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imagine-loki · 4 years

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Pride and Prejudice

TITLE: Pride and Prejudice CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 47 AUTHOR: wolfpawn

ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki was raised on Jotunheim as Laufey’s son after the war, but an agreement was then made that he would wed Odin’s daughter so Odin could secure the alliance of Jotunheim through the marriage. Loki, in turn, was raised to be king of Jotunheim, but how he views Asgard is far different from how Odin’s daughter is raised leading to a clash of cultures as well as uncertainty between the pair of betrothed youths. RATING: Mature NOTES/WARNINGS: Forced Marriage, not all fun and games. My first real step back into the Loki scene in over a year.

Tags - @skulliebythesea @asimovethroughthisworld @blackcherry26-blog @we-shadowhunter2901

Ella paced as she thought over everything. Laufey began to get tired even looking at her. “If I may?” she began.

“I fear you forget you were told all this specifically for your input,” Loki chuckled.

“We need to make it that none question the situation. That as far as the house of Laufey is concerned, there is this and only this and all stand behind it.” She inhaled deeply. “All within it.” “My brothers…”

“No, Loki, not just them.” She gave him an awkward look.

“No.” He realised what she was referencing. “She’d never…” “So long as there is even a single scent of an alternative or uncertainty, some will argue, some will argue regardless but if there is even one possible chance of causing unrest, then there are some that will exploit such. We stand united, then none can try and do so. We get her in line, we rally together and we remain a strong single unit. No in-fighting, no weaknesses.” “How will that help?” Laufey asked, not out of dismissiveness but interest. “You see my father’s house, is there any weakness in it?” “None.” “No, because he never permitted it. Thor’s rages, my father’s Odinsleeps, they were not allowed be perceived as weaknesses, we stood as one. Behind closed doors, matters could be different, my father incandescent with rage at my brother’s stupidity and actions, my mother’s terrible fretting for my father’s health, but none outside can know those times, not in court and especially in the realms of our enemies, for they will be like carrion to a dying animal, circling, ready to feast on you as soon as you are too weak to fight back. We always stood as one in it.” Arden, Loki and Laufey looked at her with uncertainty. “I will not take offence if you think this too much. I merely wish to answer your question as best I can.”

“It is something we must consider,” Laufey stated. “If for nothing more than to deal with this situation. With two mates carrying and possibly a third, the house must ensure to be as safe as possible at this time.”

Loki nodded slightly. He was unsure of what to think. There was a considerable chance that Angrboða would be unhappy that of the mates, she could potentially be the only one not carrying a child, he knew that had a risk of her being even more sour, when she and his brothers and their other mates would learn of Ella’s condition and how soon their child would arrive, there could be animosity, there may be no issue, he simply could not tell and that was concerning. It was usually seen as nothing to be upset by, being a non-carrying mate, so often they were the one to assist and were integral to the raising of the offspring, but it was not in keeping with the coldness she had shown of late, Loki was unsure if she would be in any manner of use to Alma, much less Ella, who he knew she would rather walk over hot coals than assist, and with the manner that Ella was speaking, it was clear that Greta and she were close, so if Greta also carried, he knew there was a significant chance that Angrboða would interpret that as Greta choosing Ella’s “side” over hers. He could see this going very wrong indeed. “It will not be easy.”

“The truest path rarely is,” Ella commented. “You are best suited to the role of King of your generation of your family, there can be none of full mind that could argue such but to some, blood means more than mind and that is what we need to focus on, not letting such talk take too much hold because if it does, it does no one any favours.”

Laufey listened for a few moments, contemplating her words and indeed everything that had been said as well as his own thoughts. “Arden?” The advisor looked at him. “Have Helbindi, Greta, Býleistr, Alma and Angrboða sent for, we deal with this now.” “Yes, My King.” He did as instructed and had the king’s other sons and their mates sent for.

“Father?” Loki was unsure of it all. “We need this sorting immediately. I cannot rest without it being so. Ella, get yourself a seat, that child must be starting to weigh on you.” “He is resting contently, My King, and I am thankfully of good health to continue standing through anything I am required to at present, so if you do not take offence, I would rather remain standing for now.” Laufey chuckled slightly, knowing that little would convince Ella to do something she deemed unnecessary. “I am curious, without the Soul Forge the Allfather trusts so greatly, how have you come to assume it to be male?” “We have seen him.” Laufey found himself frowning at his son for his statement. “She has used her seidr to show him to us and he is male, I assure you.” Laufey could only smile proudly. “Such fine news. A female child would not be unwelcome either, mind.”

“Going by the gender statistics, more than a few females are required to continue Jotunheim’s new prosperity. I have read…” Ella’s statement was cut short as the door to the room opened and Býleistr and his mates entered.

For a moment, Býleistr looked worried but seeing the manner in which his father was seated and how Loki and Ella were standing, he became uneasy. “Father? What is this?” “We will speak when Helbindi and Greta arrive.” Was all his father gave him in response.

Alma and Angrboða looked around worriedly also. It was most irregular for a mate to be brought in on such meetings but it was clear all were to be involved in this one. When finally, a tired-looking Helbindi and a somewhat confused Greta joined them, everyone was looking around with expectation.

“Please don’t tell me there’s another war, I am going back to bed if there is.” Helbindi pleaded.

“No, there is not,” Laufey assured him, “After one war, many realms like to regroup before beginning the next. No, we need to discuss a matter of importance to Jotunheim.” Helibindi and Býleistr looked at one another, then to Loki, who clearly knew what was afoot. “I am stepping down as King.” “What?”

“How?” Laufey raised his hand, silencing his youngest and oldest sons. “I am stepping down whilst I still live. I am too weary for this, I have done so in all but name already. I cannot hold court for any notable length of time any longer and I cannot spend the last of my life like this. I want to rest before I die.” “But...we don’t...has this ever been done?” Helbindi asked.

