#i mean there was probably like only 4 people including me interested in the eve lore before he got famous famous but

[fakecats]

i wish eve would bring back indie animators instead of those big anime studios to animate his mvs sure the animation might be better but there’s no personality

[accio-victuuri]

January 2024 CPNs 🍭🍬🍪

starting off the year strong with some good old candies that puts a smile on our faces. i have to say that this month has some challenges because tho we have sweets, there were some outside voices that affected some of us in a negative way. being a bxg is a continuous learning process, and i hope all of us get stronger and learn that xz and wyb will always be the priority. we will respect them. we will be kind to them. and i guess that’s the good thing about monthly recaps like this, a reminder that bxgs live the good life! 🫶🏼

now let’s review this lovely month… ⬇️⬇️⬇️

• New year’s eve candy goodness

• Additional NYE clowning, one of the set props for WYB’s stage, is a clock. It’s not set as 10:05 in an obvious way, but if you turn it just right you will see the 10:05. Most likely a coincidence but who knows.

• ZZ & WYB featured in Elle Japan

• 1/2 yibo official weibo video post

• Probably a coincidence but in WYB’s interview he mentioned that one of his favorite Actors is Sean Penn. Understandable. However people are screaming cause “Sean” is also XZ’s first name. lol. Was this an additional point to like the actor? 😂

• 1/4: Yibo cat photo cpns

• XiaoWangZi = Little Prince

• 1/6/23, photos onset of ZZ’s new drama went on HS. to be expected, cause it’s in hengdian and anything related to ZZ’s project is bound to get some paparazzi interested. there was also some talk that the project might have shared it intentionally to stop the malicious rumors that the drama wasn’t actually filming. anyway, the CPN in all this is that a new CP was born 🥹🥹🥹🥹

baili is mostly paired with shiying — who is a favored person to be shipped with xieyun. so it seems like baili doesn’t have his one & only. so maybe zanghai can be that person. and both their stories include court politics so it’s perfect.

• The Boys & their late night city adventures

• ZZ & WYB + Mimi the Cat

• A new/old snippet from their thailand fanmeet rehearsal where they wanted to hear each other’s voice on their earphones

• WYB smiling cause he heard XZ’s sample/demo for the song tomorrow will be better during recording

• 1/11 zsww rumor : cutting their hair

• 1/12 same light and shadow in studio post caption & another wedding outfit

• THEM WITH A KID 🥹🥹🥹 it’s giving suo-er vibes!

• Weibo Night recap & candies

• yibo is seat #23 and then xzs posts their video at 00:23. what a coincidence 👀

• same brand heurueh bits

• In his SINA interview for Weibo night, he was asked who he prefers to go with during vacations and he answers friends. but before saying that he stuttered. you all know how we are with XZ and his stutter, meaning he is changing his answer or is a bit nervous cause the true answer is revealing. Tell us, who do you really wanna go on vacation with? 😏

• The boys being tourism ambassadors of their hometown which led to them being featured in a newspaper

• A fansite posted a series of photos showing how XZ signed the backdrop for Weibo Night. It clearly shows how he looks at WYB’s signature and the decides to sign right next to it. There are videos too that show this much better. I guess this one depends on people’s interpretation. I think those who are anti cpf will see this as a coincidence and say that XZ just signed randomly on the side cause the other spaces already look crowded. But then again, you can’t deny that he saw WYB’s signature. He knows what it looks like. They both spent so much time signing stuff together during CQL promotion so it’s safe to say that he recognized it. If they are sworn enemies like some people love to imply, why would he sign near WYB’s? This is pretty clear to me, it’s his way of being right next to WYB. 🫶🏼

Here is a closer one posted by someone who attended, you can see how close they are.

• an assistant in weibo night who took care of them both & who seems to be their friend

• matching lawsuits of anti fans

• both of them showing up at loreal annual meeting to give their messages

• our boys love to stay hydrated! 💦💦💦

• a video from SDC where the OP said WYB’s reaction was due to their wangxiao headbands. I know there are a lot of toxicity and fanwar that happened because of SDC fan support and there is some narrative from his so/os that WYB hates us. so/os are free to hate on us but i don’t think it’s ever right to project that onto WYB who is like the most accepting person. let the fan wars be between the fans, don’t bring WYB into it and claim stuff that will put him in a negative light.

• mystery tennis photo where people clown that he could be with xz. but i personally think he is just with some friends, but that doesn’t take away the possibility that he plays with xz 🎾

• GQ caption similarities and sexy backs - and i think the biggest takeaway from this whole GQ drama is that fans should remain rational and we should trust the boys and their decision. I have talked about it initially here, but that was more of calling out fan etiquette than the cpn implications. some bxgs really fell into the brainwashing package of solos and i wanna discuss that here cause this fandom is not only about candies but being firm in our belief. you had shrimps saying wyb is the enemy cause he is all cozied up with gq, and some bxgs bought that. they were “disappointed” with wyb and made up stuff about him doing things against his will. then the same people were slapped in the face when yibo continued to work with him for his album which is about as personal as it gets. only a few respected wyb’s decision and trusted in him & xz. motos are saying gq will never work with someone like xz cause he is the enemy, and that’s why wyb is comfortable with rocco and team. which is proven to be wrong now cause he is working with them. who knows, they may even do a full feature for LOCH. this is a lesson to bxgs, do not rely on solo sob stories to make sense of zz and wyb cause they only see one side of the story. they were always okay with GQ. Maybe GG was hurt at some point but he moved on and so should the fans. i just hate the feeling that ZZ & WYB were so happy with the collabs they did with GQ, in the meantime, BXGs who are supposed to understand them the most were nowhere to be found. we should do better next time.

there are serious efforts out there to make us turn against one of them, and use cpfs as anti minions, so we should be more careful.

• BJYX and Tennis 🎾🎾🎾

• Their Ordinary Life - a translation of a post made about their lives as normal people, and riddled with known CPNs.

• the connection between the tod’s strap included in xzs 2024 media gift box and wyb’s alleged gucci strap accessory in SDC 5

• early cpf story

• new clue from a drawing of a cake 🎂

[yandere-caesar]

mind writing a Yandere Josuke who very delirious and wants never more to make his female darling happy even having to take by force

Sure! I am not sure which Josuke you want me to write, but since you did not put Hat Josuke, Gappy, or part 8 Josuke, I am going to assume that you mean part 4.

This one was aaaaalmost finished. This is more of an unedited one than an unfinished fic.

Love is unbreakable

Description: Josuke has tried everything to make the person he loves happy.

Pairing: yandere!Josuke x female!reader

Warnings: Technical kidnapping, stalking, unhealthy relationships, depression, angst, murder, gore, death, abuse, suicidal/self harm themes, yandere themes.

Josuke could remember the exact moment he got feelings for her. It had been her first day at school and she was too nervous to really talk to anyone. Whenever someone tried to approach her she would flinch away and find some excuse to leave.

He hadn’t put much thought into it until he ended up seeing her on the roof of the school. It was where he usually met up with his friends when all of their other places where taken. She was sitting on a bench, picking at her lunch and looking down at everything on the ground bellow. Maybe she was deep in thought. It was hard to read her, but there was something distant and sad about it that he couldn’t put his finger on.

It made him want to do something about it.

He sat down next to her, grinning. He could see her grabbing her food in surprise, probably getting ready to bolt now that there was someone else out there. But he held up a hand, hoping it would stop her for a second.

“Hey, don’t worry! I’m not here to bother you or anything! I just thought you looked kind of lonely, you know?”

He could tell she was still uneasy, but she seemed to relax just the slightest bit. Maybe she was thinking it over?

“Thanks...”

“Don’t mention it! So did you just move here? I know you’re new to this school.”

“Yes...I just moved here last week actually.”

“If you don’t know much I would be happy to show you around town some time, you know?”

He could feel his heart flutter when she gave him a very small smile. Nothing too overwhelming, but enough to let the moment of peace slip through.

“I would like that.”

That was the moment when Josuke had truly fallen. He didn’t want to see her looking down at the ground with the veil of gloom she usually had. He wanted to see her give him that same smile every day. He wasn’t sure why, but there was just something about it. Something about her.

He couldn’t stop thinking about it and it had been months since they met. While she was still too skittish to be around the other people that liked to hang out with him, Josuke was happy that she had at least opened up to him. He was pretty sure that he was her only friend, but he didn’t have a problem with that. It made them more personal in a way. Something just the two of them could share.

It was like a date, wasn’t it? Were they already dating? They might as well be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Things continued like this for a while. Both of you decided to stay in town after graduating, which you were happy about. Josuke was your best friend and you weren’t sure what you would have even done on your own without him if you had decided to leave and go to some strange alien place with no one you knew.

He always knew when you were having a bad day and would do whatever he could to cheer you up. These included taking you out to get your favorite food, watching your favorite shows with you, playing your favorite games, and many other things. You can’t remember when you told him about your interests, but you’ve been buddies for so long that it doesn’t matter anymore, does it?

Yet still....there were things you just couldn’t tell him. There were things that followed you in your mind on your bad days that kept you from being completely happy. It wasn’t that you meant to look sad all the time, it was just that you had a hard time hiding your true emotions, even if you didn’t want to drag anyone else into your problems.

Every time you were asked about it, you gave him some excuse or another. You turned in a homework assignment late. You didn’t get the job that you wanted. You spilled tea on yourself before going out and had to go back in and change.

While most people would have probably caught on after a while that you were lying, Josuke never seemed to question what you said. He always wanted to believe you and just wanted to make you happy. And you wanted it to stay like that, even if it wasn’t enough sometimes. You didn’t have anyone else. Josuke was the only person who really cared about you.

But as time went by, the amount of disappearances in the town started to go up again. Everyone thought that since the killer was caught, this wouldn’t happen. That people would be safe. But that wasn’t the case.

And to make matters worse, the people that went missing were always people that you knew. Sure some of them had been rude to you. A lot of them had even been outright mean. But that didn’t mean that you wanted them dead. In fact, the whole thing made you very sad and afraid.

Knowing that Josuke had a hand in catching the town’s killer, you decided to confide in him about it, but he never seemed to take it seriously. All he said was that he wouldn’t let anyone hurt you. And that he would always protect you. It always made you feel better in the moment, but when you were alone you had your doubts.

This was a conversation you were having today as Josuke walked you home from work. You still lived with your parents because you had not yet saved up enough money to move out of the house, but you were already looking at options that were closer to where Josuke lived.

“Hey y/n, how come I’ve never met your parents?”

“Oh, you know. They don’t really like it when I bring other people over. It’s just a rule they have.” You look away from him.

“Even someone like me?” You laugh at that and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Even someone like you. Now I have to go. I’m not supposed to be out after dark and you know that.”

“Yeah.....I know. Guess I’ll see you tomorrow y/n.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After you shut the door behind you, Josuke just stood there for a few minutes. While he had walked y/n home a few times and he would sometimes follow you around when you weren’t looking, he had never had it in him to actually peek on you when you was at your house. Maybe it was out of respect. Or maybe it was because something always seemed.....off about the place.

Today was different though. He wasn’t sure why, but he was just frozen there. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to just peek in your window. It’s not like you would get mad at him if he was caught. You were too close for that and he could just say he wanted to see you which was never really a lie.

Looking around, Josuke was able to find a fire escape that he could use. It was old and looked like it was broken in a lot of places, but that wouldn’t be a problem for him when he had Crazy Diamond. No one would think to check there either since most people wouldn’t be able to climb it. And it went right up to the top floor!

Being careful not to make any noise, he slowly started to climb up the structure, repairing it as he went and keeping his eyes on the windows. Most of the lights were on so he could get a pretty good view inside.

It looked basic enough. There was one bathroom and two bedrooms on the second floor. You had left a tube of chapstick open near the sink next to a basic razor and some toothpaste. Part of him wondered what would make you leave the room in that much of a hurry, but another part of him thought about how you probably spread it all over your lips every morning. Now he was thinking about your lips. How soft they would be. Would they taste like the chapstick when you finally kissed him?

A shadow of movement caught out of the corner of his eye pulled him away from though thoughts. Something was moving in one of the bedrooms! He quickly pressed his body against the wall, moving close enough to get a good look.

You were sitting on your bed, doing something on your phone. You looked cute when you were slightly tired, but there was something else there under the surface. It wasn’t just the usual sadness. It was something a little bit more...tense. Like you were trying to relax but something was holding you back.

He watched you suddenly jump up at something and scramble to put your phone away, but apparently you weren’t quick enough to do it before someone unlocked the door from the outside. Someone walked into your room that he assumed must be your father, going over to the window. Luckily he seemed to have his back turned and wasn’t looking out of it.

He couldn’t make out your dad’s face, but he could see yours becoming pale and blank. There were some words exchanged that he also couldn’t make out from where he was, but your eyes just kind of....glazed over. He had seen that look on your face before, usually on some of your worse days where you needed him to cheer you up extra hard.

After a while of just sitting there and not really being able to tell what was going on, you finally walked over as slowly as you could and handed your phone to the man. Huh. Your family must be kind of strict about this kind of thing. It was weird for him to be treating you like that when you were an adult though.

Suddenly, your dad turned around to stare out the open window and Josuke only had a moment to side away from it before he was spotted. Unfortunately, he didn’t pick the most stable place for his footing and the rusty metal fell out from under him, leaving him dangling by the railing he had grabbed onto.

Crap, did your dad see him?! Did you see him?!

He just hung there for a few minutes, not making any move to drop down to the ladder or pull himself up just yet. It felt like they dragged on forever. He was just waiting to see a face in the window that would ruin his chances of ever seeing you again. His chest was as tight as a vice grip and he felt like he was struggling to breath normally.

But after a while there just....wasn’t one. No face in the window, no voice screaming at him and telling him to leave. It was weird, but he let out a sigh of relief, feeling his whole body relax as he slowly pulled himself up before making his way back to the ladder. He was still in the clear, but it was probably time to leave. The plan had been kind of risky from the beginning, even if seeing you was worth it.

As he went down each rung, he wondered if he could try this again sometime. Maybe find a way to actually take something that smelled like you. Or tasted like you. He still couldn’t really get over the chap stick.

When he finally got to the ground, his foot hit something hard that was just laying there, making him flinch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You ran down the street as fast as your legs could carry you. Of the terrible things that could happen, being late to work on one of the most important days was something you really wanted to avoid. You didn’t have an alarm to tell you when you needed to get out of bed, so you ended up sleeping in an extra hour. On top of that, you couldn’t find your work clothes ad you had no way of calling in.

When you got there, you were of course fired on the spot. You wish you could say that this was the first time you had been put in this situation, but it really wasn’t. You had a streak of being late like this. It didn’t happen every day, but it had happened enough for you to get several warnings.

You knew there was a good chance this would happen, but that didn’t make this suck any less. You just wanted to have money to spend on things for yourself. You just wanted to save enough to eventually move out. The money you had would last you until you found another job, but all the hours you spent breaking your back at the job you just lost were for nothing.

You walked over to a park nearby and sat down on a bench, shaking. It could have been from either anger or fear. You felt like you were going to cry at any second, but the tears just wouldn’t come out. You just wanted to scream. It wasn’t fair! It wasn’t! You just felt so helpless!

You felt someone sit down next to you and put a hand on your shoulder, making you flinch. But when you noticed that it was Josuke, you relaxed slightly. You weren’t sure why he was here or how he managed to find you, but his presence was a welcome one.

“Josuke? I thought you were working today.”

“They gave me the day off. Did something happen...?”

“Josuke I.....they fired me. I came in late because the alarm on my phone wouldn’t go off.”

“Yeah, it usually doesn’t go off when the whole thing gets smashed like that.”

You gave him a confused look before he reached into his pocket and fished something out, handing it to you. You almost dropped the object when you saw what it was. It was your phone! Completely intact and unbroken like nothing had ever happened to it!

“How did you....?!”

“Let’s just say I’m really good at fixing things. It should be working too.”

You had no idea what to even say. Your phone was basically your lifeline since you weren’t allowed to have a computer. Without it, finding a job could have taken you even longer and you would be isolated from looking at the world or talking to you best friend late at night. Really, it was one of the only escapes you had sometimes.

When you heard the loud banging outside last night after it was dropped out the window, you were sure it was done for. You couldn’t see it on the ground when your father left the room and you were able to check, but you were still pretty sure it hadn’t survived the drop. But now? Josuke was just handing it to you like nothing ever happened to it.

You quickly turn it on and see that he’s right, it’s working like he said it was. You reach over and pull him into a tight hug, which looked like it really caught him off guard, but he quickly returned it, wrapping his arms around you tightly as you buried your face in his chest. You could finally feel the tears coming out as your body allowed you to let go.

You had hope again.

“Thank you Josuke. I’m....I’m not sure what I would do without it. It’ll still take me a while to find another job but-”

You felt one of his hands rubbing your back soothingly.

“Hey, it’s fine. I have a lot of money y/n. I don’t mind helping you out for a while until things get better. I can support you for as long as you need me to.”

“You would really do that....?”

“Of course I would y/n. I would do anything for you.”

You just leaned against him and smiled as he held you close, listening to his heartbeat. Something about him just always felt safe and comforting. You knew he was right. He was always there when you needed him even at the most unexpected times. It was like he just knew.

You had never had anyone care about you this much in your entire life.

You can feel your own heartbeat racing now as you pull your head up to stare into his blue eyes. He really was beautiful, wasn’t he? Had you just never noticed it before?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everything went perfectly! He gave the phone back and you even hugged him and let him touch you! He originally just wanted to do it to make you happy, but getting the affection meant that the two of you were almost MEANT to be together at this point. He could tell from the way you looked at him!

Of course, he probably shouldn’t have waited to return the phone. He was upset to hear that your boss fired you over something like that. If he had known you didn’t have an alarm clock he wouldn’t have kept it for so long. Your old boss would have to be punished now. But part of him couldn’t resist the urge to look through it. It was only fair since he was the one who fixed it for you, right?

The first thing he checked were all the text messages that looked like they might be from people your age. He wanted to make sure that no one else was trying to date you. It wasn’t that he thought you weren’t loyal to him, but you were pretty enough and people like your co workers wouldn’t know you were already taken.

While he was satisfied with what he saw from most of the people you knew, something in his gut was telling him to search through the conversations with one more of your contacts.

The conversation started with your father telling you to call him. Josuke could vaguely remember that you had stayed late that day after having to cover for one of your co workers. Something about it seemed kind of demanding. Maybe how it was phrased?

Or maybe he was looking into it too much? But the replies didn’t get much better. There was nothing but continuing demands for you to talk to him. The last thing he texted said that he would come and find you and you “wouldn’t like it”. This was when you decided to reply to say what happened and the conversation stopped.

