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averagesmw · 4 years

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Penny Haywood x MC- The way I see you

Game: Harry Potter Hogwarts Mystery

A/N: This takes place in a universe where Bea didn't get snatched by the portrait curse and had a normal year

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A pair of beautiful blue eyes slowly opened and blinked a couple of times to adjust to the light of a new day

These were the eyes of someone who had just woken up in a mess of blonde hair and still managed to look so cute despite not being properly dressed

Making her way through the sheets, the young Hufflepuff sat on her bed, yawning and stretching when her mind brought her the sudden reminder

This was the day she was craving for

A big smile appeared on her face the minute this realization hit her

You see, this day marked the second year of Penny Haywood's formal relationship with Y/N L/N

Well, as formal as a relationship in Hogwarts can be

And speaking of, there was an object in her nightstand, something that's not supposed to be there normally

The blonde looked at the novelty in her piece and discovered a cupcake made of her favorite flavor with a small note attached to it

"To start your day the way you like it"

In order to contain her excitement, Penny grabbed her pillow and muffled her happy screams in it. Thankfully, not many were around to hear it anyway

She knew exactly who had left this gift. This day was already proving to be brilliant

Without further due, she changed into her robes and did her hair, taking less than a minute to do her iconic braids. So many times she had done them, it just came to her naturally

And so, she walked off to the common room, where she saw the house ghost looking at the plants

"Good morning, Friar"

The ghost turned around to look at her, a smile immediately appearing

"Good morning, miss Haywood. I trust you had a good sleep?"

She nodded eagerly, that's when the friar noticed the pastry in her hands

"Is that from who I think it is?"

She raised the object so her friend could get a better look at the freshly baked object

"It is! Today's the day"

A joyful laugh came from the Friar upon hearing the news

"Then allow me to congratulate you on your second year together! You two are the purest couple I've seen in decades"

Haywood found herself flattered by this comment. However, it wasn't the only one of its kind

Practically all of Hogwarts cheered on the two of them, some going as far as to call them the "power couple" of Hogwarts. It was funny how easy they warmed up to Y/N after being saved a couple of times

Some others were insistent that they could be a better suitor for Penny, or that hanging out with curse breaker would only result in tragedy. While things did get interesting, every situation could be handled by their combined effort

With the help of their friends too, of course

"Well, if you want to know where your lover is, try looking at the courtyard"

"Will do, thanks, friar!"

With that, she left the common room and headed straight to the place suggested to her

Penny was excited, not only because this date meant a lot to her, but her curiosity was piqued. Her relationship with Y/N was unique, and as some sort of tradition, one of the two would give a present to the other

The first year was an enchanted bracelet that Penny gifted Y/N that would bond them even at the distance. This year, however, the curse breaker insisted on being the one that gave her something, and judging by the way they talked about it, it would be incredible

Walking down one of the halls, the young Haywood was met by her sister, Bea

"I see you finally woke up! Thought I'd have to call Tonks to set up a prank on you"

"Good morning to you too, Bea"

They shared a laugh as they kept walking. Bea had just started her year at the school but she was adapting surprisingly well

While the Haywoods made their way to the courtyard, memories began to flood Penny's sweet mind

Memories of the night it all began, the Celestial Ball. Y/N agreed on setting up the dance and chose Penny to be their date for it

Little did she know, they had a surprise for her at the event. Gifting her a necklace, the star of Hogwarts asked her to be their partner in front of the people at the party

She almost teared up at the question, but it was a yes ultimately. Everyone cheered at this and the dance that followed was just as breathtaking

The sound of music and chatter brought Penny back to reality, seeing as they had reached their destination. However, her eyes sparkled when she found a certain someone not far away from her

"There you are!"

When they heard her voice, they welcomed her with open eyes

"Goldie! Good to see you!"

She ran towards her lover, who caught her in a hug and even spun them around in a playful manner

All the while, the other person that was with Y/N used a spell to conceal something. Bea saw what it was, but agreed to "look away"

"Tou liked the cupcake?"

"I loved it! Thank you so much"

She gave them a tender kiss on the cheek before breaking the hug to see what was Y/N doing in the courtyard. That's when she spotted an unusual figure there as well

"Badeea? Good to see you" she received a gentle smile from her

"Likewise, Penny, and congratulations"

She smiled and then gave her lover a curious look

"What are you doing here?"

"We're... "

They stopped to look at Badeea in hopes of getting some help, but she just shrugged

"...Working on something important. It's for later!"

"Can I see?"

Without losing their smile, Y/N shook their head

"I said it's for later, Penny. You'll have to wait"

A saddened Penny tried her best to bribe Y/N into confessing by making puppy eyes. It almost worked, if not for another voice to join the scene

One could argue that the whole scene was saved by...Tonks

"Finally, we were looking for you!"

The voice came from the pink-haired girl, who was accompanied by Tulip, both glad to see their blonde friend

This sudden change made Penny drop her act to welcome heir friends

"Girls? What can I help you with?"

"We need your help to choose some ingredients!

"Ingredients for what?"

"For a prank, of course!" Tulip chimes in

"Did we mention there is a discount on potion-making equipment?"

Upon hearing Tonks's words, Penny's eyes went bright like a kid in a candy shop

However, as good as this offer was, the memory of her agenda came back to haunt her

"It's tempting..."

Then, she looked back at her lover with a saddened smile

"But I wanted to spend the day with Y/N"

While the curse breaker was touched by this heartwarming statement, they smiled tenderly at her while putting a hand on her shoulder

"Oh Penny, don't worry, I'll be waiting for you!"

"Are you sure?"

She got a nod from them

"Just promise to have fun"

Penny was surprised by their attitude, but she appreciated that she wouldn't have to choose, so she approached them and gave them a quick peck on the lips

"You're the best"

With that, she walked out of the courtyard along with Tonks, Beatrice, and Tulip. All while Y/N waved them goodbye

Once they were out of sight, however, the kind smile turned into a sigh as they turned back and made the object reappear

"What do you think? Is it ready?" He asked Badeea

She approached it and inspected closely, with her hand on her chin

"I think it's almost done! Just cast the spell and then we wait for it to take effect"

They nodded and with their hand at the ready

"Capillum fluit"

Then, something started to move within the object, a graceful wave that was almost hypnotic

" It's beautiful, brilliant job, Y/N!" Badeea clapped

"Thank you!"

Y/N took one last look at this, their proudest achievement yet, aside from solving the vaults

"I just hope she likes it just as much"

...

Meanwhile, at Hogsmeade, Penny walked in the company of her sister, Tulip, and Tonks, the latter being the guide

"So, what prank are you going to pull?"

Penny asked deciding to break the ice. This question made Tulip and Tonks look at each other before nodding

"That may or may not be a lie, Penny" The redhead started

"We do need your help, but it's something much more akin to your expertise as a potion-maker!" Tonks added

They stopped to give Penny a small piece of paper containing a colorful add

"See, we heard that Honeydukes having a competition"

"It's to encourage students, but the reward sure is something!"

"What is it?" Bea inquired

"Six months' worth of chocolate frogs!"

There were gasps after hearing that. Those were some of the best treats Honeydukes had to offer! There would be more than enough to share with their friends

Penny looked away from the piece of paper and now focused on Tonks, with that determined look on her face

"And what do we have to do?"

Hearing this earned a smile from the girls, Bea even cheered a bit to see her big sister on board for this

"The team that creates the potion that smells the sweetest wins!"

"That's where you come in, you get to be our brilliant leader!"

"I don't know Tulip, I-"

"Too late! We've arrived!"

The sound of a nearby crowd ended the conversation. Those must be the other participants

Penny froze for a second, looking at all those people competing to get the same reward. She had won intern tournaments, but this was something else entirely

Then, she felt her robes being tugged, the cause being her younger sister

"Come on, it will be fun! Plus I want to see you in action"

"I...I don't know if I can do this"

" You're Penny Haywood! You knew most potions before they even taught them!

"Girl, you know how to do most of them on your sleep!"

"See? You got this, sister!"

The way the girls talked about her made Penny's cheeks turn red. Of course, she had received compliments before, but they just sounded so confident in this, even made it sound like it would be a walk in the park for her

It was true that she was one of the most proficient at school. Perhaps it would translate well into this competition?

Who knows, but it was an idea worth entertaining

"... alright, let's do this"

The girls cheered in unison before taking Penny to them to register their team for the upcoming challenge

Tonks got them a place in the contest, the last one available. While still unsure of this decision as the teams were announced, the blonde saw the look other people were giving her

Some seemed to recognize and were in awe, some others saw her as a rival to be dealt with. It was just like Hogwarts

So she would handle it as such

As soon as the competition started, Penny started barking orders to her teammates, making sure they understood what they were doing and most importantly, cheering on them

And so It begun, Tonks gathered the ingredients while trying her best not to drop any of them on accident

Tulip kept assisting Penny in the process of making the bomb. It was new for her, making something that wasn't intended to smell putrid

Bea followed in her sister's footsteps and acted as some sort of cheerleader while also assisting where needed...also keeping Tonks away from fragile things

While listening to what she was saying and how she was encouraging her teammates to do their best, one could see the indirect influence of a certain curse breaker

They were, after all, the most convincing person at Hogwarts. Who else could convince a student to fight a bloody troll?

After thirty minutes, the alarm sounded, echoing through the establishment and forced everyone to stop what they were doing, but it also gave everyone a chance to catch their breath after such an exhausting experience

The judge approached every team and smelled every potion until he reached the girls' stand and took their potion. His expression changed for the better when he smelled it, he raised the vial and proudly proclaimed

"Everyone, I think we have a winner!"

They gasped when they heard that, they couldn't believe that their team effort had taken them that far. Claps from the other competitors and the crowds of spectators came their way

"We...we won..."

Penny stood breathless, adjusting to the news when she was suddenly hugged by Bea, then Tonks and sure enough, Tulip

"All thanks to our brilliant leader!" Stated her sister

"Thank you so much for your help, Penny!" Added the metamorhmagus

"Bringing you here was the best decision by far!" Tulip admitted as well

They hugged her as if they were a Quidditch team embracing their most important player after winning the finals. To think that it wouldn't have been like that if she hadn't chosen to tag along in the cursed vaults

Penny knew she was lucky to have so many true friends, and she hugged them back like so

After having their photograph taken, the announcer approached them and gave them a certificate that would serve as a trophy for them, but also ensure that they would get their prize.

Shortly after, they celebrated their victory at the Three Broomsticks, the first round being courtesy of Madam Rosmerta

It had been so much fun, it was so easy to forget that the group had spent two and a half hours away from Hogwarts

Tonks suggested going back to Hogwarts to make sure nothing would happen to the certificate, but that Penny would keep it since she had led the team to a smashing victory

And so, they boarded the train back to their welcoming school, chatting as they traveled

When they entered the main hall, however, the atmosphere drastically changed

"This way, hurry!"

Badeea's shaky voice echoed through the hall, catching the girls by surprise

Then, the artist herself came rushing at them with a worried look to her, and behind her, was Y/N being practically dragged by her

They rushed past the group, without even stopping to talk, but straight out the doors and out of Hogwarts, leaving the four students beyond astonished

Penny wasn't surprised to see that, Y/N would get into an adventure without even looking for one

What surprised her was the fact that they were holding hands

It wasn't that big of a deal

Right?

It was just Y/N hanging out with Badeea and solving something

Like the past three months that they've spent together working on something that she couldn't see

Again

"That was... unexpected" Tonks was the first one to break the silence

"Should we follow them?" Bea asked, preparing herself for another adventure

Tulip shook her head in disagreement

"I didn't even see where they went"

But then, they noticed the silent blonde, who stared at the door longingly

"Penny, are you alright?"

"I...I don't know. I was expecting Y/N to at least say hi."

The pink-haired girl then wrapped her arm around her

"You know how it is with Y/N, sometimes they have to go and save everyone with just seconds of anticipation"

"You're right..." A sigh followed this reply

"Don't be sad, sis, I'm sure Y/N will have something for you!"

"And we'll stand by you until they come back"

Tulip stood proudly in front of her, making the others nod in agreement. Penny couldn't help but smile at this display

"Thank you, girls"

And so they sat at the staircase, already chatting to find a way to keep themselves entertained in the meantime

It wouldn't be long before Y/N returned, right?

...wrong

Four hours later

Tonks had fallen asleep, Tulip was casting sparks of the top of her wand to keep herself entertained and Hagrid had asked Bea for her help with some Puffskeins

"Yeah, until they come back..." Penny whispered

Her voice made Tulip sit up, finally listening to something after so much silence. Wonder where everyone was at this time

"You know Tulip, you can go now if you wish, I don't want to keep you waiting here all night with me."

"Are you sure? It's not a problem"

She got a nod from the saddened blonde

"Yes, don't worry about--"

That's when the doors were heard again and this time, it was loud enough to wake Tonks up and make the rest of them stand up and at this person

It was Y/N, with their clothes dirty and tattered, scratches all over them, and even some small cuts

Penny hated a few things. Being late to a class, werewolves, and above all, seeing Y/N like that

"Hello, girls" Y/N smiled with whatever energy they had left

"What happened to you?" Tulip asked directly

"I... It's a long story. Do you mind if I steal Penny?"

This caught the Hufflepuff by surprise. Now they wanted to see her?

Their friends gave her a thumbs up and sighing, Penny looked back at Y/N

"Yes?"

"I need to show you something"

Y/N took their hand and tried to move but was stopped by Penny herself

"No, you need to tell me what happened with Badeea and to you"

"I will, but in private. Please"

They locked eyes for a moment, her stern gaze couldn't hold against Y/N's subtly pleading eyes and that simile, that smile she couldn't deny

"...fine"

So she allowed herself to be taken away by Y/N. She was a bit mad because Badeea took them away, and by the hand nonetheless

It didn't help that they frequented each other quite a lot recently

But also because they were away for so long. Penny at least remembered she had something special today

But her thoughts were met with a heartwarming reveal. It was Y/N's bracelet, the one gift she had given him

As they were holding hands, she could get a clear view of it. Despite Y/N's roughed look, this accessory still looked as good

It was as if it had been enchanted with a protective spell every day

This didn't align with her theories, why would Y/N keep it and take care of it so dearly if they were with the other girl so much

The doors of the secret room took Penny out of her thoughts and by the time she knew it, she was in that special room that Y/N's brother used as a headquarter before disappearing

Y/N themselves would use it whenever they needed to review something in private

However, they had changed quite a few things. They organized the notes that were just scattered all over the floor and even managed to sneak in a bed for those times that they were too tired to reach the common room

Once they were in the area, Y/N let go of her hand to stand in front of Penny, scratching the back of their neck

"First, I'm incredibly sorry I arrived so late here"

"I'm sure there is quite a story behind that" The blonde answered with her arms crossed

"There is, but first, I want to show you this"

Y/N took a couple of steps back and turned towards something covered in a gray cloth

"I've done a few brilliant things in my time here, but this one is my favorite one by far"

They grabbed the cloth and removed it to reveal a portrait of Penny herself, enchanted so that her beautiful blonde hair would continuously flow as if blessed by a gentle breeze

Her blue eyes sparkled with hope and her tender smile was enough to turn any bad day into a good one

Penny's eyes went wide and she covered her mouth when she saw this painting in front of her. She tried to study every detail of this sparkling portrait but found herself too distracted by the fact that she was looking at a depiction of herself

"You...you made this?"

She asked almost breathless. Y/N was eager to hear her voice again

"Yes, and that's when the story chimes in."

Penny moved her gaze slightly so that she was now looking at the curse breaker, without losing her shocked expression

"You see, Badeea offered to tutor me in this painting when I told her that I wanted to give you something big, that's why we spent so much time together, we even invented a spell for this specific portrait"

Then, Y/N sighed, recalling the next part of the story

"But then Peeves stole it and we ended up going to the Forbidden Forest to get it. I had to duel an Acromantula to get it and--"

Y/N found themselves unable to finish their story due to Penny's soft lips crashing into them, she even brought their head closer with her hands

Of course, they returned the kiss as soon as they were able to process what was going on

"You went through all of that trouble, just for me"

Penny thought out loud, in awe of what she had just heard. This boosted Y/N's confidence, and they moved her hair to the side while looking at her in the eye

"I...I wanted you to see yourself the way I do"

This time it was Y/N who leaned in for a kiss, getting a taste of her warm lips that just craved theirs

"Although I'm sad that it took all day to show you. There was so much I wanted to do"

The curse breaker admitted with a hint of shame, making Penny giggle. It was astounding how they could be incredibly confident to steal a kiss and then be as cute as a child just seconds later

Then Penny looked at the bed beside them, an idea immediately came to mind

"Well, we can always cuddle"

And cuddle they did. It was a good thing that they didn't have classes the next day, so they could spend a bit more time in each other's warm company

Penny Haywood had it all, beauty, intelligence, unrivaled charm, and yet, she couldn't help but feel like she was the lucky one

And as she snuggled against her lover's chest, she allowed herself to rest, knowing that even if she might fear from time to time that someone could take Y/N away from her...

...They would always find a way back, always

#penny haywood x jacob's sibling #penny haywood #penny haywood x mc #hogwarts mystery

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collectsfallenstars · 4 years

Text

WARNING: Absolutely long post

IN DEFENSE OF KIM EUN SOOK'S "THE KING: ETERNAL MONARCH"

The King: Eternal Monarch has been getting mixed reviews 10 episodes into the season and it has boggled my mind as to why this has been happening. It’s a grand project, has a robust storyline, beautiful cinematography the likes of which is done for full-length films, and has a love story between two adults who behave like adults and not in perpetual high school. It is very different from most Korean dramas I have come across, and that alone is reason enough to watch it.

Granted, I have not watched many of them so maybe I don’t really know what I’m talking about. But what I am sure of is that I get tired of things very easily when they’ve become predictable.

See, before watching The King: Eternal Monarch, the last Korean drama I watched was Something Happened in Bali back in 2004. Then coronavirus happened, billions of pesos were to the government but no mass-testing happened, ABS-CBN shut down, people speaking against the government were being put in jail, and I thought, hmm let’s go to Netflix to escape. K-dramas with beautiful autumn colors should do the trick.

I watched maybe one or two series in full but soon found myself giving up on the ones that came next. Watching them one after another made it clear that they were built like romance novels – no matter how different each premise was for a series, they always followed a pattern. And patterns, while they may be dependable, can sometimes be boring.

