#whose most romantic time of the day is the 10 minutes they manage to grab together in the cafeteria

[redheadgleek]

Me picking up a book: oooo, the main character is a neurosurgery resident? This will be great!

Me: wait, why are you calling this a "brain surgery" residency?

Me: wait, why isn't she commiserating with her friend about early mornings? She's going to have to be at the hospital by 5!

Me: she's a second year resident. Internship is only one year.

Me: a fifth year is not a chief resident. Not in neurosurgery.

[lilysdaydreams]

“But we’re happy (and that’s all that matters)”

Synopsis:

“Taehyung called them the least romantic couple in the world.

otherwise known as five times the boys thought that they were the least romantic couple in the world and the one time Namjoon knew they weren't. ”

A/N : I wrote this a while ago and since I’m going to be getting back into writing, I decided to post it here. I hope you enjoy 💛 (I’m posting from my phone so the formatting might suck sorry)

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

Taehyung called them the least romantic couple in the world.

1

At 11.00 pm on a Tuesday night, the seven members of Bangtan were all sitting in a circle in the middle of their living room. “Descendents of the Sun” was paused on the TV and Namjoon rolled his eyes when they fell upon it. Taehyung was once again mourning the breaking up of the song-song couple for the 8th time that year. Taking a deep breath, he turned his attention back to the boys sitting in a circle. Namjoon had called a group meeting 10 minutes ago on their kakao chat, saying that he had “something important” to discuss. Most of the boys were in the living room so they only had to wait for Hoseok to finish showering and now it had been exactly 1 minute and 43 seconds of absolute silence.

Jin finally broke the silence, looking up from his phone and aiming an exasperated look at Namjoon. “What is it?” He demanded, putting the phone into his pocket.

Namjoon clenched and unclenched his hands for something to do. He wasn't that nervous, he knew none of the boys would have huge reactions or hate them or anything but it was still a little nerve racking.

“Um, I have something to tell you” he finally managed to get out. A cough from his side made him look up into Yoongi's face, whose eyebrows had ridden up in question. Oh right.

“Sorry. Um, we have something to tell you” he said pointing to Yoongi and himself. Yoongi moved slightly closer to him, not touching but close enough that his presence managed to somewhat calm Namjoon down.

Looking around the circle, he could see Jungkook’s confusion and Tahyung, who was leaning on Jimin, looking between them with calculating eyes.

With a deep breath, he decided to just blurt it out.

“Yoongi and I are dating.”

There were a few seconds of silence and then,

“Huh” said Hoseok, leaning back onto the leg of the couch and flickering his eyes between them both. “I don’t see it’

That broke the rest of the boys out of their shock and suddenly all of them were talking at once.

“What? No way!” yelled Jimin, his eyebrows raised high. At his side, Jungkook simply cocked his head as if he was confused as to how this could happen. Taehyung had stuttered over “w-wait what?” as Jin had started laughing and then stopped when he realised they were being serious.

5 minutes later, Hoseok was still muttering about “how he just didn't see it”

Namjoon furrowed his brows. “What do you mean, you dont “see it”” he said making his fingers into bunny ears to emphasize the words.

“I mean, you're not that affectionate y'know. I’ve never seen you and Yoongi hug or cuddle, not like Jimin and Jungkook do at least.” He muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

Nmajoon shrugged, “It’s not like being affectionate is the most important part of relationships. We respect each others space and we know that we’re there for each other. If you think about it, showing love through grand gestures is mostly for the societies benefit. Most of the time couples only do big romantic gestures because they have this pressure on them to be romantic and to show that they're in love, which is even more highlighted due to the amount of romance dramas and sho - “

Jin threw a pillow at Namjoons head, effectively getting him to shut up.

And that was that.

2

Namjoon rolled his shoulders and groaned as the sound of cracking bones filled the studio. It was 4 in the morning and his eyes were struggling to stay open. Deciding to call it a day, he rolled his chair over to the couch where Jungkook was laying half on the couch and half on the floor. A kick to the shin and the half that was on the couch had also fallen on the floor.

“Get up, let's go home” Namjoon mumbled, shaking his legs to get rid of the pins and needles. Jungkook groaned and started stuffing the papers on the table into his backpack. He had been here for the past 4 hours with Namjoon, trying to finish the song he had been stuck on for a few weeks now.

They ran the five minute walk from the studio to the dorm, arriving in 3 minutes instead. The warm air enveloped them and Jungkook immediately went into the kitchen to rummage for food.

“Hey hyung” said Namjoon to Yoongi, slipping into the armchair closest to him and grabbing the blanket on the floor. The scene was extremely similar to the one in the studio. Yoongi was sitting on the floor, with scrunched papers all around him and a pen in his mouth. Grunting in response to Namjoons greeting, he rolled his shoulders and rested his head back onto the couch.

“You know, I don't get it.”

Namjoon tilted his head back to look at Jungkook, who was holding half a banana and staring at them both in confusion.

“Don't get what?” muttered Yoongi, starting to gather the papers around him.

“It's been three months since you guys came out about you dating, and I have never seen you hold hands!” said Jungkook, his voice getting higher at the end.

Namjoon exchanged a bewildered look with Yoongi.

“Are you like just shy? Or do you just never wanna hold each others hands?” he said furrowing his brows.

“Well” Namjoon began hesitantly, “What's the point?”

When Jungkook continued to stare at him, he hastily added “I don't need to hold his hand to show everyone we’re in a relationship.”

“That's not the point! It's not marking each other or something, it's just wanting to be near each other because you love each other.”

Yoongi grunted from where he was putting all the papers in the bin. “We’re in the same room. And we literally live together. We’re practically together 24/7.”

Jungkook groaned and stalked off to his room, muttering about stupid idiots and how he shouldnt have bothered.

3

They don’t kiss hello or goodbye. They don't cuddle much either and are perfectly happy to ignore each others presence for a few hours.

“Why are you even together?” Jimin demanded after spending a week sharing a hotel room with them. They had come to shoot a magazine cover, just the three of them, for their upcoming collaboration, and the company had just booked a bg suite for all three of them.

“What’re you on about?” yawned Yoongi as he took another sip of his coffee. Namjoon stood up to grab him another one as he saw Yoongi throw the plastic cup in the bin. He could probably make decaf so that Yoongi wouldn't be up the whole night.

“For all the romance you have, you might as well go back to being friends. You can sit in the same room and sit in silence without needing to be in a relationship.” Jimin continued, drinking his protein shake from the straw. It was green and had black dots in it and Namjoon was gagging just looking at it.

“Cmon Jimin” he muttered, trying to find the sugar in the cupboard.

“No, I'm serious!” countered Jimin. “You sit on the sofa, Yoongi's at his desk and you don't speak to each other for hours - you may as well be alone, not in love. I swear, I haven't seen you kiss all week. Are you sure you want to be in a relationship? I'm speaking as a friend, I don't want you to sell yourself short, or just be in a relationship because it's convenient.”

Two pairs of eyes glared at him as if daring him to keep going.

“You’re an idiot” said Namjoon exasperatedly, placing the coffee cup by Yoongi as he walked by and slumping onto the sofa. “How would I get any work done if all I did was hug and kiss Yoongi. How would he be able to compose if I just held his hand all the time?”

“Oh forget it, you're both hopeless.” Jimin muttered, turning back to his phone.

Namjoons phone pinged a second later, lighting up with a new message.

MIN : i can literally taste the difference between decaf and caf, youre not subtle.

Namjoon smiled.

4

“Are you just like, really kinky in bed?”

Yoongi choked on a piece of watermelon, tears automatically coming to his eyes. Thumping him on the back, Namjoon glared at Jin from over Yoongi's shoulder.

“What the fuck?” He hissed at Jin, as Yoongi caught his breath and started to also glare at Jin.

“Don't swear at me, I'm your hyung.” Jin retroted without any heat and then took another bite of his ice cream tub. They were supposed to be on a diet but Jin had decided that he would just go to the gym and burn extra calories in the morning. Yoongi and Namjoon had both exchanged a look at that. The excuse had been used the past 3 days and Jin hadn't even made it to the elevator in the mornings.

“I mean, your sex life has to be really kinky right? You're so vanilla in front us, I bet you’re freaks in th -” Two cushions smacked him in the face causing him to drop the ice cream tub and then scrambel to pick it up so it didn't drip on the carpet.

“Yah!” he wailed as he picked up the tub and started fussing over it, forgetting about Yoongi and Namjoon.

5

They don't celebrate Valentines Day.

A few days earlier, Taehyung and Yoongi had been sitting in the living room. Yoongi was on his phone and when Taehyung had called out a tentative “Hyung?” he had looked up and raised his eyebrows at him.

“What are you getting Namjoon hyung for valentines?” he had asked more excitedly, now knowing that he wasn’t annoying Yoongi.

Yoongi's eyebrows furrowed for a second. “Nothing,” he said, turning back to his phone. “We don't celebrate Valentines Day”

“Why?” asked Taheyung, a pout clear on his face. How could they not celebrate Valentine's Day? It was the day of love and romance and couples practically lived for it.

Waving a hand, Yoongi just muttered “ask Namjoon”, already sucked back into whatever game he was playing.

5 minutes later, Taehyung regretted asking at all.

“Valentine's Day is simply a consumer oriented holiday that puts pressure on couples and their relationships. It's a capitalistic holiday that signifies that material goods are more important than emotio -”

+ 1

(Despite what Jungkook had seen or not, they do hold hands. When the Grammy nominations come out, they hold hands under the table, intertwined in such a way that Namjoon can't tell which fingers are his. Jimin might think they don't kiss, but he isn't there at one in the morning, when Yoongi's lips press lightly over Namjoons. They press on one cheek and then the other and then on his nose, his eyes, and finally a soft kiss, placed on his forehead, with Yoogni breathing out the words “I love you” before he settles down to sleep next to him. They tell Jin that whatever they do in the bedroom, is no ones business except their own. In truth though, they don't do much that would be interesting for him. They make love, Namjoon being gentle and caring and repeating “I love you” at least 50 times throughout the entire ordeal. They don't celebrate Valentines day, but they do celebrate their anniversary. Yoongi sneaks him out to the convenience store and they get banana milk and sit at the edge of the curb, their sides pressed against each other, speaking in whispers. They smile as they remember being here one year earlier, promising to themselves to try.)

Taehyung called them the least romantic couple on earth.

Namjoon knew he was wrong.

[jilyyall]

Animal Magnetism - Ch 12. Humans and Vampires.

Edward Cullen was not a normal teenager; of that I was certain. But knowing that did nothing to stop the pull I felt towards him. And if what he was saying was any indication, he felt some strange pull towards me, too. It was like we were magnets struggling against hope to stay apart. I only wondered what would happen when we inevitably collided.

Chapter 12. Humans and Vampires. FANFICTION.NET / AO3 Intro/1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/

I was surprised when my parents didn't immediately jump to demand information from me when I finally managed to drag myself inside after my date with Edward. Charlie just asked if I had a nice time and Renee only grinned like I'd never done anything to make her so happy as when I said that yes, I did have a nice time with Edward. I knew they had seen us kissing in his car, and again on the porch just a second before, but they didn't say anything, and they didn't protest when I excused myself to take a shower.

Renee was sitting on my bed when I walked into my room wearing my bathrobe, my hair wrapped up in a towel piled high on my head. I stopped in the door and stared at her. It was clear from the wide, excited smile on her face just what she wanted.

"Mom," I groaned and shook my head. "Please, no."

"Oh, come on! Talk to me! I'm dying here! You've never dated before, so we've never really talked boys!" She was practically whining, and she slapped her palms down gently on her bent knees. Then, she smiled again and waggled her eyebrows. "He's really cute."

I sighed and stepped further inside, closing the door behind me as I headed for the closet. "Yeah, I've noticed."

"So? Tell me about him!" she demanded. I heard my bedsprings creak as she shifted.

And this was why I didn't want to talk about it. What was I supposed to tell her? "Well, what do you want to know?"

"Everything!" she exclaimed.

"Mom, I hardly know everything about him," I told her. I bit my lip, my back to her while I pretended to take a while deciding which pajamas to wear. I decided to offer her some half-truths. "He's seventeen. His uncle, Dr. Cullen, adopted him after his parents died when he was younger. He plays piano, and he's really close with his family."

"Yeah, your dad was telling me about that arrangement. What's the deal with all the kids?" she asked.

"Um, Emmett and Alice are siblings, and they're Edward's cousins. Dr. Cullen's brother and sister and their spouses all died in a car accident when he was just finishing up medical school and he and his wife ended up taking them in and adopting them. Alice and Edward are the same age; Emmett's a year older. Rosalie and Jasper are twins – they're the same age as Emmett – and their parents were friends with Mrs. Cullen when they died a couple years ago. Dr. and Mrs. Cullen decided to foster them because they were friends with Emmett, Alice and Edward."

That was the story Edward told me they were going with this time around, anyway. I was sure that, if pressed for more details, all of them would have them at the ready.

"Dr. Cullen is the one who checked you over when you were involved in that accident, right?" When I nodded, her eyes went wide. "He does not look old enough to have five teenagers."

"Maybe he has a really good skincare routine," I suggested. When she raised her brow at me, I shrugged. "I think he and Mrs. Cullen are in their early thirties. It seems like they're doing a good job."

"Yeah, well… Edward does seem very nice," Renee said. "So, tell me how this all started!"

Well, he kind of got obsessed with the idea of getting to know me when he realized I was the one person whose mind he couldn't read, and then he used his inhuman strength and speed to save my life from that van a few months ago, remember? And then I became obsessed with trying to figure out his secret. Turns out, he's a vampire and he likes me and I like him and now we're just kind of obsessed with each other!

"We sit together in Biology," I said. "He's really smart."

"Was it love at first sight?" Renee sighed romantically.

"Not hardly." I bit my lip and snorted, remembered the murder in his eyes at lunch that first day. At her inquisitive look, I sighed and came up with a quick lie. "Um. He used to work alone until I came along, and he liked it that way. So he didn't really like me at first."

"But then he realized you were really smart and he started to like you?" she said, sounding almost giddy at the idea.

"Yeah, something like that," I said, and held up my pajamas. "Um, do you mind? I want to get dressed."

Instead of leaving like I wanted her to – it was stressful having to heavily edit all of my answers – she closed her eyes, squeezing them dramatically tight. I sighed and quickly slid my robe off my shoulders and slipped into my t-shirt and shorts.

"Was that night in Port Angeles a date?" she asked shrewdly when I'd given her the go-ahead to open her eyes.

"No, not really," I said as I leaned against my desk and crossed my arms awkwardly over my chest. "Um. I kind of invited him along, but he was out with his family that weekend so he didn't think he could make it, but they got back early and he got there right in time for the movie."

"And he let you wear his jacket and he drove you home even though I'm sure Mike Newton wanted to drive you home," Renee added.

"Mike Newton is dating Jessica." I said his name as if it was a dirty word; after his latest attempt to ask me out I was still a little sensitive to people suggesting there was anything there. "And he's just a friend."

"I know that's how you feel," Renee said with a little laugh. "But I'm sure he wasn't too pleased when Edward drove you home."

I scowled, and then shook my head. "No… he wasn't. Mike really doesn't like Edward."

"I can't imagine why," she said sarcastically.

"Yeah, well, doesn't really matter why," I said with a small, uncomfortable shrug. I could just imagine what she would say if she found out about Tyler telling everyone he was taking me to prom.

"You like him, right?" Renee asked, but I figured it was purely for form. Wasn't it obvious how much I liked him? Hadn't she and Charlie seen us kissing when he brought me home? "Are you going out with him again?"

"Yeah, Mom. I like him a lot," I told her. "And yeah… actually, his sister convinced him to bring me over to their house tomorrow. He's going to introduce me to his family."

"Wow," she said, and she looked surprised. "That's a big deal."

I shrugged uncomfortably. "I mean… yeah, I guess. I think Alice is just really convincing."

"Alice is his sister?" When I nodded, she did as well. "It doesn't matter how convincing his sister is; he's the one who decided to go ahead and introduce you to his whole family. He must really like you, too."

I bit my lip and turned my back to her to hide my blush as I slowly unwound the towel from my hair. "Yeah, he does."

I grabbed my brush and my blow dryer and held them up. "Mom, I know you want to talk, but I'm really tired right now, and I just want to go to bed."

Truthfully, I was tired, but I knew I wouldn't be able to go sleep even if I tried. My day with Edward would be on repeat in my mind, and the anxiety I felt about going to his house tomorrow would likely keep me up most of the night anyway. But still, I wanted to be alone to really be able to think.

"Okay," Renee said with a small, hurt frown I wished I couldn't see.

"Love you," I said when she stood up.

"Love you, too," she said, and left the room.

The next day, I went downstairs about fifteen minutes before eleven to find that Renee had left to head down to her studio for a little while. I knew I had hurt her feelings by sending her away last night, but I didn't know how to fix it, not when I couldn't have the kind of heart to heart that she wanted.

"Edward Cullen, huh?" Charlie said as I quickly ate a sandwich; I didn't want to be hungry over at Edward's house even though it was likely that they already had food for me, if what he and Alice had packed for me the day before was any indication.

