precedes the intense heat of summer, the month is in equilibrium.

You watch from the safety of the other side of the field as Jisung is teased yet again by his new found friend group. As cliche as it sounds he managed to land himself with the “popular kids'' group despite this school not caring much for social norms, even if there was a popular group it’d be them and they’ve accepted him wholeheartedly as if he spent the last two years with them. Much to everyone’s surprise Jisung was capable of fitting in despite him being the new kid and it being the last year, it was almost as if he was the missing part of their friend group. The group consisted of Chenle, Renjun, Jeno, Jaemin, Haechan and Mark and they weren’t just popular, they were rich and attractive as well. “Oh how he’s blossomed” you say to yourself while admiring Jisung for coming out of his shell and express himself freely “Oh god please don’t tell me you just said that” “You sound like a pedo” As if on cue your two friends arrive at your spot under the tree, slightly creeped out by your confession. “YA I didn’t mean it like that!” you say pouting at your friends' judgmental remarks. “It’s just that he’s grown so much and it’s only been a month'' taking one last glimpse at Jisung having fun before turning to your best friends who have already started to eat. “Jisung was an innocent shy boy when you met him, your maternal instincts kicked in when you first saw him, so helped him out and get comfortable at the school and now you feel like you’ve raised him but now that he’s found a proper friend group you’re sad blah blah blah yes we get it.” Shocked and speechless at what Mee-yon just said, you shake your head looking down before resting your head on your arms placed on your knees while meeting their gaze, “Did I really sound like a pedo?” this time Kyung-Hu was the one to reply “yes you definitely did” nodding innocently while getting it to you straight. And with that final blow you hide your head in your crossed arms similar to a fetal position, accepting your defeat at their teasing.

As you hear your friends move on to a new topic you just keep your head down too tired to raise it and decide to take a mini nap to hopefully make up for the 3 hours of sleep you got the night before. It wasn’t like you and jisung falling off bothered you that much you actually rarely thought about it, but for some reason today you were bothered. I guess we were never really friends. I guess more like friendly acquaintances? What about the time we hung out after school or skipped class together, did that mean anything? You sighed letting go of the memories of jisung and started falling asleep unaware of the glances from the same person you were just thinking about. You dreamed about the day you two met, after getting too tired to run the whole way there, since the two of you were already late you decided to just walk the rest of the way to your classroom while in the school, to give Jisung a mini school tour. “You just transferred here right?” “yeah I used to live in Inseon” “so why’d you decide to move here and transfer just a week after school started?” “My mom got an unexpected promotion she couldn’t refuse so we had to move to Seoul, but you sure ask a lot of questions'' you remember him teasing you for that “Well do you blame me? I’m curious.” You catch him off guard by your retaliation, “so do you miss it?” asking another unexpected question that causes a change in mood after bringing up his old home. “Of course I do, I grew up there, I had friends there and I had memories” you turned around noticing his melancholy expression while reminiscing and looked at him with concern, feeling sorry for the boy who was just staring at the ceiling almost as if he was trying to find something that was not even there. He notices the silence and makes eye contact with you realizing he must’ve worried you. “Oh but it’s better this way!” He says happily to ease your obvious concern and you stare at the nervous boy, eyebrow raised not convinced by his sudden change of heart. You let it go and the two of you walked a little bit more in silence before stopping, well at least you stopped, Jisung was absent minded enough to not realize you had stopped walking and bumped into back, you instantly looked up and stared at the boy directly over you. Jisung as the shy boy he was, panics and steps back slightly red which causes you to chuckle at his innocent behaviour. “Well here we are room 215” but before jisung was able to walk into the classroom, you turn around and stop him holding out your palm showing the universal symbol to stop, before extending it as a handshake. “Before you hear it from anyone else, I'm y/n” while grinning from ear to ear and jisung grasps your hand and gives you a light handshake, “hi i’m park jisung” returning you the same enthusiasm through a smile. After holding each others hands a little longer than expected, you let go awkwardly and enter the rowdy classroom filled with talking, laughter and pure ruckus.

You didn't know one was capable of dreaming of a memory but you just did, and just as it was before, your nap was interrupted by noise, this time in the form of whispers, many whispers. You lift your head using your right hand to rub your eyes to adjust to the light and you meet eyes with the very boy you were dreaming about. “Jisung?” you ask with open eyes, confused and surprised. “O-oh hi y/n we meet here again” he answers, scratching the nape of his neck sheepishly. His friends beside him, snicker at his awkward response and continue laughing amongst each other mocking him, jisung notices this and pretends he’s about to hit them so they’d stop making you feel uncomfortable. He looks back at you even more embarrassed to explain his presence in front of you, “so-” “Why are you here, and where's kyung-hu and mee-yon” You notice that your two friends are nowhere to be found and you become more and more anxious being alone with practical strangers. “Funny you should mention that, they actually-” “We went to get some snacks!” Although kinda mad at them for leaving you alone, at least they showed up before this conversation could get any more awkward than it already was. Jisung feels quite relieved sparing him from the awkward exchange however his friends can’t get enough of his uncomfortableness bursting out in laughter when he was interrupted, not once but two times. Jisung and his friends move themselves to the tree beside you guys resting under the shade after mee-yoon and kyung-hu return back to their seats. After waiting until they were at a comfortable distance you start yell/whispering at your friends, “WHat the fuck guys you dont leave me alone with strangers!” “Oh don’t worry at least you finally talked to him instead of staring at him all day. Plus we needed to get enough snacks for all of us and we all know one person can’t carry all of that food. So please consider this strawberry milk as an apology.” Kyung-hu offers you the drink with Mee-yoon nodding her head in agreement. “Ugh I guess this was worth that horrible experience” you take your favourite drink after barely eating anything due to your lack of appetite.

The bell goes off and everyone starts to leave the field and head under the main building including you and your friends and since those two had a class together you took a different hallway hearing footsteps behind you before realizing the only person that could’ve been behind you was someone in your class, god please kill me now. And before the awkwardness kills you, you turn around and break the silence “hey thanks for watching me while I slept I understand my friends prolly asked you to do it as a favour and I really appreciate it” Jisung looks up after staring at his feet initially scared to stare in your direction. “No problem, i'm sorry that woke you up from your nap under that tree, it feels almost like deja vu” Both of you shyly laugh at his reference to your first encounter reminiscing the past memory. “Tell me park jisung why is it always you that must ruin my napping time? What have I done to deserve such cruelty.” Your exaggeration and choice of words managed to put a smile on his face and even a chuckle out of him. “Hey that's not my fault you’re obsessed with sleeping under that tree.” “But it’d be a waste not to, the weather this time of the year is just right, you can feel the heat but it's not overbearing it comforts you, it doesn’t require you to add layers nor remove any. We don’t need to change, not one bit. I can’t afford to take these moments for granted.” Jisung stares at your back taken aback by your sudden seriousness, not to mention the topic being the mere weather. Coincidentally the roles were now reversed, it was now Jisung that was perplexed by the change of mood similar to how you were a month ago. Although he could tell your words held more depth than they let on and decided not to speak on the matter moving on with the conversation. “But seriously no need to thank me after all I do kinda owe you for helping me out, plus you’re my friend, actually my first friend at this school” flashing you a smile which eases the awkwardness of your conversation. “Friend?” you widen your eyes at the title, unaware he saw you like that considering the limited time the two of you spent together. “Yeah that's what you call people you care about right?” your eyes follow his figure with a speechless expression on your face as he passes by you and walks ahead to go back to class, but just before he walks in he steps back to look back at you, “are you coming, friend?” before winking at you, emasked in the sunlight coming from the classroom, changing his eyes a lighter shade, before completely walking into the classroom. He leaves you baffled and blushing at his new found confidence and you are still processing what just happened, did he just wink at me? You shake your head trying to forget his words in hopes of calming your heart rate and enter your classroom sitting in your seat, on the other side of the class. Despite how much you try to hide your embarrassment, you just couldn’t hide how pink your ears were, same as jisung who might have put on a brave front, is slightly regretting and yet at the same time, proud of what he said. Both of you refusing to look anywhere else but down and especially not at each other, lost in your own thoughts but if the both of you had just looked at eachother even if it was just for a moment, you both would’ve found out something crucial about each other.

May: May does not only serve as the last stretch of spring but as a period of freedom. It enables the ability to be free enough to have dreams and independent enough to act on them.

Unlike the last two months you and jisung actually managed to talk more, although more doesn’t necessarily mean a lot but considering you and him have only shared a few meaningful conversations over the span of two months, your current relationship was a huge upgrade. Disregarding the occasional partner project or pairing in physical ed, in which you and jisung had always chosen each other considering both of your friends were in different classes, you’ve developed somewhat of a casual and low maintenance friendship, that didn’t need frequent conversations but had few but worthwhile moments, all of which were cherished by the both of you, as they reassembled the same serenity the two of you shared the first day you met each other. The moments you shared rarely felt forced and if they were, due to the immature pressures of both of your friend groups, the two of you had no trouble slipping into your own world. As naive as it sounds the friendship the two of you shared was purely platonic, no doubt there were moments of butterflies and heart racing however it only lasted just for a moment, quickly fading away. However someone you were interested in was the guy that helped you on your first day, although all that you knew about him was his name, yangyang.

