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lesbiancolumbo · 10 months

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Hey Sydney (you finally found some luck etc)! How was the show??

hello friend!!! i was waiting for you to reach out (though i was gonna make a post when i got back home)

warning for those who are reading on - i’m on mobile so no read more, and these incohesive thoughts WILL include spoilers for the film and musical versions of wine and roses. read on at your own risk!

so i loved it, though as always i have thoughts. first thing i want to mention is i love the staging. i was up super close and the pre-show staging is reminiscent of a greenhouse

which i found so evil! but they were creative in the staging to keep the action moving. my favorite bits were the pivotal pier scene takes place overlooking the audience. brian and kelli moved over the set piece and stepped out onto us and were literally staring right down at us as they spoke! kelli’s first line for that was “look at all this trash” which got us a laugh. there were also two little pools of water on stage which they utilized nicely. there was one moment when kelli’s character is on a bender and she falls and for a minute we forget the pool is there and she almost falls in. they also had brian climb up the side of the stage to act out the climbing out the window to the greenhouse.

i want to start with brian. he was incredible. i’ve always loved him and this is a fact, but god damn he was crushing it. it was honestly really emotional seeing him up close! he has an amazing voice and he really captures the complexities of joe - it’s hard to fill an established film star’s shoes, and BDJ has shown he can go toe to toe with jack lemmon AND tony curtis. the scene that got me with him was the greenhouse scene (i’ll elaborate on this more in a minute). he really goes for the physicality of it - my only note, and i know this is bc it’s staged, is that i really wanted to see brian go for it and just tear up the greenhouse the way film joe does. his performance is intense but i wanted to see him GO THERE.

kelli is the star of this show. most people at my show were there for her, but also she gets the big songs and the big moments, and that’s fine bc she’s fucking kelli o’hara. she is an amazing singer…. and kirsten is a really hard character to play. she really had me concerned for her at so many moments (where she sets the apartment building on fire… i knew that was coming but there were several little fake outs that had me holding my breath).

i have issues processing songs on a first listen so it’s hard for me to talk about the music, but i will say the song they sing every time they fall off the wagon gutted me. the first time it’s so charming! a little dance ditty (and watching them dance is SO FUN) but when it continues to come up again and again i just started crying lol. there’s also a really good song brian and then later kelli sings about finally recognizing yourself while sober. kelli and the actress who plays their kid have a song that made me cry too towards the end

so my biggest “issues” with the show are that…. i don’t really like how the show adapts the jim storyline! the actor who plays jim is great, but so many of his lines are about how joe is a born drunk and he’ll die a drunk and once he accepts that he can get sober, etc., which feels……. i don’t know! not very nuanced re: addiction. especially when the show cuts out one of the most important bits of dialogue from the movie, that kirsten’s love of chocolate may have been a warning sign of an addictive tendency. the show seems to imply that joe was born this way but he MADE kirsten an addict, instead of the reality that she already had those same tendencies too. it’s a weird change that kinda alters the dynamic the characters have.

i also wish the show had utilized some of the most powerful visual moments from the film: joe being so drunk he crushes the flowers he brings home (this happens in the show but it’s never really addressed), joe seeing his reflection in the mirror and not recognizing himself (brian does this in passing - if you’re looking at him you see it, but the focus is on kelli so it can easily go unnoticed and it’s never addressed!), and the last shot of joe and the BAR neon sign. this last one is most likely something they wanted to do but couldn’t in lighting, but still! it’s an iconic and heartbreaking shot. i would have loved to see that.

little things i loved: brian and kelli were clearly having so much fun and that was a joy to watch, they have such an easy chemistry, you could easily buy that these two people were in love, brian does the thing he always does where he shimmies his hips and it’s so embarrassing, he also does a little strip tease and i was fucking dying, the actress who plays their kid is so good and she has one of the most heartbreaking lines that no one seemed to get — “i know how to do everything,” which made me cry! again, the greenhouse scene is just amazingly well done and the greenhouse set becomes a part of the staging for the rest of the musical, as if joe’s actions continue to haunt him throughout the rest of it.

i’m trying to think of what else to say! it’s just really good and i’m so happy i got to see it. i don’t know what will happen with the show in the future, but i hope more people get a chance to listen to it or watch it.

also i didn’t talk much about meeting brian! he was really nice, when i showed him the ssos script he was genuinely stunned. he was like oh wow! and when he asked me who to make it out to, he thought i was joshing him when i said my name was sydney. but he was kind - i told him how much he means to me (and all of us!) and he thanked me. he was like don’t miss kelli!! before he left. kelli was super sweet too - she had the same reaction lol, “oh wow!” and then bc i can here’s me and the bestie again:

#asks #i hope that covered everything you wanted to know! feel free to ask specifics in my DMs or in another ask #i’m still kinda processing it too so if i have more specific thoughts i’ll follow up

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kosmosinusa · 1 year

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Sera Myu: Musical Festival -Chronicle- Review

You know when something just hits you deep in your core and you can’t help but be a sobbing mess on the floor? Yes, that was me.

When this musical was first announced, I really had no idea what to expect. I had predicted it would be like an Ai no Sanctuary 2.0, and then they said it would be mostly Kaguya-Hime songs, that turned out to be a big ass lie. WHICH I’m grateful for. Not that I don’t love those songs, but the musical was truly something beautiful and shiny and celebrates the history of Myu in its own beautiful way! The song list is mainly NelkeMyu songs (2013-2017, NogiMyu, The Super Live) with a tiny sprinkle of Bandai thrown in for flavor (though, they are newer versions as seen in NogiMyu and The Super Live). Speaking of new arrangements, nearly every song was re-arranged! Whether it be new instruments, new lyrics, or something along those lines, all except a very few songs were re-arranged for the musical and I love the new feel to songs! And the 2 new songs (Chronicle the Story of Sailor Moon and Eternal Cycle) are SO good. Eternal Cycle in particular made me start crying with how beautiful it was.

The cast REALLY showed off. I saw both the second-to-last and the senshuuraku performances. While the vocals are better in the earlier show, the emotions are much stronger in the final show. Riko-Moon in particular REALLY redeemed herself for me. I liked her last musical, but I REALLY loved her this time. She really put her all in this time, and I’m SO proud of her. Her vocals snatched me in the earlier showing, and her determination and power wowed me in the senshuuraku. I’m so grateful she got to play her again. ;w;

I have to address the elephant in the room. Kisara’s vocals. If you remember last year, she nearly had the best vocals out of all the inners. However, I could tell even in the first day’s livestream, she was lip-syncing. And this year, we found out why. Kisara really struggles at live singing. There were some times she sounded pretty okay (when she sings high in her head voice, she sounds really good most of the time), but her voice breaks when singing low. Which is kinda bad when you’re playing Sailor Jupiter... ^^; Some friends in the SoS Discord think she was sick. It’s a possibility. IDK how to feel Because I lowkey felt like she broke immersion a bit in some songs, but I really like her as Jupiter at the same time. I’m torn. ;-;

MVP award goes to miss Riona Tatemichi who has climbed ALL THE WAY to the TOP of my favorite Tux list. Yes, she beat out the previously untouchable Yu Shirota. She made an extremely gay man swoon. SHE DID THAT, SHE DESERVES THAT SPOT. xD

MVP AWARD ALSO GOES TO MISS CHISE NIITSU. HELLO? NEW FAVORITE CHIBI MOON. She really REALLY leveled up from her Chibi Chibi days. I actually wasn’t huge on her Chibi Chibi back in the day and vastly preferred Hinari. But she was SUCH a cute Chibiusa with a powerful, strong voice! I can’t help but love her!

I’m just generally in love with the current outers. Shinju-Uranus grew on me this musical. I think she pairs really well with Ayana and MISS AYANA?! NEW FAVE NEPTUNE AS WELL WTF AND MISS YUKA IDE? NEW FAVE SATURN. This Musical gave me a bunch of new faves. Chisato-Pluto also FINALLY got a chance to shine and QUEEN I LOVE YOU. (Still mad Nelke hasn’t given you a solo song or at least let you cover Chronos Guardian though ;O; )

If you want a story summary, check out @crazykacey‘s! I don’t understand Japanese, so I actually used his review and context of watching to understand the musical. All I can say is fantastic BandaiMyu vibes and a very fun musical! I’m pretty tired after this Musical season. I really went in on reporting (on Twitter and Discord LMAO) and doing some things (which will be revealed in the near future) so IDK how to end this review. Long story short, the musical is really worth your time and from the very beginning, you’re probably gonna cry. It’s a great time, and I hope you all get the chance to see it! ALSO PRE-ORDER THE DVD OR BLU-RAY. Thank you. XD

#sailor moon #sera myu #musical festival chronicle

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fasterthanmydemons · 1 year

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“They might take requests,” Mantis replied with a shrug. She wasn’t sure. Maybe she was mistaken. When she first approached them to ask them to perform for Pietro, they seemed friendly enough. “But if they don’t, they will.” She hoped the use of her powers wouldn’t be necessary, but birthdays were only once a year… were they not? She wasn’t sure about that either. Mantis wasn’t overly familiar with the traditions followed by humans, but that was okay as long as she got the gist of it.

When Pietro agreed to carry her piggyback, she beamed. “Really? You’re okay with it?” That made her really happy. Due to the way she was raised and the nature of her powers, Mantis needed a lot of space, figuratively and literally. When she touched someone, anyone, she was flooded with emotions and thoughts that weren’t her own. She needed time alone, with her own thoughts and feelings instead of everyone else’s. She often worried that it would come across as a lack of interest for her loved ones… but Pietro was understanding, which put her at ease.

A part of her still believed he would dislike her if he learned everything about her past, her father and her siblings. Being a protective, good brother was one of the most important things for Pietro, if not the most important. Mantis knew that, and she knew she had been too scared to do anything for her siblings as they met their untimely demise at the hands of Ego. In other words, she had been a bad sister, or at least that was how she saw it. Perhaps she wasn’t meant to have anything other than a courteous friendship with Pietro, which was not only fine, but also amazing. He and Wanda had been through so much pain, and Mantis was glad they trusted her with the whole Chthon situation. She loved knowing that she had been able to do some good on planet Earth. The Guardians were still busy ever since they bought Knowhere, but for now, Mantis allowed herself to enjoy Pietro’s company and willingness to share his speed with her, and she hoped she could make sure he and Wanda enjoyed their birthday in return. She effortlessly climbed onto his back. Mantis was light as a bug. She always felt so safe with Pietro, it was, paradoxically, terrifying. It was not something she was used to, and she had no idea what to do with the feeling or how to unravel it. She could use the adrenaline his super speed had to offer.

“This is exciting,” she remarked as she held onto him tightly yet carefully; wondering if the scars on Pietro’s back would cause him pain. She didn’t want to hurt him. “I can take the speed of light, spaceships reach it when it’s necessary, so… feel free to run as fast as you wish.” Mantis mentally reminded herself not to scream or cheer out of respect for Pietro’s eardrums. Her concern for his eardrums went out the window the moment he ran.

(Aww Silence you’re too sweet, thank you, but I don’t write the best Mantis by a long shot! 💚👽 What I like about rp/fanfiction is seeing people’s different interpretations of the same characters, but I’m glad you like mine! Shout-out to you as well for the dedication you put into your muses and being overall a kind and friendly mun! 💚)

__________

{ That’s very true, it is great to see how each writer interprets their character a little differently. That’s part of the fun of writing with multiples of canon characters, to see all the little nuances that their writers add to them. =) And awww thank you, but I am in fact a derpy potato masquerading as a functional human. Shh… it’s my secret, don’t tell anyone. XD Also… this is so random, but omg you remembered that Pietro has scars on his back. That hasn’t been mentioned in so long, and it always tickles me when my writing partners remember details about my muses like that. <3 }

Pietro chuckled, knowing exactly what Mantis was thinking of doing. “If they don’t, is okay. No need to make them do anything they don’t want to do. Just that they want to play for me is amazing enough. Imagine that… me. A big nobody compared to them. And they’re going to play for my birthday. It doesn’t make any sense but I guess they’re just nice like that,” he said with a shrug. In his eyes, he wasn’t anyone overly important. Not to the world, anyway. Bon Jovi, on the other hand, had been reaching and touching people with their music for many years. Pietro couldn’t even imagine what it must be like to have that kind of positive influence on people.

“Yeah, of course I’m okay with it,” Pietro said with a nod and a smile. “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get. Am happy to oblige.” He winked at her affectionately. After all Mantis had done to help Wanda through the terrifying and complicated business with Chthon, Pietro wanted to pay Mantis back, even if she only let him do it in small ways here and there. He’d keep his eyes and ears open for any chances she might give him to be affectionate, helpful, or to otherwise show her is appreciation.

He really didn’t mind that Mantis needed her space. Maybe that was because there had been plenty of times growing up when Wanda had needed space too. Sometimes she was very clingy with him, but other times she wanted to be left alone, and Pietro learned to not take any of that personally. It helped him to then later in life be more understanding of people like Mantis, rather than taking offense or assuming he was doing something wrong. He never wanted to make Mantis feel uncomfortable, or even worse than that, piss her off so badly that she would end up wanting nothing more to do with him. That would be terrible, so of course Pietro was going to tread carefully.

When she climbed onto his back, Pietro felt good about himself. He loved to help people and do things for them, and this was quite literally carrying someone. If made him feel useful and like he was making someone else’s life easier, which was something he truly enjoyed. He waited for her to grab on securely before nodding. “Okay, here we go!” he announced before taking off. Maybe she did make his ear drums work extra hard with her enthusiasm, but he couldn’t be even the slightest bit annoyed at her for it. She was having fun, and for this short moment, she was almost sharing his powers with him, which was something not too many people had done.

#{i just realized i have no idea where he's actually running to hahaha}

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vulturesthedirtiestkind · 1 year

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hi hi hello its your srs im so sorry for disappearing the end of semester is always super busy for me 😔 i will get better i promise

ah so you're the Tech Dude (gender neutral) of the film industry! it's such a huge responsibility to manage all that during performances, especially live ones! do you feel like a wizard when lights begin flashing at the wave of your hand? :D you said you like directing and writing, do you get to do that or do you still have to like, climb the ranks of the industry? and what kind of movies do you want to direct?

ooohh that boy is CHUNKY. such a serious guy. very businesslike fellow. he looks like a Grant to me. and you call him baby 😭 adorable omg. i would like you to give him one thousand kisses on his cute little forehead on my behalf

ugh it would be cool if it wasn't so politicized. which is logical, because it's politics after all, but sometimes the amount of sheer propaganda really grates on my nerves. i can now impress relatives with my scattered knowledge during family gatherings tho 😂 and it helped me realise that i don't want anything to do with politics whatsoever in my life so that's something i guess. i would like to translate books for a living, or become an editor, or video games writer, something similar to that.

well i havent been doing art very long so im still on the "redrawing photos" stage to get the hang of anatomy and lighting. i can't send any pictures or links while im on anon, but when the secret santas are revealed i can give you a link to my art blog, if you'd like :)

ah i love a lot of music from all the decades starting from the 60s, but my fave will always be the 80s glam metal i think. it's just so outrageously self-indulgent. but the emo and alternative music of 00s and 10s is a close second because of its concentration on emotions and inner life. also because ive never left my angst emo teen phase im a huge fan of hard rock and metal with female vocals too. my taste is firmly located in rock and metal genres but within those it's all over the place really 😅 and what about you?

p.s. if you ever feel an urge to attach photos of your cat to your replies, do not hesitate to do so <3

you are ABSOLUTELY okay, i've also been swinging wildly between everything. i hope that the end of the semester has been kind to you!!

i am!! and YES I DO,, i have Ultimate Power (well. to an extent...) and when i did the spotlight operating it was very amusing to watch people realize there were people up there, and then that they suddenly couldn't see those people because we got the light board turned on d:^)

because i'm still a student (and still learning how things go), i can do some work with it now (which i'm SUPER happy about)!! admittedly, i don't have a ton of experience yet... but that's what this is all for d:) ideally, once i can do the just-work part, i'll be able to go right into it... but there is a decent amount of having to climb up, depending on how things end up going for you!! which is okay with me, too, as long as the work is pleasant. and unfortunately,,, i'm still not quite positive what movies i'm most interested in working on, though i'd love to do something spies, or horror movies, and i also have some hopes for a few documentaries if i can get them to let me do it!!

YOU'RE SO RIGHT!!!!! he has a little business-like grant face. little working man, working hard at the bread factory (so i can steal all his bread) AND being a bedside doctor-nurse (there was one time where i was very sick and fell asleep in the floor and he jumped over to lead me back to the bed <3) he has been given SO MANY LITTLE FOREHEAD KISSES and he appreciates them all. he gives you many many purrs and also a little cheek lick in return d:)

ohhh god yeah that makes sense (and i’m so sorry you have to deal with all the propaganda stuff,,, it’s Super Very Not Good) BUT!! that’s still SUPER cool (you’re the kind of person to have for trivia nights!!) and it’s good that it’s helped you figure out a little bit about what you’re interested in!! anD ALL OF THAT SOUNDS SO COOL??? i think it could be possible to do a little of all, if you wanted to!! (also--once you can come off anon, don’t let me recruit you to my silly little project, too. ...do you happen to know any german?)

that’s very fair!! any work is still work, though, and i’m very proud of you!! i’d really like that d:’)

and YESSSS it’s about the same here--sometimes, having fun IS best!! you really are just A Legend™ and i’m honored to know you ALREADY,

i will!!! i’ll be attaching as many as possible. here, have the creation of catam d:)

#srs2022

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khangthecinephile · 2 years

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The Notebook (2004): True love never dies

The Notebook came out in 2004 by the director Nick Cassavetes as an adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’ iconic romance novel. The book reflects the relationship between Sparks himself and her wife. The story of Noah (Ryan Gosling) and Allie (Rachel McAdams) really left a lot of impression on me and also lots of other people watching it. The Notebook explores the theme of true love and love beyond obstacles.