"Um, yeah," I said once I'd swallowed. I eyed him cautiously from my perch on the countertop near the sink. Charlie didn't do these kinds of conversations. Not like Renee did.

"Nice family," he said. He was sitting at the kitchen table, casual in a pair of worn jeans and a loose thermal, reading the newspaper.

"Yeah, well… I only really know him. I spoke to one of his sisters for like thirty seconds the other day at school," I told him. "Dr. Cullen cleared me of any head injuries, but I don't really think that counts."

"Should be alright," he said, and then repeated, "Nice family. Never had any trouble from them."

"Right. I'm sure it'll be fine," I said. He didn't truly understand; this wasn't like meeting a normal boy's family. I was meeting my vampire boyfriend's family, and they had every reason not to like me, not to trust me.

"Edward's nice, right?" he said after a moment, and I realized he had been staring blankly at the newspaper in front of him since I entered the kitchen.

"Yes, Dad." I smiled softly. "Edward's nice."

"Good," he said just as there was a knock at the door. He rolled his eyes, but there was a small smile on his lips when I jumped away from the counter. "Hey."

I stopped in the middle of the kitchen and wheeled to face him. "Yeah?"

"Have a good time," he said. "And call me if you need anything."

"Yeah, Dad," I said, and walked over to give him a kiss on the top of his head. "Thanks."

He looked surprised, but pleased, as I ran out of the kitchen and into the hall, grabbing my jacket as I swung the door open.

"Hi," I breathed, and just looked at him for a moment.

"Hello," he said, and I knew Charlie had no plans to come see us out when he stepped to me, wrapped his arms around me on the threshold, and breathed me in for a long moment before he kissed me. When he pulled back, he smiled at me. "Are you ready?"

"Um." I struggled to clear my mind. "Yeah."

"Let's go, then."

"Bye, Dad," I called over my shoulder as I pulled the door shut behind me and followed him to his car on the street.

"How did you sleep?" Edward asked as I buckled my seatbelt.

"Oh, you know. Okay, I guess," I lied. I'd barely slept at all, and I was sure he could see it in the shadows under my eyes. "I realized I don't even know where you live. My dad seems to have some idea, but… where are we going?"

"Our home is outside of Forks, north of the Calawah River," he told me. "Deep in the forest."

We drove for about fifteen minutes until all of the houses were behind us and the forest grew deeper and denser and greener on either side of the road. Then, he slowed the car to turn onto a barely visible unmarked dirt path. It was a long, winding, narrow path, just wide enough for one car to drive down. We were on it for another few minutes before the trees began to thin, and we drove up on what seemed to be a meadow, or a lawn given the house that sat there.

There were six primordial cedars that shaded an entire acre with their vast sweep of branches. The trees held their protective shadow right up to the walls of the house that rose among them, making obsolete the deep porch that wrapped around the first story.

It was beautiful, and graceful, and probably at least as old as Edward. It was painted a soft, faded white, three stories tall, rectangular and well proportioned. The windows and doors were either part of the original structure or a perfect restoration.

"Is it everything you expected?" Edward asked, smiling as he helped me, gaping, from the car.

"It's beautiful," I breathed, still struggling to take it all in. There was a garden, colorful and lovingly tended, that followed the curve of the porch.

"Esme has a passion for restoring old buildings," he told me as he led me up the steps and onto the sturdy wooden porch. "Also for interior design."

"Well, she really knows what she's doing," I said, making him laugh.

Edward's parents were standing in front of a winding staircase facing the door when we walked in. They looked as though they had been standing in wait for a very long time, but knowing what I knew, they could have flashed down there the second Edward's hand touched the door and I would never have been able to tell the difference.

Dr. Cullen was as handsome and as youthful as I remembered. His blond hair was as sleek as the day he'd confirmed I didn't have any head trauma, and his eyes were the same light honey as Edward's. It struck me how odd it was that the people of this town actually bought the Cullens' fabricated story; how was it that a man who didn't look even close to thirty could have adopted five teenagers? And how could that man, brilliant surgeon though was, young as he was supposed to be, afford a house like this with a wife and five grown children to support?

Esme Cullen was small – not quite as small as Alice, but roughly my height – and slender with softer features than any of her family. Her hair was the color of salted caramel just a couple of shades darker than her eyes, and tumbled over her shoulders in thick, graceful waves. She stood at her husband's side with a welcoming smile on her face, her hands clasped in front of her.

There was a slight flush in their nearly translucent skin and I wondered if the entire family had gone hunting so recently because of me. They both were smiling, but neither of them moved a muscle. I was certain they were wary of frightening me.

"Carlisle, Esme," Edward said, rubbing his thumb along the back of my hand soothingly. "This is Bella."

"Bella," Dr. Cullen said, inclining his head and moving forward slowly with his hand extended towards me, like he was approaching a flighty animal. "You're so welcome here."

"It's nice to see you again, Dr. Cullen," I said, stepping towards him and shaking his cold hand.

"Carlisle, please," he said with a pleased and almost surprised look on his face. Behind me, Edward laughed quietly in response to his thoughts.

"Carlisle," I repeated with an easy smile.

"Bella, I am so happy to finally know you," Esme said, giving me a handshake I would have described as nothing but warm, though her hands were as cold as Edward's and Carlisle's when she wrapped them both around my extended hand with a kind, reassuring smile. "You are such a blessing to us."

I wondered if Edward – or more likely Alice – had spoken of me often, or if she referred to the fact that he had been without a partner for the whole of his existence.

"Thank you." I felt my face flush at the high praise. "I'm very glad to meet you, too."

"Bella! I'm so happy you're here!" I turned to the staircase in time to see Alice race down it, quick as lightning, barely a streak to my eyes. She came to a sudden stop inches from me and pulled me into a firm hug. "I can't wait for us to have our girls' nights."

"Hi, Alice," I said, and returned the hug hesitantly. When a vegetarian vampire who insisted she would soon be your best friend hugged you, you hugged her back. "Girls' nights?"

"Yes, they're going to be so much fun." She was beaming at me when she pulled away. "Just the two of us hanging out when Edward goes to hunt!"

"Alice," Carlisle chastised quietly.

"Hush, it doesn't bother her!" Alice said without looking away from Edward and me.

"Because we're going to be best friends," I said helpfully. Carlisle and Esme looked dumbfounded while Alice grinned at me. "Edward mentioned it."

He was smirking when I glanced at him over my shoulder. I wondered whose thoughts were amusing to him, and why.

"Bella, this is Jasper," Edward said quietly.

I turned back to the staircase to find the tall blond at the top of the staircase. His eyes were the same well-fed shade of his family, but his strong jaw was tense and he was looking at me with uncertainty, like something about me just didn't make sense. Probably that I had willingly and knowingly walked into a house full of vampires.

Alice took several steps away from me and held her hand out to him. He walked slowly down the stairs and stood next to her, but made no move to touch me as the others had. He stood stiffly at Alice's side, and she threaded her arm through his.

"Hello, Bella," he said, and his voice was quite unlike any of the others'. It was still soft and melodic, but he spoke slowly in a long, drawn-out southern drawl. I remembered Edward saying he had been changed in Texas when he was a soldier in the Civil War. I wondered if he ever modulated his tone to fit in with the accents around him, of if he chose to keep this one small vestige of his human life with him forever. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hello, Jasper," I said, smiling shyly. The last time I had seen him, I'd bared my teeth at him, Emmett, and Rosalie because I was mad at Edward. "It's nice to meet you, too."

I felt Edward tense next to me and turned to see him facing Carlisle with a scowl, but I got the impression that he was upset with something Carlisle had silently told him rather than the man himself.

"Emmett and Rosalie are in the living room," Carlisle said quietly, and it was a shock to realize that he spoke it aloud only for my benefit.

"It'll be okay, Bella," Alice assured me; I must have looked nervous at the prospect of meeting Edward's even more intimidating siblings. She smiled jokingly, like we had some sort of inside joke. "They don't bite."

"Alice," Esme hissed, but I laughed and everyone but Edward and Alice looked surprised again.

"Thanks, Alice," I said. It was charming, and somehow comforting, that she didn't feel the need to walk on eggshells around me like I was some weak, frightened little human. I could easily see now how we would be best friends before long.

Edward took my hand again and led me down the hallway, past the staircase, past a doorway that led to what looked like an elegant sitting room, and over to a wide, open doorway. There was a huge TV on one wall, almost as large as a movie theatre screen, and the largest, plushest, butteriest-looking leather couch I had ever seen.

"This will be quick," Edward breathed in my ear, looking annoyed already just as I noticed Rosalie standing impatiently next to a large glass door leading out into the woods. Emmett was grinning at me from beside her.

"Hello," I said uncertainly.

"Hey, little mountain lion." Emmett waved cheerfully, and snickered at his own joke. "Get it, because you growled at us the other day, and mountain lion is Edward's favorite."

"Right," I said, heart hammering in my chest as my face flooded with heat. "Um. Sorry about that, by the way. I was, um, mad… at Edward."

I glanced sideways at him to find him watching me impassively. I shouldn't have been surprised to find him unsurprised. There was no way that none of his siblings had thought about it after it happened. At least he didn't look upset with me.

"Don't worry, Bella. It was great!" Emmett laughed. He didn't seem to mind one bit that Rosalie didn't look happy with him. "You are going to be one fierce little newborn."

"Emmett," Edward hissed, a low warning.

"You think so?" I said with another small, uncertain smile.

"Yes, let's all just joke around like this isn't incredibly irresponsible," Rosalie hissed.

"Rosalie," Edward growled, less of a warning and more of a threat.

"I've met her. Am I done?" Rosalie demanded, looking past us now like Edward and I weren't there. Shocked at her unbridled hostility, I looked over my shoulder to see that Esme had followed us and was frowning at her daughter, a look of pure maternal disapproval on her angelic face.

Without waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and threw the door open so violently that I expected the glass to shatter, but it must have been made of something stronger because it remained intact. She stalked out and, in seconds, disappeared into the trees behind the house.

"Don't take it personally, Bella. She's working through some personal hang-ups," Emmett said with a small, concerned frown as he looked after Rosalie. He looked at me and smiled reassuringly. "I'd better go after her. I'll see you later."

"I'm sorry, Bella," Esme said once the door had shut softly behind Emmett; it was funny to see someone as large as him be so gentle after Rosalie had almost demolished it. "Maybe it would have been better if I hadn't convinced her to stay."

"It's okay," I said, though Rosalie's hatred of me left me almost as shaken as Edward's initial reaction to me had. "Emmett seems nice."

"Emmett finds you interesting," Edward told me and I barely noticed as Esme slipped away again. "Rosalie is… well, Emmett's right. Don't take it personally. She'll come around eventually, according to Alice."

I wondered if eventually was in the next year or after a few decades. It could have been either, considering Alice had seen me as one of them.

"So," I said, changing the subject before I could think too much about it. "Mountain lion."

Edward smiled ruefully. "We all have our personal preferences. Emmett's is bear."

"I can see that, actually." I nodded, and then frowned. "Didn't you say Emmett was being mauled to death by a bear when Rosalie found him?"

"Why do you think he likes them so much?" he responded. "Come on, I'll give you a tour."

He led me through the living room and into a kitchen that made my heart sing. I could just imagine cooking here, with the top of the line stainless steel appliances. I eyed Edward. "This is a nice kitchen for a family of vampires who don't eat."

"We like to keep up appearances," Edward said.

"Right." I nodded sarcastically. "For all of your human guests."

"You never know," he said, and walked to the refrigerator. "Would you like something to eat or drink?"

I looked over his shoulder, astounded by the sheer amount of food and variety of drink I saw. The fridge itself was nearly twice the size of the one in my parents' small kitchen, and it was almost overflowing. "Why on earth do you guys have all of this?"

"Appearances," Edward said again. "Esme goes to the grocery store once a week so the humans don't get suspicious. We donate it all… she only went yesterday."

When he still held the door open, looking at me expectantly, I shook my head. "Oh. No, I'm fine. Thank you."

He shut the door and led me back out of the kitchen, gesturing to doors as we passed. "The laundry room. The garage; you won't find that interesting. This is a bathroom. This is Carlisle and Esme's bedroom. This is the room where we monitor our finances… Alice and Jasper do most of the work there; they enjoy it more than the rest of us, though we each have our own private investments and accounts."

I stopped by the front door, pointing to an inconspicuous metal pad I hadn't noticed before. "What's this?"

"Oh, that's a safety precaution," he told me. "We can activate heavy metal shudders to cover all of the windows and doors. If any humans come along unannounced when the sun is high. Or when we move along."

He led me up the stairs to the second floor. "Jasper's study. Alice's bedroom. Rosalie and Emmett's room. Another bathroom."

And up to the third floor.

"This is the library. Carlisle mainly uses it as a study," Edward said as we passed a solid oak door. He paused, and lifted his hand to knock. "You'll enjoy this, actually."

"Come in." Carlisle's soft, soothing voice called; Edward was already pulling me inside before the first word was out. He was sitting at a large oak desk with a thick medical tome open in front of him. "To what do I owe the honor?"

"I'm sorry, we didn't mean to interrupt." I stood, feeling incredibly shy, at Edward's side as Carlisle rose to greet us.

"Not at all," he said, rounding the desk and leaning against the front of it, hands behind him bracing his body against the wood as he faced us openly. "What can I do for you?"

"Bella has an interest in our family history. I told her some," Edward said, "but I hoped you might feel like sharing your history with her."

Carlisle looked at me and smiled indulgently. "I would be happy to."

Reacting to something in Carlisle's thoughts, I was sure, or just because he knew the story so well himself, Edward spun me around to face the door we had come through – this was the one wall not shelved out and full of books; instead there were paintings lining every inch of the wall – and walked me over to a sepia-toned oil painting in a small, square frame. A cityscape depicting slanted roofs and high-spired towers with a long, winding river in the foreground, a bridge across it holding what looked to be a row of cathedrals, this painting stood out only for it plainness among the large, grand pieces surrounding it.

"London in the 1650s," Edward told me.

"The London of my youth," Carlisle said from behind me. Edward squeezed my hand as if he expected me to be unsettled by either Carlisle's sudden proximity or his age, but I already knew how old he was and I felt like I was pretty desensitized to vampires suddenly appearing near me. "Where to begin?"

ffn / AO3

[swimmingnewsie]

Cookies and Coffee (Chapter 3)

Hi guys! Half of this is in fact a reupload. The other half was going to be its own chapter until I realized that the two worked better as a whole chapter. So like Sonic 3 and Knuckles, I put the two together in a comprehensive pair. So if you read the last chapter and felt it a little incomplete- this should be the remedy to that!

Please enjoy!

Link to Chapter 1 Link to Chapter 2 Link to AO3

---"...And she's taking her to dinner tomorrow night! I told you they would be perfect for each other!" Anna gloated. 

Kristoff gave her a half-smile. "Alright, you were right. Now scrub up and send Jake home. He's on drive-through."

"So you admit it! Ha!" Anna smiled back at him before giving him a fake salute. “To drive-though! Sir, yes, sir!” 

Kristoff's smile remained as she ran off, sending her co-worker home. Soon enough her voice rang through his headset. "Afternoon, everyone! How is it going?" She was always so kind and sweet to everyone, even if they didn't deserve it, standing up to the meanest customers with the kindest smiles. She would make a good trainer one day or even a shift manager if she wanted it. 

"Can I get a 10-4 from everyone here?" Kristoff asked over the set after Anna's question was generally answered. Slowly the four other employees chimed in, ready for instructions. "Everybody okay where they are right now?" There was another set of agreements. "Alright, hold down the fort, I'm gonna count tills and the do food pull. Kirsti, if front isn't busy, knock out some of the dish pile. Call me if it gets desperate."

"10-4!" Anna cheerfully said before responding to the order in the headset. "Thanks for choosing Mermaid's Siren! What can I get started for you today?"

Kristoff couldn't help but blush as he walked to the back. Even with the most basic script, her voice was melodic, dragging him in like the siren they worked for. He shook his head, redirecting his attention. He couldn't let himself think of her that way, not right now. Not only would it be an HR paperwork disaster, but it wasn't the right time. It was far too soon.

It had barely been four months since Elsa called him in desperation for him and his truck. He thought she was insane. She had asked him to drive with her to Denver- twenty hours of driving straight. Why would any person make a twenty hour drive that could easily be done in a two hour flight if she only waited a few days? The answer: Anna was in danger. Elsa couldn’t wait three days.

She had received pictures from her sister obviously hiding in a closet, a gun visible on the floor. Another photo of her bruised and bloodied face. Then a video with Hans yelling loudly, asking where his dumb slut of a fiance was and how he was going to kill her for what she did. Anna couldn’t call the cops- Hans was one of them after all. They would never believe that he was capable of such violence.

Elsa had called cops a county over, praying for the best and texting her sister the entire time. But the faster she got there the better. Twenty hours of driving was faster than three days of waiting, uncertain of her sister’s safety. She couldn’t lose Anna. Not again. 

They were there in sixteen hours.

