#feel like i need to make a whole other post to highlight this but i'll think on it more | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thankskenpenders · 5 months

Text

Sonic Prime Season 3: Final episodes, final thoughts

Well, here we are. The final seven episodes of Sonic Prime are out on Netflix, concluding the story of Sonic's adventures in the Shatterverse. I've previously shared my thoughts on the first and second seasons, which I was pretty mixed on, but there were still glimmers of hope. The fluid animation, Shadow being fun in all his appearances, Nine being fairly interesting as a jaded alternate version of Tails, etc. There was enough to make me believe that after some highs and lows there was still the possibility that this show could end on a high note - or at least a decent note.

This did not happen.

Sonic Prime's final season sucks. The ending sucks, and the road to get there sucks. It's left me wondering what the point of all this even was. There are still moments I like that I'll try to highlight, and the animators and voice cast are still clearly giving it their all, but these efforts sadly don't outweigh the overwhelming mediocrity of the story. I would barely even recommend other Sonic fans who are on the fence go out of their way to finish it. I won't begrudge people who got more out of this show than I did, but I think overall I just really, really dislike Sonic Prime.

...The problem, of course, is that all other discussion of the show has been overshadowed by needlessly hostile arguments over its place in Sonic's canon. So we've gotta talk about that, too.

(This post will contain full spoilers for Sonic Prime.)

The show's out of ideas but they've gotta stretch that shit out to hit the 23 episode mark somehow

Season 2 ended with the big twist that Nine decided to betray Sonic and Shadow, taking the Paradox Prism for himself so that he could go turn the empty world of the Grim into his own little paradise, since he doesn't believe he'll fit anywhere else. Nine has made himself the true big bad of the show.

The main impact this has is that now, instead of fighting endless identical Eggforcer bots and members of the Chaos Council over and over, the good guys and the Chaos Council have to fight endless Chaos Sonic-style robots sent by Nine while he goes "grrrrr I need Sonic's energy to stabilize the Paradox Prism." This continues for six whole episodes until the series finale, when the show decides it's time for Sonic and Nine to quickly make amends, fix everything, and send Sonic and Shadow home.

That's pretty much the whole season.

I cannot emphasize enough just how much of this final season is just fight after fight after fight against Nine's bots, and how fucking boring that gets. The season feels like one long, drawn out final battle that did not need to be nearly this long, but Nine had his big heel turn 2/3 of the way through the show and we've gotta fill up the rest of the time somehow. The novelty of the bots being based off of Sonic's friends (including the Chocobo-sized Birdie from the jungle world) really wears off quickly when they're just used as generic, silent mooks that the good guys have to fight by the dozen like it's the climax of an MCU movie. The first episode of the season with Sonic and Shadow fighting the new bots is pretty good, especially because Sonic and Shadow's dynamic is one of the few redeeming aspects of this show's writing, but after that it just gets boring. Three full episodes in a row are spent showing all the characters fighting robots in an empty wasteland while Nine scowls next to a big beam of energy. I found myself missing the in-your-face attitude of Chaos Sonic so much. He truly was one of the best parts of this show.

While the cast is busy fighting all these robots for what feels like an eternity, various things of varying levels of interest happen. There's a halfhearted attempt to have some kind of rivalry between Shadow and the main Grim Sonic throughout the final battle, but it completely falls flat because Grim Sonic has no personality whatsoever. It's like Shadow beefing with an above-average Egg Pawn. (Actually, no, that would be funny.) There's also a death fakeout with the two other versions of Tails, where they make a makeshift bomb and throw it a little too close to themselves on the battlefield and seem to get vaporized. If they had actually died there they would have had the funniest, most pointless deaths in the entire franchise.

I also realized at one point that they were trying to do the Avengers girl power fight thing with the three versions of Amy fighting a bunch of Rouge bots. This was very funny to me. Actually, so much of this is just following the tired MCU formula to the letter. Fighting over a macguffin, two armies just kind of running at each other and clashing in a big empty field, constant one-liner quips instead of actual jokes, the need to take out key targets to make the whole enemy army disappear, a villain who has a point but has to randomly hurt people so that there's an excuse for the heroes to fight him. When combined with how shit the multiverse stuff is, this whole show really is just Man of Action tackling some of the most played out storytelling tropes in modern pop culture in the most bland way possible. What a bunch of hacks.

By far, the one truly fun thing that happens in this protracted final battle is when a giant robot based on Big appears. It doesn't have arms or legs, but it can swing itself around to use its tail like a giant mace, and it can also shoot Froggy-shaped missiles out of its mouth. I wish the rest of the show was even half as fun as this. Again, Sonic Prime has just enough good moments to make you mad that the rest of the show isn't better.

The thing is, all this repetitive (but well-animated) action and the thin excuse plot would be totally serviceable if I just gave a shit about the characters involved. But I don't. I don't care what happens to the pirate version of Amy who goes "arrr." I don't care about what happens to Hipster Eggman. And unfortunately, by the end, I didn't really care about Nine, either.

Nine as a villain

It's hard to criticize the story here without it coming off as a broad condemnation of the tropes at play. The thing is, I like many stories that try to do similar things. I love clashes between heroes and villains that are really just fantastical exaggerations of more personal conflicts. I love stories where a tragic, sympathetic villain lashes out at the world as an expression of the pain they feel, and a compassionate hero just has to get through to them. I eat that shit right up. Undertale is my favorite game ever made. Shit, I love other Sonic stories that do these exact things. And Sonic having to fight an alternate timeline version of Tails also has so much potential for drama!

So I can very easily imagine a version of the show where all this works for me. That just isn't the version we got.

Like I said last time, Nine's motivation is just too sympathetic and understandable for his sudden turn to supervillainy to make any sense. He just wanted to start over somewhere where he can be happy after a childhood filled with bullying and loneliness. Nine betraying Sonic and stealing the Paradox Prism to go make his own world? That tracks! Especially since we don't even know if Nine will still exist if Sonic goes through with his plan to restore his original world! But trying to kill everyone in New Yolk City by tilting the world 90 degrees, intentionally targeting the civilian population because it'll get to Sonic? Nope! Sorry, that's a bridge too far. I don't buy it. He's jaded and antisocial, but he doesn't strike me as cruel. Writing in an excuse about him needing Sonic's energy to fix the Prism does not make this make more sense.

This was really just one of those conflicts where it felt like everyone should stop and talk it out. Instead we got six episodes of fighting before one of Sonic's many, MANY attempts at reasoning with Nine throughout the season finally works. This isn't me pulling some Cinema Sins bullshit where I complain about characters in a work of fiction not always behaving rationally - the real problem is that it's just so damn repetitive waiting for this conflict to resolve. This could have been wrapped up in two or three episodes and instead it takes seven.

A brief aside about that weird Dorkly-ass Sonic Advance 3 flashback scene hacked together with mismatched sprites where Gemerl happens to be present, presumably just because he's a part of the sprite for the Sunset Hill boss, and seeing him briefly makes me remember the extended cast from the games and how much I wish they had just made a cartoon about them instead of a bunch of stock characters wearing the skin of Sonic's friends, but then Gemerl just explodes with the boss machine at the end while Eggman is shown to get away so I guess Gemerl just dies in this flashback

Yeah that sure happened huh

The ending

Despite having a final battle that felt like an eternity, Sonic Prime is a show that just kind of... ends. And that ending is weird and haphazard.

The understanding I had was that Sonic's normal world had "shattered" when the Paradox Prism was destroyed, and from those remnants these new worlds were created. This is why they use terms like "Shatterverse" and "Shatterspaces" and why there's shattered glass/crystal/whatever imagery everywhere. This is a broken, fragmented version of the real universe. Right? Right?? Isn't that the entire premise of the show? And therefore, if the universe has been shattered, then fixing it means putting all the shattered pieces back together. Which I would assume means that the Shatterspaces cease to exist.

So, in the ending... Sonic's world seems to just exist as another Shatterspace. Restoring the Paradox Prism doesn't seem to combine the worlds or anything, it just fixes the broken portal to Sonic's world that exists alongside all the others. So... what exactly was the point of all the shattered glass symbolism?

Things only get more confusing as the ending progresses. Shadow brings Sonic through the portal before the draining of Sonic's whatever energy makes him disappear, and they're transported back in time to right before Sonic broke the Paradox Prism. Only Sonic seems to remember what happened (Shadow might remember, but he doesn't say anything), and with the Paradox Prism never shattered, it's unclear if the Shatterspaces exist now.

I'm not particularly hung up on the time loop ending. It's very much in line with all sorts of classic morality tales like A Christmas Carol or It's a Wonderful Life, where the flawed protagonist goes through some kind of magical experience and then returns home with a new appreciation for the people in their life. It's always been pretty obvious that was the type of story they were telling. I'm more bothered by the fact that there's no time whatsoever spent on whether or not the other worlds and the characters in them continue to exist. Sonic seems to act like the worlds will go on without him before he leaves, but it's not like we get an ending scene that shows how the other worlds are doing, so they really truly might as well not exist anymore. Sonic just wraps up the adventure from the first episode when he gets home, and before he can explain what happened from his perspective he's interrupted by a mysterious energy wave from off-screen and it's off to the next adventure.

(Despite this odd cliffhanger ending, the show is extremely over and not coming back. I have to imagine this is just a "the adventures never end" type ending and not a hint that more shit is going on with the Paradox Prism.)

This ending is also a terrible resolution to Nine's whole arc, despite him being the driving force of so much of the show. The way I see it, there are are three possible fates for him:

The Shatterspaces continue existing, and things go as Sonic expects them to go. Nine is allowed to make the Grim into his own little utopia, and everyone else leaves him alone instead of punishing him for all the trouble he caused. Instead of finding love and acceptance so he can heal from a lifetime of bullying and loneliness, Nine is allowed to run away, isolating himself from every other living being in the multiverse, and live alone as the god of an empty world with only his own creations as company. Sonic was his only friend, and he's gone forever now.

The Shatterspaces continue existing, but because of the time travel ending, most of the events of the show never happened. Sonic never helped defeat the Chaos Council, so they still control New Yolk City. Nine is back to living in this dystopian city with no friends. He never met Sonic.

The Shatterspaces have been erased. After fighting so hard for his right to exist as his own person and not just a "wrong" version of Tails, when the timeline is altered, he just... stops existing. Along with almost every other character in the show.

Do I even need to explain why these are all unsatisfying?

Misc. thoughts

I skimmed over this, but a lot of the final season is just spent seeing Sonic's friends bicker with the Chaos Council and then Sonic has to beg them to get along to save the universe. It gets old.

We also never really got an explanation for why the Chaos Council exists. They can't have come from other Shatterspaces because there ARE no other Shatterspaces. If the original Eggman was just split into five guys or time travel was involved or whatever, it never comes up. I can live with this, but it seems like an odd omission for a children's show that's constantly bogged down in technobabble explaining the mechanics of its extremely small and finite multiverse.