He bit his lip. Maybe jumping to conclusions wasn’t the right move. Maybe he could find out more. He was lucky enough to spot an app that might give him some answers. It was a cute one with an animal on it, but he recognized it as one that was made for tracking mental health.

He opened it up and scrolled over to a calendar function where the user could track their good days and their bad days. He winced when most of the thing was filled up with red frowning face symbols, but he also wasn’t surprised since he knew your mood was pretty low when he ran into you most of the time.

He tapped one of the red symbols on the calendar and a bubble popped up over the day saying “Anxiety”. Were you scared that something bad was going to happen...? He tapped on another one. This time it read “Nightmares”. That seemed to add up. He remembered how tired you were that day. He bought you some coffee and it seemed to help a little bit. Every time you smiled it was etched into his memory. In fact, pretty much every moment he spent with you was.

Then he tapped the one matching the day from the text conversation, his eyes widening at the words that appeared on the screen. Maybe this wasn’t real. Maybe he was seeing things. You wouldn’t....

Josuke had seen enough. He quickly closed the phone, clenching his fist and trying not to break the thing again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You got home late after wandering around and checking out some places you saw job listings for. Despite the fact that Josuke had offered to help you, you felt a little bit bad taking his money. You really didn’t want to be a burden. It would be better if you got a new job as soon as you could so that you could pay him back.

You went to grab your keys and unlock the door but it was....already open? That was strange. Your dad probably just forgot to lock it this time. Oh well. It’s probably better this way since he’ll be pretty angry at you if he catches you coming back this late.

As you step into the house, you notice that the lights are off and it’s really quiet. It looks like you got lucky this time around. He was likely in bed if he wasn’t by the door waiting for you at this point. You would get to have a peaceful relaxing night without worrying. You probably needed one of those.

As soon as you set foot in the kitchen though, you hear a voice that fills you with a cold dread. “Where’s that boyfriend of yours?”

Your father is standing in front of the door to your room. You can’t make out the look on his face in the dim light, but you don’t need to to know that you weren’t going to get a night to relax after all. You mentally curse yourself for thinking you were safe.

“You mean Josuke? No we aren’t...he isn’t my boyfriend. I was just looking for another job.”

“Enough.”

 You go silent. Your brief attempt at arguing your case had failed and you knew from experience that nothing could change what was about to happen. He had already made up his mind that he was going to punish you before you even walked in the door. Reason wouldn’t help you anymore.

“You know you aren’t allowed to stay out late. You’re a smart girl. I raised you better than this. I raised you to be a problem solver, not a problem maker.”

You just nod, instinctively backing up. Your mind was on leaving, but you knew you couldn’t. You didn’t have anywhere else to go and he was standing right in front of the door to your room so you couldn’t escape there either.

“You should stay away from that boy. I caught him climbing all over the fire escape the other night. He can’t be up to anything good.”

“I’m sure it must have been a cat or something. Josuke wouldn’t have any reason to be out there.”

You hear a fist slam into the wall and you jump, your whole body preparing itself for the worst as you tense up again. Damn, you knew you should have just kept your mouth shut. Why did you feel like you had to defend Josuke to him at all?!

“I’m a parent and I know these things. Stop making me the bad guy. I’ve done everything for you. I feed you. I give you you a roof over your head. How can you be so cruel and heartless y/n? Don’t you trust me? Your mother would have never wanted this.”

You could hear the volume and tone in his voice rising with each word, like a scalding pot about to boil over. At the mention of your mother you grit your teeth. You wanted to scream. You wanted to throw things. But you couldn’t. You had to stay calm. You were an adult. You could leave after you had money. You just had to wait a little longer.

“This is the third time you’ve been late this month. Just be glad she’s not around to see what you’ve turned into.”

You’re about to let everything out. To just let go of the last little bit of control. But before you can scream, your dad beats you to it. At first you think that he’s going to try to break your arm again, but then you realize that it’s a scream of pain, not anger when you notice the liquid dripping onto the ground in the brief light from a car passing by outside.

“Shut the hell up!”

You pull out your phone for a flashlight and stare wide eyed at the scene in front of you. Josuke was standing behind your father with a look on his face that you had never seen before. You had witnessed him losing it a few times when someone insulted his hair, but this went well beyond that. It was something much more wild and dangerous.

Your father coughed and grasped at the fresh hole in his abdomen. You had no idea how he had done it or how it was possible, but Josuke had made it go clean through. You could see the wall on the other side as the organs spilled out onto the ground, painting the floor with more fluids as they did so.

You don’t know how to react to this, or even how to process it. It was like you were watching something out of a horror movie. You knew you should be sad. That you should be scared. That you should probably run. Josuke had broken into your house and killed the person that had raised you.

But you weren’t feeling those things. Instead under all of the layers of shock, there was the knowledge that he would never be able to hurt you again.

As the body slumped to the ground, that blind rage that Josuke had been in seemed to immediately end as his eyes turned to you and softened with concern and he ran over to you.

“Y/n? Are you ok? Did he do anything to you?”

He quickly pulls you into a hug and you return it, squeezing him as tightly as you can. None of this felt real. None of this could be real. What had just happened? You didn’t know how to answer the first part his question because you didn’t actually know if you WERE ok.

“Shh....it’s ok Y/N. Let’s go back to my place. You probably shouldn’t stay here.”

He was right. You still had a million questions for Josuke and you weren’t sure what was going on, but anything would be better than staring at the dead eyes that you had spent your whole life trying not to look at on a face that sung one last song of how you were a failure in every way and didn’t deserve to be happy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After making sure you were safe at his house, Josuke went back to your place to clean up the mess he made and grab some of your things. It didn’t take him very long to clean up the body. All he had to do was repair it to get everything back inside and the ground was spotless after all of the organs and blood were sucked back in like pasta being put in a bag. It made him look a lot more peaceful, like someone who died in their sleep while having a nightmare and woke up at the last second instead of a monster that was about to do something horrible to Y/N.

It was more than the sick bastard deserved, but it couldn’t be helped. At least he could make sure his eyes were still open. That way he could imagine that his soul was stuck in there somewhere as one final punishment for everything he had ever done. Josuke made sure to kick him one last time for good measure.

After fixing the body, Josuke stepped into your room. He had never been in here before because you had never been allowed to have him over. He smiled. Everything in it reminded him of you. It was decorated in a way that really matched your personality. He could just imagine himself laying in bed with you while the two of you cuddled and talked. It was a shame that you wouldn’t be able to come back here, but maybe he could help you make your new room like this.

He moved to the dresser to start packing up a few pieces of your clothing. He could always get you some really cute new outfits, but he knew that there were some things that you really liked to wear because he had seen you in them and memorized the key ones.

When he gets back to his house, you’re still in his bed. You’ve been like this ever since he brought you back. You don’t say anything to him. You just hide in the blankets and stare at the wall.

Josuke sets the clothes down next to you and sits down on the bed, putting a hand on your side. You don’t seem to react to it at all.

“Hey. I brought you some things in case you need them. How are you doing y/n?”

You still didn’t respond. He needed to kick it up a notch. What kind of boyfriend would he be if he just let you sit there like this? He was sure with enough care you would be yourself again. It would be fine.

He wraps his arms around you, pulling you into another hug.

You still didn’t respond.

“Y/n?”

You slumped over with your eyes wide open. Something wasn’t right here. Something was very wrong. And there were some things that Crazy Diamond couldn’t heal. Neither could his love for you.

Josuke’s tears kept falling as your body got colder. But you were already too far gone to notice as the pill bottle slipped out of your hand.

[mingzisdrgongxuo]

now she's throwing yogurt at me.

went to 7-11 grabbed some lunch, and bought her a drink... raids my fridge, eats my yogurt, now she's throwing it at me.

does spongebob teach this or does watching pornos with an adult teach this? what about her two missing front teeth that have not shown signs of growing back in?

i didn't teach this 4 year old how to say "what the fuck". so who did? her mom supposedly doesn't speak english, and the kid says they don't speak english in her house.

i have grown up things to do, i showered, spent all night doing coin op laundry so that i would be clean and presentable, now this.

kicking her water bottle, intentionally dropping things to try and trick me into picking them up for her, just to try and kick me when i lean forward to be a gentleman to your child. throwing the blue and red soccer ball at the back of my head when im sitting down and facing the other direction..(she says the blue and red soccer ball is not hers) brat suckerpunch.

trying to go on a pedophile hunt and trying to implicate me? or are you jealous when you see me making friends and you are not included? how does it feel? i was homeless and eating garbage, and excluded from all your lives while you were being loved, finding girlfriends and wives, getting laid, having kids, new houses of your own.... accepted by your friends instead of alienated... where were you for five years of winter on december 25th or new years eve? where were you on those thanksgivings? celebrating my absence and the fate that was handed down? or are you mad because answering it wasn't enough in your organized crime, coke dealer, mafia princess, opinion.

or was i supposed to speak to an empty room in some bullshit confessional or declaration of my will for you to plan your behavior accordingly? you mean like stalking me or trying to arrange a trap?

you only talk shit about my sex habits or sexual interests, because i refuse to include you in the equation, or when i'm not digging a grave amongst your utilitarian judges like everybody else, for you to watch like some only fans webcam show.

it does not interfere with my responsibilities or affect how i treat people. i probably respect the females more than you.

it's free. unlike drugs, or hunting, or drinking, or going out and leaving a mark on society. unlike getting kids addicted to coke at an early age for some nefarious purpose or whatever you do to influence this strange out-of-character behavior.

it costs nothing for me to make myself feel good.

you sure as fuck don't.

this is why the church aint shit to me. this is the example you present before me. these are all "good" church goers.

i swear, somebody tells her or influences her to do that and won't say who or why.

this is why i don't do a fucking thing for girls much less males. ingrates. all acts of kindness and self sacrifice, are a complete waste. might as well spend money on things you'll never see again, never worn, never appreciated, and throw hundreds of hours of my free time devoted to thinking about doing something nice, especially for them into the trash can for the Korn kids. just for them to treat me like shit and never see my creations again.

or worse. for some asshole to bite off of it, because he can't come up with his own shit, and he still needs to make money of his own son's heartbreak and eventual homelessness from his mansion and 7 figure salary. what a stud.

the dudes are probably cokeheads, have no problem betraying a friend for a twenty dollar line of shit. and which family member wants what's best for me while they hide and lie about their marlon brando self grandeur. CIA families suck.

because "you" (not the child), literally refuse to take care of my things. you don't even take care of your own things.

too busy bearing an unspoken grudge they're too busy choking on a pride sized dick to speak.

funny how "word" travels back to people, how my tumblr account somehow reaches random people that don't speak english, out of context, to try and turn friends into enemies because of some jealous little creep that hates the law and wants to try and implicate the law as the enemy.

do you feel better now that you made a nice day turn sour, just to sodomize hatred from me asshole because life isn't enough work? so you make fucking work for me.

thanks for including yourself behind the scenes, corrupting and destroying another friendship with a person that has noone. fucking coke pusher.

nothing goes right no matter how honest you are and because you are still doing wrong and being deceitful and dishonest.

when's the last time you even made an effort to clear yourself of suspicion?

you want to accuse me? my doctor does blood tests all the time. go ahead and check it. the sooner you do the sooner your pain in the ass is silenced and messes and mistakes stop happening in the workplace.

i don't see you changing your approach.

that song by the police, "wrapped around your finger" isn't really working out the way you wanted it to huh?

[shanastoryteller]

Questions about outlines: How detailed are they? Are they the same level of detail or do they vary? How do you make your outlines? Chronologically scene by scene? Or do you come up with the scenes that call you and then come up with smaller filler scenes to fill in the gaps? Do you have outlines for each chapter? Or just for the larger general plot points? Do you try to complete the outlying before starting the fic? Or do you add to the outline as you go? Sorry if this is to many at once

lmao okay i got several asks about outlines but i’m just going to answer this one because it’s ~comprehensive~

every writing teacher i’ve ever had has hated my outlines. my friends find them incomprehensible.

if people are going to look at my answers as ways to do their own outlines, i have to say: that’s probably not a good idea

i don’t write outlines a majority of the time

i don’t write outlines to plan a story i’ve already decided to write

i write outlines primarily as a way to exorcise story ideas that i want to write but don’t want to actually commit to writing (answer prompts are another way i do this lol)

now, some things do get outlines as a way to plan and organize. survival is a talent has an outline because it’s 400k and spans six years. child king had an outline. needy’s body had an outline. 

b u t

i’m currently writing rotten work without an outline

lynchpin didn’t have an outline

hope is the thing with feathers didn’t have an outline

never grow a wishbone only had an outline for the first couple of chapters 

an invincible summer didn’t get an outline until like. chapter 4 of 6. 

i just. uh. think about what i want to happen and then hope i remember to write it down. even when i do an outline, i’ll deviate from it wildly, and not update it to reflect that, because i know what i’m doing (ha!)

so! with that in mind, let’s go! 

How detailed are they? Are they the same level of detail or do they vary?

they vary! but honestly - not very. sometimes i’ll write out a paragraph or bits of dialogue that are important to me, but most of the time it’s just broad strokes of what i want to happen, or a mechanism of how something complicated happens. like i have several paragraphs in my siat outline dealing with necromancy books, but like. two sentences on how they actually occur in the story because that’s just something i’m trusting myself to figure out when i sit down to write it.  

 How do you make your outlines? Chronologically scene by scene? Or do you come up with the scenes that call you and then come up with smaller filler scenes to fill in the gaps? 

I try to put them chronologically, although sometimes that’s a little hard (in siat i have several scenes that i know will happen, i just don’t know when). that is something i will go back and edit on my outlines, is if i’ve changed the order the something happens i’ll go back and copy and paste until my outlines is in the right order. but only if the outlines is something i’m actually using to write and the story is longer than a couple of chapters. 

because my outlines are so very not detailed, i just write down what it is that i want to write, like the reason i’m going to write this or want to write this, and figure out the rest later. i’ll fill it in later - or i won’t! because most of the time i don’t use my outline to actually write the story, and i use it more as an idea list, so if i don’t know what happens between scenes or i find it boring i just won’t write it down

like, for example, here is my “outline” for won’t even plant a garden in it’s entirety 

weep as a woman

“you weep as a woman weeps.” “and how is that?” “as if the future rests on your hips, and you must walk it forward.”

crowley and eve were friends. cain killed abel with the flaming sword, and crowley begged them to say it was with a rock instead

crowley was raphael the painter and fucked michelangelo

crowley was there the night yeshua was born, was friends with mary, helped raise yeshua?

ghosts

crowley and anathema and joan of arc

i ended up dropping most of this and crowley ended up sleeping with both eve and yeshua as the major plot points. i don’t explain stuff, really. i know what i mean so i just don’t bother to get very detailed most of the time. 

Do you have outlines for each chapter? Or just for the larger general plot points?

siat i divide up by year, and i think i did it by chapter for the last two chapters of build your wings on the way down, but otherwise it’s just one long list. i do my chapters based on words counts rather than content, so outlining by chapter doesn’t really make sense for me (siat is always around 15k a chapter, and everything else  i do these days thats multi chapter is around 8k because that’s the best, but ngawb was 5k a chapter and i think for child king it was around 11k a chapter)

Do you try to complete the outlying before starting the fic? Or do you add to the outline as you go?

I’m constantly adding as a i go! my outlines are never really “complete” they’re just abandoned. i write down what i think will help me and tend to ignore the rest. sometimes i just. talking to myself in my outlines when i’m trying to think something through. 

my outline for child king is under the cut because that’s one that’s a good mix of stuff i kept and stuff i threw out. DON’T JUDGE ME!! bad ideas don’t get written because they’re bad!! it’s part of the ~process~ 

child king

Summary: “A child king is still a king,” Deaton says softly. “A child king is still a child,” he snaps, but he knows this is an argument he’s already lost.  – Stiles is a born alpha, and after the Hale fire, things get real complicated, real fast.

Stiles’s mom is the last remaining human from a pack that was destroyed by hunters. John is the one that helps her after, so he knows everything. When they move to beacon hills she doesn’t feel the need to say anything to the hale pack, because as far as they’re concerned she’s just a human, and she doesn’t want to get involved in pack business. But then stiles is born with red eyes. The doctor is quiet and scared john and Claudia freak out, but it’s because he’s a werewolf, which is a relief to parents because they thought something was wrong with their kid. Maybe they don’t know he’s an alpha, only that he’s a wolf? Or they know and they keep it a secret on purpose

Claudia is the one to approach mrs. Hale. She tells her that her son is a born werewolf, but that she’s not interested in joining their pack. Her husband is a new deputy and they just bought a house but they’ll move if they have to. “he’ll need a pack one day. It’s safer,” she says. “if he wants to join you one day, I won’t stop him. But that’s not a choice I’m willing to make for him.” Mrs hale agrees that they can say separate as in exchange for the sheriff smoothing over some ruffled feathers no and again. They agree. Claudia to sheriff “we’re going to have to move one day. Our son is an alpha, and he’ll need to make his own pack.”

Stiles is seven the first time he snarls at his mom, eyes flashing red, and she freezes. She’s got the pack instinct, it doesn’t matter that hes her kid, hes still her alpha, so its hella awkward. John can see how this will quickly spiral out of control if they can discipline their own kid. But stiles is the one to back down first, apologizing and doing as he’s told. There are careful power structures here, and this is the beginning of differentiating between stiles the human and stiles the wolf.

When his mom gets sick, stiles offers to turn her. Hale offers to turn her. She refused for Reasons that I have to figure out. Maybe the politics of it? Wanting to protect stiles and not wanting to become part of the hale pack

The fire happens. John ships stiles the hell out of dodge, because there are hunters about. He snoops around enough to figure out it was kate argent, but theres not really anything he can do about it

Scott knows about everything, and tries to tell his mom in a really akward way that they should trust stiles if they’re ever in danger, but she just laughs it off. Except when someone breaks in and threatens her with a gun, and she manages to make a phone call, it’s not 911, not john, but stiles, and she doesn’t even know why, regrets it as soon as it happens. But then stiles shows up and breaks both of the guys, eyes glowing red, and then calls his dad and scott to take care of it, because they’re humans, so they get human punishments. Melissa is told everything.

Scott has a bad asthma attack and, and Melissa asks about the bite. Scott is itching for it. He wants it so badly. Stiles has already promised to turn them when they turn 18, and Melissa knows that. She asks if theres a reason to wait, and the answer is nah, not really. So he gets the bite. Stiles being like uh psa punishments cant include scott staying away

After hale fire and stiles gets back, he’s shocked that hey just left, and that they left peter behind. He starts visiting peter several times a week. He tells his dad that they should pay for his medical care. They have a fuckton of money because his mom inherited all the pack wealth, and john doesn’t touch it because that’s stiles’s money, that’s werewolf money. But this is a werewolf thing, so he agrees. “his pack left him dad.”

