#sorpresa part three | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

deeptrashwitch · 9 months

Text

Part seven, Airman First Class Nicholas Fowlett!

Light, camera, action!

The Beggining (Part 7)

The black-haired women couldn't stop herself from smiling when saw from Wraith's office how Noah went to greet Elijah, relieved as he saw him. Dominique offered her a cup of whisky before she started to read. Alicia said nothing as she sipped the liquor before hearing how the glass in Wright's hand shattered, making her curse so loud it almost was amusing.

-And I thought I wouldn't have to lead with this-mumbled Dominique pissed off-I know you, what will you do?

-You must know about my family, don't you?

-Yeah, you're three siblings with different jobs, not even related, so what?

-My older brother is a lawyer

-Right...

-And happens that his law firm worked in the case about abuses to military spouses

-Oh, that's interesting-said the black women with a evil smile-what can he do?

-A lawsuit if I'm not mistaken, martial court, we can bury every single official or non-commisioned officials who knew about it

-We only have evidence about what that Sergeant did to Corporal Wilson, and he's a criminal lawyer

-Most of the lawyers that work with him are veterans, and had a lot of cases inside martial courts, he can introduce us to the most ruthless-commented with some fun-and Wraith, about information and evidence, you're a CIA agent and I know you remember perfectly the mission we had in San Marino, it's your decision

-...Well, I have to say, even I have my own moral principles-answered filled of disgust and resentment-I'll see what I can get, call your brother

Alicia smiled before taking her phone and call, humming as the three usual tones filled the room. Soon enough someone picked up, and started to talk in spanish.

-Alicia, mi vida, que sorpresa oír de tí por este número. Usualmente es con nuestros teléfonos personales, ¿en qué te ayudo? (Alicia, my dear, what surprise to hear from you through this number. Usually is with our personal phones, what can I do for you?)-asked a man's voice from the other side, chuckling amused

-Nico, también me alegro de saber de tí (Nico, I'm glad to hear from you too)-admited smiling before getting serious-tengo un problemita que uno de tus compañeros puede solucionar (I have a little problem one of your co-workers can solve)

-Eso es nuevo, dime hermanita, ¿qué problema? (That's new, tell me lil' sister, what kind of problem?)

-Es confidencial por ahora, pero solo diré que involucra hundir a un par de oficiales y suboficiales del ejército (It's confidential right now, but I just say that involves sinking a couple of army officers and non-commissioned officers)

-Y eso es lo que me interesa, ¿alguien en específico? (And that's what I like, need someone specific?)

-El hijo de perra más despiadado y malicioso que pueda volverlos trizas (The most ruthless and malicious son of a bitch who can tear them to shreds)

-Hecho, pero necesitaremos hablar con el demandante (Done, but we need to talk to the plaintiff)

-Killeen, Texas, a week from now-proposed watching how Wraith nodded, she'll have the information then-can you and your co-worker make it?

-We will, don't worry and send me the adress where the meeting will be

-I will, thanks man

-Always, and if they fucked up with you enough to making you call me...poor them

-You overstimate me

-Nah, you know I don't and why not talk to Camila just to see if they can be ruined even more?

-Not yet, Nico, not yet

They hung up after that, and then someone knock the door. It was Elijah, who saluted the Captain and the Coordinator, and just waited to hear why was he needed.

-Corporal, I was talking with a...friend of mine just now and there's a veteran lawyer who might take the case

-For...real Captain?

-Yes, they'll come to Killeen next week

-I see, what do you want me to do?-asked a little nervous

-Just talk to them, tell them your story, go to a psychiatrist and be ready for a possible trial

-A trial, will you do a lawsuit?

-That's the plan, so I want to ask you something, what you're gonna do?-asked raising an eyebrow-they'll proceed after hear what's your opinion, if you want to keep it without your name in it, we'll find a way, or if you only want a compensation, we'll go for it

-...No-hissed as he started to get pissed off-I want them ruined, I don't want their fuckin' money, take everything from them, the respect, their rank, I want to protect the other soldiers inside Fort Hamilton and never let them put a hand over another recruit, make 'em suffer as much as they did with me

That made Alicia smile and Wraith raise an eyebrow with surprise. There it was, the reason Marchant recruited this guy, not only his habilities but also the attitude beneath the surface. And the half colombian gave Noah the reason, Corporal Elijah Wilson was loyal to the core, this will be interesting.

-Being that the case, be ready for the first reunion, Corporal-ordered without taking down her smiled, now a bit sharpened-we'll go for the jugular

-Yes ma'am

And so the time passed that way, and the week was full with Alicia preparing everything, Elijah went to a appoinment with a psychiatrist and Jackson was preparing the medical record. When the day of the reunion arrived both of them went to the cafe in the city, where the Captain introduced her older brother and as well he introduced them to Lucius Marquois, an ex-army lawyer. Once Elijah told him the story, he remained silent as he was pale, but after thinking a bit and asking if they had solid evidence he said he'll take the case...probono.

Even if they were surprised, both just nodded as the reunion continued for another couple of hours before they went back to Black Tomb. The next reunion will be soon, so they need EVERYTHING they had as evidence. Once they were back inside the base, Alicia called Jackson and Noah to her office.

-Alright, Blackwell ask your psychiatrist friend to bring the report and take the medical record with you, you'll go to talk to the lawyer the next reunion-ordered as she read through the archives Wraith gave her, feeling rage once again-and García, I really hope you got any kind of register of that first mission, and get prepared too, you might be required to give your testimony. On the stand or in writing

-Yes Captain-said Jackson with a nod

-I think I still have an old camera with the photos I used to talk to them the first time-said Noah as he tried to remember-I'll look for it and if I found it, it'll go to the lawyer and the case archive

-Good, you can go for now

Both of them saluted her before going out, then she continued with the paperwork. The information Dominique gave her was surprising...no, not that, it was disgusting just to read it. All of that was what they tried to cover up, but the problem wasn't that, half of it might not be admittable on a trial and more when one of the ones they were trying to sink was superior to her rank.

She scoffed, even then they had another option, way more uncontrolable and maybe would stain a bit the Army image, but after read what she read...they have it coming. The woman looked at her sister's phone number, but it wasn't the right time yet and with a sigh she left the papers aside to concentrate, and so the days passed on the base. One of those days Edward asked for permission to enter to her office, and she was intrigued once looked that he had some registers and documents with him.

-Sergeant Jackson? What can I do for you?-asked while putting down her papers and her glasses

He gave her the archive, it was about other soldier, an Air Force one. As she read a smile crawled over her face, the habilities of this guy were good and he had amazing results on his tests as every single member of her team. With a sign she asked Eager to take a sit, and so he did, cracking his neck with a sigh.

-Long day, Edward?-asked the woman without looking at him

-The new kid started to use the plane as a...refuge I guess

-Seem like you have some company now

-It wouldn't bother me if the rest didn't followed him every time

-Are they loud?

-You bet, or maybe it's just that I prefer a lot much the silence-said the black man with another sigh

-Are you going to ban the entrance to the plane unless is for the missions? That would be interesting

-Nah, sometimes it helps to have younger people inside there

-...You just sounded like you were a fourty and something man-answered the woman with a smile-and you aren't even thirty

-Some days I feel like one

-You need a rest, but back to the point, this one, have you met him personally?

-I have

-Is a personal recommendation?

-Thought he would be a good help for us, but 'm not sure if I have a good eye for talent

-Well, you do-muttered Alicia almost laughing-this is great, but I doubt they let him go

-I'm no moron, Alicia, I know you do something every single time for them to accept-said Edward with a smile-the only thing I don't want to know is what, that's what you did long ago and I bet it haven't changed

-Maybe you're right or maybe not, anyway, I'll see what I can do

-Shall I call the rest of the team?

-Wraith approved him?

-Yeah, she did

-Then call them, I'll be there soon, but tell Michaelis to come here first

-Sure thing

-You can go then

Once the pilot was outside, Alicia just giggled as she figured that was the longest conversation she ever had with Edward. It felt weird to hear him talk that much. Soon Luke knocked the door and entered with a calm smile.

-Eager told me you required my presence-told him almost giggling-what can I do for you, oh Captain, my Captain?

-Why the fuck are you talking like that? Were you watching a serie or something?

-Cannot deny it, Noah has Netflix and logged in on the common room, we were on a binge

-...There are days I hate being a Captain, that sounds fun-muttered smiling as she asked to take a seat with a sign-anyway, how's Wilson doing?

-He's fine for now, shy as heck when it comes to social interactions, but...I think the psychiatrist is helping him

-Any trigger until now?

-A few, but when it happens between everyone we bring him back, especially Jackson

-Good to know, and I recognize that expression, something else to say?

-Apart of the fact that I want to go to Fort Hamilton and risk my career?

-Apart of it

-Now I have a protégé

-Wilson?

-Yes

-It's not what I expected when I asked you this...but it works-said before give him the archive-what do you think about this one, Luke?

The red-haired man read in silence before raising an eyebrow, but a part of the record called his attention and made him sigh.

-Honestly? The psych eval is bugging me, I know it was years ago and he has medication but...

-Those never disappear, I know

-But apart of it, he might fit perfectly with us, where did you found him?

-I didn't, Eager was here earlier and gave me this

-Wait, so we can give some recommendations?

-Uh, yes, you can

-Huh, I think I know someone-muttered before going back to be serious-if you want my personal opinion, let's go for it, a month as a test and if he last enough then he's one of us. And Wraith already approved him, so we're good...has Wraith ever rejected someone?

-Yeah she has, but anyway, I'll go for this guy once I finish with this crap

-Busy?-asked smiling while both got up and the woman scoffed

-Fuckin' hate paperwork

Luke laughed and both went to the conference room where the rest of the team were, everyone got serious as the archive appeared on the screen.

-Alright gentelmen, we have a new possible member, he's Airman First Class Nicholas Fowlett, twenty-five and was born in Lebanon, Kansas-told them as the photo of a brown-haired man with hazelnut eyes and white skin appeared on the screen-comms expert and belongs to the 11th Intelligence Squadron on Hulburt, Florida. His tests results similar to ours, so he just need to get used to the pace. He and you will work coordinated once the missions start, Sergeant Jackson, prepare him to everything we might encounter

-Yes Captain

-Sergeant Blackwell, contact a psychologist and prepare a psych eval for him to be sure

-Yes Captain

-Michaelis, in two days you and I will go to talk with Fowlett-said with a sigh and a little smile-let's get him before anyone else tries

And so the reunion continued for a while before they were let go, and Alicia then went to talk with Wraith after tell Luke to pack for their trip. She entered to Dominique office laughing a bit as she heard the movement on the base. Once inside and after closing the door, it was like a 180° turn.

Her permanent smile disappeared and her eyes darkened without a word while she painfully clenched her jaw. Even the environment around her changed almost instantly. She wasn't anymore the reliable and calmed Captain she presented to their men, it was like she was a whole different person, colder and calculating. It was so different that even Wraith had a chill running down her spine.

-Definitely your old callsign doesn't work anymore for you-muttered the Coordinator

-So what?

-Nothing, why you came here? It's about Fowlett?

-Negative, the information you sent me

-Ah, about the abuses, I talked with your brother earlier and knew we couldn't use it on the trial. What a shame, really, but I'll find something we can use, you should get rid of the rest

-No need

-Huh?

-I have other plans for it-said the black-haired woman without changing expression, but just knocked slightly the table with her finger-nothing that will...point you as the source, but will be ammo for us after the trial and a way to make some of them pay

-I just wanna know if it bring us trouble

-For us, no, but for them?

She just let a dry and graceless laugh before stare at the Coordinator with a truculent and malicious smile that tensed Dominique with alert before it disappeared in a second.

-They will be socially dead and left miserable, they'll lost everything. Every. Single. One. Of them

-I see...

-Just to let you know, maybe it'll cause a thunder outside the military so we might to get proofed against it on the legal and...not so legal matters. I'll lead with them if they come Killeen for some reason, don't worry, anyway I doubt they'll come after we finish with 'em

After that she got up to leave and pack, so with a sigh she opened the door. For a second she didn't moved and soon shook her head before looking again to Dominique. Once more she was her normal self again, smiling calmly as she watched the Coordinator.

-Michaelis and I will travel to Florida for our next member, we'll be back soon enough

And she went out of there, leaving the Coordinator in silence.

-What the...? I need to do a pshyc eval to everyone in here-whispered Dominique to herself

Two days later

Alicia was awake and drinking coffee while waiting for Luke, and he came out soon after absolutely tired. She didn't said anything and just handed him another coffee cup before going to talk with Edward and Jackson, they'll be on charge until both of them were back. Later they were inside the car as they were taken to Austin's airport.

-Thanks for this, Captain-muttered Luke refering to the coffee-usually you have two cups?

-Not quite, but I know yesterday was a rough night for you

-You knew...?

-Heard you during near midnight walking around, you were muttering, weren't you?

-Sorry if I bothered you, but why were you up?

-Probably the same reason we all get up at late night here, and you don't bother me, it's fine

They were silent until they arrived to the airport and were waiting for the boarding to begin.

-Can I ask you something ma'am?

-Go on

-What's your callsign?-asked without noticing how Alicia got tense before sigh and go back to normal-we were talking the other day, and you are the only one we don't know about it

-Really?

-Yeah, Edward is Eager and well...you knew that, Jackson is Doc, Noah is Cobalto for some reason and Elijah is Delta, not sure about the story behind it

-Cobalto and Delta? Sonds like a long story to be told-said as she giggled-and yours? Which is your callsign, Luke?

-Harlem

-Do I want to know the story?

-We would need a drink and a long time to explain it

-Sound like a plan for me

-Yeah, maybe, but you didn't answered my question...

-I...had one before going to Angola, but I don't use it anymore, it was Guardian

-You don't use it?

-No, it's even a longer story that you think but to summarize it a bit, the callsign didn't felt right for me anymore and I can't think of another that fits-said as she looked the screen near the gate-so I don't really have a callsign right now

-I see, you think you'll use one soon?

-The missions aren't entering yet, so no, and I really don't know what to use as it

-Really? I mean, there's a lot of things we can say about you, mostly good-said while raised an eyebrow-maybe you can take one of them as your callsign

-Mostly good things? Stop joking, there's no way that's true

-Well, it is, have you seen how much you have been doing for us?

-I'm your Captain, you're my team, it's my duty to take care of all of you-answered before they heard how they call active military to board-alright, time to go

Luke had to bite his tongue before saying anything it could be rude, but he knew something perfectly. From all of the Captains they have been with, Alicia was probably the weirdest, in a good way though. It wasn't usual for a superior to care that much for a team, but...it was nice. And yet, while they board the plane, he wondered.

Why? Why does she care so much?

-Move it Michaelis!-Alicia called him once they arrived to Florida-we still working, you know?! We don't have time to wander around!

-On my way Captain!

They were guided to the offices of the 11th Intelligence Squadron, where they reunited with Fowlett's superior, who didn't like that those two were getting involved in his bussiness. All three of them discussed for a while, the pair of Specters trying to convince him to let Fowlett get transfered and recruited to their team, which...really didn't happen. Luke heard how his Captain clicked her tongue in annoyance, but she remained calm before asking politely to bring Fowlett to the room.

They did bring him reluctantly, and both of them introduced themselves to the Airman, who was curious to see a Marine and an Army guy there.

-Uh, may I ask why am I here, sirs, ma'am?-questioned Nicholas raising an eyebrow

-Silence Fowlett-ordered his superior without looking at him-you are here just to hear, not to talk

-Airman Fowlett, I'm Captain Alicia Marchant and he's Lieutenant Luke Michaelis, and we are here because we want to recuit you-said Alicia with a little smile-right now we have a team and while I was looking for new members, Sergeant Edward Jackson told me about you, does he ring a bell?

-Ye...

-Fowlett!-warned his actual superior, so he just nodded

-I see, basically he showed and told me about your habilities, results and performance as a comms expert. What I saw on your files...is really amazing, even my Lieutenant was impressed, weren't you Michaelis?-said before looking at the red-haired with a smile

-Affirmative, the technical and physical results were outstanding-answered Luke with a side smile-I think he would fit perfectly with us

-There it is, anyway, here's my offer. We want you to join us, as part of our team, as our comms expert. But I'll warn you first hand, we're a Tier 1 team, so I expect the absolute best from my soldiers-said Alicia, serious as she saw the surprise inside Fowlett's eyes-if you accept, you'll have to push yourself to a limit. You'll need to trust every single other member of the team, that's how we'll work. And all of this is your decision of course, do you think you are ready for this?

