#we will be learning much more about our contestants as the show goes in

[miss0atae]

Random Thoughts about The On1y One (EP 5) : Loneliness and the importance of connection.

This series is slowly getting more interesting in each episodes. They take the time to develop the bond between the main characters. Each glance, each smile, each breath they take at each other is slowly bringing them closer. The story may have a school setting and it takes a large part of the series, but I feel like it's just an excuse to make Tian and Wang being around each other. There is a magnetic force that brings them together. I believe they both experienced the hard and cold loneliness in a different way. This is something they have in common.

Wang lost his mother when he was young and this death really affected him. He tried to find a connection with his father because Wang needs to have someone by his side. It goes down on the simple idea that we all need to have at least one person in our life who genuinely cares for us. Social connection on a physical and emotional level improve our overall well-being. Truth is Wang felt this connection was strained because his father was working more, his environment changed, but he felt more lonely than ever. Deep inside, Wang is looking for someone who will stay by his side. When Tian, did all these actions to get close to him, he felt like he was finding this connection again. However, this fragile bond is at risk because Tian may decide to go to the school accommodation. It's a huge blow for Wang. He was given up on this idea because he didn't feel the need anymore thanks to Tian's care. Since he had learned that Tian may still go to the school accommodation, we can see how deeply affected Wang is. Especially towards the end of the episode where he imagines a conversation with Tian who is not here with him. It's like he has already left. Wang was starting to open up more, but he may feel his efforts were in vain. It's something he hates. Right now, he feels lonely again and it must hurt more because he was starting to find a new connection with Tian.

I feel this is because Tian is also a very lonely person. It was confirmed again by Mr Ding when he invited Wang to eat at his place. We learned that Tian is not someone who get close to other easily. He is a very reserved person who doesn't like physical contact. He is careful and he has been alone for a very long time. His family never really cared about him. When you've been this way since childhood, it's very easy to backward to protect yourself. Tian is the type of person who can isolate himself from others without really think about it because it became a habit. Mr. Ding gave Wang a very good advice: “don't let him push you away”. Even if Tian has been very caring to Wang, he still keeps his heart to himself. He may still has the habit to withdraw into himself. That's why he may want to go to the school accommodation because he is not used to be around his mother and he is not used yet to be around Wang. After all, he still has his full suitcase ready to leave at any point. Even now, he hasn't emptied it. He may feel attached to Wang, but it's a new and fragile bond between two lonely souls. It will need more time and care to be indestructible. I feel the suitcase is still this very powerful metaphor of Tian's state of mind. The day when he will clear out his suitcase, will be the day when he will feel safe enough and ready to embrace his bond with Wang.

Wang is hurt by Tian's decision to still want to live outside of the house, but I feel it will be the time where he will have to show his care to Tian to convince him to stay. We've known Tian to be really caring to Wang. Again, in this episode, he took the time to find the two men who assaulted him. He is also again there to show moral support to Wang when they had to take this English exam / contest. There is no doubt about how much care Tian can give to those he likes. I would also like to add that Wang is also very caring. They both are attentive to each other. They don't have the same caring style, but all the small attentions Tian gave to Wang, are given back to him with the same kindness. We just have to hope that Wang won't forget Mr. Ding's advice and he will not let Tian pushing him away. He will have to fight for their connection too. This is maybe what Tian needs to see.

[h50europe]

When one side of the fandom lies bleeding while the other one is thriving or how I learned about fandom wars the hard way

This is a message from someone whose beloved ship rests forever in the depths of the ocean.

We had high hopes. It looked like our ship was afloat and ready to explore the seven seas for three seasons. Then, the show got a new showrunner who was very homophobic, and from that point on, the show and our favorite ship went downhill. Even though I'd been in different fandoms for about fifteen years and should have known better, I let myself get caught up in an unprecedented fandom war. Those who favored the Het couple were attacking one half of our ship, not just his character but the actor. Don't think they don't know what's going on just because an actor isn't on social media. We knew some crew members and learned that everyone knew about this fandom war.

The whole thing escalated until the show's final episode, which came to a more than undignified end after ten years. Knowing what he was doing, the showrunner wrote an ending that damaged the show and destroyed our ship. It was bad. There were words like, "Now we're dancing on your grave," and much worse. I was mentally at the end of my rope at that point. Then, the sets were immediately dismantled after the last scene was shot. It's something that happens very rarely when a show reaches some cult status. Our ship didn't even do a joint farewell interview for the fans because the actors left the set quickly and never looked back.

Why am I telling you this? Because I've learned to observe things from a certain distance.

We are fans of the same show but have different priorities and ships. As a multi-shipper, it's easier, I'd say. But those who are running amok right now because their ship is staying in the harbor while another is sailing away with flying colors brings back extremely unpleasant memories to me. But the same goes for those who are just as happy about what's happening and are starting to lose their grip. Please take it from someone badly burned: This is not a competition. This is not me winning and you losing. It's deceptive to think you're on the winning side and make fun of others for it. The tide can turn. We don't know what the showrunner has in mind. We don't even know that season eight might not be the last. Take what we have right now and be thankful for it. Enjoy it while it lasts. But don't be tempted to point fingers and mock others or say, "Your ship will never be canon. Mine already is. Your ship is crap. Mine is better." Also, do not be fooled by the fact that the haters in the fandom are a small group of people who only appear to be many because of their vocality and because some are playing the old sock puppet account game again to make it look like they are many.

I can only tell you from experience that we should treat each other respectfully. Not every Buddie fan is an enemy. Unfortunately, I also see another phenomenon that is becoming more and more common. Fans barely dare to post anything for fear of the crazies in the fandom (which unfortunately exist on both sides). Fans who have nothing to do with a fandom war want to have fun. And if they have a ship, they just want to interact with like-minded people. Which - especially on X - seems to turn into a gauntlet. Because suddenly, Your Rudeness sneaks into the conversation and starts pissing on the timeline. For clowns like this, the block button still works. Getting involved in any discussion is pointless. I also had to pay dearly for this realization.

"Never wrestle with a pig because you'll both get dirty, and the pig likes it." - Positive energy is much more powerful than negative energy. If you stay positive, negativity can't touch you. Oh, and I've wrestled a lot of pigs. Other than excessive blood pressure, gastritis, and countless sleepless nights, it didn't do me any good.

Stop participating in dick-measuring contests. Stop bragging about your favorite ship and how the others are nothing but losers. Stop saying we won because we didn't. Again, this is not a contest. We are on equal footing, and we can all coexist in peace. There is plenty of room. For everyone, for every ship, for every fan. Oliver made a single statement for those unhappy with Buck's journey and his current travel companion. He dropped it for good. And I couldn't agree more with the message and how he did it.

Of course, we would like to see more of our ship. Of course, we want the actors to have a relationship storyline to sink their teeth into, and hopefully, we get to see some domestic stuff and some hot scenes. But so far, that is fanon and not canon. So far, there is usually more going on off-screen than we see. We can only hope that this will change. Those who call themselves open-minded and tolerant while going on a witch hunt should think twice about what those words mean, and they should live them and not just throw shallow phrases around.

My wish for the future of this fandom is that it becomes a safe place. Safe as in a h*te-free zone. A place where no one has to be afraid to speak their mind. And a place where you can express (constructive) criticism without getting a shitstorm. Peace out.

[tiajk]

Platonic strawhat interactions? Here’s some ideas

You and Robin go shopping, You find a cool trinket, but you don’t have enough money

Sanji brings you a snack. A bird flies overhead and -plop- right on the food

Luffy was playing tag with you, Usopp, and Chopper. He uses his gum gum rocket to try and catch up and flies too far

Usopp is holding a game show. The contestants are you, Nami, Zoro and Sanji

Have fun!

Warnings; a POC reader in mind, with curly hair, Bi sanji because i genuinely believe its not cannon it's the truth, chaotic strawhats as usual, reader is interested in marine biology, and is hinted at having water powers (basically water bending), reader singled to have a lot of siblings, Gn!, reader, everyone just loving reader, Other pirates having a crush on reader

A/N; the game show one really spoke to me for some reason and your always so good with request ily, Guess who's working on her one piece script

Words count; 1070 masterlist

You have no idea how Usopp somehow convinced you and nami to join his little game show. That's a lie you know exactly how he did. Bribing nami with money that he didn't have. Sanji sees nami joining automatically willing to be the next contestant. Zoro joined because Usopp claimed that Zoro was too much of a chicken, scared that sanji would win. The rivalry automatically makes his blood boil. He got you to join by promising he would grow a water plant with you in his garden that you had particularly been wanting to learn more about. Your interest peaked. Now you stand in front of Usopp with poorly built little wooden stands Sanjis’s was made out of cardboard waiting for Usopp to finally get what he wanted. “Welcome my very good friends on this ship, the going sunny owned by the strawhat pirates and welcome our very own contestants Nami, {Na}-”. “Usopp, will you hurry up? I don't have all day for this” Zoro's voice from beside you speaks out. Ussop turns to him slightly offended from not being able to finish his little (cute) ramble. “Well i was almost done but since you rush me so damn much will start cant even have fun without you running your dumb mouth.” mumbling the last part he pulls out some flashcards out of his pocket. “The basic rules of this game are it's basically we're gonna see who knows each other best. It will go by category nami’s first, , then zoro, sanji, then {name}.” You all nod your heads at him, the game seemed simple enough. Usopp goes to your podium first “{Name} how are you today?” you smile “I’m doing great Usopp.” he returns the gesture to you “that's great to hear! Your question about nami is what are her favorite hobbies to do in the meantime when she's not scamming people.” Nami knocks Usopp on the head from her podium “YOU DUMBASS THAT'S NOT ALL I DO Y'KNOW” “HEYYY NO HITTING THE HOST” “USOPP LEAVE NAMI-SAN ALONE YOU HEAR ME”. you turn to zoro to see if he sees all the bullshit that's happening right now. He looks your way as well having a silent communication to at least try to stop the fighting. Before you could do anything the rest of the crew showed up. “What's happening we’ve been looking for you guys for the past 30 minutes�� Luffy says while picking his nose. “I’m hosting a game show for the four of them!” Usopp explains excitedly while looking at you. Nodding at the others “yea were just about to get started you should watch!” The others agree they grab a few chairs or opting to sit on the deck floor and are curious to see what type of game show this is. “Alright now that we’ve all settled down we can finally begin. Clearing his throat “now {name} you may answer the question”. You thought hard nami was one of your best friends so it was easy but you had to pick one she licked the most then it was easy. Usopp had noticed you took a few moments “whenever you're ready tell me”. “I have my answer, it's shopping and she also loves to sunbathe”. Usopp looks at his flashcard “you are…Correct!!! Namis hobbies consist of sunbathing and shopping, one of her favorite things”. You smiled to yourself the game was slowly starting to get more fun now that you realize it.

The process had gone on forever every single time you had gotten the answer correct. Knowing your crew very well. Surprisingly the rest of the crew stayed. Robin was reading a book with chopper in her lap but her attention was still towards the game. Franky had been working on little fidgets while sitting there but he was interested nonetheless. Luffy had been lying in a star position. Brook and Jimbei had been engaging in small conversation but they still saw their crewmates go on with their daily shangains. Ussop had asked you a question about what is Zoro's favorite sword. Saying the Wado Ichimonji because his dear best friend gave it to him as a promise that they would both fulfill their dreams. When asked what Sanji's favorite food is answer spicy seafood pasta knowing that he wished he could have cooked it more often. It was your turn for the question to be asked about you. “Alright name your our last contestant and then the winner will win 40 thousand berries.” you look at nami to see the gleam in her eyes when money is mentioned. Usopp goes to Nami asking her the question he had prepared “How many people have a crush on {name}?” Nami scoffs while crossing her arms. Blood rushes to your face being grateful that they can't see it. “That's easy, Law,Kid, and not to mention Marco from whitebeard pirates. ” Usopp nods his head with confirmation and a thumbs up “YOUR CORRECT”. Usopp walks past you with a smile then stops at zoro. “Zoro what is {name} favorite thing to do with the strawhats crew” Zoro seems like he doesn't know but answers with confidence “They love hugging everyone giving people affection throughout the day”. Usopp doesn’t want Zoro to get the points but he does with a sigh of defeat “you are correct”. Ussop moved to sanji that was practically beaming like he was when he got asked nami’s question “Sanji your question about {name} is how many siblings do they have?” Sanji smirks and takes the cigarette out his mouth “Easy they have 4 being the middle child having two older ones and 2 younger” “your correct too” Luffy gets up from his pose from before “Is the game over who wins??” Usopp rolls his eyes “you have no patience y’know that luffy?” “BUT THE WINNER IS {NAME} GET ALL THE QUESTIONS CORRECT YOU GET 40 THOUSAND BERRY that i don’t have right now” Nami jumps from her podium strangling usopp “YOU LIAR YOUR DAMN LUCKY I DIDN’T WIN BECAUSE IF I DID” you go pull her off him just making sure that he doesn't die usopp i don't want the money just the water plant your promised to help me grow okay” usopp tried to catch his breath from almost being strangled to death “yup anything you want {name}” he said horsley maybe you should do more game shows from now on.

[love1other]

My person // Rosé

Soulmate au

Genre - Fluff

Words - 2,991

----------

In a world where everyone is destined to have a soulmate, they possess the unique ability to share thoughts, views, and emotions telepathically. However, prior to meeting their soulmate, individuals have no control over what thoughts are sent to their partner.

—------------

No one mentioned how painful it was to be hit full force with someone else’s emotions and thoughts all at once. Of course, you've felt your soulmate's emotions or have heard their thoughts before but it was usually one or the other and wasn't as profound as it is now. 

Yet here you are in the middle of a target feeling like your head is about to burst looking at the most beautiful person you've ever seen. 

You recognize her, I mean how can you not, she’s part of the current biggest girl group. Beautiful blonde locks cascading down her back, and honey brown eyes staring back into your own. You never in a million years would have thought Rosé of Blackpink was your soulmate. 

You had a pretty good educated guess that your soulmate was involved in the idol world, but couldn't tell exactly what. You’d get glimpses of your soulmates' thoughts and realize they didn’t speak just English. Not gonna lie at first you were worried they didn’t speak English at all but you soon started hearing more of your soulmates' thoughts in English which you were really grateful for. 

You have a hunch that your soulmate realized you only spoke English so they started purposely thinking in English so when one of their thoughts got sent to you, you'd be able to understand. 

When images got sent over you’d see that your soulmate was in what looked like a dance studio and/or recording booth. There was a while where every day that was all that you saw from your soulmate or you'd only hear about how tired they were or how they needed to get steps right. You used to worry a lot about your soulmate but in the last couple of years it had calmed down and was more about food, traveling, and animals. 

‘Beautiful,’ I hear in my head, realizing it's my soulmate- it's Rosé. I feel a lot of emotions too, right now I'm so overwhelmed I can't exactly tell if it's my own or hers. I can tell it's the feeling of elation, adoration, fear, and gratitude.

The fear is most likely my own, I really was not expecting to meet my soulmate today, especially in a target of all places, or my soulmate being a freaking superstar. 

“Hi,” I mumble breaking the silence and our staring contest. Rosé smiles and my breath catches in my throat with its beauty. 

“Hello,” Rosé says still smiling at me. 

“So uh what brings you here?” I ask, and then immediately cringing, ‘common Y/n what was that? Could you be any lamer?’ I think and hear Rosé giggle, I panic realizing I'm not shielding my thoughts like we were taught to in school for when we do eventually meet our soulmate.  

Rosé goes to say something but is interrupted by who I assume is her manager. They speak in Korean and while I did pick up trying to learn Korean for my soulmate it's still not that good and I could only catch small things like “schedule time, show, soulmate,” and that's about it. 

It looks like Rosé is about to walk away and I panic, she can't leave just yet, we’ve not been able to properly talk, or exchange any information so we can talk later. And my chances of running into her again like I did today is very low. 

Before I can say something to get her to stop she turns back around and smiles her dazzling smile at me again. 

“If you could give me a couple of minutes to talk to my manager?” She asks placing her hand on my arm. 

Tingles erupt everywhere her hand touches and goes through my whole body making me noticeably shiver. I’m almost embarrassed until I see the same thing seems to happen to Rosé, as she drops her eyes from mine and stares at her hand on my arm after also having shivered. 

I feel better knowing I affect her as much as she affects me. 

After a few seconds, Rosé brings her eyes back to mine and before I get lost in them like a sap, I nod my head at her, knowing I'll sound stupid if I try to speak at the moment. 

Smiling once more and gently squeezing my arm Rosé retreats and walks back motioning for her manager to follow her.

After casting me one last look over her shoulder she rounds into a different aisle. 

—---------------------

Holy shit I found my soulmate! 

On top of that, it’s Rosé Park from Blackpink, I must have done some really good shit in my past life for my luck to be so good. 

But common Y/n you can’t act like an idiot in front of her again. 

When she comes back I’ll actually talk, and introduce myself to her. 

You got this Y/n, don’t think about the fact she has millions of fans who love her, and that she’s friends with other very attractive and better off celebrities… 

Okay maybe I actually can’t do this, I’m just going to disappoint her, I’m a broke college student who has no life, and ha- before I continue my spiraling I see Rosé making her way back to me.  

“Sorry about my manners earlier, I’m Rosé,” She says extending her hand to me. I grasp it and discover it's the gentlest hand I've ever held.

 “Hi, I’m Y/N.” 

“I believe I saw a Starbucks in this place, would you like to go and talk over a drink?” Rosé asks still holding my hand. 

“Yes!” I quickly say 

“I mean yeah sure that sounds good,” I try again not wanting to sound as desperate as I actually am.

Rosé stares at me as I try not to blush from my quick outburst, and then looks down at our still-enjoined hands. I withdraw my own after realizing we’ve been holding hands for our whole interaction. 

Giving me another smile Rosé mentions for me to follow her, and we make our way to the Starbucks. 

…. I'm so doomed 

—-------------------------

Neither of us has spoken yet, after having grabbed our drinks and sitting down at the small table in the corner. 

“You know,” Rosé starts and I look up from my drink.“I was starting to get worried that I’d be one of the unlucky ones who don’t find their soulmates until their 30s,” 

“Especially considering I’ve turned 26 and the most common time to find your soulmate is between 20 and 25.” 

Rosé takes a sip of her drink and then continues.

“But I realized you were younger when a couple of months ago I received the view of you blowing out a cupcake that had 23 on it. And was glad that you at least had another two years for us to find each other before we passed the timeframe where it became worrisome.” Rosé ends chuckling softly.

“Oh,” I mumble processing what she just said.

“Is it uncommon for idols to find their soulmates before 25?”

“Surprisingly no; It's usually just kept a secret until we decide to retire or think it's a good time to be more laid back in the idol scene.”

“That's understandable.” I fold my hands and place them on the table. “We’ll have to keep it a secret as well right?” I ask.

Rosé looks a little sheepish as she nods her head yes. 

It surprisingly doesn't bother me, I usually keep my private life to myself anyway, and I’m sure I'll be able to tell my parents who will also keep it a secret. 

However, I do realize one problem. She lives in South Korea, I live here in the States, and she's also currently on tour, we’ll have to do a lot of long distance. 

Before I can voice my concerns Rosé reaches across and puts her hand on top of mine. “Is that going to be an issue? I know it's pretty unconventional, and-” I stop her before she continues, “It's not an issue, but I did realize something.”

Rosé nods her head for me to continue.

“We’ll have to be long distance for a while, I live here and am currently in school. You live in South Korea and seem pretty busy with concerts and such.” I look back down at my drink before continuing. 