Stiles bites Erica when they’re 14. Some point in middle school stiles wises up to the Isaac thing and tells his dad he needs to arrest his dad, or stiles is going to kill him, and he’s not even a little bit joking. Stiles hears Isaac crying while going by the house? In johns squad car. Makes them pull over, then bursts into the house. John goes with it because his son’s eyes are red.

Some point after the hales leave, things start trying to move into hale territory. Some wolves? Stiles smells them, and ends up at 10 years old telling them to fuck off. This how scott finds out? He’s with scott and his dad. Deaton is facing off against something? Panics when stiles intervenes, but stiles goes wolfy and red eyes and is like. This is mine now fuck off. Looks at the hale house, and finally says, we have to take care of this. We have to. But they don’t own the house or the land or any of it. They do … something

Stiles ends up having to deal with a lot of crap real young

Stiles has scott and Isaac when peter wakes up. Stiles is there, and peter isn’t crazy because he wasn’t abandoned to die alone. Stiles says he can stay, or he can go, not trying to pressure anything. Peter chooses to become part of stiles’s pack, because his family is either dead or abandoned him. Peter ends up moving in with them as he finishes healing and to get used to being in a pack and with stiles. It’s very strange for john, but it’s a werewolf thing and he’s trying to be supportive. After a couple months, stiles tells his dad that having peter is a relief, that there’s finally someone who knows things, someone older who can support him as a werewolf. Peter acts as his second, and he finally has some degree of authority that age has lost him. Stiles has peter take care of the hale house. Peter and stiles have the conversation, where peter is like the hale land is your land now. You’re the alpha of beacon hills. He does what stiles directs him to.

Isaac is living with scott under stiles’s direction ish. But lots of Melissa. Isaac like I don’t wantto be afraid anymore, I don’t want to hurt anymore, and stiles is like. Okay. We’ll fix this. But he doesn’t bite Isaac until he goes to a shitton of therapy and has mostly sorted himself out. For isaac’s fifteenth birthday, he bites him.

Erica is spur of the moment, it’s something that all instinct and very little thought. OR they’re dating and it happesn? Erica’s parents suck. Stiles doesn’t want the balancing act of being boyfriend and alpha.

Jackson is so fucking desperate to belong to something. He nags and nags and nags and finally stiles bites him at least half to shut him up.

“dad can I talk to you about something weird and uncomfortable and a little creepy” talks about crush on Lydia, and how he’s not sure if its because he has a crush on her or if it’s bc he thinks she’ll be good for the pack. Lydia joins before Jackson, and she’s the one that pushes stiles into it. Lydia and stiles are not dating, but she’s clearly high in the hiarchey.

Boyd? Just like. Shows up. Idk.

So by the time laura and derek show up, stiles’s pack is: john, Melissa, peter, Lydia, Jackson, danny, Isaac, boyd, Erica, deaton (who’s acting as emissary but is training danny). Maybe bring in some later characters, like malia and kira and cora. Ooooh maybe the twins show up before they became alphas, still run aways and looking for something else? Stiles takes them on. Stiles finds malia early on after the fire

Peter is willing to forgive derek but he has a lot of shit with laura. Stiles agrees to let laura and derek stay and not be part of his pack, although laura insists she doesn’t need his permission. She snaps at peter to come home with them, and he looks at her like she’s insane. He says there’s no hale pack, and if there was, he’s not interested. He’s a stillinkski wolf now. Cora too maybe? Double blow. Peter owns the hale land, and he makes it clear the day stiles turns 18 he’ll be signing it over to him. Stiles is known by the surrounding packs.

Stiles has to somehow defend the surrounding area, has to make it clear he’s his and that he’s not willing to give it up. It’s valuable land. People are going to come looking for it once people figure out it’s abandoned. When deaton finds out stiles is an alpha, he goes around as an emissary to the surrounding packs. Saying that its under stiles now. He’s known to them so it goes mostly uncontested. This is when he and the sheriff have the child king conversation.

Stiles tries really, really hard to be a good alpha. That means controlling the territory, and working with other packs when members go rouge or something goes wrong. He’s thirteen the first time he goes to lend a hand in a fight, and it’s young, it’s too young, but he’s an alpha. He has to do this, to maintain the peace. And the thing is – stiles is good at this, good at not pushing, at not using his status as a crutch or an excuse, instead as a tool.

Maybe this is why no one cares for laura’s excuses. As much as laura wasn’t ready to take on the responsibility, she was an adult, if only barely. Stiles is a literal child, and in her absence shouldered it all. So even if she does technically have a claim, none of them are willing to honor it. “if you kill alpha stiles, you won’t have allies, you’ll have enemies.”

Allison and argents. Stiles brings his pack to kill kate. Gives peter the chance to do it himself, and is so very proud when he says no. but instead of letting her go free, stiles crushes her throat. “revenge would have been trapping you all in here and setting the whole thing on fire. Justice would have been making you watch as she burned alive. This was mercy, and don’t you forget it.” Scott is hella in love with Allison, but he knows this comes first. Her mom is full of hatred, but stiles more than makes it clear that he has no problem with killing her too.

Stiles sees derek soon after. They’ve already gone back and forth a lot. But he and laura weren’t there. Stiles tells him what he did. They have a ~moment~

Derek wants so very much to join stiles’s pack, but he doesn’t want to lose laura.

Something finally convinces laura to take the plunge and the stillinksi pack is one happy family

[hekatekun]

Missed Opportunities: a look at 246 dynamics

This will be covering the relationships between Karamatsu, Ichimatsu, and Todomatsu. Specifically how they could be "better off" but for reasons aren't. Not blmatsu. A long post, but not particularly in depth. The great thing about Osomatsu-san is that things can be as serious as you want them to be; take all this with a grain of salt.

I would say the defining trait between 246 is that there is a lot of "missed opportunity" or "what could have been." You know, “things didn’t have to be this way.” More specifically, this is Karamatsu's relationship with the other two. Not that this cannot be remedied, but for now nothing is happening. Not any time soon, either. Probably. These aren’t shortcomings they’ll be getting over soon. Interestingly enough, I might have even said this was also applicable to 110 up until recently - so let's start there.

110MATSU: Something of a moving arc going here. Season 1 they’re at their most antagonistic towards each other, with their more docile moments occurring later in the season (most notably the hunt for 123 inside Dayon). Ichimatsu particularly, as Todomatsu has never been one to pick fights. He’s vindictive and isn’t afraid of confrontation, but doesn’t mean he wants to stick his neck out. Ichimatsu, on the other hand, has no qualms being aggressive. He will double-down on embarrassing the fuck out of Totty (as he should). If there is one thing the hivemind has taught all of them, it’s that no brother is above the other, and everyone will equally be dragged back to this self-made hell.

So S1 is the season of “no mercy,” but we see a shift! “ESP Kitty” lays Ichimatsu’s secret in front of everyone: vulnerability. Todomatsu (and 135) sees him like the normie he is for the first time in a real good light, a permanent change. Effectively, by “Dayon Tribe,” this lack of aggression when 456 are left to their own devices becomes a staple of the trio (if we ignore Jyushimatsu’s winter-induced insanity). 

In this same timeframe, Ichimatsu gets a real understanding of just how ruthless the crybaby youngest brother is. And by S2 they realize they have a lot more in common than they realized. A certain self-awareness that certain others lack. Totty could easily be lumped in with suiriku as a tryhard who doesn’t know when to quit, but it becomes apparent this isn’t the case. Sure, Totty’s a tryhard - he craves positive attention and will do what he can to get it, but he’ll never reach the level of Karamatsu and Choromatsu. 110 doesn’t need to “impress” each other. Completely vibing. They prefer each other’s company (and Jyushimatsu’s) over the other 3. They’re not each other’s favorite, by a long shot, but S2 they seem more comfortable around each other.

The movie provides a bit of catalyst, and S3 seems keen on keeping it apart of the continuity, so it’s not far fetched to assume their bonding moment in the movie is what led to their current relationship in S3. An ally has been established, and they can be more honest around each other as a result.

What’s “missed opportunity” is that they both underestimated the other, and what they have now could have been achieved earlier in life. Better late than never! However, they both still suck at communicating, but for now battling with barbed words or getting wrapped up in whatever holds their attention still shows they’re (usually) on the same wavelength.

ZAIMOKUMATSU: If Totty is similar to Ichi, it's not surprising he holds to same distaste for Karamatsu. Theoretically speaking, they should be each other's "brother." It's obvious that Choromatsu and Osomatsu are a "duo," and same with Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu. Whether you wanna include Oso-kun or not, it's evident that they do not click the same way the others do with their “designated brother.” 

Oso-kun makes it more “angsty” though, or at least makes this reboot interesting. If Zaimoku was more established as children, this clearly isn't carried to their adult selves. That's just life. They fell apart, growing up, and letting time split them naturally. They still like each other, hang out, but there's no real spark there. How can you when one of you refuses to break character. You could say they're similar to Nenchuu, preferring each other's company only in the greater group dynamic. We’ve established they're both tryhards, but Todomatsu has the self-awareness to know when to drop his pretenses, and doesn't understand Karamatsu's more irrational quirks. Sure, tryhards try hard but they're brothers - they already know each other. No need to impress. For Karamatsu’s part of it, I would say it’s both “always needing to be on top of his public image no matter who sees him (including brothers)” and just... He wants to dress like that. So painful.

Todomatsu’s “fatal flaw” within the group is that he’s quite disconnected from the hivemind. This a repeated issue they address, from “Todomatsu & the 5 Demons” to “Todomatsu’s Line.” He doesn’t understand certain social conventions that “make no sense” from experience. For instance, “Todomatsu’s Line” addresses how secretive he is, but he’s only secretive because he knows if he told them about his life they wouldn’t care. They’re only getting on his ass because he’s pulling away from them. The 6 of them are “all or nothing,” so even just one brother leaving is detrimental to their weird inner-brother politics. It gets rid of the facade they perform under, and must confront reality as a result. And so, they punish him accordingly. We know Karamatsu is already the group punching bag, and Totty soon joins him.

S3E5 “Well, Yeah” with these 2 fighting over the cashier, Karamatsu is willing to challenge him because he considers Todomatsu "harmless." Karamatsu is easily intimidated, we know this, but holds none of those sentiments towards Totty. They're both petty crybabies, and would rather tear each other down than team up.

Zaimoku is amiable with each other (for the most part), but typically avoid each other - or at least wouldn't seek the other out if it can be helped. A simple mismatch. Good thing they have 4 other brothers.

So, they're both the bottom of the barrel, and yet they never have each other's back. As with all 6, they’re self-serving. There’s safety in numbers, and they’re better off joining 4 than defending 1. They have created an environment that punishes whoever wanted to be the bigger man. In the most literal sense: nice guys finish last around these parts.

I could keep going. Todomatsu being banished to sea for a whole skit, Todomatsu being fired from the family, the entirety of the Karamatsu Incident. No one’s safe, but truly Zaimoku sits at the lowest tiers, even in the family. 

Leftovers who don't even want to pick each other. Can't blame them, they're both insufferable. They don't respect each other, either. 236 is committed to personas that they think will make people like them. They all more or less hold the belief of “I’m not like these guys, I’m better.” However, Choromatsu genuinely likes Karamatsu. Totty does not. How could he when all he sees is a cringey dude who doesn’t know when to call it quits? Choromatsu is just as bad, and doesn't really consider Karamatsu anything but "harmless."

Being left alone and behind is the worst thing for them, but yet they still don’t want each other, even if they’re “clearly the easiest choice.” That sense of being the “default” choice, rather than a legitimate connection or personalities that get along. Another similarity to Nenchuu, where they’re better off being friends than not out of convenience.

IROMATSU: Take what I just said about Zaimoku and amplify the negativity. Rather than a natural falling out, it is a repeated violent rejection on Ichimatsu's part. It's genuine animosity, because Ichimatsu hates tryhards who lack self-awareness. It's no surprise he doesn't care for Suiriku's company and, until recently, Todomatsu's. The thing is, Ichimatsu is a tryhard. He tried hard in high school, and, though in the opposite direction (”I’m not like these guys, I’m worse”), continues to try hard now.

Concerning Karamatsu, he is equal parts resentful and envious. If the movie implies they used to be friends around high school, it wouldn't surprise me if he resented Karamatsu's "transformation" because Ichi was unable to get over his own issues ("regressing" after high school, though really considering how taxing it was to keep that up he’s probably been burnt out). So yeah, introvert buddies.

He admitted to Choromatsu he finds those who still try even in the face of failure "scary." Ichimatsu's greatest fear is putting himself out there and still being rejected despite his best efforts. That's, again, just how life works, but it's a valid fear to have. 

Seeing Karamatsu, someone he considers legitimately stupid, still put his best foot forward (probably on some level) does feel like a slap in the face. It's also just. Painful. Another cringeass clueless older brother, another ally lost.

(Also I can’t ignore how it’s Osomatsu - one of Ichi’s favorites/most tolerable brothers - is the one who calls Karamatsu’s support “teasing” after claiming himself Ichi would kill his own boss; Osomatsu knows how to talk to each brother in a way they’ll understand)

The difference between Zaimoku and Iro is that the former is always played off as joking and while the latter is still funny and over-exaggerated, it usually also comes across as “Did this cross a line?” It tips into real malevolence because, not only does Ichimatsu act opposite how he feels (except for cats), but even in comedy there’s always a hint of sincerity. They’re all cartoonishly violent, but that comes with the idea that that’s actually how they feel in some form. Ichimatsu can’t handle direct support and attention, and he certainly wouldn’t want it from a guy whose social anxiety is worse than his.

And throughout all this, Karamatsu just... ignores it. He doesn't get it, he probably wouldn't even want to know. He legitimately wants to be like this, and doesn’t really get how others don’t find it as attractive (like how Choromatsu doesn’t get why talking about his aspirations isn’t wanted in conversation - they’re not really ones to read the room when it comes to their own shortcomings). So he "avoids" 110. No point seeking out their company and be rejected for "no reason." He doesn't want criticism, and none of them want communication. I should reiterate, this is all comedy. It’s funny. I love it! But it’s slapstick with thought. 

Short-sighted, they prioritize instant gratification above anything else. The end result, unsurprisingly, is a group of brothers who find it impossible to talk to each other - to bully and harass - when they could do better for one another.

[ayuuria]

Yashahime Translation: Animage Magazine February 2021 Issue

Please do not repost this translation without my consent! This includes screenshots of any type and amount. If you wish to share this translation, simply link to this post.

For more information regarding the use of my translations, click here.

Regarding the Boy Whose True Colors Are Unknown

Riku, the mysterious person with a good smile and speaking words with profound meaning. He enshrouds not only Towa and the others of course, but also the viewers in smoke. Is he actually the Yashahime’s enemy? Ally?

The boy who proclaims to be “A pirate come ashore”, Riku. The figure of him showing a kind smile and talking quickly makes him seem like your typical nice guy at a glance. However, his speech has every bit of shadiness mixed in it.

The first sign was when he called the apple he received from Towa a “Forbidden fruit” (translator’s note: this was written in English). Most likely, he likened it to the story of the Adam and Eve written in the Old Testament; but why does he know about it when he lives in the Feudal Era? Also, the part where it seemed that Kyuuki of the Four Perils and Riku knew each other is of interest. Then above all, there is the dangerous statement he made to Shikabaneya Jyuubee, “I will take care of the Yashahimes, who hold three of the Rainbow Pearls, myself”. What exactly is the reason for him to go so far for the Rainbow Pearls…?

While leaving a strong discomfort, it seems that Riku will be on the move again in episode 14 after disappearing from the center stage for some time. What is the expression Riku shows before the evil mountain god, Homura, who’s heart has been stolen by a human girl? Even continuing into episode 15 which according to Riku’s voice actor, Fukuyama Jun, will be “A pretty big episode”. There is no mistake that Riku’s existence holds the key to the story of “Hanyō no Yashahime”. The strict prohibition on his words down to the details cannot be overlooked.

Character Bios

Riku The person who requested the subjugation of the Four Perils to the corpse shop. He is gathering the Rainbow Pearls and after Kyuuki’s death, he retrieved the purple Rainbow Pearl that she held.

Shikabaneya Jyuubee The owner of the “Corpse Shop” that deals in demon bounties. He lends money to Moroha and has her slay demons as repayment. He possesses the green Rainbow Pearl.

Takechiyo He can transform into a giant and fly the sky, so he runs around a lot as a means of transportation for Towa and the others. Miroku seems to be involved behind why Takechiyo works at the corpse shop.

Towa She has a kind personality, but she does lose her sense of reason when her little sister, Setsuna, is in danger. As she is a half-demon, she loses her demonic powers and turns into a human at the start of the lunar month (new moon).

Setsuna Normally, her “seething demonic blood” is sealed with Miroku’s Buddhist powers. In episode 13, the seal is released, and she repels Tōtetsu of the Four Perils. Unlike Towa, she does not turn into a human at the start of the lunar month.

Moroha A bounty hunter. Lately, she has been unable to retrieve the heads of the demons she defeats and collect bounties which has been the source of her worries. Just like Setsuna, she does not transform into a human at the start of the lunar month.

The Corpse Shop’s Big Client

Riku, who puts a large bounty on the Four Perils’ heads, is a “special client” to Jyuubee. To Riku, Jyuubee is someone who he told “I only kill those I love” and revealed part of his thoughts to. It appears that the green Rainbow Pearl that Jyuubee possesses also has something to do with Riku. We are curious about the two’s past!

Darling Yashahime…?

Riku and Towa met when a lost Riku asked her for directions. Then he introduced himself to Setsuna and Moroha after they fought Kyuuki. According to what Riku told Jyuubee, since he loves the Yashahimes, he is thinking of finishing them off himself. What is the reason…?

Hatred Towards the Four Perils

Riku’s prejudice against the Four Perils is to the point that he bluntly says “This is why I don’t like you” to the dying Kyuuki. He says the reason is because “(They are) unrefined”. On the other hand, Kyuuki knew Riku’s name and it appears that Riku and the Four Perils are acquainted with each other. Does he also have some sort of connection to Kirinmaru who controls the Four Perils?