-Don't speak like he's already part of your team, crayon eater. He's staying here-growled Nicholas' superior

Alicia was about to say something along the lines "did I ask you, dry ass bitch?", most likely because she was pissed of this moron being nosy on their damned bussiness. Before she said something that could fuck the negociation up, Luke stepped discretly on his Captain as a warning. She looked at him from the corner of her eye before sigh, trying to calm herself and then nodded and smiled once more.

-Right, anyway, I'll wait for your answer, Airman Fowlett

From then on the reunion didn't last long and soon both Specters were outside again. Alicia sighed before rub the back of her neck with a grimace, then she glanced to Luke, who was worried.

-What is it?

-Sorry for what happened inside, ma'am, I just reacted-muttered the green-eyed Lieutenant with shame

-Why are you saying sorry? That's why I asked you to be my right hand man, it's fine-said with a bitter smile-I should be the one apologizing, if it wasn't for you I probably would've said something stupid...sorry, this isn't my best week

-Don't worry, you're busy, stressed and that's that, I don't blame you for wanting to snap at that jerk, Captain, if it wasn't for the formalities...I would've let you and say some of my thoughts too

-Alicia, you can call me Alicia when we are off duty or just us, it would be weird if you always call me Captain

-...Alright

-Anyway, what do you think about Fowlett?

-He seems good enough, but it's true that I cannot say much from only a short reunion. Honestly, I hope he accepts, mostly because I trust Edward's criteria

-I just wonder what happened while you two went for García, you didn't trust him before

-Meh, long story-said Luke before hearing the steps behind them, so he smiled-speak of the devil...

They both turned around and watched how Fowlett got near them, saluting them and doubting for a second before talking.

-I'm sorry ma'am, sir, but about the offer...

-Ah, yes, do you have an answer?-asked Alicia with curiosity

-I would like to be part of the team, of course, but I'm not sure if my superiors would agree to transfer me

-Don't worry about it, we'll lead with it-said Alicia with a smile-if everything ends alright, you'll be on our base soon

-If that's the case, I want to be the first one to say this-muttered Luke almost giggling, offering his hand to Nicholas-welcome to the Specters, Airman Fowlett, I hope we can work well with each other

-I...-Nicholas smiled with shyness before shaking the Lieutenant's hand-thank you sir, I'll try my best

#cod oc #call of duty #call of duty modern warfare #cod mw2 #ocs #oc #call of duty mw2 #team charlie #cod mwii #alicia marchant #luke michaelis #jackson blackwell #edward jackson #noah garcía #elijah wilson #nicholas fowlett

0 notes

mybittersweet · 2 years

Text

Three acts of desire.

Act one. Waiting.

Stavo nervosa perché ogni giorno ero più vicina al giorno per partire e vederti. Quando ti ho detto che vengo a fare le vacanze con la mia amica nella città dove vivi e se hai il tempo e la voglia di vederci mi hai detto di "Si", sono rimasta sorpresa. Non pensavo e non speravo avere la risposta positiva. E già questo mi ha fatto eccitare. Vederti. Anche solo per un caffè. Mi basterebbe. Toccarti anche solo per caso e sentire il tuo sguardo addosso.

- Ci vediamo alle undici nella strada x vicino alla piazza. - mi hai scritto così e il mio cuore ha cominciato a battere forte.

Lunedì.. sono le 10.00...sto già sulla strada per arrivare al posto d'incontro. Sto molto nervosa di vederti realmente. Molto eccitata. Mi fa male lo stomaco e il cuore che è arrivato in gola. Mi fermo davanti a una vetrina e mi guardo come nello specchio. Non so se questo abito va bene per l'occasione. Non ha le tasche e non so dove mettere le mie mani. Aggiusto i capelli perché mi sembrano sempre fuori posto. Decido che può andare..che se ne frega. Arrivo alla piazza. Troppo presto. Sono le 10.45. Altri quindici minuti di agonia se arrivi in orario. Trovo una panchina e mi siedo. Guardo il telefono per eventuale messaggio, ma niente. Guardo intorno perché non so da dove devi arrivare. Mille pensieri passano per la testa. Se non ti piacessi. Se avrai voglia solo di parlare e bere un caffè. Perché io avevo voglia di scoparti. Dopo tutto ciò che ci siamo scritti sembrava ovvio il senso di questo incontro. Ma non sapevo se era ovvio anche per te.

11.05

Ti vedo di girare l'angolo della strada. Hai guardato il telefono e hai cominciato a cercarmi tra le gente che stava in piazza. Mi sono alzata dalla panchina e ho cercato di farti un cenno con la mano per attirare l'attenzione. Mi hai visto. Hai fatto un sorriso leggero mentre stavi camminando verso di me. Ti guardo e sorrido. Mi dici "Ciao" e apri le braccia per abbracciarmi e salutarmi. Ti rispondo e sento il tuo contatto con il mio corpo. Le guance che si incontrano e le labbra che si appoggiano sopra. Il momento che dura secondi. E poi il tuo sguardo dritto nell'occhi. Vorrei baciarti. Così, adesso. Ma ho paura. Paura di rovinare tutto.

- Come stai? Come è andato il viaggio?

- Tutto bene. E tu?

- Bene, grazie.

- Sono contenta di vederti.

- Anche io. Molto. Stai molto bene con questo abito.

- Grazie

Sentire la tua voce è come una spinta per il mio eccitamento. Prima la sentivo nei messaggi vocali. Ma adesso il quadro si è completato. Mi guardi. So che ti piace guardare. Soprattutto adesso.

- Vogliamo andare da qualche parte a prendere qualcosa?

- Si, certo, però portami tu perché qui non so niente.

Mi sorridi e andiamo verso un bar che sta dall'altra parte della piazza. Ci sediamo. Ordiniamo. Continui a guardarmi. Seguire i miei movimenti. Il tuo sguardo mi da la sensazione di piacere, di essere guardata e forse anche desiderata e anche la sensazione di sconforto perché non sono abituata ad avere tutta questa attenzione. Ma tu esploravi, accarezzavi e baciavi con l'occhi. A questo punto ho sentito i capezzoli duri che spingevano contro il reggiseno. Sicuramente hai notato anche questo.

- Sei bellissima. Hai l'occhi stupendi. Ancora più belli realmente.

- Grazie. - sorrido e giro lo sguardo

Hai allungato la tua mano sul tavolo per prendere la mia. L’hai stretta e accarezzata. E così ho messo l'altra mano sopra la tua. Mi hai fatto qualche altra domanda sul viaggio e cosa devo fare qui nelle vacanze. Sembrava che volevi finire al più presto possibile questa parte formale del discorso e uscire dal bar. E così abbiamo fatto. Mi hai detto di seguirti. Ci siamo allontanati dalla piazza per trovarsi nel quartiere tranquillo e a quest'ora quasi deserto. Ti sei fermato e ho sentito la tua mano sul mio collo che mi spinge sulle tue labbra. E altra mi avvicina a te. Il mio seno si appoggia sul tuo petto. Il tuo primo bacio è leggero. Solo a sfiorare. Solo sentire e capire la mia risposta che è stata più vogliosa. Con la tua lingua hai sfiorato il contorno delle mie labbra. Mi hai guardato di nuovo passando la tua mano sulla mia guancia. Toccando con il dito le mie labbra umide. Lo hai fatto scivolare nella mia bocca giusto per poco. Lo succhiato guardandoti. Hai tolto il dito e mi hai baciato con tutta la voglia che avevi. Non credevo che questo sta succedendo veramente. E ti baciavo come se è un sogno che fra poco sparirà e voglio godere ogni singolo momento. Hai staccato le tue labbra dalle mie.

- Sono bagnata.

- Shhh. Fai la brava.

- Ho voglia di te. Da qualsiasi parte..non importa. Anche in macchina. Ti voglio.

Molto coraggioso dalla parte mia ma avevo paura di perdere tutto questo. Mi hai baciato di nuovo e hai detto "andiamo".

#mio #racconti

22 notes · View notes

el-moscorrofio-y-el-mercachifle · 3 years

Text

Calderón AU— Part 5

Same warnings as ever! You can find all the ptevious parts by clickling the "Calderón AU" tag!💕

((Good lord i hate me cuz i have finally found the draft for the Calderon AU i did like three months ago and I missed A BIG STEP. I hate me for this. Imma pretend I did it on purpose and add it here lol))

“En realidad, Betty, usted me gusta mucho,” says Mr. Mario, still standing at the other side of her desk, in the dim light of the her desklamp. There is a slight, soft smile on his face, but his eyes are dark under the little light of the suffocating room.

Needless to say, Betty is speechless.

It is quiet obvious, when she thinks about it later that day, because what other reason would a man have to keep bringing her gifts like these?

In any case, right now, Betty is shocked in silence. Mr. Mario chuckles lightly, in a way that any other woman would have found charming, before speaking again.

He says he can see she’s surprised, and he gets it; it was a shock for him too when he first realized. It was strange to imagine a man like him being actually in love.

It probably didn’t help, either, that he actively made efforts to hide his feelings, he says. He just… didn’t know what to do or how to act, he says to Betty.

Truth is, the “i didn’t know how to handle my long-held feelings so I hid them” is actually a good excuse Mario has used a few times when suddenly he got interested in a specific woman that before didn’t catch his attention enough. Play it off as a “i was just repressing my feelings, that’s why you didn’t notice. I was actively trying to hide them”

This is a tricky technique, 50 50 chances of working… but due to Betty’s (presumed) inexperience, Mario thinks it will work.

He’s not totally wrong, but also, not right, either. Betty’s just confused.

He can see that, so he continues: “perdóneme, Betty, si la tomé por sorpresa, es sólo que… no quería sefuir ocultándoselo. De verdad, usted me gusta mucho.”

Betty at this point realises that she probably needs to say something, and so, she lets out a nervous laugh, and stops looking at him as she answers. Yeah, she’s surprised, she says. She would have neber guessed and…

And… what? Calderón realizes Betty doesn’t know what to say. Clear indication it is not reciprocrated. Okay, then. Let’s go smoother.

“Yo entiendo que esto fue muy repentino, Betty pero… por favor, déjeme demostrarle que le digo la verdad. Permítame llevarla a su casa.”

Betty immediately rejects the idea, but Calderón takes it as a sign of absolutely bothersome modesty, because this a-hole of a man cannot comprehend the idea that a an ugly woman truthfully rejects his advances.

He is quickly coming to realize just how annoying her stubborness is, but his annoyance is well hidden under his prince charming's facade. It's not the first time he's dealt with way too modest women, after all.

Truth is, obviously, that Betty isn't being modest. She genuinely doesn't want mr Mario to drive her home.

Somehow, he ends up winning at the end. Betty's only request is that they wait a little before going out together because, apparently, she still has stuff to do. Mario assumes this is because of Armando, and he's right about it, but pretends he doesn't know and agrees

It's better for him that way. He trully doesn't want to be seen with murcielaguín.

By the time they leave, Armando (and the rest of the ppl, but Armando is the only one who actually matters to betty, Mario thinks) has already left Ecomoda.

The car ride is awkward for Betty, starting with how Mr. Mario opened the door for her. It is a nice gesture, very gentlemanly, but she can't stop thinking how she wishes it were Mr. Armando who did it.

During the ride, Mr. Mario tries to make conversation and eventually gets Betty to talk more than in simple short sentences.

For Mario this is all very annoying. It's not hard or awkward, just boring. There is no fun in the chase if you don't really want to catch the prey.

It's all the standard questions: how did your day go, what do you think about X, do you like Y. No real chemistry anywhere, but Betty wants to think, eventually, that it's at least a sort of naturallly flowing convo. He even let her choose the music, she thinks to herself trying to be positive in a very uncomfortable situation.

Once they reach Betty's house, Mario stops in front of her house and turns to look at her. He asks for forgiveness if he's pressuring her, and says that he can feel her uncomfort. He asks if they can be friends.

Betty reluctantly agrees

Mario smiles as softly as he can and tells her that, if she doesn't mind, he could continue to drive her home at night

"Yo sé que usted es una persona muy privada, Betty, y no me gustaría incomodarla poniendo su vida privada al aire. Si gusta, podemos repetir lo de hoy y esperar a que se vaya la gente para salir," suggests Mario, praying that she accepts. He doesn't wanna be seen with Mostrichátala and scare away all the beautiful models or ruin his record. "Se lo digo para evitar rumores o malos entendidos con otras personas, Betty, nada más."

Betty of course, agrees. She doesn't rwally want to be driven home, but Mr. Mario looks so insistent, and she knows he's her boss's best friend, and on top of that, the Vice President. She feels obligated to say yes, so that's what she does. She tries to tell herself that keeping him as a friend is not a compromise.

Don Mario once again tries to open the door, but Betty refuses, fearing that her father can see them.

"No, don Mario, no se moleste," she says, "es que mi papá podría estar viendo y no quisiera que lo malinterpretara."

Mario insists (and good lord, he's so fucking tired of begging this woman for everything), saying that there is nothing wrong with this, but Betty, this time, doesn't concede. When it comes to her dad and his image of her, Betty is much more adamant. Mario notices this, and saves this knowledge for later

Mario waits until she goes inside before driving off.

Now, this whole thing may sound very similar to how it was with Armando in the show, but it's not really. Armando was evidently tense, awkward, and just internally screaming that he didn't want to be there. The car rides were filled with tense silences. Mario is none of this things, and the car ride was filled with falsely enthusiastic conversation and soft jazz music. He is lying completely, but he's not awkward or tense about it. Anyone who saw him would absolutelt believe he's fine, calm, happy, and mote importantly, genuinely interested in Betty.

He knows Betty is smart and he needs to put up an absoljtely perfect show, or otherwise, she'll notice something's off.

Good Lord, how exhausting. No wonder Armado didn't want to do it!

Sooo! Here it is! Finally part 5! Sorry it took so long haha what do you think about this part and the developments it's taking?? Please comment and share🥰🥰

#calderon au #ysblf #armando mendoza #yo soy betty la fea #betty la fea #beatriz pinzón solano #beatriz pinzon solano #betty ysblf #armando ysblf #mario calderon

38 notes · View notes

stephspurs · 3 years

Text

A Family Affair | Euro 2020 Football Fanfiction

Life is beautiful and life is cruel. This is a window into the souls of the victorious and the vanquished. In a way, football did come home during the summer of 2021. Follow along Amelia’s journey, navigating the football world as a tactical analyst for the Italian football team, with a brother and father part of the three lions. Will Amelia leave Italy and come back to England? Will she leave the Serie A for the Prem? Will she set aside the bianconeri stripes for new colours, leaving behind friendship for love? Maybe she can have both...

Wow - the response i received in a little under 24 hours since i posted the first taste of part 1 has truly bowled me over! I wasn't expecting that reaction & tbh i would have been happy if 2 people wanted to read this story hahaha! So, i've been writing in the background & the first few parts have already been proofed and are ready to go. HOWEVER! I am open to your suggestions so please please let me know what you think and how you want to see Amelia's story play out. As far as i'm concerned, this fic is as much yours as it is mine! So please enjoy this first part, in its entirety, and let me know your thoughts! Love always,

Steph xx

UPDATE as of 31/07: I've made some additional editing changes due to some feedback about the confusion between ben white (her brother) and ben chilwell (not her brother LOL). Nothing has been added to the story, just the addition of either surname has been added where i think it could be more straightforward - for future readers!

Part 1 | prima parte

warnings; none - maybe a bit of angst? (what sibling rivalry doesn't have a bit of angst)

word count; 1978 words

writing tools; third person until dashed line, first person thereafter.

next update; Sunday 25/07 5pm AEST. Updates will be twice weekly at this stage. Probably Wednesday’s and Sundays from next week!!

link to fic masterlist here

The world of football, no matter how big it may seem, is as tight as a close-knit family. Whether its management staff, senior players, scouts, academy players, business developers, medical team, groundskeeper - everyone knows someone who knows someone else involved in the sport. For Amelia White, it was a family affair.

Having grown up with her father as a senior tactical analyst for many different clubs throughout his career, and an older brother currently playing for Brighton in the Premier League, there was no opportunity for her to escape the fanaticism of the sport. It was what her household lived and breathed, football. Most would think that, with her brother being as successful as he is now, her childhood was shadowed by her brother's success but that's not the case. She capitalised on her ability to think both logically and creatively, and absorbed all of the information her father could give her as if she was a sponge, to establish a name of her own in the sport and advance her career in the sport. At the age of 21 she upped and left the comforts of her home in West London, accepted a position at Juventus within their graduate program & worked her way up the ranks to be their youngest tactical analyst by the age of 24.