I have no idea where Shadow was for the first part of the final battle. I figured Nine must have captured him off-screen after Sonic first left the Grim, but Shadow was just... hanging around until his cue in the script, I guess?

Sonic saying "help a brother up" to Shadow was funny

Hipster Eggman pointing to one of the few nameless extras who tagged along for the final battle and going "Who are you? Seriously, does anyone know who this is?" was the only funny thing he did in the entire show

Mangy Tails randomly pressing buttons on the Chaos Council's generator like a curious animal and managing to improve its output was cute

Rusty Rose randomly realizes that the Birdie in her chest actually isn't being used as a power source, and that the Chaos Council was just... using that to manipulate her, somehow? I don't really know how that works but whatever

The Sonic Advance 3 flashback uses the actual boss music from the game, but they can't use the real Sunset Hill theme because they didn't wanna pay Masato Nakamura for using the Green Hill motif, I guess

To my fellow fans of bad games: did you know that Man of Action wrote the story for the bizarre Square Enix game The Quiet Man? The one where the lengthy FMV cutscenes play out with muffled audio and no subtitles because the protagonist is deaf, so you can't tell what's going on? And you had to do a New Game+ playthrough to actually hear the audio and understand what's going on? The worst-reviewed game of 2018? That one? I only learned that recently and it blew me away

So yeah, that's the end of the show. I didn't like it, and I don't think I liked the show much as a whole. I am far from alone in this sentiment, but the reasons why people dislike the show... those vary a bit.

The canon conundrum

More than anything else, it seems like most other discourse surrounding this show has been consumed by one talking point:

How can this be canon? Why is it canon?

I want to state very clearly up front that I, too, am a person who's noticed and complained about the inconsistencies with the games in Sonic Prime. Some of the characters are a bit off - or, you know, completely unrecognizable when discussing the writing of some of the AU counterparts. I think it's lame to say Sonic and friends all live in Green Hill and act like that's the entirety of their world. That sort of thing. But if Sega says it's canon to everything else? Sure. Fine. There's weirder shit in the canon.

Really, most of this can be explained away pretty easily. The show was written at a time when Sega was still figuring shit out and there were looser restrictions. Why does Sonic act a little more immature? Probably just because Prime is aiming for a slightly younger audience than the games or the IDW comics. (And also it's, y'know, written by Man of Action, who people have accused of only knowing how to write one kind of protagonist for years.) Why do Sonic and friends live in Green Hill? Because that's the most recognizable location from the games, and the game world doesn't get enough screentime to justify modeling multiple different environments, so they just focus on Green Hill. Why is this considered canon to the games? Because this is the first Sonic cartoon that outright references events from the games as things that have happened to Sonic in the past.

But announcing early on that Prime would be canon certainly let fans' imaginations wander. It was one of the few things we knew about the show before it premiered. People wondered if characters from the games and comics who had never made any appearances in Sonic cartoons might get their time in the spotlight. We wondered if it would tie into the lore or any existing storylines in interesting ways, like the IDW comics do. But above all else, we hoped that its canon status would mean that Sonic Prime would finally be the Sonic cartoon that was faithful to the source material with no catches. We've literally never seen the actual world of the games brought to life in a TV show. Sonic X came the closest, but that still took its liberties. And so hype built for this Canon Sonic Cartoon.

And then it actually came out, and after a brief intro in Green Hill based loosely on the games, it spent most of its running time focusing on things like "what if there was a version of Eggman who was a bratty teen who just wanted to play video games?" The disappointment among fans is understandable. I am disappointed. Look at how much I've bitched about this aggressively mid cartoon.

Some fans, however, came up with an elaborate theory about the series. You see, when asked about the show's place in the game timeline during a live Q&A, Ian Flynn (who only served as a consultant on Sonic Prime and did not write any of it) said this:

"I cannot answer because I know the answer, and you haven't finished watching the show yet."

A couple days later, when answering another question about Prime's place in the timeline and also about a writing discrepancy, he said this:

"As to where it fits on the timeline, I can't speak to it because that would spoil the show to a degree. So you're just gonna have to wait 'til it's done. Towards the other point, I don't know how much I can say, so it's probably better that I not comment. That's a really dissatisfying answer, I know, I'm sorry, but my hands are kinda tied on that one."

I feel the need to quote Ian directly here, because these very basic statements about how he can't talk about behind the scenes shit or anything from unreleased episodes was GREATLY misinterpreted by the fandom. People clung onto Ian's claim that we had to keep watching like a life preserver. Some took it as Ian saying that the ending would explain everything. Finally, we'd have a definitive answer for every little discrepancy and the apparent differences in worldbuilding. An explanation for why Sega and the producers repeatedly insist this show HAS to be canon.

And to these fans, the only explanation that made any sense... would be if the ending of Sonic Prime pulled a Flashpoint.

As this theory explained, the Sonic we were following in Sonic Prime wasn't the Sonic we know from the games and the IDW comics, and likewise the world he comes from isn't really the game world. This is a different Sonic who fights a different Eggman in a world that's literally just Green Hill. It was a hint that something was off all along! But in the end of the series, this Sonic would sacrifice himself to merge all of the Shatter Spaces together and form a brand new world, and that would be the more visually diverse world of the games and comics. According to this theory, Sonic Prime was canon because it was a new origin story for the entire franchise.

I want you to really stop and think about how asinine of an origin story this would be. Really drink this in. The idea that there was another, slightly different version of Sonic who went on a kinda shitty multiverse adventure and then sacrificed himself to create the real Sonic that we've known since 1991. People convinced themselves this made more sense than the simple explanation that a different team of writers got some stuff wrong and Sega didn't make them change it. Interviews where producers talked about drawing on Sonic's "mythology" (ie: they reference the games in the show) were taken very literally - they must be saying that Prime's story is mythological in nature, and that this show would be integral to the games' mythology. Why bother making a show that's canon if it's not going to be crucial to that canon, after all?

The final episodes dropped, and none of this happened. Because of course it didn't. It was all Sherlock fandom-level copium. But fans were left confused by the lack of a grand reveal of where Sonic Prime fits in the timeline, believing they had been promised this, and they turned to Ian for an explanation. Ian's answer:

It doesn't matter, b/c Prime wipes itself out. It's sometime after Advance 3*, but otherwise, it's moot. I didn't want to sour anyone's expectations or investment by spoiling how Prime resolves, that's all. If you enjoyed it, awesome. Savor it. If you didn't, then you can safely ignore it. Simple as that.

* About a trillion people have um, actually'd Ian to point out Orbot and Cubot briefly appear in the show, but if we're really being pedantic here we don't actually know how long before Colors Eggman built Orbot and Cubot, so it wouldn't be fully accurate to say a story featuring Orbot and Cubot couldn't be set before Colors. Either way, a story set anywhere around Colors, or at any point later than that, could still be described as "sometime after Advance 3." Advance 3 is just the most recent game that has specific in-game events referenced in the show. Yes I can feel myself morphing into the nerd emoji before your very eyes

Anyway, this is the latest reason Ian is getting death threats on Twitter. This time it's over a show he barely even had any input on!

I'll cut to the chase. It is truly wild to me that people are getting this heated over canonical inconsistencies in a series as historically inconsistent as Sonic, to the point that they think threatening Ian is justified. The aesthetics of the entire world Sonic inhabits change every other game. Sonic Chronicles may no longer be canon due to the Penders lawsuits, but it was canon at one point, and it took huge liberties with Sonic's world, moving Green Hill off of South Island and reinterpreting Station Square as a tiny outpost in a snowy alpine forest region. Characters' personalities change from writer to writer and based on what Sega wants at the time, with some being WILDLY different across different games. One game Sonic will be stoic and cool, the next he thinks "Baldy McNosehair" is the funniest thing ever. Sega's STILL trying to figure out what Amy's personality is supposed to be. We still don't have the explanation for how the two seemingly contradictory backstories for Blaze can fit together. There have been multiple huge, sweeping retcons, and retcons to those retcons. Sonic Forces claims that Classic Sonic is from an entirely different universe than Modern Sonic, and the plot only makes any sense if that's true - otherwise, Modern Sonic would have already known Eggman was going to beat him and take over the world when he did, because his younger self had already lived through that war. All of that makes no sense in the newly reunified timeline, but Forces is very much still canon.

For fuck's sake, we're talking about the series where Eggman blew up half the moon and then it looked completely normal in every other game after, explained away as "the moon just rotated so we can't see the destroyed side from Earth." This has never, ever, ever been a franchise where everything lines up perfectly with no issues. It's not that serious.

The real core problem with Prime isn't that things don't line up 100% with our current understanding of canon, or that Sonic's characterization means this can't be the real Sonic, or anything like that. The problem, as I've been saying this whole time, is that the story is bad. None of these discrepancies would truly matter if the story was better. They'd just be nitpicks. The fact that Sonic and friends live in Green Hill would be the farthest thing from my mind if the drama was more engaging, if the villains were better, if the jokes were actually funny, if more of the alternate universe counterparts of Sonic's friends had more than one generic character trait each, if the multiverse was more creative and varied, if the final seven episodes of this show didn't devolve into the third act of an MCU movie and then just arbitrarily end, if Nine's character arc actually had a satisfying conclusion instead of ending with either isolation or nonexistence. Maybe we'd be seeing people talk about more than just whether or not it should be considered canon if the writing was any good.

"Canon" is not real, and it sure as hell isn't worth sending people death threats over. It's a storytelling tool. Real human beings decide what does and doesn't go into that canon, or how much they do or don't want to draw on past stories, when creating a new story. Serving that canon is secondary to creating a story where the emotional truth resonates with the audience. And Sonic Prime failed to do that. That is its true failing.

And finally, to close out...

Since people will ask, here are my current ranking of the Sonic TV shows, now that Prime is finished.

Sonic Boom

Sonic SatAM

Sonic X

The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic Prime

Sonic Underground

Yes, I'd say Boom is my favorite. It's far from my ideal Sonic cartoon, but it gets a lot of points for being as funny as it is. But the top four are all shows I'd say I like, more or less. They all have their pros and cons.

So now, uh... I guess let's hope the live action Knuckles show coming to Paramount+ is better than the underwhelming synopsis of "Knuckles helps deputy sheriff Wade train in the ways of the echidna warrior" would imply? Maybe we'll get lucky?