“Not that we know, but Father insists on doing so,” Loki stated calmly. “I tried to talk him out of it but he will not be swayed.” “Some will think this a bad idea, Father.” Býleistr declared. “Some will think it too soon.” “I know, but that begs the question, if I died tomorrow, would they think it too soon then?” “You would be dead, that alters things.” “It alters little. I am not fit for my station any longer. Be reasonable, what does it say for Jotunheim as a realm if the one who presides over it is a decrepit old Jotunn? What images does that portray of us over the realms? This is a realm that is about to see an explosion of youth, vivacity, growth and renewal, you cannot have an old being stand over that, the realm must be portrayed as it has to be.”

Býleistr and Helbindi did not argue that. There was no manner to argue such. “So, Loki takes the throne, why does this involve us all being here?” Helbindi asked. “I will not deny that being told in advance and not hearing it in the throne room without warning is nice, but our mates too? Why?” “Because you were not in the throne room yesterday, and as such, you are not aware of something that we are.” Laufey began. “There was a filthy lie circulated by Kristoff, do you recall him?” His sons nodded. “He and another circulated a rumour that your brother’s mate was disloyal to him in his absence.” Automatically, both Jotunns looked to their own mates, hurt at such an accusation. “No, not your mates, your brother’s,” Laufey clarified. Both then looked to Ella, who was somewhat grateful that neither seemed to think her capable of such a thing. Seeing the look on her face, they knew that there was no truth in the words. “She proved them to be nothing more than lies in mere moments, it is a pity you were not there, she tore Kristoff to strips, it was quite amusing. But that in itself is not the issue, what is was the manner in which he spoke, most concerningly, with regards bloodlines, specifically, Loki’s.”

Both Býleistr and Helbindi found themselves reacting to that news in anger. They always joked with Loki on his mixed heritage meaning that he was slightly shorter and had hair as opposed to their standard Jotnar appearance but it was only ever in jest and they never allowed others speak down of their brother in their presence. “And?” Though Býleistr and Loki’s relationship was strained as a result of everything with Angrboða, Býleistr knew his Loki to be the only one of the three of them suited to the role of King, he had spoken many times with Helbindi on the matter, both hated the idea of being king, they were not of the mind and were entirely happy to serve their brother, knowing that he would listen to them when they would suggest matters and that he would never dismiss them from the home they knew their entire lives.

“We are concerned that any show of doubt amongst this house in its entirety would cause issues moving forward,” Laufey explained. “I don’t follow, Father,” Helbindi confessed. “Why would there be doubt?” “With me?” Býleistr felt a terrible strike to himself at that statement. “That I would betray us?” He thought of his time on the battlefield, his time before he left, how his guilt at loving his new mate had caused such consternation with his brother and how he thought they could move past it with everything, but instead, it was now that even their father did not trust him.

“No, my son,” Laufey ensured he made that clear immediately. “Nothing of the sort. I merely wanted you all here so that we are all able to air any grievances we have because come my announcement, we must stand as one, this whole house.”

Býleistr looked at Loki, who nodded. “I told you, after the war, I am not having anything so petty take up my time. Now, I have even more to consider, meaning I have even less time to worry about such things. You are my brother, you are one of the best fighters on our realm and you are the most learned on our military history, I can think of no place I would want you but by my side in this, especially with the transition over of the reign.”

That caused Býleistr to feel better, seeing his brother to truly mean it. “I will do all I can for Jotunheim, I always said that but understand that I also wish to assist Alma through carrying our child, that is all I ask, to be given the chance to be able to assist my mate. I assume you already know that she is carrying through your own mate as I am informed that she knows.”

“Yes, I gave him a slight rundown of everything in your time gone. I did so with Alma’s permission, as of course, you are aware.” Ella smiled. “It is a good reason to do all of this right now, with the current number of child-bearing Jotnar, we need to make sure everything is as smooth as possible for the new generation and their parents for when they come, it is only a few short years to such.”

“Then I guess if none can change Father’s mind and this is going to happen, we organise ourselves and ready for the madness that is going to be Loki’s reign,” Helbindi joked.

“Like you could do better.” Loki scoffed in return.

“Hey, I already said, do you know that Midgardian empire, Roman, I would have it like that.” He declared proudly.

“You are aware there is a saying on Midgard about something entirely insane and falling down around you, society breaking apart is to be likened to the final days of the Roman Empire, don’t you?” Ella asked, recalling the empire in question and its implosion.

“That was the best part of it, one emperor tried to make his horse a member of his council.” Though Ella could not agree that it was a good idea, it was clear Helbindi did actually know something of the era he referenced so she could only laugh in reply.

“Now that is sorted, I need to ask all four mates, do any of you have an issues you wish to voice? For after today, any regarding the matters discussed today will be seen as purposely siding against us all and will not be taken well. We as a house must be one, even when we do not always agree.”

There was no denying every eye on the room was on Angrboða, who saw fit to glare at Ella, who in turn merely stood forward. “Hate me, loathe me, be indifferent of me, I could not care less which you choose, but after today, come any reasonable request made by the new King, you do not stand against him on it lest you wish to embarrass this house, which I know you do not wish to do, or indeed his brother, your mate, which we all know you would never wish to do.”

“Reasonable request?” Býleistr questioned.

“Well, if Loki were to demand you and Helbindi go and live on Muspelheim or massacre all male born children or some other utter mad idea, I would expect you to at the very least question him as to why he would order such things, but if he were to say to check on the Western lands of Jotunheim as there seems to be some discord there, I would think it a fair request, would you not? You would not deny such a reasonable thing, would you?”

“You speak too much as one who acts like she has any standing in it, like you know so much,” Angrboða snapped.

“And you speak as one who merely wishes to incite anger whilst never truly adding anything to a discussion.” Ella retorted. “I speak because I was asked to assist with this, when I was informed of my mate’s ascension to the throne earlier, I remained silent. I also need you to say what needs saying now and not any time after this so that we can ensure the wellbeing of the realm going forward.” She walked towards Angrboða with her shawl still warmly around her shoulders and blocking her pregnant stomach from view. “I know you feel attacked by this and I know you feel cornered. If we are all honest, it is you and your anger at myself and Loki that is the biggest concern moving forward, to say anything else would be a barefaced lie and if you would cause no issue, then it is an unwarranted concern on our behalfs and that is not fair on you but we need to know that the whole house will stand together and that includes in defence of you should it ever be required.”

