#and i tend to do so for any foreign language films

[la-cocotte-de-paris]

15 questions for 15 mutuals!

Thank you again to @wernerherzoghaircut for tagging moi! ^.^

1. Are you named after anyone? Nope, it was very off-the-cuff. Being born in Dublin, of course traffic was an issue, so by the time my father arrived to the hospital, I was already here :P Apparently he picked me up and looked at me and suddenly said, "Ah, my little Katie." And that was that!

2. When was the last time you cried? Last Sunday, probably. Almost cried a few times since lol.

3. Do you have kids? Nope.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot? ...Can I answer this with sarcasm or is that too much?

5. What sports do you play/have you played? I don't do anything rn, but when I was like 11, I did Taekwondo for a bit. In school, we had to do sports like hurling/camogie (Gaelic sport), swimming, and a little badminton. But generally that was because I had to for P.E., otherwise I never did anything sporty (except the Taekwondo - that was a choice I made). -_-" :P Also casually played soccer in school as a kid. I was more of an artsy girl tbh.

6. What's the first thing you notice about other people? How they dress, their general vibe/energy and their eyes. All are pretty simultaneous, but I guess energy first.

7. What's your eye colour? Dark blue.

8. Scary movies or happy endings? I prefer a tragedy, but all these have their right places.

9. Any special talents? Hmm, not sure. People have commended me for my writing, but I'm still working on making that a career. Theatre is hard when you don't know enough people rip. I can reach High C pretty easily when singing. I'm pretty okay at sketching, and I tend to pick up on foreign languages pretty quickly and easily. Oh, and I can touch the tip of my nose with my tongue lmfao XD

10. Where were you born? Ireland

11. What are your hobbies? Learning languages (French lessons atm), watching movies, researching history and people from the past who've caught my interest, writing, sketching, listening to music, film photography, sorta singing but that's on and off a lot atm...

12. Do you have any pets? Three cats! <3 They are all insane haha.

13. How tall are you? 5'3"/160cm

14. Favorite subject in school? English, history and German.

15. Dream job? Revered theatremaker and filmmaker (mostly for writing and costume design but hey I would never decline acting or directing haha). Hopefully AI won't fuck us over.

I shall tag (again, only if you wanna <3): @melancholic--soull @mirandasinclairs @welcome-home-nyx @jazz-vampire @zeehasablog @neednottoneed @moonchild-77777 @drum-cu-naluci @st-theodora @heartandmusic @hymnsandhearses @gayvillainera @cafeomancer @sonybuzz42 aaaaand I can't think of any other mutuals atm, but if you see this, consider yourself tagged! :P

#tag games #15 questions for 15 mutuals

[yanaequa]

i dont know if youre really on tumblr anymore but im curious about what you would think of the following;

im an autistic american and ive begun working on an idea for a short film. one of the main characters is an autistic korean-american teenager who's a second generation immigrant. do you have any tips for how i could accurately depict her as an autistic asian-american? her story means a lot to me

uh, hello, long time no see! First of all, thank you for asking question although I have been inactive for such a long time. Also, I appreciate that my existence came into your mind when you were looking for the resource for your story building.

That being said, I am not sure if I can give the appropriate answer for your question; although I studied abroad for quite a while, I was never an immigrant. I went to other country alone when I was in middle school, and spent most of my time in the dorm. after graduating, I came back to Korea and got a job. Basically, my experience is far from immigrant. Still, I will give my best based on what I saw & heard about asian-american immigrant. but please make sure to cross-check with other reliable sources, too!

Usually, first generation immigrants have to spend all their energy getting used to different cultures, languages, and systems. and while doing all of that, they have to bring home the bacon as well. They are very down-to-earth and hardworking; They will not be able to make it in new country if they don't. if there are other family members-especially their kids-they have to take care of them as well. They might face problem that they would never face if they had not left. (in fact they always do.) because of tremendous amount of work they face, they may compromise less significant issues, such as um... having fun, accommodating their wants, and bonding with their family members. This may cause burnout, neglect, or over-management of their children. They may want some form of compensation-because what is the point of leaving their home country and putting all that effort if they don't get anything from it? Their way of thinking and values may be fixed where they left

Now moving on to kids' side, who may be 1.5th generation immigrant (moving in with their parents) or second generation immigrant(being born in moved in country). For 1.5th generation, they are likely to remember their homeland's culture & struggle to get used to new environment, just like their parents do. They almost always miss Korean foods, places, and friends-everything they left behind. However, they tend to adapt much faster than their parents do, which makes them help their parents' work, such as making phone calls, reading documents, helping their business. If there's younger second-generation sibling, then they have to become translator between their parents and sibling as well. As a result, they become aware of their parents' effort and sacrifice, and tend to be more mature than their age. They may also feel like they do not completely blend in as second generation do.

Second generation immigrant, however, are oblivious to their original country. They think they are American, and think their parent's home country as foreign. Unlike their parents & older siblings, Their struggle may be focused on relationship between family members, since their values are foreign to their parents, and vise versa. Katy in Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings would be perfect example of second generation immigrant.

to write about more trivial & Korean-specific, Most Korean immigrant community centers on Korean church, so Korean immigrants tend to find local Korean church although they do not actually believe in god.

Oops... it got way longer than I expected. NOW moving to autistic part.

There are quite a few parents of autistic kids deciding immigration (generally to US or Canada) to access the resources(special education, therapy, etc.) for their children. Usually they decide it as soon as the children get diagnosed, so most of them would be second generation immigrant. if they are verbal & old enough learn languages, parents would rather decide to stay because it might cause regression in their language development.

Parents are well aware of the cost of such resources in US; although it is excruciatingly expensive to access them, many parents just appreciate that they have the option in first place. In Korea, there are 192 special schools. Only 30% of students with special education needs (this does not include ones with "mild" disabilities!) attend to special school. Most of them is far from residence (approx. 30 min to 1 hr by car) because of NIMBI. People HATE building special schools because they think price of their housing would fall if such institute is near. Not only the scarceness of the resources are the struggles of parents of autistics, but there are also negative perception of disability in general(especially developmental & mental one) in Korean society & obsession to normalcy. Koreans want to be normal; not only themselves, but also others as well. They are sensitive to what and how others eat, use, wear, and act. They continuously question themselves and judge others based on their own standard of normal. Perform any strange moves then you will immediately get an attention. Same goes with parents with disabled children. Would like to talk further about this topic but let's get back to the point since I would need another tons of research to write. Anyways, for parents, as long as they have enough money to consider immigration, it's more logical to decide to move to US to get resources.

so the school part and such, you can probably write the plot based on your own experience. I expect that it won't be much different from yours. For parent-children relationship, though, Korean parents tend to consider their children as their extension. They tend to prioritize what they think is best for their children then what they actually need. Parents doubt if their children would be able to be on their own even though they actually can. This manifests as distrust of their children's decisions and actions, and this is usually the main conflict with family members.

I'm not sure if this is helpful response for your story, but hope this post helps to get some idea to some extent!

#korean immigrants #actually autistic

[jcs-study]

Hi again! I have a few questions to ask, but firstly, I’d like to thank you for introducing me to the 1992 Australian Cast! While some of the orchestrations haven’t aged well, I still think that their takes on the Temple and King Herod’s song are the best ones I’ve heard, and the cast is all around fantastic. I think Kate Ceberano’s interpretation of Mary Magdalene is now one of my favorites. Now, on to the questions:

1.) What’s your favorite interpretation/staging of Superstar (the song)? I’ve always loved the 1973 film version, with Judas and the Angels in the amphitheater. I think it made clear that the whole event was a hallucination, and I love how the exuberance of the Angels was contrasted by Judas’ frustration and general desperation.

2.) Are there any foreign language stagings/recordings of the musical that you like in particular? I’ve always really liked Camilo Sesto’s version. There’s also the Swedish version with Ola Salo, which a lot of people here like for its dynamic between Jesus and Judas (speaking of, have you seen the Swedish production yet)?

3.) You’ve talked in some posts about a hypothetical production of the musical, with a preference to more minimalistic staging. How would the staging and set/costume designs for that be like?

Holy crap, we can fit more in the ask box than we used to! Nice! Okay, so let's go through this point by point.

The Australian revival cast is easily a "best of the Nineties' Top 40" smorgasbord, musically speaking, for good or for ill. You've got an opening of "Everything's Alright" that calls to mind "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" from The Lion King, a "Simon Zealotes" that veers uneasily between C+C Music Factory and Right Said Fred, a "Pilate's Dream" that might as well be "Sadness" by Enigma, an "I Don't Know How to Love Him" that sounds like a softer version of what Luther Vandross was doing on "Power of Love," and a "Superstar" that stops just short of EMF's "Unbelievable." (If any reader doesn't recognize these references, a) man, do I feel old, and b) look 'em up; as cheesy as I make them sound, they are enjoyable, for the most part.) But for every moment like those, there's something like the imaginative use of percussion and sitar in "The Temple," which quite effectively conjures up the desired "sleazy Indiana Jones-esque bazaar" effect, and of course, the brilliant "arena rock" Herod. I especially like the chorus of "Oi"s toward the end when Herod gets fed up with Jesus' non-compliance. (That said, I do wish someone other than Angry Anderson had sung it.) Plus, when so many other productions of JCS were treading safe ground, the '92 Oz cast took risks, and that's what I tend to like in a JCS.

That's a question I've never been asked before, not that I haven't given the number some deep thought. (I've gone through times when I debated whether or not it made dramatic sense for Judas to be the one singing the song, never mind how it was staged.) On balance, I like the '73 film version the best of what we have, but I don't have a favorite staging of that song.

I have a ready answer to the foreign translation question as I work on the book's recommended listening/reading/viewing chapter. As recordings go, I'm fond of the original French, Spanish (here meaning Camilo Sesto), and 2001 Hungarian revival casts. Viewing-wise, I rank the 2014 Swedish arena tour highly. It's a bit dreary and dystopian-looking, but especially noteworthy for a) being fully staged (which can't be said for other popular arena versions of the show), b) offering a Mary in Gunilla Backman that proves older women can do the part justice, and c) exploring the Jesus/Judas/Mary triangle in-depth, with loving, gentle chemistry that makes what happens to them feel all the more personal. The acting is so clear and direct that the language barrier shouldn't be an issue, and the singing is impressive.

I have talked about that quite a bit; I've written about it at length before on my main non-Tumblr blog. I think I'll post those thoughts over here sometime and put them in the same place as all my other JCS scribbles. Thanks for planting the seed!

#show questions

[rookie-critic]

Memories of Murder (2003, dir. Bong Joon-ho) - review by Rookie-Critic

Prior to 2019 (really 2020, if we want to get really specific) there probably weren't a lot of people in the States who could tell you who Bong Joon-ho is if pressed. Nowadays, after Bong's historic first non-English language Best Picture win for Parasite, most people would at least identify the name as familiar, and for good reason. Parasite is undoubtedly amazing; its message is both regionless and timeless, it has superb acting and brilliant cinematography, it is one of the best films of the modern era, if not any era. However, prior to Parasite, back in the days when Bong's fanbase outside of his native South Korea was limited to foreign film lovers and people who really liked Snowpiercer, most people would probably point to his breakout film, Memories of Murder, as his best work, and for a lot of the same reasons that people point to Parasite as his best now.

I'm not entirely sure why it has taken me so long to sit down and watch this considering how much I've enjoyed the other films of his that I've seen, but I'm glad I finally did. Following the true story of the detectives that investigated the Hwaseong serial murders of the mid-80s to the mid-90s, the film works as both a gripping crime thriller and a social satire of the failings of the legal system and the corrupt nature of a lot of its employees. One of our protagonists, Detective Park Doo-man (played brilliantly as always be Song Kang-ho) as well as his partner Detective Cho Yong-koo, are horrible police officers. They fake evidence, they torture victims until they'll confess to anything to make it stop, and they scoff at real investigative discoveries and excuse them as the other detectives "watching too many crime movies" (which in and of itself is an amazing line that both pokes fun at and winks a respectful eye towards the crime films that it follows in the legacy of); all they care about is putting someone away, regardless of if the person is actually guilty of the crime they're accused of committing or not. You can watch the film purely from a plot perspective and be entertained and engrossed, but much like Parasite, the true genius of it lies within this satirical commentary.

The knowledge that maybe the killer could have been stopped, victims could have been saved, if more resources had been poured into actually searching for the real killer instead of trying to put away people who obviously had nothing to do with it is maddening, but somehow Bong is able to inject humor throughout the film that makes all of these frustrating people and darker moments have a brief sense of levity without taking away from the nature of the subject matter. It's truly amazing the way he is able to craft stories that are not only interesting from a surface level perspective, but that contain darker themes and complex social commentary that even casual moviegoers can pick up on and appreciate, and then even with all of that blend comedy and drama so seamlessly you rarely notice the change. Another element of the film that I personally found brilliant, and that I briefly mentioned above, is the way that it seems to be a love letter to the crime dramas/thrillers that came before it and a criticism of them at the same time. If you've been following my reviews for awhile, you'll know how deeply I appreciate films that are able to strike that balance (Scream, Nope, etc.). The ability to acknowledge the problems with a genre without completely dismissing the films that portray those flaws as lesser or bad is something that just appeals to me on such a core level. This may just sound like a meeting of the Bong Joon-ho Fan Club, but it is truly awe-inspiring that he can make a film that has something for everyone in it, and can make everyone enjoy the other bits that, in any other movie, they may not have.

Now, Memories of Murder isn't perfect, it is only Bong's second film and some of those early film maker pitfalls exist here. A lot of the first half of the movie tends to drag a bit, and there may be certain scenes that could have cut or sequences that could have been re-edited to keep that sense of urgency (or maybe even the lack thereof on the part of the detectives) a little more present and flowing. Also, and I know I just got done ranting about how great this exact quality was, but sometimes the injection of humor could overtake the film a little too much. It doesn't happen but maybe once or twice, but I did take note of those moments as something that stood out to me, at least. Outside of these few kinks, Memories of Murder just further proves that Bong Joon-ho just knows what he's doing, and I can safely add another film to the "great" column of his filmography, and hopefully soon I can finish out watching the rest of them.

Score: 9/10

Currently streaming on Hulu.

#Memories of Murder #Bong Joon-ho #Song Kang-ho #Kim Sang-kyung #Kim Roi-ha #Song Jae-ho #Byun Hee-bong #Go Seo-hee #Ryu Tae-ho #Park No-shik #Park Hae-il #Jeon Mi-seon #film review #movie review #2003 films

[inlocusmads]

for the fanfiction writing asks :)

1.Do you use a beta reader/editor?

2.Is there a trope or idea that you’d really like to write but haven’t yet?

3. Does what you like to write differ from what you like to read?

4. How do you deal with writing pressure, whether internal or external?

5. Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what have you been listening to recently?

Thank you for these lovely questions, Stars!

fanfic writer asks

1.Do you use a beta reader/editor?

No. I just hope to the Editing Gods that I don't get any of those red lines under my words and call it a day haha.

2.Is there a trope or idea that you’d really like to write but haven’t yet?

Sci-fi, historical-fantasy and magical realism are tropes/AU things I want to write but unfortunately I just don't know how it'd be like. There's a lot of lore to develop and in my experience writing AUs, I tend to treat them as original characters and not adaptations from existing works, which is well, a continuation problem. Someday maybe.

3. Does what you like to write differ from what you like to read?

Oh yeah totally. I write a lot of contemporary stuff but I love reading the aforementioned genres. Hard sci-fi is one of my absolute favs, followed closely by magical realism and such. I've been slowly reading Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five and it's been an experience lol.

4. How do you deal with writing pressure, whether internal or external?

I don't lmao I pull out all the stops and break down every other day or so. Honestly I'm glad I don't face any significant pressure apart from wanting to balance writing with real life stuff and being happy with what I have written - because there are a lot of times where I've scrapped off material because I just didn't want to do it anymore. Apart from that, I just don't.. deal with it.

5. Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what have you been listening to recently?

Oh yes! For sure. Basically depends on the kind of project I'm working on. Usually it would be some kind of a film soundtrack, at least that's what I'm listening to at the moment. I don't really like having words that I can understand in the music because it throws me off, so either soundtracks/instrumentals or foreign language music.