#tkp post #other media

492 notes · View notes

princesscolumbia · 9 months

Text

Star Trek Captains, A Review and Categorization

Star Trek is a show about a Neo-military organization that has rank structures, ships, and fights wars, so naturally there's plenty of captains to talk about, but for this post I'll be highlighting specifically the main cast captains, in something resembling chronological order. (But, I mean, this is Star Trek, so even that's kinda up in the air)

Captain Archer

That Guy who had to hand crank the warp engine up-hill both ways in the blinding ion storm. We don't need no stinkin' Prime Directive! Remember The Alamo Pearl Harbor 9/11 Florida! But...uh, maybe don't be dicks about it, not everyone who looks like the ones responsible for that thing we're never going to forget actually wants us dead. Got transformed into an alien, got possessed by another alien, slept with a couple more. Never got pregnant, though (that was his chief engineer)

Scorecard

Ships commanded: 1

Wars started: 0

Wars ended: 3

Times on screen naked: 1

Nazi facilities destroyed: 1

Category: Grampa

Captain Pike

Midlife crisis? What midlife crisis? Everything's fiiiiine. Now eat something, it'll make you feel better. I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed. Number One, don't tell me I can't adopt more kids, I don't care that they're from the future they're mine now. Besides, we've already got a whole ship-full, what's two more?

Scorecard

Ships commanded: 2

Violations of the Temporal Prime Directive: -3 (yes, it's an irrational number, we're talking time travel, people!)

Musical Numbers Participated While On Duty: 3

Hair: Really Great

Category: Dad (or DILF if you swing that way)

Captain Georgiou

You will be captain when you can snatch the stone from my hand.

Scorecard

Ships commanded: 1

Protege's who required a redemption arc: 1

Awesomeness: Transcendent

Category: Gone too soon, also, MILF who can kick your ass

(Edit: Courtesy of @cheer-me-up-scotty for pointing out an oversite on my part)

Captain Burnham

Cosplays as a Vulcan 'cause she's jealous of her adoptive brother. Accurately called an audience-stand-in-self-insert-mary-sue (shut up, Star Trek fandom invented the Mary Sue, it was a term coined by women fans, so shut up!), but by season 2 she actually gets interesting.

Scorecard

Mommy Issues: Has a subscription

Moms: 4

PTSD inducing life events: Like, all of them

Ships commanded: 3

Mutinies led failed: 1

Category: That One Cousin who married surprisingly well and made something of herself in spite of all expectations

Captain Kirk

Golden retriever energy, would be the Useless Bisexual Himbo if he didn't have so much game. Probably smarter than he lets on. Polyamory King and certified Alien Fucker. Boyfriend is a half-space-elf, main sometimes-girlfriend will go on to create the deadliest super-weapon ever built by humans by accident.

Scorecard

Number of Klingon Bounties on his head: [CLASSIFIED]

Number of women he's slept with: [CLASSIFIED]

Nazi regimes toppled: 1

Number of times he should have had a test that determines if you can stick your dick in it that got named after an upstart from that other science fiction show instead: 1

Ships Commanded: 3

Ships He's Stolen: 3

Category: Slut(affectionate)

Captain Kirk (the other one)

Golden Retriever that got left behind when his family moved away and had to lead a ragtag team of a crotchety older dog and a wet cat on a journey...

No, wait, hold on...

Right! That's the one!

Scorecard

Times he should have been kicked out of Starfleet: At least 4

Ships commanded: 3

Ground transport destroyed: 2 (that we know of)

Number of middle fingers given to Admiralty: 2

Category: Bad Boy

Captain Picard

You know that guy who you see going to the library all the time and always seems to have his nose in a book and always seems to be telling people off for breaking the rules and doing dangerous shit? You'd never know it but he used to be That Guy in college who got, like, ALL the girls and is going to be the Hot Grampa that you don't know how he has that much game, but he got it.

Scorecard

Ships lost in the line of duty: 2

Number of times he married and then estranged his best friend's wife who named their son after her dead first husband: 1

Number of toxic omnipotent and omniscient boyfriends who are obsessed with him and spends their spare time playing with ponies: 1

Category: Inexplicable Sexyman

Captain Badass Sisko

The Cool Dad with baggage. He's got game, but he's got priorities as well, and DON'T mess with his son or you won't even exist anymore to regret it. BLM before it was cool. Led a civil rights riot two centuries before he was born. Space Jesus who can make the best jambalaya you've ever had. Fought and won a war, punched a god, then became one.

Scorecard

Civilizations saved: 4

Native Cultures Treated With the Respect They Deserve: Many

Times He Bent the Rules so his CMO could get some nookie from a Cardasian spy plain, simple tailor: The counter broke

Successful black-ops assassinations completed: 1

Category: BAMF

Captain Janeway

THE single most decorated captain in Starfleet history. Successfully dropped the hammer on dozens of petty tyrants, oppressive regimes, roaming mass murderers, and the Borg. What Prime Directive? Your Mom. Also, probably slept with your mom, that's how much she is the Domme-est of Dommes. She told the Borg to use the safe word...and they DID!

Scorecard

Borg Daughters: 1

Times she told the Borg to step off: 3 (or 4...or 5? Honestly, with the time travel shenanigans it's hard to know for sure)

Nazis she's personally shot: 1

Category: Mistress, but it's "Ma'am" to you

Captain Freeman

She's angry AND disappointed! She's just as good as all the other captains in the fleet, and the good ones know it, but all the rest? They see "cali class" and assume all they're good for is the jobs nobody else wants. But jokes on them, because thanks to that attitude her crew are the flippin' Jacks and Jills of all trades and are more capable of fixing AND fucking AND "fucking" shit up than damn near anyone else!

Scorecard

Times the ship has nearly been destroyed but she and her crew got through it: ...uh...how many episodes are there? And then there's the times that get casual mentions that we never get the details on!

Daughters who should probably be captains now if they were at least a LITTLE more respectful and didn't actively try to piss off Admirals: 1

Times the Cerritos has had to be rebuilt to the point it might as well be called "The Ship of Cerritos Problem": At least 4

Category: Your mom...get back here, I'M NOT DONE TALKING TO YOU!

Captain R'El

Cinnamon Roll, just let m'boy into Starfleet! He just wants a home and a family! I'd like to see full-grown captains who can keep up with half of what this Best Boy is capable of!

Scorecard

Number of species his genetic code is made up of: All of 'em. Even the GODDAMN Q!

Number of Janeways he impressed the socks off of: 2

Quality of his Janeway impression: Bad

Number of Ferengi he out-Ferengi'd: 1

Nazis punched: Give him time...

Category: Teenage Boy Who's NOT GOING THROUGH A PHASE, MOM!

Should I do Captains Shaw and Seven? How about Alternate Timeline Tripp or Future Chakotay? (Going too far down that rabbit hole will eventually lead to Imperial Kirk and Captain Spock from the movies.) Let me know in the comments.

Next Post in this series

#captain r'el #dal r'el #captain janeway #captain picard #captain sisko #captain kirk #captain pike #captain archer #captain georgiou #captain burnham #captain freeman #Star Trek Captains - Review and Category

431 notes · View notes

ingravinoveritas · 2 months

Note

How did u feel with the age gap question was it pr or do u really think he meant it and this was the truth

This is referring to the question asked on The Assembly last night. I'll post the clip here, for those who haven't seen it yet:

A lot of what I felt while watching this was touched on in this incredibly thoughtful post from @body-face-words, so I encourage folks to give that a read. But I think for me, when it comes to Michael's answer, it's not a matter of whether he lied or told the truth. It's that his response was sweet, but it was also a version of the truth that sounded convincing because it needed to, because this was not a time or place where he could say what he actually felt.

I'm really not sure what people expected him to say, in all honesty, as he was never going to say anything that would make him or Anna look bad, and especially not anything that could potentially negatively impact the kids, so he instead gave a very perfect PR answer. This again does not come as a surprise because we know Michael has scripted his answers about AL/their relationship in the past, but I noticed how careful he was in his response, which seems to contrast with how off-the-cuff he normally is when discussing every other subject. Part of what so many of us love about Michael is how unfiltered he is and always has been, with the exception of how much he filters and edits himself when talking about Anna.

It also seemed like, at least from my perspective, that Michael answered the question without answering the question. What the girl asked wasn't so much about the age gap, but about AL being five years older than Michael's daughter Lily, and it would've been a perfect opportunity for him to mention her, or how the relationship with AL affected his and Lily's relationship. He could've talked about the falling out he had with her (and Kate) in 2019 once AL's existence/pregnancy came to light, and what has happened in the years since, or how Lily now gets along with Anna/her half-sisters. But instead Michael deflected from all of that and talked about everything while saying nothing at the same time.

It was also the things Michael didn't say that stood out as much as the things he did. In the entire answer to the question, Michael never once used the word "love." Prior to the show airing, I saw a lot of people online confident that he would say that he loves Anna, but he never did. He never praised her, never talked about the things he loves about her, or how glad he is to be with her. He never once mentioned her by name. The pivot and focus was on the kids, and there was a clear distinction made between how happy he is to have the family he does, rather than to be in the relationship that he is in. Michael's use of the phrase "very happy" was also identical to the wording of a comment AL wrote on Instagram the other day, which added to the whole "reinforcing a public narrative" feeling of his response.

I think what struck me most of all, though, was how somber and heavyhearted Michael sounded while saying how happy he is. It reminded me of the song "I Am a Rock" by Simon & Garfunkel, where the upbeat and cheerful music contrasts starkly with the fraught, angry lyrics. There was no sparkle in Michael's eyes when he said it, no enthusiasm for what he was saying (which is particularly jarring when we know Michael has the capacity for incredible enthusiasm), and his face never lit up while he was talking.

There was one specific moment (which is also highlighted in the body language post) where he seemed to visibly wince and the micro-expressions were in overdrive, and it immediately made me think of a moment from Good Omens:

Time and again, I have seen fans talk about Michael's micro-expressions as an actor and how he uses them to such devastating effect (especially in the role of Aziraphale). And while these two moments are not completely identical, the idea of ignoring how Michael uses those same micro-expressions in real life makes no sense to me at all. In this instance, what we're seeing could be either because he has put so much of himself into Aziraphale that we can now recognize those "Michael" moments...or it could be because in both clips he is performing, albeit for different reasons.

The difference between Michael when he is doing this vs. when he is being genuinely himself is made even more apparent by the question immediately following this one. Unprompted, he brings up David, and the change in his expression and demeanor is swift and dramatic:

Having the mention of David happen so soon after the AL question seemed to highlight so many things. I can't help but feel that David is a security blanket for Michael, something he hides behind when he is feeling anxious or sad or overwhelmed. I wondered if perhaps he was even already thinking of David while answering the AL question, which would explain why he named him so readily--as if his mind needed to drift to someplace else just to finish answering that question.

To me, this made it abundantly clear that David is Michael's safe place. Here was where we saw Michael's eyes sparkling. Here was where we saw him light up from the inside. And it was David he kept returning to and bringing up during the rest of the show in response to other questions. So if that doesn't speak volumes about where Michael's heart seems to be, I'm not sure what does.

