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stephspurs · 3 years

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A Family Affair | Euro 2020 Football Fanfiction

Hi besties - here is part 6! We are officially halfway through this fic! Part 6 sees friendships blossom, situationships struggle, and cheeky intercontinental facetime chats! I hope you all are enjoying it as much as i am! I love hearing from you after you've read it! Love always, Steph xx

Part 6 | parte sesta

warnings; a couple of tugs on the heartstrings (in both the best and worst ways)

word count; 2301

writing tools; third person until dashed line, first person thereafter.

next update; Friday 06/08 5pm AEST. Updates are three times/week (Monday, Wednesday & Friday)!

Tags (as requested by users); @footballffbarbiex @obsesseds-world @abysshaven

link to fic masterlist here

Amelia had been back in Turin for a week or so, settling back into her city apartment had been more difficult than she anticipated as she was now alone for the first time in more than 2.5 months. It wasn’t very often, but sometimes she did miss the companionship of having a boyfriend. She missed someone to have breakfast with, to watch movies under the covers, to bring to official events. She still did all of these things, with a date, that was a friend, that sometimes maybe crept beyond the friendship zone and into the we shouldn’t be doing this but it feels so good zone.

Fede was someone that hung around Amelia like a fly to sugar. She enjoyed the attention most of the time. She appreciated his friendship, wisdom, talent and intellect. He could hold a conversation, talk to her about the arts, sell her the dream. She even didn’t mind it when they did cross that line a few times. Long afternoons and even longer nights spent wrapped up together in his bed sheets, her bathtub, his kitchen, her lounge room...you get the point. It was almost as though the two were in a committed relationship - committed being the operable word.

Fede wanted Amelia all to himself, and she was just that - available to him and for him whenever he wished, which was often. That’s what confused Amelia most, he didn’t want to label their situationship. He was happy to be ‘friends’ outside the four walls of their respective homes, but lovers when the curtains were drawn. She would maybe understand if he was elusive, always going out and on his phone but he wasn’t. He spent all of his time with her, there wouldn't have been enough hours left in the day if he separated those he spent with her from those he spent alone.

The Juventus players noticed this behaviour early on, seeing a noticeable difference in the way their number 33 paid attention to their tactical sessions. How he was turning up to the training centre early, with an extra piccolo for the english member of their coaching staff. Federico claimed he was helping Amelia brush up on her Italian, but having an Italian-born mother who insisted on sharing her culture with her kids, meant she was pretty much fluent in the language before arriving in Turin. His teammates weren’t stupid and neither was she.

This was the one area of her life where Amelia felt comfortable to go with the flow, she didn’t need to prepare or overthink anything to do with the charming Italian boy from Firenze. She let him take it at his own pace, she was in no need to rush. She let him take her home to meet his Nonna, she spent quality alone time with his dogs when he’s running late from training, and that’s a rare occasion being that it’s normally her there after him and he hangs back to drive them both home.

Everything was progressing at his pace, and the moment Amelia just asks for some clarification on the situation, he would get visibly stressed. He wanted to have his cake and eat it too. And for a long time he could, he had Amelia's attention and affection at Juve, he even had it during their european campaign. At the end of the tournament, when they all broke up for their summer breaks, Fede conveniently waited until their final round in the shower, if you know what i mean, before pulling her into bed and having a heart to heart with her.

Amelia thought that she was finally getting the clarification that she was after, which in a way she did. Fede spoke whimsical words about how she makes him feel wanted and understood, and in turn he told her about the affects he knew he had on her. It was a conversation that would turn Shakespeare to a pile of rose petals. In the end, he told her that he wanted to continue what they had just how they had been doing it. And so, that's exactly how they left it. No labels. Friends outside of the four walls of their apartments. That was all Amelia needed to be able to enjoy her family holiday in Mykonos, guilt free, not missing the man that became the equivalent of her shadow.

The constant company she had in Mykonos compared to what she was experiencing in Turin made her more eager to return to work than she had previously. Of course, there are group chats and facetimes and phone calls throughout the days that kept her occupied, but she was missing the boys and her brother. Her friendship with Kyle was back to its old ways, memes being shared across the european continent, long phone calls to talk about their problems. Kyle knew all about the Fede x Amelia situation, Amelia having given him the sparknotes version over a wine filled zoom session one evening that same week. Their pre-seasons hadn’t gone back yet so they were able to indulge in a bit of vino, guilt free.

She was surprised about the constant contact, or lack thereof, that some of the boys had maintained with her. Ben Chilwell hadn’t once messaged or instagrammed the girl, despite being active in their group chats and liking her holiday pictures on instagram. He even made the rookie error of liking a picture so far down on her instagram, there was no way to explain his need for being there. She messaged him a couple times, assuming he just got busy with whatever he was doing, but there was radio silence on the other end.

A friendship she was surprised had blossomed so well, considering their flirtatious start to life, was with that of Jack Grealish and Tyrone Mings. There had been more facetimes than she could count between herself and the two villa boys. Whether it was Tyrone telling her about a book he had finished that he thought she would enjoy, or Jack asking her how to cook dinner, maybe even them both cooking dinner together - of course she had to have a later dinner to be able to do so, with the time difference and all...and there was no way Jack was going to be having dinner an hour early “athlete’s schedule an all tha ya’know” he would smirk down the camera, brummie accent on full display.

She met Tyrone through Jack, he facetimed the girl for outfit advice one night before going out with the tall defender and the pair hit it off. Both giving Jack the fashion advice he needed but didn’t want to hear (a Gucci two piece tracksuit set is never the answer). Tyrone immediately noticed a certain attention to detail being applied by his fellow number 10, to the tactics that were being put forward by the girl that was far too good at her job. His training was improving, his set pieces having a certain amount of flare. There was also a lack of attention being paid from Jack to other girls. Instead, much preferring to spend the evening at home watching the same netflix series as Amelia so that he could discuss it with her the next day, or better yet, at the same time.

As pre-season had commenced, Amelia had been applying the same tactics that she developed (and that obviously worked) throughout the European campaign to her Juventus club level. Having faith in the four men that were with her and the Azzurri to ensure that their other teammates were completing them accurately. It appears that her skill was widely recognised, having a few missed calls and voice messages left from English telephone numbers that she was yet to listen to. In all seriousness, she was nervous to listen to them. Worried that they would make her an offer she couldn’t refuse. A wise person once told her that you shouldn’t make any decisions whilst you're at the top of your happy, or the bottom of your sad. You should make important decisions when your life is at its constant. It's very easy to accept things that you wouldn’t normally when you're at the peak of your mood, just as easy as it is to forget the bigger picture when you're down. Who knew Kyle Walker was so wise.

“So, i’ve got a bit of a dilemma” She spoke down to her facetime camera one evening in early August.

“Hit me with it darlin’” Jack spoke back to her, getting his dinner utensils out so that they could cook together again. He didn’t like not being prepared for her tutorial, he got stressed if she added pepper and his pepper was still in his pantry. Each afternoon, when it was agreed upon what they would be cooking together that evening, she sent him a list of what he would need out on his bench to complete the meal.

“I’ve missed a few calls from English teleco numbers this last week or so”

“Ok? Do you think they’re scams? You’re beautiful Amelia but I don't think it's actually an Egyptian prince on the other end that wants to offer you 250k in exchange for your paypal info…”

“Ha ha very funny - that was one time ok and he wasn’t a Prince, he was claiming to be an investment banker and wanted to help me start up my portfolio-ANYWAY JACK I WAS 16! God just forget I even told you that story” Amelia barked down facetime, now pausing what she was doing to point at the British boy with her wooden spoon, the same way her mother would to her when she was being cheeky. All she was met with was boisterous laughter.

“Nah i’m only joking, continue with your story.”

“I began to listen to the start of one and it was a talent acquisition manager for one of the premier league clubs, offering me a job” Amelia said as she continued to stir her pasta. Tonight they were making penne arrabiata. She received no reply from the boy. Looking down to her camera to check the call was still active, she saw him looking at the camera with a serious expression.

“Are you going to tell me what the problem is before I start to get excited that you’re going to be living within driving distance from me? Oh god i’ve just realised - was it from Villa? You could be even closer than I imagined” Jack started to ramble, getting over excited with the prospect of being so close to the girl that he could physically hang out with her, instead of virtually.

“Jack calm down, I didn't listen long enough to find out what club he was from. I have 5 more just like it waiting in my inbox.”

“What's the problem then Mils?” Jack could see the girl had apprehension written all over her face.

“I’m just nervous that they're going to tell me everything I've always wanted to hear. That they’re going to make me an offer I can't refuse and I have to leave my life here.” Their pasta was ready to be dished up now, so the girl poured herself a glass of red wine and got herself comfy on her couch.

“Come on, play the messages and i’ll listen to them with you, be your voice of reason,” Jack offered the girl.

“I should probably call Tyrone, you’re just going to reject every club that isn’t Villa.” she laughed before switching facetime to her laptop, moving to the floor of her lounge room and resting her elbows on her coffee table. With the phone near the screen of her mac, she began to play the messages.

_____________________________________________________________

“Hi Amelia, Shaun here from Newcastle United-” “As if you’d waste your talents at Newcastle”

“Jack! That's horrible! At least i know i already look good in the black and white striped kit”

“No, not happening. Next”

“Amelia, Hope you don’t mind but I got your number off of one of my players who knows you. Long story short, we have a position here are Arsenal” “Bloody Bukayo, needs to keep his silky mitts off ya”

“Jack, give it a rest or i’m calling Tyrone”

“Amelia White, Greg here from Aston Villa Football Club” “Get in Greggles!! That's it, stop listening, you’re taking this one”

“I need to listen to them all Jack”

“So, you’ll consider Villa?”

“I’ll consider all of them”

“You’d really go to Arsenal? Aren’t you a Spurs supporter? Shocking stuff”

“Ok maybe not all of them”

“Ciao Amelia, Mario here from Chelsea Football Club - I’ve heard nothing but good things about you. We could really use you here at Chelsea next season. Give me a call when you get a spare moment to discuss the opportunity”

“What? Nothing to say to this one, Jack?”

“Nah, sounds ok. You deserve to showcase your skills at a big club like Chelsea. And besides, you’ll have Jorginho there to look after you. Come on, next one”

“It’s the last one actually”

“Amelia, we’ve got a fantastic opportunity here at Manchester City for someone with your skill set. It would be a massive advantage to have your tactical insight to the game coupled alongside the fantastic leadership we’ve already got at the club”. “Holy shit, Pep called you himself? Kyle Walker really knows how to pull strings when he wants something”

“I am overwhelmed”

“Hey, you don’t need to make any decisions right now. Sleep on it, talk it over with your family. Speak to Jorgi, I know you’re close with him. And just let me know when you decide to pick Villa so i can start house huntin’ for ya”

“Night Jack, speak soon”

“Sleep tight darlin’, speak to ya tomorrow”

Part 7. | settima parte

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kookiebunnii · 4 years

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what happens after || kim taehyung

→ summary: in another universe, do you think we could’ve ended up together? OR exploring how your memories with taehyung intertwine with your slow recovery from a life without him.