#askboxed! #fanfic writer asks

[msclaritea]

Mads Mikkelsen Shares Theory On Why He’s Cast As Bad Guy In U.S. Films – Deadline

"...The actor was quizzed in a Marrakech Film Festival masterclass on Saturday about the fact that he tends to be cast as a flawed hero in Europe and the bad guy in Hollywood, such as Marvel supervillain Kaecilius or Le Chiffre in Casino Royal.

“It’s quite simple. It’s the funny accent. It’s as simple as that. It used to be Germans, then it was Brits; then the Russians, and then for some reason they fell in love with the Danish accent. That’s definitely part of it,” he said.

Then if the Americans see something they like, they have a tendency to try and copy it, right. But I’ve been lucky enough to do different villains in different universes. There’s a big difference between Marvel and James Bond… but I never think about it too much. In Denmark, we don’t divide it into bad guys and good guys, we tend look at more complex characters.”

Mikkelsen is a recipient of the honorary Etoile d’Or career prize of the Marrakech Film Festival this year, which is also holding a gala screening of his new film and Denmark’s Oscar entry The Promised Land.

The masterclass saw him talking to a packed cinema filled with a young, lively crowd of predominantly aspiring actors and filmmakers.

One young actress asked Mikkelsen for advice on acting in a non-mother tongue film.

“I’ve done quite a few films in different languages, none of them I speak or at least not fluently,” he said. “The trick the first time I did anything in English was to rehearse it and rehearse it and then, once you shoot the scene that’s it, it’s over. Don’t think about it anymore. If there are mistakes, if people out there are going, ‘Oh my God, what an accent’. So be it. That’s all I could do.

“Forget it once you get in there, focus on the scene. You cannot be on stage or in front of the camera, focusing on the language. The worst-case scenario is you can fix it later in the ADR sessions later on.”

The actor said that it was important that the director was on the same page and willing to accept an accented performance.

“If they anticipate a perfect language with no accent whatsoever, you should tell them to find someone else.”

1. Who fell in love with Danish accents? I thought Le Chiffre was French!

2. Americans copy things. Why are foreign actors attacking Americans, so much lately?

3. Studio host doesn't matter. James Bond is a British franchise, through and through, from beginning to end. Americans have nothing to do with the making of Bond films.

4. Isn't Mads Mikkelson so lucky? It's very easy to tell people to shrug off criticisms of using a foreign accent, when he nor any of his characters have been attacked over an accent. He's never once been called out for an imperfect accent, when imperfect, some of them have been, as he admits. Very lucky.

#Mads Mikkelson #Another privileged actor

[survey--s]

634.

Name all the pets you’ve ever had. I never had any growing up, but as an adult I've had Gizmo and Athena who were sibling tabby cats. I had to leave them with my ex when we split up, though. Then when Mike and I got together, we got Layla (a little black kitten), Purrlock (a black rescue cat) and Toby (black kitten). We lost Layla in May and we now have Simba who is a ginger tabby kitten. We also have Archie the beagle who is five.

Are you on break, or do you still have a couple days of school left? I haven't been in any kind of education since 2011.

Do you like Stephen King novels? I've actually never read any of them, or seen any of his films.

Have you ever had a macaroon? Yes, and a macaron. Macaroons remind me of my childhood.

One of my friends dislikes animals in general. Are you like her? No. My dad is one of those people though, lol. He tolerates my love of animals but it's why I was never allowed a pet growing up.

Do you prefer being on time, or do you not mind being late? I HATE being late. I'm always early or on time unless I have absolutely no other choice.

What is one adventurous thing you’d be willing to do? (ex: skydive) Travel to outer space.

Have you ever made a bucket list? No.

What subject at school did you absolutely hate? Chemistry.

How many cell phones have you gone through up till now? I think seven or eight, maybe. Which is pretty good going considering I've owned some kind of phone for the last 20+ years.

Italian food or Chinese food? I love both. I think overall I prefer Italian though.

Do you have more than the standard earlobe piercings? Yes - three in each earlobe, one in my right cartilage, my nose and my belly button (though I don't wear jewellery in the latter anymore as it kept getting infected).

Ever studied a foreign language? I did a degree in French, and I also studied German for a while. My dad taught me a bit of Italian as a kid too.

Don’t you hate it when your family eats all the ice cream at home? My mum always used to do that and it drove me insane.

Ever been in a near death situation? If so, what happened? Hmm, no, I wouldn't say so.

Do you like to make flash cards when you study? No.

Favorite flavor of gum? Spearmint.

Do you tend to be frugal, or are you more comfortable spending money? I have no real need to be frugal as we don't struggle financially. But saying that, I'm not really that materialistic and only tend to spend money on stuff I need, or stuff that's practical/for the house.

Do you have a connection to any religion? No.

Ever played a team sport, or are you not sporty at all? I was on all the sports teams in school but I never really enjoyed it.

Do you put posters on your bedroom walls? No. I did as a teenager though.

Do you sleep with one leg sticking out of the covers? Sometimes, yeah.

I have extremely weird, frightening dreams. Do you? Not frightening, but my dreams are definitely on the weird side.

Has anyone ever told you that you’re a good singer? No, because I am not. <--- haha yep, same.

Ever been to the Big Apple? If not, do you want to visit? No, but I'd love to visit one day.

Opinion on Gangnam Style? It's catchy and a pretty good song, really.

Do you ever watch TED talks, live or online? No.

Did you ever watch the Lizzie McGuire movie? Yep, multiple times ha.

If you did, do you know what the guy that played Gordo looks like now? (ew) Why ew?That's harsh, lol. Anyway, I've just googled him and he looks normal to me?

How many email accounts do you have? Two.

Ever shamelessly played Farmville on Facebook? No, I never really got into Farmville.

Are you a big fan of dessert? Not really. There are a few kinds I love but generally I'd rather have a starter.

Ever had a brush with the paranormal? If so, describe. No.

Were you one of the popular kids in high school? Nope, definitely not lol.

I dare you to write the name of a person you strongly dislike. I don't really strongly dislike anyone. I either like you or I'm generally apathetic towards you lol.

Do you know the band Vampire Weekend? I've heard of them, yeah.

What do you think about Marilyn Manson? He's a dodgy fucker. He's been accused of all sorts of shit.

In general, do you prefer going out or staying home? It really depends, there is no "in general" because there are so many different variables.

Biggest trouble you’ve ever gotten into at school? I honestly never got into trouble at school.

Do you own one of those “professional” DSLR cameras? No.

Does it bother you when you see a 6th grader with a bunch of gadgets? Why would it bother me?

Favorite pair of shoes? Probably my black ballet shoes or my grey ankle boots.

Where were you on 9/11? In French class in year...8, it must have been. Any food in particular you just can’t get enough of? Pizza, bread, potatoes.

Did you buy yearbooks every year in high school, or did you not bother? No, they weren't really a thing here.

Do you have Restless Legs Syndrome? I do. It sucks. Yeppp. I hate it.

Are you a fan of British Youtubers? (Marcus Butler, JacksGap, etc) I don't watch YouTubers of any nationality, lol.

Jalapeños: yay or nay? Nay. I can't stand spicy food.

Did you ever play Minecraft? I tried and it just gave me a headache lol.

Did you ever have a Club Penguin account? Were you a member? I played it a few times.

Favorite concerts you’ve been to? Did you scream until you were hoarse? Plain White T's or Lily Allen, and no.

So where were you when the Boston Marathon bombing happened? I don't remember. At home probably, or work?

Rainy days on the weekend: yay or nay? It depends whether I have plans or not.

Do you look down on girls that wear shorts with Uggs? No, but then again, nobody wears Uggs anymore.

Californian girls talk and dress a certain way, don’t they? I mean, sure, but that's true of people from any part of the country.

Ever crushed on a teacher? If so, what subject did he/she teach? No. I never understood that lol.

Ever take an art class? If so, what’d you think? I did art in school until GCSE's. I quite liked it.

#survey #surveys

[bonojour]

6-10 for movie ask!

i am not sure if you meant 6 and 10 or 6 up until 10, but because i have a Too Much Talking Gene i decided to go for all of them <3

6. A horror movie you like

The horror genre is not among my favourites, so I tend to avoid horror movies. I do like Jordan Peele's approach to the genre, by moving more into playing with people's and society's real horrors and fucking around with it. Purely based on what Letterboxd labels as horror, my favourites that I have seen are The Lighthouse (2019), A Quiet Place (2018), Take Shelter (2011), Naboer (2005), Shaun of the Dead (2004), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) and Jaws (1975).

Our of those I want to give a special shout out to Naboer (2005) because I love how Kristoffer Joner looks covered with blood like the little rat man he is in that movie.

7. A sci-fi movie you like

Sci-fi is also a true hit or miss with me, but I tend to be more in favour of the genre than horror (I am a wimp, I am sorry). Not to sound like a Ridley Scott wh*re, but The Martian (2015) is an example of a sci-fi movie I really like. I liked the pacing, the humour and the attempt at realism. My favourite sci-fi movie is probably Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) because it is so comforting <3. And I also like the Jurassic Park franchise, but since meeting Jeff Goldblum I have not rewatched it because he is the only celeb I have met who turned out to be a dick. I hope to come back to the franchise though because [kisses Spielberg with tongue]

8. A fantasy movie you like

... I feel like it gets clearer and clearer that I am mostly a drama hoe. Out of the ones that Letterboxd labels as fantasy, I most like The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013). I really like the trope of people embarking on journeys to seek their identity and to escape certain elements of their life, and I feel like this movie just really nails that subject. <3

9. A movie in your native language you like

Honestly the only good movies we make are somewhat related to war, so I am stubbornly not going there and recommending a kids movie instead. Minoes (2001) is a movie about a cat turning into a woman - I rewatched it recently and it is actually.... still really charming and the cats are SO CUTE.

10. A foreign-language movie you like

I watch mostly foreign (for me) language films and Nordic cinema is my jam... I thought about not going for any of those as it feels like a cheap answer, but I feel like I can get away with it if I pick an Icelandic movie, considering I really do not grasp the Icelandic language out of the Nordic ones.

My absolute, absolute favourite one is Fúsi (2015) - the international title does it dirty with Virgin Mountain. It is about an older guy who still lives with his mother, has a clear routine to his life and he's never had the nerve to really spread his wings. Then he is almost forced out of his comfort zone and this beautiful, but incredibly heart-breaking story happens. I just like seeing this shy, awkward man open his heart and try to do his best as a member of society after years of avoiding living life. It is also the reason why Islands in the Stream makes me want to cry every time. It is such a real story and my favourite movies are these ones where they are sharing such a small story. It really makes me believe that the best, most heartwarming stories are right around the corner. (No I am definitely not getting emotional typing this <3)

#text #answered #thank you for enabling me <3

[purplesurveys]

1655

Name all the pets you've ever had. We had a number of goldfish when I was a kid but I had always named them all Goldy hahaha I was never creative. We had Tobi (rabbit), Kimi (dog), Mitch and Andie (lovebirds), Arlee (cat); and currently we have Cooper and Agi, both dogs.

Are you on break, or do you still have a couple days of school left? I haven’t been in school since 2020 and have no plans on going back.

Do you like Stephen King novels? I’ve never read his books, but I’ve seen a handful of film adaptations – The Shining, Carrie, The Shawshank Redemption, and Misery.

Have you ever had a macaroon? I’ve had both macaroons and macarons and never had a positive experience with the former, largely because I hate the taste of coconut.

One of my friends dislikes animals in general. Are you like her? No. But seriously? All animals??? Even cats or dogs????

Do you prefer being on time, or do you not mind being late? I’m early or on time for the most part, but I’m not nearly as anal as I used to be about punctuality. I fully credit that to the pandemic and how it taught me not to take things so seriously, and these days I never really put myself in a rush anymore.

What is one adventurous thing you'd be willing to do? (ex: skydive) Travel to outer space.

Have you ever made a bucket list? Not really; I feel like that would just pressure me more than anything. I have a couple of major life goals I mentally keep track of, but it’s hardly a bucket list.

What subject at school did you absolutely hate? Chemistry, physics, calculus, and trigonometry.

How many cell phones have you gone through up till now? My current is either my 8th or 9th, if I’m not mistaken.

Italian food or Chinese food? Chinese.

Do you have more than the standard earlobe piercings? Nope, I have exactly just the earlobe piercings you mentioned.

Ever studied a foreign language? I guess I can count English as something I had to study? since I was raised speaking Filipino and very little English. I took up Spanish on Duolingo during the pandemic but never got past the tenses; and I’m self-taught in written Korean.

Don't you hate it when your family eats all the ice cream at home? Nah, never was too big on ice cream anyway. They do finish the tubs all the time though and very quickly too; you were very accurate on that.

Ever been in a near death situation? If so, what happened? I wouldn’t say so. Worst thing that’s ever happened to me is probably either a dog bite or the time my cousin inadvertently dragged me further underwater while I was already struggling to breathe, but I wouldn’t call either of these near-death scenarios. Traumatizing, but I was nowhere near death.

Do you like to make flash cards when you study? No, I always found that method to be so wasteful on paper. I used to just rewrite all my notes on a yellow pad so I remember the lessons, then capitalize what needs to be capitalized and highlight what needs to be highlighted.

Favorite flavor of gum? Just your plain spearmint does the trick for me.

Do you tend to be frugal, or are you more comfortable spending money? Depends on the situation, which isn’t the smartest. I’m ridiculously frugal now that I’m preparing for a trip to Thailand, but if I didn’t have any plans like that on the horizon I’d probably be spending money on food deliveries and clothes rn.

Do you have a connection to any religion? I’m Roman Catholic on paper and will probably be so for the rest of my life, but I’ve been atheist since I was 10.

Ever played a team sport, or are you not sporty at all? Nah. I play table tennis but the most team sport-y that ever gets are doubles.

Do you put posters on your bedroom walls? Yeah, I do. Since having my room renovated in December and having all the posters taken down, it hasn’t been a priority though; I like the way my room looks now.

Do you sleep with one leg sticking out of the covers? No, my near-25 year old ass remains a proponent of the whole monster-grabbing-your-foot so I never do that hahaha. These days though I do tend to wake up with my blanket already entirely kicked off since it has started to get hotter where I live.

I have extremely weird, frightening dreams. Do you? I only get nightmares when I’m depressed, and thankfully I haven’t had any nightmares in like, two years. Says loads about my mental state as of late. :)

Has anyone ever told you that you're a good singer? No, because I am not.

Ever been to the Big Apple? If not, do you want to visit? No, and sure! New York and Illinois are the only two states I’m looking to visit; otherwise I’ve got no plans to travel to the States.

Opinion on Gangnam Style? I absolutely despised the song during its heyday, but my stance on it has considerably softened in recent years when I realized how talented Psy is. I will say he has other songs I find better though! New Face is really catchy, and of course there’s That That which I can never ever ever EVER dislike.

Do you ever watch TED talks, live or online? No, I always irrationally hated those lmao. Always seemed a little bit pretentious/condescending to me.

Did you ever watch the Lizzie McGuire movie? I LOVE THAT MOVIE. It’s all I watched when I was 5. If you popped it on for me at this moment I could probably still recite a good 70% of the lines.

If you did, do you know what the guy that played Gordo looks like now? (ew) Damn, why ew? Unless he’s since been exposed to be a gross pervert or abuser I think that’d be a pretty harsh way to refer to him haha.

How many email accounts do you have? I have one work email and two personal ones.

Ever shamelessly played Farmville on Facebook? I never did get to play Facebook games; I wasn’t allowed to make an account during the time when the games were crazy popular. I don’t feel like I missed out though.

Are you a big fan of dessert? Nope. Not too big on sweets.

Ever had a brush with the paranormal? If so, describe. No. I don’t actively believe in it just so that I also don’t end up being paranoid all of the time.

Were you one of the popular kids in high school? I’d hate to call myself popular but I was in one of the more-recognized cliques, I guess? One that was also associated and regularly hung out with the popular cliques in and out of school; I think it’d be fairest to say that.

I dare you to write the name of a person you strongly dislike. JV.

Do you know the band Vampire Weekend? Yup.

What do you think about Marilyn Manson? Sketchy.