“I will never require your help.”

“We saw how long eight months can be, or indeed, you and Alma only had seven months without Býleistr, so do not say with such certainty that you will never require such. Seven months is a long time, not much shy of four thousand years is far far longer. But I will stand in your corner for that time, so long as we all remain as one unit throughout.”

Angrboða was uncertain of what to say. She was by no means unintelligent, she knew that to decline Ella’s offer would be met with anger and was nothing short of a declaration that she was a liability to the House of Laufey. She had truly cared for Loki and his casting her aside for the ugly Aesir caused her immense pain but she could not allow her chance to remain with the mate she now had and the company in Alma, who she did truly like also to be taken from her because of the aesir she rarely saw. One glance at Býleistr and Alma told her that they were both pleading for her to cease her sniping at Ella, accept what was being said and get back to their own little area of the palace and continue with their own happy lives. For a moment, she looked at Loki, noting the indifference in his features. For a time after she declared she would no longer allow herself come second to the Aesir he had been assigned as a mate and especially when Loki had found out that she had bonded with Býleistr, she had seen forlornness, heartache and sadness in his features, now she only saw indifference. If anything, he seemed displeased at her even being so close to his mate, like he did not want her to even be in her presence. She did not need to look at Laufey, she knew well that the King disliked her beyond words for her actions with Býleistr and Loki and that the Aesir mate of his second son held a place in his heart she would do well not to upset. She finally looked at Ella again, who seemed all but voicing her attempts to have Angrboða agree with her. “I will never stand against my mate or this house, regardless of my personal opinion of some in it.” “Then it is settled.” Laufey rose to his feet. “I will announce it tomorrow, so everyone is to be in the throne room for it, no excuses and no being late.”

He left the room leaving his sons and their mates standing there, Arden looking amongst them all as he did so. “Now, we best prepare everything,” He urged.

“Yes,” Loki nodded. “We will ready ourselves now so that our night is not taken over with this.” He looked over to Ella. “I am sure you can think of a thousand aspects to this that none other can.”

“I never actually assisted in a coronation before,” She confessed. “My parents have protocols in place for if my father was to fall into a permanent Odinsleep and my brother was to take the throne to assist the transition for when such a mournful time is to come but actually doing one, I have not planned or bore witness to, but I know some aspects and I will endeavour to assist as best I can. I am sure whilst you deal with official matters, Alma, Greta, Angrboða and I can organise a few things between us?”

“Please, there is much to be done.” Arden gave her a list which consisted of many different duties.

“Norns, you men may see your beds tonight but I fear you will be alone in them with this list.” She scanned through it, allowing it to be altered in angle as Greta came over to read it too. “Easy knowing they left the real work to the more capable sex.” She handed the list to Alma who, along with Angrboða, read through it. “Well, the sooner we start, the sooner we are done. We will be in the old meeting room to the back.”

“That was the old war meetings room,” Helbindi informed her. “From, you know…” “Considering that if any bother us outside of providing us with something we requested or food, there will be war, I think it apt.” She walked off without another word, the other mates following her as she did, Greta smirking whilst she did so.

“Something is different in your mate,” Býleistr noted to Loki. “She seems more...abrupt.”

“I can’t believe Kristoff was so stupid as to accuse your mate of being disloyal,” Helbindi scoffed. “How did she deal with it?” “She stormed into the court, blasting both doors clean off their hinges and demanded the accusers step forward and stand over their accusations, Kristoff tried to act as though he didn’t loathe those not entirely of Jotnar blood and pretended they had been liaising in private for months but true to her personality, she ridiculed him as she proved his words false and had him reveal his true motives in the process, hence our knowing how some will react to my being named king.” His jaw clenched as he thought of Kristoff’s words. “He and his ilk are even more angered that in eight short months, we will be announcing the arrival of my even less Jotnar heir.” Loki awaited his brothers’ reactions.

Býleistr simply frowned as he tried to compute Loki’s words while Helbindi visibly counted out the time. “But you’re not her mate long enough for you to have a child?” “Aesir and Vanir take only eighteen months to carry and birth.” Loki informed him.

“So she...that quickly?” Helbindi was startled by such news. “How are their realms not infested to the point of overpopulation?”

“They actively plan not to have children,” Loki informed him, having asked Ella himself how such was not an issue.

“Why would anyone wish to not have more children?” Býleistr could not comprehend such an idea.

“Because unlike on this realm, others have a young population, not an old one. Ella told me of Midgard, it has had a population surge of nearly one and a half billion in the past two decades alone.”

“One and...what in the...don’t they only live less than a hundred years?” Helbindi tried to comprehend such a concept. “So, that means you’re going to be King with about forty minutes before your mate has a child?” “More like eight months than forty minutes, but that is indeed what will be happening. Ella will birth our son in the near future.” Loki confirmed.

“You cannot tell if it is a son before it’s born,” Býleistr scoffed. Loki merely gave him a smug smirk before going to deal with some of what needed to be done to ready for the impending announcement. “Wait, can they?”

Helbindi shrugged. “The only reason you knew she was in the same palace as you is because she called your name. According to Greta, she shot two jagged on-fire swords out of thin air and she knows spells that according to the Aesir we fought with, the Allfather and Allmother cannot manage, if she has told Loki that she carries a boy, then she is carrying a boy.”

#Loki #others #submission #submitted fic #Pride and Prejudice #chapter 47 #wolfpawn

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wolfpawn · 4 years

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Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 47

Story Summary - Based on an idea I had that I submitted to Imagine Loki. Imagine Loki was raised on Jotunheim as Laufey’s son after the war, but an agreement was then made that he would wed Odin’s daughter so Odin could secure the alliance of Jotunheim through the marriage. Loki, in turn, was raised to be king of Jotunheim, but how he views Asgard is far different from how Odin’s daughter is raised leading to a clash of cultures as well as uncertainty between the pair of betrothed youths.