The Evil God Who Loves a Human

In episode 14, Riku gets involved with Tamano, an extraordinarily beautiful human girl, and the evil god who loves her but has an excessively burning jealousy, Homura. A human and an evil god. When Riku sees a love that goes beyond race, he shows an expression different from what he’s shown Towa and Co, Jyuubee, and the Four Perils so don’t miss it.

Riku Knows Everything?! The Voice of Riku, Fukuyama Jun

Forbidden from revealing anything, even to his fellow voice actors?!  The young man full of mystery, Riku

— From the beginning, what sort of impression did you have of the work “Inuyasha”?

Fukuyama: It was a show that started around the time I started receiving roles in animation work as a voice actor. At the time, it was a long series by Takahashi Rumiko-sensei that came after “Ranma ½” so from the start, it was getting a lot of attention when it began serialization. There were even talks of an anime adaptation. I remember there was chatting among the young people like “Who exactly is going to do the voicing?” “It can’t be anyone other than Yamaguchi Kappei-san?”. The work continued for many years and many of my fellow voice actors took part. I myself did not make an appearance but I had the impression that it was a “far away but familiar work”.

— This time, did you audition for the role of Riku?

Fukuyama: I did not. It was a discussion that happened suddenly, but I received a direct inquiry. It was right about the time when my schedule was a mess because of the COVID crisis, and I remember the correspondence being like “Are you able to take part in the recording schedule?”. For roles without auditions, generally there are multiple candidates so it’s normal to wait a while until the decision is made. However, this time I got the role soon after I received the inquiry, so I was a little surprised. Then, about the same time, the production of “Hanyō no Yashahime” was announced. After that, I started looking for the work that it was based off, but it didn’t exist. I became doubly surprised like “Oh, this is an original work!?”

— Riku is a character with a lot mysteries, but exactly how much do you know about Riku’s back bone?

Fukuyama: The information is to a level that I can’t say anything at this time. They explained to me his position within the work and what would happen to him before hand at the recording studio. Using that as the standard, during the first recording, I had a feeling they told me detailed points. Riku can appear to be androgynous when he doesn’t say anything, but when he actually speaks, he addresses himself as “Oira”, purposely says expressions in a tone of voice that’s almost like a fool, and knows words that he shouldn’t know. The biggest impression I got from him was that he could be considered a major supporting character and I felt that moving in secret isn’t quite what his position is. On top of that, after finding out additional information that I can’t say yet, he’s a more important character than I thought. The staff have told me “Please don’t say anything about Riku to the other cast members.” “We want them to enjoy this too” (laughs)

— That is amazing! It seems Riku’s mystery has a connection to the core of the story.

Fukuyama: Please look forward to finding out (laughs). In the first place as of right now, not only do we not know what intentions Sesshōmaru had behind his actions, but it’ll be a little while longer before we know the full story of the drama that is being spun. To viewers, I think this aspect will make them excited, uncertain, and anxious.

By Being Outwardly Suspicious, His True Intensions Are Wrapped in Smoke

— In contrast to Riku’s Edo-like phrases, you somehow feel a sense of refinement from him. Do you take care in that aspect when playing him?

Fukuyama: When reading the script, I wanted to effectively capitalize on the foolish tone of voice. As I continued to act like that, I think I started leaning towards the feel of an Edo person. However, you can blend the “impression felt from the script” and the “impression created from the image” in animation, so as a result from matching up the length of the lines to the image of the story, that may have become the impression that TV viewers got. Now that recording has progressed, when I think back, I’m glad I didn’t stick with the impression I got from the first script. The expression he shows Towa and the others, the Four Perils, and to other people are subtly different from each other so if I had completely contrasted those, his character image would probably have either changed or become blurred. When I first started, I was glad the image kept me in check.

— So Riku’s character comes together from combining the voice acting and the image acting.

Fukuyama: Yes. In today’s recording (the day of the interview), different from the way he speaks to Towa and the others, he showed an expression that he hasn’t really shown until now. In terms of what’s being broadcasted soon, Riku’s way of speaking breaks the 4th wall in episode 15. He’s a person who shows a lot of different faces so until we reach the heart (of the story), I want him to remain a character that’s hard to grasp.

— In terms of acting, do you receive any instructions from the staff?

Fukuyama: I was given the following order “We want you to bring out more shadiness than what’s depicted”. In terms of Riku’s position, as a way for me to show the character, I moved in a way that made it difficult to figure out what he is as much as possible. If you can visually see that he’s up to something, I would make it not show with my words more than necessary. However, I also thought “There’s no point hiding that he’s obviously acting shady, so I actually want viewers to really understand that”. By doing that, his intentions instead become less obscure as result is what I’ve come to understand as I play him.

— He certainly seemed like a good person but also felt shady when he made his first appearance in episode 7. It was completely suspicious for him to call the apple a “Forbidden Fruit”.

Fukuyama: In beginning, I thought I wouldn’t show any suspiciousness in front of Towa. While the base of the character is the same, I didn’t want Towa to harbor any sort of suspicion. However, with that line, I was told “You can bring out his shadiness”. In order to wrap the story in smoke, I think they’re going to show everything in that way.

Riku Seems Like He Can Obtain Things That Modern People Cannot Have

— It seems that recording is done with only a few people, so who do you record with?

Fukuyama: It’s quite spread out. We record with people we interact with the most in that episode so the group changes with each time. The first time, I was with Hosoya (Yoshimasa) who plays the role of Kirinmaru and then after that I was with Koyama-san (Tsuyoshi) who plays the role of Shikabaneya Jyuubee. On top of that, there was a time when I was with members of “Inuyasha”… By the way, today I was with Fairouz Ai (the role of Takechiyo). This work is the first time that I’m co-acting with her but man she’s a lively young person (laughs). You can tell she’s really enjoying the work, so it makes things easier.

— Please tell us if you have any memorable moments in the recording studio.

Fukuyama: When I’m with the cast of “Hanyō no Yashahime”, I get the impression of “This is a new show”. Around the time when Riku debuted in episode 7, there was a nervousness like you’ve only just started running. However, when I was with the “Inuyasha” team, it felt like a class reunion. The air between Yukino Satsuki-san (the role of Higurashi Kagome) and Kappei-san (the role of Inuyasha) felt like they’ve been working together for a long time and I thought “Oh, so this is “Inuyasha”!” The “level” of difference between each of the recording (groups) is what I found interesting.

— Among the episodes that have already aired, which scene was especially memorable for you?

Fukuyama: The episode where Riku debuted left a big impression on me. His aura when he’s moving behind the scenes and his aura of “No no, he’s shady but he doesn’t seem to be two faced” when he met Towa. The difference in his behavior was fun to act out. Like when he spoiled that Kikujuumonji was something he stole right after giving it to Towa or when he suspended the river water, drank it, and said “Anyone can do it if you focus your mind”. For a first appearance he had a lot of information, so viewers were probably confused. Towa being Towa, she didn’t seem bothered at all and it’s like “At least be a little cautious!” (laughs). I think you will understand the back and forth (between them) better if you rewatch it after watching more (of the story). With the expression “Pirate come ashore”, you’d probably think “Then isn’t he a bandit?” but there’s probably a fixation to that. That expression is also important.

— Now then, what are the highlights going forward?

Fukuyama: In due time, I think you’ll understand that “Riku knew everything”. However, on one hand if he’s an enemy, it would be contradictory and if he’s an ally, there’s a lot of things off. You’ll end up coming back to “Then what’s his objective?”.  With that, I would like everyone to enjoy imagining what his position and future development will be. Among the latest upcoming episodes, episode 15 is a big one. While many mysteries will be revealed, instead of feeling refreshed, I think you’ll end up wondering what’s going to happen from there on. Once again, I feel it’s a very elaborate screen play. Also, in episode 17, Riku is going to move a little differently than he has up until now and in episode 18, Sesshōmaru and Kirinmaru will be making extensive appearances. I think this is going to be a very satisfying episode for “Inuyasha” fans so please look forward to it.

— We would love if you could comment on this month’s illustration (P. 37~)

Fukuyama: I see it’s an illustration of Takechiyo telling the reader “Your head’s too high!”. But in actuality I don’t think Takechiyo really knows who Riku is. I’m sure Takechiyo most likely sensed that he’s someone that you can’t reveal his actions to other people but in the end, Riku is a client. Riku’s immeasurable aura is properly expressed in this illustration. Boy does he have the nerve to show this attitude in front of people (laughs).

— Going forward, could you tell us an illustration scenario you would like to see?

Fukuyama: I’m sure “Inuyasha” fans will want to see “Sesshōmaru comforting a newborn Towa and Setsuna” right? Maybe Jaken getting his body pulled all over the place by the two babies is something that might appear in the main story. However, I have a feeling we won’t get to see Sesshōmaru protecting the kids. Thinking with Riku… How about something like Riku holding a PS5 (Play Station 5). Riku seems like he would have things that even we modern era people can’t get our hands on (laughs).

— (laughs) Now lastly, please give a message to our readers.

Fukuyama: I can’t say yet what sort of actions Riku will be taking from here on, but by the time all of you are reading this, I think you’ll have figured out his stance somewhat. I’ll be happy if you’re able to anticipate what’s to come while imagining it, but probably at this stage, I think what you can image so far will be different from the direction that the story is going (laughs). I will also be looking forward to what will happen to not only Riku but to Sesshōmaru and Kirinmaru as I attend recordings. It would be great if you can fully enjoy it until the end.

Q. Who’s Your Favorite Character?

“I like Homura who appears in episode 14. How do I say it, he feels like a person who’s true to his desires. The result that awaited him afterwards was impressionable. Also in episode 2, there’s the cameo appearance of the hoodlums from “Urusei Yatsura” that looked old fashioned, which was great. Then there’s Kagome’s younger brother, Souta! Though he knew about the existence of demons and time travel from his childhood days, it feels like he’s someone who has transcended (laughs)”

Q. What Is Your Impression of the Three Girls?

“I interacted with Towa in episode 7, but regarding Setsuna and Moroha, I heard their voices for the first time on air. I watched without gaining information beforehand, so I felt moved in a sort of refreshing way. The cast is either 12 years or younger than me, but I could feel the world of “Inuyasha” begin continued in their acting. They made me interested in “what will it feel like recording together with them?”. Including Fairouz-san, I’m happy that there are so many talented female voice actors.”

[argumentl]

The Freedom of Expression - Episode 46 The filming for the Dir en grey Real Avatar music video.

K: Hi, this is Dir en grey's Kaoru with this episode, uh, this week's episode of the Freedom of Expression. Joe san, Tasai san...it feels like a while since we were last here.

J, T: Yeah.

K: We've been on location, plus last time we filmed 4 episodes at once. Quite a while has passed since then.

T: It has.

J: Nothing new with you?

K: No, nothing.

T: Hahaha

J: Tokyo Sports seems pretty busy..

T: Yeah, I watched you two recently...on Niconama.

J: Ah, yeh. You wrote an article, thanks for that.

T: I was a bit envious while working on it.

J: Yeh, but what about that Tokyo Sports hoodie? How is it doing?

T: Yeah, it looks like its selling.

J: Right.

T: Thanks to you two.

J: No, no, its thanks to Kaoru, but..

K: No, no, its nothing.

J: You gotta make something else for round two.

T: Yeah, there might be a T-shirt collaboration in the works.

K: Ehh? Im looking forward to that.

J: Eventually we'll have like a The Freedom of Expression x Tokyo Sports collaboration set?

T: Yeh, and we could sell that, then go to Okinawa.

J: Go to Okinawa? Haha.

K: Hahaha.

J: Our plan is steadily progressing that far..

T: Together with you Joe.

J: Yes, please, haha.

K: Ok, so Joe, can I ask you to get us started today?

J: Got it! This is happy news, the news that Dir en grey will screen an avatar music video. Dir en grey will reveal a new music video on New Years Eve from 11:00pm, which includes avatar characters created using 3D scans of the members. The Explosion screenings of 'The World You Live In', have been sold out. So an encore entitled 'The World You Live In - additional' will be held on New Years Eve as an online broadcast. As well as a special talk event with the members, a music video with real avatar characters, made by 3D scanning each member, will be screened. Kaoru?

K: Thank you

J: This is good news, isn't it?

K: So as a rule, we always broadcast this show on Friday, but we've made it a bit irregular this time in order to talk about this. Well, of course, I've seen it already.

J: Have you? What was it like?

K: Well, first of all, as for the filming, we did our make up and costume etc, and had cameras surrounding us 360°. We filmed it there first, and then in a different studio, we put on clothes that had pointers all over them, and I played air guitar...

J: Ah, you performed.

K: And then we took photos seperately.

J: It sounds like hard work, was it?

K: Not really, it was over quite quickly.

J: Really?

K: For the photo shoot in full dress it was like, 'flash..flash..Ok, finished'. It felt like a waste of all the make up I was wearing. Like, 'Isn't there anything else?' haha.

J: Ah, if only you could've have done more...But when you were finished with all that, they made it into a moving person?

K: Well, yeh, it has the kind of atmosphere as if its in a game.

J, T: Ehh?

T: What are the facial expressions like?

K: It wasn't possible to go as far as making different facial expressions. Well, i mean, you could do that if you had the time, but we didn't...

J: This time you didn't go that far? But its the first time for Dir to try this kind of thing, right?

K: Yeah.

J: Was there any kind of catalyst that made you think, 'Lets do this'?

K: Well, there was a kind offer saying like, 'We can do this kind of thing'..

J: A suggestion came, and you decided to give it a go?

K: Yeah, thats it, kinda like that.

J, T: Ahhh.

J: You know, this is...

T: It looks interesting.

J: Its exciting, right?

K: When I was playing, there was a pointer right in the position that I usually hold my guitar, so they asked me if I could change the position.

J: Ah, the the postion you play the guitar?

K: Yeah. They tried to help me change the position, but it was still interfering, so I ended up playing up here at chest level, which would nomally be impossible, haha.

T: Hahaha

J: Pretty high up, its not very Kaoru style, is it?

K: I think it'll be a sight to see.

T, J: Hahaha.

K: Its soo high up! Haha

T, J: Hahaha.

J: By the way, are you influenced by anyone in particular as to the position in which you hold your guitar?

K: No, its just the best position I can play in, based on the size of my guitar.

J: Ah, I see. But somehow you ended up playing up here while filming this mv?

K: Yeah, well..I had to raise the position a bit.

J: Ahh, did the other members have to change anything?

K: No

J: Just you? Because it got in the way of the pointers?

K: Yeah.

J: Ahh, really? Die always plays quite low down doesn't he?

K: Yeah, he does. When we first put on all those pointers and mimicked playing the instruments, it came up on screen as just like moving lines. Even just looking at that, I could tell it was Die straight away.

J, T: Ehhh.

K: The shape on screen looked just like Die.

T: Thats pretty interesting.

J: He's very characteristic, isn't he? How do you film the drums? With pointers on them?

K: Haha, pretty tough, right? We had to use a photo of the drums and stick them on.

J: It seems like drums would be the most difficult to play by air. Or was it not that bad?

K: Well, if the positions of the pointers were set then...

K: Ahh, and it was over very quickly?

K: Yes　

J: And you were holding your guitar up here? I say that, but I don't know how good it looks *1, haha. Well, if i had to choose, playing it lower down probably seems cooler. There was a lot of people in the 90s playing guitar like that, right? Punks and stuff. They played it quite low down. There isn't anyone who plays it up high, is there?

K: No, not really.

J: How about actually holding it like that, Kaoru?

K: It would be pretty difficult to play.

J: It could be the 'Kaoru position'.

T: Haha.

J: The cool position!

T: Haha

K: Yeah.

J: Im looking forward to this.

T: The song is the new single 'Ochita koto no aru sora'?

K: Yeah.

J: Are you gonna test this out once and see the reaction, then maybe do more?

K: I think it would be interesting if we could spend a bit more time on it, and brush up the backgrounds and stuff.

J: You might be able to make new creations using only this. I am looking forward to this.

T: The broadcast will start at 23:00, ohh so its gonna be on as the year changes.

J: Yes.

K: First we'll show the same footage that was in the explosion screening, and then after the year changes we'll appear, and then play this mv.

J: Ah, I see.

K: During the live broadcast with the members, we'll play this. And then we'll kinda talk a bit.

J: I see.

T: This is a great way to bring in the new year for the people watching.

J: Right? There wasn't much good news in.2020, so they will really appreciate this piece of hope appearing at the end of the year. They'll be looking out for the postion of the guitars!

T: The same position as ???*2

J: Thats it.

K: It seems like Kami had no interest in this topic.

J: Isn't he here today? Are you there, Kami?

Kami: Yes, I'm here. I've seen it too.

J: You've seen it?!

T: Have you?!

Kami: Yes, I have.

J: Cause he's a god, right? He's different from humans.

K: He sees what we see.

Kami: Because gods have power.

J: Power? Even low grade ones?

Kami: But, no, it was very interesting.

J: You enjoyed it?

Kami: I did enjoy it, it was cool.

J: Did you notice anything about the postion Kaoru was holding his guitar?

Kami: Ah, no, not really.

J: Haha, didn't you? As a god, is there any scenes you would recommend to watch out for? Or any points to pay attention to?

Kami: Well, of course the images were good, but I really thought the song was good. Dir en grey are good at writing songs.

J, T: Hahaha.

K: Thanks, haha.

Kami: I think you have talent.

K: We're good, right?

J: Yeah! He's acting like a judge.

Kami: Thats because Im a god.

J: Well, yeah. Haha, saying, 'You're good at writing songs' to a pro. Thats a first. But thats just like Kami. So, you liked the visuals, but you heard the song again in a new light?

Kami: It was fun.

J: Ah, it was fun? Thank you.

T: How about making a Kami avatar?

K: Ah, yeh.

J: We've never seen what Kami looks like..

Kami: I can't show you that yet.

K: We could make an avatar, and then have it come on screen, when he's here.

T: Yeah, like in this area of the screen.

J: Yeah! If its technically possible.

K: Tasai could create the character.

T: Hahaha.

J: Like his legendary..Oh, lets do that.

T: But I can't draw him, I need to see him. Otherwise I'd have to imagine what he looks like.

K: Yeah, just draw it from imagination.

T: Like my own image of Kami?

J: Yeah, something like that. Well, in that case we could each try drawing him..

K: Even if it isn't a moving character, we could put it up on that line that appears when Kami talks..

J: Yeah, I see.

Kami: Im just a regular old guy.

K, T, J: Hahaha

K: Well, we know that...

J: Yeah, from what we've heard from him so far, we can gather that.

T: Thats it. I could kinda get an image of him by listening to all of his stories.

K: A combined picture of him.

J: Or a loud talk session with him. Thats not nice to think about, is it? haha

K: Yeah, with that voice, it might be a bit tough.