So far in her career, the support of her mother, father & brother were unmatched by any. They were all so proud of her for making her own name, proving herself and succeeding in one of the most competitive football leagues in the world. She was smart, tactful, both meticulous and ruthless in her approach to her career and the success of her players. Because after all, they were her players. She worked day in and day out, studying them and their opponents, drafting performance plans and set pieces for every possible outcome of the play, so that they could perform at their best. They had her trust and faith, and she had theirs. This is probably what her family was most proud of, and wished her every success, until she was appointed as a tactical analyst for the Italian National Team for the upcoming Euro 2020 tournament. Which happened to be the same tournament that her brother had received his call up to the Three Lions. Which was the current level at which her father was a senior tactical analyst for the English National Team. The Euro 2020 Tournament was about to be a real family affair...

10 July 2021

It had been 2 months since she last had any contact with her family. 3 months ago, Amelia signed a contract with the Federcalcio, the governing body of football in Italy, to become the Azzurri’s tactical analyst for the foreseeable European Football Championship. In turn, her silky signature at the bottom of the agreement, also constituted a digital and physical contact ban with members of her family that were also involved with the tournament...her father and her brother.

At the time of the contract, and against her better judgement, Amelia hadn’t told her family of her opportunity. She knew her father would be proud, but her brother would be bitter. Her mother was switzerland, completely neutral and rooting for both of her children - but that's not how football works. No matter your role you have a job to do, and you do everything you can to make sure it is your team that lifts the trophy at the end of the tournament. So, on May 23rd her family congratulated her for another successful season at Juventus, and unbeknownst to them, said goodbye for the next 2 months. Until the day before the final match of the tournament, Italy v. England.

Her heart dropped when England won their semi final match against Denmark. She wanted nothing more than for her brother to be happy and for her father to succeed, but she didn’t want to have to go up against them in the final. Ultimately, she knew they were good, but she also knew that she could hold her own and compete with the best. Having a close relationship with her brother, up until this period, meant that she often paid attention to the premier league. This was a major benefit to her as she had already started analysing the azzurri’s opponents. It was her job to know what foot Raheem Sterling preferred to pass with, what direction Declan Rice preferred to take the ball up the field, what direction of receiving the ball did Harry Maguire struggle the most with. So that's how she spent the three days between matches, solidifying her knowledge of her opponents & predicting the plays her dad would be instructing the English team to complete, to attempt to outperform the Italians. However nothing would prepare her for the knock on her suite door, or for what was on the other side…

_____________________________________________________________

“Ciao Amelia, vieni con me per favore. abbiamo organizzato una visita supervisionata con tuo fratello prima della finale di domani sera. sorpresa!” (hi amelia, come with me please. we have arranged a supervised visit with your brother prior to the final tomorrow night. surprise!). I stood there in shock staring at one of my players & closest friends, Federico Bernardeschi. I was a person who didn't enjoy spontaneity, who thrived off of preparation and organisation. I needed the opportunity to overthink every situation so that I could prepare for every possible outcome. This was not my idea of a good time. Of course I missed my brother, but I know just how volatile he can be. Nevertheless, I grabbed my jacket and shoved my sneakers on before following Fede down the hall and into a blacked out van that was waiting to take me to St. George’s Park for my family reunion.

Upon arriving, and after a stern pep talk from Fede (who was my appointed supervisor for the visit - not sure I would say he was the most responsible choice but he did talk some sense into me) I walked into the main entrance and saw my father leaning against the reception desk waiting for me.

“Papa!!” I called as I walked over to him, ready to smother him with my love and affection. My father, Dean White, and I had as good of a relationship as possible, being that he was always heavily involved with my brother Ben’s footballing career as well as his own. I think when I came along, my father didn't know how to be a girl dad, so he took my mothers advice and just involved me like he would Ben. I was glad that I would be seeing him first, and he would be taking me to see my no-doubt pissed off brother.

“Dad, this is Fede, one of my players”

“Ciao Dean, it’s very nice to meet you but i am also her bodyguard for this evening” Fede introduced himself to my father and they exchanged pleasantries. I had a look around the foyer of the facility until I heard my name brought up in conversation.

“Amelia, come on. The boys are just over here. I don’t think you have long before heading back to your camp” My dad called to me. Boys? As in...more than just my brother?

“Hahaha that's funny dad, just show me to his room and we can have our screaming match there. Should only be about 20 or so minutes”

“Ben’s not in his room, we have a recreation room for the players and staff to lounge about and relax in. Pretty sure he’ll be in there. Come on, you’ve never been scared of your brother before. Why start now?” Before I knew it, Dad was leading us through some doors and into a large common area with bean bags, pool tables and couches - all occupied by current first team members of the English National Football team.

“Dean mate, don’t normally see you down here after 7pm. Oh look at that, someone let the trash in.” A loud mouthed player, that I used to adore as if he was my own brother, calls out as he notices us enter the room. And just like that, I shake off my nerves, stand in front of my taller & more argumentative bodyguard, relax my shoulders and stare into the eyes of Kyle Walker - daring him to challenge me and push me further.

“Relax Kyle, Benjamin White - your sister is here to see you.” Dad cut Kyle off. I didn’t need him to defend me against Kyle’s harsh comments, I could defend myself.

“Wow, I thought hell would freeze over before I got the opportunity to speak to you. Of course, I didn't realise hell would look quite like seeing you in that shade of blue.” My brother, Ben, spoke bitterly at me as he approached me from the other side of the room. This, coupled with Walker’s exclamation earlier, got the attention of the majority of the players scattered about.

“Ben, if you let me explain in private I'm sure you will be able to understand why things had to be this way” I tried to reason with him. Letting go of my always-defensive guard and pleading with my big brother to open his mind to see my side of the story.

“As if I would even talk to you right now, the night before the final, you’re probably here to try and get some insider information. Boys make sure you don’t say anything to her, she’s as sly as they come” Ben’s words were as sharp as a knife - but I knew what I had to say would cut him deeper.

“Ok that's enough! You are ridiculous! What did you expect me to do? Not take the job because you’re my brother? This is my career we are talking about here” I challenged him. “If you think for one second i stopped supporting you then you must be even more stupid than i thought. Of course this isn't the ideal situation, I'm proud of you for reaching a final but I'm just as proud of myself for doing the same thing.” I got progressively closer to my brother, who stood there with his hands beside himself, unable to get a word in.

“I came tonight to wish you good luck, to tell you I loved you, to give you a hug and tell you to stay safe and play smart. Whilst I still wish all of this for you, I now want you to know that I want you to play your best so I can be better than you. I can show you exactly how good at my job I am. I want you to know that no matter what way you play the ball, I'll be right there waiting for you. I am prepared for this, I hope you are too - so that it will feel that much more sweet when we beat you” I sneered at my older brother, who at this point, is quite visibly feeling a mixture of shock and embarrassment.

I take a step back, let out a breath and shake the tension from my shoulders. Breaking eye contact with my brother, I look briefly - yet confidently - at the other players in the room and take a step back. I turned to my dad, who was looking at me solemnly, as though he wasn’t happy with my outburst but understood it came from a place of frustration with my sibling. Walking up, giving him a kiss on the cheek and wishing him luck, I turned to look at Fede and began to walk to the door. This interaction with my brother, although supposed to be a nice moment shared between siblings, has only gone and motivated me to be at my best tomorrow, to prepare my players to go to war and to come out the other side victorious.

Part 2 | seconda parte

135 notes · View notes

pantherastevens · 1 year

Text

Sorpresa: Uncle

Back with another one! Welcome to Part Four of Sorpresa (Surprise)

In case you miss the previous parts, they’re right here:

Part One , Part Two , Part Three

I’m not gonna hold y’all any longer so I hope you enjoy Part Four 💜

Warnings: Cursing

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

Summary: Miles vaguely understood that his girlfriend was a bit of a wild card. Quiet people tend to be like that. But it never fails to surprise him how often she could pull off such a thing.

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

Aaron Davis didn't survive the streets this long if he didn't know one of the most basic survival rules.

Stay vigilant.

Being aware of your surroundings is key to staying alive. It allows you to get the drop on others.

Which is how he knew about Miles' little crush turn romance way before the boy willingly came clean. At the beginning of Miles' junior year, he noticed a shift in his nephew's behavior. He seemed more lost in thought over something. Then he noticed Miles using his phone more, catching him smiling at it occasionally.

He hasn't really seen the boy crack a genuine smile unless he's around him or his sister-in-law.

Aaron knew that Miles didn't consider the boys at Visions his "friends" and usually got annoyed by girls who tried to get his number.

So who is this mysterious person who managed to catch his attention?

"It's nobody special, tío—just a classmate who so happens to be a little funny." Yeah. Bullshit.

That "classmate that so happens to be a little funny" seemed to be his partner in many assignments. Aaron had times when he had to wait for Miles to get back to him to show up for a job because he was caught in a partner assignment.

He hopes they're actually doing an assignment and not anything else.

Then when Miles' secret identity was discovered by this particular classmate nonetheless, things became even more obvious. Sometimes, he would come into his sister-in-law's home to find the boy on the phone, laughing as he chatted with the female voice. Shit, he caught his nephew on his phone with his feet kicking in the air. He would text her occasionally during a job when he thought his uncle wasn't looking.

The girl's contact was saved as "Gatita" in the boy's phone, which meant "Kitten" in Spanish.

The boy got it bad.

So when Miles comes around his apartment with nervous eyes, he already knows what this conversation was going to be about.

"So... there's something I got to tell you," Miles says. Aaron hums.

"This gotta do with your precious "gatita"," Aaron drawled, watching with an amused smirk as his nephew blushed.

"How did you-"

"Boy, you ain't slick. I've seen your phone screen whenever you're texting her. So, she your girlfriend?" Miles stared at his uncle briefly before letting out a long-suffering sigh.

'Well, that's half the battle...'

"Yes... and I want you to meet her first before I bring her to mi mamá," Miles said. Aaron tilted his head at the boy, mulling over his words before nodding. It would make sense.

Since his brother died, Aaron was more or less Miles' surrogate father figure. Even though Miles has grown up to be more independent, he knew that his nephew would still come to him for advice, help, or a listening ear when needed.

If meeting this girl to help vet her out before she went to meet Rio helps put Miles at ease, then he's willing to do it.

"Fine by me. Though, it's fair that at least you tell me a little about her," Aaron conceded. Miles nodded.

"So, what's her name?"

"Panthera Genesis Stevens." Aaron raised a brow before chuckling.

"Damn boy, you didn't have to give me a full government name," he teased. Miles grumbled, something along the lines of 'you would've tried to find out one way or another.' The kid wasn't wrong, but that shouldn't be nobody's business but his own.

Also...

"You said her name was Panthera," he asked. Something about that name was familiar, but Aaron couldn't figure out why for his life.

"Yeah, I met her in my music class, but we had a couple of classes together," Miles confirmed. Hm...

"So she's your main partner in your music class? Since you're always mentioning an assignment for that class?" Miles nodded.

"Interesting... what's she like?" Miles let out a dramatic sigh.

"Man, where do I start..."

"When you say it like that, you make it seem like she's a handful..." Miles shook his head at that.

"Nah, it's not that. Panthera's a wild card, for lack of a better phrase. She's nothing like the normal girls you've seen whenever you come to get from after school. She's very quiet and to herself. But she's very confident in who she is as a person. Like she keeps her personality hidden, but when it's exposed, she doesn't care who sees it. She's blunt, straight to the point, and no-nonsense, but she could be shy, goofy, and laidback." Aaron listened, watching his nephew talk about the girl he was dating. His eye sparkled, and he was animated, waving his hands about with curious awe ringing in his voice.

"The quiet ones usually hold the most surprises... and you said she knows about you being the Prowler," he drawled. When he first heard about that, he almost tore the boy a new one out of worry. The girl could be a liability to his nephew and everything he worked so hard for, but she proved loyal. She took him in, dressed his wounds, fed him, and ensured he had ample rest before Miles came to the apartment. And since then, none of their enemies seem to be none the wiser when it comes to Prowler's secret identity.

"Yeah, she does. I slipped up a bit, but even if I didn't, she's very smart. Says her dad always stressed the importance of staying vigilant. Same thing you always tell me." Aaron hummed.

'So the girl was street smart and book smart, interesting...'

Miles could see the glimmer of respect in Aaron's eyes, fighting back his smile.

"I think you two would get along pretty great. She's a total badass, Uncle Aaron. Not too long ago, we went on a date, and man, it was crazy," Miles rambled as he pulled out his phone to show his uncle the videos he had taken that day.

"How so," Aaron asked, genuinely curious. Miles was going through her photo library, searching as he answered.

"So I found that my beautiful girlfriend could hoop that day. Some guys that were playing were hitting on her while she was with me. It wasn't until one dude said something outta pocket that really got her attention, and rejected him in front of everyone. When I laughed at him, he got in my face and told me to play against him to embarrass me in front of her. Before I could answer, she said he was gonna play her instead." Aaron cocked his head to the side.

"It's not strange for a girl to know how to play basketball..." Miles shook his head.

"Nah, tío. Just look at her and look at the dude," Miles said, finally passing the phone to the man. Aaron glanced at his nephew before pressing play on the video. Immediately, he could see what his nephew meant.

The guy playing looked like your average dude, someone you can expect to know how to play ball. But when Panthera came on screen, she couldn't look more outta place if she tried. She was certainly dressed for a date, not to play ball against a grown-ass man.

The girl didn't even have shoes on.

"Hold the fuck up. Did she manage to block this man? She's tiny compared to him. How the hell did she manage to jump that high? How tall is she," Aaron stressed, finally looking at Miles. The boy laughed.

"Don't say that to her face; she's already sick of me mentioning it to her. And she's 5'5. Trust me, I was worried for her in the beginning, but my little baby could hold her own. Wait, you gotta see when she finally beats this man. She legit dunks on his ass," Miles said, clearly proud.

"Bullshit, ain't no way."

"Bet I got you." Even as Aaron watched the video, he was still shocked. He could barely see her face, but when she finally got down, Aaron knew there was a smirk on her face.

As she should, of course.

"Damn, I would have never thought..."

"Shit, me neither. Check this, though. She pulled a gun on that nigga because he was talking out his neck and coming after us all crazy." Aaron stared at his nephew.

"Ain't no way-"

"I have no reason to lie to you. Her dad made sure she knew how to look out for herself. Says she always remained strapped, even at school. I honest to God thought she was gonna lay his ass out right there on the court." Aaron shook his head out of disbelief.

The girl knowing how to hoop? A smidge shocking but believable.

The girl knowing how to kill a man, at her age and with her looks? Questionable.

"Imma say I believe you for now... Does her mother know she carries a gun?" Miles winced.

"So, about her mom... she's not in Panthera's life. From what Panthera told me, her mom wanted to abort her. She didn't only because her dad told her that he'll take care of her and even paid her mom to sweeten the deal." Aaron frowned, nodding.

He can see how it's a bit of a sensitive topic.

"So it's just her and her dad," he asked. Miles gave another nod.

"Whatchu know about her pops?" Miles had the decency to look a little embarrassed.

"Uhh... not much?"

"How is that possible?" Miles raised his hands as if he was going to defend himself.

"Look, I never even ran into the man, despite spending a lot of time at the girl's apartment. And I admit I'm a little scared to meet him, hearing how this man legit raised a literal badass and might hang me if anything bad happened between us. She does mention him in passing. The most I know is that he's from Oakland and moved to Brooklyn to start a new life for himself and Panthera. And by the sounds of it, her grandfather was born in some African country and moved to the States, where he had her father. I notice a lot of different trinkets that look like they come from there." Aaron frowned bits and pieces of old memories resurfacing.

"I just moved from Oakland, California. It's just me and my baby..."

"Honestly, I feel like my little girl saved me from a dark path. I wanted to avenge my father but found out my ex-baby mama was pregnant. Shit was unexplainable. I felt a pull, a connection to someone that wasn't even here yet. Something told me to save this part of me that I would've never anticipated for my life."

"Aw, would you look at that? She likes you, Aaron."

"AYO! Open up, nigga!" "Aaron, what the hell, man? Had me thinking you the feds or some shit." "Boy, hush! Where she at, you promised that I could have her for the day." "Bro, you sound like a grandfather looking for they grandbaby." "Nigga, shut yo ass up and give me my little baby."