Noah is a poor carpenter who grew up in Seabrook and leads a very free lifestyle. Allie, on the other hand, comes from a wealthy family who has a really busy schedule together and lives under parental control. Allie comes to Seabrook to spend her summer, where she meets Noah and they fall in love at first sight. Noah is willing to do crazy things like climbing a ferris wheel just to prompt Allie to go out with him. Their love is very pure and powerful; they come together very naturally without anyone pushing it, thus representing the energy of youth and love of teenagers. Allie's parents only think of this relationship as normal summer love and they would leave each other soonly. The parents also don’t want Allie to love this countryside boy because he isn’t in the same class. They have differences in class, family background that lead to differences in mindset and opinions. They love each other so much that they get blurred by the differences; they argue all the time but they have one thing in common, like Noah said, they are obsessed about each other. Being aside from one another, they get to be themselves. With Noah, Allie gets to peel off her fancy, glorious image and live like a normal 17 years old girl would with curiosity and desire. Fights and arguments only make them love each other more, it’s a part of a relationship and it makes Noah and Allie understand their partner better. Seeing the love between Noah and Allie growing, Allie’s parents decided to bring their daughter back home. After Allie got forced to leave, Noah patiently wrote 365 letters waiting for Allie to respond, this shows how much love that he has for Allie. Allie also hoped Noah would write but her mother tried to hide the letters and she cried and suffered for months before letting go. In the last letter, even though Noah said that he wanted to let go and move on. Although he wrote that but inside he still loves Allie, he still hopes that one day he can see Allie again, hoping she is going to reply.

Years later, they still can’t get over each other. Noah gets triggered and leaves the bus right away. When he sees Allie again, seeing her happy with Lon, Noah doesn’t want to disrupt their happiness. He buys the dream house that he wants, paints it white like how Allie wanted it. Allie also gets triggered after seeing Noah in a newspaper and she decides to go back to Seabrook just to see Noah one more time before she gets married. And after all of the things that happened, no way they would lose each other again. In my opinion, their kissing scene on the dock under the rain is one of the best scenes in the whole movie. Allie left everything behind and decided to stay with Noah. It is amazing how they both try hard for their relationship. The time really proved their love for eachother. That’s a message for every couple out there to choose what you actually want and follow your heart. Also trying as much as you can for your relationship, for the one that you love.

The scene between the two when they are old in the nursing home where they sleep together on the same bed and go to heaven together is one of the most iconic images of real love in Hollywood history. They spend every one of their best and worst moments together and at the end they never stop loving each other. As a person that has never experienced love before, The Notebook really gave me lots of emotions. It made me curious and want to experience love in the future. Lastly, I have to give credit to Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, their performance in this movie is absolutely spot on. Their chemistry and everything made me forget that they were acting. What a movie!

#the notebook #rachel mcadams #ryan gosling #nicholas sparks

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link4eva · 3 years

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Kiro’s Hidden Light Date Translation [CN]

Hi, everyone! Thanks so much for your patience! I really appreciate it 💛

Just a couple of things before you begin reading. I don’t actually know any Chinese so this translation was done through the power of Google Translate. A huge shout-out to @keliosyfan for all the help with this translation and for also listening to me crying and screaming as I translated this date! Sorry about your ears 😅

There is a call that comes before the date which I’ll link here!

This translation contains spoilers for a date that has not yet been released to the ENG server. If you wish to not be spoiled, please don’t look below the cut.

Hope you enjoy~ 💛

*Spoilers for future content below!*

[First Part]

In the Temple of the Gods, the new gods gathered here for the first weekly meeting since taking office.

I was holding a thin report, standing at the end of the reporting line--

As the first star god in the God Realm, my job is too simple compared to other gods.

After the sun sets, I wake up the sleeping stars in the galaxy. This is my job.

Lord God: It’s your turn, God of Day and Night

The voice of the Lord God rang above the temple, and the man who was summoned walked slowly to the center of the hall.

???: Lord God, I have a request….

A bitter feeling poured in, I lowered my head and tried not to look at the back that seemed to have become thinner--

The God of Day and Night, Kiro.

(Flashback)

I met him at the New God Training Camp years ago.

Every new god must learn about their responsibilities here, and then use their performance to assign the appropriate position.

Priest: The subsequent training is a pair of two, the grouping rules are very simple.

Priest: There are two of each kind of pastry on this long table, and two people who have the same one will automatically be matched.

I scanned the big circle with interest and my eyes landed on a pastry that looked tasty.

Just when I was about to pick it up, a slender hand stretched out at the same time.

I looked up and saw a handsome man standing beside me with a bright smile on his pale face, his eyes brilliant and pure.

Priest: After you choose, you can take the pastry and find your partner.

Kiro: It seems that we’ve already completed the next step. *Changed some wording*

Kiro: Hello, my name is Kiro.

MC: H-hello, I am MC.

At that time, I blushed and my heart was beating very fast. Maybe it was because his smile was too gorgeous.

Since then, we have become good partners who talk about everything.

We climbed the wall and skipped class together, and set off the fireworks behind the mountain under the stars to share every day with each other after agreeing to become true gods.

Kiro: But….I hope we can stay together and become gods who are sincerely respected by people.

My heart was beating rapidly at his sincere tone, and I suddenly realized that my feelings for him were more than just platonic. *Changed some wording*

I want to be with him all the time and share with him all the beautiful things in the world--

Kiro thinks the same way, right? Otherwise, he wouldn’t make the promise of “always being together”.

Our feelings must be the same.

With this in mind, until the graduation ceremony of the new gods a week ago, the Lord God announced the new god’s proposed deity.

Lord God: ….Finally, it is proposed that Kiro is the God of the Sun and MC is the God of Night.

I happily accepted the proposal knowing that in the God realm, the God of Day and the God of Night will be regarded as an official pair.

And every day and night, they will accompany each other and will be bound together forever. *Changed some wording*

However, I forgot to confirm Kiro’s thoughts and didn’t even glance at his expression after hearing the proposed order.

I only remember that I was happily drunk and took his hand while talking a lot.

MC: I’m so glad!

MC: When I become the God of Night, I will give you the brightest star!

MC: And, I….

I also said a lot of nonsense. As for the content of the nonsense, it doesn’t matter anymore.

The important thing is that Kiro saw the Lord God in private on the second day, which caused the Lord God to change the original plan of the gods in the subsequent ceremony of the gods.

Lord God: Starting today, Kiro alone will be the God of Day and Night, and MC will become the first star god.

MC: Did you ask the Lord God to change the proposed deity position?

After the ceremony, I asked Kiro outside the temple gate, and he nodded silently.

MC: Why?

Kiro: I….

Seeing his hesitant expression, I understood in an instant--

He is unwilling.

He would rather bear the weight of the power of two gods alone than to get involved with me anymore.

I forgot how that day went on. I just felt that I was in an emotional, shameful and sullen mood ever since.

Later, Kiro would come to me almost every day, probably because he wanted to continue to be friends with me. However, I couldn’t deal with this mood of mine, so I constantly avoided him.

Kiro: ….Therefore, I need to familiarize myself with the work of the Star God.

MC: ?

After looking back, I realized that Kiro had turned his head and his eyes met my own.

All the gods are looking at me, and the God of Prophecy with whom I have a good relationship with winked at me.

Kiro: Would you like to spend a day with me, Star God?

[Second Part]

After walking out of the temple, I figured out what happened.

In order to confirm the position of the moon and stars, Kiro asked the Lord God to spend a day with me and get acquainted with each other’s work.

I stood at the door of the temple with a blank stare, not understanding why he wanted to do this.

Does he really want to get involved with me? Or is it just for work? But why do we have to spend a day together if we want to allocate the moon and the stars reasonably?

I couldn’t understand it for a while, but I also couldn’t violate the Lord God’s order, so I had to stand outside the temple gate and wait for Kiro to drive the solar cart to pick me up.

His first task every day is to drive a solar cart to fill the earth with sunlight.

Even though I kept avoiding him, I often belittled myself for being useless, and at the same time asked the God of Prophecy about the situation.

During the day, he was busy dealing with various official affairs, and at night, he stayed alone in the Temple of Sun and Moon, without ever taking a step outside of the temple.

I have been thinking about all the different reasons, but this seems to be Kiro’s secret. Even if the God of Prophecy wanted to tell me, she couldn’t speak.

??: Star God~ Congratulations~

Following the voice, the God of Prophecy walked towards me with a grandiose expression on her face.

MC: Congratulations?

God of Prophecy: Isn’t it worthy of congratulations to spend a day with someone you like?

I quickly covered her mouth and looked around nervously.

This woman can be said to be the god with the most amount of gossip amongst the gods, but she really knows all the secrets of the world. *Changed some wording*

Due to the divine order, she couldn’t tell the secret to anyone, so she often wanted to gossip about others but to no avail, and finally scratched her head in a hurry.

MC: If you talk nonsense, I will destroy your temple!

God of Prophecy: Ok, ok, don’t destroy my temple. You can destroy the gift I gave you instead.

Seeing that I didn’t respond much, she was a little confused.

God of Prophecy: You really haven’t opened the secret scroll I gave you?

God of Prophecy: As long as you open the scroll with your own hands, you can see the secret you want to know the most.

MC: ….I have no secrets that I want to know.

God of Prophecy: Then return it to me!

MC: I put it under the rock next to the galaxy. You gave it to me, how I use it is my own business.

God of Prophecy: You….

The sound of horse hooves interrupted our conversation, and Kiro stopped slowly in front of us while driving a solar chariot pulled by a horse.

Kiro: Have you been waiting long, Star God? *Changed some wording*

God of Prophecy: Even if you made her wait for you for a hundred thousand years, it still wouldn’t be too long for her….

MC: Don’t listen to her nonsense.

I hurriedly interrupted her and immediately climbed into the chariot.

(Cut to the sky)

Kiro chuckled softly. He raised his whip and the horse whinnied and soared into the blue sky.

The daylight poured out from the chariot, the golden morning light flowed slowly like a river, tinting the colour of the sky a little bit golden.

Kiro didn’t seem to intend to return until the daylight dyed the sky.

After smooth sailing, the solar chariot stopped on a lotus pond in the Valley of Spirits.

(Cut to Valley of Spirits)

When he got out of the chariot, the flowers and plants stretched out to reach wherever he passed. The elves woke up from their slumber and surrounded him immediately as if saying hello.

Kiro: This is where I rest. I will come here every day after sunrise.

MC: Are we not checking the positions of the moon and stars….

Before I finished my question, a white deer appeared.

Its breathing was laboured. It then bowed its head and rubbed Kiro’s hand, its white belly bulging. *Changed some wording*

MC: Is it sick?

Kiro looked at it thoughtfully for a while and lightly stroked its stomach.

Kiro: I think it knows that I will be here every day and come to me for help.

Kiro: It seems that it will become a mother today!

I opened my mouth wide in surprise.

MC: Do you still care about this kind of thing?

Kiro: You have to know a little about everything.

He walked to the side of the deer and put his palms close to its body. Its original anxious breathing was slightly calmer.

He slowly squatted down, lying his body softly on top.

Kiro: Don’t be afraid, we will stay with you.

He stroked the deer’s belly gently as if helping it to relieve the pain.

The broad palm of his hand moved lower, and the fine fur was peeking between his fingers.

The soft sunlight formed a hazy mist on the lotus pond.

The deer’s expression gradually eased and its stomach began to rise and fall softly.

Kiro: Like delivering sunlight, what I am doing now is also part of the work of Apollo.

Kiro: I need to witness the rebirth of everything with my own eyes.

Kiro: The existence of life is meaningful, and their blooming will bring beautiful colours to the world.

His voice was very soft, the dazzling sunlight was quietly reflected in his eyes, a clear and profound memory spread out in my mind.

(Flashback)

Not long after we entered the training camp, the priest was telling the theory of “God is equal to all beings”.

Kiro sat beside me, frowned and listened for a long time, then shook his head slightly.

Priest: Kiro, do you have any different opinions?

Kiro: Priest, can God really be equal to all beings?

Priest: Why do you ask?

Kiro: Because you said before that God loves all beings.

Priest: God does love all beings, why can’t all beings be equal?

Kiro: Suppose a poor mother who is committed to goodness steals rice from a robber’s house for the child in her womb.

Kiro: The robber brought the mother to ask God if she had stolen rice.

Kiro: If God answers yes, the robber will kill the mother. If God answers no, he will let the robber lose his property for no reason.

Kiro: At this time, what should God’s answer be; yes or no?

Priest: If it were you, what would you answer?

The priest smiled and turned the question back around. Kiro stuck out his tongue and scratched his head embarrassedly.

Kiro: I am afraid I cannot achieve absolute “equality”.

Kiro: I don’t think that God is heartless.

Kiro: As long as there is love in the heart, it will always be biased towards the other at a certain time.

(Flashback ends)

Leaning to the other side….I slowly squatted down and gently stroked Mother Deer’s head.

At the end of that class, the priest did not judge Kiro’s right or wrong. As he said, Kiro always loved the world in his heart.

He will look down at the earth intently and affectionately when the daylight is falling, and comfort for the mother deer who is waiting to give birth.

He was still as bright and dazzling as I remembered him, illuminating everything around him.

I have no stand because of his rejection, his love just happens to be unbiased to me.

But….

MC: Why did you bring me here and tell me this?

I couldn’t help but utter the doubt in my heart. He raised his eyes, and the corners of his mouth rose into a nice arc.

Kiro: Didn’t we make an agreement?

Kiro: That we would share every day with each other.

I swallowed and hesitated.

MC: So, you told the Lord God that we should be familiar with each other’s work….

Kiro: That’s deceptive.

Kiro: Sorry, I lied.

Kiro: If you don’t do that, I won't know when I will see you.

Kiro: You’ve been avoiding me…and I really miss you so much.

[Third Part]

My eyes suddenly widened and my heartbeat gradually accelerated uncontrollably.

The tenderness in his voice was so profound and I was plunged into chaos.

MC: Why….

Why did you refuse to become the God of Day and Night with me, yet you still say you miss me?

Mother Deer suddenly squirmed and interrupted my thoughts.

It twitched lightly. After a while, a small white deer was lying behind it with closed eyes.

Kiro stood up with a smile, his eyes bright and pure.

Kiro: Let’s go, there’s one more interesting thing I want to share with you.

(Cut to the city)

Stepping into the city-state in the Valley of Elves, I fell in love with this lively scene at first glance.

All kinds of shops are displayed on both sides and elves who are performing shuttle through the valley.

Kiro: Today is the traditional festival of the elves, the Sunshine Festival.

Kiro: In order to thank God for giving them daylight, they would dance at the assembly on this day each year.

A burst of drums sounded suddenly, and the elves stopped their movements altogether.

They formed a circle, accompanied by an ensemble of flutes and danced together without a care in the world.

The lively atmosphere made me forget my complex emotions for a while. I looked around and inadvertently stared at a majestic male elf for a moment.

The elf smiled sweetly at me, then waved at me exaggeratedly.

Are the elves really passionate? This is much cuter than the gods back in the God Realm. *Changed some wording*

I also raised my hand and waved at him vigorously. He was stunned and then walked straight towards me.

As he walked, he took out a pendant necklace with a sun pattern from his arms.

MC: ?

In my confusion, my sight was suddenly blocked by a chest. I raised my head to meet Kiro’s eyes.

Just as I was about to ask him what he was about to do, he opened his palms and out came a dazzling beam of sunlight.

He folded the beam into a beautiful necklace and quickly put it on my neck.

Then, as if inadvertently, he turned slightly so that the elf could clearly see my sun necklace.

The elf immediately stopped and retreated with a hurt face. I blinked confusedly.

MC: What’s wrong?

Kiro: Today, if you give jewelry with sun elements to others, it means that they are….dance partners.

Kiro leaned over, gently holding out one hand in front of me.

Kiro: Beautiful goddess, can I invite you to dance?

MC: Forget it….

Kiro: If not, there’a a blood-sucking monster in the tower over there. *So I’m gonna be honest, I have no idea what he’s saying here. GT gave me, “Place an order at the Fairy Ball. There’s a World of Warcraft Tower.” 😅😂*

MC: ….Is that a lie?

Before I could refuse, he naturally took my hand. The familiar temperature made me shrink back a little unconsciously, but he held me tighter.

His arm was firm, and the hot breath immediately hit me. A crimson blush made its way to the tips of my ears, and my heart was beating violently.

MC: Did you say…. you thought about me sincerely?

My chaotic brain lost the ability to think, and I actually said what I felt aloud.

MC: It doesn’t matter if you don’t answer!

Kiro: As sincere as I can be. *Changed some wording*

I suddenly raised my head and looked into his eyes, pure sincerity seemed to be revealed in those blue eyes.

The rhythm of the music became more and more lively, Kiro motioned to me to follow in his footsteps, leading me in circles on the dance floor to his heart’s content.

When the music came to an end, everyone suddenly surrounded Kiro and me in the middle of the valley.

An elderly elf walked through the crowd, and the elf made a respectful gesture, calling himself the “patriarch” respectfully.

Kiro and I also gestured to him politely. He walked over and patted Kiro’s shoulder with relief.

Patriarch: I declare that they are the most unique couple for this year’s dance party!

MC: Pair??

I hurriedly let go of Kiro’s hand.

MC: No, we are not a pair!

Patriarch: What? Are you really not a couple?

The elven patriarch seemed to be a little confused, but he replied with a clear expression.

Patriarch: This child is quite silly--, you are obviously together! *Changed some wording*

I raised my voice anxiously.

MC: I said, We. Are. Not! *Changed some wording*

Patriarch: What? -You said you are?? *Changed some wording*

He smiled even more.

Patriarch: Your bond is so strong, bless you, my child.

MC: I….

Patriarch: He gave you the most beautiful sunshine jewel, which means that you are in love with each other, and your dancing is also perfect.

MC: Perfect? Our dancing?

I looked at Kiro abruptly who was smiling, his eyes were mottled with light and dark. *Changed some wording*

MC: You, you knew everything?

Kiro: Well, I know the dance of love and harmony.

MC: ….Is it just this?

I raised my hand and waved an enchantment to isolate ourselves from the noises surrounding us so I could let out the grievances in my heart.

MC: Do you still know why I avoided you these days and how I felt?

He didn’t say anything but just lowered his eyes.

It turned out that he really did know, but….he pretended that nothing happened. Even after giving me sunshine jewelry and dancing with me...

I didn’t understand what he was thinking, unwilling and shameful emotions swept through my heart, and I clenched my hand into a fist.

MC: You clearly refused to let me be the Night God, and refused to be with me for a lifetime. Why do you want to dance with me?

He lifted his eyes which were flashing with emotions I couldn’t understand.

Kiro: Can I answer this question for you tomorrow?

Kiro: It’s getting dark, let’s go back.

MC: Why can’t you make it clear today? I’m not sure if I will have the courage to listen to the answers tomorrow.

I took a step back angrily and a monster approached the elf who wanted to give me jewelry.

He stood behind the elf with a weird expression. In the next second, he reached out and held the elf in front of him, opening his mouth wide to reveal horrible fangs.

MC: Monster!