J: Haha, yeh, it would be exhausting.

K: Yeah.

J: Yeh..

K: Ok...well, also, this is a bit of promotion for me, but from February we will start our Explosion Screening tour of our Meguro RokumaykanGig live. We'll go all over Japan with it, and the member will also..

J: Join in, do a talk session?

K: Yeah, we'll do talk sessions.

J: You'll be there? Well, it has been announced already, so people can already check out all the info in realation to that.

K: Is that all?

J: Yeah, I think so.

K: Well, I'd love it if everyone was able to watch the live broadcast tomorrow.

J: Yep, don't miss it.

K: Ok, lets finish here for today. Please subscribe. Thank you very much.

*1 Not sure if this bit is entirely right.

*2 Couldn't figure out.

[katherinemallory]

#9 The spy who kissed me

All the previous chapters of this soap opera can be found here: #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8

I've never eaten such an expensive dinner before and I was relieved I didn't have to pay for it. Bond insisted to dine somewhere outside the MI6 Headquarters, so no one could interrupt us, and I willingly agreed. I can't even recall the restaurant's name. All I can remember is his laugh caused by some filthy jokes.

He seemed more enthusiastic than ever, probably because he has just been informed that we would go on a mission together. I could tell the news surprised him, but in a positive way, as if he hoped his predicted scenario would eventually come true. And it seemed to me like it gave him a massive self-confidence boost. At times he has been insufferable, as if he wasn’t too arrogant already... The good thing was that it made him let his guard down, and I used this to my advantage, responding to each of his flirtatious comments.

Not only did I play my part well, but also I enjoyed it. And even though I really intended to improve our friendship (or should I rather call it a relationship?), I considered the fact that I could use Bond to my own ends. It's high time someone has taught this womanizer a lesson... how many women in the SIS alone did he deceive? The list's endless, but he doesn't care at all. He will break any heart without regret as they say, only because he's that *famous* James Bond. Just like that. Why on earth would he be so interested in me? Does he fancy me that much? I don't think so. And even if he does, I thought, it’s likely that he just wants to sleep with me, adding me to his collection. It's your turn, Kath. He deserves this. *You* can use him. On your own terms.

I wasn’t sure who I was anymore. Me as a ruthless adventurer? Such description didn’t suit me at all. But I felt some strange power inside of me, I heard a voice that assured me being heartless for once won't change much in my life.

The truth was, I needed us to look convincing. Not necessarily like a romantically-involved couple, but as passionate lovers. Just in case my plan to get Mallory went wrong, I could always leave the Service after a "whirlwind” affair with James Bond.

Of course I never wanted to leave the Service in the first place, not after I just have been promoted to the double-0 section, not after one of my biggest dreams came true, but... my feelings for Mallory kept getting stronger and stronger every day... until I finally realized I *had* to take chances...

After the dinner both Bond and I went back to the SIS building and visited Q in his "office”. We were given some standard equipment: a brand-new tracking device and cyanide pills. And, of course, we left the meeting armed ("And the guns, just in case. A direct order from M") - me with a Walther P99, and Bond with a Beretta 418.

We examined the guns, while Q kept browsing through some documents on his desk.

“Yeah, I think... That’s all I have for you,” he said, scratching his head.

Bond looked at Q in disapproval.

“That’s all? Not exactly Christmas, is it?”

“Were you expecting an exploding pen? We don’t really go in for that anymore,” remarked Q. “And besides... you won’t need this kind of stuff this time. But the guns are always a good idea. The ones here are the best we’ve got right now... all for our best agents.”

“I love you too, Q,” said Bond with a smirk.

“Oh, don’t mind him, Q,” I dragged in. “He’s unbearable recently,” I added, looking pityingly at Bond.

“I’m afraid he’s always been like that, you just don’t know him long enough, Kath,” replied Q and burst into laughter. “It was great to see you both.”

“Thanks, Q. You’re the best!” I exclaimed when Bond bundled me through the door.

...

We took the elevator and planned our next move. Bond promised to hand me the mission’s files the next day, so he could have enough time to go through them. We would meet in three days’ time at the airport and travel together to Monte Carlo.

I stepped into my office to check the documents I had signed earlier. I also made a call to Eve, as I didn't want to meet her in her office and cause any suspicions about my frequent visits there.

I lied down on the couch next to the window and dialed the Eve’s private number. I preferred to avoid using the SIS phone line.

"Eve... it's Kath. Do you have a minute?"

"Yes, Kath, what is it?" she answered. "You left so quickly... I immediately began to wonder what your gesture did mean..."

"Well... I'm sure you know.”

"Yeah... the thought had occurred to me," Eve chuckled. "I'll see what I can do. But finding out *anything* about *him* is definitely not going to be easy. He’s the most enigmatic man in the Service."

"What’s it to you? I will owe you one if you prove my point," I promised her, trying to sound charming.

"Alright, alright," replied Eve. "You know I’d help you anyway... Listen, you'd better be sure about this... I guess it means you put it all on the line... for him?"

I got lost in my own thoughts for a while, suddenly realizing all the consequences. I stood up, went to the bookcase, and started to read what was written on the books’ covers.

"I guess it does... It's everything or nothing."

It took Eve a moment to respond.

"I will always have your back, Kath... but... You should seriously consider this... it could cost you your career..."

"I know, Eve,” I stammered quietly. “I just can't pretend any longer..."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Kath", said Eve. "I've got to go. M needs me. We’ll talk about it later, I promise. Now I have to go."

As soon as I have hanged up, I understood that I had placed myself in a truly risky situation. In the end, I could never get Mallory... but I could easily throw away my future instead. If I was a more rational person I could seduce James Bond and live happily ever after with him as the most dangerous pair of the double-0s you'd ever met.

I've been wondering why M sends us on a mission together. Is that a test for both of us, so Mallory could see if we can cooperate despite being attracted to each other? Does he expect us to reconcile professional and private life? Anyway, I was aware of the fact that whatever happens during this mission, it would have a major impact on both my career and my relationships with Bond and Mallory.

...

I left the office after half an hour. I was standing on the corridor with the keys in my hand, when someone hugged me from behind and kissed me on the neck.

"002 is still at work, huh? What James Bond could do to make her let him... drive her home?" Bond whispered gently into my ear. His voice was smooth and very sexy.

"James," I said, trying to lock the door and free myself from his embrace. "You can't just do this in public. What will people say when they..."

The touch of Bond’s lips made me shiver, as they slowly moved from my neck to the collarbone.

"There’s no one here... and I asked... what he... could do... to make her... let him... drive her... home..." he murmured.

I closed my eyes for a moment. Bond continued to caress my waist and holded onto me. He was so close I could smell his perfume and feel his slightest move.

"Just a few more... um... kissess... and I'm sure she'll agree," I moaned with delight.

I haven’t been entirely honest with Bond. His touch was very pleasant, but not as pleasant as I kept telling him.

“Just be careful and don’t make my shirt wrinkled...”

I opened my eyes and then I've seen Mallory who was watching us from around the corner. He spoke to one of the male double-0s I barely knew. Damn, he looks dashing in this red tie, but I’m sure this man could wear *anything* and would still catch my eye, I thought. He has a pretty good figure for a man at his age... even with his arm in a sling.

"Let go of me, James," I said nervously, trying to turn around. "That was wonderful, but we can't really behave like this... here."

Bond didn’t loosen his grip, sensing the changes in my mood.

“What is it?”

“It’s Mallory,” I huffed. “He’s seen us.”

“So what?” asked Bond when I nailed my eyes on Mallory. “Is he still looking...?” Bond whispered and kissed me on the neck two more times.

I couldn’t stand being watched by Mallory when Bond kept kissing me, so I turned my head to Bond and kissed him on the lips. He was so surprised he allowed me to turn around, and then I finally broke the grip.

“You don’t waste time, do you? Our last meeting wasn’t that... steamy. What business is it of yours, James?”

“I’m your fictional husband, remember? I need to stay in character,” he answered with a smirk on his face.

I rolled my eyes.

“Katherine, didn’t we agree to start from scratch? Let’s say I’m trying to show you my best side... And that includes showing you... a few tricks I know.”

“That’s really impressive,” I replied. “But you’re mistaken if you think I will fall into bed with you in Monte Carlo. Casual flirt isn’t enough to get me,” I assured him, smiling provocatively.

“Is that so? You know what kind of things happen when two attactive agents go on a mission together...”

“I have no idea,” I said, putting my hands in my pockets.

“But you’re dying to find out,” he commented at winked at me.

I shook my head and sighed.

“James, you’re so terrible sometimes...”

“I’ll stop being terrible if you let me drive you home,” he said and took my hands in his. “I promise!”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“So, now you’re blackmailing me?”

Bond squeezed my hands.

“Can I drive you home or not?”

I came closer to him and straightened his tie.

“Sure you can. It seems that I don’t need my own car anymore...”

"Perfect," he said in his deep voice and grabbed me by the hand. “Let’s go!”

"Oh, James. Uhm... I have to get a few things from Amanda’s office,” I lied, as I didn’t want to be seen by Mallory leaving the building with Bond.

"Alright, do it quick. I'll wait for you downstairs,” he leaned in and lowered his voice. “And Katherine... pay no attention to Mallory. I can see what’s going on here... he doesn’t care. The sooner you understand it, the better.”

Damn, I thought. He can be really bossy when he wants someting, and what is even worse, he really wants *someting* from me... He thinks it’s me who deceives myself, but the truth is, he is way more deceived than I am. Over my dead body I’ll forget about Mallory! And I use the word *damn* way too often recently...

"I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I stated and kissed him on the cheek.

“Oh, you do,” said Bond quietly. “You may think he’s a better choice than me... but I will make you mine. You underestimate how much I like a challenge...” he added and gently touched my arm. “Don’t be long,” he whispered.

As soon as Bond has taken the elevator, I saw Mallory walking towards me. The thought of unexpected conversation with my supervisor made me blush, so I quickly turned my back on him, pretending to lock the door to my office. I hoped that he would just pass by.

"002..."

"Sir,” I responded, turning around.

"... why are you still here? You should go home and get some rest before the flight. To get a few days off is a rare occurence in this business."

"I just wanted to make sure I signed all the papers, sir," I replied, staring into his eyes. “I always find it hard to leave this place.”

"It’s totally understandable, but you’ll be back in no time.”

I didn’t say a word, I just smiled mildly and nodded. Mallory tilted his head.

“You wonder *why* I send you and Bond on a mission together, don’t you?”

“Actually I do, sir.“

He bored into me.

“The answer’s simple. You two look like a real, *charming* couple... judging by the way you both *enjoy* to go undercover,” mocked Mallory.

“Oh, but it only looks that way, sir,” I replied nervously. “We make some effort to look the part. It’s easier this way.”

“I’m sure it is,” Mallory commented curtly. “But the thing is that fictional husbands don’t have to always behave like gentlemen,” he added and looked at my wrinkled collar.

I got embarassed after he had said that.

“Go home, Katherine, you deserve to rest,” he said calmly. “Good luck.”

“Thank you, sir,” I said, watching him turn around and walking down the corridor.

I looked at my wristwatch. It’s time to go, Bond waits for me... but first I have to calm down a bit, I thought. I felt my heart racing in my chest. It seems that Bond’s kisses can’t make me feel even half of those things that a short conversation with Mallory can... but it doesn’t mean the current state of affairs will last forever. It’s something I know all too well.

Monte Carlo, here I come.

***

To be continued.

[introvertguide]

Gone with the Wind; AFI #6

Our next film for review is the classic epic drama, Gone with the Wind (1939). This movie was the big award winner from a year that is often considered the best year for movies in American cinema history. The film won 8 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actress. Notably, the film also had the first win for a black actor with Best Supporting Actress going to Hattie McDaniel (although she had to get special permission to sit in the back of the room since the awards took place at a segregated hotel). All these wins came against competition like The Wizard of Oz, Wuthering Heights, Stagecoach and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Although this film is considered to be one of the best American films of all time, there has been a lot of complaints about the depiction of house slaves and slavery in general in this film. I want to discuss why it is still great and the takeaway from the film, but first a quick synopsis of the plot will help. This movie is almost 4 hours long, so it will be much more condensed then usual, and I relied heavily on Wikipedia and IMDB entries to summarize this particular film. I do want to do the standard...

SPOILER ALERT!!!! IF YOU ARE AMERICAN, THEN YOU SHOULD PROBABLY WATCH THIS FILM AS ALMOST A CIVIC DUTY!!! IT IS A MAJOR PART OF AMERICAN CINEMA HISTORY AND SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE EXPERIENCED!!! IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT, I IMPLORE YOU TO GO AND WATCH IT BEFORE READING ANY FURTHER!!!

In 1861, on the eve of the American Civil War, Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) lives at Tara, her family's cotton plantation in Georgia, with her parents and two sisters and their many slaves. Scarlett learns that Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard), whom she secretly loves, is to be married to his cousin, Melanie Hamilton (Olivia de Havilland), and the engagement is to be announced the next day at a barbecue at Ashley's home, the nearby plantation Twelve Oaks. At the Twelve Oaks party, Scarlett makes an advance on Ashley, but instead catches the attention of another guest, Rhett Butler (Clark Gable). The barbecue is disrupted by news of the declaration of war, and the men rush to enlist. In a bid to arouse jealousy in Ashley, Scarlett marries Melanie's younger brother Charles before he leaves to fight. Following Charles's death while serving in the Confederate States Army, Scarlett's mother sends her to the Hamilton home in Atlanta, where she creates a scene by attending a charity bazaar in her mourning attire and waltzing with Rhett, now a blockade runner for the Confederacy.

The tide of war turns against the Confederacy after the Battle of Gettysburg, in which many of the men of Scarlett's town are killed. Eight months later, as the city is besieged by the Union Army in the Atlanta Campaign, Melanie gives birth with Scarlett's aid, and Rhett helps them flee the city. Once out of the city, Rhett chooses to go off to fight, leaving Scarlett to make her own way back to Tara. Upon her return home, Scarlett finds Tara deserted, except for her father, her sisters, and two former slaves: Mammy (Hattie McDaniel) and Pork (Oscar Polk). Scarlett learns that her mother has just died of typhoid fever and her father has become senile. With Tara pillaged by Union troops and the fields untended, Scarlett vows she will do anything for the survival of her family and herself.

(Little bit of a side note, this seems to be where several of the commenters on IMDB thought the movie ended as the phrase “ends with Scarlett vowing never to go hungry again” showed up more than once. This is the point of the intermission and the two halves are very different from each other, but this is by no means the end of the film. It is a very good time to take a break if you are watching it so I suggest taking more than the intermission time to stretch your legs. This is a really long movie.)

As the O'Haras work in the cotton fields, Scarlett's father attempts to chase away a scalawag from his land, but is thrown from his horse and killed. With the defeat of the Confederacy, Ashley also returns, but finds he is of little help at Tara. When Scarlett begs him to run away with her, he confesses his desire for her and kisses her passionately, but says he cannot leave Melanie. Unable to pay the Reconstructionist taxes imposed on Tara, Scarlett dupes her younger sister Suellen's fiancé, the middle-aged and wealthy general store owner Frank Kennedy, into marrying her, by saying Suellen got tired of waiting and married another suitor. Frank, Ashley, Rhett and several other accomplices make a night raid on a shanty town after Scarlett is attacked while driving through it alone, resulting in Frank's death. With Frank's funeral barely over, Rhett proposes to Scarlett and she accepts.

Rhett and Scarlett have a daughter whom Rhett names Bonnie Blue, but Scarlett, still pining for Ashley and chagrined at the perceived ruin of her figure, lets Rhett know that she wants no more children and that they will no longer share a bed. One day at Frank's mill, Scarlett and Ashley are seen embracing by Ashley's sister, India, and harboring an intense dislike of Scarlett she eagerly spreads rumors. Later that evening, Rhett, having heard the rumors, forces Scarlett to attend a birthday party for Ashley. Incapable of believing anything bad of her, Melanie stands by Scarlett's side so that all know that she believes the gossip to be false. After returning home from the party, Scarlett finds Rhett downstairs drunk, and they argue about Ashley. Rhett kisses Scarlett against her will, stating his intent to have sex with her that night, and carries the struggling Scarlett to the bedroom.

The next day, Rhett apologizes for his behavior and offers Scarlett a divorce, which she rejects, saying that it would be a disgrace. When Rhett returns from an extended trip to London, Scarlett informs him that she is pregnant, but an argument ensues which results in her falling down a flight of stairs and suffering a miscarriage. As she is recovering, tragedy strikes when Bonnie dies while attempting to jump a fence with her pony. Scarlett and Rhett visit Melanie, who has suffered complications arising from a new pregnancy, on her deathbed. As Scarlett consoles Ashley, Rhett prepares to leave Atlanta. Having realized that it was him she truly loved all along, and not Ashley, Scarlett pleads with Rhett to stay, but Rhett rebuffs her and walks away into the morning fog, leaving her in tears on the staircase. A distraught Scarlett resolves to return home to Tara, believing that one day she will get Rhett back.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While discussing this film with my mom, she mentioned that the film has had a different effect on her each time and she felt like it was because she was a different person each time she saw it. I have had the same experience and I find that rewatching the film is a good way to see how your own perspective has changed over time. I first saw this as a teen and thought Rhett Butler was a cold man who could could not forgive a suffering Scarlett who was trying to figure out her priorities during a trying time. In my twenties, I could only focus on the depiction of slavery and thought that people should not watch the film at all. In my thirties, I hated Scarlett and wished that she had died instead of her friend or the daughter because she was dramatic and made bad situations worse. I recently turned forty and watched it again...

I still find Scarlett to be dramatic and the cause of many of her own problems, but at the same time I would expect this from somebody her age (I think I finally separated the age of the actress from the age of the character) with her “Princess of the South” upbringing. I can’t really empathize since her life was much easier than mine, but I can sympathize after working with many rich teens who are spoiled and don’t know how to act in an emergency. I think I understand better about how the author of the book was trying to portray this plantation lifestyle as almost royalty and the slaves were like the 1850s Southern United States version of royal attendants. I find the language very cringy, but all of the house slaves at the O’Hara plantation have their place in the story. This is probably an accurate depiction of what somebody from the old South would want to glamorize plantation life as being to people living in the 1940s, and thus historically valuable. I find Rhett Butler to be somewhat similar to Han Solo: somebody who looks out for his own best interest but softens for good people and good causes. He seems to do good things except when he gets drunk and forces himself on Scarlett (marriage and sexual assault are not mutually exclusive). He is otherwise pretty faultless, but that scene drops him quite a few pegs in my eyes.