"Uma-lu...me...!" "What did she just call me?" "She called you 'uncle' in our language. I've been teaching her bit and- Aaron, are you crying?" "No! I got something in my eye!"

"A..on? Unc...? Tío!" Aaron blinked, locking eyes with his very confused nephew.

"Sorry... I was thinking about something. Uhh, when do you plan on bringing Panthera over?"

"Today's Wednesday, so is Friday good for you?"

"Yeah... see you guys Friday..."

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

"Miles, I'm having second thoughts about this..." Miles looked down at his girlfriend, who was fiddling with the ring on her chain. The girl opted to dress simply for the occasion: a simple white cami, black acid-washed ripped jeans, and black combat boots. Matching Cuban chain bracelets could be found on her wrists. The ring and dragon claw studs from their recent date made a reappearance. Her locs were in two barrel twists with two free ones hanging in front of her ears.

"Why is that, princesa?" Panthera let out a shaky sigh. This was her first relationship and the first time she's ever met any family members of the people she interacted with. She didn't want to mess this up.

"What if your uncle doesn't like me," she asked quietly, anxiously glancing at Miles' hand that hovered over the hardwood door. The boy frowned, taking her face in his hands so she could look at him.

"Hey, none of that negative thinking, gatita. My tío already likes you. There's nothing you have to be worried about, okay," he whispered. He could still see a bit of insecurity in her eyes, but she rolled her shoulders and nodded. Miles kissed her forehead before facing the door again and knocked. Miles knew his uncle was home; he could hear the man's music playing from the other side of the door.

Panthera could hear the heavy footsteps approaching the door's other side, taking a deep breath.

'It's okay, Panthera. Miles seems confident in his uncle's approval. That's all you need... You got this...'

The door unlocked and swung open to reveal a tall, lanky man. His facial features were sharp and hard. The man had no hair, save the goatee with a bit of gray hair. Panthera looked up to find his dark eyes already trained on her. The initial fear Panthera felt slowly started to disappear as she took in the older man.

'He feels so familiar... but from where?' Miles cleared his throat, snapping the pair out of the stupor they seemed to fall under.

"Uncle Aaron, this is my girlfriend, Panthera Stevens. Panthera, this is my uncle, Aaron Davis." Panthera trusted out her hand with a small smile on her face.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Davis. Miles speaks highly of you," she said. Aaron smirked as he clasped his hand in hers for a solid handshake, a glimmer of approval shining in his eyes.

"The pleasure is all mine, Panthera. Call me Aaron. I'm not normally one for formalities all the time." Panthera's smile widened as the pair were ushered inside. The girl immediately bent down to remove her shoes, placing them by the front door. The strange sense of deja-vu seemed to grow stronger as the girl took in the apartment's interior.

"Welcome to my humble abode. Mi casa es tu casa. At least I'm pretty sure that's something my sister-in-law would say," Aaron said, nodding at the sight of her shoes near the door.

'At least I know she was raised in a cultured household...'

"Thank you, Mr.- I mean Aaron. This is a nice place you have here," Panthera said as she looked around. Aaron let a small smile, one Miles noticed. The boy grinned, happy to see his uncle being receptive to his girlfriend.

"Thanks, lil miss. Why not we get comfortable in the living room before we step out?" The two teens nodded, walking to the couch. Miles plopped down first before the girl could sit down, grabbing her wrist to pull her into his lap. The girl blushed, trying to get up to sit beside her boyfriend but failed when he simply tightened his grip on her.

"Miles, seriously," she whined, pouting. Miles smirked, pecking her lips.

"Calm down. Uncle Aaron is chill; besides, he might as well get used to seeing us like this anyways," Miles said, glancing at the man to confirm this. Aaron chuckled at his nephew's antics.

"It's fine." The man sat beside the pair and fell into a comfortable silence. Aaron studied the girl on Miles' lap. She was trying to suppress her giggles as Miles nuzzled her neck, seeking her affection. She threw an arm around his neck, thumb rubbing the skin behind his ear as she kissed his temple. Miles seemed completely at ease, eyes droopy with a lazy grin.

The older man suppressed a smile to take in the girl who seemed to hold his nephew's heart in her hands.

Aaron took note of her simple fit, understanding what Miles meant. He definitely wouldn't have noticed her immediately since many girls at Miles' school like their high maintenance expenses.

Panthera was simple, a natural beauty. It was refreshing for Aaron to see.

However, one thing caught the man's attention.

"What's with the necklace?" Panthera looked to the lounging man, eyes trained on the ring hung on her chain.

"It was my father's. The ring belonged to my grandfather. My dad gave it to me when I was 12, so I had a connection with him," Panthera answered, fiddling with the cool metal. Aaron hummed, his eyes narrowing in thought.

He remembers seeing that same exact ring on a similar chain on a man he met years ago. His baby girl seemed to love to play with it when he held her to his chest.

Before Aaron could say something, Panthera perked up at the sound of a new song playing. A song she hasn't heard in years.

"Oh my gosh, I haven't heard this song in so long," the girl gushed, her head nodding along with the beat. Aaron raised a brow.

"I wouldn't have suspected you to be a 2Pac fan, Panthera. The song's called My Block, in case you wanted to know," Aaron drawled. Big dark brown eyes shone happily at him, reminding Aaron of a familiar look from a little girl who loved this song whenever he played it.

"Baba would play him from time to time, but I mostly remember listening to him whenever I visited my umalume's apartment. Oh man, my dad probably has a video of me trying to sing along with the chorus with my uncle cheering me on," Panthera reminisced with a fond yet sad smile.

She last saw her uncle when she was six years old. It's like he just vanished from their lives almost. Eric told her he was too busy to visit them anymore, and Panthera asked her dad to play 2Pac to remember him. The girl was sad that someone who she considered family was just gone, but she had no choice but to move on.

Unknowing to her, Aaron froze, staring at the girl with wide eyes.

Umalume... uncle.

Aaron remembered returning to his apartment one day when a man with a baby and a couple of bags came off a bus. Aaron slowed, noticing the man's pinched expression. Normally he would've just kept walking, but the man looked rather young and tired. Plus, it was at that very moment the babe let out an ear-piercing wail.

"Ayo!" The man turned to Aaron, looking sheepish as he tried rocking the baby back to sleep.

"Yes, sir?" Aaron approached the young cat with a hint of a smile.

"Need a hand there?" The older man watched as relief washed over the man.

"Yes. Definitely." The Brooklyn native chuckled, carrying the bag, leaving the young father with one as he soothed his baby. Dark brown eyes met a matching pair, a tired smile on the younger's face.

"Name's Eric, by the way. Eric Stevens. And this is my little girl, Panthera Stevens." Aaron peered at her little face, smiling at the pout on her lips and big dark brown eyes.

"Nice to meet you, Eric. I'm Aaron Davis. And Panthera's a cute little girl. She looks like you a little bit."

The pair became fast friends, Aaron helping Eric find a place for him and little Panthera after discovering he was new to the city. He watched the little girl grow for years, growing a strong attachment to her after he held her in his arms for the first time. It reminded him of his young nephew, born shortly before her.

"Yo, tío... you okay," Miles asked, seeing the man's eyes grow misty the longer he stared at his girlfriend. The man shook his head, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

"Lil cub? Is... is that you?" Panthera's head snapped in Aaron's direction, eyes wide. But Aaron could see the spark of recognition in her eyes.

"...Umalume," she asked, really looking at the man. A younger, less jaded version of the man appeared in her mind's eye. She remembers his bright smile and his bolstering laugh. How his eyes would soften the same way Aaron's was right now-

"Oh my goodness! It is you!" Miles was confused by his girlfriend's outburst, which only worsened when Panthera partially jumped out of his arms into the arms of his uncle.

Aaron let out a genuine, joyful laugh as he stood up and spun the girl around.

"Damn, I can't believe it. It's really you, lil cub," Aaron said, squeezing Panthera. The girl pouted at him, reminding him of the kid version of her.

"I'm not little..."

"Yo feet still can't even touch the ground-"

"We not gonna talk about that-"

"So, does someone wants to clue me in here?" The pair stared at the Afro-Latino, who looked more than a little lost. Aaron chuckled as he set Panthera down, resting a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"Panthera is my non-biological niece. I met her father when he first moved to Brooklyn when Panthera wasn't more than a few months old. Her pops and I became fast friends, and like you, Panthera wormed her cute little self into my heart." Miles blinked before laughing. Panthera gave him that usual innocent blink whenever she managed to do something that baffled him.

"Just when I thought you couldn't surprise me anymore than you already have, you managed to do so again? What's next? You've met my mom too?" Panthera blushed, giggling.

"Funny, babe, but I haven't. Promise." Aaron turned to his nephew, eyes shining.

"Your mom is going to love her. I wouldn't stress it, lil man." Miles smiled at that.

"But... if you break her heart, you have more to worry about than just her Pops coming for your ass, Miles."

"Wha-?! But I'm your nephew!"

"And I would love for you to make Panthera my niece officially. Don't let me find out you two are no longer together now." Miles let out a groan as Panthera stifled a laugh behind her hand. The trio soon left the apartment, heading to a diner. Aaron took both of them there at some point in their childhood for some food. The couple were happy to revisit it, now older and as a couple.

Despite his uncle's threat, he couldn't help watching on happily as his uncle and girlfriend joyfully interacted with each other.

Things were looking up for Miles.

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

Dedicated to @444morales apprecite your support, friend 💜💜💜

#ATSV #across the spiderverse #spiderman across the spiderverse #earth 42 oc #earth 42 miles morales #earth 42 aaron davis #panthera stevens #earth 42 miles x oc #whipped earth 42 miles morales #earth 42 miles fluff #crossover #sorpresa part four #sorpresa series #5 +1 series #meeting family #fluff

12 notes · View notes

blueheavensims · 2 years

Text

State of the Blogs Address

Well, now. The first half of 2022 seemed to fly by, and I totally forgot to do this thing on time.

I don’t publish “Coming soon…” or “On the horizon..” type posts on a regular basis, simply because plans can change, and creativity waxes and wanes. I can’t commit to something that I won’t even get started until three months from now, because I don’t know if when I’m finally free to work on it, I’ll still have the same motivation. But I do try to let fans (and haters!) know which direction I’m generally headed in every six months or so.

In my personal life, things have been moving along fairly well. Another year, more anniversaries and milestones, more triumphs and setbacks, great mirth and great melancholies (to paraphrase Howard). Nothing extraordinary, just regular life stuff.

I think my biggest accomplishment as a Simmer in the first half of 2022 was making the Tutorial Library its own separate blog, and uploading the PDF documents to WordPress so that they’re directly accessible from the page. Based on the outpouring of support I received on Tumblr and the sheer volume of tutorials being downloaded, I would say it’s been a smashing success. I should have done it long ago.

The meadhall projects were a bit of a surprise. They weren’t originally planned. They were two separate one-off projects. But I wasn’t satisfied with just the original furniture; a proper meadhall should have big tables, places to gamble, places for weary travelers to rest, and so on. So two sets became three, three sets became six, then I added some completely unplanned sets of walls and floors, and here we are. It will probably be wrapped up in two or three more furniture sets. Aside from that, I have big plans for BATG, a few smaller projects, and more clothes conversions. See below for more details —————————————— Vaya, vaya. La primera mitad de 2022 se pasó volando, y se me olvidó por completo hacer esta cosa a tiempo.

No publico regularmente posts del tipo "Próximamente…" o "En el horizonte…", simplemente porque los planes pueden cambiar, y la creatividad crece y disminuye. No puedo comprometerme con algo que ni siquiera voy a empezar hasta dentro de tres meses, porque no sé si cuando por fin esté libre para trabajar en él, tendré la misma motivación. Pero trato de informar a los fans (y también a los haters!) hacía donde voy cada seis meses más o menos.

En mi vida personal, las cosas han avanzado bastante bien. Otro año, más aniversarios y logros, más triunfos y reveses, grandes alegrías y grandes melancolías (parafraseando a Howard). Nada extraordinario, sólo cosas normales de la vida.

Creo que mi mayor logro como Simmer en la primera mitad de 2022 fue convertir la Biblioteca de Tutoriales en su propio blog, y subir los documentos PDF a WordPress para que sean accesibles directamente desde la página. A juzgar por la avalancha de apoyo que he recibido en Tumblr y el enorme volumen de tutoriales que se han descargado, diría que ha sido todo un éxito. Debería haberlo hecho hace mucho tiempo.

Los proyectos de meadhall han sido una sorpresa. No estaban planeados originalmente. Eran dos proyectos individuales. Pero no me quedé conforme con los muebles originales; una taberna de verdad debe tener mesas grandes, lugares para apostar, sitios para que los viajeros cansados descansen, etc. Así que dos publicaciones se convirtieron en tres, tres se convirtieron en seis, luego añadí algunos conjuntos de paredes y pisos completamente imprevistos, y aquí estamos. Probablemente, se acabará con dos o tres juegos de muebles más.

Aparte de eso, tengo grandes planes para BATG, algunos proyectos más pequeños, y más conversiones de ropa. Ahí abajo hay más detalles

————————————— Here’s a brief summary of what I have planned and what I accomplished in the last half of 2022. In production: • Two as-yet-unnamed clothes conversions • 12 new meadhall wall and floor sets • Four new meadhall furniture sets • The last two parts of The Harness of Toil • More Lycan, orcish, and demonic skintones Planned projects: Barbarians at the Gate • Widow’s Wail (a new warpaint overlay box • A series of 3-4 new sets of weapon accessories • Two more object sets to conclude All the Pretty Horses • Separates and teen/child conversions for existing BATG clothes • 3-4 new sets of regular BATG clothes • 3-4 new sets of Bad Witch “Body realism” projects • Estorpajos al Aire (III) • 1-2 additional overlay boxes Clothing conversions • At least 10-15 planned, but subject to change depending on what I feel inspired by

#smeg #non-sims

10 notes · View notes

achitka · 2 years

Text

Doors (Chapter 10) Desayuno Sorpresa

Desayuno Sorpresa

Camilo heard the knock on his door, but he really did not want to get up yet. This bed was extremely comfortable. When the knock came again, he sighed, yelled “Enter!” and pulled his pillow and blanket over his head.

“Camilo, we need your help downstairs,” it was his sister’s voice and Camilo groaned, “Come on sleepy head, we need to have things ready before Mamá gets up.”

“Why?” In answer to his question, Casita tilted his bed just enough that he rolled with his blankets, out of it on the floor. “Hey!”

“Really, Cam, do not tell me you forgot what today is?”

What was the date today? His mind raced through some possibilities, but nothing of note came to mind. He had kind of lost track of the calendar…so answered in a sheepish tone, “Maybe?”

Dolores sighed, “You forgot your own Mamí’s birthday…”

“Of course not,” Camilo said as he flung the pillow away, trying to sit up as he struggled to disentangle himself from the blankets. “I did not forget…it just had not occurred to me yet.”

Dolores made no move to help him and said, “You're responsible for the cake. You can make one big one or three smaller ones. That’s up to you, but you’d better pull it together, hermanito, or you’re gonna miss breakfast.”

He had half a mind to shout, but Dolores pinned him with a look that made him change his mind and go limp. Dolores nodded and was out the door. How did she do that? Camilo shifted to Juancho, a smaller child in the Encanto, and the blankets finally let go. He crawled out, stood up and shifted back to himself. Shape-shifting sure came in handy sometimes. His foot was still tangled in the blankets, so he kicked it and stubbed his toe on the headboard. He grabbed a clean shirt, put it on and jerked his ruana over his head. Sitting on the bed, he looked around for his sandals and regretted ever sharing with his bossy older sister that he liked to bake.

Casita bounced his shoes to him, and Camilo stopped and smiled. Up until that moment, he did not realize just how much he missed Casita and the little things it did for him. For everyone really. He was never one to talk to the house but said, “Thanks Casita.” There was a short musical clatter of tiles that Camilo took as ‘you’re welcome.’ He put on his sandals and headed for the kitchen.

_______________________________

Mirabel woke a little before dawn, the way she usually did, sat up in her bed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Not quite awake, Casita bumped her glasses to her and Mira put them on. As she focused on the room around her, her breath caught, it was real, not a dream. There were parts of her room she had not seen too clearly the night before, since it was late when she finally got up the gumption to go inside. Now that it was morning and the Casita had opened the shutters, flooding the room with light, Mirabel slowly looked this way and that. She broke into a wide smile as she flopped back on her pillow and followed the mountains up the wall. Their tops were cloudy, but the sky above her head was mostly clear. Mirabel did a quick double take when she noticed the wispy clouds above her were moving lazily across the ceiling.