“And well I’ve heard stories of people not being able to make the long-distance work and just end up hurting each other,” I take a deep breath. “I just don’t want to end up burdening you.”

“That won't happen.” 

“How are you so sure?” 

“Because I’ve been dreaming about meeting my soulmate since I can remember and I won't let anything jeopardize us,” Rosé states gently squeezing my hand. 

I look back up at Rosé and see the sincerity in her eyes. 

 "Okay," I whisper, gently turning my hand to interlace our fingers, our palms touching as we hold hands.

—---------------

Rosé and I talked for a few hours before she had to leave to catch her flight for her next concert. We exchanged numbers and socials so we could stay in touch of course. 

The hug goodbye was the most bittersweet, I felt so safe and loved in her arms and to know it would be a while till I saw her again was just devastating, as was the emptiness I felt after she left. 

We stayed in touch for the next 4 months of her on tour, we Facetimed, texted, and talked on the phone every single day, even with the different timezones that occurred we found a way. 

We also got better at learning how to share specific thoughts, views, and emotions, with one another. I learned Rosé loved anything animal-related so I tended to share views of cute animals I saw around my campus. 

Rosé would send views of the different foods she ate, as well as the view she saw during her concerts, it was an exhilarating yet terrifying view that made me realize that I possibly have stage fright.

I got to meet her members, they usually liked to tease her while she was on the phone with me, it was adorable how shy she got. 

But each one of them would pop up during one of our facetimes and would talk to me and ask questions about my day, it was nice and made me feel less intimidated by them. 

Even Jisoo who struggled more with English would attempt to communicate with me and it worked with her limited knowledge of English and mine of Korean, which I picked up learning again and she took to helping teach me.

Rosé and I learned so much about each other and I could feel myself falling in love with her. Yet I still missed her even with us talking every day, I miss her touch that I only felt for a short time, I missed the safety I felt in her arms, and I missed seeing her eyes and smile in person and not through a phone. 

So I decided to fix it. 

I booked a flight to South Korea for her groups encore concert and was able to snag a ticket to the show.

I contacted Jennie and asked her if she would be able to get me backstage so I could surprise Rosé and she excitedly agreed. However, she ended up going a bit overboard by upgrading my simple back middle row ticket to that of a front row ticket. 

She also was able to upgrade my economy flight to first class, which I told her was not necessary but she brushed it aside and said I deserved it for making Rosé so happy and for the happiness I will bring her with the surprise.

—-----------

The flight to South Korea was long, partially because it was hard to sit still as I was so jittery. I land with enough time to check in at my hotel and then head to the venue to wait for them to open the doors.

I make it to my seat with a 30-minute wait period left before the girls start. I’m so nervous and excited that I fear I’ll lose the shield on my emotion and Rosé will feel it and question me. I’ve made sure to play it cool and not let her know I’m here which bothered me a lot having to lie to her, but it’ll be worth it in the end. 

The show starts and everyone is amazing especially Rosé who my eyes have been on the whole time. She looks and sounds absolutely immaculate. After a few songs, they walk to the front stage, introduce themselves, and talk about the show. 

Rosé is to the left of me and finally seeing her up close after so long has butterflies going crazy in my stomach. Gods she is gorgeous and I question every day how I got so lucky to be her soulmate. 

Rosé finishes talking and now Lisa has started. I’ve worn a mask so as to not be immediately recognized but I think now's the time. 

I usually make sure I don’t send Rosé any images during her shows but this is the only way I can think of to get her attention. I send her exactly what I’m seeing right now, which is her in all her glory. 

Rosé seems to zone out for a second and then immediately looks to the section I’m in, I take off my mask as the fans around me are screaming her name. 

Finally, we make eye contact and it’s like it’s just us in this arena that’s filled with thousands. 

Emotions rush through me: surprise, glee, awe, and adoration. 

Reality of where we are hits and I notice that Jennie is now talking and seems to be nearing the end and they’ll have to go back to performing. 

‘I’m excited to see the rest of the show, I know you’ll kill it.’ I send telepathically to her as Jisoo introduces the next song they are going to perform. 

Rosé gives me the biggest smile possible and sends me a wink before going to her place for the song. 

The fans next to me go absolutely crazy afterward and I don’t blame them, because holy shit her wink left me in a daze. 

—————-

Throughout the show, Rosé would make as much eye contact with me as possible and was definitely showing favoritism to my section. 

The other girls caught on to my being here, Jennie or Rosé having told them, and they would also come over a lot to wave and send me knowing smiles. 

The encore was my favorite, during As If It’s Your Last, Rosé came and sat down right in from of me and kept eye contact, it’s like I was being serenaded. 

‘Wait there and a guard will come and escort you to the back.’ Rosé says as she and the others are leaving the stage. 

I do just that, I sit in my seat and recall the look in her eyes when she first noticed me. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it or this show. 

After about 15 minutes of waiting a guard and the manager I saw with Rosé with when we first met came and took me to the back. 

It’s very chaotic, with people running around and others celebrating, we make our way past everyone and make it to what I assume is their dressing room. 

I go to knock but Kim, Rosé’s manager who had introduced herself, opens the door and says I can just go in. 

Walking in I was not expected to be immediately tackled into a hug, from the tingles erupting all over me I knew it was Rosé.

“This is the best surprise ever!” 

In response, I just wrap my arms around her and hug back with just as much enthusiasm. 

We stay like that for a while. I relish the feeling of safety and care that her arms bring me. 

“I’ve missed you,” I say leaning back to see her but still keeping my arms around not wanting to let go anytime soon. 

Rosé reaches her hand down and interlaces our fingers “I’ve missed you too.” 

“How long are you here for?” 

“Well I was able to convince my professors to let me finish the last of my assignments and exams online for the rest of this term, and then I was thinking of applying to the international university here.” I squeeze Rosé’s hand gently, “so for a while I suppose.”

Rosé then does something unexpected, she leans forward and places her lips on mine oh so gently. I stand still in surprise for just a moment, my heart racing, before I gently placed my hands on her hips, pulled her closer, and eagerly kissed back with passion and intensity.

Rosé reaches up and cradles my face, her tongue running across my bottom lip asking for entrance, which I abide parting my lips with a content sigh. I get my first taste of her and I’m overwhelmed completely, her taste, her smell, and the feeling of her pushed up against me has my heart doing summersaults. 

Before we can continue there's a cough heard and we pull apart both lightly panting. I don’t yet acknowledge the person who coughed I just stare at Rosé, lips slightly parted and swollen, her gorgeous eyes dilated and screaming with want. 

I can’t hold it in anymore.

“I love you.” 

Rosé gasps as she searches my eyes before rushing forward and kissing me again. There's an annoyed grunt from somewhere but I don’t care, I’m kissing my soulmate, my love, my person.  

[yanderefairyangel]

I finished dressing the plan for that weird amusement park.

Alear : 'You really managed to built all that ?!"

Framme : "Yes my Lady, we did!"

Vander : "Divine one, allow us to explain to you each of the attraction"

Clanne : "First the Sommie coaster, a roaller coaster shapped after Sommie!"

Framme "this one is quite the fright !! I hope you don't get sick easliy Lady Alear !!"

Alear : "I.. dont know if I would like this one..."

Framme : "Next is the Divine dragon safari !"

Vander : " A little trip visiting all the species that can be found in Elyos"

Clanne : " And then the Haunted house..."

Alear : "Haunted houses ??"

Vander : " Yes, we put it in case you migh be interested."

Framme : "I personally am scared but you Lady Alear is so brave, I am sure this will be an enjoyable experience!!"

Alear : "... (do they think I am brave ? I though I was always being honest about how scared I am... oh... I hope I'll never have to do this ever )

Clanne :"Firene's flower train is a sweet promenade in a garden consisting of all flowers that can be encountered in Elyos"

Framme " You can also have a visit in the beautiful landscape of Firene !"

Alear :" Woah! Sounds nice !"

Vander :"Next is the Brodian strengh competition stand, a stand offering diverse game where you can attempt to prove your strengh"

Framme : "I am sure Prince Alfred would enjoy this !"

Clanne :" And Princess Ivy and Hortensia offers an Elusian magical show where they will demonstrate their magical talent in front of everyone"

Framme : "Princess Timerra offers a concert contest ! The perfect occasion to learn a lot of Solmic songs and to try it out !"

Alear :" Wait.. what is "Visit the Divine dragon's room ?""

Vander :"Oh, nothing really impressive. Just an humble conduct visit in the Divine one's private quarter"

Alear : "What ?!"

Framme : " Dont worry ! we made sure to put rubans so that no one will touch your beloginigs !"

Alear :" I appreciate but.. I already invited our allies many times in my room, so why on earth would you ..."

Framme :" The Time travel train ! The time travel train !"

Clanne :" An attraction that allows us to live through Alear's adventure again !"

Framme :" And Seadall and Yunaka will team up to offer a special show !"

Vander :" You can also go to the Emblem museum. An attraction where you will have the opportunity to learn more about the Emblem's story"

Clanne :" The water attraction is a giangantic slide ! Perfect to get refreshed in summer !"

Alear : "What is this ? The Drop tower ? "This attraction will have you sit up in horizontal position. Hang on tight"... this one seems like you can get sick easily on it, doesn't it ?"

Vander :" The Great Sommie Wheel is a much more calm one. You can have a beautiful view of the landscape from there"

Alear : "Oh..."

Framme : "The tea cup merry go round is a carousel in which you sit on teap cup, and they round round round!"

Clanne :" This makes me feel dizzy..."

Vander : "The Fell dragon castle is an experience for the brave. Wonder in your worst ennemy's base. Will you be able to make it alive ?"

Framme : "Ah ! Stop it Vander !! You scare me !!"

Alear : "(Why did you built it if it scares you ?) and the next one is named Up and Down ? Why is it.."

Vander :" Because it's absolutely what he does. It goes up and down."

Clanne :" In case this activity is too much for you My Lady, we have the Divine maze. Try to find the way out !"

Framme : "we also have the flying dragon ride. A carrousel where you can ride flying dragon !!"

Alear : "I already did so once... when Mother had me climping on her back... it feels nostaligic... Oh, the fortune telling is avalaible too ?"

Vander : "Yes. When Seadall isn't preparing for the show, he offers his divination like he habitually did"

Clanne :" The Great Water war is a giant Water battle."

Framme :" It helps feeling fresh in summer too !"

Vander "Next is the Interview with Alear"

Alear "What ?"

Vander "An attraction lead by you, Lady Alear"

Alear :" What ? Why did you not warned me ??"

Framme : "Don't worry, my Lady. It's nothing hard. You will just have the opportunity to answer question from your admirers and fans !!"

Alear : " My admirers and fans ?! I... am not sure I like this idea..."

Clanne " We also offered a Wyvern riding race. The one that gets to blast the most crystal won !"

Framme :" The next stand is held by Lady Veyle and Lord Rafal !"

Alear "Veyle has a stand too ? "

Clanne : "She does. She and Lord Rafal hold a eating contest. Spicy lovers will get to test their bud tastes on Lady Veyle's spicy dishes!"

Framme : "and sweets lover will get to test their tooth on Lord Rafal's confections !"

Alear : "I will need to brush my teeth if I try it."

Framme : "Next attraction is lead by yours truly, the Amazing Detective Sherlock Framme !!"

Clanne : "In this adventure, help Framme solving the mystery of the stolen golden Sommie ring"

Vander : "You can also participate a fishing contest"

Alear : "I feel like Emblem Byleth would enjoy this".

Clanne: " Next is the Wolves riding race offered by Merrin !"

Framme :" The fastest one is the winner !"

Alear : "What is the Horror ride train ? Why did you put this much of scary attractions ?"

Vander : "If this displease you, you can try the mirror gallery. You migh see amusing sight"

Alear : "If you say so"

Framme : "and the last one of this zone is "wake up Alear !"

Alear : "Eh ?"

Clanne :" the purpose of this attraction is to wake up a replica of Lady Alear !"

Alear : "Did you based this attraction on the fact that our allies have to come wake me up ?"

Vander : "we move on to the Emblem zone. A set of attraction inspired by the Emblems"

Framme : "First is Medeus castle ! Help Hero King Marth defeating evil Medeus by overcoming the obstacles through your way!"

Clanne : "Next is Escape Duma, where you must help Lady Celica escape from an evil deity !"

Vander : "The parc of the tragic lovers is a much more calm attraction. As you float on water, discover the tragic love story of Lord Sigurd."

Framme : "So sad..."

Clanne :" Leif's rescue is an attraction where you must prevent bandits targeting Leif to sell him off to his ennemies"

Vander : "The race of the young lion is a roaller coaster involving many ennemies such as demonic dragons..."

Alear : " You added another scary ride didn't you ?"

Clanne : "Dont worry Lady Alear, you can try out Lyn' shooting stand!"

Framme : "Or the Renais twin's quest ! Help Lady Eirika and Lord Ephraim collect the Sacred stones to help save the world !"

Clanne : "The twisted tower is another scary one ! A ride where you adventure to one of the most horryfiying place Lord Ike ever vendture to"

Framme "Similarily with Yune and Ashera's maze where you must overcome a scary maze to have Yune's fragment reunite with Ashera's".

Vander :" The Grima ride is also indeed quite the deal. A roaller coaster into Grima, the beast that ruined Lady Lucina's future"

Alear : "Scary... The Corrin's water show sounds more peaceful"

Framme : "It is !"

Vander :" Lady Corrin offered a show where you'll access to an opera retracing her fight!"

Clanne : "And a peculiarity about this show ! We will have a male actor to play Corrin !"

Alear : "Really ?"

Framme : "Yes ! This attraction is pretty much similar to Byleth's roaller coaster !!"

Clanne : "This is a ride where you can choose your destination. You have the choice between 4 possibility !"

Vander : "Next ride is the train of the Lion and the Eagle."

Clanne : "choose between 3 truck and enjoy the ride !"

Alear : "This sounds interesting ! I'd also like to try the attraction called Flying with Tiki !"

Vander :" You can also try your hand at Hector's hammer contest. A fitting activity to prove your physical strengh"

Framme : "The magic volcano is an attraction where you can see Soren using his magic to create a magic volcano! It's another magical show !"

Clanne : "The dragon vein tower have you travel a maze like tower using slabs to activate "dragon vein" and progress your way out"

Alear : " The next one is called Save the Roaster ?"

Framme : " He, he. Robin shared a funny anecdote with us. Help Chrom and Robin find their lost roaster before the Risen that stole it run away !!"

Vander : "Breidablik's shooting stand is a shooting stand where you weild one of the weapon of Lady Veronica's friend, the Summoner"

Alear : " Oh! The last attraction is me !"

Framme : "Yes ! Another shooting stand using your dragonic blast !!"

Alear :" those are sure a lot of attraction... this sounds energy consumming.."

Vander : "If you fear to feel hungry, you can visit Bunet and Goldmary's cafe"

Clanne : "You may find dishes more suitable to your taste then in Cholé's exotic food stand..."

Framme : "Or if you desire a tea time, there is Céline's Tea room"

Alear " What is this ? Playing with Sommie ? Sounds like a relaxing activity... but it's already what I do every day ?"

Framme : "Yes but could you resist making one ? Sommie is so cute!!"

Clanne : "And you can visit Lady Anna's shop for some souvenir !"

Alear "Wow, that is a lot ... I wonder if I'll be able to do all this... I hope Veyle and I can try some together. Thanks for the plan."

[ashtraysystem]

i keep seeing adobe ads for their new ai feature in photoshop, not to mention the constant notifications in the actual program being like "hey! hey! we have ai now! hey! can i show you? im gonna show you! you dont get a choice! here let me just open this new file- oh you closed it well thats okay look you can use it on your new file! :D", and it makes me honestly so angry. like it defeats the purpose of even learning photoshop at all in the first place or having people who know how to do such advanced things in photoshop. like yes it can be convenient but also it makes me so mad bc a just steals images and doesnt give you the info to properly credit them!! at my school and in contests and shows ive enetered you have to disclose if you've used ai or not, and if you do in a school project its immediately labeled plagiarism (for good reason!). im not sure what contests and art shows do if you use ai, if they disqualify you or take that into account during judging or what. because i like to make my work /myself/ rather than relying on ai.

ngl my partner telling me more or less "you can be mad about things and dont have to submit to the 'it is what it is' of society" made me more comfy being like "gods FUCK ai 'art'" because i really just dont see it as art! its stolen! everything it uses goes uncredited and takes jobs away from people like me who have worked our asses off learning these damn programs. yes i can see the convenience but thats not always better, specifically when it comes to the very human experience of creating!

creating art, the urge to make and participate in creative endeavors is such a naturally human thing that you can't compare ai 'art' to.

when ai 'art' was still just that abstract, weird but clearly ai generated stuff i didnt mind as much, but now they can make propaganda and other fake images out of thin air that look extremely realistic to even the trained eye. the amount of control that others can have and the manipulation people can commit by using ai stuff is /scary/.

[demon-blood-youths]

So question!

Does the DBT hang out with anyone else from the fractions or is it true from what Jinx said when you guys hang out with who she said.

"Huh? Oh yeah, that's true!" Ink nods. "Me and Jinx hang out and talk about what we're doing and what we done. Plus we do sparred together because we both fighting! Plus! I do see Jinx as a sister.

"As for the others...uh...hey guys! Is it true?!" Ink asked the guys.

----

"Uh! Yeah I hang out with Echo and we do projects regarding bombs. BUT WE ARE NOT ADORABLE! WHO THE FUCK SAYS THAT!" Navarro yelled.

Rust snickers, "Suurre, man! We all know what you and your girlfriend is all about!"

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" Navarro shouted. "Also what about you and Breezy?! HUH?! I know as hell...you're doing more than sparring and playing video games!" Navarro demands. Rust snickers, "If she's not my girlfriend! If she wants to be, I got no problem with it! But if she ain't into me and wants to be friends, I'm cool with it. You just need to admit that you got a crush on her, Navarro."

"SHADDUP RUST!" Navarro shouted.

Jaron chuckles, overhearing this before he goes next to confirm what is said. "It's true, me and Melinda are tight and we hang lot a lot. We do go to restaurants from time to time."

"Seriously! MARRY HER!" Rust and Navarro shouted. Shdwkyz shakes his head and sighs, 'You two are idiots."

"Don't give us that crap, Shdwkyz!" Navarro said.

"Yeah...I bet you're into Vivi!" Rust points out.

"We're just close friends and I trust her more when it's outside of the fraction." Shdwkyz sipping his chai tea. "Whenever it's fighting crime and when she comes to me for assitance or the other way around, I make sure to help her as much as possible. After all we have common interests."

"Sure....keep telling yourself that." Navarro crosses his arms. Jaron chuckles and looks over to Fosh, "What about you, Fosh? About Mouse?

"M-m-me? Mouse?" He stammered. "I mean...yeah....we hack a lot and we make it a contest who can break the toughest firewall the fasts without being noticed and we're helping other hackers' networks."

"That it?" Rust asked making Fosh flush his cheeks. "Y-yeah..." The hacker said. Shdwkyz, Rust, and Navarro were not convinced while Jaron still keeps on chuckling.

"But hey! At Gerald is having fun with Ping. They get along so well!" Fosh said, changing the subject.

"Don't change the subject!" Shdwkyz scowled. As for the girls.

------

'Yeah. It's true. I like hanging out with Joshua and Ashely. T-Bone is a good fighter." Maggie confirms. "Plus Hex and Ophelia are always trading healing potions and medical practices so whenever Ophelia has a new plant. She invites Hex over.' Maggie who looks over to Ophelia who nods. "Indeed. Hex and me always share information with each other when it comes to healing and plants. Hex is so surprised when I told him what I learn from Japan." Ophelia smiles.