→ pairing: idol!taehyung x reader

→ genre: exes!au, post-breakup angst

→ word count: 4.4k

→ warnings: n/a

→ a/n: i always wanted to write something exploring the feelings of separation after a relationship. there’s a lot of works out there detailing the process of falling in love, but i think there’s something redeemable in the process of recovering from love as well.

●●●●●

The morning after might be the hardest part.

After a night of tossing and turning, drifting aimlessly between sleep and consciousness, the sun rises like it always does. When the dawn breaks, you open your eyes slowly, hoping that when you open them—Taehyung would be there.

But of course, he isn’t.

Because if he were, you’d already be in his arms. Taehyung loved to hold you while he slept, as if it comforted him knowing that he had you within his grasp. You never minded it, because the warmth he exuded was critical for lulling you into your dreams with ease. He smelled nice, like soft detergent on freshly washed sheets mixed with something so uniquely him. You would languidly lay in bed, curled into his chest, resting happy knowing that he’d still have you when you wake the next day.

When you broke up with him the night before though, this unrealistic expectation somehow still remained. It persistently presses against your heart, trying to win out against reality, until you were forced to longer believe in it. Gazing forlornly at the empty pillow next to you, missing the person who used to always sleep on the right side of the bed, your heart breaks all over again.

If you close your eyes tight enough, grip the blankets hard enough, you could almost feel his arms around you again. You could see Tae, dark locks messy with sleep, grumbling in annoyance as you try to poke him awake. He always mumbles ‘five more minutes’ before pulling you closer and burying his face in your neck. You’d always let him have his five minutes; in fact, you grew accustomed to setting your alarm a few minutes earlier just to ensure the two of you would still be on time. You wonder if he knew this.

Laying there in a bed that suddenly feels too big, you have no choice but to accept the fact that this was only the first day in the rest of your days without Taehyung. If you could push past the pain you felt today, things would get better. They had to, because how else were you supposed to survive a break-up?

But the loneliness and the hurt have made their residence within your chest, and you feel too weak to face the day. You can barely get yourself out of bed, so you decide to call into work sick that day. You were a star employee, so they surely would offer you a day off if you really needed it.

You spend the rest of the day staring at that empty pillow.

●●●●●

Prior to meeting Taehyung, you’d never dated a celebrity or anyone with as much popularity as he had. Given how big he and his group were, you should expect his face plastered everywhere you went in advertisements and other endorsements.

It was overwhelming, to say the least.

On your way to work you’d always listen to music, something upbeat and catchy to pull your attention away from the fact that he was everywhere. You wonder when they’ll remove the BTS advertisement for Chilsung Cider from the interior of this subway train. It’s been here for the past few days—surely they’ll have newer product placement coming soon. Despite the cheery beat of the current song playing from your earbuds, you can’t help but notice the small smile on Tae’s face. It’s the one he uses for professional things, the kind that makes his eyes glitter just enough to seem real. But you knew with aching familiarity how to easily get that boxy smile of his, his laughter contagious when you managed to crack him up beyond just a few chuckles.

Smiling sadly, your eyes lower down to the thin watch on your wrist. You’ll be on time for work as you typically are, so you should quickly get your act together. You were a radio show host, which meant that you had to make your voice engaging for those morning commute listeners. Being a professional meant separating work matters from personal ones, and it would be easy to tell if you were depressed about something.

God, what if your co-workers ask you what’s wrong? What if they find out that you’re no longer with Taehyung and just give you pity looks for the next month? You’d probably go insane.

Pressing your lips together instead of biting them for fear of ruining the gloss smeared over them, you briskly walk towards the radio building before dispelling those thoughts out of your head. You could be professional. Just for a few hours, you could keep it together.

Even when you dash past the photo on the wall, an old picture of you and your co-host holding up fingers hearts to the camera alongside world superstars BTS, you gather the pieces of your heart and hold them together.

●●●●●

Wow, did mint chocolate ice cream always taste this heavenly?

Burying your spoon into the icy dessert with renewed vigor, you pull the fluffy blanket over your belly as you commence your feasting. You haven’t had this flavor in a while given that Taehyung didn’t seem to appreciate it all that much, so you were grateful to be able to indulge in it once again. It wasn’t like it was your favorite flavor of all time, but you appreciated the crisp notes dotted with hints of creamy chocolate. You’d take toothpaste-flavored food any day of the week if it tasted this yummy.

You stop shoveling ice cream into your mouth when you remember the ice cream dates Tae used to sneak out of work to bring you on. He loved this one ice cream parlor down the street, always getting the same flavor no matter what. You liked to venture out of your comfort zone a little more, and given how often he took you there, you were close to trying almost all their staple flavors—not counting the seasonal ones. He’d always sneak a kiss from you afterwards, just to claim that he was able to sample all the flavors too. It always made you laugh, but you appreciated his small displays of affection. Especially towards the end, when the two of you began meeting a lot less frequently.

You place the sweet dessert back into the freezer, sighing and running a shaky hand through your bird’s nest of hair. It felt terrible to still reminisce about something that would never be, but you recently chose to forgive yourself when these flashbacks happened. Taehyung was one of those loves you would never forget because of how impactful his presence had been. So maybe if it took you a few weeks or even a few months to finally get over him, it’s acceptable. You knew without a doubt that you truly loved him. But of course, that did not lessen your obligations in relation to finally splitting away from depending on him.

Outside, the sky is glowing with brightness despite being seven in the evening. You lived in the city, meaning that the streets would be alive well into the early morning hours. It was loud and oppressive in the beginning, but you grew accustomed to it shortly after moving here for work. You wonder if you would even be able to fall asleep now without the hum of traffic underlying your dreams.

Maybe getting some fresh air, being around lively human interactions, and just living a little would help you move on. At this point you were ready to try anything. After all, it couldn’t hurt. You weren’t in the mood to cook today anyways.

You decide to dress a bit better than usual, if only for your own self-confidence. Your hands automatically reach for your favorite blouse and your most comfortable jeans from the interior of your closet. A lot of articles you own were actually gifts from Taehyung, so you’re grateful that you still have a few things that you could keep without reminding you of him. You wonder when you would feel comfortable wearing those dresses and belts he purchased for you. He bought them to show off “his girl” but now that you weren’t, did you still have a right to wear them?

When you finally escape from your worries, the cool night air blowing the strands of your hair with a carefree hand, you breathe deeply and try to exhale any stress still entrenched in your body. Tonight was about forgetting. It was about starting over.

It’s Friday today, so the streets are littered with happy couples, arms tangled together and their faces alit with adoration and happiness. You wonder if you looked as lovesick as they did, before ultimately deciding that you probably had. Tae was rarely able to walk the popular streets with you during rush hours, and even then he always wore a black cap with a matching face mask. The two of you grew used to ducking into alleyways whenever he spotted a large group of people heading towards the two of you. You remember feeling the hard brick wall pressing against your back as you waited out the crowds, glancing over at him periodically to smile mischievously at him. Maybe it was the thrill of almost being caught, or maybe he just liked your playful side, but he would usually choose to pull down his face mask just to kiss you when the two of you were hiding. These kisses were different than the post-ice cream date pecks. He’d always linger for a second or two, giving your bottom lip a greedy nip or ghosting the tip of his tongue across yours. No matter how many times he did this, your stomach always did flips in response.

The restaurant you picked is packed today, so you decide not to dine in. It would be rather weird to eat by yourself, especially amidst such a high-energy venue. Thankfully, your simple sandwich is completed rather quickly. You thank the waitress working the front desk before gripping your paper bag, heady with warmth, and head to the closest park.

One of the first places you discovered when you moved here was this community park. It is surrounded by large buildings, but that only added to the appeal of a small oasis surrounded by the mess of city life. You often came here after work, if only to stroll around the well-worn paths and think through how your day went. In the beginning, it had been difficult for you to adjust. Especially in the entertainment business, the higher-ups always demanded more of you. They wanted humor and fun, for you to pull fresh news out of the idols which fans craved. You had to be peppy, excited, and well-versed in the background of whoever you were interviewing. It was tough, but now you knew you had built up quite the reputation for yourself. You enjoyed meeting a variety of artists, most of whom quickly signed up for a repeat interview with you after the first round. You received the recognition and praise you craved, and you knew that you could only soar higher from here.

There are a few people walking their dogs tonight. You give each passing pet a smile when they look up at you with their round eyes and lolling tongues. Having a soft spot for animals, seeing them always made your heart feel lighter even if it was just a glance. Finding a bench is easy for you, especially since most people opted to stroll around this evening. The first bite is always the best, and it rings true tonight without fail. You chew slowly, enjoying the savory celebration over your palate before you slip back into your thoughts again.

You wonder what Taehyung is doing right now. His schedule must be busy, given that he was preparing for his comeback soon. You knew it was right of you to break up with him early enough that he would still have sufficient time to practice, since his work would always be his priority. It would be careless of you to end things with him close to his performances. You loved him enough to think things carefully on his behalf.

You remember how much you cried a few weeks ago, when you couldn’t even leave your bed to make it to work. Every time you blinked, he appeared behind your eyelids. It hurt so much that you never thought you could heal. You hated yourself, hated the universe for tearing the two of you apart. Whatever semblance of perfect love you found was replaced with the growing pain of your careers. You were climbing in the ranks, your days booked with more and more artists hoping to use your show to rise in popularity. BTS was traveling the world, performing for the masses and wooing fans with their genuine personalities in video interviews. As the two of you climbed higher, you also drifted further apart. You were beginning to feel the emptiness of being able to count how many times you had seen your ex every month on one hand.

The sandwich is quickly consumed, so you toss the empty bag into the trash can next to you and let out a sigh. Even though you wanted to not think about Taehyung tonight, it was difficult. Everything reminded you of him. Every time your mind wandered, it somehow ran after whatever remnants of him you still had. However, it was starting to hurt less and less. Instead of having your eyes brim with tears every time you thought about the way he used to look at you, you began to treat it as a silent acknowledgement of the past. You were satisfied with this development, but simultaneously fearful. What would it mean when you could finally think about Taehyung and feel nothing? Would that somehow invalidate everything he once was to you?

Your blouse isn’t doing much to protect you from the chilly night air, so you decide to take another lap through the park before retiring for the night. It’s difficult to see the stars, given the pollution and bright lights, but you like to imagine that they are there—shining down on you. They guide you back to your apartment, never leaving your side even when you shut the door behind you with finality.

●●●●●

Months have passed, and you are busier than ever before. Your coworkers have also began inviting you for dinners and other events more often. At first you were hesitant, not the social butterfly that most people expected radio hosts to be, but you quickly adapted. Everyone was friendly towards you for the most part, and the chatter helped ease and distract whatever sadness your heart was holding on to.

Christmas was around the corner, and you knew without a doubt that the entertainment world would be hosting a multitude of parties for the season. You were willing to join the tight-knit ones where only a handful of people were gathering for some red wine and conversation, but when your coworker invited you to a large rooftop celebration with some celebrities, you couldn’t help but hesitate.

“It’ll be fun! I’ll stick by your side all night if you’re that worried,” you coworker had chirped, a newbie at your company but who remained sociable and energetic nevertheless.