So yes, those are my thoughts on Michael answering the age gap question on The Assembly. As always, this is just my interpretation, but I am glad to hear from my followers with your take as well. Thanks for writing in! x

94 notes · View notes

fandomshatefatpeople · 2 months

Note

Hey so I get that this mainly a blog about media but I have no one fat-positive in my life and I need help. I’ve been fat all my life and now I’m on a mood stabilizer that makes me consistently gain weight and like I’m at the point where even plus size stores don’t carry clothes that fit me. Everyone keeps wanting me off the pills but I need them right now.

I worry I’m doomed to never like how I look again because I won’t be able to wear the clothes I want. And with how many health problems run in my family I just don’t have time for the world to get more accommodating.

I don’t know what to do to or how to be happy

*hugs*

I'm so sorry you're having people fat shaming you in your life. I've personally gained like 100 pounds from different psychotropics over the last 22 years. Some of it was really fast (like when I got put on lithium and gained 50 pounds in 4 months). I've done my fair amount of yoyo dieting as a result and let me tell you please start curating your online presence to feature fat positivity. A lot of the fat positivity of the last decade or so is just... it would make teenage me feel a whole lot better honestly. There's tons of resources like @fatphobiabusters and the tag #fatshion if you want to see other fat people who are wearing whatever they want.

I personally gained a lot of weight with my knee injury 2 years ago and its been very comforting to see so much more in the way of options now.

I'll give you a few tips for shopping. 1) only shop sales and clearance on popular retail sites like torrid or lanebryant. (I've gotten so much cute stuff from Lane Bryant that I don't see in their stores and like everything in their stores is for rich people I swear). 2) Shop with different occassions in mind. Pick one fancy dress for things like weddings and parties or clubbing. Lots of chic cocktail dresses can be dressed up or dressed down depending on your accessories. Get some work outfit staples (black pants or skirts are a must have for everyone but as long as you don't shop impulsively and recklessly at the last minute you should find a few things on sale now that will wow people when you finally debut them) 3) I know its hard to shop online but it can get easier if you do a few things. First of all is know your measurements. Get a measuring tape and measure your chest/bust your hips and your tummy where you want your pants to be. (this totally depends on whether you're looking for like high waisted pants or jeans btw).

Ok that's all I can think of right now but I might do a post that highlights my recent shopping sprees.

mod laina

#fat acceptance #fat shaming #psychotropics

102 notes · View notes

myoddessy · 1 year

Note

I’ve just found you from whoetoshaw’s blog and WOW! I love your blog! 💞

🎀 anything with Freezy?! Maybe like a reunion/rekindling type-thing from back then to now? Like friends who were shipped back then and date now? I hope that makes sense 🥲 Xx

aww, thank you!! I was waiting for a prompt like this 😭 I hope you like it!

September 2016.

January 2017.

liked by calfreezy, wroetoshaw, joeygraceffa, and 872,519 others

yourusername Through My Eyes 2016 out now. So much has changed for me over the past year, I (finally) got my own place, I've met so many new people, and we hit 5 million subscribers!! Thank you all so much for all you've supported me through this year, and let's hope for an equally amazing TME of 2017! 💞💞

ynfan4 Oh I've been waiting for the highlight of my year!!

taliamar Good to see my festival feature is still the best part of the video. So proud of you girl ❤️

ynxcal4ever At 14.52 when it's just Y/n and Cal in their kitchen for the last time before she moved out and they remade the first ever thing they cooked together 😭😭 I'm so emotional right now

calfreezy I would say I had a glow up but after watching this I realised that I've always been mindblowingly attractive

yourusername The real reason I had to move out was because your big head was leaving dents in the wall anymore and I didn't want to feel like I was living with two Harrys xoxo 😘😘

wroetoshaw Oi! What did I do?

yourusername Broke my LED mirror by throwing a controller at it.

sdmnsundayz Y/n is a Saint for putting up with them.

January 2020.

liked by youtube, oliviarodrigo, miniminter, and 1,982,370 others

yourusername Through My Eyes 2019 is out now. Enjoy a year of travel across the world and the family who kept me strong through all of it. Thank you all for every line we've crossed and every milestone we hit this year, I love you all so so much 💘💘

calfreezy This is my favourite one out of all of them

yourusername Is it because you're in pretty much every frame?

calfreezy Obviously

freyanightingale Ibiza you will always be famous!

taliamar We need to go back ASAP

yourusername Opening scene to the next tme planned? I think so

ynslover 'Cal and Y/n' this, 'Y/n and the girls' that, yes it's cute but can we take a moment to appreciate how STUNNING she looked in this video???

ynfreezy LITERALLY. Like shes always been stunning but something in the foreign air made her a literal goddess it's not even funny

calsfreezys the bi panic was panicking HARD

taliaxynxfreya Currently crying over the fact that Y/n and Cal were together in most of the shots

w2minter There's no way they're not together.

January 2023.

liked by emmachamberlain, gracieabrams, faithlouisak, and 3,419,778 others

yourusername through my eyes 2022, you are my soul. despite me saying this every time I post one of these videos, I mean it now more than ever. from hitting 25 MILLION subscribers (what???), to hosting interviews at the MET gala, to truly falling in love, thank you to you all, and thank you to the universe for guiding me to where I am now. I truly cannot put my gratitude into words 💞💞💞

faithlouisak beautiful girl, beautiful video, beautiful vibe. the best part of every year xx ❤️❤️

yourusername love u more than words can describe ❤️

calfreezy I guess the amount of clips of you laughing makes up for the lack of me

calfreezy barely, though

calfreezy I better be heavily featured in the next one

yourusername I'll make a whole video dedicated to you if that's what you want

ynfan124 how do his tantrums work on you 😭

yourusername I've learned through many years that its better to just give him what he wants

mintertalia Y/N SOFT LAUNCHING???? this is a make or break for the cal and y/n shippers

yn2s yall still exist? give in, it's been years, if they were going to reveal something then they would've done it by now

mintertalia bro stfu you're a ship account for two people who've called each other siblings 😭

yourusername just posted !

liked by ksi, calfreezy, mikesmic, and 3,998,770 others

yourusername @calfreezy satisfied?

YNXCAL NO FUXKING WAY

ynslover YOU CANNOT JUST DROP THIS ON US QUEEN

calfreezy it'll do

yourusername what if I broke up with you

calfreezy you'd miss me too much

taliamar cuties!!

freyanightingale what happened to soft launching it? 🤣

yourusername got bored, felt like causing drama

#calfreezy x reader #calfreezy #calfreezy imagine #calfreezy x you #calfreezy x y/n #youtube fanfic #youtube x reader #youtube #youtuber x reader #youtuber!reader #wroetoshaw #miniminter #ksi #zerkaa #tobjizzle #behzinga #sidemen imagine #sidemen #eden's 2k tea party 💞

465 notes · View notes

thehollowprince · 1 year

Text

I've already said before how much I can't stand Screenrant, and yet I fall for this clickbaiting rage bait every time I see it among my Google recommendations. Seriously... every time.

And I don't make posts like this because I think it's going to change the minds of anyone who irrationally hates the Jedi because someone in the fandom convinced them too by using guiding terminology. No, I make posts like this so that when someone goes looking, they'll find opinions that differ from what's popular, as well as using facts from the source material to back up those opinions.

So we're just going to go through this, point by point, and highlight the flaws in this "argument."

The only question I have for this is Why?

Why would an organization dedicated to defending peace and justice throughout the galaxy not have a base of operations? This is a question I'll repeat later on for one of these other "points," but it just bears repeating. How is the populace of the galaxy supposed to reach out to these new Jedi for help if they can't find them?

And while it sounds nice on the surface to travel the galaxy and train padawans as she goes, it's totally impractical, considering she's the ONLY Jedi doing this. Like, do you have any idea how long it would take to train new Jedi this way?

Like, I'm all for Jedi traveling the galaxy to bring peace and all that, but to do that, you have to have Jedi to travel.

I know this point has been talked about repeatedly, but let's once again hash this out.

The Jedi did not forbid relationships!

Relationships happen all the time, from romantic to familial to friendship. The Jedi frowned upon attachment. And before anyone hops on this post or jumps into my inbox, please look up the philosophy of nonattachment as it pertains to Buddhism and Eastern Philosophy.

Also, look up the difference between an attachment and a connection.

A Jedi's whole purpose was to put the needs of others first. That's their whole schtick. And if a Jedi couldn't put their commitment to the Order and the Republic above their own wants and desires, they were always free to leave. There are plenty of other Force-based groups in the Galaxy that didn't frown upon attachment or relationships. I don't understand why so many people think that the Jedi should have to change their entire philosophy to account for a few selfish individuals.

Go back and read the books and comics from over the years. With very few exceptions, every time a Jedi tried to have their cake and eat it too, they fell to the Dark Side. So Rey's Order actively encouraging relationships (because that's what Fandom is about anymore) is just going to continue the cycle of the Jedi Order falling because "how dare this ancient organization follow its rules and not throw out their entire philosophy" and thus starting the cycle all over again.

Yes, because having multitude of voices with differing opinions and viewpoints is bad. They should all just do their own thing, Lone Ranger style, regardless of how such chaos defeats the entire purpose of the Jedi.

Side note: what movies was this author watching where they came up with the idea that the Jedi Council thought they owned the Force?

The ranking system was there for a reason.

Can you imagine a new initiate coming to Rey and saying, "Hey, I know I've only been training here for two weeks, but I deserve to look at that Sith holocron because I'm a Jedi and we're all equal members with no rank."

You want them to be vigilantes.

Just say you want them to be vigilantes.

The entire point of the Jedi being such a prominent part of the Republic was to avoid bias in justice. We've seen how Senators and politicians and law enforcement could be bought off, but that wasn't the case for the Jedi. They were impartial peacekeepers and their place within the Republic was a vital part of that.

To me, this feels like the author wanted the Jedi to say, "Since you're mean to us, we're not going to help you," which is the complete antithesis of what the Jedi stand for.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I know your toddler is Force-sensitive, and your house falls apart every time they have a temper tantrum, but I can't help you. We don't offer training until they're older and have already caused massive damage. Best of luck."

Yes, absolutely. Because the defenders of peace and justice throughout the galaxy who should strive to remain calm and keep a level head in the heat of the moment should have LESS training. We just want cops with lightsabers, right?

The Jedi did not join the Republic as a military unit. All the times they acted as military commanders throughout their history was at the insistence of the Republic. Hell, they were drafted to lead the clone armies during the Clone Wars.

The Clone Wars, which I'd like to remind everyone, were orchestrated by several Sith Lords over the span of a decade, after decades more of destabilizing the galaxy. The Jedi specifically tried to stop the Clone Wars from happening, but the deck was stacked against them.

All of this blame on the Jedi for the failures of the Senate and the direct machinations of a Sith Lord who chested his way to the highest office of the Republic.

I highly recommend these people look up what George Lucas has to say about the Jedi and the Force. He specifically says that the Dark-Side is unbalance.