One thing that sticks with me each and every time is when Scarlett is working at the army hospital and the doctor wants her to help with an amputation. They have nothing to numb the pain and there is a young man screaming not to cut into his leg...I can’t even imagine yet I know that this was not even uncommon during the height of the war. I remember watching a documentary on the Civil War and a real photo showing a pile of amputated limbs at a makeshift tent hospital. The pile looked to have more than 100 limbs and I am sure they did not have enough morphine for all of these men. The best field doctors were said to be more strong and stoic than accurate since being able to saw through a man’s leg quickly was a major commodity. This horrifically honest portrayal of war in the midst of the Nazi threat and a couple of years before the entry of the U.S. into WW2 took courage. I was able to sublimate a little more during this viewing since there was no on-screen cutting. I also tried to imagine the man doing the voice over and screaming “Don't cut my leg!” in a sound studio. It helped. Another thing that I didn’t know during previous viewings was that when she exits the building and sees the hundreds of soldiers in the streets, half of the bodies on the ground are manikins. Look very closely at the middle picture above...half over those bodies are fakes.

I learned a lot from the extras that were with this movie since I borrowed my friend’s DVD box set. It was unexpected to me that the three slaves were my friend’s favorite characters (Pork, Mammy, and Prissy), since my friend is a black woman in her 70s and grew up during the Civil Rights movement when films that depicted slavery in this way were generally looked down upon. My friend said she was glad to see black actors at all from the era and the movement had to start somewhere. The actors seemed to be of the same opinion with Hattie McDaniel saying she would rather portray a maid and get paid like an actor than have to actually be a maid. Speaking roles for black actors were very few, especially in big budget movies, so there was not a lot of concern about the character being portrayed. This makes since, especially after the Great Depression. Having a role playing a stereotyped house slave still meant a great paycheck at the end of the week. I also liked that one of the things that Rhett Butler wanted and had difficulty getting was approval from Mammy concerning the courtship of Scarlett. Mammy was a slave, but she knew a lot of secrets and was not powerless.

My favorite character this time around was Melanie Hamilton because she is just a good person. She is not helpless and she doesn’t complain about her problems, she just handles her business and keeps supporting her family with a strength that I am not likely to truly know. I was saddened to hear that the actress recently passed away as, similar to her character, she seemed like a real survivor that would live forever. Apparently the actress, Olivia de Havilland, was not nearly as demure and liked to play jokes on her fellow actors. She also made a lot of fun about the age gap between Vivien Leigh and the actress playing Scarlett’s mother (there was a real life age difference of 4 years). Havilland also had the crew tie her to a chair that Clark Gable was supposed to lift her from and he nearly threw out his back.

It is a little surprising how much adversity occurred on set since there were a lot of injuries, actors who didn’t really like their character (Vivien Leigh described her character as a “raging bitch”), giant sets that were lit on fire so only one take was possible, and the portrayal of the South and slavery in a favorable light. However, like so many other films on the AFI list, it seems like the difficulties are what bonded the groups together to make classic cinema. It seems like a little adversity and strife can bring out the best in film makers.

So does this movie belong on the AFI list? Maybe more than any other movie ever made. It is the top film from the pinnacle year of the Golden Age of Hollywood. It is a historical drama about a singularly American topic based on an American best seller. I think a list about great American movies should probably start with films like this and go from there. Absolute classic. Would I recommend it? Yes, and I would actually recommend multiple viewings because your interpretation will change throughout your life. This is a superiorly good movie that should be viewed, no matter how it is interpreted. Just make sure to plan a break because this movie is epic in scale and in run time. Still totally worth it.

[pricemarshfield]

what do you truly desire?

A Deckerstar human/romcom AU. Chapter 5/10, read on AO3 here (or the full fic here). Will be rated E eventually, so minors DNI.

Five months later, Lucifer's life is fantastic.

It's not a surprise. His life has always been better than the average person's: plenty of money, some of the world's best alcohol, possibly the most active sex life of anyone in the LA area. Maze's brief trend of being gentle after Chloe had rejected him because of her has long-since ended, so she's back to her normal self: quick-witted and vicious and Lucifer's best friend.

She doesn't tell him anymore stories about her roommate, and he doesn't ask her about Chloe. It's basically the same way they did things before, just with the one tweak. Still, it's not as though he doesn't know when she tiptoes around things. Maze happily starts a story about building a model rocket with her other best friend (Lucifer holds a hand to his chest, mostly-mock-offended) but then clams up when Lucifer asks the friend's name or any other details, or Maze corrects him on some minor detail about LA's liquor laws that only someone who spent a lot of time with a cop would know. (Lucifer doesn't remember what that one was. Maze handles the books.)

Lucifer continues to talk up their customers almost every night, waxing poetic about their most expensive whiskeys, whispering in a handsome man's ear about how good Maze looks mixing cocktails, helping them through the potential sexuality crisis that tends to cause. It's certainly not a traditional lifestyle, but anyone he has a conversation with long enough to actually talk about it tend to say how lucky he is.

Which is right, obviously. He's lucky. What more could he want?

Of course, the life of a club owner doesn't start at opening. He needs a new suit, deep blue for an event someone's paying a truly sinful amount of money to host at Lux, and his tailor won't do house calls. Maze had tried, at one point, to wake him up earlier, if only so that he'd cook her breakfast since she burns everything short-of-but-sometimes-including toast. But he spends over a thousand on just the sheets on his bed, let alone how much he spent on the mattress, and he's damn well going to enjoy it.

(It's not--and this is crucial--it's not moping. He doesn't have anything to mope over, definitely not, his life is absolutely wonderful and he doesn't spend any time thinking of a blonde woman who doesn't swoon at everything he says like anyone he puts any effort in with, the first person he'd been interested in since Eve and the rebellion she represented.)

He's running late for the appointment, due to some truly abysmal traffic and a lack of parking anywhere near the shop, so he's rushing along through the crowd of people that seem to be omnipresent anytime he needs to get somewhere quickly in this city.

"Excuse me, pardon me, I'm actually in a hurry, so--okay, now you're purposefully obstructing everyone here, step to the side if you're going to text--" He turns his head to stare down the offending party, a stern-faced woman with a harsh haircut and horrifically short bangs--when he runs right into someone in the street and gets hot coffee all over his person.

It's not necessarily bad form to swear in public, but the string of words that come out of his mouth certainly cross the line into bad etiquette. It hurts like a motherfucker, and worst of all, the shirt he's wearing is white. Lucifer spares a moment to be thankful--not to a God or anything, just in general--that he's already got an appointment with a tailor.

"Shit!" says the woman he bumped into, and Lucifer turns his head to see Chloe. Because he'd only just managed to mostly put her out of his mind, and the universe is a vicious, punishing thing. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry--"

She's still looking with dismay between his shirt and what's left of her coffee, not at his face, and Lucifer coughs a little. "I didn't take you for a black coffee drinker."

Chloe looks up at him, eyes wide with surprise. "Lucifer? That's--insane, LA is a city of almost 4 million people, what are the chances?"

"Given my luck? Quite high, actually," Lucifer says, and Chloe's expression shutters almost quick enough for Lucifer to miss the flash of hurt across her face. "Because of the coffee! Not--I did like this shirt, but it is good to see you. And I'm near my tailor, anyway."

Chloe still looks a little offended, but she manages a small smile up at him. "You have your own tailor?"

"Well, suits like these don't come off the rack." He holds his arms out, realizes that he's now blocking the crowd and being a huge hypocrite, and lowers them. "Let's step to the side for a second."

"What? Oh, right," Chloe says, and gets out of the way. Someone shoots them a dirty look as they shuffle through to the side. The--chicken and waffles place...interesting--has a bright, tacky red-and-gold awning that gets them a bit of respite from the shade so they can talk.

Chloe digs through her pockets, pulling out receipts and crumpled-up straw wrappers. After glancing at his face, she says, "I'm just trying to find a napkin or something to get the coffee."

Lucifer looks at the reflection of the two of them in the window. His shirt has a giant brown spot in the middle of it that, while it should come out with dry cleaning, is certainly not going to be helped by old napkins. "I'll buy a new shirt while I'm at the tailor. Hopefully it won't need alterations."

Chloe snorts. "'Alterations.'" Her British accent is abysmal and sounds less like him and more like an offensive impression of a character from a cult classic BBC show. "This place looks like a college haunt, you could probably get a USC T-shirt inside until you get home tonight."

Lucifer shudders. "Ugh. Absolutely not."

"What, you're telling me you don't have any cheap clothes that you hold onto just 'cause they're comfortable?"

"A silk robe is comfortable," he grumbles. "Certainly more comfortable than a T-shirt from--" He looks at the door, squinting against the glare of the sun against the 'restaurant' door. "--Classic Southern Cafe of the West Coast."

"I mean, the name leaves something to be desired, but if a place with a name like that's still open then it can't be all bad."

"Or someone with more money than sense decided to throw their life savings at something they were completely unqualified for. Like that cafe in Boston."

Chloe blinks at him. "The cat cafe?"

"You're familiar!" Lucifer says, delighted. "Maze told me about it, she delights in disasters."

"...she told me, too."

Right.

"Okay, look," Chloe says, and Lucifer braces himself for the worst of it. "I'm really sorry about the way I kicked you out." Oh? "I mean...I just--okay, I'm not jealous."

"I hadn't thought you were?" Lucifer says, unsure if he's about to be insulted or what. He's not letting himself be hopeful about anything, though, suffocating the urge to be optimistic about it before it can say whatever it wants to. If this conversation goes well, he'll be pleasantly surprised, and if not, he won't have lost any of the progress he's made over the course of the past few months.

(The most he's hoping for is that he'll be able to talk to her. He enjoys that, more than he does talking with almost anyone else.)

"I just mean...ugh, okay, Maze and I were a thing, okay? Just briefly, barely a month! We didn't really work like that, but we made good friends, and then she was moving out of her old roommate's place and I needed to move out of my mom's old house and it just worked? And it was just--weird, you having slept with her and me also--fuck, sorry, I'm rambling."

She is, which seems pretty unlike her from Lucifer's previous two times that he'd met her, but it's annoyingly endearing anyway. "It's fine, Detective. Don't stop on my account."

Chloe reaches a hand up to rub the back of her neck. "Right. And I just...don't really casually see people, okay? I mean, Maze was an exception. Not in that way, I'm definitely bisexual, just...yeah. And as much as I liked you, I just don't think I have the room for a relationship right now."

Lucifer's heart definitely doesn't drop down into his stomach at that, not at all. "Of course."

"I would like to hang out, though? As friends?" Chloe says. "If you're alright with--"

"I am," Lucifer says, quickly enough that he accidentally interrupts her. She grins up at him, though, so it's good, it's fine. "I...do have to get to this appointment, I need a suit for work--"

"Yeah, of course, sorry to keep you, and sorry again about the coffee! You were right, too, I don't normally like my coffee black, but it's--not important, go get a new suit."

Lucifer nods and smiles, a little awkward, a little unsure, but generally...happier. It's not even as though he was in a bad mood before, but now he's smiling easier, chattier with his tailor, doesn't mind the stain on one of his nicer shirts that's had some time to set in now and might not wash out as easily as he'd like.

--

Maze has been staring at Lucifer ever since he walked into the bar, wearing a new shirt and a smile. She's been drying the same glass now for almost five minutes, despite how busy it is at the bar and how much Patrick's scrambling to get things done, and it's now just a matter of which one of them will break first: Maze's impatience or Lucifer's love of talking about himself.

Lucifer really does love talking about the things that go well in his life, though, and Maze hasn't even blinked for the last stretch of time. So eventually he heads over with an eyeroll, doesn't miss the victorious smirk on her face, and sits down at the one barstool that's, miraculously, available.

"Spill," Maze says, putting the glass down at last and starting to mix a drink, to Patrick's obvious relief.

"I ran into Chloe," Lucifer says, delighted, and looks to see if Maze will tense up, if she'll show any jealousy that her ex is spending time with him. Decidedly platonic time, but still. He doesn't want a repeat of what happened with Eve. That had been a difficult time for their friendship, and for Lucifer in general, if he's being honest.

She doesn't seem to, not smiling (normal) but nodding in agreement as she looks down at the drink she's pouring. "Cool. Did you go try and find her at the police station or something? Hold up a sign like that dumb movie?"

Lucifer scoffs. "No, of course not, that would have been completely inappropriate, and not in a fun way. Especially given she rejected me." Much as that stings, it's still a novel feeling.

"Good," Maze says, sliding the drink over to a customer who only barely manages to catch it before the glass would've fallen and shattered on the floor and gotten--whatever that drink is, some lurid pink thing, all over her clothes. "So...what? She came to see you at Lux before we opened?"

"No," Lucifer says. "We just ran into each other."

"Jesus, what are the odds," Maze says, grabbing some orange juice from beneath the counter. "You wanna come back here and help out?"

"Of course not," Lucifer says, then walks to the back of the bar to help out anyway. He's not actually good at mixing drinks at all, but he knows where everything is, mostly, grabbing Maze some rum and chopping limes since they're running low. "Are we especially busy today or something? I've never seen the bar this backed up."

"Well, you weren't telling me right away, I had to make a point," Maze says with a quick glare at him. "Apologize to Patrick."

Lucifer doesn't particularly feel like apologizing to Patrick for Maze's behavior, and Patrick seems a bit too busy with pitchers of sangria to do much of anything. There's a lull in their conversation as they get drinks out to the customers as fast as possible without missing any tabs or charges or anything else, but then it slows to something they can talk during.

"Well, I'm glad it worked out, I guess?" Maze says. "Did she, like, rip your shirt off or something? I didn't think Decker had it in her."

"No," Lucifer says. "While I'm not at all opposed, she actually just spilled some coffee--"

Maze laughs. "Holy shit, really? Wow, I didn't realize she was mad at you! I'm normally really good at picking up on anger!"

"It was an accident, Mazikeen, would I be in a good mood if it wasn't?" Lucifer says, annoyed, wiping down the counter with a rag just to get the worst of the condensation and sweat off.

She doesn't respond right away, and when he looks back, she's smiling at him, softer than she normally would. "Hey. I'm glad you're in a good mood about it."

"Okay?" Lucifer says, unused to Maze being nice when she doesn't want something from him. "Why--"

"Which is why I'm gonna tell you right now," Maze interrupts. "That you're my best friend. And that I care about you."

"I--okay? I--"

"And that if you hurt Chloe," Maze says, still smiling, still with that same casual tone. "I will fucking end you. Got that?"

"I haven't even done anything!" Lucifer protests. "Is she getting this same shovel talk? And besides, she's said she's not interested, it's just--friendly."

"Oh," Maze says, relaxing against the counter a little more. "Really? Wouldn't have guessed that. Also...yes."

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, she got the same shovel talk," Maze says with another eyeroll, all trace of her sweet, fake smile gone. "Obviously. You're my best friend."

Lucifer nods, shoulders dropping just a little. It's not that he was worried Maze was picking between him and Chloe, like it's some sort of fight, but it's--nice, to be reassured that she's on his side anyway.

"Also?" Maze says, glare getting worse.

"Also...I care about you too?"

"Thank you!" Maze says in her sweetest, fakest voice of all. "Also, I'm guessing you two didn't exchange numbers again?"

"Shit."

"It's fine, I got you, let me just make sure Chloe's cool with it once I'm home," Maze says. "You're definitely both being stupid as hell, but whatever, at least it'll be fun to watch."

--

At 1:43am, after they've finished closing up and cleaning and getting everything ready for tomorrow, Lucifer checks his phone for the first time in an hour and sees a text from a number he doesn't recognize.

Hey! It's Chloe. Maze gave me your number, she said you said it was okay

If it's not, I'm sorry and I won't text again

And if you're not Lucifer, I'm sorry and please let me know?

Hello, Detective

She doesn't respond, but it's late enough that she's probably asleep, and frankly, after having to actually work tonight, he's about ready to pass out himself. So he does, gets into the most comfortable sheets he's ever head and is unconscious almost as soon as his head hits the pillow. He misses one more text, from a number he hasn't texted in years.

hey! i'm back in town if you want to meet up! let's partyyyy

[oohfluffy]

TIHM Ch.4 | BBH

Group: EXO

Member: Byun Baekhyun

Theme: Angst | Fluff | Rated M | University!AU | Football!AU

Word Count: 2,782

chapter 4

"Stop eating! Cheer with me!"

You rolled your eyes as you took another bite from your corndog, ignoring your best friend's complaints. The crowd has calmed down a bit and was all settled down on their seats as the game started. It has been 30 minutes since then, and you were not really paying that much attention. 

A certain 04 guy kept on glancing this way though.

"Those foxes won't be able to catch up, I'm telling you." Jiwon smirked as she sat back down next to you with her glow sticks in her hands. "Let me have some."

You sighed before letting her get some of your fries. You looked up at the field and saw how they run around like dogs. You cringed as you saw how hard they bump on to each other, almost bouncing off for a good meter away. You watched as number 61 passed the ball to someone from an almost 10 meter distance, making you gasp in awe. 

That was a strong pass.

What surprised you more was when the receiver didn't even budge when he grabbed the ball, as if it was nothing. He just continued running away from the opponents, swift and quick as a thief. The crowd suddenly started to shout louder, making you look around in shock. 

"BYUN BAEKHYUN! BYUN BAEKHYUN!" They chanted like a mantra as the number 04 guy, who seems to be Byun Baekhyun, pushed his way from the annoying foxes blocking his way from the field goal.

"He seems to be really popular, huh?" You mumbled at your best friend, who was grinning widely beside you.

"Well, he's the quarterback. Suho might be the cap, but Baekhyun is the game manager." She proudly said, waving her glow sticks as the crowd roared in victory. "WHOOO! ANOTHER FIELD GOAL, YAAAS!"

When an hour passed, you stood up from your seat, wanting to have a break from this noisy crowd. Jiwon was on the railings, not running out of energy as she screamed with the other girls. You didn't bother disturbing her and went down the bleachers. You looked at your watch and saw that it was past 8pm. 

"I'll just go to the restroom." You muttered as you held on to your bottle of water that Jiwon has bought along your food. 

You trudged your way to the restroom located at the side of the field. You can still see the game continuing from here, seeing how bright the glow sticks on the bleachers. Most of the professors were present as well, surprisingly. They were even shouting with the crowd with proud grins. 

You looked back at the field and nodded in agreement. Well, you admit those wolves are impressive. With your water bottle swinging in your hand, you entered the dim-lit girls' restroom, squinting your eyes at the blinking fluorescent light on the ceiling. 

It seems that they haven't changed the lighting here yet. 