"Timmy is so nice to me!" Taz smiles. "Me and Gerald watch anime and play video games whenever Ping and Timmy come over while Melinda makes the popcorn and Jaron makes the brownies for us!"

"Oblivion? What about you and Yuuka?" Ophelia asked Oblivion.

"Just showing her the ropes and the places that are hidden in New York City. We hang out like almost every day." Said Oblivion. "Always come to check up on her and Luna so they can settle in more easier."

As for the other fractions....

"Rex? Oh yeah! I sparred with him and my team does too with his fraction." Said Kali. "Rex and his season demon warriors know how to keep things tight at their turf in Greenwich Village."

----- As for those outside of the NYC -----

"Yes. Me and Willow hang out together since we keeps thing peaceful in Philpelidpha." Ethan answers. "We work well as a team since Willow and me look after parts in our turfs. I help her and she helps me." Said Ethan keeping it in proffessional.

Of course, his teammates didn't think so.

"Not true!" It's Zloth, a member of the Tribe Seeker Fraction. "Ethan has a crush on her! He just won't say it." He stated.

Ethan sighs. "I admire her."

"Same thing!" Zloth answered.

[suneiaaa]

2022 recap!

Hey so I want to reflect about 2022 cause it's been one hell of a year. I do this for myself, but perhaps someone else is curious. I also want to bring back writing blog posts. I hope you'll excuse me if that's difficult and ends up being just a wish though, cause nowadays it's very hard to drop the phone and stop watching silly videos. I hate how our attention span goes off the window just like that. Actually let me make that a New Year's resolution: stop with the silly videos, thank you. The only reason I don't feel guilty about it is because I know it's the way social media is designed that manipulates our attention span left and right lol

Anyways,

2022.

In summary, I finished artschool, found my first industry jobs, moved into a new flat with my partner.

That was a lot of changes in a short period of time and I feel like I'm still recovering from/processing it.

_

In January, I was working really hard on the last 8 pages of Crow of Stone for one of my projects. That was the steepest learning curve up to that moment. From having to change the plot 7 or 8 times, to thumbnailing and scribbling, to storyboards, to handling critique and applying it, to being hella stressed out because perfectionism & still being unable to guess correctly how much information 8 pages can hold. Doing Comics Is So Hard, it's so much harder than you think!!!

I also put myself in charge of putting together the InDesign document of the zine Crow of Stone was in and that was really stressful FUCK THAT!!!:) We sold our zine at Comic BCN a couple months later, that was also a nice experience.

--

Then I got a chance to catch my breath but not really because that project ending meant the start of the final project And I Did Not Know What To Do Yet

I focused on adding some more pages to Crow of Stone and make it to the deadline of the International Comic School Contest of Clip Studio 2022 that is very long to write so from now on it'll be 'CSP CONTEST'. That was very important to me! I had always wanted to participate. I couldn't make it during 3rd year (my classmate won though!!) and this year felt like my last chance. So I did that. I had already given up on the idea of making something new with the time I had so CoS would have to do! You can read it here.

We were also Kindly Asked to participate in another scolarship (?) contest and had to create several comic(al) strips as entry. That wasn't too bad even though it didn't go anywhere lol

------

A NY WAYS, there went my time for the final project lol

It must have been April by this point. At first I wanted to create a storybook with my OC Neia but I struggled to give the story a... story.

My brainstorming for a new idea started. And it was a bit desperate. What did I want to draw? Should it be a comic? What did I like to read? Should I make something according to my inspirations? Quick, what are my favorite genres? Tropes? And most importantly, what do I want to tell? Etc. 

Lots of little drawings ensued.

And I finally came up with something that I felt was 'me' enough, and cool enough, and worth exploring. Llamadas Perdidas (missed calls, or lost calls.). The plot is STILL very hard to explain so I will translate it literally below and make of that what you will...

----

May. So my final project was pitching this whole thing. Thus creating a portfolio with the premise, plot, synopsys and sample pages. Just like with CoS, storyboarding was hard, thinking was hard. Time was almost up when I decided to pour all my energy into 6 pages. I was even finishing up the cover just a few hours before my deadline. 

That moment was fun, actually. I showed my work to my professor full of self doubt and wondering if it would be enough. He looks at me like girl this is fantastic sdhsjdhsjdh 

I had barely slept that day. On the way to school I found some broken glasses in a puddle and wondered, who could have lost their glasses like that? Flash forward and I'm home and I had taken a quick nap. And I can't find my newest, goodest pair of glasses. Before paranoia got the best of me I went outside and looked for them on the street (yeah I couldn't believe it either). Halfway to my school I gave up and went back home... And I found them before that: someone had left my glasses, intact, on a windowsill. On my fucking street. I had dropped my fucking glasses on my way home. Hah. I'll admit I cried a little bit.

---

June. As an extraordinary school thing, we were visiting a publisher's installations that day. When we met up with my teacher, for some reason, he said to me something like 'Thank GOD you're here. If you hadn't come I would have killed you. Are you nervous?'

And I said 'No?'

And he replied 'You better be'

Which puzzled me for a bit, but haha... During our meeting with the publishers they actually said 'Later we want to talk to X and Sun' and OH MY GOD was I fucking shocked (laughs)

Yes, they told me they Wanted To Publish Llamadas Perdidas. They saw my pitch and thought it was very cool. So I'll let you imagine the look on my face. Finishing school and already landed my first gig and as an author, no less. Man.

I spent several days being in a weird high and processing and I'll admit I haven't processed it yet. And thus I finished 4 years of art school.

---

I've written so much so from now on it'll be an actual summary.

Dealing with my first contract, panicking a little bit... On July I also received this good news: Crow of Stone had been awarded a runner-up prize in the Manga category of the CSP contest!

This was really great!! I fucking loved reading the critique and checking the other entries and I felt very proud...!

Also!!! They contacted me from ANOTHER publisher to work on another comic project. Since comics aren't well paid I took the job too :^) Freelancing in Spain is also hella expensive like you wouldn't believe soo... No, but it's also a good project and I'm glad I'm working on it as well! Can't talk about it yet.

MEANWHILE my partner and I were LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO MOVE IN TOGETHER!! Barcelona is so fucking expensive and it was straight out impossible to find anything decent. Even in the suburbs. So it sucked for a while... but eventually we decided to live in the small town we live in now. And we could find something pretty quickly :') And we moved in in August!!! WAHOO big lifegoal achieved :')

---

Fall. I've become a freelancer (oh god finances are such a headache...) and have been working on my 2 comic projects mostly. It took a while to adapt to like working everyday but I'm proud at how hard I've been working. Llamadas Perdidas is definitely the most difficult because I want to get it right/so many demons to fight and so much to learn. I'm also happy about the commissions I've been taking and love the style I developed. In December my art school and Clip Studio invited me to have a small panel at Manga BCN where I talked about Crow of Stone. I was honored & happy, especially since I met with my professor (the same I mentioned before) and he was very happy to see me and encouraged me a lot!

----------

That's about the major events that happened. My reflections? This year has been the steepest learning curve by far and also my most successful. I hope I can grow as an author and artist and keep flourishing. Also I literally just want to pay my bills with my work lol so there's my hopes and dreams. I haven't had much time to draw for myself, planning and drawing comics is super time consuming. But I didn't want to force myself too much and properly adapt to my new life (deadlines deadlines...deadliens...dead aliens...)

Videogame wise? I played Earthbound. It was the greatest thing I'd played in the longest time. Definitely a highlight. Triangle Strategy was cool too, but I hate Roland with all my heart. Xenoblade 3 was a good game but a disappointment story-wise. I had genuine fun being hyped for it, and playing too, though. So as we say in Spanish 'you can't take away the time in which I've been dancing'. Endwalker was fine though I like Shadowbringers a bit more x) OST wise this year was super fantastic. There were more games but I forgor. Oh yeah, Paper Mario was being great but it broke on me :( Also I became addicted to Eve and blame myself for not discovering him before. It's my fucking jam I admire him a lot.

To wrap up.

Wish me luck, I'll be working on comics all year, head full, want to maybe try streaming with the mic on,aaaaahhh thank you all for supporting me ESPECIALLY those who have been there for YEARS those who have commissioned me and just. Thank you! Happy New Year 2023, manifesting good mental health for all of us.

[theinsanecrayonbox]

FOP: A New Wish ep 9-12

only 1 more week after this. kinda sad; this is actually a pretty fun ride

Episode 9: Trial and Hair-ror

the description of this episode almost literally is Hairicane. the title card is even similar. i guess we'll see if Cosmoa and Wanda bring up any deja vu about this scenario.

also weirdly this one isn't listed separately again On Demand; the other 3 are while we have e10/e11 stitched together and e11/e12 stitched together also available. again, this is why airing only 15 min segments as *separate episodes* is annoying. yes it's available stitched to e8 (as it properly should be), but it's still annoying. ok i'm done ranting about this, onto the actual episode!

the hair is talking...ok, we are not retreading...

so many hair puns...

and Hazel is bald O.o

i'm having trouble commentating here, as i don't do hair stuff. i mean we're doing a lot of Looney Toons shenanigans, so that's fun i guess.

"this clock tower was here the entire time" pfft ok

the hair built a person suit....ok, i'll add that to the horror elements

but ok the overall message is be kind to yourself and others, winning isn't everything, i...idk what else. this episode just didn't do it for me, which is a-ok! it's not bad, it's just...not interesting to me personally. and you know, being the first episode to be like that this season, that's a pretty good track record. so we still good.

Episode 10: Weird Science

this and the next taking title cues from old tv huh? i can dig it

wait Alec Schwimmer is a writer??? didn't you write some of my Top 10 episodes?? *goes to check* oh...no you didn't...you did write the more tolerable s9 episodes though so maybe that's why i recognize the name. ahem, anywhos...

SPORT! that's what Wanda called Tim...thus Squirt for Hazel...idk why that just clicked in my head

but wait, she can't wish for her failed science project to work with the intent to win eth science fair with it; that's using magic to win a contest and you aren't allowed that in Da Rules. her lightbulb should just turn off once we get to the judging portion...

oh but no we're doing this; they changed the laws of science so her potato lamp would work. well...i suppose that would skirt the "can't use magic to cheat" rule a bit, since they didn't make the project work...they just made physics change to allow what she made to work...that's totally different right? (heh Inkshade's "is it really a lie if reality twists itself to make what you said truth" really applies here)

oh hai Jorgen! there's a science fairy...who's a brain in a jar...*puts another check in the horror category* but interestingly enough that fairy magic has to follow the laws of physics, considering they always manipulate it. if anything i'd say they'd have to listen to the rules of entropy and chaos sure *shrugs* but interesting that once Jorgen knew it was for eth science fair he didn't cite the "no magic to cheat and win" rule

potato power fixes everything lol ok sure

i love the "I tried" sticker

mk, so overall it was an ok episode. very typical for the setup, and we learned our lesson by the end. it's passable.

Episode 11: Mystery She Wished

ok for real, you do a Murder She Wrote parody title? who's watching me? i LOVE Murder She Wrote so much!! (unironically) you already are starting off with mega points

daww she's a mystery buff too, that's cute

hehe Father Time cameo, boy does he look ominous

hmmm...we're going classic detective noir like in Where's Wanda? and not Mrs Fletcher-ing this. my excitement has dwindled, but it's ok

implying a dead body's in a rug so casually O.o dang show, i love your darkness

wait why is Mark Chang on the suspect/conspiracy board??? Elvis i get, and the Jar-Jar knock off, but there was a Grey alien, so Mark was redundant...but hey Mark cameo

ok so we'll cite Da Rules here but not in the previous episode?

oh cool twins, that's a neat twist

and yeah Hazel, even i figured they were doomsday preppers. and they are also conspiracy nuts

heh fairies in the lava lamp. Genie Meanie Minnie Mo reference

but ok that was kinda cute. the best part was the title...for me, but yeah no it's fine.

Episode 12: Prime Meridian Love

the girl is an anime fan. mk, i can get on board with that. it's a different, yet familiar character trait. Tim liked comic books, and they tried to do it for Chloe with her Hungry Games book series. plus anime and manga are far more popular and easily accessible these days. so yeah, cools.

heh she can't avoid spoilers

oh and hazel girl, i get the dance thing

pfffft buwahahah the magical girl sequence as fish-boytoy is made real from the book XDDD

ok so we're citing Da Rules about fictional characters knowing about fairies.

AND HE'S ROBBIE DAYMOND!!!!! BLUE MAGICAL BOI!! you're getting type cast but it's so funny XDDD also magical anime dress up montage XD

heh Dev secretly likes the manga, that's cute. the principal is too...that's funny XD

i kinda love the different frame rate hotfishboi has vs Hazel and the rest

another magical transformation into a blobfish XDDD

but wait if he's staying in the real world, doesn't that mean his series is gonna fall apart? that's what happened when the Chin was wished out and refused to go back. then again, it's a manga...their release schedules are different, so would anyone really notice if the series just ended. i mean, Hazel didn't know about the non-translated prequel. and also series can go on hiatus for years then come back too, so yeah it'd be far less noticeable compared to the monthly Crimson Chin series

so, this was actually a fun take on wishing your media character real. and you know, Robbie Daymond being a magicalhotblueboi. so i give this episode many points.

[the-green-musings]

Two Steps Forward

Image: Wikipedia Commons Back in 5th grade, I remember my school had a program where plastic cups were not allowed in the cafeteria. Anyone who wanted to buy from the drink stands around campus had to bring their own reusable cup as part of the school's environmental program. We learned about sustainability young, and I remember many of the other initiatives my school had like tetra pack campaigns and newspaper drives where the student who can bring the most gets a prize. From poster contests about environmental campaigns to innovation challenges for reusable materials, students do not lack awareness of what it means to live a sustainable life. The question is: why don't we? If we've been taught the "right" way for so long, why haven't even the small habits of bringing reusable containers stuck? The easy answer is that it's inconvenient, but living alone for the first time recently, I was able to reflect on why small inconveniences feel insurmountable no matter the benefits in the long run. Some people would say that there was a time people were able to live without the conveniences like disposable cutlery that we have today. Why can't we go back to that time? I found the answer washing dishes past midnight after completing coursework for hours because I didn't want to wake up to a full sink. At that time, I swore up and down that I would only use paper plates and wooden disposable chopsticks from this day on. Clearheaded in the morning, I realized that the hectic pace of modern life has us searching for every convenience that we can. We are used to being busy doing the things that are considered productive. Whether it's to feed a family, achieve a goal, or keep pace with the speed of global competition, there is too much that needs to be done. Having to wash one dirty tupperwear or reusable straw at the end of the day may very well feel like the straw that breaks the camel's back. Modern-day conveniences reflect modern lifestyles, and that includes having more women enter the workforce instead of handling the domestic tasks that come with reusable, long-lasting items. It's not possible, or desirable, to go back to that same time period when reuse was the norm. However, greater awareness of the environmental costs of our conveniences inspired more entrepreneurs to create a more sustainable take on disposable items. We now have bamboo straws and toothbrushes, disposable bags made of seaweed, and delivery packages made of recyclable paper. These innovations would not be possible without the technology today, and it goes to show that should not be taking one step back but two steps forward. 

[sunmmon8689]

VICTORY

As soon as Jack touched his opponent, he realized his opponent was much weaker than him. Jack practiced martial arts because he was passionate about its artistry coming from his secluded master, who lived in the countryside. His master taught him very carefully about morality and inner force. The more he practiced the martial art, the more he was gentle wanted to learn from practical experience and from a counterpart’s skill. His master always reminded him of a humble attitude that we are good but others are much better than us.

In that match, Tom was his opponent, who came from a famous club of martial arts and had some experience from a few contests. However, professional fighters can realize who will win as soon as they are facing. They didn’t need a fight to get that. Continually fighting with Tom, Jack knew Tom couldn’t beat him. Tom also knew that and looked much too anxious.

His eyes were so much in despair more and more that Jack was surprised. Win or lose, it was normal for fighters, why he was in such despair. Tom tried to attack Jack as much as possible but he could have no hope to beat Jack. Then he lost heart to fight agianst Jack.

The last round, Tom took Jack’s big puch to be knocked out and to give up himself.

Three months later; Jack received Tom’s letter, which said: “ Thank you for saving my daughter’s life. She was an inborn cardiac and needed emergency surgery, while I had no money. I rished entering the competition with the hope to win and have money for her surgery. I just wondered how you knew my situation and let me win? You lost money and fame to save my daughter’s life."

People for their whole life have looked for victory, and he want to win against others. Talking with friends, they need to show their better reason. Entering a competition, they must win the first prize. Studying a class, they should come first. With property, they want to show they have much more than anyone else in their neighborhood.

Their life goes continually around the competition for fame, interst, and position. In politics, there are many serious competitions. This side needs to beat that side, if not they’re killed. A desire for victory makes people stressed and lessens their morality. People may think victory is their happiness. They don’t know that victory is not sure to bring them happiness. some way, victory may cause suffering for winners.

Sometimes, victories are morally significant, such as defeating invaders to protect nations or winning over the public to ease people’s minds.

We should be wise and moral enough to control ourselves over our eagerness for success. We need to know when we should try to win and when we should resign ourselves. Sometimes we lose but we feel easy. Sometimes we win but we feel regreful for the rest of our life.

As a saying of a Saint goes,“To conquer thousands of enemy troops cannot compare with conquering ourselves.” We ourselves distinguish right from wrong and good from evil.

CT

[showfullpac]

Video edit magic star

Zach noticed how people enjoyed this satirical take on an already viral theme (“Star Wars”) so he continued this idea with a sequel entitled “Jedi Kitten Strike Back.” This second video gained him a whopping 17 million views! “Jedi Kittens” gained over a million views in three days. In 2011, he posted the video, “Jedi Kittens” on YouTube which featured two cats going to battle with lightsabers from the famous “Star Wars” movies. When we analyze Zach’s success, we see that he has often taken advantage of what is going on in the culture and used that to create content that viewers can relate to. Viral video marketing strategies to Increase Views and Engagement Then in 2013, he won YouTube’s NextUp Creators Contest which helped further his career in video creation. In 2010, he won first place in an HP commercial content and got an invitation at the London Film Festival.

He has used the Vine platform for creating much of his following, but his videos on YouTube have millions of views as well. He refers to this as “a digital sleight of hand” and considers himself like a magician. His work features six-second videos that are editing with digital technology to look as though he is doing magic. Zach King is highly successful with his videos on YouTube. He has dreams of creating movies for the “big screen,” he says on his blogs. He relies on YouTube as his primary platform, but he also used the Vine platform as well. He created a video called “Jedi Kittens” one night and woke to discover that it had gone viral overnight with almost 100 million views. He attended film school at Biola University and then started his Zach King YouTube channel where he began posting his film projects. He fell in love with the process of video creation then and there, and his passion has continued into the present day.