You had laughed nervously, waving her worries away and agreeing to attend. That had got her to finally leave you be, as you fiddled with the lid of your coffee cup and wondered what excuse to give when the date came around. Unfortunately, when December 24th finally did roll around, you simply stared at the calendar hanging from your wall and acquiesced.

Your closet is different now, as most of the items Taehyung purchased for you are now stowed away in a box in the corner. The newbie at the company, her name was Luce or something, had told you that people would probably be dressing nicely for the event. She then spent the rest of your lunch break yapping about some dress she had ordered online while you tuned out to play with the hem of your pencil skirt in nervousness.

Looking at your options, you finally settle on a scarlet dress that you hadn’t worn for a while. It was one of your first pricy purchases after your first paycheck, as a gift to yourself, and you were thankful to find that it still fit you perfectly. It was nothing scandalous, but definitely very different from what you were used to wearing. Pairing it with your beige trench coat, you check your makeup once more in the mirror before heading into the night.

The taxi drops you off at the location with little trouble. The sounds of the party are quick to descend on your ears, so you hand your coat to the coat check quickly before heading upwards to find someone you knew—just to stick around for the party so you wouldn’t feel isolated.

String lights have been strung elegantly across the sky, and you realize that it truly is a wondrous sight. Heat lamps are placed strategically across the floor, and a number of attendees are already sipping champagne and giggling with each other. Almost immediately, you see the coworker you thought of earlier, bounding over to you like an overeager kid and beaming with enthusiasm.

“You actually came!” she smiled, eyes wide as if you were merely an illusion.

“A promise is a promise,” you reply, accepting the flute of champagne Luce snatches from a nearby table to hand to you.

“Do you want to meet some people with me? I think quite a few of the celebs here know you already.”

You take a sip of the drink, appreciating the bubbles across your tongue and the slight flame that blazes in your chest when you swallow. You nod, deciding that socializing was only customary.

Your coworker is right to note that you actually recognize a lot of people in attendance tonight. The awkward feeling you had quickly faded away as you caught up with familiar faces and new ones alike. Everyone seemed to be in high spirits, happy to take a break to visit their friends and family for the holiday season. Their respective companies all allow vacations during this winter season, so their happiness is well-warranted.

It is only on your third glass of champagne, a red color brushed high on your cheekbones, when you take notice of his figure flitting in and out of your view. Taehyung is dressed in a beautiful midnight blue suit, the color flirting between blue and black. His hair is dyed a bright blue, likely due to promotions for his recent album. You can’t pull your eyes away from his tall figure and the way his lips pull in a polite smile at every person who greets him. He looks exactly the same, but then again, would a few months really change a person?

Suddenly, everything is too much and whatever progress you’ve made in the past few months flies out the window. You want to run out the door and back into the safety of your apartment across the city. That sensation only heightens when his dark eyes meet yours, and your stomach drops in fear and trepidation.

The thing about Taehyung is that he’s never shy with you. Even after months of being separated, he still holds your gaze in his own without fail. The two of you used to have staring contests, ones you would always lose, and this moment also feels akin to that. You choose to accept defeat the moment you apologize to your acquaintance and set your glass on the table. Heading straight for the stairs, reminding yourself to grab your stuff from the coat check on your way out, a part of you wonders if he will follow you. It’s fruitless, because what could he even say? You would only shake him off and apologize before running away again. He knows better than to chase after the girl who got away.

When you’re finally miles away, dress discarded on the floor, lying in the center of your cold bedsheets and staring at the ceiling—you realize that you still haven’t moved on.

●●●●●

The beginning of 2020 is nothing if not full of surprises. For one, you quit your job. If anyone were to tell you that you would leave your well-paying occupation one day to pursue a career as a painter, you would probably laugh in their face before recommending one of your psychiatrist friends. However, that joke was your current reality. Unable to take the stress of keeping up with every new act knocking on your door for an interview combined with the way the male high-ups expected you to laugh at the right times and talk pretty during interviews, you handed in your resignation at the end of January.

Perhaps the dumbfounded looks on their faces were worth the loss.

The next day, you book the earliest flight for Paris. You want some inspiration for your art, and what better inspiration could you derive than from a city with a rich history and a penchant for beauty? You had always been into the arts, so this transition came easily. Taehyung used to tell you that you were gifted, but you never took heed of his words. After all, his compliments were freely given to you when he was in a good mood. In reality, the most he ever saw of your skills were the doodles you’d scribble on his hand when he was unconscious from a nap on your couch.

These days, you rarely thought of him. It was reassuring for your heart, knowing that you were slowly accepting a tomorrow without him. The process wasn’t without its pain, but you were thankful at your resilience. You knew that he was doing just fine, as your mutual friends kept you updated whenever they felt like sharing.

Paris at night is a rare type of beautiful. Staring up at the Eiffel Tower, you admire its curves and lines as people glide past you without paying you any heed. You probably stare at the structure for a good 10 minutes without moving, your eyes appreciating the classy nature of its architecture before you decide to head back to your hotel. You wanted to sketch this monument while its shapes were still imprinted on your thoughts.

Turning around to see Taehyung staring at you, the fear you had felt at the Christmas party doesn’t rise up to coil around your throat. It surprises you, even though you had already admitted to moving on considerably. He is still unfairly handsome, his hair back to the natural deep chestnut you were familiar with. When he steps forward, caution enunciated in that single step, you give him a smile to reassure him.

“Long time no see,” you breathe, tucking your hands into your windbreaker.

“Yeah,” his deep voice resonates in that single word of affirmation.

“Would you like to grab a croissant with me?” you offer, unsure how to proceed but deciding to be polite regardless of how uncomfortable everything seemed.

He nods, his tall form quickly falling in step with your own. Taehyung doesn’t say much throughout the entire journey to your favorite bakery, keeping his eyes on the sidewalk underneath your feet.

Sitting outside the store, a warm baked good in your fingers, the silence is considerably more bearable. Eating with satisfied bites, you watch the passerby glide past with radiant smiles and laughter, joking around in French. When you finally brush the crumbs off your lap to glance at Taehyung, he is watching the same crowd as you were. He seems to feel your eyes on him, because he meets your gaze. When you look into his eyes, no more than a few feet separating the two of you, you realize the lack of hurt that typically panged with every mention of him last year.

The realization empowers you, ballooning your heart in your chest. It is not happiness you feel, but something akin to a peaceful acceptance.

“In another universe, do you think we could’ve ended up together?”

His question echoes in the recesses of your mind, and your fingers unconsciously tighten on the thighs of your leggings. This same thought had plagued your dreams early in your break up, as you prayed and wished that if things were different, if your careers didn’t demand so much from the two of you, that maybe there would be a happily ever after and an “us” to hold onto. But this universe, these conditions, were reality. You couldn’t ask him to sacrifice his love for singing, his appreciation of his growing fanbase, his dream—for you. He couldn’t request the same of you either.

“Maybe. Namjoon used to talk a lot about that,” you chuckle before continuing, “Multiverse theory or something like that.”

Taehyung nodes, a small smile appearing across his face when you mention his hyung.

“If he’s right about that, then I suppose so. In another world where you are nothing more than a normal boy and I am nothing more than a normal girl, I’d like to think we could’ve made it work,” you whisper, and when the words leave your lips without shaking, you are proud of yourself.

“I can be happy with that,” he says.

He walks you back to your hotel room, keeping to his thoughts as he does. You don’t mind, knowing that Tae often retreated into his thoughts when he was considering a topic deeply. You momentarily consider asking him why he was in Paris but decide against it. If he was ready for aimless conversations, he would start.

When you reach the hotel interior, a large chandelier illuminating the white marble tiles underneath your feet, he finally pauses to give you his final goodbye. He looks like he wants to say something more, maybe to ask to meet again or something of that nature. Instead he swallows and exhales, “We don’t need another universe to continue being there for each other.”

“No, we don’t,” you agree.

He turns around, bidding you another a small goodbye when his eyes briefly flit to your face. You offer him a small wave in response, watching his broad back retreating out the room and the sliding glass doors. Heading straight for the elevator doors as soon as his silhouette disappears from view, your shoulders relax instantly in the safety of the enclosed compartment.

Perhaps this universe still had a lot left to offer.

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lost-eternity · 4 years

Text

Matchup Requests *CLOSED*

This was done as a trade instead of a standard match up, hence why I am permitting it. :)

Matchup for @stormra

okie dokie I match you with...

I have to admit, this was a bit of a difficult one. It was really between Charles Grey and Sebastian. And it was close. But a few small details caused me to lean towards Grey instead of Sebby. I’ll explain why later on.

First of all, your love languages mesh rather perfectly

Charles Grey’s (inflated) ego causes him to thoroughly enjoy the praise and affection you lavish upon him

He enjoys being treated as a prince and has no inclination to returning these affections

It’s a selfish love but weirdly enough, it works

He also doesn’t give enough craps to care for society or propriety to be embarrassed or ashamed of your advances

He is quite inept at displaying physical affection and his attempts are half-hearted at best

It’s that blasted ego again

But he does try. In his own little way

He may (attempt to) awkwardly cook something for you, or more likely than not, force you to take fencing lessons

He always wins

And he goes really hard on you claiming that you would never learn if he went easy

It’s laborious and by the end of each session you are close to collapsing from exhaustion

Insert a lewd joke here, “Oh, my dear, if this is how easily you tire, I better condition you for my bedchamber...”

Yeah, it turns out he is a complete pervert sometimes

But fencing is one of the few ways he can actually express himself

Which seems a bit paradoxical if that expression is affection or love

But it is kind of cute.

He is determined to teach you, and although he may not be the most outwardly affectionate, the amount of time and effort he invests in you is enough to tell you how much he cares

He is a very busy man you know, running missions and odd errands for the queen

His free time is extremely precious for him

So the mere fact that he is spending it with you is a lot more monumental than most people would assume

But you are smart enough to realise this

And that is one of the reasons I did not pair you with Sebastian.

Sebastian is a lot more how shall we put it... salacious. His flirting is subtle in public but that bastard would do anything to make his lover blush, testing the limits of society and still managing to get by without being caught... somehow. It’s his way of exercising control and I think that would really clash with your love language.

So,

Charles Grey is also a rather chipper fellow.

Like "chipper" may be an understatement

Excitable puppy man is more like it, at least when it comes to fencing... or maiming... the dude has weird hobbies

But he really understands your desire to travel. He is full of jittery energy that he uses releases running errands for the Queen, travelling across all of the UK. And really most of Europe running diplomacy missions and handling sensitive cases

He would probably be hesitant to allow you to accompany him

But you'd wear him down eventually

Grey really understands your wanderlust, he has a hard time focusing on monotonous tasks or locations as well

So he may allow you to join him

With one *small* caveat

You have to defeat him in a fencing duel first

Which is absolute shit. But you understand where he is coming from.

That ego of his leads him to consider himself the best swordsman in Europe, if not the world

He figures that if you manage to strike him down then you could handle yourself with anyone

And that is no small task

It seems entirely daunting and near impossible (which is probably another reason he assigned it)

And that brings me to my next point.