You and your two friends approach the stands taking your seats to watch the soccer game hosted by your school after getting invited to sit beside jisung and a few of his friends to cheer on Jaemin, playing as a forward and Jeno, the goalie. As you look forward at the field and someone wearing the number 24 caught your eye. You found the haircut and build of number 24 familiar. You struggled trying to figure out just where you saw someone with similar features as 24, but it was only until he finally turned in your direction, getting a good look at his face. “That's him!” you accidentally stood up, hands covering your open mouth and jisung who was having a conversation with his best friend chenle, turned around to look at your stunned expression. “Hm? What happened?” You looked around embarrassed by drawing attention to yourself and sat back down awkwardly, leaning towards jisung who sat in the row in front of you to whisper, “do you know who number 24 is?” “Yeah that’s yangyang but what about him?” “Yeah I KNOW what his name is, but like who is he?” “I hope you realize how stupid you sound, but why are you asking me, I’M the new kid remember? Not the person who has been attending this school for the past two years.” Jisung raises his eyebrow to you confused as to why you don’t know who this guy was, expecting the both of you to have already met at least once. “So what you’re basically saying is that you got nothing?” “No I never said that, for your information yangyang is our age but he only transferred here last year from Germany. I guess he keeps himself lowkey, soccer is really his only extracurricular.” “bruh you should’ve just led with that, not with any of this new kid bs” “I think you meant to say thank you” Jisung gives you a deadpan look disappointed by your ungratefulness, you catch a glimpse of his face and laugh at how annoyed he is. Hoping not to make your friend upset, you lean in and stick out your tongue playfully in a teasing manner before flashing him your signature smile, “Thank you Jwi~”. Taken aback by his nickname (jwi means mouse in korean) along with the hint of aegyo in your voice, blood rises to his cheeks and to his ears but before you properly see it, he covers his face with his hands while looking down although his ears, like always, were giving him away.

But before you could tease him the announcer's voice filled the outdoor stadium, “Ladies and gentlemen the game between Seoul Highschool and Apgujeong Highschool is about to commence!” Suddenly you hear everyone in the stands start screaming yelling to the top of their lungs. “We will first introduce the starting lineup of the home team, starting with co-captains Na Jaemin and Lee Jeno!” You, jisung and both of your friends stand up and start cheering on the duo running onto the field, as you have become quite friendly with jisung and his friends so it was only fitting for you to support them. After their introduction you paid no attention to the remainder of the names until, “Now introducing number 24 yangyang!” Your head that was previously resting on your palm was raised after hearing that familiar name and you lean in trying to get a closer look at him before going beside jisungs ear. “Ya” Jisung, scared by the sudden noise, flinches back leaning on to chenle, who was too distracted talking to Renjun to notice his best friend but jisungs reaction does cause you to grin. Pointing at the smiling boy on the field, you say “Do you know what class he’s in?” “Oh him?” He takes a double check looking you up and down weirded out by your enthusiasm and interest in the soccer player. “Yes we were literally talking about him like 10 seconds ago” you rolling your eyes at his forgetfulness, you find it hard to believe he could be this oblivious knowing he was acting like this to tease you. “Yeah I know what class he’s in” you glare at the boy already knowing you’d have to do the most for him to finally spill the tea. “Uh would you like to tell meee?” you, not caring if you seemed desperate. “Lemme think, hmmm yeah no i'm good” “YAH PARK JISUNG'' you see his amused expression before coughing to regain your composure and trying another strategy “Can u please tell me~” you try to act as soft and cute as possible and although aegyo tears away at your soul, you know jisung couldn’t bare the sight of it. “STOP OH GOD” He tries to cover your face so he wouldn’t need to watch your aegyo any longer but you being determined, keep dodging him so he could see every cute action you’d do. “Please jisung~” “OKOK FINE JUST PLEASE STOP!” You quickly change your expression to a serious one which slightly scares jisung “so tell me what his classroom is” you say in a threatening tone while stabbing his ribs with your fingers causing him to flinch away, he sighs and slouches showing his surrender, caving into your antics, “fine it’s room 105” “Thank you! See that wasn’t so hard now was it?” You happily smile at him but you can see he obviously didn’t reciprocate the same feelings of joy and instead glaring at you. “Easy for you to say I have to bleach my eyes and tend to my wounds” Jisung cries out while holding the ribs you just stabbed, you roll your eyes yet again and scoff at his over exaggeration. “You’re such a kid.” “I'm legit older than you soo you’re the child here” him feeling proud at his comeback, looks up to catch your reaction but you’re pouting, hand crossed over your chest upset by the undeniable fact, which he finds kind of adorable. “Anyways why are you so interested in this guy anyways? Do you like him or something” jisung asks with his eyebrow raised while poking your leg suggesting that you do hold feelings for the boy, you feel your face become slightly hot by his suggestion. You swat his hand away and say, “N-no, the answer is no. How can I even like him, I hardly know anything about him. I’m just...” “you're just?” you start glaring him for interrupting your sentence and for teasing you. “I’m just interested” you finally end your sentence returning a playful wink to jisung just as he did a month ago. “Uh huh” Jisung says with a suspicious tone before turning around showing his back to you and properly watching his friends play in their first game of the season. Not satisfied with his answer you decide to talk a bit more, “what, can’t a girl be interested in a guy? I can’t just sit around dreaming about the day he approaches me, when I want something, whatever that may be, I go get it! Plus don’t you have anyone you’re interested in?” Still refusing to turn to you, you assumed he was just ignoring you, not paying attention to your question but jisung’s act backfired when you noticed his ears turn pink after hearing what you asked. “Heoll~, our jisungie has a crush?” (heol is korean slang for omg) you start shaking his shoulders out of excitement of this discovery. Still not looking at you, jisung puts his head in his hands to hide his embarrassment, amused by his timidness, you try to make him turn to you but he won't budging, unable to look at you to spare himself further embarrassment. In truth jisung didn’t have anyone he was interested in, so he was confusing himself but it was probably the question itself and the possibility of him having a crush that made him embarrassed, or at least that’s what he told himself. “Yaaaaa jisunggg tell me~” You say in a teasing voice but realizing your strategy wasn’t gonna make him turn your way, you smirk hoping that if anything were to get him to turn around it’d be this. So you start tickling him hoping he was even ticklish which fortunately he was, severely ticklish at that too. He starts to spasm due to the tickling laughing uncontrollably using his hands to block your hands and move away from your grasp. “YA STO-” turning around to yell at you, unaware at how close you got when trying to tickle him, he stops mid sentence finally realizing the lack of distance between the two of you. He takes a small gasp interrupting what he was going to say, speechless by the sudden eye contact, but it’s too late your eyes were already locked. “Ah there you are~” you say that in such a gentle tone that it was more of a whisper, inaudible to anyone besides you and jisung. Once again you guys find each other in the sunlight, which lights up both of your eyes making them seem as clear as honey, unaware of everyone standing up, cheering as yangyang just scored a goal. Both of you too lost in each other's eyes to notice anything else besides the smallest details in each other's iris’. However the gaze is suddenly broken when you look around and realize the cause of celebration, clueless to jisung's lingering gaze. “Oh my god look yangyang just scored a goal!” You tell the boy in front of you eyes glimmering with admiration, much to jisung's displeasure. Jisung was slightly upset at the soccer player who was the reason for breaking your eye contact, along with the fond expression brought to your face when looking at yangyang rather than himself. And although jisung might never admit it, deep down he’d wish for you to look at him like that even if it was just for a moment.

June: After months in the cold waiting for the arrival of summer, at last June has arrived. The month does not only represent a drastic change in temperature but in emotions as well, this month is when mere feelings can finally develop, for better or for worse.

“I like you” the words you hear coming out of your newest friend, whom you’ve become quite close to and bonded with over the past month. “Yangyang I-” “it’s okay you don’t have to answer, I just wanted to tell you” The boy says before winking and smiling at you with confidence. In the distance you could hear his friend Hendrey call out to him in a distance and you see him turn around to wave at his friend and turn back around, “anyways y/n I kind of need to go now, my friend is calling me” He says scratching the back of his neck, reminding you of another male friend of yours, using his thumb to point back to hendrey. He runs off to his friend, not forgetting to turn around, giving a cute wave before Hendrey wraps his arm around his shoulders walking off to who knows where. Now you’re left alone dumbfounded, behind the school building with a stunned expression, while physically you look as if your mind is blank your thoughts were far from that of panicking at your friends sudden confession. In retrospect you were kind of expecting this to happen as at some point considering your relationship was never just friends, you yourself started talking to him with slight romantic interests involved. Although it was, at least for you, a bit too soon. Still baffled by recent events you failed to notice the running footsteps of two boys come from behind you. “YA CHENLE GIVE THAT BACK!” You remain stuck in your headspace as both boys suddenly stop when they notice your strange figure and start whispering to themselves. “Yah isn't that y/n?” Chenle says to the jisung who steps closer to get a better look at you standing alone, he turns back to his friend “Uh yeah I think so?” There’s a second of silence as the boys try to figure out the odd circumstance, before Chenle says, “oh well HAVE FUN!” sticking out his tongue and running away while laughing uncontrollably hoping jisung doesn’t try to go after him after successfully figuring out his password and stealing his phone. “YA” jisung lets out a heavy sigh giving up trying to get his phone back and turning towards the dazed girl, shaking your shoulder a bit to get you out of your trance “Y/n?” “H-huh? Jisung? W-what're you doing here?” “I should ask you the same thing, I mean you're all alone out here” “Oh I was? I guess I didn't notice.” You shake your head trying to forget yangyang’s confession and bring yourself back to reality not noticing jisung turning his head to the side to hide the slight blush after seeing you in a confused state. Confused as to why he had suddenly spaced out looking in another direction, “Jisung?” You ask him while tilting your head cutely, an action jisung was still able to see in his peripheral vision which made him want to keep his head turned away even more. It was now you trying to get his attention so you smile realizing the irony of the situation,”Y-yeah?” “You wanna go to class now?” You say smiling before walking ahead of him with a slight skip in your step. “Yeah sure” you hear him say awkwardly following you to class. The two of you walked in silence from that moment on side by side, you taking a few glances to check up on him as he did with you and whenever you two did make eye contact you both gave each other a smile that although a bit awkward, was comforting in some way.