I subconsciously retracted the enchantment and raised my hand to send a sharp divine power to the monster.

He tried to escape, but he was shot in the shoulder by a golden arrow in the next second.

The elves suddenly scattered, the monster latched onto the elf’s shoulders and ran to the depths of the valley.

I looked in the direction from which the arrow came, Kiro was holding a golden bow and arrow. He nodded to me and ran in the direction where the monster escaped.

(Scene change)

In the outskirts of wildflowers, Kiro and I surrounded the monster.

Seeing that he had no way of retreating, the monster slammed into Kiro who was closer to him.

Kiro stood, unmoving, and slowly raised a hand.

The last gleam of the afterglow was hidden behind the thick clouds, and the sky was completely dark.

At that moment when the monster was about to attack Kiro, a brilliant beam of silver light overflowed from Kiro’s palm.

The light gradually enveloped them, dyeing Kiro’s blonde hair silver, and under the light, the beast turned into ashes!

MC: What happened….?

Kiro looked at me and took a step back. The flowers and plants at his feet turned into dust in the blink of an eye following his movements.

I took a deep breath and stared at his feet. He seemed to notice, looking at me with a helpless expression.

??: It’s dark, let’s go back.

His vague response made me feel a little flustered. The answer is there: It gradually became clear in my heart, and my fingertips started to feel cold.

He must be hiding something from me.

I wanted to get close to him, but he backed away in a panic, and I had to stop.

MC: You’re not going to tell me anything, are you?

He lowered his head, his trembling eyelashes cast a shadow on his eyes; full of emotions and secrets.

God of Prophecy: Do you have any secrets you want to know?

The words of the God of Prophecy rang out in my mind, and my heart throbbed.

MC: If you won’t tell me, I have a way of finding out.

[Fourth Part]

Regardless of Kiro’s surprised look, I turned around and ran back to Galaxy.

Taking out the picture scroll under the big rock, I hurriedly opened it, but there was nothing on it.

I got closer but felt a force rushing out of the transparent vortex that had appeared out of thin air.

There was a painful sensation of my body being pulled in. Before I could use any divine power, I was dragged into the scroll by the vortex abruptly.

(Flashback)

Opening my eyes again, I found myself at the doors of the temples.

The majestic palace was deserted, and the voice of someone talking came from the hall. I turned my head towards the sound and saw Kiro above the hall.

Am I….in the picture scroll?

Kiro: I discovered a secret in the book, and I have come to ask you to verify it.

Kiro’s sudden voice interrupted my thoughts. He lowered his head and stood before the Lord God in the lowest possible position.

Kiro: Legend has it that every night the Night God will be cursed by the night, and the Night God will destroy all the living beings and things around him.

Kiro: Many night gods were unable to endure the desolation around them all day long, and eventually came to their own destruction.

Kiro: May I ask the Lord God, is this true?

Lord God: This is the fate of the night god.

Lord God: I let the sun gods accompany the night gods each time, just to try and heal them with the sun god’s divine power, but the effect is minimal.

Kiro took a deep breath, his hands trembled slightly.

Kiro: Please, Lord God….exchange the positions of me and MC.

Lord God: I have already issued a draft order yesterday. Are you sure you want to change it?

Kiro lowered his eyes, wondering what he was thinking. After a while, he raised his head firmly.

Kiro: Then please let me be the god of the sun and the moon.

Kiro: I promise you that no matter what happens, I will not destroy myself.

The Lord God’s expression became a little hesitant thinking over Kiro’s proposal.

Lord God: Are you sure that you will live forever as the god of night and never self-destruct?

Kiro: I am sure.

The Lord God was silent for a moment, and when he spoke again, his slow and flat tone seemed to be putting a curse on the gods.

Lord God: From now on, you are the sun god Kiro, witnessing the rebirth of all things.

Lord God: You are also the night god Helios, all darkness and death surround you.

Lord God: You will bear the curse of darkness on her behalf, struggling between light and darkness forever, and you must not give up.

There was a tingling pain in my heart and I took a couple of steps back….it turned out that everything he did was for me.

Time and space changed again, and I arrived at the drunken night of the graduation ceremony.

(Flashback)

I watched myself leaning against Kiro’s arm, staring up at him.

MC: I’m so glad!

MC: When I become the God of Night, I will give you the brightest star!

MC: Also….we will be like sun gods and the night gods before!

Accompanied for life, forever bound together.

—This is the reason why I dare not look at the scroll for too long. After I finished speaking, I fell into a deep sleep.

And the secret I wanted to know most before was Kiro’s response after I confessed.

I didn’t dare open the scroll, I was afraid of hearing his rejection with my own ears.

Unconsciously holding my breath, I saw his eyes so full of tenderness, as if looking upon the most precious treasure in the world. After a long time, he lowered his head slightly.

The moment our lips touched, a cold liquid dripped on my cheeks.

Kiro: We will.

Kiro: I also want to be with you forever and ever, together.

My nose scrunched up, and I stepped forward subconsciously, but the dazzling light came in an instant.

(Flashback ends)

The palm of my hand was held by a cold one, and when I opened my eyes, I returned to the galaxy.

I looked down at the hand that was holding mine. The broad hand was soft yet powerful as if it would protect me from all dangers.

Looking up from my arm, I look up at the person coming--

Helios sat next to me, looking at me worriedly. Because of his approach, the shoots that had just emerged from the moist soil immediately lost their lustre of life.

The stars in the pond of the galaxy were extremely dim, and the faint starlight reflected on Helios’ profile, making his face even more gloomy.

As if sensing my gaze, Helios instantly retracted his hand, got up immediately, and stood far away from me.

Helios: You didn’t look well back at the Sunshine Festival, so I chased after you….

Helios: Are you okay?

MC: I’m fine….

But what about you?

I took a few steps towards him, trying to clearly see the emotions in his eyes, but the warmth of them blurred everything in front of me.

How can Kiro, who has always treated people kindly, face all the barrenness and devastation that he causes after each night?

I don’t know anything about it, I just avoid him and don’t allow him to explain.

Feelings of regret and guilt hit my heart, and I opened my mouth, but I didn’t know what to say.

His eyes avoided mine as if he didn’t want me to see him like this.

Helios: If you are okay, I will leave first.

I hurriedly took his hand, anxiously trying to keep him from leaving.

MC: Didn’t we want to share this day?

MC: The day isn’t over yet, and I haven’t shared everything about me with you.

Worried that he would refuse, I took the initiative to drag him to the galaxy. He stood far away, his hands and feet somewhat cemented.

Helios: I’m afraid my power will destroy your stars.

That bitter feeling came up again, I ignored it and took his hand gently, and a star was raised in the galaxy.

MC: No, I am here.

He seemed a little scared, his hands trembling imperceptibly.

I tried my best to force a smile, wrap his palm in mine, infusing a supernatural power.

The stars lit up instantly, shining with golden lights, just like the sunlight rising from us.

Something in his eyes seemed to kindle, and he stared at the stars in his hands unblinkingly, as if he did not dare to use a trace of strength.

Seeing him so cautious, with nerves tingling, I took a deep breath.

MC: I’m very sorry.

MC: I didn’t know anything about this earlier, and I kept doubting you.

Helios: I shouldn’t hide from you, and I never want to hide from you.

Helios: It’s just that….I didn’t know what to say.

Helios: I don’t want to make you feel guilty.

MC: I won’t be like that again in the future.

MC: But please let me stay by your side every night like I am now, and accompany you through the most difficult moments of the day.

Helios froze for a moment, his cold eyes trembled lightly as if an unconcealable emotion was about to come out.

Helios: Don’t you think…. I am a very bad night god?

MC: No, your intention was never that way.

MC: You will look at each life tenderly, respecting the meaning of their existence.

MC: You took my place and endured all the darkness for me, willing to fall between light and darkness every day.

MC: You are the most competent, gentle, and best god I have ever seen.

I slowly put my forehead against his and watched his eyes gradually shine brightly.

MC: So, if it’s not too late for you, I want to honour my promise that night to you.

I pressed my hand to the back of his hand holding the star.

MC: I want to give this brightest star to you.

MC: This is the first thing I wanted to do after becoming a star god.

A warm smile overflowed from the corner of his lips, and the star in his palm was close to his heart.

Helios: I will accept it wholeheartedly. *Changed some wording*

MC: I still have a lot of things I want to do with you and a lot of things I want to say to you, is that okay?

He looked at me deeply for a while, and the starlight flickered in his blue eyes.

Helios: Of course.

MC: So….if I say I also want to share our lives together….is that okay?

Helios: This is obviously the question I should be asking you.

Helios: I want….to share my life with you.

He looked at me, his eyes no longer avoiding mine, but he was a little quiet which made me feel distressed and sad.

MC: It would be my pleasure.

The flickering starlight was gentle and bright, softly illuminating the smile in his eyes.

Helios: Let’s start now.

Helios: This week, how did you spend every day, what happened. I want to hear you tell me in person.

Helios: Before the stars fall asleep, we have time.

End

(You can read the call that comes after the date here!)

#mlqc spoilers #mlqc #mr love queens choice #mr love dream date #mr love #mr love game #mlqc kiro #mr love kiro #mldd kiro #周棋洛 #date translation #THIS DATE WAS SO BEAUTIFUL!!!#I ABSOLUTELY ADORE IT!!!

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captnjacksparrow · 3 years

Note

I honestly agree with a lot of your opinions, and even when I don't, I think that your arguments are always well structure and respectful to other people.

But I have some questions (and I'm sorry if you have already answer them), (also sorry for some of my English, it's not my first language)

How do you feel about narusaku?

How do you feel about people changing certain aspects about Sakura to try to improve her character?

How would you improve Sakura?

How much do you think Sakura being a good character could affect the story?

What was the moment you really started to ship SNS? And what are you favorite moments?

(Sorry if there's ro many questions)

I honestly agree with a lot of your opinions, and even when I don't, I think that your arguments are always well structure and respectful to other people.

Aww!!!! Thank you, Anon. This made my day. 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

I will start from my favourite question (The one in the last)

What was the moment you really started to ship SNS?

I never wore any shipping lens, Anon.

Literally, I started to ship SNS only after Episode 478 or Chapter 698. Before that, I always had these doubts in the back of my mind.

'Something seems to be very weird between these guys',

'Why are they behaving differently compared to other friends?',

'Why Sasuke is behaving totally different towards Naruto?',

'Why Sasuke agreed to honour Naruto's promise under the bridge, despite having no shred of affection towards his other former Team Members?',

'Why Naruto is so obsessed with Sasuke?',

'Why Sasuke felt Naruto's chakra in Konoha and bothered by it?',

'Why Sasuke is protecting Naruto like a precious treasure only to end up wanting to kill him?',

'Why Sasuke has this weird obsession that ONLY I CAN KILL NARUTO but not someone else?',

So, I had all these questions piling up one by one inside my mind as the series progressed and I can't simply jump into a conclusion because I don't know what Sasuke was thinking. I hate one-sided ship and I want reciprocation. So, I usually put all these questions on the back burner and started to focus on the story. Damn!!!, The story was equally captivating and emotionally daunting. When Sasuke finally confessed his feelings towards Naruto in Episode 478, I simply couldn't believe myself but ship them. Because, in no world, Friends would behave this way towards each other.

So, to answer your question, it's after Episode 478, I started to ship them. But if you want me to say when exactly I started to doubt their level of friendship??

It's this moment,

Now you may think, 'Yeah, you saw two boys in a close proximity and decided to ship together. It's nothing strange'.

I have to say, Close proximity was the last thing, I felt from this scene. My reason was those heart breaking scenes that happened before which led to this specific moment.

I will make it as short as possible. I'll start with this

God!! I wanted to punch Sasuke so badly when he said this with a deadpan expression. It looks like he was lying just to get power. I thought, 'Sasuke!!! What a lying piece of crap you are!! If you want to kill Naruto, Just do it. Why doing a fake confession? '.

It doesn't help as the fight progressed because Sasuke was really playing football with Naruto and when this happened,

I was shell-shocked because, the Sasuke we saw so far is no more. It even confirmed my thoughts about the fake confession. Which sane person will ram Chidori through his Close Friend's body?.

After many blows were exchanged, I simply wished for one thing. Naruto should win and Sasuke should be stopped no matter what. When the final Rasengan vs Chidori happened, I couldn't understand what was going on inside that power ball. Naruto and Sasuke look at each other with pained expression and we see the younger version of them smiling at each other.

And then finally we see a knocked out Naruto with Sasuke standing and looking at him without any expression and was about to say, 'Naruto.... I' which was interrupted by rain and when Sasuke felt a stinging pain in his arms and falls down on his knees. He coughs up blood and then this iconic scene happens.

That scene conveyed many things

Sasuke wanted to kill Naruto but couldn't.

Sasuke meant what he said. Naruto is his closest friend, it’s not a lie.

Sasuke couldn't severe his ties completely with Naruto.

Sasuke's pain of saying 'Goodbye' is greater than the stinging pain in his arms.

Sasuke deliberately, I repeat deliberately and not accidentally, came close to look at Naruto's face and experiencing something that, we, audience don't know.

So, you see, Anon. The emotional train wreck that led to this scene made me really doubt about their depth of feelings they had towards each other for the first time. That's when I thought, 'Something seems to be very weird between these guys, what is it?'

And what are you favorite (SNS) moments?

There are two moments which shows how Sasuke is playing an emotional battle within himself.

1. Sasuke, Susanoo, Naruto, Minato

This happens right after Sasuke said to Obito, “Not you.... The one who is going to sever the past is....me”.

In this moment, Sasuke can pretty much let Naruto to die, because nobody is trying to kill Naruto. Still, he saved him with a 3 layered protection. The best part is Sasuke acted quicker than Minato, the fastest shinobi, to protect Naruto. Surely Minato wouldn’t want to blow up near his Son, for whom he gave his life once. It’s just that Sasuke is extremely quicker at this moment.

2. For some reason, My Sharingan deactivated on it’s own

If only, Sasuke maintained his Sharingan, he could’ve traced Naruto’s movements and deflected his upper cut and would’ve successfully landed his Chidori through him. But he just couldn’t.

Both these scenes happens in a span of a day but Sasuke’s emotions fluctuates a lot when it comes to killing Naruto, protecting Naruto, can’t kill Naruto.

How much do you think Sakura being a good character could affect the story?

To be Honest Anon, Storywise ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

Yes, I agree with her amazing performance in Gaara retrieval Arc where she tagged along with Granny Chiyo and almost killed Sasori.

After that ????

She did nothing in the Sasuke Reunion Arc. It was all about Naruto vs Orochimaru, Yamato’s Wood style jutsu, Sai’s betrayal towards Orochimaru. Geez!!! I liked her attitude in this arc but totally spoiled when she was standing simply like a wooden doll when Sasuke was about to stab Naruto. It was Sai who blocked Sasuke.... I was like, ‘Girl!!!! You said you will save Sasuke for Naruto when he went into 4 tails mode. What happened now??? Why are you not stopping him???’

She was just making Food Pills in the Rasen Shuriken Arc.

She was basically climbing from one tree to another in the Sasuke killing Orochimaru to Sasuke joining Akatsuki Arc. Even Naruto’s role was very minimal in that arc except he met Kabuto, Dead soul of Jiraiya, Itachi, a split second meeting with Sasuke where he got Chidori’ed and fought with Tobi.

She was just a spectator praying for Naruto in the Pain Arc. Yeah, she did healed few people and punched some monsters. But it just doesn’t matter. Even Konohamaru killed a Pain in that arc.

She turned into an Asshole by making a fake confession towards Naruto and decided to kill Sasuke in the Kage Summit Arc. I think, this is where Kishi decided to shit on her mercilessly by making her into someone who was going to hurt both of her team mates mentally and physically. Basically Kishi transformed a clever medical Ninja who can find an antidote in a matter of hours to an asshole who believed Naruto did everything for her and even more of an idiot by planning to kill Sasuke with just a poisoned Kunai. Isn’t she the one who told Kakashi that Sasuke was given forbidden drugs to improve his strength after their Reunion??? Can’t she put 2+2 together to know Sasuke would be immune to poisons because of his days spent with Orochimaru??? Yeah, she did impacted the story. But it was not for her development. Sakura’s foolishness made Naruto and Sasuke to meet each other again and made a promise. So, you see, she was just a tool that pushes the narrative development of other characters, not her own. Her development took a big blow in this arc.

She was non-existent in the Naruto-Killer Bee Training Arc.

She was just healing people and punched some zetsu during Powerful Edo-Tensei Shinobis vs Allied Shinobi forces Arc. I expected her to have a special fight. But Nope. Even Ino, Shikamaru and Choji fought Asuma, Kakuzu and Kinkaku, Ginkaku brothers.

She was non-existent in the Uchiha Madara vs 5 Kages mini arc

She was non-existent in Obito vs Naruto, Kakashi, Might Guy and Killer Bee mini arc.

She was non-existent in the Sasuke & Itachi vs Kabuto mini arc.

She was non-existent in the Edo Tensei’ed Hokages and Team Sasuke arc.

She was punching some Juubi Clones in the Official War Arc which will never make a difference to the story. At the same time, her character was transformed from an Asshole who hurted her teammates to an horny biasshhhh who wants only Sasuke’s D. She summoned Katsuyu and was healing soldiers. But there were an army of Medical Ninjas too. So her absence will not affect the story in a big way. She did Lip to Lip CPR for Naruto though. Again, that would never help Naruto in a major way unless he was helped by Obito by placing Bijuu inside him. Again, Kishi didn’t make her the sole saviour here. Instead, she was used as a medium to facilitate Obito’s transformation from a bad guy to good guy. Kishi made Obito as the Saviour here.

She was useless and was not able to destroy Obito’s rinnegan in the Reincarnation of Indra and Ashura vs Rikkudou Sennin Madara arc.

She was useless in the Kaguya arc. [Sorry, that punch won’t make any difference because Kaguya must be stupid to not use her 360 degree vision to see Sakura from behind. With Naruto and Sasuke has already become a demi god at this point, her clown show is incomparable].

She was useless in the final Naruto vs Sasuke arc.

So, you tell me Anon. Did she make any impact to the story that served as a major twist??

The story revolved around Naruto and Sasuke.

Itachi, Obito, Jiraiya, Madara, Hashirama and other Hokages were the game changers of this story. Meaning, their presence or death will change the story by a huuuuggge margin.

Tsunade, Orochimaru, Team Nagato, Kabuto helped our protagonists in a BIGGGG WAAYYYY.

Akatsuki were just amazing who gave us the sense of thrill as well as fun.