Chapter Summary -Ella is asked for her input into the situation before the whole House of Laufey is informed of the matter.

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Ella paced as she thought over everything. Laufey began to get tired even looking at her. “If I may?” she began.

“I fear you forget you were told all this specifically for your input,” Loki chuckled.

“No, Loki, not just them.” She gave him an awkward look.

“Please don’t tell me there’s another war, I am going back to bed if there is.” Helbindi pleaded.

“Then I guess if none can change Father’s mind and this is going to happen, we organise ourselves and ready for the madness that is going to be Loki’s reign,” Helbindi joked.

“Like you could do better.” Loki scoffed in return.

“Hey, I already said, do you know that Midgardian empire, Roman, I would have it like that.” He declared proudly.

“Reasonable request?” Býleistr questioned.

“You speak too much as one who acts like she has any standing in it, like you know so much,” Angrboða snapped.

“I will never require your help.”

He left the room leaving his sons and their mates standing there, Arden looking amongst them all as he did so. “Now, we best prepare everything,” He urged.

“Please, there is much to be done.” Arden gave her a list which consisted of many different duties.

“Something is different in your mate,” Býleistr noted to Loki. “She seems more...abrupt.”

“So she...that quickly?” Helbindi was startled by such news. “How are their realms not infested to the point of overpopulation?”

“They actively plan not to have children,” Loki informed him, having asked Ella himself how such was not an issue.

“Why would anyone wish to not have more children?” Býleistr could not comprehend such an idea.

#pride and prejudice #chapter 47 #wolfpawn #loki fic

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thegreymoon · 5 years

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Sorry, You didn't really say or do anything to make me think that you are Asian. I thought that I read sth in your lj where u said that you were and just run with it. It was a long time ago and I must have misread. Also, you don't really post a lot political stuff, it is more like I notice it more because when I visit your page I skip all Merlin related stuff and am interested in the rest so again my fault. As for my ise of imaginary- yeah, it was passive agressive, altough not intentionally so

… my bad. I rarely engage in political conversations online because it never ends well, especially when my views clash with 90% of tumblr users so I am used to combative tone and it was unnecessary.. As for SJW I am not sure if that is dissmissive term as it discribes the “movement” well? I am not native speaker and am aware that it can be used as derogative term, but was also convinced that it is used by people on the left if political spectrum. I asked you why you are mainy interesetd in USA because I was working under the assumption that u are Asian it seemed to me weird that a person coming from China/Japan etc would be championing social justice in USA when it not that big of a problem(or at all IMO) whie ignoring very real problems in their own country. But since you are not Asian and you post political stuff rarely you are right it is a silly discussion. The fault is completely on my side. I am allergic to these kind of stuff and you are one of my favourite writers so I exaggerated. Once again sorry.

As for the rest of your response: I also come from relatively poor country that was screwed over by both Britain and USA and many other countries, and I don’t agree with many of their policies (or most) but I don’t hate them and believe that as much as people like to say they start wars for the oil etc it is not really true. There are many political and global players and everyone single country is motivated by greed it is only that not every country can exercise their power.

Relatively they are not the worst, it is just that since USA tries to paint themselves as heroes they are held to different, much higher standards than other countries. To sum it up, I am not defending their foreign policies, they have done a lot of wrong and are shortseighted but I still think that are better than other superpowers that will soon take over like China or maybe India. Also, I don;t understand why would you include global warming in your answer?why do you believe it is their fault

I am trying to leave as “green” as I can, I am a vegetarian and I believe we should do everything to preserve environment, but I wouldnt want my country to sign any deals concerning CO2 emission as long as other countries do not do the same. Otherwise, they would just cripple their economy and not help the world? As for Trump(if you are still interested) I find him the epitome of self-important, conceited stereotypical american but still so much better than alternative and despite distaste. would still vote for him. Because he at least apppears to be anti globalist and has a much higher moral ground than Hillary. what are his SPECIFIC actions that you find so abhorrent? Anyway, what I alluded to in my message was not politics of USA but the social justcie issues, like support BLM or me to movement(I am not sure if you posted enything regarding that, so srry if I presume wrongly) which I find are absolutely not based on facts and despite that people still perpetuate that, and if u don’t agree you are racist and sexist. No arguments whatsoever. It is also silly to me when I see the posts about the West being this cesspool of sexism while honour killings or FGM is nearly a non issue on social media or racism when considering the West is still the least racist place in the world when you compare it to China/India/SA or any other place. So, I find the social media effort to be misdirected and controlled by emotions. Even the indigineous people issued you mentioned. Americans get so much shit for their history, while pretty much every single country that exist was created by conquering or displacement of the previous population(u just have to go far enough down the history). So, yeah wht happend to Indigenous people and dissappearance of their whole civilization is a great tragedy but not the first and unfortunately not the last in human history. Why are we hearing about it but not about Anuit people or Persian or Byzantians? it is so imbalanced. Ok, anyway, sorry for the rant it shouldn’t be directed at you and tumblr is definitely not the place for it. Sorry if I offended to you. As I said I love your writing, “DC” is my all time favourite fic, and because I creepely once read through all of your lj(including asks and responses) I(like an internet creep and stalker)liked you and thought you seemed smart, well balanced and knowledgeable so I guess I felt entitled to to make the ask. Wish you all the best in life.

No worries, I’m sorry I came off so aggressive in my answer. I did actually live and work in China for a while during my LJ days and it’s entirely possible I may have tagged myself as being there on my fandom profiles at the time. It was a happy period for me and I talked about it a lot to anyone who had the patience to listen, so it’s very plausible that you have read something about it on my LJ! I’m very sorry if it was misleading, but I was only ever an expat there!

I used to be a lot more open about my real name and real-life dealings in fandom communities, but that almost backfired spectacularly, so I locked down a lot of stuff because it could do me quite a bit of damage.