Charles Grey needs some who is open minded and chill enough to out up with his shit

But also stubborn and outspoken enough to shut him down when he tries some spectacularly stupid

Which is why you would work well with him. Not only does your nonchalance perfectly foil his constant energy and inquisitive nature, but you also have set your boundaries and know when to shut down schemes and ideas

So yeah

You begin training extra hard

For maybe like a day

Then you give up

It's hard, everything hurts, you are exhausted, and all you MIGHT get out of it is one lousy trip

So you begin putting training sessions off

"I'm not feeling well."

"I'll start once I finish this book"

"Oooh, it's too late now"

To say that Grey would be discouraged and slightly hurt is an understatement

His passion and life blood is fencing. He has worked really hard to get to this point and the fact that his significant other takes no interest in it wounds him

This could definitely be a point of discourse if your relationship

But you have to remain open with each other and talk it out

That is the most important thing. Communication. And let's be honest. Charles isn't not going to say shit

He is "too manly" or too egotistical to admit his feelings

You'd have to be the one to approach him on the matter

But I feel like you would. You are used to hearing problems from your friends. You know when something is wrong and better yet, you listen

After a talk, he understands that it may not be the fencing specifically you are disinterested in

But you just struggle to maintain motivation

And from that moment on, Charles Grey becomes your personal cheerleader

He's the mom at a soccer game freaking s c r e e c h i n g and going "that's my girl!" whenever you win a match

He takes pride in all he does, and he is proud of his protégé

He never allows you to lose motivation and is (annoyingly) insistent about the fencing

Which again, could lead to some arguments if you resist

But he is doing it from a place of love because he can see how miserable you are cooped up in the same place

He knows you

And finally, the day arrives that you set to duel Charles Grey himself. If you win, you get to attend some of his missions with him (others are too sensitive to risk being seen by a civilian)

You are understandably nervous, but also introspective. Honestly it is probably a tidal wave of emotions far too complex to convey with words

But ill try

Let me just....

This morning was like most mornings.

A heavy fog blanketed the docile countryside, most animals just began to shake off the effects of the previous night's slumber.

Commoners rose with the peeking rays of the sun, beginning to perform their routine tasks before the last of the fog had been burned away by the heat. For most people this day was completely, utterly, ordinary.

But not for you.

This day meant everything. This day meant your freedom.

You had risen before even the sun, shedding your skirts in exchange for ivory fencing gear, exchanging your fan for a rapier and your hats for a meshed mask. This had been your life for the past year, and would continue to be so until your final breath.

But today. Today was different.

Today determined your future. And quite frankly, your sanity.

And all you had to do was defeat your lover in close quarters combat. A monumental task in-of itself. Half of your acquaintances thought you mad, the other half patronized you, treating your struggle as a desperate cry for attention. They simply couldn't understand why a lady would go through such trouble as to challenge the country’s greatest swordsman. A woman's place was in the house, and in home is where she is complete. Why would she bother her pretty little head and sully herself in the wretched world around her? That was a man's job, such trifling affairs should be of no concern for a lady.

"She is odd, that one." They would say. But they didn't understand, how could they?

Raised under the constrictive hand of the patriarchy, they were forced into complacency. A complacency so culturally ingrained that they themselves never sought to question it. Or, those that did often keeled to the whims of man's iron fist in fear of social ostracism and reputational backlash.

But you were different.

From childhood you felt the pangs, the longing to not only see but experience both the beauty and sorrow of the world around you. To learn and ingrain yourself with the cultures, to explore every nook and cranny of your planet. You could never understand why those around you seemed so content with living and dying inconsequentially, never experiencing the midnight sun or the sweeping winds of the steppe. Dying without ever truly living. Merely existing in their self-made reality, completely ignorant to the bright, beautiful world around them.

Why stay put when you can travel?

Why exist when you can live?

These questions, along with the persistent voice of your instructor (and fiancé), kept you focused and motivated. All of that training, all of those hours of arduous, grueling work had lead to this moment.

You stood within the fencing hall, the lack of bodies usually present caused the room to echo with each clicking foot fall on the tile floor. It was wide, empty, and entirely unwelcoming. It felt like a stranger to you, despite the year of training you had completed within its walls.

Before you stood a similarly dressed figure, its face obscured by the dark meshing that covered the helmet.

It was entirely impersonal.

A faceless enemy in a sea of a faceless crowd.

But you knew better. His posture was all too familiar to you. The slight tilt of his head, the pitch of his shoulders, the strangely comforting steady hand in which he held his weapon. This was your lover, Charles Grey. And your opponent.

It was definitely surreal. He rarely ever wore his mask in training. The absence of his characteristic gloating smile and talkative nature felt almost lacking. It was rare that he would be so quiet... so solemn. But he was just as aware of your current situation as you were. And how much it meant to you.

Without a word, he raised his weapon and the battle commenced.

It was an intense battle

With every blow he performed, your parried and dodged

With a feline grace, you danced up-top light heels, twirling and spinning in an almost melodic fashion

Metal clashed against metal, each crack ringing through your ears

You had trained enough with him to know that he had a tendency to leave his left side unguarded and exposed

But he also trained with you to know that you can forget to guard your knees

And as the minutes tick by, marking one of the longest conflicts you had ever had with him, exhaustion sets into your bones

And you falter

The blow is lightning fast, you hardly have a chance to comprehend his movements

But his hips are besides yours, his knee hooked behind your leg.

He pushed you backwards with his forearm, causing you to fall backwards, only to trip on his knee and slam against the ground

Something cool and metallic is pressed to the back your neck

You don't need to look to know it is the rapier and that you have lost

The sound of you two's laboured breaths echoes through the empty chambers

Several seconds tick by as the two of you gather your thoughts

...You... lost

You finally turn yourself around, noticing that Charles had removed his fencing helmet

Damp silver hair sticks to his forehead, matted and plastered across his face

For a moment, a look of sorrow flickered across his handsome features, only to be replaced by that typical cheeky grin

"You lost, luv. Better luck next time, eh?"

You never really had much of a plan

But seeing that smug expression kicked your instincts into overdrive

With one fluid scissor sweep, you dislodged his balancing, a well-placed kick aiming where the sun don't shine toppled him over entirely

And then he was on the floor next to you, his face contorted in an express of pain

You were quick to discard his weapon and straddle him, keeping his wrists pinned above his head to the floor

"Lesson one: never trust your opponent"

You parroted this line to him, one he had told you many of times

He only managed a pained grunt in response

Chuckling, you apologized with a chaste kiss which he all too eagerly accepted

He was probably just being theatrical to get more kisses

You did not have much time to ponder the situation before a polite round of applause erupted from a nearby alcove

You nearly jumped out of your skin

You did not notice the shawled figure, cloaked in all black, like a walking shadow

The figure took a few steps forward, emerging to the light

And that is when you realized who it was

Queen Victoria herself

By her side, astute as always was the man you practically considered a brother

Charles Phipps

By now, you were extremely aware of the suggestive position you were in

Straddling Charles Grey, your hips against his, his wrists clasped tightly in your hands and pinned above his head

And oh, gods that insufferable smirk with which he was regarding

"As you can see, your majesty, my darling is highly... proficient." Grey practically hummed

You quickly scrambled to your feet, unsure how to handle yourself in the presence of a queen

Turns out, Grey had invited her to witness your duel in hopes of securing you a position under her employ. Either as an emissary or housekeeper.

According to Phipps, She was quite impressed by your performance, even though you lost

The only other person she had seen to be able to keep pace with Grey was Phipps... and a certain blonde who shall not be named

And that is the story of how you became the head maid for the Queen herself and an emissary on par with Grey himself, running missions as a husband-wife warrior squad, haha

You two probably met in an odd way

I’d say for a fact that you were attracted to Sphere music hall

It’s like that place was made for you

Semi-modern concert style music hall which people hailing from all backgrounds and classes intermingled together in harmony

Divinations and readings were done for free and in return, each patron was given a bracelet depicting their star sign.

As a matter of fact, a lot had to do with the star signs.

Meditations were conducted in between hours and food served

It was a really great place to go, somewhere you fit it because you had always been an outcast

Forced to keep your craft a secret in fear of retribution from the church, you usually made coin as a street performer and singer

It was not a lot, but it was certainly enough to keep you off the streets

Unfortunately that also meant you were constricted to the same place

Your family had consistently tried to marry you off to some rich white dude

Well, rich(er)

But you did not want to be wife and then a stay at home mother

That was somehow worse than your current situation

Also your opinionated and confident demeanour often scared off potential suitors

It was a serious problem because apparently women were supposed to be soft spoken and weak.

But you on other other hand, never showed weakness

It was far too “masuline” apparently

So you decided to strike out on your own and try to make it as a singer

Easier said than done

In the music hall, you truly felt free to express yourself

Its charismatic leader put major emphasis on the stars and night sky, he was extremely introspective and the two of you instantly hit it off (I considered matching you with Blavat instead of Grey but I kinda feel like you two would work better as friends)

You were completely enthralled with his demeanour and exuberance

And you consistently attended the hall as it was the only place you felt you truly belonged, no one casting judgmental stares, no whispers behind your back, and most of all, you felt a sense of camaraderie that you have never felt before

And as a result, you fell victim to the cult

Initially, the Queen garnered concerns over the existence of this Music Hall and the traction it was gaining. As a result, she sent out her very own Charles and Phipps to scope out the place before sending word to Ciel Phantomhive

Infiltrating undercover as guests, the Queen’s handy butlers began an inspection of the area

There they ran into you

Literally

You were in the middle of entertaining a small portion of attendees with a song at the behest of Blavat himself (he was actually looking to hire you as a backup singer for the Starlight Four but you were not aware of this)

You were reaching the crescendo of your song when a drunken man slammed into you

You uttered an apology but he seemed rather intent on making himself a nuisance

“Watc’ yaaaa, yaaa stoopid *hic* bitccccc”

You took a few steps back in response as he staggered forward, raising a palm as if to strike you

Before you could react, a flash of white covered your vision

A man stood before you, sword drawn and dawned in a blindingly white coat

Silver tresses rolled down his back, as he glared up at your attacker from behind attractively long lashes

How he managed to sneak a rapier into the party was completely beyond you, yet here he was

“Now, didn’t your mama teach you manners?” He cooed, a slightly maniacal smile across his lips

“Yoooou wanna go?” The man sneered, “I can tak *hic* you pwetty boooy”

Of course, this scene began to attract attention

The murmurings and pleasant violin music had all but stopped as thousands of eyes turned to face you

Blavat had to step in, nervously defusing the situation

He had the drunkard escorted out and moved to confiscate the weapon from the white-clad man only to get the think pointed at his throat

“A man’s worth is in his sword. It would be cruel to take that away from him.”

You were entirely unsure if he was being literal or making a dirty innuendo with that statement

Regardless of his intentions, he was promptly thrown out as well

Much to the chagrin of a separate, similarly dressed man who seemed down right exasperated with his partner’s trigger happy (blade happy?) tendencies.

You decided to follow this peculiar stranger out and thank him for what he did

You found him trying to crawl through a window, seeking re-entry into the part.

“Uh, excuse me...” You called to him as he fiddled with the lock on the window. You had no idea how he managed to climb up that high in such a short amount of time, but he had perched himself rather precariously on the window sill.

“Not right now, luv.” He called back, “I am busy.”

“I just wanted to thank you for what you did back there. I could have been hurt.”

He paused, not once looking back at you. “Right. Who are you?”