In general, do you prefer going out or staying home? Going out.

Biggest trouble you've ever gotten into at school? Does it count if it happened in kindergarten? LOL my friends and I were called out in a sermon because we were excluding some kids from joining our circle, and they ended up crying about it which is how it came to light. 

Apart from that I never got into much trouble...in high school I did try to provoke the teachers by being super vocal about my same-sex relationship at the time (Catholic school, I’ll let that speak for itself) because I wanted to test what lengths they were willing to go to do something about it, but for some reason we were never confronted about it, never got called to the counselor’s office.

Do you own one of those "professional" DSLR cameras? I did, but I turned it over to my sister when we realized it was she with the talent for photography and cinematography, and she ultimately took it with her when she enrolled in a film course. Then she accidentally dropped the poor camera to the ground during a shoot, smashing it to pieces :( and that was the last I heard of it.

Does it bother you when you see a 6th grader with a bunch of gadgets? Maybe not bothered, but shocked? just because it would be such a jarring sight compared to my own experience when I was in Grade 6. I know phones and laptops are pretty much a necessity now, even in school; but that was definitely not the case when I was 12 in 2010. Getting caught with a phone or even a damn iPod back then literally brought the entire batch into a standstill and had everyone subjected to an inspection – bag inspection, body frisking, taking off your shoes, the whole shebang.

Favorite pair of shoes? My Ivy Park Forums.

Where were you on 9/11? Probably being put to bed. I was 3 at the time, was living on the other side of the planet on a different timezone, and had no clue what was happening. Any food in particular you just can't get enough of? Sushi, takoyaki, chicken tenders, anything truffle.

Did you buy yearbooks every year in high school, or did you not bother? Eh, the thing here is you only get yearbooks when you’re in the graduating class because only the graduating classes would get shot for photos, so it was never something to collect unless your family is SUPER extra and wanted to get every single yearbook for the hell of it. And nobody ever did the latter.

Do you have Restless Legs Syndrome? I do. It sucks. Nope.

Are you a fan of British Youtubers? (Marcus Butler, JacksGap, etc) I was pretty much the ambassador for the crew back in the day. What a time. It was Zoe Sugg, Joe Sugg, Caspar Lee, Alfie Deyes, Tanya Burr, Jim Chapman, Oli White, Marcus Butler, Niomi Smart; by extension Jack and Finn, Jacksfilms, KickthePJ, Dan & Phil, Will and Arden, Louis Cole, Louise Pentland, hell even Pewdiepie and Marzia too...and then didn’t the crew even have an EXTENDED extended version? Hahaha like Grace/Mamrie/Hannah, Tyler Oakley, Connor Franta, and Troye Sivan who would collab with them from time to time. It was genuinely an awesome and fun phase to spend my teenage years on. I even saw Joe/Caspar/Oli when they visited Manila in 2015 :)

Jalapeños: yay or nay? I LOVE jalapeños.

Did you ever play Minecraft? Nope, never understood how it worked.

Did you ever have a Club Penguin account? Were you a member? I never played it. I tried it once, but it didn’t appeal to me.

Favorite concerts you've been to? Did you scream until you were hoarse? I do make it a point to scream as much as I can for shows I get tickets for, because I don’t go to a lot of them anyway. Favorite show I’ve been to so far was Paramore in 2018.

So where were you when the Boston Marathon bombing happened? I was at home, on Tumblr, knee-deep in the wrestling community, watching the events unravel in realtime and deathly worried for my mutuals who I knew were living in Boston or near the city.

Rainy days on the weekend: yay or nay? Any rainy day is an instant yay for me, unless I’m driving lol.

Do you look down on girls that wear shorts with Uggs? No, but then again nobody ever wears Uggs here so.

Californian girls talk and dress a certain way, don't they? Idk.

Ever crushed on a teacher? If so, what subject did he/she teach? Yeap, 2nd year high school, biology.

Ever take an art class? If so, what'd you think? I took an art studies elective in college and loved every bit of it.

[snowdropheart]

1-10 movie asks!!

Hello, Fee! Thank u <3 I do love talking about movies

1. Your favourite movie released this year:

I actually haven't seen any films released this year; I don't really keep up with new stuff coming out, I just watch things when I feel like watching them. Also, I really dislike movie theatres, so I tend to wait until films are available via other means.

That being said, the newest movie I've seen is probably either Tick Tick Boom or Spider-Man: No Way Home, both of which I loved.

2. A movie you think is underrated:

Hmmm. This is a hard one, because I am hardly the authority to call a film underrated. That being said, while I love the likes of Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle, I think Whisper of the Heart is a criminally underrated Ghibli film. I love the quiet coming-of-age, summer-in-the-city atmosphere. And I'm a sucker for a coming of age story that features a wise antique shop owner bestowing wisdom.

3. A movie you think is overrated:

I can only speak on films I've seen, and I have to say, I didn't enjoy Saving Private Ryan. I don't like action sequences at the best of times, and the hyperrealism of war was just too much to me. It's a fine film, but I think war films, particularly American war films, get a lot of accolades just on the merit of Being About The War, which can be annoying.

4. A movie you like but wouldn't recommend:

I don't think I wouldn't recommend any film I like. Maybe I wouldn't recommend Jeux interdits if you're a crier, because a child's parents and dog die within the first few minutes.

5. A movie musical you like:

I just recently watched Umbrellas of Cherbourg for a class, and I love loved it. The bright, 60s aesthetic was beautiful, the singing was gorgeous, and I love an open ending.

6. A horror movie you like:

I'm currently writing a paper on Coraline, and it's an incredible children's horror film. I love the when horror intersects with coming of age, and Neil Gaiman is great at doing that in his novels, and Henry Selick nailed the adaptation.

7. A sci-fi movie you like:

Arrival is the first to come to mind. I don't watch a ton of sci-fi, but I loved how Arrival explored time and language/communication.

8. A fantasy movie you like:

I also don't watch a ton of fantasy, but The Princess Bride is a classic. I could watch that film a thousand times and never get tired of it.

9. A movie in your native language you like:

I'm a native English speaker, so I've got all of Hollywood to choose from, but I'm going to pick a Canadian film to narrow it down for myself. My all-time favourite Canadian film (and one of my all-time favourite films full stop) is Last Night. I love anything that explores what it means to be alive through a narrative about death. It's a gorgeous, heartwrenching film and Sandra Oh is great in it.

10. A foreign-language movie you like:

I'd never seen a film in another language before I started taking film classes, and now I've seen so many I love. Here is a non-exhaustive list of some favourites: Les vacanes de Monsieur Hulot, La vita e bella, Before Tomorrow, Umberto D, Cleo de 5 a 7, and To Live.

Thank you again Fee!

#about me #movie asks #bless ur beautiful heart babe

[bangtanbeforebitches]

The Fall was a Trip - Take 1

An Original work written, produced, storyboarded, edited, agonized over and owned by: bangtanbeforebitches

Starring: Min Yoongi and Actor YN/Reader (from a purposely POC perspective) with guest appearances by everyone else you know and love.

Genre: Bangtan is Bangtan-verse AU, Rom-Com, Interracial Relationship Navigation, Strangers to Lovers, Quick but Slow Burn, Star-Crossed Lovers, Story within a Story, POC POV, K-Drama Indulgent on all fronts

Themes/Warnings: Heavy issues, Honest discussions, Things people probably don’t want to hear, Ridiculous run-ons for the fuck of it, 4th wall breaking, Inner monologue rants, YN is EXTRA AF, Mentions of racism, Childhood trauma resurfacing, Mentions of anxiety, Dangerous situations, a Shit-ton of swearing, Drinking, Probably smut at some point down the line, Some hopefully not so confusing script breakdowns, Usage of basic film and stage production terminology, Excessive flirtation (but Jimin doesn’t count), Fluff on Fluff on Fluff, Smooth moves, Lots of awkward moments, YN is a klutz, Sweetness to rot your teeth, Mood Swings, Denial of emotions, and at some point after therapy- Acceptance.

Format: Multi-chapter, ongoing WIP

Word count: currently 17k

Rating: Explicit, Minors are advised to not pass GO. 18+

[AUTHOR'S NOTE: I have zero clue WTF I'm doing. I have never been to South Korea-- SO! All the places, references and pretty much everything in this hot mess of a daydream is to be taken as FANTASY. Non-reality based, peoples. Secondly, I would like to say that a lot of the material and conversations and opinions you'll find in these pages have been pulled from my last relationship (8 years with a Korean man- SK born but definitely American as all get out) and my ongoing friendships with his family members both living here and there. I just ask them random ass questions and try my best to not let on that i'm asking for BTS fan fic purposes... cause I would never hear the end of it. Big shout outs to my besties @vyduan and @inkbluelily for pumping me with constant encouragement and hyping me up to do the impossible... actually post. ]

---------- Flashback to the beginning, Two years ago --

Navigating the streets in Seoul had finally started to become second nature.

Thank goodness.

Working up the guts to approach a local and ask for help had always tended to be hit or miss. Either people feigned not being able to understand your Korean, pretended to not know any English (though you had heard them speaking it just seconds before) or they completely ignored your pleas for help and started asking you a dozen rapid fire questions about your hair.

So many hair questions.

It's a constant thing here.

You understand the curiosity. Your curls are on point and frankly, pretty damn fabulous. But people apparently have a negative grasp on the concept of personal space when it comes to foreigners, yet they heed to the utmost levels of hesitation and bodily respect when it comes to physical contact with one another.

But a black girl trying to find the shoe repair shop that’s supposed to be on the corner?

What do her boundaries matter?

One second it's "Oh! You're so dark!" and then that phrase is (9 times out of 10) immediately followed by a darting hand grasping for those shiny springs of kinky wonder and magic.

You’re used to it. No offense taken because… let's be real. You would be offended all the time if you let silly things like their inquisitiveness get to you like that.

And the people here always seem so shocked when they realize you’re able to speak a bit of their language. You assume it’s mostly because they realize that you can understand what they’ve been saying about you in front of your face. Some apologize. Some don’t. Some just politely backpedal and compliment you for attempting to learn Korean at all.

You’re not by any means fluent just yet. You’ve got the basic Seoul dialect pronunciation down but still have a terrible grasp of the grammar structure... but, hey.

At least you try.

----------

You crossed the last congested intersection, a smile stretching across your face while (not) blending in with the flock of despondent souls en route to start the work day. You all, like bees in a swarm, buzzed through the landscaped courtyard, past the lunch stands prepping their menus and tents for service in the afternoon. You, in your merry mood, took a moment to beam up at the massive (and massively intimidating) building that stretched skyward in front of you.

You were lucky enough to have been offered a position as a production assistant at KBSMedia around eleven months ago. It's afforded you opportunities that you could only have dreamed of back home stateside. At the price of your loneliness? Totally, but still very much worth it in the long run. You’ve met countless Korean celebrities, idols, been a part of the crew for two hit drama programs and now, (a drumroll seems fitting here--) finally.

This glorious, low dust and pollutant filled air-quality morning marks day one of a new chapter for both your career and your status within the company ranks.

It's almost unheard of.

Seriously. It’s maybe the second or third time in Korean broadcasting history. You still get a little choked up at the thought of it all.

Today is the day in which you will take a rightfully-earned, long-awaited and over-due, monumental first step on that path leading to a place in front of a camera lens and into the spotlight.

You.

A [COUGH] relatively young, black, American woman.

Here.

In one of the palest countries a person could possibly imagine.

Halfway--

No.

Literally on the other side of the planet.

When the network gave the “OK” for your director's "out of left field" idea to cast you (he personally delivered the news to you with many air quotes and hand gestures) in this thought provoking, meticulously scripted and groundbreaking role… to say that you were shocked would be the understatement of the century.

All the same, you were beyond grateful for the opportunity and more than ready.

Ready to play the best damn "comic-relief roommate of the female lead who basically only says 'Annyeonghaseyo' from the apartment couch, usually with an absurd amount of food in her mouth, providing visual gags with charm and conveying affection and friendly support for the main character" that the South Korean film industry has ever seen.

You even get to improv.

In your pocket are two degrees to backup your talent. You majored in Theatre (with a concentration in Acting) and then continued your graduate studies while pursuing your dreams in New York and rotating through multiple (expensive) performance and film classes.

Cliche.

You are aware.

How you’ve ended up doing so much dang production work, you’re not one hundred percent sure. You had come to realize after hearing "No, but thank you for your time today" so much that that must just be the nature of the business in the most competitive audition field in entertainment.

They say, “You get in where you fit in and you fake it till you make it”.

Even if that mantra takes you across the globe.

----------

"Annyeong, ____-ah! How was your weekend?"

"Lonesome but productive. Just studied at home and dreamt about all the chicken and beer nights I’m going to miss at your place from now on. I’m pretty much off book, though. So, there’s that,” you shrugged and smiled with a wiggle of your dark brows. “How's she coming along, ah jeo-ssi?"

This “older” man, your friend, was the single nicest soul at KBS.

Seung Woo was the daytime front desk security guard. He prefers the term security agent so the position sounds more stealthy and cool. He likes to give off a Bond vibe while working and wears a full suit most days. Steamed creases and all, courtesy of his wife.

It is not required for him to be this extra, that’s for sure.

But this guy, right here? He knows just about every employee in the building. Just like the classic, dashing spy would in a blockbuster movie. He sees all. Knows all. Only really likes a few of these ‘show-biz’ types that pass him by without so much as giving him eye contact (which is how you bonded) but for some reason he took to taking care of you like an uncle, more so than a big brother.

It’s sweet considering if you were back in America you would be considered practically the same age, but here at work? You love getting to use the formal honorifics. You can tell he appreciates the respect.

Though, when off the clock he will enforce the “oppa” card.

Which you enjoy far less.

Because cringe.

He only bests you by a few years. He recently turned 34, but it’s 35 when tracking his life span the Korean way.

You’re turning 31 this fall.

And that’s a good, old-fashioned (or possibly “good new-fashioned”, because honestly? What the hell do you know? You’re still just a kid in the grand scheme of things if you consider the current average life expectancy of an active, healthy, non-smoking, adult female like yourself...)

So, yeah. The point? Right.

You’re turning a plain ol’, solid, traditional for the western hemisphere, starting post-utero, only counting from your first breath, “don’t anyone dare think about adding an extra digit to your years if they value having all of their teeth and toes”-- 31.

You’re clinging to your youth with all you’ve got. Both hands. Maybe your thighs too. You weren’t blessed with this melanin-infused baby face for nothing.

And you were grateful for Seung Woo’s face, just the same. When you started, there was a good stretch when he was the only smile you’d come across until it was time to clock out and head home to FaceTime with your family. You’ve had a friendly banter going ever since your first day when you swiped your ID for clearance through the shiny turnstiles. You’ve been helping him and his partner learn more English in exchange for the daily lessons on how to survive in this building and in this country. You would've given up here long ago if not for his advice and their friendship.

"She's getting bigger by the second. Look," he said and deftly whipped his phone out of it's holster on his hip to show off his wonderfully pregnant spouse.

Yea, he really uses one of those belt clips. The last time you saw one was on your father.

Despite this fashion faux pas, Seung Woo was still handsome as all get-out and a total DILF in the making.

His wife, Chaeyeong, was a former idol who fell for his charismatic smile and bashful eyes whenever she had a schedule at the studios. She had been caught making eyes at him by a photog one too many times (aka, one time) and when her group's contract was up for renewal, she and her company “mutually decided to part ways so that she could pursue other endeavors outside of the pressures from the spotlight that comes with idoldom”.

Or at least that was the story DSP’s PR team came up with in the statement they dropped to the media. In reality, they didn’t want to bother dealing with the dating rumors and Chae didn’t think staying was worth an innocent man with a beautiful heart being dragged through the mud by netizens. So, she jumped ship and went for it. Now, she’s one of the co-hosts on a variety program where they dish out love advice to viewers and she’s been embraced by (most of) the public for following her heart.

While she may be widely considered the prize of the pair to the untrained eye, personally, you think she's a smart young lady for taking him off the market.

Because that man treats her like a queen.

"She's simply radiant, Seung Woo-ssi."