When they pulled up to the house, cops from several counties over were still there investigating and talking. Some defended Hans saying that Anna was being dramatic and that he wouldn’t shoot the gun in her house on purpose, while others remained impartial and stuck to the facts they knew: there was a gunshot, there was a bloodied and panicked woman inside, there were previous reports of potential domestic violence from this house. The foreign officers won out, sending Hans to the police station and away from the house. Kristoff was forever grateful for those cops who fought for her. They were the reason she was still with them.

He doesn’t even want to imagine a future where Hans had been allowed to reenter the home. 

The next two days were a blur of courtrooms, attorneys, and judges. Anna had been granted a temporary restraining order. This wasn't the end, but it was enough. They grabbed as many of her possessions as she could fit in his truck. It was a haphazard job, but that didn’t matter. Anna was safe. Anna would be okay.

Kristoff shuddered, remembering that awful day. The feeling of fear, the scent of blood on Anna’s clothes, the panic in Elsa’s eyes. And for as much as it affected him, he knew it was a thousand times worse for Anna. Though she was bubbly now, he remembered the ghostly look in her eyes the first few weeks, the way she wouldn’t let anyone aside from Elsa touch her for a month. 

This wasn’t the time for romantic gestures.. He couldn’t do that to her. She was hurt and needed to heal. She trusted him, and he was not about to take advantage of that trust. Anna was his friend above all else, even if his own feelings were squashed in the process.

So he would keep quiet, let other romantic interests pique his curiosity. 

And Ryder certainly did that. Whenever the young man came in after his workouts, Kristoff couldn’t help but stare at him, muscles swollen and flexed. He was handsome, and Kristoff would be lying if he said he didn’t think about him outside of work sometimes: kissing him, touching him, holding him. Even beyond the physical, his love for animals and beautiful craftsmanship made him weak in the knees. Last Christmas, he had made all of the baristas small wooden trinkets as gifts. He made Kristoff a bear and irony aside it was his most prized possession.

Maybe he should take a page from Anna’s book a leave his phone number on his cup. He laughed softly to himself; he had even thought of a cheesy pickup line to go with it. “This drink is sweet, but you’re even sweeter.” He never understood the man’s fascination for the sweet frappes- he was a bodybuilder after all; shouldn’t that conflict with everything he did? But day in and day out, he was still glad to see him even if he had questionable taste in “coffee”. His golden smile could perk up any rough shift.

Kristoff felt himself drift into his thoughts again. Visions of the two of them dancing passed by. The lighting was soft and the music even softer. Some old folk song from his parents’ time played, and they swayed. Their dogs were lying on the couch, Sven happily watching while Nokk slept on like the tired bastard he was.

“Kristoff, I need you.” It was almost like he could actually hear Ryder saying it.

His heart warmed, and he imagined Ryder kissing his lips softly, imagined what he might taste like, imagined the way their skin felt against each other.

“Kristoff, I know you’re counting money, but we need you pronto!”

... except that wasn’t Ryder speaking. That was Anna.

Shit.

He shook his head and reoriented himself. He was at work. He was counting the day’s money. His crew was getting slammed out front. 

“I’m on my way.”

There would be time for dreaming later. 

---

Clunk!

A few days later, the sound of metal being dropped in front of him pulled Kristoff out of his stupor. The cafe had been quiet tonight, allowing some down time. They were caught up on tasks for once: no dishes needed doing, all the registers they could count were counted, and the bar was clean. In that time, Kristoff had caught himself watching the customers in the cafe. Well one particular customer: Ryder.  

“Anna, what are you doing?”

She had that glint in her eyes that he didn’t trust in the slightest. A french press was pushed in front of him, along with an array of snacks.

“I’m not doing anything,” she said, adding coffee grounds to the pitcher. “However, you are giving a coffee tasting. Here is your blonde roast. Here are some lemon bars. I’ll finish up the dark roast. All you need to do is grab some pumpkin loaf and bring it to your boy over there.”

“What on Earth are you talking about? Ryder hates coffee. You know that. I know that. He's going to hate it. I don’t think that man’s ever ordered anything with less than 20 grams of sugar here.”

“And you are about to fix that. And your customer-connection score.” Those stupid scores that their district manager Yelena was obsessed with. It made him fume. Even if he didn't have the lowest individual score in the store, he would have thought they were stupid. He was the fastest barista; he could get all his tasks done far ahead of schedule of the other closing team. Why did matter how frequently smiled at customers or made eye contact? Eighty percent of them were just hoping he’d mess up so they could yell at him and get a free drink anyway.

Kristoff sighed. “But Ryder already tolerates me? What’s the point?”

“You need practice. Go. Make a coffee lover out of that boy.” Anna shoved her finger into his back, pushing him towards the cafe. “Or a regular lover,” she said under her breath. 

“Says the girl whose only coffee tasting was her first day of training.” He gave her a good hard eye roll, but it made her grin seeing him sigh once again before taking over the tray. “This isn’t going to work.” He wandered over to Ryder’s table anyway.

Anna was happy he was trying again. She had known about his less than pleasant dealings with love before they met. She had heard the stories in passing from Elsa when she talked of their early friendship. The girls who wouldn’t give him a chance because they thought he was secretly gay. The boys who turned him away for “actual gay men”. The woman he had been with for three years before deciding that he wasn’t enough for her. It broke her heart.

That’s why she wanted this so badly for him. 

Kristoff deserved love, no matter what he said. And just like with her sister, all he needed was a little push. If she was lucky, then Ryder could give that to him.

He could give it to her in a way she couldn’t.

Kristoff was wonderful. He was sweet and kind, even if he could be abrasive with customers. He was a no nonsense kind of guy. The kind of guy that the old Anna could have fallen in love with in a minute’s notice.

But that’s how Hans had been too, and look how that turned out. 

Anna couldn’t let herself be vulnerable, not again. It had nearly gotten her killed last time. So no matter how nice Kristoff was or how good he was with his dog or how well he took care of her, she couldn’t let herself love him. Not now. 

But finding him someone in Ryder? It felt right.

Anna halfway watched the coffee tasting, the other half keeping her focus on the occasional order that came in. She giggled silently to herself as Kristoff told him of the prospect of drinking coffee black. It was something that almost made her gag her first day too. But it was quite the exercise in taste, one that was easily bonded over. Ryder played along nicely it seemed. She didn’t seem him spit out any of the coffee, timidly drinking it to appease Kristoff. It was cute. 

A small rush pulled her away from the scene before she could see the ending of their tasting. But when Kristoff came back, there was certainly something different. He wrote out a medium cup and added it to her queue before taking over the registers for her.

“Raspberry mocha for Ryder!” 

He did it. Anna didn’t think it made Ryder a coffee lover yet, but this was the first time he ever ordered actual coffee. She didn’t get to ask Ryder himself about this particular decision, but she couldn’t help but wonder what he did to get from the scrunched up face to a full on espresso beverage.That must have been one hell of a coffee tasting.

“I’m assuming by the latte, the tasting went well,” she asked teasingly. 

Kristoff ignored her, shaking his head. Then he pulled out a note from his apron. It was a phone number and a quick message.

If I have to try your coffee, you’re coming to play ball at the gym with me. Friday - 7PM. 

XOXO 

Ryder

Anna was two for two now, and she couldn’t have been happier.

[celawrites]

Day 11

Mondays. I hate them. Like whoever has the name Monday is an automatic joy kill. I’m not too sure about that fact but I hate Mondays. I’m not sure when I started to have them, but I guess the idea of going to school again after 2 days of rest is just pure annoying.

I skip a proper breakfast today and grab a bag of turtle chips I bought yesterday. Cooking could wait. I start the car and get out of my neighborhood. A call comes in.

Sun is calling…

“My oh my Sun? Whatever could you be calling me at 7:00 for?”

“Can you drive me to school today?”

“Are your parents not home?”

“No, it’s just my brother had a morning class today and took the car with my parents”

“So you’re home alone?”

“Essentially”

“Send me your address. Do it quickly too, I was about to get on the freeway”

“Sent”

“Alright~, See you later! Love you!”

“I literally haven’t said I like you back yet and you’re already saying you love me?”

“I say it to everyone darling. I like you is my term of endearment, because love you sounds more natural after a conversation”

“You make no sense”

“Neither do my grades”

“Alright see you in 5”

“See you”

The drive to his house is. Chaotic. I’m having a crisis comprehending that he would call me of all people to carpool with. Pebble had a car, lived closer to him, and he probably could’ve carpooled with her? But then again he doesn’t like her that much. Probably because I’m tolerable or something. What if he likes me back? No! That is the most irrational thought I’ve ever had wtf. Who in their right mind would like me? My thoughts are interrupted when I end up at his house.

“Get in loser, we’re going to school”

“Sounds boring.”

“Says our Valedictorian”

“Will you stop calling me that?”

“Mm. No”

“Remind me why I decided to ask you to drive me to school again?”

“Because you loooooove meeeee” A look of disgust from him.

“I’m joking. Because I’m the only tolerable one in our class”

“Pretty much yeah”

“So. Got your eyes on any of our juniors?”

“No I’m not attracted to any of them. I have decided my last crush was enough”

“Oh come on. Clinging onto the past isn’t good for your mental health you know”

“Says the one who still can’t let her feelings go”

“oK IN MY DEFENSE I GREW EXTREEMLY EMOTIONALLY ATTACHED TO HIM”

“Clinging onto the pAsT iSnT gOOD fOR yOUr MEnTaL HEAltH yOU kNoW”

“Stop quoting me!”

“Wise words from someone who doesn’t even follow them”

“I’ve been attacked. Remind me to never drive you to school again”

“Does that mean you’ll finally stop texting me at 3am to go to McDonalds with you?”

“Nope. 3am and 7am hit different. They don’t vibe the same”

“You make no sense”

“Good to know you finally caught my vibe”

“Remind me how you managed to publish a book?”

“I don’t know. I wish I did sometimes”

“How’d you even publish one?”

“I ran a blog. Which no one at our school knows about, and someone contacted me to publish the story I was writing”

“I’ll make a mental note to find your writing blog”

“Have fun trying”

“You use the same username for literally everything, it’s funny how you think I won’t be able to find it”

“. you got me there”

“I could always text your public school friends and ask them about it”

“Only one of them follow the blog. And like the rest of them don’t even know about what I do”

“Why?”

“The Canadian friend. The last time I went to visit him, he asked me if they were really my friends. I had told him about how they told everyone my secrets”

“Ah. Well.”

I look at him in the corner of my eye.

“I know I may be emotionally constipated.”

“pFFt”

“Let me finish. But I really wanna repay you for being there for me when I needed someone. So if you have any successes or things you wanna vent about. Uh. You can come to me?”

“I’m touched. This is why our school questions our friendship”

“Because you’re the only girl I hang out with?”

“Yeah. You’re such a softie too!” I coo. “I wonder what our classmates would say if they found out that you’re so emotionally vulnerable!”

“I would never hear the end of it”

“But honestly. I feel like all the students in our school tend to put up a facade. No one ever mentions having anxiety or being anxious or paranoid about things. I only found out about that vulnerable side when I had left”

“Being anxious is normal. It would be unrealistic to be emotionally stable”

“You’re only saying that because you’re emotionally unstable. I honestly think you’d be more stable if you had a girlfriend or something”

“You’d let me?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Only if it’s me~” I laugh immediately after.

“Hopeless romantic as always”

“hEy! LEt me live in my fiction!”

“Whatever floats with you”

“I’d rather drown-”

“Your humor has gotten so dark-”

“Whose fault is that?”

“Yours”

“No my dad’s”

“Your dad?”

“My public school one. The father figure that I lack”

“I was gonna say. I didn’t take you for one who would get a boyfriend”

“Ok. No one wants to date me. I’ll just end up as the cat lady”

“If you do end up getting a cat, I call dibs on naming them”

“No. My precious baby” I pout. The school is in view now.

“You don’t even have a cat yet?”

“Still. My precious baby”

“You’re boring”

“Mm” I hum in agreement. I’m parking the car at this point. It’s 7:25 and we arrived at our normal time. He wasn’t one for a morning snack, and I wasn’t particularly hungry either.

“Are you not going to go grab breakfast?”

“Why would I?”

“You literally had a bag of chips for breakfast”

“So? It’s not like I’m gonna pass out from lack of nutrients or something”

“It’s not good for your health”

“When has my health ever mattered”

“Since now. Swap seats with me I’ll take you to Starbucks for a sandwich or something”

“No”

“What do you want?”

“You-” I cackle and he flushes red. “I’m jOKING JKSFGW I’M SORRY SUN”

“Ok but what do you actually want”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Even if I take you to Paul’s Place?”

“hHHHHH. I’m not h-hungry”

“Let’s go. We can walk over”

“We literally have like 20 minutes. That’s not nearly enough time to grab food”

“Then you’ll let me raid our school’s kitchen. There has to be some sort of leftover food there”

“You’re telling me to whAT?”

“I know you have the keys to every room at school. Don’t think I didn’t see you asking the principal for them so you could arrive here at 5am in the morning huddling in a classroom for vibes”

“I’m hurt”

“Open the kitchen for me. I’ll make you a sandwich or something”

“Aww. You’re gonna cook for me?”

“Would you rather do it yourself?”

“I’d rather starve”

“I-. You’re insufferable”

“Thanks, I get that a lot”

“What do you want for breakfast”

“A hug”

“That’s illegal”

“nO THE CONTRACT JUST SAID NO DATING I HAVE A PHOTO HH”

“No hugs until you eat breakfast”

“So you’ll hug me if I eat breakfast?”

“We’ll see”

“bREAKFAST HERE I COMEEEEE”

The kitchen was pretty much empty other than the sauces. There were a couple leaves for a salad, and the ranch dressing that I had grown to hate but I had to eat what I could. There was no way I was allowed to run off. He had kept me within the inner side of the kitchen where I couldn’t leave without him trapping me in.

“If you take any longer people are going to think that we’re doing the deed in here”

“You’re disgusting”

“Ok but like you’re gonna get teased either way”

“We are not going to do the deed in here”

“If this were public school then someone has definitely-”

“BUT THIS IS A CHRISTIAN PRIVATE SCHOOL SO NO HORNY”

“hiSSS”

He glares at me for another couple of seconds while I start to scarf down my salad.

“dON’T CHOKE ON IT. YOU’RE GOING TOO FAST”

“lET ME CHOKE ON MY SALAD. I SHALL GLADLY EMBRACE DEATH”

“nO?”

“yO wHAT ARE YOU TWO UP TO IN HERE?” Someone’s head popped in.

The two of us screamed. And I ended up choking on the salad. Helping me regain my breathing, he gazed at the person who had burst in.

“Is there ever going to be a time when you don’t just burst into the room I’m in?”

“Nope. But I’ll probably stop if you move out for college”

“I swear”

It’s his brother. I offer a smile and throw the now empty plate away.

“I hate ranch. If I have to eat that anymore I’m going to kill someone” I cough.

“As much as we know how to hide a body, I don’t exactly want to be an accomplice in a murder”

“Don’t worry about it Z. If anyone’s going to jail with me it’s your brother”

“What did I do???”

“Become my friend and partner in crime. You know, the usual”

“Can’t you get Sam to hide the body for you?”

“What’s the fun in that? You know more about the human body”

“oH?” His brother wiggles his eyebrows.

“The first bell’s rung. Let’s get to class”

“See you later Z!”

“See you!”

So class starts again. The day is calm, welcoming, serene. The day passes and I’m home again. Today’s supposed to be a McDonalds night but I end up waking up late for the 3am run.

Clown: I’m late today McDonalds?

Sun: Z wants to go But I want sleep

Clown: I’ll pick him up Tell him I’ll be there in 10

Sun: Got it

Seen at 4:03

My car starts and I drive towards his house. I’m already in my school uniform and my bag is in the seat next to me. My lights are dim so I don’t wake anyone in their home. I see his brother open and close the door, then slide into the seat next to me.

“Ready to go?”

“Yea. McDonalds right?”

“Yea”

The drive is quiet. He looks out the window while my music plays softly in the background. He probably isn’t as awake. Their dynamic at school is reversed at home. I never understood why.

“Is something bothering you?” My voice is soft. And he sighs.

“Are you sure you want to listen?”

“Always”

“I met this girl online. I thought we hit it off really well too. She was flirting and everything with me. I found out a few days ago that she had a boyfriend. It turns out she only started to talk to me because I had a rank that she wanted to be in. She broke off contact with me yesterday. I guess it hurts. I really thought she could be there for me for high school too”

“Don’t let it drag you down. It sounds rude to say that, but you have your whole life ahead of you. One small bump along the way won’t matter to you in the future. So focus on what you want to do and reach for it. If you ever need someone to be there for you my number is always there. Text me whenever you need, I’ll always try to be there.”

“One bump along the way…Thank you. I kinda get why E’s always going to you for help”

“It’s not much. The least I can do is listen to your worries.”

“But you aren’t obligated to do that”

“Yeah. But it doesn’t matter. I want to be of some help.” I pull up at the McDonalds drive through.

“Hey darling!”

“Hey. Can I get the usual and then… Do you want ice cream?”

“Wait the machine works?”

“Yes or no.”

“Yes please”

“And a large M&M McFlurry?”