Pushing the scary thoughts aside, you quickly entered a cubicle and did your business. You were consciously tapping your bottle on your knee, when the light stopped blinking. You sighed in relief as you stood up and—

"Holy..." You cursed under your breath as you zipped your pants up before raising your hand to locate the cubicle door. The light went out with a quiet thump, awakening those scary thoughts you just had earlier. "No, no. Calm down."

When you got to grab the lock, you opened it in a blink and hesitated.

It's too dark. You won't be able to get out of here. Just like before. In the dark—

"Damn." You scolded yourself for thinking those kinds of things in this situation. You gathered all your courage to open the door and get out quick. When you got to open the door, you carefully went out with your hands in front of you. You can still visualize where was the way to the door, so it won't be that hard, right?

With your heart pounding against your chest, you walked forward with long strides. When your hand hit on the wooden door, you let out a deep relieved sigh. You grabbed the door knob and turned it—

"FUCK!"

"THE HELL!"

Your heart must have stopped thumping as light entered the dark restroom, and a scared-looking puppy looked back at you. You noticed how sweat trickled on the sides of his face, down to his neck. His grayish hair was wet, and his uniform dirty. He probably took a short break, seeing that the game was still on going.

"What were you doing in that..." The number 04 guy looked back at the dark restroom behind you with a cringing expression. "...haunted-looking restroom?"

You instantly remembered you were still inside, and quickly moved out of the room, shutting the door behind you with a slam. You feel like your heart was left inside that dark abyss.

"The light suddenly went out, I didn't get to get out easily. It was too dark." You calmly explained despite the perturbation you felt earlier until now. You let out a breath.

"You okay?"

You blinked your eyes in surprise, darting your gaze up at him. 

"Y-Yeah." You tried smiling at him as he seemed so worried. "I-It's just I was surprised."

"Your hands are shaking." Baekhyun furrowed his brows as he reached for your hands. They were indeed slightly shaking. Under his touch, your skin warmed in comfort. "You must be really frightened back there, hmm?"

As he caressed your hands, your cheeks flushed at the scenario. All the scary thoughts of the past were easily wiped out by a mere touch of his smooth skin on yours. You quickly snatched back your hands from his hold, his eyes showing shock and hurt at the same time.

"I-I'm sorry—" You cut him off as you looked away.

"I'm fine. Thanks." 

Without another word, you walked away from him, leaving him with his concerned but interested eyes following you.

You didn't mean to offend him. It's just that, the sparks you felt along the collision of your skins surprised you.

"Where have you been?! I thought you left me." Jiwon welcomed your comeback with a pout, her glow sticks on her sides. "But then I realized that you still have an unfinished snack in the paper bag, so I knew you'd be back." She grinned as she pointed at your seat, where your paper bag with a half corndog left sat. 

"You know me so well." You grinned weakly as you sat next to her, noticing your almost empty water bottle. You forgot to refill it at the water fountain near the restroom. You suddenly remembered your nerve-wracking  experience in that restroom.

And your encounter with the quarterback.

"You alright, Jin-ah? Want water?" 

You looked at your best friend, who was staring at you with worried eyes. You smiled and gratefully took her bottled water. 

"Thank you. I just forgot to refill mine." You said before taking a gulp from her water bottle. She must have been slightly convinced as she saw your bottle, but her eyes didn't let go of your distracted gaze.

"Are you sure? You seem out of it."

At times like this, you don't know if you should be thankful that Jiwon is such an observant friend. Whenever something's wrong, she'll know it in no time. She looks after you like a mother would. 

But sometimes, you just don't want to dig that past back. You just want to keep it in yourself.

You nodded enthusiastically, which probably too fake and not you, before looking at the field. You saw that 04 got back into the game, skipping his way into the field.

"I'm alright."

I'm not.

—

That Friday night ended with the Eve Academy's win as expected.

Jiwon talked endlessly about the game as you both went home, that you felt guilty not being able to contribute much enthusiasm in the whole conversation. Just a few nods and commentaries said.

Until Monday came, everyone was still buzzing in excitement as they talked about the game. You already heard enough from Jiwon, what more in campus? You begrudgingly closed your locker door before securely hugging your book for the second period. 

"Only a subject left before lunch, my peaceful time of day." You mumbled to yourself as you turned on a corner towards the stairs. 

You were looking ahead the hallway of the second floor, relieved at the minimal noise from the people around you. It was more chaotic on the first floor as everyone chats loudly near the lockers area—

"Oof!"

You almost dropped your approximately 50 thousand won book as this huge and irritating force catch you off guard. Fortunately, your fast muscle response didn't disappoint you. You planted your other palm that wasn't holding your book on the nearest wall, balancing yourself as a tall person's well-built body hit the floor.

"ARGH!" He whined as he met the floor with a wince.

"Hey! Stop roughhousing in the hallways, Park and Byun!" A familiar stern voice rang through the walls, making you look back at the small crowd beside you. They were walking from the adjacent hallway you were walking from earlier. This guy on the floor looks familiar as well.

"It was Baek! He pushed me all of a sudden!" The poor floor guy complained, his back flat on the ground. He accusingly pointed his finger to the culprit. "YAH! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!"

"Hey. I'm sorry about that. Are you alright?" A soft and gentle voice took you back to earth, big comforting eyes staring back at you. You stepped back from the wall before looking at the incoming group. "They're too playful, but they mean no harm."

"I-It's fine. I'm okay." You looked down at the wincing guy, who got help from another tall guy with sharp features. "I think he should be the one you should ask. He fell quite hard."

"Oh." The guy in front of you glanced at his friend with indifferent eyes. "He's fine. He should be used to falling on the ground. Football requires being friends with the earth, you know?"

You tilt your head in confusion as you processed his words. Before you could come into conclusion, a cheery voice pulled you back.

"HEY! You're that early bird fangirl!"

Your eyes widened in recognition as you see their familiar faces and hear their familiar voices. The cat-like smile of the loud guy overwhelmed you. However, because of his loud announcement, the other nine guys with him, including the one on the floor and the one in front of you, looked at you.

"Uh." You tried forming words in your mouth, but nothing seems to come out. Being the center of attention like this is totally not your thing. Especially they were boys. Who the hell won't freak out?

"Oh! Are you a freshman?" The captain, whom you recognized with his stern voice but soft features, asked nicely. "You must be really lucky, huh?"

"Yeah! Managing to watch us practice alone, and bumping into us all!" 

You looked around the group, feeling uncomfortable with the attention you were getting, until your gaze fell to him. His cute slanted eyes lit up with mischief and amusement as they met yours, his thin pinkish lips pulled up into a smile.

"I-I'm sorry if you misunderstood me, but I'm not really a fan." You managed to find your voice as you looked away from a certain boy's stare. "But you guys played really well. Congrats on your win." You mentally face-palmed yourself as you realized you blabbered too much. 

Are we being too feeling close? They must think I'm very talkative and a desperate secret fan—

"Is that so?" The cat guy pouted, but then smiled. "Thank you still for watching! That meant a lot already for us."

Your eyes widened a bit with surprise. Everyone was smiling gratefully. Even him.

"Y-You're welcome." You looked away before looking at your watch. "I-I need to go. Uh, my class will start in 5." You backed away with an awkward smile.

"Oh, sorry to keep you. See you around!"

You bowed slightly before turning your back at them. Your mind was fuzzy and all you can think about was if that really happened, if you really just talked to so many people at once. 

People who didn't look at you with disgust and judging stares.

Your eyes welled up a bit as your lips formed a small smile. 

"What a friendly bunch." You whispered to yourself as you shook your head.

—

♫ Ch. 5

[esperwatchesfilms]

New Year’s Evil

I got the idea to start this challenge while stoned in the middle of the night and desperate for a goal. Something to put myself into. And I thought, “COVID has made me a shut-in who only watches films and talks to people. What better way to spend that time than to actually attempt to beat that world record I set out to beat so long ago. Unfortunately, I’m doing it very unofficially so only the people I talk to on a regular basis are likely to pay it any attention. I’ve got to point out here and now that my scoring system for films is arbitrary and is not a true reflection of how much I enjoyed watching a film. My scores are based on silly things that I give and deduce points for as I see fit. The Esper Scale of Entertainment (or the ESE) is understood by no one, but I will give a clear indication of why points were given and taken away at the end of each post. With those two things out of the way, I’ve got to admit I really enjoyed New Year’s Evil despite its 35/100 ESE rating. It starts off with a disappointing horror movie rule-breaking trope. There’s a woman of color in the first scene. Clearly, this means the killer is going to kill her. She committed one of the ultimate horror movie sins by being a woman of color, and thus, the movie gods decided she had to die, which was made even worse by her cliché killer-pops-out-from-behind-a-shower-curtain death. Then we get the opening titles. About eight 80s punk-rockers are packed into a convertible and blasting “New Year’s Evil” by Shadow, the video I attached to this post. So, from the word go, I have no idea what I’m watching, but I’m here for it. The song slaps, so I’m immediately all in. Earlier we saw the Yvonne (the woman of color) talking to a friend over the phone saying, “I’m on my way” before her horror-movie-trope demise, and once the credits end, we are more properly introduced to Diane, aka Blaze, a TV/radio personality who is hosting a party she calls New Year’s Evil, which appears to be a punk show where all the opening title convertible punks were headed. Before going out on stage and starting the show, Diane/Blaze’s son rocks up in fancy coat tails with blue jeans and a crumpled tie. He’s handsome as hell, but holy hell, I can’t deal with this look. I should have probably taken more than five points off for this look alone, but it’s too late now. Anyway, Blaze and Derek (Coat Tails) have a weird mother-son exchange, and their interactions are cringey at best, but incestual-feeling at worst. Anyway, the show Blaze is hosting is a punk rock show where there are some unexplained people on a stage answering telephones (is it a telethon? We don’t know. No one seems to be pledging anything. Are they making requests? It is not explained). So, Blaze is the host and decides to get in on the answering-the-phone action. When she does, a modified voice says to call him “Ee-vil!” He pronounces it exactly the way Mermaid Man does in Spongebob Squarepants, and I could only see the ridiculous face of Mermaid Man in my head any time he said it (because, oh, yes, friends. He can’t only say it once! Anyhow, the man says he’ll be killing one person on the hour every hour from 9 pm to 12 pm. (East Coast’s New Year to West Coast’s New Year) So, naturally, Blaze informs her agent that he needs to get ALL the police there to protect everyone. Meanwhile, there’s a mosh pit happening in a sanitarium, where they are watching the New Year’s Evil show live on television. While we are at the sanitarium, an orderly (I think?) and a nurse sneak off to have some fun. The orderly has a small radio capable of recording external sound (like an oversized Talkboy) as well as the sound being emitted from the radio. The nurse makes some mention of it, to which he responds, “I always come well-equipped.” She giggles, bites her lip and says, “I bet you do!” Which tells us, as the audience, that not only are they about to do the do... but this dude’s definitely the murderer. Because we’ve already seen one horror movie rules death. So, of course, we need to see another. Nurse lady has sex? Nurse lady has to die. From here on out, there are more killings as the police rock up and try to sort out what’s happening. They’re portrayed as very useless, very authoritarian/demanding, and very judgmental -- soooooo, accurately, I suppose, is the word I’d use. They’re portrayed accurately. We see the killer in the car with two women, one of which is a ditzy blonde who just cannot shut up. She talks about all the different types of meditation she’s tried. She tells the killer her friend tried one of the types, too, for her “nervous diarrhea”. You know, just the thing you tell a stranger you’re thinking about sleeping with... that your friend gets nervous poops. The ditzy blonde girl is our next horror movie trope. “The Fool”. Done in by her own stupidity. They stop somewhere for snacks or some such (I honestly don’t remember), and the friend goes in leaving the killer alone with the ditz, whom he strangles with a plastic baggie that is also full of weed. When the friend comes back, the car is gone and in its place is her friend’s shoe. She sees a nearby dumpster with a piece of fabric matching her friend’s dress poking out. She walks over while some generic horror music mixed with some Walmart Brand Jason Voorhees breathing plays, and she opens the dumpster, and the killer is inside with a lighter which he flicks on and grins menacingly at the woman, who is yanked into the dumpster, where we can assume she, too, was murdered.

I should note that somewhere before being murdered, the ditz says, “When a girl doesn’t have a date on New Year’s Eve, she’s in Shit City.” And ditzy girl? I hear ya. From here on out, there are some necessity injuries. He is being hunted down by bikers for what seems like no reason at one point, so he hides at a drive-in movie, where he sort of kidnaps a girl who was getting felt up by her boyfriend. He yanks the dude out of the car and throws him aside after stabbing one of the bikers who was chasing him. We don’t see him die, so I’m going to assume it’s an injury since he seems to only be interested in killing women. He then, later, knocks out a security guard trying to get into the punk party because the police have now determined that Blaze is probably the final target. The police and Blaze are about to check on Blaze's hotel room (the party is being held in the hotel in a ballroom or something, I’m assuming. Convention center? I don’t know. The place is connected to the hotel), where her son is, and they pull a gun on him. She yells that it’s her son, and they apologize and leave, and she apologizes to Derek saying she forgot he was there, and he storms out, “YOU ALWAYS FORGET ME WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH”. The police leave, and when another officer comes back, THE KILLER ANSWERS HER DOOR. PLOT TWIST -- THE KILLER IS DIANE/BLAZE’S HUSBAND!!!! He called earlier to say he would be late, and when he shows up? HE’S THE KILLER!!!! I have to admit, I didn’t see this coming. The husband was mentioned briefly, but my brain didn’t connect it, so it was a pleasant surprise that this 80s film done duped me. Good job, New Year’s Evil!!

Anyway, Blaze is seen in the elevator moments later flirting with the officer, who’s married and has two sets of twins, information to which Blaze comments, “What’s the matter? No TV?” Suggest, Blaze. Very suggestive! It sucks that your creepy murder-husband rigged the camera in the elevator, so he knows about your weird suggestive conversations with randos, something it seems his son has also alerted him to, because when he reveals he’s the killer to her, he mentions that ladies are evil in general. Okay. So, it wasn’t just me. It wasn’t speculative. Dudeski really does just hate women. The whole film is just, “Guy hates women. Guy’s New Year Resolutions include killing all the nasty womens.” He tortures her a while by handcuffing her to some chains underneath the elevator, and then making the elevator go up and down with some fuse box of some kind that happens to just be easily accessible and next to where the elevator is. At least I haven’t seen this form of torture in film before, so that’s fun. The end is relatively boring. The police sort out that the husband used to be in the sanitarium we saw earlier where the nurse died. They find him torturing his wife, and they chase him to the roof, where he runs to the edge of the building, quotes Hamlet, and immediately plummets to his death wearing a goofy mask that he’s only worn twice in the film, both for short periods of time. He dies on impact, and everyone goes to investigate the body. The son picks up his mask and ominously stares into the distance, telling us before he’s actually told us that he’s totally going to take up his father’s quest to murder the womens.

Blaze is put in an ambulance, and when it pans to the driver, it’s the son, wearing his father’s mask. The film ends, the credits roll, and I move on to the next one.

Overall, I laughed throughout. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this film, but if you’re bored on New Year’s Eve and feel like a “horror” film, this one isn’t the *worst* one you could watch. Below, you’ll find a breakdown of the ESE rating I gave it.

Quick ESE explanation: every film starts with 50 points for being a film. From there, I add or deduct points based on... my whim.

35/100

50 +4 for packed punk convertible +2 for New Year’s Evil 80s metal theme song +1 for switchblade comb -5 for coat tails with blue jeans -5 for creepy incestuous mother-son duo -2 for Mermaid Man pronunciation of “Ee-vil!” +10 for “I always come well-equipped.” “I bet you do” -5 for punks moshing to some funky blues -5 for predictable horror movie trope deaths +2 for maniacal punk laugh +3 for the “Oops” because he pissed off the bikers +5 for punks booing the police at the New Year’s Evil party -7 for the creepy incestual feeling of the interactions between Blaze and Derek +10 for PLOT TWIST!!!! -25 for the woman-hating killer +5 for creative elevator thing +2 for Hamlet quote -5 for highly predictable ending

[alexisn11233]

Blog 1-6

                                                       Get Out

        As someone who cannot really watch horror without having nightmares and thinking about, Get Out is a film I admired and watched even before taking this course. Watching Get Out years ago when I always stay away from horror movies is a huge step for me and I definitely did not regret watching it then. However, after watching the sensational film, Get Out for the second time, I definitely noticed large symbols depicted in the film.

I didn’t have any knowledge on the momentous symbols portrayed throughout the film when I had watched the film for the first time a few years prior. Had I never taken this course I would have never known of the hidden meanings Jordan Peele imputed throughout the film. For instance, I had never even considered the sunken place of being a symbol for mass incarceration. However, I can’t stop thinking of how talented Jordan Peele and others that have worked on the film to bring such a powerful meaning to the movie that is a large issue with people of color. 

Another large symbol that was shown in the film was the deer. In the scene where Chris and Rose are on the way to Rose’s family’s home, they hit a deer. Rose is not too interested in the deers wellbeing, whereas we see Chris strongly concerned. He then finds the deer dead, which causes Chris to tear up. We then saw the deer towards the end of the movie where another deer was hung up on the wall in front of Chris while he was trapped in the chair by Rose’s family. He then uses that same deer head to kill Rose’s father. Another theme I saw with the deer was how Chris had to get out of the car after hitting it and check on the deer. Chris’s actions during that scene stems from severe trauma he has endured with his mom being killed in a hit and run. The driving deer scene is not the only segment where Chris’s actions were determined by the event of losing his mother from a hit and run. We also see Chris doing the same thing towards the end of the movie with Georgina. He ran Georgina over in order to escape from being killed, however, he couldn’t bare to leave her alone and die. This is probably because he knew there was some life leftover from the real Georgina and he didn’t want to leave her alone to die just as his mother did. The event of the hit and run with his mother had a massive impact on Chris’s decisions throughout the film, one time being life or death for him.

To conclude, there are countless symbols in Jordan Peele’s movie that have been cleverly imputed and have spoken volumes, whether it’s racial themes that exist in today’s world or connections. However, these are the symbols that really stuck out to me having analyzed the film. I am grateful to learn all of this knowledge and look at the movie differently because of this course, it made me look at this great film very differently, and see things from a new perspective. 

BLOG 2

                                                              Us

          After watching Jordan Peele’s second most popular film, Us and discussing it in class there was a plethora of symbols throughout the movie. In today’s blog I’d like to get into the themes and talk about the movie in depth.