And then I decided to give The King: Eternal Monarch a try even though the binge-watching monster inside me disagreed with it. So there I was last week, Netflix open and a lunch of Sinigang na Baboy with rice laid out in front of me.

The series opened with a serene view of a bamboo forest, wind blowing gently through it, and the voice of a man talking about the legend of a bamboo flute back when monarchs ruled Korea. Oh, a historical series.

1 minute and 40 seconds later, it cuts to a man covered in blood, in a police interrogation room in modern day Korea. Oh, it’s also detective fiction. Gotta watch out for red herrings then. Oh but wait, the man covered in blood, Lee Lim, is supposed to be 70 years old but he doesn’t look a day over 30. I mean, yes Korean genes and skin care are magical but not to this extent. The idea of immortality is introduced which suggests that the series has supernatural elements too. This means world building for these magical elements and forming rules that govern them. (I mean, Bram Stoker and Anne Rice made their vampires perish under the sun and Stephanie Meyer chose to make them…sparkle.)

And then 4 minutes in, we get a flashback to winter of 1994 in the Kingdom of Corea. Uhm. Typo? No? Lee Lim, the bastard son of the former king, murders his half brother, the current king, in order to steal the bamboo flute that grants the owner much power. The king’s young son, 7 year old Lee Gon, witnesses his father’s murder, struggles with Lee Lim, splits the power laden bamboo flute in half, and nearly dies if it weren’t for a mysterious figure coming in to save him. The mysterious figure drops an ID card with the name and picture of Lt. Jung Tae Eul on it and Lee Gon clutches it along with half of the bamboo flute. Lee Lim escapes to the forest with only a broken half of the bamboo flute. He comes upon a pair of obelisks, passes through it and lands in Korea with a K. Lee Lim comes face to face with the face of the person he had just murdered, except he isn’t a king anymore. He’s just an unkempt unemployed man. We now have the introduction of parallel worlds and doppelgangers. It had only been 18 minutes into the first episode.

I put it on pause, finished my lunch quickly, cleared the table, and settled down on the couch to watch. I did all that before resuming to watch it because it clearly wasn’t the kind of K-drama you could easily watch while eating, glancing up and down between the screen and your food, missing bits of the subtitle here and there and not paying any mind. Because of its structure, the kind of story it wants to tell and the breadth of its narrative, it demands your full attention.

I get why people find it difficult. I found it difficult. But it was infinitely exciting. It’s as if someone laid out a puzzle with a thousand pieces, a maze, Connect the Dots, Spot the Difference in front of me and told me to play with them all at the same time.

What kind of story did the writer, Kim Eun Sook, want to tell? She began with the murder of the parents of Lee Gon by his bastard uncle, Lee Lim, who feels he has been deprived of power for too long and intends to take it all for himself. It becomes a story of both sides seeking justice for their own separate tragedies. To flesh out this story, she has to give Lee Lim a plan for world domination and give Lee Gon a defense strategy in place, as well as an active pursuit to entrap his uncle. She has to give them motivations, conflicts, moments of doubt and triumph. If this were the only story she wanted to tell, a linear storyline with flashbacks and flash-forwards should be enough. Throw in a romance, love triangle, one final obstacle, 2 chaste kisses, 1 passionate kiss, 1 tearful kiss, 1 reunion kiss and you will arrive at your happy ending.

But Kim Eun Sook wanted to do more. She expanded Lee Lim’s plan for world domination into two parallel worlds. Adding science fiction to the mix complicates matters because you will have to build another world that is visibly different from the other even if they are parallel to each other. Audiences should be able to tell one apart from the other quickly in order to keep up with the story. The difficulty that The King: Eternal Monarch faces is that the Kingdom of Corea and the Republic of Korea look almost exactly alike. It takes almost a few seconds to recognize the Royal Seal, or the European inspired trams running in the background to ascertain that the scene is in the Kingdom of Corea. But once the characters appear, it becomes easier to tell which world we’re dealing with. Jung Tae Eul and the police force belong to Korea. The Royal Staff and family, Prime Minister Koo and cabinet members belong to Corea. The only ones to traverse between both worlds are Lee Gon and his uncle.

Therein lies one of the criticisms for Kim Eun Sook’s work – the pace is too slow. I would argue though that the pace is just right when you’re creating two worlds, with very different characters in each, whose stories run parallel to and interweave with each other. It is very easy to place all evil characters in World A and all good characters in World B. But that’s lazy writing, and also ugly.

Kim Eun Sook humanizes and fleshes out a significant amount of the supporting cast with such care, developing them alongside the major characters. Usually in dramas, the side characters will get hints of a back story in an episode or two, and then have just one episode dedicated to them. Kim Eun Sook did so much more and in effect, her two parallel worlds became so concrete, with real, moving characters contributing their bit into the two separate forces of Lee Gon and Lee Lim that are about to clash. It creates anticipation, excitement, and spreads your heart out amongst many characters instead of investing your emotions into just the main leads.

But aside from the science fiction element, Kim Eun Sook also takes on the task of writing detective fiction into her already robust narrative. Lee Lim is essentially building an army of doppelgangers from the Republic of Korea and planting them in key positions in the Kingdom of Corea. He then takes the dead bodies of these Corean citizens and dumps them in the Republic of Korea, leaving Lt. Jung Tae Eul and her squad in the police force with a trail of unsolved cases. Detective stories are by themselves difficult enough. You begin with a dead body, a search for clues, weeding out which clues are significant, chasing a lead, failing, planting and then ignoring red herrings, closing in on a suspect, interrogation, a surprise turn of events, and so on until the murder is solved.

But Lee Lim didn’t leave just one dead body in Korea. There’s an entire army of them and Jung Tae Eul has to be on the trail for some of them in order for her to work with Lee Gon in order to solve them and in turn, help him uncover his uncle’s evil plans.

This brings us to one of the major criticisms of this drama – the romance between Lt. Jung Tae Eul and King Lee Gon. Apparently, there’s not much of it as it has taken a backseat to the struggle for power in Corea by the Prime Minister, Lee Lim’s murderous spree and body switching between the two worlds in a bid for a two-world domination, and murder investigations that Jung Tae Eul and her squad must carry out in Korea.

Would I like to see more of the actors Lee Min Ho and Kim Go Eun on screen? Why, yes of course! But as early as the 1st episode, it was already apparent that this was not going to be the usual K-drama. They weren’t going to meet cute, fall in love, fight their feelings, work on a murder mystery on the side, finally confess, become a couple, fight the final boss side by side, and then live happily ever after. Fantasy, science fiction, and detective fiction all seem bear equal weight with romance. It was different, and I found that absolutely interesting. And just because romance doesn’t dominate 80% of the story does not mean that the romance is lacking.

The first episode tricks you into thinking that there is very little romance in this drama. The lead characters of Lt. Jung Tae Eul and King Lee Gon meeting each other for the first time in the last 6 minutes of an episode that was 1 hour, 12 minutes, and 15 seconds long. What can possibly develop and deepen in 6 minutes? Not much, right?

But what happened in the last 6 minutes? Lee Gon rides into Gwanghwamun Square on his white horse after having crossed over from Corea and into the parallel world of Korea. He creates a slight commotion what with his royal handsomeness and almost ethereal white horse. Lt. Jung Tae Eul reprimands him. Lee Gon recognizes her as the woman on the ID card his savior had left behind 25 years ago. And in dramatic fashion, he alights from his horse, walks towards her, stops, and then engulfs her in a tight hug. He tells her, “I’ve finally met you” and the episode ends with a shocked Jung Tae Eul in the arms of an almost reverent Lee Gon.

In Kim Eun Sook’s other, wildly popular work, Goblin: The Lonely and Great God the first meeting between Kim Shin and Eun Tak also had that moment of finally finding the one they’ve been searching for. But for the Goblin, his bride’s existence was merely functional, as he needed her so he can finally die in peace. So their first meeting was your typical first meeting in K-dramas. There were no feelings yet, but they develop from there. So the whole drama then became a stage to establish the growth of their relationship that would give him the will to live instead of dreaming of death all the time.

But now, in The King: Eternal Monarch, the first meeting isn’t an easy blank canvas.

Lee Gon bursts into the first episode, already halfway in love with Jung Tae Eul long before he’s even met her. As a child, Lee Gon had held on to Jung Tae Eul’s image as his a savior. There is deep gratitude. As a young orphaned monarch, he held on to the idea of her to ease his loneliness. His first duty as a king was to bury his father and learned to cry only in the privacy of his own room when he was 7 years old. But somewhere out there, there was someone who had cared for enough for him to have saved him. This thought sustained him as he grew up.

And at this point in the first episode, we’re working with the idea that time travel hasn’t been introduced yet. Which means we’re treating time as a straight line, allowing Lee Gon and Jong Tae Eul to age at the same time. So if Jong Tae Eul had been 25 years old when Lee Gon was 7 in 1994, then she would be 50 years old and he would be 32 in the present year, 2019.

Then, as a man in his 30’s, he still keeps on searching for her. But in his head she is frozen in time as the 29 year old woman in her ID picture, and at this point he might possibly be half in love with her already. And when he finally meets her in the flesh, he had spent nearly all his life loving her in different iterations. Finding out that she hadn’t aged as he thought she would have gives him another possibility of loving her as a man would a woman.

Now the audience has to grapple with this idea, that he had loved her for 25 years already, prior to seeing her in the flesh. But then if you add the idea of time travel as hinted at by the 10th episode, then this first meeting becomes heavier. Not only would he have loved her for 25 years, but he also would have loved her for 25 years multiplied by the number of timelines he had crossed as a time traveller.

That’s why their first meeting had to happen in the last 6 minutes of the first episode. Everything that happened in that first hour and 6 minutes, all the murders, plotting, collision of worlds, and clash of doppelgangers in the past 25 years had to happen in order to bring Lee Gon and Jung Tae Eul to that fated meeting at Gwanghwamun Square. Kim Eun Sook had played with the idea of destiny with Goblin: The Lonely and Great God’s Kim Shin and Eun Tak. Now she takes the same idea of a fated meeting between two souls, Lee Gon and Jung Tae Eul, and proceeds to tear them apart with time loops, parallel worlds, and a frozen dimension to test how their love can endure all of that.

There can be no slow burn; there is no chase that starts with attraction, denial, bickering, jealousy, no you-make-me-worry-so-much love confession that is so often found in K-dramas. The lovers don’t even have that poor girl-rich boy/immortal-mortal or whatever uneven power dynamic that’s so popular in dramas. I guess that's what most people inevitably look for because these things were built to be formulaic.

But now you have a writer who is trying to build a bigger, more ambitious story, who is willing to take some risks with that formula in order to tell a love story that can transcend time and universes. The stakes had to be raised higher, the backdrop made grander, in order to hold a love story as epic as this. How can this not be romantic enough?

There are six more episodes left in this series. Quarantine has been extended. Give this series a chance.

#the king eternal monarch #kim eun sook #kim go eun #lee min ho

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silverliningslurk · 6 years

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these nights shall become us

Pairing: Nursey/Dex Rating: T Length: 4.5k Summary: Nursey starts sharing a room with Dex. The weird thing is, Dex never seems to actually sleep in it. Nursey thinks it's a problem Dex has with him. He's also determined to work this one out, however much Dex tries to avoid it.

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Nursey was, although he'd never admit it, a bit offended when Dex realised that the dib flip would be shared.

He'd not reacted well.

Perhaps it was an understatement to say he was a little offended, because he was a lot offended, and he'd even thought he and Dex had been getting on well.

It led to one of their biggest fights so far, because even though Dex wanted another flip, Lardo and Ransom both said no. Ransom lived by rules, and the By-Laws were rules - laws, even - of the Haus. They were to be abided by. If Dex had agreed not knowing the possibility of a split vote, that was his fault.

Dex shot back that it wasn’t exactly usual for a coin flip, and stormed out.

Nursey had, until that point, been quite excited about it. He liked sharing a room; it was so far away from the lonely house his mothers called home, and he'd never had to do it before Samwell.

Chowder was quite upset by the whole thing, and worked his magic in pleading Dex to come around. In the end, he begrudgingly agreed to it, provided he could sleep on the bottom bunk.

Nursey was fine with this. He rather liked the idea of watching Dex work at the desk from the upper bunk, unnoticed.

He may have also had slightly ulterior motives for being happy about sharing a room with Dex, and slightly greater reasons for being offended when Dex reacted badly.

So, they went their separate ways for the summer. Nursey spent it between skating at the ice rink, contacting the rest of the team via every social media platform available to him, and being more than a little invested in how often Dex replied to his texts.

It always amused him how someone interested in computers could dislike using them in a social way. He had Facebook, but barely updated, his wall mostly his siblings posting stupid things, and the occasional friend from home (Dex never talked about them. Nursey was very curious). He rarely commented all that much on the group chat, whether that was the one with just the frogs or the team in general. He didn't have twitter, and told him that everyone else talked about it so much he didn't need it. He had snapchat but refused to ever take selfies.

Nursey wondered if he had a tumblr. If he did, it was his personal mission to find it. It would be hilarious, he would have thought.

So summer was spent in a quiet haze of heat and loneliness. Nursey had a lot of time to himself. He visited Chowder over in Cali just for something to do, and tried to visit Dex, but he'd just gotten a vague reply reminding Nursey that he was working most of the time, and couldn't really afford the time off.

Dex had seemed a bit resigned about it when they'd skyped, so Nursey took his victories where he could, and chose to believe that was because Dex wanted to see him, not that he just didn't want to have to work.

And then started their time as roommates.

Dex seemed weirdly on edge, but not overly so. Nervous about starting back, Nursey presumed, thinking nothing of it.

Over the first few weeks, Nursey didn't notice anything wrong. If anything, Dex was better than his last roommate, being fairly tidy but not quite so anal about it, quieter, tending to wear headphones when he was working - when he didn't stay in the library for hours. And he never woke Nursey up when he walked in, whenever he did walk in.

They had their disagreements, but they were minor, mostly. Dex wanted him to be tidier with his study stuff, so Dex could get to his without hassle. Dex wasn't overly happy about him smoking pot in the room, so they compromised by saying he could either smoke out the window or in the reading room. It seemed to suit. For his part, Nursey felt like Dex was avoiding him at times, and tended to leave his shoes right where Nursey - his head known for being magnetically attracted to the floor and getting there the fastest way possible, at times - would easily trip over them. And had done. Several times.

But they worked them out. Dex made an effort to put his shoes away, and not be so distant. Nursey had a designated zone for dumping his stuff in a messy pile.

So things worked well.

Until Nursey started noticing the oddities regarding Dex's sleep patterns.

Namely, the lack of any pattern at all.

Or just. The lack of any sleep.

The only regular thing seemed to be that Dex would not be asleep before Nursey, and would be awake before him. He was totally perplexed as to how he did it, and just to see, started going to bed even later, sometimes managing until two in the morning before he gave up, Dex quietly typing on the laptop, the sounds of it gradually fading away.

During the week, it was easy to explain away. Dex had eight o'clock classes, although who knew why he'd ever wanted to sign up to those. Nursey never started earlier than ten, which suited him just fine.

But at the weekends, particularly when they didn't have practice?

Dex would be sat downstairs, dressed and working, reading, or just chilling. It was like he was phobic of staying in bed, or relaxing, or just having a lie in.

Slowly, it occurred to Nursey that he wasn't actually sure he'd ever seen Dex asleep in a bed.

After that, it turned into an obsession. He tried setting alarms at weird times of night, times no one should be awake. Sometimes he caught Dex asleep, but sometimes, he wasn't even in bed. Nursey never quite had the inclination to find out where he'd gone, too much of a heavy sleeper to ever actually get out of bed to solve the mystery.

So it went unsolved for a month or so. He started watching Dex closely though, in that time, and noticed that since the start of term, he'd gotten worse. He had dark circles under his eyes, drank more coffee, stronger and darker, as if he was forcing himself to stay awake during the day. His reactions weren't as good, even on the ice, and he seemed more listless than he had done.

Noticing that, Nursey decided he had to address the issue. It had to be something to do with the sleeping arrangements, because he'd not been quite so bad last year, and it was virtually the only thing that had changed.

Dex was surprisingly evasive on the subject. Whenever Nursey brought it up, he changed the subject or swiped it to one side, or just ignored it completely, as though he hadn't heard.

Now, Nursey was getting upset. He genuinely thought he and Dex were friends. And now Dex was letting whatever issues he had with sharing a room with Nursey affect him in all areas of his life, but refused to talk about it to Nursey himself.

Was it that he felt like Nursey would prank him? Was he one of those people that hated the idea of people watching him sleep? But he could have sworn he'd seen him sleeping on the tour bus. In fact, he recalled being sort of scared because Dex had been really difficult to awaken at the other end, but Lardo had just told Nursey to leave him to it. Dex got well and truly chirped, but didn't really defend himself as usual. As though he'd been expecting it.

Disheartened by the apparent lack of trust, the uneasy truce continued on for a while. Nursey did his best to ignore the hurt about not being able to be confided in, and the anger that Dex was hiding something vital from him, and Dex continued on like he always had, with next to no sleep, and if Nursey stayed up later just to spite him, well, nobody was perfect.

It all changed a little before winter break.

Nursey wasn't totally sure what had woken him up, but he heard a shuffling, and footsteps going out the room and down the stairs, then silence. He assumed Dex was going to the bathroom. Waited.

And waited.

Nursey found himself eerily awake, perplexed. Was Dex working? It wasn't exactly unusual, but now Nursey was angry. He wanted to know what the problem was. Why Dex didn't trust him, didn't trust enough in their friendship to be able to survive it, for doing such a shit job of covering it up.

He stormed downstairs, determined to get answers.

From the living room, Chowder shushed him urgently before he could even open his mouth. Nursey soon saw why.

Dex was laid out on the couch, his head on Chowder's lap, and dead to the world. He looked peaceful, unlike all the other times Nursey had seen him asleep, apart from the time on the roadie, but then he'd just looked unconsciousness. He genuinely looked peaceful, and Chowder rested a hand in his hair, looking worriedly at him.

Many things went through Nursey's head. What came out was:

"Are you cheating on Farmer?"

In his defence, it was four in the morning, nobody should be awake, and it looked awfully romantic to him, his heart flinching painfully at the thought of losing Dex to Chowder, of all people, and having to reconcile that.

Chowder chuckled quietly, grinning. Thankfully, he didn't seem offended.

