#just did my final for French Revolution class

[picardy-third]

happy birthday maxime 🎉

[theanxiousghostartist]

TMAGP 29 Spoilers (Theories and Reactions)

Ok, ok ok ok.. Holy shit I cannot wait for the finale!!

Celia and Sam:

Honestly, I'm glad Celia found Sam. While it would have been interesting to see one of the others find him, I like that Celia did, because we got more insight into her!

1) We know she cares about Sam. While we knew this from other episodes and their relationship, we can confirm that Celia deeply cares for Sam and isn't just manipulating him. The statements that Celia cares for Sam and Celia is manipulating Sam can co-exist.

2) Imo - Celia is the one most likely to survive. She knew the right questions to ask Sam to get to the important details about that Archivist (I'm going to try to call them, "that Archivist" so they won't be confused with TMA!Jarchivist), and why they attacked Sam. She also was reluctant to go to the Hilltop Centre, knowing that that Archivist was planning on heading there from Sam. Furthermore, she was planning on stopping Sam until he basically begged her to go.

3) Celia cares for Alice. While this episode had Sam/Celia interactions and no Alice/Celia interactions, we still saw Celia caring for Alice. Sam didn't want to tell Alice anything about his encounter with that Archivist. Celia was the one to force him to, and even then, Sam still blew her off when the train left the station. Celia understands that Alice cares for Sam and is very protective of him, and she understood that if Sam didn't tell her about that Archivist, it would devastate her, thus she made Sam call Alice.

So that Archivist is after The Magnus Institute and Hilltop Road. Interesting. While I initially thought they were feeding, I don't think that was the case. They wanted as much information as possible on the Institute and Hilltop Road, therefore, they went to the person that let them out. They were after Alice before, and on their way to find her, they found Sam instead. That's why Alice felt like she was being followed before, that Archivist was looking to get information out of the people who let them out. They initially followed Alice and found Sam instead; and they took advantage of that. Now they are on the way to the Hilltop Centre, perhaps they followed Sam there...

Gwen and Lena:

Ok, so Lena is proud of Gwen and Gwen dropped the act of being kinder to her, showing her true emotions. Interesting. I guess because Gwen gave her (and Augustus's/Jonah's (my theory lol)) information to Trevor, she assumes she will get the job anyhow. It makes sense for her characterization so far. I'm starting to wonder if Gwen is going to take a more Jonah-Magnus-approach to the job, if she gets it, and Lena is the one with the Gertrude-Robinson-approach.

Case: This case was very much a Buried case, with Viola even saying that she was afraid of drowning alone. It's interesting that she specified "alone" since Stan was with her. It reminds me of "Alone" in TMA Season 1, the statement of one of the Lukus's fiancée. So perhaps Lonely undertones as well? Maybe the Stranger or Spiral too, with the door/lock themes and the overall theme of unlocking yourself? Still, it's definitely related to the Buried.

Viola and Stanely Locke, I wonder if this is a reference to John Locke of the Enlightenment.

From my memory, I took a lot of history classes: John Locke was a philosopher during the Enlightenment, advocating for so-called "natural rights" - life, liberty, and property - as well as theorizing on the "natural state" of humans, basically, what would we do if we did not have a government. He believed that humans have a "natural state" of kindness and helping each other, and that we exchange some of our rights for a government to organize and protect us, and because of this, if a government became tyrannical, we could take back our rights and rebuild the government. His ideas influenced a lot of people, including those involved in the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions.

There might be a connection there but IDK. I'm in a similar situation with them and their last name to what I have been with Ink5oul and their last name of Wilde (possibly a reference to Oscar Wilde).

This case was so interesting, and I was devastated for Stan.

That old scruffy person who opened the door for the Locke's had to be an avatar. Maybe the case is more Spiral related as they opened the door into an illusion/another realm? Then again, the Buried's coffin worked in the same way...

Maybe they were this universe's Breekan or Hope? Possibly a Lukus? I wonder if they will show up again...

Teddy and Alice:

Teddy has insomnia. I wonder if it is from staying away from the OIAR? (sorta like how Tim got sick when he stayed away from the Archives for so long)

I like Teddy's and Alice's interactions, I hope the two can talk after whatever will happen in the finale!

Teddy needs to talk to Alice about something in regards to his job, something "serious." I wonder if he's been having problems since he left the OIAR? Maybe in a similar way to Sam pre-OIAR? Oooh, or maybe he's Becoming? Maybe he had a run in with an External during his new job and has started Becoming? Or maybe he had started Becoming when he got the OIAR job and Lena, and/or her higher-ups were able to prevent it? Maybe the food helps the OIAR crew build up a resistance to the Fears? Lena has been very insistent on the crew eating the OIAR food, so maybe she did something to it (maybe with alchemy) to help the crew resist the Fears, like how Sam was able to resist that Archivist in the beginning and survived them messing through his memories?

"It's on the train:"

Yay! Go Alice! Protect your friends/potential love interests! (please talk to Teddy afterwords though!)

I like how Alice keeps fighting to save Sam and Celia here.

Wait, so only Alice can see that Archivist? Oh, maybe because they are an avatar and the OIAR crew is being marked/already marked/aligned with the Fears so they can see it? Either way, this is definitely an interesting detail!

Predictions for the Finale:

Ok, predictions time! So, I think Celia is going to die or be at least severely injured. You may be thinking, "But didn't you say earlier that Celia is the most likely to survive, in your opinion?" Yes. Yes, I did. However, I think that she would be the most likely to survive, IF Sam did not involve her in this mission. Now, that is not to say this is Sam's fault at all! (although, if she were to die/get injured, he will probably blame himself) I think that Sam and Celia are going to get chased by that Archivist, and Celia will die so Sam (and possibly Alice) can get away. Before she does, she is going to expose her being from the TMA-verse by asking that Archivist about the stuff she saw. This would leave Georgie and Sam having to take care of Jack for one, and for two, it would leave a good cliffhanger to explore both worlds and possibly figure out more about FR3-D1 and that Archivist.

Someone is going to Become, or at least, start Becoming. I'm not sure who though, my best bet is Alice, probably for the Spiral or Dark. I'm still not quite sure for this one, so I don't have much else to say.

Lena is going to play a key role in the survival of the OIAR crew. Going based off the theory that she is taking a Gertrude role; she is going to be the key to surviving. My theory is that Lena is going to go hunt down that Archivist when she finds out that it was near the OIAR, they are not an external, therefore, her superiors don't know about them, and she has free reign. She is going to find Sam and Celia (and probably Alice), with that Archivist, and either witness Celia die or Sam holding Celia injured or dead. She will be the one to beat/kill that Archivist, probably take the crew to the OIAR or to a "Fear resistant room" and start explaining general things to them (basic, things, not even as much as Gerry told Jon). We will end off with them coming in battered and traumatized and learning why. If this happens, one of two things could happen in S2: 1) Lena's superiors find out about what she is doing. She is killed by them and Gwen, having proved her loyalty by giving Trevor the files, gets her job like she wanted.

2) Lena's superiors find out too late, and they are Protocolled. Lena leads the team in a sort of resistance-style movement against the fears (and possibly Gwen, who may have taken over for her), to destroy the fears and prevent the alchemy project that the Institute was working on.

Also, I think near the end of the episode or near the end of the Hilltop Road shenanigans, we are going to get a glimpse of Annabelle Cane. (I really want to hear her again, guys; I want her to be involved with this grand plan)

I really don't want anyone to die, especially Alice and Lena, since they are my favorites, but I have a feeling Lena is going to die )):

Anyway, I can't wait for the finale! I will most likely have a lot to say about it :D

[somewhereinthewoodsalone]

Infodumping about my Amrev OCs >:]

Remi Noir 🇫🇷 🇩🇪

Backstory:

Remi's father, Lucian Letzte, was a German businessman who moved to New Amsterdam (New York) in search of a new job. Remi's mother, Molly Noir, was a French woman of the lower class forced by her family to marry Lucian, mainly for money.

Lucian wanted to have a male child, so he could have an "heir" for the Letzte family. But the child, Remi, was a female, much to Lucian's dismay. For that reason, Lucian loathed his daughter for most of his life.

Remi was born under the name "Remi Letzte", but changed her name later on to "Remi Noir", taking on her mother's last name. The reason for this will be given later.

Lucian and Molly's relationship worsened further over the years, and on one night, Lucian finally snapped. Remi, who had been asleep on the second floor, went down to see why her parents were yelling. Coincidentally, the moment she opened the door to her parents' room, that was the moment Lucian grabbed his pistol and shot Molly, killing her instantly.

Remi, though she was horrified, recovered the shock quickly, managing to escape from her own house. She was soon taken in by some relatives from her mother's side of the family, who also happened to be living in the colonies. She changed her last name to her Noir.

Remi occasionally performed at a nearby circus, just to earn some extra cash. This was where she met Harvey Brooks, the adopted son of the ringmaster. He was a curious boy, who managed to instantly befriend her.

When word of the revolution made it's way to her home, she decided that she would fight on behalf of the colonies, wanting to make herself useful during the war, and not just by becoming a nurse or cook. She successfully got into the army after disguising herself as a man.

She was delightfully surprised once she realized that one of the people she was sharing a tent with was her friend Harvey, from the circus. The enthusiastic fellow was even more excited to see her, for he had feared that he would be fighting among strangers.

The other person sharing a tent with them was Xavier Gibble, someone that neither Remi nor Harvey knew. They had a rocky start, yes, but after some time, Xavier eventually warmed up to them.

Personality:

Remi has a very charming personality, but is also quite manipulative. She can easily find ways to get information out of people during a simple conversation, and seems to have blackmail against everyone (rumor has it that she even has blackmail against Washington. Remi herself will neither confirm nor deny this). She easily makes friends, even if she's just using them for her own reasons. But despite all this, she is still respected among her comrades.

Extras:

She has a little pocket watch that she always carries around. Do NOT try to touch it. Or do. Then you'll probably end up dead.

She is also known as "the navigator", because is extremely good at finding and remembering shortcuts and alternative routes.

Harvey Brooks 🇮🇹 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Backstory:

Not much is known about Harvey's childhood. The only thing people know is that he was orphaned at age seven. He claims that his parents died in a "construction accident", but people are unsure if this is how they actually died or not.

After the death of his parents, he was adopted by the young circus ringmaster Oliver Irving. Harvey decided for himself that he wanted to perform in Oliver's shows, and became a simple acrobat. The circus is where he met Remi, who would occasionally come in and perform tricks.

When the revolution started, Harvey decided that it should be his duty to volunteer, so he did. He was delighted to discover that one of the people he was sharing a tent with was his friend Remi.

Xavier was the other person who they shared a tent with, a stranger to both Harvey and Remi. They had a rocky start, but some of Harvey's cheerful personality rubbed off on him, and he warmed up to Remi and Harvey.

Personality:

Harvey has a blindingly cheerful personality. It's strange that despite this, he seems fine with killing redcoats.

Harvey's personality rubs off easily on others, easily lightening moods.

Extra:

He has an unusual obsession with snakes. And for some reason, most snakes don't bite him.

Xavier Gibble 🇷🇺 🇵🇱

Backstory:

Xavier's parents were neglectful, usually more focused on gambling or alcohol than their own children. So Xavier was mainly raised by his older brother, Christopher.

Christopher left to go fight in the French and Indian War, but never died during the battle at Fort Necessity. Xavier was heartbroken after the death of his brother, and has held up a cold and angry demeanor ever since, though it is wearing back down to his past personality.

When the revolution started, Xavier decided to join the Continental Army, knowing that Christopher would have wanted him to do so. He had to share a tent with Remi and Harvey, two people he had never met before.

They had a rocky start, but with Harvey's cheerfulness rubbing off on him, he eventually warmed up to the two.

Personality:

Xavier has a cold, angry demeanor, masking his real personality with snappy retorts. He is actually a rather kind person, but only close friends of his are able to see that.

Extra:

He strongly dislikes Washington (because of his brother's death at Fort Necessity).

*** @lil-gae-disaster

[lamarseillasie]

September 16th, 1789: 234 years ago, Jean-Paul Marat published the first issue of L'Ami Du Peuple

L'Ami du Peuple, or, as it was called at the time it was founded, L'Ami Du Peuple ou Le Publiciste Parisien, was an active revolutionary newspaper and also one of the most absolutely fascinating and interesting pieces of the entire French Revolution, created and edited by Marat from September 1789.

The year 1789 was a relatively turbulent period for both Marat's career and the history of the Revolution. This can be seen simply by the number of projects that Marat began in a short space of time. In February, just two months after publishing his Offrande à la Patrie (1788), he published the Supplément à l'Offrande (1789). In March, he began to attend the sessions of the electoral assembly of his district, Carmes-Déchaussés, with great assiduity and was soon elected to the electoral committee. In August, he began publishing Le Moniteur Patriote and also published the Projet de déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen suivi d'un Plan de constitution juste, sage et libre. Finally, in September, he published No. 1 of Le Publiciste Parisien, and consequently No. 5 of the then L'Ami Du Peuple ou Le Publiciste Parisien, which marked the birth of the famous Friend of the People, a character Marat would identify with until the last day of his life. It can be said that this newspaper came about when Marat found himself in a situation where he would have to produce and publish newspapers and pamphlets independently and without the approval of his colleagues. He proposed to the committee that it should have a press, which was apparently not accepted by the district.

More than just one of the many periodicals that existed during the course of the revolution, L'Ami du Peuple is a precious historical source of information and there is no doubt that it was important for the unfolding of revolutionary events. Not even Delisle de Sales, in his Essai sur le journalisme depuis 1735 jusqu'à l'an 1800 (1811), a work that expressed the author's deep aversion to the revolutionary process and especially to Marat, denies that L'Ami Du Peuple left a mark on the philosophical memory of the history of French journalism.

Albert Mathiez, in a summary of Gottschalk's Marat in the 1927 AHRF (pp. 599-602), makes an interesting comment on Marat's analysis in the context of revolutionary journalism:

"In my opinion, what makes Marat original among the journalists and statesmen of the Revolution has not been sufficiently appreciated by M. Gottschalk. (...) He was never naïve about the revolution that was taking place. From the first moment, he proclaimed that the proletarians - an expression he had already used in its current sense - would gain nothing. (...) No other revolutionary had the same degree of feeling that the proletariat was a class distinct from the bourgeoisie. (...) What always distinguished Marat, presented as an enlightened man, was the correctness of his vision, the total absence of candor, the profound and even pessimistic realism. Marat was not only one of the most determined and precocious republicans. He also did not conceive of the Republic except in the form of direct rule."