I'd also like to point out that the first mention of "the Light Side" was in The Force Awakens. There is no mention of "the Light" in the Original Trilogy or the Prequels. The "Light" is the balance.

This has been discussed multiple times by multiple people, but apparently it bears repeating.

When did they not "pay attention" to Force visions?

Because in both Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, when Anakin has dreams about his mother and Padme, respectively, he doesn't tell Obi-Wan or Yoda the full extent of them. If he had told Obi-Wan what his dreams were about, they probably would have gone to save Shmi. And it was Anakin's own actions that led to Padme's death, the very thing he'd been dreaming about.

Hell, even when Luke had his Force vision in Empire Strikes back, if he'd heeded Yoda and been more cautious, he wouldn't have lost his hand. I want to remind people that when Luke showed up, Han Solo was already frozen in Carbonite, and Lando was able to save the others without the Jedi. All Luke being there accomplished was him receiving an ass-whoopin' and the revelation that he was Darth Vadar's son.

I don't know why people are so dedicated to trying to smear the Jedi at any and every opportunity, but it's getting boring. Especially when all one needs to do to refute these claims is to just watch the movies.

Like I said in my earlier post, this author wants Rey to create an entirely new organization and just slap the name Jedi on it for branding rights.

#i hate screenrant #in defense of the jedi #pro jedi

313 notes · View notes

yuyu1024 · 5 months

Text

Those eyes

Pairings: Yeosang × y/n

Genre/tags: Friends, first time

Warning: 🔞🔞 fluff, smut, dry humping, mention of masturbation & porn, cursing, no sex [lmk if i miss anything]

Words: 1.9k

Disclaimer:

- this story is just made up

- english is not my first language, please be nice 😊

Note: repost. Check pinned post for more stories✨️

****

Yeosang have missed a lot of your classes since he got into an accident. He got discharged from the hospital and now at home to recover. And as his best friend, you go and visit him everyday to give him the notes and assignments that your teachers asked you to give so he could at least catch up or be in tune with the whole class.

They don't want him to get behind since he is one of the top students in the whole school, not just your class.

"Oh! Y/n, happy friday." Yeosang's mom greets you as she opens the front door.

"Hello again, Mrs. Kang."

"Your just in time." She says as you enter their place. "I just finished helping him cleaning his wounds and make your afternoon snacks..."

"Thank you, Mrs. Kang..."

"Welcome..." she then shows you the tray of sandwiches and fruits for you and Yeosang. "I'll leave you two guys alone for a minute okay? I need to go and have a quick run to the groceries to buy more stocks for our pantry. And maybe go by the pharmacies too..." she then checks her phone for the list of things she needs to buy. "We ran out of bandages and the cream to put onto his scratches..."

"Oh, don't worry about us. I will look after him. We'll get busy studying anyways..."

"Thank you, Y/n...." she pats you on the shoulder, "also a heads up... he's a little cranky... I don't know what got into him... but I hope you make him feel better..."

"I'll do my best. I'll yank his ear if he gets on my nerves." You joke

"Maybe that's what he needs." Mrs. Kang laughs. "Text me if you need anything else from the groceries okay?"

You watch Yeosang's mother grab her bag, her keys and then check her phone one last time before she goes out of the door.

"Have a safe trip!" You say before closing the door.

After she left, you start to do your thing. Your sling bag is still hung across your body whilst you start to carry the tray of the food Mrs. Kang prepared for you and Yeosang.

"Knock, knock." You lightly kick the door with your feet and immidiately see Yeosang carefully climbing onto his bed to avoid his right injured arm

"You're early today." He says

"There is a school fair today so..." you place the tray on top of the beside his bed.

"Ah, the fair. How's our class' booth?"

You frown. "Why worry about that? You know our booth is always the highlight of the fair. Wedding booth is always hyped by everyone." Then you feed him a piece of muscat.

"I guess so..." he says as he chews. "Do we have a lot of assignment today?" He slighty sigh

"Hmm... not really." You jump onto the bed beside him and begin to open your bag and look for the notes.

"Y/n... your skirt!" He takes one of his pillows and place it on your lap. "You could've gone home and changed before coming here."

"Sorry!" You gape at him

"You should be careful when your wearing a skirt!" He looks irritated

"I know... but I'm with you so it's fine!" You throw the pillow back to the other side. "Why are you suddenly yelling at me?"

He sighs. "Nothing..." he massages his temples with his free hand which is covered with scratches. Which is a lot better than the right one which is in a cast and in a sling support.

"You are very snappy... what's wrong with you?"

He looks away from you and just sighed again. "I said nothing..."

"C'mon Yeosang... we've known each other for a long time now... I know something is bothering you. You're not the type to be like this unless something frustrates you."

"You will not understand it."

"Why not? Explain it to me then... is it the homeworks? The notes I've made for you? Or because you're not healing quicker than you want to?"

He went quiet for a bit before he finally decides to tell you the reason. "The latter..."

"The doctor said... you are doing better right? So just give it time."

"I know, I know... but it's not that..." he suddenly looks shy

"What is it then?"

"Promise me that you will not laugh at me."

You blink multiple times, confused. "Laugh? Ahm... okay... I won't. What is it? Get to the point."

He covers his face with his hand, closing his eyes even as he tells you. "I've been a little frustrated because... I can't ma$turbate."

"Huh?" You look confused and doubting if you really heart him say that he's annoyed that he can't jerk himself.

He looks at you, annoyed. "I'm right handed, y/n! I can't use my right hand." He points at his injured arm

"Ooh."

He lays his back on the pile of pillows behind him. "I've been horny and shit and I can't do anything about it." He puts his forearm over his face. "Laugh all you want now... I get it if you find me silly."

But you didn't laugh. You get his frustration. He is a guy after all. You are just stunned as you've never heard him talk about this stuff before.

"I'm not laughing..." you say to him, pulling his arm off his face. "Do you want me to help you?"

His eyes widens at your question. "What?"

"Help you... to release whatever you want to release..."

"Don't make jokes like that."

"Who said I'm joking?" You spat

"We are friends. Best of friends." Yeosang says

"So?"

"What do you mean 'so?' Are you thinking straight right now?" He gets up.

"I am..." you answer with a straight face. "I know you watch p0rn and shit... coz I do too... and pleasuring yourself helps to... get it out... you know... especially both of us are virgins. We do what we can do...you know..."

Now, he is the stunned one. He didn't know you are this open minded by this things. He didn't know you have your own needs like his.

"So... do you want my help or not? We can just continue doing homework if you like..."

Yeosang closes his eyes again, trying to think everything through. Because he cares about you and don't want this to cause any issue afterwards.

"If you don't want to... it's fine." You say as you start to get off the bed but then his hand suddenly stops you mid-way.

"What would you do? To... help me...?"

You smile at how cute his face is, innocently asking you.

"I don't know a lot too... since I've never tried the things I watched in real life... but..."

You slowly climb back up again. But this time not just on the bed but also on top of Yeosang. You sit on his lap, right above his thighs where you could feel his bulge slowly getting hard as he felt your covered core on it.

"We can't start... like this..." you begin to slowly move your hips creating friction between the two of you while making direct eye contact with him. "I might get wet from this..." you quietly say "I might stain your jogging pants."

"I don't care." His mouth is slightly open, breathing is slow but heavy and his eyes are fixated on you.

"Does this feel good?"

"Yes..."

"Do you want something else?"

Yeosang eyes lower his gaze.

"Do you want to touch my boobs?" You ask, smiling

He is breathing louder now as you pick up the pace of you, dry humping him. "Can I?"

"I would enjoy if you do..." you start to unbutton your white blouse uniform. "I have a this thing about... my boobs..." you explain. "I feel like... I like them being touched.. gives me pleasure..."

Slowly revealing you covered boobs and telling him you like him to touch it, made him even harder. You feel his bulge pulsate upon reveal.

He cups both of your boobs, squeezing them with amazement. "They're so pretty." He mumbles

"Ugh..." you moan as you feel your core get wet just from humping him over his pants. "Sorry..." you say as you check his soaked pants.

"Holy shit..." he hisses as he sees it. "Fuck."

"Sorry..." you repeat

"No... it's okay.... it's actually... so sexy..." Yeosang looks at you again. "Can you now... touch my.... my..."

Laying down beside him, blouse still open, "do you want me to give you a handjob?"

He nods with excitement.

"Okay... but let's cover ourselves with your blanket and play a movie on your laptop or something in your TV.."

"Why?"

"Silly you!" You tap your finger on the tip of his nose. "You're mother might get back and check up on us... just to be safe."

"Ah! I see. Yes."

And that's what you guys did. You turned on his TV and played some scary movie so his mom will not find it weird that you to are so close to each other under the blanket. His mom knows you are a bit of a scardy cat.

"You're so smart for thinking about this..." Yeosang says as you both get comfy laying down on his bed.

You put a pillow above you too to hug but also to hide whatever you are doing underneath "you're not the only smart person in our friendship you know..."

Your hand then pushes his jogger pants down a little, freeing the thick length he's been hiding in there.

"Holy fuck!" He hisses as he felt your hand grab him. "Holy fuck y/n" his mouth opens and releases a quiet moan as you begin to move your hands up and down. "This fucking feels... good."

"Your so thick..." you whisper to him. "I wonder if you would fit in me..."

"Fucking hell, Y/n!" He breathes, "don't say shit like that... coz I would.." he pauses as his breathing spikes up. He's getting in his zone. You are really giving him such pleasure.

"You would what?" You ask him

He opens his eyes again and looks at you straight into your eyes. "Coz I would not mind finding out what it feels to be in you...." he leans forward to you to give you a kiss. A long, sweet and lustful kiss.

This kiss is both your first kiss.

"I'm down..." you answer. "I don't mind getting lost into you..."

"Do you want to stay for the night here?" Yeosang asks, "I can ask my mother to call your parents."

"You are eager..." you smirk, "Not tonight...." you pick up your rythm again, making him throw his head back onto the pillow. "We can wait until you're fully recovered... for now... we can just...."

Yeosang starts to moan a little louder. He's so close to his peak.

"F-fuck! Ahhh...."

You watch him go mad under your hands. "Look at me... I want to see those eyes of yours...."

He is taking deep breathes, mouth open and looks at you. His eyes are sparkling. He is on the edge.

"Fuck!" He grunts and hurriedly grabs the tissues he had ready to catch his warm release. "Fucking hell, y/n..." he leans in for a kiss again which you are willing to accept after seeing him so happy and super satisfied. He's cheeks are even got pinkish "Promise me... once I fully recovered... we get to do this again... and..."

"I promise."