"Hey, no, I'm straight, thanks. Dex is very nice, but I love Caitlin." He said, clicking his phone off, his face melting back into worry as he stared down at Dex, almost silent. "He couldn't sleep." Chowder murmured.

"Why? Why won't he tell me? What's wrong with him? This isn't the first time, is it?" Nursey questioned, getting more hurt and irritated. He wanted to be the one Dex could come to with a problem. He just wanted to be the one Dex could turn to, problem or not. Chowder sighed deeply.

"I think it embarrasses him? You'd have to ask him. He doesn't really ask for help..." Chowder replied, reticent. Nursey had the urge to shake Dex awake, to demand answers.

He almost did. The sight of his finally peaceful face stopped him.

"Then why did he come to you?" Nursey asked, frowning, and crossing his arms. It didn't make any sense to him, because before the whole room sharing debacle, he'd been closer to Dex than Chowder had.

"He didn't?" Chowder said. "What?" Nursey uttered, perplexed. How on earth had it happened if Dex hadn't been the one to ask? Nursey sure couldn't see many ways of accidentally ending up asleep on someone early in the morning. Chowder tilted his head, thinking for a moment.

"Well, the first time, I was doing an all-nighter to finish an essay, and he came downstairs and just started helping me with it, and he fell asleep on me. Today was a similar thing."

Nursey took a moment to process it, the image of Dex being that tired. What was he doing to himself?

"And you let him because...?" Chowder gave him a look. "Because he passed out? Because you're not the only one to notice how tired he always is?"

"How many times has this even happened?" Nursey asked, his brow furrowing. He couldn't even pretend to be chilled about this; too early in the morning, and he'd been too annoyed by this to let it go now.

"Uh... A few? Sometimes he's already down here. Bitty says he's seen him down here a few times too."

Nursey blinked, looked back at Dex.

Did he have to sit down here for an entire night to get to the bottom of this? Did he want to?"

"Okay. Okay, I'll- I'll talk to him." Nursey said, backing away. When did Dex even sleep?

Chowder nodded, looking glad.

Dex blinked owlishly, looking excruciatingly tired, watching Nursey, who was sitting on the sofa, half asleep himself.

"What are you doing up?" He asked, puzzled. Nursey scowled at him.

"I could ask you the same. From what I've heard you're always down here at night." He said, and watched Dex sluggishly process it.

"No I'm not, Nurse. Just couldn't sleep." He yawned.

"Really, Poindexter?" Nursey said, standing up, feeling the irritation rise. "Are you saying Chowder and Bitty are lying? That I can't see with my own eyes?" He accused. Dex frowned at him.

"No! I'm not down here that often. I'm fine, Nurse, just leave it." Dex replied. "I'm going upstairs again soon."

But he made no move to actually go. Nursey stubbornly stayed where he was.

Dex seemed to realise he was waiting for more, and sighed resignedly.

"I'm fine, Nursey. I just can't sleep right now." He murmured, and Nursey just felt himself get more angry. Dex was pushing him away again.

"Oh right. And how long has this been going on? Maybe every night since you moved in with me? What's your problem, Dex? Can't sleep in the same room as me? Are you afraid I'm going to hurt you? Are you scared I'm going to try something, just because I'm bi? I should've known you'd be weird like that, Poindexter, should have-"

"Don't make accusations, Nurse! As much as your inflated ego would like to believe, it has nothing to do with you! It never did, and it never will! Go fuck yourself, and leave me alone!" Dex yelled, eyes aflame with anger.

"Not until you tell me what's wrong! Prove it to me! Prove it that you're not a bigoted asshole!" Nursey shouted, annoyed at Dex, and himself. This wasn't how it was meant to go. He was fed up of Dex hiding from him. He hadn't thought it'd been a problem when he'd told the team, but maybe it had, and he just hadn't known. Dex had seemed puzzled, but hadn't seemed to change his behaviour. But maybe sleeping so close to a bisexual person crossed a republican line for him.

"Don't call me that!" Dex shrieked, and looked set to continue when they heard heavy footsteps down the stairs, and Bitty appeared, in shorts and a Falconer's jersey. Dex went pale, and Nursey just felt bad, even before Bitty spoke.

"Y'all may not have class tomorrow, but can we not have a screaming match at whatever time this is?" He said in a dead-pan tone, wearing his most unimpressed look.

"Sorry, Bitty, I'll just- go." Dex muttered, and strolled out the door. The two of them just watched him do it, unable to comprehend it.

"Doesn't he sleep here?" Bitty said, confused.

Nursey snorted. "Apparently not."

So Dex wasn't going to answer him. Well, Nursey needed answers, and he wasn't above being sneaky to get them.

Via copious amount of caffeine lined up, and his phone at full charge and lowest brightness, Nursey set about finding his answers.

At about midnight, Dex finally went to bed, muttering quietly under his breath, no doubt having learnt that Nursey, as a heavy sleeper, would not awaken to such quiet noise.

If he hadn't already been awake, that was.

Dex seemed to fall asleep before his head hit the pillow, his breathing evening out swiftly to a gentle rhythm, which almost surprised Nursey. Waiting a moment, he took a chance to peer over the side of the bed, but Dex was facing away from him.

Spurred on by the caffeine in his system and a recklessness borne of irritation, Nursey managed, somehow, to slide down the ladder, bringing his comforter with him, and settled on the floor. He might have done otherwise, had he not seen Dex's face; it was troubled, set into a slight frown, and Nursey felt like something was wrong. If Dex woke up and asked, he was writing. He could pass many oddities off by saying they were for creative purposes, he'd found.

It turned out to be not so much of a lie. About twenty minutes later, he got a flash of inspiration, fired by the confusion and hurt about the situation with Dex, and the not inconsiderable swig of bourbon he'd taken, it seeming like a good idea in his sleep-deprived state, to mix alcohol and caffeine.

Around two am, he was just beyond tipsy, pleased with the poem he'd created, and very tired. He didn't want to wake Dex up by climbing the ladder, at which he'd surely fail, and with drunken logic, decided that if Ransom and Holster could sleep in the same bed, so could he and Dex. Plus, maybe Dex would sleep better. He'd started tossing and turning, generally looking unhappy, and Nursey was reminded of how peaceful he'd looked when sleeping on Chowder, and wanted to be the one to inspire that.

Or maybe he just wanted to sleep next to Dex.

Surprisingly, Dex didn't actually wake up when Nursey slipped under the covers with him, dimly aware that it was firstly a bad idea, secondly would make things very weird when they did wake up, and thirdly, a bad idea. He didn't much care, especially not when Dex groaned unhappily, a noise which stopped when Nursey wove his arms around him, and pulled him closer. They were essentially spooning, and Nursey was pretty happy with that, and Dex's breathing had evened out again to something much more relaxed, subconsciously curling up, loosely holding Nursey's arms closer to him.

Nursey, at that moment, fell just a little bit more. He felt like he'd happily do this every night, if Dex was even going to look at him tomorrow. He closed his eyes, smiling, and fell to sleep.

Having returned from the bathroom, he at first thought Dex was having a seizure, albeit a quiet one. He was thrashing about, arms flailing, whimpering; the comforter fell from the bed, although this did nothing to halt Dex's motions. It just make them more frantic, unrestricted, as his face twisted into pained expressions that pulled at Nursey, as though he was the one experiencing pain, not Dex.

Darting forwards, he grabbed Dex by the shoulders, and shook him. "Dex, wake up! Whatever this is!" He cried, and it worked miraculously well, Dex sitting bolt upright and nearly taking Nursey out. He fell onto his ass hard, looking up at Dex, who was staring at him in horror.

"Derek, you died, you're not safe here, go, leave before they-"

Dex stopped himself, coming to fully, and Nursey suddenly just got it.

Nightmares. Dex must suffer with nightmares, and maybe that was why he didn't want to share a room, because he was embarrassed about it, and he'd rather not sleep than let anyone know.

How could he be so stupid?

"Nurse. What are you- what am I-" he started falteringly, eyes flitting away, ashamed.

"You get nightmares?" Nursey asked.

"No, I just- not often..." Dex mumbled, embarrassed. Nursey just wanted to hug him.

"It's chill-" "It's really not, stop saying that-" "It is! I don't care, Dex, man, you were freaking me out with the evasion and the exhaustion, I couldn't work it out!" He said, and Dex actually laughed. Somewhat self-deprecatingly, but a laugh nonetheless.

"Sorry. It's stupid. You don't have to- I deal with them." Dex said, running a hand through his hair. "Did I wake you up? Sorry. I can give my dibs to someone else if it bothers you, I'll go sleep in the basement, that'd probably be easier, actually. Maybe Whiskey would want it. Would that be alright?" Dex rambled, holding the comforter tightly.

Nursey felt like he had no control over his mouth. "William Poindexter, if you don't shut up, I will kiss you to stop the stupidity."

Dex blinked, blushed, and looked at Nursey carefully as he continued speaking. "I mean, Whiskey would want to be closer to the lacrosse frat, right? I heard he's friends with them, not that he's subtle. You get on with him, right? You might get Tango visiting a lot though. I think I met his roommate, he seems fine-"

Nursey decided that yes, Dex was doing that on purpose, and that he was going to miss his chance if he waited any longer.

Dex met him halfway, sighing into his mouth.

Nursey felt like he could be dreaming.

It didn't last long, Dex pulling away to yawn, groaning tiredly. "Sorry, I'm just..."

"I know." Nursey commented, barely able to believe what had happened. "We'll talk in the morning." He affirmed, and Dex nodded, looking as though he wanted to say something more.

But he stayed silent, and Nursey recalled his embarrassment, his peaceful face when sleeping on Chowder, the fact that nightmares were usually awful.

"Do you want me to stay here?" He asked. Dex, if possible, went even more red.

"No! No, that's- I-" He stuttered, and Nursey laughed. "I'm not going to try anything, you idiot. To help you sleep. If that's what works." He murmured, and Dex hesitated. "Um, if- don't get mad, but I was kind of sleeping here before you, uh, woke up."

Dex looked at him. "What?" He said, utterly perplexed.

"It was bugging me! You said nothing, and fall asleep on Chowder, but refuse to admit there's even a problem- was this the problem the whole time? Not me?"

"Well, it wasn't not you. Who wants to admit to this?" He made a sweeping gesture, presumably to indicate himself in his entirety. "I didn't want anyone to find out." He then seemed to realise something, making a quiet 'oh' sound. At Nursey's puzzled look, he huffed bemusedly, looking away. "It was alright. And then it wasn't." He said vaguely.

"It helps if someone's there, doesn't it?" Nursey asked. Dex nodded reluctantly.

"It's not foolproof. But I deal with them fine, it's no big deal-"

Nursey just responded with shuffling so they were both under the sheets, in a much similar situation as before. Dex looked as red as a lobster, but there was a small smile on his lips, so Nursey wasn't complaining.

"Thanks." Dex murmured quietly, sounding sleepy already. Nursey was still under the effects of the caffeine, so he was wide awake; it just meant he got the bonus of feeling Dex fall back to sleep, quiet and peaceful and so, so much better. Nursey felt totally relaxed, relieved that it wasn't necessarily him that was the problem, more sharing a room, and he really would not be upset to do this again.

"Goodnight, Will." He murmured, practically into Dex's neck. Dex did not even flinch, and Nursey found himself fading slowly into sleep, smiling.

Nursey woke up briefly to an alarm, and turned it off without thinking. Too early. He was comfortable, snuggled against Dex, and Dex was asleep - testament to his exhaustion that he did not wake up to the alarm - and he didn't need to move.

Several hours later had him being jostled awake by a panicked Dex, mumbling frantically about how he was going to miss his class.

Clearly still sleep deprived. Nursey snorted. Dex swivelled on him, trying to put some socks.

"Don't snort! This is all your fault, you turned the alarm off I swear!" He cried, over-balancing and nearly careening into the desk chair. Nursey smiled lazily.

"You already missed your classes. It's twelve." He pointed out, at with Dex turned to look at the clock, horrified. He seemed unable to comprehend it. "Come back to bed." Nursey said, Dex instead perching on it rather than cuddling up to Nursey, like he wanted Dex to.

"I missed them. I can't believe I- what am I going to do?"

Nursey knew enough that it was a big deal for him.

"Chowder's in two of them. Isn't one of the other juniors in the other? I swear you were talking to him about it. You can catch up. You needed the sleep, believe me." He said, and Dex looked at him, nodding slowly while he seemed to process the whole situation, rather than just the time. Nursey watched the comprehension dawning on his face, and wished it didn't look so frightened.

"What did I do?" He breathed, staring at him in horror. Nursey frowned.

"As far as I can tell, I decided to sleep in your bed. You didn't do anything." He said, unsure how to bring up the fact that they'd kissed, and what this meant. For a poet, Nursey often found himself lost for words.

Dex hissed, and looked away. "Shit." Nursey heard him say under his breath, and then, louder. "Good. I'm going to go catch up. See you." He said, and it was only after he'd left that Nursey considered that Dex might have construed the whole thing incorrectly.

He didn't care so much when he stayed in Dex's bed, and consequently missed all his classes. He was staying here until Dex had no choice but to talk to him.

Faintly, he noticed that Dex looked like a deer in the headlights, as if awaiting some kind of doom, when he returned to the room, finding Nursey doodling in the margins of his writing book, having transcribed the one he'd written on his phone and adapted a few bits that didn't flow very well.

He jumped up, strolled over to Dex. "Tell me what you think happened last night. I'm sure you're wrong, but tell me anyway."

Dex frowned at him. "Does it matter? You got drunk and decided to sleep in my bed with me, and for once in my life I don't wake up, and you turned the alarm off." He stated, eyes not quite meeting Nursey's.

"Anything else?" He asked, curious to see what he'd do. He thought Nursey had been a far greater level of drunk than he had been. Dex looked shifty, but shook his head. "I remember it all, Dex. I had some alcohol, but not much." He affirmed, and it took Dex a moment to think it over.

"Everything?" He asked, his face going red again. Nursey smirked slightly.

"From you and your nightmares - or terrors - to sleeping next to you to ward them off, to this." He said, leaning closer. He was perfectly sober when he kissed William Poindexter the second time, and it was much better for it.

Dex relaxed immensely. "I thought I'd- you, I just..." He stuttered. "Willing participant." He said smugly.

"Shut up, Nurse. Wait, does this mean- what does this mean?" Dex questioned, unsure and uncertain. Nursey sighed in an overly dramatic, long suffering way.

"It means I get a free pass to sleep next to you if we both want, or vice versa. It means I can kiss you when I'd like to. It means, hopefully, that we are now dating." Nursey announced, feeling a wash of uncertainty come over him, fear that he'd read the situation wrong.

Dex smiled shyly. "Dating. I think… I can deal with that. I mean, I don't want to tell anyone else yet, but I think I'd like that." He murmured, and Nursey just took advantage of that to kiss him for the third time, and definitely not the last.

He could deal with that indeed. He would gladly deal with Dex, night terrors and all.

#nurseydex #dexnursey #derek malik nurse #nursey #william dex poindexter #dex #omgcp #omg check please #my writing #hope you enjoyed it #i have no perspective on my own writing and it's quality anymore

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monsters-conquer-the-world · 6 years

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10 Games

For Jack’s 10th birthday, Will got him a RetroPie. Pretty cool, especially since it’s so easy to just dump a zillion games in there and let the kid go nuts. But that’s a one-way ticked to analysis paralysis, so Will had a a super sick idea. He asked me and Jess and some other friends to put together a list of 10 must-play classic/retro games and write a little bit about why we chose them. As someone who loves video games and writing and lists, I was ALL ‘BOUT THAT.

Now that Jack’s birthday has come and gone, I can share all the junk I wrote about these ten games that mean so much to me! Check it out:

I love this idea. I know the initial prompt was just "pick your favorites" but I couldn't help but impose a bunch of additional caveats. I know where this list is headed (and I have a pretty good idea of what games will pop up on the other lists)! I could have easily listed off 10 Super NES games or 10 N64 games, but I wanted to hit a variety of consoles and franchises. I would have liked to have hit a variety of genres and studios too, but I can't lie: I love platformers, and I love games by Nintendo. It was challenging but rewarding to shave this list down to ten--a lot of old favorites and recent discoveries couldn't fit on the list, leaving these few. The ones I've always treasured, the ones that stuck with me, the ones I memorized the music and sound effects to, starring the characters I love, exploring the worlds I wanted to live in. Maybe you'll dig 'em too.

NES

Super Mario Bros. 3

I had spent some quality time with our Atari 2600 well before we ever had an NES in the house. I have fond memories of playing but not really understanding Pac-Man, Haunted House, and the bleak nuclear apocalypse masterpiece Missile Command. But the first game I really wrapped my head around was Super Mario Bros. (and Duck Hunt, but that's not as relevant!). Mario and Luigi's multi-screen adventures under a friendly blue sky expanded my concept of what a video game could even be--plus it was super fun, and Rochelle and I could both play it together! Super Mario Bros. 2 was technically more impressive, but so weird (and flanked by so many similar games) that it didn't rock my world like Mario 1 did (though I of course have a huge soft spot for it anyway). Then Super Mario Bros. 3 came along and Mario had learned how to fly. It was bigger, more beautiful, and stuffed to the brim with secrets and surprises! It was so exciting even Mom and Dad would play it with us. Super Mario World is maybe the bigger, better, beautifuler game (and you can ride a FREAKING DINOSAUR), but I'll never forget the day I woke up to find my dad and sister playing this in the living room because we finally owned it. It was too good to just keep renting! Kid Icarus

I didn't catch Kid Icarus the first time around. I didn't even play it until high school, but I was inspired to track it down because of my love for Greek mythology and the Metroid series. Kid Icarus takes place in a world heavily inspired by (but still distinctly different from) the swords, sandals, and sorcery epics of ancient Greece! It's considered a "sister game" to the original Metroid, released around the same time by the same team, and the game shares a lot of the core elements that make Metroid so unique and awesome: eerily lonely, dangerous worlds to explore, a challenging beginning, player-empowering character growth, and a focus on exploring vast, often vertically-scrolling worlds with satisfying run'n'gun'n'jump gameplay. Kid Icarus borrows all the best stuff from Metroid, but tempers it with a slate of unique design choices: instead of one sprawling world, KI is split into discrete levels. The first world is an ascent out of Hades with vertically oriented levels, the second world is a horizontal trek across the surface world, the third is another vertical ascent into the sky, and the finale is a horizontal, forced-scrolling shoot-em-up to reclaim the heavens! Every fourth level is a sprawling, maze-like, Metroid-ish dungeon, capped off with a frantic boss fight! Plus, Eggplant Wizards, credit cards, and RPG-style character upgrades! They don't make 'em like this anymore!! Duck Tales

It's not as groundbreaking as Super Mario Bros. 1 or as innovative as Super Mario Bros. 3, but that doesn't change the fact that Duck Tales could possibly be my favorite NES platformer of all time. You don't need to know anything about or even like the original cartoon (or the comic books that birthed it) to appreciate the challenging charms of this hop'n'bop classic. Duck Tales only has a handful of levels, but they're huge, full of hidden treasures, packed with alternate paths, swiss cheesed with secret passageways, and just gorgeous translations of Disney's lush cartoon worlds. Getting to choose your own path through Duck Tales' roster of big beautiful worlds is reminiscent of the Mega Man games (also by Capcom). What really sets Duck Tales apart is controlling Scrooge. He's spry for a septuagenarian billionaire, but his real talents lie in swinging and pogo-sticking off his cane! It's delightful cartoon nonsense, but if you get the hang of it, it's also incredibly satisfying, allowing you to make some wild, death-defying maneuvers. If you dig this and find yourself hungering for more bounce-centric gameplay, Shovel Knight takes Scrooge's cane, turns it into a shovel, and builds a deeply satisfying modern classic around it. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze finally gives Cranky a chance to shine as a playable character, and he straight-up jock's Scrooge's style, cane and all. It rules.