OK, I concede your point that if you remove the Merlin stuff, a lot of what is left on my Tumblr is going to be either me reblogging cats or raging about social injustices (oops) 😅

I’d just like to make it clear that I absolutely do not hate either the USA, the UK or any other country in the world. Like I said, people are people, and disgusting policies are disgusting policies and every single country is guilty of them. It’s just that some have a bigger impact and are more visible. My own country is a source of so much shame and anger for me, it far outweighs anything the UK and the USA could have ever done because it’s personal, but our nonsense is just not something that I come across when casually scrolling through Tumblr, so I don’t reblog it. It’s possible to love a nation and its people and still be critical of the evil they have done.

Also, let me just clarify that I’m bothered by all injustices and human rights violations everywhere, but usually there isn’t a post about them when I’m scrolling at 2 am at night that I can reblog. The USA is just… low hanging fruit, and let’s face it, from where I stand, hating on their president, the white supremacists, the Nazis, fundamental Christians, racists and the Republicans in general after what they have turned into is not hating on the USA, but rather cheering on the sane part of the country to get rid of this toxic waste ASAP. The same goes for Brexiteers in the UK and I am so, so sad for all the people that are going to suffer because of it.

Of course, I’m aware that China and Japan have issues and human rights violations that are mind-boggling, but again, they just don’t appear on my dash very often, or at least not in English or from a source I can easily fact-check. The Japanese and Chinese stuff I follow is mostly art, nature and pictures of pretty clothes. My knowledge of either of these countries is very superficial compared to Western countries, which impact me directly, so it really isn’t my place to appoint myself as a champion of human rights in the Far East when my own country and continent are a growing dumpster fire that cannot be contained.

On the subject of global warming, I’m not blaming the USA (entirely, because they, of course, played their part, but so did the rest of humanity). I’m enraged by their governing body’s rhetoric as of late, the denial of climate change, every single action that Trump took since taking office (such as withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement), him making ignorant, snide remarks in the middle of the polar vortex just days ago while people were suffering, deliberately sabotaging scientists and spreading dangerous, false information when each and every single country should be all-hands-on-deck if we want to avert a disaster of global proportions (especially with all the signs pointing to us being too late already). Nobody is suggesting that the USA should unilaterally reduce carbon emissions, all countries in the world must do it and develop the technology to make it feasible to convert to clean energy. And yes, the USA, China and other giants have to lead the way because they are the ones with the power! My poor, tiny country is not the one that can impact anything, so yes, the USA is absolutely more responsible to lead the way forward, but instead of at least moving in the right direction, Trump is deliberately lying and sabotaging all effort because he likes the money he gets from Big Oil companies, and he’s giving a platform to religious nutcases for votes, who think that there won’t be a global disaster of epic proportions in the near future because God promised Noah he would never again flood the entire Earth in the Old Testament. It’s not even the outright evil that is bothering me the most right now, but the mind-numbing stupidity.

I have nothing but loathing for both of the Clintons. They have caused so much destruction in my country and I do not want good things for either of them, ever. I will never pretend that Hillary Clinton is anything even resembling a good person because you do not reach that level of power by having a conscience, but at the very least, she is not a rapist and paedophile that the general public knows of (which is more than we can say for her husband, btw). Trump has no moral high ground whatsoever, IMO. He has done everything imaginable, from scamming charities (this was proven in court) to raping minors (see Epstein). He has no redeemable human characteristics and is not even intelligent enough to pretend that he does, which is at least one thing that Hillary has going for her. I’m not going to sit here and list all the reasons why Trump is abhorrent because a) it cannot fit in a Tumblr post b) I would be sitting here for years.

I will also not engage in discussion about whether or not BLM is a valid movement, ever. I don’t understand what you mean when you say it isn’t based on ‘facts’. Which, facts are in doubt, exactly? It’s based on multigenerational, still ongoing trauma and persecution of an entire race of people! I’m neither black nor an American, but I believe African-American people when they talk about the terror they experience on a daily basis in their own country. I have eyes and I have ears, I know plenty of white people and have insight into how they think because I too am white and have been raised with similar bullshit. I have lived in Africa for years and seen things with my own eyes. I will never not take the side of black people when they protest racism anywhere and I will never not believe them when they talk about police brutality, race-based violence and systemic racism in countries built on slavery.

Of course, I’m not saying racism doesn’t exist in other places and in other forms, but talking about one does not negate the other.

Also, I don’t understand the point you’re trying to make about the West not being sexist because other places have it worse? I’m sure I misunderstood this, so forgive me if that is the case. FGM is terrible, yes, but that in no way invalidates other types of gender violence that still ruins the lives of countless women. Just because the women in, say, Saudi Arabia have it worse, that doesn’t mean that the women here or in the USA should not talk about issues that directly affect them (and, btw, I have absolutely been outraged about Saudi Arabia and FGM and shared posts about both). All are bad! This is not a competition.

On the topic of you saying that America gets so much shit for its history, which you think is unjust, I have to mention that European settlers killed up to 95% of Native Americans in some areas in relatively recent history. Just days ago, I was reading an article about how they killed so many people, it actually changed the global climate! This is genocide on such a massive scale, my brain can’t even comprehend it, and yet here we are today, with Columbus Day and Thanksgiving as holidays while the surviving Native Americans suffer all kinds of indignity and discrimination, so no, I don’t think we are talking about it enough and I feel that America deserves all the shit it gets for its history. IMO, it is not getting enough shit! The fact that there are other issues out there that need to be talked about too and are being silenced does not in any way take away from any of this.

Anyway, let’s not argue about which country is The Worst™ and which human rights issues are more worthwhile than others because that is pointless. We already agree that all governments are corrupt, that evil happened and is still happening all over the world and that all human rights issues are important. I firmly believe that if they were to be evaluated by a psychiatrist, 99% of all high-ranking politicians would be diagnosed with serious clusters of antisocial personality disorders. Most of them would do anything and the only thing stopping them is whether or not they can get away with it. The remaining 1% cannot really do much and keep both their conscience and political power intact.