66 notes · View notes

wannab-urs · 9 months

Text

The Spreadsheet Digest - Vol 16

Howdy folks,

I went into a state of psychosis this week and read a truly absurd amount of fics... again. I don't even know where I'm finding the time, truly, but here we are. I didn't spend as much time keeping up with the WIPs I'm reading, so honestly that's probably it. Also I had a lil monsterfucking moment one day this week. I'll highlight those green so if you want to avoid reading the summaries/thots on those they're easy to spot.

You can find my Spreadsheet here and all my previous recs here! Do feel free to tag me in your works and I will happily give them a look and most likely you'll see them here the next week!

Recs below the behind the scenes Joel!

SNAFU - a Frankie series by @theywhowriteandknowthings

The Triple Frontier boys as Shifters!!! This honestly makes so much sense? Like they work SO well with this dynamic. I adore Pope and Reader's bond like right out of the gate. What I really, really fucking loved though was Reader and Frankie, of course. I love how they characterized him and I really love the way that Frankie and reader bonded over time. Frankie being grumpy is so fun lol. A lot of the little details in this fic are what really make it good, ya know? The pack dynamics, the bonding moments, the badass reader, reader's uhhh issue (spoiler, I think, so I'll be quiet here) but yeah. Just. Wonderful. Can't wait for more.

only daddy that'll walk the line - a Joel one shot by @millerscoffee

So this request was sent to two different blogs and I read them both and loved them both. I read this one first. I really fucking loved Reader's dynamic with Joel in this. Joel is such a dick lmao. I thought the situation with reader's dad was done well and I also loved the hinting at Joel's trauma. And of course... the smut. God that was hot. Joel is so fucking dominant. The spitting? please. and Reader keeping up the brat thing just really fucking makes it. She needed Daddy Joel to make her behave lmao. SO GOOD

Little Bee - a Joel one shot by @atticrissfinch

And this is the other version of this request that I read. I related to the specifc brand of Daddy Issues in this one lmao. Dad who doesn't want you so you look for a protective older man (why am I like this). I loved the way reader antagonized Joel in this. The denture comment is hilarious. The bee motif is fuckin great, also. I like that Joel kind of initiates things in the mess hall. The smut is so god damn hot man. Like jesus fucking christ. And then the post nut clarity really made me giggle. "should not have done that" PLS

Closer - a Joel series by @beardedjoel

Hot neighbor!joel!! This is a smut marathon style fic with a good bit of feelings. The smut is sooooo good!! I really liked her friend Sofia too. I'm about halfway through this and I can't wait to see how reader and joel's relationship develops!

Rises the Moon - a Joel one shot by @psychedelic-ink

(monsterfucking, but you're the monster! also monster is being used very loosely here) mermaid reader x lighthouse operator joel!!! I really enjoyed this. The mermaid reader was super interesting. I wanted to know more about her background, honestly. And the way poor lonely Joel so desperately wanted to care for her UGH. It was seriously lovely. I also really liked how reader didn't commit to like... giving up being a mermaid for him (even just once a month), and he didn't ask her to. The ending is really lovely. (And the smut is hot idc if I couldn't quite imagine how it worked, it was perfect).

Playing with fire - a Joel one shot by @beskarandblasters

Super hot smutty lil dad's best friend one shot. I love when Joel gets all pissy. Makes me want to tease him even more lmao

Cupid's Chokehold - a Din one shot by @deathwife

I haven't read a body swap fic before and I must say the dynamic with it being Din, so reader can't see his face even though it's her face, and also the smut was just like... really good. I was fascinated the whole time + the smut was hot as hell. It's really fun to read it from the perspective of the dick owner lmao. I really adored their relationship and just overall thought this was lovely. Reader calls Din "Djarin" so if you're like me and marrying Din would give you an awful name (Din Gin....), you're not alone. <3

I think i know - a Joel one shot by @pascalisbaby

OMG Reader's sister is so mean in this she fucking deserves Joel cheating on her. Yes this is Sister's Husband!Joel. And yes it's really fucking hot. Reader is a menace to fucking society in this prancing around half naked and seducing a married man and I support every second of it. I know what Joel said at the end but I think he'll be back for more....

close your eyes, pay the price for your paradise - a Joel/Tommy series by @ozarkthedog

Raider (?) Tommy and Joel are so fucking hot. Read the warnings on this one kids, it's gonna be a rough one. Nothing happens in this part though, really. Basically you're stranded on the road (post outbreak / pre tess) and Joel and Tommy roll up in their truck and take you to their cabin.

a day in the filth - a Joel one shot by @toxicanonymity

This is pure filth, as the title implies. It would seem you're Joel's little sex toy, essentially. Brat tamer!Daddy!Joel. There's a lot going on here and it is all unreasonably hot.

Bodily Exchange - a Pero Tovar one shot by @absurdthirst

I finally caved a read a mafia fic and somehow it wasn't Joel. I really loved how much of a fucking dick Tovar was and how bratty reader was. The end was so much sweeter than expected, which was a nice surprise. Such a filthy fic with a sweet happy ending!

New York or Nowhere - a Joel series by @beskarandblasters

BODEGA JOEL!!! I love when you're trying to help your friend come up with a fic based on a very specific request and somehow you come up with a completely different fic altogether. New York transplant Joel owns Beldro's Deli. You think he's really hot but your friends think he's a creep. I personally think if he's a little bit of a creep that just makes it better, but then again I'm a little insane <3

Shiver and Shake - a Joel one shot by @multiversed-daydreamer

I have ADHD and literally do the thing where I have thought spirals during sex. I loved this take on that experience and mean ol dom Joel being there to bring your focus back where it belongs (on him). Super fucking hot ugh. And it was their first TLOU fic and I thought the QZ Joel characterization was spot on <3

Roads - a Joel series by @milla-frenchy

Baby's first fic!! So you grew up with Tommy, best friends and all that. You get to know Joel as an adult and there's a spark right away. The first installment here takes place 3 years before present day, after Joel breaks your heart and you literally move to get away from him. The promise of so much angst has me salivating almost as much as the really hot smut.

Promise - an Ezra one shot by @criticallyacclaimedstranger

MONSTERFUCKING! I had a little binge this week.. you'll see. Anyway Ezra is a literal actual dragon in this with a big ol dragon dick and everything. This fic includes so many wild ass kinks I simply do not (or did not know I?) have. And yet I still loved it. Thought it was super fucking hot. I really liked the imagery of the castle and the bedroom. Also the end was kind of sweet?

Common Courtesies - a Din one shot by @juletheghoul

More monsterfucking -- demon!din! I fucking love Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen in general. Mr. Darcy is one of the literary loves of my life. This little Pride and Prejudice-esque Demon!Din fic hit every mark. I loved it so much. Din is so charming and mysterious and sexy ugh. I would marry him in a heartbeat.

Solum - a Dave York one shot by @ezrasbirdie

You guessed it! Monsterfucking. Demon!Dave York!!! I really enjoyed the blending of the movie plot with the demon arc! It was so well done!! Dave was super sexy in this ugh. I too feel a strange pull toward extremely dangerous men covered in blood. Reader gets me. I am her. She is me. Demon!Dave can take me as his little human sex toy any day, idc. I also kind of loved that he was so sweet on Carol in this? Like usually in Dave fics he kinda hates her or cheats on her or she's his ex, but in this one the whole catalyst was keeping her and his girls safe. Very sweet.

Sell My Soul For You - a Marcus P one shot by @absurdthirst

--monsterfucking-- Marcus is so sweet. So sweet that Reader is getting a little aggravated he can't be a less sweet in bed. (Girl have you tried like... talking to him about it?) Anyway, sweet, impulsive, reckless Marcus finds out you feel this way via buttdial and does he like... work on it with you and slowly learn to be better? No. He goes out and sells his soul to a demon to be a better Dom. Idiot. He's cute tho, so I'll let it slide. The smut is super fucking unreasonably hot, of course.

Bad Moon Rising - a Jack series by @wardenparker

--werewolf!Jack-- This fic is actually so fucking sweet!! So part one, Reader doesn't know Jack is a werewolf and he just kinda shows up on her ranch and they hit it off immediately. There's lots of lovely animal references and stuff and it's all really hot. I love the plot too!! this is not just werewolf porn! Shit is incredible! I love the characterization. But anyway if you're not into monsterfucking just read part one. Part two tho... oh boy. Full on werewolf sex. And reader has a kink for it! She's just like me fr.

Kudzu - an Ezra one shot by @beskarberry

--weird alien hybrid ezra-- I have lots of emotions about this fic. First of all, read the warnings. They're extensive and they're there for good reason. I love a good horror fic, which is kind of what this felt like? Like the weird tension and unknowing and the freaky way Ez is talking and that arm. I was thoroughly freaked out (and I love that!!). There were so many clever and interesting things going on in this fic AHHHH, Oh and the ending is just like super sweet and wonderful and so good? The end balances out the kind of horrific nature of the rest of the fic. Also if any of that sounds insulting I really don't mean it that way, I promise. I went in to it expecting to be freaked out and it delivered so well.

Yes Father - a Joel series by @chloeangelic

Your boring catholic husband doesn't fuck you right and you really want to leave him, so Father Joel helps you satisfy your needs so you don't destroy your marriage and go to hell. I love blasphemy. It's hot idc. I think my favorite thing about it is Father Joel randomly admonishing you for foul language and taking the lord's name in vain while he's literally got some part of his body buried in yours. I giggled. I really adore this. It was super fun and super hot.

Pillow Talk - a Joel one shot by @theboredinsomniac

Joel is soooo the jealous type. This fic is basically y'all having an adult conversation about him being an insecure jealous little bitch and it's got the most adorable ending.

Born to Run - a Marcus Pike series by @whataperfectwasteoftime

Penny's Marcus is just perfect. Every damn time. Unless I'm mistaken, this was her first Marcus fic? I was in the mood for a sweet multichapter thing with some hot smut and I was sooooo not disappointed by this. I'm on chapter 8 now, so about halfway through. Marcus is so sweet and precious and still impulsive as ever, but unlike Theresa, reader is right there with him. I really adore that this fic takes place in KY (and it really captures the vibe of Kentucky too) since I'm from there! I very much do not relate to the fact that reader is a marathon runner, but that's okay. I think it's really cool and I love the way they meet and that Marcus isn't fully a white knight? She can take care of herself. Super fucking cute fic ugh. Oh yeah and the smut is to die for jesus christ Marcus is hot.

----------------------

Happy Reading!

#fic recs #the spreadsheet digest #fanfiction recommendations #pedro pascal #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro fics #pedro pascal character fanfiction

109 notes · View notes

mseirtaku · 1 month

Text

Me watching travesty that was Kung Fu Panda 4.

Under 'read more', I have my full (unsolicited) thoughts on the fourth film - warning, I don't have much good to say about it 〔´∇｀〕;;

SPOILERS! + LONG ASS POST!

So... I'll start with the positives, because honestly, I do love aspects of this movie.

Any scenes featuring Li and Mr. Ping are the absolute highlights of this film. Love them, ship them, hilarious chemistry between them. I'd watch a whole film dedicated to just them.