In addition to the abundant and impressive number of issues that were written (L'Ami du Peuple had almost 700 issues in total, not counting the pamphlets and later works), it is even more astonishing when we stop to consider that a large part of all the work produced by Marat during the five years of revolution was almost entirely uninterrupted, but mainly clandestine. He managed not to be prevented even by laws (such as the decree of March 9, 1793, which obliged members of the Convention who were newspaper editors to choose between legislation and journalism) from continuing to produce and publish his writings.

Today's date is important and significant for history - the history of journalism and the revolution, but especially and undoubtedly the history of Marat. L'Ami du Peuple was, above all, a character. He is a truly dedicated patriot, brave and fearless, who cares about his fellow citizens and the people. He is an important character for Marat because the two, at a certain point, become one. L'Ami du Peuple, who initially appears as the construction of a publicity strategy, quickly becomes a kind of romantic hero of the revolution, with whom Marat identifies and whom he also uses to continue ceaselessly defending what was right for him, what fit in with his very well-founded and observed political and social principles. The previous Marat, the Marat Man of the Enlightenment, physicist, doctor and experimenter, had a passion that managed to outshine all his other interests: politics, and of that there is no doubt. Marat found himself moved by this political passion a few times before the Revolution - Chains Of Slavery (1774), for example, which was written incessantly over just three months, with mainly political aims, is living proof of Marat's burning passion in this area - but none of the times he expressed his interest was as strong and as significant for him as the creation of L'Ami du Peuple, which signified Marat's definitive entry into the revolution. L'Ami du Peuple was important to Marat because it was through it that he was able to express and make his politics heard; because L'Ami du Peuple made Marat so passionately committed to a revolution that it gave him, definitively, a homeland: the France.

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale Reviews: ML Season 5 episode 23 Revolution

Spoilers below

-Chloe being puppet as the new dictator of Paris. Outlawing super heroes and monarch. So cringe

-ladybug and chat noir debating on what to do but think since Chloe isn’t akumatized they would look like villains if they did something. Ummm, she has a robot army and declared herself leader, I’m pretty sure you got a free pass to beat her ass

-Pffff! They are trusting adults. Yeah, cause THAT always worked for you guys.

-of course that Racist cop is fine with Chloe being in charge!

-meanwhile Plagg talking sense to Adrien

-he was going to tell her, but in her defense this stupid ass situation is kind of important

-It’s really sad that the reaction to Chloe being a dictator is really not surprising. I could go in depth but if I think about our current society I will just get annoyed.

-Chloe at least tried to have monarch arrested… before then immediately listening to him and getting powers BUT pretending she didn’t have an akuma.

-A political puppet that’s a hypocrite. What a twist. (Said no one)

-Queen mayor, at least Chloé gets some sort of outfit change.

-So the Resistance is doing a protest. How French. I hope they involve a guillotine.

-… if this were anymore on the nose it would be a face hugger.

-I will give Astruc one thing, he nailed what a typical politician is like. Corrupt, arrogant, being told what to say and do, and lies all the time. I could go on but I hate politics.

-chloé and evolution, and Chloe being the only one in class yet NOT paying attention. That’s actually kind of funny. Like why even go?

-How did they get a Statue like that built in such a short time?

-did Chloe just Legislate love?

-and she just arrested Marinette’s parents and captured her.

-Adrien still can’t communicate with Marinette cause of the situation.

-Adrien found out what Chloe did and is PISSED!

-Chloé knows about London.

-At least Adrien didn’t cave. But now he’s captured.

-Sure is Big brother up in this bitch.

-Plagg being like (want me to take a crack at the screens) Plagg is best boy

-looking at it, the jail/detention isn’t that hard to escape.

-wait did chat noir use cataclysm 2 times already? Well we can assume he detransformed and retransformed.

- Chloe yelling about threats to democracy, yet never knowing what the word meant.

-Ladybug and chat noir step in to tell her. Perfect.

-invincible prisons, oh damn.

-Gabriel and Tomoe out here waiting for the detransformation and taking back control.

-welp, I guess this makes Queen mayor the most effective akuma. She captured them both and now they will detransform. Unless someone shows up? Maybe Su han will finally be useful. I’m kidding. My bet is they get a power up

-ladybug coming in clutch with hero speeches

-Did he just say super underpants?!

-They just willed their transformation back! So I guess they are all grown up now?

-Monarch is shocked by the power of plot convinience.

-chat noir didn’t need to do that, he just wanted to show off and I don’t blame him.

-Was ladybug going to give Chloe a charm? I don’t think she wants one.

-And the mayor steps in to finally ground her.

-Lila took the robots.

-so the kids encourage Ms. Bustier to run

-Chloe is being taken by her mother to have her education Re-evaluated. And now Chloe is going to expose what she knows to Marinette as one last act of spite. Though for a brief moment we saw her pause on Sabrina, perhaps contemplating something. But for what reason, we may never know.

-meanwhile, Adrien is being forced to leave now by his father. He can’t say no because Amok.

-Nathalie is there, Nathalie do something!

-no Nathalie Kick Gabriel’s ass! Don’t just stand by!

-wait so Chloe never called her. Adrien got to tell her. Well at least that.

-Break my heart why don’t ya.

-they sold enough Alliance? Oh dear that can’t be good.

-G being a real G and letting Adrien go.

-FINALLY! A canon Adrinette kiss. Too bad it’s absolutely tragic

-G no! You have to seperate them now.

-Ah there goes my heart.

-Oh bonus scene.

-Marinette telling Chloe to F*** off was great.

-Lila or whoever she is has that suitcase and is likely going to mess with the plan Tomoe and Gabriel have

___________________________________________

Honestly this episode was cringe for most of it.

Chloé being dictator was jumping the shark, ladybug and chat noir can use their powers multiple times now which is about time but probably not useful now.

Lila has the pieces she needs and finally

ADRINETTE KISS!

That last part alone keeping this episode from being the worst of season 5

I give it a 6.5 out of 10

The 6.0 being awarded cause of the Adrien kiss

The additional .5 being Adrien and Marinette standing up to Chloe.

Though Andre got off easy

[scotianostra]

On November 16th 1093 St. Margaret of Scotland died.

If you recall my posts a few days ago regarding Duncan II, which led on to Malcolm III and the Battle of Alnwick on Wednesdays post.....Margaret's death is relevant to this.

Margarets religious beliefs and piety were famous, she was never a strong woman physically, constantly fasting, her body was weak, so it was that in 1093, as she lay on her deathbed after a long illness, she was told that her husband and eldest son had been ambushed at Alnwick in Northumbia. She died shortly after aged just forty-seven. The feast of St. Margaret was formerly observed by the Roman Catholic Church on 10 June but is now celebrated each year on the anniversary of her death, 16 November.

Margaret and Malcolm had eight children, all with English names. Alexander and David followed their father to the throne, whilst their daughter, Edith (who changed her name to Matilda upon her marriage, I covered Matilda on the 11th of this month), brought the ancient Anglo-Saxon and Scottish Royal bloodline into the veins of the Norman Invaders of England when she married and bore children to King Henry I.

Under Queen Margaret’s leadership Church councils promoted Easter communion and, much to joy of the working-class, abstinence from servile work on a Sunday. Margaret founded churches, monasteries and pilgrimage hostels and established the Royal Mausoleum at Dunfermline Abbey with monks from Canterbury. She was especially fond of Scottish saints and instigated the Queen’s Ferry over the Forth so that pilgrims could more easily reach the Shrine of St. Andrew.

Malcolm was particularly protective towards Margaret! She initially refused his proposals of marriage, preferring, according to one account, a life of piety as a virgin. Malcolm however was a persistent king, and the couple finally married in Dunfermline in 1069.

Their union was exceptionally happy and fruitful for both themselves and the Scottish nation. Margaret brought with her some of the finer points of current European manners, ceremony and culture to the Scottish Court, which highly improved its civilised reputation.

As well as the towns of North and South Queensferry, we also remember Margaret for the Chapel in Edinburgh Castle, the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh was built by her son David I around and dedicated to his mother.

I would say the majority of Scotland's royals once knelt to worship in this serene private chapel, including Robert the Bruce, who in March 1314 ordered the castle to be razed,, he did however spare the fate of the small chapel.

Buried at Dumfermline Abbey, Margarets tomb was laid waste to during the Reformation and at this time her head somehow passed into the possession of Mary Queen of Scots, it was later secured by the Jesuits at Douai, where it is believed to have perished during the French Revolution.

Pics are first is a gorgeous precious marble statue of the saint is in the Jesuit church at Farm Street in London, the stained glass window in the chapel at Edinburgh Castle and the chapel itself.

[il0veyoujk]

A ticklish lesson

This is a tickle-related ff, if you are not interested in it, please keep scrolling

Summary: Namjoon tries to get Nefeli (16) to focus on the lesson

Warnings: None

Notes: I am sorry guys you think my ffs are not as good as they used to be, but I really wanted to post something, I hope you'll like it!

Lots of love Nef 💕

“The French Revolution was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799”

“Mhm...”

“Many of its ideas are considered fundamental principles of liberal democracy, while phrases like liberté, égalité, fraternité reappeared in other revolts, such as the 1917 Russian Revolution, and inspired campaigns for the abolition of slavery and universal suffrage”

“Mm yeah, I agree...”

“The values and institutions-” Namjoon finally paused raised his head from his student’s history book and took a glance at her. The young girl had laid on the bed and was poking the edge of a pencil, not paying attention to him. 

“Mhmm, yeah...” she falsely murmured when the young rapper paused. 

“Huh...” Namjoon folded his arms over his chest and leaned back on the bed “The French Revolution took place between 3029 and 7865, am I right?”

“Sure” Nefeli didn’t even care to take her mind off of her own imaginary world. 

“The war was between fish and flowers”

“Yeah...”

“And of course, it took place in Neverland” 

“Of course...”

“Nefeli!”

“Agh!” Nefeli squealed surprised at the sudden cry of her teacher, flinching on her bed “What happened?” 

BTS’s leader rolled his eyes and closed the school book “Neffie, are you even listening to what I have been saying?” 

Oh yes, you read correctly. Nefeli’s teacher was the leader of BTS. But please don’t squeal in excitement. Namjoon is not giving private tutoring lessons, unfortunately. Jungkook just asked Namjoon to tutor his little sister while they were on a tour. 

Jungkook and his family had decided to let Nefeli follow the band on their world tour. However, that meant that Nefeli had to drop out of school. So her older brother had asked Jimin and Namjoon to tutor her while they were on tour. 

“Um... Yes?” the young girl trailed her words, not really sure what Namjoon was talking about. History was her worst subject, along with chemistry. Hah! Jimin was responsible for her chemistry class. Poor him, he had to deal with Nefeli’s absent-mindedness. 

“Oh really? Then tell me what you know about the French Revolution” Namjoon placed the book aside and took a sip from his vanilla tea from the nightstand next to him. 

Nefeli rubbed her palms together nervously and shrugged “Um... The French Revolution... Uh...” 

A short silence followed, filled with lots of patience and an ‘I told you so’ feeling emitting from Namjoon. Nefeli knew he had no idea what her tutor was talking about, and she wasn’t even trying to imagine what had happened in the French Revolution. She was just giving time to the young rapper to stop her, himself. That way she wouldn’t have to admit she wasn’t paying attention, even though it was obvious. 

“That’s what I thought...” Namjoon mumbled under his breath disappointed. He kept staring that the admittedly stubborn girl in silence, trying to figure out a way to get her to focus on the lesson. 

The young lad was on the verge of giving up when suddenly an idea popped into his head. A playful glimpse suddenly flushed into his eyes as his lips curved into a small, almost unnoticed smirk. 

Namjoon pushed and positioned himself in a more comfortable way “Ok ok, let’s do something else” he said with a mischievous tone. 

A tone that surprised Nefeli. But also a tone that made shivers run down her spine. She knew that tone way too well. But she never knew where it could lead. Namjoon was unpredictable and his ideas were always unexpected. 

Patting the space next to him, Namjoon invited the young girl to sit next to him. Which Nefeli did. She rolled her torso so that she was lying next to her older brother’s friend and locked her eyes with his, curiously. 

“Do you wanna do it like a quiz?” the young lad was hiding perfectly well the evil idea he had in mind.

Nefeli got even more puzzled but nodded anyway. She preferred the quiz, it seemed easier “You’re feeling generous today, huh?” she chuckled and placed her hands behind her back, lying on them to get comfortable and also stretch.  

 “Oh yes, I do” Namjoon smirked and grabbed the book “Okay question one! When did the French Revolution start?” 

“Oh come on... That’s all you have?” Nefeli whined, trying to steal some time to think about the answer. 

Namjoon though didn’t have any of this. He just side-eyed the young student and repeated the question. 

“Uh... 1766?” she mostly asked than answered, having no idea what she had just put herself into. 

“Wrong...” a devious glimpse flashed into his eyes. A glimpse that worried the student even more. 

“What was-agh! Wahahait nohoho!” Nefeli didn’t have too much time to react when she saw his eyes. Namjoon’s hand landed on her tummy faster than the speed of light and started squeezing her right under her belly button, on her lower tummy. 

Flailing around and giggling like crazy, the young girl was trying her best to grab her teacher’s hand and stop all the tingly feelings he was giving her, but she had made the mistake to lay on her arms. Good job Neffie, bravo!

The young girl brought her knees to her chest, trying to push away the older lad’s tickly hand. Kicking out softly in the air and wiggling around as much as she can, her giggles were filling the whole room “Whahat did I dohoho, Johohoonie?” 

Smirking widely, Namjoon stopped his attack and patted her tummy softly “I am just teaching you history, love, you did nothing!” a deep blush started spreading on her cheeks. The whole tickling kept going for ten more seconds before the young teacher stopped tickling his student. Looks like his plan was working. 

The whole tickling left Nefeli panting from all the giggles on the bed with a huge, flustered grin on her face “Whahat was thahahat for?!” she squealed and threw a pillow at her teacher, who skillfully avoided it. 

Namjoon chuckled and grabbed the book again “Just showed you the punishment for your wrong answers. So next question...” he lost his words for a few seconds, amused by her shocked expression, but fastly found his way back into his role “For how many years did the French Revolution last?”

Nefeli’s mind was too busy thinking about what was going to happen in the next few seconds to guess the correct answer. And she was sure it was going to happen. She knew nothing about the French Revolution. Still giggling airily, the young girl immediately thought about WW2. The only war she knows anything about. 