It was almost a week after yangyangs confession and since then you’ve fortunately managed to avoid him, still confused with what your answer, but it wasn’t whether or not you had feelings for him or not because you knew the boy could make you laugh, smile and give you butterflies at soon as you laid eyes on him, but you felt as if it was rushed. You considered it as only a crush than deep feelings for a committed relationship, simply put it was too early. And yet you knew you’d regret rejecting him because you didn’t want your relationship to end, rejecting him would risk losing, what would've been a perfect relationship due to your own indecisiveness. Ugh I hate feelings, you trying to decide your answer, was exactly what caused you to get lost during your late night walk you took to clear your head. Realizing that you’d been spacing out, you take a look at your surroundings and you had absolutely no idea where you were. “Oh shit” although what you could recognize is a neon sign at the end of the street that spelled out Convenience Store with a couple tables and seats at the front for eating. Feeling your stomach give a loud growl, you unlock your phone just to check if you have time to spare to eat some ramen, before your mom yells at you for staying out too late, 9:00 only? “OK! Lets go!” you celebrate to yourself, pumping a fist in the air before skipping towards the store and greeting the cashier. While you run your finger through the shelfs scanning the inventory trying to find your favourite ramen, “cheese ramen, cheese ramen, cheese ramen” All of a sudden you hear the door of the store open due the iconic bell and you hear a voice, a male voice greet the cashier as well, “Good evening~” FUCK! You instantly recognize the voice cursing inwardly at the chances you’d bump into him at a convenience store of all places. You immediately move to the next aisle, away from the entrance praying that he wouldn’t see you hiding behind the end of the aisle. “This literally cannot be happening to me” “What can’t be happening to you?” you let out a shriek, jumping back startled to hear ANOTHER voice. Please don't be him, please don't be him, you open your eyes that were shut due to fright, to look up at the stranger that just scared you “J-jisung?” “Yeah who else?” You wonder why you didn’t recognize his voice initially but you see his confident grin while looking at your distressed state, it somehow pleased him to see you like this. “So you gonna answer my question or are you gonna keep on staring at me?” Realizing you must look completely crazy, you fix your posture to look at jisung straight in the eye, “none of your business.” And you walk away from the boy taking your former spot using the aisle to block anyone’s view of you. You occasionally peek your head out just to check on the whereabouts of the mystery boy and jisung takes notes of this, standing behind you, hovering like the giant he is. He chuckles at your childishness, “who are you hiding from?” He asks out loud not caring if anyone heard him, you panic quickly putting your hand over his mouth to shut him up. “Jheez can u be any louder? Plus did I not make it clear, none. of. your. business.” Jisung pouts at you before licking the inside of your hand causing you to let go of him and give him a look of a disgust while you try to wipe his saliva off your hand with your sweater, but all he does is flash you a playful smile satisfied with your reaction. You roll your eyes at jisungs shenanigans and turn around to continue your spying seeing that the boy stayed by the cashier examining the gums and candies. Jisung follows your gaze tryna figure out just who you’re so afraid of before realizing who it was and his smile then turned into a thin line. “Him?” “Ya what do you mean him? That's yangyang!” You hit jisung offended by his reaction to your crush. Jisung flinches pretending that your hit actually hurt, “yeah did I stutter?” you ignore what jisung just said, too focused on predicting the movements of yangyang, maybe focusing too hard that just when you thought he was going to leave without noticing you, you two accidentally make eye contact and you quickly hide behind the aisle hoping he didn't see you. With your chest going up and down, you struggle to control your heart rate placing your hand on your chest to hopefully help lower it down. Jisung widens his eyes seeing you so flustered, “why what happened?” he looks at you, concerned thinking you’re having a heart attack. “He saw me” you slide down now sitting on the floor with your legs folded in front of you while you hide your face in your hands breathing into them, trying to calm yourself down. “What am I gonna do, what am I gonna do” you continually repeat those words slightly scaring jisung in the process, although after seeing you in this condition he realized he needed to help in some way. “Okok just stay here” patting your head before walking off leaving you to curl up on your own. Jisung walks down the aisle that yangyang just saw you in, already meeting face to face with the boy that had walked in your direction trying to check if it was really you or a hallucination. He stops when he sees jisung, taking a step back confused as to why he’d see him there of all places, “Jisun-” “Oh hey Yangyang funny seeing you here, isn’t it a bit late tho? Based on what jeno and jaemin were talking about I swear you guys have soccer practice in the morning tomorrow at 6, no?” Jisung interrupted yangyang, rambling on about a made up soccer practice, jisung thought of on the spot, while putting his arm around the clueless boy's shoulders pushing him until they made it out of the store and before yangyang could process what was happening. “O-oh they never told me we had practice” “oh well good thing you heard it from me, tho you might wanna double check just in case, ok?” “y-yeah ok, but wait-'' but before jisung could hear his question concerning you, and then be forced to answer it he turned around and walked away allowing the convenience store door to shut thus ending their interaction, leaving yangyang completely dumbfounded as to how he ended up outside of the store instead of inside looking for you. Jisung gives a sigh of relief upon returning to the scared figure on the ground in front of him, “It’s okay now” you hear those comforting words escape his mouth and you lift up your head to look up at him, “is he gone now?” Suddenly, jisung feels heat rise to his cheeks when looking down at your curled up body, resembling a scared child and somehow your question triggered a protective instinct in jisung, who felt the need to protect you from all the things wrong in the world well at least all the things that you couldn’t protect your own self from. Finally calming down after your nervous breakdown you stand up wiping away the dust on your clothes before turning to jisung with a smile on your face, “Now let's go eat some ramen!”

Both of you walk out of the convenience store after finding your cheese ramen and his spicy one, cooking it using the hot water at the store. You both sit down on one of the tables in front of the store met with a cool breeze that cooled the two of you down a bit from the summer heat. After taking a few bites and many loud slurps from the ramen, the two of you take your time to chew creating a moment of silence so jisung turns to you, “so you wanna tell me what happened in there?” You feel obligated to give him an explanation especially after how he helped you out, swallowing your food you lay your chopsticks down and explain to him the situation of yangyang confessing to you and you being nervous and confused. “Heol, yangyang actually likes you? Whaa” You throw a piece of your trash at him offended by his question, “Ya what do you mean actually liked me, what is their not to like” you say while flipping your hair back confidently, “Mhm you keep telling yourself that” his comeback slightly surprising you but you stop there not trying to take anymore insulting comments. “Ok but I was really nervous back there, if I wasn't so antisocial or if I actually understood my feelings then maybe yangyang and I would’ve already been dating and doing whatever couples do.” Thinking about the possibilities you pout and shove a bunch of noodles in your mouth to chew angrily, showing just how stressed out you were. Jisung lets out a laugh which earns a glare from you after being charmed by your inexperience and instead of making fun of your fantasies with yangyang, he empathizes with your situation thinking of a mature answer to help you out. “Do you seriously think anyone understands themselves? Because they don’t. People may put on a convincing facade but trust me when I tell you everyone is just as confused as you are. We’re teenagers for god sakes, we’re supposed to be going through this. You may not know what you want now, but in the future you will and how are you ever gonna figure it out unless you try? I have no idea what you’re feeling right now but I do know it’d be a waste to push those feelings aside because you’re scared. You’re the only thing stopping yourself and for whatever the reason is to why you're scared, whether that be getting hurt or getting embarrassed, just know it's natural and what’s meant to happen will happen but only if you allow it to.” In awe of jisungs words and yet curious as to how he developed all that wisdom. You stare at him, trying to read his face trying to understand what he was thinking. Instead you notice the soft glow of the neon sign on his features, his hair and face slightly lit up. You soften your expression while examining the details of the boy in front of you, who’s sitting with a slight slouch while spacing out, looking down at his ramen that makes you giggle inwardly because it looks like he’s glaring at his own food. You notice just how innocent and vulnerable he looks, and yet on the contrary you are unable to understand his thoughts now matter how you try. You find yourself spotting traits about jisung that you never realized before, like the glimmer in his eye or the sound of his sniffle while eating hot noodles, or how his cheeks puff out in the slightest and his hands inter cross when trying to focus. Even if he was sitting right across from her, he felt beyond reach and in the perspective you found jisung in, he was what they call picture perfect. If only I could just read his mind, even if it was just for a moment. However you stop yourself from staring at your friend for any longer and look down to take in his words, the same words that caught you off guard. You take a minute to absorb jisungs advice and just as quickly as yangyang said those three words to you, three words of the same nature slip out of your mouth, delivering the long awaited answer you were trying so hard to figure out, “I like yangyang.”

If you were able to read this far, I love you~

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thetypedwriter · 4 years

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Loveboat, Taipei Book Review

Loveboat, Taipei Book Review by Abigail Hing Wen

This book is solid. The few people I’ve foisted conversation onto about this book have heard me lavishly declare it to be the YA teenie-bop version of Crazy Rich Asians.

And while I maintain that my statement above is still true, the book also contained some other elements that either came across as a breath of fresh air or a polluted cloud of toxicity that made me cough and wheeze.

As for the general synopsis, it’s pretty simple all things considered. You have Ever Wong, a senior who is stressed about college applications, her own future potential, disappointing her parents, and ignoring the unrequited love she has for her best friend’s boyfriend. She also happens to be Chinese-American.

Ever’s identity as growing up Asian in the predominantly white-as-bread state of Ohio is kicked off quite strongly from the get-go. Ever talks about how the said pining of her best friend’s boyfriend could have not been pining and instead could have been her, but that he was unwilling to put up with her crazy Asian parents and their strict limitations.

She talks about how her dad, a revered surgeon in Taipei, has been relegated to pushing medical carts in hospitals in the States for the last twenty years as they wouldn’t recognize his medical degree.

She discusses how she and the only other Aisan kid in her class have an unspoken rule of not looking at each other or calling attention to one another as to not emphasize their Asianness.

As you can probably tell without having me list off a litany of other examples, this book heavily concentrates on race, identity, family, and self-control.

At the beginning of the novel, Ever is a shy, timid girl whose willing to give up her dreams of dancing because it’s what's expected of her after all her parents have sacrificed to raise her in America.

But then her mother sells her black pearl necklace to send Ever to Chien Tan, an immersion program in Taipei where thousands of Asian-American kids are sent for the summer, for the purpose of learning the culture, language, and other specialized skills like Chinese medicine, calligraphy, ribbon dancing and stick fighting.

Ever is reluctant at first, desperate to stay back and find a way to keep dancing, but as her mother literally throws her leotard in the dumpster, Ever knows it’s a losing battle.