You were rather taken aback

He literally just saved you, how could he not remember you?

“Look, if you aren’t going to pay me the mind to even look at me, I won’t take the effort to thank you.” You huffed and turned to walk away

“I wouldn’t go back there if I were you.”

His voice caused you to halt in your tracks. You spun around to stare at him incredulously. “Excuse you?”

God, those silver eyes were breathtaking as he gazed at you, practically oozing with a feline grace

“Those people aren’t good people.” He stated in a matter-of-fact tone

“Oh? And what do you know about them?” You retorted defensively

“More than you, obviously.” He finally managed to pry the window open. “Her majesty has good instincts. She knows this place is dangerous, else-wise she wouldn’t have sent me.”

And with that weirdly convoluted and vague sentence, he slipped back inside and disappeared

You were left to ponder the meaning of his words

Her majesty?

This bloak knew the bloody Queen?!?!

What else did he know?

What could possibly be so bad about the hall?

You decided to call it quits early that night to process. You never thought you would ever see him again, or so you thought

You had been doing your research, sticking your nose in places you probably should not have

Blavat, someone you once considered a close and trusted friend almost seemed menacing to you

And he definitely picked up on your closed off body language

But you knew that something fishy was going on during those “private” events. Only specific people were ever invited (AKA not you)

It all just seemed really sus

And you were determined to find out

So you snuck in

Having spent many hours in the hall, you were aware of certain passages and entrances that others were not

And you were able to sneak in without much issue

But you weren’t able to see much

A heavy smoke filled the air, smelling pleasantly of posies and roses

Your eyes began to droop and heaviness set into your lids

And you fell asleep

You woke up, with the concerned and slightly perturbed face of Blavat staring down at you

Well, shit... busted

“We had a nice thing going, y/n. And you just had to ruin it.” Blavat stated callously. “You know those events are private.”

And with that, you were barred from entering the music hall... permanently

This was definitely rather devastating as it was the only place you could truly be yourself without fear of rejection of prosecution

But now you were more sure than ever that something was amiss in that hall

Why else would they be so strict?

You were probably only left alive because they knew that whatever gas they used to put out those in attendance also affected you before you could see anything incriminating

And so you began trying to locate that mysterious man in white

He seemed to have more answers than you did

It did not take long to figure out his name and occupation. Charles Grey. Butler to the Queen herself

He must have been quite the impressive butler to be going out on scouting missions for the Queen and not just serving tea

Regardless, gaining an audience with him was nearly impossible

So you would just have to attract his attention...

Somehow

Given his affinity towards sword fights, you were sure that a loud brawl outside the palace itself would almost certain garner his attention

The real question was, where in the world would you get people foolish enough to pull such a stunt and risk getting arrested

Sooo, maybe not that

You might have to work backwards

Ask around and find those that may be acquaintances with him

Which was a lot harder than it looked

It took days of searching, but you were eventually sent to speak with a mortician who according to your contact “knows everyone who is no one”... whatever that meant

It did not take too long to find out

This mortician was... eccentric to put it in the most polite of terms

But he was definitely connected with Britain's underbelly

Which you assumed is where the “everyone who is no one” comes from

You came in hoping to pay him off, to which he blatantly refused, instead asking for you to make him laugh

Which was an odd request but one which you were willing to comply if it meant breaking the case

You spent hours trying different tactics to no avail

Until you sang a very dirty and very perverted song (Most likely “God’s Loophoel”. Yeah, actually don’t look that up, it is exactly as it sounds)

He seemed to enjoy that far too much as his cackles were absolutely thunderous

In tears, he kindly revealed to you that he was familiar with this Charles Grey and could pull a few favours to get you in contact

But he never said when, nor did he ever say where

But he did ensure word of your snooping reached the ears of Charles Grey who surprised you in your own home whilst you were halfway dressed

He initially was very cross with you poking around, scolding you and chastising you saying that it was “no business for a lady”

But you shut him down pretty quick

And afterwards, the two of you hit it off and decided to make evening tea on Sundays a staple thing

Grey would inform you about the progress of the Sphere Music hall and in return, you would keep well away from it

It worked out for the two of you

But word of your sniffing around had also reached the ears of one certain earl and his own demonic butler

I would be careful about what questions you ask and where you poke your nose

We wouldn’t want it to get bitten off, now would we?

this was a lot of fun to write, I hope you enjoyed reading it, dear. Let me know what you thought

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dweemeister · 3 years

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Movie Odyssey Retrospective

Fun and Fancy Free (1947)

About midway through Walt Disney Productions’ (now Walt Disney Animation Studios) run of package films, it is easy to see how the creative engines of the studio’s staff were beginning to fall apart. Walt’s studio remained deeply in debt even as World War II concluded and its propaganda commitments ended. As such, the low-budgeted but decently-grossing package films remained the studio’s focus, as these films helped the studio financially afloat and to keep the animators in passable artistic shape. The fourth of six films from that era, Fun and Fancy Free – with Jack Kinney, Hamilton Luske, and Bill Roberts directing the animation and William Morgan directing the live-action sequences – contains a poor pairing of two extended short segments and a connecting/framing segment devoid of inspiration. Upon release, the film was instantly the least artistically inspired feature that the studio had completed. Fun and Fancy Free’s nearly nonexistent legacy among other features in the Disney animated canon is no surprise.

Fun and Fancy Free is divided into three: two longer animated segments (the second far more famous than the first) with a transitional live-action segment in its center. Jiminy Cricket (voiced by Cliff Edwards) is present at the film’s beginning, transitional middle, and conclusion.

Jiminy introduces the audience to the story of Bongo, which tells the tale of the eponymous circus bear who want to break free of the circus and live as a wild bear. Bongo will escape, but is disillusioned on his first lonely night in the forest. That is all quelled when he stumbles into a female bear – Lulubelle – he is instantly attracted to. Lulubelle’s feminine charms work because she has eyelashes and a pink bow on top of her head. How could the viewer possibly tell otherwise? Dinah Shore, better known for her music career at this time, narrates Bongo. And the fact that Shore narrates the segment may be the only tolerable aspect to it. What follows is a 30-minute extended short that feels five times too long. As pleasant as Shore’s singing voice is for Bongo’s forgettable songs, this first half to the film will wear the stamina. We learn that the bears of the forest show affection for another by slapping them – not some light pat on the cheeks, mind you, but a full-bodied, potentially cheekbone-breaking wallop to the face.

Bongo’s tedious slapstick seems ripe for a decent Disney animated short film – goodness knows how meta Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) might have approached it or how suggestively Warner Bros. could have depicted the ursine wooing. As strange as the premise can be and as painterly as some of the backgrounds are (albeit not close to the standards set in Disney’s Golden Age), they cannot save Bongo from its narrative disinterest and tired romantic plotting. For readers with children who see this film, a conversation about the bears’ slapping habits is necessary. Fun and Fancy Free’s first half depicts what justifiably interpreted as a cheerful portrayal of domestic abuse – behavior that might rub off on impressionable youngsters. As part of the Disney animated canon, Bongo is like an animators’ calisthenics – a minor routine for more important exercises to come.

With Bongo out of the way, we now come to an interstitial before commencing with Mickey and the Beanstalk (Fun and Fancy Free’s primary claim to fame). This transition stars child actress Luanna Patten as herself attending her own birthday. Her birthday party is just across the street in the household of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen. Bergen is there, along with his dummies Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. Bergen and his dummies were at the height of their popularity in the 1940s – instantly recognizable then, more likely to inspire quizzical glances from audiences in the early 2020s. These several minutes are a decent display of Bergen’s considerable talents, but they assume a familiarity with his work that feels quite dated in the present day (you never know, ventriloquists may someday return to mainstream American culture). They are here to begin telling the story of Mickey and the Beanstalk to Luanna Patten.

For Mickey and the Beanstalk (based on the “Jack and the Beanstalk” fairy tale), Mickey is joined by his friends Donald Duck and Goofy for yet another misadventure. The starving trio are living together – short on luck, short on money. Mickey makes a unilateral decision to sell their only cow for a container of magical beans. Donald, incensed as always, rages at Mickey, and throws the beans away. But the beans are indeed magical and, overnight, a beanstalk sprouts and carries their farmhouse skyward, to the domain of an ill-tempered giant. On occasion, one of Bergen’s dummies or Luana Patten herself will interject during the telling of this tale – an inconvenience, but not overly grating.

Like Bongo, Mickey and the Beanstalk, was a long-gestating plan that, before the United States’ entry into World War II, was planned as a feature (a feature-length Bongo might just make me croak). But the substitution of Jack for Mickey, Donald, and Goofy was not always part of the original plan. In 1940, when Walt first heard the pitch to have Mickey Mouse featured prominently in such a film, he found the idea hilarious. Despite his gut-bursting laughter, Walt told the pitching story writers (Bill Cottrell and T. Hee) that they, “murdered my characters,” and, “destroyed what I’ve been working years to build up.”

Walt’s most cutting criticism towards Cottrell and Hee concerned Mickey. The brash, mischievous Mickey Mouse of the 1920s and ‘30s would rarely be seen again – to Walt’s disappointment in his writing staff. With the studio’s financial situation, wartime commitments, and other projects commanding Walt’s attention, he became disenchanted with his creation, his studio’s mascot. Fun and Fancy Free is the last film in which Mickey is voiced by Walt Disney; he gave the role to sound effects artist Jimmy MacDonald in 1948 (a role MacDonald kept until 1976). And in Fun and Fancy Free, Donald runs roughshod over Mickey and Goofy. If Mickey, Donald, and Goofy had no reputation prior to this film, one might wonder why bother crediting Mickey as a title character in this segment. With Mickey and the Beanstalk, the studio’s mascot was cemented as a somewhat naïve, charming, romantic lead. Mickey’s characterization in this film has held to the present day.

Mickey and the Beanstalk – created in part because Walt’s staff wanted to have their boss voice Mickey once more – exemplifies greater effort than the work on Bongo. It may not be enough to counteract the aftertaste left by Bongo, but contains artistic inventiveness and sly humor that make it one of the better, but not among the best, pieces featuring Mickey and his friends. It closes a wildly uneven film – inessential to the Disney animated canon, but indispensable when pertaining to the history of Mickey Mouse.

Walt Disney Productions continued to make money with the package films, including Fun and Fancy Free, but critics and audiences were becoming impatient with the format and artistic decisions. Innovation in animated feature films had stalled at the Disney studios, as well as American animation at large. Disney’s domestic animation competitors were beholden to the cel animation the studio had standardized in the industry. Whatever artistic daring there was in animated cinema during the 1940s lied abroad, in Europe and Asia. In the immediate post-War years, films like Princess Iron Fan (1941, China); The Lost Letter (1945, Soviet Union); The Czech Year (1947, Czechoslovakia); The Humpbacked Horse (1947, Soviet Union); and others underlined the innovation coursing through animated cinema. The histories of these films and their filmmakers are mostly unwritten, due to Communist shenanigans and Disney’s modern stranglehold on preconceptions about animated cinema.

In an era where Walt Disney Productions was adrift, the likes of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Fantasia (1940) were beginning to seem anomalous, rather than a standard by which the studio measured itself. In 1947 following Fun and Fancy Free’s release, the studio showed no public signs of returning to non-package animated features. Quietly, within the studio’s Burbank campus, the animators were assembling the pieces necessary for that very return.