Zach says on his site that he started learning about filmmaking when he was 7-year-old to film family events. Zach King videos is known for presenting content that gets millions of views and goes “viral.” How does he do it? In this post we will discover the secrets behind Zack King’s Video Magic and viral success. He has been producing video since he was a young child and continues to enough creating video content for his audience on YouTube. Want to see what you can do with Video Edit Magic? View our Flash demo.Zach King is a video guru. Video Edit Magic is the ideal way for hobbyists and professionals to turn ordinary videos into works of art. You can create fade-ins, fade-outs, and merge sound from the two audio tracks for almost any volume effect. A unique feature of Video Edit Magic is the volume track, which you can use to adjust the volume of audio clips from 0% to 400% at any point. Some popular ones are Rotate, Green Screen, Picture-In-Picture, Pixelate, and Wipes. It includes more than 150 professional quality transitions and visual effects. Video Edit Magic makes it easy to join, split, crop, trim, modify color, and merge your video files. Movies can be made to NTSC or PAL standards. You can also output to QuickTime, AVI, and WMV formats. Video Edit Magic makes movies in the MPEG formats that are used when creating DVDs. Video Edit Magic can edit AVI, MPEG (1 and 2), DVD video and WMV files directly-there's no need to convert them to another format first. This makes it easy to create something truly unique from multiple media sources. Add professional scene transitions, some background music, and a couple of title effects, and you're ready to show the world your finished masterpiece.Įdit and combine popular file formats including AVI, WMV, MP3, MPEG, MOV, JPEG and many more, all on the same timeline. The drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to capture video footage, and assemble a movie in mere minutes.

[tepkunset]

Who is Sabra and why are comic readers worried about her introduction into the MCU?

(Making this because I actually have receipts for her problematic writing to back up statements already made, mostly)

[Content warning for racism against Arab peoples, especially Palestinians]

Ruth Bat-Seraph, AKA Sabra, is an Israeli superhero who was introduced in 1980, first appearing as an antagonist to the Hulk. When she’s not acting as a superhero, she’s a policewoman. She’s named after the Hebrew word for the pear cactus, per editor’s note in Incredible Hulk vol. 1 #256.

Her being a policewoman is cringe, but she’s not the first or last Marvel hero to have such a job for her alter ego. No, what has people concerned is that she’s always been written as a racist bitch.

In Incredible Hulk vol. 1 #256, Bruce Banner tries to help a homeless Arab boy who ends up getting killed in a bombing. Sabra mistakes the Hulk as working with the bombers and attacks. Hulk gets mad and goes on a super-cringe anti-Islam and anti-Judaism rant, saying religion is the cause of the boy’s death. And somehow this leads Sabra to an epiphany that “oh yeah, this boy is a human being!”

So that’s some really bad/dated writing, but you can at least say the intention for character growth was there, right? Show this state-sponsored superhero that her government has taught her wrong. Too bad she learns absolutely nothing long-term from this.

In Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions, all she and the Arabian Knight contribute to the comic is arguing with each other. He’s written as an antisemitic and sexist pig, and she’s written as a racist jerk who refuses to work with him on account of him being Arab and comments (paraphrasing) “that’s just how it’s always been between our people”—Iron Man makes an inappropriate joke about this, of course.

In New Warriors vol. 1 #58-59, she appears again. Justice has a lil bit of a crush on her, and the story starts seemingly innocent… until Batal, a Syrian hero shows up, and then it’s back to the same bullshit. She advocates for his murder because “The Arabs” killed her son. Batal argues that she shouldn’t generalize an entire group of people like that, but she refuses to listen and calls him “child-killer”. Things escalate thanks to mind-control, but she cannot pin that on mind-control. That’s just her being awful.

But this is all old stuff. Let’s fast-forward to some more modern comics, where surely she’s much better, right? NOPE. Because in Union Jack vol. 2, Sabra can’t even make it through her introduction without accusing Navid Hashim, a Palestinian-Saudi hero, of being a terrorist.

Like literally the only thing this character exists for is to stir up “drama” with Arab characters. I cannot even begin to fathom what the MCU will do with her, unless it’s a total and complete re-writing that is miraculously better. Which we can all count on, surely //sarcasm

[bvidzsoo]

No one like you

 Author: bvidzsoo

 Warnings: light swearing, overload of fluff for the light hearted

 Pairing: Kim Mingyu x female reader

 Word count: 15, 074 

 Summary:  On a very important day you get a call from your sister asking you to babysit her daughter. She knows how important the project is for you and wouldn’t have bothered to ask you if it really wasn’t urgent. And you know that, so you reassure her that you’ll babysit Jieun. However, you get a little surprise when Kim Mingyu, your brother-in-law’s best friend, shows up unannounced, did I mention he’s also your ex? 

 A/N: Holy moly what a ride this one shot was writing! I had no idea I had the capacity to write something as fluffy as this bUT! THIS IS KIM MINGYU! and I love Kim Mingyu too much, so this is me channeling my inner love haha. Hope you enjoy it and I would love to read your feedback!

       The studio has been buzzing with people the whole week. The new exposition was going well and I was proud that my works gained so much attention in so little time. I have been painting ever since middle school, a small and innocent passion became the job that allows me to put bread on my table every day. I never imagined that one day I would become a well-known painter, it just seemed surreal. But it happened, in my sophomore year, I painted a little piece for a contest and I won, gaining a lot of attention. Ever since then things changed, but they really only changed after I finished high school. I didn’t go to college, like many of my peers, I downed myself into the world of art and went around Europe, researching and learning as much as I could about the painters. Somewhere along the way, in Switzerland to be exact; I was actually taking a break; is where I met my manager. Hansol Vernon Chwe. He had a fine eye for art, very sophisticated taste and unique views. Through him, I met Xu Minghao, my second-in-hand. Minghao was mesmerizing, his mere presence could capture your whole attention. Everything about him was delicate, his taste was even finer than mine and he was ruthless. He knew what he wanted, always, and wasn’t afraid to demand it. Only wanting the best, always striving to be the best. I’m a perfectionist, I rarely let loose and I’m obsessed with order. Minghao and I clicked instantly, it was love at first sight, in a very platonic way. Ever since Vernon introduced me to him, we’ve been working together. Minghao is a painter as well, his style rigid and very colorful, meanwhile mine is warm and homey. We run the studio together, he’s a few years older. It was his idea to work together, to build the studio together, to give it life together. It was his project of a life time, his very own dream, and when he shared it with me, asked me to join him, I knew I couldn’t refuse him. It was great exposure to the both of us and it wasn’t a big surprise of how well it worked.

I was busy talking to a client when my phone started ringing, cutting my words off. Vernon threw me a displeased look, they were clients from France and they wanted a contract with me, some of my paintings would be exposed in their art gallery if I went through with the deal today, but when my phone rang for the second time, I knew I had to excuse myself. I wouldn’t have to, if it wasn’t my sister calling. She had a different ringtone, on purpose, and she knew I was busy today, so, she wouldn’t have called unless it was something very important.

“I’m so sorry for bothering you!” Were her first words as I picked up, eliciting a chuckle from me.

“Yeah, I’m talking to some very important people, right now, Joohyun. What’s wrong?”

“Wonwoo and I got stuck.” Her sigh was loud and I listened closely, eyebrows furrowing.

“Where?”

“On the highway, we are still three hours away, traffic is insane, again…”

“Okay, what can I do?” I asked, already knowing it involved Jieun, my 4-year-old niece.

“Jieun’s nanny has to leave in an hour, something came up for her…can you go over? Look after her until Wonwoo and I get back?” I bit my lower lip, thinking hard. Can I leave the studio in an hour? The event goes on the whole day and I am supposed to stay. But if Jieun needs me, our parents live on the other side of the country they won’t be able to come in such a short time, I had no choice but to make it work.

“Yeah, sure, don’t worry. I’ll go babysit her.” I reassured Joohyun and she sighed out relieved.

“Thank you, Y/N, you are a life saver!” Came Wonwoo’s deep voice through the speakers, no doubt my sister was using the car’s Bluetooth to speak on the phone.

“Sure thing, Won, see you later. Drive safely, brother-in-law!” After my sister and her husband bid me their goodbye’s I hung up the phone and went to find Minghao and Vernon. Vernon just finished talking to the French clients and as I neared him, he shook his head.

“What could have been more important than this deal?”

“My sister.” I deadpanned and Vernon sighed as he nodded his head.

“Well, I made the deal. So, if you want to back out, we can’t anymore. The paintings we talked about will be shipped off to Lyon next week.”

“That’s alright with me. For how long is the contract?” I let my eyes run over the people inside the studio, eyes falling on Minghao. He was standing next to one of his painting’s, a glass of red wine in his hand as he spoke to three blonde females. They were giving him suggestive smiles but Minghao paid little to no attention to them as gazed at his painting proudly.

“Contract is for two years, Y/N.” Vernon answered me and I nodded with my lips pursed, waving Minghao over once we made eye contact. He excused himself and jogged over, a bright smile on his lips.

“Everything good?” He asked with his honey voice and Vernon nodded.

“So, uhm…” I cleared my throat and looked at them apologetically, “I have to leave in an hour.”

“Oh?” Minghao asked surprised, looking at Vernon to see if he knew about this already, but he didn’t.

“Joohyun called and asked me to babysit Jieun, her babysitter has to leave in an hour.” I explained to the guys and Vernon’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Is there no one else that could go?”

“No, I’m sorry, I really want to stay, but I just—can’t.” I sighed and Vernon nodded in understanding.

Minghao’s eyes lit up in sudden realization as he pointed his glass of wine at me, “Mingyu.”

“Uh…what about Mingyu?” I asked confused, looking at Minghao with furrowed eyebrows.

“Call him and tell him to babysit Jieun instead of you.” He proposed his idea and I took a second to think.

“I’m sure Joohyun and Wonwoo thought of Mingyu first.” Minghao went to cut me off but I raised one finger at him, “Joohyun knows it’s important what we are doing today, she really wouldn’t have called if Mingyu was available, okay?”

“Sure.” Minghao muttered with a sigh and Vernon patted my shoulder reassuringly.

“Don’t worry, we’ll take care of everything. Minghao will entertain the guests, no doubt.” A teasing grin came onto Vernon’s lips as he took the glass of wine from Minghao.

“Why can’t you do it, huh?” Minghao snapped back, glaring at Vernon when he took a sip from his glass.

“And this is why I didn’t want to leave…” I muttered with a shake of my head, making Vernon chuckle as Minghao shot me a glare.

“We are very competent of running things on our own, Y/N, thank you very much.” I gave Minghao a look before he returned it, challenging me. Sometimes our personalities would clash together, one more stubborn than the other.

“Chill, guys,” Vernon raised a hand in the air to get our attention, our mediator in tense moments, “Y/N, you should greet Mr. Yoon’s grandmother before you leave, she’s been looking for you.”

“Of course!” My face lit up at the mention of Grandma Yoon, the old lady having been a very loyal customer of mine. I met her through the contest back in high school and ever since we’ve kept in touch. She used to think Yoon Jeonghan, her charming nephew, and I would become a thing. She was really convinced she could make us date, but Jeonghan and I were too different. And to be fairly honest, I’m not someone very interested in relationships. I’m fine on my own, I don’t mind not having a partner. It was long since someone held me in their arms and kissed my forehead softly, but my art required a lot of attention and time that I wasn’t willing to sacrifice for someone else. I’ve been on a few dates since high school, but they never worked out. I blamed them on my atrociously high expectations but those weren’t the reasons for my failed love life. It was a person that I never truly got over, he ruined me in the best way possible, and now I just can’t find anyone that could live up to his level. No one. And it was frustrating until I realized I didn’t actual need someone to feel completed and happy. Excusing myself from Minghao and Vernon, I went around the studio with a smile on my face, searching for Grandma Yoon and Jeonghan.

       The car ride to my sister’s house took a lot longer than usual, traffic at noon was horrible in the city. I was at least fifteen minutes late by the time I pulled in their driveway, quickly getting out of the car, big bag full of supplies almost falling from my hand. I locked my car and rushed to the front door, ringing the bell. It took three seconds and the door was thrown open, a relieved look on the nanny’s face.

“I’m sorry, traffic was really bad today.” I shot an apologetic smile to the nanny and she opened the door wider, to let me step inside.

“I understand, thank you so much for coming!” She bowed her head as she pulled on her coat, stepping outside the door, “It’s really urgent.”

“Hurry, then…” I motioned for her to leave with my head and she bowed a bit before rushing away, leaving me shaking my head. I closed the door and threw my heels off, music coming from the living room. I smiled to myself when a girly voice echoed to the hallway, singing along to the lyrics. I left my green, thin, coat hanging on the hanger and gripping my heavy bag with both hands, I headed towards the living room. My sister’s house was big and beautiful. Her and Wonwoo have a simple yet sophisticated taste. Their house looked a thousand times better than my apartment. As clean as I am, my apartment could be a mess from time to time. Especially my art room, where I paint, that one was always a mess. But for me that mess was order, I always knew where everything was and found whatever I was looking for within seconds. As I walked down the hallway to the living room, I gazed at the pictures in white frames that were hung up on the white walls. The pictures were of Wonwoo, Joohyun and Jieun, mostly. There were a few family portraits from both parties, Wonwoo and Joohyun, and there were even some of me and Mingyu. Actually, the one who took almost every picture was Mingyu. He has had a passion for photography since high school and continued to do it as a side job, even currently. He was borderline an artsy, borderline a jock kind of guy throughout high school, maybe that’s why he attracted all kinds of girls. Myself included.

“What a nice voice you have, Jieun!” I exclaimed as I let my bag fall to the floor once I made it into the living room’s doorway.

Jieun’s head turned away and a big gummy smile, nose scrunched up, spread on her soft face, “Auntie Y/N! You came!”

“Of course, I came, auntie wouldn’t miss any chance of spending time with her favorite girl in this whole world!” Jieun started giggling loudly as I spoke in a funny way, jumping my way towards her.

“I’m really your favorite girl?” She asked with another giggle as I reached her and scooped her up in my arms. Her weight wasn’t something I couldn’t handle; she was only four after all.

“Well…it might be Joohyun, but—”

“Auntie, bad auntie!” Jieun whined with a pout and I grinned at her, kissing her cheek.

“Bad auntie, I know.” I muttered and she pressed a soft kiss to my cheek, so I placed her down, “What were you doing with your nanny?”

“We studied a little bit of numbers, then I wanted to watch cartoons and she promised to make some French fries for me but—she’s gone now.” Jieun’s lips formed a pout and she oddly resembled a little bunny, cheeks puffing up. I laughed and crouched down in front of her.

“So, here’s my plan…” I motioned for her to lean as if I was sharing a secret with her, “Auntie brought some of her painting stuff over…so, after we paint a bit, I will make French fries for you. Cool?”

“Cool!” Jieun exclaimed loudly, clapping her hands together. I winked at her and went to grab my bag from the doorway, dragging it to the coffee table. I glanced at her as I opened the bag, her big eyes shone with excitement; she loved drawing and painting; and her nose scrunched up in the most adorable way as she smiled. She was an oddly mix of both Joohyun and Wonwoo. Sometimes, the two would start bickering about who she looked more like…in those time, of course Mingyu and I would have to interfere, and of course Mingyu would be on Wonwoo’s side meanwhile I was on Joohyun’s, just to balance out everything. But when Jieun smiled, she was the exact replica of Wonwoo, nose scrunching in the same way and eyes disappearing almost. When she was serious or pouting, she looked like Joohyun with her big eyes and delicate lips. Her beautiful dark hair reached her shoulders and she’d always brush her bangs out of her eyes, especially when she was frustrated with something. And oh my God, she was one of the most stubborn kids I’ve ever met. She knew how to manipulate people, even at the age of four, and most of the time got what she wanted. She inherited Joohyun and Wonwoo’s calm natures, never being a hyper child, nor too loud. She could be a little angel but she had her moments when she was hard to deal with.

“So…” I looked at Jieun as she kept smiling at me, “Do you have anything in mind that you’d like to paint?”

She sat on her knees close to the coffee table as she stared down at the smaller white canvas I placed on the table for her. All kinds of brushes and colors lay on the table, Jieun’s eyes running over them eagerly.

“Nothing special, maybe some trees…a blue sky…green grass…something nice.” She mused, more to herself, and I chuckled quietly as I shook my head. One day, my little Jieun, would turn into a big painter herself, making her auntie proud.

“Sounds excellent,” I raised my thumb up at her and she giggled, “Should we start?”

“Yes!” She exclaimed and quickly claimed her brush, asking me to pour some blue paint onto her palette. I did as I was asked and watched as her tongue darted out and eyebrows furrowed as she mentally imagined where she’d place the sky.

“Auntie, will you not paint?” She gave me a quick glance before swiping her brush against the canvas.

“Not today, I’m taking a break.” I answered her as I leaned against the sofa, watching her paint, “Auntie has worked really hard the past three months, I need some rest.”

“Don’t you paint though because it makes you relax?” Her eyebrows rose as she tried to lighten the blue color she placed on her canvas.

“That’s true, but I’m wearing white pants…” I trailed off with a lame excuse, making Jieun throw me an amused glance. I giggled when she shook her head, it made me feel like I was the kid and she was the adult. Jieun, sometimes, would act really mature for her age, saying meaningful things without realizing the weight of her words. Mingyu always blamed it on Wonwoo and Joohyun, who would never fail to remind their daughter certain things that would form her into a decent human being later on in life.

“I’m so excited!” Jieun giggled as she pointed at the yellow paint, and I took and pushed some of it onto her palette.

“Do you like painting so much?” I chuckled and Jieun nodded, “That makes auntie really happy!”

“Yes but no!” She exclaimed and I raised my eyebrows at her as she attempted to paint a big sun onto the blue sky she just painted, “Uncle is coming over too!”

My eyebrows furrowed as I looked surprised at the little girl sitting next to me, Mingyu is coming over?

“Did you speak to mommy and daddy, Jieun?”

“Yes, they said uncle Mingyu couldn’t make it in time so they will ask you to come instead.” She hummed and grinned at me before turning back to her canvas.

“Ah, so Mingyu isn’t really coming over…” I let out a sigh, pleased to hear he wouldn’t show up today. I haven’t seen him in over a month, and meanwhile it was a long time, it was actually refreshing. I didn’t have much time to spend time with my family as I was busy with the studio and the project Minghao and I have been working on. Mingyu was considered family, even though he wasn’t related to anyone. It’s just the way it is, Wonwoo and him grew up together, it was only natural Wonwoo considered him his brother. So that made him, indirectly, Joohyun’s brother-in-law and my…well, brother-in-law? I wasn’t really sure, it didn’t matter, I didn’t consider Mingyu really family either way. It was just weird, to look at him and think ‘oh yeah, he’s like my bro’, because we have dated in high school before, for two years. Two years of bliss and pure happiness, two years I wish I could time travel back to.

“But uncle is still coming over though…” Jieun muttered to herself and my eyebrows furrowed, but I ignored her comment. She just misunderstood what her mom and dad told her. Mingyu couldn’t make it today, so they called me instead. Just like I suspected, I knew Joohyun wouldn’t have bothered me if she had other options.

Painting the canvas went well and in-an-hour Jieun was finished, happy and proud of her work. She asked me to critically asses her painting and so I did, entertaining my little niece furthermore, her giggles filling the living room. She was so loud that I didn’t even hear the front door opening, a mistake on my part as I forgot to lock it, and the deep voice made me jump upon I heard it.

“And what do we have here…” My eyes were wide as my heart beat quickly, a loud squeal leaving Jieun’s lips before he was up on her feet, dashing towards the giant standing in the doorway. Mingyu was grinning down widely at Jieun as he scooped her up in his strong, and well-built, arms, his sharp canines showing off when his smile widened more. His black hair was disheveled, probably because he continuously runs his hand through it, and the sides stuck to his face, still wet. He was wearing black shorts that reached his knees and a sleeveless blue loose tank top, a silver chain dangling from his neck. I quickly caught myself ogling him and huffed as I rose to my feet, arms crossing in front of my chest. Truly, who knew not seeing him for a month would make him look more attractive? Mingyu, no doubt, had an incredible glow up since high school. If he would’ve looked like this during high school too, I’m sure all the girls would’ve lined up in front of his classroom to bring him all sorts of things. But even as handsome as he was now, I found him plain. Maybe because I’ve known him for a long time now, and don’t get me wrong, plain not in a bad way…he was just, plain, transparent.