So she goes. And she is amazingly transformed.

The rest of the book details Ever’s excursions with finding friends and love, immersing herself in the culture that Taipei has to offer, coming to terms with her own identity and race, growing up, making mistakes, hitting a low point, and then getting back up again to achieve her dreams and fight for what she believes in.

Now, the highlight of this book is definitely the representation, the talk of race and culture, and the actual experiences of Chien Tan, more commonly referred to by the kids who attend as Loveboat, drawn from the author Abigail Hing Wen herself.

Loveboat, as they call it, is an actual program that the author Wen and others attended and still attend. It’s obvious just from reading how much of Ever’s experience is drawn from the author’s herself and that IS ALWAYS AN AMAZING THING.

One of the first pieces of writing advice I Ever (hahahha sorry, not sorry) received was to write what you know. Wen does this and knocks it out of the park. Loveboat comes alive with her writing, flowing from page to page seamlessly.

She crafts it with such care and consideration that you feel like you’re there yourself, down to what the dorms look like with sticking doors, what they serve for breakfast, and the electives offered for academic selections. All of these little details brought such life and realism to the story and it made it an incredibly engaging read.

Add on Wen’s real talk of race, racism, identity, and the struggle for identity, and you indeed have a delectable concoction of raw representation from a person of color who has experienced these things first-hand.

Authors of color and representation in YA of characters of color have improved drastically in the last few years, but it’s still something to be expanded upon, drawn from, and encouraged and explored.

Wen’s story is almost entirely made of Asian teenagers of differing backgrounds and experiences, and it was honestly so nice to not read about another white girl from a white girl. The story was real and filled with culture and struggle, but also beauty, friendship, and acceptance.

All of these things hark back to why I call this book solid.

Now onto why I don’t call this book great.

I legitimately would have preferred if this book focused more on Ever’s identity as Ai-Mei, her struggle between wanting to be a dancer and not crushing her parents’ soul by rejecting the medical career they so want her to be in, and immersing herself in all the wonderful sights, smells, and experiences Taipei had to offer.

Of course, love and friendship and drama should play a role, this is YA after all, but personally I felt like the romance dominated the book almost entirely, shoving the questions of race and identity and struggle to the backdrop of a pretty redundant love triangle.

Which. We’re over the love triangle people, stop writing them.

But really, I understand that the two don’t need to be mutually exclusive, and oftentimes, Ever’s struggle with her race and identity went hand-in-hand with her struggles for romance, but there was JUST. SO. MUCH. OF. IT.

It was like an episode of the Bachelor if the Bachelor would stop casting white people as their main lead. Every other chapter was a pretty cliched rendition of some kind of romance trope: the bad boy that draws, the arrogant boy that predictably has a heart, but also a girlfriend, the so-called girlfriend flying out to Taipei, the evil stuck-up girl, literal running into chests moments, shirtless of course, and so many more to offer.

For an author doing incredible things on the front of representation and real talk about stereotypes, racism, and prejudice, I found her book pretty stereotypical of a YA romance itself.

There were several plot points that were also just incredibly predictable (the nude photos, my god, saw that from a mile away) that made reading this book just a little bit lackluster when I otherwise was really enjoying it.

Unfortunately, the biggest turn-off this book had for me other than the recycled plot and the ridiculous, predictable, rampant love triangle were the characters themselves. They all kind of...sucked.

They aren’t awful, by any stretch of the imagination, but they’re also not special either. Other than the fact that they’re Chinese, Chinese-American, or identify as another minority, and the implicit struggles and nuances that come with it, they were like any other archetypal character that I tend to dislike.

By that I mean that many of the characters I found extremely one-dimensional.

Each character had about two things about them that defined their whole characters.

Now, not to blind you with my nerdiness, but other than books, I also am quite the connoisseur of anime. This book, in a lot of ways, comes across as a printed form of anime to me.

There is a term in anime called Isekai which roughly translates to “accidental travel” and is saturated with shows all about people falling into magical worlds unpredictably.

Additionally (stay with me here), anime is also quite infamous for having very archetypal characters where one or two traits dominate their whole being so completely as that is the only thing about them that comes across.

Loveboat, Taipei in my eyes, is literally a print form of an Isekai. Which is not a compliment.

I really wanted to like Ever, Sophie, Rick, and Xavier, the predominant characters along with a whole cast of others. But I kind of...didn’t. Frankly, there wasn’t much to like or know about them.

Ever’s character was dominated by her love for dancing and her determination to break from her parent’s protective shell, Sophie was a bossy bitch, Rick was Wonder Boy incarnate, Xavier was brooding and artistic-see where I’m going here?

Even the side characters were all identified by one thing-Marc with politics, Matteo with anger, Benji with being baby-faced. I understand that this is one novel and that it’s extremely hard to flesh out characters and unfold nuances and depth, but I personally found Loveboat, Taipei to be lacking in this quality, exceptionally so.

Ever especially I found irritating. On some levels, I understand that Wen was trying to depict her as a flawed character who makes mistakes and learns from them, trying to represent the growth of her character and blooming into herself, but more often than not, I found her selfish, immature, and aggravating.

When you add on that Rick is head-over-heels in love with her (as is Xavier) for reasons that don’t really make sense or are legitimately earned in the story, then the romance feels forced and falls apart, hence me wishing Wen focused more on other elements rather than romance.

This plot contrivance, everyone, is what I lovingly call Bella Swan Syndrome-when a hot guy or vice versa falls in love with someone who legitimately doesn’t deserve it or the love is inorganic or just flat out doesn’t make sense.

Wen attempted the whole hate-to-love thing, which I love, but also which I genuinely think failed here due to the romance being subpar and undeserved.

Combine my lack of any real attachment to any character with the trite that was the romance, but mix it in with the praises above of realism and representation and you end at solid.

Recommendation: If you are sick of the white people, I hear you. If you’ve been looking for books heavily centered on POC characters or written by authors of color, then I’m with you there as well. This book is a great novel for discussions of race and identity and for those Crazy Rich Asians fans out there. However, do not expect this to be the pinnacle of romance, story, or characterization, which unfortunately, falls below average on this one.

Score: 6/10

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lallemanting · 4 years

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hi, just wanted to say I love your writing so much. I just finished reading fwog and it was amazing! I absolutely adore the soulmate trope. Would you know of any other soulmate fics that you would rec? any on your reading list or something you've already read. i trust your taste. THANK you so much for sharing.

hi love this is so nice thank you!! so glad you liked it! 💛

okay so I went looking to find all my fave elu soulmate aus again but I’ve probably missed some so sorry about that!

Blue by @choupichoups (you see color when you meet your soulmate): would it be a soulmate au rec list without this one? well-loved for a reason this is my go-to feel good soulmate fic

a little bit of you and me by vitane (matching soulmate marks): they work at a zoo, Lucas isn’t into soulmates, Eliott is...I mean if that hasn’t sold you already? it’s very cute and Eliott is a sweetheart and I love it

you’re my destiny wherever you are by vitane (you see color when you meet your soulmate): lots of Lucas in denial and a little bit of angst but there’s a very sweet ending

Everything will change tonight by nutriscii (music that’s stuck in your head is also stuck in your soulmate’s head): really sweet and lovely and also a lovely mix of a little bit of humor regarding music tastes and a little bit of comforting soulmate behavior

also these are not quite soulmate aus but like they also kind of are and they’re both super unique and lovely so I’m going to include them:

a brief for the defense by @unquaintly: I can and have gone on and on about this fic I love it so much! it’s gorgeous, poetic and a pacific rim au which makes it soulmate-aligned lol but you definitely don’t need to be a fan of pacific rim to enjoy it

Velocity by @bluronyourradar: listen. this fic is so interesting and creative I adore it. there is truly nothing else like it. some angst mixed with a sci-fi/magical realism-esque concept like wow please read

#anon #hope this helped!!#though this made me realize we need more soulmate aus please!!#fic rec

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mediaeval-muse · 4 years

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Book Review

The Night Circus. By Erin Morgenstern. New York: Doubleday, 2011.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Genre: fantasy

Part of a Series? No

Summary: The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

***Full review under the cut.***

Overview: If a book is fairly popular, it’s more likely than not that I’ll end up reading it years after the hype dies down, and this is precisely what happened with The Night Circus. I’ve had a copy on my shelves for years, but I decided to finally pick it up after making my way through a string of non-fiction books. I really enjoyed the atmosphere Morgenstern creates, especially the dreamlike quality that her prose evokes. But while most of the fairy tale elements worked for me, I do wish she had dome more by way of characterization for the two main protagonists and plot. Even so, this book was memorable, and so it earns a 4 star rating from me.

Writing: Morgenstern’s prose has a dreamlike quality to it. The entire novel is written in the present tense, which I usually dislike, but in this case, it felt appropriate; present tense, for me, tends to keep the story at arm’s length, but for something like The Night Circus, that uncanny distance actually enhances the feeling that the circus is not quite real or that it has secrets that we, the readers, are not privy to. In other words, the present tense lends an air of mystery that worked in this story *because* so much of the circus revolved around dazzling, mystifying and tricking patrons into thinking magic isn’t real.

That being said, I do think the periodic interruptions in which Morgenstern describes the experience of the reader going to the circus felt jarring. Every so often, Morgenstern has a section narrated in second person, with phrases like “you make your way to the tent” attempting to immerse the reader in the atmosphere. While these sections were wonderfully written and evoked the senses in pleasing ways, I ultimately felt that they distracted rather than complimented the story.

However, I really did adore Mogenstern’s creativity and imagination. I loved the attractions she envisioned for the circus, as well as its black and white color scheme. Instead of feeling gothic or threatening, the circus felt rather elegant and inviting while still maintaining and air of mystery. In this way, I think Morgenstern struck a nice balance between alluring and unsettling, one that doesn’t drive people away but ignites their curiosity.