My rating: 5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. Half-points are always rounded down. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog (as of July 1, 2020, tumblr is not permitting certain posts with links to appear on tag pages, so I cannot provide the URL).

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.

This is the nineteenth Movie Odyssey Retrospective. Movie Odyssey Retrospectives are reviews on films I had seen in their entirety before this blog’s creation or films I failed to give a full-length write-up to following the blog’s creation. Previous Retrospectives include The Wizard of Oz (1939), Fantasia (1940), and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001).

#Fun and Fancy Free #Walt Disney #Jack Kinney #Bill Roberts #Hamilton Luske #William Morgan #Mickey Mouse #Edgar Bergen #Charlie McCarthy #Luana Patten #Dinah Shore #Jiminy Cricket #Donald Duck #Goofy #Clarence Nash #Pinto Colvig #Billy Gilbert #My Movie Odyssey

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sciencespies · 4 years

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Dramatic timelapse from Hubble shows a star literally exploding in nothingness

https://sciencespies.com/space/dramatic-timelapse-from-hubble-shows-a-star-literally-exploding-in-nothingness/

Dramatic timelapse from Hubble shows a star literally exploding in nothingness

With an uncountable number of stars in the Universe, you’d think their explosive deaths would be fairly common. However, rarely do we get to see the spectacular way these supernova events unfold in the visible spectrum – but that’s exactly the treat the Hubble Space Telescope has given us today.

In January 2018, a bright explosion of light was spotted at the outskirts of a galaxy called NGC 2525, 70 million light-years away. In February of 2018, the Hubble Space Telescope turned its Wide Field Camera 3 in the flash’s direction, and started taking pictures.

For an entire year, until February 2019, Hubble continued to take images of the progression of the supernova as it faded over time, until it was no longer visible.

The space telescope just missed the supernova’s peak brightness of about 5 billion times the light of the Sun, but it was still gleaming extremely brightly when Hubble tuned in.

youtube

“No Earthly fireworks display can compete with this supernova, captured in its fading glory by the Hubble,” said astrophysicist Adam Riess of the Space Telescope Science Institute and Johns Hopkins University.

The supernova event itself, named SN 2018gv, is more than just cosmic fireworks though – it’s one of the tools astrophysicists and cosmologists are using to help figure out how fast the Universe is expanding.

It’s what is known as a Type Ia supernova, which occurs when a white dwarf star in a binary pair siphons off so much material from its companion that it becomes unstable and explodes in a supernova. Because this critical mass – known as the Chandrasekhar mass – is within a known range, Type Ia supernovae have a determinable intrinsic brightness.

youtube

There is some variation in Type Ia supernova peak brightness, but it’s related to how quickly the supernova fades, so observing this process closely allows scientists to be able to calculate the peak brightness with precision.

This makes them extremely valuable for gauging cosmic distances. If you know how intrinsically bright something is, you can calculate how far away it is. And if you can calculate how far away something is, you have a useful tool for probing the properties of the space around it.

For instance, distance measurements can affect how much dark matter we perceive a galaxy to have. They can tell us how bright galaxies are. And, of course, they’re key to measuring the speed of expansion of the Universe, a number we can’t seem to pin down, but that is fundamental to cosmology.

This is why Riess and his team – and many other astronomers around the world – are studying Type Ia supernovae like SN 2018gv.

Hubble Space Telescope observations like these are invaluable, and over the 30 years since it commenced operations, Hubble has greatly aided the efforts to narrow down the uncertainty in Type Ia supernovae distance measurements – and calculations of the Universe’s expansion rate in turn.

The James Webb Space Telescope, when it launches, should be able to see Type Ia supernovae even farther across space. That will, of course, be great for science.

But we can’t wait to see the timelapses.

#Space

#10-2020 Science News #2020 Science News #Earth Environment #earth science #Environment and Nature #Nature Science #News Science Spies #Our Nature #outrageous acts of science #planetary science #Science #Science Channel #science documentary #Science News #Science Spies #Science Spies News #Space Physics & Nature #Space Science #Space

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beefcake-angel-dilf-cas · 5 years

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Prompt (given by the lovely @top-crowley-central)

can you write like a small prompt about like some jackass tripping Zira when him and Crowley are taking a walk and Crowley getting SO PROTECTIVE??

————

The leaves the trees swayed quietly as a light gust of wind made its way through the park. It was one of those rare sunny days in London that everyone was determined to enjoy, people soaking up as much sun as possible before more rain clouds began to push through. It seemed everyone was outside, and the park was livelier than it had been in a week.

Aziraphale closed his eyes and took it in, a faint smile playing at his lips. It was a lovely day to say the least.

Unknown to him, his companion had been admiring his blissful expression on his angelic features for quite a bit, only really caring that the weather was bringing such happiness to his angel.

Neither of them had noticed the two young men walking the opposite direction, quietly snickering and whispering to one another while glancing at the couple.

One of the men swiftly kicked their leg out in front of Aziraphale, who opened his eyes in surprise from the unexpected contact.

Suddenly, he was stumbling forward, crashing into the concrete. He managed to catch himself by the hands, which were now covered in scrapes and a small amount of blood.

Before registering what was happening, he heard Crowley shouting at something, and then shuffling footsteps— and then suddenly, the demon was crouched beside him and the park went quiet. Crowley must have paused time for it to go as quiet as it was. “Angel?” He asked softly, gently laying a hand on Aziraphale’s back, the other on his arm.

“I’m alright,” he assured as he straightened, giving a reassuring smile as a blush crept up his cheeks, wiping his hands on his jacket and flinching in pain.

Crowley took the angel’s hands in his own and caressed the palms with his thumbs. As he did, the soft skin began to repair itself, as well as the skin on his knees that was undeniably in the same state.

“Oh...thank you, Crowley!” He said, a small smile on his lips. His eyes didn’t reflect the smile, and it was gone quickly as he averted his eyes from the demon.

“Let’s get you on your feet,” he coaxed, straightening and giving his hand to Aziraphale, who took it without looking up at him. It was obvious the blond was embarrassed about the ordeal, but was trying to play it off.

They were used to verbal assault every now and again, but it was easy enough to brush those off. However, nobody had ever made an attempt to physically assault Aziraphale.

Crowley put a hand under the angel’s chin and gently coaxed him to look up at him. “Angel?” He asked softly. “Are you hurt anywhere?” He asked,sliding his hand to the angel’s cheek.

“No, no...just wasn’t expecting to fall, is all,” he explained.

“Aziraphale...” he began before stopping. Maybe it wasn’t a good time to push. “How about we go to that outdoor cafe you like? The one with the frou-frou umbrellas and little napkins?” He suggested encouragingly.

Aziraphale gave a small, but hopeful smile at that. “Yes, my dear. That sounds absolutely delightful!”

“Then it’s settled,” he said, smiling and letting his hand go back to holding his beloved’s. He gave the angel’s hand a reassuring squeeze and leaned in to kiss his cheek in a rare display of public affection, despite time still being stopped. His free hand gave a quick snap as time commenced, they began to walk again, and another faint thud was heard as a smug smile played at the demon’s lips.

Behind them, the two men had just stood back up and began to walk again, before tripping and falling face-first into the concrete. This cycle repeated for the next half-hour.

“Tonight, I’ll give you a better reason to have your knees in such a state,” he growled provocatively near the angel’s ear, making him blush deeply.

————

Okay, I KNOW the ending was absolutely horrible, but I couldn’t help it!! And I’m not sure I got the “protective” aspect down, but I did the scenario(ish...??) idk, my writing is R U S T Y. Still trying to remember how to be DESCRIPTIVE and FUCKING TRANSITION BETWEEN ACTIONS

but feel free to send me prompts, guys uwu

#good omens #ineffable husbands #aziraphale #crowley #good omens prompt

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holy-ember · 5 years

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Annulment

“Viscount Turo. By the rule of law and the court of man, you have been charged and convicted. Your crimes not simply against the law itself, but the rights of sentient beings across Azeroth. Your acts delivered the spirits of those whom you so condemned to a limbo without salvation. Your misuse of the trust placed upon you to ritualistically abuse those too feeble to stand your torment is beyond what any explanation may excuse. It is with this charge that the Right of Annulment has been granted. May one day, your victims grant you mercy. For the Light shall show you none.”

The hearing was today, after weeks of bureaucratic tennis between the courts and the clergy. After so many years of the two living in a false harmony, still there were days in which some dragged their feet through the paperwork and letters for personal gripes and reasons. Rarely were those reasons in the interest of the ones who suffered most.

But in this instance, the Right had been granted in but one hour. One. In her years as a Confessor she had yet to see such a swift conviction come through. What, then, was the purpose of the hearing? She felt to call it a ‘hearing’ at all was to pervert the word from it’s distinctive meeting. It was more a spectacle, designed for those in power to grant the illusion that there was always a chance for the condemned. A process.

A farce. The Clergy had already penned the guilty verdict as the courts had. Though from that writ, the hangman of Stormwind would be denied his neck to tie. This man was granted the ‘blessing’ of the Annulment. Another perverted term of many. A crooked sense of justice for those with whom death was deemed too much a mercy.

Two hands tapped to the wooden surface of her desk, eyes tracing up to peer across to the face meeting her eyes. Her own, the mirror gifting a view to a face that was neutral. There was a time, not too far in past, where the face that gazed back was filled with doubt and uncertainty. No longer. Was she so lost?

Or was it simply one part of the whole. Another piece. If it was all a spectacle as she knew it to be, was she any more an actress then the playwrights and the method players immersed so deeply into their roles?

She had little time to ponder the facets of things beyond her. ‘Confessor’, she was titled. And perhaps it for the best. Others would take pleasure in the Right. Others have. Others would. But to her, there was no pleasure. Only need. It had to be done, and she would rather it be performed by one whom felt nothing than one who derived a sense of pride and justice from the display.

The bell tolled above, a call to the trial to pass. Her hands lifted to facilitate the golden mask to her face. Fixated, the total cover blocked out her features, leaving an emotionless presentment of the Confessor’s guise. Only worn when one wished to embody what they were, a vessel for the Light.

Another chime of the bell. Time to put on the play.

“Step forward, Viscount Turo... Viscount Turo... Step forward! We shall not del- Sergeant Vaascos, grab him! So now, in the full glare of the Light and in the face of Annulment, now you wish to flee. Be given a chance at freedom, at life, the kind of life which you denied to.. how many!? This is not how your story ends, Viscount. Confessor Tallow, commence the Rite.”

After so many trials of this flavor, it was never different. Never different. In the face of the courts the men and women always varied their responses and affects. Some would smile and joke, others would weep endless, and others still spit in fury. Variation, the many crimes bringing out the deep emotions locked away within the mind.

But not here. Before the Clergy there was always one affect alone: fear. For those who played with the wills of men knew well their pleas fell to deaf ears. Deafened by the wall of separation between the holy and the feral; the wicked and the pure.

Were it so simple.

As her name was brought to surface, she moved forward. Her feet carrying her toward the center of the chamber, surrounded by the dozen golden masks of her fellow Confessors. Those entrusted with the duty of mentally diseased beings such as the one thrown to his knees before her.