“Uhuhum... 6!” she exclaimed without thinking about it too much. Which resulted in her being a giggly mess once again. 

“Wrong again... Looks like someone wasn’t paying attention to class” Namjoon giggled along with Nefeli as he was softly scribbling her neck with his nails gently. He was having fun tickling her and he wasn’t going to hide it “One more wrong answer and your feet will get it, Neffie” Namjoon smirked as he was gliding his nails fastly up and down the poor girl’s neck.

Nefeli squealed the moment she heard the punishment. Oh no. “WHAT NOHOHO NOT MY FEHEHEET!” Her feet are never a good spot for punishment. They are way too ticklish for her own good, and Namjoon knew that pretty well ever since she was a kid. 

Only if she had been paying attention to the French Revolution... 

As Namjoon’s nails were scribbling Nefeli’s sweet spot on her neck, the young student was giggling like crazy. With her shoulders scrunched up and her body almost curled up, she was wiggling around unstoppably in her attempt to get away. It was like millions of tiny bolts of lightning were hitting her soft skin. Ticklish bolts of lightning which were making her giggle like a little kid. 

“And now for my third question...” the mischievous lad wasn’t joking, he would get her feet. And in reality, he couldn’t wait to teach that little rascal a lesson on paying attention in his classes “How old was the queen during the French Revolution?” 

“WHAHAT that’s not even in the book, you cheater!” Nefeli squealed loudly, intending to hide her feet from the upcoming attack. 

However, the young lad wasn’t going to let it slide. He had already grabbed her feet and had already started scribbling his blunt nails all over her socked feet “You haven’t even opened the book!” 

At this point, I bet you no one had ever screamed so loud as Nefeli did before the waterfall of hysterical laughter started pouring out of her mouth “AGH NAHAHAHAO STAHAHAHAP AHAHAHAHAHA!” she shrieked loudly at the top of her lungs as she was flailing around unstoppably. 

However, trying to pull her feet back was useless. It was like Namjoon was wearing Iron Man’s and was holding her feet with it “Aw coochie coochie coo, Neffie! Next time better pay more attention to me... Unless you want to have more tickle moments like this!”

The hint of mocking send shivers down the young girl’s spine whim immediately started having butterflies of fluster in her stomach. Being in this state every time they were having lessons would be a total nightmare for her. 

“NAHAHAHAOH I SWEAHAHAR I WILL STUDY HAHAHARDER!” she shrieked, curling her toes tightly as Namjoon’s nails were targeting her heels mercilessly. If she didn’t move them, she could at least try to protect them. But failed miserably. It still tickled as hell. 

“You promise? Or should I keep going?” Namjoon knew pretty well Nefeli couldn’t stand a single poke on her feet. 

And his thoughts were proven right. Nefeli with a deafening ‘I promise’ finally gave in and stopped trying to escape the ticklish hell she was currently into. 

After a few more scribbles on her soles, Namjoon finally let his student’s feet go with a huge, satisfied grin “You better” he smirked and pulled his friend’s younger sister in for a hug.

Nefeli’s red face was smiley and teary from laughing too hard. All the rest of the members had heard them for sure and had already planned their teases for later “You are so mean, Joonie!” she mumbled, burying her face in her palms all shy.

“You are so ticklish, Neffie” the young rapped chuckled, wrapping his arms around her protectively, like an older brother. 

[eliounora]

Do you mind me asking what subject you are studying rn? I recently graduated and have a really hard time picking what I'll study... Also YES!! LIFE WILL BE WONDERFUL! Just a bit and youll have made it!

I'm majoring in history, I'm just finishing my master's degree! if you're interested in studying history I really recommend it, though it should be noted that studying history in university is quite different from studying it in for example high school or an equivalent. in general education you focus more on events and phenomena in history and why they happened and what it led to, whereas in university the studying is more about how that scientific knowledge is acquired (and this goes for any field of study, not only history). instead of learning, for example, the events leading up to the french revolution, you study how the french revolution has been studied, different takes on it, what kind of primary sources you would use to study it, etc. the benefit of history is also that there's an endless amount of themes you can specialise in (I've studied primarily LGBT/queer history).

this might be clear for some but I wanted to mention it because I certainly did not know what studying was like in university before I went. it might help to choose your major when you sort of have an inkling what kind of stuff you want to become REALLY familiar with, hahah! I'm lucky I love history, because here in finland switching majors is really difficult. what I struggle with is my godawful cultural studies minor, the whole subject of which is incredibly badly organised in my university. but I'm so close to finishing it!

in choosing what to study, I would recommend checking the websites of the universities (or colleges? if you're american) that interest you and checking what kind of courses/classes they have and what you can study. NOW university websites are famously difficult to navigate, but generally what you want to look for is something like a course catalogue or programmes. let's say you want to go to the university of oxford, that actually has a pretty simple website, you find the courses by checking admissions -> undergraduate -> scroll down, and boom, courses! if you can't find what you're looking for in an university website, always try scrolling down first, those pages are LONG! you can also try googling something like "university of oxford courses".

the good thing with studying humanities is that besides your major you will have minor subjects to study as well, that you can probably choose freely. as far as I know if you go in for medicine or law or stuff like that you study only that, medicine or law.

OH and one final thing, I know I used oxford as an example, but really do not stress about getting into some fancy or elite schools. you can get great education and do quality research anywhere. chasing prestige alone will disappoint you!

[robertlaskarzewski]

Seventeenth Week

Hi, my name is Robert Laskarzewski, and I am currently a sophomore at the Darla Moore School of Business studying International Business and Marketing. I’m a part of the International Business Responsible International Leadership (RIL) program and will spend the Spring and Fall semesters at the ESSEC Cergy campus. I was born and raised in California, about an hour away from San Francisco. I chose to attend the University of South Carolina specifically because of the RIL program and the amount of time abroad that was offered. Once I was accepted, it was an easy choice to pursue my studies there.

And just like that, the first semester is officially over. It’s hard to believe that time has moved so quickly, it feels like only yesterday that I was landing at CDG.

I haven’t been doing much this week besides slowly preparing (both physically and mentally) for my departure from Cergy to Toulon for my volunteering experience. On my way to Toulon, I’ll stop in the city of Valence for a couple of nights, just to see some place new. Additionally, I did bits and pieces of work for any remaining final projects for my classes. This included an oral presentation for my French history class and a case scenario for my “People & Organizations” class.

On Tuesday, I had my final for marketing which I felt went well. It was held in a large auditorium of ESSEC called le Dôme – creatively named after its dome-like structure. Inside, four different sections of students took the final for responsible marketing, including my own (section J). I hadn’t experienced anything like this, even during standardized testing that I had gone through during high school.

After taking my final, I went to Paris to stop by the Musée des Arts et Metiers, literally translated as the Museum of Arts and Crafts. Inside, there were hundreds if not thousands of displays showing the evolution of technology, most notably during the Industrial Revolution. The museum itself seemed to be placed inside an old factory of some sort that was connected to an adjacent church of some sort (that had been converted to house old planes and early automobiles).

On Friday, I went with some friends to Kodawari Ramen, a Michelin-star ramen restaurant with two locations in Paris. After an excruciatingly long wait (over an hour and a half), our party of 10 was finally granted entrance into the fish market-themed restaurant. After being led through the themed ground floor, we were led upstairs into a separate room, reminiscent of a dojo where the Japanese elite may have dined – this illusion was slightly lowered due to the 80s-themed decorations which included an old TV, posters on the wall, and other small bits and pieces. After quick restaurant service, I received one of the best ramen I had ever had – well worth the wait (although the atmosphere itself was worth the wait).

[suburbanbeatnik]

I posted 41 times in 2022

18 posts created (44%)

23 posts reblogged (56%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@suburbanbeatnik

@mimicofmodes

@trashpoppaea

@joannerenaud

@lanterne

I tagged 37 of my posts in 2022

Only 10% of my posts had no tags

#art - 16 posts

#illustration - 16 posts

#dandies and dandyzettes - 12 posts

#regency - 11 posts

#frev - 8 posts

#french revolution - 8 posts

#dandies & dandyzettes - 8 posts

#ttrpg - 8 posts

#rpg - 8 posts

#bridgerton - 7 posts

Longest Tag: 97 characters

#also the weirdness of rostand writing a fantasy swashbuckler about a guy who died 68 years before

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

ink sketch of Louis-Antoine Saint-Just gazing out a window-- drawn with sepia pens and walnut ink

128 notes - Posted January 3, 2022

#4

My ballroom final for DANDIES & DANDYZETTES is complete! This took a long time to paint, but at last, you can see all these gorgeously dressed people dancing the allemande under the light of hundreds of candles. Can you find all the familiar faces from the class portraits?

Thanks to @mimicofmodes for making this all possible!

226 notes - Posted June 9, 2022

#3

The ballroom sketch I did for DANDIES AND DANDYZETTES, an amazing new RPG set in Regency England, written by the one and only Cassidy Percoco (@mimicofmodes). There’s only 24 hours left in the Kickstarter, so check it out! 

241 notes - Posted April 23, 2022

#2

See the full post

256 notes - Posted March 25, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Rehoming or fostering cats for woman leaving abusive home

EMERGENCY! Would anyone in the greater Los Angeles area be interested in adopting or fostering any of three adorable cats? This is a desperate situation-- a friend's sister, R., is leaving an abusive home in North Hills-- her son is illegally evicting her, and threatening to confiscate her cats (he's also a lawyer). She has to find new homes for her cats (fostering or permanent) by this weekend. This is R. tells me about the cats:

"These 3 cats are siblings who I found in my garden shed when they were kittens..their mother had disappeared and never returned  I raised them totally indoors as pets. They are about 2-1/2 years old now. The female is spayed and both males are neutered. The males' names are Orion and Orpheus, and the female's name is Nebula. The male cat Orion is usually confident and friendly. He is a tabby with green eyes. He frequently follows me around and sits with me. The other male's name is Orpheus. He is not as confident as his brother, but is more sensitive and affectionate. For a while this year I had to separate the brothers because Orion was intimidating Orpheus.  Their little sister Nebula is a petite cat with somewhat tortie markings, white chest and paws, and green eyes. She is very shy and timid. She will hide if too nervous.  I need foster help right away and so appreciate you contacting me. The brothers might be better off if they are kept separate. The female could go with either brother or be by herself."

Please let me know if you have any interest in any of these cats-- if you do, I'll get you in touch with R.. Thanks! 

Here’s Orpheus:

Here’s Nebula:

See the full post

496 notes - Posted September 10, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[umichenginabroad]

Week 9: German Final, Final Trips, and Finally Free from my Research Paper

Willkommen zurück to week 9 out of 10 of my UROP experience in Aachen! With us being in the final weeks of the program, things have been wrapping up in all the bittersweet, nostalgia-filled, and occasionally stress-inducing ways. The research symposium is just around the corner now, and our papers/posters are due Monday (aka 3 days from now… aka AAAAH). Thanks to the Berlin trip I have planned for this weekend, I had extra motivation to put my head down and actually get all my work in order by the end of the week. Such a feat was looking highly unlikely a few days ago, but I am happy to say I will not have to write about Intrusion Detection Systems and dataset generation to the background noises of my Berlin walking tour or Techno music in the club Saturday night. This is a win. 

On Thursday, I had my German final which ended up being one of those exams that inspires you to tap into your philosophical side and begin wise internal dialogues about the benefits and unavoidable nature of failure (yes, this is just me coping). The five T/F questions in our Reading section worth 30/90 points left something to be desired and the Listening section somehow found a way to connect ice cream (in Cyber Space?) to the Industrial Revolution in one confusing speech. (It may be wise to note on that last point that I still have no idea what this man was talking about.)

All that random Cyber Space ice cream talk inspired our German class to get some of our own (normal) ice cream to recover from being collectively humbled by the exam, and it was indeed the perfect cure. I’m going to miss my German classmates and our unifying dread of getting picked for Taboo (a game we played at the start of every class where one person had the unfortunate, isolating task of explaining new German vocab auf Deutsch and the others simply guessed). Though I sometimes wished my German classes were with all the other UROP students, I ended up really enjoying the unique opportunity my course provided to meet people from all different parts of the world studying here and learning German like I am.

Dunkel Schokolade und Menz Eis aka Emergency Post-Exam Mood-Recovery Ice Cream

Even in spite of my looming deadlines and questionable German Final, I still managed to fill the past week with travel and making the most of the finally summery weather (*knock on wood*). Last Saturday, I went to an impressively large fun fair in Duesseldorf that put my sad county fair with its three rickety, life-endangering rides and show-stopping prize chickens to shame. The delicious fair food, loud music, and bright energy felt like a taste of home on the Jersey Shore Boardwalk (without the weird teenagers and suspicious piercing shops) and it was exactly what I needed.

Scenes from Duesseldorf's Fun Fair

We also had Ramen for lunch to make up for not getting it here when the lines were ridiculously long on Japan Tag, and it fully lived up to the hype.

Ramen from Duesseldorf’s Little Tokyo

On Sunday, I traveled with one of my friends to Liège where we made sure to accomplish all the Liège Musts: 

✅ Eating a LiègeWaffle 

Incredibly yum waffle. 8/10. For two point deduction reasoning: see part 3

✅ Climbing the Montagne de Bueren, a 374-step staircase 

Beautiful views from the top of the staircase. I promise I was also enjoying them and not only suffering from getting to the top.

✅ Having a disastrous, embarrassing, all around self-esteem-destroying attempted conversation with a French-speaking person 

✅Finding somewhere (with weird black burger buns?) to eat lunch where we could order online to avoid more of said conversations

The strange burgers in question. Not sure where they were going with the whole “accidentally forgot how to use an oven while cooking your meal and it burned” aesthetic, but it did taste quite good.

✅Exploring lots of beautiful architecture

Some of the gorgeous sites found while roaming Liège

After completing our official Tourists Guide to Liège, we ended the day by visiting a small aquarium/science museum where we proceeded to get distracted by pretty fish, fun interactive exhibits, and these jump-scare-inducing holographic portraits until their closing time. Unfortunately, their closing time also happened to be a few minutes after we would've needed to leave to catch the next train back to Aachen. What followed was a semi-panicked, 2,5 km run with my unathletic jeans, unathletic tank top, unathletic hoodie, and unathletic self. Was it worth it for the single hour we saved by not waiting for the next train? Probably not. Will I be adding this to the official Tourists Guide to Liège anytime soon? 100% no. But I did leave feeling at least 15% as much accomplished as I was tired and sweaty, so that’s something… 

Emo Nemo, Hologram Dog, and distractions from the aquarium that had the audacity to almost make us miss our train

I promise I did do actual work at some point this week, but on Wednesday we had a nice, relaxing UROP picnic that served as the perfect break from it. There were delicious baked goods, volleyball/frisbee games, lots of reminiscing, and enough sun to make up for at least three days of Aachen rainstorms. 