Plot: From the summary of the book, it seems as though the majority of the plot will revolve around a “fierce competition” between star-crossed lovers, and while that narrative was present, it often faded into the background for me. The “competition” never seemed to pose a threat or create suspense - there was not really a strong back-and-forth pattern of one-upmanship that challenged the characters to push themselves and their abilities. Instead, the details of the challenge are rather foggy, so even the competitors don’t know the rules or the consequences, and they don’t seem to feel constrained or imprisoned by the competition in any way. I think this could have worked better for me if the whole challenge started competitive but then became forgotten in favor of the two romantic leads outdoing themselves for the sake of making one another happy, and while there was some of that, it didn’t feel like it was much of a guiding thread throughout the book.

I did think that the plot about Bailey and the red headed twins was better constructed, even if some readers found it uninteresting. Even though it was simple (Bailey wanted to get back to the circus and find the girl he had met years ago), Bailey clearly had goals and conflicts that influenced his decisions, from feeling constrained by his family’s expectations to the uncertainty of his future, and I think his arc complemented the main plot nicely - Bailey felt trapped by everyday life, and the circus served as an escape, whereas the circus is a kind of gilded cage for Celia and Marco.

That being said, I do think Morgenstern’s attempt to make the “moral” of her book about the power of stories and storytelling rather ham-fisted. Morgenstern clearly has a love of storytelling herself, and the whole book is an exercise in the power of storytelling, but I don’t think stories had a strong enough presence in the narrative itself to make the whole point of The Night Circus about those topics. Instead, I think the secondary theme of “the future is unwritten” to be much more compelling, and I think the conclusion of the novel should have ended on that note rather than Widget agreeing to tell a story.

Characters: While this book follows a number of characters, the summary primarily focuses on Celia and Marco, two “magicians” of sorts who are thrust into a competition by their mentors in order to prove whose method of doing magic is superior. Celia is more intuitive, performing magic through her “natural abilities,” while Marco is more studious, using things like signs and anchors to guide his magic. Aside from these defining qualities, I didn’t find either of them very memorable. Celia supposedly had the tendency to lose control of her emotions (and magic), but we never really saw that manifest in ways that were threatening to the competition or the people around her. Marco is also somewhat of a blank slate; he’s organized and works hard, but that’s about all I can say about him. I didn’t quite see what qualities attracted the two to each other, much less why they fell in love other than they admired one another’s magic.

Their mentors were a bit more interesting in that the had contrasting personalities. Celia’s mentor (her father), is overbearing and egotistic, whereas Marco’s mentor is reserved. I liked the mystery that surrounded Marco’s mentor and the way his emotions never seemed to get the better of him until certain points. Celia’s father, on the other hand, was a bit annoying and cruel.

I did enjoy reading about the other protagonists, Bailey and the red headed twins (Poppet and Widget). I thought that Bailey had enough external pressure to make his goals and desires feel real. Poppet and Widget also complimented each other nicely; though they are twins, they felt like separate people rather than a duplication of one another, and I liked how they were inquisitive, playful, and caring.

Supporting characters were also incredibly compelling and memorable. Chandresh, the proprietor of the circus, is eccentric, and I loved reading about his house of curiosities and his lavish midnight dinners. Tsukiko, the contortionist, has an appealing attitude that is simultaneously warm and matter-of-fact. Isobel seems like she would serve the role of the jealous lover, but I liked that she was warm and found a home with the circus. Herr Thiessen, the clock maker, encourages others to see the circus with wonder without becoming dangerously obsessed. Other members of the “circus board,” such as Mme. Padva, the Burgess sisters, and Mr. Barris, were also interesting to watch as they left their thumbprints on the circus.

Other: This book didn’t have a lot of worldbuilding (if that’s the appropriate word for it) in that none of the magic systems are fully explained, nor are we told who or what the mentors really are, but I don’t think these things were needed. The lack of full clarity enhanced the sense of mystery about the circus, and in some ways, this book was more “magical realism” than full fantasy.

I do think, however, that the ending to Celia and Marco’s story was rather unfulfilling, in part because it relied on the performance of a kind of magic that I didn’t quite understand. I think it would have been fine if the two had simply disappeared together and their “souls” (or something) still hung around the circus, so readers get the impression that they’re together, but the details aren’t quite clear. The matter of controlling the circus also seemed convoluted, and I’m not convinced that the magic required to do this was seeded into the story ahead of time, so it felt somewhat random. As a result, the ending seems to require us to understand how separate types of magic work, but the details of these systems throughout the book are vague, so the sudden specificity at the end feels strange.

Overall, though, this book was memorable and enchanting, which made up for the shortfalls. I still enjoyed it immensely, and I think Morgenstern is a phenomenal storyteller.

#book reviews

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a-marriedgames-universe-blog · 5 years

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Why We Need Gaming News

Evidently not a day goes by with out studying of the grotesque horrors related to modern day life. As with films and TV in days passed by it will seem the standard Video Game has emerged as the nice terror influencing the youth of right this moment's fashionable British society.

20 years ago in the event you were to say the words online game to anyone it could conjure up pictures of fats moustache sporting Italian named plumbers making their way by means of a two-tone facet scrolling magical land to an infuriatingly repetitive 8-bit noticias gamessoundtrack. However if you utter the identical two phrases in 2009 you might be likely to be greeted with a gasps and sighs of disgust as the image of a hooded teen in a darkened room with a yr's supply of vitality drinks and crisps piled up beside them.

It appears very a lot that Video Games have change into the enemy of the 21st Century however given the contradictory nature of online game critics it is difficult to take this view severely, however that has not stopped passionate advocates of contemporary day video games doing their upmost in protest of this Our Blog new medium of violence. None maybe have finished extra for the trigger than Florida based mostly attorney Jack Thompson. Thompson has made it his mission over the past decade to rid the world of violent video video games and guarantee those who do slip by way of the new don't fall in to the palms of minors.

Mr. Thompson has a specific bee in his bonnet regarding one Edinburgh based mostly publisher Rockstar Games. Since the launch of Grand Theft Auto and the Creation of Rockstar video games in 1997 the world of video game critics rejoiced at this new 'scapegoat', the mix of on display violence and hands on recreation play led to issues that video video games could be conditioning youngsters in relation to extreme violence. The video games questionable graphics and soundtrack result in many claims being dismissed, because it was not believed a title with such graphics may have a serious influence on a minors mind.

This changed with the release of the PlayStation 2 in 2000 and Grand Theft Auto three the next yr, this for the primary time bought truly 3D gaming to users. It was with the release of GTA 3 that Jack Thompson's ears pricked up with nice consideration Married Games and it wasn't long earlier than he was at it again. In 2003 Dustin Lynch made an madness plea after being accused of homicide claiming he was 'obsessed' with the sport and been influenced by the sport's depiction of graphic violence.

The plea was retracted and his mother acknowledged that it had nothing to do with Video Games. As video video games have improved each graphically and by way of recreation play they have taken https://marriedgames.com.br/ on new roles in society and in recent times have seen a return to the family orientated leisure hub of yesteryear however can online game developers really declare complete innocence?

The Call of Responsibility sequence is without doubt one of the hottest and successful franchises in video game historical past and has even been adopted by the US army as a manner of coaching the US armies troopers in strategic fight so does this not implement the argument that video video games can indeed 'prepare' gamers Wikipedia Here in violent conditions? Well not precisely sure the advancements made in video games has made the level of realism unquestionably detailed however can it actually be argued that at the moment's youth are uneducated enough to battle to distinguish between actual life and quite a few coloured pixels on a tv display screen?

The contradictory nature I referred to earlier performs into this subject. Weight problems in recent times has change into a real hot subject within the USA and certainly Britain and what was being blamed? Sure, that is proper the time being spent in front of the small screen playing video games, so personally I discover it very troublesome to imagine these overweight avid gamers who apparently spend nothing wanting 'all' their time in front of the tv inflicting mayhem and dysfunction on the streets of this nation.

The online game ranking system ensures titles intended for adults usually are not offered to minors nevertheless it does not make sure that they will not be performed by such minors in some unspecified time in the future. An analogous ranking system is in place in the USA nonetheless it is not nearly as tight as that within the UK and mature titles have been bought to underage US kids.

Grand Theft Auto although a favourite for the prosecution just isn't the only franchise to be blamed, the Virginia Tech bloodbath in 2007 which saw the worst shootings of its form in fashionable history, Jack Thompson was fast to put the blame firmly at Social Profile the door of this exciting entertainment type after he acknowledged, killer Seung-Hui Cho was a fan of first person shooter counterstrike nevertheless it was later revealed by Cho's roommates that they had never even seen him taking part in the sport.

By no means the less the declare had great resonance here within the UK resulting in many retailers refusing to stock sure titles one in all which is another of Rockstar's titles 'Canis Canem Edit' originally generally known as bully which underwent a name change for the UK market due to strain on the publisher, despite the sport utterly advocating bullying. The bloodbath also contributed to the banning of the sequal to controversial Manhunt in the UK market.

As with mobile phones and their apparent hyperlinks to cancer much analysis has been executed in to the link between violence and video games, and it is not just violence that has been researched, oh no, it's also video video games obvious glamorization of intercourse, medicine and maybe even rock and roll'. And what is the conclusion? Nicely unsurprisingly research confirmed no significant hyperlink between video games and violent crimes, sexual assault or drug consumption. Nevertheless alcohol however might be immediately linked with the above however has this led to a world damning of alcohol? No. So what of our buddy Mr.

Thompson? What did he make of this analysis? Effectively, not much because it occurs nonetheless in a sign that video games are 'preventing again' in a very non violent approach after all he has since been barred by the state of Florida from filing any new circumstances as a result of improper conduct and abusing the system.

So nice news video games are off the hook, nicely if only it had been that straightforward. Critics will proceed to search for a simple excuse in justifying a teen's behaviour and when the white coat clad forensics transfer in they may nicely proceed to march previous the sawed off shot gun and the newest edition of shooting for beginners and march straight for the games room and the latest online game with an 18 certificates. However I ask these critics to contemplate this, the gangs or the games which got here first? In the meantime we await the most recent medium that may warp and destroy the minds of the children of the world abandoning logic, cause in favour of blaming the glamorous and evolving world of contemporary leisure.