“Look how excited you are to see uncle!” Mingyu teased Jieun as he poked her stomach, eliciting a loud shriek. I couldn’t help it but smile, having a big weakness for Mingyu and Jieun together. And alone, just…when it came to Mingyu, after all those years, he was still my one and only weakness. It amazed me how I never got over him one hundred percent, I just couldn’t. But I didn’t want to either, not when his flaws seemed perfect too.

“Because I love uncle!” Jieun grinned at Mingyu, nose scrunching up making Mingyu giggle.

“Of course, you love me! I’m the best uncle ever!” Jieun cheered with Mingyu as he started dancing around with her still in his arms, Jieun poking Mingyu’s cheek.

“Finally, uncle and auntie are together!” Jieun cried out as Mingyu started tickling her sides, making her laughter echo loudly in the house. It seemed like realization dawned on him upon he heard Jieun’s words, he seemed to realize that there was another person there with them, standing a few feet away, smiling at them. Mingyu stopped moving and Jieun giggled quietly, trying to catch her breath from being tickled, throwing her arms around Mingyu’s neck to give him a tight hug. Mingyu’s gaze locked with mine and I kept my smile on as he returned it.

“Look who finally showed up!” He teased and put Jieun down, acting as if his muscles were sore from holding her and he earned a light slap from Jieun.

“Well, hello,” I said with a chuckle as Mingyu walked further inside the living room, headed my direction, “Long time no see, old friend.”

“A month, to be exact.” Mingyu said, suddenly serious, as he stopped in front of me, “Are you ignoring us now?”

“As if you don’t know…” I rolled my eyes and undid my arms that were in front of my chest, to turn and walk away, but Mingyu was fast and he was already pulling me in a hug. His body was bigger than mine and whenever he hugged me, I felt like I was melting into him, disappearing from the world. This time wasn’t different, in fact, it felt like his body swallowed mine all up as he gripped me tightly. One month was really that long of a time, huh. I returned the hug, suddenly realizing his tank top was damp and he didn’t smell exactly the most pleasant, at least his usual cologne was less strong, “I was busy with the studio and—are you sweating?”

“Right now?” Mingyu started laughing and his chest rocked against mine, my eyes widened, realization hitting me. He just finished work!

“Ew, Kim Mingyu, get off!” I shrieked and tried to wrestle myself out of his bear hug, but he squeezed harder and started laughing louder and louder, “You’re sweaty, no, stop!”

“Too late, dummy!” He said while laughing and twirled me around, very amused that I couldn’t get away from him.

“Don’t make me kneel you where the sun doesn’t shine!” I threatened with a deadly voice and in two second, he let go of me, “You’re disgusting!”

“That’s not something nice to say to someone, auntie…” We heard Jieun in the background say very lightheartedly.

“That’s right, Jieunie…” Mingyu said with a pout, leaning his face closer to mine. I quickly pushed it back and it made Mingyu snort before he glanced at the canvas on the coffee table.

“Oh! Did you paint this Jieun?” He asked, eyes wide and mouth open.

“Do you like it?” Jieun asked happily, bouncing on her toes.

“Love it! It’s so beautiful!”

“Thank you!” Jieun giggled and I patted her head as she came to stand by my side, grinning at Mingyu, “Next time I could paint you!”

“Oh, uncle would love that!” Mingyu winked at Jieun playfully as he looked back at me, “Missed you, Y/N.”

My heartbeat quickened and I snorted, very unladylike, as I rolled my eyes, “Yeah, sure…Can’t say I missed you very much, I guess—Yeah, kinda? A bit, yeah, I missed you too, idiot.”

“Wow,” Mingyu breathed out, an amused smile on his lips, “That sounded like you got a brain malfunction, glad to see I still make you flustered, Bae.”

“Don’t call me Bae.” I snapped at him, eyes narrowing as Mingyu went to the doorway, picking up his discarded backpack.

“Isn’t that your family name, Bae?” A sneaky smirk crossed his lips, he knew what he was doing. Of course, that is my family name but he is using it knowing it has double meaning.

“Go take a shower Kim, you stink.” I pinched the bridge of my nose with two fingers, making Jieun laugh loudly as she pointed at Mingyu.

“Auntie is making fun of you!”

“Didn’t Wonwoo hyung teach you to not point fingers or make fun of someone, Jieun?” Mingyu’s voice turned stern, but his expression remained light. Jieun, however, knew Mingyu was being serious and scolding her.

“Sorry,” She muttered with a pout and hid her face in my pants as she turned her body into me.

“Go shower, before I cut off the warm water, you dick—” I sucked in a deep breath at the almost slip, it was already bad that I let dick slip, as Mingyu started hollering with laughter.

“Good luck explaining that to Wonwoo and Joohyun later, bae.” He called as he walked down the hallway and towards the bathroom, laughter following him. I cursed in my head as I looked down at Jieun, a big smile on her lips.

“Dick?” She asked with a giggle and my eyes widened in mortification.

“Jieun, no! Never ever say that to anyone, okay?!” I snapped, eyes narrowing at her as I leaned down to be eye level with her, “Auntie will cry if you do, I swear, Jieun.”

“Auntie will be sad if I say…dick?” She giggled again and I glared at her, trying to make her understand she couldn’t say that. How do you make a kid stop from saying a bad word? Help?!

“Auntie will bawl, Jieun, not cry, bawl!” I emphasized the word, knowing how much Jieun hated seeing people cry.

“Okay, I won’t say it at all,” She raised her pinky finger and hooked it with mine, “Pinky promise.”

“Pinky promise.” I echoed after her, biting my lower lip nervously. This will come back and bite me in the ass later, I know it, and that’s when I’ll really be bawling. Especially if Joohyun will be shouting my head off with Wonwoo throwing daggers at me, dear God, what have I done?

       Jieun was beyond excited when I told her that I would have to cook lunch for us now, and she even volunteered to watch some Barbie movie while I do that. She knew I didn’t like other people in the kitchen with me while I was cooking, I always worked better alone. Mingyu was in the shower still, his phone blasting some upbeat song that we could hear clear and loud from the living room, hallway, and even a little bit from the kitchen. I shook my head as I turned on the Barbie movie for Jieun, Rapunzel, and walked to the kitchen while throwing daggers towards the closed and locked bathroom door. Mingyu always had weird habits but ever since we finished high school, he started developing some even weirder and annoying ones, like blasting music while showering. Maybe if it was Mozart or some jazz music it wouldn’t have bothered me, but the kind of music he listened to were men and women screaming and throwing out nasty words while saying them fast, that’s not music in my opinion. But I learned not to question him about many things, his rants would leave me with a headache afterwards, he always spoke too quickly which messed with my brain. He definitely wasn’t a very patient person and it showed in many ways.

I opened the fridge and took out everything I needed for lunch. I promised to make French fries for Jieun so that was the first thing I started working on. I washed the potatoes before peeling them and washing them again, then I placed them in a bowl and started cutting them up into long, thin, sticks. Without realizing, I found myself humming a ballad I heard a while ago while preparing the studio. It was a beautiful song about a man who regretted letting go of its lover, realizing too late what an amazing person this was. I could relate, almost, but it wasn’t me who broke up with Mingyu. He wanted us to break up, so I didn’t have much choice but to move on. Something I actually failed doing, only partially though.

I prepared the oil for the fries, placing it in a pan and putting it on the cooker, waiting for it to boil. I washed some vegetables and started cutting them, preparing a salad with some yoghurt and lemon dressing. I placed the first round of fries into the pan and hissed when some hot oil collided with the skin of my wrist, I always hated cooking with oil, that shit hurt when it burned you. As I moved around the kitchen, trying to find the salt that seemed to always be in a different cupboard, I became aware of the silence coming from the bathroom. Mingyu must have finished washing up, I strained my ears and was able to hear the Barbie movie still playing in the living room. I went back to the fridge and took out the meat that Joohyun placed there last night to defrost and took it to the chopping board. I took out the sharpest knife from the drawer bellow and started slicing up the meat into, somewhat, even pieces. I always found the cleaning and slicing of meat disgusting, nowadays, I didn’t even cook it anymore for myself. But Mingyu and Jieun really liked meat, and it seems like Joohyun had in mind to prepare it today, so I sacrificed myself to cooking it, not that it’s a big deal.

“Mhm, smells good in here,” The male voice made me flinch, I always get scared from the smallest things, “What are we cooking today?”

I heard shuffling from behind as Mingyu walked further inside the kitchen, his big feet thudding loudly against the marble floor.

“I’m cooking today.” I said as I proceeded to cut off the excess fat from the meat.

“You really don’t expect me to sit back and watch you cook?” Mingyu sounded amused and I knew I couldn’t really argue with him. He loved cooking and he was really good at it too.

“I mean, I wouldn’t mind…” I trailed off as I crouched down to open the cupboard and take out a bowl, “You know I don’t like people bothering me when I do something.”

“Yeah, and if it wasn’t for me, your first round of French fries would’ve turned into ashes.” I rolled my eyes as Mingyu took his position at the cooker, taking out the French fries and dumping them into a deep bowl.

“I was about to check it…” I muttered as I proceeded to season the meat, licking the mixture from my palm. It tasted fine but I needed to mix it better so I proceeded to do that.

“From what I can see, you do need an extra pair of hands here…” Mingyu muttered with a chuckle and I felt him passing behind me to wash his hands in the sink, “Not that I wouldn’t mind sitting and watching you move around—those pants really do their justice to your ass—”

“Kim Mingyu.” I snapped and rolled my eyes, refusing to look at him and let him see the redness of my cheeks. I swear to God, he says things like that on purpose just to make me flustered. And they always work.

“What? I’m just giving you a compliment here!” He said defensively and passed again behind my back, coming a lot closer and I clenched my jaw.

“Slap my ass and I will cut off your fingers.” I warned, knowing him well enough, and Mingyu started giggling as he quickly ran past me, coming to a stop in front of the cooker. He placed the second round of potatoes into the boiling oil, no complaints coming, unlike from me. His technique was always better. I licked my finger again and hummed contently, about to wash my hands when Mingyu spoke up.

“Let me taste it!” He whined and I rolled my eyes, heading for the sink.

“When it’s done.” I muttered as I turned on the water, hand almost underneath it, when a large hand gripped my wrist and raised it up.

“Mingyu—” I choked on air when he proceeded to such off the mixture from my middle finger, knocking all air out of my lungs. He hummed with his eyes closed, lips in a pout as he released my finger from his mouth. My heart went crazy and my jaw hung open, I shifted from one leg to the other, saliva pooling in my mouth. What the fuck?!

And then my eyes proceeded to travel lower and now I was definitely turned on, “What the fuck?!”

His eyebrows rose and he looked confused as he followed my eyes, which were currently on his well defined six pack. Jesus Christ, woman, as if you haven’t seen men with six packs before! Yeah, but those men weren’t Kim Mingyu…The hand he was still holding twitched and I snatched out of his hold, mustering up my most frightening glare as my eyes connected with his. It took a lot of power to punch his biceps instead of his, very firm looking and broad, chest.

“Go put on a shirt, Jesus, Jieun doesn’t need to see you shirtless.” I scolded him and quickly turned around and washed off the mixture, before he decided to lick my whole hand clean.

“I don’t see Jieun around though…” I could hear the smirk in Mingyu’s voice and I scoffed as I rolled my eyes aggressively.

“Here or not, go put on a shirt, dickhead, no one is curious of your body. This isn’t the gym, Mingyu.” I muttered aggressively, avoiding to look at him as I reached for the towel to dry my hands, knowing well if I looked at him my eyes would be drawn to his chest instead of his face. I tensed and groaned in annoyance when Mingyu’s front was suddenly pressed up against my back, his warm enveloping mine. I hate how easily he could tease me and how easy it is to make me react; how easy it was for him to play around. I knew he only teased me because he lived for my reactions, but deep down I always hoped it was because there were still some lingering feelings for me. Maybe not, he broke up with me, after all.

“You left the water running, Y/N,” He muttered, voice low as he was so close, his breath tickled my exposed shoulder and I tried not to cover away, “Joohyun and Wonwoo won’t be too happy when their bill comes.”

“Yeah, well, how about you learn what personal space is?!” I snapped as I placed the towel down forcefully, wanting to turn around but knowing I couldn’t resist looking at his toned body, I stayed put instead.

“And miss all the reactions you give me?” He giggled as he placed his chin on my shoulder, making me sigh out loud, “That would be a total waste of my time.”

“And a lot of saving of my energy—your potatoes will turn into ash soon, so how about you move?” I raised my elbow and let it collide with his abdomen, not too harshly though. Mingyu giggled again and suddenly a new voice rang through the kitchen.

“Uncle, you’ve finished showering!” I panicked as I didn’t want Jieun to see us like this, she would tell her mom everything and I didn’t want Joohyun and Wonwoo smirking at us the next time we’ll have dinner together, “Why didn’t you tell me you’re cooking?”

Jieun was pouting and I hissed when Mingyu did nothing to move, looking at Jieun with a smug smile, “I want to help too!”

“Sure, sweetie, uncle was about to make some sandwiches, do you want to help?” Mingyu cooed at Jieun and I elbowed him again, harder this time, to make him step back. He groaned in pain and finally put distance between our bodies, when suddenly I felt teeth sinking into my shoulder.

“What the fuck?!” I couldn’t help but cry out and turn around sharply to slap a smirking Mingyu. I started back at him wide eyed as he started cackling, unphased by my slap to his side this time.

“Uncle will go and put on a shirt if he wants to live.” I said with a forced smile as I gave Mingyu a look, eyebrows raising at him, “Or do I have to make you wear one? Like a little kid?”

“Oh, bae, I can do that fine on my own.” He laughed as he walked to the table, where his grey shirt, with a deep V, was thrown down on.

“What is fuck?” Jieun asked, eyebrows furrowed, and my eyes widened as Mingyu started hollering with laughter again.

“Yeah, auntie, what is fuck?” Mingyu smirked once he was able to speak, hid laughter having died down, “I’m really curious too.”

I glared at both Mingyu and Jieun, placing my arms on my hips as I took a deep breath, “A very ugly word that only adults can use, alright?”

“Well, that’s unfortunate for you, Jieun.” Mingyu said with a shrug as he went to take the bread.

Jieun stuck her tongue out at Mingyu and I smirked as I walked towards the oven to take out the roasting tray, “I said adults, Mingyu.”

Jieun started giggling loudly and Mingyu threw me a glare as he paused slicing up the bread for the sandwiches he planned on making.

“Hand me some ham, cheese, tomatoes and lettuce, Jieunie.” Mingyu asked the little girl, watching me still as I stuck my tongue out at him before I started placing the meat into the roasting tray. Jieun pulled a chair to the fridge, climbed on it and started taking out the items Mingyu asked for.

“Thank you.” He thanked her when she waltzed back to him, grinning at Mingyu as she sat at the table, chin in her palms. I grinned at Jieun, she looked really cute. I quickly remembered the French fries and placed another round into the boiling oil, making me hiss when it went on my skin, again.

“You okay, auntie?” Jieun muttered as she threw me a glance, her eyes going back to Mingyu, who was assembling the sandwiches now.

“Yes, yes, don’t worry.” I smiled towards the girl before turning up the heat in the oven and placing the meat inside. I turned around and leaned against the counter and watched Mingyu work. His back was a bit hunched as he is very tall, his muscles flexing from time to time as he used his hands to make the sandwiches and he kept making faces at Jieun. He beaconed her over and let her place the round tomatoes into each sandwich, poking her nose and praising her once she was done. I sighed and checked on the potatoes again, stirring them a bit around.

“I have an awesome idea,” Mingyu spoke up, canines showing from how big his smile was, “Let’s have a picnic!”

“A picnic!” Jieun exclaimed, jumping up from her seat, “Auntie! We are having a picnic!”

I chuckled and nodded my head, looking at Mingyu with an impressed smile, “Seems like we are having a picnic!”

“I’m having a picnic with my favorite auntie and uncle!” Jieun shouted as she ran out into the hallway, “I will go and change! I want to wear something pretty!”

Mingyu and I laughed quietly as Jieun ran up the stairs, her feet thudding loudly upstairs as she went to her room to get changed. My eyes fell back on Mingyu, he was already looking at me, and he smiled warmly. I returned it and before I turned around, he sent a wink. I winked back and shook my head as I went to open the cupboards, looking for a tablecloth.

“I’ll prepare what we need for the picnic.” I informed Mingyu and he hummed.

“I’ll finish the rest of the potatoes, how long until the meat is done?”

“Forty-five more minutes.” I said after I glanced at my wristwatch, going around the kitchen to get the plates, utensils’ and what we else we needed.

       When forty-five minutes were up, the three of us went outside in the little garden behind the house. It was a good day, the sun high up in the sky with a few clouds here and there, and it was warm enough that you could wear a tank top and a cardigan over it. Spring was always a season I enjoyed the most. The pleasure of seeing everything bloom to life once again brought great joy for me. Taking walks in parks while the trees and grass turn once again green is a certain satisfaction you understand only if you experience it.

Meanwhile Mingyu prepared a few more dishes with Jieun’s help, I placed a blanket onto the grass and started carrying outside plates, utensils, glasses, apple juice and the food that was prepared, one by one. Jieun bounced around me the whole time, talking loudly and quickly as she told Mingyu to hurry up and bring the meat out so that we could start eating.

“Jieun,” I spoke up, looking up from my kneeling position on the blanket, “Go put on your denim jacket, sweetie, you might catch a cold in a simple t-shirt.”

“Do I have to?” She whined, lips jutting out and eyebrows furrowing.

“Yes, you do.” I gave her a look that she knew she couldn’t argue with, so she rose to her feet and ran back inside almost crashing into Mingyu when he appeared in the doorway.

“Woah, chipmunk!” He exclaimed, clutching the plate close to his chest, “We almost lost the meat!”

I giggled and shook my head at Mingyu, his eyebrows were furrowed as he turned around to shout back inside the house, making sure Jieun heard him. I sat down on the blanket, sighing out as I massaged my sore knees, I kneeled for too long.

“Stop being dramatic and bring that here.” I said when Mingyu turned back around, shaking his head in displeasure, exiting the house, “You hang out too much with Jeonghan.”

“I don’t,” He scoffed as he handed me the plate before taking a seat on the blanket, “I haven’t seen him in three weeks.”

“Oh no, did he finally ditch you?” I teased with a grin and Mingyu rolled his eyes.

“You wish, he’s my most loyal client!” Mingyu exclaimed, a proud smirk on his lips.

“Is he becoming as buff as you are?” I found myself asking absentmindedly, hating that I was confessing to having checked him out many times. It’s not my fault, his body is eye catching. The whole existence of Kim Mingyu is eye catching. You’d be a fool to be in a room and not notice him, his sole presence is powerful and like a magnet.

“Oh, so I’m buff?” I rolled my eyes as Jieun came running out the house.

“Yeah, whatever,” I muttered, smiling when Jieun plopped down next to me, “Ready to have lunch?”

“This is the best day of my life!” Jieun screeched and I chuckled, poking her cute cheek. Mingyu giggled quietly, grabbing a plate and starting to put various foods on it. Jieun watched him eagerly and so did I, failing to notice the fond smile on my lips.