“Thank you, Casita. Everything is just so beautiful and…and…,” Mira wanted to say perfect but couldn’t, that word scared her…it was, though. She sat up again and felt the tears as they fell down her smiling cheeks. The tears did not stop when she climbed out of her new bed and poked the mattress, so soft. She spun around happily, and Casita did its best to keep her from falling over things that she was not used to being there. There was a soft knock and Mira quickly grabbed her robe and said, “Come in.”

Luisa poked her head in, and she too was smiling, but it turned to concern when she saw her sister’s tears.

“Mira what’s wrong?” Luisa asked as she entered and closed the door behind her.

“Nothing’s wrong, I just never…” Mirabel faltered and was a little embarrassed when her tears started up again, “Just never thought it could happen, you know?

Luisa took two steps toward her and swept her baby sister up in a hug. “Do not be sad, Mira. No one deserves this more than you.”

“I’m not sad, these are happy tears.” Mirabel said once Luisa set her down. “I’m just…”

“Overwhelmed?” Luisa offered as she looked wide-eyed at here room.

“Yeah.”

“I get that. My own room is so different, Mira. I can’t wait for you to see it.”

“Oh, what’s it like?”

“Nope, you’ll have to wait, ‘til you can see it in person.”

“Can’t we go now?”

“Wow, you are overwhelmed; did you forget what today is?”

Mirabel’s eyes went wide. “Birthdays! Oh my gosh! Oh Antonio, I promised to…”

“Slow down there little missy, Issa’s got that handled. Just wait ‘til she shows you what she learned to do with her Gift. Besides, I need you to help with breakfast. There is no way I was gonna let Issa help…probably poison us all.” Luisa laughed as she opened Mira’s closet, pulled out her clothes and laid them on the bed. “I’m gonna head downstairs, Dolores is already making the coffee and juice. See you in a few minutes.”

Luisa left, so Mirabel got dressed and pulled her unruly hair into a kerchief. As she was leaving, she noticed the picture on the inside of her door had changed. The little tree was a bit bigger. The tiny leaves she saw last night were now fully formed. There was no change to the bigger tree, and the butterflies were in the same spots as before. Papá had said Casita was trying to show her something about her future, but she still had no idea what. That made her look at Abuela’s door. It was open, but she was not there. The floor bounced her lightly and she remembered what she was supposed to be doing and hurried down to the kitchen.

_______________________________

Alma woke to the sound of several rats squeaking near her. She sat up and remembered she was in Bruno’s room. She looked out the nearby window, it was a beautiful day. So, she turned back to the high-backed chair and looked again at the rats atop it. They appeared to be waving at her, and Alma’s heart sank. She hurriedly got up and went around the chair. Bruno was awake, but his hands were shaking terribly and Alma remembered the teacup, it was here last night. Maybe there was still some draft left that Julieta had made the night before. She scanned the room until her eyes landed on the cup. She rushed over to it and saw that Bruno had not drunk all of it.

She picked it up with unsteady hands, almost spilling its contents as she came around in front of him and held the cup to his lips. Bruno took a sip, and the trembling eased enough for him to take the cup from her. He drank the rest and let out a relieved sigh and relaxed and said with a mirthless grin, “I’m gonna have to have Juli bottle that stuff.” Alma sat heavily onto the sofa and took a few deep breaths to calm her own nerves.

“I’m alright now Mamá, thank you,” Bruno said and stood up. He walked over to the desk and pulled out the sketches he had made the night before. He paused, looking at something there. He slowly closed the drawer and instead of returning to the chair, Bruno sat next to her on the sofa. Alma stared at him in disbelief but smiled and so did her son. It was a wry smile, but not a forced one. He handed her the sketches and said, “Sorry, I got a little carried away once I got started.”

Alma took them with a quivering hand, but she couldn’t really look at them. The tears were coming, tears for all the remembered pain she had caused him. There were not enough words for her to say, or even to try to mend that rift. She had all but broken her only son. Forgiveness was truly impossible. A tear dripped onto the paper, then another. Her head came up when Bruno put one arm around her shoulder and the other on her hands, and he said very gently, “We’ll get through this, Mamá. From the beginning, yes?”

They sat like that for a while until Alma took a deep breath and nodded. She handed him back the sketches and said as she dabbed her eyes and cleared her throat, “I think we will do this tomorrow. Your sobrinos are preparing a surprise for you and your hermanas this morning.” Alma rose from the sofa and said, “I am supposed to be helping them.” She paused as she looked at his door, what she noticed made her smile. She turned after opening it and said, “Ten un buen cumpleaños, Brunito.”

“Gracias, Mamá, lo haré.”

Alma returned to her room, but paused as she passed through Mirabel’s portion. Casita had made a point of reflecting all of Mira’s many talents in its construction. The floor, walls and ceiling were unusual, though. Alma could see the edges of the Encanto’s building peeking out from the edges of the rug, but she had no time to investigate that now. She went to her bedroom and changed into her regular clothes and went down to the kitchen.

Half expecting there to be chaos, she was pleasantly surprised to find everything was going smoothly. She watched from the door as Luisa directed the activity. They all did what she asked quite promptly. Alma noted Issa’s absence and was relieved. That one could not be left to watch over anything that would be eaten. She was likely with Antonio, as he was missing also. Mirabel was making arepa’s and keeping an eye on the sausages while they cooked. Camilo was ladling something into some baking dishes, while Dolores was cleaning strawberries and chatting with Luisa as she set the table. All in all, they did not actually need her, she was about to turn back to the plaza when she heard Dolores say, “Good Morning, Abuela.” The other’s turned, and they too smiled and said good morning to her.

“Come sit, Dolores has made your coffee already,” Luisa said and turned to pick up the cup Casita had filled. She set it delicately on the table that was near the window overlooking the patio. Luisa did a quick double take and said, “I mean, if you'd like to, Abuela.”

Alma came over to the small table and laid a hand on Luisa’s arm, “Thank you, Luisa. I think I will do that; you have everything well in hand, and the aguapanela smells delicious, Dolores.” She sat down and everyone returned to their tasks. Luisa moved over to the stove to check on the eggs that were boiling.

Alma sipped her coffee and she realized that Camilo was putting a cake in to the oven. She had not realized he had an interest in cooking. Eating, yes, but cooking? Once all the baking dishes were in the oven, he went over to where Mirabel was and snitched a few fresh arepas from the top of the stack. Mirabel waggled a wooden spoon at him, but she was smiling as she asked, “So what kind of cake is it?”

“It’s a secret.”

“Really?”

“No, I’m making a Tres Leches. Tía’s own recipe.”

“Oh wow, that one has so many steps, how do you keep them all straight without a recipe card?”

“With magic, of course,” and he quickly shifted from himself to Julieta and back again. Mirabel laughed, then realized the arepas were burning. She removed the finished ones and flipped the rest with practiced ease.”

Abuela lost track of them as she turned to look out the window and wondered again. Just how far away were the people in the mountains. Maybe they should search, but she knew without an idea of which way to look, it was likely they would not be found. She reminded herself that they could look for those answers tomorrow. Casita’s tiles were tapping a happy tune on the nearby windowsill, and Alma closed her eyes and remembered birthdays long ago with a mixture of sorrow and joy…it almost seemed like yesterday.

_______________________________

Julieta awoke to the smell of freshly brewed mint tea and smiled at the man who was ever so carefully setting it on her bedside table.

“Happy Birthday, mi amor,” he said, sitting on the bed next to her. “I’m going to tell you now; you are not allowed to leave this room until breakfast is ready,” Agustín said and helped adjust her pillows as she sat up. “I, too, have been told I also may not enter.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, I am to use all means necessary…” he leaned in close and added, “So you know what that means, right?”

“Do I?”

Agustín leaned in closer and said, “It’s time…to…make a sandwich.”

Julieta pushed him playfully and said, “You’re so weird.”

“Admit it, woman, you like weird.”

“So, I do.”

_______________________________

Félix awoke to the sounds of drawers being opened and closed with gusto. He sat up to find his wife going through the contents of several with little care to where things were landing. Luckily, Casita caught the tossed items into a basket and Félix got out of bed. His robe flew by, and he snatched it from the air and pulled it on. Pepa’s cloud was steadily getting darker, and she was just about to start on the closet when he asked, “What are you looking for, mi vida?”

There was a low peal of thunder. “My favorite hair tie,” Pepa said and opened the closet.

Félix gently took her elbow and turned her toward the mirror. Pepa paused long enough to look at her reflection, the cloud dissipating as she touched the tie in her hair. There was a knock on the door, so Félix opened it to find Bruno standing there with two cups of coffee. He handed one to Félix and offered the other to Pepa, who took it and settled onto the sofa nearby and said, “Thank you, Bruno and Happy Birthday.”

“You’re welcome, and Happy birthday to you hermana,” he said and turned to go so Félix began to close the door, but Bruno stopped him when turned around and asked, “Mass is still at noon?”

Pepa choked a little at the question, but nodded.

Bruno nodded, then left, saying, “Well, see you at breakfast.”

Félix closed the door and turned back to his wife, who was sprinkling into her coffee. He sat down next to her and Félix saw she was smiling.

“Did not see that coming,” Pepa said and took another sip of her coffee, making the cloud above her head evaporate.

_______________________________

Isabela, Antonio, and Parce walked along the wooded path just west of Casita. Parce was walking slowly, so Issa could keep up and help Antonio balance the foot long stick with a few sad-looking leaves on it. They stopped in a glade near a small stream and Antonio announced that Parce needed a drink. They sat under the large oak there until Parce finished. Issa took the stick from Antonio as he climbed back up on the jaguar.

“Thanks for helping me find this, Issa,” Antonio said, taking back the stick.

“You’re welcome, primo pequeño,” she said as she stood, “I’m glad I could help you out.”

“What’s the stick’s name again…plumberi…?”

“Plumeria rubra, and it’s actually a flowering tree.”

Antonio looked at the stick dubiously. “How big will it get?”

“If we take care of it properly, it will grow to be quite tall.”

“Why not just use your Gift to make it bigger?”

“Yes, I could do that, but then we would miss the chance to watch it grow and see all the changes it has to go through to make its beautiful flowers.”

“Oh, I never thought of it like that.” Antonio said and brightened. “I saw the flowers you made for Mira’s door last night. They were so pretty, and they smelled good too.”

“Thank you, Toni, you were up late then.”

“I was asleep, but Tío Bruno’s friends woke me up, so I could get Mamá.”

“Is that when you went into your room?”

“Yeah, that was fun too! When I touched the doorknob, it was like the magic was giving me a hug…and it tickled.”

“That sounds wonderful, Antonio.” Isabela said. Dolores had said, she was extremely nervous about opening her door and probably would have stood there until morning if her mother had not come along. When she finally did, she said that it felt like Casita or maybe the magic was trying to understand what she needed. Luisa said something similar. Issa was mildly jealous in that moment; she had just plowed into her room, barely stopping to look at her door.

They were within sight of Casita now, and she heard Parce let out a low growl. Antonio responded with, “Oh, okay, Parce.” And hopped off the jaguar's back. “I will see you after breakfast.” The jaguar huffed and disappeared back into the forest.

As they neared the house, Casita opened the door and both heard the clatter of activity in the kitchen.

“’Bout time you two got back,” a voice said nearby.

Issa turned and waved to her Tío Bruno and said, “Buenos días Tío, feliz cumpleaños.”

He was in the hammock near the door, swaying slightly as he balanced a mug of coffee, as Antonio’s coatimundi hopped off onto the floor and greeted her tiny cousin. Issa smiled when Antonio shoved the stick into her hands and ran over to Bruno.

“Tío Bruno, you’re better!” Antonio said, “I was really worried last night. Papá said you would be okay. I’m glad he was right.”

Bruno cocked an eyebrow and nodded. “I am,” he said as he swung out of the hammock and knelt, so he was eye level with him. “You did your Tío a solid last night. Thank you, Tonito.” Antonio was all smiles now. Bruno stood up and said to Issa, “I have instructions to collect my sisters upon your return. You have returned.” He turned to go and Antonio grabbed his free hand, Bruno shrugged, and the pair headed toward the stairs, Antonio regaling him of his morning adventures.

This was how Issa always remembered him. As a kind and giving man, who loved his family more than anything else. When he disappeared, she worried for months, then it was years. Slowly losing bits of her memories of him as she strove to be perfect. Well, back to the present, she thought, holding the cutting out in front of her. She wasn’t sure how, but she could tell there was still some life in this slightly dried up stick. Isabela was tempted to make it bloom, but decided against it. Instead, she set the stick next to a pot on a nearby table and attempted to create a garland of plumeria. It was turning out to be a little trickier than she expected. Most flowers had flexible stems…the plumeria had wooden branches. Her first few attempts looked a little too wild, so she discarded them. When the next one turned out about the same, she realized she was trying to make the plant/crown, which was actually stunning as it was, conform to her desires for it. A dangerous thing for a recovering perfectionist. She draped the garland on the table and headed for the kitchen to see if there was something she could do to help.

Next Chapter:

Previous Chapter:

#encanto fanfic #disney encanto #mirabel madrigal #camilo #julieta madrigal #abuela alma madrigal #tio bruno #dolores madrigal #felix madrigal #camilo madrigal #encanto mirabel #pepa madrigal #isabel madrigal #luisa madrigal #random sticks #parce the jaguar

4 notes · View notes

sciogli-lingua · 2 years

Note

For the book recs ask: 1, 13, 43, 50, 96, 135

Sto cercando libri italiani da leggere, quindi se ci sono nella tua risposta sarà ancora meglio 😁

You got it ;) (Also: you get a bilingual answer, as a treat)

1) a book that is close to your heart

Ne ho parecchi, ma il primo in italiano che mi è venuto in mente era uno dei miei preferiti quand'ero bambina: Ascolta il mio cuore, di Bianca Pitzorno. Non lo leggo da anni ma credo che potrebbe piacere anche a un adulto; è uno dei libri che in assoluto mi dispiace di più non poter consigliare a chi non parla italiano (visto che in inglese non è stato tradotto).

I have several, but the first Italian one that came to mind was a favorite of mine as a kid: Ascolta il mio cuore (Listen to my heart), by Bianca Pitzorno. I haven't read that one in years, but I think an adult might like it as well; it's one of the books I'm most gutted that I can't recommend to those who don't understand Italian (since there's no English translation available, as far as I'm aware).

13) your favorite romance novel

Purtroppo è un genere che leggo pochissimo, quindi non saprei davvero cosa consigliare.

Unfortunately, that's not a genre I usually read much of, so I wouldn't know what to recommend.

43) a book that you have read more than three times

Non rileggo tanto le cose (o più che altro non per intero: ci sono passaggi che ho letto e riletto). Negli ultimi tempi mi è capitato più che altro con le opere teatrali: per esempio sono sicura di aver letto più di tre volte varie cose di Shakespeare, Il Gabbiano di Čechov, l'Antigone di Anouilh e parecchie altre.

I don't re-read things all that much (or, I should say, not in their entirety, as there are many passages I've come back to multiple times). Recently I've mostly done it with plays: for example, some Shakespeare, Chekhov's The Seagull, Anouilh's Antigone and some others I'm sure I've read more than three times.

50) a book that made you cry a LOT

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn per me è la risposta automatica perché leggendolo mi sono fatta dei pianti imbarazzanti. Per quanto riguarda i libri italiani, sono sicura di aver pianto con La storia, di Elsa Morante, e La luna e i falò, di Cesare Pavese (ma li ho letti un po' di tempo fa, quindi non ricordo più esattamente quali momenti mi abbiano fatto piangere).

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is my go-to answer because I legitimately bawled my eyes out reading it. As far as Italian books go, I'm sure I cried reading La storia, by Elsa Morante, and La luna e i falò, by Cesare Pavese (I did read both a while ago, though, so I no longer remember the exact moments that made me cry).

96) a book with a restaurant/food setting

Di libri che ho letto non saprei, sicuramente ce n'è qualcuno ma in questo momento non me lo ricordo. Però sto leggendo Dona Flor e seus dois maridos (Dona Flor e i suoi due mariti), di Jorge Amado, che per ora mi sta piacendo e mi sembra appropriato.

I can't think of any books I've read, surely there must be at least one but right now I really can't remember. But I'm reading Dona Flor e seus dois maridos (Dona Flor and her two husbands), by Jorge Amado, which I'm liking so far and seems to fit the description.