“lARGE?”

“Of course darling! Did your friend go through the breakup blues?”

“More like got emotionally attached to one of those internet bunnies”

“Holy. That’s the worst. It’s on the house then”

“yOU caN’T JUST DO THAT”

“I DO WHAT I WANT I’M THE MANAGER”

I gawk and drive up to the second window. He shoots me a grin and hands me the food. I pull out my card to pay but he’s already gone.

“That little piece of sh-”

“Thank you” Z mumbles silently.

“Ah. Don’t worry about it! It’s the least I can do as your driver.”

“But you didn’t need to?”

“Internet bunnies are the worst. I would know”

“I’m not gonna ask how you know”

“Haha” I laugh. “Welcome back Z”

“A moment of weakness”

“3am hits different. Don’t worry about it. We’re all emotionally fragile”

“Especially the three of us”

“I would guess.”

“Ready to go?”

“Let’s”

And the rest of the night passes with laughter, smiles, and jokes.

Previous : Masterlist : Next

[jojotichakorn]

HIStory3: Trapped: Review (& General Info)

About the Series:

Summary: A police officer and a gang leader were killed in a gunshot attack four years ago. What's the secret behind this case? The only survivor, Tang Yi, is now the gang leader. Shao Fei is a police officer, who’s been following Tang Yi around for the past four years, trying to figure out what’s really happened during the attack. Will he be able to get to the bottom of the case? And can something unexpected come out of their rivalry? (Trailer)

Couples: Main gay couple, as well as two side couples - one gay, one straight.

Running Time: 10 episodes - around 45 minutes each - 8 hours in total

Cast (& their Instagram pages): Jake Hsu (Shao Fei), Chris Wu (Tang Yi), Andy Bian (Jack), Kenny Chen (Zhao Zi), Diane Lin (Hong Ye), Sphinx Ding (Dao Yi), Zhang Guang Chen (Andy), Stanley Mei (Li Zhi De), [more].

Where to watch? VIKI (if you watch on mobile, you’ll have to download the app).

Related Shows: HIStory is a recurring Taiwanese BL series, however, each season is separate from the others and none of them are connected in any way, so there’s no other Trapped content out there.

My Review:

Rating: 9.5/10

Short review: Trapped is my favorite BL of all time. It has a good plot, fantastic acting, the most wonderful couple ever (whose intimacy is handled incredibly well), amazing characters, awesome friendships and a whole list of other great things. Despite having one controversial character, a slightly questionable background couple and a not-so-satisfying (though still not bad) ending, I don’t think there’s anything that could stop you from enjoying it. And though, as usual,  it’s obviously your own decision to make, it’s definitely a must-watch in my book. 

Extended review (under the cut):

I consider Trapped the best BL that exists to date – without a shadow of a doubt. Not everyone agrees with me and that’s entirely understandable, however, I assure you that even though someone might prefer one or a couple of other BLs to this one, everyone considers Trapped one of the best ones for sure.

The plot of Trapped is thought-out and actually good. It obviously isn’t a masterpiece of modern cinema, however, unlike so many other BLs, the plot actually matters. It’s interesting, gripping, well-thought-out, with a nice mystery and some unexpected reveals that might actually surprise you. Everything gang-related isn’t just there for show – it’s done tastefully and doesn’t seem cheap at all, you truly believe it. So many moments are hilarious, especially in the beginning. And the show is very meticulous and careful with all its little details, so there are no annoying minor plot or aesthetic inconsistencies that could take you out of immersing into it. The pacing of the plot is a tiny bit slow in the first couple of episodes, but it needs that to build itself up properly, and it quickly picks up as soon as it can.

The characters in this show are amazing. You will not only fall in love with the mains, but also adore most of the background characters and hate the rest of them, which just goes to show how much each of them can impact you emotionally because they’re that fucking great. All the details about the characters are well thought-out and awesome too. Tang Yi is not just a gang leader in name – Chris, the actor who plays him, does a fantastic job of showing just how intimidating Tang Yi can be and generally convinces us of him being the Big-Bad-Gang-Boss through so many brilliant subtle acting choices. The villain is actually threatening and terrifying too. Shao Fei can be rather embarrassing and cringy, however, Trapped certainly manages to show that this is truly just his personality, and they’re not just doing this for laughs. Besides, I’ve heard many people who usually get second-hand embarrassment all the time say they didn’t feel awkward for Shao Fei at all – he isn’t embarrassed since this is his true, authentic self, so no one else is embarrassed for him either. Finally, two background queer characters are fantastic. Usually, in other BLs background queer characters, who aren’t there for a romantic plotline, are never anything beyond a stereotype and are always there for laughs. That’s not the case in Trapped. Both of the characters are absolutely incredible, authentic and beautiful – most certainly one of the best background characters I’ve seen in any BLs.

I must note that one character definitely caused some controversy in the fandom, and I can’t say much else beyond this without giving you a gigantic spoiler. However, even though I do think they could’ve handled the topic better overall, I don’t find there’s anything wrong with having one of the many queer characters in the show be a bad person. I’ve talked about it many times and, considering the fact that we still have at least six positively-portrayed queer characters, the seventh being a piece of shit does not affect the representation in any way and doesn’t suddenly give all queer people a bad name. There are shitheads among us too, you know. And it’s important to talk about it.

Moving on, let’s talk about relationships. For starters, the main couple is hands down the best enemies-to-friends-to-lovers you’ll ever see – that I personally guarantee. Their romance is developed well and treated with the care it deserves, and they end up being the most adorable, wholesome couple ever. I also want to especially point out how well Trapped handles their intimacy. A lot of other BLs have their couple treat each other like friends half the time, be dating another half and kissing/having sex on rare occasions. In reality, though, a couple is always intimate with each other. And I don’t mean that everyone fucks like bunnies – no. I mean couples have intimate conversations, hold hands, kiss each other in a million different ways (and on a million different spots), cuddle for no reason, hug, express emotions and, of course, sometimes have sex. Not every couple does absolutely everything I’ve just listed, of course, but you get the overall point. Couples are intimate. And Trapped gets that. It shows that. And that’s wonderful. As for others, the straight background couple takes up just enough screen time to not annoy you and it’s actually kind of cute, which is super rare for me to say. Now, the gay background couple is rather questionable. One of the guys is kind of oblivious and juvenile, while the other pushes him too hard. It’s not so critical that I’d tell you to skip their moments, however, it is definitely food for thought and I’d say pretty problematic.

The friendships in Trapped are sort of a double-edged sword. On one hand, we have Shao Fei and Zhao Zi, who were proclaimed to be best friends, but don’t end up having any meaningful moments together and are really out of the loop with each other’s lives by the end of the show. This can be explained and justified, but I still feel like it’s a little unrealistic. On the other hand, though, we have Tang Yi and his friends – mainly, Andy, The Doctor (whose name I, apologies, don’t remember), as well as Hong Ye and Tang Guo Dong. Despite only seeing a couple of moments with each of them, we get attached to every character and their relationships with Tang Yi very easily. His friendships with Andy and The Doctor are familiar and realistic. His relationship with Hong Ye is deep and authentic – you can truly see they are like siblings to each other. And his relationship with Tang Guo Dong is so beautiful and raw that you end up falling in love with the “found father” trope and wish you had the same relationship with your parents or any mentor figure, really. Despite Tang Yi and Tang Guo Dong only having four small scenes with each other – all of which are flashbacks, their dynamic is my second favorite in the show and their relationship is one of the best father/son relationships I’ve ever seen.

Finally, the show is shot beautifully and the acting in it is on a completely different level. Seriously, you will say, “Holy shit, this actor is so good!” like every other second. I literally grabbed my pen to write some version of “the acting is so good” in my notes, while rewatching the show for this review at least twenty times, and the only thing that stopped me is already having it written down thrice.

The very last note I have is about the ending. Now I will say immediately that this show does not have a bad ending – I could not have it as one of my favorites, if it did, I’m strictly a happy-ending kind of person. However, the ending is still a little too vague for my taste and I wouldn’t say I’m satisfied with it. It’s not the end of the world and overall it’s an alright ending you can live with – nothing bad happens. However, I wouldn’t call it the best ending this show could have – and that’s all I can say without giving any spoilers.

Finally-finally, should you watch this show? Fuck yes! Absolutely, my guy! Have you heard all I’ve just said? It’s brilliant. An absolute fucking masterpiece, I’m telling you. So yes, I recommend it to literally everyone. There is legitimately no other series I want to show everyone as much as this one – this is fucking mandatory in my book. Regardless of however I feel about it though, at the end of the day, it’s obviously your own decision to make.

[jonathantaylorthomas]

[excerpt] 15. This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things

Does anyone apart from Pusha T relish a good diss track as much as Swift? 2017’s Reputation might have its patchy moments of just-out-of-date beats but it’s also full of deliciously vicious moments. I Did Something Bad was a beautiful middle finger to an ex (Calvin Harris, apparently), Look What You Made Me Do cut down her critics and this track, which is effectively a more bitter Bad Blood, battered Kim and Kanye. “Friends don’t try to trick you/Get you on the phone and mind-twist you” she sings in an apparent swipe at the ‘I made that b**** famous’ controversy, while underneath stuttering electro-pop clashes with tinkling piano. The chorus is Swift at her most bitingly patronising, smiling as she twists the knife in.

14. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

Swift managed her first US number one with We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together. The singer’s knack for an earworm is obvious here, with the song one of the simplest but strongest of her career. The rest of Red dabbles with pop but Swift’s country roots are still very visible here. A foot-stomping acoustic guitar riff is right at the heart of the track, which is a much lighter take on the relationship at the heart of All Too Well. The old Taylor might not be able to come the phone right now, but she was on top form here.

13. Our Song

Jaunty violins, talk about God, a Nashville accent that twangs like a banjo string: Our Song is Taylor in full country mode. It’s got all the hallmarks of her early verse-chorus-bridge songwriting, and Swift reportedly put it together in 20 minutes for her ninth grade talent show before the record company nabbed it for her debut album. Built around a colossal chorus, where her delivery cracks like a drum beat, Our Song is a vivid picture of her teenage years and a testament to Swift’s natural songwriting nous – a reminder that, despite the headlines, she’s built a career on talent, not merely hype and controversy. Tim McGraw, which starts the album, has much the same effect.

12. I Knew You Were Trouble

2012 album Red took Swift’s popularity to new levels and the universal appeal of I Knew You Were Trouble was a key part of that success. The song became one of the most parodied tracks of the year but even adding screaming goats into the mix couldn’t the hamper its impact. It’s perhaps surprising that despite the song’s success, the chorus marked one of the singer’s most experimental to date, flirting with dubstep, pop and dance influences. It’s the perfect example of Swift’s early musical experimentations – as was the U2-esque album opener State of Grace – which would eventually pave the way for the reinvention on 1989 two years later.

11. Shake It Off

Shake It Off is perhaps the perfect song to explain Taylor Swift and seems to encapsulate the contradictions which have made her a star. For everything that’s toe-curling and cringeworthy (see: “this sick beat”, the whole “my ex man” riff), it’s also infectious, irresistible and triumphantly confident; Swift knows it’s geeky and doesn’t care. It’s a song to shimmy to – and then to kiss your crush to, when she asks the fella with the hella good hair to shake, shake, shake. Grab the white wine and go be basic – sometimes it’s fun.

10. 22

While Swift can occasionally lean-in on her wry way of seeing the world, she’s also gloriously unafraid of big, dumb pop. 22 is almost comically simplistic: the opening guitar riff is just a watered down Wild Thing, the drum beat is mindlessly insistent – a bass kick on every single beat – and the main hook (“I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling 22”) has all the intelligence of a failed GCSE. None of it matters; the song is a joyous riot, set in a world where there are no pressures, no bills and the sun only goes down so everyone can go to bed together. It is fun, it is silly, it’s happiness is infectiously single-minded and the best lines come right at the end: “You look like bad news, I gotta have you”. There’s even Nile Rodgers-style guitar thrown in on the chorus. Splendid stuff. No wonder it’s said to be Harry Styles’ favourite Swift song.

9. Fifteen

Much has been made of Swift’s big transformation from country singer to pop behemoth but even before she was out of her teens she was flirting with stadium friendly rock. Still, Fifteen had plenty of banjo all over it, while her voice charmingly twangs as she talks boys and cars and heartbreak. Of which, it’s the lyrics that make this one: the song itself is so polished and clean it could have been assembled on a Tennessee production line, but Swift manages to infuse it with a sense of failed teenage romance that feels real – unsurprising, perhaps, given it’s based on her and her best friend Abigail Anderson’s years at Hendersonville High School.

“In your life you’ll do things greater than/Dating the boy on the football team/But I didn’t know it at fifteen” she sings, “Wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now”. Ain’t that the truth.

8. Love Story

Ten years ago, pre-Kanye-at-the-VMAs, Swift was, in Britain at least, still that country girl with that one catchy song. This was that song; a hopelessly romantic tale of teenage love, Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet over pop-punk guitars and key changes and, of course, a happy ending replacing the tragedy. Eight million copies sold, making it the best selling country single of all time and paving the way for the decade of massive success that followed.

7. Blank Space

Blank Space is a minimalist masterpiece that paradoxically is crammed with hooks (something she manages again, like a magic trick, on Clean). The song in itself is actually surprisingly slow-moving; chords are long, drawn-out and the drums snap but are unhurried. The genius here in is Swift’s vocals, which are catchy enough that the whole thing seems to be one long chorus. Blank Space also marks the beginning of Swift sending herself up; in it, she satirises her media image as a man-obsessed, relationship addicted nightmare who serially dates for songwriting material. Hilariously, the key line (“Got a long list of ex-lovers/They’ll tell you I’m insane”) has often been misheard – including by her own mother – as “all the lonely Starbucks lovers”, which rather changes the point somewhat. The video is a work of art too, introducing the world to the ‘new Taylor’ – before the new Taylor became the old, dead Taylor. Oh, and look out for her slip up at 3.40, it’s hilarious.

6. New Year’s Day

The beautiful, reverb soaked piano that flutters through New Year’s Day is a sign of what could be to come for Swift – not now, perhaps, but maybe in 20 years. It could be played then and just as good. If All Too Well is her great grown-up heartbreak track, this is her great grown-up love song. Whereas 1989’s You Are In Love used a similar sound for a rip of Bruce Springsteen’s Street’s of Philadelphia, here it’s more of a James Blake vibe. The beauty is in the simplicity; this is a love as rational as it is passionate. The metaphor is about being there for the good times (the party at midnight) and the bad (cleaning up bottles on New Year’s Day). There is a stroke of brilliance, too: “Please don’t ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognise anywhere” she sings as a reprise, realising what too few of us do until it’s too late: love is as fragile as it precious.

5. You Belong With Me

Taylor has a long-standing love affair with power chords and pop-punk goodness. On Red, there’s Holy Ground, before that was Speak Now’s girl-breaking-free-to-rule-the-world Long Live and before that was You Belong With Me on Fearless. It’s sometimes criticised for being too similar to her other early hits but in truth, it’s just the best example of them. It’s also wonderfully full Taylor: she plays the self-deprecating dork in love with her best friend, and the video is completely, brilliantly hysterical. There are all the elements needed: crashing guitars, unrequited love, a little teenage angst. It’s far from perfect: the lyrics are her corniest, the premise is cliched and the country embellishments have been tactlessly tacked on as if purely to placate the country audience. But, in the end, it’s catchy, sweetly endearing and you’ll be singing along merrily. If you want another fill of the good stuff, put on Fearless, which is just a little less catchy but with a better guitar solo.

4. Ronan

Little known, not on any albums and barely performed live – to date it’s only been aired twice, with the first version live on a Stand Up to Cancer telethon the one to listen to – Ronan perhaps seems a unlikely entry on the list, but it stands the Swift song that aches the most, and is unlike anything else she’s written. Over the chime of trembling guitar chords, she sings as the voice of Maya Thompson, a mother who lost her four-year-old Ronan to cancer. Written after reading Thompson’s blog, Swift articulates the unsteady, insistent rhythm of grief with painful clarity. In the end, like in life, the loss stings the sharpest in the little things. “And it’s about to be Halloween, you could be anything you wanted” she sings, her voice shaking and her eyes glassy with tears, “If you were still here.”

3. Out Of The Woods

Like the heartbroken logic in All You Had To Do Was Stay (the song Ryan Adams’ did best on his mixed 1989 cover album), it’s the naivety in this one that makes it so damned sad. Jack Antonoff produced a piece of driving rock dressed up as radio-pop, the stuttering drums and Blade Runner synths casting shadows over everything, the choir on the chorus giving it enough size to fill stadiums. It’s one for anyone who’s been wrapped up in a love that’s left them shaky with the uncertainty of it all, who’s gone to sleep and woken up with the same thought, of praying they’re getting as much love as they’re giving.

2. Style

Like a designer parading a new collection down the runway, Swift showcased her new direction perfectly on this aptly titled track. Pulsating synths drive the verses along before a huge sing-along chorus kicks in, marking a dramatic change from her guitar-led earlier compositions. It’s a formula that Swift would return to time and time again in her later work, not least on the similar Getaway Car from 2017 album reputation. The song remains a highlight at Swift’s live shows — after all, pop hooks as good as this will never go out of style.