"Thanks, I know,” he said, clipping his phone back into place. “We couldn't handle it anymore and we found out the gender Saturday. I wanted to tell you in person."

"We couldn’t handle it?” you snickered.

“Fine. Me.”

“There you go,” you nodded and smacked his back affectionately. “You made it to 8 months. Honestly, I’m shocked."

This was how you guys worked.

He laughed, ignoring your snide tone, not the least bit put off by your jab about his lack of patience. It was an indisputable fact. You prompted him to continue with a light tap to his arm. "Well?"

His exuberance shined all the way up to his glistening eyes and it felt as though it would burst through the top of his head like the bat signal.

He truly beamed. It was almost blinding.

"Really? It’s a boy?!"

"I could cry!" Seung Woo was unable to contain himself, his body bobbing on the balls of his feet. Any more force and he would actually be jumping for joy, if you will. It was disgustingly cute. He had been praying their first child would be a boy.

Most men over here seem to want male heirs.

“Could cry?” you gave him a look of disbelief, grinning.

He met your eyes. There was no way he could hold out. His whole body sighed in defeat.

“I did cry.”

“That all?”

You placed your hands on each of his shoulders to pull him down closer for inspection. You leaned in towards his face with your dark eyes, sharp as a blade, cutting him deep for the real story.

Which you basically had the gist of already. There were many texts from Chae earlier this morning requesting that you keep an eye on her emotional hubby and asking you for confirmation that he was okay once you spoke to him. She was careful not to spoil the news of the appointment. Though Chaeyeong was your friend too, she knew this would be something that he would want to share with you first.

“Ok, fine. So, I cried. A lot. Aish, I couldn’t stop crying. I cried like a baby. Snotty gross crying. All weekend. At the drop of hat ever since we found out. I couldn’t even start the car leaving the doctor’s and Chae-Chae had to drive us home from the office. She made me take the bus today to be safe because she didn’t trust me to not break down in traffic if a stroller passed me at a stoplight. I only just pulled myself together a few hou-- minutes ago before you got here after sobbing at the bus stop, sobbing at the breakfast truck, sobbing at my locker and sobbing in the bathroom. I had to run out before the team pre-shift meeting because-- surprise, surprise!-- I was a mess when Hee-hyung brought up his son’s birthday party yesterday. I’ve had to go back to the bathroom twice since then just because a baby in overalls and a shark hat was carried by the desk. I’m doing my best with every breath that I take not to scream it out at the top of my lungs that my beautiful wife that I don’t deserve is giving me a son and I feel like the king of the world!! Happy?!”

Seung Woo inhaled deeply and you snorted and clapped your hands.

"CONGRATULATIONS!!"

He let out a sort of squeal-like sound at that and the two of you bounced together in a tiny circle, your celebration possibly a little bit too buoyant for the employees passing by you, drawing attention and some passersby grimacing in your direction. Remembering your place, you broke apart, him coughing into his fist to cover his proud simper and you took to readjusting his jacket and tie.

"I can't wait to come down later and chat but I can't be late today,” you said as you brushed his shoulder off and then pounded that fist that he was now stretching out to you.

“You’re going to kill it, ____-ah.”

“Thanks, Woo-ssi. Oh, and I definitely want a copy of that new ultrasound for my refrigerator!" you stage-whispered loudly to him as you took a blind step back and then started to skip backwards towards the parallel lines of elevators. The lobby around you was noticeably more clear than just a few moments ago. Seung Woo was deep in his own world, pulling out his wallet to stare at the black and white blob of a photo of his unborn.

You paused to watch him fondly before skipping backwards some more.

"We need to take a picture of all three of us, you know. Or I guess now it’s four!!--”

Man down.

Well… "Woman down".

Wait--

Nope. "Man down", too.

You had taken a hostage to the floor with you and he was trapped under your flailing limbs and coif of curls.

"OH! Oh my God, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!" you stammered over and over as you attempted dismounting the lap of the man you had fallen on top of so gracefully.

Obviously, that is a lie.

There was nothing graceful about this moment.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going and I was just so excited for my friend and--"

A set of hands gripped your waist tightly to steady you and before you could register that they were connected to the person beneath you, Seung Woo's arms were under your own and helping to lift you onto your feet.

Once up on your shaking stems, you immediately hitched your body into a bow towards the gentleman on the marble tile.

This was embarrassing.

And awkward.

You were all of the “awkward”.

All of it.

Every little bit of what comes together to define that which is “awkward”?

That’s you.

Right now.

And your anxiety will probably never let you forget it.

You’ll be at your wedding about to say “I do”-- or maybe this will leave you shook when you’re cutting your cake and you drop a chunk of buttercream on the floor-- so you look down to make sure you missed your dress-- and that’s when you notice the fake marble dance floor sticker tiles and they look just like this floor that you’re staring at right now-- but your fiance had insisted on them because he’s a “classy guy but cheap” and the vendor gave you a discount because he was Korean and you could speak his language fairly well-- he was actually a really nice guy-- but you’ll see it and panic-- and so you close your eyes and have a PTSD-like flashback of these painful minutes-- but when you squeeze your eyes tighter to clear the images everything is suddenly moving in slo-mo-- and now you’re back to when you were 30 and thriving and living in a foreign country-- and your big, dumb ass just had to knock down an innocent stranger-- and you’ll remember rendering him paralyzed, mute and deaf in his left ear from the concussive impact of his head smacking that cold, hard floor-- which led you to losing your work visa, your chance at an acting career, and you were thrown in jail before being shipped back to the United States in a packing crate in the luggage hull of an airplane-- next to a gassy dog and what you think was an unmarked box of snakes… on a plane.

Or much later in life, you’re going to be old and gray-- but probably with no wrinkles because you never had a reason to smile after this-- and you’ll probably be in a cheap and poorly rated nursing home-- with no friends or family who care about you left in the world-- eating questionable cream of corn soup that is neither sweet nor salty-- just no flavor at all-- and it’s definitely not supposed to be green-- and your teeth will be in a cup on the nightstand next to both your hot pink and your purple SMTWTFS pill popper packs that are stuffed with enough meds to kill a giraffe-- and the nurse on meal service will have forgotten your lime jello and cup of ice AGAIN-- and you will STILL be able to feel the tightness in your chest from this amount of awkward embarrassment that you’re currently feeling in this moment-- and you will STILL be able to replay this memory on repeat in your mind like it happened hours and not years ago-- and it will be in full 186,405K resolution-- which is quadruple HD clarity… because that will be a thing by then.

And when your time comes and you think you can finally be rid of this memory, you’ll be born again-- and you’ll be plagued with flashes of this moment in your dreams in your next life-- and you won’t recognize the faces in the scene but you’ll for HELLA SURE know that that shit looked embarrassing as fuck-- and you’ll probably pay for lots of therapy trying to deal with the nightmares-- until you give up and try to recreate the dream-- and then the cycle of trauma will start again.

Ahem.

Very visibly trembling, you dropped to your knees and clasped your hands in front of you, bending your forehead down to meet them. You couldn't bring yourself to make eye contact with the face of your victim. It’s not like you would have been able to see him from your current angle even if you did look up, what-- with all of your hair blocking your view, but still you didn’t dare.

You heard what you assumed were his hands dusting himself off as his companions helped him up off of the floor. They were all chuckling while looking him over to make sure he was alright. You only had a sliver sized peek of multiple sneakers, some bulky ass boots and loafers with the owner’s heels hanging out, ruining the back of the expensive looking shoes.

That should be considered a crime, even if your feet do look that smooth.

"I can't believe-- I'm so sorry! I'm such an idiot. It'll never happen again. I'll watch where I'm going and be more careful, I swear! I'm so very, very sorry!” you apologized as a man stepped between you and the small crowd of people. You stared at the tile with fear-filled, wide eyes and could almost feel his shadow that cast over you. It matched your darkened spirits that were sending you into a spiral of panic.

You peeked up at the man and stuttered at the sheer width of him. He was wearing all black (or at least his pants, shoes and socks) and he was much larger than you. Very much larger than you. “Is- is he hurt? Oh god, I'll g-get a medic and I can pay for the b-bill. It's the least I should do, right?”

Receiving no response more than his unreadable face, you righted yourself up on to your knees and with a flip, tamed your curls out of your vision, smoothing them back into what you hoped was a presentable style. You contemplated what was going to come of you while fixing the neckline of your blouse and then rubbed your hands nervously over your thighs. You were still unable to see past the man in front of you, as his thighs were in your direct line of sight and thick as hell.

You looked up at him the way you had as a child while awaiting punishment in Catholic School, and he mirrored Sister Agnes’ scowl down upon you to a tee. There was no wooden ruler rapping against his palm. So, with scant confidence in your muscles to assist you, you instead rose from the floor aided by Seung Woo’s shaky hand.

He must’ve been thrown by the accident as well. For a guy trained and trusted to protect and defend people in a crisis, he’s got the nerves of a mouse.

Broad, RBF-man then turned, giving you his back and you read “SECURITY” across his jacket. You stilled in place from his profile as he glared at you over his shoulder and scoffed with a tilt up of his sharp chin.

Hold up. Was that “in disgust”? Seriously?

In your heels you were still a few inches shy of being able to see over this wall of a man as he spat a curse at you.

“Yah, this wasn’t assault or anything. Just an accident,” you looked up in distress, holding your one elbow while the hand of that cradled arm palmed the side of your face. You rolled your eyes and rubbed your temple. “Who is this guy, Woo-ssi?”

He didn’t answer. He was holding his radio earpiece, listening to a call. More than likely about the commotion you had caused. This was not what you needed before your big day. It felt like a bad omen.

“Did I break something, sir? I can drive you to the hospital!” you cupped your hands around your mouth to project past the linebacker blocking you and over the murmur of multiple voices.

“Oppa, I'll need to borrow your car or-- Ah, shit! Of all days for you to take the bus,” you groaned and rubbed both temples.

You whipped your head to Seung Woo as he gasped.

“What? I’m sorry. I was just kidding,” you said as he nodded along to his com. “That was rude of me.”

Having been facing you during the majority of this time, making sure that you were alright and then waving along the nominal foot traffic, Seung Woo redirected his attention to the crowd behind him. He let go of his ear-piece and started to shake his head back and forth rapidly, his face and neck paling. He clasped a palm tightly to his mouth.

“I was in the bathroom crying. I missed the briefing…” he mumbled through his fingers.

“Briefing?”

“I’m sorry, ____-ah. Don’t hit me later, please.”

“No, I’m the one who’s sorry. I swear, I’m sorry-- I’m sorry-- I’m sorry-- I’m sorry to everyone!!"

"Please stop apologizing."

That voice was new.

There were giggles.

Male giggles.

“And for the love of God-- HYUNG! I’m fine. Stop touching my pants. Cut it out already, guys.”

That voice.

You knew that voice.

You had heard it somewhere, at least a million times before, you were sure, but you couldn't pinpoint exactly from where. You hesitantly took a step towards the MIB in front of you just as his figure took a step to the side.

This cannot be your life.

#bts fanfic #bts #btssuga #min yoongi #min yoongi fan fic #min yoongi x reader #min yoongi x yn #interracial couple #kdrama tropes #bts fan fiction #bts fic #bts aus #romatic comedy #starcrossed lovers #quick fall #slow burn #blackgirlmagic #story within a story

[pumpkinpaix]

this is gonna sound so harsh but im legit tired of chinese diaspora people who think that bc they are of chinese descent and they have pleco they can act like voices of authority in the fandom. if modao is the 1st chinese book you have read pieces of with a dictionary, if you have never interacted with the actual chinese fandom, you are not part of the intended audience and your biased opinion is not the One And Only Valid Truth 🍵

strongly agree | agree | neutral | disagree | strongly disagree | this is really hard for me to express in terms of an agree/disagree axis lol

genuinely cannot tell if you’re trying to shade me here anon lmao 😂

this got long and rambly (of course) asldkjfslj. i would love to make the excuse that it’s bc i’ve got a migraine and had No Sleep but. let’s be real i’m always like this.

ok i’ll start with where i agree: i don’t think anyone has the right to act like an ultimate voice of authority in fandom. i think different people with different backgrounds have varying realms of expertise and they should be respected when they share that knowledge, but that the instant someone starts to use that kind of power as a weapon against people they personally don’t like, i think they forfeit that privilege. no one has the one and only valid truth about a piece of media because that’s fundamentally impossible. i have definitely interacted with diaspo who behave like their heritage gives them some kind of incontrovertible authority over everyone else, and they’re fucking insufferable and often rather cruel, even/especially towards other diaspo. meet me in the denny’s parking lot and fight me for real. i’ll kick ur ass. >:c

however, I also think it’s true that there’s a lot of dismissal of heritage fans in this fandom, if that makes sense, from both sides of the equation: non-Chinese fans ignore our cultural hangups because they’re inconvenient, and non-diaspora disdain us for being not Chinese enough. that puts a lot of us in a position of feeling disrespected just for being who we are, or having our very real knowledge and unique experience as individuals devalued because of it.

regardless of my identity, I have formally studied a lot of things: literary translation, media analysis, the politics of oppression, film critique, religious studies, philosophy, four foreign languages etc. and that is all knowledge that I had to work for, and work hard for. I do have a certain measure of authority on all of these subjects over a layperson (to varying degrees), and there are going to be times when i will be more correct than someone who disagrees with me -- but I’ve also absolutely experienced people talking over that specialized knowledge because of who I am, which is, to be clear. extremely infuriating and hurtful. like, i have cried so much about it in the last 18 months. people see my racial and cultural identity before they see anything else, which is understandable to a degree, but upsetting when it becomes the basis for how my work is judged, whether positive or negative. i don’t want you to trust me blindly because i’m abc. I want to you to trust me because you have examined my work critically and judged it to be trustworthy!

so i guess this is getting into the strongly disagree part of the answer: i’ve been speaking a lot with other diaspora fans lately, and it’s been simultaneously hugely relieving and also really saddening. relieving because oh thank god someone else Gets It, and saddening because pretty much all of us, no matter what kind of diaspo we are (north american, european, SEA, taiwanese etc), we’ve all experienced a lot of pressure in this fandom, from non-Chinese, Chinese, and other diaspora fans alike. we’re all acutely aware that we are not modao’s intended audience because being diaspora vs being “from the mainland” or whatever, are actually quite different things, but modao still feels close to home. even if it was not written FOR us it is still familiar to us.

and, because so many of us are multilingual and multicultural, we end up being the bridge between the “actual” chinese fandom and the english-speaking fandom, which is largely made up of non-chinese. (sidenote: I hate it when people say things about being “actually” any identity because it’s almost always for the exact reason you brought up: to use heritage as street cred. it’s like damn, being “actually” chinese doesn’t make ur opinions any less rank. sure you might be “actually” chinese, but do you have basic reading comprehension and literary criticism skills? no? ok then sit your ass back down) many of us are most comfortable in english! so we produce our content in english! but we also DO often have a somewhat privileged access to the culture that underlies mdzs and can explain it in a language that other non-Chinese fans can understand. so it’s not surprising that people flock to us for answers to their cultural questions. and like. if we think we know the answer, it’s natural for us to try and help. this is fandom! we’re here to have fun and find community! and it is definitely a little bit nice to have my culture treated as something desirable for once instead of just like. a weird exotic curiosity that no one really cares too deeply about. and, since a lot of us are able to do things that non-Chinese fans can’t (research in chinese, for example. ask family members for help and more information etc.) we end up just having more information to share.