135) recommend any book you like!

Questa per me è una domanda difficilissima perché per mia fortuna la maggior parte dei libri che leggo mi piace abbastanza. Visto che stai cercando libri italiani, ti consiglio L'accabadora: l'ho letto quest'estate dopo averlo ignorato per anni, e devo dire che nel complesso mi ha piacevolmente sorpresa (la prima metà soprattutto è molto bella).

This is the toughest question for me, as I'm lucky enough to like most of the books I read. Since you're looking for Italian books, off the top of my head I'd recommend L'accabadora: I read it this summer after ignoring it for years, and I must say that as a whole it was a pleasant surprise (the first half is particularly good).

books recs ask game (send me a question!)

#spero ci sia qualcosa che possa piacerti anon #games #not languages #books #bookblr

5 notes · View notes

veronica-nardi · 3 years

Text

Drama Quiz 2021

È arrivato quel momento dell'anno. Il momento in cui bisogna tirare le somme. Il momento in cui bisogna prendere delle decisioni. Il momento del quiz.

Ringrazio calorosamente @dilebe06 per aver inventato questo quiz due anni fa e per continuare a farlo. E grazie anche alle altre partecipanti: è bello essere in compagnia.

Drama visti quest'anno:

Coreani: Itaewon Class, Thumping Spike, Coffee Prince, Full House, The Royal Gambler, Mister Queen, Into the New World, Eighteen Again, The Uncanny Counter, The Three Musketeers, 365 One Year Against Destiny, Boys over flowers, Chicago Typewriter, Squid Game, Moon Lovers, Prison Playbook, My Mister.

Cinesi: Ashes of love, My Unicorn Girl, The Wolf, Love is Sweet, Once upon a time in Lingjian Mountain, Douluo Continent, My Roommate is a Detective, Die Now, Lucky's first love, Word of honor, The Untamed (rewatch), The Mystic Nine, Joy of life, Eagles and youngster.

Taiwanesi: Drunken to love you, Piacevolmente Sorpresa, tutti gli History, Lost Romance, The Victim Game, Meet me at 10.06

Giapponesi: Death Note, Alice in borderland, Watashitachi: wa douka shiteiru, Two Homelands, Conte di Montecristo Great Revenge, Hana Yori Dango seconda stagione + Final Film, Sherlock the untold stories, Bitter Blood, Ouroboros, Your Turn (prima parte + special).

Rip i thailandesi

Sono la bellezza di 54 drama.

Sì, ho visto più drama dell'anno scorso, ma questo è stato un anno molto difficile per me. Ricordo di essere partita come un treno a inizio anno, mi sparavo drama uno dietro l'altro in modo frenetico, ero entusiasta e piena di energie. Poi le cose hanno cominciato a cambiare, e ho trovato sempre più difficile guardare drama in modo appassionato. Mi sono accorta che non c'era nessun drama che mi prendeva il cuore, e ho cominciato a sentire che la mia passione scemava. Negli ultimi tempi ho fatto proprio fatica a vedere drama, mi sono un po' trascinata e un po' forzata. Ho perso talmente tanto l'entusiasmo che mesi fa mi ero proposta di vedere I told sunset about you, un drama thailandese da appena cinque episodi, e non l'ho ancora visto. Contavo di tenermelo come ultimo drama dell'anno, ma non ce l'ho fatta.

Mi viene anche da pensare che il problema non sono i drama, ma io. Perché su oltre cinquanta drama visti, com'è possibile che nessuno mi abbia fatto innamorare? È un periodo in cui sono stanca di tutto, in cui faccio fatica a fare qualsiasi cosa. Dimentico le cose, procrastino. Il posto in cui vivo adesso non mi piace. Le persone con cui vivo mi fanno più che altro incazzare. Sono arrabbiata con me stessa perché lo sapevo fin dall'inizio che venire qua era una grandissima cazzata. Ho voglia di piangere. Ho voglia di mandare la gente a cagare e passare le giornate a letto a dormire e rilassarmi. Mi dico sempre che non ce la faccio più, ma siccome non so bene come dovrei comportarmi se davvero decidessi di non farcela più, vado avanti anche se mi chiedo quanto sia giusto per una persona vivere in modo così frustrante.

Questa sembra più una pagina del mio diario che sto usando in terapia, ma siccome questa non è una seduta psicologica, ciancio alle bande e bando alle ciancie e cominciamo.

Ci tengo comunque a dire che nonostante tutto sono contenta di essere riuscita quest'anno a essere più equilibrata con i drama. L'anno scorso i coreani regnavano senza pietà, mentre quest'anno, è vero i coreani continuano a vincere, ma posso vedere che la situazione è molto più equilibrata.

Nel guardarmi indietro e vedere come è andata quest'anno, ricordo che all'inizio maratonavo drama manco fossero una droga, come se fosse una sorta di gara. Andavo di fretta perché volevo vederne il più possibile. Ad oggi avrei preferito guardare solo dieci drama ma bellissimi, piuttosto che a decine ma mediocri. #lezionidivita

MA BASTA CON LE CHIACCHIERE, ORA È PARTY TIIIIIME (cit.)

Anche se i rewatch sono tecnicamente validi, come sempre non farò uso di The Untamed perché sennò vincerebbe tutto XD.

1) Il drama più bello che hai visto quest'anno: Joy of life

Io lo dico: non scelgo questo drama perché sento davvero che sia il più bello che ho visto quest'anno, e nemmeno perché mi abbia fatto innamorare perdutamente. Nel leggere il mio quiz bisogna partire dalla premessa che quest'anno non mi sono innamorata di nessun drama.

Scelgo Joy of life basandomi sulla speranza. Povera scema.

Perché è stato un buon drama, con buoni personaggi, interessante e pieno di intrighi. Perché promette bene. Perché c'è Xiao Zhan. Lol. Giuro che non sto nominando Joy of life per lui, ma il drama è davvero diventato più frizzante da quando il suo personaggio è entrato in scena.

Scrivere un breve riassunto della trama è molto difficile, perché è complicata, ricca di storyline e personaggi. Un po' come The Untamed. Io la ricordo come una serie interessante, intrattenitiva, equilibrata, piena di svolte, colpi di scena, intrighi e complotti. I personaggi sono piuttosto sfaccettati, niente eroi senza macchia o villain super cattivi perché sì. Mi è piaciuta guardarla e attendo la seconda stagione. Anche perché è finita in un modo che... santoiddio ho volato tantissimo.

Le uniche pecche delle serie, almeno a mio parere, sono la “lead” (lo dico tra virgolette perché non capisco come si possa chiamarla tale), il personaggio meno interessante dell’universo, e la storia d’amore, superflua e ridicola. La cosa positiva è che entrambe non hanno preso molto spazio.

Nomino Joy of life perché promette fuochi d’artificio e perché mi fido di Xiao Zhan. Vi prego non deludetemi.

Dopo questa ci manca solo che la seconda stagione non arrivi mai.

2) Il drama che si meriterebbe un sequel: Die Now

Chiunque abbia visto Die Now, ovvero quattro gatti, sa che questa serie merita un sequel, e Cristo solo sa perché non lo abbiano fatto.

La seconda stagione di Well Intended Love sì, Die Now no. Ok.

Die Now è un drama cinese di alto intrattenimento e molto interessante. È misterioso, un po' rompicapo, introspettivo e anche psicologico.

La serie mi ha regalato davvero degli alti momenti di mistero e suspence, le sfide erano tutte molto belle e interessanti, soprattutto quella della corsa @dilebe06.

Poi c'era quel fantastico personaggio di Bo Bian, intelligente, senza pietà, esilarante, pazzo, carismatico ma aveva anche dei difetti. Mi ha fatta ridere un sacco e mi ha dato grandi soddisfazioni. Ship forever con il lead, il suo "tesorino".

Ora, il drama va a finire in un modo che in teoria preannuncia una seconda stagione... che però non arriverà mai.

GRAZIE PER AVER LASCIATO APERTE MILLE DOMANDE E CURIOSITÀ.

Bonus: io gradirei molto anche una seconda stagione di Once upon a time in Lingjian Mountain, ma ignoro se sia in programma.

Sono doverose anche le secondi stagioni di Douluo Continent, Alice in borderland e Joy of life, e di queste credo che basti solo attendere.

3) Il drama che ti è piaciuto di meno: Word of honor

Word of honor ha una grossa responsabilità del mio breakdown di quest'anno. Avevo -stupidamente- sperato di tutto, ho ricevuto in risposta solo prese in giro.

Non so davvero come altro descrivere questo drama se non così: una presa in giro.

L'ho distrutto nel mio commento-sfogo qui su Tumblr, quindi non voglio dilungarmi troppo sulle motivazioni per cui non mi sia piaciuto. In sintesi: confusionario, storia d'amore frettolosa e al limite del comico, reazioni assurde, anticlimatico, buonista, personaggi deludenti.

Ora, Word of honor forse non è il drama peggiore che io abbia visto quest'anno, ma lo nomino perché è quello da cui sono rimasta più delusa in assoluto. Perché vi avevo riposto delle aspettative altissime, quindi mi sono ritrovata a fare i conti con una delusione molto forte, e questo mi ha buttata giù parecchio.

4) Il protagonista maschile preferito: Love is sweet

Quest'anno i protagonisti fanno una figura misera. Tutti i miei personaggi più amati sono co-protagonisti o secondari, e gli unici due lead che vale la pena nominare sono quelli di Love is sweet e Moon Lovers.

Dopo aver finito di vedere Love is sweet me lo sono lasciata abbastanza alle spalle pensando che tanto "è solo una commedia romantica", ma nel guardare come è stato il mio anno mi viene da rivalutare un sacco questo drama. Perché le commedie dovrebbero valere di meno? Ora, Love is sweet aveva i suoi difetti -tipo l'allergia alle lacrime della lead di cui tutti potevamo fare a meno- ma come commedia romantica ha fatto il suo lavoro più che egregiamente.

Io ricorderò sempre questo drama come una commedia estremamente divertente, dolcemente romantico, carinissimo e non stupido o superficiale, ma anche con alcuni spunti di riflessione.

Il lead mi è memorabile perché mi ha fatta morire dalle risate, semplicemente per questo. Chi l'ha detto che bisogna nominare lead profondi, sfaccettati, introspettivi e con un'evoluzione interessante?

Quest'anno vincono la simpatia e semplicità.

Bonus: il lead di Moon Lovers. Perché comunque io amo i lead profondi, sfaccetati, introspettivi e con un'evoluzione interessante. Lol.

5) La protagonista femminile preferita: My Mister

Non avevo una protagonista femminile preferita fino a poco tempo fa, e credo che ne avrei dovuta nominare una senza un vero sentimento dietro. Ma grazie al cielo la mia queen IU è venuta in mio soccorso regalandomi una lead davvero bella.

Ho visto My Mister solo per lei, e sebbene io abbia trovato il drama abbastanza lento e con delle storyline secondarie poco interessanti e molto noiose, la lead mi è piaciuta davvero molto.

Ji Ah è una lead che all'inizio è abbastanza insopportabile, perché va bene povera, piena di debiti e menata male dal suo creditore, ma il suo modo di fare distaccato e il suo irritante silenzio ti fanno solo venire il nervoso.

Nel corso della serie migliora, si evolve, ma mi piace un sacco come non sia mai un'evoluzione clamorosa, e di base rimane sempre la stessa. Sono solo momenti di presa di consapevolezza, di gratitudine.

Mi è anche piaciuto come non sia una ragazza povera ma brava, santa, ottimista, onesta, simpatica. Come ho detto, il suo modo di fare può davvero dare sui nervi, e di certo non se ne è andata in giro a fare miracoli, anzi!

Piccolo spoiler: l'unica scena del drama che mi abbia fatto piangere è quando Ji Ah sente il lead dire al ragazzo creditore che anche lui avrebbe voluto uccidergli il padre, cosa che la fa sentire capita per la prima volta nella sua vita, ragion per cui scoppia a piangere nel bel mezzo della strada. Bellissimo.

6) Un drama che ti ha fatto venire la sindrome da second lead: The Wolf

Nel leggere questa domanda mi sono trovata MOLTO in difficoltà, perché io la sindrome da second lead non so cosa sia. Non solo non amo i second lead, ma mi stanno addirittura sulle palle. Li vedo come un sovrappiù inutile, una perdita di tempo, dei poveri cristi che tanto la prenderanno soltanto in quel posto. Perché tanto lo sappiamo tutti fin dall'inizio che alla fine la lead della storia si metterà con il lead, quindi qual è il senso della presenza del second lead? (Ovviamente il discorso vale anche con le second lead femminili).

Non ho mai sofferto della sindrome da second lead, e non sapevo davvero come rispondere a questa domanda, finché Xiao Zhan non mi ha illuminato la via.

Xiao Zhan è l'eccezione che conferma la regola.

In The Wolf lui interpreta proprio il second lead della situazione, e tocca livelli altissimi di adorabilità. Ora, ci tengo comunque a dire che a me non è piaciuto per niente il suo innamoramento per la lead... perché non lo hanno fatto vedere. Manca proprio un passaggio. Cioè lui all'improvviso, da un episodio a un altro, la decanta come la donna della sua vita: ammetto che è stato uno dei momenti più WTF dell'anno.

Quello è stato un grosso difetto, certo, ma a parte questo Ji Chong è stato un second lead impossibile da non amare. Un vero cavaliere. Talmente bello da risultare poco credibile, lo ammetto.

Mi è anche piaciuto molto come avesse una storyline tutta sua, e non fosse lì soltanto per corteggiare la lead. E la sua è una storyline che ho davvero adorato e che mi ha stretto il cuore.

Alla fine? Alla fine mi ha fatto una tenerezza assurda nel vedere che per quanto ci provasse si è reso conto che le cose con la lead non sarebbero mai potute funzionare. Vedete che i second lead esistono solo per soffrire?

7) Un drama di cui faresti un rewatch adesso: Alice in borderland e Love is sweet

Il primo perché mi ricordo che mi era piaciuto davvero tanto -più di Squid Game, ebbene sì!- ma con la memoria che ho non mi ricordo più una cippa, quindi lo riguarderei volentieri in vista della seconda stagione.

Il secondo perché come ho detto è una commedia romantica molto carina e divertente. Leggero ma non troppo, romantico, e tante risate assicurate. Top!

8) La morte di un personaggio che non hai ancora superato

Ti rendi conto di non aver davvero amato nessun drama quest'anno quando a questa domanda riesci solo a fissare lo schermo realizzando che non te ne è fregato niente di nessuno.

Mi dispiace ma questa passo.

9) Miglior second lead maschile: Chicago typewriter

Io volevo nominare il second lead di The Wolf, ma in questo quiz annuale a me secca ripetermi, cerco sempre di nominare il maggior numero possibile di drama. Quando mi è venuto in mente Shin Yool di Chicago Typewriter, ho deciso di scegliere lui piuttosto che Ji Chong. Anche perché quest'ultimo, come ho detto, è stato un second lead piuttosto da favola, mentre Shin Yool è stato un personaggio molto più realistico, umano e credibile.

Mi è piaciuta molto la "broship" a tre tra lui, l'altro lead e la lead, come è iniziato e sviluppato il loro rapporto. Mi ha poi molto colpita il suo tragico amore per la protagonista, cosa che lo ha reso il personaggio più umano di tutti e che ha scatenato alcuni eventi che mi hanno fatto soffrire non poco.

10) Miglior second lead femminile: Lost Romance

Lo ammetto: è una risposta un po' a presa di culo Lol. Il fatto è che non mi è venuta in mente nessuna second lead da nominare, e mi è venuto da ridere pensando a Chu Chu di Lost Romance.

Chu Chu parte come protagonista, come primo interesse amoroso del lead, per poi diventare la second lead della situazione quando la lead la scavalca togliendole la corona.

Suddetta Chu Chu era un personaggio abbastanza di mer*a: una ragazza molto bella, brava, dolce, gentile, innocente, volenterosa. Ma mi faceva morire il suo modo di cascare tra le braccia del lead: lei non inciampava, lei volava. Lol.

11) Miglior bacio: Love is sweet

È da quando ho visto la scena di questo bacio che ho deciso sarebbe stato il bacio dell'anno. E no, sorprendentemente non sto parlando di un bacio tra i due lead, anche se pure loro sono stati bellissimi.