Even Sakura being good will never impact the story because she had no dedicated arc written for her.

But, if she were written as a good character, my viewing experience would have improved in a relaxing way so much so that I don’t have to press my fast forward button whenever she appears and I wouldn’t be writing this post explaining why I hate her.

How would you improve Sakura?

Simple, By writing her similar to Rin Nohara.

No obsession but a simple love towards Sasuke.

No toxicity but caring friendship towards Naruto.

That’s all.

How do you feel about people changing certain aspects about Sakura to try to improve her character?

Well, that means they would qualify as a fanfiction writers, aren’t they??.

Also, this inherently proves that she is a piss poor character and people wants to change certain aspects of her which they find annoying. But it will 100% end up being OOC. And I’m not into reading those OOC stuffs, Anon.

I always believe in accepting what the author has given rather than trying to fix their work. Because the author writes a character deliberately to make the readers feel what he intended in the first place. Kishi could write a redemption for even someone like Orochimaru towards the very end. Like, he literally made him to help Sasuke, not as a human predator, but as a former Master and an admirer. He wrote him to help Tsunade and other Kages. So in the end, Orochimaru was not hated like he was hated in part 1. If he can write something for Orochimaru, why not for Sakura???

You know how I can redeem Sakura in just 3 or 4 panels?

Let me tell you.

After that fake confession, Sakura could talk to Naruto,

“I am very Sorry, Naruto. I know you will never take things in your heart. But still I shouldn’t have used Love as a tool to make you not to do something. I was an Idiot to not realize how badly you want to save Sasuke. It wasn’t just for me. But it was for Sasuke and also for you, as his friend and also for us as Team 7. So, how about we go to Ichiraku, for a nice lunch??”

While confessing Sasuke for the second time,

“It seems you still want to go on to that dark path, isn’t it?. I am not the most powerful ninja in this world and I know I can’t trade blows with you. But still.... if you try to hurt my friend, Naruto and my master, Tsunade. I will fight with all my strength to kill you..... Even though I love you”

I am pretty sure, if Sakura confessed something along these lines, everyone would have admired her and it shows her emotional maturity as a Kunoichi who wants to do something to this world as well as a person who is ready to kill someone she loved in order to protect the people she holds dear.

In chapter 699. Before saying Goodbye to Sasuke,

“I am very Sorry, Sasuke. I never really understood what was going on inside your heart. And, I always forced myself on you because of my selfishness. I really feel bad for those things. I never really became your friend in the first place. How about we say farewell as ‘a good friends’, before your redemption journey??” (Shakes hands.... End of Scene)

How is this???

Is it pleasant to read?? Of course, Yes.

I am pretty sure it wouldn’t take more than 4 or 5 panels. Kishi could’ve easily did something like this. Am pretty sure readers would’ve been satisfied. Her fans too. Even I would’ve forgiven her mistakes.

But Kishi didn’t and I am very sure it’s deliberate. Because, this very same Kishimoto could able to write Konan, Tsunade who acts with so much maturity without whining like a little girl.

Which shows Kishi clearly hates this character and never wanted to redeem her.

So no matter how many people improve this character, it will never be believable.

How do you feel about narusaku?

Naruto always placed Sasuke as his priority, Anon. That’s always the case. So, apart from SNS, if you want me to say whether NaruSaku had any potential?

I would say, yes, NaruSaku had potential. I will not deny it. Naruto had some liking towards Sakura compared to the absolute indifference towards Hinata.

There are some moments Sakura genuinely cried for Naruto without anyone’s influence. I liked it. Say, the scene where she cried on hearing ‘A Jinchuriki without Bijuu will die” and with Yamato she told, “I can only do little things for Naruto”.

These are all coming from her own heart. No one instilled inside her.

[[[ That’s why I will not accept her realization of ‘Annoying, huh? So, this is how Naruto must have felt too. Maybe I should be a little nicer to him next time’ as genuine in Episode 3. Because she realized only after Sasuke roasted her. I want feelings to emerge subconsciously rather than instilled by someone. ]]]

Unlike the asshole Sakura she was in part 1, Sakura started out good in Shippuden. I was surprised with her development in Gaara Retrieval Arc and was not at all annoyed by her presence. (Except when she said she will save Naruto and Sasuke from Itachi.... Grrrrr.... Biashhhhh.... Do you know Itachi’s abilities first of all??? He can crush you like a meatball with his Susanoo)

I started to feel, ‘Wooow!!! She has improved a lot. Great!!!!’.

Even though, she was useless in Rasen Shuriken Arc, She still made an effort to make food pills for Naruto. She even hugged Naruto much to his surprise, before all the villagers and especially before, ahemmm Hinata after defeating Pain.

Despite all of these moments that had happened between them, I could only see them as a pair formed of mutual tragedies rather than mutual attraction, Anon. In their case, Losing Sasuke. I wasn’t 100% sure whether Sakura moved on from Sasuke or not. Because When Sakura was looking for Sasuke with Kakashi’s Tracking dogs, she was still in love with him. So Sakura fluctuates between her obsession with Sasuke and some genuine feelings towards Naruto.

Kage summit Arc is where everything changed and finalized. Sakura was crying like an annoying shit when she heard that Sasuke joined Akatsuki and was wanted by Raikage. This clearly shows her obsession has flared up again and ‘Poof’ all the development she had with Naruto was thrown into drain.

On top of it, the fake confession. Grrrrrr.......

Plus, Naruto officially closed the possibilities of this ship by saying, “Sasuke, I know the Truth of Itachi from a guy named Tobi. I don’t know whether it’s true or not. But whatever you’ve been doing so far (hunting Killer Bee, ruckus in Kage summit conference, trying to kill Sakura, Kakashi).... It’s all understandable”.

If Naruto truly, wholeheartedly, deeply loved Sakura, he wouldn’t have said something like, ‘It’s understandable why you tried to kill Sakura”. He should have beaten Sasuke into a pulp. Or atleast shown some intense anger. Instead, Naruto was talking to Sasuke and making promise by saying ‘We will die together’. It’s like Sakura playing cupid for Sasuke and Naruto.

Naruto was okay with someone trying to kill Sakura whereas he was not okay with someone trying to kill Sasuke and even went to the extent of hyperventilating. This is why I feel any other ships are incomparable with SNS.

After that Sakura started to behave rabidly towards Sasuke in the War arc which I can’t help but feel disgusting. So, anything she did for Naruto in the War Arc was overshadowed by her crazy obsession towards Sasuke. That’s why her CPR doesn’t matter, Sakura healing Naruto doesn’t matter. [Naruto has his own regenerative abilities, so whatever she does will not matter much for him]

So, NaruSaku was closed officially by Naruto and Sakura. It couldn’t sail because of the presence of Sasuke.

At the end, I felt like Sakura used Naruto for getting her man back ready for romance rather than a killer mode Sasuke. I couldn’t feel the friendship they once had or any familiarity.

I just hate people who don’t value friendships, anon. Sakura was not even a good friend, first of all. Yeah she had her friendly moments here and there. But, at the end of the series, she was not. A war has just ended, many people lost their lives, her supposed ‘best friend’ Ino lost her father. Why can’t she help her out emotionally? Why can’t she do some fucking good stuffs for this Shinobi world like her other teammates?? Instead, what she did was ‘let’s go and persuade Sasuke-kun to lend me some D by going along with his journey. Because I am so horny’.

It not how you were in the beginning, It’s how you ended up being. She started this series as a worst friend and she ended up as a worst human being for me. How can I ship such a person with Naruto????

#ask #naruto analysis #anti narusaku #anti sakura #sasunaru #sasunarusasu #sns #naruto #sasuke

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everythingsinred · 3 years

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Let's Talk About NatsuMikan: Natsume (pt. 6)

Last time, we talked about Natsume's growing crush on Mikan. As the festival continues, his feelings will only grow. Today we'll discuss how these new feelings will affect him, and particularly how they have the potential to create tension in his friendship with Ruka.

Chapter Twenty-One

Mikan is guilty for not having already gone to Iinchou’s haunted house in the latent ability class area. So they end up going together. Although Mikan is easily distracted and wants to try everything in the latent area, Natsume is strict on going straight to the destination with no tangents.

Iinchou lets them in right away without having to wait in the hour-long line. Mikan puts on airs about being a country girl and, just like she’s unafraid of bugs, she’s also not afraid of ghosts. Except she totally is.

Ruka and Natsume don’t seem particularly scared of the haunted house so far, but Mikan is, and she clings to Ruka, desperate not to be left behind, even if it means she hurts him with her grasp.

The person who posted these TokyoPop scans forgot a couple pages so for the longest time the beginning of the chapter was so confusing to me...

Natsume looks behind to see them and is jealous, yet again. Just like with Tsubasa, Natsume is unhappy with his fate to be the bad guy in general. He goes out of his way to look bad to protect people and as a result will not be the one clung to. It’s different from Tsubasa though, because this isn’t some nameless middle schooler that Natsume can take his anger out on: this is his best friend, somebody he’s never felt anything but affection for. Natsume doesn’t want to hurt Ruka; he’s just sad that the situation is so messed up.

Lucky for Ruka, Natsume gives up before there can even be a competition.

It’s for the best this way, after all. For Ruka to be happy, for Mikan to be with somebody kind who deserves her, and even for him, because maybe this way Mikan won’t be used against him like everybody else he cares about.

Natsume makes this decision without talking to anybody and before anyone can even figure out that there’s a choice to be made in the first place.

Then they run into a crawling hag and nobody’s immune to the terror that being chased after by that demon brings. All three of them run for it, but they end up in a new spooky room, which freaks Mikan out so much she screams and faints, foaming at the mouth, causing Natsume to fall and twist his ankle and for Ruka’s rabbit to run off. He chases after it, leaving Natsume and Mikan alone. Iinchou breaks whatever causes the electricity to run in the building and now they’re trapped alone in the dark, unable to get out.

Mikan tries to figure out a way for them to escape, but climbing the wall is out of the question since Natsume’s ankle is twisted. He suggests that he blow up the wall, but Mikan is adamantly against that idea because the latent students worked hard to make the mansion. Natsume acquiesces. That’s fine. He doesn’t mind spending more time with her. It just means she’ll have to stay in the dark for longer.

She is very clingy when she’s scared, and although he complains he doesn’t really make any moves to get her off. I mean, why would he? This is exactly what he wanted, though he did only get it because he was the only person around that she could cling to. There’s a moment where he spooks her, perhaps so she would hug him more, but then she whines for him to stop scaring her and the panels are quite sparkly. Natsume is distressed about his new crush and the effect it has on him. Really her whining and puppy-dog eyes are not any less powerful on Natsume than they are on Ruka. He’s just better at hiding it.

He looks at her softly and then has a moment where he looks almost peeved to have felt so fond at all... but it won't last. These days he has more affection for her than irritation.

Mikan tries apologizing about getting angry with him at Anna’s cafe, but he pretends like he has no idea what she’s talking about. To me, this cements that Natsume wants to look bad to her in particular. He doesn’t really want her to figure out that he’s kind deep down or that he’s selfless 99% of the time. He doesn’t want her to think he cares at all because it’s best for him to continue being the same jerk he has been for the past twenty chapters. He’s okay with her hating him, because that way she won’t become the new Ruka, used by the academy as a pawn to get him to jump through more hoops.

She tries to make him smile and that’s another big deal. Most people think Natsume is cool for being so unaffected. His fans think he’s the man, a tough guy who frowns all the time. Even Ruka’s approach to this issue was to stop smiling too.

Mikan’s approach is to tell jokes.

Of course, it doesn’t work, and the jokes aren’t any good, but Mikan is trying something nobody else has done: instead of looking up to him or going down to his level of misery, Mikan’s trying to lift him up. She wants him to smile and be happy and that sets her apart. She’s immature and childish and that brings out the childishness in him too. And like I mentioned a while ago, childishness in Natsume is a good thing. With her, he can bicker and argue and tease like he used to before he came to the academy. She has no idea what he’s going through and her mood changes so quickly she can’t even stay mad or upset. She’s just a joyful and loud girl who rubs off on everyone she meets and Natsume is far from being an exception.

He can just mess around like a kid for once. He doesn't have to be serious around her all the time.

Thus, the next important thing in regards to analyzing their relationship is that the last page of the chapter has him teasing her and then smiling at her reaction. We’ve only seen Natsume smile twice before: with Youichi for a brief moment, and then with Ruka on the cover for Chapter Sixteen (Natsume's evil smile when Mikan gets bullied by middle schoolers doesn't count as a real smile). This officially adds Mikan to the incredibly short list of people who can make Natsume smile. She’s angry with him, arguing, but being able to let go of all his darkness and just tease a girl and have her act with such strong emotions is enough to make him happy. And that’s what this is: Natsume is happy.

Chapter Twenty-Three

The musical creates some tension between Natsume and Ruka, as expected, because liking the same girl can make rifts between friends. On the other hand, this isn’t your typical love triangle. Usually in love triangles, the two guys are already positioned against each other. Though Natsume and Ruka may be opposites in many ways, they are not rivals at all. They love each other, and that love is not at all damaged by the conflict of falling for the same girl; it just becomes tense between them.

In fact, the beginning of the chapter has some Class B pals eagerly going backstage to find Ruka before the somatic ability class musical. When they find him, Natsume is the only one to not laugh at or tease him, and seems to be the only one really concerned with Ruka’s feelings about being cast as Snow White.

When the sticky ball incident occurs, there’s a lot more damage done than there is in the anime. In the anime, some cast and crew get stuck, but ultimately nobody was in any real danger of being hurt. In the manga, there were potentially catastrophic consequences for the blast and a lot of equipment got damaged in the process. A somatic child playing one of the seven dwarves is about to be hit by a stagelight when Natsume rushes to get him out of the way, resulting in them getting stuck together. If Natsume hadn’t stepped in, that kid could have gotten really injured, at least.

As a result of Natsume’s heroism, Narumi suggests that he dress up as a forest friend. When Natsume refuses, the child is to be kicked out of the play, and the seven dwarves will be changed to six. Natsume sees the kid pout and with absolutely no more need for convincing he goes to get changed into a cat outfit.

This is noteworthy because the cat outfit is humiliating (not that Natsume hasn’t worn similar things in official art… just saying) and it’s something he truly does not want to do, but he does it, even though he doesn’t even know the kid. It’s some random somatic kid, not Ruka or Youichi or even Mikan, and yet he goes out of his way to do something truly selfless so that the kid can perform what he’s practiced. Natsume is kind in quiet ways, and not just with the people he cares about. Like with Anna, Natsume puts the needs of someone he isn’t close to in front of his own reputation.

Now, Natsume is in a horrible mood, embarrassed to be seen in the costume, and Ruka is confused why he’d even bother, until he sees the smile on the little kid and everything snaps into place for him. Mikan is a very intuitive and emotional girl who can sense things about all sorts of people, but when it comes to Natsume, nobody knows him better than Ruka, who can tell right away the motives for any of his actions.

I work at a restaurant and kids Natsume's age will be like, "I don't want a kids' menu" and act all grown up and then see how big the adult portions are, so they end up eating the Cub Pancake anyway LMAO. Do you want extra whipped cream and chocolate chips, Natsume?

Onto the actual NatsuMikan portion of this analysis, at long last, Mikan is overjoyed to see how adorable he is in his costume and she is the only one who won’t hold back from saying so because she’s not scared of him. I’ve seen someone complaining that Natsume says “Don’t call men cute,” but I always found that line funny because Natsume is a literal ten-year-old boy… He is not a man at all. It’s the sort of thing you’d expect a kid to say, especially one who wants to be a grown-up as soon as possible, which makes the line endearing to me, but that’s my personal feelings about it. (Like the above caption, I find it very amusing when little kids pretend they're all grown up.)

Anyway, Natsume is as much an idiot as he is in the anime, volunteering Mikan to be the prince, even using one of his three wishes to make it happen. This is all motivated by his feelings of humiliation, and he’s taking it out on her, arguing that he doesn’t want to wear the outfit for no reason so the show has to go on no matter the cost--but this will bite him in the ass sooner rather than later.

Chapter Twenty-Four

The chapter begins and Mikan is very nervous about playing the prince, particularly about looking the part as she is very uncomfortable with her hair down.

This is actually the first time we see Natsume’s feelings about it, but he’ll only make it more clear in about ten more chapters. Here, Mikan wonders if she should put her hair back up and Natsume snaps, “No!” before walking away in a huff. It’s a small scene, and it’s even told through tiny text, but it’s enough to let any reader paying attention know that Natsume also thinks Mikan looks cute with her hair down. Yes, he’s embarrassed to have said anything, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t say it.

Don't worry about him, he's just in a bad mood.

Natsume mainly observes, and nothing noteworthy happens. He eventually goes and gives his line and his aura alone is threatening enough to discourage anyone from laughing or “aww”ing.

The next important moment is when Mikan sees the stage direction to kiss the princess directly on the lips. Narumi says it’s because he’s trying to make up for the loss of sizzle due to the accident, but knowing him, there’s probably more to it. Naru likes stirring the pot and causing drama, although I can hardly tell what his motives are half the time. Truly, I believe he is the most mysterious character in the whole story.

Natsume does not allow this to happen, so he throws something at Mikan’s head--some random box thing--and Hotaru shuts off the lights.

Natsume does something kind of selfish here. He didn’t want them to kiss, so he stopped it. The fact that he grabbed the first thing he saw meant it was a sudden choice to chuck it. I wonder if he had any intentions of just toughing it out and dealing with it, but eventually jealousy won out and he did the selfish thing.

When I say selfish, I don’t mean “bad”. I just mean that for once Natsume is acting based on what he wants, rather than what will make somebody else happy. When it comes to this kid in particular, I actually want him to do selfish things more often, because he very rarely does. He’s been selfless and heroic enough for one day, having saved a kid from getting injured and then wearing that embarrassing costume. He’s allowed to have done this one thing for selfish reasons.

It’s not like it was a bad thing to do either. It would have only benefited Narumi, and possibly the somatic class to have a spicy musical kiss, but it wouldn’t have been good for Ruka or Mikan. Having their first kiss under such conditions, especially when Mikan was just doing the class a favor by acting in the play to begin with, would have been sad. Natsume essentially saved her from the consequences of his own actions, because it would have been his fault if they’d had no choice but to go through with it.

Moreover, like I said earlier, Ruka can simply tell what Natsume’s motives are from a single look. It’s more obvious in the anime, of course, but I still think manga!Ruka is aware that Natsume intervened. He knows Natsume better than anybody, and he’s too smart to think that box came out of nowhere.