I think this sometimes results in a tendency for fandom at large to put heritage/diaspo fans on pedestals and tout them as authorities (or use our conflicting viewpoints as ammunition in fandom drama) when the diaspo in question have repeatedly stated that they should not be taken as authorities on something -- and then, once you reach critical mass, your reputation starts to precede you, and I think there’s a lot of misconceptions of how a lot of diaspo act in this fandom simply because of that phenomenon. most of us know that we’re not ultimate arbiters of some kind of cultural gateway, and it can be very tiring both to be treated as such when we insist we are not, and then punished by other people who assume that we acted like we were.

i don’t think there’s a benefit in trying to keep en fandom and cn fandom totally separate, and I also think it’s unfair to consider the cn fandom the “real” fandom. i think that way lies deeper misunderstandings, gatekeeping, etc. i think we can definitely acknowledge the differences between them, but i think trying to make meaningful connections between fandom circles is really valuable! i don’t think i’ve ever made it a secret that modao is my first cmedia fandom? so it’s also the first time i’ve had reason to interact with chinese fandom, which has been super enlightening and interesting! i’ve made some super cool friends and learned a lot about how fandom works in china, how it’s similar and how it differs from the fandom i’m familiar with.

and then, kind of circling back around, there’s also a bit of a sense like, okay, so if diaspo don’t belong in the CN fandom, but we can’t talk about our own culture with some degree of confidence in EN fandom, then like..... where do we go...? if we see EN fandom doing something that contradicts our cultural knowledge, do we just. not say anything? do we not count unless we’ve already ingratiated ourselves to CN fandom? that’s probably where the core of my strong disagreement comes from, because criticism of diaspora fans as like, acting above their station so to speak, feels just like a tired continuation of the same shit we’ve had to deal with for our whole lives, being told we’re not good enough for anywhere and that we should just be quiet and keep our heads down and get over it. that our opinions, despite coming from a unique perspective with a unique relationship to the subject in question, are less valid or real than “actual” chinese people, you know? and sometimes i see that and im like lmfao just sneer at me for being jook-sing and leave then if you’re so eager to think of me as lesser.

so yeah, basically im of a few minds: true! diaspora fans don’t get to throw their weight around just because they’re diaspo. they don’t get carte blanche to act like bullies or try to shape the fandom to their own personal liking and crusade against people who disagree with them. they don’t get to pretend their heritage makes them superior to everyone else, and i think western diaspora especially need to be careful when asserting any kind of moral lens over the text to acknowledge that we have our own biases to interrogate. i am not immune.meme etc. on the other hand, this vein of criticism tends to put all diaspo in a bit of a double-bind, and also, however unintentionally, plays into the general, continuous trend of dismissing diaspora for being diaspora, and i’m really not about that. i don’t think that’s the motivation behind opinions like this, but i do think that when the basis for the argument hinges on the idea that diaspora are not “real” chinese, no matter how much I too have beef with certain diaspora fans, the argument needs to be revisited. 

(ko-fi)

🍵 ((un)popular) opinions meme

#Anonymous #asks and replies #cyan gets too deep in the weeds #race #chinese diaspora #statistically average #mine #mymeta #mdzs #ummmmm #politics #?? #opinions meme #ask meme

[my-terrible-life]

I wanted to say some things about the Arabic used in Community.

I'm not sure what the point the point of this post is but I just wanted to get the thoughts out of my head because they've been there ever since I first watched Community like a million years ago and found out one of the main characters is half Arab.

Long post I'm sorry!!

So in Community Abed is Polish Palestinian. My very first thoughts on this, so long ago, was huh what an unusual name! Because it is. Abed is not a common Arab name at all, it's pretty weird actually. The name itself means "Worshipper" which I guess should fit in with the ~theme~ of Arab Muslim names but it doesn't because in Arabic it sounds incomplete.

Boys names that follow the "theme" of Worship tend to be 2-parters, the Worship part and then the What part. What is he worshipping? God obviously, but God in Islam has many names and many descriptions, so the trend is 'pick one of the names/descriptors and put it right after the word that means worship' so we end up with names like Abdullah (for example). Abdullah in Arabic is a 2 word name, it is Abd then Allah, combined it means worshipper of Allah. We can have a name like Abdulrahman, which is a 2 word name that is Abd then Al Rahman, which combined means worshipper of the most merciful. The list can go on and on and they all mostly follow that pattern: Abd + God's name. That's the convention and that's what male Arabic Muslim names have followed for hundreds of years. So Abed alone is pretty odd, but not impossible I guess.

Now the writers could have consulted with an Arab at any point, there's Arabs literally everywhere in America, but okay it was during the time when casual racism was still something the audience didn't know we could be very vocal about, or that's how I think about it anyway.

Danny Pudi himself is not Arab so I don't think he could have accurately weighed in on this but again I don't know what it was like working as a brown actor on US television at the time. (We'll get back to Danny Pudi later)

Nevertheless, the initial oddness of Abed's name aside, I grew used to it and grew to really like the character. He's one of my 3 favorites ❤ and I don't have to repeat why he's awesome and how his stories are not stereotypes etc etc.

But the eps were his Arabic heritage and language come up were beefed. Hard.

You can split Arabic up into 2 umbrellas I guess: Standard Arabic called Fus'ha, and the common tongue or dialect of the specific Arab country you're in/writing about.

Most of us know and understand Standard Arabic because it's taught in schools and it is the language of the Qur'an so we learn it. It's also the language used for subtitles in film and TV, as well as any formal/official document, and when presidents give speeches in foreign countries so the instant translators can do their jobs without having to learn more than 1 Arabic dialect.

But here's a very big point guys... no one Speaks in Standard Arabic. As beautiful and flowery and vast as it can be we just don't use it like That.

Think of it like your everyday English you speak vs. Shakespearian English. No one talks like that unless they're on stage or they're trying to be funny.

So, it was very obvious when Abed and his Dad were talking that they put the script into Google translate and just went with that. They could have asked an Arab 🤦‍♀️ any Arab! There's so many of us everywhere just grab one off the street like a madman and ask 'em, they'll tell you. We Love correcting wrong Arabic 😂

Anyway, they had Abed speak in Standard Arabic.... cringe kingdom thanks... but Abed is Palestinian, which means his dialog should have been in Palestinian Arabic and that's hella different. (Now I'm personally Egyptian and while I would be able to understand Palestinian very well I would not be able to re-write his lines to reflect the dialect accurately, so I won't)

Of course their pronunciation was incredibly off as neither actor who play Abed or Gubi (weird name) are Arabs or speak Arabic. It just made me cringe so hard.

Now let's briefly talk about those yellow subtitles Community used for Abed and his Dad in that episode where they're fighting about Abed taking film classes... 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ yeah, not pretty, not only did just use Google translate, it was also unedited. I remember back then Google translate was still being filled up with vocabulary and different possible translations so for Arabic sometimes we'd get a very literal translation that made a whole sentence wrong. And boy did they mess that up!

The line was "The wrong person just left" and the translation was "الشخص الخطأ يسار" which is literally "the wrong person left", well what's wrong with that? Oh just that they used Left as in the direction.... the wrong person LEFT (direcrion) as in ur left hand as in let's go left instead of right 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ never mind that the entire phrase would not be translated that way to begin with but that they couldn't even bother to just double check their translation

Oh you guys know who sounded like they actually knew Arabic??? Abra! Her pronunciation was correct. Even if her lines were still in Standard Arabic her pronunciation and delivery showed she knew Arabic. (Another note on the name... I don't know what the hell Abra is, that's not an Arabic name I'm sorry) (neither is Gubi)

The last thing I wanna mention is from the Christmas ep, where Jeff gets in a fight, and Abed comes to their gathering with a dish from his culture, and he says "It's a traditional Muslim dish".....okay, Danny Pudi is not Arabic okay but he is Muslim and he should know there is no such thing as a Muslim dish, but fine okay maybe he couldn't say anything whatever who cares...

There is no such thing as a Muslim dish, or Muslim food. Or even Arab food, that doesn't exist... it should have been "it's a traditional Palestinian dish".

The Arab World is 22 countries, each very different from each other in culture, customs, food, language, whatever you can think of. We have similarities, we understand each other, we have a shitton of shared history but we are not a monolith.

Back to the Language aspect

Arabic is hard, Standard or otherwise, but especially Standard. The sounds you'd need to be able to make Arabic happen have to be trained into your mouth and throat, and it takes a long time. (I was lucky to grow up with it, not knowing the struggle, and major respect to those who want and try to learn it, whatever variation of it)

I was just spewing my frustrations here about a couple scenes and I'm glad there weren't any more tbh.

but I do hope this helps anyone who was curious about Abed's language.

Anyone writing about Abed or characters like Abed, I hope this can give a hint into what to research.

Also it's not pronounced Nadeer (with the emphasis on the second part) it's Naader (with emphasis on the first part)

Thanks for reading through this!

#abed nadir #community #trobed #arabic language in american media

[writersrealmbts]

Cruise

Description: Part of the summer #btswritingbingo, hosted by @bangtanwritingbingo! For the Boating prompt.  A summer cruise as a translator for world-famous band BTS: what could go wrong? WELL, the zombie apocalypse. In the middle of the ocean, are you safe? Or is there danger lurking in the deep?

Warnings: Mentions of death, violence (especially after the third content break), mild language? (I can’t remember if there’s language or not but I’ll tag it)

Posted: 06/11/2021

Tags: Zombie apocalypse au, Yoongi x reader

Angst?: 8,342 words

A/N: Oh look, another zombie au. 

The engine was idling.

The radio was on, and everyone was listening to the broadcast in silence. The horror was slowly growing in your stomach.

“The country is overrun, we’re broadcasting from a locked room, and we aren’t certain how much longer we can hold out…how much longer we’ll be safe. We’ve had news from several other countries reporting the same conditions. They’re mindless, react to movement…don’t like bright lights…most active starting at dusk all the way through dawn. Don’t let them injure you. They hid the mutagen in vitamins and supplements. Whatever you do…don’t ingest anything from Biogene International.”

You swallowed hard, hugging yourself as background sounds of other voices and banging echoed through the radio

“Oh God, they’ve found us,” The radio announcer murmured. “I guess this is it. If you’re isolated from infestations, I suggest you stay isolated. Cut off the heads. And enjoy this last song by Andy Lange. God save us all.”

The radio started playing ‘Not Sure Yet’, and you just listened to it as your heart broke.

They finally ruined the world.

And you weren’t with your friends and family when it happened.

You were with your stupid ex-boyfriend that you’d just broken up with, the staff of the ship that hired you as an extra translator for the last group—a kpop group and their staff that were filming a vacation show of some sort.

And you’d have to be born under a mountain of rocks to not know that the kpop group was BTS, and in any other situation you’d be excited about helping them as a semi-casual fan of theirs.

But right now you really hated them, and their choice of this ship that employed your ex-boyfriend—even if you’d been the one to get him that job.

“So,” The spoken-of devil murmured, coming to stand next to you. “Sounds like the world is actually ending.”

You took a deep breath, because everyone could hear, and were subtly watching.

“Changes a lot of things doesn’t it?”

“Except one.”

“What?”

You turned to him. “I still would rather die alone than live my life with you.”

He sputtered, but you didn’t stay to listen to him try to argue with you, turning off the radio since it had turned to static and going to the other translator.

“Do they know?”

He nodded gravely. “They’re trying to check on their families.”

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do,” You told him, bowing slightly to the other staff and the boys before going over to some of the other crew. “How much food do we have?”

“Maybe enough for a week,” The cook, Lori, answered. “If I ration.”

“Do it. Same with water?”

“We should have two weeks, more if we cut back on showers, mopping, other excess water usage,” The first mate said, staring out at the horizon. “Hopefully by then we’ll know if there’s a safe port. The captain went to try and radio as many other ships as possible.”

“We should make sure none of that Biogene stuff is on the ship,” One of the engineers said.

The first mate nodded, quickly moving. “Everyone! We need to make sure that there are no Biogene products on this vessel. Please go check all of your pills and supplements, anything that could be pharmaceutical or…just check everything!”

You translated quickly, then went to check your own things. You didn’t have much that could be from that company, but you checked absolutely everything just to be sure.

Then you went to help the staff and band just in case.

They weren’t coming up with anything, so you headed for the captain’s cabin just to see if there were any more plans at that point.

Captain Cobden Alby was an elder man, who tended to become an Uncle, Brother, or Grandfather figure for anyone who’d let him look out for them. You knew him relatively well, because he’d looked out for you when you started working with his tourism company, helping foreigners book trips with him and accompanying them on trips to help out. You’d worked with him for the past three years, and he’d been kind enough to hire your then boyfriend when he needed a job—though you now understood his reluctance. You wished he’d been more reluctant.

“Well, y/n,” Cob sighed. “Guess this is a new chapter. Any ideas?”

“Islands will gain control more quickly, I think, and there are a couple uninhabited islands we might be able to land at if we get desperate. We have nets, so we can fish if we have to. And if we start getting stills set up now, we can provide ourselves with more water. Revert to basic survival, I think.” You chewed your lip. “But if we’re going to use an uninhabited island, I think we should find one and stick around it, because people are going to try and escape by boat and they might bring it with them. The likelihood of the messages and warnings reaching everyone is slim.”

He sighed and nodded. “Our passengers?”

“Scared. But everyone is checking for the products to dispose of them, as you know, and they’re trying to contact their families back in Korea.”

“Have you tried your family?”

You stared out at the water. “I’m afraid to.”

He nodded again, looking grim. “I’ve heard from a couple other ships. We’re going to have issues with food at some point, so the island idea might be good. Maybe we can work with the other ships as long as they stay uninfected to build a sort of safe-haven?”

“Maybe,” You agreed. “We’ll be breaking laws if we land on some of the islands though. Or fish near them. They are wildlife refuges right now.”

“Hon, I don’t think that’s as big of an issue as of yesterday,” Lori said, shutting the door. “We can respect the wildlife. It would only be temporary, right? I mean, things have to stabilize sometime, and I think the islands should stabilize more quickly.”

You didn’t have very high hopes for the islands stabilizing, unless they were able to quickly regulate who came in and out of the populace of Hawaii. But people were creative and there were thousands of boats and planes in existence.

“Alright, so we’re going to go near the closest uninhabited, and weigh anchor, just for safety. But we’re not going to do anything on the island or any fishing until absolutely necessary. We’ll get some water stills set up, and start rationing the food. Try to preserve some fruits, Lori.”

She nodded. “You got it, Captain. But you better get someone else on those stills. Not my division, you know.”

“I’ll get our engineer on it. Dobby will need to be distracted anyway. Y/n, you should go tell our passengers the plan for now.”

“Right. First, I want a thank you.”

“For?”

“Convincing you to invest in some backup solar power for the ship to run things like the radios.” You paused at the door. “How long can the engines run?”

“I made sure we had enough to last us a couple of months, and I’ve got us going slow to reduce consumption. But we’ll have to start thinking about how to move once we run out, which is why I think your idea for the islands is a good one. The ship would be a safety point, and we could use the life-boats to get back and forth. At least until we have some sort of relief. And we might be able to go somewhere before we run out of gas. You never know. This might blow over quickly.”

“Yeah. Maybe.” You went out to check on the idols and their staff again.

They had gathered in the dining lounge, and everyone was double checking each other to make sure that there weren’t any Biogene products.

“Everyone, I’ve just finished talking to our captain, and he’s asked me to tell you our current course of action,” You started, gathering the idols and staff’s attention to explain things. “We’ve communicated with some other ships, but our current course is to head for an uninhabited island and keep to the coast of that. We have the supplies to fish, and our cook is currently working on preparing the food for rationing. Our top engineer is going to work on making sure we have a constant source of drinkable water, but for now we’re reducing our water usage. We’re scanning the radio frequencies to try and find another source of information for what’s going on out in the world, but right now it’s very quiet. We ask for your cooperation as we continue to approach these problems calmly and rationally, and your patience as we try to figure things out.”

“Is food an issue?” Seokjin asked.

You shook your head. “Not at the moment, we’re just trying to make sure it lasts as long as possible, especially our fruits and vegetables. Anything in the kitchen that we can regrow here on the ship, we will attempt to do so. The ship was stocked for at least a hundred passengers, plus the crew, and since we don’t even reach sixty with the passengers and crew combined, we should be able to hold out for a while, we’re just trying to make our food last as long as possible, which is why we will likely be utilizing the fishing nets, so we can eat and still prepare for the future. Because we have had warning, we have time to prepare for the worst, but we are still hoping for the best. We are not giving way to fear. At the moment, all we’re asking is that you remain calm and patient with us.”

That seemed to be agreeable for everyone, so you bowed a bit and then went to check in with the other translator and manager to find out what you could do to help.

Yoongi intercepted you. “Hey, sorry, I know you’re busy.”

“It’s fine, how can I help you?”

“Um, actually, I was going to ask if there was anything we could do to help? It’d be…hard to just ignore the situation.”