Desperation plucked at his eyes, forcing them to blink away the now dry surfaces devoid of tears. Tears that had been cried already, in the bowels of a stone cell. It would do him no benefit to shed them now, the writ already applied. Yani lifted her palm to face the figure, her other upturned as to conduit the beseechment.

“Brothers and sisters, by the right granted to us by the law and the purpose bestowed upon us by the Light, we find the man before us as named Vincent Francis Turo guilty of crimes against the beings of Azeroth and beyond. By his actions, he has proven an enemy to the Living and the Dead, the balance of Order and Chaos, Shadow and Light. By unanimous decision, I act now as chamber to the Light. By my hand, and the will of us brothers and sisters, may the Light see our verdict and carry it out.”

The others knew their part to play. Though one soul always acted as vessel, not one among the Confessors would be free from the verdict. Each lifted a hand toward the priestess, adding their own muttered prayers and affirmations to call upon the Light. As they spoke, the gleam of white flooded the veins of Yani’s palm. Akin to a pathogen is spread rapidly across her flesh, spilling from the holes in her mask once suited for her eyes. All the prayers and calls drowned out the whimpering pleas of the condemned man.

Silenced he was as she pressed her palm to his face, latching down. Two became one, flesh to flesh no longer separated by barriers of physical form. An illumination bright enough to blind; enough to sear the flesh exposed to open air. Yani could feel the Light operate through her, no longer self and self alone but the fuse by which the power flowed.

Annulment. To delete. To not simply remove an entity but to issue a point as if it had never existed in the first place. She felt as his mind was erased, bleached of memory and persona. She felt as his soul was unhooked from the cycle of life and death, doomed to perish in permanence. She watched in a mixture of adoration and horror as the man was cleaned of what made him a man at all. Washed in such a pure Light as to strip him of himself.

And it was done.

Her hand retracted, the illuminations fading within a second’s tick as normalcy returned to the room. The husk once bearing the name Vincent Francis Turo dragged from the room by the two Paladins, left only with the branded imprint of a hand upon his facial features.

Suffer would he for the next few days in a cell until the natural need for water claimed his life. Upon that death, his energy would diminish and fade, removed from an afterlife. Removed from salvation. From atonement.

Yani was pleased when she could remove that mask back in her chambers, setting it to the surface of wood. Her eyes lifted to the mirror once more. Neutral. There was a time, not too far in past, where the face that gazed back was filled with doubt and uncertainty. No longer.

Was she so lost?

#Stories

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lacquerware · 5 years

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I thought we had a deal, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

:Warning: Ending spoilers within. That said, you’ll probably like this game a lot more if you go in knowing how it ends.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided was one of those games I bought the entire Digital Deluxe version of just because it was on sale for the price of like three Doritos bags, and then let collect more than a year’s worth of digital dust on my digital credenza. Then 2019 came, and it was just non-stop brutal action games. First there was Resident Evil 2, which was oppressive enough by default, but then I tried (and failed) to S-rank it to get the infinite ammo cheat; then there was Devil May Cry 5, which wasn’t that brutal until I spent like four weeks trying to clear the Bloody Palace (and never did); then there was Sekiro, which was brutal through and through, the fucking sixth grade dance of gaming. Finally I was sick of trying so much and decided to play a nice, coddling Western game—the kind that caters to the whims of each player, respecting your choices and rooting for your success. There were a few candidates, but Deus Ex: Mankind Divided won out because cyberpunk.

For ninety-five percent of my playthrough, DEMD was really scratching the itch. Protagonist Adam Jensen isn’t just a vehicle for power fantasy, he’s a damned sports car—sleek, powerful, and highly deck-outable with custom features. The entire game is designed to facilitate player whimsy, letting you approach tasks in many substantially different ways. Sometimes fifteen minutes of firefighting or white-knuckled stealth can be circumvented by simply moving a refrigerator out of the way, revealing a ventilation shaft. There’s almost always a ventilation shaft. Sometimes you can hack machine gun turrets to mow down the enemies before they even know you’re there. Your guns are also customizable with different scopes and ammo types, and Adam has a variety of different built-in death implements that all do kind of the same thing in different cool-looking ways.

This is also one of those games where you can save virtually anywhere at any time, so even in those rare moments that I struggled, I was able to save-scum my way to success. Some might find all that coddling abhorrent, but after so many months of getting my ass kicked, this felt like exactly what I was looking for.

Freedom and player choice also play heavily into the narrative—sometimes the game prompts you to select Adam’s dialogue or make a decision that affects the subsequent course of events. These choices contributed to my sense of agency, but also never made me feel like I’d missed out on something big or made a mistake. It felt like there were no wrong decisions. Until the end.

DEMD’s been out a few years now, so there are already plenty of articles and forum threads out there talking about the game’s disappointing ending. It has a few different permutations depending on your preceding actions (more on that shortly), but all versions of the ending are abrupt, poorly realized, and leave way too many loose ends. These are widespread critiques that I agree with, but they’re not what I’m here to complain about. I’m here to complain about how the game determines which ending you get.

Here’s what happens: After lots and lots of stealth across a huge facility, you find your boss, a pretty likeable guy, somehow dying—presumably the terrorists you’re there to stop got him with their guns or bludgeons. He says some sentimental stuff and then slowly closes his eyes and punches out. Then the game poses one of its trademark choices. I don’t remember exactly how they worded the options, but it was something to the effect of “Go after the main bad guy” or “Save a bunch of people who are about to die horribly.” It didn’t even feel like a real choice. I of course went for the dying people. I saved them, and then to my surprise the game prompted me to go after the main bad guy anyway. “A-ha,” I said. “So it wasn’ta real choice.” I commended the game for letting me both have and eat my cake as I started navigating toward the waypoint on my map. But I kept finding the intuitive paths blocked. In the game’s defense, I was relying solely on the map in the pause menu, as I’d disabled the in-game map and waypoint as suggested by ex-Kotaku writer Kirk Hamilton in his “Tips for Playing” article. Up to that point, I’d been very happy with this decision, but in hindsight I wonder if it would’ve preventing about thirty minutes of aimless wandering in this final mission. This was the first and only time I got lost in DEMD, and it was annoying to have it happen so close to the finish line. But what was really unforgivable was what happened when I finally got to my destination.

A cutscene commenced. The main bad guy gazed wistfully out the window at two skyscrapers and issues a brief soliloquy: “Why have you taken so long? I can no longer wait. If only you’d come sooner, Jensen.” Something like that. Then he hit a button on his remote detonator and those two skyscrapers across the way imploded in a very overt 9/11 reference that actually made me tear up a little bit, not so much from sadness as from rehashed shock and terror. What’d I do?!I thought. I thought we had a deal.

The deal, in my mind, was that I could play however I wanted and still succeed. Also, that the game would give me a painfully clear heads up anytime something important was going to happen. DEMD constantly recaps itself, giving you concise plot beats when you start up the game, during load screens, and in the Missions tab of your menu. As someone who habitually tunes out plot, I really appreciated this. Despite the game’s complicated web of political intrigue and interconnected factions, I managed to follow along with the story much better than I typically do. Any time I felt a little lost, the Missions tab would catch me up in less than a minute. Now I found myself having failed at something I hadn’t even realized I was on the hook for. As the rest of the crummy ending played out, I just sat there, stunned by this betrayal.

Afterward, I googled it. Apparently, when your boss dies and you have to choose which path to take, the game secretly starts a ten-minute timer. Even though it presents you with a binary choice, if you want the good ending, you actually have to accomplish both tasks within ten minutes. Bear in mind that at this point, the game has established countless times that there is no player-agnostic clock. It’s not Dead Rising. It works like other open-world sandbox games. You’re free to dick around cyber-Prague at your leisure, even when something urgent is waiting for you at the next mission initiation point. So if they’re going to suddenly introduce a time limit, they have a moral obligation to tell you about it!

Even worse, I also learned that I was supposed to have received either an antidote or a bomb jammer from a decision I’d made much earlier in the game, and that these were supposed to aid me in beating said time limit. In fact, the antidote would have also let me save my dying boss, who apparently had been poisoned, not attacked(???). Somehow, I didn’t seem to haveeitheritem. Maybe I sold whichever one I’d gotten in an absent-minded moment, but that seems like the kind of thing the game would have warned me about, the way it warned me that gun upgrades couldn’t be undone.

It’s also shitty that this phantom time limit kicks in at the place in the game where you’re most likely to get lost (I’m quite confident this is universally true), and right after the game spends like two hours conditioning you to take your time and take out each terrorist one by one. Maybe I should’ve been paying more attention, but I thought in this game of all games, I didn’t have to. I thought we had a deal.

I really enjoyed Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, but it irritates me to think I could have averted 9/11 Part 2 and the death of my boss if they’d simply displayed a clock onscreen.

#deus ex #mankind divided #ps4 #ending #games #gaming #video games #cyberpunk #criticism

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amethyst-camp-blog · 5 years

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Is blue waffle an actual clinical situation?

Blue waffle sickness is a fictional sexually transmitted disease that is stated simplest to affect females. "Waffle" is a slang time period for vagina, and blue refers to one of the imaginary signs of this fake circumstance.

However, this sexually transmitted disorder (STD) is nothing extra than a rumor commenced on the internet. There is no clinical evidence that it exists.

According to online sources, blue waffle sickness is a circumstance that may disfigure someone's vulva and vaginal vicinity and flip it blue. While there are numerous real and life-converting STDs, none of them flip the vulva blue.

Misinformation about sexual fitness can be risky. People elderly 15–25 years vintage are much more likely than older humans to trap an STD. Young folks who flip to the net for sexual fitness advice might also discover incorrect statistics and interact in dangerous sex practices.

In this article, we discuss the truth about blue waffle sickness. We additionally discuss actual STDs, their signs and symptoms, and why it's miles essential to maintain up to date with dependable sexual fitness statistics and secure sex practices.

The reality of approximately blue waffle sickness

Blue waffle disease does not exist. It is a faux STD that originated from online rumors. Pictures displaying a lady's vulva that looks blue and displays scabs or lesions commonly accompany these rumors.

It is doubtful whether or not people have photoshopped these pix, but, irrespective of this, they do not represent the signs of any current diseases. There are not any recognized STDs that cause the genitals to turn blue.

The net is full of false records approximately this fake situation, and its definition varies between websites.

The rumors say that blue waffle disease impacts the best ladies. However, most STDs affect both ladies and men, even though the results for women can be extra excessive. STDs also can have an effect on an unborn toddler.

The supposed causes of blue waffle disorder range from negative hygiene to having common intercourse to having multiple STDs. Some web sites even declare that men can get a blue waffle, however most effective from ladies who practice terrible hygiene.

This isn't proper. Poor hygiene or having frequent intercourse do now not motive the genitals to trade color.

Can you get blue waffle 'signs' from common intercourse?

Sex is a wholesome a part of lifestyles, and those rarely enjoy aspect results from having common sex. However, a person can also enjoy discomfort from some sexual practices.

While the vagina produces its personal herbal lubricant, too much intercourse can cause vaginal dryness and uncomfortable friction. Rough intercourse can cause swelling within the vagina or even tear vaginal tissue. A tear can make a person more likely to develop a vaginal infection.