Free online video games have got to be some of the extensive and helpful forms of leisure available on the Web. Web sites all around the world are providing free video games online with a whole bunch of mystery games on easy to use and family friendly web sites. Most web sites nowadays that offer some kind of entertainment or free online games will offer you a publication and give you a approach to keep updated on the most recent news, games, and leisure they've to supply to you.

Some video games will embrace the most well-liked characters that can continually preserve youngsters coming back for more. Mystery games with characters they love will keep them addicted to their free online video games. Some online gaming web sites will offer different types to ladies which are focused only for them in which they are going to enjoy essentially the most. There might be an in depth checklist of video games designed just for them.

Many games are contain using your expertise and require academic studying. Thriller games during which will educate you and make your gaming experience not only fun, however useful. A big free online gaming web site will offer an enormous number of free games for toddlers, kids, teens, and even adults. One of the vital common, best, and most up to date gaming web sites will offer you the power to enroll and can allow you to be interactive with all the things. Many web sites provide this neat means. If you end up provided the possibility to sign up, achieve this. It is possible for you to to touch upon games, write evaluations, message other members, and produce alongside your family and friends.

In the event you consistently end up searching for free online video games and might by no means find that one web site that provides you every part you want and need, search now more. Lately everybody has access to the Internet. Web sites are constantly being created, designed, and maintained. Remember there needs to be somebody to do that, however nonetheless there are hundreds of thousands of individuals on the earth and plenty of them enjoy being on-line.

The leisure by no means stops in the case of the online world. If you're tired of searching for the unique and weird sport, just cease. You're positive to seek out it when all you need to do is go online to your favorite search engine and easily sort in exactly what you need. There are such a lot of games as we speak that it would be inconceivable to not discover the mystery video games that you want to play essentially the most.

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pens-swords-stuff · 5 years

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For Post-Script, what do you think is your favorite aspect of using an epistolary narrative style? (Bonus: How do you hone your narrator's speaking voice to make it feel as authentic [and relatable] as possible, especially given the absence of typical exposition that we might see in other more traditional narrative forms?)

Mina, thank you so much for this wonderful question! It’s really interesting and something I hadn’t outright considered; I really enjoyed thinking about it. You asked this ages ago, and I’m so sorry that it’s taken me so long to answer!!! I swear I appreciate it and I wasn’t ignoring it.

For those of you who don’t know, Post-Script is a WIP I write with McHaggis (@decantae) written in a letter-writing format. Here is the WIP page.

What do you think is your favorite aspect of using an epistolary narrative style?

I really just love the whole aesthetic of writing letters! Especially in this day and age where phone calls, DMs, and video chat is so prevalent, letters have become a bit more obscure and even more special than before. It has an intimacy to it, and it feels very personal. This is especially true in the case of love letters, which Post-Script will eventually evolve into.

Also, the entire reason why we decided to write together in an epistolary format is because McH loves the style, and they talked me into loving it as well. We’re both trash. Writing Post-Script also goes really quickly for us since there’s less exposition and prose to go through, and that’s a really nice bonus.

Writing wise, it’s quite interesting because in my opinion, the show-vs-tell is done really differently.

For example, in most traditional narrative styles, we experience what the protagonist(s) are experiencing. We are told what they feel, we are shown what they see, etc. However, in an epistolary narrative style, it’s all based on what each person is willing to write to the other — in other words, it’s mostly ‘tell’. When people usually write letters, they tend to be more straight to the point rather than layers of prose and description about what story they’re telling (of course, this isn’t always true, and that’s perfectly fine). Bishop and B.S., our two main characters don’t do that, at the very least.

Aside from the mystery and the conflict going on in the plot of Post-Script, one of the most important themes about it is the evolving relationship, and its eventual culmination into a romance. This is what we have to show via tell because neither of them will actually articulate it to each other until there’s a significant turning point, and there’s no way to add exposition, internal monologues, actions, etc., to help us imply it. So we try to do it tonally, by shifting how and what they talk to each other about as they get to know each other better. It’s a fantastic challenge, and has really helped us shape the voices for our characters.

Using an epistolary narrative style also allows us to experiment with what we choose to reveal and hide in a way that doesn’t happen in a more traditional narrative style. We have a plot and several subplots going on in the background, but they’re usually not described in detail — it feels like a grand experimentation with foreshadowing because you never know when that one minor detail in a letter dated several months ago will suddenly become relevant. There’s a lot of things our characters don’t reveal to each other; things they don’t think are particularly relevant or meaningful; purposely include or leave out; or just possibly are not aware of what’s going on.

I know that this happens in most people’s plotting and writing — I don’t think I’m articulating this properly haha. I guess what I’m trying to say is… We have to think about it differently because it’s very limited, so it feels very different.

I think Post-Script really benefits from it being a Harry Potter fanfiction. Unlike original fiction with its own lore, we can safely assume that most of our readers have an understanding of the Wizarding World — we don’t have to have our characters explain what the Ministry of Magic is like, for example. or what the Order of the Phoenix is. Both Bishop and B.S. know what they are, and we don’t have to force an explanation anywhere because our readers are already familiar with it. It may required more thinking if it was different.

How do you hone your narrator’s speaking voice to make it feel as authentic [and relatable] as possible, especially given the absence of typical exposition that we might see in other more traditional narrative forms?

First of all, I think the fact that two people are writing this really helps. McH writes for Bishop, and I write for B.S.; we can both focus on honing the voice of our own character without having to worry about differentiating, and nailing another character’s voice. We both have different writing styles and a very good understanding of what our characters sound like, so we don’t have to worry about them sounding too similar. I don’t know how much difficulty I would have in making sure each voice is distinct if I was writing this on my own.

And for me personally, I consider dialogue and characterization to be one of my biggest strengths in writing so it’s actually a lot easier for me to convey B.S’ voice in this format than it is in narrative prose. B.S. is especially suited for a format like this because she’s a very distinct character who isn’t particularly worried about formalities or holding herself back. She’s very honest and true to herself, so almost immediately right off the bat, I was able to start incorporating her authentic self into the letters by adding in dumb jokes that she thinks are clever and funny, and writing out exactly what she thought about their conversations.

Exposition is usually just B.S. updating Bishop on what’s happening on her end and because that would be very boring on its own, I take advantage of the fact that it’s filtered through her very opinionated perspective. No person is truly a neutral third-party, so it adds a bit of realism and character to every piece of exposition I write in Post-Script. What B.S. gets mad about for example and goes off on a rant helps characterize her by showing how she gets angry and what she gets angry about, while simultaneously filling people in on an important moment of the plot.

The small things are also really important; just a little extra detail that’s not necessary to the plot or to their agreement of exchanging information, because they do have a life outside of the plot, and every single thing helps paint a better picture of who they are. There’s also the added bonus of the small details illustrating the evolution in their relationship as the details become more personal, and more mundane as they get more comfortable with each other.

It’s also interesting to note: I’m by no-means mischaracterizing B.S. in Post-Script, but she’s a bit different in person than she is in her letters. You know, similar to how our online personas and personalities aren’t always congruent with how we present ourselves in real life. B.S. comes across as a lot more confident and smooth in her writing, because words are her strength — writing is her job, so she’s very good at conveying her thoughts, and has the courage to be bolder. In person however, she’s easily flustered and is a lot more emotional, so the way she reacts to Bishop in writing, is very different from how she would react to it if he had said those things to her in person.

This is so long I’m so sorry! I also rambled a bit really late at night, so many apologies if this doesn’t make sense.

#asks #undine answers stuff #postscript #mvcreates #my wips #undine's fanfiction #hp fanfiction

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bookswithrita · 5 years

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Title: Belzhar Author: Meg Wolitzer Publisher: Dutton Books Published in: 2014 Pages: 266 Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

This was an interesting book, that I can say. I went into this without many expectations and it surprised me how much I enjoyed this....up until the last 50 pages. The story had everything to be interesting but it don't think it landed where it was supposed to. This is the story of Jam, a girl who fell in love with Reese, a British exchange student, who she lost after 41 days of meeting him. Now Jam is in mourning and her parents decide it's for the best if she enrolls in The Wooden Barn, a boarding school for "fragile teens", as advertised on the brochure. There she takes this special class with only 4 other teens and there she discovers a whole different world from the one she's living in....quite literally. I was very invested in her story. I enjoyed the boarding school experience and how Jam in the beginning didn't care at all about recovering from her experience but by the end she not only found a great group of friends, who all shared something in common, but she recovered from her loss. However, I do wish we had more scenes with this group of friends, more interactions. I never read anything by Meg Wolitzer and, as far as I know, this is her only YA book. And I would say it wasn't a bad attempt. The writing flows and it's very straightforward. The description are nice. This had everything to be great, including one of my favorite elements, magical realism. However, the plot lacks a bit and our characters, especially our main character, don't really standout or are in any way memorable. Yes, we have very different characters. But nothing that makes them more interesting than any other. As I said in the beginning, I really liked this until the last 50 pages, when we finally learn what happened to Jam and the reason why she's at The Wooden Barn. To say I suffered from secondhand embarrassment is an understatement........like girl, why? I don't want to be mean here but it's your mind playing tricks and creating the whole situation. I think I expected too much from this ending and it fell REALLY really short. I imagined a lot of things, except what actually happened. Long story short - I was disappointed and this is now a 3 stars book, and that's me being nice because I liked 80% of the story. Did I waste my time reading this? No, I don't think so. Will I read anything else by Meg Wolitzer? Probably not because I don't see myself liking her other books. But we shall not say from this water I won't drink because one day I might drink it 😂 who knows what Rita from the future will want to read? Do I recommend Belzhar? It depends. If you are already curious about it and have the book then sure, read it. But it you've never heard of it, it's not a book I would tell everyone I come across to read because of it's greatness.