Super NES

Yoshi's Island

The first thing you'll notice about Yoshi's Island is that it looks like it was drawn with crayons, markers, and colored pencils! The second thing you'll notice is that Mario is a freaking baby! It's an odd premise, but it all comes together in perhaps the best sidescroller ever made. With Mario mustache-less and diaper-clad, this game puts you directly in control of Yoshi, and he is a joy to play as. Hovering to extend his jump power, turning enemies into eggs and chucking them, and butt-stomping are Yoshi's primary tools of the trade, and they mix things up nicely. This doesn't feel like "just another Mario," but it also feels right at home in the Mario pantheon. Beyond the Yosh-man's most basic maneuvers, there are some wild power-ups that turn Yoshi into a helicopter, a train that zips along in the background, a mole-tank, and more, plus special areas where Baby Mario gets superpowers and runs up walls and stuff! Yoshi's Island is another magical micro-world, jam-packed with extremely clever and fun level design and very possibly the biggest and best boss fights of all time. Ya gotta play this one.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong-Quest

I know I just talked about Yoshi's Island maybe being the best platformer of all time, but Donkey Kong Country 2 is right behind it, nipping at its heels. DKC2 has a wildly different aesthetic, dropping you into beautifully computer-rendered pirate shipwrecks, janky-but-glitzy night time carnival rides, endless bramble patches, a skyscraper-sized beehive, haunted forests, and more! They're not just beautiful to look at, but beautiful to listen to, because DKC2 features one of the all-time greatest video game soundtracks. Maybe the greatest. But this game ain't just another pretty face!

DKC2, like Super Mario Bros. 3 and Duck Tales, is stuffed to the gills with tricky little secrets and hidden areas and surprises. This game doesn't just have secret levels, it has a secret WORLD. This game doesn't just have a secret world, it has an entire secret ENDING. The classically solid platforming is accompanied by a wealth of mine cart challenges, awesome animal buddies, mini-games, and enough level design variety to keep you coming back for every last hidden treasure.

Super Metroid

Super Metroid doesn't just have secrets, it has mysteries. This was the first game to ever actually scare me. The first one to ever creep me out. And that just made me want to play it even more. It feels lonely and dangerous. Unlike the games earlier on this list, it is one HUGE and continuous world. It is a world of incomprehensible alien horrors, ancient moldering ruins, and high-tech space-faring bio-terrorists. This world, named Zebes, is a world where the sky continuously rains acid and almost every living thing inhabiting it wants to kill you. Good thing you're Samus Aran, the toughest, smartest bounty hunter to ever clean up Space Pirate scum!

Samus explores this acid-drenched nightmare planet by running, gunning, and jumping... but also by solving puzzles and thinking her way out of traps. With each power up she gets a little stronger, and can find her way deeper into this gnashing alien hellscape. It's a game that is sadly beautiful just as often as it is ghoulish. The story, simple and sketched-in as it is, is also deeper and more moving than you will ever expect. The boss fights are as massive, memorable, and epic as the ones in Yoshi's Island, but about a thousand times more intense and frightening. The music perfectly sets the dark, burbling mood of each region of Zebes, and by the end of the game you will feel like the most powerful hero in the galaxy. This mix of sci-fi, horror, and adventure isn't just a must-play, it's a life-changer.

Gameboy Color

Wario Land II

I love the Mario series, but I'm also absolutely crazy about Wario. He's a fat, greedy, chaotic, prideful, disgusting, bull-headed oaf. He's the polar opposite of Mario... and that's why I love him! He's not exactly a villain, but he's a definitely a troublemaker, and it is hilariously fun to walk (or stumble!) a mile or three in his shoes. The game before this, Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land is a ton of fun (as is Super Mario Land 2 before it!), but Wario Land II is the first one that truly feels like a Wario game. What makes this game so different? Wario can't be killed!

You read that right, there's (almost) no way to actually "die" in this game! No way to lose lives. That might sound too easy, or boring, or both, but it's not! Wario might be unkillable, but all KINDS of bad stuff can and WILL still happen to him. A LOT. He'll get flattened, set on fire, trapped in bubbles, fattened up, frozen, drunk, zombified, and more! And here's the kicker: those wacky conditions are required to solve the puzzles and challenges of each level! On top of that ingenious and perfectly wacky set of game mechanics, the story branches off in wildly different directions: you'll blow up the annoying alarm clock in your castle, play street basketball against a giant bunny, be nice to a chicken, visit Atlantis, race through a weird world of mouths, noses, and eyes, and more! There are multiple endings, multiple hidden exits, and multiple secret treasures and minigames to find and conquer. Almost all of the Wario Land and Wario Ware games are oddball masterpieces, but WLII is the perfect balance of weird, smart, funny, and challenging.

Nintendo 64

Super Mario 64

This is it. This is the game. In 1996, when I was in sixth grade, Super Mario 64 was the only thing I cared about. I begged and wished and hoped for a Nintendo 64 that Christmas, but it didn't come. I was crushed. Occasionally I was able to rent an N64 and Super Mario 64, and I'd lose whole days to this magical, miraculous game. When I couldn't rent it, I'd bug my classmates about it endlessly. "What level are you on? What's that level like? What stars can you get? What secrets have you found?" They'd answer a few of my ravenous, bug-eyed questions before getting uncomfortable and leaving to do something else. What was the big deal? Why was I (and still am) so obsessed?

The leap from Super Nintendo to Nintendo 64 was like the leap from console and computer games to virtual reality. But instead of short, funny minigames, it is a huge, sprawling world where anything seems possible. A magical, secret garden full of surprises, wonder, challenges, and secrets. Where the sun always shines in a cloudless sky... except when you plunge into the death-defying Bowser levels or the inappropriately terrifying Big Boo's Haunt. Oh Mario can definitely fly in this one like he did in Super Mario Bros. 3, but just the simple act of running around in circles and jumping through 3D space felt like a joyous miracle... one that puts 2-dimensional flight to shame. Each world (accessed by jumping INTO paintings in Princess Peach's sprawling but empty castle) is colorful, full of possibility, and chock full of distinct personality. Adventuring through 3D space for the first time ever was incredible on its own, but doing it in such richly detailed, lovingly crafted worlds made me want to play there forever. I still do.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Take everything I just said about Super Mario 64 and multiply it by ten! Well, sort of. Ocarina of Time took the lessons learned from Super Mario 64 and applied them to the dungeon-crawling, puzzle-solving Legend of Zelda series. The result was an incredibly groundbreaking game that I cherished almost as zealously as Super Mario 64. I don't think it's aged as well, but I don't care. Ocarina of Time is a grand story, spanning seven years (!!!) and the entire fantastical country of Hyrule. As Link, you jump forward and back through time, meet strange and wonderful new friends, discover hidden kingdoms, face the blood-soaked evil of Hyrule's past, save its future, outwit cunning puzzles and traps, steal and ride a magnificent horse, challenge towering, Super Metroid-style end bosses, wield magical weapons, break hearts, play beautiful music, and go fishing. It's an entire, epic fantasy life in one little cartridge.

This was the first Zelda game I ever spent SERIOUS time with, and the fact that it plays like a fantasy-fueled hybrid of Super Mario 64 and Super Metroid means I've lost entire days to it. I've played it start to finish at least 8 or 9 times. It never gets boring. Like Super Mario 64, Ocarina of Time invented how we make and play 3D games. This was the first 3D game where you could lock onto enemies and points of interest, plus a bevy of other camera controls that come standard in 3D games now (or at least they did for about a decade after Ocarina's release). The story is surprisingly cinematic and even gripping at times. You'll want to live in this world. You'll be sad when you see the end credits. Not because of the ending itself, but because there's no more game for you to play... until you start it all over again on the next save file.

Star Fox 64

Star Fox 64 was a life-changing event for me, just like Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time. So is Star Fox 64 a slow-paced, exploration heavy adventure into beautiful and fantastical solitude like those other two games? N O P E. It's a guns-blazin', fast action, dogfightin', barrel rollin', rock'em sock'em intergalactic action epic in supersonic spaceships! Piloted by talking animals! That actually talk! YES!

Instead of the wide-open freedom of Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of TIme, Star Fox 64 either puts you on (invisible) rails in a forced-scrolling attack run or in a contained 3D arena. Here's the kicker though, the levels are all so perfectly designed and the action is so expertly paced that you never feel restricted. You're too busy racking up kill combos, saving your wingmen, and navigating through flying, burning space debris and buildings and asteroids and terrain to think about what you can't do. And even on rails, Star Fox 64 gives you ways to explore! Most levels have multiple exits and there are a whole mess of different, branching paths through the entire, war-torn Lylat system. The game is designed to be played start to finish in a single sitting, but experimenting with repeat playthroughs is the only way to experience everything this laser-blazing action classic has to offer. On top of all that, it's got a great story, iconic, meme-worthy dialogue, and an absolutely banging soundtrack. It might not have changed the face of interactive entertainment like Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time, but it delivered the ultimate shoot'em up space adventure.

#Super Apartment Friends #video games #mario #Metroid #zelda #NES #SNES #N64 #Nintendo

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theblondeintheoffice · 4 years

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October 2020 Reading Wrap Up

If you’d like to visit the actual blog, here’s the link: http://theblondeintheoffice.com/2020/12/05/october-2020-wrap-up/

If you’d rather stay on Tumblr, I totally get that, too. Here’s the post:

Another month in the books, and we are well on our way to longer nights and cooler days. Here in Florida, it'll still be in the 80's well into December. I can't remember a holiday season in at least a decade where we haven't had the air conditioning on full blast. I've always wanted to wear one of those cute Snow Princess costumes - the cute velvet ones with the faux fur collars and cuffs - for Halloween, but it's just never been in the cards here.

In October, I didn't have a set TBR. My goal was to make up for my lack of spooky books in September. I really wanted to get into the Halloween spirit with some ghost stories or a creepy murder mystery. But not too scary because I'm the worlds biggest wuss. I did better - but I didn't quite get there. It wasn't for lack of trying - I went through my whole TBR and scoured Booktube to try to find some creepy-but-not-so-scary-I-wouldn't-sleep books. They just don't exist! I don't like scary. I don't like being scared. And you know what - there's nothing wrong with that.

So I'm sure by now you're ready to know what I actually did read. Well, without further ado . . . and remember that if you use the link in the paragraph, I get a few cents from your purchase through the Amazon affiliate program to help keep the blog going.

The first book I chose this month was The Haunting of H.G. Wells by Robert Masello. H.G. Wells, for anyone who doesn't know, was a prolific sci-fi writer in the late 19th century. In The Haunting of H.G. Wells, we see H.G. travel to front lines of the war to report and boost public morale. When H.G. gets separated from his unit and ends up in a mustard gas attack, he begins seeing things he can't explain. These apparitions start telling him that the war isn't just being fought on the frontlines - that there is a dangerous and deadly plot afoot in the heart of London. Can H.G. and his companion (yes, that kind) Rebecca West stop this plot?

This was a three star read for me. It's October appropriate because what's more spooky than ghost soldiers? Besides little kid ghosts . . . eesh. No. The Kindle version comes in at around 393 pages, and it's a fast paced romp through a war torn London in the early 20th century. It draws on well-known myths and lore and uses magical realism and other prominent characters from the time period to weave a tale of intrigue. The main antagonist is written well enough that you are honestly scared of him in a few scenes. The rest of the characters are a bit of a wash. Masello was definitely focused on making the book about H.G. Wells, and darn the fact that he has to write all these other characters, too.

Pick up your copy [ here ]

The second book I read in October was Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. Leigh Bardugo is better known for her Grisha series, which I haven't read yet. Ninth House is not part of this series. It looks like it might be part of its own series and I am HERE FOR THIS.

Ninth House tells the story of Alex Stern, a girl with a tragic past and a dark secret who is recruited to attend Yale by the Dean of the college after she survives a gruesome attack on her and her roommates. The college has nine houses. Eight are devoted to magick and the mystical arts. The ninth, called Lethe, is devoted to policing the other eight houses and making sure that they don't let anything out - or in. Alex is especially suited to this task because ever since she was a little girl, she's been able to see ghosts. When her trainer goes missing and a townie gets murdered on campus, she has to rely on this gift to solve both crimes, against the advice of Lethe house and in a wild race with time and the next moon cycle.

What a perfect book for October - a murder mystery about Yale in the fall! I was going to rate this one three stars - I was entertained but the story wasn't exactly life changing. In 476 Kindle pages, it didn't break my heart or leave me crying in my kitchen floor. The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized it deserves four stars. It's an original story, Alex was relatable to me (she's not to a lot of people but we aren't going to have that conversation today), and I couldn't put it down. I spent 2 hours sitting on a freezing cold beach with a biting wind blowing because I didn't want to put the book down to pack up and go back to the Airbnb. The ending wasn't exactly happy and there was no stupid romance shoved into the story just to be there. Are some things a stretch? Yes. I'm not saying it's a perfect story but I had so much fun reading it! If there is more to the Alex Stern series, I'll probably buy the ebook the day it comes out.

Grab your copy [ here ]

After reading Ninth House, I needed something a little lighter. The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw fit the bill. This was a total cover buy for me. I found it at one of my local used book stores. The wording and design on the cover are iridescent and it was sitting on its shelf shimmering when I decided it needed to come home with me.

The Wicked Deep tells the story of Sparrow, Oregon where three sisters were drowned as witches in the harbor of the little town. Ever since, for a short time each summer they return and steal the bodies of three girls with the aim of luring at least three more boys to their death in the deep, cold water. Penny Talbot has lived in Sparrow all her life and has watched the cycle play out for as long as she can remember. This year, Penny has something to lose. A new boy has just driven into town, and he has no idea what he just walked into.

This was another three star for me, albeit a low three. It was wonderfully YA tropey and was such a perfect read for October, even though it's set in summer. It was a quick, light read coming in at 320 Kindle pages. The author really made you feel for the sisters. To be murdered so violently for a crime they didn't even commit - well, I would absolutely come back and wreak havoc if I could. The ending left a lot to be desired, though, and the twist in the middle was so halfhearted that when it was revealed I just shrugged and kept reading. Overall, it's an easy read if you need a palate cleaner between heavy books and you don't feel like reading Harry Potter again.

Pick up your copy [ here ]

My closer for October is a book that you have no doubt seen on many a BookTube, Bookstagram, Bookblr, and book blog. It's majorly hyped for being a story of a black witch in a Salem-esque town with a religious hierarchy that recalls tales of Mormon polygamy and cult like devotion. It was also supposed to be scary as hell. What better book to read to close out October and celebrate Halloween with?!

The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson is about an orphan girl named Immanuelle who lives with her grandparents and cousins in a town called Bethel. After the tragic deaths of her mother and father before she was born, Immanuelle tries hard - very hard - to follow the teachings of the church and to worship the Father. Inside, though, Immanuelle knows that she's different. For starters, she can hear the Darkwood that surrounds Bethel calling her by name and beckoning her inside, which is strictly forbidden by the church. One night on her way home from the market, her ram runs into the forest. Immanuelle has no choice but to follow. In doing so, she starts a chain events that will change the town - and her - forever.

I really wanted to love this book. I wanted it to be a five star read. Witches and religous cults and a creepy forest - it's the perfect recipe to give you chills and enrage you all at the same time. That's not what I got from this one. It was a great concept - a young black witch going to war with a religious sect. I even got excited again writing the blurb up there! The writing fell flat for me. Immanuelle was a great character. Her pain, her conflict, her ostracization just for looking different made her complex and beautiful. The story didn't do her justice.

Ultimately, I gave this one three stars. I finished, I was entertained, and towards the end of the book I didn't want to put it down. According to Goodreads, I devoured all 363 Kindle pages in 4 days. Read it - really, I insist.

Buy it [ here ]

So to recap, I ended up with a historical fiction ghost story, an Ivy league murder mystery, a revenge story including possession, and a historical fiction about a witch. That is as scary as I would like to read, thankyouverymuch!

What did you read in October or how did you celebrate Halloween with social distancing?

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dreamhimcloser · 7 years

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2. Idol Boyfriend!Namjoon

That moment when, much to your own chagrin, you get really unreasonably excited about changing your relationship status on Facebook. Sure, you’re being the most basic version of yourself and you can’t believe you just uttered the phrase, “Facebook Official,” but goddamn it if it doesn’t feel good to be a part of this club of people who get to go on dates and shit with someone they actually love spending time with.

Namjoon/Reader, Fluff, pg, 1,454 words. Series Masterlist -x-

There are some things you gave up on when you made the decision to date an idol. You knew exactly what you were giving up, and even though you didn’t know how meaningful it will get as time passes by, you still said yes. You knew you wanted Namjoon. His words always floating around your head, and new ideas that you can present to him to see how excited he gets as he talks about his favorite subject brought you pre-excitement.