“I understand, unfortunately, at this moment, we’re not even certain what we need to get done. When we do, I will let you know if there is any way for you to help. For now, we have solar power that you can continue to use for charging your phones, just in case you get a call from your families, and we can power the lights. Any extra batteries, try to save them.”

He nodded. “Okay. Shouldn’t they turn of the air conditioning then?”

You shook your head. “That would be inviting trouble. People get less rational when they overly warm or cool. Turning it off would reduce morale.”

He considered it, then nodded. “Okay.”

You nodded as well, then moved on to talk to their managers.

You didn’t sleep that night, helping in the kitchen and mulling over different ideas to try for powering the boat. In theory, with the engineers’ help, you might be able to convert the engines to wind power, or at least move the boat using wind power, if you were careful enough. But where would you get the parts?

And theoretically, some of the fruits and veggies and other things could be regrown.

But what would you grow them in?

Lori had some sitting in a shallow tray of water to start sprouting, and some would continue to grow in just water, but others would need soil.

“Wake up, hon,” Lori said gently, patting your back. “Cap’n wants you. Something on the radio he wants you to hear.”

You rubbed your eyes as you forced yourself up. “How long was I…?”

“An hour,” She said in a scolding tone, giving you a look of disapproval. “A young thing like you needs regular sleep. I could have done that in the morning.”

You shrugged. “My mind wouldn’t shut off. You were awake. Like you said, I’m younger.”

“You tried calling your family?”

You shook your head. If they hadn’t tried to contact you, then there would be no point in trying to contact them. Either the call wouldn’t go through, or there was no one to make the call. Or they just weren’t able to call because they had no means or it was too dangerous. Any way you looked at it, it was safer to allow them to try and contact you. They knew you were on a ship, and your father studied epidemiology, so he would know that the ship would either go down quickly or not at all, barring a few statistical outliers.

Your father always called you a statistical outlier.

“Here, take this up with you, find a spot where it won’t get knocked over that gets some sun and some shade. Okay?”

You nodded, taking the tray up with you.

“Y/n,” Yoongi called, waving.

You nodded your greeting to him and the others, trying to pinpoint a good spot for it, finally finding it on a table that was bolted to the wall.

“Is this what we’re regrowing?”

You jumped a bit, turning to the boys with a hand over your heart. “Um, yes. One of the trays, anyway. We’ve got more down there, but they aren’t full yet so…this is the first one to come up for sunlight.”

“Cool,” Taehyung whispered.

Yoongi looked it over. “It…doesn’t look like much.”

You sighed. “I know. But like I said, if all goes well, these should regrow and we’ll just start the process over again. But I’ve been summoned.”

“Summoned?”

“Y/N to the Bridge, Y/N, please report to the bridge.”

You pointed up at the speakers.

“Oh, and maybe bring one of the representatives with you.”

You sighed. “Um, know where your managers are?”

They all shook their heads.

“I could come,” Yoongi offered.

You considered for a moment, then nodded. “Okay, only to save time though, I’m not going to be the one to get in trouble—got it?”

He nodded, gesturing for you to lead the way.

Cob glanced up when you came in. “You’ll love this. Hey, Johnny, I got my person here, mind repeating that now?”

As Johnny started retelling his tale, you slowly processed and translated for Yoongi.

“They were near one of the islands of Hawaii, and sometime in the night they started hearing noises against the hull of the ship…” You paused, horrified. “The creatures…they can survive in the water, and swim. He lost three people when some of the creatures managed to climb aboard.”

Yoongi looked just as grim. “So we’re not safe, even on a ship away from shore?”

You didn’t know the answer to that. “He says he’s going to see how far away from shore they’re able to follow him. That will help us determine how safe we may or may not be.”

Cob thanked Johnny, then turned to the two of you. “Well, what do you think? Do we tell the others of this possibility, or keep it quiet?”

You weren’t sure how to answer that either. There were pros and cons for both sides. But there were more cons for—

“We don’t tell them,” Yoongi said firmly.

You met his gaze and nodded, translating. “It would just incite panic. We don’t tell them until we know that it is a possibility, and even then, we wait until we’ve calculated when they could reach us.”

Yoongi nodded his agreement.

Cob sighed. “Right. You’re right. I just….”

“Take a break. That’s what Jones is for, so you can take breaks. They’re most active between dusk and dawn, right? Then for now, we just slowly make our way to the proximity of an island, Jones can do that.”

He slowly nodded. “Yeah, he’s on his way, just wanted to try his brother one more time.”

You nodded, then signaled for Yoongi to head for the door. “I’m checking back in half an hour and if you’re still here, I’m kicking heads.”

Cob snorted, but didn’t respond further.

Yoongi sighed outside, leaning against the railing. “This is really bad.”

“Really, really bad,” You agreed, leaning next to him. “You okay to keep this from your bandmates?”

He nodded. “I’ll just say that he asked for a representative agreement from our party that he should head for the nearest uninhabited island, as a formality, obviously.”

“Sounds good. And I was there as a translator.”

“What name would you give these creatures?”

“Based on description? The only word I can think of is in English.”

“And?”

“Zombies,” You offered, giving him an apologetic look.

But he nodded. “That’s what we were saying last night. Jungkook said it first, I think we were all afraid of saying it, but he likes watching those kinds of movies, so it wasn’t surprising that he named it first.”

“But watching movies about it isn’t exactly preparation for the real thing,” You whispered, staring out at the ocean. You usually loved going out on trips like this, even if you were just a translator. This time, though….

“Part of me wishes we’d never come on this trip, but part of me is glad that we did.”

“I understand that,” You whispered. “There are a lot of things that I wish. There are a lot of regrets I could have about this.”

“Y/n!”

You closed your eyes. “Speaking of regrets.”

Your ex came over, half-glaring at Yoongi. “This guy bugging you?”

“No, but you are,” You replied, rolling your eyes and pushing away from the railing, walking toward the stairs. “Don’t you have a job to do?”

“I just wanted to make sure you were holding up okay—”

“Well, I am. There’s no need for you to check on me. I’m doing just fine. Please, don’t check on me again. You do your job and I will do mine,” You snapped, turning to glare at him. “I told you, I have no regrets breaking up with you, and even if I knew the future, I would do it again, and probably sooner.”

“Whoa, no need to be so hostile babe!”

“‘Babe’?” You sneered, resisting the urge to shove him over your shoulder and down the flight of stairs. “You never have, and never will be allowed to call me ‘Babe’.”

“Chill out!”

Yoongi pushed past him and grabbed your wrist, pulling you down the stairs after him while rambling in rapid korean about it being dangerous to fight on stairs and ‘that’s how people get murdered’ and ‘unless that was your plan, which I would vouch for you, but I’m not sure who would believe it’ with an added ‘besides, there are a few witnesses’.

Damn was that hot.

No.

Wait.

Yes.

No. No, no. No, no, no.

He was someone you were working for, he wasn’t allowed to be hot.

And his hand definitely didn’t feel strong and sinewy and attractive.

“Don’t walk away when we’re talking!”

Your hold on Yoongi’s hand tightened.

“Ignore him, come with me. Our security team will block him,” Yoongi said, not looking back. “We have a head start, unless he starts running after us. Why did you break up with him? I mean, I get it, but what was the main reason?”

“Cheating, threatening, trying to emotionally manipulate me,” You listed, doing your best not to look back.

“Figures.”

You could see that the heading of the boat was changing, even as you and Yoongi made your way down to where the other boys and their staff were waiting.

“Block the guy following us,” Yoongi called to the security team as both of you passed by them. “He’s letting the panic get to him.”

The security team easily blocked your ex, and Yoongi led you straight to the poolside.

Namjoon came over quickly. “Any news?”

“Nothing new. Just needed a formal agreement to their plan from someone in our party.”

Jungkook dropped onto a seat nearby. “Any new information about the zombies?”

Yoongi shook his head. “Same as before, I think.”

Jungkook tilted his head. “And what is it that we do know?”

“The mutagen makes people into crazed killers, who don’t like bright lights and can only be stopped by cutting off their heads. Strong mutants that can only be stopped by cutting off their heads, and appear to be decaying. I think the mutagen might stimulate muscle growth while suppressing the nervous system. If I’m understanding things correctly, anyway.” You hesitantly sat down, wondering if that would be okay.

“I don’t know exactly what that means,” Jungkook replied, looking a little lost but curious.

“Well, we know that they’re significantly stronger, but their response to injuries is non-existent. Our nervous system is responsible for sending signals to the brain,” You explained, still thinking it through yourself. “Because it isn’t functioning the way it’s supposed to, maybe the pupils aren’t contracting, or something which makes them more sensitive to light.” But that still didn’t explain how they could survive in the water like they did.

“That makes sense,” Yoongi agreed. “I mean, for me, not knowing that much about the human body.”

“Same, but I remember some things, enough to try and puzzle it out, I guess,” You replied, shrugging a bit and looking around. “I should see if there’s anything I can do.”

“Sleep,” Yoongi said. “You should sleep. You look exhausted. I’ll walk you to your cabin so that jerk can’t ambush you.”

“I don’t want you to go out of your way—”

“It’s fine. You’re our designated liaison between the crew and us. It’s important that you’re safe so that we can continue knowing what is going on without pestering the crew.”

That reasoning was fair, and you appreciated it.

But also, you could see it causing issues.

“Come on, I want to make sure you at least go into your room. You should sleep, you look exhausted, and we know that the zombies aren’t going to attack while it’s this sunny out.”

You squeaked slightly as he pulled you up and after him.

But you didn’t fight him on it.

“Which way is your room?”

You quietly gave him directions, following until he reached your door and then tugging lightly on his hand to get his attention before he kept going. “This is it.”

He glanced over the door and nodded. “Right. Okay. Try to sleep, okay? We’re pretty far away from any major population so it should take a while for any zombies in the water to reach us, if they even can. We know they can go some distance, but not how far that distance is. So, rest. We’re going to have to be more alert at night anyway.”

You nodded. “You try to rest too. It’s easier to lie when you’re well-rested.”

He looked a bit grim at that. “Right. Good point. Good thing I’ve always been one to rest when possible.”

You unlocked your door and started in, stopping when he gently caught your upper arm.

“Hey, thank you, again, for everything you’re doing. I know you probably feel guilty because you sold us this package and now we’re all here, but you have no idea how grateful we were to have a ship like this essentially to ourselves.”

You shrugged. “You were booking in the off-season. We were lucky anyone was looking for a ship to commandeer.”

He smiled. “Whatever you say. Sleep well, y/n.”

You watched him walk away for a while, then slowly closed the door, once more pushing down thoughts of how attractive your client was.

———

The first zombie crawled onto the ship during a storm.

You had been eating with all of the guests, looked out the window and did a double-take. “Dobby! Come here.”

Dobby, the head engineer, politely excused himself and came over to join you at the window. “What is it?”

You pointed. “Stern, crawling over the railing.”

He squinted as he tried to see, flinching as lightning flashed—but gasping a bit as he spotted the zombie.

“Everyone is accounted for, right?”

“Right. Okay. Show-time, I guess. Bernie! Clyde! Time to get the lights on and try and decapitate a creature!”

You kept scanning the ship to check for anything else. “Someone tell the captain!”

“Yes, miss,” Clyde called.

Yoongi joined you, looking out. “Guess we know how long it takes for a zombie to swim to us.”

“Yup. Seven days. But it looks weaker than I expected. Maybe it is physically tiring?” You folded your arms, wincing as the floodlights turned on.

It was hideous. It looked like a human, but the skin looked like it had been boiling, and the eyes were strange—the irises almost black, and far too large, to easily noticeable from the distance. It’s jaw seemed unhinged, the mouth hanging open and not moving at all as a guttural screech emanated from it.

“No wonder people are so terrified,” Yoongi whispered.

“I’d like to wake up now,” Hoseok whispered behind you.

“Let’s get to safety, everyone,” You said softly. “Head down into the hallway. Just like we practiced.”

The soft noises of activity soon followed, everyone hearing you in their horrified silence, and moving to act as you had all practiced in the evacuation drills that had started four days ago. There were about eight different contingencies and several ranks of command.

Yoongi’s hand slid around yours, fingers locking around your fingers, and he squeezed your hand slightly. “Assuming it’s contagious. How long do you think we can hold out against the majority of the population of the world being zombified?”

“I think we’re lucky if we last a month like this,” You replied quietly. “We have little fortification, a few sporadic ships that may or may not be able to provide us with help, and no signs of any government being able to assist those who have survived. We’re in a warmer climate, which probably isn’t helping, and we have no idea if this contagion can spread to or through animals.”

“And no way of finding out except through evidence.”

“Essentially,” You whispered, looking around the deck and checking the positions of the crew as they carefully surrounded the zombie to try and dispatch it—the storm not exactly helping matters. “Come on, Dobby.”

You both fell quiet as you watched the crew carefully, and successfully, dispatch the zombie, both breathing sighs of relief.

“The storm should let up soon,” Yoongi murmured.

You nodded, still watching the crew members to make sure they made it to safety.

A few minutes later the all-clear signal sounded over the P.A. system.

Yoongi tugged your hand lightly. “Come on. I need a break from everyone.”

“Then, go, I’ll cover for you.”

“Nah, I want you to come with me. You need a break from everyone’s expectations.” He squeezed your hand, and gently tugged you along.

“But, why do you want me with you?” You asked.

He huffed. “Because I do.”

“Okay,” You replied, still confused.

He led you to his cabin (which was one of the best) and locked the door. “So they don’t come barging in. They do that sometimes.”

You nodded, looking around the cabin casually, even though you knew what they looked like and had cleaned these rooms on more than one occasion.

“We were actually worried at first, because Hoseok gets seasick, but he’s being doing well. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that we’re on a ship.”

“And then a storm hits and you remember all of those movies and true stories about shipwrecks?”

He chuckled lightly. “Yeah. I don’t think I could face them all right now, especially since they’ll be figuring out that zombies can reach us out here. Let them think what they want about us not being around. Our video crew has been filming for posterity, and it’s exhausting. Who’s going to care about how we spent our days on this ship?”

“Well, if we survive, meaning the human race as a whole, I imagine one day they may use it to make a film about you,” You joked, watching the rain pelt the windows.

“You too.”

“Why would they care about an extra translator? No, I’d be cut out and replaced with a super-secret girlfriend love interest, who obviously is terrified and you would save her from the zombies, because the truth and accuracy are inconsequential, and what’s important is the story.”

“Not that you care,” He teased.

“No, never, why would I care. Like I said, I make for a boring story,” You waved it away. “Besides, their movie would probably have a better ending than what reality will give us.”

“Maybe not,” He whispered, also looking outside. “You’re looking at the worse situation, right?”

“Probably.”

“So, best situation is we’re able to survive. We get through this. We set up defenses and we help other people to defend themselves and join us in fighting against these zombies, and…yes, the world will be different, but it will still be here. I mean, there are people in all sorts of remote places in the world, and we hope they’ve been warned, but most of all, they’re there. They may be safe. And maybe some of the defenses of the different countries are still standing. Military bases, forts, bunkers…we have to believe that there is still hope out there. We just…don’t know how to gauge how much hope there is.”

You pulled out your phone, noticing that you still had a signal. Noticing that you had a notification. “We need to get you back to the other boys.”

“What?”

“Come on. We’re going to talk to your staff and get you set up for a live on YouTube.”

“You don’t really think that’s still—”

“I do.”

“Wait,” He pulled you to a stop and turned you toward him. “Explain.”

“You have over 50 million subscribers, and are one of the top boybands in the world. You go live, you might be able to help us figure out how many people are still out there. It might connect you guys back to your family. To the family of the staff. We might be able to get help with making our boat defensible, or we might be able to meet up with a naval vessel that has been unaffected. It’s a long shot, but any sort of chance is a chance we should take, right?”

His eyes widened, and he looked troubled, but he nodded. “Okay. Alright. But you should join us in the video as a proper translator.”

“No, you’ll be fine, we can write out a message for Namjoon to read or something. We can plan things out, what you guys say and all of that. If there are other people out there, members of army, maybe they could use a familiar face.”

He still held you in place. “Okay. Let me change.”

You nodded. “I’ll wait outside.”