1. All Too Well

Everyone jokes about the lost scarf, but this is Swift’s most sincere tale of heartbreak and is heartbreaking itself. Though it takes a handful of listens at least to ‘get’ this track, it’s worn out and weary and the hurt goes deep. Swift says it was one of the hardest to write, and it’s one of the hardest to listen to; she sounds like she’s singing right from the bones and it’s searingly, uncomfortably intimate. Having it on doesn’t feel so much like listening as eavesdropping: other ruminations in her back catalogue are broader, relatable, but here we’re hearing her specific turmoil. Nowhere else on record does she sound as cut up the way she does halfway through this one – Jake Gyllenhaal, you realise, really broke her heart.

Plenty of Swift songs are overwrought, but the drama here is sincere: her voice trembles with pain, and the song, which starts sparse, swells and hardens up like a lump in the throat. It’s little surprise the original cut was 10 minutes long; the song is cinematic, with a touch of Raymond Carver in the sparse, classically American lyrics: “'Cause there we are again in the middle of the night/We’re dancing round the kitchen in the refrigerator light”.

When she gets to end of it, there are lines that induce a wince: “You call me up again just to break me like a promise/So casually cruel in the name of being honest” she says. Then you hear her lost to her heartbreak: “Time won’t fly, it’s like I’m paralyzed by it/I’d like to be my old self again/But I’m still trying to find it”. Love – especially when it cools – changes everything.

[nostalgic-blood]

so i went to california a few weeks ago and...

No, I didn’t go ham. I had friends who were like “HERE HAVE THIS” and then I had this thing, and later went to a convention and THEN I went ham. 

Also this was my first non-family trip so I sort of bought a souvenir anywhere I deemed important enough to do so... America, you took a lot of my money. Oh and Disneyland too. 

...also I couldn’t fit some things and forgot others in that top pic.

this wall scroll my cat is trying to destroy

a backpack I bought solely so I was able to even bring all this back, and the posters/prints I STILL needed a friend to ship back anyway...

and this cute koishi i bought, all of three of which were from fanime, yes...

Disneyland souvenirs! A friend (Souless) bought the one of the left. You may have noticed Minnie Mouse ears on the first photo! I didn’t actually get them from Disneyland itself, t’was a gift from our Disneyland veteran who led us to many-a-ride and the least amount of waittime possible, Souless’ fiance Kat. :)

And yes Inside Out is my favourite Pixar movie. Watched Coco recently which was really good, but it’s only second to Inside Out. P:

Let’s start off with my ridiculous friends who decided I needed to own more merch:

All of this was bought by my friend Cannibalfood AKA Akira who went to cons and saw stuff I might like but never got around to actually shipping them to me.. and then, came with me to California and brought this stuff. This is why Negima is on there. It’s been that long.

Oh the non-weeb stuff is souvenirs I got with her while we were in San Fran, including Alcatraz touristy photos since we have few pictures together, a taxidermy place where we each got matching stingray barbs, how romantic. The rock was my very first souvenir. I wasn’t expecting on buying anything else in that shop, so it is the most boring thing here.

Here’s a look at the Touhou artbooks!

One of two CDs, this one with best 2hu on it. I recall from reading the back that one of these has some TAMUSIC on it, which has lovely classical pieces. 

Here’s a semi-random page with some artwork. I recognize some of the artists!

The other one! I cannot read anything in these books, and yes there’s plenty of text as well as the art.

Some sample of the art! I’ll have to revisit these books later but from first glance I think I prefer the art of the first book? Idk.

Next is stuff given to me by various people. The gacha is from Magus, the guy who I stayed at for about half the trip and spent the entire trip WITH since he also went down to SLO and I also shared hotels with him for Fanime. Awesome host, will do again. 10/10. I have another button from someone else but I accidentally included it wit my fanime merch pile photos, so it’ll be along shortly.

The dreamcatcher was made by SlimeMush’s friend who I paid $10 for, and for some mysterious reason it kept being returned to him every time he tried to send it to me. I couldn’t get a good pic of it alone because my cat kept attacking the feathers. SlimeMush also gave me the Flareon button! Apparently all the Eeveelutions he had went to those whose favourite was so-and-so, and apparently there’s equal amounts of love for all of them except for the two he kept himself because he loved them the most. Yes. Flareon is my favourite. :D

The gacha is a ditto + a ditto version of Sableye. 

This Monster Hunter blindbox was given to me by Wolfe, whom I’ve had a few MonHun merch exchanges with so far. I also gave him a MonHun figure from another line, which I’ll elaborate further (because I gave them all out similar to SlimeMush giving out the Eeveelution buttons) and kept whichever was left behind. This is Monoblos! I didn’t fight him all too often so I don’t have much impression of it as a monster, also I thought he was white but w/e, still very cool looking to add to my collection!

Now of all my loot THIS is the stuff I really could have done without in terms of when and where I spent my money. I bought that Incineroar evolution line figure sort of on a whim at a random city in the middle of nowhere, California while on the long drive down to SLO. The Touhou blindboxes, Digimon CD, and RWBY manga came from Kinokuniya in Japantown. Just wanted to buy them because. Even if the Tri series was mediocre in the end the nostalgia still has a strong grip on my heart, especially that music with Kouji Wada. ;_;

And the most touristy thing was buying this wind chime at a gift shop in a spa that I really didn’t need but it was pretty so w/e.

See? Pretty.

The results of the blindboxes. Not the luckiest result as I wanted other characters but you CANNOT SAY NO TO WEEB MERCH!

As much as I have been distancing myself from the show, RWBY’s manga has wondrous art. It also decided to focus on some random unknown side character named Ruby instead of the main characters, which I thought while was quite the bold move, was rather refreshing. 

DELICIOUS WEISS BACKSTORY. I recall posting something about this particular chapter on here before. YEEEEE!

So yeah I went to the island prison in San Francisco where AAAAAALL the tourists go. In my defence I have a genuine interest in prisons. Just ask my 300k RWBY fanfiction in which the first quarter of it is set in a prison. It is also not my first prison fic. I put lots of research in that setting to write that kind of shit. 

Also all the souvenirs were the most gimmicky things possible that I didn’t think I’d ever use or would just be paperweight. Except this bag! I may actually use this bag! I know!

And excluding the stuff that is too big or I forgot to take a pic of near the beginning of the post, THIS was the Fanime loot! Magus got me the Monokuma onesie which was extremely nice of him and now I am no longer perpetually cold. Ah yes the warmth of the hide of a psychotic bear. So good.

I could not believe the artist who made one of my favourite Aya pics EVER was at the artist alley. I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT. Obviously this was an instant purchase. This was my phone background for the longest of times. She had Touhou artbooks too but they sold in the first twenty minutes of the first day of the artist alley. Wow. My friend may try to snag me some at AX in July, so here’s hoping!

I didn’t see a lot of specifically Weiss prints there, and this was the best of the lot IMO. My only wish was that it was a brighter print, or that Weiss herself being so white would stand out more because it’s the least noticeable thing on my wall atm, which is a shame. 

I say this when I saw precisely ONE Aya print (jackpot) and one of another coming up in this bombardment of pics.

THIS IS PERHAPS THE MOST PROVOCATIVE ONE HERE LOL. But it was the only Tenko, and DRV3 merch was the most difficult of everything I was looking for to find. Unlike 95% of Tenko art SHE ACTUALLY HAS VISIBLE ABS HERE, which according to the official artbooks she’s supposed to have, so bonus points for that. I had a brief discussion with the artist too and we both agreed Tenko was the best and Ouma was overrated. He has great taste.

Overwatch on the other hand was all over the place in this con, from merch to art, to cosplayers. There were so many cosplayers they didn’t even have enough time to run through half of the tanks and all the supports at the shoot! So sad, so sad. This piece of Widowmaker is beautiful though, so I had to have it.

I saw this online a while back and really loved this image of all the Overwatch ladies being formal. There was a suit-version too, but for whatever reason I preferred this one. Sadly this print is quite small, as it probably would have benefited the most in being larger what with the many characters and thus detail.

Out of all this mess the one thing I wanted the most and hunted for the most was charms. I found NO GOOD CHARMS that fitted my taste and interest, and the closest were these buttons. Oh, and I met my good friend Raphyninja at Fanime and he gave me EXCLUSIVE RAPHYNINA MERCH! Thus that button being here and not in the friendo pile. ANYWAY. There was a deal, 3 for 5, so aside from the obvious ones I grabbed Kork. I love Kork. I didn’t think I would for that type of character, but somehow DRV3 managed it. He will of course be very far away from Tenko and Himiko though. >_>

Here’s a page from one of the Touhou doujins I got, which in hindsight I maybe should not have got? Way too late I noticed that I recognized the seller who I think showed up on a Tumblr post warning of a creeper at the Touhou shoots. He’d try to take pics of cosplayers in a private hotel room at weird, uncomfortable angles as far as I remember, so uh, oops? I was just so excited at finding Touhou doujin for the first time ever that I paid zero attention to the person selling so hopefully I am wrong and they were just someone that resembled that person.

Also I recognized this artist for their cute Satori Koishi content, but could not find any of their Koishi doujins. Sadness.

I bought two Monster Hunter blindboxes at Fanime because CLEARLY I need more, right. I got a Nargacuga, including the box left remaining in the pile I gave away and the one I already have...  I now have three Nargacugas. That’s quite a lot for something I never fought before...

I also got this tiny Zinogre. If we include my buttons I have FOUR Nargacugas now and FOUR Zinogres. The difference is I have fought Zinogre multiple times (I have no idea exactly because I have 600 hours in 4U >_>) and actually really like him! Sadly, in grand tradition like the last time I visited San Francisco (when I was five) I lost something, that being my favourite MonHun button, Zinogre. It is now in the wild with my teddy bear and my hat, forever gone in the California abyss. ):

I got this at the swap meet for 6 dollars. It may not have a stand and is rather dusty, but damn is that a bargain. My only regret is not having the GIGA DRILL BREAKAAAA model instead. I also got that Monokuma bag there too, but that was just because I went there and couldn’t find a single thing I wanted until I saw the bag, which I was on the fence on but wanted to buy SOMETHING from there and got it, thinking that was it ... but then this and the Touhou doujins showed up, soooooo...

Finally this other Nargacuga that was left behind became my monster in that line of figures, the rest in the hands of my friends. It’s actually cuter than I expected, and barely fit in this cheap crappy display case I bought at a Daiso. I moved my dresser a nudge and the Pokemon fell over, so yeah. 

You may have noticed a drop in quality in the photos and that’s because I cannot be bothered to touch up such a gargantuan amount of images anymore, not with the time I have. Would be nice tho. SO, THAT IS THE GIANT POST OF SPOTTO’S MERCH, NOW WITH 100% MORE QUANTITY THAN BEFORE! I spent too much money so I might as well get something out of it by BRAGGING about it! Right? 

Ye.

[reyxa]

A Special Kind of Brew - OT4

For @sadrien

Title: A Special Kind of Brew Author: Reyxa/ninoirs Summary: Marinette and Alya work at Brewtiful Beans, a coffeeshop rival of Catpuccino, where Adrien and Nino work. Pining ensues.

Alya bursts through the doors of Brewtiful Beans, watching with satisfaction as her dramatic entrance makes everyone jump. “I have news!”

She strides in, hopping up on the marble counter and leaning over a blushing Marinette.

“You’re late! I- mean not that late but, come on, Alya you really need to- I mean I can’t talk I’m late all the time even in like college and remember that time I-”

Alya cuts off Marinette’s rambling, pressing her finger to Marinette’s soft lips. Alya smiles, endeared. She’ll never change. she thinks absently. “Yeah, I’m late but! I was spying.”

Marinette raises an eyebrow, nudging Alya’s finger from her lip. “Spying?”

“On Catpuccino!” Alya slams a hand down on the counter, making the latte in the blender splash and recede precariously.

A bright smile lights Marinette up and Alya feels her heart positively ache. I’m gonna fucking make out with this girl at some point today. she promises herself. “Ohh,” Marinette is saying. “Spying or spying?”

“Shut up.” Alya ruffles Marinette’s bangs as she hops down from the counter. She grabs an apron and expertly ties a bow at the base of her spine. “Anyway, they’re doing a two for one deal on warm drinks this week.”

“Already on it.” Marinette grabs their announcement chalkboard and writes in sweeping handwriting ‘Two for One Deal on ALL Drinks + 10 Point Bonus for Beanie Members!’.

As Alya passes her on her way to the register, they high-five.

Their rivalry with the café on the other side of the street was historic. It’s often the rivalry itself that brought both cafés the most foot traffic. Their battles are so important, Brewtiful Beans made a committee with an application process.

Alya clearly made the cut, her competitive nature was a force to be reckoned with. Not that she wanted to brag.

Marinette made it because though her bright smile and kind blue eyes were welcoming, her fire for competition was unmatched.

Together Alya and Marinette were such a hurricane, there was no need for any other members.

Though the rivalry wasn’t the only reason Alya and Marinette kept an eye out for Catpuccino.

A boy who looks as if he was made from drops of sunlight had been hired at Catpuccino around the time Alya and Marinette had been put on the committee.

Alya smiles to herself as she shakes an iced tea. He had smiled so warmly at her this morning, his green eyes bright. Her name on his tongue made chills flutter down her spine as he gave her the water she ordered.

She jolts as Marinette bumps her with her hip, a sly smile on her lips. “Saw Adrien today did you?”

Alya sticks her tongue out at her before pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Little bit.”

Marinette’s chuckle rings in her ears like soft bells. “Can’t believe you’re fraternizing with the enemy.”

“Pfff as if you don’t. And I would like to do a little more than fraternize with him if you catch my meaning.” Alya winks.

“You’re ridiculous.” Marinette shakes her head as she carefully pours decoction into a cup.

“What! I meant hold his hand in one and yours in the other, what were you thinking?”

Marinette laughs again, swatting at Alya’s arm.

~

“Nino,” Adrien groans. “Save me.”

Nino ruffles Adrien’s hair. “I know, dude. Trust me. I do.”

Adrien lifts his head with a heavy sigh. “When she came in this morning I think I was choking on my heart.”

Nino’s laugh makes Adrien grimace at him, though the kiss Nino presses to his lips assuages him. “Cool it, Romeo.”

Adrien ponders it. Their love really is like Romeo and Juliet. If Romeo was split in two and so was Juliet. “Nino, Nino, wherefore art thou, Nino?” he murmurs.

“You’re dramatic today.” Nino pokes his cheek before ringing up the next customer.

Adrien presses a kiss to his cheek. “You should be used to it by now.”

Adrien watched red race across Nino’s cheeks.“Either way, it’s not happening. They’re the enemy, remember? Why did she even come in today?”

“Probably spying or something. She was wearing a trenchcoat and sunglasses.” Adrien laughs, remembering her discreetly indiscreet picture-taking of their announcement board. “Retaliation’s probably already happened.”

Nino sighs. “Guess I’m up.”

Adrien smiles and passes him their own disguise.

~

“Hello, sir! How… may I… uh, help you?”

The man may as well be curling in on himself as he stands before Marinette’s register. His hat is low on his face, his hands crossed over his chest. “Uh, I’m still looking.”

Alya nudges her discreetly and Marinette nods, feeling her face heat up. “Take your time! I mean don’t take hours but I d-don’t want to rush you one time this guy just stood here and looked at the menu for, like, two hours and didn’t even-”

Alya tugs on her apron. Right. No rambling. Marinette notes.

The man looks up at her and her heart flutters at his golden gaze. Nino.

She and Alya often walk by Catpuccino over and over again to catch any glimpse of him or Adrien. Or both. Once, Nino had glanced at the door right as they passed and he shot them a knowing smile that left them melting.

That day they had each bought a pint of ice cream and groaned at their shared infatuation.

“Two for one deal, huh? All drinks.” he mumbles.

Marinette smiles, the red on her cheeks deepening. “Yup!”

“Wouldn’t have anything to do with Catpuccino’s two for one deal on hot drinks, yeah?” his eyes flash.

Marinette’s sweet smile remains painted on her face. “O-oh, do they have a deal too?”

His laugh is warm and it makes her toes tingle. Alya, still eavesdropping from behind, takes her hand and squeezes it hard. “You got me.”

“We win.” she can’t help herself from teasing.

“Oh, you may have won the battle, but we’ll win the war.” a grin ghosts over his face.

“You wish.” Alya whispers.

“Heard that.” Nino calls as he heads for the door.

“Wanted you to!” Alya yells back.

The café patrons all have smiles on their faces as they witness the back and forth.

As soon as the door swings shut Alya collapses onto Marinette. “Mari they’re too cute.”

“He was so red when he walked in.” Marinette whispers.

“We’re gonna die.”

“Oh definitely.”

~

“How’d it go?” Adrien smiles, patting Nino as he passes by on his way to the break room.

“I’m gonna fucking die.” Nino whispers.

“A mood.” Adrien nods sagely.

Nino flops down on the couch in the break room and Adrien curls up next to him, his head on Nino’s shoulder. “She found me out.”