The first day you met was kind of weird. You walked into your Philosophy class with the slight fear of the unknown, the room was small, maybe big enough to hold twenty people. There was only one person sitting there already, completely covered up by a beanie, a pair of black tinted sunglasses and a scarf that hid the bottom part of his face. He kept shifting in his seat, waving his sweatshirt like he was on fire, which probably wasn’t far from what he felt with that many warming items wrapped around him.

You mentioned he’d be a lot less hot if he’ll take his hat and scarf off. He chuckled and followed your words, finally giving up on whatever he tried doing with this coverage. You had no idea just how wrong you were when his face was finally revealed to you, and the removal of items made him hotter. Way hotter.

You got why he was hiding, though; Recognizing him as RM from BTS took you mare seconds. He introduced himself as Kim Namjoon and you acted like you didn’t already know, saying your name back to him.

He caught you shortly after when he came over to study and caught sight of the ARMY bomb you didn’t think about when you spontaneously offered him to come. You were sure he’d catch a distance from you, but a few hours after he left your apartment he sent you this melody that he’s been working on lately and reached a block on. He wondered if your opinion would help him.

It did, and you developed an easy relationship around philosophy and his music, sharing thoughts and feelings on a deep level that surprised you. Namjoon trusted you, you had no idea why, but he trusted you not to go public with anything, to keep the real him, his thoughts, his music and his muse to yourself. So, you did.

He asked you out inside of a philosophy theory, laughing into his scarf when you just stared into the cup of coffee you were holding as you tried to piece together the implications of what he said.

You knew what you were giving up, and you were okay with it.

You unlocked your phone, the screen opening on your line conversation. The last message he sent you was ‘we’re going public’. Your message, ‘Who is?’ remained unanswered even three hours after you sent it.

Your house became relatively silent now that your heart was uncomfortably beating in your chest, loud enough to hear like a real drum. He couldn’t mean your relationship, right?

You gave up on shared pictures to flaunt, you gave up on telling your friends about your dates while using his real name. You gave up on them meeting him too, because you had no real clue how they’ll react to the news and his career was too important to try. You gave up on having an openly viewed relationship because your intimacy with Namjoon was just too much to lose.

You moved your eyes from the screen of your phone to the screen of your laptop, where the almost empty document that you’re supposed to hand in tomorrow staring back at you. All the metaphors that would have came easy to you in any other time just stared back, another riddle you cannot solve while feeling like you do.

Your way to Dispatch’s site was too easy. You spent the last three hours telling yourself that hearing whatever it was from Namjoon would have been better than to see it in a gossip site. Yet here you were, giving in to temptation. Namjoon’s picture was right there, in the center of the screen, bigger than pictures of other idols floating around. You closed your eyes before they could read the words and finally solve the mystery.

You lifted your hands to press your pointer fingers and rub at your temple, casting a shadow over your eyes that blocked some of the laptop’s light. The sun set while you were debating against yourself, and the laptop’s light was too harsh against your eyes.

Throwing the laptop off you, you finally lifted yourself from where you sat way too long, going straight for the light. Just as light filled your living room, your ringtone – you chose Reflection in a moment of unbearable love for your boyfriend – filled the room with its soft sounds. You walked closer, eyeing the picture of Ryan the Lion who filled your screen.

You could let his picture be there, not when he could have called you when other people were around your phone. Someone could notice. The character became familiar enough to belong to him by association, and even the sight of that made you smile.

“Yeah?” You answered, not bothering to play around. Namjoon always spotted the tone of your voice, there was no use in even trying. You learned that a long time ago.

“Babe,” He sounded a little out of breath. “I got news.”

You sat on the couch, pushing your laptop’s screen down with a victorious smile. At the very last moment you didn’t need to surrender to curiosity. “You got news three hours ago, thank you for finally recalling me.”

“I know how nervous you feel.” A door closed on his side of the line, and his surrounding turned completely quiet. Only when the contras came did you notice how noisy it was before he closed the door. “I’m sorry for taking so long.”

“Can you tell me now?”

“Okay,” His tone changed to a more excited note, and you couldn’t help but getting excited with him. One of the most amazing things about him is his excitement, not limited to anything from this realm on. “You remember out date last week? Your friend changed her Facebook status to ‘In a Relationship’ and you got super excited for her. Remember?”

You had no idea what to say. The direction that his words started taking was too close to your hopes. You gave up on all sorts of things in this relationship, yet you still craved them. Your friend’s Facebook status really was exciting, she shared something with you – and you wanted to do the same. You couldn’t, though; and it was okay. Just fine. Really.

Namjoon gave up on an acknowledgement that you’re not going to give him, “I have been talking to my managers and Bang PD. It took some time, I thought it’s going to take longer and I could prepare you for this, but everything happened so fast just now, and I gave a statement and it’s over.”

He was falling over his words and you felt like you were falling in love all over again. “Namjoon,” You spoke his name softly, your hand resting over your heart as you melted into the couch.

“I made a Facebook account,” Namjoon laughed, the small quiver in his voice not missed by your trained ear. “You can change your status now. We are – prepare for it – “You laughed before he finished the sentence, already knowing where this cliché is going. It’s so stupid and so Namjoon – “Facebook Official! Surprise!”

You kept laughing, wetness in your eyes that soon spilled out and you were so happy Namjoon is not around to see you cry, even if the strong emotion is coming from the crazy amount of happiness you were feeling.

“Is that lame?” He asked in the happiest, most hopeful tone you’ve ever heard on him. Even more than when he talked about especially romantic philosophical approach while gazing into your eyes.

“You’re lame.”

“I’m your lame.”

Well, if Namjoon was there to see your happy crying, you could have also kissed the life out of him in this moment.

#namjoon scenarios #bts scenarios #bangtan bookclub #btswriters #11bmir

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blogdience · 5 years

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The Last Hoorah

Welcome back to weekly blogs!!

Why do audiences consume what they do? What needs are audiences searching to satisfy based on the media they are searching to consume?

Audiences interact and engage with media for many different reasons and use media to fulfill many different needs depending on a user’s emotional well-being or a goal at a said moment in time.

For instance, many students may turn to their social media accounts to connect with friends or to keep up on the latest news every two minutes; to satisfy what needs exactly?

The need for escape or distraction from work.

We have all done it, student or not, media content is used as a constant distraction, although at times we may use media content to further excel our knowledge, such as digging for videos or articles to learn more on a topic.

For this particular theory of Uses and Gratifications, I want to focus on a little app I love and continuously use to satisfy my needs as a consumer of media; YouTube.

YouTube is a platform filled with videos to satisfy many needs of its users. Whether an audience member needs a good laugh, and informative learning video, or a good playlist of songs to match their mood, YouTube offers it all.

It makes me think about the particular YouTube videos I watch and reflect on why I choose to watch the videos I do and what need I am trying to fulfill.

I have always been interested in crime and the psychology and the mystery behind a criminal’s actions. I believe my fascination for it all came from my father and his career as a Peel Police detective in organized crime.

My Dad in his full Peel Police get-up as him and my mom head to his retirement ceremony.

First time ever seeing him wear this suit, he was always in jeans and plain t-shirts going to work!

It is something that always intrigued me, partly because the “behind the scenes” of criminal activities are only shown in movies or other fictional forms. I think the idea that humans can do such awful things, and the excitement of trying to solve something so extreme, fascinated me growing up and continues to do so. I went back and forth for years thinking of all the ways I could become a detective or deal with murder or missing people’s cases without starting as a boring ticket or traffic officer.

Now I realize for all jobs, as drake says, you need to start from the bottom.

I have been watching true crime YouTube videos for years. When I say true crime, the videos I watch are solved and unsolved murder cases, as well as, missing people or solved abduction cases. I would think of it as a topic I am extremely interested in, however, I am not in school studying. Therefore, I turn to these videos, whose creators usually have a background in criminology, to fulfill my “needs” or interest in such topics.

Two of my favorite YouTubers who I religiously watch are Bella Fiori and Kendall Rae.

As discussed in the lecture on October 10th, Gratifications can be broken down by the MAIN acronym.

M-modality

A-agency

I-interactivity

N-navigability

I watch their videos via YouTube on both my phone and laptop; whichever is most convenient at the time that I want to watch. This is referred to as mobility. No matter where I go, I am satisfied that YouTube is available as an app via my phone or on my laptop via Safari.

As much as I love watching videos on YouTube, I also love creating videos on YouTube. I have mainly only created travel and fun vlog videos, but this is an example of agency. I consume YouTubes content but turn into a prosumer when I share my own content.

Enjoy...

youtube

When I watch YouTube videos, I do not often comment or like the video. However, there are users who do feel the need to leave their opinion, like or dislike the video or take it a step further and mimic, mock or turn it into a meme.

Such as Rebecca Black's song “Friday”, that Professor Good showed in the lecture on November 14th, 2019.

In the instance of the true-crime videos, as I mentioned earlier, Kendall Rae sells merch where 100% of the proceeds goes to the organization called “Thorne” where they help find victims, limit crimes, and raise awareness for sex trafficking. Audience members who purchase, design the t-shirts, leave suggestions, or share, are interacting with the creator’s content. Interacting with media content this way gives the audience members a chance to give back and feel fulfilled in doing so.

Lastly, most social media users do not just have one form of social media. I personally find myself following and interacting with the YouTubers I watch across other social media platforms.

Different platforms of social media allow audiences to interact with media is various different ways based on what the platform offers. However, when texts get spread across different platforms it can cause a telephone effect. News or scandals can get misinterpreted or easily spread like wildfire. Not only that but with many different platforms of media allows for many different opinions.

We live in a digital day and age where “cancel culture” is huge. If one thing is misinterpreted or decoded in the wrong way, audience members can turn a person’s world upside down within hours.

In recent news, Don Cherry, a long-time Canadian Icon, shamed Canadians who do no purchase poppies during the month of remembrance for Canadian soldiers. For those who missed the live Coaches Corner episode, where Cherry “misspoke” by referring to immigrants as “you people” instead of addressing it as “everyone”, the video can be found on almost every social media platform…

However, here is a video from City News Toronto’s YouTube channel…

youtube

The whole scandal started when Don Cherry was mentioning the poppy. A widely known symbol throughout Canada that reminds its nation of all the fallen soldiers who fought for our freedom and the ones that continue to do so.

That nights broadcast of Hockey Night in Canada was broadcasted to millions, not just in Canada, but all of America too.

How an audience interprets Don Cherry’s message is based solely on each individual audience members personal experiences and upbringing. For instance, immigrants and people of color were mainly offended by Cherry’s comments. Defending themselves, many of “those people” who immigrated to Canada, who claim that they do wear a poppy and support the Canadian vets were extremely offended by the comments made. Of course, on the contrary, those who were on Cherry’s side either kept quiet or were majority white Canadians who were born and raised here.

In this instance, those who came to Canada felt attacked by Cherry’s comments and those who were born and raised in Canada agreed with his comments.

For instance, I am a twenty-year-old female, born and raised in Canada, and I grew up in a very hockey-oriented family which led to Don Cherry being on my television set every Saturday night. From my perspective, what Don Cherry was attempting to say was correct and everyone, whether born here or not, should be wearing a poppy in remembrance. I do not agree with how he spoke and the words he chose to use to get his message across. However, I may interpret Cherry’s comments in that way because of my background and how I was raised.

While many people have their thoughts and opinions, I think in this case especially, the audience member’s background and demographics directly affect how you respond to the comments made by Cherry and your reaction to the news of him being let go after 38 years of Hockey Night in Canada.

However, times are changing, rights are changing, and in this social media, cancel culture day and age, comments such as Don Cherry’s do not always fly.

Fans were furious when SportsNet announced they were letting Don Cherry go. The buzz around it all hit home for many Canadians and others who grew up with Coaches Corner every Saturday night tuning in to see Don’s many crazy suits. Cherry became a Canadian icon for a reason, he became a part of the hockey audiences Saturday night viewing routine.

Often, hockey fans become very immersed with the games they watch, especially if it is their favourite team playing. Don Cherry would give his professional hockey advice based on his evaluation of the first period. The part that made Don Cherry so popular, is his straight to the point, uncensored opinions. Cherry, aside from his hockey sense, is known to be unapologetically himself and I believe that is what fans loved about Coaches Corner. When Coaches Corner appeared after the first period, at least in my hockey household, everyone would stop and listen to Don Cherry’s thoughts on how the players, coaches, or refs were performing.

The firing of Don Cherry disrupted many Saturday night hockey rituals.

The week following Cherry’s firing, conversations throughout fans started circulating. Fans began questioning who Cherry will be replaced with or what will now fill the Coaches Corner broadcasting time after the first period.

Fandom is “associated with cultural tastes of subordinated formations of the people, particularly those disempowered by any combination of gender, age, class, and race” (Fiske cited in Sullivan, p 193).

Fandoms can hold great power when they rally together.

For instance, Don Cherry got fired due to audience members complaining and writing into SportsNet.

On the contrary, fans of Cherry and Coach’s Corner are currently rallying together, and earlier this week protested outside of Rogers (Owner of SportsNet) headquarters in Toronto.

Whether or not Cherry gets brought back, the voices of fans are very powerful and are heard.

For instance, the city of Toronto, while awaiting Kawhi Leonard’s decision on signing with the Raptors, tried to sway the basketball star to stay with Toronto by offering “Kawhi and Dine” restaurants where Kawhi and his family would be able to eat for free. A multi-million-dollar penthouse was also offered to Kawhi for free along with many other things. Fans of Toronto and all of Canada was making an outcry for Kawhi to stay and as a result companies and real estates offered up insane deals if the athlete signed with the Raptors.

Not a bad time to be Kawhi...

Meet mini Brooke...

This is me when I was in grade four and did my very first speech on my favourite hockey player Sidney Crosby. That same year I got a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey with Crosby’s number as well as a hat.

In the lecture on November 7th, Professor Good listed on a spectrum the types of fandoms from the most passive to the most active. From passive to active the continuum went as follows; Consumer, enthusiast, fan, petty producer.

As a young fan of Sidney Crosby and always begging my parents for Penguins merchandise, I would definitely put myself in the consumer category. I would also consider mini Brooke to be an enthusiast as well as a fan because those pictures were taken moments before my dad recorded me saying my speech and later emailing it off to the Pittsburgh Penguin team.

Arguably, I could be a producer by making a fan letter and video of my speech to send to Crosby. Weeks later I got a response from the team and a signed Crosby hockey card.

Some fandoms, for instance, take their support and turn themselves into producers such as creating fan pages, blogs or YouTube accounts dedicated to the content they are fans of.

Sullivan mentions Intellectual property and discusses the challenging question of when users of digital media create content who exactly owns the content that is being generated? Should content creators, regardless of the size of their following, be given credit or payment for the refurbishment of their work?

Jack Denmo is a Canadian YouTuber from Hamilton, ON who started creating videos interviewing young adults within the bar atmosphere of Hess Village. He has a subscription of 414,000 people on YouTube and 29,500 followers on Instagram. Just recently the television station French TV aired Jack's videos on their program. One of Jacks' follower's videos recorded the feature and sent it to the YouTube Creator.

Jack responded by posting it on his story asking French TV “Where're my cheques, boys?”.

Content creators, especially YouTubers, produce content and post it on a public platform where it has the potential to be scooped up by big companies or stations such as French TV to then be used as television entertainment for their audiences without any payment given to the original creator.

Many of us are working for these large companies for free and our audience attendance and participation are sold to advertisers. Many blog websites or social media sites would not be able to support themselves if audience members did not actively, but passively, work for them.

Sullivan coins this term as “Crowdsourcing”. This means that companies rely on content creators and audience members to create content for them.

For instance, many companies such as Frito-Lay did a competition with its consumers, challenging them to come up with their next chip flavour. While consumers went to work inventing and working with different flavours to create the next Lays flavour, Frito-Lay sat back and let the consumers do the work.

On a smaller scale, I previously mentioned the YouTuber Kendall Rae and the Thorne initiative to raise awareness around sex trafficking. The t-shirt designs that are sold are to raise money for Thorne are created by Kendall Rae’s audience members. This is another example of Crowdsourcing because Kendall Rae’s fans are putting in work and effort to create a design to be sold. These fans and contributors are of course unpaid.

As you can see, audience consumption, creation, and how audiences interpret the content that they consume is extremely powerful and can sometimes raise tricky questions.

Audience experiences and interpretations of the content that is consumed can lead to the careers of people, such as Don Cherry, to be jeopardized and “canceled”. In a generation where fans can easily make their voices heard, it ultimately has a huge impact on certain media content and what is produced to appeal to what fans want. It becomes a sticky situation also when content creators are not getting correct recognition for the work, they put into the content they create.

At what point should an online content creator get paid and given proper ownership of their content?

As well as, who has the power in today's society? The media or the audience?

If you ask me, from the examples I have talked about within this blog, it is evident that the audiences of today's media content hold extreme power. Media companies want to satisfy the needs of consumers and will go to lengths such as changing plot lines or firing popular segment hosts, such as Don Cherry, to avoid the possibility of being canceled by overbearing audiences.

Today, Transmedia makes news and opinions of audience members spread like wildfire. Once the headline of something breaks loose, almost every social platform is booming with the opinions of its audience members. We live in an inescapable society, where thoughts and opinions are strongly being shared. Audiences, now than ever before, have the tools and access to make their concerns known and stand for their beliefs, thus, putting power now in the audiences hands.

Thanks for reading!!!

References

Sullivan, J. (2013 or 2020). Media Audiences: Effects, users, institutions and power (1st or 2nd ed.). Sage Publications Inc., New York, NY.

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ygofanfics · 7 years

Text

Gateway to the Past

A/N: I really like the thought of the priests in modern day, especially if they all had some/all of their memories. So have Mahad basically spoiling the rest of the plot to Yugi and Yami :p

Not proof read cause literally no time, but I wanted to put something up.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh

Yugi gave a sigh as he flipped through the cards in his deck, going over ever card for what felt like the hundredth time. He was supposed to meet with Joey so that they could get themselves prepared for Kaiba's new tournament, Battle City. It was the hottest news and everyone was excited, the entire town bustling for the first time in a while. But in typical Joey fashion, his friend was late, having called him earlier stating that he had overslept. That had been about ten minutes ago and while Yugi didn't have anything else to do, he didn't really have much else to occupy him other than his deck.