He nodded, but didn’t let go. “Hey, y/n?”

“Yes?”

He smiled softly. “If we were destined to get stuck on this cruise ship, I’m glad destiny chose you to be here too.”

Your heart was pounding in your ears, and you felt too warm all over and you spluttered something out and darted out the door as your brain went into a complete meltdown.

“Playboy!” You mind screamed.

“Honeyboy!” Your fangirl screamed.

“BREATHE!” Your lungs shouted as you wheezed and slid down the wall of the hallway.

He came out a few minutes later, and looked at you slightly confused. “Um, why are you sitting on the floor? Did I take that long?”

“Nah, I’m just, you know, meditating,” You refused to meet his eyes because if you did you would start your freakout all over again. Stupid fangirl. It was the zombie apocalypse and all your brain was telling you was that he was glad you were there and he was looking at you and that he kept getting you alone and talking with you and….

And oh no. Oh no no.

Did he like you?

Zombies. Focus on the zombies.

He was holding your hand again.

Apparently, he’d messaged the other boys and they were already gathered and the staff were there setting things up, and you guessed the translator or Namjoon had told some of the crew what they were doing, because they were helping set up. And they were doing V-Live and YouTube at the same time.

You stayed behind the cameras with a small whiteboard to help when they got stuck and to give them further things to say in English to try and help.

You considered them having at least half a million views encouraging, but you could tell that even the BTS staff were disconcerted at the small number.

Eventually the boys were mostly just talking to continue it and reassure anyone that may be watching that for the moment they were safe, and that they hoped that everyone else was safe as well. That they hoped this would pass soon.

They talked about the food, Jungkook and Taehyung belted out a few bars of different songs at intervals, Hoseok did his best to be bright and hopeful, Seokjin and Jimin jokingly flirted with the camera, Namjoon made faces and cracked a joke or two, and Yoongi talked about the future. Yoongi talked about someday looking back on this, just as we look back, and being able to think of it as a historical event that the world conquered.

They had over four million viewers when they ran out of things to say and decided to end it.

“So, again, these videos are going to be posted as soon as possible, and we hope we can meet up with and help those who may be in similar situations, or maybe those who are trapped can get help through this. Even if we just brought a moment of happiness, we will find fulfillment in that. We love you, and hope to see you all again.”

Jungkook and Jimin were crying shortly after the cameras were off.

Hoseok hugged onto them, which prompted Taehyung to hug them as well.

Seokjin tugged the other two into their impromptu group hug.

You set aside the whiteboard and headed outside, the rain finally gone. It was lighter than before, and the sun was trying to peek through again. Not quite successful yet, but every here and there you could spot a beam of sunlight breaking through.

The waves were still pretty intense, but not as bad as they could have been given the storm.

And there were gulls.

Which meant the boat was close enough to a land mass that the birds could fly out.

You hurried up to the bridge, not bothering to ask permission. “How far are we from land?”

“Well, we’ve slowed down and drifted slightly off course, which may be a good thing, since that creature crawled aboard, but,” Cob gestured to the maps he was using. “According to radar and such, we should be able to see the island in about half an hour.”

“But if the zombie came from there, we could be in trouble.”

He grunted.

You sighed, staring out at the turbulent waters. “The island could only be so big, though, which means that if they did come from there, there couldn’t have been too many people there to begin with. Right?”

“Unless it came from one of the ships we were going to be meeting up with.”

“Are we going to die?”

“Not if I have any say in it.”

“Okay. Then we’ll circle around, do our best to fortify and defend the ship, and hope for the best.” You bit your lip. “Right?”

Cob placed an arm around your shoulders. “Take heart, lass. Do something fun, would you? It’s not the end of the world yet, and there’s plenty of daylight to be had. Why don’t you see if that cat-boy wants to go to the bush-whacked deck and splash some paint around. You can take the others there some other time, but he seems to help you lighten up.”

You were a little busy trying not to die from Cob calling Yoongi a cat-boy. “Yoongi. His name is Yoongi.”

“Right. Couldn’t recall. Lots of names to remember. But he reminded me of a cat. Not in a bad way—”

“I’m going to go paint in the bushwhack deck. Don’t expect anything pretty.”

“I don’t,” He laughed happily.

You weren’t sure you wanted to try and find Yoongi, so you resolved to go change into clothes you could paint in first.

“Hey.”

You jumped, squeaked, and lashed out—nearly missing Yoongi.

He looked at you with wide eyes, just sort of blinking while you processed everything that just happened.

“Hi. Sorry. Hi.” You covered your heart to make sure it was still inside of you.

“Where you off to?”

“Um, you know the deck that’s off-limits?”

He nodded, looking a little wary.

“That’s because it’s under renovation. So, the crew goes there to vent and get away from everyone else. So, I’m going to change into clothes that I don’t mind getting paint on, and I’m going to go have fun splashing paint on everything.”

“Ah.”

“Would you like to come with me?”

He glanced over to where the others were still gathered, contemplating it. “Just me.”

“You can tell them to sneak down at a later time.”

He nodded slowly, then more vigorously. “Okay. I’ll meet you down there in ten, and tell them to come down in an hour or something?”

“That works.” You smiled a bit. “See you there.”

He nodded again, leaned in and kissed your cheek, and then walked back toward the others.

Your brain short-circuited as you hurried to your room to change and go down to the deck to pull out the paint and brushes.

Yoongi didn’t say anything as he joined you, simply helped move the paints into the room you wanted to paint in. It was one of the rooms with windows, so it had some natural light. But it also still had a bed in it, so you had to cover that with the plastic tarps.

But Yoongi stopped you. “You rushed up to talk to the captain. What scared you?”

You shrugged slightly. “The seagulls.”

His eyebrows drew together. “Birds scare you?”

“The fact that they can only go so far from land without dying does,” You elaborated. “I just wanted to see if it was a fluke from a storm.”

“And?”

“We’re nearing the island. It will be visible in about an hour at the speed we’re going, which is the slowest speed possible.”

He nodded. “So the zombie may have come from there.”

“Possibly,” You whispered.

He swore, closing his eyes as he pulled you into a hug.

You froze for a moment, then relaxed into the hug, wrapping your arms around him as well.

“You wouldn’t be some insignificant side character, y/n,” He whispered. “You’d be the main character.”

“Yeah right,” You choked out.

He held you tighter. “You would. You definitely would. That would be the only way the movie would have any plot.”

He drew back, resting a hand on your cheek. “I would love to be your romantic interest in the movie too.”

“We’re facing the end of humanity.”

“Which is why it’s important,” He answered easily. “Which is why I want to tell you that I was interested in you from the day we met you on the docks. You’re intelligent, beautiful, and strong. Stronger than me, stronger than most people on this ship. Do you object to me being interested in you? The world has gone to hell, people won’t need a boyband when this is over. They’ll need farmers, builders, engineers, and families.”

“Families,” You repeated quietly.

He nodded, taking your hands. “Families. I can never leave the other boys, they’re my family, especially if my actual relatives….”

“I understand.”

“But…maybe we can live somewhere together. Near each other, but separated.”

“You understand I used to be an Army?” You double-checked.

He grinned, laughing. “Yeah. I knew it when you laughed at one of the jokes. Usually only army’s understand it. I think it’s sort of fitting.”

“I’ve got a concussion and I’m having a weird dream,” You said, closing your eyes because that was the only logical explanation.

Except he kissed you.

And dang was he a good kisser.

“GET AWAY FROM HER!”

You jumped, turning toward your fuming ex-boyfriend. “Oh my God, go away!”

“Take your hands off of my girl!” He bellowed at Yoongi.

YOongi frowned and pulled you closer. “What is he holding?”

You glanced down and realized it was some sort of pill bottle. “Oh my God…tell me those aren’t from—”

“It’s all a hoax, you’re doing this to try and torment me, right? I’ll prove my love for you is stronger than anything.”

“Don’t! Please don’t!” You started toward him, but it was too late.

You watched in horror as he downed several pills.

“There, see! I’m fine! It’s all a hoax so that these terrorists can take over!”

You choked a little. “You need to get those out of your system—now! Even if they don’t turn you, that’s enough to overdose!”

“I told you! I’m fine!” He yelled, but his voice had already started changing.

“We need to get out of here before he changes,” Yoongi whispered. “Windows?”

“Only if you want to go swimming,” You replied. “Grab the chair and throw it at him.”

“Uh….”

“Do it!” You ordered, hurrying to a paint can.

Your ex made an ungodly noise as the chair hit him and you were quick to follow, swinging the full paint can at his head with as much velocity as you could muster.

Yoongi grabbed your hand and both of you started sprinting away. “What do we do? If he goes up, he could run into any number of people?”

“We have to take care of it before he can fully change. We need a way to cut off his head.”

“I don’t suppose he’d hold still while we used a saw?”

“Probably not,” You answered, looking around as the two of you ran. Finally you spotted something useful. “Break in case of emergencies, right?”

Your ex made that ungodly screeching noise again, and his footsteps were unnaturally fast as they beat the ground behind you and Yoongi.

Yoongi hurried ahead and broke open the case with something he must have picked up, grabbing the ax.

You stopped to throw a piece of furniture in the zombie’s path, hoping it would slow him down or trip him up or anything that might give you the advantage.

The two of you darted upstairs after doing your best to block the door.

Then you took the ax. “Sound the alarm.”

He grabbed the handle of the ax. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Leading him away from the crowd. We don’t have time to debate—”

He took it and started running. “Sound the alarm. He’s focused on me.”

You looked after him in horror, then quickly started running toward the nearest place you could trigger an alarm, ducking into a room so that the zombie wouldn’t see you, holding your breath.

Finally, you could hear it going after Yoongi.

You signaled the bridge then hurried after them, looking for anything that would help along the way.

Only to see Yoongi barely holding the zombie off, even in the bright sunlight.

You went barreling into it, all while your mind screamed at you and tried to tell you to stop.

Or maybe that was Yoongi.

But it gave Yoongi the space and time to swing the ax, catching the zombie’s neck and knocking it back.

You grabbed a lifebuoy and pushed it over his head, trapping his arms. “Finish him!”

And Yoongi did, though you both stared in horror at the by-product of your battle.

You met his gaze, swallowing hard. “Is this a dream?”

He reached out and pulled you away from the body. “We need to wash the blood off. Come on.”

You were shaking all over, so it was a miracle you managed to walk without tripping.

Dobby and the others hosed both of you down, making sure the water sprayed straight off the deck, then went to clean things while the Bangtan staff brought both of you towels.

“How did that get onto the ship in broad daylight?” Cob asked, hurrying up.

You looked up at him. “It was Charlie.”

“Charlie let it get on the ship?”

“No,” You answered, confused. “That thing…was Charlie. He had pills. Pills from Biogene.”

“You should have let me throw him overboard,” He muttered, petting your head, and then physically maneuvering Yoongi to check him over. “Good. You look unhurt. Wouldn’t want to cut your head off too.”

Yoongi was just a little stunned.

“Get them out of this wind!” Lori huffed, glaring at everyone and then ushering the two of you inside and out of the wind. “You need to get into dry clothing, come on. You, you’re one of his brothers?”

The boys all froze.

She gently shoved Yoongi toward them. “Make sure he gets changed and tuck him in. Marta! Get soup to both rooms.”

You didn’t object to her manhandling, just accepting it because Lori could take you if she put her mind to it, and she was right there ready to take you.

She bundled you in blankets after helping you change into dry clothing, scolded Marta for taking so long bringing the soup, and she force-fed you the soup.

When she had done that, you knew it was time to push a bit.

“I need to go talk to him,” You whispered, ignoring the trembling of your hands and the comforting call of your bed.

Lori looked you in the eye, evaluating you, then nodded. “Let me fix your hair.”

You nodded and let her work, not even checking her work before you and your blanket wrap were heading to Yoongi’s room.

His door was open, and the others were there, but he saw you, and he pushed himself up.

The others glanced over to see what had caught his attention, then seemed to all find an excuse to leave the two of you alone.

You wandered over to the bed as the boys left.

Yoongi looked up at you, eyes sad. “Are you okay?”

You shrugged, slowly sitting on the edge of the bed. “I now know that my instincts to survive are strong enough to kill someone that I know once they’ve turned. So…I’m dealing with that.”

He shuddered and reached out, pulling you down into his arms. “We did what was necessary for the survival of everyone else on this ship.”

“How many friends are we going to lose because of all of this?”

He shook his head. “Let’s not go there.”

You turned your head into his shoulder, fighting back the tears. You had to separate moments out by mere seconds: him kissing you, a moment, and then your ex turning into a zombie. There was a moment in there, that you wished you could imagine was longer.

His fingers stroked your hair lightly, then rested on your back. “But you know…I think we’re going to be just fine. We definitely need more weapons, but I think we’ll make it.”

“You know something I don’t?”

He nodded. “While we were downstairs, a naval vessel contacted the captain. They’re about a day away from us.”

“They know the zombies can swim?”

“They do. And they’ve checked all quarters and removed all Biogene products. They had a small issue at the beginning, but they’ve got it under control now. They’re going to meet with us, and we’re going to work together. They had some civilians that they rescued, and not enough beds, so we’ll take some of their civilians, and perhaps some of their soldiers.”

“And the government?”

“It’s…sort of functioning. Multiple ones are functioning on a…mild capacity. Enough to try and organize their military to reclaim lands.”

“So, where are we being escorted?”

“I don’t know. That’s about all the information that was received, I guess. I’m sure we’ll find out more when we meet up. But…it’s good, right? That we’re able to meet up with a naval vessel?”

You nodded. “As long as we don’t get overrun by zombies tonight.”

“What a bright side,” He chuckled, lightly stroking your back. “Y/n.”

You relaxed at the gentle tone in which he said your name.

“Whatever happens, let’s make it through this together? I don’t have too many skills that are usable outside of music, but I’ll do whatever it takes to take care of you?”

You peeked up at him. “Are you sure?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I’m sure. I might be relying on you, though.”

You wrapped your arms around him. “That’s fine. I can handle that. If you’re okay with me falling apart now and than.”

“I’ll try and hold you together,” He replied, squeezing you. “We’ve got a couple hours of daylight. Want to nap?”

You pushed yourself fully onto the bed and let him help you under the covers. “Yeah, okay. I could sleep.”

He smiled, taking your hand as you both lay on your sides, facing one another. “Sweet dreams, y/n.”

“Sweet dreams,” You whispered back, still studying him with your eyes half-closed.

If you could make it to safety, then spending your life with him would be great. Better than great.

“Don’t let the zombies bite,” He murmured, smiling slightly at the teasing, and the way you swatted him.

Then you let the subtle sway of the ship rock you into sleep next to the man you just might love.

#yoongi #btswritingbingo #min yoongi #yoongi x reader #min yoongi x reader #suga x reader #zombie!au #zombie au #zombie apocolypse au #bts fic #suga #namjoon #jungkook #seokjin #hoseok #jimin #taehyung

[babygirlizz]

izzie’s favorite movies and tv shows of 2020 (aka the worst year ever)

another year, another movie and tv show review. this year has, to put it simply, sucked. 2020 has been so terribly awful that sometimes the only light you can see are the absolute bangers of movies and tv shows that came out this year. with that being said, some of the movies and tv shows didn't come out in 2020. if the are mentioned in this post it is because they either: had a season come out this year, i found them this year, or they became popular this year.

SPOILERS: it may not come as a surprise but just in case you didn't realize, there will be many spoilers ahead, read at your own risk.

tw // death, suicide, drug use, mild adult language. if any of these things might trigger you, i strongly urge you not to read this post.

there is no specific order of these shows and movies, i'm just writing as they come to mind. if you enjoy any of these movies or tv shows, or if you have any suggestions for me, please let me know!

TV SHOWS

1) Santa Clarita Diet

Okay, so I know this show doesn't have anything to do with 2020. But, I found this show in 2020. I put it off for a while, thinking it wasn't my style of a show, but boy was I wrong. I loved this show. Sheila Hammond (Drew Barrymore) is a normal suburban wife and mom. She is a real estate agent with her husband Joel (Timothy Olyphant). She struggles with the fact that she isn't very adventurous. This all changes when she throws up an insane amount at a house showing. She then finds herself craving adventure, and craving human flesh. Yeah, she's a zombie. Not only is this show super hilarious, but it also shows the growth that they have with their characters and their family. I'm also team Abby (Liv Hewson) and Eric (Skyler Gisondo).