This is just the beginning of a long-standing tension between them, one that they will dance around and pretend isn’t happening for quite a while before actually addressing it properly. For now, they have undiscussed feelings and jealousies that will go unchecked and unresolved for some time, building an even deeper divide between them. After all, Natsume and Ruka have enough of a gap on account of Natsume’s missions and his general feelings of not being able to fit in with anybody. This only broadens the gap.

Chapter Twenty-Six

The dance will be very fun to analyze from Mikan’s perspective, but we’re not nearly finished with Natsume’s, so that will have to wait.

For now, we’ll discuss Natsume’s softening, which Permy points out bitterly on account of being surrounded by closet fans. Previously, she says, they were terrified of him, and why wouldn’t they be? We talked ad nauseam about Natsume’s first thirteen chapters of misery and coldness. He was a scary and unkind guy, definitely unapproachable. Even his admirers in Class B were scared of him, equal parts affection and terror. In a very short time, Natsume has softened and it’s obvious. He even dressed as a cat for the somatic musical! His reputation for being cold and dangerous is softening and the girls who used to fear him are now flocking to him to ask if he’s willing to accept their last dance proposals.

But with all this talk about romance and dancing, Mikan feels left out and can’t relate. Her frustrations only grow when some girls start gossiping about her and she ends up taking it out on Natsume, saying she would never ever wanna dance with Natsume for the last dance. He brushes this off, but he still pouts, obviously affected and a little hurt. Their relationship was on the rise, after all. They were starting to hang out more and were bickering often, something Natsume doesn’t make a habit of doing with most people. But just because Natsume is feeling more fondness for her, that doesn't mean she feels the same way.

He expects this in some way, of course, because it's partially his intention. He expects that she would only tolerate him after everything that happened with them, but that doesn't mean he likes the feeling of rejection.

They're so cute when they pout!

Having a crush is bad enough, but hearing that girl shout that she’d never wanna go out with you is even harder, even if you were maybe purposefully making her angry with you to try and protect her. It would be a tough emotion to bear, especially for a kid unversed in romance. He proceeds to be just as huffy as her.

And as twisted as it is, I’m happy for him.

Natsume was cold and mean and difficult to talk to before he fell for Mikan. Now he’s way more approachable and expressive, willing on occasion to show an emotion that isn’t rage, like hurt or grumpiness or amusement. He can now sit at his desk and pout, something he wasn’t doing before, like a kid throwing a fit.

At the actual dance, Natsume is still hurt, still pouting. It doesn’t help that Mikan glares at him upon spotting him. It’s interesting to see how much this affects him. One girl said something harsh in the heat of the moment and he is taking it so personally. Of course, he gets hurt or angered by many things. Upperclassmen bully him and call him a murderer and he simply uses his alice on them to shut them up. He keeps his face straight, moves on, and forgets it. Naturally, the hurt and resentment sit there in his gut to torment him, because he’s a kid and they’re awful things for anyone to hear, but he’s not acting like that here. Here, he’s grumpy and pouty. His feelings are hurt but they don’t come with urges to punish like being called a murderer does.

And it’s obvious he has no genuine hard feelings because Natsume then shoves Ruka onto Mikan, since Ruka was being transparent about his gaze. He goes on to dance with someone else, anyone else, because Mikan made it clear that she too would rather dance with anyone else, just as long as it wasn’t him. He’s clearly still in a bad mood, though.

He's so used to not getting what he wants that he will do all of Ruka's work for him, so that Ruka can get what he wants.

Later, when Mikan and Natsume are singletons in the middle of the dance floor, they notice each other. Here would be a perfect opportunity to dance, but she made it clear she hated the idea, and he’s not about to embarrass himself to ask. Hence, he huffs again, pouting because there’s no way he’ll ask her to dance once she’s said such harsh things. They stand in silence for just a moment, until he finds some other girl to dance with and leaves Mikan all alone.

They’re both grumpy over the way they’re being treated by the other. Natsume is being immature and petty with his feelings, almost childish (heehee it's all I want for him!). With all the dark and depressing divide between Mikan’s academy life of fun and laughs and Natsume’s life of secret missions and physical abuse, he’s somehow found a way to wedge himself into hers. He’s taking something so minor so seriously. He’s been on the front lines, used his alice to hurt enemies and been hurt by enemies and dangerous ability types alike. He is literally dying and he’s aware of it! But he’s still pouting because the girl he likes was a little mean to him.

But the dance with the girl obviously wasn’t much fun, because Mikan quickly finds him again, away from the party, along a secluded path by some trees. He’s in a pouty mood and obviously needs some time alone with his thoughts.

It shows that he’s done some thinking because he doesn’t even mention her angry words from earlier.

Instead, he just calls the whole festival stupid.

We’re reminded here of a scene from way before they liked each other, when the festival was first announced. Then, she also found him playing with a dog, all on his own, using anger to mask his feelings of hurt. He said the same thing back then, that the whole thing was stupid and it was dumb to get all worked up about it. He’s doing it again now, but it’s a little different this time. Their relationship has changed, improved. They actually care about each other now, and although Natsume starts off just talking through his anger, he eventually turns honest.

The truth is that these periods of childishness will always have to end. It’s just an extended version of the dodgeball game. No matter how much emotion he puts into these experiences, they will be overshadowed by his real life. Now matter how much fun he has, he will always have to stop smiling and go kill himself on Persona’s orders. And even more honestly, the more fun he has, the harder it will be on the people he has fun with. It’s not enough for the ESP and Persona that Natsume completes his missions and does all his work; they find pleasure and relief in his constant misery. The second he cares about something, they use it against him. His joy is never meant to last and will always have consequences for the people he loves.

I hate tumblr's 10 image limit. I hate it. I despise it. I abhor it. I cannot come up with a caption. So instead I'll say again. I hate the 10 image limit.

And so he explains, for once, that he’s simply different from everyone else. The festival is something that doesn’t belong to him. He’s merely been an observer this whole time. He’s never actually been a part of it. And then he tells her that she should stay in the light, stay out of the dark. He calls her naive, but it’s not as much an insult as it used to be.

She is childish and loud and optimistic and annoying and a little sweet and even though he hated all these things about her before, he now realizes that these traits are things to be protected. The more she mingles with him, the darker her life will be. After all, her light is not the only thing that’s contagious: his darkness rubs off on people too, and in his mind it will only hurt her to be involved with him. She should stay in the light--in the shiny, sparkly side of the manga, where everyone is concerned with sports and coming up with ideas for the festival--and keep out of the dark--where there’s murder and blackmail and danger and death. It’s bad enough he can’t keep Youichi or Ruka out of it: Youichi is already in the DA class and Ruka came running after him. He can’t distance himself from them. The most he can do is protect them and raise their star ranks or keep them off of dangerous missions. But with Mikan he has a chance to really protect her, prevent her from being used against him at all. Ideally, she’ll stay away and he won’t need to worry about her as much.

And he wants her to be safe and gone, so when she asks what he means, he changes tactics and decides to be rude and mean instead, telling her to get lost and insulting her. She gets angry and it almost seems like it’ll be another bickering match, where they will both be childish and hurl insults at each other, but he doesn’t take that path.

She is complaining about how he doesn’t seem to know that she has a name, thank you very much--and then he calls her Mikan. He concedes to her demands. He does what he perceives to be the mature, adult thing, ending the argument so she will leave for good. When she has nothing left to argue about, she will have no choice but to walk away, and she does, once he makes it clear that his last command is for her to stop complaining about what he calls her.

Natsume chooses to do the selfless thing again, and gives up the first thing in a long time that made him happy. He barely had any time with her at all, but he lets her go, because she can only continue to be sunny and cheerful away from him. He’s giving up before anyone can tell that something was around for him to give up.

He has no idea how much one word has affected her.

Conclusion

Natsume is a selfless kid. He gives up on what he wants very easily, but especially because he knows that the second he gets what he wants, those things could be destroyed, just by association with him. He just wants the people he loves to be happy, even if it means he could never be.

In the next segment, we'll talk about what Natsume is willing to do to protect Mikan, even if it means being cruel and hurting her. NatsuMikan is the living embodiment of the "break her heart to save her" trope, and I very much adore that trope with my whole heart, so we're going to be having a LOT of fun with the next essay!

Also, disclaimer: I'm not smart. I refuse to take responsibility for any mistakes I make in these essays. There also are no mistakes. I've never misspelled a word in my life.

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ultrahpfan5blog · 3 years

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Retrospective Review: Casino Royale (2006)

So after thinking about it, I figured that with No Time to Die coming out soon, the Craig Bond era Bond movies deserve a post per film. Casino Royale is the film that got me into Bond. I had seen some of the Brosnan films by then, but they didn't really stick to me much. Perhaps also because I was reasonably young when the Brosnan films came out. But Casino Royale came out during my teen years, where I was starting to get into more dark and gritty movies. To me, this movie and Batman Begins, are cut from the same cloth. Both rebooting characters that had gotten too campy in previous iterations, both brilliant origin stories, and both grounded in reality and gritty. Its no wonder that both version of these characters ended up being my favorite versions. Casino Royale is still easily my favorite Bond film to date.

Truthfully, to me this film is near perfection as an action-thriller. For classic Bond fans who have grown up with the franchise and want specific things like Moneypenny and Q and various gadgets, this film may not be as endearing because it very specifically goes away from being gadget heavy and doesn't give Bond a support staff other than Mathis. I think the most high tech thing in the movie was a portable defibrillator. But this film had me from the very beginning in the black and white sequence and how it showed Bond's two kills to become 007 and how it reimagined the classic opening shot of Bond shooting and the blood red soaking over the screen. I just new we were in for something special from the very beginning. What's amazing is the pacing of this film. This was the longest Bond film since OHMSS at the time. I have watched all prior Bond films and I have felt restless at times while watching them, but not when watching Casino Royale. There is constantly something happening and it keeps you engaged. Not once was I bored in the movie.

The action in the film is absolutely high class. I think its the best Bond action that I have seen. The most classic scene of course is the incredible Parkour chase. Its incredibly exhilarating and major kudos to the guy who did the stunts for the bomb maker. You also get a real understanding of what a brute force this Bond is. While the Bomb maker chooses to jump through the window, Bond will burst through the wall. The Bomb maker will climb construction rods, Bond will just drive a bulldozer and destroy the construction and climb up. When the bomb maker throws the gun at him, Bond just catches it and throws it right back. Little things like that give Bond a personality that is different. But this is only the first great action sequence. There is the Miami airport truck sequence that is also brilliant. You have to love the smug smile on Bond's face when the bomber accidentally blows himself up. There is the staircase fight which is brutal and visceral. Then there is final fight scene in Venice which is emotional and tragic and is the true making of Bond. In between it all, there is the Poker game which is surprisingly entertaining given it takes up quite a chunk of time. There are also some incredibly tense sequences which are laced with humor, like the Bond poisoning scene where Bond almost gets killed and then returns with a classic one liner to leave Le Chiffre dumbfounded. There is the torture scene which is hilarious because of how Bond reacts to the torture and eggs him on in a way. The film never lets up in the action and the thrills.

An enormous part of the success of the film is the casting of Mads Mikkelson as Le Chiffre. I had not known Mads from anywhere before this, but he is immediately compelling and enigmatic. More importantly, rather than just being an all powerful villain to foil, he feels like a human. The tearing blood is a great, sinister gimmick, but you feel like he is on the edge when he loses money in the stock market due to Bond. You feel his desperation in some of the Poker scenes, as well as when the african fighters find him at the hotel, and then when he is torturing Bond to find the location of the money. I am not sure whether I like him more than Bardem's Silva or not, but its telling that the best Bond movies of Craig's era have the best villains. This film put him on the map for me and I loved him as Hannibal, saw him Dr. Strange, and I want see how he does as Grindelwald in the next Fantastic Beasts movie.

However, what elevates this film beyond any prior Bond movie is the casting of Eva Green as Vesper Lynd. She is the best Bond girl ever put to film and the romance between her and Bond is one of the most heartfelt and tragic romances that I have seen. The chemistry between the two actors/characters is electric from their very first scene in the train. The film gives them everything. There are deeply intimate scenes between the two which are not remotely sexual such as the tender shower scene where Bond comforts Vesper after the stairwell fight, many instances of witty repartee, scenes of romance, and then the bitter tragedy of her betrayal and her death. Even her death scene is picturized in a way where you really feel the connection as you can tell that Vesper can't bear to live with what she's done. The film doesn't flinch when showing her drown so it engulfs the audience in the same horror and sadness that Bond is feeling. In general, you experience the same emotions as Bond does as you can't help but fall in love with Vesper and just at the point of happily ever after, it all turns to ash. Its a phenomenal character arc and it also does a great job of establishing how Bond became so cold. Its a fantastic performance from Eva Green, and yet another instance of an actor who put herself on the map in my eyes.

And then there is the man himself. Yet another actor who I knew very little about. At that point everyone thought Craig wasn't good looking enough, not tall enough, not charismatic enough etc... to play Bond. But boy did he just blow expectations away. He is my Bond for sure because his performance is just exceptional in every way. He is built like a tank and is a force of nature, but Craig brings a tender vulnerability, perfectly suited for a young Bond. He looks dapper, is charismatic, is great in the fight scenes, and you genuinely feel he could beat the crap out of people. As I have already mentioned, there are so many touches to his performance that is unique to him. The brutality he brings in the fight scenes, the smirk at the end of the Miami scene, the heartfelt tenderness in the shower scene, the twinkly eyes humor, the rage when he is betrayed, the devastation at Vesper's death, and then the coldness that comes after that. He gets to show a full range, and he delivers every aspect with perfection.

One of the major carryovers from Brosnan era, was Jud Dench as M. And she gets a lot more to do during the Craig era. She is phenomenal as she always is. The dynamic between her and Bond is slightly more stern maternal in the Craig era compared to Brosnan and their interactions are great. Jeffrey Wright brings Felix Leiter back into the fold for the first time since License to Kill and he's a welcome presence as always. Giancarlo Giannini is also pretty great as Mathis and I'm glad he came back in QoS. Jesper Christensen has a quiet presence as Mr. White, who makes recurring appearances in the future.

I feel not enough people give Martin Cambell credit for what he has done. Twice he has launched Bonds successfully. GoldenEye was really good and Casino Royale is just outstanding. I have never paid much attention to the Bond song but the song for Casino Royale is pretty great. Again its telling that the two songs that I remember from Bond movies are from Casino Royale and Skyfall. Anyways, Casino Royale is a near perfect movie, especially for someone who is new to Bond. It really launched Bond into the modern world and got him away from the cold war era type plots. If I had to quibble about something, I would say some of the scenes in the Bahamas are a little slower and maybe 5-10 minutes can be edited down but even those scenes are great character scenes and we get a new origin of the DB5. A 9.5/10 for me.

#casino royale #martin campbell #daniel craig #eva green #mads mikkelsen #jeffrey wright #judi dench #giancarlo giannini #007 #james bond #le chiffre #vesper lynd #felix leiter #mr white #jesper christensen

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marvel-ousnesss · 4 years

Text

Hand in Hand

Pairing: Harry Styles x reader

Summary: Y/N and Harry the night of the Brits.

word count: 2806

masterlist

A/N: I wrote most of this on my phone so sorry for any typos or mistakes. Lots of love 💜💜💜

“Y/N, Y/N!”

You approached the source of the storm of voices with a wide grin on your face. You still couldn't hide the thrill that your fans brought you, nor you could stop yourself from just hanging with them for a bit. You ambled through the red carpet exchanging smiles and posing for selfies until you reached the end of the path.

When you stepped inside, you greeted a few other people who had arrived at the event and went to freshen up a bit so you could pose for some photos.

You looked at yourself in the mirror and grinned widely. You felt like the girl singing covers in her room, yet here you were, attending your first-ever music awards as a nominee —with one of the best albums of the year under your arm.

As you made your way back from the restroom, you felt a presence behind you. Before you could turn around, they spoke.

"Well hey, fancy seeing you here.” Harry's voice was raspy, tinted with mischief.

You stopped, turned toward him with an amused half-smile.

"Right back at you,” you joked back. “Do you come here often?"

He exhaled a fruity laugh and smiled at you, finally allowing his gaze to drift down onto your figure and then back to up to meet your own. "You look… wow."

He made you blush with almost no effort but you were quick to cover it up, doing your best to get rid of the tension that seemed to constantly glide around the two of you.

"Well, don't you look 'wow' yourself", you smirked.

It had been going on for a few months now; flirting here and there, hanging out at parties, and even a few dates which you had tried to keep out of the spotlight. Nevertheless, headlines hadn't stopped gushing on about 'the newest, freshest face of the industry' and the 'beloved, eclectic Harry Styles.'

Looping your arm around his you subtly prompted him to continue walking toward the awaiting cameras, where you were headed before bumping into him. He obliged, smoothly guiding you through the crowd of crew members, press, and artists.

After a moment of hesitation, his hand traveled to the small of your back. When you felt his tender fingers against the silk of your gown, you lifted your head to look at him.

"So, what’s the game-plan for tonight?”

“Y’know how ‘t goes,” he explained. “Step one: performance, step two: get hold of all the tiny statues, step three: world domination.”

You laughed, but insisted, “really, how’re you doing; ready?”

Even if he seemed to be perfectly collected, you knew that tonight’s show had his head spinning. This was gonna be his first live performance of the year, and, to be honest, you thought it was admirable that he decided to go through with it after what had happened that weekend.

“‘m just a mess of nerves and excitement right now. Tonight needs to be brilliant.”

He didn’t wanna talk about Caroline’s death and you were ok with it, so you didn’t push on the topic.

“I’m sure it’ll be. The whole album’s just amazing; and, you know, the guy who sings it isn’t that bad either.”

He chuckled lightly, then sighed, “just hope I make it justice.”

You smiled, “you will.”

That’s when you found yourselves between the gray wall upholstered with logos and brand names and the army of photographers equipped with cameras of all sizes.

You both faced them and quickly displayed your best angles.

Offering a smirk as he fixed the collar of his blazer, Harry asked, “what ‘bout you, eyes on the prize, I assume?”

You turned around with grace, so that the back of your outfit was visible, then faced the cameras over your shoulder.

“Well, yeah,” you sighed dramatically. “But, to be frank, I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep them there with you looking so dashingly handsome.”

His eyes widened for a second and he let out a ringing laugh, his cheeks reddening slightly. It was truly a beautiful sight. However, no longer than a moment later, he concealed the gentle blush with a snort and a devious grin, which he directed at the cameras.