Rearranging himself, Yugi glanced down at his Millennium Puzzle for a moment, faint smile coming to his face. He kind of wished that Yami was there so that the two of them could talk. But the spirit of the puzzle seemed to like his time alone, so Yugi didn't want to disturb him. They were still trying to get used to one another, bond fairly stable but still a bit awkward from time to time. Although Yugi didn't mind that all too much. It was nice having someone around who seemed to be just as awkward as him.

Giving a faint chuckle, Yugi rested a hand on the puzzle while he glanced around at the people walking past. As his eyes flickered about, he noticed someone stopping a few feet away from where he was seated, causing him to look over.

The first thing that he noticed was that the man was tall. Very tall. He had long brown hair and piercing gray eyes that seemed to be locked on him. More specifically, his Millennium Puzzle. The hand Yugi had on his Puzzle tightened a bit, a small wave of anxiety. After dealing with multiple people making grabs at his Millennium Puzzle in the past, someone that he didn't know even cutting a glance at it made him immediately cautious.

That anxious air didn't leave him as the man walked up to him, curious look on his face. “Hello, I couldn't help but notice your pendant. It looks quite...interesting,” the man stated.

“Umm, yeah. It's...interesting, I suppose. You don't really see pendants this large, huh?” Yugi responded awkwardly, not quite sure what to feel.

The man just hummed in respond, eyes narrowing the tiniest bit before his expression cleared. “I actually had a few questions, if you did not mind me asking.”

Still very much cautious, although not really have much of a reason to turn down the man, Yugi slowly nodded his head. In the back of his mind, he could feel Yami's presence waking up, the spirit materializing next to him in an instant. As the strange man sat down, Yami occupied the only other empty seat, eyes trained on the man.

“I suppose I should get right to the point. You see, I am currently on a...journey, if you will. I am searching for seven items, all possibly related to your puzzle. Given that you are in possession of it, it would be safe to assume you are already aware of the power your puzzle holds, correct?” the man rattled off suddenly, leaning in and speaking in a low voice as to not draw attention to them.

Not quite sure what to say, Yugi just slowly nodded his head, resulting in the strange man giving him a smile. “I thought so. After extensive research, I've concluded that many of the items seemed to have been making their way to this small town. Although given the gravity of the situation at hand, it does not surprise me in the least.” The man cut himself off, glancing around quickly before scooting his chair closer.

“What I am about to tell you is very important. As crazed as my words may seem, I ask that you please heed them, lest the destruction of this world be all but guaranteed,” the man started off, quickly getting Yugi and Yami's attention. Both of their eyes widened in shock.

It seemed almost too good to be true. As such a short time between Yugi solving the puzzle, and the end of Duelist Kingdom where they both established the promise of helping Yami get back his memories, suddenly someone comes to them with information that could prove useful. Yugi immediately sensed the skeptical energy coming from his other self. Yami was always more cautious, more suspecting than him. It was honestly a trait that Yugi himself should probably acquire at some point or another, if only to keep them both out of harm's way.

And yet, what other choice did they have? Neither of them had any idea where to even start looking when it came to getting clues. Yugi's grandpa didn't know much else other than legends, and his colleague wasn't much more help. The internet, which very useful in basic knowledge about the time period, didn't exactly help when they had no idea which time period to even start looking through.

“What do you know?” Yugi asked softly.

Mouth pressed together tightly, the man started, “I am sure you are aware of the existence of the Millennium items, and how your Puzzle is one of the seven. These items were created in order to protect the country of Egypt. But the items had a dark past. In order for these items to be created, an entire village was sacrificed in order to give the items their power.” Mahad's hands tightened, but his face gave away no emotion.

A feeling of horror was on Yugi's face, and across their bond, he felt the same coming from Yami as well. He found it hard to believe that the same item that had brought him the spirit of the puzzle, as well as the friends that he has come to love, was the product of a sacrifice. And yet, it would explain the stranger aspects of the puzzle.

Not paying Yugi any attention, Mahad continued on with his story. “When a lone survivor made himself known, the start of a great, horrid battle begun. There were many casualties to the battle, including the pharaoh himself. The pharaoh sacrificed himself in order to protect his kingdom and his people, sealing both himself and Zorc away in his Millennium Puzzle.”

Everyone's eyes glanced at Yugi's Puzzle, which suddenly felt heavier hanging from Yugi's neck. Looking to his side, Yugi saw that Yami looked shocked, horrified, sad...There were several emotions flinting across the other male's (pharaoh's?) face. Noticing his line of sight, Mahad followed his gaze to the empty seat across from him. His eyes narrowed for a moment, before they widened the tiniest bit.

“You are able to see him, aren't you?” Mahad asked.

Yugi nodded, hands cradling the puzzle. “I've been able to see him for a while. He's...he's been beside me ever since I solved the puzzle,” Yugi answered, small smile coming to his face. But the smile quickly left as he looked up at Mahad. “Why are you telling us this anyway? I mean, not that I don't believe you, but...,” Yugi trailed off, not quite sure what to say at this point.

“I fear that the power of Zorc will be resurrected once again. Lately, I have felt a tense feeling that I have not felt in...quite sometime,” Mahad answered. “It is the pharaoh's destiny to defeat Zorc and to accept his true place in the afterlife.”

Face tensing, Yugi gave a slow nod. Afterlife...Funnily enough, it had never truly hit him that Yami was dead. He was a spirit stuck in an ancient Egyptian item, with no memories and no leads to figuring out what his purpose was. And now, this mysterious man, with seemingly all the answers that they have been searching for, has opened a can of worms that Yugi wasn't quite sure if he wanted open.

“How do we stop this Zorc guy from coming back?” Yugi asked.

Mahad sighed, a look of defeat coming to his face. “I am afraid that I don't have that answer for you. Zorc was sealed within the confines of the Millennium Puzzle and without the spell, no one can resurrect him. But things have changed now. I'm afraid you have only my word and my instincts to base your judgement on, but I do feel as though a dark force is at work to bring back Zorc once more.”

It didn't sound good. Honestly, if it was dealing with anything else, Yugi probably would have just brushed off the man's story and went about his business. But he has witnessed first hand the insane nature of the Millennium items. He's seen the items steal souls, destroy minds, enter other dimensions...and there was the spirit of an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh stuck inside his puzzle. At this point, everything that the man said was pretty normal.

But if they chose to believe the man and go with his word, that would mean eventually accepting the fact that he would have to see Yami off once and for all. And while he knew that would happen eventually, he had thought that there would be more time. He thought that the more the pushed that day behind in his mind, he wouldn't have to worry about it. But now, he'd have to accept that idea, and work to help Yami complete his destiny.

It was a hard pill to swallow, and he wasn't sure if he was ready to digest it.

A/N: Ahhhhhh cliff hanger. Idk what this story is, hence why is strangely cut off right there, whoops. :p Also I have like no time for a heavily detailed story, so if stuff doesn't add up/make sense, I'm sorry.

#YGO #yu-gi-oh #fanfiction #fanfic #Yugi #Mahad #Yami

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a-gay-bloodmage · 7 years

Text

—Where’s the dress?—

For @zevranology‘s #Zevwarden week

Pairing: Zevran x Male Amell Warden ((Side of platonic Leliana x Warden))

Pairing Type: M/M

Words: 3,880

Warnings: Blood Magic/Mind manipulation, Cross-Dressing, use of OC’s name

Shoutout to my proof-reader and tired friend @winchesterhorizon for helping!

“What do you mean? How is it now that you’re not fit to do anything?” Zevran was watching his Warden slowly lose his mind. They’d been assigned a job from the dear old Arl of Redcliffe to infiltrate a party, and steal some very important documents. Something to do with nobles, torture, Loghain, and Howe.

Very fun things.

Although, if he were to ask his Warden, nothing was fun about any of this, and running errands for the Arl is as bad as the rack. Although, moods tended to go south fast when one of two people needed for the job was currently lying on a bed of furs with her leg crushed. Leliana had been quite unfortunate in their last encounter with the Darkspawn, and had gotten one of her lovely legs caught under a fallen ogre.

Now that wasn’t fun at all.

“Dear,” Zevran said, placing his hand on his Warden’s shoulder, directing him to a log by the firepit to sit down. “Just breathe, we’ll figure something out!” He was smiling a very fake smile. “Since when have we ever failed a mission simply because one of us wasn’t up to the job?”

“If you’re referencing the time our lovely Alistair got food poisoning and we had to take Shale to run errands for the Chantry, I will tell you now, that was different!” The Warden, a mage named Redren, wasn’t often the most pleasant person. He had a fairly short temper most of the time, and despite his soft face and frail-looking body, he was Hell on Earth when he was angry.

“If I may,” Leliana piped up, “it might be best to replace me with Morrigan, as, well, she’s the only other young lady we have. Sorry Wynne.”

“No need to apologize, I am aware I’m aged,” Wynne commented.

“As I told you,” Morrigan snarled. “I have no interest going to this party for such trivial things. If ‘tis truly so important, can we not just break in and take these papers? There is no need for polite society in war.” Zevran would’ve been inclined to agree, but he of all people knew that sometimes, playing to ‘polite society’ was the only way to get a job done efficiently. If torturers could be counted as members of a polite society.

“Lovely Morrigan,” Zevran said, sitting down on the log next to Redren, keeping his hand on the fuming mage. “This is an operation of stealth, and all we need to do is figure a way out of this current crisis. I am sure we will come up with something, as I cannot recall an incident where we did not.”

“Zevran,” Redren sighed, sounding calmer, but defeated. “Leliana said, very clearly in her note that she was a member of the noble Sarina family, and that she was a ‘fair-skinned, red-haired maiden,’ and that she was to be accompanied by her elven servant. And last I checked, we have no other fair-skinned, red-haired maiden on hand!” Redren was back to fuming, and knowing him, Zevran knew it wasn’t really because of how this mission was likely going to be a bust, but more of the fact that he blamed himself for not protecting Leliana in battle as well as he thought he could’ve. But in truth, accidents did sometimes happen, and nothing could be changed now, so it only made matters worse to dwell on unchangeable things. As he sat thinking of what to say, he couldn’t help but notice he was sitting next to another fair-skinned, red-haired person. An idea sprung forth, and he couldn’t help the snort that broke the relative silence of the morning.

“Something funny, Zevran?” Redren asked, not exactly happily.

“Not funny per se, but rather, well, interesting.” He explained. “I have an idea, but I’m not too sure you’ll be very fond of it.”

“If it helps fix this mess, I’m willing to do damn near anything! So spit it out.”

Zevran was holding onto hope that the Warden’s feelings for him would help him listen. He and Redren had been together for a while, both of them truly smitten with each other. He only hoped that his love was still there as strong as before, since their relationship had hit a bad bump a month back.

“I propose that we work with what we do have,” he started. “We may only have one fair-skinned, red-haired maiden, but we also have a fair-skinned, red-haired man.”

“You’re joking.” Redren said, both as a statement and a question. “You have to be joking.”

“I am afraid I am not, my dearest Warden,” Zevran replied. “But unless anybody else comes up with a better plan, mine is all we have.”

Redren just buried his head in his hands. Zevran wasn’t the best at comforting men right before they lost a good chunk of their remaining masculinity, so he decided to just pat his Warden on the back.

He heaved a heavy sigh before he spoke. “Where’s the dress?”

Redren was thankfully only an inch taller than Leliana, standing at 5'9" over her 5'8". Zevran couldn’t exactly hear what was going on in Leliana’s tent, but based on the sudden squeal of Maker, woman! That’s bloody tight! it was safe to assume that Leliana had just yanked the laces on the corset. Zevran, on the other hand, was easily putting on his dress clothes, which were a lovely deep red, with gold, black, and white. Not to mention, actually comfortable. He assumed Redren wasn’t as happy with his outfit. He left his tent, and sat by the fire, where Alistair was sitting with Oghren and Morrigan. Wynne was taking a nap, and Shale was on patrol with Sten and Dog, Redren’s mabari.

“He sounds like he’s having a lot of fun in there, eh?” Oghren laughed, just as another yell was heard, this time something about a brassiere and Andraste’s flaming breasts. “But I suppose being dressed up and touched all over by a woman as beautiful as that one is comes at a price, huh? Lucky him!”

“Oghren,” Alistair whispered, not so quietly. “He’s gay, remember?”

“Ancestors, yeah.” He paused, thinking. “So he’s doing all this for free? That kid’s a sodding soldier!”

Zevran couldn’t help but laugh at their conversation. Overhearing dialogues from confused heterosexual men was always fun. Just as he opened his mouth to make a dirty comment about just what they were missing out on, they all jumped as Redren squealed again. This time, they very clearly heard Leliana yelling back.

“How long has it been since you brushed your hair?!”

“I don’t know!”

“Do you even own a hairbrush?!”

“Why would I?!”

“Because your hair’s longer than mine, and I just hit a knot the size of a curled up mouse in this rat’s nest!”

All three of the men by the fire snickered at the exchange. As soft as his face was, Redren was certainly no dainty lady. Even Morrigan looked amused, likely due to the pain their Warden was suffering though, the sadist.

It was about midday, which gave Zevran and Redren about three more hours before they had to head out. They’d be walking to the traitorous noble’s manor, about five miles north. A good two hour walk if they stoped for a quick break halfway. If Leliana had her way, however, Redren would be in that tent for another three years getting his hair brushed.

While Redren was busy getting non-consensualy and mildly violently pampered, Zevran was sharpening two of his smaller daggers. He knew that if things got ugly, he’d need to pull them out quickly, so he decided to store them on the inside of his trousers, hooked onto his belt. Whether or not it was agreed on, Zevran’d have to play bodyguard for Redren tonight, as the mage was not only in a less than combat-ready outfit, but he wouldn’t have his staff. As a weapon of both increased magical power and blunt force, Redren would be basically naked without his precious stick. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the kind of nakedness that Zevran enjoyed. Of course, Redren could still use magic without his staff, but it wasn’t as strong as it would be otherwise.

Then again, that statement wasn’t entirely false. To his knowledge, at least.

Zevran remembered reading something a while back, when he was training to take out a group of Blood Mages that had been ruining someone’s plans of political corruption. The research had said that Blood Mages had no need of staffs when performing Blood Magic, and that a simple drop of a victim’s blood was enough to manipulate the target. Blood Mages were the most dangerous of all magic users, and Redren happened to be such a mage.

There were many aspects of magic Zevran didn’t understand. Many aspects. He’d never had any practical need for such knowledge in life. So when he realized that the Grey Warden was a mage, he’d been more excited than before. He took the offer faster than he would have otherwise. What better way to die then at the hands of an unknown enemy with unknown powers? Of course, things hadn’t gone as according to plan, but even as he traveled alongside his Warden, there’d always been a slight air of mystery around him. Magic was a big part of Dalish culture, of course, so it had fascinated him growing up, like every other aspect of the wild elves. Eventually, some of the mysteries of Redren were solved, like what sounds he made when Zevran got just the right angle, or what he looked like after a couple hours of frenzied lovemaking. Those were especially fun to discover.

What wasn’t so fun was learning the man he’d shared his bed with, his secrets with, was a practitioner of the most forbidden magic of all. It’d only been about a month since they found out, and yet it was still so hushed, so taboo, nobody really spoke of it. Of course, they all had at the beginning, leading to a lot of crying, confessions of murder bordering on slaughter, and the newfound knowledge that many Blood Mages never chose to be they way that they were, and that sometimes, a mage is simply born a blood mage. That had been a very strange couple of hours.

“Zevran!” He heard Alistair yell, snapping him out of his thoughts. He was painfully aware of how comfortable he was getting in their little camp, frustrated how his mind wandered sometimes. An assassin’s mind shouldn’t ever wander, but then again, he wasn’t an assassin anymore, and– doing it again!

“Yes, Alistair?” Zevran asked, setting his razor-sharp blades to the side.

“Are you really comfortable with this whole thing?” Alistair’s voice was hushed, and Zevran noticed it was only him and Alistair by the fire. The others must’ve left a while ago.

“'Thing’ is a very broad term, so I ask you elaborate.”

“This whole, you know,” he gestured to Leliana’s tent. “Not just the, well, the making a man dress like a woman, but the whole, traveling alone with him.” Zevran could tell easily that Alistair was nervous.

“Well, if anything, I find the idea of dressing up a handsome man into a beautiful woman quite fun, as it’s certainly a good mix of my tastes!” He laughed. “But as for traveling alone with him, why do you talk like something bad will happen? I’m quite confident in both our abilities to handle ourselves.”

“See, that’s what I’m talking about!” Alistair’s voice was a bit shaky. “His abilities, aren’t you nervous being alone with him? Maker knows I’d be,” he whispered.

“Alistair,” Zevran sighed. “I trust him. It may sound crazy, but I have faith he can control his powers. I understand that sometimes, he’s not the most level-headed person, but I don’t believe he’s unable to control his magic. You can’t deny he did very well before we knew.” His voice was a bit harsh, as he was trying to calm two people at once. Zevran hated how apprehensive he was at the idea of being alone with Redren, something he never truly worried about before. He’d known the man for about six months, but only recently had he been, apprehensive. Redren had been nervous as well, hardly acting like he used to. If anything, Zevran thought, the only one who he truly acts the same around is Leliana. She was upset, sure, but for some reason, they always got along so well… He tried not to think about it.

“Alright!” A sing-song voice announced. Zevran turned to look at Leliana, who hobbled out of the tent on a makeshift crutch. “I present to you, the lovely young lady that shall be taking my place tonight!”

As the Warden walked out of the tent, Zevran actually felt his jaw drop. That did not look like his Warden.

Redren’s long ginger hair was brushed, trimmed at the ends, even, his bangs finally falling evenly, covering his fairly unattractive black eyebrows. His waist was cinched, and the dark, blood red dress filled out for the curves he didn’t have. Zevran even noticed that Leliana had likely stuffed one of her own brassieres to give him a noticeable bust.

“Would you all kindly stop staring?” He grumbled, his voice the same, despite the rouge on his lips and cheeks. His bright eyes had dark shadow on them as well, making their green colour that much more vibrant.

“Maker,” Alistair said in an exhale. “Is it a compliment to say that I find you attractive as a woman?” Redren’s eyes widened a bit at that, probably not expecting Alistair to acknowledge that he actually looked good out loud.

“Uh, sure?” He shrugged. “I don’t exactly feel like a lady, but hopefully this’ll fool them long enough.”

“I have found a problem,” Morrigan piped up from a couple feet away from the fire. “We did not inform our lovely targets that their maiden was mute. As ladylike as you appear, your voice, well, 'tis still that of a man.”