“This one is for the princess,” He deepened his voice and did a little bow as he handed Jieun the plate, “From your loyal servant, Kim Mingyu.”

“No!” Jieun giggled, taking the plate excitedly, “You are uncle Mingyu! Not my servant!”

“Let me spoil you for a second, Jieun…” Mingyu said with a sigh, grabbing another plate. I handed Jieun her fork, she still struggled with her chopsticks, and placed a napkin on her lap.

“Don’t stain your pretty skirt, okay?” I asked and brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

“Don’t pressure her, Y/N,” Mingyu shot me a look, “Don’t worry about that, Jieunie, just eat freely!”

“You really do spoil her too much…” I chuckled, leaning forward to grab a plate but Mingyu slapped my hand away, “No wonder Joohyun complains about you.”

“She does?!” Mingyu made an offended sound and I watched as the, now, plate full of food was handed at me.

“Thank you.” I muttered with a smile, suddenly feeling shy at the look he was giving me. I looked away and turned my head quickly, reaching for my chopsticks. Mingyu remained quiet and I could feel him still looking at me but Jieun spoke up.

“The French fries are so good!” She exclaimed, making a ‘mm’ sound as she stuffed her mouth with more, “You cook better than mommy and daddy!”

“We do?” I asked with a laugh, glancing at Mingyu, who was smiling smugly.

“Of course, we do!” He gave me a look, “You’re sitting next to Korea’s biggest chef!”

“You wish.” I snorted meanwhile Jieun started giggling, shooting finger guns at Mingyu who winked back at her. It was heartwarming to see Mingyu and Jieun interact, their personalities were weirdly quite similar. Except, Mingyu was acting like a child sometimes as an adult and Jieun was still a child, she had an excuse. I liked spending my time with the two, I felt refreshed and full of positive energy afterwards. Even Mingyu’s teasing could feel pleasant after a long and tiring day at the studio.

“How’s the studio going?” My ears perked up when Mingyu spoke up, eyes on me.

“Oh, pretty well,” I said after swallowing, “The exposition is going well, I wish I was there…”

“Yeah, sorry,” Mingyu scratched his chin, shooting me an apologetic smile, “I thought I wouldn’t be able to come look after Jieun today, that’s why I told Joohyun to ask you. I had three more clients that were supposed to come in but Jeonghan is apparently sick, the other pulled a muscle two days ago and can barely walk and well the third one—I forgot.”

“You always forget things, uncle…” Jieun said with a giggle, dipping her French fry into ketchup. I leaned over the bowls placed in front of me on the blanket and grabbed the one with the salad.

“You have to eat vegetables to stay healthy, Jieun, not just junk food.” I said as I pushed a bit of the salad on Jieun’s plate, making her scrunch up her nose in disgust.

“You’re like dad, ew.” She muttered, shooting me a cute glare. I giggled and put the bowl down, turning towards Mingyu.

“I get it, don’t worry…” I reassured him with a smile, eating more of the meat from my plate, “I just worked so hard for this exposition and—you know Vernon and Minghao! They always find something to disagree on and to be honest, I hope they can keep it together at least until the event is over…”

Mingyu’s eyebrows furrowed as he nodded in understanding and he placed his right hand on my thigh, giving it a small squeeze, “Don’t worry, Vernon and Minghao know how much this means to you. And, besides, they would be jeopardizing themselves too if they fuck up, so…maybe that’ll make you sleep better at night—”

I started laughing, loudly, as I squeezed my eyes shut the food still in my mouth. Mingyu paused talking and his eyebrows were raised as he exchanged glances with a confused looking Jieun. It made me laugh more and I had to place my plate down and swallow carefully, my body rocking with laughter.

“Uh—I’m sure what I said wasn’t that funny—” And then Jieun started laughing too and I couldn’t help it but laugh harder. Jieun was clapping her hands excessively as she kept pointing her finger at Mingyu’s face, unable to say much.

“Un—uncle—you—” I tried to take deep breaths and calm down. Mingyu’s confused face turned into an angry expression, plate sitting on his thigh, as he crossed his arms in front of broad chest.

“What.” He snapped, eyes falling on me now that I stopped laughing.

“You—” I took a deep breath, calming my racing heart and clutching my stomach, “Have salad stuck between your front teeth, I’m sorry—”

I started giggling again and Mingyu’s eyes widened as he started chuckling, sticking his finger in his mouth to take care of the stray salad stuck between his teeth.

“Ew, uncle!” Jieun screeched, closing her eyes, “Cover your mouth when you do that!”

“Yeah, did your parents never teach you that’s disgusting?” I threw him a disgusted look and Mingyu grinned once he cleaned his teeth.

“You dared to laugh, at me,” He pointed at himself, straightening his back, “The great, Kim Mingyu?”

“Please…” I rolled my eyes with a scoff and gave Jieun a look, a look she returned with an amused grin.

“You shall face the punishment now!” I scoffed again and Mingyu leaned over the food and started poking Jieun’s sides, making her laugh again. She swatted at his fingers, throwing him a glare when he stopped.

“That’s not funny…” She muttered to herself as she resumed eating and I chuckled about to eat as well, when I felt a jab in my side.

“You don’t want to do this, Kim Mingyu,” I warned him, pointing a chopstick at him, “We both know you are more ticklish…”

“A punishment is a punishment, bae.” I rolled my eyes at the nickname but of course, Mingyu quickly started tickling my side and I started jabbing him with my chopstick wherever I could.

“Fight, fight, fight!” Jieun started chanting playfully and I huffed as I caught Mingyu’s wrist and stopped him.

“Seriously, don’t.” He pouted and pulled his arm back, throwing me a glance.

“You’re no fun.”

“Do you want me to tickle you?” I raised my eyebrows, wriggling my fingers when Mingyu glared.

“No.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Halfway through the meal, Jieun said she had enough and got up and ran to the little swing they had for her in the garden. Mingyu and I remained on the blanket, splitting what Jieun left on her plate and eating that too. Once we were finished, I poured him some apple juice, then for myself, and we drank it quietly while watching Jieun run around. I chuckled when she started playing with a small butterfly flying by, handing my cup to Mingyu when he asked for it. He gathered our plates, the bowls of food and put them on the far end of the blanket, away from us so that it wouldn’t bother us. Mingyu was leaning back on his forearms as his eyes followed Jieun around, a fond smile on his lips. I sighed and glanced at him, my eyes falling on the black camera resting by his thigh.

“How’s that business going?” I spoke, getting Mingyu’s attention. He followed my vision of line and nodded his head lightly.

“Pretty well,” He said, picking up the camera in his hands, “I’m collaborating with a high school currently, so I’m taking graduation pictures of their seniors.”

My lips formed an ‘O’ shape and I gave him a smirk, “You must be pretty famous around that high school.”

Mingyu chuckled and nodded his head, “Can’t say I’m not, Y/N.”

“Right, can’t remember a time you weren’t famous…” I trailed off, the two of us sharing a knowing look. Mingyu nodded solemnly and then raised his camera, turning it on.

“Two weeks ago, I had a wedding, that one was a big hit, made a lot of money!” He said with a grin, looking into his camera as he pointed it up towards the sky. I looked up and saw the sky was covered with more clouds now, but the sun was still shining brightly.

“I wanted to ask you to come to our studio for today, but Vernon and Minghao apparently booked a really famous photographer so, you know…I didn’t want to say no to them…”

“Yeah, that’s fine!” Mingyu shrugged and started grinning as he took pictures of Jieun, “Your events are way too prestigious, I might have turned down your offer either way.”

“No, you wouldn’t have, Mingyu.” I chuckled, raising my eyebrows and making him glance at me.

“You sound so sure…why not?”

“Because it’s me asking.” Mingyu’s finger paused mid-air and he gulped before nodding his head wordlessly. It’s moments like this one that give me hope, hope that he still feels something for me. Even if it’s been five years. It was enough time for us to get over the other, but having to spend so much time together again made me realize that I wasn’t even far from being over him. Maybe it’s the memories we share, the time spent together, the pleasant moments, the hardships or the person I shaped into while being with him, but it was really hard to look at him and not feel something more than just platonic feelings. It came as a shock after we finished high school to find out that Joohyun and Wonwoo have been dating for two years in secret. No one ever saw it coming, they never left any hints for us to pick up on, it just seemed like they got along due to Mingyu and I dating and always being together. Turns out, they were dating too at the same time with us, except their relationship worked out. And I couldn’t have been happier, they were perfect for each other and they blessed us with little Jieun, the sweetest kid. When Jieun turned two, Joohyun and Wonwoo decided to get married and tie the knot for a lifetime. I was a little jealous when we got the news of their marriage, I always thought I’d be the one to get married first as Joohyun was closed off and wasn’t ever interested in dating or having a family. I guess it was just a matter of time and person.

My eyes widened when the camera made a sound, this time directed at me. Mingyu was grinning as he kept snapping picture after picture and I raised my middle finger at him while sticking my tongue out.

“Hey!” He gave me a glare before turning the camera back to Jieun, snapping a picture of her as she was playing with the flowers, making a crown for herself, “Look at this!”

Mingyu’s canines showed again as his grin spread bigger, he scooted closer, “Joohyun will love this shot!”

It was a close up of Jieun, she was crouched down with yellow flowers in her hands, her dark hair falling around her shoulders and lips in a soft pout. I smiled and looked at Mingyu, “Why don’t you drop the gym and turn into a professional photographer? You are so talented.”

“Y/N,” He gave me a grin and a scoff, as if I already knew the answer, “You know photography is just a hobby for me—”

“Doesn’t it pay better than that smelly gym you work at?” I interrupted him with my eyebrows raised. He chuckled and shook his head as he turned around to take more pictures of the nature.

“Smelly or not, I really like working there…” He muttered and Jieun shrieked, alerting us.

“Jieun?” I asked loudly, eyebrows raised when she turned around, she was holding something brown between her fingers.

“It’s a caterpillar!” She exclaimed excitedly, waving the small animal between her fingers.

“Say hi and put it back into the earth, okay?” I called back and Mingyu snorted as he looked up from his camera.

“This one goes for Wonwoo…” He grinned to himself, looking at me, “His daughter ain’t a pussy like your sister—”

“Mingyu!” I threw him a glare and punched his arm, “Irene hates every little insect, you know that. It’s not her fault—”

“It technically is though.” He gave me a pouty look and I snorted and shook my head. I extended my arms over my head and stretched, hearing the camera go off again, before laying down on the blanket. I groaned loudly as the tension eased from my lower back and I relaxed into the earth, closing my eyes to breathe in deeply the warm air. It was tranquil, the moment felt nice, Jieun’s laughter and chatter faded nicely into the background. I let my muscles relax and enjoy the moment of calmness, that is until weight was dumped on me. I yelped loudly, eyes opening and muscles tensing as I went to sit up but Mingyu’s hand pushed me back down.

“Don’t get up!” He exclaimed, eyebrows furrowed, “Why’d you move?!”

I threw him a glare as I watched him whine more, pushing his ass against my pelvis and sitting on me.

“Mingyu, I don’t know if anyone has made you aware of this, but you are heavy!” I exclaimed again, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

“I won’t get off until you give me the same expression you did a few seconds ago—”

“How can I do that when a man is literally crushing me?” I raised my eyebrows and Mingyu scoffed, pushing up onto his knees but still straddling me.

“Happy?”

“Not until you completely get off.” I gave him a sweet smile and Mingyu threw me a glare as Jieun’s loud laughter came from behind him.

“Why are you sitting on auntie?” She asked giggling.

“Good question, Jieun, I think he wants to crush auntie—”

“I was just trying to take a picture of auntie, Jieun, but she’s stubborn and wants to upset me.” Mingyu said pouting, giving Jieun a sad look.

“Well, hurry up auntie then, I want to go inside—I’m tired.” Just as she finished speaking, she yawned and pouted.

“Five more minutes and we go take a nap, okay?” I smiled at Jieun and she nodded before running back to the swing. I looked back up at Mingyu and gulped as I stared into his eyes, the butterflies in my stomach kicking off.

“Make it quick, okay?” I sighed out and closed my eyes, willing my body to relax and let go. Forget that Mingyu is straddling me and dangling his camera in my face like all those times when we were still dating. The camera went off and so did my heart, it started beating faster and faster as all the memories swam in my mind tauntingly.

The basketball court was full of students as everyone was in recess. I was sitting with my friends on a bench underneath a tree to hide from the blazing sun as we all ate our lunch and gazed out onto the field, where the basketball team was shooting around. All guys were tall, the team consisted of mostly juniors and seniors, but Yuto, a guy my age, made it into the team due to his height.

“Ah!” Yuna exclaimed next to me, eyes following a boy, “Look at Wonwoo! He’s so handsome!”

“He’s a good player…” I muttered as I finished up my lunch.

“He could be the worst and I’d still love him!” Yuna mused and the rest of our friends agreed with her. I rolled my eyes when someone from behind us scoffed.

“So, you only watch the basketball team because the players are handsome?” The voice was sharp and I rolled my eyes, turning to face my sister.

“You’re still moody?” I asked her and she shook her head, coming to stand in front of me and blocking my view of the field.

“No, I passed my chemistry test, I’m feeling better.” She gave me a wide grin and extended her arm. She was holding a small cartoon of chocolate milk and my eyes lit up.

“Unnie!” I gave her a big grin and stood up to give her a brief hug, “Thank you!”

“Yeah, mom told me you forgot to pack one.”

“You’re the best.” Joohyun chuckled and pinched my cheek aggressively.

“You only say that when I give you something or do something for you—”

“Joohyun—” My friends shrieked and both Joohyun and I jumped as a ball hit my sister’s back. She hissed and turned sharply, the ball bouncing on the ground.

“Joohyun—” My friends started but Wonwoo running over shut them up quickly.

“Are you okay?” His deep voice was laced with worry and Joohyun glared the boy down. She was a lot shorter but her gaze could always make her seem powerful and scary. She leaned down wordlessly and picked the basketball up.

“Be careful next time, Wonwoo.” Her voice was soft, a contrast to the look on her face.

“Sorry, Joohyun.” Wonwoo bowed his head a bit, hands extending to take the ball from my sister. She glanced down at the ball before handing it over, their hands brushing against each other and small smiles appearing on their faces. The snap of a camera distracted me from throwing a suspicious look at the two in front of me. A tall guy, taller than Wonwoo, was holding up a camera to his left eye as he grinned.

“Yah! Kim Mingyu!” I exclaimed, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

“Yah! Bae Y/N!” He imitated my voice, pushing his lips out into an exaggerated pout.

“I don’t look like that!” I snapped at him with a glare as Mingyu walked closer.

“Yes, you do.” He taunted, the camera hanging at his side. Wonwoo and Joohyun chuckled behind me and I glanced back to see them lost in their own conversation.

“Stop pouting, you’re too cute.” Mingyu cooed and I punched his bicep as he started leaning down.

“Why do you keep taking pictures of me—” My words got muffled when Mingyu pressed a small kiss against my lips, a smile appearing on my lips.

“What were you complaining about?” He whispered as he pulled back just a little bit, making my smile widen.

“Nothing.” I muttered and as I went to press another kiss against his lips, his camera went off again. My eyes snapped open to find Mingyu giggling as he was looking down at the picture he took, cheeks rosy.

“Yah! Kim Mingyu!” I exclaimed and raised my arm to punch his arm again but he suddenly jumped back. He stuck his tongue out and I glared at him.

“You two are so immature.” I heard Wonwoo saying from behind me.

“He won’t stop taking pictures of me!” I snapped, watching as Mingyu was slowly raising his camera up again, “Don’t you dare—”

Snap. Oh, that’s it, he asked for it. I took off running towards him but Mingyu just giggled loudly and took off too, running ahead of me.

“You can’t catch me!” He shouted as he turned his head before running faster.

“Screw your long legs!” I shouted after him as I chased him around the basketball field, underneath the blazing sun.

“I love you!” He shouted while trying to take more pictures of me, almost falling when he tripped on a rock.

“You’re an idiot!” I screamed after him, laughing when he almost fell, “I love you!”

“I know you do!” He winked cockily and slowed his running, making me think I’d finally catch up. But when he was in arms reach, he sped up again while cackling evilly. I let out a frustrated cry and continued chasing him, unphased by the looks the students were giving us.

The click of the camera brought me back to the present and I opened my eyes to find Mingyu with his eyebrows raised and a small smile on his lips. His personality didn’t change much since high school but his looks did. It’s not like that mattered much, I didn’t like him for his looks, it was his personality that drew me in at first. His looks were just a plus.

“I want to go in!” Jieun came running to us, whining loudly.

“We are going.” I smiled at her as she looked down at me with a pout and I looked up at Mingyu with raised eyebrows. He blinked and looked at me for a second before he realized he was straddling me, so he got off and helped me off the blanket as well.

“Can you please clean up? I have a Yoga class in half an hour.” I said after looking at my wrist watch.

“And Jieun?” Mingyu asked as he started gathering the things we gathered on the blanket.

“I’ll put her to sleep, don’t worry about her.” I gave Jieun a smile and crouched down, opening my arms, “Do you want auntie to carry you to your room?”

“Yes!” Jieun exclaimed, her droopy eyes widening as she climbed into my arms quickly. I patted her back and walked inside the house, towards her room upstairs.

        Jieun took longer than I expected to fall asleep, leaving me ten minutes to get ready for my Yoga class. I closed her door carefully after drawing her curtains closed and raced into the master bedroom, opening Joohyun’s closet. We go to Yoga class twice a week together so I have my clothes here, in case, I don’t have time to go home from the studio. We were supposed to go together today but since I had to be at the studio, we decided to postpone it. Thankfully, our Yoga instructor does online classes in the afternoon for those who couldn’t attend it in the morning. I quickly got dressed in my olive khaki green leggings and matching sports bra, rushing downstairs quietly, to Joohyun’s study room, where we kept our mattresses. She had enough space in her office, so I decided to lay out the Yoga mat underneath the window and quickly turned on her laptop, logging onto the platform of my instructor. In the big rush, I forgot to close the door and I could hear Mingyu coming and going from the garden, bringing everything inside like I asked him to do. I pulled my hair in a low ponytail and took a comfortable seat on the mat as the instructor started the class.

“Good afternoon!” She greeted with a big smile on her lips, her voice raspy but honey-like, “Good to see some familiar faces around; Y/N…”

I smiled and turned on the microphone, “Nice to see you! Joohyun and I couldn’t make it in the morning, we were both busy.”

“Is she not joining us today?” The instructor asked as more cameras got turned on, there was a total of ten people in today’s class.

“No, she’s not at home, at the moment.” I answered her and as the backdoor was closed, loud singing rang through the hallway. Mingyu’s deep voice bounced around the quiet house and my eyes widened as I quickly shut off my microphone, embarrassed when I saw some ladies smiling through their cameras. I glanced out in the hallway as Mingyu passed by the office, unaware that I was inside, as he bobbed his head to his own rhythm while he continued singing. Did he forget I put Jieun to sleep? He’s going to wake her up. But before I could quickly go and shut him up and close the door to the office, our instructor alerted us that we were starting the session.

“I prepared a relaxing Yoga sequence for today, a thirteen-minute-long practice,” She said with a smile as we took a comfortable seat in Lotus pose, “It’s the middle of the week, but we might be feeling burned out a little bit. I know that I do!”

I chuckled as I straightened my back, aligning head over heart, and heart over pelvis, “You can turn on your microphones as we are about to take deep breaths together, let us hear each other.”