We’re at the point of the program where everything is starting to be labeled some kind of last: Last German Class. Last UROP Weekend Travels. Last Wednesday UROP Activity. Last Motor Bar Night. And it’s all starting to feel extremely bittersweet. I’ll save all my sentimentality for my final blog (consider yourself warned), but I am really looking forward to making this official Last Weekend in Berlin one to remember. Until next time!

Sarah Bargfrede

Computer Science

UROP Program in Aachen

[coro-chan6]

Guys! I wrote a story based on my track coach being immortal because if you've met him... he most definitely is. Really proud of it so I'm posting it on here.

The Immortal Investigation

Or 3 times she suspects he's immortal and 1 time she finds out.

Tags: oc!character, teen!character, female!oc, detective work, middle schooler detective work, gay ppl (happy pride ya'll), neurodivergent MC, an immortal

Words: 3,383

Mr. Dahms always made Ira’s skin prickle. It's not that he was untoward or malicious… he just seemed out of place. When he was standing in the hallway greeting kids as they walked past, he looked odd. When he was talking to the other teachers, he looked stiff. Ira used to assume that he was only awkward - until she had him for 8th grade history. 

In class, Mr. Dahms was in his element. He was lively, loud, and walked around the room with enthusiasm as he taught about the French Revolution and the Emancipation Proclamation. He talked about history as if he was there when it happened. As if he witnessed it. 

Ira didn’t have a problem with Mr. Dahms. She had a problem with letting things go. This was one of the many instances where she couldn’t shake her suspicions. She couldn’t stop the constant wandering every time she walked into his class. She couldn’t stop thinking this man was older than he let on. Ira swore Mr. Dahms was immortal, but she couldn’t prove it. 

So she did what she did best - she dug.

Observation #1

Subject has been seen coughing up unknown substances.

Ira didn’t want to be too obvious during this monitoring period. After all, if he caught on and he happened to be an average human with the average lifespan (which she doubted), he would take it the wrong way. Writing notes about your teacher that have absolutely nothing to do with the class would get her suspended. Well, she thought it would. 

She wasn’t all that familiar with the discipline process at her school.

For complete privacy, Ira wrote all her notes in the back of a nondescript, spiral notebook. She believed that because she started writing at the back of the notebook, no one would find her super, secretive data. 

All that being said, she was jotting things down like she usually did before class officially started. Ira was seated at the back of the classroom with her arms in the common “don’t cheat off of me” standard when she heard a cough. She thought nothing of it until it happened again… and again, and once more. 

Finally, she looked up in concern for the poor individual that was hacking up a lung. Ira’s eyes widened when she saw it was, in fact, Mr. Dahms bent over the trash can holding his chest in both hands. From her angle, she could see that something dark and slimy was slowly slipping out of his mouth. She itched to jump out of her seat to get a closer look at what was going on before remembering she was trying to be discreet. Instead, she decided to wait for Mr. Dahms to finish his “Cocomelon Coughs” before she would casually go to the front of the class to “get a tissue”.

It took Mr. Dahms 64 seconds for his hacking to cease. It took him three seconds to stand up straight and face the handful of 13 year olds that were whispering to each other for the whole duration of his episode. 

Mr. Dahms said, “I guess I brought something back from overseas.”

When, Ira thought, had Mr. Dahms gone overseas? He couldn’t have gone during Spring Break. Because of snow days, her school’s Spring Break had been more of a “Spring Breeze.” It would have been impractical for Mr. Dahms to take a plane to another country on Thursday and be back by the following Monday. 

She deemed it impossible.

Ira’s peers were back on their phones soon after Mr. Dahms gave his flimsy excuse. No one suspected anything but her. She was the only one really paying attention. What did Mr. Dahms cough up, and where did it come from? 

 The tapping of her foot was the only thing keeping Ira sane. Class had now started, but it hadn’t been long enough for her to get a tissue without appearing shady. Plus, she had to set up the process of “getting  a tissue” which included “getting the sniffles.” Ira was very serious about this part because if someone asked her why she needed a tissue, her plan would be ruined. 

It took two minutes and seven seconds to finish the “getting a tissue” process. Mr. Dahms had not moved, and none of her classmates had moved, but when Ira went to thow her lightly used Kleenex in the trash, the dark, slimy substance was no longer there.

Subject’s bodily fluids look to have super absorbent abilities. More  tests are required.

Substance = living dead Bubonic Plague (???)

Observation #2

Subject maintains homeostasis with only two hours of sleep.

Ira didn’t like the idea of using this bit of evidence. She didn’t think that hearing about Mr. Dahms being up in the demon hours was sound enough to be put into her notes… until she noticed that it was common knowledge. To everyone. Everyone but her.

After Ira got over the fact that she was so out of the loop even the teacher’s children looked at her weird, she started interviewing people. She knew that asking Mr. Dahms if he needed any sleep to stay sane was not going to blow over well. That was a breach of privacy.

Surely she would get suspended for it.

Ira knew that only secondary sources were obtainable to her, but how obtainable was still in question. As observant as she was, Ira had never observed any techniques to acquire friends. She tried it when she was in 5th grade. The little girl she befriended, Dynasti, didn’t take well to her constant statements about how her outfits never quite matched.

All that being said, Ira was nervous how the student population would react to her asking questions. She didn’t want to be stuffed into a locker (even if she could easily get out. Just because she could pick a lock from the inside didn’t mean she wanted to).

Recording #1 - James Apricot (7th grade athlete)

Ira: You… the basketball team. You’re on it - am I correct?

James: Yeah, I am. That’s actually where I’m going right now-

Ira: This won’t take long. Plus, this is much more important than your trivial game.

[Recording ends] 

James Apricot did not take kindly to the insult of his beloved ball game. Ira had tried to chase him down, but as much as she hated to admit it, James was extremely fast. No wonder he was on both the varsity basketball team as well as the varsity track and field team.

Ira learned two things from this recording, 1) Insulting sports teams would lead to the premature end of an interview and 2) James would have been the perfect interviewee because Mr. Dahms coaches the track team and is the assistant coach for the basketball team.

Recording #2 - Athena McCorvey (8th grade cheerleader)

Ira: You cheer for both the basketball team and the football team, am I correct?

Athena: Yep. Head cheerleader for both.

Ira: Um… good for you? 

[Ira coughs]

Ira: Have you interacted with Mr. Dahms during your extracurriculars?

Athena: Uh… yeah, but he’s not my coach, he coaches the guys. Why? Are you thinking about trying out?

[Athena snickers]

Ira: Goodness no. I find the idea of a sport where women are to dance and look sexy only so men can do better at their sport, well, repulsing.

Athena: I get where you’re coming from, but I don’t cheer for that reason. I cheer so I’ll feel pretty.

Ira: You're kidding! You must know that you are one of the most physically attractive and emotionally attractive people in this school, right? Why would you find comfort in these judgmental oafs thinking you’re pretty when they hardly know the definition of the word?

[Recording ends]

Ira learned many things from her interview with Athena. Firstly, Ira should have befriended Athena rather than Dynasti all those years ago. Athena didn’t take offense to Ira’s blunt observations like most people and instead added onto them with something equally as insightful. Secondly, for the sake of the investigation, this interview wasn’t at all necessary. Athena knew of Mr. Dahms, but only in passing. There was nothing the cheerleader knew that Ira hadn’t already analyzed.

And lastly, the recording with Athena was, just like James’, prematurely stopped. This was because Athena had kissed Ira and Ira didn’t feel as if that would have been appropriate for her professional recording. It will be documented, however, that Ira was invited to Athena’s exclusive birthday party on the Wednesday coming. 

Recording #3 - Nathan Tiddle (6th grade track runner)

Ira: Mr. Dahms is your direct coach, am I correct?

Nathan: Yep. Why are you asking? Is his birthday coming up or something? Do I need to get him-

Ira: No, no, no. This isn’t about his birthday. This is about Mr. Dahms’ circadian rhythms.

Nathan: His what?

Ira: His sleep schedule, Nathan. What do you know about it?

Nathan: I know he comes to school at 4 in the morning to set up the track the way he wants it. 

Ira: How do you know this?

Nathan: It’s common knowledge on the track team. Coach Dahms also tells us about it everyday at the beginning and end of practice. I don’t know if he’s trying to guilt-trip us into running faster cause if that’s what he’s trying to do, it’s working.

Ira: Is Mr. Dahms irritable or moody when he cleans the track at 4 in the morning?

Nathan: No. He does it everyday and everyday he always acts the same. Cheerful, nice, and - you know - he’s a coach, so he’s gonna be a [redacted].

Ira: Do you know how much he sleeps each night specifically?

James: 1 to 2 hours.

Nathan: Hey, this was my interview!

James: Shut it, little baby. 

James: Coach Dahms only sleeps 1 to 2 hours each night. Even on weekends. He’s always calling the school or being at the school at ungodly hours because he has nothing else to do and he’s never tired. Ever.

Nathan: …I could have said that.

Ira: Thank you for your input, Nathan. And James.

Nathan: Not a problem! This detective thing you’ve got going on is so cool!

[Nathan walks over to his friends]

Ira: James, I am sorry if I insulted your sport earlier today.

James: No biggie. 

[James gives Ira a “noogie”]

[Recording ends]

This was the most informative interview yet. Ira confirmed not only that Mr. Dahms functions on 1 to 2 hours of sleep, but he is never tired. No one has seen him yawn or rub his eyes. No one has ever seen him sleep. It would have been amazing if Ira could get an interview with Mr. Dahms’ wife, but even Ira knew that would be extremely difficult. As well as creepy. Yes, the creepy part was the first thing that crossed her mind.

On top of more evidence for Mr. Dahms being immortal, Ira learned that James did not, in fact, want to shove her in a locker then go on to high five his friends. James thought Ira was “chill”. Ira found it comforting that James would be one of the people gathering for Athena’s birthday celebration.

Nathan was annoying, but after some intelligently placed redirectioning, he was telling Ira all she needed to know. Ira wasn’t the happiest when he used foul language in her tape but censoring his colorful adjective wasn’t the worst part of her day. Plus, Nathan was, as James put it, a baby. Ira would let his loose lips go unpunished. This time. Ira had already warned him what would happen if expletives were used in her recording again.

Subject continues to have peak cognitive function with minimal sleep.

Athletes are nicer than they seem.

Athena likes penguins. *added to personal journal

Dahms has a continuous positive attitude. Is this because living longer makes you focus on the better things in life?

Observation #3

Subject taught my mother. And my grandmother.

The weekend had come, so Ira had decided to take 2 deserved days off from the Immortal Investigation. Ira believed strongly in caring for one’s mental health. She concluded it was because her mother did psych evaluations for the local fire and police departments. Many of the people who worked at those two places would have been better off if they took time to reflect on themselves.

Ira was in the middle of doing a deep clean for the lower level of her house when she found something quite interesting. For some reason, she’d never seen it before and Ira is the one and only cleaner of the Montgomery household.

She had found her grandmother’s highschool yearbook. To be honest, it almost made Ira tear up. Her grandmother had passed away just 3 years ago due to surgery complications. Her mother’s mom was where Ira got most of her detective-like qualities. When she was younger, she swore her grandmother worked for the CIA because of how attentive and observant she was. Her grandmother blamed it on motherhood which was a shame because Ira didn’t plan on ever having kids. She found people very confusing. Why would she add another person - that can’t talk - to the equation?

Ira was flipping through the pages looking for her grandmother’s maiden name when she caught a glimpse of a familiar face. She almost dropped the book in shock. The face was in the teachers section of the yearbook in between Mr. Daes and Ms. Didyoung. The face wore a white, fluffy beard and circular glasses. The face… was Mr. Dahms.

It wasn’t possible. How did her history teacher look the exact same as he did now than he did a good 60 years ago? Just how long had Mr. Dahms been teaching? 

Adding onto the fact the Mr. Dahms had also taught her mother, this only confirmed Ira’s suspicions. Mr. Dahms was most definitely an immortal. He didn’t seem to age, he didn’t sleep, and he was a carrier to an identifiable amount of diseases. She knew what she had to do.

It was time to confront him.

Observation period has ended.

Confirmation of results will commence.

Conclusion

Ira sat in the back of her history class with an irremovable smile on her face. When the bell rang, her classmates would file out, but she would stay. She would stay and confront this immortal being. She would show him all the observations she collected thus far, and he would be speechless. He would be caught.

But what did Ira want to do after Mr. Dahms admitted to being immortal? She had no knowledge of him hurting anyone. If anything, he was using the fact that he was immortal to better society. He was teaching children, for goodness sake! As much as outing Mr. Dahms would be a trivial activity, Ira yearned to do it. This was her first real investigation that had actually gone somewhere. She had to see it through.

Plus, Athena was waiting for updates. Ira had gotten into the habit of texting the cheerleader and Athena would actually respond to her. It was great. Athena made sure Ira understood any of the pop culture references she made, and lended a listening ear to Ira’s scientific queries.

Ring!

It was finally time. Ira was shaking in excitement as she waited for her classmates to shuffle out the room. She gathered her super, secret notebook and walked to the front of the classroom were Mr. Dahms seemed to be waiting for her.

“Miss Montgomery! What can I do for you?”

Ira took a calming breath, “I have been observing you, Mr. Dahms and the notes I have made show some interesting results. Here.” Ira handed Mr. Dahms her notebook.

Subject has been seen coughing up unknown substances.

Subject’s bodily fluids look to have super absorbent abilities. More  tests are required.

Substance = living dead Bubonic Plague (???)

Subject maintains homeostasis with only two hours of sleep.

Subject continues to have peak cognitive function with minimal sleep.

Dahms has a continuous positive attitude. Is this because living longer makes you focus on the better things in life?

Subject taught my mother. And my grandmother.

Observation period has ended.

Confirmation of results will commence.

Mr. Dahms read through the pages, his eyes widening with each line read. Ira couldn’t get rid of the smug smile on her face. She had got him.

“As you can see, my observations have led to one conclusion,” Ira straightened he blouse, “You, Mr. Dahms, are an immortal being.”