“Oh, that’s simple enough.” Redren smiled rolling his eyes. He cleared his throat, and spoke, several octaves higher. “It’s not too hard for me to do a woman’s voice. I just sound like a have a little bit of a cold!”

“You,” Oghren mumbled. “Are too full of surprises for me, woman. I’m taking a nap.” The dwarf waddled off back to his tent, muttering something about women, liars, and never again.

“Well,” Zevran started, still in slight shock. “May I say you look lovely? My compliments to Miss Leliana, too, of course, I never thought any mortal could brush that hair!”

“It was a struggle, that’s for sure!” She laughed. “Now, I think it’s time for you two to head out. Don’t want to be late!” She gave Redren a kiss on the cheek as she cupped her hand around the other side of his face. “Have fun and don’t get killed!” Her smile was bright, but Zevran could see in her eyes that she was worried.

When they were about ten minutes down the winding forest road, Zevran finally spoke up.

“I really do mean it, you look very nice.” Zevran could hardly take his eyes off of Redren’s painted lips.

“Thanks,” Redren said with a shrug. “It’s just that, this is a bit weird. I’m not exactly a girl, so it’s really strange to be complimented like I am one.”

“Understandable,” Zevran nodded. “But for what it’s worth, you look nice in your everyday dress, too!”

“Robe, Zevran.” Redren chuckled. “Not a dress.”

“Fine. Would you prefer I say I find you stunning with no pants on?”

“Oh, now you’re teasing!” Redren lightly elbowed Zevran in the shoulder, making the elf laugh.

They both fell quiet, walking down the forest path.

Redren cleared his throat quietly, pausing before he said anything.

“And, I, I think you look good in that.” Zevran was a bit taken aback at Redren’s shyness. Just a month ago, there wouldn’t have been any hint of hesitancy in his voice.

“Thank you,” Zevran smiled. “And may I ask a favor of you?” Redren paused in his walking for a moment, turning to look at Zevran.

“Sure,” he responded, still hesitant.

Zevran reached out to grab Redren’s gloved hand with his own. He intertwined their fingers, soft brown leather rubbing against black cloth. Zevran noticed the softening of Redren’s posture, his shoulders less tense than before.

“Let’s get back to walking, now, no?”

Redren responded with a shy smile, something Zevran would never tell him looked absolutely adorable on his current feminine face.

If anything in the world was obvious, it was that there were certain groups of people Redren hated. Zevran watched him with amusement, entertained at how the Warden could curl his lip into a disgusted snarl as soon as a noble woman blinked, but revert back to a sickly sweet smile as soon as a lady turned around. Zevran knew some of the nobility could be oblivious to their surroundings, having been raised in palaces their whole lives. That’s not to say they were easy targets, however, their personal armies of guards made sure of that. Watching Redren actually speak with the noble ladies was certainly a slight.

“Oh, did you hear of the mess that Circle on Calenhad got into? Demons! Honestly, they should’ve just let those abominations burn!” Zevran watched Redren with careful eyes, seriously afraid his temper would get the best of him.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Redren replied, his false voice dripping with poisonous sweetness, “I happen to think mages are quite useful!” Zevran was interested to see where this was going. “I mean, without them, we’d have to deal with the Templars ourselves!” The noble woman he was talking to burst out in laughter, nasally with the distinct hint of inbreeding.

“Ha! Certainly! I can’t imagine the horror of more of those men without those magic freaks to play with! Did I mention that once…” she launched into a lengthy story that involved a Knight Commander, Lyrium, and group sex, and Zevran could see Redren’s eyes slowly glaze over as he nodded his head smiling.

Eventually, the woman shut up, wandering over to an elven servant to grab more wine and bother someone else. He couldn’t help but watch her walk away, her hips full, having never once faced going hungry in her life.

“Okay, it’s nine o'clock,” Redren whispered to Zevran. “Just follow me, I’ll persuade her.” With those words, they began to work their way to their target, the Lady Redthorn. She was wealthy, powerful and beautiful, but unlike the other brainless women she entertained, she was known to be as sharp as an assassin’s blade. Zevran didn’t like these sorts of targets, and since they were out in the open, slitting her throat quick wasn’t an option. Unfortunately for him, Zevran wasn’t given any sort of instruction other than trust me, something that wasn’t as easily to do now as before. As his mind was racing with plans, he didn’t get time to think before Redren spoke.

“Lady Redthorn?” He began, his voice sweet, but lower than before. “As much as I appreciate the décor, I’m afraid I wish to speak to you-” he placed a gloved hand on her shoulder as he whispered. “- in private.”

“Oh?” She purred, a thin black eyebrow raised. “And what may this be about?”

For as prudish as he acted sometimes, Zevran couldn’t help but feel complete surprise as he watched Redren play something eerily similar to a seducer.

“I wouldn’t wish to speak to you in private if I could simply say it in the open, yes?” His grip on her shoulder tightened, his eyes growing slightly colder. “And I truly do wish you do as I desire, my lady.” The noble woman nodded, and Zevran noticed how she swallowed hard.

“Of course. My room?”

“That would be wonderful,” Redren grinned, his smile dark. Zevran had to truly will his feet to follow, as despite being beautifully and daintily dressed, the man was still a Blood Mage, and very, very terrifying.

As they walked down the darkened corridors, Zevran noticed Redren slipping a needle out of his long sleeve, the candlelight glinting off the smooth silver surface. Zevran saw Redren’s smile widen as he quickly plunged the needle into Lady Redthorn’s neck, pulling it back out in less than a second.

“What was-”

“Hush,” Redren whispered, placing a gloved finger to her lips. “Now,” he said, pulling a glove off by his teeth, “I’m going to ask you,” he put his finger to the tiny hole on the back of her neck, smearing blood onto his skin, “to cooperate with-” he ran his tongue along the blood-tainted finger, “- me.”

“No!” She whispered, her voice shaking. “I refu-” the word died in her throat.

“Now, if you’d be so kind,” Redren said, his voice dropping back to normal. “I’d like to see those papers of yours talking about how your precious family is conspiring with Loghain and Howe, and torturing innocents that stand up to you, okay?”

A whisper of yessir was hardly heard over the blood rushing in Zevran’s ears.

So this is blood magic, he thought, following Redren and Lady Redthorn nearly mindlessly. Everyone was right, this is terrifying!

He hardly realized they were at the Lady Redthorn’s chambers until she numbly swung the door open. She walked over to a desk, unlocking a drawer with a key hidden underneath a paperweight. Pulling out the papers, she handed them to Redren, and Zevran could see how glazed over and bloodshot her eyes were.

“Thank you,” he heard Redren whisper as he put his hands on either side of her face, giving her two quick pats. “Now, if anybody asks why we left early, it’s because I wasn’t feeling well. You won’t remember anything about what I did to you, understood?”

Yessir.

“Good girl. Now, why don’t you get some sleep?” At his words, Lady Redthorn fell backward onto her bed, long black hair sprawled around her like a pool of inky blood.

Redren turned to Zevran, letting out a heavy breath. He closed his eyes for one, two, three seconds, before opening them and staring into Zevran’s.

“That was,” Zevran paused, noticing how Redren hung onto every word, searching for approval. “Quite impressive.” Redren broke into a wide, dorky smile, leaning forward to give Zevran a sloppy kiss, the first one he’d given the elf in a month. The rouge on his lips smeared across both their faces, and despite the lingering terror he felt, the sight of his Warden’s smile pushed it deep inside. He could tell that Redren was ecstatic, positively glowing in the slightest praise.

“Let’s get out of here, shall we?” Zevran laughed, taking Redren’s now bare hand.

“Good idea!”

And as they ran along the winding forest path, Redren holding Zevran in one hand and his shoes in another, Zevran couldn’t help but realize that it didn’t matter what his Warden was, what magic he practiced, or what he wore.

He loved his Warden.

#zevwarden week #redren #ocs #zevran arainai #zevran x warden #da warden #dragon age #dragon age origins #original content

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benditlikebedford · 7 years

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Open Water || George Daniel

Ch. 1

A/N: I hate myself for starting ANOTHER multichapter but i mean we could all use some cute george goodness so LETS GO

Sophia.

Sophia. Sophia. Sophia.

The name rang in George’s head as he went about his day. As he brushed his teeth in the morning, as he hung out with friends, as he worked on new music.

“My name’s Sophia.”

George sat between Adam and Matty, John and Ross in chairs opposite them, waiting for Jamie to fill the last chair.

They threw ideas back and forth, casually, nothing too serious yet, not that any of their best ideas were conceived in a professional manner. They all came from days like this.

George felt like he was still in that room, small and cluttered, filled with items fans had forced into their hands: flowers, cards, food, clothes; clothes everywhere. Matty would change multiple times a day. Everyone was tired, George still shirtless as he crashed on the couch, feet kicked up on a low table, somehow able to find table space in-between the laptops, drink glasses, and drug paraphernalia. Someone had gifted Matty a bong at a show a few days ago and it’d followed them around ever since.

The air was smokey but he still saw her. This space was always changing, never at the same venue two nights in a row but the room always felt the same. She stood out through the haze, she hadn’t been in their space before. She stood out, jeans that he could’ve sworn were Matty’s from years ago, a leather jacket of many colors, metallics, yellow-blonde hair contrasting against brown roots, and doe eyes, big brown doe eyes George could hardly believe were real.

“George,” Ross had said, bringing George to realize he’d been standing beside her the whole time. “This is who I’ve been meaning to introduce you to.”

“My name’s Sophia.”

George couldn’t believe how her voice, in three simple words, could be so beautiful—so melodic it put all the music he’d made to shame.

“Sophia plays bass for her band, what are they called again?” Ross asked, a bit of a laugh as he knew she’d only told him a hundred times before.

“The Left Behind. Our vocalist came up with it years ago, I don’t get it but no one had any better ideas,” she explained, chipped black fingernails reaching up to scratch through the dark parts of her hair.

“We know how that is,” George told her, a little too quick to laugh, standing up and extending his hand to her, “I’m George, like Ross said. I’m the drummer.”

So many times he replayed that very scene, thinking over and over again how he could’ve done it differently. He hated himself because every time he thought over the chain of events, he cursed himself for not asking for her number. He’d been dumb enough to give her his and not ask for hers in return. It’d been weeks and she’d still never contacted him, but as every day went by he still kept on hoping that she would.

“Is that alright, George?” the voice cut through his daydream, the voice belonging to Matty beside him.

“What- Oh, sure yeah,” George said, unsure what he had just agreed to. Jamie rung before he could ask for clarification, and the boys all stood up, beginning to disperse as they got ready for whatever food Jamie was bringing them.

“Hey, Ross,” George said, walking over to where Ross and John were standing, “How’s Sophia? Have you heard from her lately?”

“Sophia?” Ross asked, then poked George in the arm teasingly, “How’s Sophia?”

“Ross, seriously-“

“You like Sophia, don’t you? I knew you would,” he said, a knowing smirk, “That’s why I introduced her to you.”

“Shut up, Ross,” George said, starting to blush, which wasn’t helping his angry facade, “I just hadn’t heard from her since. Didn’t know if that was just me or something.”

“You think she’s ignoring you? That doesn’t sound like her. Did you try calling her?” Ross asked, arms crossed as he tried to help solve the mystery for his friend.

“No, I haven’t got her number,” he explained, causing Ross to nearly explode in laughter, which George didn’t quite understand.

“And you didn’t think to ask me?” Ross said, shaking his head and pulling out his phone, taking only seconds to forward Sophia’s contact over to George.

Now George was embarrassed, and that was exactly the reason he hadn’t wanted to ask Ross for help. He mumbled a thanks, and wandered away, staring at the attachment he’d been sent. Ross was the type of person to set contact photos for everyone, he said it made everything look complete. George felt himself smile as he studied the tiny circle Sophia had been assigned, a picture taken mid-laugh, her eyes nearly completely shut, her complexion filled with happy wrinkles. He was mirroring her expression within seconds, and looking over his shoulder knowing Ross was likely staring, he shoved his phone back in his pocket with a cough, joining Matty and Adam in the kitchen.

He waited until he got home that night to pull out her contact again, staring at the picture in privacy this time.

“Sophia,” he said out loud, after having said it so many times in his head. He almost nearly pressed the ‘call’ button after that, but convinced himself not to. He went back and forth numerous times, until it was past midnight and he finally made the leap, pressing his finger to the screen and anxiously hearing the line ring.

“Hello?” he heard that sweet voice say, not as bright as he had remembered it, and George immediately realized why.

Panicking, without stopping to say hello first, he asked, “I’m so sorry, did I wake you up?” He hadn’t thought that Sophia might have gone to bed at a more reasonable hour.

“No, no, you’re alright. Jus’ been at a show, that’s all,” she said, and George sighed in relief. There was a brief moment of silence, Sophia then asking, “I’m sorry, who is this calling?”

George could’ve slapped himself, the absolute dunce, “It’s George. George from the 1975.”

“George, really?” she asked, she sounded excited, her voice lifting almost like a child’s, “I’ve been wanting to talk to you, but the day after we met I dropped my phone and completely shattered it. Ruined for good. Had to get a new one and lost all my contacts.”

George heard himself breathe a very audible sigh of relief, smiling when he knew she’d been thinking of him too, that she hadn’t been blowing him off like he’d thought.

They talked for a while, George recognizing the familiar sounds of a tour bus from the other end. She chose to speak with him over her friends, despite the loud fun he could hear in the background. Eventually she apologized, telling him that as much as she was enjoying their conversation, she knew she’d absolutely hate herself in the morning if she didn’t get to sleep now.

George ended the phone call lying in his bed, smiling at the ceiling, absolutely giddy.

Sophia.

#open water #george daniel #george daniel imagine #the 1975

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cinephiled-com · 5 years

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New Post has been published on Cinephiled

New Post has been published on http://www.cinephiled.com/interview-costume-designer-amy-roth-follows-familys-footsteps-motherless-brooklyn/

Interview: Costume Designer Amy Roth Follows in Her Family's Footsteps in ‘Motherless Brooklyn’

Set against the backdrop of 1950s New York, Motherless Brooklyn follows Lionel Essrog (Edward Norton), a lonely private detective living with Tourette Syndrome, as he ventures to solve the murder of his mentor and only friend, Frank Minna (Bruce Willis). Armed only with a few clues and the engine of his obsessive mind, Lionel unravels closely guarded secrets that hold the fate of the whole city in the balance. In a mystery that carries him from gin-soaked jazz clubs in Harlem to the hard-edged slums of Brooklyn, and finally into the gilded halls of New York’s power brokers, Lionel contends with thugs, corruption, and the most dangerous man in the city to honor his friend and save the woman who might be his own salvation. Motherless Brooklyn also stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Alec Baldwin, Cherry Jones, Willem Dafoe, and Bobby Cannavale.

Talented costume designer Amy Roth (The Looming Tower, Indignation), the niece of Oscar-winning costume designer Ann Roth, based many of her stunning creations for this film on unsentimental photographs from the period including the work of Saul Leiter, Dorothea Lange, and Robert Frank. Working closely with writer/director Edward Norton, Roth stayed away from glossy depictions of the 1950s and instead examined the gulfs between New York’s rich and powerful and the very people they displaced. Sometimes she literally worked with scraps of vintage clothing to showcase how voiceless and neglected some of these characters were.

Danny Miller: I so love your work on this film. I imagine that Edward Norton is the kind of director who gets involved in every detail of his film. Do you remember your first meeting with him?

Amy Roth: Edward’s script really spoke to me, and I did a ton of research on my own before we met. I did a “look book” for him and we just hit it off immediately. He looked at it and said, “That’s my movie!” It was a funny interview because he started moving around in his chair and got very excited. We basically decided to work together then and there which is not usually how it happens. Edward started asking me about the color palette. I told him I thought it should be sort of muted to contrast against the very colorful language and all of these spectacular actors.

Do you think Norton’s own experience as an actor colors his role as director?

He has so much respect for actors. He never wanted to be intrusive at the fittings and always wanted to actors to be happy with what they were wearing and to find the character on their own. He certainly had ideas about how some of the characters should look, but then he’d always say, “You should just talk to them and see what they like.”

It always seems like costume designers have more of an intimacy with the actors than almost anyone else on set. Did the actors on this film have a lot of opinions about their wardrobes?

Yes, but they’re all very different. I remember how wonderful Fisher Stevens was on this film, he’s so creative and he started to get very excited with a lot of ideas. “Oh, I love this, can I wear this, too?” He just went through everything and tried on a lot of things. Cherry Jones was the same way. Gugu was more methodical, really looking at herself and questioning. She wanted to make sure she didn’t look like she was above the fray.

Oh, so interesting because I had the impression that her character in the film would wake up in the morning and be very deliberate about everything she puts on and the image that she’s conveying to the world.

Precisely!

Do you use a lot of vintage pieces for a film like this or do you create everything from scratch?

A little bit of both. A lot of the great vintage stuff is disappearing, sadly. You end up building a lot of clothes using some older pieces. But I love to make the clothes. I made all of Gugu’s clothes and most of the suits for the lead actors. Remember that we often needed multiple copies of each outfit because there were stunts involved, so that also affects how many vintage pieces you can use.

I loved that coat that Gugu wore in the film.

Oh my God, that was one of my favorite pieces in the film! I made that for her based on a vintage coat I had seen. I actually found this vintage fabric from the period, it was quintessential 1950s. I had it slightly dyed which scared me to death. They wanted two, and I said too bad because I really wanted the coat and we didn’t have enough material.

We know that Alec Baldwin and Cherry Jones’ characters were based on real people from that time period. Did you study photographs of them to create their costumes?

I did look at those photos a lot and read a lot about Robert Moses because he was so fascinating to me. I understood that this is not a guy who’s very refined. He grew up with money but I saw him as a guy who had his suits made without a lot of thought. He just went to the tailors on Seventh Avenue and didn’t think much about it. His tailor probably chose the fabric and cut of the suits. So I didn’t want to dress Alec in a manner that made him look like he understood the beauty of what he was wearing.

Kind of like Donald Trump who has all these resources and wants expensive things, but has no real understanding of style.

Exactly. With everything monogrammed because he likes seeing his name so much.

Which seems so different from Willem Dafoe’s character who is down on his luck but still understands and appreciates quality.