Adrien snorts. “Which one?”

Nino’s eyes fall shut, blue sparkling eyes filling his vision. “The one with the pretty blue eyes. Marinette.”

“Damn.” Adrien whispers. “Those always tie my tongue.”

“I don’t even remember what I said.” Nino groans.

“Can we just date them? Please? Please?” Adrien squeezes Nino’s hand.

There was so much to consider. What if they weren’t into it? What if they wouldn’t date their rivals? What if they’re completely thrown off? “I don’t know, dude.”

Adrien sighs. “Yeah.”

~

“I just don’t know which café it is!” Chloé watches Sabrina chew her thumbnail as she glances back and forth between two cafés whose names Chloé abhors.

Chloé huffs. “Is it worth it for this tea?”

Sabrina’s eyes sparkle. “Yes!”

Chloé sighs. “Fine. We’ll check both.”

They burst into Catpuccino first because Chloé doesn’t want to spend anymore time in there than she has to.

Sabrina gazes intently at the menu, slowly going through each item as Chloé eavesdrops on the two employees talking in hushed voices.

“They’re so cute.” the blond one whispers.

“So cute but our manager would murder us.” the taller one reasons.

“But the blue eyes and the soft hair and-”

“Dude. I know.”

“What are you talking about?” Chloé snaps.

The two employees turn, eyes wide. Chloé yawns.

“Chloé?”

Her eyebrows draw together but she quickly schools her features. Get it together, Bourgeois. We don’t want wrinkles. “Adrikins!” she reaches over the counter to wrap her arms around her childhood friend. “What are you doing here?”

“I… work here what are you doing here?” Adrien hugs her back before pulling away.

“Looking for this tea Sabrina is dying to try.” Chloé sighs deeply.

“Oh! How can we help you?” Adrien walks over to the register, the perfect employee. Chloé kind of wants to take a picture and stick it in her scrapbook but she reigns her emotions.

“It’s not here.” Sabrina voices her dismay.

“Oh. You must be looking for Brewtiful Beans.” the other employee sighs.

“What’s that tone?”

“They’re our rivals.”

Adrien groans.

Chloé raises an eyebrow.

“It’s a long story.”

She raises the other eyebrow.

Adrien spills.

Typical.

After what feels like hours, Adrien stops rambling. “So yeah.”

“...Wow. You’re a mess.” Chloé shakes her head.

Nino sighs. “Tell us about it. Falling in love with the girls in the rival cafe was probably not the best idea.”

“Oh!!” Sabrina’s eyes are glittering. “It’s just so romantic! You’re star-crossed, yet written in the stars!”

Adrien sighs. “I know.”

Chloé just smiles. “Don’t worry, boys.”

“Chloé…” Adrien’s tone is warning.

Chloé flips her hair over her shoulder. “I said don’t worry, Adrikins!”

~

When Chloé and Sabrina enter Brewtiful Beans, the room is filled with the sounds of coffee machines and hushed yelling.

Chloé can guess what this yelling is about.

“We can’t, we might get literally fired! We’re on the committee!” the one with glasses - Alya, as Chloé had come to know - whispers.

“Bu-”

“Let me save you some trouble, ladies.” Chloé slams a hand down on the counter. “I need two jasmine green teas and a few minutes of your time.”

The girls stare at her for a solid 2 minutes. Chloé doesn’t mind the attention but she has places to be and people to set up.

Teas in hand, Chloé and Sabrina sit the two down. “Listen. We can solve all your problems right now.”

“You’re not… trying to sell us anything are you?” Alya tilts her head.

“N-”

“They’re in love with you!” Sabrina yelps.

Chloé glares at her.

“I couldn’t hold it in.” Sabrina whispers.

“What?!” the girls chorus.

~

“Uhh, Adrien.”

Adrien lifts his head from his arms, glancing at the time. Sunset throws rays of gold across the café and washes the room in a rosy glow. “Mmm?”

“They’re storming in.” Nino points to the door, where two girls, hands interlocked, are quite literally storming in.

They throw the doors open and walk squarely up to the register together.

Adrien and Nino blink at them.

“We-” when they start speaking at the same time they both stop, their faces a matching shade of red.

“Do you want to-”

“No, no! Go ahead!”

“Go on a date with us.” Nino blurts.

Adrien stares at him, face heating rapidly. Oh my god.

His chest tightens as they breathe a concurrent sigh of relief. “Yes!” they chorus.

Marinette’s arms open and he finds himself stepping into her embrace on instinct. Her floral shampoo tickles his nose and her hug is warm and comforting. He feels Nino and Alya join their hug and the world falls into place.

~

Marinette breathes a sigh of relief as Adrien catches the milk she loses grip on. “Thank you!”

“Anything for my Princess.” he kisses her forehead before passing her the milk.

“Turn down the flirting! We’re at work!” Alya calls from the register.

Nino wraps an arm around her waist. “You say that like you weren’t put on probation for it a month ago.”

Alya flicks his nose, a bright smile on her face.

“Wow, you’re all disgusting.” a familiar voice follows the ring of the bell at the door.

“Chloé!” All four of them exclaim.

“Six months since I got you all together and you couldn’t have named your merged coffeeshop after me? Really?” she scoffs, strutting in. “Brewtiful Catpuccinos is the worst possible name and I hate all of you.”

“We love you, Chloé.” Adrien grins.

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t think I don’t know these puns are your doing.”

The five of them smile warmly at each other, content.

[canvaswolfdoll]

CanvasWatches: Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

Sarcastic lead? Goofy supporting cast? Loving use of nerdity? Maid uniforms? Fantastical elements stuffed into a slice-of-life narrative? Well, that’s certainly something for me!

Also, it’s alarming how often Quetzalcoatl's been popping up in my work and entertainment. I mean, it’s not an excessive amount, to be honest, but considering my original assumption was ‘Obscure Mythological Figure improperly transplanted into an anime film’, anything more than once is notable.[1]

Perhaps this is punishment for using a mondegreen of the name as my sign off phrase…

Anyways, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid! It was spoken of highly by an anime reviewer I follow, it was on Funimation, and I need to justify that subscription beyond letting my brother watch Case Closed all the time, so…

Let’s talk about the show.

In a bit of an oddity, I’ve found the Opening and Closing sequences very absorbing. Now, I’m not one to ever skip either in a series, as it’s usually well animated, the music is catchy, and it’s a couple minutes to settle in or grab food or whatever, plus (depending on the player) it can be a chore to skip anyways. There are often neat details hidden away, too, and it’s fun to learn the context of images as you go through the series.

The OP in this case struck me by how it triggered not the ‘Ah, Anime opening song’ switch in my brain, but a ‘Ah, Visual Novel opening song’ switch, which is a weird switch to learn I have, since I haven’t actually played that many Visual Novels. Still, the music itself is upbeat, very energetic, and very “Oh yeah! Let’s get into this! Time to read a bunch, make choices, and seduce a girl!” But I have no agency in the upcoming events, Anime! Why are you trying to make me hyped? It’s working, but I don’t understand the effort.

It’s also paired with the trippiest imagery I’ve seen in awhile, with fractal dragons and people spinning like falling seedlings. Still bright and colorful, and there’s faces to meet over the course of the show, but it’s just utterly bizarre. Maybe because I don’t get exposed to purely comedic animes that often I’m not used to it, but it’s still a ride that I lack the tools to properly contextualize.

Actually, now that I think about it and listen to the song divorced from the imagery, the song reminds me of Rune Factory Frontier’s opening. Huh…

The EP, on the other hand, is a more reasonable montage of Daily Life, with a song that’s also fun. It actually strikes me as more of an OP piece. I really like the song. Considering it’s been a very recent realization for me that Music Albums are intentionally curated objects meant to be listened to straight through to convey meaning, instead of a bunch of singles thrown on a disc, I may not be the guy for musical criticism.

Music is an ineffable magic to me. I lack the tools to create or understand it, but some songs are good?

This had been a tangent. Let’s go to what I’m comfortable with: storytelling!

So let’s take a brief look at something most people take for granted: the episode titles and, in relation, names.[3]

Naming things is a hard task which I have managed to become moderately good at, a fact I derive from the time a classmate in a scriptwriting class asked with mild awe at how I came up with so many names[4] for my 10-minute comedy play. The secret, as with all artistic aspects you find difficult, is figure out a functional system and maintain it.

So I’ve developed a few methods for characters:

Start with a theme (in the case of my play, I was actually going through alphabetically as characters are mentioned) but don’t be afraid to break it if you feel like it.

Stick with one or two syllable names. The longer the name, the harder it’ll be to remember. Same with not going too archaic or foreign with the name. If your audience can’t remember the character’s name or how to pronounce it, they’ll focus more on that than the story.

  If you break rule two, it’s on you to have a nickname prepared that follows rule two. If you don’t, I’m going to call you Windy Jerk in my post RPG Session write-ups.[5]

Which is fine for characters, but then there’s titles, which I’m no good at. Titles need to be both intriguing and vague, to draw in an audience, but keep them surprised. This is compounded when you have 13-26 episodes to name. Some shows do a good job at consistently coming up with names, or at least semi-adequate puns, and others just call the episodes ‘[Episode/Chapter/Part]’ and the number in the sequence. Both of these are valid techniques.[6]

Which is why Word Salad Titles stick out so much, and why I love them yet can’t quite master using them myself. They manage being vague not by carefully revealing little information, but overloading with data so fast the audience doesn’t have time to parse it before the shows starts.

Also, they just sound funny.

What’s intriguing about Dragon Maid is that it’s not an extreme example of the Word Salad some comedy animes tend towards (Exclamatory statement! Vague plot summary), but it is a style very similar to myself.[7]

Dragon Maid’s episode titles follow the structure of exclamatory sentences, then gentle snark about the title in parenthesis. While I don’t use exclamations often, the statement followed by snark is something I do with my art work [[Maybe provide examples?]] and is even punctuated the same way, with parentheses implying an aside.

Which is also the speech style of our titular Miss Kobyashi. (Check out my sweet transition!)

Ms. Kobayashi is the first character I’ve deeply related to in a long while. Sarcastic and pretty asocial, she starts the series living alone in an one-bedroom apartment and has a single friend from work. Otherwise, Kobayashi is content with her solitude, engaging in quiet interests. It's not exactly emotionally fulfilling, but it's okay. She doesn't really feel the need for more.

Which is just the opening needed for a Manic Pixie Dream Girl! In the form of a Yandere Dragon Maid Girl.

Manic Pixie Dream Girls have received some negative press,[8] which isn't completely unwarranted, but sells the trope short. After all, when you really get down to it, they're the personification of the inciting incident. A character whose arrival kicks starts the protagonist’s journey of self improvement. Sometimes they need to be dragged kicking and screaming for the first leg, because it's funnier that way. Often times, when using a Dream Girl character, writers take a romantic angle because… that's a popular and relatable motivation I guess? The problem comes when the narrative is locked close to the protagonist, leaving not enough space to develop the Dream Girl beyond that scope.

Fortunately, since Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid is a serial narrative, and it's Tohru bringing in most of the supporting cast, our Dragon Maid doesn't fall into that pit trap.

Tohru is a fish out of water, which I really love seeing when the environment is our own. It’s a good method to work observational humor into a work, as well as odd ball humor for the alien being. Usually, there is an air of innocence to the character. Tohru, meanwhile, comes from what is implied to be a war-torn fantasy realm, and prefers to default to chaos and destruction when unsure.

It’s a good take.

Kobayashi doesn’t take too much interest in Tohru’s origins, greeting (most) new acts of magic and property damage with half-lidded neutrality or annoyance. Since the focus of the show is ‘The supernatural adjusting to the mundane,’ Kobayashi’s disinterest is important. There are many other shows you can watch if you want to see a normal person come to grips with a magic world,[9] so Kobayashi needs to act as a guide character for the normal world.

Even as these dragon interlopers force her into a parental role and build out her friend circle.

That first point is possibly one of more unique traits, as rarely do Animes present their protagonist taking on the role of adoptive parent. Or parent at all. Maybe a few world-wandering shows will have found families, but I can’t think of another example where the character’s arc is that of becoming more domestic.

Which is why I appreciate Kanna.

Kanna is the second dragon to move from The Other World to Our World, banished for playing too many pranks to get attention from her parents. However, despite this supposed impish nature, she’s the most reserved of the Dragons, content to living like she’s Kobayashi’s nine-year old daughter, with Tohru acting as sort of an older sister. I think this is kind of a lost opportunity, because we could’ve kept all that, and also have Kanna play a few small pranks from time to time out of boredom and discontent. That could’ve been a nice, additional reason for Kobayashi to enroll Kanna in school: not out of malice but to give the young dragon some engagement during the day.

Then Fafnir and Queztal ‘Lucoa’ Coatl start visiting, then moving into the neighborhood.

Fafnir is my favorite of the dragons. He’s initially introduced as your usual bloodthirsty and treasure-obsessed dragon, which is fine, but then the series uses those traits to have him comfortably slip into a NEET lifestyle, which is hilarious. He gets to enact violence in video games and collect treasures in the form of promotional items, while still staying a grump.

Lucoa is… she started as the Sane member of the Dragon cast, giving exposition on what Tohru was like before and generally just being chill. However, in moving her to the world, she signs herself up as a familiar for a young mage, and starts… creeping on him is the best I charitably describe it. Shouta has no interest in these advances, and watching it played out on screen isn’t charming. Also, I’m afraid I have to align myself as opposed to the ‘Patriarchy’ line, because it does seem out of character.[10]

About halfway through, Elma arrives, after seven episodes of being the mysterious water dragon in the opening, inspiring me to see if I couldn’t align the dragons with the Rune Factory dragons.[11]

I… like Elma, but she’s underutilized. After her introductory episode, she’s just food obsessed and does literally nothing of consequence. She doesn’t even get a human to bond with like the others. Nothing is fleshed out for her. Unfortunate, as she looks cute with her glasses.

As a part of the theme, most of the dragons[12] are given a human to who they grow close.

Tohru, obviously, has Kobayashi. Tohru is very direct with her affections, while Kobayashi has to warm up to her dragon maid, and the exact degree Kobayashi returns the affections (whether it’s platonic or romantic on her end) isn’t pinned down exactly.

In contrast, Kanna has Saikawa, who has an obvious crush on Kanna, which she hides poorly. Though Kanna acts oblivious to what she does to Saikawa, Kanno does indicates an interest in… some sort of relationship that parallels Kobayashi and Tohru.

Actually, the show seems to have a problem with putting minors into sexual situations. It’s fine with Kanna and Rika, as they are essentially the same age and Saikawa’s squeeing, though transparent, is kept at an age-appropriate level. The two only have the one moment while visiting Saikawa’s house that’s uncomfortable, and that’s initiated by Kanna.

Shouta and Lucoa are just uncomfortable.

Fanservice is a contentious subject. What is okay, and what crosses a line? What level of slapback against perverts makes it even? Why am I (seemingly) one of the few that takes no umbrage against MHA’s Mineta but dislike Lucoa’s portrayal?

I typically avoid Anime that put sexual fanservice as one of its selling points. For example, before starting on Dragon Maid, I watched the first two episodes of WorldEnd: What are you doing at the end of the world? Are you busy? Will you save us? which is an epic word salad of a title which invokes the image of some shy person trying to ask someone out on a date that’s also a world-saving quest, but doesn’t want to over step. However, it quickly became clear the focus is pretty much a rescue romance focused on a bunch of characters the narrative goes through pain to tell you are 15 at the oldest. Also, a troll that wants to eat the protagonist which, recent meme culture aside, would’ve been an interesting dynamic to watch. Too bad the rest of the introductory episodes were too skeevy.

Which is to say, I’m easily tossed when a piece of media’s centerpoint is fanservice, made worse when it’s creepy fanservice to the detriment of world and narrative.

Then there’s Mineta who, foolishly, I’m going to try and defend now? Because the subjects of Mineta’s perversions are also approximately 15 years old, as above. However, Mineta is the same age as his classmates, which flattens the power dynamic.

‘But Canvas! It’s an excuse to show the audience fanservice of 15-year olds!’ you may say.

Okay. It’s a Shonen. The target audience are young males, approximately the same age as the cast. Are you really going to say you didn’t have a couple crushes on your peers as a teenager? It’s okay to let teenagers be attracted to other teenagers. As for the adult members of the audience? Let them smile whimsically at what it was like to be that age.

And his peers do admonish and punish him for going too far. If it’s not enough punishment for you, well, that’s up to your interpretation. I give it a pass because the tone is kept light and Mineta unable to do any actual harm. And comedy works best through exaggeration. A man getting stabbed is tragic. A man getting impaled onto an oversized firework that shoots into the air and explodes is slapstick. Also, the kid’s 15, he has time to mature and get character progression.

But you know who I never hear any ill words against? Midnight. Superheroine in a skintight outfit, whose schtick is bondage, and uses flirty tones towards students. Now that’s super uncomfortable. Because she is in a position of authority, and receives zero pushback for how she acts around her students.[13] Yet, the fanbase seems to give her a pass. Why? She actually acts more predatory than Mineta, and her power literally knocks her opponents out. She is dripping with poor implications.