“I know ’m irresistible, love,” he smirked. “And I hate to tell you this, but I‘m ‘a be professional tonight, no funny business.” His tone was dripping with feigned seriousness.

"Your loss," you flipped your hair.

_______

You guided Y/F/N to the table where your team had been placed. Being honest, she was thrilled to be there with you, but also quite surprised that you had honored the promise you both made back in middle school. When you had first told her about your YouTube channel —after a fair amount of bugging on her part—, she had shown complete support and joked about being your date to the met gala. But, as the met was still clearly out of your league and you had missed the Grammys because of your mom’s birthday, here you were.

She already knew your manager so you introduced her to the rest of them before taking a seat, ready to enjoy the rest of the evening.

The first few minutes were full of laughter and conversation. When the event officially began, you watched the presentations with a gaping mouth and cheered hastily when every award was presented.

Before you knew, it was already time for Harry’s performance. You bit the inside of your lip when he climbed upstage, effortlessly rocking a lace jumpsuit that gave a deific, but simple air to him.

“Can’t believe you turned that down to bring me,” your friend whispered to you.

“Seriously?, my first ever-awards were something I needed to share with you, dork.”

“Awww, friend.”

“Aww”, you mocked, then hit her shoulder lightly. “Shush, let me listen.”

Everything happening on stage was truly breathtaking. You mouthed the lyrics as your gaze followed his every move. His eyes were full of stars and his voice was so flooded with emotion that it made chills run down your spine.

“I’ll rip his throat out with my teeth if he ever fucks up.”

Those words somewhat pulled you out of your daze-like state. Part of you wanted to ask her what she meant, but it was no use. For her, you were an open book, so you didn’t even try to hide how bad you had fallen.

Only with a glance your way, Y/F/N managed to catch the way in which your eyes twinkled when you looked at him and the way you blushed ever so slightly when she brought him up.

You tried to conceal the impact of her words with a sip of your drink, to which she responded with a smug wink.

The following half an hour or so went by uneventful. You nearly fainted when Lizzo performed, and it didn’t get better when you discovered she was but a few tables away from you, next to where Harry had been placed. A couple of categories where presented and the moment you dreaded the most arrived.

Celeste was flawless on stage, and you couldn’t be happier for her. Yet, as you listened to her song, your brows were glued in a frown and the corners of your mouth seemed to weigh a ton. It was time for the rising star award, and then came international female solo —to which you had been nominated.

You turned your head to the side when you heard the scratching of a chair against the floor, and offered a quivering smile to Harry, who had not so discreetly sneaked to your table.

“Hey,” he mumbled, taking hold of one of your hands under the table.

“Hey.”

Celeste’s speech, which ended before you would’ve wanted, was followed by Sporty’s introduction to your category. You tried to stay positive as the nominees were announced.

Y/F/N managed to dodge Harry and get her hand on your shoulder. She gave him an awkward attempt of a smile, then looked at you. “You got this.”

You nodded at her words but, not so deep down, you knew this wasn’t gonna be your year.

“I’m so excited, they’re all so brilliant,” Sporty began.

Harry’s grip tightened on your hand while she opened the envelope, and you barely heard him mumble, “come on.”

That’s when the winner was announced. Billie’s name echoed through the speakers across the place and your face fell for a few seconds.

You were quick to recover and clapped just as eagerly as you had for the rest of the winners, but the smile plastered on your face quivered a bit as you swallowed a wave of disappointment.

That changed when she got to the stage, that’s when utter pride kicked in. While Billie said a few words in acceptance of the award, Jack Whitehall made his way to the table and squeezed a chair between you and Harry. You let out a snicker as he clumsily tried to sit comfortably, then you moved a bit back.

He was given his cue by the camera guy and began.

“Congratulations, to Billie Eilish! Now, I’m just so excited to be here with this power couple who, for some reason, are not officially a couple yet.”

"Glad to have you."

His eyes drifted between the two of you, then settled on Harry. “Harold, you’ve been coming to the brits for 10 years. Not to make you feel old.” Then he looked at you. “Y/N, on the other hand, this is your very first time here.”

"Yup," you chuckled. "Total newbie."

“Sorry for the stock question, but how’s it feeling so far? Kidding, we don’t wanna talk about that, do we? I bet you’ve already got at least five rehearsed versions of the answer to that question.”

You snorted.

“Let’s get to the point here.“ Jack leaned closer to the table, to which you responded by mimicking his posture. “Ever since the ‘Up All Night’ era, when Harold here was just a lad with his little bow tie and a mop on his hair, he’s been a ladies man.

Harry scoffed and waved his hand dismissively.

"And, as such, he can only be paired to someone like you,“ he pointed his finger at you in mock accusation, “my dear Y/N, who has been leaving a fair share of lads and ladies’ hearts broken —including my own— ever since your very flare-up on that strange platform which somehow houses both Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday’ and your phenomenal album ‘Tears of Blade’. However, putting my broken heart aside, I wanna Know… you didn’t come as each other’s date, why’s that?"

Harry took a sip of his drink, "I tried, but she turned me down."

Jack faked shock. "Should I get my hopes up then?"

"Oh no, none of that."You shook your head. "I just brought a friend tonight."

His mouth opened in realization, then he smirked, wiggling his brows. "Not to intrude, but… a special friend of yours or a friend friend."

You threw your head back, laughing, then said, "Jack, this is Y/F/N. Y/F/N, Jack."

"Hi." She stretched out her hand, which the host gladly took.

“I like the way your hand fits in mine,” he gushed.

——————————

You struggled to stay awake in the car to your place, your eyelids didn’t seem to be obeying you anymore and your head was feeling too heavy for you to lift. Harry chuckled when he looked at you, bringing you closer to him so you could use him as a pillow. For the rest of the ride, he quietly hummed to the music playing and did what he could to ignore the feeling of numbness that was beginning to invade his arm.

You woke up when the car stopped and raised your head, scanning your surroundings. When your gaze met Harry’s, you smiled. He grabbed your purse and helped you out of the car, then you both took the lift to your apartment.

"Make yourself at home," you said, taking off your coat and shoes.

"Thanks, love." He hanged his blazer on the rack by the door, together with his vest and the purple pashmina that adorned his neck.

After changing into some sweatpants and a t-shirt, you made your way to the living room and found Harry, neck deep into your fridge. That's when you recalled you hadn't done any grocery shopping.

"Tell me if you find something, my fridge's just sad to even look at," you jested, standing behind him.

"S'not that bad. I mean, carrots, beer, tortillas, we could do wonders out of this," he scoffed, still looking for something worth looting.

After no avail, he closed the door.

"Or… we could order pizza."

He chortled, "Y/N/N, we ate like an hour ago."

"Is that a yes or a no?"

He sighed, letting himself fall to the couch in fake exasperation. "Woman, you’re a bad influence." Now, that was a yes.

You giggled when he ended up sitting on the floor, then taunted, "worried your Gucci suits won’t fit you anymore?"

"Ha-ha very funny." Harry settled on the floor, grabbing one of the decorative pillows.

"C’ mere," he patted the spot beside him.

"The couch’s right there."

"So?"

"So?" you mocked, "you come here." You clumsily sat on the couch, but he grabbed your ankle and pulled you to the floor. You let out a squeal but, taking advantage of the boost he had given you, managed to place yourself on top of him, caging his body between yours and the couch.

You were about to gloat, but he placed a hand on your waist and used the weight of his body to push you back, turning the cards.

"You got me where you want me, what are you gonna do?" When you spoke, your voice came out quieter than intended.

Harry's hand found the hem of your shirt and he began tugging it faintly, brushing your skin ever so slightly. He looked at your lips for a moment, then your eyes.

"'Ve got a few ideas-" his words were drowned by the doorbell ringing.

"Fuck," he groaned, head burying in the crook of your neck. Your fingers curled around his silky locks, then you mumbled, "I have to get up, you know."

He grumbled something else, but you pushed him off you.

You received the pizza and locked the door, proceeding to put the cardboard box on the marble counter. As you cut the tape with a small knife, Harry joined you in the kitchen. Stepping behind you, he placed his hands on your sides and a kiss on the line where your neck met your shoulder.

"Patience is a virtue, Harold," you teased.

"Don't care."He rested his head on your shoulder but his hands carried on with the feathery strokes.

Just then, you opened the box and swiftly turned around, giving him a quick peck before stepping out of his grasp.

"Help yourself," you instructed while grabbing two beers from the fridge.

After giving him one, you took hold of a slice and walked toward your previous spot on the living room floor. "Don’t know bout you, but I’m starving."

Harry followed with the box in hand, after settling once again, he placed the box between the two of you and grabbed the remote control.

You shook your head and scoffed, "all that wailing and you're just as hungry as I am."

"Not my fault that the bloody doorbell killed the mood." He took another bite.

Three beers per head later, as the credits of Dirty Dancing rolled up the screen, the pizza had been discarded long ago. You hummed to the credits song as your head rested on his lap, enjoying the feeling of his hands playing with your hair.

"Thanks for tonight," he mused.

"What d'you mean?" You adjusted yourself so that you were looking up at him.

"Just, you know, "he hesitated, finding the words. "You made sure it was a great night."

Your mouth opened in realization before you smiled, lifting one of your hands to his cheek. “That's what 'm here for." Then you sat up, and joked, "besides, 's only fair to admit that, for a business night, it was fun."

"You break my heart, love" he sighed, "all your business partners get after parties like tonight’s?"

"Nah," you avowed, "just the cute ones."

"I'm relieved, then." He pulled you to him by the waist.

You beamed, throwing your head back, "you're unbelievable."

When you straightened up, after your laugh died down, his gaze found your lips once more and he leaned in. "Can I kiss you?"

Your hands moved up to the back of his neck and, without a word, you pressed your lips to his.

Requests open!

#harry styles blurb #harry styles imagines #harry styles fluff #harry styles imagine #Harry styles fics #Harry styles fic #Harry styles fanfics #harry styles fanfic #harry styles x you #harry styles x reader

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fruityutas · 3 years

Text

heart-shaped box

taglist ~ @puppywritings , @xiaojours , @svchengss , @prettyjaems

part of @du0tine ‘s 21 ways to kill your lover collab

cannibal!stalker!sicheng x reader

not proofread

genre ~ horror, angst, suggestive but no smut

wc ~ 2.5k

warnings ~ the following writing is FICTION and has very heavy and unsettling themes like murder, stalking, and cannibalism. if these themes are triggering or otherwise uncomfortable to you, do NOT read this story.

synopsis ~ you meet sicheng unexpectedly when out for groceries. he seems to be the most normal person in the room, but what you don’t know can’t hurt you, can it?

the basis of all life is the heart. it beats so we can have oxygen delivered to our organs. it is precious and works hard to let us live. one must protect it at all costs, never let it weaken, not even from love.

sicheng walks the aisles of the store slowly, inspecting each item, analyzing its contents. he keeps his focus until it’s interrupted by a sweet voice. yours. “excuse me?” his gaze floats to meet yours. you stood before him, smiling shyly. “can i help you?” sicheng stands straight, his figure taller than you’d expected. “um, i just need help getting that box of cereal off the top shelf.” his eyes follow your arm up to the top shelf, the cereal clearly out of reach for you. he grabs it and hands it to you. “thank you so much! i really didn’t want to climb the shelves.” the giggle that accompanies your statement makes his ears turn red. sicheng is enthralled by you, your scent, the soft tendrils of hair cascading down your shoulders, your sweet smile. he feels the urge come up. one he hadn’t had in months. Obsession. sicheng knew he’d be seeing you more, he’d make sure of it. “it’s not a problem…” “oh! y/n, that’s my name.” you laugh awkwardly, the pause between him implying to ask your name a bit too long. he grins and nods before wishing you a good day.

it hadn’t been hard to find your sns, a foreigner in mainland china was rare. the pictures you posted did no justice to what you truly looked like. you’d be a good addition to his collection of hearts stolen. he doesn’t follow you and doesn’t like any posts. he has to stay invisible for the time being. he finds out the college you attend and lurks there whenever possible to figure out your schedule. the first two days gives him what he needs, now he stays just to see you. sicheng eventually gets the gall to trek closer to the actual campus, sitting on the benches of the park on the edge of it. you spot him one day, waving at him. strike one. you make your way over to him and sit beside him. strike two. your compassion was going to be your downfall. “fancy seeing you here! are you a student?” sicheng knows better than to lie, so he says no. “i just like to sit at this park from time to time, it’s very relaxing.” you hum in response. “well, i have to get going to my next class, but it was pleasant seeing you again!” he nods and sends you off with a smile, but little do you know, he’s planning the main course for his next feast.

you see, sicheng and his six friends are all what some would call disgusting and horrible people. they don’t understand though, the delicacies of the human body. eating together brings you closer, but eating a person brings you impossibly close. but sicheng was a smart man, and he didn’t need people to call him disgusting, so he prefers to keep his tendencies in the closet.

sicheng’s daily routine rarely changed. he got up, fed his cat, made breakfast, ate, showered, and went to work. though he didn’t need to work, his parents had left him an empire of wealth to live off. he got bored with no work, so he decided to use some of the said wealth to get a degree and use it. and what better degree than a doctorate in biology? he used it to his advantage, he knew the exact cuts to make, and how the body could be used. throughout his cannibalistic diet, he’d eaten nine people. sicheng had picky tastes, though. no minors, no one over 30, and absolutely no one he didn’t deem pretty enough. gender wasn’t an issue, sicheng admired both. his victims were unsuspecting, falling for his good looks and seemingly sweet personality. sicheng would usually bed them before killing them because while eating someone connects them to you, he felt as if sex powered it more.

the next time sicheng sees you, it’s at the grocery store again. he uses this as his chance to try for your number. “fate really wants us to see each other huh?” you laugh at the coincidence. he gives a small chuckle back. “well since fate wants us to see each other, maybe i can take the chance and ask for your number?” his question takes you back, and you turn red in slight embarrassment. “well, of course you can, but i’m not looking for a relationship right now, so just friends?” annoyance spreads through sicheng, but he agrees nonetheless. this would make it hard but not impossible.

for the next week sicheng was texting you and gaining your trust. you’d agreed to meet up with him at a cafe for a “friend date” as he put it. he offers to pick you up, and you naively give him your address. sicheng is getting closer to what he wants, and it’s making him giddy. the outing goes well and sicheng takes you home. he lurks around that night, though, and sees you leave your house dressed up nicely. a car pulls up and a man gets out to greet you. sicheng’s blood boils. how were you not looking for a relationship when clearly you were going on a date with this man?

the entire night, sicheng watches and follows your every move. his rage heightened each time the man touches you. you were his, not anyone else’s. sicheng clearly had to get rid of this problem. he’s done it before, and even though he won’t be dining on this man, his friends will. there is never a wasted meal between the seven of them. a quick phone call to kun, to who he gives the address of the restaurant, and the man is taken care of. sicheng decides to leave before he gets mad enough to do the job himself.

not a word is mentioned by sicheng, because if he did, you’d know he followed you. the “friend dates” continued and sicheng was as unsuspecting as any normal person, but behind the scenes, his obsession grew. he was getting impatient, he wanted to have you now. but he just couldn’t push it. you were becoming more flirty with him after the other guy stood you up. at least, that’s what you told sicheng, not knowing the man was long dead and eaten.

“sicheng, are you alright?” your honey voice pulls him out of his thoughts and back to reality. he nods feverishly and shoots a shy smile, one that hides his true intentions. today is the day, he thought. nothing could stand between him and your extravagance. you smile at him, and place a hand on his arm. “would you like to come to my apartment? i have water and medicine if you don’t feel well.” of course, he agrees. his plan was coming together. throughout the last seven years, the nine victims he’s claimed have all been to his basic standards.

taeil, the street musician he encountered while still in high school. he was the first, a quite easy job, as he was desperate to find connections to anyone -street performing wasn’t enough to pay the bills- and sicheng was just the perfect person for that.

yeri, his first girlfriend. sicheng had a lot of fun with her, she was almost always yearning for him, begging for sex whenever the chance arose. but sicheng grew tired of her constantness and got rid of her.

irene, his best friend’s aunt. she was much too old for sicheng when he’d fucked her, but she was just too cunning to pass up. her seductive nature got the best of sicheng, and her kill was his most gruesome to date, the anger of falling for another’s trick clouded his mind.

yuta, his first true love. sicheng doesn’t regret killing his lover, but the heavy guilt of what could have been had sicheng not been this way weighs on his mind at all times.

yangyang, the small cousin that annoyed him to no end. sicheng showed no emotion at the boy’s funeral, and he was the only family member he’d killed.

wendy, the girl from college. she was also in the medical department and had a small crush on sicheng. he used this to his advantage, killing her swiftly and secretly.

jaehyun, the secret boyfriend. his junior year of undergrad school was filled with parties at frat houses, and jaehyun being the president of one proved sicheng showing up to many of them. jaehyun was a whore in every sense of the word, and it extended towards men.

renjun, the only other chinese boy in his graduate school. sicheng was a mentor to him, and even cared deeply for the boy. but renjun wasn’t special, he was still just another meal to be consumed.

seulgi, his dance partner. many days after school were spent fucking her in the dance studio on campus, until one day he got tired of her. the dance studio was closed for weeks due to the amount of blood.

and finally you. you were different from the rest, you were the tenth victim, and the fifth girl. an even number of victims, something he took pride in achieving. he knew he had to do something special for you. the pink heart-shaped box he’d got to hold the very organ it was modeled after. it had golden details painted on, and the latch had a pearl on it. sicheng thought it was beautiful, and the perfect thing to hold your heart. he was going to keep it close to him, as a token of remembrance.

the way back to your apartment was filled with sensual touches and flirty kisses on each other. it wasn’t far from the small cafe you both chose to eat at, so the walk wasn’t too long. a passerby would look and see what appears to be a happy couple when the reality of the situation was much darker. sicheng was hungry, and you were the main course. the door to the apartment was in sight when a policeman stopped the two of you. sicheng hides his annoyance well and puts up an unsuspecting front. “good evening, officer.” the officer nods before speaking to you. “miss, you were one of the last people to see johnny suh last week. do you know anything about his whereabouts?” the shock from his sentence washed over your face as you shook your head no. “i ate with him last tuesday, and arranged another meeting, but he never showed nor answered his phone and i haven’t seen him since.” the officer nods and writes a few things down before turning to sicheng. “and do you maybe know anything about him?” sicheng analyzes the picture of the man he sent kun to kill, almost smiling. “no sir, i’ve never seen him before unfortunately.” the officer nods again and thanks the both of you for the help.

sicheng starts to rush along, wanting to complete the task at hand. the walk up the stairs to your door seemed endless, tunnel vision forming at the thought of what was about to go down. an evil smirk graced sicheng’s features, and as the sunset glowed down on you, he knew your time on earth was ending soon. you both didn’t get even a foot in the door before sicheng was all over you, kisses exchanged between clashing of teeth, hands roaming everywhere that was in reach. clothes discarded around the floor, not to be worried about until later. the only thing that mattered to sicheng right now was getting you in bed. he guides you there quickly, kisses getting messy, the rest of your undergarments gone. the only sounds in the room were the escaping moans from you and the creaking of the bed.

you’re fast asleep, sicheng makes sure of this. he creeps around your kitchen and finds a knife suitable for his art. the gloves he brought already on, he picks the knife up and examines his reflection. he sees himself as a wonderful human, there are no flaws in him, he is the perfect being. his trek back to your room is hasty, his excitement barely contained. he is moments away from having the best meal of his life.

his body hovered over your sleeping figure. how peaceful you looked, soft breathing, a neutral look on your face. it was such a shame that you’d be dead in less than a few minutes. sicheng took his time preparing his weapon, the carving knife shining in the moonlight. he silently plans out where to take the first stab, even a small error would result in a faulty kill. the pink heart-shaped box in his bag yelling at him to hurry up and do it. taking in a deep breath, sicheng raises the knife, but only enough to get momentum. as he plunges it into your chest, he covers your mouth as to not let the scream out. he can’t have anyone hearing this, for obvious reasons. you awake to a painful sensation. eyes still raw with sleep, you scan your surroundings as best you can, the painful burning almost too much. the figure above you looks familiar, and you thrash around to get away from him. the sleep now long gone and adrenaline coursing your veins, you realize it was the man you’d been seeing around often, sicheng. you try to get away from him, but he is inevitably stronger than you.