I quickly reached over and turned on the microphone, as did the other ladies, whom I were familiar with from other classes, “Good, now let’s take five deep breaths in, tuck your chins, straighten your backs and close your eyes, empty your mind.”

I did as I was told, willing my muscles to relax as everyone took deep five breaths, emptying our lungs out loudly. It was a relaxing motion and it always helped me focus on the task I was about to do, my mind was a buzzing place 24/7. But my tranquil moment ended when Mingyu’s voice rose a few octaves and he started sputtering words after words. I opened one eye to see if the others could hear him as well, but upon seeing no reaction, I quickly closed my eye and took one more deep breath to relax again.

“Let us stretch our side bodies now.” With eyes open, I followed the instructor, breathing deeply still, “This is a great moment to take a step back from your busy lives and reflect on yourselves. Get lost in the silence and the guidance of my voice, trust your bodies and meet me in a tabletop position.”

I smiled and slowly moved into the position, cracking my lower back in the process, “Let’s do three rounds of cat and cow now, everyone following their own rhythm. We are not here to rush today.”

Closing my eyes, I arched my back into a cow position, letting out a quiet sigh when a few vertebras popped, then starting from the tailbone, I curled up into a cat position. I did that two more times while breathing deep, hearing the other ladies do the same calmed my nerves a little bit. I got lost in my own world, finally, blocking out sounds from the outside that didn’t serve me in this moment.

“On your next breath in, bring your big toes together and widen your knees as big as your mat, then meet me in extended child’s pose, with active fingers.” The instructor spoke up, and we followed, “Let’s wake up the muscles in our upper backs while opening our heart space, okay?”

The skin of my lower back and upper back were getting a good stretch as I gently rocked from side to side at the hips, loosening up the tight joints, breathing deeply.

“Make your next inhale the longest breath you’ve taken all day long and, on your exhale, let go of everything that doesn’t serve you by using lion’s breath,” I filled my lungs with air to the brim and paused at the top for three second before sticking my tongue out, eyes looking at my third eye and letting all the air out, similar sighs coming through the laptop.

“Carefully moving, let’s meet in downward dog, but only proceed from a tabletop position.” I raised back into a tabletop position and carefully, knees bent and arms placed at a wide distance on the map, I raised into a downward dog position, heels coming down on the earth.

“Let’s pedal it out,” The instructor said, “Your heels don’t have to come down to the earth straight away, pedal them out first, feel your muscles stretch and when you did all that, grow heavy in your heels and come to a still position for three deep cleansing breaths.”

I moved my legs as if I was walking, in one place, pedaling them out and sighing out when my hamstrings got the stretch they so desperately needed. I ground my heels down and stilled my movements, taking deep breaths. As I took in my last set of deep breath, the floor creaked in the doorway and I opened my eyes, seeing Mingyu upside down from this position, standing in the doorway. His jaw was hung open but when we made eye-contact, a wide smirk spread on his lips.

“Damn,” He muttered as he leaned against the doorframe, “If you only had this ass back in high school too—”

I gasped as my cheeks flushed, the sudden laughter coming from the laptop making Mingyu jump. His eyes widened as he looked towards the screen, and as I lowered from the downward dog, I caught the faint tint of red on his cheeks. The ladies were still giggling, the instructor’s eyebrows raised curiously.

“Uh—I’m really sorry—he didn’t know my microphone was on—”

“Good evening, ladies,” Mingyu smiled charmingly, they could see him well through the camera, “Sorry for interrupting, I’ll quickly head out.”

“Now, now,” The instructor said with a chuckle as Mingyu slowly left, throwing me a smirk that made me glare at him, “We needed that laughter, didn’t we, ladies?”

There was a chorus of agreements and my cheeks flushed again as I chuckled in embarrassment, “Sorry, he’s—”

“A charming young man, indeed,” The instructor interrupted me with a small smile, “let’s try to focus once again though and repeat our downward dog before we proceed with our practice.”

And we did proceed with our relaxing practice, but the problem was I couldn’t relax with Mingyu continuously walking in and out of Irene’s study room and always whispering things at me. At first, he was asking for some books Wonwoo recommended him to read, then he took a seat on Irene’s couch and started reading out loud but in a whisper, meanwhile I kept throwing glares at him. Does he know he’s supposed to leave me alone? By the time the class took an end I wasn’t anywhere relaxed, instead I was angry and irritated. The practice was supposed to make me feel light and relaxed but due to Mingyu bothering me, it didn’t work out. When we were talking leisurely after we finished the practice, Mingyu dangled his head into the camera. The ladies started laughing again and he had a heartful conversation with my Yoga instructor, to which he even got an invitation to her class after he complained about his muscles being stiff after a long day at the gym. When we were saying our goodbye’s, a lady had the audacity to call Mingyu and I, a cute and playful couple, which I wanted to deny but before I could, Mingyu was nodding and thanking her making my heart pump quickly. Once the call was over, Mingyu sat back on the couch and I proceeded to roll up Irene’s mat and placed it back to its place, throwing a glare at a grinning Mingyu. My eyes fell on the book he tormented me with and I took it in my hand and whacked him over the head.

“Hey!” He exclaimed and started rubbing his head, “What are you doing?!”

“What are you doing?!” I snapped, crossing my arms in front of my chest, “I took the Yoga class to relax a little bit but thanks to you I just became more irritated!”

“You did?” He raised his eyebrows and I went to whack him again but he caught my arm and quickly jumped up, “Okay, okay, I get it! Sorry, I won’t do it next time!”

“Of course, you won’t. There’s no next time.” I rolled my eyes and let Mingyu take the book from me and place it back onto the shelf.

“What are you saying?” He asked with a chuckle, becoming amused when I sighed and looked at him expectantly, “I got an invitation to your instructor’s next class and I’m definitely not going to miss it—”

“Hell, no.” I snapped and turned around to leave the office, but not before opening the window to let fresh air in, “So that you torment me there too? No, thank you.”

“Come on! I won’t!” Mingyu whined as he followed after me, closing the door behind me, “I’ll take it seriously!”

“You won’t, I know you too well, Kim Mingyu.” I said with a snort as I started walking up the stairs, Mingyu still following close behind.

“Please?” He looked at me with puppy eyes when I glanced back, “I’ll let you drive me around, okay?”

“As if I want to do that.” I scoffed as I walked to the master bedroom to get my clothes before I head to shower.

“I know you do,” A smirk crossed Mingyu’s lips as he blocked my way, “I heard from Wonwoo you bought a new Mercedes, I just know you’re dying to show it off to me.”

“Am not.” I said with a scoff, biting my lip afterwards. Oh, and how right he is, I can’t wait to pick him up from work and drive him here, in my new light turquoise Mansory S-Class Cabriolet, the next time we are having dinner with Joohyun, Wonwoo, and Jieun.

“You do,” Mingyu cooed and I rolled my eyes as I side stepped him, heading out the bedroom and down the hall to the bathroom.

“Now, stay quiet and don’t wake Jieun, I want to shower.”

“Go, go,” Mingyu ushered me inside the bathroom, gripping the handle, “Relax now, since you couldn’t while doing Yoga.”

“Dickhead—” He cut me off by closing the door in my face and I could hear his giggles as he walked away, his footsteps still loud. I groaned and quickly put my hair in a bun, turning on the warm water in the shower stall. The bathroom upstairs was bigger and it was divided in two in such way that if someone was showering another person could still come in because you wouldn’t see them, as the shower stall was just behind the other wall.

       And there’s a reason why I usually avoid showering upstairs. It’s so big that the person won’t even hear the running water and often times would walk in, it happened with both Joohyun and Wonwoo while I showered, when they newly bought the house. Like I said, they still couldn’t see you, but the thought alone was enough to drive me away from showering upstairs and just using the downstairs shower. And that same thing happened while I was massaging an exfoliating soap onto my skin. The door opened and I heard feet thudding inside loudly.

“Jieun?” I called out, straining my ears to hear the person inside, “Did you have a nightmare and wake up? Mingyu is downstairs sweety, I’m showering, you can go to him—”

“Yeah,” My eyes widened at the male voice and I quickly turned around in the shower stall, making sure he didn’t already approach me, “Mingyu is upstairs, actually.”

“What the hell are you doing inside, Mingyu?!” I exclaimed, frozen as I listened closely, “I’m showering!”

“Uh, yeah, I know, you told me and I hear the water running—”

“What the fuck are you doing inside then?!” I exclaimed again, eyebrows furrowing when Mingyu cursed loudly.

“Fuck, I stubbed my toe!” He hissed and I scoffed as I quickly rinsed off the soap, “And I know, but I was bored downstairs alone…”

“So, you just come and intrude on a woman while she’s showering? Because that’s fine?” I snapped; eyebrows raised even if he couldn’t see me. I heard the toilet making sounds and realized Mingyu closed the lid and sat on top of it.

“Hey, don’t make me sound like a creep!”

“You are being a creep right now, though.” I pointed out as I took my regular, tropical scented, body lotion and spread it on my body.

“Okay, I’m sorry, I can’t even see anything, you know that, I just—” He let out a long sigh and my eyebrows raised as I paused.

“You just, what?” I asked curiously as I let the warm water wash off the body lotion.

“I was wondering, like, I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, actually, you know…” There was a pause as Mingyu cleared his throat before he continued, “Just…after we broke up, you know…did you date anyone else? Like, had a boyfriend, girlfriend, or something…”

My eyebrows furrowed at the odd question, not expecting it from Mingyu, we never talked about relationships or partners. We always stayed away from the topic that involved our personal lives for multiple reasons, so it was a surprise that he finally asked about it, especially when I was showering.

“I mean…” I let out a breath, standing underneath the warm water, “It’s been five years since we…broke up, so…yeah. I had…three…boyfriends.”

“Oh,” Mingyu sounded surprised and I grimaced waiting for him to continue speaking, “Yeah, I had a lot of flings during college, then a serious girlfriend that lasted for a year only, so…”

He chuckled, but I could hear he didn’t take it lightly, it bothered him that it didn’t work out. Something was bothering him still; I could hear it in his voice.

“Well, you know, I don’t know if Joohyun and Wonwoo talked about me and if they did and Wonwoo told you, but…” I took a deep breath and turned off the water, reaching for the long towel, “You pretty much broke my heart, no joke.”

Mingyu remained quiet as I placed the towel around my body and secured it tightly at my breasts, “I don’t blame you now, with this mentality, and I don’t hate you either anymore.”

We both chuckled at the same time and Mingyu sighed as we both stayed put where we were standing, “Honestly, I was a big dick back then. Breaking up with you because I wanted to get the whole college experience—I was a fucking idiot, to be honest.”

“You still are…” I muttered and Mingyu chuckled before he sighed again, “Actually…you know, how I was supposed to come with a plus one to my sister and Wonwoo’s wedding?”

“Yeah, and then you showed up with—”

“Minghao,” We said at the same time.

“Yeah, Minghao, and everyone was fucking confused from your family.” Mingyu continued talking, “Even Wonwoo…I still don’t get what the fuss was about.”

“I was supposed to come with my fiancé—”

“Fiancé?!” Mingyu choked out and I giggled, “You had a fiancé at the age of twenty-one, what the fuck?! And you didn’t tell me?!”

“We met when I was nineteen, actually, but back then I was kinda playing around with two guys, you know…still not over you, dickhead, but then him and I got closer and we got engaged three months before the wedding.” I explained, enjoying when Mingyu gasped.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know?” I asked with a chuckle, leaning my head against the wet tiles of the shower stall, “We realized we were too different? I don’t know, honestly, but I’m glad we broke up. I don’t think we were a good match.”

“Yeah, I’m glad too.” I scoffed and I heard shuffling, meaning Mingyu stood up, “Why did even Vernon show up at the wedding? He wasn’t even invited—”

“Two drunk calls from Minghao and I were enough to bring him around—”

“And then I had to drive the three of you home, yeah, I remember.” Mingyu didn’t sound amused and I started laughing.

“Well, if you were dumb enough to come by car and not with a cab like everyone else…”

“Yeah, whatever,” Mingyu scoffed and he cleared his throat again and hesitated to speak, “So, uhm, I was thinking…let’s go on a date?”

I blinked once and then twice and paused. Kim Mingyu was asking me on a date? Or was I hallucinating?

“I really should have waited after you finished showering, not seeing your face is frustrating.” He groaned to himself and I chuckled.

“To your information, I’m gaping right now,” Mingyu chuckled and I pursed my lips, “You want to go on a date with me?”

“Yeah, I think we are both mature enough to start things over, if we wanted to,” He sighed and I licked my lips, pushing off from the wall, “At least, I want to if you’re not against it.”

“Did spending your day with me make you nostalgic, Kim Mingyu?” I asked with a chuckle and he just hummed. I didn’t know how to feel. Did I still have feelings for him? Yes. Did he hurt me already once? Yes. But as he said, we are adults now, we view things differently now. I’m still unsure however.

“I can’t give you an answer right now,” I decided to be honest with him, he deserved it, “Give me time to think.”

He hummed quietly and I knew he wasn’t expecting that answer and he was disappointed, but he quickly spoke up, “I’ll go wake Jieun so that we can prepare dinner together.”

And he was out of the bathroom, leaving me alone with my conflicting thoughts. Did I want to go on a date with him? Yes. Was I afraid we wouldn’t work out anymore and I’d lose him forever? Yes.

        After Jieun woke up, the three of us went downstairs and prepared dinner together, spending a good hour in the kitchen. But it still wasn’t dinner time so we snuggled up on the couch in the living room and watched a family movie together, Mingyu bringing us a big blanket to keep us warm. Jieun was snuggled up into his side, putting Mingyu into the middle, and I threw him a curious glance when he kept shifting around, until his arm was around my shoulders and his body was leaning onto mine.

“It’s comfier.” He whispered, keeping his eyes on the TV and I shook my head before looking back towards the TV and feeling my cheeks heat up. It felt nice being snuggled up next to him, his warmth enveloping mine and creating a feeling of calmness and safety. If there was a feeling I missed after Mingyu left me, it was the safety I felt whenever I was with him. His bigger body and the way he carried himself and even interacted when he was with me made it obvious to me that he’d do anything to keep me safe and that I shouldn’t worry. So, in the middle of the movie I cleared my throat and glanced up at him to see him already looking down at me.

“Let’s go on that date.” I whispered quietly at him and instantly Mingyu was grinning from ear to ear, squeezing my shoulder tightly for a few seconds before he sighed out happily. I chuckled and placed a palm against his beating hart, cheeks flushing when I felt his quick pulse. A feeling of fulfilment filled my senses and I couldn’t help the smile spreading onto my own lips.

       After the movie was over, the moon was high up in the sky, and we headed to the kitchen to have dinner. Jieun excitedly told us stories about her encounters with other kids in kindergarten and how she kept tricking her nanny into giving her candy without her mom and dad knowing. Dinner was filled with giggles and Mingyu throwing me glances every few minutes, eyes warm and happy. Jieun even pointed it out at some point, asking us if we were hiding a secret or surprise from her. When we reassured her that no, we weren’t, she pouted and settled on finishing her dinner quietly while Mingyu and I conversed about what we did the one month we didn’t meet up, laughing at the memories we shared in high school when one brought it up randomly. After dinner, Jieun had a warm bubble bath and I braided her hair in two, helping her into her pajamas before Mingyu and I tucked her in bed. We were both sitting on each side of her bed, her bedside lap turned on and we chatted for a little while, until she fell asleep.

“You know,” Jieun muttered sleepily, her eyes already closed, “Uncle and auntie act just like dad and mommy. Will you have babies too? I’ll have someone to play with forever…”

Mingyu and I shared a look as I chuckled and leaned over Jieun, cradling her cheek, “Auntie and uncle aren’t like that, Jieun. There’s men and women who are just friends, who love each other but never make babies, because it’s not that kind of love, you know?”

“Don’t worry, Jieunie,” Mingyu leaned closer too, a devilish smirk crossing his lips, “Uncle will convince auntie to make babies so that you’ll have someone to play with, okay?”

Jieun’s eyes opened and she grinned widely as I threw Mingyu a glare, “Pinky promise?”

“Pinky promise!”

“Hey!” I exclaimed quietly as the two pinky promised in front of me with grins on their lips as if I wasn’t even there, “It’s not that easy to make babies—”

“We’ll figure it out.” Mingyu cut me off with a wink and I scoffed, leaning down and kissing Jieun’s cheek.

“Sweet dreams, angel.”

“Sweet dreams, chipmunk.” Jieun grinned as Mingyu pressed a quick kiss against her forehead and then we got up, turned off her bedside lamp and turned on her fairy lights. Quietly closing her door, we descended down the stairs and I could feel Mingyu smirking next to me, his hand continuously brushing against mine.

“Stop giving Jieun false hope, dickhead.” I snapped finally, making Mingyu giggled. He was expecting my reaction, as we walked back to the living room.

“I was being serious, Bae.” I groaned as Mingyu turned on the TV, putting on some random movie as we sat down on the couch, pulling the blanket over us again. We remained silent during the movie, enjoying the presence of the other, and my heart started racing when Mingyu interlaced his fingers with mine underneath the blanket and placed our hands on his thigh. I didn’t realize I wanted this until it happened, and I couldn’t be gladder. Because in this world, there was no one like Kim Mingyu, and he was mine.

My one and only true love.

[carryonthroughtheages]

Hello everyone!

Another year of Carry On Through The Ages is over and done! We have emotions and exhaustion, but we're so happy that this year had the hype and excitement that it did.

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, to all of the AMAZING creators who spent the last several months working away at their historical content!

Thank you also to the hard-working mods: @bazzybelle, @giishu, @palimpsessed, and @xivz . This fest would not have been as successful as it has been without you!

We encourage everyone to look under the page break for all the fics and art. They're all fantastic!

Here is the link to the AO3 Collection: Carry On Through The Ages 2021!

Thank you all, and until next year! 🧡🧡🧡

MONDAY:

1) sun on the sea (T) - @trenchcoat-moth : AO3 // Tumblr

Tensions run high in England, and Malcolm decides it's for the best he sends Baz to live with Fiona, where he'll be safer.

That is, until Baz's ship is attacked.

2) The Words I Long To Say (M) - @bazzybelle : AO3 // Tumblr

Simon Snow was dead.

Baz Pitch was sure of it. Simon had gone away seven years ago to fight a war in the jungle and he hadn't come home.

So, when Simon shows up in Baz's club, investigating a string of brutal murders, all Baz wants to do is hold him close and never let him go.

But these aren't the same boys from 1960 and Baz has a lot of processing to do before he's ready to believe in Simon again.

3) we are slaves to gods, whatever gods are (M) - @wellbelesbian : AO3 // Tumblr

I don’t fully understand what plagues him, but I know it’s bad, and I know it goes deeper than guilt. He didn’t want to kill his father, not really, but we were instructed to do so by Apollo. Cleanse the house of its sins, dispose of a murderer to set things right. It was only right that I join him; he was avenging my mother as much as his. Clearly, Apollo didn’t seem to consider that such an act would make Simon a murderer in his father’s place. It seems I got off fine, but as far as Simon is concerned, the vengeful spirits that once spun and danced on the roof of the palace now hunt him down, determined not to stop until he rids the world of himself.

4) World War II Era Art - @stardustasincocaine : Tumblr

TUESDAY:

1) the art of loving you (E) - @one-more-offbeat-anthem : AO3 // Tumblr

1955. London. Young love.

Forbidden love.

A year ago, starving artist Simon Snow met Baz Pitch, son of a wealthy art patron, at a party, and their days (and nights) together have been a wonderful secret.