The signs and symptoms of a few real vaginal infections are similar to those related to fictitious blue waffle. Symptoms of vaginal contamination encompass:

· uncommon, odorous vaginal discharge

· itching, burning, and swelling across the vagina

· burning sensation when urinating

· ache at some stage in intercourse

STDs with comparable signs to blue waffle

STDs, consisting of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis, can produce signs just like those related to fictitious blue waffle.

Some of the signs associated with fictitious blue waffle can arise with real STDs and vaginal contamination, such as:

· a pink or swollen vulva

· unusual discharge from the vagina

· itching or irritation around the vagina

These symptoms may also sign that someone might have vaginitis.

Infections regularly purpose vaginitis. Some vaginal infections are transmitted thru sexual sex, whilst others arise due to allergic reactions or changes within the traditional chemical or bacterial balance inside the vagina.

Advice for secure sex and stopping STDs

Safe intercourse refers to practices that lower someone's chance of catching or passing on STDs. Safe sex continues human beings wholesome as well as safe.

Using limitations, together with male and woman latex condoms and woman dental dams, are very effective in stopping the spread of viral and bacterial STDs. Contraceptive drugs do not protect human beings towards STDs.

People who're sexually energetic have to get tested for STDs frequently, even if they use condoms. Many STDs produce no signs, so people should have an STD without understanding it. The most effective way to recognize positive is with the aid of being examined. Early detection makes treating STDs a good deal less difficult.

The significance of intercourse training

The blue waffle phenomenon is a superb instance of human beings searching for intercourse training from the net and accepting fake data as fact.

Sex educators throughout the USA have debunked blue waffle as not anything greater than an urban myth, however, rumors retain to spread throughout the net.

The vast nature of these rumors indicates that youngsters and teens may also require an extra comprehensive sexual education.

According to 2016, School Health Profiles problems by using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), less than 1/2 of high faculties and much less than a quarter of center schools across the U.S. Are teaching all 19 endorsed sexual health topics.

Without the right expertise of STDs and secure intercourse practices, young humans can also appear to the net to educate themselves and might receive fake information.

Unfortunately, not all children get hold of complete sex training. Inadequate sex schooling is one of the main factors that explain the high frequency of STDs amongst youths.

There are numerous additional motives for why young humans are greater affected by STDs than older people. The motives consist of that they're more likely to interact in risky sexual behaviors, which includes having multiple sexual companions and not using safety within the form of condoms.

Summary

Blue waffle is a faux STD that humans have falsely related to symptoms similar to those of vaginal infections and actual STDs that include chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis.

The great rumors about this fictitious disease indicate that human beings aren't receiving enough intercourse schooling. Without the proper facts, humans might also are trying to find solutions themselves and become believing fake records from the net.

Comprehensive intercourse education is essential to make sure that educators are giving young people the facts and recognize-how to guard themselves, and others, towards STDs.

#Blue Waffle Really an STD #Blue Waffle #Blue Waffle Really

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seharfatima1122-blog · 5 years

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Blur and Creative Photography – Why Your Photos Shouldn’t Be 100% Sharp?

I’ve an image of a blueberry shot at the finish of a spoon with my big scale focal factor. It has an exceptionally constrained profundity of area (DOF). Just, the front of the blueberry is in middle hobby. The relaxation has a first-rate sensitive haze.

The essential observation after I published it on fb become 'it might look better on the off risk that it has been all in canter interest.'

No.

There may be a discernment amongst a few photograph takers who are extraordinarily positioned resources into the information of taking pictures, that absolutely each photo needs to be a 100% sharp. While it is an altogether legitimate decision – and I absolutely bolster the selection to shoot their pics that manner – it is not the 'foremost' decision.

For the ones of us who need to investigate distinct inventive styles, mess around with various focal factors and push the boundaries of what pictures can enable us to do in making craftsmanship, there are a variety of options.

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Note: to resolve, at times a photograph 'only is' out of canter for motives unknown. This text has a tendency to the picture takers conscious resourceful selection to use delicate fine or obscure in a photograph. It might be an unpretentious distinction for some, yet it's far a difference.

Beyond Bokeh

It interests me that numerous picture takers accept as true with all pix 'ought to be tack sharp.' Still, they may be obtainable taking pix of winged creatures, representations or wedding photographs with sensitive obscured bokeh foundations. Notwithstanding, the motives they do as such are impeccably valid.

Some Lensmen Do as Such to:

· Mellow a diverting basis

· Bring the difficulty into significant quality

· Make it tastefully pleasing

· Supply profundity and three-D sense to the picture

Be that as it may, for bokeh to characteristic admirably, you need some explicit additives present and going on. For example, adequate pleasant focal points, a notable deal of separation in the back of the problem to the foundation, and high-quality sensitive light. Few out of each ordinary shoot gives the ones occasions, nor might everybody be able to manipulate the value of the exceptional focal point.

Remember the possibility that we want lots extra delicate first-rate in our image, such as the issue. Possibly, we want the muse sharp, and the subject obscured – a approach regularly utilized in a few street photography styles.

Should not something be said approximately ICM – intentional camera movement? or However Wabi-Sabi, the Japanese/Zen tasteful of the excellence of illness.

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There is such a full-size quantity of different techniques to peer the world and present our photographs with our unique inventive attitude. In the occasion that that suggests spreading stuff on a channel earlier than your focal point, at that point smear-away :).

Figure out the Way to Love the Blur

Carry your hand as near your face as you could, so you can at present highlight on it. The cease result for the foundation? In the event which you pass middle to the muse alternatively, your hand obscures.

A long way off mountains are obscured as we physically cannot listen plainly that remote.

So, it’s not unusual for haze to be available in our photos. Along these traces on the off threat that we use it all the extra inventively to give our pics a change vibe or inclination, we're upgrading a characteristic issue in our fact.

Painters can communicate to a tree in various routes relying upon their strategy and fashion. It is probably rendered perfectly with each leaf painted as an individual aspect. It would have distinct traces speak me to a trunk and branches, or splendid masses out of sight.

Images can be perky, resourceful, complex and masterful too. We will allow ourselves to cherish difficult to understand.

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Planned camera improvement is famous with stands of trees, delicate coastline scenes, and fields of blooms. To improve it, a whole lot step by step, a few humans expand plastic movie earlier than the focus. Or alternatively fold it over the front leaving a bit opening to shoot via.

We recognise blossom/huge scale picture takers who fold bandage texture over the front in their focal factor for an option delicate impact and to encompass a few shadings too. Extending pantyhose over the front of the focal point is also shabby and feasible.

Spreading oil jam on a channel screwed to the front of the point of interest is sensibly regular for an effective sensitive haze effect.

Lens Choices

Lens with a f forestall of 2.8 to at least 1.4 give a really tight profundity of discipline, which functions the concern and mollifies the foundation. Complete scale focal points are first-rate for this effect.

Numerous picture and wedding photographic artists will have an 85mm representation focal point with a f-prevent in this range. Often explicitly used to obscure the muse for a pleasant impact.

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Lens baby are awesome for his or her embellishment focal factors. Their focal factors provide bunches of innovative haze influences. The 'writer' run permits you to pick an express point inside the photo to be in middle whilst softening the rest of. the 'turn' extend offers a swirly bokeh effect out of sight, and there are unique alternatives as nicely.

'Helios' and 'Vivitar' antique focal factors are encountering a renaissance in prominence. They have got numerous progressive bokeh affects (counting the whirl style) and are very shabby in contrast with lens baby. Nonetheless, they may be vintage guide-middle focal factors and may require an authority mount to enrol in for your slicing area digicam, but might they be capable of can be received at actually affordable expenses.

Have Fun

For some human beings, it has a tendency to be startling to relinquish the requirement for sharpness and hold close the gentler facet. Other people take a seat cheerfully in that put and rarely shoot a traditionally sharp shot.

there’re room inner images as an innovative mechanism for us to be ingenious. To relinquish the obvious guidelines, unwind and have an exceptional time conducting something other than what's anticipated.

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Certainly, a few impacts are strong point, and you won't have any choice to use them continuously. Anyhow, you would not use a fish-eye focal factor each day either.

Having a scope of selections gives you appreciably more diploma to shoot in a surprising manner, consist of your certainly one of a kind take an image. Using unique focal points can enable us to see the sector in new energizing ways and open up chances to make paramount pictures.

Methods to Play 1. Bokeh

Bokeh identifies with the pleasant and smoothness of your obscured basis while you shoot the difficulty with a shallow profundity of field. Various focal factors give a shifted type of bokeh. Often, the higher best brief primes or complete scale focal factors have the smoothest, maximum gratifying bokeh.

Bokeh takes place whilst the issue is closer to the digicam than it's far to the inspiration. Capturing wide open, i.e., f2. eight to f1.2 will give greatest haze of the inspiration.

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So, attempt to shoot your subjects extensive open with a decent profundity of discipline. With the foundation in addition far from them, you'll accomplish the pleasant sensitive haze.

2. Specific Recognition

Whilst you join a limited profundity of field, for example, f2.8, with deciding on a specific piece of the challenge, it's going to mollify the whole thing else inside the photo.

Doing as such makes a lovely effect with blossoms and large-scale symbolism.

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3. Shoot Via

Area something before the focal point to include a few dimensions of non-abrasiveness. It can both totally cover the focal point or be folded over it to just mellow the rims.

· You can make use of:

· Nylons prolonged over the focal point

· Gauzy texture folded over the focus

· Plastic movie crosswise over or folded over the point of interest

· Channels spread with oil jam

· Hold texture or blooms earlier than a part of the focus to consist of non-abrasiveness (normal in blossom images)

4. ICM (Intentional Camera Movement)

Purposeful digital camera movement is the point at which the digicam is deliberately moved amid the display commencing and shutting to feature difficult to understand to the image. An independent thickness channel can assist with supplying you with a touch longer display velocity if taking pictures in sunshine.

You may have seen this applied in shots of backwoods with vertical stands of tree trunks.

5. Vintage Lenses

Take a stab at buying 'Helios' or 'Vivitar' lenses (or distinctive options) and related mounts to your digital camera. A massive quantity of those focal points has unexpected greater visualizations (now and then located as a blame) however may be utilized appropriately for revolutionary photographs.

Read also: DIY Food Photography Backdrops Tips: Make it Easy and Affordable

6. Capacity Lenses

Lensbaby offers a scope of focal factor answers for give you a collection of delicate affects.

7. Filters

Delicate consciousness channels get tightened front of your focal factor and are helpful in photo and fabulousness work. Something else, several people imitate this effect in publish-making ready by way of photoshop.

Conclusion

For the folks that endeavour to have every photograph as sharp as might be predicted beneath the situations, continue with your endeavours. At the off chance that you who want extra variety, adaptability, and imagination to your work, there may be space to play and make that fashion of a picture as properly.

See also: Photography Still Life Things: It can Teach your 3 – Still life photography

It would not want to be highly-priced. The antique focal points may be purchased on line for under $100 (contingent upon cargo and alternate charges).

Give yourself authorization to unwind, test and play, and make something unique!

Approach the sensitive side. We love it here! 🙂

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