“you’re only making this harder for yourself.” his voice comes out deep and full of annoyance. you pay it no mind and continue to wriggle your body, though it is slowly weakening. sicheng continues to carve around your heart, and you try to scream out but the large hand on your mouth blocks it. the pain is unbearable at this point, and you find yourself losing this fight. your skin pales at blood loss and you start to lose consciousness. the last thing you hear before the dark was sicheng’s sultry voice whispering in your ear. “my present to me is the only means of life you’ve got left.”

you go limp in his arms, your heart ripped from its cavity. sicheng takes one glove off to grab the box, placing the heart inside it gently. he admires his work, standing and taking pictures to save for later. he thinks about how delicious you will taste. sicheng simply cannot wait to be fully connected to you, the excitement making him hurry with transporting you to his house so you can be prepared. sicheng calls up kun, and the only thing he says before hanging up is simple. “tonight, we shall feast on a delicate one.”

the basis of all life is the heart, and you let yours be taken by a man you truly didn’t know.

#neowritingsnet #nshitty-frathouse #unfortunatus: inferno #nct #nct scenarios #nct imagines #nct 127 scenarios #nct 127 imagines #nct 127 #wayv #wayv scenarios #wayv imagines #wayv sicheng #sicheng x reader #sicheng scenarios #dong sicheng

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razberryyum · 4 years

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Scumbag System (SVSSS donghua) episode 7 Thoughts (spoilers)

(covers SVSSS chaps 16 - 19, BC Novels Translations)

I love everything about Bingge--his gorgeous good looks, his beautiful ensemble, his deliciously intimidating aura--everything, except for his voice. Yes, still his voice, which I must regretfully and heartbreakingly say is doing nothing for me at all. When I lamented about his voice and voice performance last episode, people were telling me to basically just wait until he grows up, until post-Abyss, that he'll sound better then. But I actually remember that we already heard a bit of his voice in the PVs, and I already had misgivings then; hearing him now in this episode, only cemented my opinion if it. I know he only uttered a line, but it still was enough to reaffirm my doubts. His voice lacks the OOMPH quality that I dreamed of for Bingge. I think his VA was going for creepy, but I wanted the kind of creepy that was more seductively menacing...the type that makes my knees weak. I didn't feel anything and that just bums me F out. I love Binghe so much, I wanted everything about him to be perfect. He deserves/demands perfection, dammit.

Again if you think he sounds great, more power to you! I wish I felt the same, I really do.

Although I do want to say his VA's work during the mom scenes was solid. I actually teared up.

Even as Bingmei I think his voice is a scooch too soft most of the time, but it does work the best during vulnerable moments like this.

Per usual, I loved all the BingQiu interaction in the ep. There was so much TOUCHING!

And of course there was that scene from the credits which I still cannot believe exists:

They created a freaking rainbow ffs. How cute is that??

Although I was surprised that they downplayed the moment in the book when SQQ promised to take care of Binghe (from chap 18):

"Shen Qingqiu smiled and said: “However, you don’t need to dwell on it too much. If you have no way of becoming strong, I’ll be by your side and protect you.”....Shen Qingqiu didn’t mind at all taking him under his wing and taking care of him for a lifetime...the affection in these words seemed too much. After the tide of warm feelings slightly subsided, a hot sensation quickly climbed up Luo Binghe’s face."

Pretty significant emotions involved but all we got in the donghua was:

...and we didn't even get to see Binghe's reaction. I know they can't show us all the love but they already did so much...funny what they choose to hold back on sometimes.

Also, I appreciated the contrasting versions of BingQiu they gave us at the beginning of the episode versus the end:

Of course I love all versions of BingQiu but seeing Bingge interacting with either version of SQQ--original goods Shen Jiu or Shen Yuan--is exciting. We probably won't get another scene this season so I can only look forward to seeing more of Bingge harassing SQQ next season.

Lastly, the dream demon. Um. He's an old man as expected. Was hoping they'd change that up and give us someone who looks like Zangetsu from Bleach, but that's just me being a superficial idiot.

#SVSSS #Scumbag System #Scum Villain's Self-Saving System #BingQiu #Scum Villain donghua #Shen Qingqiu #Shen Yuan #Shen Jiu #Luo Binghe

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dornish-queen · 4 years

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Pedro Pascal on Fame and ‘The Mandalorian’: ‘Can We Cut the S— and Talk About the Child?’

By Adam B. Vary

Photographs by Beau Grealy

When Pedro Pascal was roughly 4 years old, he and his family went to see the 1978 hit movie “Superman,” starring Christopher Reeve. Pascal’s young parents had come to live in San Antonio after fleeing their native Chile during the rise of dictator Augusto Pinochet in the mid-1970s. Taking Pascal and his older sister to the movies — sometimes more than once a week — had become a kind of family ritual, a way to soak up as much American pop culture as possible.

At some point during this particular visit, Pascal needed to go to the bathroom, and his parents let him go by himself. “I didn’t really know how to read yet,” Pascal says with the same Cheshire grin that dazzled “Game of Thrones” fans during his run as the wily (and doomed) Oberyn Martel. “I did not find my way back to ‘Superman.'”

Instead, Pascal wandered into a different theater (he thinks it was showing the 1979 domestic drama “Kramer vs. Kramer,” but, again, he was 4). In his shock and bewilderment at being lost, he curled up into an open seat and fell asleep. When he woke up, the movie was over, the theater was empty, and his parents were standing over him. To his surprise, they seemed rather calm, but another detail sticks out even more.

“I know that they finished their movie,” he says, bending over in laughter. “My sister was trying to get a rise out of me by telling me, ‘This happened and that happened and then Superman did this and then, you know, the earthquake and spinning around the planet.'” In the face of such relentless sibling mockery, Pascal did the only logical thing: “I said, ‘All that happened in my movie too.'”

He had no way of knowing it at the time, of course, but some 40 years later, Pascal would in fact get the chance to star in a movie alongside a DC Comics superhero — not to mention battle Stormtroopers and, er, face off against the most formidable warrior in Westeros. After his breakout on “Game of Thrones,” he became an instant get-me-that-guy sensation, mostly as headstrong, taciturn men of action — from chasing drug traffickers in Colombia for three seasons on Netflix’s “Narcos” to squaring off against Denzel Washington in “The Equalizer 2.”

This year, though, Pascal finds himself poised for the kind of marquee career he’s spent a lifetime dreaming about. On Oct. 30, he’ll return for Season 2 as the title star of “The Mandalorian,” Lucasfilm’s light-speed hit “Star Wars” series for Disney Plus that earned 15 Emmy nominations, including best drama, in its first season. And then on Dec. 25 — COVID-19 depending — he’ll play the slippery comic book villain Maxwell Lord opposite Gal Gadot, Chris Pine and Kristen Wiig in “Wonder Woman 1984.”

The roles are at once wildly divergent and the best showcase yet for Pascal’s elastic talents. In “The Mandalorian,” he must hide his face — and, in some episodes, his whole body — in a performance that pushes minimalism and restraint to an almost ascetic ideal. In “Wonder Woman 1984,” by stark contrast, he is delivering the kind of big, broad bad-guy character that populated the 1980s popcorn spectaculars of his youth.

“I continually am so surprised when everybody pegs him as such a serious guy,” says “Wonder Woman 1984” director Patty Jenkins. “I have to say, Pedro is one of the most appealing people I have known. He instantly becomes someone that everybody invites over and you want to have around and you want to talk to.”

Talk with Pascal for just five minutes — even when he’s stuck in his car because he ran out of time running errands before his flight to make it to the set of a Nicolas Cage movie in Budapest — and you get an immediate sense of what Jenkins is talking about. Before our interview really starts, Pascal points out, via Zoom, that my dog is licking his nether regions in the background. “Don’t stop him!” he says with an almost naughty reproach. “Let him live his life!”

Over our three such conversations, it’s also clear that Pascal’s great good humor and charm have been at once ballast for a number of striking hardships, and a bulwark that makes his hard-won success a challenge for him to fully accept.

Before Pascal knew anything about “The Mandalorian,” its showrunner and executive producer Jon Favreau knew he wanted Pascal to star in it.

“He feels very much like a classic movie star in his charm and his delivery,” says Favreau. “And he’s somebody who takes his craft very seriously.” Favreau felt Pascal had the presence and skill essential to deliver a character — named Din Djarin, but mostly called Mando — who spends virtually every second of his time on screen wearing a helmet, part of the sacrosanct creed of the Mandalorian order.

Convincing any actor to hide their face for the run of a series can be as precarious as escaping a Sarlacc pit. To win Pascal over in their initial meeting, Favreau brought him behind the “Mandalorian” curtain, into a conference room papered with storyboards covering the arc of the first season. “When he walked in, it must have felt a little surreal,” Favreau says. “You know, most of your experiences as an actor, people are kicking the tires to see if it’s a good fit. But in this case, everything was locked and loaded.”

Needless to say, it worked. “I hope this doesn’t sound like me fashioning myself like I’m, you know, so smart, but I agreed to do this [show] because the impression I had when I had my first meeting was that this is the next big s—,” Pascal says with a laugh.

Favreau’s determination to cast Pascal, however, put the actor in a tricky situation: Pascal’s own commitments to make “Wonder Woman 1984” in London and to perform in a Broadway run of “King Lear” with Glenda Jackson barreled right into the production schedule for “The Mandalorian.” Some scenes on the show, and in at least one case a full episode, would need to lean on the anonymity of the title character more than anyone had quite planned, with two stunt performers — Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder — playing Mando on set and Pascal dubbing in the dialogue months later.

Pascal was already being asked to smother one of his best tools as an actor, extraordinarily uncommon for anyone shouldering the newest iteration of a global live-action franchise. (Imagine Robert Downey Jr. only playing Iron Man while wearing a mask — you can’t!) Now he had to hand over control of Mando’s body to other performers too. Some actors would have walked away. Pascal didn’t.

“If there were more than just a couple of pages of a one-on-one scene, I did feel uneasy about not, in some instances, being able to totally author that,” he says. “But it was so easy in such a sort of practical and unexciting way for it to be up to them. When you’re dealing with a franchise as large as this, you are such a passenger to however they’re going to carve it out. It’s just so specific. It’s ‘Star Wars.'” (For Season 2, Pascal says he was on the set far more, though he still sat out many of Mando’s stunts.)

“The Mandalorian” was indeed the next big s—, helping to catapult the launch of Disney Plus to 26.5 million subscribers in its first six weeks. With the “Star Wars” movies frozen in carbonite until 2023 (at least), I noted offhand that he’s now effectively the face of one of the biggest pop-culture franchises in the world. Pascal could barely suppress rolling his eyes.

“I mean, come on, there isn’t a face!” he says with a laugh that feels maybe a little forced. “If you want to say, ‘You’re the silhouette’ — which is also a team effort — then, yeah.” He pauses. “Can we just cut the s— and talk about the Child?”

Yes, of course, the Child — or, as the rest of the galaxy calls it, Baby Yoda. Pascal first saw the incandescently cute creature during his download of “Mandalorian” storyboards in that initial meeting with Favreau. “Literally, my eyes following left to right, up and down, and, boom, Baby Yoda close to the end of the first episode,” he says. “That was when I was like, ‘Oh, yep, that’s a winner!'”

Baby Yoda is undeniably the breakout star of “The Mandalorian,” inspiring infinite memes and apocryphal basketball game sightings. But the show wouldn’t work if audiences weren’t invested in Mando’s evolving emotional connection to the wee scene stealer, something Favreau says Pascal understood from the jump. “He’s tracking the arc of that relationship,” says the showrunner. “His insight has made us rethink moments over the course of the show.” (As with all things “Star Wars,” questions about specifics are deflected in deference to the all-powerful Galactic Order of Spoilers.)

Even if Pascal couldn’t always be inside Mando’s body, he never left the character’s head, always aware of how this orphaned bounty hunter who caroms from planet to planet would look askance at anything that felt too good (or too adorable) to be true.

“The transience is something that I’m incredibly familiar with, you know?” Pascal says. “Understanding the opportunity for complexity under all of the armor was not hard for me.”

When Pascal was 4 months old, his parents had to leave him and his sister with their aunt, so they could go into hiding to avoid capture during Pinochet’s crackdown against his opposition. After six months, they finally managed to climb the walls of the Venezuelan embassy during a shift change and claim asylum; from there, the family relocated, first to Denmark, then to San Antonio, where Pascal’s father got a job as a physician.

Pascal was too young to remember any of this, and for a healthy stretch of his childhood, his complicated Chilean heritage sat in parallel to his life in the U.S. — separate tracks, equally important, never quite intersecting. By the time Pascal was 8, his family was able to take regular trips back to Chile to visit with his 34 first cousins. But he doesn’t remember really talking about any of his time there all that much with his American friends.

“I remember at one point not even realizing that my parents had accents until a friend was like, ‘Why does your mom talk like that?'” Pascal says. “And I remember thinking, like what?”

Besides, he loved his life in San Antonio. His father took him and his sister to Spurs basketball games during the week if their homework was done. He hoodwinked his mother into letting him see “Poltergeist” at the local multiplex. He watched just about anything on cable; the HBO special of Whoopi Goldberg’s one-woman Broadway show knocked him flat. He remembers seeing Henry Thomas in “E.T.” and Christian Bale in “Empire of the Sun” and wishing ardently, urgently, I want to live those stories too.

Then his father got a job in Orange County, Calif. After Pascal finished the fifth grade, they moved there. It was a shock. “There were two really, really rough years,” he says. “A lot of bullying.”

His mother found him a nascent performing arts high school in the area, and Pascal burrowed even further into his obsessions, devouring any play or movie he could get his hands on. His senior year, a friend of his mother’s gave Pascal her ticket to a long two-part play running in downtown Los Angeles that her bad back couldn’t withstand. He got out of school early to drive there by himself. It was the pre-Broadway run of “Angels in America.”

“And it changed me,” he says with almost religious awe. “It changed me.”

After studying acting at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Pascal booked a succession of solid gigs, like MTV’s “Undressed” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” But the sudden death of his mother — who’d only just been permitted to move back to Chile a few years earlier — took the wind right from Pascal’s sails. He lost his agent, and his career stalled almost completely.

As a tribute to her, he decided to change his professional last name from Balmaceda, his father’s, to Pascal, his mother’s. “And also, because Americans had such a hard time pronouncing Balmaceda,” he says. “It was exhausting.”

Pascal even tried swapping out Pedro for Alexander (an homage to Ingmar Bergman’s “Fanny and Alexander,” one of the formative films of his youth). “I was willing to do absolutely anything to work more,” he says. “And that meant if people felt confused by who they were looking at in the casting room because his first name was Pedro, then I’ll change that. It didn’t work.”

It was a desperately lean time for Pascal. He booked an occasional “Law & Order” episode, but mostly he was pounding the pavement along with his other New York theater friends — like Oscar Isaac, who met Pascal doing an Off Broadway play. They became fast, lifelong friends, bonding over their shared passions and frustrations as actors.

“It’s gotten better, but at that point, it was so easy to be pigeonholed in very specific roles because we’re Latinos,” says Isaac. “It’s like, how many gang member roles am I going to be sent?” As with so many actors, the dream Pascal and Isaac shared to live the stories of their childhoods had been stripped down to its most basic utility. “The dream was to be able to pay rent,” says Isaac. “There wasn’t a strategy. We were just struggling. It was talking about how to do this thing that we both love but seems kind of insurmountable.”

As with so few actors, that dream was finally rekindled through sheer nerve and the luck of who you know, when another lifelong friend, actor Sarah Paulson, agreed to pass along Pascal’s audition for Oberyn Martell to her best friend Amanda Peet, who is married to “Game of Thrones” co-showrunner David Benioff.

“First of all, it was an iPhone selfie audition, which was unusual,” Benioff remembers over email. “And this wasn’t one of the new-fangled iPhones with the fancy cameras. It looked like s—; it was shot vertical; the whole thing was very amateurish. Except for the performance, which was intense and believable and just right.”

Before Pascal knew it, he found himself in Belfast, sitting inside the Great Hall of the Red Keep as one of the judges at Tyrion Lannister’s trial for the murder of King Joffrey. “I was between Charles Dance and Lena Headey, with a view of the entire f—ing set,” Pascal says, his eyes wide and astonished still at the memory. “I couldn’t believe I didn’t have an uncomfortable costume on. You know, I got to sit — and with this view.” He sighs. “It strangely aligned itself with the kind of thinking I was developing as a child that, at that point, I was convinced was not happening.”

And then it all started to happen.

In early 2018, while Pascal was in Hawaii preparing to make the Netflix thriller “Triple Frontier” — opposite his old friend Isaac — he got a call from the film’s producer Charles Roven, who told him Patty Jenkins wanted to meet with him in London to discuss a role in another film Roven was producing, “Wonder Woman 1984.”