Mi riferisco al bacio tra Xiao Chuan e Xu Li. Spoiler: lui è l'inventore e programmatore di una app che crea dei "match" amorosi perfetti basandosi sulla compatibilità delle persone in base ai loro caratteri ed interessi. Quando viene fuori che loro due non sono per nulla compatibili, invece che accettare la cosa e rattristarsi, Xiao Chuan se ne frega, corre da Xu Li e le dice che è la app ad avere un problema, non loro, perché lui sta bene con lei, e se la bacia senza riserve. Mi è piaciuto davvero un sacco come questo ragazzo che basava la sua vita sull'informatica, la logica e la scienza, sia riuscito a mettere da parte tutto questo preferendo ascoltare i propri sentimenti. Davvero bello.

12) Il Protagonista e la protagonista che proprio non ti è piaciuto: The Royal Gambler, Ashes of love e Douluo Continent

Non mi è piaciuto il lead di The Royal Gambler perché era un personaggio semplicemente assurdo e over power a livelli estremi: un eroe senza macchia e senza paura, il re del popolo, capace di sopravvivere a qualsiasi cosa, anche alla caduta da un dirupo alto decine di metri con ferite e ossa rotte. Per non parlare della sua capacità di vincere le scommesse grazie a delle skills a dir poco fantascientifiche: lui che indovinava i dadi mentre venivano agitati in un bicchiere con solo l'uso dell'udito era fantasy puro.

Le protagoniste che non mi sono piaciute sono due.

Quella di Ashes of love perché era una scema e un personaggio sfruttato malissimo. Aveva un ottimo potenziale socio-politico, invece l'hanno ridotta a mero interesse amoroso, con lei che sta lì a battersi il cuore contenente quella fottuta pillola maledetta, un escamotage narrativo che mi ha fatto bestemmiare come pochi e che sinceramente potevano mettersi in quel posto.

La lead di Douluo Continent non so come abbia fatto a sopportarla. La scrittura del personaggio in sé era anche interessante, è stata la resa in scena che mi ha infastidito come un riccio nel culo. Era semplicemente irritante. Nel giro di due episodi mi erano già cascate le braccia fino a terra. Sono riuscita a sopravvivere cercando di ignorarla e concentrandomi sul resto del drama.

13) Miglior bromance: Alice in borderland

Fin da quando ho visto QUELLA scena ho sempre saputo che avrei nominato Arisu e i suoi amici bromance dell'anno. Non potevano essere battuti. Alice in borderland ha tirato su una scena con un plot twist impossibile da prevedere ma che non puoi criticare perché è perfettamente sensato. Tra lo shock generale, ho fatto i complimenti alla scena.

SPOILER!!! Nel gioco del terzo episodio io non mi sarei mai, e dico mai, aspettata che le cose sarebbero potute finire in quel modo. Perché non si era ancora a metà serie quindi non contemplavo la possibilità di una strage, ero sicura che Arisu avrebbe trovato il modo di risolvere la situazione come era stato per le sfide precedenti. Ci sono rimasta DI MERDA quando ho realizzato, all'ultimo secondo, che non c'era più niente da fare, che era troppo tardi e Arisu non sarebbe riuscito a salvare i suoi amici, pronti a morire perché sapevano che l'unico che poteva andare avanti in quei giochi infernali era il loro amico. La scena è stata straziante, ma sul momento non sono riuscita nemmeno a piangere da quanto ero scioccata. Ho pianto successivamente, quando ho rivisto la scena in seguito. Davvero tanto di cappello a questa scena.

BONUS: Douluo Continent. A me questa squadra di Avengers cinesi con poteri e caratteri diversi è piaciuta davvero tanto!

14) Miglior cast: Prison Playbook, Douluo Continent, Eagles and youngster

Nomino questi drama corali perché sono ricchi di personaggi diversi, sfaccetatti e interessanti. Medaglia d'oro a Prison playbook e menzione speciale per gli altri due per la giovane età dei suoi attori, sopratutto l'attrice protagonista di Eagles and youngster di appena 14 anni, che è stata davvero brava.

15) Peggior second lead maschile e femminile: Ashes of love

Il second lead e la second lead di Ashes of love sono stati i miei personaggi preferiti della serie, quindi ora devo spiegare come mai li sto nominando in questa domanda negativa.

A me piacciono i second lead che non si comportano in modo stronzo, immaturo o meschino. Per esempio cercando di rovinare l'immagine del lead per conquistare la lead, o fare di tutto per impedire la relazione tra i due lead. Ecco perché l'anno scorso ho nominato il principe Yul di Goong. A me piacciono i second lead che dicono di amare la lead, e cercano di renderla felice e farla stare bene. (Ovviamente il discorso vale anche per le second lead)

Alla luce di questo, mi trovo a nominare il e la second lead di Ashes of love perché hanno riempito di bugie e inganni le persone che dicevano di amare. Il second lead trionfa perché ha spinto la lead a fare qualcosa di terribile e crudele che non avrebbe mai neanche dovuto pensare visto tutto l'amore che decantava per lei.

16) Miglior finale: Two Homelands

Questo è un piccolo drama da appena due episodi. L'ho visto dietro consiglio di @dilebe06, e sebbene non l'abbia visto con chissà quale coinvolgimento emotivo, riconosco che sia un bel drama, fatto bene, che dà vita ad una pagina di storia da me poco conosciuta ma che merita e deve essere raccontata.

Two Homelands è un drama crudo, realistico, difficile da guardare, che ti fa arrabbiare e pensare. Non si risparmia nemmeno sul finale, dove anzi ti dà il colpo di grazia. Ma non importa se siano tragiche, le cose più belle sono quelle umane e realistiche.

Spoiler: Rip per quel poveretto del lead che dopo aver passato la vita a cercare di essere un ponte tra America e Giappone, si uccide non riuscendo a vivere dopo tutto quello che è successo e tutto quello che ha perso. Fine spoiler.

Bonus: bonus per come si è conclusa la storyline del tossico di Prison Playbook. Esattamente come per Alice in borderland o Two Homelands, è un pugno nello stomaco ma è qualcosa che non puoi criticare perché è sensato e realistico.

17) Un drama che ti penti di aver visto: History

Domanda un po' difficile per me, perché mi sono accorta che non mi sono pentita di aver visto nessun drama, anche se l'anno è stato quello che è stato e nessuno mi ha fatto impazzire.

Se proprio devo dare una risposta dico gli History, non era necessario vederli tutti, bastava il terzo, il più carino. Io il quarto non so come faccia la gente a dire che sia il più bello e il migliore: io sono ancora basita @dilebe06.

18) Una ship fittizia che però tu shippi

Ce ne sono diverse: i due lead di Once upon a time in Lingjian Mountain, i due lead di My roommate is a detective, il lead e la second lead (l'Eletta) di Joy of life -la chimica, la tensione sessuale tra loro raga, la scena del ballo... ma di cosa parliamo- e i due lead di Prison Playbook, che credo siano un gradino in più rispetto agli altri.

Cioè raga, fin dalla prima scena di loro due insieme in cui è partita una musichetta tutta carina e dolcina io ho cominciato a shipparli. Poi ho sempre visto il personaggio della guardia stra preso nei confronti del lead, e che qualcuno provi a smentirmi.

Poi cioè... per dire eh:

19) Un drama che merita più conoscenza: Watashitachi: wa douka shiteiru, Die Now

Allora, la risposta più giusta sarebbe "non ne ho idea", ma siccome fa brutto lasciare la risposta in bianco (un'altra poi), mi sforzo e nomino Watashitachi e Die Now, che secondo me sono due drama molto carini e fatti bene ma mi sembra non siano calcolati da nessuno.

La storia d'amore di Watashitachi mi è piaciuta davvero tanto, sebbene non sia in sé nulla di eccezionale o innovativo. Bello il lead e il suo rapporto col nonno, e bella anche la storia di vendetta e di mistero della serie. Secondo me è un drama che merita.

20) Il drama in arrivo che non vedi l'ora di vedere: The Oath of Love

Io sono due anni che sto aspettando questo drama. Doveva uscire a settembre, ero già pronta a brindare, e poi hanno rimandato. DI NUOVO. A NON SI SA QUANDO.

Continuano a far uscire poster, foto e trailer, quando l'unica cosa che vogliamo è il drama.

USCITE. IL. DRAMA. MALEDETTI.

Voglio proprio vedere Xiao Zhan nei panni di un medico, sono curiosa di vedere come se la cava, e finalmente lo vedrò in un drama moderno.

In generale non vedo l'ora di vedere tutti i drama con Xiao Zhan, soprattutto quelli non fantasy/wuxia -perché direi anche basta- tipo so che è in arrivo (anche qui, non so quando) un drama di genere militare in cui lui è un soldato. Soffrendo molto il fascino della divisa, se poi me la metti addosso a Xiao Zhan credo che questo drama sarà tipo la causa della mia morte per arresto cardiaco.

Bonus: non vedo anche l'ora che esca Immortality, un drama cinese fantasy wuxia e gay sotto copertura the untamed intensifritzzz. I due lead saranno poi due vecchie conoscenze: uno l'attore protagonista di Ever Night, e l'altro il second lead di Ashes e lead di Love is sweet.

Bonus 2.0: mi farà piacere vedere anche le seconde stagioni di Alice in borderland, Douluo Continent e Joy of life.

21) Di quale drama vorresti un reboot/revival? Word of honor

Partiamo dal presupposto che non sono ancora sicura di aver capito cosa sia un reboot Lol, quindi se per caso ho sbagliato nella mia scelta chiedo scusa.

Dunque, Word of honor è un drama è tutto da riscrivere, da rifare da cima a fondo. Io ne scriverei una nuova versione con protagonista il Re degli Scorpioni, personaggio migliore e più interessante della serie che meritava più spazio e a cui hanno fatto fare una fine indegna.

22) La storia d'amore peggiore: Word of honor e Ashes of love

Chiedermi di scegliere la storia d’amore peggiore tra Word of honor e Ashes of love mi porrebbe davanti un dubbio esistenziale che Amleto levati. Sono state entrambe due prese in giro.

Wen Kexing di Word of honor che chiama Zhou Zi Shu "anima gemella" alla bellezza dell'ottavo episodio perché da bambini hanno giocato insieme col cane, è talmente ridicolo da risultare inaccettabile. La loro comunicazione per tutto il drama è stata pessima; sono stati ridicoli, noiosi, superficiali e ripetitivi. Uno che quando scopre la quasi morte dell'altro piange per cinque minuti e poi se ne frega. Zi Shu che quando scopre la vera identità di Wen Kexing fa "lo sapevo già, non mi interessa", affossando tutta la angst che si poteva tirare su. La loro relazione era basata su sguardi e giochetti, come se questo possa fare una bella storia d'amore. Mi dispiace ma no.

Ashes of love, un'altra ship che ha del comico per quanto fatta male. Non si capisce perché si innamorano, passano tutto il tempo ad essere ognuno l'interesse amoroso dell'altro e non fanno altro, sono due cretini disposti a far scoppiare una guerra e far andare in malora i regni perché non riescono a fermarsi dal fare sesso. La serie ce li spaccia come due eroi tanto innamorati ma ostacolati dai brutti e cattivi della serie, ma non è proprio così. Una buona dose di stupidità, egoismo e ipocrisia ce l'hanno avuta anche loro. SOPRATTUTTO loro.

La cosa che più di tutte mi ha dato fastidio di questa ship, è che i due avevano bisogno di prove e fatti compiuti per far funzionare la storia. Fino alla fine hanno avuto bisogno di questo per dirsi di amarsi. Non si sono MAI basati sulla fiducia, e questo fa perdere credibilità a quello che loro chiamavano amore.

23) Il finale peggiore: Mister Queen e Il Conte di Montecristo

Sapete quando si dice "mandare tutto in vacca"? Ecco, questi due drama rappresentano perfettamente questo detto.

Fino al momento del finale erano andati bene, poi si vede che gli sceneggiatori si sono drogati peggio del drogato di Prison Playbook e hanno scritto dei finali da far pena al Cristo. In entrambi i drama hanno deciso di concludere le cose in modo semplicistico, ipocrita, assurdo e insoddisfacente.

Spoiler Mister Queen: scusate ma a me la regina originale che si riappropria del proprio corpo e comincia a bestemmiare come uno scaricatore di porto affermando che quella era sempre stata la sua vera natura, è sempre sembrata una pazza scema. lei era la vera villain della serie

Spoiler Conte di Montecristo: inaccettabile la cagata buonista e senza senso del Conte che prima intrappola i suoi nemici a casa sua, chiede alla sua ex amata se è disposta a lasciare la sua famiglia per stare con lui, e quando lei dice di sì li lascia andare tutti per poi darsi fuoco, solo che arriva -fuori scena- la sua nuova amata che se lo porta via in moto. Non ho proprio capito sta roba. Innanzitutto il suo ""amico""" l'attoruncolo doveva rimanere morto al cappio, ma siccome c'aveva la figlioletta non hanno voluto traumatizzare la bambina: l'ho annusato fin dall'inizio che rimpiazzare il personaggio di Albert con una bambina era una PESSIMA IDEA. Evidentemente si sono resi conto che non sarebbero stati in grado di mettere in scena la bellezza del rapporto tra il Conte e Albert, e hanno preferito ripiegare su qualcosa di più semplicistico e buonista. Stessa cosa per il figlio del procuratore e della moglie pazza: QUEL BAMBINO DOVEVA MORIRE INSIEME ALLA MADRE, BASTARDI BUONISTI.

24) Una frase o una scena che ti è rimasta impressa: Joy of life

"A questo mondo, la vita diventa noiosa se non si è disposti a morire per qualcuno." Joy of life, ep.12.

25) Personaggio più odiato: Ashes of love, Drunken to love you

MADONNA QUANTO HO ASPETTATO QUESTO MOMENTO

Il momento di poter finalmente sputtanare quel finto eroe romantico che è stato il lead di Ashes of love, e per rendere bene l’idea della mia posizione nei suoi confronti allego di seguito gli screenshots del mio commento sulla serie riguardanti suddetto caso umano:

E se c’è un Re c’è anche una Regina.

Non posso presentare screenshots non avendo scritto il commento di Drunken, quindi vado di pancia.

La lead di Drunken to love you era in sostanza Santa Teresa da Taiwan. Questa era talmente buona ed ottimista che non solo non portava rancore, ma andava in giro a fare i miracoli, come quando diventa mezza amica con l'amante del suo ex ragazzo. Dove posava lo sguardo, le persone cambiavano. Lei era un essere divino destinato a portare pace e fratellanza nel mondo. però se ne fregava dei sentimenti del lead

Era talmente santa da risultare detestabile. Minchia che fastidio.

26) Un drama che meriterebbe uno spin-off: Joy of life, Douluo Continent, Squid Game

Mi dispiace ma non posso scegliere soltanto uno di questi. Tutti e tre sono dei drama con dei mondi talmente vasti e con talmente tanti personaggi interessanti che è impossibile fare una scelta. Serie di questo tipo danno vita a dei mondi potenzialmente infiniti.

Bonus: The Wolf. Io mi vedrei volentieri uno spoiler sulle avventure girovaghe di Ji Chong e Bao Na. Che coppia quei due.

27) La Miglior storia d'amore secondaria: Coffee Prince, Douluo Continent e Ashes of love

La coppia secondaria di Coffee Prince a me è piaciuta un sacco perché è stata particolare, diversa dal solito. Era una coppia stranissima, con sti due che si tradivano a vicenda -soprattutto lei- però tornavano sempre insieme. Avevano come la certezza che sarebbero sempre tornati insieme, era come implicito, non importa cosa fosse accaduto. Era una coppia umana e fallace: ricordo distacchi, discussioni, lacrime, ma anche bellissimi e memorabili momenti passati insieme.

La “storia d’amore” di Douluo Continent è stata talmente ridicola che ho preferito con tutto il cuore le due ship secondarie: quella tra il leader e la ragazza-gatto del gruppo, e quella tra il Maestro e la sua compagna giovanile di avventure. Non che fossero delle storie d'amore straordinarie, però sono state carine. Almeno avevano un senso, una costruzione e una vera tensione romantico/sessuale tra loro.

Bella la storia d'amore secondaria di Ashes of love, che è stata oro colante in confronto alla ship principale. La Principessa del Regno dei Demoni e la sua guardia del corpo hanno dato vita ad un amore tragico, difficile, travagliato, sincero, triste, passionale. Mi sono piaciuti molto.