Though not as funny as the previous films, it’s genuinely funny, like, some jokes are deadass hilarious. (See above for example lol)

Genuinely, the main villainess, the chameleon, has such a cool design and Viola Davis provides such a good voice for her. The animation whenever she transforms is so cool.

Jack Black as Po is just so charming, you can't help but find Po so likeable.

For what little we saw of Tai Lung, he was a treat to see.

Great animation, lovely scenery, love the little animation flairs during the action scenes

Alright, now time for the negatives... Which unfortunately there is a lot of. I’ll go step by step and build up to the bigger picture I’m trying to visualise here.

The Kung Fu Panda

Po’s character arc was pretty much complete at the end of KFP3, when he has his epiphany and finds that his true self lies in not restricting himself to one label, but by embracing everything that makes him Po. His identity by this point is very well realised. Unfortunately in KFP4, the tacked on conflict of him needing to retire the Dragon Warrior title and choose a successor just… Doesn’t make sense for his character at this point. Not to mention, the movie repeats a joke ad nauseam where no one knows who Po is, or of his adventures, jokingly chalking it down to a ‘regional’ tale. You’d think the literal saviour of China would be well known. The world-building feels so much smaller for it. Unfortunately, this movie is very determined to undermine the impact of the last three movies, all to prop up the wisecracking and super cool shitass Awkafina character. Sorry, not sorry, but Zhen is a terrible character just for that reason alone. If Kung Fu Panda wanted to pass the torch down, Tigress or even Tai Lung would have been a much more compelling option, seeing as both were telegraphed to be potential Dragon Warriors in the past. Speaking of…

Tai Lung

Man… The trailers got my hopes up that KFP4 would feature a long awaited redemption arc for the OG villain of the KFP films. Instead, he’s delegated to a cage for half his scenes, and received the barest minimum of character arcs in the finale. Granted, he was still entertaining to watch, but he was totally under-utilised.

To continue the topic of identity, the film missed the chance to ask this: “Who is Tai Lung without his kung fu?” All his life he’d been raised with huge aspirations to become the best kung fu master, and to eventually gain the dragon scroll (which he was denied.) In KFP4, the chameleon summons him from the spirit realm, and drains him of all his kung fu skill. Therein lies the missed opportunity for a compelling character arc, now that he’s been cast out as a supposedly useless body into the real world. And who better to help him figure out his identity other than Po himself?

I could go on forever about the various fanficy rewrites and plot ideas, but I don’t want to let this get any longer. So I’ll talk about one more topic.

The Chameleon

I love her design, I love her voice acting, but compared to Tai Lung, Lord Shen and even General Kai… She’s simply a weak villain. (Too small to learn kung fu… Really?? With characters like Mantis and Viper who deadass exist in the same franchise???)

‘I’m the Chameleon! I do nothing but change!’ holds such potential for a far more interesting backstory. Instead of being rejected for her size, suppose that it was seen by many king fu masters that she simply didn’t possess a true spirit of a kung fu warrior. As explained in this film, their abilities are harnessed in the spirit/soul, not just the physical body. Perhaps she didn’t want to work for those abilities properly. She wanted the easy way forwards. She didn’t want to put in the proper time and effort to become a master of the craft. Spurred on by what she sees as rejection, she learns sorcery to take on any number of identities of kung fu masters. So many identities she could use to fool herself into believing she was someone talented and gifted in the art of kung fu. But it’s only a lie she tells herself. And so, she takes the drastic action, and decides to start summoning these masters from the spirit realm. But even as she slowly grows in power through the course of this film, maybe a strong sense of imposter syndrome starts to set in. These powers aren’t truly hers - what value does a carbon copy of something original have? Nothing. She never properly worked for them and made them her own.

Anyways. I’m almost done writing.

Quick fire round of criticism;

Akwafina’s shitass character

Furious five just tossed aside except for a non speaking cameo. Tigress got done so dirty - if there are gonna be like three more films, they should have been about her

WHAT DID THEY DO TO LORD SHEN’S CHARACTER MODEL

The goofy-ass way he was attacked and then thrown into the cage, the disrespect lol

Li (the victim) and Lord Shen (the genocidal maniac who destroyed his village and killed his wife) somehow existed in the same space and did not get into a conflict.

Why does Kai still exist in the spirit realm? I thought he was literally skadooshed to be extra double dead lol. Like spirit literally eradicated

Akwafina’s shitass character

The villains bowing to Po feels super unearned given how under-utilised they were. I can see it working, just not in the plot we got in the end

Po’s character feels weirdly dumbed down, it’s hard to put my finger on it

Fart joke :(

The innocent and cute but secretly psycho baby bunnies are the definition of anti humour. They’re so fucking obnoxious and cringey

For some reason, the character designs of new characters feels super incongruous and out of place.

The Dragon Warrior isn’t an inherited title, it was given during a time where China needed a hero. Why does it need to be passed down?

Ȁ̸̺͚̮̘̔̌̇̋͛̀́́̒̉̅̐ķ̶̲͍̘̖͈̭̮̝̩͐̃̎̕w̴̙̖̫̿̿͜a̸̧̠͎̰̲̠̮͇̰̼̱͂̋̃̇̑̍̊̂̎̾̓͝f̶̛̼͓̱͖̖̭͓͍͚͋͛̍ḯ̶͕̈́͛̀̎̆͛n̶͖͓̻̉̆̎́͆̌͌͂̾̉̚a̷̡̻̟̟͍̳̙̰͔̬̜̐̏̾̍̊̎́͂͊͝’̷̢̢̭̬̹̪̟̰̣́̈́̌̈̑̄̔͗̓̃̄̐s̶̡̹̙̖̲̝͎̳͔̍͑́ ̷̢̤̈͊͛̚s̸͓̪̠̼̪̤͈̜̎ȟ̵͇̥͈̟͖͈̣̞͚̘̩͍̓̅̀͐͗͛̏̉̀̒͘͜i̸̛̦͕̖̙̲͔̗̙̘̥̣̰̖͖̭̓̄͂̋́̍̓̃͘t̴̯̯̔̑̈̽̇̋̈́͌͛á̴̡͍͓͎͍͈̖͖͎̼̀́̅̿͌̂̌̆͠s̷̢̳̙̦̯̥̮͕͍̃̃͑̂̎̑̍̀͒̊͘̚͝͠͠s̴̪͖̼͈͂̏̚ͅ ̶͕̺̟̙̲͓̘̟̠͇̩̖̠̦̫̄̅̋̓̈́̓̆͋͝͝c̴͕̤̮̎̿̎͐̀̐̊̆̓̍̾̈́͠h̵̛̝̑̋̎̃̈́̆͋͒̅͊́͑͠͝a̷̡̹͍̳̘̪̰̰̤̼̎̄̈́̚ͅŗ̷̝̲͚̻͚̮͕̳̙̭̻̄͆̇̐̄̐͂͘a̴̡̢̯̩͓͓͂̄͑͗́́͂͠͠c̸̨̺̖̪̙͖̯̟̠͙͐́͊̾̅̎̏͠͝t̸̛̗̣̳̠̯͎̫͔̣̱̞̂̅͑̀̈̄͋̈́̆͘͝e̸̢͎͙̻̩̦̹̜̩̦̖̫͍͂́̌ͅr̵̨̄̅͐̍̏̅̀̃́̇̇̅̕͝

That’s all I have really. Sorry for straying so much into fanfiction territory, but it’s an integral part of my criticisms. I could honestly write forever, but I mainly wanted to share this silly redraw of the Tai Lung meme using Lobster and I’s silly Kung Fu Panda Hetalia gijinka crossover AU nonsense lol

If you read this all the way to the end, congrats! And sorry - I never do long text posts like this lol

#hetalia #hws thailand #crossover au #kung fu panda #kfp 4 #kfp 4 spoilers

29 notes · View notes

lucienarcheron · 4 months

Text

Elucien ( Taylor's Version ) 🦊🌸

Originally made this a few years ago but had to update it with the newer Taylor songs and her versions of the songs! This was inspired by the many many T-Swift songs that fit our lovely OTP Elucien. I will be highlighting all the lyrics that fit Elucien in each song and I have always said, TSwift is for Elucien and Elucien only haha. I started from her earliest albums and worked my way up, so buckle up, this is a long post! You can find the playlist here.

Invisible (Taylor Swift). This is a song I can see from Lucien’s perspective and ugh, it crushes my heart.

And you can't see me wantin' you the way you want her* But you are everything to me And I just wanna show you *She don't even know you *She's never gonna love you like I want to And you just see right through me but if you only knew me We could be a beautiful, miracle, unbelievable Instead of just invisible There's a fire inside of you That can't help but shine through *She's never gonna see the light No matter what you do And all I think about is how to make you think of me And everything that we could beI just wanna open your eyes And make you realize

Untouchable (Fearless). This song genuinely hurt my feelings. Every single lyric works for Elucien. The whole entire song just works from both Elain and Lucien’s perspectives. She’s untouchable, like a distant diamond sky. They’re reaching out to each other by can’t tell why (they can, it’s the mating bond) but my favorite of the lyrics is: Untouchable burning Brighter than the sun And when you're close I feel like coming undone

You Belong with Me (Fearless). One specific part that stands out coming from Lucien’s perspective.

Dreaming about the day when you wake up and find That what you're looking for has been here the whole time If you could see that I'm the one Who understands you Been here all along So, why can't you see? You belong with me You belong with me

Jump Then Fall (Fearless). Lucien’s pov as him and Elain start to get to know each other as friends. Lucien just can’t help the way his heart beats frantically for this adorable girl.

I realize your laugh is the best sound I have ever heard I like the way I can't keep my focus I watch you talk, you didn't notice I hear the words but all I can think is we should be together Every time you smile, I smile And every time you shine, I'll shine for you

Whoa-oh, I'm feelin' you, baby Don't be afraid to jump then fall Jump then fall into me Baby, I'm never gonna leave you Say that you wanna be with me too So I'ma stay through it all So jump then fall

Well, I like the way your hair falls in your face You got the keys to me, I love each freckle on your face Oh, I've never been so wrapped up, honey I like the way you're everything I ever wanted I had time to think it oh, over And all I can say is come closer Take a deep breath and jump then fall into me 'Cause every time you smile, I smile And every time you shine, I'll shine for you

The bottom's gonna drop out from under our feet I'll catch you, I'll catch you When people say things that bring you to your knees I'll catch you The time is gonna come when you're so mad, you could cry But I'll hold you through the night until you smile Whoa-oh, I need you, baby Don't be afraid, please, jump then fall Jump then fall into me

Today Was a Fairytale (Valentine’s Day). The song that summarizes how every day will be for them moving forward.