In the beginning of the movie we are introduced to a little girl and her 2 parents at the pier which we later find out is Red. Red goes to the hall of mirrors where the tethered are and comes across Adelaide. After that we are not sure why the little girl is acting differently and her parents go to a psychologist. At this point in the movie the viewers don’t know what happened until the end of the movie which explains how Adelaide switched places with Red. We are then introduced to the main characters which are the Wilsons. The Wilsons are a middle class family who take a vacation to Santa Cruz with their friends who have kids the same age. We are first introduced to this white middle class family (the friends) when they meet at the beach. This is where the first theme is seen, isolation. We can see that the Wilsons are the only black family surrounded by white families, which creates a sense of loneliness. Even though the Wilsons experience the feeling of isolation, they are a privileged black family. They can afford to rent this beautiful house during their vacation and Gabe being able to buy a boat. 

Another theme would be the Preparedness and Survival Mindset. When the Wilsons first encountered the tethered in front of their house Gabe’s first reaction was to handle the situation himself. When they learned the police wasn’t coming for a while Gabe quickly grabbed a baseball bat as a weapon and was preparing. Although they were more fearful when they first broke into the house after the scene where Red explained who they were by the fireplace, the Wilsons quickly went into survival mode. Whether it was tricking the tethered or running them over with their car the Wilsons quickly got into the survival mindset and were not willing to give up. 

That being said there were many themes and symbols in the film, many were not listed. This movie was very well done and was very much so a plot twist that I didn't see coming at all. The themes of isolation, privilege, and survival mindset were the ones that stood out to me the most while watching the film and reviewing the lecture.

BLOG 3 

                                                   Eve’s Bayou

          Eve’s Bayou is about a little girl, Eve and her family. She has 2 siblings, a beautiful mother, and a father who is a doctor and they live in this small area. The dad is seen as some kind of superhero to everyone and is unfaithful to his wife. Eve just wants to be the apple of her father’s eye but is jealous from the attention her older sister and younger sister get. The movie starts out showing a party thrown by the family. In the scene we are shown the father dancing comfortably with another woman who is not Eve’s mother so we quickly suggest something more is going on. He later sleeps with that woman in the shed where Eve fell asleep in and catches his father doing the act. Eve is traumatized and doesn’t tell her mother, but she does tell her sister. Her sister who believes her father can do no wrong and is in denial convinces Eve she made a mistake in which she saw. 

The most climactic moment of the film is when Eve’s sister, Sicily is acting completely different or depressed. They don’t know what’s wrong with her and she finally tells Eve what happened to her. That their father kissed Sicily then hit her. Eve is infuriated that her father abused her sister but is not allowed to tell anyone what Sicily told her in private. She decides to go to the “crazy” voodoo woman so she can kill her dad for what he did to her sister. The dad eventually dies not from the voodoo but from being shot by an angry husband whose wife Eve’s father was having an affair with. We then later learn after the father is dead, that Sicily was lying and twisting the story the whole time. Sicily was in love with her father and was rejected by him when she tried to kiss him. Eve is furious once she learns this and believes she is the one that killed her father for no reason. 

In the film, we saw the themes of curses, voodoo, manipulation, and deception. Eve’s aunt Mozell loses her third husband in a car accident and everyone including herself believes she is cursed. We see the theme of voodoo with the woman with the face paint who has a stand at the marketplace who Eve goes to for help in killing her father. We also see manipulation from Sicily when she tries to convince Eve that she didn’t see anything happen in the shed because she was in love with her father. She also manipulated and deceived her sister into thinking that her father hit and abused her, when she twisted the story because she resented him for rejecting her love. 

To conclude, Eve’s Bayou included many themes and is very different than other black horror films, which I really enjoyed. I wasn’t scared or waiting for something horrifying to happen, but I was very much intrigued.

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                                       The Girl with All the Gifts

         When you first watch the movie, we see a bunch of normal looking kids in a prison setting who are locked into chairs. We are then shown all of the kids in a classroom where there are guards watching them and they are strapped into their chairs. We are then introduced to the main character, Melanie and Ms. Justineau. Ms. Justineau is not like the rest who treat the kids like monsters and are disgusted by them. She sees them as children and is particularly fond of Melanie. She even nuzzles Melanie’s head in the same scene in which the guards barge in and forbid her to do that ever again and show what these “abortions” are capable of. We, the audience also learn more that these children are called abortions.

Abortions are half human half hungry but they are still considered alive. They are kept in this prison strapped into the chairs in order for the humans to be safe and in control of them. However, they are also experimented on and killed by Dr. Jean. The reason why they are experimenting on the kids is to create a vaccine. The rest of the world is filled with hungries that are trying to dominate the world and unless they find a vaccine the rest of the humans will become hungries. 

Eventually they need to evacuate just as Melanie is about to be killed by the Dr. The hungries take over. The guards, Ms. Justineau, Melanie, and the Dr. venture out keeping Melanie in this mask like thing to control her urges at some extent. Throughout the journey Melanie helps them survive and they start to look at her differently, everyone but the Dr. who still sees her as a test subject that is the key to the vaccine. During the trip the Dr. gives some information to Melanie in which Melanie later remembers that causes everyone to become hungries. This is when Dr. Jean is almost about to die and gets Melanie alone and tries to manipulate her into letting her experiment and kill her for it will help Ms. Justineau. As Melanie is about to give in and is having a heated conversation with her she remembers what Dr. Jean told her about the growing spores they had seen. She asks the Dr. why it must be us sacrificing for you guys (humans). She then leaves the Dr. and runs to light the spore like tree on fire, which will either be destroyed or the disease that makes humans into hungries will be airborne, therefore, everyone will turn into hungries. Well, it doesn’t get destroyed and everyone is turned into hungries. During this time Sergeant Parks who was once disgusted with Melanie and her kind went out looking for Melanie to make sure she was alright. He was then exposed to the airborne spores and was turned into a hungry but did not want to end up as one so he told Melanie to kill and shoot him immediately, in which she did. This showed me that as soon as the Sergeant began to let his guard down and see Melanie as a caring child rather than a monster he ended up turning into something horrible. The ending was the most interesting for me. Ms. Justineau was in the enclosed pod teaching a class to the Hungries and Melanie only this time she was the one “locked up” and they were free. This showed the domination of Hungries being the new humans of the world.

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                                                      Candyman

         Candyman is like the boogie man in which he is an urban legend. They say that his spirit can appear by someone who says Candyman fives times in the mirror. Once he is there he kills the person who summoned him using his hook that is attached to the bloody stump of his arm. Helen, who is a white woman, hears a rumor that someone was killed by him and that there have been tons of similar murders. Helen and her friend then decide to say Candyman in the mirror, however, no one appears and nothing happens. After, Helen writes about how people use Candyman as a way to deal with their problems. She and her friend then go to where a murder took place and notices offerings that were for Candyman.

Helen and her husband then go out with a Candyman expert, who tells them that Candyman was the son of a slave who was also an artist who painted portraits of rich white people with land, as well as their families. But then he fell in love and had a kid with one of the daughters of the white landowners. The expert then says that a lynch mob set up by the daughter’s father came after him where they cut off his right hand. Not only that, they took his cut hand and put honey so he could attract bees to sting him, so he can be stung to death. They then burned his corpse and scattered his ashes on the land that was now Cabrini Green.Helen is later attacked by someone who is in a gang and calls himself Candyman, all while carrying a hook. After she is assaulted and tells the police, they believe he is responsible for the murders. But then, Helen is approached by the real Candyman in a parking garage, he tells her she has discredited him. Helen then becomes unconscious and wakes up covered in blood. He then later breaks into Helen's apartment and cuts her neck, she then bleeds and passes out. Bernadette finds Helen at her apartment and is killed by Candyman and Helen is blamed for the murder, they then place her in a psychiatric hospital. She tries to prove she’s innocent when she speaks with her psychiatrist and summons Candyman, who then appears and kills the doctor. A lot happens after but basically Candyman was in love with Helen, but she died in the end. 

The new adaptation of Candyman has many differences. One being that the new one is set in the United States, instead of the UK. Candyman is black and is a victim of racism and the setting takes place at a black housing project, Cabrini Green. Helen, the lead white woman is attacked in this film by black thugs and Candyman is actually falling in love with her. Candyman can also be summoned by someone if they say his name five times in the mirror.

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                                                      Beloved

          The movie Beloved is about a former slave, Sethe, who is living in Ohio post Civil War. However, her and her three children are terrorized by this demon-like creature that scares away two of her children. Years later, it’s just Sethe and her one daughter named Denver. Until one day a former friend of Sethe, Paul shows up. He decides to stay with Sethe and Denver. One day Denver finds Beloved and loves to have her around, but then finds out she is actually Sethe’s reincarnated daughter. Sethe’s daughter, Denver decides to keep this a secret from her mother. However, one night Beloved casts a spell on Paul and rapes him. Paul then wants to tell Sethe what happened but then professes that he wants to have a baby with her. But then when a confidant of Paul hears of this, he tells him the story of how Sethe was raped by the nephews of the schoolteacher. And how they whipped Sethe leaving nasty scars on her back. She was very pregnant with her child and she was trying to escape. She was then raped while searching for her husband in the barn. The nephews pinned her, raped, and took her breast milk.

When she managed to escape she met a white woman, Amy Denver who helped treat her and her injuries, as well as delivering Seth’s child (ther daughter is named after this woman). She then got to Baby Suggs house, but the schoolteacher came to collect Sethe and her kids. In a panic, Sethe slit her eldest daughter’s throat, as well tried to kill the other children. She said she rather her kids be dead than enslaved. But they stop her and leave disgusted. Paul now understands where the poltergeist comes from, and decides to leave. After, Sethe then discovers that Beloved is actually her dead daughter. She then spoils her, while forgetting Denver. But shortly after, Beloved causes chaos and things start to fall apart. Sethe is unable to work and Denver becomes depressed.

To solve the problem of Beloved, Sethe’s coworker performs an exorcism. It leads to the disappearance of Beloved and Sethe and her family are finally free. A few months later Denver and Paul run into each other in town and he sees a change in her that she’s grown up and matured. But when he comes back to the house, he finds Sethe to be very sick. She tells Paul that she lost the best thing, Beloved, where Paul tells her that she herself is the best thing.

[yhereandthere]

TV shows & cartoons for (and about) women

A list of quite new TV shows and cartoons that you will probably like if you’re a woman (that doesn’t mean that you won’t enjoy them if you’re a man). I included only those that I’ve already watched and enjoyed.

1.  Fleabag (2016 - 2019, 2 seasons)

Fleabag is a British drama-comedy show about the life of a young woman after the traumatic experience. Sounds boring, hah? Actually, these series are funny, clever and touching. They’re all about how to be a girl ‒ tough, and scary, and hilarious, ‒ all at once. You may not like British humor but I’m sure you’ll like this extremely modern and complicated story. Also, you just mustn’t miss Moriarty Andrew Scott in the role of the priest in the second season.

2.  Aggretsuko (2017 - 2018, 2 seasons, Netflix)

I was looking for some crazy enough anime and discovered Aggretsuko. This cartoon is cute and so truthful. Main events are happening in the office but it’s more than anime about office life. The main character ‒ Retsuko the Red Panda ‒ is 25 years old, she is cute, single and frustrated about work most of the time. She is questioning her dating life, trying to find a soulmate, a hobby, friends, and just deal with all grown-up shit. And when she is stressed and wants to give vent to her emotions (read: every day), she is going to KTV karaoke and singing metal songs (what could be more crazy and cute than the red panda singing the death metal songs?)

3. Tuca & Bertie (2019 - ..., 1 season)

This cartoon has a similar mood to Bojack Horseman (though I’m not a fan). ‘Tuca & Berties’ is about the friendship between two bird women who live in the same building. They’re both 30-year old, and this is almost the only thing that they have in common. Tuca is single, free-spirited and unemployed, her friend Bertie has a good job and a nice boyfriend, and anxiety. It’s a women-led cartoon about funny stuff in life, relationship, mental health and pitfalls of adults.

4.  Why Women Kill (2019 - …, 1 season)

‘Why Women Kill’ is a comedy-drama. It tells the three stories about three women ‒ from the 1960s, 1980s, and 2019 ‒ and problems in their marriages. Here’s everything I like ‒ good cast, witty dialogues, overall positive mood. This show made me laugh in my room in the middle of the night because it’s so addictive that I didn’t want to sleep. One of the best shows I watched recently, strongly recommended.

5. Big Little Lies (2017 - ..., 2 seasons)

These TV series are based on the book of the same name by Liane Moriarty (I highly recommend to read). It’s a great crime drama that is funny, smart and scary. I like all characters and cast of the first season but the second one is more weak in terms of almost everything. One of the best roles of Reese Witherspoon in my opinion, beautiful sceneries, and keen dialogues won’t leave you indifferent.

6. Killing Eve (2018 - ..., 2 seasons)

The spy drama mostly about the relationship between the officer and the killer that I watched because everybody was talking about it. I couldn’t say that I liked it a lot. Yes, the tension between two women is interesting, and both actresses are good but for me, these series are missing something important. Still recommend watching, at least because it’s not a male-centered thriller and it will make you laugh at some moments.

7.  Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018 - …, 2 seasons)

Sabrina the teen witch should choose between the world of normal people and the world of witches on the eve of her 16th birthday. I’d describe these series as “young adult” because of all elements of the genre: first love, rebellion against the adult world, a lot of emotions and rash acts. The first season is really cool, with an interesting story and due amount of magic but the second one was more about feminism and girl power in a kind of annoying way. I recommend watching just one season. And these series have a great opening!

[sonatanotwo]

Okay. I rattle on a lot about ages... so figure I might drop my brain thinkings into a post so if anyone is curious how I arrive at my estimates... well... here you go. Hang onto your hats... I’m about to drop a LOT of info. XDDD

Okay. I rattle on a lot about ages... so figure I might drop my brain thinkings into a post so if anyone is curious how I arrive at my estimates... well... here you go. Hang onto your hats... I’m about to drop a LOT of info. XDDD

There’s a few things to establish first... some facts and things I’m gonna assume based on how things are presented.

The series starts in 2060 (as quoted by Virgil in Ring of Fire)

If Alan is graduating now, he’s probably 18 (as I mentioned in reply to blanket-fish and few others ^^) and usually that’d be June-ish in NA school systems... and since we’re dealing with american characters and largely american writers, including the head writer... I’m goin’ with that!... SO... current eps would be around then.

Also gonna assume Scott is about 10 years older than Alan. (Some old TAG magazine that I hold to a grain of salt said 9 years... but I mean. 10 is nicer and I mean... TECHNICALLY with how their birthdays are... you could say actually they’re 9 years and lil’ over 11 months apart. SO, then that would make it 9 years technically if you really wanna round down. lol BUT yeah, I’m goin’ with 10.)

So first let’s talk about spacing. Generally when I age the boys I try to give them at LEAST 18 months between them... which is really the amount of time one should give themselves between pregnancies at the very least. That’s easy for most of them... only John and Gordon come in a bit under that, but we’ll get back to that.

SO... I wanna go with, as of current eps, Scott is 28.

That’d make him born April 4th, 2035. (I think that’s right anyways.) Then we can make Virgil August 15th, 2037. (Which puts them 2 years and several months between.) John then October 8th, 2039, also over 2 years apart from Virgil... perf. THEN.. Gordon.

Gordon is the 14th of February. Now to make him 2041 that would mean their Mom had Gordon a lot sooner... like VERY lot sooner than like... the recommended time off after John. They’re such troublemakers those two. XDDD (THEY are, in fact, the reason TOS Virgil and John were switched. The company (that owned TOS at the time) wanted to make a “style guide” and  wanted the birthdates to match one info with a tighter age spread with John 22 and Gordon 21... which meant Gordon would be born 4 months after John. Which would be a WEE BIT IMPOSSIBLE. In the end they decided to switch John and Virg and tweak things to fit... that’s the tl;dr version of the story, but yeah!) SO yeah, the better choice might be to shove him another year to 2042, which then leaves plenty of time and is better for their Mom.

OKAY. SO. In current time then...

Scott is 28, Virgil 25 (26 in like less than 2 months), John 23 (24 in less than 4 months), Gordon then could be 21 (or 22 but ehhh) and Alan 18.

Then as for some of the other cast... Kayo is kinda hard to place these days, though I feel like given how she interacts with the older boys she is definitely a little on the older scale... but IDK where exactly. In TOS Tin-Tin was 22 and birthday June 20th, but that was to be close to Alan.

Penelope has come up... especially that line in RoF about her looking into things for Jeff. Don’t forget her looking into things is her and Parker looking into things. He’d be most likely one digging into stuff for her. XDa But yeah hrm... 17-18 then making her 25-26 now doesn’t sound so bad? lol 26 was actually her listed age in TOS. (Her birthday being Christmas Eve.) Once you get into your 20s and onwards a few years between people becomes nothing in regards to her and Gordon. ^^b And yeah. IDK. Late teen for sleuthing doesn’t bother me, but then I’ve grown up reading the likes of Nancy Drew and such, soooo... XDa Even being 16 isn’t tooooooooooo far fetched imho, but yeah. That line didn’t age well. lol Oops.

Grandma is a big \O_o/ And Jeff’s January 2nd birthday and was 56... I’d guess something similar in TAG, less perhaps a few years. ^^b That works fine for the boys. (Mid-late 20s then when Scott was born.)

And Brains... November 14th, for the record and in TOS he was 25, but I really do believe he’s much older in TAG. Well into his 30s even, since he’s been to university and worked for Fischler awhile after... then Jeff happened. Brains likely woulda been late teen or early 20s then? Then the TV-21 was built and sank... Scott was ‘just a kid’ when that happened. So like... 28... minus 8 years, minus maybe another 5-6? to make Scott 15-14... so near Alan’s ‘just a kid’ type age? But coulda been even bit younger. Plus then add a year or two working for Jeff and making the TV-21 and everything... Then if say he was least 18 when came to work for Jeff... Def talking in the realm of mid-30s. SO. That is my guess. lol (And so why I tend to think of Brains being like... older surrogate brother or uncle to the boys... cause he woulda met them all when they were decidedly kids.)

SO YEAH. These are my brain thinkings. I feel like I’m forgetting something, but I am le-tired. Be interesting to see if we get any more clues from the last ep or if Rob spills some data on twitter, which he has suggested he might least in regards to Jeff... so we shall see. XDa

OH lastly... for any of my fellow visual folk here’s my lil’ helpful chart that shows how I figured out time between birthdates of the older boys. (Remember you need 9ish (very much ISH) months for being pregnant. Then they recommend 18 months between being pregnant... yes Virg and John are a titch under that, but least not by TOO too much.)