I could go in depth, but I think that’s enough of a baseline to continue the review. The appropriateness of Fanservice depends on the viewer, and can be fickle, so excuse me if I can’t give a bullet point list of my own policies.[14]

So, let’s return to Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, which undoubtedly has strong element of fanservice. Why does it (mostly) succeed?

Well, first off, it’s kept tongue in cheek. The adult female dragons have ridiculous proportions, which gets lampshaded heavily, but their huge tracts of land are rarely used as a value judgement on the cast. They’re magical beings, if they want to look that way, it’s on them.

Next, there’s little power imbalance in the relationships. Tohru begins the series making her intentions towards Kobayashi clear, but after a couple rejections, the lines are established and respected. Tohru loves Kobayashi, but she wants any return in affections to be gained honestly. So even with Tohru’s immense physical and magical strength, and Kobayashi being placed in the role of ‘Master’, they’re both equal in establishing boundaries and respecting them.

And tone is very important. It’s a comedy series, so actions and emotions can be big and exaggerated. So, exaggerated proportions, exaggerated yuri-teasing, exaggerated violence, and exaggerated reactions. Saikawa happily screams every time Kanna does something cute, and it works because it’s a comedic reaction.

However, Lucoa breaks these rules. She answers Shouta’s summons and becomes his familiar. However, Shouta is maybe 10 or eleven to Lucoa’s presented, let’s say, late-twenties, and Lucoa comes on to this literal child. A child who rejects the advances and explicitly tells her not to. And Lucoa can’t claim ignorance, so she’s intentionally violating boundaries. It’s unbalanced power, ignores established lines, and turns Lucoa’s physical form into a joke, which all shifts the comedic tone.

Then (and I originally wanted to avoid this topic) the dub gives her a line about changing to more conservative dress because she was growing tired of patriarchal pressure. Lucoa had spent the series to the point as the most overtly sexualized character by her own decision, even getting into legal trouble once or twice, and creeping on a child. Then the writing wants to try and shame the audience over a character placed before them. It’s a line that might’ve worked if delivered by Tohru or Elma,[15] as it would’ve continued the theme of the the world pushing back against Lucoa. It’s also winter, so passing it off as the ex-goddess caving to nature would have worked, especially since the feathered serpent is from a tropical climate, and is a giant snake, so needing to bundle up against cold works.

I should not be forming opinions about this mythology! Why are you doing this to me, anime?

So, late-run Lucoa aside, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid is a fun show with strong world building, an interesting story, and pretty good comedy. I recommend it.

If you enjoyed this review, you should check out my other writings. I like talking about things, so if you want to send me asks, I’d be happy to engage. Also, hey, I have a patreon, in case you want to support me and my various endeavours. Thanks for reading.

Kataal Lucoa.

[1] I was kind of sort of hired to write a children’s play about Quetzalcoatl once, and I was not the person to suggest it.[2] [2] It was an okay piece. There was talk of maybe developing it further, but to be honest, South American Mythology doesn’t interest me. [3] A topic I must’ve covered before, but I can’t remember where. Repeated lessons can be good, though, so tough it out. [4] To be fair, there were only two active characters on stage, one body, and three further mentioned names, for a total of six. I still take pride because I lack confidence in names. [5] I only do this when I’m a player. As a GM I try to respect player choices, but still, throw me a bone, please. [6] This is why my reviews have the formula of Canvas_____: Review Subject. [7] I am vain and like things that remind me of myself. [8] Says the never been kissed white guy… [9] I recommend Digimon! [10] However, it’s a brief throwaway line, so I’m not one to make a fuss. Just gentle tutting. [11] It falls apart very quickly. Terrable could be Lucoa, but there’s no one for Ventuswill. [12] Or ex-goddess, in the case of Lucoa. [13] Student-Teacher romances being, of course, a bugbear that’s been growing for me recently. [14] It’d probably be mostly glasses focused, anyways. [15] Who is lawfully aligned. And would’ve given her more than food to stress about.

[jamest-kirk]

could we have more of ur firefighter jim paramedic bones au? maybe w/ spock as a cop or something?

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Jim groans when his back hits the wall, hungry lips on his neck and teeth dragging over his skin. “Rough day in the office?” He asks breathlessly, reaching out to pull that boring blue shirt over Bones’ head, before the other finds his lips in a hard and hungry kiss that almost leaves him feeling dizzy. “Fucking cop makes my life a living hell,” Bones replies, pulling the other to their bedroom, and Jim’s happy to follow. “So you’re taking your frustrations out on me?” Jim asks, and Bones immediately freezes at that. Fuck, no. Jim, you idiot. “I’m sorry,” Bones says, but Jim quickly shakes his head. “I’m not complaining,” he replies, pushing Bones closer to bed, “let’s work out those frustrations.”

Jim’s pretty exhausted afterwards, face resting in Bones’ neck and he enjoys the hand gently running over his spine. There’s the Bones he knows. “You want to talk about it?” Jim asks. “About what?” “The cop,” Jim replies, and Leonard huffs. “Hell no.” “I should at least know his name,” Jim says. “Why?” “So I can thank him. Jesus, Bones, if I knew sex would be even better than usual when you’re frustrated, I’d get on your nerves, too.” “Believe me,” Bones laughs, “you do.”

Bones is at home, though on call, when Jim comes home. Jim doesn’t even officially live here, but that doesnt stop him from having a spare key - and more often than not Bones finds this fireman in his bed even when Bones himself isn’t even home for the night. “How was work?” Bones asks, looking up at Jim, whose face is still slightly covered in sooth here and there. “There was a fire?” He asks, and Jim nods, grabbing a beer from Bones’ fridge. “Some pyro has been setting animal shelters on fire, but as future chief I can’t start a proper investigation while the cops interfere with my work, God damn it.” He curses under his breath. Bones gets up and runs a hand through that messy blond hair, now a shade or two darker because of the ashes. “Maybe a shower will make you feel a little better, hm?” He suggests. “Think so? I was just gonna crash in bed and-” “No, you should absolutely take a shower. It’ll make you feel better,” Bones says, “and it’ll make me feel better too, because you smell awful.” Jim’s lips turn into a small smile, and he puts his bottle down. “Fine,” he says, grabbing on to Bones’ shirt, “but you’re joining me. My turn to work out some frustrations now.”

Jim’s planned a whole romantic evening with his doctor boyfriend, okay. Maybe not a candlelight dinner, but he got Bones’ favorites takeout, his Netflix, and a bottle of the most expensive wine he could afford (which, really, amounts to a 10 dollar wine), and though Jim doesn’t even really like wine himself, he likes the idea of drinking it in a hot tub with lots of foam and a loved one, because that always looks great in movies. They never make it to that hot and steamy bath, though. Jim has an arm around Bones’ waist, having the other pressed back against the couch, but an attempt to make out is cut short when Bones’ phone rings. “Don’t pick up,” Jim mutters against Bones’ lips, but it’s his work ring tone, and so Bones reaches out to pick up after all. Jim makes a point of kissing the other’s neck while Bones speaks quietly, voice a little rough, maybe even a bit breathless when Jim’s fingers slide under his shirt. “Okay,” Bones says, “I’ll be there soon.” It’s cue enough for Jim to stop, and when Bones hangs up, he looks clearly disappointed. “I’m sorry,” Bones says, “someone's​ been shot, I gotta go check it out.” “Let them know they ruined date night,” Jim says, and Bones huffs. “I’m sure you’ll manage, I’ll be home as soon as i can. Don’t wait up, though. Just in case.” “Okay,” Jim says, though they both know Jim will be awake until Bones comes back, anyways.

Jim doesn’t actually get the luxury of lounging in his boyfriend’s bed, because pretty soon after Bones has left, the fire department gets called into action, too. Same neighbourhood, and, as Jim comes to find out, same crime scene. He recognises Bones’ ambulance instantly, though he doesn’t have the time to look for him because a building is very much on fire, and Jim spends the next few hours getting it under control.

When the fire’s under control and mostly put out, he takes a break. He wants to make sure Bones is alright (even though he has no reason not to be, of course), and he finds him with that damned cop that irked him to no end just a few days ago. “Listen to me, you pointy-eared prick,” he hears Bones say, and oh boy, that sounds like trouble, “this is the second time you’re refusing to let me do my job. This god damn fire is not your responsibility, and neither are the victims.” “On the contrary,” Spock replies, “the safety of potential victims and catching the one responsible is my utmost priority.” “Then let me-” “-but I will not risk the safety of the only doctor currently on site until a pass has been given by the fire department,” Spock concludes, and Jim takes that as a cue to step in next to his boyfriend. Spock raises an eyebrow when he approaches, and Jim throws him a wry smile. “Sup, Legolas.” “Mr. Kirk, do I need to remind you that derogatory references towards my ears will not affect me, and will only look poorly upon your work ethics.” “What are you pestering my boyfriend for? Wasn’t it bad enough you reported me to my chief for unprofessional behavior last time? Now you gotta go against my boyfriend, too?” Jim asks, and Spock glances at the two of them. “Merely making sure your boyfriend doesn’t run into danger,” he replies, “like last time.” “Good,” Jim says, crossing his arms, “wait. What? What do you mean, like last time?”

Jim’s not done arguing with Bones when the two of them get home to Bones’ flat. Bones, however, has been mostly ignoring him for the last 20 minutes or so while Jim lists the things that can go wrong when Bones walks into a gang fire to save people. Because, you know, that’s why Spock’s there; to stop more people getting hurt. Just the thought that Bones could even potentially be one of those victims is enough to drive him mad, but Bones has been fairly casual about it, taking off his jacket and kicking off his shoes while Jim continues to bicker at him. “Oh my God, Jim,” Bones groans eventually, “shut up. Please. Putting myself into a dangerous situation is no different than you running into a burning building to save someone. It’s our job.” “You should’ve waited until Spock said-” “Are you teaming up with the cop, now?” Bones asks, “because a few days ago you hated him.” “When it comes to your life, yes, I agree with him,” Jim counters, following Bones to the kitchen, and snatching the other’s glass of whiskey from his hands to drink it himself instead. “You’re such a hypocrite,” Bones replies, “getting yourself in danger all the time, and then being butthurt over me. I didn’t even get hurt.” “But if you had,” Jim says, “I never would’ve forgiven myself.” Bones sighs, and Jim calms down when the other reaches out and runs his hand through Jim’s hair. “Love you, too,” he says, and Jim smiles faintly when the other leans in for a quick kiss. He doesn’t like how easy Bones can make him calm down, or at least lighten up a little bit. “You still suck,” Jim says, crossing his arms, and Bones huffs. “Not yet,” he says, and Jim wraps his arms around him, eyes falling shut when lips kiss down over his neck, “but if you stop being mad, I might be.” 

[joneswilliam72]

How the true story of a failed Parisian proposal & a 2 week bender became The Orchard's Under the Eiffel Tower: Meet director Archie Borders

I caught up with filmmaker Archie Borders for a chat on the craft of character, influences, what makes a great film, Kentucky bourbon, film school, regional filmmaking and art in Kentucky, Missouri, and southern Illinois (a region I know well) and much more as it relates to his newest, the most unconventional romantic comedy Under the Eiffel Tower, out now on Digital and On Demand.

Stuart (Matt Walsh) is having a mid-life crisis. After losing his job, tagging along on his best friends' family vacation to Paris, and humiliating himself by proposing to their 24-year-old daughter, he teams up with Liam (Reid Scott), a self-proclaimed ladies’ man. The two head off to the French countryside where they soon cross paths with Louise (Judith Godrèche), a beautiful vineyard-owner. Love is on the horizon, but Stuart's going to have to get past a few hurdles – and out of his own way – in order to find it in this romantic coming-of-middle-age comedy.

Catch Under the Eiffel Tower on Digital and On Demand now and enjoy the interview below.

Hello, Archie. How are you?

I am good. I'm doing well. How about yourself?

Oh, a little sick, but that happens around winter.

My household is like a flu zone right now. We're all we're Hazmat suits here.

That sucks. Hope it's over soon for both of us.

Getting right into the movie, what was the initial inspiration on the picture for you?

Sure. The initial inspiration was I was working on a reality show about 10 or 12 years ago and the location manager, whose name was also Stuart, and I were setting up the office and we were swapping romantic stories and he told me about how he had invited himself along on his fiancée's family trip to Paris.

[Laughs] Interesting.

And they were kind of like hadn't meant to bring him, but he went and he talked his way on and once they got there, he kind of became overcome with the setting and the beauty and he literally proposed to his fiancée on day one under the Eiffel Tower. And she turned him down and it's one of those things you can't really take back, you know?

Absolutely.

It's like, "Okay. Why don't you just forget about it and go on with the vacation?" You know, he was kind of humiliated and had to end up going on this two week bender. So he told me that story and I remember thinking at the time, "Poor schmuck." But I was also thinking, "My God, that's a great setup for a romantic comedy." So fast forward years later, we turned him from a 30 something into a more pathetic middle-aged guy just grasping at something and that was really the beginning.

Well, there you go. What were the challenges like for you?

Challenges in terms of getting it made or shooting or-

Yeah.

Well, every film's a challenge, but I gotta be honest. You know, I've been working in independent film and making these movies for a while and usually there's a lot of scratching and clawing and fundraising and things like that. This one came together relatively easily once Matt [Walsh] and Judith [Godrèche] came on board. And then The Orchard, so it was a pretty fast process.

They green lit it. We went into production. We went into pre-pro. We jumped in. We had a short shooting schedule, but an efficient one. And got the film made and so, yeah, I wish ... There's really not a lot of negative I can point to. I mean, there's always a shot here or there that you didn't grab or a favorite scene that ends up getting chopped or whatever, but overall, it was pretty fantastic shoot.

Oh, that's great. I mean, you don't hear that too often from filmmakers, when I ask them that.

I know. I wish I had more horror stories. That's more provocative, but it's just not. It was a just a wonderful, you know, it's like I tell people when they're like, "Well, how was the shoot in France?" It's just like, "Well, you know, good food, amazing scenery, some of the funniest people in the world." Yeah, it's just horrible. It's a horrible thing.

(L-R) Judith Godrèche as Louise, Reid Scott as Liam and Matt Walsh as Stuart in the romantic comedy UNDER THE EIFFEL TOWER. Photo courtesy of The Orchard.

[Laughs] That's interesting you mentioned the funny people. The next question I had with that was sort of related. Any funny or memorable moments that stick out from that filming process?

Oh, my gosh. Well, yes. You know, there's one scene that's in the film where it's Reid [Scott] has just jumped in the cab with Michaela Watkins and David Wain and Dylan [Gelula] and you get those four kinds of actors, who are all fantastic comedic actors and great at improv and there was so much material that they would just go off on and you could've made a 10, 20 minute short film just out of that cab ride.

[Laughs] Nice.

And the biggest challenge was just what the hell to cut, because it was all ... You know, you watch some movies like you watch an Anchorman and you realize they're just going and they leave everything in. Obviously, in this film, you couldn't do that. We had a story we had to tell. So just figuring out how do we cut out all this great material and still preserve the narrative. That's probably the biggest challenge when you get that kind of group together.

Oh, absolutely. That made me think of William Faulkner's famous quote with writers about killing your darlings.

Oh, yeah.

You know, editing. Yeah.

And it's tough. In any kind of edit, you have to go through that process and it's never, never easy but that's why God created, you know, deleted scene with extras and things like that.

Very true.

(L-R) Reid Scott as Liam and Judith Godrèche as Louise in the romantic comedy UNDER THE EIFFEL TOWER. Photo courtesy of The Orchard.

I wish I had had more time to prepare for our interview today, 'cause usually I like to watch some other films that the filmmaker's done. But alas wasn't able to with the scheduling.

Sure.

So I understand a lot of your work had to do with Kentucky and the region.

Yeah. Absolutely.

Yeah, in fact all the films I've made were set in Kentucky. So this one was a very deliberate let's get out of Kentucky and so let's send somebody from Kentucky out into the world. And that was real important. That's the really important part, because any time you build up a body of work, you want it to kind of represent something and so I mean, William Faulkner, of course, he was Alabama, right? He did a lot of his writing.

Mississippi.

Mississippi. I'm sorry.

No worries.

So but I think that kind of voice is important. You know, those regional voices and that's the great thing about independent film is you can get voices ... Love movies from LA and New York, but it's nice to hear voices from other parts of the country, too, so-

Oh, absolutely.

... it was great to ... Yeah, it was great that The Orchard let us do that. The whole Bourbon Culture that's a part of that Stuart character is very much a part of the Kentucky thing. We're not just Mitch McConnell and things like that.

Oh, definitely. I mean, I actually went to school in Carbondale, Illinois so, pretty familiar with the region. Love a good bourbon too. [Laughs]

Oh cool! I went to SIU film school with Steve James, who did Hoop Dreams, yeah.

Interesting…

Carl Ellsworth. Yeah, there you go.

Jim Belushi, too.

Yeah. How 'bout that. Yeah. There is a definite viewpoint that comes from that region of the country, those areas. It's fun to see that represented a little bit.