Ira didn’t think Mr. Dahms would burst out laughing. This was not how this was supposed to go.

Mr. Dahms eventually got himself under control, “Ira, you are an observant little girl, I’ll admit, but you only see what you want to see. This whole “Immortal Investigation” was under my control from the beginning.”

“N-no, that can’t be true-”

“It is, dear. I gave you this wild goose chase that you would find extremely interesting so you would get out of your own head. So that you would go and talk to other people your age. I just wanted you to make friends.”

“Mr. Dahms-” Ira was cut off once again.

“And you did, right? Athena says hi to you in the hallway and the track team can’t stop talking about you. You won, Ira, but not in the way you might have wanted to.”

Ira was speechless. This was not how this was supposed to go. Mr. Dahms was supposed to be speechless. Ira was supposed to feel victorious, but all she felt was the bittersweet end to a botched investigation. Maybe he was right. Maybe she only saw what she wanted to see.

“There’s no need to be upset. Your persistence was admirable.”

“Yes, but I was wrong,” Ira hung her head in shame.

“Everyone’s wrong once in a while. Learn from it. Chin up, detective.”

No. It didn’t matter what Mr. Dahms said. Ira was wrong. She was wrong and now she was extremely upset. She was so sure of herself that she’d dragged other people into her investigation and now they would know of her failure. This was horrible.

She skipped watching cheer practice that day. Ira went home with her head still hung. 

He wiped sweat off of his brow and steadied his breathing. Mr. Dahms sat at his desk in shock at what had just happened. Ira Montgomery had figured it out all by herself. The only other person who had even come close to figuring out what he was was… Ira’s grandmother. Mary Ann didn’t have enough evidence to support her claim, so she gave up.

Ira… he hadn’t even suspected her. She was quiet and didn’t have many friends. She did what she was supposed to do and never asked for any extra help. She was practically invisible to him. Not even the track team had spoken a peep about her interviewing his athletes. 

He was blindsighted.

Mr. Dahms was lucky he had plenty of experience thinking on his feet or he would have fumbled right in her trap.

It wasn’t like his life would be in danger if people found out he was immortal. It just wasn’t something he told people. Well, besides his wives. He didn’t think it was fair for them to be left in the dark about something like that. They were partners after all.

How he became immortal was unclear. He was born during the days of horse and buggy, diseases, and slavery. He was relatively normal. Nothing happened to him that would have said otherwise, but when the time came where his family started dying and he didn’t… he began to grow suspicious. 

Mr. Dahms could catch illnesses, but he wouldn’t be affected by them. He would simply be a carrier, just like Ira had hypothesized. Sometimes he would cough them up, but that wasn’t a common occurrence. No, he didn’t need that much sleep. This phenomenon only started happening after he reached the age of 150. He didn’t know why.

Mr. Dahms thought maybe it was time to move on from this town. 2 people suspecting him in under 100 years? It made him uncomfortable. But, then again, it could be fine. He preferred to experience as little change as possible.

He’d wait another 200 years.

[gamerdog1]

Castlevania Nocturne Season 1 Review

Its a good time to be a gamer, or an adult who likes animation. After decades of flop after flop, it seems that filmmakers and animation studios finally got their shit together, and realized that video games aren't just a fad that will pass in a few weeks. We can now rest easy, knowing that the people who make video game adaptations actually know what video games are, and did their research on them before putting pen to paper.

Sure, in every boom, there's bound to be a few stinkers. I doubt any news outlet is putting the live action Monster Hunter movie in their 'Top Ten Best Video Game Movies' lists anytime soon. But as it stands today, the market for video game adaptations for the big (or small) screen is bustling, with major successes like the Super Mario Bros movie proving just how successful they can be.

Streaming services, as well, have taken this in stride, putting forth their best and brightest to make some damn good shows for their platforms. With shows like Arcane, Cyberpunk : Edgerunners, and Castlevania (2017), most video game or animation fans have been eating well with Netflix, and the release of Nocturne last September was just another scoop on the sundae.

Castlevania: Nocturne is a short animated series created by Clive Bradley, and directed by Sam and Adam Deats. Based on the Konami games, Nocturne follows a group of young magical heroes who work together to stop a secret ruling class of vampires from summoning a messiah and bringing about the end-times. A cunning show with a dark premise, Nocturne is 8 episodes of fast-paced, blood spraying, beautifully animated action that lives up to it's precedent's legacy.

Coming just 2 years after the finale of the original series, Nocturne only ups the quality of the series as a whole on all fronts. For starters, the visuals. My god, the animation is incredible! I wish I could show every fight scene, every smoothly-animated sequence here, but alas, I'd lag the shit outta this post. I'll spare you, mobile users.

Watching this show took me back to 2017, when the original series came out. Sitting on a bus, on a youth trip in the middle east, I'd watch the fight at the end of season 1 over and over, trying to spot how they animated it. Seven years later, I still find myself staring in slack-jawed amazement at the slick animation on display, which moves so fast that at times, I can't even tell what's going on. One thing's for sure, though: its goddamn beautiful.

On top of that, Nocturne keeps the series' ball rolling, adding onto the previously established lore while keeping the past relevant, to make it fit the overarching narrative. It acknowledges what happened at the end of the previous series, and continues where it left off, albeit a few decades later. Nocturne's main characters aren't nobodies: their family lineage and abilities link them to the previous trio, showing how though the passage of time, the show stays the same.

The main character, Richter, is a stark contrast to Trevor, the previous series' protagonist. He's polite, nicely dressed, works well with others, and has a lot to learn about his ancestry, which gets revealed more over time. Where Trevor felt like a seasoned vampire hunter, Richter has this sense of youthfulness about him, making him feel more inexperienced. We get to watch him learn and grow, rather than start with him already being experienced, and it feels satisfying to see how far he's come by the last episode. Plus he gives me gender feels, so he's alright in my books.

Supporting him is Maria, this series' counterpart to Sypha, and Richter's adopted sister. She is a leader in the fight for freedom in the French Revolution, and can summon magical animals to fight for her. Her youthful energy, stubbornness, and deep knowledge of politics keep her from being another 'strong empowered woman' , a stereotype which many fantasy series believe is somehow akin to feminist writing.

The third member of this series' main trio isn't a counterpart to Alucard, though she could end up being just as powerful. Annette, a Caribbean woman who fled slavery as a child, can harness the powers of an African god to control rocks and metal, to create weapons or help her allies. She is one of the first major Black characters in this series, and proves to be a valuable ally time and time again, saving her friends' asses at least a dozen times.

Despite the show only being 8 episodes as of time of writing this, Nocturne manages to pull you in quickly, with its likeable characters and quickly escalating plot. When I started this show last year, I was hesitant to let go of the old trio and old story, and adopt this new one. By episode 4, though, I was into it, and wanted to know more about the story. While the original Castlevania takes four seasons to get to the point of a unified team and major evil, Nocturne does it in a fraction of the time, with all of the same grace and glory, and none of the season 3 like its predecessor. Now this is speedrunning!

To top it all off, Nocturne continues its family legacy of giving some damn good representation in a show that's source material never really demanded it. Much of the main cast falls into various minority groups, and for one in particular, her struggles are shown in detail. We live in an era where a major animated action series features a metal mage who escaped slavery, an gay Aztec vampire who falls in love with a holy knight, a Black vampire with flaming hair and bat wings, and a vampire matriarch with the power to blot out the sun. There's something for everyone here, and I mean it.

Unfortunately, that's all there is for now. Castlevania: Nocturne, as it stands, is just one season, with a second on the way. Still, what's here is strong, and proves that the original Castlevania wasn't just a lucky break. Just like it, Nocturne delivers blazing fast action, awesome character design, and tons of representation, but quickens the pace of the story to get the ball rolling right away. After 8 episodes, I already feel attached to these new characters, and I anxiously await the next season. Who knows, maybe they'll add a werewolf character!

[bslack12]

Paris Solo Day and Wrap Up

As the final hours of our class in Paris begin to wind down, it was time to put a bow on the three week experience. Despite my continued solo adventures across Paris, even across France on one occasion, it was time for this seemingly natural action to be required. However, this excursion would be out of my hands, as I would be presented a destination that I would need to go to.

For me, this was the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers and its corresponding musée. After departing from Saint-Sulpice in the 6e, I began my stroll down Rue Bonaparte and towards the Seine. My ticket appointment was not until noon, so I took advantage of the almost two hours I had in the bank to enjoy a walk along the river and go against the gradient of the snail through the 5e, 4e, and eventually the 3e arrondissements. Along my walk, I decided to go up further and go across L'Île Saint-Louis in order to get into my district for the day. Needing to find a bathroom and stop for lunch, I made my way down the Rue de Rivoli for a mid-day break. After enjoying some fish and chips at a café, it was time to venture north and find my destination.

Upon arriving, I was quite excited by the antiquarian design of the building, which had been a priory until the revolution. The historic nature of the founding and site, as well as the dedicated works on display, were right up my alley. I made my way in and started to go through the collections, which featured a physical timeline of innovations in measurement, transportation, communication, energy, mechanics, materials, and construction. I think my favorite section would have had to have been the first one on scientific measurements. I think one of the more fascinating byproducts of the French Revolution was the way in which the metric system was developed. I also find the way in which official, but sometimes arbitrary measurements perpetuated inequality and poverty is such a fascinating principle that is often overlooked.

Another wonderful use of the space was how the old church was turned into a temple to science. With planes hanging from the ceiling, cars on display on multiple levels, and a Foucoult pendulum at the center, the best place to view everything was by climbing a ramp that led you to the top of the room, on level with the peaks of the stain-glass windows. It was an unreal sight, and you could appreciate the beauty of the art and architecture of the church from a whole new perspective.

Afterwards, I sat in the small garden on the ground to just take in the surroundings, as well as catch up on postcard writing, before setting off for another sight that had piqued my interest. On my walk to the CNAM, I had passed the Archives National and decided to go if I had time. In an old mansion with a grand courtyard, the museum itself was small and one of its two exhibitions (Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette) was closed, but I still went in and was immediately greeted with the constitution of the 5th Republic. The opening room had various sections on the history of record-keeping with examples that I was perusing when an employee offered to take us through the apartments upstairs. Whether this was a part of the museum that happens regularly or something unusual I did not know, but I went up with the other museum patrons. Here were more stunning documents within French history including: decrees from Charlemagne and Hugh Capet, the last letters of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, a sketch of Joan of Arc from the Parliament de Paris, the Edict of Nantes, the Tennis Court Oath, and a journal from Louis XIV. One document that they had that was not on display though was the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, which I was hoping would be shown when I had first passed the building earlier in the day.

It was then time to make my way to the Weeping Willow at the very tip of L'Île de la Cité. So, I embarked towards the river and headed along the right bank until I reached Pont Neuf where I crossed and descended at the Henri IV statue and met the class. We had a nice picnic and everyone shared their solo day and it was a nice wrap up for our penultimate meeting as a group.

For our last full day in Paris, I got an early start and metroed to L'Arc de Triomphe for a walk down the Champs-Élysées and towards the Concorde. Now that the Bastille Day setups were taken down, I could finally take in all of the place and fully see the Luxor Obelisk (although constructed had the walk up to it closed). I then went to the steps of the National Assembly, by the Élysées Palace and through the Tuileries before taking a train back to Luxembourg. It was nice to take in the iconic sights of Paris one last time.

For our final class meeting, we met at an Amorino in the shades of the Pantheon to get gelato to eat in the gardens, even though everyone was done eating before the walk was over. Here, it was time to wrap up A Moveable Feast as well as out time in Paris. It was a nice discussion but I was just relishing the last moment of community between the 11 strangers that I had come to befriend over the month of July. I was quite wary about this aspect coming into the trip, as was bracing for the worst, but I actually made some great friends and am thankful for everyone who made my first time in Paris so special.

After returning to Maison des Mines to pack and nap, a few of us set out for one last night in Paris. We started with a French three course meal on a side street off of Rue Saint Jacques. I started with the escargot, obviously, and tried rabbit for the first time. I then finished off with a nice crème brulée. My favorite part about French food was definitely all of the new meats that I got to try and I liked every single one of them. It is also quite fun to eat snails and tell everyone back home that they are delicious. To finish our stay, we went to the giant roue in the Tuileries for an amazing view of Paris. Thanks to a bathroom break and the opportunity to watch the ducks of Paris, we showed up at the perfect time, as we got to take in an amazing sunset, see the flashing lights of the Eiffel Tower, and enjoy one final, beautiful night. As we disembarked, it began to sprinkle, but it was the perfect amount of rain that makes you enjoy the world and brings the most wonderful smell to your nose. After taking in the Louvre lit up, we walked back along the Seine to the Petit Pont and took Rue Saint Jacques to the building that had become home.

Waking up this morning, it was a stark find to see the opposite half of my room barren, hammering the reality that my time in this city was at its present conclusion. After a shower and final packing, I set out to a nearby café, broke my fast, and took in my neighborhood for one final time. I then walked to the Luxembourg Gardens for another stroll within the beautiful grounds before retrieving my bags and heading to the RER station.

Now, I sit at Charles de Gaulle after going through security and passport control, awaiting my return to the United States. These three weeks have been the absolute best time of my life and I feel that I have grown up so much and in ways that I will not even know for some time. Going abroad on my own, learning a city in a day, planning my own trip, and just exploring a world so different from my own have been so rewarding in so many ways that I will always hold onto. I hope to be back in Paris soon, but I do not know if any time here will ever be like my first. The length of my stay has allowed me to do so much and feel like I truly know Paris; I do not feel like a small blimp in the chaotic comings and goings of the city. The memories that I made here will always be special to me and I hope to draw on them frequently as I continue to move through my own journey of life.

Until next time,

À Bientot, Paris. Je t'aime.

[norahinparis]

Entry #1: Art Museums

When I was first reading the itinerary for this trip to Paris, I saw many visits to different art museums scheduled. First, we were set to see the Louvre, then the Musée Carnavalet, and finally the Musée d’Orsay. While I was excited about the prospect of visiting these museums and viewing many different types of art, I was also made a bit nervous by the idea of experiencing something I wasn’t familiar with. When it comes to art, I am incredibly inexperienced. It is honestly something that has always intimidated me, and the thought of standing next to my peers who are well-versed in the realm of art made me anxious. I enjoy looking at art, but it has always been just that to me; something pretty to look at. 