But Simon is tired of being a secret and knows it's time for things to end.

(Baz has other ideas.)

2) Reliquary of an Arsonist (T) - @tea-brigade : AO3 // Tumblr

Simon Snow grew up a ward of Watford Abbey, but when his magic manifested in an explosive accident as a child, he became the Abbey’s anchorite—never to leave Watford’s walls, for his own protection. That is, until Abbot David sends him on an important errand…

Basilton Pitch paints portraits for his patron, Lord Grimm. But he’s never forgotten the magic he learned from his mother—nor the men who condemned her to death as a heretic. When Simon arrives and offers Baz a commission from Watford Abbey, he sees his chance to avenge his mother once and for all...and he’s willing to burn down everything in his path to that end.

But it was no coincidence that pulled these two unlikely souls together. Something more sinister is underway at Watford Abbey, and only Simon and Baz can uncover the truth before everything goes up in flames.

3) Westward Son (E) - @aristocratic-otter : AO3 // Tumblr

Simon and Baz have found each other again, but there's nowhere in Brooklyn or Virginia where they can safely be together. So now, they venture the hazards and struggles of the Oregon trail, to perhaps find a little homestead in Oregon of their own.

4) A Way Out (T) - @lying-on-the-sofa : AO3

I frown at him..“You don’t know me.”

He offers his hand. “Simon.”

Simon. I feel the name around in my mind and assign it to his face. Simon. I don’t shake his hand. They’ve still got my arms pinned. “Basilton.”

Simon nods at me. “Now we know each other. Let him go.” Very casually, he takes his other hand from behind his back. A sword, flashing. He leans on it and smiles invitingly. “Let him go.”

This time, they listen.

--

Simon Snow has been trained for years to become a tribute—one of the fighters Athens sends every ninth year into the Minotaur’s labyrinth. He wants to know the way out, if only for Penny’s sake. Luckily for him, Prince Basilton of Crete also wants a way out—off the island, where no one will know he’s the half-brother of the Minotaur.

Unluckily for both of them, they don’t exactly form the most agreeable pair.

WEDNESDAY

1) long is the road the leads me home (G) - @wellbelesbian : AO3 (Version 1) (Version 2) // Tumblr

Baz has a rather unremarkable life, and he's fine with that. Running his late mother's beloved inn with his temperamental aunt, estranged from his father and step-siblings, he's successfully convinced himself that he's better off without attachments.

Then Simon barrels into his life, guns blazing and rapier drawn, and Baz is swept up in dramatic plot he never bargained for.

Worse still, he finds he quite likes the thrill.

2) New Romantics (T) - @ninemagicks : AO3 // Tumblr

Basilton Pitch, twenty-two years old and a famed poet of the Romantic era, has fled to the countryside. In Mummers House, the fabled haunt of literary greats, he sulks himself into oblivion and awaits a sad, disappointing end to his brief years of brilliance. The cause of his downfall? None other than Simon Snow, the so-called “bad boy of English poetry”, breaker of rules and eternal thorn in his side. Baz hopes that Mummers House might mean an escape from London, from Snow and his increasingly virulent popularity... but the rain that comes has other ideas.

3) thnétos (T) - @snowybank : AO3 // Tumblr

thnétos: subject to death, mortal

a retelling of Apollo and Hyacinthus

4) A Medieval AU art piece - @thewriterxj : Tumblr

THURSDAY

1) From Eden (E) - @orange-peony : AO3 // Tumblr

I wonder if his skin is warm or cold to the touch. I tell myself it’s simple curiosity, that I’m an artist and capturing things on paper or canvas is my way to make sense of the world. That drawing him feels so natural, so I should just follow my instincts. Ebb used to say it all the time. Follow your heart. It knows where you’re supposed to go.

I wish I could. I wish I had enough money and freedom to just draw what I want. To paint him in his unattainable beauty. To draw him the way I want to. Naked and vulnerable, raw. Without frills and expensive suits.

Just Baz on paper, my fingers tracing his delicate and beautiful lines with simple charcoal.

2) Slings and Eros (M) - @palimpsessed : AO3 // Tumblr

Young god of love Simonides is tasked by his father, the god of war, to bring about the ruin of a mortal prince to punish his blasphemy. However, once Simonides sees his intended victim, he begins to have misgivings. Prince Tyrannus might have offended the gods with his very existence, but all Simonides can see is how beautiful and lonely he is.

Or, a very loose interpretation of the Eros and Psyche myth.

3) I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire (M) - @knitbelove : AO3 // Tumblr

September 1940: Going back to Watford feels different this year, and not just because England is at the brink of war with Germany and Italy. Penelope seems unsettled by everything, and Agatha is distant, and Baz is … simply not here.

What if Carry On but during the Blitz?? Yeah.

4) A Fool's Oath (M) - @thewriterxj : AO3 // Tumblr

A simple soldier is invited to join the ranks of the royal guard. He and his appointed mage arrive at the royal city to find themselves at the mercy of an unmerciful court. As he struggles to find his place in this foreign environment, he also finds himself entranced by music that only he seems to hear that floats out about the city. He makes an oath to wed whoever makes such beautiful music.

Too bad that person is the crown prince.

FRIDAY

1) Stranger Tides (T) - @tea-brigade & @xivz : AO3 // Tumblr

“If some god shall wreck me in the wine-dark deep, even so I will endure…” Captain Simon Snow of the Chosen One is many things—cunning, handsome, ruthless. Greedy. It’s no surprise that Snow finds a way to piss off the God of the Sea, he always manages to get himself into some type of trouble. This time, however, he’s not the only one who will suffer the consequences. Poseidon promises to not stop his pursuit until Snow and all of his men are dead.

Enter Basilton Pitch—rich, beautiful, mysterious. Suspicious. He offers the crew of the Chosen One a hefty sum to take him back to Europe from the Caribbean. And who is Captain Snow to refuse so much coin? After all, Greek gods aren’t real.

Right?

2) The wayward heir [comic] (M) - @letraspal : AO3 // Tumblr

Like a folk song, our love will be passed on. Simon Snow wants to be an artist. He used to live in Fiesole where he worked in the wool shop of his good friend Ebeneza Petty. He has now chosen to return to his native Florence in order to participate in an art contest hosted by the Pitch family, the most important bankers in all the three continents and Simon’s last chance for an art patronage. No matter how much he hates them.

But being back in Florence also brings back the memories Simon wanted to leave behind : his days as an orphan, the mystery about his mother, and once more being under the inquisitive eyes of his godfather, the new archbishop Davy. The archbishop is very same man who would never forgive him for dropping out the priesthood and ruining his secret plans against the Pitches.

The last thing Simon needed was an unbearably handsome jerk getting him into trouble on his very first day in Florence. How can focus when this man is the most annoying person he has ever met and yet his major source of inspiration.

3) Prohibition Blues (T) - @heyyyandrea : AO3

Simon Snow is a baker and aspiring playwright in Prohibition Era New York City. When he meets a handsome man at Shepherd's speakeasy who is interested in his work, he can't help but think it feels too good to be true.

4) Earth Below & Sky Above (M) - @phoxphyre : AO3 // Tumblr

In the depth of the palace of King Minos of Crete lurks a creature known as the Minotaur.

Baz, prince of Athens and chosen of the god Poseidon, has heard the stories. And now he’s volunteered to come to Crete as one of the annual tributes—to dance with the king’s bulls and fulfill his destiny. He just wants to survive the bulls, protect his people, and go home.

But what if the Minotaur isn’t a monster—but just a boy? And what if instead of slaying him, Baz fell in love with him?

A Carry On retelling of the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, set in Bronze Age Crete.

5) A 1980s AU Art piece by @stardustasincocaine : Tumblr // Instagram (Slightly NSFW)

[flyinglotus777]

Netflix’s Squid Game

SPOILER ALERT! If you are interested in watching the series, I HIGHLY suggest you do so. This article will be an overall synopsis and my review of the show. For an in-depth analysis of the symbolism of the show and ending, scroll down to the fourth to last paragraph.

The Netflix show, “Squid Game,” written and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk is a phenomenal Korean drama centered around our victor, Seong Gi-hun, played by Lee Jung-jae. Contestants were recruited to play in a life or death competition due to their lack of luck, financial knowledge, and influx of impending debt they have accumulated throughout their lives. We first meet Gi-hun as he is down on his luck. Living with his elderly, overworked mother (which in countries outside of the United States is not strange nor uncommon) Gi-hun was a friend to gambling, but that toxic love caused him to be in debt to a gang of (what seemed to be) loan sharks. When luck finally strikes him on the race track, life simultaneously decides to take an excrement on his reality. His debt seekers catch him on his hot streak and involuntarily sign him up to be a participant in the Squid Game.

Similar to many other of the 456 participants, they all shared a common denominator of being in situations it seemed only money could fix. Upon arrival the contestants were asked to voluntarily sign wavers in order to participate in the game, while unknowingly risking their lives, for the opportunity to win 456 billion won (which would be roughly over $3.5 million in US currency). The challenges were mostly based on nostalgic childhood games, both based in the United States and South Korea.

Now I knew due to the explanation in the introduction of episode one that if any player were to lose, they would die. So during the first challenge of red light green light, when players were bulletly penalized for losing I was not surprised. After the game, the players decided to rally together and quit playing. The influence of the cash prize split the decision down the middle, leaving the old man, player 1, to be the final decision. To my surprise he actually chose to decline, freeing all of the players. During the voting, many players screamed at each other as to why they would choose to stay in the hell hole as other players responded that the outside world was not any better if not the same as the harsh environment they were already in. This reality struck many contestants as they returned back to their reality of debt, dependents, and for some bounty hunts, thus resulting in them returning to the game.

During the whole season, I was trying to find the purpose of these games. We knew why the participants felt motivated to play, but I wondered what was the purpose of having them fight for their lives in the first place. When the PlayStation faced soldiers forced the doctor (player 111) to dissect the bodies for organs to sell at the black market, at first I thought that it was what the original game maker wanted which I thought was genius. Soon to learn that it was actually a violation to a code of equality that was placed inside the arena applying to all of those who existed, soldiers and participants alike. Which struck me as odd due to the soldiers being able to tote guns and wear masks based on their own hierarchy and the participants being collectively isolated and given numbers as if it was a remake of the Stanford Prison experiment. Nonetheless many soldiers faced the same fate as the players, and my pondering would meet the solution come the finale.

Let’s discuss players. I only favored Gi-hun because he was the protagonist, but throughout the story he grew on me as his big heart prevailed through the madness. I knew Choo Sang-woo, the embezzling business man and hometown friend of Gi-hun played by Park Hae-soo, was a psychopath when I saw him in a fully filled bathtub with his suit on. Running from the police, in debt or not, that’s just as much of a red flag for serial killer tendencies as sleeping with socks on or having too thin and highly arched eyebrows. The episode that he crossed Ali, the father of one from Pakistan with the missing fingers, made me hate Sang-woo for the rest of the series. I was infuriated and frustrated with Ali for being that naïve to believe that they could escape the round as a duo, but understood his perspective since up until that point Sang-woo was a dependable, trusted ally to Ali. However after that episode I didn’t care who won, I was just ready for Sang-woo to die.

Kang Sae-byeok, the skeptical and beautiful warrior from North Korea played by Jung Ho-yeon, deserves her own paragraph. Along with her beauty, her presence and demeanor was so bad ass. She was thrifty and intelligent, as her talent being pick pocketing. I was waiting for her to just be so bad ass. As the punk disguised to be gangster, Jang Deok-su, pushed her around which seemed to be normal behavior between the two, I was ready for Sae-byeok to twist his arm, send a plunging round house kick to his nuts, and cut his snake tattoo right off of his face. Although her exterior was tough, her heart was made of malleable gold which we got to see as she opened up to her female companion during the marble challenge and sobbed from her loss afterwards. Although she was not the killer bad ass queen I had wanted her to be, I still call her a warrior because of her resiliency throughout life’s and the game’s many obstacles and her drive to provide her younger brother with a better life.

Thankfully Deok-su got what he deserved as Han Mi-nyeo poetically decided to take both of their lives during the glass challenge. “You said we would be together till the end,” she said before diving into her inevitable death with her short lived lover. Mi-nyeo was incredibly annoying as I would often pinch the inside corners of my eyes and scratch my eyebrows when she would appear. However that crazy bitch served justice, and I love her for that.

I was highly disappointed by the demise of the detective Hwang Jun-ho, played by the handsome Wi Ha-joon. I was rooting for detective Jun-ho, as I’m sure we all were, on his pursuit to find his brother. I was not surprised that his brother was Front Man, as I had suspected that his brother must’ve died or been apart of the game making due to his absence in real life and the current game. After discovering his brother was the victor of his year, to me it only made sense that he would be apart of the game enforcement. As we saw from Gi-hun, a normal life is impossible to live after experiencing something so traumatic as a series of death ridden children games. However I was saddened and surprised that detective Jun-ho was unsuccessful in closing down the whole operation. I mean the man was close to performing forced, aristocratic fellatio in the name of serving and protecting the law. I truly thought because he had gotten so far and was so close to exposing the operation that the only choice he had was to be successful. At last he was shot and killed by his own blood, the one he had been looking for; providing us with a cinematic and heart jerking ending to detective Jun-ho.

Lastly lets discuss the old man, player 001 named O Yeong-su, whom I also nicknamed Poppy during the series. Deceivingly innocent and weak, I genuinely liked Yeong-su throughout the game play. I thoroughly enjoyed his relationship with Gi-hun and saw him as a valuable player in most instances. I believe he was one of the main reasons that Gi-hun continued to lead with his heart. Gi-hun claimed that Yeong-su was the reason he returned to the games and later found out that Yeong-su was the reason there were games in the first place. The climatic episode of the marble challenge was when their relationship had been defined as “gganbu” (which is a term for trusted, close friends in Korean, as explained in the series), thus Yeong-su establishing a special place in Gi-hun’s heart. During the challenge, Yeong-su begins to have an episode of what we all assumed to be dementia as the arena they are playing in is designed like his old neighborhood and he abandons the game to take a trip down memory lane. Gi-hun screams in frustration at the old man to play with him only to end up losing in their even and odd game and resulting in deceit, tricking the old man to let him be the victor. Now if I was Gi-hun, I would’ve convinced Yeong-su to let me hold his marbles for safe keeping and let him have a fun time reminiscing on his life while he ran down the clock. Then when it was time, I would’ve turned in all 20 marbles just as Sang-woo did and went about my business. It would’ve only been right for the old man to forfeit as he was already on his death bed, or so we innocently thought. Before I get into the ending, I want to talk about the last match between Sang-woo and Gi-hun.

Finally, the last game to see who would be victorious in a highly anticipated game of Squid between Gi-hun and Sang-woo. It seemed as if it were a battle between good vs evil; Gi-hun representing a more benevolent side as he would often optimistically look to help other competitors and extend the kindness he had been shown versus Sang-woo who represented a more vindictive and ruthless side, determined to hurt anyone in order to receive his highly coveted and long awaited prize in an arena that erased any foundation of morals or ethics as soon as the light turned red. Luck was on Gi-hun’s side as he had the opportunity to play offense. With a cunning mind and a vengeance for Sae-byeok’s death, Gi-hun delivered a can of whoop ass to his opponent. As the saying goes, the good shall always prevail. Perhaps his heart was too pure as Gi-hun halted from crossing the finish line and offered Sang-woo a chance to live, thus forfeiting the prize money. Needless to say, I applauded when Sang-woo committed suicide as it was the only right thing to do in his position.

A year passed by and Gi-hun seemed worse than before. Physically his style was bummy wealthy, a look pioneered by Bill Gates, but mentally he was in shambles. How could you blame him? Gi-hun discovered that the responsible party for these horrendous events was none other than his ggangbu, old man Yeong-su. The biggest, jaw dropping plot twist of the entire series. As they were joined on Christmas Eve and Yeong-su on his death bed, they placed one final bet on an assumed to be drunken, homeless man who sat on the streets as it snowed and waited for help to arrive. Yeong-su explained how he actually wanted to help people and give his money to people who needed it, but wanted to do it in an “entertaining way.” As Gi-hun flared with outrage towards the old man for finding amusement in killing people, the old man rebutted using horse races as an example of people’s amusement. Yeong-su also said he participated in the games because it was more fun to play than to be a spectator, which I had noticed him treating the competition as if it were adult summer camp. I had just assumed since he was old, he didn’t care if he had died or not.

I think most people will think that this show was a metaphor about how money and rich people are evil. However I think it can be seen as commentary on society as a whole, not just the wealthy. Yeong-su says on his death bed that it’s a test of humanity, and asks Gi-hun if he still has faith in humanity after what he has experienced. Although money was the luring motivator to win the game, people still chose to return to the competition to escape their problems. Sure, money was apart of their problems as all of the players (excluding Yeong-su) were in debt, but that was due to choices that they had made. Whether it had been through embezzling, gambling, lack of luck, or financial ignorance, it was the people who had gotten themselves into those situations. Money doesn’t have a personal vendetta against anyone nor does it have an inherent quality of good or evil. Money is a neutral energy used to be exchanged for goods and services. It’s people who designate that energy to their humane or inhumane desires.

Leading to the next point of the wealthy and how they are seen to be evil due to having wealth. Although I do believe that there are some wealthy people who act as villains, money didn’t create the villain inside of them. Those people were going to behave maliciously whether they have money or not. The VIPs, who were spectating the finale of challenges, were tied to a bank devoted to the wealthy and gambled on the competitors who played (and most likely helped subsidize the events). We place judgement on them, but as Yeong-su said, people gamble on horse races. Although people are not animals and by my knowledge I don’t believe most or any horses die during these races, it is still the principle of watching an entity being tortured for amusement, which is not only confined to the wealthy population. When the concept of killing and tormenting living breathing beings for amusement is normalized within society, the lines begin to blur on who is okay to perform and who is not. Take the audience of this show for example, we all watched a show where hundreds of people were mercilessly killed for the desire of winning a cash prize for our own amusement, thus making “Squid Game” the number one show on Netflix at the moment. Although the show is fictional and brilliantly written, this Hunger Games concept is not new. We come in contact again and again with the idea of people who are disadvantaged given an opportunity to better their lives through inhumane means, including risking their own lives or actively sacrificing the life of another, and being spectators on the edge of our seats who can’t seem to look away. It is no different than a Roman gladiator match in a grand colosseum, which in modern day would be a MMA fight at the MGM hotel. We blame it on the rich who are ridiculed for creating these events, but at the end of the day it is the people, rich,poor, and everyone in between, who continue to still go along with it and to some extent desire it. Which makes me question, what does that say about humanity, and do I actually have faith in us? Although Gi-hun went through hell and back, he still remained pure of heart and used his wealth to enhance his life and those around him; proving that wealthy people can still be benevolent and desire righteous good. Similar to Gi-hun, the optimist in me wants to believe that there are still people in this world with good hearts, but I guess we just have to wait until the time comes to see.

Ultimately the show was phenomenal, and definitely sparked a desire inside of me to watch more Korean dramas. I don’t think the show will have a second season. Simply because I think the story line would be better cut off there, thus leaving the audience always wanting more. However if season 2 ever comes out, I’m ready for Gi-hun to take a Liam Neeson approach to ending the Squid Game and hopefully with a beard. Thank you for reading my article. I know it was incredibly lengthy. I have just finished the season after a 2 day binge watch, and have a lot of emotions and thoughts ruminating in my brain. Let me know what you think of the show and what you think of the article. Did anyone else notice the paintings of the games on the walls of the dormitory?

God bless.