Art from the region absolutely has a great and under-represented perspective. And I hope that they get more of that localized filmmaking in the national consciousness, too, also because it reminded me of Gone Girl being filmed down in Cape Girardeau, MO (see a driving tour of the locations here). Hopefully we'll see more of that.

Oh, sure. That's a really interesting area. Little Egypt. All that kind of stuff. It's fascinating.

Oh, it really is. Beautiful region.

(L-R) Morgan Walsh as Sharron, Judith Godrèche as Louise and Gary Cole as Gerard in the romantic comedy UNDER THE EIFFEL TOWER. Photo courtesy of The Orchard.

Switching gears just a little bit to a question I ask everybody.

Sure. Yep.

What makes a great film?

For me, it's always ... For me, it is great characters. It doesn't matter ... You can come up with the coolest plot device in the world, whatever that might be, but if you don't have the characters to bounce off of it or to be challenged by it or to interact with it, it's not gonna be compelling. So when you take great characters and find the right cast, too, and we were super looking to get Matt and Judith and Reid and those guys. And you watch those characters come alive. That's what makes a good film.

Absolutely.

So when you think back on any of your favorite films, mostly likely you'll remember the characters. You know, Casablanca, you're gonna remember Bogey and Ingrid Bergman, you know. Any ... Pick one and you can find a great character in that film. So to me it always starts with characters.

Fantastic criteria and definition there.

(L-R) Dylan Gelula as Rosalind, David Wain as Frank and Michaela Watkins as Tillie in the romantic comedy UNDER THE EIFFEL TOWER. Photo courtesy of The Orchard.

Another question that I like to ask everybody is about influences. What directors and films would you consider most molded you as an artist?

Sure. Well, when we were making this, from Dave [Henry] and I, to the initial draft when we would talk to Matt and Judith, the filmmaker I continually brought up was Preston Sturges.

I could definitely see that with the film.

I'm a huge Preston Sturges fan. So whether it was The Lady Eve or some of those kinds of things, where you put these characters in slightly, you know, it's not like door-slamming parts, but it's close, and then watch them bounce around.

So Preston Sturges. Robert Altman was a huge, huge influence. His real naturalistic quality with his films and they're very character-oriented usually. And well, currently, I love what Noah Baumbach's doing. I think his stuff is just wonderful. So there's a lot of...

There's just so many good filmmakers out there right now. Also, and I can never pronounce – I always massacre her last name – is Nicole Holofcener. Am I pronouncing it ... I hope I'm pronouncing it right.

You are. She co-wrote Can You Ever Forgive Me?.

Yeah. She directed Lovely & Amazing and Walking and Talking and Enough Said. Again, another director who just finds character and just really celebrates the character. I think she does great with that.

That's a great list. Most definitely. Noah Baumbach actually reminds me. Did you see Orson Welles' The Other Side of the Wind? He contributed to finishing that.

I did and I bought the book about the making of it and then I tried to watch it. And I got about ... It was the strangest film. Ahead of its time… but the performances and the acting style was so studio 1950's. It was a weird hybrid. I'm gonna try again. But I didn't quite make it through the first time and I'm kind of embarrassed by that.

It is a… dense film.

You know, the film student, sort of you got to, but yeah, I did see where he'd contributed to that. Alexander Payne, also, is another terrific kind of filmmaker for character.

Absolutely.

But yeah, definitely. Did you make it through the whole movie?

I did.

Do you see the whole thing?

I did. I liked it. Very meta. [Laughs]

How did ... Yeah. I'm gonna give it another shot. I really need to start lying about that one. Like, "It was amazing. It was ... " I need to do that. I just haven't gotten there yet.

I'm a big fan of John Houston as a director and an actor, too, so maybe that made it a little easier for me to watch. I also have a bit of a thing for weirder cinema. [Laughs]

Super. He was terrific. I mean, he was naturalistic and fun. I mean, he was Hemingway basically in that movie. It was wonderful.

He really was. I think he was the only one who could've played that part.

Yeah.

Besides maybe Welles himself-

Yeah.

Which was, of course, they thought it was gonna go that way, but-

Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Very cool.

Getting into actually the last question I have for you: what's next?

Well, like most filmmakers, I've got two or three other films that I'm working on.

Another comedy that I'm writing with Dave. We're finishing up the draft right now, so I'm hoping we'll roll right into that…

Right, with every film, you then start thinking cast and we already have some of the finances for the next one, so we'll start moving forward there. But right now, I'm focused on ... I really wanna just try to sit back and enjoy this, because as I've told a few people, it's kind of the perfect time of year for this type of movie. At least, here in Kentucky, it's the dead of winter. It's gray. It's nasty. It's great to be able to see this gorgeous, lush French countryside and just kind of perk yourself up in that.

from The 405 https://ift.tt/2H7QR6J

[kuwttrpg-blog]

MS. MARINA LOPEZ, it is with great pleasure that we are writing to inform you of your acceptance to Loyola Marymount University. As a graduate of WMHS, you are automatically granted access to your high school’s official KUWTT website, instructions pertaining to which can be found by clicking here. Ellie, please submit Marina’s account within 24 hours, along with the provided form. We’re excited to write with you!

» BEHIND THE CHARACTER!

NAME/ALIAS: Ellie. PRONOUNS: She/Her. AGE: 26. TIMEZONE: GMT. ACTIVITY LEVEL: 6/10 bc school. ANYTHING ELSE?: RFP!

» SHAPING THE CHARACTER!

FAMILY: Lopez. FACECLAIM: Naya Rivera. BIRTH ORDER: Second. TYPE: Solo. GENDER IDENTITY: Cisfemale. PRONOUNS: She/Her. SEXUAL PREFERENCE: Fluid. ROMANTIC PREFERENCE: Fluid.

» COLLEGE APPLICATION!

FULL NAME: Marina Juliana Lopez. TITLE: Ms. AGE: 21. BIRTHDAY: 11/12. COLLEGE: Loyola Marymount University. GRADE: Junior. MAJOR: Public Relations. MINOR: Political Science and Sociology dual.

» BIOGRAPHY!

Born in the heart of Lima Heights, Marina has always known what it meant to have very little, and how important it was to work hard to make sure you had what you wanted. No one would ever be able to tell, of course, since she seems so carefree and spirited. Her modest start in life, however, served Marina very well. She watched both of her parents work tirelessly to make enough money to support their large family, while Marina and her siblings were left, most days, in the care of their widowed grandmother. That didn’t mean that Maribel and Andres didn’t love their children, of course. Quite the opposite. And Marina, always full of compassion and empathy, totally understood that their absence was necessary, and that they were just trying to provide a worthwhile life for their babies. Her relationship with them was always even stronger because of it, she likes to think.

In spite of her humble beginnings, Marina was always happy, always smiling, and always surrounded by friends. As she grew older, developing her looks as well as those magical things on her chest that gathered a lot of male attention, her popularity grew as quickly as they did. She still didn’t go wild, and was still there to physically support her family in parents’ absence, but she frequented plenty of parties and generally loved life, no matter how little she had. As soon as Marina was old enough to work, she landed herself a job at a breakfast roller diner in the next town. It was two bus rides away, but her charm and bubbly personality helped her score the position, and Marina never complained about the commute. As long as she could make money, she had no reason to be upset. Marina kept the same job for two years, where her attitude and general nature helped her accumulate plenty of tips throughout each shift, and despite the early mornings and weekend shifts, she actually kind of enjoyed it. Part of her paycheck would go into the household fund, while the rest would go towards her college savings.

Unbeknownst to her, her grandmother had been saving for such an event for years. Marina was told at the last possible minute, of course, though she would’ve continued to work regardless. Instilled with a strong work ethic, it was basically in her blood to pay her own way, and Marina has always hated accepting handouts, even from her family. Though, she was in no position to pass up the money Alma had been saving, and is pretty sure the older woman would’ve kicked her butt if she’d refused it anyway, so Marina accepted it graciously. With the means to go someplace other than the town’s community college, Marina applied to Loyola Marymount, where she would major in Public Relations with a duel minor in Political Science and Sociology. Her acceptance packet arrived shortly after. As a natural born leader, Marina has big plans to own her own Public Relations company some day, but is a realist where work is concerned, so has no problem with working hard for it.

As tight as her home life was, leaving her home and her family behind for college really was difficult. She worried constantly about how they were doing back home without her, but Marina knew she had to grab the opportunity of a new life in California with both hands, and she really didn’t plan to waste it. With a thick skin, a fiery personality and the natural ability to make friends wherever she went, Marina wasn’t alone in the Golden State for long. Before her classes had even started, Marina went in search of a job, and soon found herself working as a Hooters girl. Compared to the diner, the tips she made were insane, and Marina would send home money after every paycheck. She spent her freshman year in the dorms, working her butt off in both school and her job, and eventually picked up a second job in a popular clothing store. By her sophomore year, she was able to rent a shoebox studio apartment that she truly adored, despite its ridiculously small size and terrible location. It was her home, she’d worked for it, and she was proud of it.

Marina continues to work and attend school, while managing to maintain a pretty good social life. She loves to party whenever possible, and can be found with her friends during most of her free time. Unlike her friends in Lima, though, the ones she has made in college are all from much better financial backgrounds. Marina has never been ashamed of her roots, but after seeing the stupidly sized houses her friends live in, all paid for curtesy of daddy dearest, she began to develop more of a complex about her own home. She has never been secretive about where she came from, but would never invite her friends back to her shoebox, nor would she tell them where it’s located. Fortunately, they never seem to care to ask, so it doesn’t hold her back. She’s still proud of herself for everything she is in the process of achieving and maintaining, except she’s very quietly proud of it all now, that’s all.

Balancing school, multiple jobs and her social life is becoming a little more taxing as time goes by, but somehow, Marina is able to keep her head above water, and always without complaint. She knows all of her hard work will be worth it, and that she is well on her way to securing the career in Public Relations that she has always dreamed of. She knows all about starting from the bottom, though, so definitely didn’t feel like it was beneath her when she recently applied and was hired as an assistant. An assistant’s assistant, to be exact, for some guy whose daddy has handed him way too much money and now he’s trying to make it as a rapper with very little talent. Marina does things like running around to grab coffee and all of the other things no one else wants to do, but it pays very well, and while she’s still in school, it’s good experience. Marina knows her perfect, dream job won’t magically fall into her lap, but her after-graduation sights are set a little higher than an assistant’s assistant, and Marina is excited about one day being something more.

While her hard work does just seem like that of a determined and goal-driven young woman, little does Marina know that staying up all night and working harder than necessary on assignments and perfecting her resumé is not just her being enthusiastic, and her obsessively keeping a bright smile on her face is not just her being optimistic, and in fact has a much darker cause. Though, that’s all something for her to find out later on, when it becomes more of a concern.

[mindthump]

How This Introvert Founder Became a Billion-Dollar Leader http://ift.tt/2m2AcFS

This story appears in the

March 2017

issue of

Entrepreneur

.

Subscribe »

Paul English sold Kayak to Priceline in 2012 for $1.8 billion. Now he is reentering the industry with Lola, a mobile app that combines AI with human travel agents to plan and book trips. And at both companies, he says, the key to success is the people he hires. 

By texting with Lola agents, users can book hotels and flights, get restaurant recommendations and get help with itinerary planning. Were you a fan of travel agents back in the day? Really back in the day, I used AAA. But I’ve also used a cruise travel agent, Wayland Travel for a safari, and, last year, American Express’ concierge service in Japan. The trip to Tokyo was motivated by the documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi. I was obsessed with it -- not because of the sushi, but because of this whole idea of what happens when a human being commits their life to perfection. Immediately after seeing the film, I got a couple of friends to go with me. One said she could get us a reservation at Sukiyabashi Jiro. Guaranteed. But at the last minute, her attempt fell through. So I called American Express and asked, “What’s the best sushi restaurant in Tokyo?” They gave us a really unique recommendation that I never would have discovered on my own.

Related: 5 Mega-Successful Entrepreneurs Who Are Introverts

How do you vet Lola’s agents for that level of knowledge? We have one woman who has been to every island in the Caribbean. When we get a Caribbean question, it’s delegated to her. But if a question is too exotic for us, we advise our agents to be transparent. They might say, “I haven’t been there before, but I can do a ton of research for you.”

You identify as an introvert. How did you learn to be extroverted for work? Do you have to flip a switch in your brain? I have 50 people in my company. Sometimes it’s comfortable for me to sit in front of my computer and do email and Slack all day. But if that’s literally all I do, it’s sucking energy out of the room. People want to engage with me. I need to force myself to get up. It’s a lot easier to transmit energy face-to-face than to transmit it electronically. I always keep my calendar open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. So at the last minute, I can just grab a few people I haven’t seen in a while. Sometimes we have an agenda, but mostly it’s just socializing, which is really important. There’s efficiency to Slack and email, but without that human connection, it goes flat.

Much of your work goes back to this “human” element. At Kayak, you made your coders field phone calls for customer service issues. How come? We’re doing it at Lola as well. Only humans can have compassion. If you don’t put them on the line together, you build layers of buffers between customers and engineers: customer support managers, product managers, designers, quality assurance engineers, engineering managers … By that point, the customer is so far removed from the engineer, the engineer has no compassion for the customer. By forcing the engineers to talk directly to the customers, they can design software to better address their problems.

Related: The 10 Most Critical Factors That Dictate Startup Success

What are some other lessons you learned at Kayak that helped you with Lola? The most important thing any entrepreneur can do is focus on the team. When I interview people, there are two things I look for. One is their GSD -- “get shit done” -- score. Do they have technical chops? The other 50 percent is: Are they energy amplifiers? Are they someone whom people enjoy being around? A lot of what I focused on at Kayak and what I’m focusing even more so on at Lola is playing the role of coach or organizational psychologist. I observe interactions, debug them and make sure we’re set up for success.

What is your debugging strategy? If I have two people who don’t work well together and I just separate them, I’ve lost the ability for those people to give each other positive energy. So when something is dysfunctional, I talk to each person individually and then bring them together and say, “You’re both extremely valued here, but you’re not clicking, and I want to know what we need to do.” Sometimes it’s just a matter of being open and naming a problem.

That’s very hands-on. Many managers hate dealing with personnel issues. But you obviously see it differently: Without these one-on-ones working, the whole company won’t work. Yeah, and it won’t work well. I’m not interested in running a “successful” company, I’m interested in running an exciting company where people love their job.

You once hired a guy who’d earned an Olympic medal in rowing. You said, “This guy is hard-core, and I bet that translates.” In that instance, you were right. Have you ever been wrong? I’ve made the mistake of hiring someone whose style is so radically different from the team that it just didn’t work. So the trick there is, I want diversity of style, but not too much diversity. There’s a fine line.

You’ve talked about having bipolar disorder and your own hypomania and OCD tendencies. Do you become fixated on prospective hires? My friends call it my pedestal complex. When I meet somebody who has a skill I don’t have, I put them on a pedestal and worship them. And my friends are like, “Oh, God, here he goes again.” I probably fall a little in love with everyone, in some way. But I’ve seen this movie enough times to know how it’s going to play out, so I try to manage my own expectations. Like, there’s a guy I just hired who is developing the user interface of the next version of Lola, and he’s unbelievably strong. I’m trying to temper myself so I don’t focus too much on him, because what if he disappoints me, like, a month from now and he’s not as fast a coder as I think he is? I’m attracted to shiny new objects.

In Tracy Kidder’s new biography of you, A Truck Full of Money: One Man’s Quest to Recover from Great Success, he explores the idea of whether your manic spells are responsible for your entrepreneurial confidence, or whether you succeed despite them. What do you think? They definitely played a role. There’s this romantic notion about the intersection of art and mental illness. But I do a lot of work with homelessness in Boston, and there are a lot of bipolar and schizophrenic people on the streets -- and let me tell you, it’s not very romantic. Mental illness can be very cruel. But if you’re just touched with some type of mental illness and it makes you look at the world differently than most people and you happen to be creative and/or bright, it can be a wonderful thing. My manic phases last weeks and sometimes months. I have enormous energy, I get by with little sleep, I’m always excited and I’m always excitable. I can lead a team when I have that kind of manic energy. So in that sense, it’s useful.

Related: 6 Truths on Why Introverts Make Great Leaders

Philanthropy has been important to you throughout your career. But a lot of entrepreneurs, especially those who are just getting started, pour every penny back into their business. At what point should people start thinking about others? If I could have only one word on my tombstone, I’d want it to say “kindness.” I want to be known as someone who cares about other people. Maybe I give to a particular 501(c)(3), or organize a group function at a food bank, or I’m kind to an old lady I meet on a bus. All of us need to be thinking about kindness. One, because it’s the right thing to do, and two, if you’re kind and you care when other people are in pain, it’s going to give you really good skills as an entrepreneur. Successful entrepreneurs invent services that make things easier for people.

You’ve taught classes on entrepreneurship at MIT and elsewhere. If your students learned just one thing from you, what would you want it to be? If I had a class of 50 students and wanted to predict by the end of the semester which one would create a billion-dollar company, I think it would be the kid who can energize a team of five. So, my one lesson is: Can you energize a small team and lead them and listen to them and care about them and motivate them and get them to work out disagreements and get them unified in one direction? I believe that is a skill that can be learned.