At the first art museum we visited, the Louvre, I realized that art is not just something pretty to look at, nor just something to analyze visually; when pieced together, it gives great insight into the stories of the past. I had never walked through a museum with a guide, and so when my professors led the class to specific pieces to deconstruct the storyline of art during the French Revolution, I was captivated. Specifically, we learned about the techniques that painters used to create propagandistic art pieces. One example of this was when painters would paint Napoleon in pale, bright colors to not only draw the viewer’s eye to him, but to depict him in a Christ-like manner. On the other hand, painters could discretely spread the message about their true negative feelings about figures in power in a normal-looking painting, as David did in his painting, “The Coronation of Napoleon”.

The outside of the Louvre, which is a beautiful building.

Here is the Coronation of Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David.

Another art museum that we visited as a class was the Musée Carnavalet. While I still found this museum interesting, it was a very different style of museum than the other two we visited. It consisted of many rooms that were set up in the typical style of different time periods. Each room had many artifacts in it, as well as explanations for the items. Something I did notice at this museum was there is practically nothing pertaining to World War II in the room that would potentially cover that information. This was interesting insight into how the French feel about that particular time period, and confirmed the shame that they feel about their role in the war.

One of the rooms at the Musée Carnavalet.

Lastly, we visited the Musée d’Orsay. This museum is set up in more of a familiar style for me, and reminded me more of the set up of the Louvre. I loved the rooms that were dedicated to the different artists, mediums, and time periods. My absolute favorite was the Van Gogh section, which contained many of my favorite floral pieces, such as Fritillaries in a Copper Vase, his Sunflower pieces and Almond Blossoms. 

One of the pieces that particularly caught my attention was “Algerian Landscape (The Ravine of the Wild Women)” by Pierre Auguste Renoir. At first glance, I was quite confused by this piece. This mental struggle to comprehend what I was looking at is what made this piece so interesting to me. After a close look, I could vaguely make out trees, grasses, and bushes. Because of the brushstroke style of the artist, the line of the objects in the painting is incredibly undefined, and it seems almost like looking at a landscape without glasses on. The grasses in the foreground of the painting are more defined than the rest of it, and these grasses helped me realize that what I was looking at was in fact an outdoor landscape scene. The free, loose brushstrokes used by the artist give the painting an unruly feeling. I can infer from the title of the piece that the artist truly wanted to capture the wild appearance of the landscape he was working with. When examining the color of the landscape, I see brighter oranges, greens, and whites in the middle strip of grasses, and darker greens, blues, and purples on the corners of the painting. Initially, I was wondering if these colors were implying a shadow on the grass, as you can see part of a tree in the upper left corner of the painting, but after a closer look, I believe that the differences in color rather show different types of vegetation in this landscape. Due to the fact that there is only a sliver of sky at the top of the piece, it seems to me that the landscape in this painting is on a slight incline, and the perspective is taken from the bottom of the hill. Figuring out the subject and perspective of an art piece typically doesn’t take as much work as it did with this painting, and I enjoyed deciphering it.

Algerian Landscape by Pierre Auguste Renoir.

Earlier, I mentioned that I didn’t know much about art before visiting Paris. I would typically wander aimlessly through museums, and while I would stop to look at the visually interesting art, I took close to no time to think about the historical significance of the work I was observing. Since starting this class, I understand that art can be pieced together to explain a historical event, and now that I have knowledge about the Elements of Art and Principles of Design, I have tools that I can use to decipher the true meaning and emotions of pieces. 

Word count: 899

[1kook]

kissanime & foreplay

this is part of my netflix & chill collection !

summary; You get a glimpse of the KissAnime screen for a good two seconds before about seven ads pop up. Another tab to a raunchy hentai website opens, and Jungkook groans. warnings; mentions of hentai yes u read right, kook leads most of it, cunnilingus, masturbation (f), oral (f), use of a sex toy, fingering, nipple play, face sitting/fucking/riding idk (f), praise kink, hints of dumbification, cum eating, jk is like passive aggressive in this one, 4 (f) orgasms, this is the kicker: sub kook at the end😳, like 2 sec of dom yn lol, & u get 0.002 sec of adams apple kink misc; more dumb story lines, made up sex stores bc my creativity knows no bounds, Jungkook plays nice but is actually mean for the majority of it, once again doyeon plays a pivotal role in the furthering of women empowerment, internal love monologues about jk best boy<3 wc; 8.2k

notes; back when kissanime was offed I remember looking at this fic in the drafts like what the hell we gone do now.. n almost deleting it but I was like yknow what this isn’t a 1kook fic unless there’s smthn weird going on so here we are. also yes I know ohshc is on Netflix shut up!!!!! 

HAPPY BDAY MY LOVE AND MUSE JEON JUNGKOOK !!!! 🥺💜

—

The good thing about getting your own apartment is that you finally have a place to call your own. There’s no limit on how many potted plants you can squeeze into a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment, and if there was one, you’re twelve in and no one has said anything to you yet. You don’t have to share the shower space with anyone, label all your products with a hastily scribbled name. There’s a bathtub—something you haven’t had the pleasure of using during college—and a fairly open living space. There’s so many empty spots to fill with useless decorations and family heirlooms and that ugly plastic rooster Jungkook won you at the summer kick-off fair last month.

The bad thing about having your own place is that the entire world and their mothers seem to know now. Despite graduating from college, you still keep in touch with your trusted graduate mentor Kim Namjoon, who is still very much in school, and has made it his mission to bring you a new plant every week, hence your growing collection. Your childhood friend comes over every Saturday morning to lounge around after her Friday nights out. Jungkook, although the only one who is ever actually invited, runs through your strawberry scented body wash like a madman.

And of course, Doyeon.

Your beloved college roommate of four years, Kim Doyeon, has been the bane of your apartment experience so far. Unlike you, who had slaved away for four years, saving every penny you made during college for this moment, Doyeon was a big spender. She blew every dollar she ever came across, which is why she’s going to be stuck living at her parent’s house for at least a couple more years.

Nothing wrong with that, of course, if she wasn’t the most maniac online shopper in existence. It hadn’t been a problem in college because she was always good old pals with the students who worked the mailroom. If they saw something questionable, they’d let it slide as long as it was under Miss Kim Doyeon, Room 229.

The reason it became an issue for her now is because it’s poor Mrs. Kim who signs over the package from Sexuality Unleashed: The Best Toys Worldwide! one Tuesday afternoon as it is delivered to their suburban home.

So now she’s taken to ordering all her freaky stuff to your new apartment, where the small cabinet by the door has quickly become home to her impulsive shopping habits. Truthfully, you don’t mind accepting Doyeon’s weird packages, and have long since grown used to the uncomfortable looks the mail carrier gives you.

Jungkook’s supposed to come over today and you really hope he doesn’t ask about the state of your hall cabinet. Now that you work at a small company outside of your degree to make ends meet, time with Jungkook has been significantly decreased. You weren’t in college anymore, so you didn’t have the luxury of dropping by his house whenever you wanted to in between classes. Of course, it’s mostly your schedule that conflicts with your planned hangouts, because Jungkook is still working his dream job from home.

However, because Jungkook is quite possibly the most amazing person on this planet, he’s started coming over every Saturday night to make sure you’re still alive and not dying. And so weekly media binges are a thing, and it’s currently week four.

He gave up on showing you the Marvel movie franchise last week, after you had asked where Wonder Woman was three times in a row. Since the Barbie Movie Debacle of last month, you’ve found a nice medium between who picks when. Jungkook picks most of the time, because most of the time you don’t really care. It’s become a running joke between the two of you that movie binges are usually just terribly masked excuses to go to town on each other, so you don’t mind missing an entire 15th Century French Revolution documentary if it means Jungkook is deep in your guts by the time King Louis XIV gets beheaded or whatever they did to him. Is it too obvious you didn’t watch the documentary?

Occasionally, there are instances where one of you genuinely does want to watch something, in which case you have an intense match of rock-paper-scissors to decide who’s picking that night. Most of the time, Jungkook wins. But for every match Jungkook wins, he promises you’ll pick the next one so you’ve long since stopped trying to actually beat him.

Long story short, last weekend you sat through a two part Ancient Aliens episode on the connection between aliens and American presidents.

It was the most god-awful conspiracy theory you’ve ever heard of, but Jungkook ate up every minute of it. By the time the two hosts announced their conclusion you were just about ready to rip your own ears off and single-handedly fist fight every producer on the channel for allowing the production of such an atrocious show.

Anyway, because you had so bravely sat through the entire evening without complaints— well, no complaints towards Jungkook’s terrible taste; the show, however, was not safe from your wicked tongue —Jungkook has so graciously allowed you to pick the media for this weekend.

You’ve been telling him for the longest time that you were going to hook him on anime. It was one of the few interests you always believed Jungkook should possess, being a weeb and all, because it was only fair that he had one questionable trait to balance out the rest of his perfection. Liking anime isn’t bad— if a hottie like you enjoyed it, then it obviously had its perks. However, you know a lot of other people are turned off by anime-enthusiasts due to preconceived notions of the genre and the viewer-base.

Now, it was a widely known fact that you always had ulterior motives. So maybe turning Jungkook into a weeb was just a ploy to turn other women off from him and keep your jealousy at bay. Sue you, your boyfriend was a walking wet dream, and you’d do anything to keep him to yourself.

After long deliberation, you’ve decided on introducing Jungkook to anime with a classic: Ouran High School Host Club, a god among anime, a true Beyonce among shoujos. The only problem was that you absolutely refused to pay Crunchyroll or Funimation when you could so easily find the entire show on KissAnime.com, home to only the finest of hentai ads and Are You a Robot? questions.

He sends you a text when he’s outside your building, and five minutes later there’s a rap against your door.

“Hi,” you smile up at him, heart fluttering in that same trademark way it did whenever Jungkook was within a five foot radius. He smiles back softly, leaning down to peck your lips as you step aside for him to enter. He’s got on those cotton sweats that you love, the ones that send your brain into a censored frenzy. But he’s also got that soft curl to his hair that lets you know he came here straight out of the shower in his hurry to see you. How you managed to bag a dream boyfriend like him was beyond you.

You bask in the overwhelming feeling of unannounced love for all of ten seconds before Jungkook is lifting up a square package you hadn’t seen at his hip. “Mailman gave me this,” he says, waving around the signature bright pink packaging of Sexuality Unleashed. Jungkook, for all his politeness and respect, seemed to falter in those categories when it came to you. He turns the box over, reading the big fat name of the company on the side. “Since when did you start buying sex toys?” he asks rather loudly in the hallway.

You yank him inside, hurriedly slamming the door shut before any of your neighbors can come out into the hallway and get a peek of this avid sex toy consumer. “They’re not mine!” you hiss, standing still when he uses you to balance himself as he tugs off his shoes. You snatch the box out of his hands, turning it around to make sure it is actually addressed to your home. Sure enough, it’s for you. Couldn’t there have been some other sex toy fanatic on this floor?

With his shoes off, Jungkook wastes no time enveloping you in a hug, the Sexuality Unleashed box tumbling to the ground. “It’s okay, baby, no need to be embarrassed.”

You groan, leaning your forehead against his shoulder as he continues to pat your back like you’re actually embarrassed to be caught buying toys— you’re not. You’re embarrassed he caught you with a sex toy you simply can’t put to use. “Whatever,” you sigh, “your gross popcorn is in my bedroom and it’s probably stale.”

He releases you, not before pulling you into a slow and languid kiss that has you clutching tightly at the front of his shirt. He pulls away with a soft smooch, right eye falling into a wink. “Bring the box, gorgeous,” he teases, before sauntering off in the direction of your bedroom.

You groan loudly. “It’s not mine!” you repeat, but for some reason do as he says.

Not only do you have no idea what’s in this package, but you’re frankly not too keen on finding out. You’re more interested in Jungkook’s reaction to one of your favorite animes of all time. The package is tossed onto the end of the bed, where Jungkook has already stripped himself of his socks and cuddled beneath your covers.

Your laptop has gone dark from inactivity so you slam down on the space bar to bring it back to life. Your first mistake was pressing anything at all. It flickers back on alright, but you forget that you are working with a minefield of ads ready to explode. You get a glimpse of the KissAnime screen for a good two seconds before about seven ads pop up. Another tab to a raunchy hentai website opens, and Jungkook groans.

“What the hell is this?” he asks in a tone that screams he has never had to fight viruses off his computer just to watch something at two in the morning.

You ignore him, cuddling into his side as you hurriedly type in the title of the anime before another annoying ad can intercept you. “KissAnime,” you answer for now, accidentally clicking down on the mousepad with the heel of your palm. Another tab opens up to some sketchy credit site. You huff.

“Baby, I swear I just saw like twelve viruses,” he says. “And what even are these?” he scoffs, jabbing a finger at one of the many ads that lines the perimeter of the website. “Animated teacher porn?”

By the grace of god, you somehow manage to get onto the episode selection screen without having another tab open on you. You smile in relief, turning the power of your excitement onto Jungkook… only to find his eyes narrowed in on the square advertisement for some hentai website. “What? You wanna watch hentai now?” you snort, placing the laptop on his legs as you cuddle into his side.

Jungkook sputters, cheeks tinting red at the mere insinuation he would ever consume such media. “No,” he glares, releasing the arm around your shoulders to huffily cross them over his chest. “I am not going to watch anatomically incorrect illustrations of a woman teacher relieving herself, ___,” he says rather matter-of-factly.

You snort, repeating, “a woman teacher,” mockingly and in a high pitched voice that, honestly, doesn't sound anything like him. You click play on the video box that appears after only about twenty more pop-up ads. “Silence, you nymphomaniac, the episode is starting.” Jungkook pulls you close with a displeased expression, finally quieting down when you put it on full screen and the ads disappear from his view.

You’re beginning to wonder if Jungkook really is the script and plot dissector he claims to be, or if he just lives to get under your skin. He doesn’t make it three minutes without finding something to critique. First it’s the quality of the frames, and then it’s the characterization of the lead character. He nitpicks everything about the best anime in existence, and by the end of the first episode you’re considering breaking up with him.

“Oh my god,” you groan, tearing yourself away from him. He’s all laid up against your mountain of pillows, tongue prodding at the insides of his mouth in that ridiculously attractive habit of his. Usually, you’d be tripping over yourself to kiss him, but you’re about two seconds from ripping his head off. “I mean this in the nicest way possible, baby,” you sigh, picking up his hand in yours. “You gotta shut up.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes. “I have to shut up?” he asks in a scandalized tone. “You sang through the entire intro, off tune may I add.”

At this rate you’re getting nowhere, so you just snatch the laptop back up before you actually hurt his feelings. You escape the full screen, met with those hentai ads that are slowly becoming the bane of Jungkook’s existence.