In any case, the last thing I want in life is to get into Tumblr discourse with LJ people, so how about we just put this behind us? Let’s agree to disagree on who is worse, Trump or Hillary, because that is a pointless disagreement, especially since neither of us is an American and this is getting out of hand. I feel like we are actually miscommunicating and talking about different things. We seem to be arguing different points, so all of it is coming off worse for both of us than it really should be. Also, I wish you hadn’t sent me this ask anonymously, because I now have no way of responding to you except publically, and Tumblr is seriously not a good place for this.

On a happier note, I’m very glad that you enjoyed DC! I’m very sorry for the extremely long hiatus! Unfortunately, I’ve been going through things that stopped me from writing for a long time. I hope that one day I can still come back and finish that story, in spite of everything! Have a good day/night! :)

*hugs*

#social issues #Anonymous #tl;dr

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atrocitycl · 7 years

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TWICE - “TWICE’s Elegant Private Life” Show Review

(Playlist: Episode Cuts)

TWICE – TWICE’s Elegant Private Life (Produced by Mnet)

Reviewed on June 21, 2017

If one is a TWICE fan, I do recommend the show. Otherwise, if one is watching (Korean) reality shows for the sake of the show itself, I do find that there are other, better alternatives to TEPL. But that said, this show can definitely be a solid introduction to TWICE if viewers are unfamiliar of them and desire to become fans.

Edit: Huge apologies for this post being delayed. As readers can tell from reading, this review was written a while back and only now have I officially posted it. Many reviews will be coming after this. Once again, I apologize to readers for the lack of content for the past weeks.

Personal Message: As mentioned in the prior post, I had my wisdom teeth extracted (on June 7) and thus, have not been able to post as frequently as desired. That said, after a full week of recovery and admittedly catching up on shows rather than reviews and subtitling videos, I decided it might be best to return with a review on the shows I have been watching. Afterwards, we have many special reviews—one, in particular, was even requested by a label company directly. That review will be coming out only a few days after this one and I am quite excited for it. From there, we will then be reviewing IU (as it was requested by a personal friend) and I hope to then review Fiestar’s Yezi’s recent solo comeback with her new rap song. And of course, amidst all of this, I will be hastily catching up on subtitling videos for Fiestar, and particularly I will be attempting to cover videos regarding Yezi’s latest comeback.

Indeed, there is quite a lot for me to do even if I should be merely relaxing during summer, but unfortunately I am those types of people who feel that I should always be productive in some form—though, biasedly, I argue we can and should always be productive even if that means something as casual as catching up on dramas. In fact, especially for readers who are working, in their later years of high school or in college, I might even share my own tips in a bonus post on why my particular definition of “being productive” can not only help people be more productive in a general sense, but also with—surprisingly—relaxing. But as this is unintentionally sounding as if I have some secret to finding happiness in life, I might as well explain what my definition of “productive” is: namely, that no matter what one does, it brings something meaningful versus something wasteful. Now for an actual example, while one would usually not consider watching shows to be remotely “productive,” I argue it still is especially if one is “catching up.” After all, catching up on TWICE shows and V Live broadcasts is much better than, for a random example, mindlessly watching random, filler content videos on YouTube that consists of a “top 10” of the most arbitrary items. Thus, this is what I mean by constantly being “productive”: even if it involves relaxing, getting the most out of an activity is what matters instead of mindlessly browsing the internet and other typical, procrastinating activities.

Now while we are on a slight tangent, before getting into our review on TWICE’s Elegant Private Life (or TEPL from here on for convenience), I do wish to share how my wisdom teeth extraction went. Especially as some readers might be nervous of their own impending operation or that readers simply want to hear a story (though I am a horrible storyteller), I find sharing my own experience might help put some at ease. (And that said, feel free to skip below for the actual bonus review.) After all, I personally sought out as many stories as I could prior to the surgery in order to mentally prepare myself, but unfortunately I was not able to find any story on the actual procedure itself. Thus, I will do my best to actually explain what happens in case readers are worried or curious. But given that my storytelling tends to be horrible, I will leave a firm reassurance: the surgery truly is not that bad—in terms of the procedure, that is. If one feels anxious on the actual surgery, I suggest that one redirects that anxiety towards afterwards as that is when the true pain and struggles begin. And, if it helps ease anyone, if I can make it through the procedure—the biggest baby and a boy with a ridiculously sensitive gag reflex and whose wisdom teeth were very “impacted”—then I am certain everyone else can make it without any problems at all.

Regarding how the experience went, first I will clarify that I was merely numbed for it—or at least objectively and medically speaking as we will get to. Before getting into what occurs, though, let us talk about preparations. While there was no physical preparation required at all (although some might opt for a sedative pill from what I have heard), I did spend some time preparing mentally during the few hours before the operation and I recommend readers to do the same. Specifically, I created a music playlist on my phone—this serving as my “mental numbing” if we dare call it such. For the playlist, I loaded up favorite songs, songs I planned on finally listening to, and so forth. Arrogantly, I finished creating the playlist when it would last roughly forty-five minutes; after all, typically, that is the average length of the surgery from what basic internet research revealed. That is where it all went wrong, however, but more to share on that later.

As for the experience itself, after comfortably settling—or restlessly squirming—into the dentist chair, I signed off a waiver (if that is what it is called) in case of extremely rare complications that could arise. Now while I remember one line that roughly read as: “…loss of feeling…” I admittedly ended up skipping the remaining bullet points as my brain began reading the rest as “death…death…death…” and merely signed it off. At this point, I am allowed to plug in one earbud and do so hastily. Now, the idea behind listening to songs during the surgery is that the songs are to, indeed, distract me from the fact that my mouth was soon to be heavily mutilated and invaded by five or so devices at once, that blood will be splashing everywhere, and that sounds of cracking teeth would hopefully be drowned out. I hope that is not too gruesome to share. On topic, after signing off the form for what felt like my execution, I had four odd sticks inserted in my mouth. To this day, I have no idea on what these were for except that two were placed on top and two at the bottom, and that it left the typical “dentist-cherry-flavor.” Yes, incredibly vague terms but I have no other way of describing it and I feel that my description of the flavor is quite accurate. From here, I was left alone.