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zerodeity · 6 years

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Winter 2018 Thoughts

Overlord Season 2

Tl;dr - Weak Start, Solid Last Arc, Evileye, Princess Renner

The first season of overlord was very good from start to finish. It keep introducing good plot points and had a way of keeping your attention throughout the whole series. The second season was very much welcomed by me as I just fell in love with the series after season 1. The second season started off with a rather weak arc, it was interesting that they showed us a larger portion of the world through other characters eye, but these weren't the characters that drove the first season. The lizard men felt like they had no place after the war on their kind and the only thing that made it out of that was frostpains one appearance in the 2nd arc of this season. The second arc however is where the show really takes off for me. It brings back the interesting characters that we had fallen in love with and introduced a new set of interesting characters. Princess Renner, who stole the show for me and the Blue Rose. Princess Renner kept my attention in every scene she had along with the big reveal they did with her, made her one of the best characters from this season in my opinion. Climb playing a big part in bringing Unglaus back into the world was much needed. Unglaus was one brought up to be one of the stronger humans in the world so it's nice to see him on his feet again. Sebas also had some good scenes in his journey to be a simple gentleman, I'm excited to see where they take him and his development with Tsuare whom I felt for awhile was the princess playing games with the being of Nazarick, however I find that highly doubtful at this point. Overall I'm excited for what is to come for us in Season 3, airing Summer 2018. This anime is definitely one of the top 10 in my book and I would rate this season at 7/10, that first arc was just odd.

Darling in the Franxx

Tl;dr - 002 gain and loss of emotions, Mysterious children

Darling in the Franxx is an anime original plot which can take many turns both good and bad. This being the "hype" anime of the the season makes me a little wary. At the time of writing this episode 17 had just aired however I still have not gotten a chance ot watch it and I will be holding my brain back to only how I felt in the first half. The introduction of 002 in episode one got me hooked as well as the way she developed over the course of the next few episodes. Seeing her character change was really nice but she had reverted to her old self soon after. The scene where Hiro screams at her and they "dance" their way through the compound was gorgeous. My personal best pair would have to be Zorome and Miku, Miku compliments Zormome so well it's almost like they were made for each other. The mystery behind these kids and how they were "born" still tingles my imagination. At this point I don't have much else to say beyond the fact that if someone doesn't die I will be a tad disappointed.

Sora Yori Mo Tooi Basho (Journey to The Middle of Nowhere)

TL:DR AOTS, Wonderful Story, Good animation in key scenes, close attention to detail in locations, Character growth

Sora Yori mo Tooi Basho, (Journey to The Middle of Nowhere) was an amazing anime and definitely took its spot as anime of the season for me. The story itself is a little far fetched but isn't that what anime is? Four girls journey to Antarctica in search of Shirase's mom's final resting place to bring her closure and over the course of this she finds out many things about herself and those around her. Mari herself created the drive for this anime with her relentless tenacity and energy. Her meeting with Shirase just sealed the whole thing together. Shirase’s determination was incredible. The anime itself had amazing animation in a lot of the key scenes that needed it. Such as the scene with Shirase, Mari and Hinata running through the streets in an attempt to not get caught, on the same note the scene where the girls are running through the base in a frantic search was also amazing. Another scene that sticks out to me heavily is during the last half of the anime where they open the laptop and you see the flood of emotion on Shirases face. The soundtrack in this scene coupled with the amazing animation sent chills down my spine. Shiraishi brought a certain maturity to the group, while also being very afraid herself. Seeing her learn about friendship and how it evolves is stunning. Hinata definitely stole the show for me with her attitude and many "quotes" which easily solidified her place as my favorite character. The episode with her as the focus "Bang That Drum Can" is still very fresh in mind. Hinata struck my heart with her quotes such as "Never think the stars you see are all the stars there are", "It's a thin line between self-assertion and selfishness" and "When you hit the point of no return, that's the moment it truly becomes a journey". I feel Sora Yori did an amazing job developing the characters and showing us the relationship between them and the struggles they faced in their Journey to The Middle of Nowhere. They also did an amazing job in showing the real world locations in the anime and showing us the beauty that could only be seen in this distant land, sure it probably doesn't compare to the real thing but it was damn good. The soundtrack also worked wonders with the scenes and only stood to build more on the fact that this was a very well rounded and thought out anime. Sora Yori got heavily overshadowed by Yuru Camp being in the same "genre at a glance" of Cute Girls Doing Cute Things and deserved way more attention then what it got. Overall I would give Sora Yori a 9.99/10, I absolutely loved this anime and cannot wait to get it on blu-ray and hopefully get a Hinata figure, however the ending left something to be desired but that's not to say that the ending itself was bad. If you want a very solid anime that touches on a lot of emotional levels than go check out Sora Yori.

Citrus

Tl;dr Character Growth only to be put back to step one, Good yuri, drama the anime

Citrus was the Yuri anime we wanted but definitely didn't need. It offered wonderful Yuri scenes and played on that to no end. Mei and Yuzu were a wonderful pairing that served to compliment each other in what the other lacked. Their relationship, being the sole focus of the show, felt like it make some major progress only to be set back many times by the characters actions. The heavy amount of drama this anime pulled felt forced at times but made it that much easier to get emotionally attached to the characters. I really don't have much to say about Citrus, it's your typical Yuri anime and has good animation where it is needed. It is most likely not going to be the anime that revives the Yuri genre as nothing to me can hold a candle to Strawberry Panic (10/10 by the way). I would give Citrus a 6/10, is was your typical Yuri anime with quite a bit of drama.

Yuru-Camp

CGDCT (Cute Girls Doing Cute Things)

Yuru-camp was that no-nonsense anime where you learn about the girls in it and just watch their adventures. It's that simple anime about camping told in a very relaxing way. Rin made the anime for me, her character and the attitude she had was fantastic for me. The soundtrack and scenery are really where this anime shines. Where-as other anime will give you a glimpse of the beautiful scenery and snap back to the characters having a conversation with each other, Yuru-camp will focus on that mountain and have the characters talk over the scenery. The soundtrack was very mellow and relaxing which just added to the mood of every seen. I would give Yuru-camp a solid 7/10, it was a very comfy and relaxing anime which I need every once in a while.

The Ancient Magus Bride

Tl;dr - Solid world, Good magecraft and lore, 1 season fling?

The Second half of The Ancient Magus Bride builds on the world that first half set up in a nice way. Seeing Chise explore this world as a newcomer with no knowledge allows the anime to explain things in a way that makes sense. Witnessing Chise learn more about herself and this world as the story went on was shown very well. The Ancient Magus Bride explores magic and lore in a way that I thoroughly enjoy. Utilizing ingredients for magecraft and the fairy world lore are part of this anime that just drew me in. Oberon and Titania themselves being part of the anime lead my imagination in such a very nice way, this is nice way to draw this anime more towards the realm of realism. The majority of the second half is spent looking into the main villain Cartaphilus, which isn't bad but feels very drug out. Most of what the first season does well the second season keeps up, the pacing gets a little odd however. At the end of this anime I would rate it a 7/10, the ending left much to be desired and honestly felt like it came out of nowhere, I hope that this won't be just a one season wonder but with the ending they pulled it just may be.

#sora yori mo tooi basho #darling in the franxx #overlord #anime #review #winter2018 #yuru camp #citrus #the ancient magus bride

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atruththatyoudeny · 7 years

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Monthly Reads | September 2017

❤ THANK YOU TO ALL WRITERS FOR YOUR HARD WORK AND FOR SHARING YOUR STORIES! ❤ Top 5 + 19 more under the cut:

Don't Want Shelter

by FullOnLarrie | hate to love | enemies to lovers | friends with benefits | fake/pretend relationship | 76k Louis and Harry have known each other all their lives. Friends as children, they danced around each other as teenagers, and have spent the last twenty-five years either screaming at each other or not speaking at all. Except for that one time ten years ago… When Hurricane Nicole threatens the coast, they end up stuck together in their families' old vacation home that they begrudgingly co-own. During the storm, and in the months after, they’re both forced to reevaluate their history and what they mean to each other.

Made in the A.M. Fic Fest

1. Hey Angel: A Few Very Good Mistakes by louisandthealien | 2. Drag Me Down: Outed by MileHighLarry | 3. Perfect by sweariwouldnt | 4. Infinity: The World Still Turns by hrrytomlinson | 5. End of the Day: Just you, Me, and the Moon by InkedwithLove | 6. If I Could Fly: For Your Eyes Only by BriaMaria | 7. Long Way Down: Finding Us in Our Atmosphere by asphodelknox | 8. Never Enough: I’ll Be Your Love Tonight by dinosaursmate | 9. Olivia by haloeverlasting | 10. What a Feeling: Baby I’m Right Here by FallingLikeThis | 11. Love You Goodbye: One Last Time by dimpled_halo | 12. I Want to Write You a Song by phdmama | 13. History: Things Gone Cold by MediaWhore | 14. Temporary Fix: Let Me Touch You Where Your Heart Aches by rosegoldhl | 15. Walking in the Wind: Anytime You’re Needing Me by Larrymama15 | 16. Wolves: When the Wolves Come Out by Awriterwrites | 17. A.M.: (This Could Be Forever) Right Now by lululawrence I decided to put all of the stories in one post because all of them are so so wonderful and truly reflect a beautiful side of each song on MITAM. You really want to read them all!

Eyes Turned Skyward

by elizamackenzie for HL Summer Exchange 2017 | 17k “I’ve lived most of my life here,” Louis says after a moment, gazing out at the last spectacular rays of sunlight, “And yet still, when I see this,” he lets out a small breath, Harry turning to look at him as he shakes his head, “It all looks too perfect to be real.” Harry looks at the line of Louis’ jaw, seeing the way it tightens as Louis stares out over the landscape. And Harry suddenly wonders what this place might mean to him. How different the city must feel to him than it does to Harry. How this city, that has been alive for more than a thousand years, full of its enchantments and majesty, to Louis, is just home. Or the one where Louis is Harry's charming airbnb host and Italy is the best place for romance

(And Things Will Be) Hard At Times

by lululawrence for HL Mpreg Fic Exchange | mpreg | panick attacks | 34k Louis and Nathan had been talking about marriage and kids and a family for years now, but it had never felt right. If anything, the talking about it had petered out over the past while because they were busy living the lives they had settled into. It wasn’t that they didn’t think they’d ever have kids, just that they weren’t to a point where they were ready for it yet. Well. Ready or not, it was happening. Or the one where Louis and his boyfriend of five years unexpectedly find themselves pregnant and Harry is the paternity photographer that makes everyone think twice.