“Who actually watches those anyway?” he mumbles, covering the sidebar full of naked cartoon ladies with his palm for you, a real gentleman if you ever saw one. “Really?” he says, knocking his pointer finger against a particularly raunchy ad with the caption Be a Good Boy and Let her Play beneath it.

You snort. “You are such a baby,” you tease, pinching his cheek much to his annoyance. “What? Can’t handle seeing some anime titties?”

Jungkook shoves your hand away, leaning back to become one with the pillows as you continue onto the next episode. “They’re just weird,” he admits. “And make unrealistic faces.”

“Unrealistic,” you repeat, finally giving one of the ads the time of day. There’s an adorably drawn character making the most perverted expression, knees hiked up to her chest. Her face is twisted up, drooling like a dog and with her eyes crossed in ecstasy. You shrug. “Just because you can’t get those faces out of me doesn’t mean they’re unreal.”

The second the words leave your mouth Jungkook is letting out a scandalized scoff, sitting up to level you with another glare. “First of all, I can get you like that,” he defends, tapping his finger against the ad on screen. “In fact, I can get you like that without even trying, so let’s not say anything too drastic now, okay?”

His sudden bout of defensiveness makes something playful in you switch on, laying back down beside him with a smirk. “Oh, you can make me all stupid like this?”

Jungkook scoffs. “Yes.”

“Uh huh,” you drawl, tracing a finger up his chest teasingly; Jungkook knocks your knuckles away, obviously still butt hurt about your comment. That’s fine, because a slightly riled up Jungkook was always the best Jungkook. You sit up and lean in close, letting your hand slip beneath his hoodie, palm running over his bare shoulder and around the top of his back. You give his nape a light squeeze, lips pressed against the shell of his ear. “Why don’t you prove it to me, Jungkookie?” you purr, before pulling away.

His jaw twitches at the nickname, one shapely brow unconsciously arching as he regards you with a calculative expression.

The thing about Jungkook was that, after almost a year of dating, you know just how to push his buttons. He has a rather calm and collected exterior to him, the same one he’s had since the day you met him, but beneath it all was a childish competitiveness that raged with the heat of ten suns. He disliked being taunted like you were doing now, especially when his credibility was at stake.

Honestly speaking, you don’t doubt Jungkook can make you look as goofy and messy as those hentai ads. In fact you’re rather confident he can. Either way, him being right or you being right, you would still get some fun out of it.

“Hm?” you add, tracing your hand up to dance over the skin of his cheek, pads of your fingers running over that stiff jaw. “Are you scared I’m right and you’re wrong?”

A hand snaps up to catch your wrist, fingers tight around your skin until you’re shivering against him. “Oh baby, I can make you cum until you cry,” he murmurs, his usual sweet and lilting tone dropping to a low vibration that makes your pussy throb beneath your panties. Your heart leaps in your chest, lips falling open when he ducks down to brush them against yours. It’s too light, just a simple touch that makes you follow his mouth when he pulls back.

With one firm shove, the laptop is tumbling off the bed, thudding loudly against your bedside rug. Jungkook leans over you, his usual trademark doe eyes zeroed in on you with the focus of a laser. “Have a little faith in me,” he teases, and when he presses close you can feel his fattening cock flush against your thigh. Your body is begging to be touched, every brush of his fingers against your skin searing trails in their wake.

Suddenly, he’s drawing back. “Kook?” you frown, barely biting down on a childish whimper when he snuggles back into your mountain of pillows, one arm stretched behind his head.

He flashes you a smile. “Go on,” he says, arms behind his head. “Show me how to get you like that.”

“By myself?” you ask, shifting onto your knees anyway. Jungkook nods, a soft jut of his chin as he gives you another one of those easy going smiles of his. His goal seems a little unclear, but you had a ridiculous amount of trust in your boyfriend that whatever he had planned was certain to be good. With one final skeptical glance his way, you sink down onto your bum, knees spreading and giving him a clear view of your little pink boy shorts, elastic band hugging your waist.

The material of your t-shirt is guided away, held to your chest by the hand currently not traversing the length of your stomach, gliding across soft skin, over your belly button and past that band until it slips beneath. You chance another look Jungkook’s way, only to find his eyes wonderfully downcast in the direction of your core. That smile is gone now, replaced with a somber look as he watches your hand move mysteriously beneath the fabric of your undergarments.

The first brush of your forefinger against your swollen button makes you twitch, back arching at the sensation that is magnified by his watchful gaze. “Mmh,” you bite down, hand twisting in the material of your shirt. Jungkook’s eyes glare a molten path across your skin, from the comfy bra that peeks out from beneath your rumpled shirt to the wrist slowly working beneath your panties.

A hand falls over your thigh, tattooed fingers giving the skin a light squeeze as you get to work swirling your bud around. The sight of his inked skin on yours makes something warm blossom in your lower abdomen, your eyes following the inky swirls up, up, up. They lead you to the face of your very handsome boyfriend, long lashes fanning across his cheekbones as he watches you play with yourself. “Wanna take these off for me?” he says, the tip of his pointer finger wiggling beneath the fabric of your shorts.

You nod hurriedly, wiggling around on the bed until you’re on your back, legs bent in front of you. The shorts come down your legs; the simplest press of your thighs makes something quiver in your abdomen. You toss them off to the side, and just as you go to sit back up, Jungkook places a hand on your knee. “Stay like this for me,” he says, sitting up from his mountain of pillows to glance down at you. You melt into the plush mattress beneath you, staring down at him between your legs. He’s got that adoring look in his eyes, the one that makes you feel so warm and in love, it’s only natural your hand slips down to play with your bare clit again. “That’s my girl,” he smiles, rubbing a hand down the outside of your thigh, urging your legs to fall open.

There’s this overflowing vat of arousal that builds up inside of you everytime Jungkook is around, like the moment your eyes land on him you’re reminded of every position he’s ever had you in. You remember the soft brush of his hands on your body, the way his lips feel on yours, the soft tickle of his hair when he gets too close. It makes your heart lurch in your chest, like if you don’t grab onto him tightly this feeling will slip through your fingers and out of your life. So you were crazily in love with your boyfriend— now what?

A puckered set of lips meets the inside of your thigh, the action ripping you from your overly gooey, overly soft inner rambling. Your hand trails down your quivering pussy lips, collecting your dripping wetness as you go. At the same time, Jungkook kisses down the inside of your thigh, soft smacks of his lips against your skin filling the air with an emotion that makes you bite down a whimper. Your hole puckers at the brush of your fingers, anticipating an entrance that you yearn to give into soon.

His mouth is on you before your finger can go deeper than a centimeter in. But Jungkook doesn’t brush your hand off, doesn’t shove you away to prove his mouth was undoubtedly better. He places a kiss over your knuckles, before swallowing up your significantly smaller hand with his, that of which he clasps together over your navel.

You groan, head rolling from side to side. “Don’t be so soft with me,” you whine, leg twitching when he presses a kiss against your engorged bundle of nerves. “Push me around like that one time, you know I like it.”

Jungkook grins, mouthing over your clit with practiced ease that has you releasing all kinds of whimpers and sighs. He’s got his other hand wrapped around your thigh, strong arm pulling you closer to that devious mouth and tongue that lavished attention on your clit. “Need me to be mean to you, baby?” he purrs, curling his tongue in such a way that it makes your entire body tense up, muscles pulled tight. “Want me to push you around like the stupid little girl you are?” You moan, head bobbing up and down at the ideas he stuffs in your mind. As he moves down the length of your cunt, that round nose you love brushes against your bud, and the cheeky shit takes an obnoxiously loud sniff of it, a soft groan breathed against your lower lips. “But isn’t this better?” he hums, languidly molding his lips against your lower ones, much in the same way he does with the ones on your face; he moves slowly, slips his tongue in every few seconds before eventually diving in head on. “Slow... and so easy.”

“Kook,” you mewl, getting this overwhelming urge to cover your face with your hands. But you can’t, because he’s knotted one hand with yours and his fingers only tighten when you try to yank them apart. Instead you’re left pressing one knuckle against your mouth, brows pinching as he begins slowly fucking his tongue into your cunt. “F-Faster,” you beg. He, of course, ignores your plea.

The wet mass moves past the clenched muscles around your hole, nose brushing against your lips with every intrusion. Every few cycles he stops to press a kiss against your pussy, so hard and wet that it hurts when he pulls off. You’re left writhing and moaning, your heel knocking against his shoulder when he pushes your leg up closer to your chest. “It’s enough,” you cry, your entire body shivering.

Jungkook pulls off with a loud pop, lips glistening with your arousal. He’s got this glint on his eyes, like he’s thoroughly entertained by your reactions. He shuffles around to get comfortable, finally releasing that grip on your hand. Immediately, your newly freed hand jumps forward to tangle in the hair above his ear, tracing down the delicate curve of his cheekbone. Jungkook turns his head, pressing a soft peck against your open palm that makes your heartbeat thunder in your ears.

As he moves around, his leg bumps against something that has both of you pausing. It sounds out of place next to your shallow breaths, and both of you glance down only to catch sight of that stupid package from Sexuality Unleashed teetering on the edge of the bed.

The moment you see it, it’s like you’re transported into an omnipresent view of the scene, the next few hours flashing before your eyes as Jungkook snorts. You know he’s going to reach for it in two seconds, and you know he’s going to tear the hot pink packaging apart with his bare hands. He does so with a scary amount of power, the industrial tape not standing a chance against him. A box roughly the same size as the package falls out, and before you can kick it away and save yourself from suffering beneath Jungkook’s teasing antics, he’s snatching up the box.

“The Bullet Bestie,” he reads aloud, dark eyes flying across the text with lightning speed before that box is also being ripped open. (Briefly, there’s a voice in your head that thinks of Doyeon, but you’re not sure why.) Out tumbles a little pink bullet with a strap on one end that bounces against your thigh and an even smaller remote.

“Baby,” you rush out, the sight of the tiny toy making your heart thunder in your chest. “We can look at it another time,” you try, hands coming up to brush against his face again. “Why don’t you finish off here?” you ask, a sickeningly sweet politeness dripping off your tongue as the knot in your tummy fades into the background of his attention.

Jungkook ignores you, picking up the remote with a wondrous look in his eyes. Before you can try to persuade him back between your legs, a quiet click cuts you off and the little bullet whirls to life. You yelp at the sudden vibrations against the inside of your thigh, so close to your throbbing core. The jump of your thighs has it falling onto the mattress below you, wide eyes snapping back to the smirk that grows on his face.

“No,” you say slowly, sitting back up, “no, no,” you try, your usual assertiveness melting into a whiny cry as you try to wiggle away from him and the nefarious ideas infesting his lust-addled mind. You’re barely turning, ready to make a run for it and hand him his victory by forfeit, when Jungkook is catching you by the waist. Your hips get pulled up, arms clawing uselessly at the sheets beneath you as he drags you close to him. He’s fast, already having moved onto his knees behind you, and when he yanks you up, you can feel every hot plane of his body aligned with your backside. “Kook, please just make me cum,” you gasp.

There’s a smile pressed against your shoulder, lips still wet from before, kissing along the side of your neck. “Look at my girl,” he murmurs, and you nearly jump out of your skin when something smooth is traced along your thigh. One hand slips beneath the material of your shirt, soothingly rubbing circled against your skin. This hand also holds the tiny remote between two fingers, and every nerve in your body is on edge waiting for it to be used. “Where’s that smartmouth now?”

“Jungkook,” you try to warn. But there’s no bite to your words, only an anticipation that grows the closer he moves that damned toy between your thighs. “Baby, we-we can play another time, okay? Just please—“

A soft click, and suddenly your spine is giving out on you, upper body flopping forward as Jungkook runs the vibrations over your clit. Of course Jungkook follows, never letting you slip far from his reach. A loud moan spills from your lips, lower lip wobbling at the unreal amounts of pleasure he bestows upon you with such a small toy. “W-Wait,” you sob, the coil from before suddenly magnified tenfold. It makes your orgasm loom over you bigger than ever, a wave that threatens to spill over and drown you in one go. “No-please.”

His mouth presses against your ear, hot breaths fanning against the skin there. “Hey pretty girl, does it feel good?” he husks out, kissing just below your ear. “Aw fuck,” he groans, something stiff pressing against the cleft between your cheeks, “can’t even see if you’re making that stupid face right now.”

You are, but you don’t even have the words to tell him that. The moment the vibrator had made contact with your already ravished clit, your eyes had rolled into the back of your head. You don’t doubt you look like those silly ads you’d laughed at earlier, mouth opening and closing every few seconds as he circles the toy around your bud. You settle on a high-pitched whimper that has Jungkook laughing meanly against your ear.

It ends too soon, the stimulation from Jungkook eating you out for a few minutes combining with the bullet to form a powerful duo that swallows you whole. An embarrassingly loud moan rips itself from your throat, hands twisting in the sheets beneath you as it washes over you. It’s so powerful, it blinds you, pussy spasming. Jungkook’s name is repeated about a thousand times in between, your body eventually melting back into the mattress as the final shocks run through you.

The vibrator clicks off just as quietly as it turned on, your harsh breaths filling the room in its place. “Good girl,” Jungkook praises, raining down a parade of kisses against your shoulder. You mewl in appreciation, still awkwardly shoving your face into the mattress, and your hips in the air. From the corner of your eyes, you watch him set the glistening toy off to the side, and you’re just about ready to thank the heavens for such an experience with your boyfriend, when said boyfriend hits you with a curveball.

The gentle pecks against yours shoulder dissolve into harsh kisses, rough hands trailing up your waist. The t-shirt gathers around his knuckles, pushed and pushed until he’s got those same hands cupping your breasts. “Did you like that?” he asks, biting down against your shoulder; the sensation is dulled by your shirt being in the way but it still makes you whine. You moan softly, nodding against the mattress as he gets to kneading your breasts over your bra. “Mm,” Jungkook sighs, “my pretty girl was so good for me, wasn’t she?”

Those deft fingers run back down, crawl beneath the elastic of your lounge bra and push it away until your breasts are bouncing out of their cage. “Kook,” you sigh, eyes fluttering shut as he traces circles around your nipples. “W-Wait,” you whimper, suddenly reminded of the swollen cock pressed against your backside when he leans closer.