28) Il personaggio più figo: il Conte di Montecristo

Quando ho letto la domanda mi è piaciuta molto e ho pensato "mmmh, chi potrei nominare?"

Poi mi è venuto in mente: quale risposta migliore del Conte di Montecristo? Chi può essere migliore della sua figaggine, superiorità, genialità e onnipotenza?

Io ho sempre amato un sacco il romanzo, e sebbene il rifacimento giapponese abbia QUALCHE difetto, in generale non mi è dispiaciuto troppo e devo dire che mi è piaciuta assai la resa in scena del personaggio del Conte. È talmente figo che la serie stessa lo chiama "Dio":

ADORO.

29) Il momento più trash: History 4

C'è chi lo definisce il migliore del filone degli History, io mi sto ancora chiedendo il puro senso dell'esistenza di questo drama, che è più una roba immonda che altro.

E mi riferisco più che altro alla storyline dell'incesto. Ora, ho visto la serie la scorsa estate e deve essere stata talmente orrenda che il mio cervello l'ha resettata perché non ricordo più una cippa, però ricordo che quella "storia d'amore" era abbastanza cringe. Ricordo che uno dei due aveva tipo drogato e si era approfittato dell'altro, e non hanno mai parlato del fatto che quella cosa fosse uno stupro, ma hanno gestito la storia in maniera romantica quando uno dei due fratelli era chiaramente un disagiato mentale con seri problemi di socializzazione e di stalking.

Quella roba è stata davvero trash.

30) Miglior OST: The Wolf, 18 Again e Moon Lovers

Quando ho visto The Wolf ho pensato "questa vincerà come colonna sonora dell'anno". A me il drama è piaciuto fino a una certa, però la colonna sonora era pazzesca e le ost da brividi. È stato uno dei primi drama che ho visto, e a distanza di quasi un anno le trovo ancora bellissime.

Poi ho visto 18 Again e mi sono detta "mannaggia pure ste ost sono davvero belle". Note di merito per The Only One e Hello. Stupende!

Infine, verso la fine dell'anno, ho visto Moon Lovers, e il mio cuore è volato sentendo quelle ost. Mi sono detta che non potevo non nominarlo: ha delle ost magnifiche. Se non lo avessi visto avrei fatto vincere The Wolf e dato un bonus a 18 Again, in questo modo ho pensato di fare la tripletta.

31) Il personaggio più amato: Prison Playbook

A parte il fatto che il personaggio che più ho amato quest'anno è stato Dorian Gray, ma siccome non è un drama non lo posso scegliere. È però il mio sogno: un drama tratto da Il Ritratto di Dorian Gray. Avete fatto rifacimenti di Sherlock Holmes, Il Conte di Montecristo, I Tre Moschettieri, I Fratelli Karamazov... vi prego di farlo anche su Dorian Gray #appelloperdoriangray

Dunque, anche se nessun personaggio di quest'anno mi ha fatto provare nemmeno lontanamente l'amore che ho provato per Dorian Gray, ne ho amati diversi, ma ho deciso di dare il premio a Yoo Han Yang "il tossico" di Prison Playbook.

Mi è piaciuto un botto. Mi ha fatta morire dalle risate fin dall'inizio, e sinceramente pensavo che fosse soltanto la vena comica della serie, invece si è rivelato un personaggio umano e sfaccettato, con una storyline seria e realistica, ma mi è piaciuto come non sia diventato un pippone drammatico e abbia sempre mantenuto la sua ilarità. Più andavo avanti nella visione più mi piaceva, e a un certo punto ho cominciato a pensare di poterlo nominare personaggio più amato. Complice della sua vittoria la conclusione della sua storyline: triste, cruda, realistica.

Ci tengo comunque a citare gli altri personaggi che ho amato di più, e ci tengo a sottolineare che nessuno di loro è un lead:

L di Death Note. Credo che lui arrivi al secondo posto: era un personaggio immenso.

Run Yu di Ashes of love. Amatissimo.

Shin Yool di Chicago Typewriter

Il Secondo Principe e Yan Bing Yun di Joy of life

So Yi Jung di Boys Over Flowers. Lui è stata una sorpresa!

Bene, per la prima volta sono riuscita a nominare come il più amato un personaggio che non sia il protagonista. Il prossimo anno, chissà, mi piacerebbe nominare una donna.

32) Peggior villain: The Royal Gambler

A me questo Baelish versione coreana non ha convinto per niente. A parte il fatto che in quella serie l'over power regnava prepotente manco il coronavirus, a me ha fatto molto ridere vedere come quest'uomo si aspettasse che il protagonista avrebbe seguito il suo disegno dopo avergli fatto vivere l'inferno. Comico poi che abbia messo su tutti dei piani strategici epocali senza prendere in considerazione il fattore più importante: ovvero che il lead il trono NON LO VOLESSE!! E che quindi tutti i suoi panegirici comprensibili solo a lui erano perfettamente inutili. Ma no, quest'uomo è rimasto convinto fino alla fine che sarebbe riuscito a mettere il lead sul trono. Mi ha sempre fatto rimanere un po' basita.

33) Miglior personaggio comico: Prison Playbook

Come ho detto, Yoo Han Yang è stato spassosissimo. Mentre vedevo la serie mi dicevo che se ci sarebbe stata di nuovo questa domanda nel quiz avrebbe vinto lui a mani basse.

Mi ha fatta ridere il suo modo di fare, il suo modo di dire le cose, il fatto che sembrasse perennemente un drogato anche quando non si drogava. Epici poi i suoi battibecchi con il capitano Yoo, che da bravo infantile permaloso che era finiva sempre alle mani con il tossico. Insieme sono stati un duo comico.

34) Peggior attore e Peggior attrice: Die Now e Meet Me

Per quanto riguarda il peggior attore ci ho dovuto pensare un attimino, perché sul momento non mi era venuto in mente nessuno: non mi pare che ci stato un qualche attore quest'anno che sia stato proprio un cane. Mi è poi venuto in mente l'attore che ha interpretato il lead di Die Now, che sebbene sia lontano dall'aver fatto cagare, non ricordo nemmeno grandi espressività o capacità da parte sua. Io lui l'ho visto anche in Once upon a time in Lingjian Mountain, e anche lì non ho notato scintille, quindi nomino lui.

Invece so bene chi nominare come peggior attrice: quella che ha interpretato la lead di Meet Me. A me non ha convinto fin dall'inizio, e più sono andata avanti con gli episodi più me ne sono convinta: era una recitazione palesemente finta e esagerata, e quindi fastidiosa.

Mettetevi in testa che gli unici che possono recitare in modo finto e esagerato senza risultare fastidiosi sono i giapponesi. Nessuno sa fare il trash come loro.

35) La scenografia più bella: Prison Playbook

Non mi sarei mai aspettata che una prigione potesse vincere il premio per la scenografia. Infatti non la nomino da un punto di vista estetico -piuttosto tristina- ma per l'atmosfera.

I personaggi dei carcerati e le loro storie sono stati bellissimi, e mi è piaciuto un sacco il clima quasi famigliare che si era creato non solo tra compagni di cella, ma anche tra questi ultimi e le guardie carcerarie. Medaglia d'oro al sergente Paeng, stupendo! Lui che passava il tempo a insultare i detenuti e a comportarsi come uno tsundere, in realtà era quello che ci teneva di più e aveva un cuore d'oro.

36) Il Miglior colpo di scena: Joy of life

Allora, fermo restando che il colpo di scena oggettivamente migliore che ho visto quest’anno è stato quello già nominato di Alice in borderline, perché anche se tragico è stato logico e coerente. Non volendo citarlo nuovamente parlo di altri colpi di scena che mi hanno fatto VOLARE.

Joy of life mi ha regalato sul finale ben due colpi di scena che quando ci penso mi fanno ancora cadere la mascella per la sorpresa. È stato davvero un finale bomba che mi ha fatto amare tantissimo alcuni personaggi e che mi ha resa molto curiosa sulla seconda stagione.

Bonus: Ashes of love. Spoiler!! Ammetto che quello di Ashes of love non è stato proprio un colpo di scena. Non posso dire di essere rimasta sorpresa o scioccata perché quello che è successo è esattamente quello che speravo: NOZZE ROSSE VERSIONE CINESE. C’è chi si è dato a pianti, lacrime e disperazione durante questa puntata, io ho goduto come un riccio tibetano. Il colpo di stato che tira su Run Yu durante il suo matrimonio con la lead ha toccato livelli celestiali di epicità che mi hanno fatto orgasmare per giorni. Scusate ma io sono sempre stata contro il lead ipocrita e il suo finto regno perbenista. La soddisfazione che mi ha dato Run Yu è stata impagabile. Fatemi causa. E che dire della lead che ammazza il suo amato con le proprie mani “perché non si rende conto di amarlo perché ha una ca**o di pillola nel cuore”? Quella è stata pura comicità.

37) Un attore o attrice un po' in là con gli anni ma che tu ami alla follia: Montecristo?

Altra domanda che mi mette in difficolta, perché a me piacciono i giovani. E quindi nomino l'attore del Conte di Montecristo perché, beh, lui è Dio.

38) Una serie per riflettere, una per piangere, una per rilassarsi e una per innamorarsi

Serie per riflettere: Eighteen Again? Lo dico col punto interrogativo perché non sono sicura. A pensarci non mi vengono in mente serie che mi abbiano fatto fare chissà quali riflessioni quest’anno. Ma posso dire che 18 again è stata una buona serie sotto questo punto di vista, avendo trattato temi come il matrimonio, rapporto genitori-figli, la scuola, i giovani, la famiglia. Il tutto rappresentato in maniera molto umana, realistica e commovente.

Serie per piangere: Good doctor. Come l’anno scorso, anche quest’anno nomino una serie “ospedaliera”, perché è davvero impossibile non commuoversi di fronte alle storie d’ospedale. Poi Good Doctor ha pure l’aggravante: reparto pediatrico!

Serie per rilassarsi: Full House. Oltre alla già menzionata Love is sweet, anche questa è una serie leggera e carina da vedere. Full House è proprio piccoli problemi di cuore versione coreana.

Serie per innamorarsi: scena muta.

39) L'ambientazione più brutta: Word of honor

Non mi riferisco alle ambientazioni in sé, quelle erano anche belle. Nomino Word of honor perché per 36 episodi ci hanno rotto i cosiddetti con la storia di una famosa e segreta armeria, contenente chissà quali armi e misteri preziosi.

Ebbene, alla fine della storia i due lead riescono a trovare l'entrata di questa fantomatica armeria e quello che lo spettatore si ritrova davanti sono... sacchi di grano.

Non pensavo che mi potessero cascare le braccia più di così, e invece...

40) Un drama che hai fatto fatica a finire: Meet me

Una lead insopportabile e recitata male e una storia d’amore basata sul masochismo mi hanno reso davvero difficile la visione di questa serie. L’avrei droppata senza pietà, ma siccome c’erano alcuni elementi che mi incuriosivano ho proposto a @dilebe06 di continuare a vedersela facendo uso dello skip spietato. L’ho finita in due giorni.

41) La scena dove hai pianto tutte le tue lacrime: 18 again e Moon lovers

Devo decretare un pareggio. E devo anche fare spoiler di entrambe le serie.

Spoiler 18 Again. La scena flashback in cui il lead di Eighteen Again non riesce a scendere dall’autobus ritrovandosi a piangere come un disperato su una panchina mi ha spezzato il cuore. È stato davvero tristissimo vedere la giovinezza rubata di questi due ragazzi, stanchi, esausti, distrutti e carichi di responsabilità. Ho trovato molto umano e realistico un momento di crollo emotivo come quello. Fine Spoiler.

Di Moon Lovers mi ha fatta piangere il finale. Io faccio parte di quella cerchia di persone a cui Moon Lovers è più non piaciuto che piaciuto. Non mi è piaciuta più di tanto la lead, personaggio troppo semplice, e ancora meno la storia d’amore: non ho mai capito perché, dove, quando e come i due lead si sono innamorati. Sono andata avanti nella visione perché ero interessata agli intrighi e al personaggio del lead, che in effetti mi hanno dato buone soddisfazioni. Ho visto gli ultimi episodi di fila perché volevo finirlo, e quando ho terminato la visione l’ho salutato con la manina. Nei giorni successivi mi sono ritrovata a rivedere pezzi del finale con più calma... e ciaone, ho pianto tantissimo.

Spoiler: quel “mi dispiace averti lasciato solo” con la lead che si mette a piangere mentre viene inquadrato il lead tutto solo davanti al palazzo, è stato straziante. Ci ho pianto sopra per giorni.

42) I tre attori e le tre attrici più belle:

Jung Kyung Ho da Prison Playbook

Luo Yunxi da Ashes of love e Love is sweet

Darren Chen da My Unicorn Girl

Kang Han-na da Moon Lovers

IU da Moon Lovers e My Mister

Bai Lu da Love is sweet

So di aver nominato IU e Bai Lu anche l'anno scorso ma non importa, io potrei diventare lesbica per loro.

Non ho messo Xiao Zhan perché lui è troppo divinità per essere inserito in mezzo ai comuni mortali.

43) Un oggetto/potere/abilità che vorresti: Il Conte di Montecristo

Vorrei l'onnipotenza di quest'uomo Dio. Lui sa tutto e tutto può fare. Aveva ragione Baelish a dire che "La conoscenza è potere". Vorrei la sua figaggine, la sua casa e i suoi soldi. Mi bastano i suoi soldi, non chiedo altro XD.

44) Miglior villain: The Uncanny Counter

A me i demoni di questa serie sono piaciuti molto, soprattutto quello principale. Mi è piaciuta l'idea, la messa in scena, mi è piaciuto il fatto che non sia stato ridotto a mero demone cattivo ma gli sia stato dato un perché, mi è piaciuta la collab. (che ancora mi fa ridere a pensarci). Li ho trovati dei villain molto fighi.

Bonus: Il Conte di Montecristo e Itaewon Class. A me la versione giapponese del Conte di Montecristo è piaciuta fino a una certa, ma le premesse che hanno messo su sono pressochè identiche a quelle del romanzo, quindi gli antagonisti del protagonista sono dei personaggi sfaccetatti, umani, che agiscono con delle motivazioni. Sono degli stronzi con un perché, degli ottimi villain. Ed è stato un buon villain anche il presidente di Itaewon Class. Oltre ad essere intelligente e Giuda traditore con il suo stesso figlio, mi è piaciuto come abbiano mostrato anche solo con qualche scena la sua storia, come sia partito da zero e si sia letteralmente fatto il culo per mettere su la sua mega impresa. L'hanno reso più umano e comprensibile ai miei occhi.

45) Miglior storia d'amore: Itaewon Class

Non me lo sarei mai aspettata, ma ho deciso di nominare loro. Io ho sempre trovato troppo sopra le righe il personaggio della lead, ragion per cui preferivo di gran lunga il personaggio della second lead perché molto più umana e credibile, però mi è piaciuto molto vedere come la lead si innamora del protagonista e tanto di cappello per non aver mai mollato. Mi piaceva anche il fatto che fosse una stronza, e che si approfittasse senza vergogna del fatto che il lead avesse bisogno di lei per la sua impresa e che quindi non la potesse licenziare nonostante i ripetuti tentativi di corteggiamento di lei.

Spoiler: ci sono due scene che mi sono piaciute un sacco e che mi sono rimaste impresse. La prima è quando lei gli confessa i suoi sentimenti continuando a ripetere varie volte "ti amo", per poi andarsene via piangendo quando lui la respinge. La seconda, ed è la scena che mi ha spinta a far vincere la vittoria a questa coppia, è quando lui, l'uomo che non si sarebbe mai inginocchiato, va dal presidente e si inginocchia per salvarla, dicendo testualmente che quel gesto per lui è facilissimo, e che per lei lo farebbe altre migliaia di volte. Ho volato. È una delle dichiarazioni d'amore più belle che abbia mai visto.

Or dunque, grazie @dilebe06 per aver creato una challenge che penso sarà impegnativa. Attendo di vedere quale drama sceglierò da commentare qui su Tumblr ogni settimana.

Per quanto riguarda la challenge dell'anno scorso, sì, l'ho fatta! Mi ero proposta di guardare Joy of life per via di Xiao Zhan e l'ho fatto.

Bene, eccomi alla fine di questo quiz. Tutto sommato sono stata piuttosto veloce ed è stato carino rispondere. Spero davvero di arrivare alla fine dell'anno prossimo con più hype ed energia.

Ora sono curiosa di leggere i quiz delle altre!!!

8 notes · View notes