Turning Page

by purpledaisy for HL Summer Exchange 2017 | famous/non-famous | enemies to friends to lovers | 67k “What’s your name?” “Harry.” He draws the word out slowly, hesitantly - like he’s not sure about it. The guy knots his hands behind his back. “Harry Twist.” “Right,” Niall says, eyes lingering suspiciously on Harry before looking back to Louis. “You wanna buy Harry a drink?” Louis lets his eyes drip back to Harry, to his wide eyes and the way his shoulders curve down. He really is pretty – Louis will be the first one to admit it and the last one to ever say it out loud. Louis almost smirks and his lips twitch as he tilts his head, “Not particularly, no.” - AU: Harry Styles tries to get lost in a place he’s never been. Louis Tomlinson has been perfecting the art of being lost for years. What they don’t expect to find is each other.

I'm Having Your Baby

by MADZJACOBS for HL Mpreg Fic Exchange | mpreg | infidelity | eating disorders | 61k Five years after One Direction took a hiatus, Harry Styles' personal life is a mess. The multi-faceted entertainer's marriage has fallen apart and he can't put his heart on the line again knowing it will just get broken. So he puts his successful career on hold to become a father. He has always wanted children and maybe having a child of his own will take away some of the loneliness and heartbreak. He really believes that. That is until he walks into the clinic to meet the surrogate who is already eight weeks pregnant with his child. A surrogate with his own past to deal with; one they both need to finally face.

Ever Fixed

by delsicle for HL Fic Fest (2017) | magical realism | divorce | angst | child death | 41k Three years ago, Harry was happily married, successfully heading the largest technology company in the world, and raising his young daughter. After he loses nearly everything in the aftermath of his daughter’s lost battle with a rare brain tumor, it may take three strange and yet very familiar visitors – and a man from the therapy group Harry keeps refusing to go to – to get him back on track.

The People's Playground

by musketrois | historical | gambling | 17k It is 1900 in New York City, and Harry Styles has recently immigrated to America from England. His sister encourages him to take a day off from his life as a factory worker and Harry decides to take a trip to the infamous Coney Island where he literally runs into Louis Tomlinson. It looks like Coney Island will be more than Harry bargained for.

There's something in the water

by curlyfries for HL Mpreg Fic Exchange| mpreg | strangers to lovers | 13k Harry and Louis met when Harry was in the middle of a rough patch after he injured himself during a tennis competition. After a night that Harry can't forget, he's met with a little surprise a couple of months later. It's a bit of a shock, especially considering how he got there, but he's determined to see it through. He's all prepared to do it all alone too, but running into Louis again might change the game. Cue dates, happiness and cuddles, but Harry can't get the fact that he needs to tell Louis out of his mind. He's got his fingers crossed that it all works out.

An Ever Fixed Mark (series)

by My_words_fly_up | 56k Harry Styles lives quite scandalously in the slums of London and never expected to cross paths with a kind, well-bred gentleman like Louis Tomlinson. But once they meet neither will be the same again.

Like A Saturated Sunrise

by onlyhuman for HL Summer Exchange 2015 | 12k Louis doesn't necessarily enjoy gardening. Which makes it all the more annoying that someone has been cutting off flowers as they see fit. Or, alternatively: the one where Louis has a love/hate relationship with his garden and Harry is the most innocent criminal to ever exist.

Can I be him?

by amory | soulmates | 29k Louis is twenty years old and has been waiting for his soulmate and true love to come along since the day he was born. Harry is an eighteen year old youtuber who is skeptical of soulmates and the pressure of being the person someone else has been dreaming of their entire lives. They meet at Playlist Live.

Something Just Like This

by kiwikero for HL Mpreg Fic Exchange| mpreg| superheroes | superpowers | 31k Newspaper intern Harry Styles can't believe his luck when he goes from fetching coffee for his boss to writing about London's own superheroes, One Direction. Even better, he gets to spend time with the unfairly handsome Freefall, also known as Louis Tomlinson. Louis, who is way out of Harry's league and far too busy for a proper relationship—so how on earth is Harry supposed to tell him they're expecting?

Where the lights are beautiful

by twoshipsdrifting for 1D Big Bang: Round Five | a/b/o | accidental bonding | 31k Harry wasn’t wrong about that, not in a general sense. Lots of omegas did seek out rich alphas and betas, hoping or planning to go into heat at the right time. Plenty of omegas saw this as their duty, especially if their families weren’t well off. Worse, Louis couldn’t honestly say he’d never thought about it. If that had been his life, his goal, Louis would feel pretty good about himself now. As it is…Louis feels like shit. .:. .:. .:. Or the accidental bonding a/b/o fic.

King and Lionheart

by stylinsoncity | a/b/o | mpreg | 46k Louis can't remember a time when he didn't hate being an omega. But maybe he just needed Harry to come along and make him his.

Somewhere In Between Who I Used To Be and Who I'll Be Tomorrow

by ShapeOfLou for HL Mpreg Fic Exchange | mpreg | strangers to lovers | infidelity | 27k After landing his dream job of being a TV host, Harry Styles thinks he has it all, a nice job, luxury cars, designer clothes, and a stable relationship with a man he loves. That is, until he makes the drunken mistake of going home with the cute bartender which results in an unexpected pregnancy. With a baby on the way, Harry has to balance his work life with deciding how he wants to spend the rest of his life: with the man he's been with for years or the father of his child.

Back To Seventeen

by crimsontheory for HL Fic Fest (2017) | 26k As a first grade teacher in a small town in Illinois, Harry’s life is pretty simple. He loves his job, is close with his family, and has a best friend he would go to the ends of the earth for. When a new soccer coach starts at the local high school, things start to get a bit more exciting for Harry. Because that coach just happens to be Louis Tomlinson; the guy Harry was unrequitedly in love with in high school. Or the one where Louis moves back to his hometown and Harry realizes he’s still not over his high school crush.

Leap Of Fate

by happilylouie for HL Mpreg Fic Exchange | mpreg | 12k After one too many failed dates, Harry decides he’s had enough. He is going to start a family on his own, everything falls into place as Harry finds the perfect donor. But when Harry realizes who the donor actually is it hits him like a curveball. He wants Louis Tomlinson to be involved in his baby's life, but first he has to figure out a way to date him. Or Radio Show Host Louis Tomlinson is going to be the father of Harry Styles’ baby, the only problem: He has no idea.

Second Time's the Charm

by Chelsea Frew for HL Mpreg Fic Exchange| mpreg | 21k The first time Louis sees the new barista at his favourite coffee shop, he falls head over heels. The first time he takes the barista, Harry, home, they end up making something a little bit more than conversation. Suddenly, it seems to Louis that Harry is keeping secrets. He is. Two life-changing secrets. When Harry lets Louis in on these secrets, Louis needs to decide whether to let them change his life--or not.

I can't use words they don't say enough

by Anonymous for HL Historical Fic Exchange | post-WWII | kid fic | minor character death | physical disability | PTSD | 27k Harry enlists at 16 to fight in World War II, leaving behind his family and the love of his life. When the war ends he finds himself back in the small town he called home. Five years has passed, and nothing is the same. His family has moved away and Louis has a daughter. Can they salvage their relationship, or will the effects of the war be too much? Louis couldn’t believe his eyes, and yet there on the other side of this hunk of wood was Harry Styles, the boy he’d written off as dead years ago.

Manifest Destiny

by Anonymous for HL Historical Fic Exchange | Pony Express | friends with benefits | minor character death | injury | 15k Harry and Louis had fallen into bed together again that night, mouths greedy and hands needy. And now every time Louis stops at Fort Kearney, even if it’s weeks in between, he and Harry spend the night together. The nights are always filled with heat and passion, and it gives Louis something to think on fondly as he rides across the western territories carrying sacks of mail. They’ve never talked about it, and they’ve never kissed. Louis doesn’t know if he wants either of those things to change, but he knows that his presence in Harry’s life is sporadic at best. Probably best to leave things be. Or, Louis is a Pony Express rider and Harry runs a station along the trail.

Keeping You Forever And For Always

by Rearviewdreamer | Kyle XY AU | superhuman | 52k Louis only went poking around in the woods one evening in the name of science and saving the polluted lake that everyone else had long since given up on. He ends up leaving with a lot more than a few toxic water samples when he stumbles upon a belly-buttonless man in the shadows who could possibly be a nudist but is most definitely more than ordinary.

Heart Without A Home

by Snowy38 | homelessness | betrayal | hurt/comfort | 20k Louis is staying at the shelter when a late entry pulls at his conscience and he decides to share his precious bed with the mysterious Harry. The pair somehow find an instant bond but Louis can't help but feel Harry is hiding something... Featuring Zayn as a chef, Perrie as the shelter manager and Liam as a helper- and Louis' best mate.

The love is ours to make (so we should make it)

by lingerielarries | Punk Louis | Flower child Harry | mutual pining | past suicide attempt/self harm | 19k “I’m.. Harry. I nanny? For Ernest and Doris?” Harry responded. “A nanny? How old even are you? You look twelve.” Louis remarked. Something caught Louis’ eye, and a closer look revealed that Harry had a coat of pink nail polish on his fingers. “Nineteen. I’m nineteen.” Harry replied. “Right. Nineteen, wears pink, flower crowns and paints his nails. Who the actual fuck did my mum hire?” or the one where louis takes some time off from life to return home, only to be met with a strange boy in pink and a flowercrown as the nanny of his siblings.

#don't want shelter #mitam fic fest #eyes turned skyward #(and things will be) hard at times #turning page #hl mpreg fic exchange #hl historical fic exchange #hl fic fest #hl summer fic exchange #1d big bang #pairing: larry #fic rec #my reads #my fic rec #monthly reads

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