“Shhh,” he soothes, tweaking your nipples. “Relax for me, sweetheart,” he coos, flicking your hardened nipples with his fingers. You can’t relax, not with your body still so sensitive and him playing with you. Still, the low intonation makes something soft and warm settle in your chest, the kisses against your jaw making your eyes fall shut. “That’s it,” he says, giving one nipple a playful twist that draws a high-pitched moan from you.

Just as you’re beginning to fall into the rhythm of Jungkook’s caresses and voice, he releases one breast to traverse his hand down and over your tummy, to your sensitive pussy. You gasp, biting down on your lip as he teasingly flicks your clit with his fingers. “Bet you could come again now,” he murmurs, taking the tip of your earlobe into his mouth and nibbling softly. You groan, shoving your face into the sheets as if that will save you from your doom. “Bet your pretty little pussy can cream itself just like this, isn’t that right, sweet girl?”

You whimper, hips bucking back against him when he begins nudging your bud, lewd sounds reaching your ears. His other hand remains on your breast, no longer toying with your nipple but simply holding it almost comfortingly. There’s a smirk pressed against your skin, that pearly white smile you usually adore so much teasing you as he circles your nub.

“Come on,” he encourages quietly, kissing up the column of your neck again. You moan, thighs quivering as he strokes a second orgasm out of you with no struggle. Your eyes and throat burn at the heat that washes over you, and you release a hoarse scream into the mattress— Jungkook chuckles at the sound, egging you on with that low voice until your muscles go limp a second time.

When he rolls you onto your stomach again, you try desperately to cover the tears that blur your vision, turning away from him like a child when he tries to look. “Crybaby, crybaby,” he sings teasingly, prying your hands away to capture your mouth with his for the first time that night. “Lemme see those tears, baby,” he purrs.

He tastes like you, tongue dripping with that sweet tang of your pussy, and he smells like you too. It strokes the flames of you ego, arms eventually wrapping around his shoulders as he settles above you. He pulls off with a curl of his tongue against your swollen lips, brown eyes lazily staring down at you. It’s embarrassing how well kept he still was compared to your half-nude state of dress. His skin is all glowy and pretty, not a single tear track in sight, and his grin is still too relaxed for your liking.

Jungkook’s body feels so warm and comforting against yours, muscles keeping the heat trapped between your bodies. You go to brush a hand through his hair, needing to feel the familiarity of those silky locks, before he’s suddenly leaning away. He shuffles onto his knees again, glancing down at your thoroughly abused cunt with a quirk in his brows.

“God,” you groan, knocking your foot against his side. “Just fuck me already,” you huff despite your earlier fatigue. You could only go so long without feeling Jungkook’s fat demon cock inside of you.

He snorts at your snappy tone, cutely tilting his head to the side to move his hair out of his face. His jaw looks sharp from this angle, facial features covered in shadows the lamplight behind him can’t touch. “Can’t,” he announces, and you could pull your hair out from all this unnecessary build up.

Truth to be told, you and Jungkook were both equally as unrestrained when it came to each other. Most of the time, the lead up to actual, penetrative, key-in-lock sex included a couple minutes of heavy petting from his end, and maybe a half assed handjob from you. Sometimes if you felt extra attentive, he’d eat you out and you'd him off. But for the most part, the two of you jumped straight into it after an orgasm, like horny teenagers despite the two of you being twenty-three now.

The most adventurous you’d ever gotten up until the point was maybe two orgasms bestowed upon you by a crazed Jungkook. And, well. You had hit two orgasms now. You were ready for his monster cock.

“Kook,” you whine childishly.

Jungkook shakes you off, placing a palm on both your knees. Slowly, he spreads your thighs apart again, eyes zeroed in on the glossy folds that come into view, the sparkling pearly cum that leaks out of your hole. “I can’t, baby,” he says, almost pained. “I gotta clean you up first,” he insists, and before you can tell him how counterproductive it is to lick you clean of your arousal before fucking you, he’s diving face first into your cunt.

But the biggest surprise doesn’t come from Jungkook going in for thirds, but from the hands he clasps around your thighs, the sheer strength he uses to roll you over (ignoring the shriek you let out) to sit you on his face. “No, no,” you yelp immediately, “I-I‘ll break you,” you cry, trying to escape from his hold.

From beneath your thighs, dark eyes peering up at you daringly, you can see the clear warning on Jungkook’s face. It’s a look that loudly says don’t you dare fucking move, shapely brows sending a jolt of genuine fear down your spine for a moment. “Jungkook,” you fret, trying to ignore the arousal that only continues to blossom as his tongue laps against your folds for the second time that night. “I’m, I’m,” you stammer, hands burying themselves in his hair as he ignores your cries. “I’ll break you,” you try again, spine arching when he slurps your clit into his mouth. “I-I’ll—“

He pulls off with a pop. “Fuck my face, baby,” he says, as if he hadn’t heard a single of your concerns at all. His nose nudges against your clit, a whimper catching in your throat. Briefly, his hand disappears from around your thigh, and when it returns, that tiny bullet vibrator from earlier is pressed against your thigh. “You got that?”

You nod, internally torn apart by your fear of crushing him and your need to drag your cunt all over your boyfriend’s handsome face. You glance down at him, watch him slip that vibrator into his mouth for just a second and lewdly coat it in his saliva, before he’s reaching around to shove it past your pussy lips. They’re still swollen and puffy, but have long since relaxed enough for him to slip it in. “B-But what if—“

“You won’t,” he cuts off, readjusting himself closer to your cunt again, “come on, pretty girl.”

The reason you think you and Jungkook click so well was because he was able to bring that vulnerable side out of you every now and then. He knew you liked to parade around with that huge superiority complex, and he loved it. But he also knew there were things you liked and disliked, and sometimes it took a little pushing for you to reveal them.

For a second, that horny cloud over his irises lifts, and he gives you one of those cute, sloppy winks as he taps your thigh gently. “Fuck my face, sweetheart,” he whispers, “drag that pretty cunt all over me until I can’t breathe.” A gasp catches in your throat, hands unconsciously curling against his scalp. He notices, and flashes you a lazy smirk. “You can do that, can’t you?”

Something akin to adoration blooms in your chest, and before you can blurt out something embarrassing—like I love you—there’s a soft click that has The Bullet Bestie revving up inside of you. You gasp, the sudden vibrations deep inside your pussy making your hips snap forward, clit rubbing against Jungkook’s nose.

“O-Oh,” you cry, and that’s all it takes for you to lose it. Your hips start off slow, at first just savoring the wet drag of his tongue against your lips, his nose against your clit. He sticks his tongue out for you, and part of you wants to tell him he’s a good boy, that corny hentai ad flashing in your mind, but you doubt you’ll survive the aftermath of that. Once you find that perfect pace, your hands are practically yanking at his hair, pushing him further into the mattress as you ride his face like he’s nothing but a toy. “Kook, Jungkook,” you pant, grinding your lower lips against his all too eager mouth.

It feels oddly weird being over him like this, using him like this. You like to think you and Jungkook have equal power in the bedroom, but you will admit that more often than not, he assumes control by default. You’re not particularly bothered by that, because you doubt you’d ever come up with the crazy ideas Jungkook did when he was horny (okay, a lie, because you definitely have thought of crazy sex schemes before).

But, this moment…

The power was quickly going to your head. “Fuck,” you sob, roughly dragging the length of your pussy over and over his face. The hands around your thighs are pressing against your skin with a strength that would hurt were you not blinded by arousal. His eyes are shut, lids fluttering open every now and then as he watches you buck wildly over his face like he was a pillow in high school and your parents were gone for the weekend.

It doesn’t help that the rhythmic pulses of the vibrator inside of you are doing their job well, the tongue that slips into your pussy joining together to form a powerful combination. It’s ultimately what has you halting your manic thrusts, instead falling into a slow grind over him. Your hips circle, eyes squeezed shut as you lose yourself in the lapping of his tongue against your dripping hole. “Mmmf,” you mewl, biting down on your lower lip as the wet muscle prods against a delicate spot within you. You hear feels light, view of the gorgeous man beneath you obstructed by the eyelids that can't seem to stay open. “N-No,” you cry, pulling his hair more roughly than you intended to in order to redirect him. “There, there,” you whimper, holding him tight against your pussy.

Beneath you, Jungkook exhales harshly against your lips, hands moving frantically over your thighs as he works his tongue inside of you alongside the bullet vibrator. If you weren’t so caught up in your own pleasure, all kinds of sounds spilling from your lips, you would have heard the quiet moans that fall from his. Alas.

It takes a few more pulses from the toy and a few more licks from Jungkook until you’re coming for the third time that night, features twisting up as your pussy clenches around his tongue before spilling down his mouth. Your back arches, a defeated moan escaping you as you release the same mess he’d claimed to clean up onto his lovely face. You can barely breathe afterwards, mouth dry and head dizzy when Jungkook finally pops back out from between your thighs. You barely have enough time to lift yourself up, pussy lightly brushing across his Adam’s apple as you stop yourself from crushing his windpipe. It makes you twitch.

“Good girl,” Jungkook praises with a cheeky smile that distracts you from the bullet toy he retrieves from your quivering cunt. His face is absolutely glistening from your arousal, skin warm and flush. He’s looking up at you like you’re some mythical goddess and he’s but a humble villager coming to pay his respects at the temple that is your body. Fuck, were you okay? You don’t think you’ve ever felt this good in your entire life, and Jungkook’s mushy gaze was doing things to your heart.

He presses a kiss against the inside of your thigh before helping you off of him, laughing meanly when you flop limply down beside him. He’s still fully clothed, a fact that irks you when he leans over to kiss you with that glossy face of his. “D’you like it?” he mumbles, kissing softly down your face. You nod, legs twitching from the aftermath of that wild ride. “I saw it, y’know,” he says suddenly.

“Saw what?” you mumble, mindlessly rolling your head to the side and exposing more skin when he begins kissing along your neck.

Jungkook says nothing, just rolls over you. Part of you thinks he’s crazy, but you’re suddenly hit with the realization that while Jungkook’s drawn three orgasms out of you in the course of an hour, you hadn’t done anything for him. Before you can dive head first into swallowing his cock, he’s kissing you softly. “That stupid face,” he smirks, slotting his mouth against yours. “That weird, now realistic face,” he tacks on.

You huff out a laugh, throwing your leg around his waist comfortably. Jungkook smiles, kisses you one last time before settling in your arms, face cutely pressed in between your boobs. “Hey,” you call, “don't you wanna cum too?”

He shakes his head, a soft sigh filling the air. “Nah,” he says, cuddles closer into you. “Rest now, baby.”

You roll your eyes. “I can feel your dick against my thigh,” you point out, wiggling your pelvis upward to brush against his throbbing erection. Jungkook holds you down in an effort to stop you. “Fuck me.”

He groans against your collarbone. “No, you’re tired,” he tries to convince you, but his skin is warm and flushed in the way it always gets when he’s riled up. “Sleep.”

With the leg around his hip, you pull him closer. “Fuck me, Jungkookie,” you purr, using the hands in his hair to turn his face up towards yours. His dark eyes are drawn down cutely, pouty lips too. “Use my body,” you suggest, “I’m yours anyway.”

His eyes flutter shut, a quiet whimper falling from his lips. “Don’t say that,” he sighs, “makes me wanna do very mean things to you.”

You smile. “You can do whatever you want to me, don’t you know that?” Another groan, his head falling forward until he’s hiding in your neck. Still, there’s movement from below, he sweats slipping down at his hips until that throbbing cock is pressed into the tiny crease where your thigh meets your pelvis. There’s a moment of hesitation, and you wonder if this is what he felt like earlier when he’d managed to get you to sit on his face. “Inside, Jungkookie,” you murmur, reaching down to line him up with your sensitive entrance. He whines softly, arms wrapping around you as he pulls you close. “Good boy.”

Despite your earlier belief that you’d never survive an encounter with Jungkook after using such a term on him, the result is much different from what you had anticipated. He visibly melts into your arms, cock slipping past your folds easily. “No,” he says, his voice feathery and whiny against your ear. “I can’t.”

You soothe a hand down his back, eyes fluttering shut as he begins slowly rutting against your swollen lips. “That’s it,” you encourage, tugging softly at his wavy hair. Jungkook moans wantonly against your neck, rolling his hips harshly against you until his arms are the only things keeping you from jostling out of his hold. “Do you like this pussy?” you ask, purposefully clenching around him, tummy tightening at the stimulation you keep packing on.

Jungkook shudders, pace growing slipping inside of you. “Yes,” he pants, “s-so wet… creamy.”

“Yeah?” you huff, pressing a smiley kiss against his forehead. “It’s yours.”

“Ffffuck,” Jungkook chokes, picking up his pace as his well-deserved orgasm reaches its peak. He’s breathing harshly now, and it’s taking everything in you to keep your pussy tight around him. But after the night he’d given you, the sounds and faces he pulled from you, it’s the least you can do. Besides, your body, after being so thoroughly pleased, still rears up for one final orgasm with him. “Mine,” he growls, bucking his hips into you. “You’re mine, baby, mine,” he seethes, ending his little tryst with a piston of his hips that makes you gasp, body almost unconsciously spasming around him. It’s painful, but so, so delicious how he manages to pull this last orgasm from you as he finally busts inside of you.

He comes with a stuttering garble of words, none of which you catch as he collapses into your hold for the final time that night. “Fuck,” he pants afterwards, leaning into your touch when he finally registers the soft combing of fingers through his hair. “That was evil.”

You laugh, pulling him closer. “As evil as you making me suffer through three orgasms before putting your dick in me?” you tease. Jungkook slips out of you, and you know it’ll be a hassle to clean your sheets tomorrow but it’s worth it.

“It’s called building the scene,” he weakly defends, blindly tugging the puffy blanket over the two of you. “I was gonna rhyme it with that horrible website you made me use but I already forgot it’s name.”

“Rude,” you snap, “it’s called KissAnime.”

“And fore-play,” he suddenly says, and you almost yank his eyeballs out of their sockets for doing that stupid thing again.

—

epilogue 

Two weeks later, your favorite website and home to hentai ads is shut down after years of piracy. Jungkook laughs at your demise, sits and actually cackles at your heartbreak, until he eventually comforts you with his flaming demon cock and a subscription to both Crunchyroll and Funimation. Doyeon spends weeks tracking down a missing package, apparently some freebie she’d gotten for being such an avid customer on Sexuality Unleashed: The Best Toys Worldwide! before eventually finding it in your drawer. And because her and Jungkook have some awkward life-long rivalry for your attention, he doesn’t pay for that. 

—

Copyright © 2020, 1kook on tumblr. absolutely NO reposts allowed.