After some time resting, the mentioned sticks were removed and it was now time for numbing. Although in theory having a needle injected into one’s gums sounds painful, it merely felt like a small yet sharp pinch. Admittedly I do not remember much regarding the numbing process, but it truly is as simple as being injected and then being left alone once again in order for the numbing to work. Now, regarding what it feels like to be numbed, I should clarify my views are rather twisted: I, for some odd reason, believed the numbing also came with some sedative. In reality, my mouth was merely numbed; in other words, my entire mouth became solely tingly—nothing more or less. But, quite embarrassingly, I managed to falsely convince myself I was also being sedated and thus, my supposed drowsiness and even giggling when asked how I was doing are not actual effects. I am sincerely am an embarrassing mess, but I find that this false perception of being sedated helped as having music playing in one ear and “sleeping” during the surgery definitely made the experience more tolerable.

Onto the actual surgery, there is little to be said as one does not feel anything but pressure. After the dentist checked to see if I was truly numbed, the procedure consisted of lots of suction devices, drilling at times, and much pulling. The only struggle I had, as alluded to earlier, is that I wished my music playlist was far lengthier. With the first playing, music genuinely did distract me and helped keep me calm. However, on the second playing, I began focusing less on the songs—due to already hearing them once—and started to be more aware of what was happening. Likewise, it is also at this point I realized I was not sedated at all and was quite ridiculous to have even thought of such. On the third playing, not only are the songs now mere background noises, but I also began to start opening my eyes versus “sleeping,” and this is where I began gagging somewhat often as I realized there were many devices in my mouth at once. Therefore, for my advice, I recommend readers to have an incredibly lengthy playlist as, especially if complications arise such as in my case (my bottom wisdom teeth were quite difficult to remove), the procedure can last for a while and having new songs to actively pay attention to helps.

After the surgery, this is where pain finally comes—or, more specifically, after two hours after the surgery. Post-operation directions will be given, but in summary, it consists of gently biting on certain cloths to stop the bleeding. Also, as one can hardly spit (nor should one even spit at all until many days later) due to the numbing, much time will also be spent merely letting blood-infused-saliva dripping out of one’s mouth. For what I highly recommend, once the numbing begins wearing off and one is capable of drinking water, one should begin taking pain medicine. I made a horrible mistake of not doing such as I arrogantly assumed I had high pain tolerance when, in reality, I was simply still numbed. But, as soon as the numbing faded away, my pain grew from a dull ache to, quite suddenly, my upper right wisdom teeth deciding to give birth. It was at this moment I scrambled desperately for pain medicine as I was quite certain I began seeing angels. Horrible jokes aside, though, I do recommend taking pain medicine before all the numbing entirely disappears and one is left with much pain.

All in all, wisdom teeth extraction is not too bad at all and I hope I eased—or not—any reader who is anxious about their own upcoming surgery. Finally onto the review now, during the days of recovery, besides being excused to consuming an unhealthy amount of ice cream and developing a phobia towards mashed potatoes, I have decided to watch TEPL. Now before discussing the show, given the tradition of addressing the question of whether I cried or not while watching this particular reality show, I admittedly did shed some tears as, simply stated, if Jihyo cries then I cry with her. However of course, nothing will ever come close to the bawling that occurred when I watched Jessica & Krystal and indeed the sisters’ reality show remains the best I have ever watched. Lastly, for final technical points to address, the playlist included are merely video cuts of the full episodes. Readers who desire to watch the full show along with English subtitles can easily find sources via internet searching. Furthermore, with this review, rather than the typical format of ratings that I have done in the past, show reviews will now merely consist of a “recommendation phrase” and reasons for such in the analytical part. After all, while numbers provide a concrete platform for readers to think and help organize a song’s breakdown, the same cannot be easily applied to reality shows—or at least, not with my current lack of knowledge regarding show qualities.

With all of that, let us finally head into the review and see whether TEPL worth watching or not.

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Recommendation: If one is a TWICE fan, I do recommend the show. Otherwise, if one is watching (Korean) reality shows for the sake of the show itself, I do find that there are other, better alternatives to TEPL. But that said, this show can definitely be a solid introduction to TWICE if viewers are unfamiliar of them and desire to become fans.

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Analysis: With TEPL, it needs to first be clarified that the title itself is misleading: the show does not focus purely or even predominantly on the supposed “private life” of the ladies. Certainly there are snippets involved, but admittedly the show functions more as any other typical (Korean) reality show—notable comparisons being other common reality shows such as Showtime, One Fine Day, The TaeTiSeo, and so forth. In other words, this means TEPL does not focus on what the ladies do in their private times per se but rather, it focuses on a myriad of general activities: watching TWICE cook; hearing the ladies discuss their ideal types; observing their dorm life; laughing with them at the expense of scaring Nayeon; and the like. For those familiar with reality shows (or at least Korean ones; I am unsure if culturally the idea of “reality shows” varies), this indeed follows the exact protocol as any other: observing the ladies engaging with many activities—hence, the “reality” aspect.

Without necessarily summarizing all of the activities depicted on the show as that would not only spoil the show but would be redundant and not a “review” at all, I will instead focus on how effectively the said activities are portrayed. With the activities, as mentioned, there are a variety of them involved but more importantly the types of activities are diverse as well—this, in my view, is the most important aspect. Let us use an example. During one episode, the main, overarching theme of TWICE’s activity involved creating videos whether in the form of creating a minor music video or parodying dramas. However, afterwards the “topic” changes into something that is completely different than creating videos. Especially when compared to other reality shows that might stick to the same “topic” for an excessive time, I find that TEPL adopts a balanced form of depth and variety. A contrasting example to use is with Jessica & Krystal where in one episode, while the ladies were engaged in multiple activities, the overall “topic” was still that of shopping. With TEPL, if we were to imagine a similar scenario, what would occur instead would be that the topic of shopping only lasts for a certain amount before that very topic soon changes to something completely different. Thus, the overall point is this: the show allows TWICE and viewers to experience multiple “topics” with an amount of depth that is not too short or too long. That said, depending on one’s preferences, this can be both good and bad. Viewers who enjoy depth versus breadth might find this show less appealing (and thus enjoy other shows such as Jessica & Krystal more). On the other hand, those who enjoy breadth more than depth would find TEPL suiting as the show does focus more on showing multiple sides to TWICE (and this does make sense given that this show was the ladies’ first, major reality show).