Yes. With him I knew that he once had money in his life and he would probably hold onto some of the finest things from his past. For him I did find a vintage suit because I thought I’d never be able to create that kind of patina on a suit. So I got him a very beautiful suit from the 1940s. I used a shirt that was threadbare. Nothing was from the 50s, the tie, the hat, the coat.

Yeah, I had a feeling that no matter how poor he was at the moment, he appreciated the finer things much more than Alec Baldwin’s character did.

I remember thinking of those amazing Dorothea Lange photos of people standing in bread lines in the 1930s. You see all these men who are thin and hungry but they are wearing these beautiful, elegant suits.

I also loved the look of Leslie Mann’s character even though she has a small role in the film (as Bruce Willis’s wife). I wanted her to come back later in the story!

I know! Our producer kept saying he wanted to tell her story in the next movie! Leslie came in for just a couple of days. I wanted to ground her in the reality of what this woman would have worn. The only thing I changed was that I put her in lingerie the night her husband died. Edward loved that. We talked about how she probably thought she’d be seeing Bobby Cannavale’s character that night so when she opens the door she thinks it’s Bobby.

Wow, so there’s an example of how a costume choice that you make can influence an actor’s performance and the back story of the character. Her character almost feels like she’s driven in from a different film, possibly one directed by Douglas Sirk! I love the stories of Walter Plunkett torturing actresses on Gone With the Wind by making them wear real corsets and other period garments under their clothes. What’s your take on that?

Oh, I do the whole thing. I have women wear girdles and other things that I could never wear if my life depended on it. But they love it, and it can help the performance because it sort of dictates the way you’re going to stand and sit and walk. And sometimes I’ll veer from that on purpose. We had two white girls in the jazz club scene and I made up this story in my head that they were from Barnard and they’re not wearing their girdles. They’re just going out in their skirts and sweaters and they’re not going to put on a girdle to go listen to jazz.

I wanted to mention that your incredibly talented aunt, Ann Roth, did the costumes for two of my father-in-law Oliver Hailey’s plays on Broadway. Did you grow up learning the trade from her?

Oh, wow, I just left Ann, we’ve been doing some interviews together, I will tell her that! She’s just amazing. She started out in theater at Carnegie-Mellon and was painting scenery at the Pittsburg Opera. But then she met costume designer Irene Sharaff who told her that the boys will never let her get anywhere if she keeps working on scenery and that she should move to costumes! So she started working for Irene, including in the movies, but she’s continued in the theater as well all these years.

Did you start out in the theater, too?

I haven’t but I would love to do some. I’m actually going on Monday to see the new To Kill a Mockingbird stage production that my aunt did the costumes for. My cousin, her daughter Hannah, and I are almost the same page. So when Ann would do a film on location, she’d always bring us and let us help. She was so generous, she just took me everywhere. I got to see so many things I never would have otherwise.

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#Amy Roth #Costume Design #Edward Norton #Motherless Brooklyn #Interviews #What's Hot

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damagemirror94-blog · 5 years

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Family Reading Crate Subscription Review – October 2018

Family Reading Crate is a book box designed with the whole family in mind. Each month you will get about 4 books based on a common theme and one of these will be hand-picked just for the adult in the family. You will also receive a booklet with discussion questions and a few items that tie into the books including collectible bookmarks.

This is offered through Build Your Library a secular literature-based homeschool curriculum website.

This box was sent to us at no cost for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

About Family Reading Crate

The Subscription Box: Family Reading Crate

The Cost: $26.99 + $8.00 shipping

The Products: A selection of 4 books (one of which is for an adult), discussion booklet and a few other items related to the box theme

Ships to: US

Family Reading Crate October 2018 Review

Their packaging recently changed and they included this insert stating that they are using eco-friendly materials, which is great!

I love that when I opened the box I was greeted by these little spider rings hidden in the sizzle paper. Creepy and fun!

The included booklet introduces the theme, which is Books that Go Bump in the Night this month, and also gives a brief description of who each book is meant for in the family. They include a link to their website which provides activities and printables as well as suggestions for books and movies all related to the month’s theme. These are great extension ideas to use with the whole family.

Also included are discussion questions for each of the kids’ books. These range from direct questions about the content to making inferences to personal opinions about the story. These are perfect for family discussion or even as writing prompts as part of a homeschool curriculum.

Instead of discussion questions for the adult book, there is a book review by the curator of the box.

We received these 3 collectible bookmarks in our box. So many fun monsters!

2000 Stickers Spooky: 36 Freaky and Creepy Activities! by Parragon Books – Retail Value $8.98

Each month you get a little toy or something to go along with the theme. I ended up finding four spider rings hidden in our box and we received this awesome sticker and activity book!

So many stickers and fun Halloween activities! What a great bonus this month!

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda S. Williams – Retail Value $7.99 (found here for $6.99)

This was the book for the younger readers in the family. This story had a nice spooky feel and lots of action as a little old lady is followed by various articles of clothing on her walk to her cottage.

The book could get very spooky depending on how you read it, but since my kiddos are younger, I downplayed the scary and made it more silly with the repetition and noises. The ending was very mild making it a fun pick for this month’s theme!

The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street by Lindsay Currie – Retail Value $17.99 (found here for $12.59)

This book is meant to be the family read aloud. Tessa’s family has just made a move from sunny Florida to rainy Chicago and as if leaving your best friend and adjusting to a new school isn’t bad enough, it turns out her house is haunted. Tessa is an artist and she begins to notice strange things happening, like mysterious drawings in her sketchbook and pastels being left out on her floor, air that suddenly turns cold and doors that she knows she closed being left open. She finds out that her neighborhood was built on top of a cemetery and soon she enlists the help of her new friends to solve the mystery of what exactly is going on in her house. This story is great for a family discussion as Tessa often regards her parents and brother with much consideration and tries to downplay her own unhappiness over the move in order to not add to their stress. The way she is so respectful of her family and their feelings would be a wonderful segue into a family discussion on different perspectives of major events such as this. The fact that something spooky is happening also makes it a really fun read, too!

Nightfall by Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski – Retail Value $8.99

This book is meant for the older child or teen in the family and what a crazy concept! A town that has had sunlight for 14 years, but is now going to have 14 years of darkness. The inhabitants must leave the town because it will be covered in ice and they have to follow some very strange and specific instructions such as removing the lock and handle from the front door, turning the dining room table a quarter turn and putting knives in sharpeners in the parlor wall. Why do they need to do these things and what happens while the townspeople are gone? Unfortunately, twins Kana and Marin may find out when their friend Line goes missing and they decide to go after him. The darkness is closing in and the boats have arrived to take them away, can they find him before it’s too late? This has the feel of a classic dystopian society novel and is full of odd rituals, strange words, and eery occurrences. It’s a unique story and definitely fits in with the theme as you are thrown into a creepy world where many creatures seem to go bump in the night.

Black Mad Wheel by Josh Malerman – Retail Value $26.99 (found here for $14.84)

This book is for the adult in the family and wow, this book is intense and eery in a way that makes it a perfect ‘bump in the night’ read for adults. The story opens when Phillip awakens in the hospital after being comatose for six months and is told he has broken pretty much every bone in his body in an inexplicable manner. We are then introduced to nurse Ellen, who is tending to him and is surprised at how quickly he is recovering. The story jumps between the present with Phillip and Ellen to the past when Phillip and his bandmates were approached by the army to find the location of a mysterious sound in Africa. As we learn more about their mission, we are drawn in further and further to the mystery of a creepy sound that causes grown men to fall to the ground in pain and become physically ill. It’s such a unique storyline that is full of suspense and mystery that grips you from the start.

From Amazon:

“The Danes—the band known as the “Darlings of Detroit”—are washed up and desperate for inspiration, eager to once again have a number one hit. That is, until an agent from the US Army approaches them. Will they travel to an African desert and track down the source of a mysterious and malevolent sound? Under the guidance of their front man, Philip Tonka, the Danes embark on a harrowing journey through the scorching desert—a trip that takes Tonka into the heart of an ominous and twisted conspiracy.

Meanwhile, in a nondescript Midwestern hospital, a nurse named Ellen tends to a patient recovering from a near-fatal accident. The circumstances that led to his injuries are mysterious—and his body heals at a remarkable rate. Ellen will do the impossible for this enigmatic patient, who reveals more about his accident with each passing day.

Part Heart of Darkness, part Lost, Josh Malerman’s breathtaking new novel plunges us into the depths of psychological horror, where you can’t always believe everything you hear.”

Verdict: I love that Family Reading Crate chose to embrace the upcoming Halloween holiday this month! The activity book was such a great bonus and I liked that all of the book choices were spooky or eery, but in their own unique way. I love the idea of using these for a family book discussion so that each family member can share their stories and compare them to one another. I’m always so amazed at the retail value that they are able to cram into this box and this month is no exception with a total retail value of $70.94 which is fantastic for a $34.99 ($26.99 + $8.00 shipping) box. This isn’t even counting the fun little extras such as the spiders, bookmarks, and booklet full of discussion questions. Plus, we got to enjoy such a spooky curation selected just for us!

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Yes! As of publication, this box is still available to purchase!

Value Breakdown: At $34.99 (price + shipping) for this box, here’s what you are paying approximately per item:

2000 Stickers Spooky: 36 Freaky and Creepy Activities! by Parragon Books: $4.43

The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda S. Williams: $3.94

The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street by Lindsay Currie: $8.87

Nightfall by Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski: $4.43

Black Mad Wheel by Josh Malerman: $13.31

Check out all of our Family Reading Crates reviews and Book Subscription Box reviews for more kid’s book options!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

What do you think of this month’s Family Reading Crate?

Written by Brandi Dowell

Brandi has loved the idea of subscription boxes since joining Birchbox in 2013. Finding new products to test out and possibly fall in love with has always excited her. Now, as a mother of 3, she loves discovering new products that can help make parenting a little easier! Her favorites are FabFitFun and Target Baby boxes.

All views in this review are the opinion of the author. My Subscription Addiction will never accept payment in exchange for a review, but will accept a box at no cost to provide honest opinions on the box. This post may contain affiliate/referral links. If you buy something, MSA may earn an affiliate commission. Read the complete My Subscription Addiction disclosure.

Source: https://www.mysubscriptionaddiction.com/2018/10/family-reading-crate-review-oct-2018.html

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mi4011annabodgal · 6 years

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ANIMATION DAY - 31.10. 2018

Task: Let’s create a spooky Halloween themed alphabet together, all the students, from all levels, like a big happy family what

Animation day is an optional program organized for all animation student from foundational year to masters to gather together and in small groups let’s do together a piece of animation by the end of the day. How you solve the lunch is your problem.

Egh… I’m not gonna lie, that was my first thought about it on that morning. Don’t get me wrong, just one day before I was head over hills by that idea, because I was pretty aware of how much I could benefit from it. Building connections, meeting with new people, gaining experiences, chances of free pizza and candy, yep, sure I wanted to dive into it, who doesn’t?!

Then on that specific day, somehow the exact same reasons become the cause of your anxiety because your lazy introvert mind recognizes what is it up to for real:

Meeting with new people - greeeeat, I need to socialize, go through countless small talks to warm up to strangers, like I’m not doing that since the past 2 months heh?

Building connections - oh sugar honey ice tea, so I even have to do a good first impression

Gaining experiences - aka showing how poor skills I have compared to demigod 2nd and 3rd-year peers

Free pizza - Free pizza DECLINED… Oh…

So after waking up to thoughts like that, I don’t think that it’s surprising that I had even considered the idea of ditching that day because first, it’s optional, second I had so so so many other things to do such as finishing storyboards or updating blogs… but worry not, I go through thoughts like that in relation to almost everything, some call it worrying, I call it listing my options and the possible outcomes before I start anything. I usually have my priorities sorted out right, so a little social anxiety won’t stop me of living up all my possibilities, and also funnily, the exact same reason to cons can become a quite supporting statement to pros… I could put it on the blog…

Talking from experience, an attitude has a lot to do with how we handle stuff and what we end up with. So I walked in taking big steps, deep breaths, putting on a smile and deciding that I will do everything in my power to collaborate and make it as good of an experience as I can. I have to make the best of it. I have to make it worth it.

And I immediately got much much more relaxed when I realized that there were others in nice numbers from my classmates who turned up too. Probably with the same bothering thoughts. And we stayed like that. Together. For some time.

After the 3rd and 2nd-year students were sorted out equally for different letters we came to the part that where we had to sign up for letters. Now by that time excitement took over most of the place of my anxiousness so while some of my classmates decided to stay together and sign up for the same letter, I boldly chose a random letter with an unfamiliar name. Long story short, I ended up being in a group with a girl from 3rd year, two guys from 2nd year, and 3 other boys from my class to make animations for 4 letters. Now comes the interesting part, teamwork.

I have always found teamwork the most interesting but also the most challenging task of all. The basic concept is quite admirable, people with different views and ideas create something phenomenal by making compromises and working toward the same goal together. Now here comes the problem, the phrase “working together” has as many definitions as many people exist, that’s why sometimes it can result in a rather unpleasant experience. Who doesn’t remember from group projects from preschool and secondary school when usually one person did 80% of the work, one person ditched completely their part, and the others did only the minimum?! We are all one of them. It also hides lots of conflicts, tension, and disagreements of who wants to do what part, who’s idea are we keeping, who is the leader etc. I personally think part of the conflicts wouldn’t even exist if we didn’t take so many things personally. Look at the questions above, who’s who’s who’s. It emphasizes the importance of the person behind the idea. Change some of them to which. Which idea do we keep, which parts should be done, it’s not perfect but you get the idea of this phrase sounding more objective. It emphasizes the idea itself. Just because your idea didn’t make it, that doesn’t make you stupid. The decision is not against you, and not even against your idea, it is for a concept that will have the most efficient result.

Every group needs a leader otherwise, it’s chaotic. We are humans, we don’t know it but we like to be told what to do. Let me give you an example. At the beginning of a project, the same question crosses through our minds, what are we doing? At a group project, the leader is the one who knows. They keep it all together, usually because they are the ones who know which step comes after what mostly because they have the most experience in it. They see the whole picture. They don’t oppress or boss around but supervise and make sure the group stays on track. At least that was how we sorted it out and made the girl from 3rd year - let’s call her A - the leader. We hadn’t had to discuss it really, from the first minute it was visible that she has the most experience and she had known where to starts and how to go. And we just naturally felt it right. Of course, it had to have to do a lot with the fact that we discussed everything together and everyone’s thoughts were listened.

First thing first was to decide if we wanted to do 2D or 3D. Who was not a newbie preferred the idea of 3D but we greenies were absolutely terrified of it. Given that we did not have any mentionable experience in using Maya and that we were a majority of the group, they ended up making compromises and agreed to do 2D or anything that does not include advanced software knowledge. Even tho they were incredibly nice and offered to help us learn to use the software or they just wanted to see us suffer as and I quote them: ”Maya is a special kind of hell”, we only had one day to make 4 pieces of 2-3 seconds of animation, it was pretty clear that there was just not enough time for that.

We chose to work with charcoal mostly in one paper for every animation because it has a special unique effect. Our teachers even suggested that we should shoot it on putting it on easels, vertically. Do you remember the part when I said an idea should be accepted when there are more useful things resulting from it than problems? Well… Now tell me how do you say no to a teacher, if you wanna build connections and you are also just a dummy newbie and it’s only been your first month here? Exactly, you don’t. Well, it was definitely interesting and challenging to work on. I am not entirely sure if it was worth it, because we sometimes accidentally bumped into the easel so it moved a bit off place and we couldn’t put it back to the exact same spot it was so it resulted in small jumps in the animation, and also the camera was extremely close to the paper for small details and high resolution so we had to work in a rather interesting poses, very very carefully. But one more experience to gain. Yay!

We decided to dissolve into smaller groups within our group so we can work on the animations more effectively. When we had some solid designs we discussed them together and gave critique to each other. Getting feedback from your peers is incredibly useful as they are also part of an audience you will want to make stuff for. I ended up being with A and we were given the letter “M”. Which was awesome because we know many words starting with M which had a spooky vibe. Monster, mystery, murderer, moon… And by saying moon I did get some extra knowledge about the course. There are 3 banned cliche things, that under any circumstances should not appear in animations, these are dragon, robot, and vampire. Vampire or werewolf, she was not sure which. That was one of my favourite aspect of it all, that we ended up talking about all sorts of kind of things, and not just with my group mates but with others too through them. I was disappointed in a pleasant way, I don’t know what did I expected but it was half as not friendly and open-minded as it turned out to be.

We agreed on making a monster who has mad cow disease and committed mass murderer and adding mystery by it’s appearing from the fog.“A” did the design as I was pretty clueless of how this should look like or where was I supposed to start. Seeing my distress she asked me what were my specialties. I immediately said character design. She asked me if I do stuff like taking random words and design a character from them. And I said no, I meant humans, I draw human characters. Until that moment I did not realize how boring that sounds, but yes it is boring. Only humans are boring. Sure anatomy is important and gestures and poses too, and yes you can have a bunch of own humanoid characters with a whole storyline that you promised yourself to bring alive once you have all the skills you think are required to have before starting and concept arts and designs and mood boards, hell yes, of course, I do have, but you need to realize that they are incredibly interesting for you because you have a strong emotional attachment to them, because you created them, you know everything about them, you love them, and it could easily happen that strangers without that amazing backstory knowledge won’t find them as captivating as they are in your eyes. Additionally, it’s always better to be good in more stuff than just in one. You stand in more legs you have more opportunities, so just have the courage to move out of your comfort zone, it can only benefit you in the long run.

At the end of the day, which we previously decided to be 5pm, all the animations were done and we even had a look at them as a whole sequence. It turned out pretty amazing, seeing so many different styles and solutions was really fun.

To sum up, all, if one thing to learn from this day was to dare to move out of our comfort zone, whether socially or artistically, chances are we are gonna end up with more benefits than regret. I know now that I have a lot to improve in terms of creative character design, need to leave humans alone for a while for sure. Also, let’s be brave enough to collaborate and get your ideas out, being wrong is not a failure. Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will and a wrong idea written down whorts a thousand times more than keeping it in and contemplating whether it’s good or not. We can soon realize that something is off and it can give space for new ideas if it’s out early. If we keep something in for a long time we become over biased for certain concepts and don’t notice the black holes in it. We need feedback from the outside world because their opinion is objective, and that is something that every artist who wants to move an audience is in desperate need.

#uni #animation day #thoughts #art #animation #team work #art project

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