2) Outer Banks

So, I'm from NC. And, watching this show at first bothered me because I can very obviously tell this show isn't actually filmed in the obx, and the geography isn't exact, but once I got past that, I loved it. John B (Chase Stokes) is a teenager that lives in the poor side of the outer banks. He has a friend group called the Pogues which consists of JJ (Rudy Pankow), Pope (Jonathan Daviss), and Kie (Madison Bailey). They absolutely hate the Kooks, which are the rich kids. A while after John B's dad gets lost at sea, presumed dead, the group finds some evidence that may solve the mystery, and make them rich. In the process, John B falls in love with a Kook names Sarah (Madelyn Cline) whose father Ward (Charles Esten) may have a little more to do with the mystery than he let on. Through friendship, murder, and secrets, the gang may just figure out what happened to John B's dad.

3) Love, Victor

Alright. I loved loved loved Love, Simon. I also really loved the book "Simon vs. the Homosapien Agenda." So, when I heard about this show, I was so excited. Victor (Michael Cimino) is a teenage boy that moved to Creekwood with his family. He meets Felix (Anthony Turpel) who lives in his building. He also meets Mia (Rachel Hilson) and they begin dating. But, he also meets Benji (George Sear). While trying to get used to a new school, new friends, and a new relationship, Victor finds himself questioning his sexuality. With the help of Simon (Nick Robinson) and his friends, Victor finds it in himself to finally come out, and he admits his feelings, for Benji. This is such a good show, but I was so upset when season 1 ended on a cliff-hanger.

4) The Haunting of Bly Manor

The sequel to The Haunting of Hill House. Now listen, haunting of hill house was an absolute banger. When I saw that Bly came out I nearly died. I was so excited. But, I was alone in my apartment and also a lil bitch. So, I had to wait a week until I was home with my family to watch it. Now, I was so excited to be scared, and there were a few jump scares and ominous moments, but this season was more centered around the story line of Dani Clayton (Victoria Pedretti) and her new life in a foreign country. When seeing an ad for a live in job as an au pair. When she gets there, she meets the two young children she’ll be looking out for and the other workers of the house, including the gardener, Jamie (Amelia Eve). Throughout her stay at Bly she begins to notice weird behaviors from both children and by the end of the series she sacrifices herself for the children. Sadly, this story is being told by Jamie who Dani had fallen in love with during her stay at Bly. Now I was somewhat upset about the lack of horror, but was still very intrigued and drawn in by this series.

5) Julie and the Phantoms

Alright, at first I was not gonna watch this show. I thought it looked a little too young and childish for me, but everyone was talking about it on twitter so I had to. I. Love. This. Show. This show centers around Julie (Madison Reyes). Julie is a teenage girl who, sadly, lost her mother. The one major thing she shared with her mom, was their love for music. Since her mothers passing, she gave up music. This is until, dead musicians from the 90′s show up in her garage. Luke (Charlie Gillespie), Alex (Owen Joyner), and Reggie (Jeremy Shada) all tragically passed away in the 90′s after eating bad street hotdogs. When Julie finds their CD in her garage, she decides to play it and they come back in ghost form. But, only she can see them. With their help, she finds her confidence to play music again. Also, she has to find away for them to stay because they’re slowly disappearing. 

6) Derry Girls

Bitch. I love this show. And yeah it didn’t come out in 2020. Shut up. I found this show recently after watching the cast on the holiday special of the Great British Baking Show. I loved the actors so I had to watch the show. This show focuses on Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson) a 16 year old girl that lives in Derry, Northern Ireland in the 90′s. Alongside her is her cousin Orla (Louisa Harland), her two friends Clare (Nicola Coughlan) and Michelle (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell), and Michelle’s English cousin James (Dylan Llewellyn). During these years, a lot of people in Ireland struggled, especially because it was during wartime. Even thought this show isn’t focused heavily around the war, it’s amazing to see these teens live a fulfilling life while struggling with the state of their country, and the lack of money that their families have. 

7) Elite

HA. This show did have a season in 2020 so leave me alone. But bro, I love this show. At first, I didn’t watch it because I thought I could only watch the dubbed version in English, which I hate. I hate dubbed shows they look so weird. But, once I found out I could watch this show in Spanish, I fell in love. But, sadly, theres too damn much to talk about in one little post. It’s crazy. But basically it just follows the lives of teens in high school that are trying to survive. And no, not in the “I’m surviving high school,” sense. No, people be getting murdered. 

MOVIES (tbh i didn’t find a lot of movies good this year lmk which movies u liked this year and maybe i’ll like them!)

1) All the Bright Places

After the death of her sister, Violet (Elle Fanning) is devastated. She closes herself off, and has her parents get her out of doing school work that involves working with others. But, as time goes on, they realize she may need to start to move on. Violet then meets Finch (Justice Smith) who is enamored by Violet. He suggests they do a project together. While finding and visiting some of the smallest wonders of their state, they begin to fall for each other. While you are focusing on Violet and her mental health, you tend to miss some of the signs that Finch’s mental health isn’t great either, but by the time you do, it could be too late. 

2) Dangerous Lies

Hmm. This was weird for me. I had only ever seen Camila Mendes in Riverdale, and honestly, not a fan. So, Katie (Camila Mendes) and her husband Adam (Jessie T. Usher) are struggling with money. Katie decides to take a job working for an elderly man, and eventually gets her husband hired there as well. Unfortunately, he dies, but for some odd reason, leaves the house and all of his fortune, to Katie. As they get comfortable in the house, they begin to uncover some very weird and dangerous lies. 

3) The Devil All the Time

Ok. Iconic. You got so many hot men in this movie. Bill Skarsgård, Sebastian Stan, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson. C’mon now. That’s crazy. But, this story is so long and in depth that I wouldn’t even know where to begin. This movie is a bit disturbing. It involves murder, sexual assault, killing of animals, and so much more so if that’s an issue for you please do not watch this movie. It was also quite long, but it was still good.

4) After We Collided

Okay just listen. I was that teenager. I read wattpad stories and was, embarrassingly, addicted to After. This was not a great movie per say, but it was After. This is a sequel to the movie After. This movie centers around Tessa (Josephine Langford) and her recovery after her breakup with Hardin (Hero Fiennes Tiffin). Theres sex, alcohol, bad acting. The whole nine-yards. But c’mon, they’re so cute together.

5) To All the Boys p.s. I Still Love You

Okay it was a good movie. I enjoyed it. This movie focuses on Lara Jean (Lana Condor) and her boyfriend Peter (Noah Centineo) and their relationship post the first movie. But of course relationships aren’t super steady, and John Ambrose McClaren (Jordan Fisher) shows up. Yeah, John Ambrose, from her letter. They become closer and Lara Jean has to decide who she wants to be with. Spoiler, it’s Peter. BOOOOOOO justice for John Ambrose McClaren, he deserved better. 

#santa clarita diet #outer banks #john b #jj maybank #pope #kie #obx #love victor #victor x benji #the haunting of bly manor #dani x jamie #julie and the phantoms #julie x luke #charlie gillespie #jeremy shada #owen joyner #derry girls #erin x james #elite #ander x omar #nadia x guzman #all the bright places #dangerous lies #the devil all the time #tom holland #sebastian stan #robert pattinson #bill skasgård #after we collided #hero fiennes tiffin

[russianwave]

Hey, I thought I would compile a selection of different resources dedicated to learning the Russian language. Feel free to reblog and add your own

Information about the language

Russian Language on Wikipedia

Russian Language on BBC

Russian Language on Encyclopaedia Britannica 

Russian Language on Real Russia

Books

I have a masterlist of different Russian language textbooks for all levels, as well as general Russian literature and Russian magazines for reading practice. It contains over 60,000 books and over 4,000 magazines

Children’s Books in Russian

Project Gutenberg Free Russian Books

Courses - Note that not all of these courses are free. 

Lingvist (comes with a 2-week free trial, and by far my favourite course)

Duolingo  (Joining with this link automatically adds me as a friend)

Busuu 

I Kinda Like Languages Russian Course

Learn Russian with RT (The audio files no longer work but there’s a lot of great resources that work)

Live Lingua Russian Tutors (Not a course as such, but a way to get a Tutor. You can get a free hour lesson)

Russian for Everyone

Russian for Free 

RussianLessons

Russian Made Easy

Way To Russia 

Russky

Lingodeer

Между нами

MasterRussian

Я говорю по-русски/ I speak Russian

Русский как иностранный: B1+. Russian as a foreign language: B1+

Русский как иностранный: B1+. Часть 2. Russian as a foreign language. B1+. Part 2.

Русский как иностранный B2-1 / Russian As a Foreign Language B2-1

Русский язык как иностранный B2-2 / Russian as a Foreign Language B2-2

A1 Elementary Russian Course with Pushkin Institute

A2 Basic Russian Course with Pushkin Institute

B1 I Certified Russian Course with Pushkin Institute

B2 II Certified Russian Course with Pushkin Institute

C1 III Certified Russian Course with Pushkin Institute

C2 IV Certified Russian Course with Pushkin Institute

Beginner Russian Course / Курс России языка для начинающих

Intermediate Russian Course / Курс России языка среднего уровня

Russian Grammar Course / Курс грамматики России языка

Russian Course for Travelers / Курс России языка для путешественников

From Zero to Fluency Youtube Course

Start Speaking Russian Youtube Course

Russian Reading Youtube Course

Learn Russian Alphabet

Russian (Kazakhstan) Peace Corps Course

FSI Russian Course

Learn Russian

Yes Russian

Polymath

Learnalanguage

Ready Russian

Simplang

Russian Learning Reddit

Learn With Oliver

Memrise is a great resource as it has Memrise courses and user-created courses. These are the official Russian courses if you go through them one by one they amount to approximately 54 hours of content. The thing I like about Memrise is they test you on your pronunciation, and they have lots of videos by Russian native speakers. So it really tests you in all your skills.

Russian 1 by Memrise

Russian 2 by Memrise

Russian 3 by Memrise

Russian 4 by Memrise

Russian 5 by Memrise

Russian 6 by Memrise

Russian 7 by Memrise

These are some unofficial Russian Memrise courses you might like too. Although they tend to not have audio and they don’t have pronunciation tests or native speaker videos, they can still be a good resource.

Learn Basic Russian 

Top 10,000 words part one 

Top 10,000 words part two

Russian Grammar through Exercises

Assimil Russian

New Penguin Russian Course Vocabulary 

Vocabulary resources

Anki

Word Reference

Ba Ba Dum

L-Lingo

Russian Swadesh list

English terms derived from Russian

Wikipedia Russian Topics (Click on different topics then click on different words for their English translation and meaning)

Russian Idioms

Russian Proverbs

Russian Similies

20,000-word Frequency dictionary of the modern Russian language (the Russian National Corpus)

Russian spelling alphabet

Russian Frequency lists/1-1000

Russian Frequency lists/1001-2000

Russian Frequency lists/2001-3000

Russian Frequency lists/3001-4000

Russian Frequency lists/4001-5000

Russian Adjectives - Frequency List

Russian Nouns - Frequency List

Russian Verbs - Frequency List

Russian palindromes

Russian Pronouns

Alpha Dictionary

Dubbed Russian Songs (Russian songs with Russian lyrics alongside transliteration and English translation. They also accept requests)

Clozemaster (I’d say this is more for intermediate-advanced, but beginners might make use of this as well)

Vikida Children’s Encyclopedia (Entirely in Russian)

Russian for Children by Pushkin Institute (Entirely in Russian) This actually contains resources for 5+ to 18+ so it covers a broad range of levels

Slow Russian Podcast

Slow Russian Youtube

Beginning Russian through Film

Amazing Russian Youtube

Bab.La English - Russian Dictionary

Grammar

Grammar Exercises Youtube Playlist

MasterRussian

Online Interactive Grammar 

Learn Russian Grammar Tables

Russian Grammar Youtube

Russificate

Conjugation Tool

Russian Grammar

Russian News Sites

Russia Today (In Russian) / Russia Today (in English) (They also have a whole database of documentaries/shows/films that are in English or Russian. Just click on a show here and it’ll give you the option to watch in English or Russian) 

The Moscow Times (In Russian) / The Moscow Times (In English) (They have free English PDFs of past print publications too)

Tass Russian News Agency (In Russian) / Tass Russian News Agency (In English)

Moskovskij Komsomolets (Московский комсомолец) (only available in Russian)

Komsomolskaya Pravda (Комсомо́льская пра́вда) (only available in Russian)

Izvestia (ɪzˈvʲestʲɪjə) (Only available in Russian)

Rossiyskaya Gazeta (Российская газета) (Only available in Russian)

Kommersant (Коммерса́нтъ) (Only available in Russian)(There is also a UK news website entirely in Russian)

Trud (Tpyд) (Only available in Russian)

Moskovskiye Novosti (Московские новости) (Only available in Russian)

Nezavisimaya Gazeta (Независимая газета) (Only available in Russian)

Novye Izvestia (Новые Известия) (Only available in Russian)

Vedomosti (Ведомости) (Only available in Russian)

Pravda Правда (Only available in Russian)

Delovoy Peterburg Деловой Петербург (Only available in Russian)

RBC daily (Only available in Russian)

Sport Express (Спорт-Экспресс) (Only available in Russian)

Sovetsky Sport (Советский спорт) (Only available in Russian)

Russia Beyond The Headlines (In Russian) / Russia Beyond The Headlines (In English)

Krasnaya Zvezda (Кра́сная звезда́) (Only available in Russian)

Moskovskaya Pravda (Московская правда) (Only available in Russian)

Argumenty i Fakty (Аргументы и факты) (Only available in Russian)

Sovetsky Sakhalin (Советский Сахалин) (Only available in Russian)

Tyumenskaya Oblast Segodnya (Only available in Russian)

Vecherniy Murmansk (Вечерний Мурманск) (Only available in Russian)

Vecherniy Novosibirsk (Вечерний Новосибирск) (Only available in Russian)

Vecherniy Stavropol (Вечерний Ставрополь) (Only available in Russian)

Novaya Gazeta (Новая газета) (Only available in Russian)

Novgorod (Новгород) (Only available in Russian)

Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti (Санкт-Петербургские ведомости) (Only available in Russian)

Literaturnaya Gazeta (Литературная газета) (Only available in Russian)

Parlamentskaia Gazeta (Парламентская газета) (Оnly available in Russian)

Meduza (In Russian) / Meduza (In English)

Please note that sites listed do not equal an endorsement. I don’t know the political background or views of each of these publications. I’m merely compiling a variety I saw through various Russian news lists and search engine results. Content warnings may apply and not all content may be suitable for minors

Listening practice (Note, I may make another masterlist compiling various Russian podcasts and Youtube channels so I’m leaving them out of this section)

LibriVox

Listeningpractice.org

Slavic Languages and Cultures Department, University of Groningen Listen to the Slavic languages

Audio Lingua

Learn Russian with Peppa Pig

Forvo

StarMediaEN (Russian shows, documentaries etc with English subtitles)

Russian Films With English Subtitles Youtube Playlist

Alosha (Алёша Попович и Тугарин Змей) Children’s Film

Dobrynya and the Dragon (Добрыня Никитич и Змей Горыныч) Children’s Film

Ilya Muromets and Sparrow the Robber (Илья Муромец и Соловей Разбойник) Children’s film

How Not to Rescue a Princess (Три Богатыря и Шамаханская Царица) Children’s Film

Russian Animation (Mixture of dubbed content and subtitled content)

Киноконцерн "Мосфильм" (Moscow Film, only some of these are subtitled)

фильмы о Холмсе и Ватсоне (Movies about Sherlock Holmes with Russian audio and English subtitles)

Okay, so this list has gotten long enough lol. If you have any resources you feel should be added feel free to reblog and add them or message me and I’ll edit it in. If you have any requests for resource compilations that you want me to do (e.g. compiling Russian podcasts, general Russian websites, Russian YouTubers etc) please let me know. 

#Russia #Russian Language #Langblr #Studyblr #Russian langblr