“It was a f—ing offer,” Pascal says in an incredulous whisper. “I wasn’t really grasping that Patty wanted to talk to me about a part that I was going to play, not a part that I needed to get. I wasn’t able to totally accept that.”

Pascal had actually shot a TV pilot with Jenkins that wasn’t picked up, made right before his life-changing run on “Game of Thrones” aired. “I got to work with Patty for three days or something and then thought I’d never see her again,” he says. “I didn’t even know she remembered me from that.”

She did. “I worked with him, so I knew him,” she says. “I didn’t need him to prove anything for me. I just loved the idea of him, and I thought he would be kind of unexpected, because he doesn’t scream ‘villain.'”

In Jenkins’ vision, Max Lord — a longstanding DC Comics rogue who shares a particularly tangled history with Wonder Woman — is a slick, self-styled tycoon with a knack for manipulation and an undercurrent of genuine pathos. It was the kind of larger-than-life character Pascal had never been asked to tackle before, so he did something equally unorthodox: He transformed his script into a kind of pop-art scrapbook, filled with blown-up photocopies of Max Lord from the comic books that Pascal then manipulated through his lens on the character.

Even the few pages Pascal flashes to me over Zoom are quite revealing. One, featuring Max sporting a power suit and a smarmy grin, has several burned-out holes, including through the character’s eye. Another page features Max surrounded by text bubbles into which Pascal has written, over and over and over again in itty-bitty lettering, “You are a f—ing piece of s—.”

“I felt like I had wake myself up again in a big way,” he says. “This was just a practical way of, like, instead of going home tired and putting Netflix on, [I would] actually deal with this physical thing, doodle and think about it and run it.”

Jenkins is so bullish on Pascal’s performance that she thinks it could explode his career in the same way her 2003 film “Monster” forever changed how the industry saw Charlize Theron. “I would never cast him as just the stoic, quiet guy,” Jenkins says. “I almost think he’s unrecognizable from ‘Narcos’ to ‘Wonder Woman.’ Wouldn’t even know that was the same guy. But I think that may change.”

When people can see “Wonder Woman 1984” remains caught in the chaos the pandemic has wreaked on the industry; both Pascal and Jenkins are hopeful the Dec. 25 release date will stick, but neither is terribly sure it will. Perhaps it’s because of that uncertainty, perhaps it’s because he’s spent his life on the outside of a dream he’s now suddenly living, but Pascal does not share Jenkins’ optimism that his experience making “Wonder Woman 1984” will open doors to more opportunities like it.

“It will never happen again,” Pascal says, once more in that incredulous whisper. “It felt so special.”

After all he’s done in a few short years, why wouldn’t Pascal think more roles like this are on his horizon?

“I don’t know!” he finally says with a playful — and pointed — howl. “I’m protecting myself psychologically! It’s just all too good to be true! How dare I!”

#pedro pascal #jose pedro balmaceda pascal #variety magazine

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reallyhardy · 3 years

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regent’s open air theatre LSOH (2018) breakdown

act one. herein, two years later, i try to remember as much as i can about this production with the help of gifs i took from the trailer and shutterstock images. let’s go!

THE BEGINNING. i went to see a matinee so it was daytime, but the stage set was all black-and-white very newspaper aesthetic. my sister and i were very close to the front, five rows back:

and here we are, excited for everything to begin. (note my giant tooth earrings. was really hoping they’d catch matt willis’ eye.) soon enough crystal, ronette and chiffon took the stage for the prologue, belted their faces off and got me hype from the first moment. their costumes were kind of punky, street style (my favourite look was on the girl with the green jacket and shiny leggings:)

skid row was great. the grey set really highlighted the colourful costumes, and for this first number the set stayed black-and-white so the only colour were the main characters and urchins, and the ensemble wore black-and-white costumes.

and i remember being so thrilled by the costumes - in this photo seymour is wearing yellow socks but by the time i went to see it they were pink (to match audrey’s hair!) and audrey is wearing fluffy slide slippers in the promo photos but when i saw it she wore a pair of blue open-toe kitten heels.

once the song ended we got to see some character personality: marc antolin as seymour was adorable. he was (for most of the first act at least) very goofy and beamed a lot, he had a very cute smile. his voice was quite high and nasal and silly and i honestly had a really big crush on him. jemima rooper as audrey was equally sweet and adorable - she had a cotton candy pink wig and started off in kind of a sexy-ish outfit, with a sheer off-shoulder top over a bra. her eye makeup was light blue (and the bruise bright purple) and she was really short compared to seymour. mushnik was super tiny and greasy looking.

every interaction seymour and audrey had was just! so cute. at the start where audrey and mushnik discuss orin (the ‘you don’t meet nice boys on skid row’ conversation,) seymour is stood behind them kind of goofing around and he flips his shirt collar up pretending to be orin and acting macho but at the end of the scene audrey goes quiet and carefully fixed his collar back down before she left and it was!!! emotions.

da doo i can’t remember anything about how things looked :( during grow for me it really highlighted how…cute seymour was. he beamed the whole time, and the plant puppet in its baby form was fantastic, (the pod head at the top opened up and had little human teeth lmao) and they used like… household objects painted green for plants. the roses were red toilet brushes:

with red ink on them so when seymour touched the bristles there was visible blood on his finger which was fun. lots of attention to detail in this production.

seymour on the radio i think happened off-stage? so we just hear him being interviewed while we watch mushnik and the urchins listen to the radio together. the choreography during you never know was really fun too, with seymour and the urchins dancing together, seymour did a lot of hip wiggles and kept trying to stop audrey ii from trying to bite at the urchins as he danced. one of the green ping-pong balls fell off the puppet but nobody slipped on it so it was fine. also GOD the voices of the urchins were just so good in this one.

somewhere that’s green is a song that makes me cry most of the times i listen to it or watch any versions of LSOH, but this is the first time i’d seen a version where audrey was also crying. during this number the actress climbed up onto the top of the mushnik’s store prop and she still had the bright purple black-eye makeup on as well as the cast on her arm so she looked so beat down and sad and it was just toward the end of the song at ‘i’m his december bride’ where her singing started to break down and she started crying, and covered her face by the time she got to ‘far from skid row’ with her voice breaking oh my god the tears were flowing VERY much from my eyes.

and as a note the actress did not have this beautiful wig on when i saw it, she wore one with much less volume - it could have been the same wig just styled differently, (tucked under/trimmed to be just sort of...round?) but it was just... so much less cute lmao, you can just about see it here in this cast mirror selfie:

anyway. then it was time for closed for renovation! this one was fun, audrey and seymour i think were just...arranging plants and other things? the ‘mushniks’ shop prop might have expanded a bit? they turned it around?

there were some cute little dancey bits with the three of them together:

then audrey & seymour talk a bit. audrey gives seymour the kind of advice that she also needs to be taking herself -- seymour asks audrey if she’d go shopping with him, and then orin arrives on the scene.

dentist was amazing. i’ve seen a lot of bootlegs of kind of lackluster orin scrivellos but… well, me and my sister decided we were absolutely going to see this production when we found out matt willis was playing the dentist. (we were big busted fans lol) he wore this insane painted leather jacket with this tooth-themed biker gang design (he and his backup dancers all had hell’s teeth on the backs of their jackets) and his dentist coat underneath had the sleeves ripped off to show his tattoos… they gave him white foundation to make him look i guess more ill/joker like? it totally worked. he honestly kinda stole the show and he totally exceeded my expectations (which is saying something because my expectations were that he’d be perfect for the role and that i’d enjoy his performance thoroughly!!!)

then he comes into the shop, comments on the plant, poses around, treats audrey terribly. and not only does he abuse audrey in front of seymour who iirc was watching horrified (as you would) but also poor seymour gets his junk grabbed twice by villains in this production too lmao, orin grabs and squeezes seymour’s junk while he’s yelling at audrey. it’s a theme i guess???

(hell of a promotion image, that one.) then orin and audrey leave and it’s time for mushnik and son. they did a lot of the usual ‘awkward-tango’ choreo and it was just excellent really. there’s nothing i didn’t enjoy about the number, plus mush was quite a short guy but had a real big voice.

you get a good view of all the fun things they used to represent plants here too: cleaning brushes, feather dusters, hairbrushes, a small fishing net, a bubble wand...

so feed me was great because it starts off of course with the plant puppet prop:

but then by the second verse (when it comes to ‘does this look inanimate to you’) they opened up the puppet’s leaves like a mouth and audrey ii in drag queen form emerged (to thunderous applause). [i found a short clip someone got on instagram a while back, you can watch it here!] she was holding a microphone in her hands so when it came to seymour’s responses she held out the mic to his mouth and it was :’) really funny. and seymour gets his junk grabbed again:

because he can’t catch a break. staging wise i think i remember this was very bisexual - it’s important to note that the first wig audrey ii wears strongly resembles the wig that OG audrey wears - and at times during this number audrey ii acts quite flirtatious with seymour and he seems receptive to it and has to visibly shake himself out of it.

audrey comes back for her sweater (iirc it was a VERY jazzy 1990s looking one in aqua green and pink) and seymour and audrey ii make up their minds about what to do with orin.

so seymour heads out - the dentists chair was just a beat-up shopping trolley with various things stuck on (see there’s what looks like a plunger, wrist restraints too lmao) and orin had a bunch of bloodied weapons such as a power drill instead of a dentist drill:

anyway i usually don’t enjoy now(it’s just the gas) as a number when i’ve seen it in bootlegs but again matt willis had tremendous feral energy and he pulled it off. plus the gear was quite retro-futuristic very cool looking:

it was also especially funny just after ‘now’ because after seymour runs off with orin’s body in the trolley he comes back in with it all chopped up and he was pushing dismembered limbs (the arm was even painted with matt willis’ tattoos and nail polish which was a GREAT detail) into the windows of the prop mushnik’s building that audrey ii was inside of, and he even threw up into the audience which was :’) gross but funny. it was yellow. i didn’t see if it splashed anyone.

then... intermission. will continue this in [part 2, which is here!]

#LSOH #little shop of horrors #regent's park open air theatre

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onestowatch · 3 years

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Meet CRAVITY, the K-Pop Super Rookies With a Gravitational Pull [Q&A]

Photo: Courtesy of Artist

The world of K-Pop is always changing and evolving, and CRAVITY is the latest group to illustrate the universal appeal of the worldwide phenomenon. Originally debuting in the midst of the ongoing COVID pandemic, the affectionately-dubbed “Super Rookies” found themselves in an unprecedented situation, having to make a name for themselves in a genre built around extraordinary live shows and human connection, all while the world shut down around them. In spite of the odds, the group’s debut, Hideout: Remember Who We Are, climbed to the top of the U.S. iTunes K-Pop chart, cementing their place as super rookies ready to take the world by storm.

And hardly a year following their noteworthy debut, CRAVITY is back to make good on the early promise that came with topping with the iTunes chart and being Starship Entertainment’s first new boy band in five years (following in the footsteps of their seniors, Monsta X). The Awakening: Written in the Stars arrives as the group’s first full-length debut album and serves as a marked maturation for each of the members. Consisting of eight tracks that transcend genres, from explosive hip-hop to euphoric electronic-laden pop, CRAVITY fearlessly brings their ambitious vision to life.

We had the chance to catch up with the boys behind CRAVITY via e-mail ahead of the release of their full-length debut album, which is out now, to check-in and see how they’re doing before they become a household name.

youtube

Ones to Watch: What does CRAVITY mean?

Serim: It’s a combination of the word “Creativity” and “Gravity” and it has special meaning behind it--we (CRAVITY) will gravitate the audience into our unique universe with our charms.

What’s one fun fact about every member of CRAVITY?

Allen: Apparently I sleep talk in three languages? English, Korean, and Chinese.

Hyeongjun: I always wear contact lenses whether it’s a day off or not.

Seongmin: I enjoy eating jellies and candies these days.

Serim: I always clear my throat before I sing or rap.

Minhee: I don't like eggplant.

Jungmo: Allen sleep talks in three different languages and these days, he likes to shop online.

Woobin: I bite my nails, I am always looking for a new song, and beatboxing is one of the things that I enjoy doing these days.

Wonjin: These days, I play the game called Animal Crossing, but I'm too lazy to pull weeds on my island. I need some help haha ☺

Taeyoung: Many fans say I look like a cat! BUT I am actually allergic to cats ~

And what are everyone’s roles?

Allen: I lead the group during dance practices and make sure everyone is looking sharp by the time we release new music or prepare for a performance.

Hyeongjun: I’m in charge of passion! HJ = Passion!

Seongmin: I am the “Maknae” of the group and as the youngest member, I get along with my brothers (members) and I’m like the vitamin for the group!

Serim: The strongest and photographer for the members.

Minhee: Everyone is different, so it's fun

Jungmo: I’m in a vocal position in CRAVITY, so sometimes I upload vocal cover videos.

Woobin: I'm the main vocal of the group.

Wonjin: I like to make some jokes to keep our team’s mood up. It looks so easy, but it is actually very hard.

Taeyoung: My role is to hype up our members!

Serim, do the boys ever make being the group leader a difficult job or are they all pretty well-behaved?

Serim: I think it's really comfortable because the members listen to me well and follow me well.

Were there any particular challenges that arose from debuting in the midst of a pandemic?

Allen: There were definitely moments where I was up on stage tired and worn out, not being able to perform at my best due to not having a live audience, but I still try my best to not let that show through the camera lens.

Hyeongjun: I think the biggest challenge is not being able to meet the fans.

Seongmin: I wanted to perform in front of the fans, but I'm sad that I can't.

Minhee: It's still very difficult that I can't show our stages directly to the fans.

Serim: I'm in charge of passion. Expectations about meeting our fans are growing, but I'm sad that we can't at the moment.

Jungmo: Before our debut, we imagined performing on stage in front of our fans and around the world, but these days we are just performing in front of cameras so it’s really sad. We really miss you guys!

Woobin: I want you to understand what CRAVITY is trying to say. We really miss you and want to see you guys in person.

Wonjin: The fact that we can’t see our fans. We had a fairly long break in between our new album and the last one, but it felt as if it was a year. In addition, when we perform on stage without our fans, it’s hard for us to be energetic.

Taeyoung: That we can't meet our fans face to-face... that is a big, sad problem.

With your debut reaching number 1 on the US iTunes K-pop chart, how does it feel going forward with future projects?

Wonjin: I’m so excited because there is only one way for us which is to go up.

What do you hope people take away from your first official album?

Hyeongjun: We prepared a lot for the performance so please look forward to our performance and be sure to look out for our music video too!

Woobin: We tried to incorporate various genres and sounds into this album, so we hope you can find your taste in it!

Can you speak on the title of your full-length debut album, The Awakening: Written in the Stars?

Seongmin: It's focused on the keyword “Awakening,” a challenge towards a new goal. Also, please look forward to seeing how CRAVITY’s message will be written in the future!

Jungmo: It’s our first full-length album, and it means that we are all awakened and got more mature after coming out from our hideout.

Why do you think K-Pop has become such a worldwide phenomenon?

Allen: I believe K-Pop truly has something magical going on. Its power to connect people from all around the world is unbelievable. Social media definitely plays a big part in making K-Pop into such a world phenomenon, but I firmly believe that music is a universal language and that no matter where you’re from or what language you speak, the emotions portrayed by a piece of music will always be well communicated.

Are there any other groups or artists you would love to collaborate with?

Allen: It’d be nice for us to collaborate with Steve Aoki. His collaboration, “Play It Cool” with our company senior Monsta X really suited their vibe and sound, so I feel like if he ever got to produce for us, he would be able to create something that would really suit our image and our sound.

Hyeongjun: It’s still the same for me, I want to collaborate with MONSTA X.

Seongmin: I'd love to collaborate with Charlie Puth.

Serim: I’ve always liked Ateez sunbaenim’s performances and would like to have a collaboration opportunity with them.

Minhee: Anyone is good, it would be an honor for us to have an opportunity to collaborate with other artists.

Jungmo: I want to collaborate with Jooyoung sunbaenim because our new album has a lot of cool tracks written by Jooyoung sunbaenim and his crew! Also, I want to learn his vocal style.

Woobin: Lauv, and Kihyun from our senior group MONSTA X.

Wonjin: I want to collaborate with The Kid Laroi. I knew him through a song called “Stay.” I fell in love with his vocal skills and style and he is so young. I want to be his friend.

Taeyoung: I’m still waiting for the opportunity to collab with The Chainsmokers.

You’ve yet to perform for your fans in a large-scale setting. How do you feel about the possibility of performing for your fans on tour?

Taeyoung: I’m really excited to meet LUVITYs around the world and perform on stage while listening to their voices. It would be an unforgettable experience in my life.

Is there anything you all like to do when not working on music?

Allen: We all enjoy playing board games together. A few of us also like to work out or play sports such as soccer, baseball, badminton, and basketball.

Hyeongjun: I’m into watching tv series on Netflix.

Seongmin: First of all, I'm looking forward to meeting many fans, and I'm looking forward to learning about the culture of various countries. I also enjoy reading books.

Serim: Watching movies!

Minhee: I’m currently looking for one!

Jungmo: I like watching horror movies because I am interested in ghost haha.

Woobin: Cooking? I love to cook!

Wonjin: I like baseball or basketball, but these days because of COVID-19, I’m sad I can’t play.

Taeyoung: I like to play badminton and watch memes~

If you could say one thing to all your fans, what would it be?

Allen: Don’t go anywhere and stay right where you are. We will come find you once the pandemic subsides.

Hyeongjun: Let’s not stop here, LUVITY! Fighting!

Seongmin: Let's always be healthy until we meet each other.

Serim: LUVITY~~ I miss you and I love you.

Minhee: LUVITY! Always be happy!

Jungmo: We really prepared this album hard, so we hope you like it. We always love you guys.

Woobin: Please look forward to our new album! Love ya!

Wonjin: Please love our new album and stay healthy. I miss you guys so so much.

Taeyoung: I just want to say I really care about our fans and I love you so much!

What’s next for CRAVITY?

Allen: They say the sky’s the limit but we’re going to be up by satellites.

Seongmin: It’s my goal to finish our album promotions well and I hope to meet our fans as soon as possible.

Minhee: There's still a long way to go and I'm pretty sure that there will be more opportunities for us to be on stage in the near future, so I think we should all work harder to move forward.

CRAVITY’s full-length debut album, The Awakening: Written in the Stars, is available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music.

#cravity #k pop #k-pop #interview #album reviews #pop #hip hop #the awakening written in the stars #the awakening

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