With content out of the way, let us actually focus on the show in a structural sense as, unlike all reality shows I have previously watched, the editing to the show is rather peculiar. Here, I find that the show’s format can easily deter—or attract—viewers. For what I am specifically referring to, the episodes are seemingly divided in half: the first half of an episode consists of one main “topic” and the second half begins another topic. This, though, means that the second half’s topic is then finished in the next episode—something that is quite odd as typical reality shows simply organize an entire episode around one topic. To use a fictional example as this might be clearer, let us pretend that in episode 5, the first half of the episode consists of TWICE cooking. Then, the second half would make a sudden switch where it is about TWICE dancing. From there, episode 6’s first half would be finishing up the part about dancing and then the remaining half will be a new topic. In a general sense, this is how TEPL is formatted throughout all of its episodes minus, perhaps, the first episode or so.

Different or not, this structure to the show comes with both strengths and weaknesses. On the positive side, because of how episodes are halved on topics, it leaves a sense of the episode having more variety. After all, rather than one episode being focused on one activity, there are now two. Furthermore, when it comes to length, having each episode segmented in this manner prevents them from feeling too excessive; an entire episode focused purely on one topic can, indeed, feel repetitive especially if all of the episodes follow a similar trend. And—though the following could easily be a negative—I found myself more engaged to the show as the episodes naturally left “cliffhangers”: the remaining half of a topic would only be finished on the next episode. Thus, if episode 6 ended with dancing, the beginning half of episode 7 would be the conclusion of such—and this does work well with keeping viewers interested and desiring more.

However, despite all these potential benefits, the biggest issue that comes is how the show can at times feel incredibly disorganized. There is a reason reality shows tend to follow the tradition of keeping each episode highly focused on a certain activity or topic: it is intuitive and easy to follow. While I did watch TEPL in a dedicated manner as I watched an episode per day, I can imagine the show would be more difficult to keep track of if a viewer watches the episodes sparingly. For example, even with watching an episode every day, there were still moments where I had to actually re-watch the prior episode’s ending to recall what was happening in the current episode. This confusion occurs because a new episode is not a new topic or activity; it is the continuation of one. As such, if a viewer has poor memory or watches an episode every three days, it can be understood on why this show’s structure is problematic and that the traditional format—a new episode is genuinely new—would be far more effective. Nevertheless, even if not more effective than the usual format of reality shows, I appreciate Mnet’s attempt of creating a new style for the show.

Overall, as said in the recommendation, this show is definitely worth watching if one is a fan of TWICE or are trying to become a fan or at least become familiar with the ladies. However, when it comes to reality shows in a general sense, there are far more interesting shows that exist such as Jessica & Krystal or Europe That GFriend Loves. But, in terms of all of the reality shows TWICE have done, TEPL is definitely a highlight and I argue is tied with TWICE TV4. (And on that note, once TWICE TV5 is finished, I plan on reviewing it as well as—so far, at least—it is one of the poorer reality shows I have watched. That said, the fifth season is interesting as it seems to be more akin to standard vlogs rather than an actual reality show as were seasons three and four.)

For finals words, after finally getting much more familiar with TWICE and arguably even becoming a fan, I now understand why the ladies are quite popular despite how, in my argument, they are one of the more musically weak groups in the K-Pop scene—or at least, from what they have portrayed via their songs. Certainly, they are individually improving with their vocals (and of course, that Jihyo, Nayeon, and Jeongyeon are all already solid vocalists) and TWICE does in fact have solid songs such as “Knock Knock,” “Only You,” and “1 to 10,” but in an overall view, I and perhaps others can agree TWICE is not the strongest musical group at all. Ignoring the genuinely disrespectful and immature people who bash TWICE personally, the ladies’ weaker vocals and even songs (I argue all title songs minus “Knock Knock” are quite weak) is where a majority of criticism towards the group comes from. After all, TWICE is arguably the most popular female group in K-Pop as of now, and this somehow is the case despite the mentioned lacking in their songs and singing. Of course their dancing is definitely solid and their strongest suit, but it would be hard to imagine that their choreographies are able to compensate for everything else to the degree of becoming one of the most popular artists in K-Pop. What, then, I argue leads to TWICE’s success is the accompanying aspect to K-Pop: the personal side. TWICE has mastered a way of sincerely connecting to fans on a personal level—and I argue the secret is none other than how the ladies are very humble and genuine when on camera. For an artist to thrive, they need both: solid music and dances and appealing on a personal level. Even if TWICE lacks the former, they more than make up in the latter and this is perhaps why TWICE is utterly popular.

All in all, and to tie back to this review, TEPL is one example of the ladies appealing to the public with their personalities and interactions. And so, while I hope to see TWICE improving musically, I also hope the ladies continue to maintain their ability to connect with fans as this is what has potentially led to their massive success.

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As readers can tell, this post should have been posted much longer ago. It is only now that I have finished some of the writing that was needed, but I do apologize greatly. Reviews will most likely take on a back-to-back trend so that everything is caught up. Unfortunately, while I do deserve some time to relax over summer, I have become far too relaxed and have put off reviews and even subtitling videos for Fiestar. I will hastily work on catching up with the latter and will also work on catching up on reviews. The next review is a special one as it was directly requested by a label company and thus, I hope readers enjoy it.

Thank you for reading or skimming this review. Look forward for content to finally resume a standard schedule.

#TWICE #TWICE's Elegant Private Life #Jihyo #Jeongyeon #Nayeon #Dahyun #Chaeyoung #Tzuyu #Momo #Sana #Mina #JYP Entertainment #Mnet #Kpop Reviews #Korean Show Reviews

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