Today was a fairytale You were the prince I used to be a damsel in distress You took me by the hand

You told me I was pretty When I looked like a mess

Time slows down Whenever you're around Сan you feel this magic in the air? It must have been the way you kissed me Fell in love when I saw you standin' there It must have been the way Today was a fairytale It must have been the way Today was a fairytale Today was a fairytale You've got a smile That takes me to another planet Every move you make Everything you say is right Today was a fairytale Today was a fairytale All that I can say Is now it's getting so much clearer Nothing made sense 'Til the time I saw your face Today was a fairytale

Mine (Speak Now). This is a song I can see representing if (when) Elain leaves the Night Court to work with (become friends) with the Band of Exiles.

Do you remember, we were sittin', there by the water? You put your arm around me for the first time You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter You are the best thing, that's ever been mine

If you think about it, Elain is a rebel waiting to be unleashed. The careful (mediator) daughter of a once careless (up until the end) father. I can see them sitting there, enjoying the silence, and Lucien getting the courage (and with her permission) to put his arm around her for the first time.

I Almost Do (Red). For this song, I view it as Elain’s resistance to Lucien being her own stubbornness. She’s scared of finding something she could want forever, scared of how there’s a pull towards him even when she doesn’t actively want it. Her resistance can be viewed as her fighting the pull of the bond because she doesn’t want to be influenced by it, she wants to make her own choice. I’m sure she could be wondering how often her mate thinks of her compared to how often she thinks of him.

I bet This time of night you're still up I bet You're tired from a long hard week I bet You're sittin' in your chair by the window Looking out at the city And I bet Sometimes you wonder 'bout me And I just wanna tell youIt takes everything in me not to call you And I wish I could run to you And I hope you know that every time I don't I almost do I almost do I bet You think I either moved on or hate you 'Cause each time you reach out there's no reply

Treacherous (Red). This song makes me think of Elain and Lucien both being drawn to each other because they can’t help it, even when they try to resist it. For Elain, Lucien is the hard choice because it challenges everything she’s come to know about the mating bond and takes her away even further from the life she wanted. I can see them hating the attraction they feel but succumbing to it regardless (not as far as haters to lovers but definitely reluctant until they start hashing it out — “is it the bond or do I truly feel this way?”).

I can't decide if it's a choice Getting swept away I hear the sound of my own voice Asking you to stay And all we are is skin and bone Trained to get along Forever going with the flow But you're friction

& Two headlights shine through the sleepless night And I will get you, and get you alone Your name has echoed through my mind And I just think you should, think you should know That nothing safe is worth the drive And I would follow you, follow you home I'll follow you, follow you home

Message in a Bottle (Red). This song is all Elain realizing her feelings for Lucien after all this time and distance. She's reaching out, scared but he could be the one she loves, right?

I know that you like me And it's kinda frightenin' Standing here waitin', waitin' And I became hypnotized By freckles and bright eyes Tongue tied

But now You're so far away and I'm down Feelin' like a face in the crowd I'm reachin' for you, terrified

'Cause you could be the one that I love I could be the one that you dream of Message in a bottle is all I can do Standin' here, hopin' it gets to you You could be the one that I keep, and I Could be the reason you can't sleep at night Message in a bottle is all I can do Standin' here, hopin' it gets to you

This Love (1989). This song is so soft and I want to scream because of how it fits so well. Both Elain and Lucien would consider the bond both positive and negative because of how it came to be, how it shifts their memories and faithfulness to their previous lovers.

In silent screams and wildest dreams I never dreamed of this

Tossing, turning Struggled through the night with someone new And I could go on and on, on and on Lantern, burning Flickered in my mind, only you

This love left a permanent mark This love is glowing in the dark, oh-oh, oh These hands had to let it go free, and This love came back to me, oh-oh, oh

Your smile, my ghost I fell to my knees When you're young, you just run But you come back to what you need

Wonderland (1989). Certain lyrics reminded me of their moments with Hybern when Elain got turned. The few moments before, when Lucien picked her up and away from the cauldron tipping Nesta so Elain doesn’t get wet. The tense, crazy moments after finding out she’s his mate.

Flashing lights and we Took a wrong turn and we Fell down a rabbit hole You held on tight to me 'Cause nothing's as it seems And spinning out of control

I reached for you But you were gone I knew I had to go back home You search the world for something else To make you feel like what we had And in the end, in Wonderland, we both went mad

You Are In Love (1989). This song screams Elain watching up one night and looking at Lucien's sleeping body next to her and realizing, "Oh. This. This is it."

One look, dark room Meant just for you

No proof, not much But you saw enough

No proof, one touch But you felt enough

You can hear it in the silence, silence, you You can feel it on the way home, way home, you You can see it with the lights out, lights out You are in love, true love You are in love

You kiss on sidewalks You fight and you talk One night he wakes Strange look on his face Pauses, then says You're my best friend And you knew what it was He is in love

You two are dancing in a snow globe, 'round and 'round And he keeps the picture of you in his office downtown And you understand now why they lost their minds and fought the wars And why I've spent my whole life tryin' to put it into words

Delicate (Reputation). Normally this is a Nessian song for me but with Elucien? This is a song that is going on as they very slowly get to know each other, possibly pretending they’re not falling very deeply in love with each other because it’s too #delicate to rock the boat.

You must like me for me Yeah, I want you

Is it cool that I said all that? Is it too soon to do this yet? 'Cause I know that it's delicate

Isn't it, isn't it, isn't it? Isn't it? Isn't it, isn't it, isn't it? Isn't it delicate?

Sometimes I wonder; when you sleep Are you ever dreaming of me? Sometimes when I look into your eyes I pretend you're mine, all the damn time 'Cause I like you

So It Goes (Reputation). This is the moment Elain and Lucien stare at each other, seeing each other for the first time as equals and not...fighting it. The moment right before...the kiss and they fall. But when you get me alone, it's so simple 'Cause baby, I know what you know We can feel it And all the pieces fall Right into place Getting caught up in a moment Lipstick on your face So it goes I'm yours to keep And I'm yours to lose You know I'm not a bad girl But I do bad things with you So it goes

Dress (Reputation). Does this one even need explaining? Elain and Lucien exploring their relationship without anyone knowing, without anyone interfering. Shameless plug of my own fic where I used this song just for them.

Our secret moments in your crowded room They've got no idea about me and you There is an indentation in the shape of you Made your mark on me, a golden tattoo

All of this silence and patience, pining in anticipation My hands are shaking from holding back from you (ah, ah, ah) All of this silence and patience, pining and desperately waiting My hands are shaking from holding back from all this

Inescapable, I'm not even gonna try And if I get burned, at least we were electrified I'm spilling wine in the bathtub, you kiss my face and we're both drunk Everyone thinks that they know us, but they know nothing about

Lover ft. Shawn Mendes (Lover). Once they’ve opened themselves to the beauty of what they have together? Inseparable.

Can I go where you go? Can we always be this close? Forever and ever, ah Take me out, and take me home You're my, my, my, my lover &

I'll sing love songs to you when we're eighty See, I finally got you now, honey, I won't let you fall

Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand? With every guitar string scar on my hand I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover Look in my eyes, they will tell you the truth The girl in my story has always been you I'd go down with the Titanic, it's true, for you, lover And you'll save all your dirtiest jokes for me And at every table, I'll save you a seat, lover

The Archer (Lover). I see this as a very Elain song as she’s battling with her own self and mindset as well as what the bond means to her and her potential with Lucien.

Combat, I'm ready for combat I say I don't want that, but what if I do? 'Cause cruelty wins in the movies I've got a hundred thrown-out speeches I almost said to you

Easy they come, easy they go I jump from the train, I ride off alone I never grew up, it's getting so old Help me hold onto you

I've been the archer I've been the prey Who could ever leave me, darling? But who could stay?

I Think He Knows (Lover). This fun song is Elain’s thought process as she shamelessly becomes o b s e s s e d with her mate, the love of her life.

I think he knows his footprints On the sidewalk Lead to where I can't stop Go there every night

I think he knows his hands around A cold glass Make me wanna know that body Like it's mine

He got that boyish look that I like in a man I am an architect, I'm drawing up the plans It's like I'm seventeen, nobody understands No one understands

He got my heartbeat Skipping down 16th Avenue Got that, oh! I mean Wanna see what's under that attitude Like, I want you, bless my soul And I ain't gotta tell him I think he knows I think he knows

I think he knows When we get all alone I'll make myself at home And he'll want me to stay

He's so obsessed with me, and boy I understand Boy I understand

Paper Rings (Lover). Reluctant mates to friends to best friends to lovers? This is the song Elain scream-sings from the rooftops.

The wine is cold Like the shoulder that I gave you in the street Cat and mouse for a month or two or three Now I wake up in the night and watch you breathe

Kiss me once 'cause you know I had a long night (Oh!) Kiss me twice 'cause it's gonna be alright Three times 'cause I've waited my whole life

I like shiny things, but I'd marry you with paper rings Uh huh, that's right Darling, you're the one I want, and I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this Uh huh, that's right Darling, you're the one I want In paper rings, in picture frames, in dirty dreams Oh, you're the one I want

Kiss you once 'cause I know you had a long night (Oh!) Kiss you twice 'cause it's gonna be alright Three times 'cause you waited your whole life (One, two, one two three four!)

I want to drive away with you I want your complications too I want your dreary Mondays Wrap your arms around me, baby boy

You’re the one I want

False God (Lover). Elain and Lucien fighting to know, “Do you want me for me? Or is it the bond?” Give me angry kissing. Give me some frantic hands roaming bodies that set their souls ablaze. Give me the moment they break away from the heated kiss and have hurt in their eyes because those idiots turned away from each at the same time.

They all warned us about times like this They say the road gets hard and you get lost when you're led by blind faith Blind faith

But we might just get away with it Religion's in your lips Even if it's a false god We'd still worship We might just get away with it The altar is my hips Even if it's a false god We'd still worship this love We'd still worship this love We'd still worship this love

I know heaven's a thing I go there when you touch me Honey hell is when I fight with you

But we can patch it up good Make confessions and we're begging for forgiveness

Afterglow (Lover). I see this song as Elain’s perspective as she’s been fighting against this bond and pushing Lucien away because she thinks it’s the worse thing that’s happened to her then slowly realizing exactly how in love she is with him.

I blew things out of proportion, now you're blue Put you in jail for something you didn't do I pinned your hands behind your back, oh Thought I had reason to attack, but no

Fighting with a true love is boxing with no gloves Chemistry 'til it blows up, 'til there's no us Why'd I have to break what I love so much? It's on your face, and I'm to blame, I need to say

Hey It's all me in my head I'm the one who burned us down But it's not what I meant Sorry that I hurt you I don't wanna do, I don't wanna do this to you I don't wanna lose, I don't wanna lose this with you I need to say, hey It's all me, just don't go Meet me in the afterglow

I lived like an island, punished you with silence Went off like sirens, just crying

Tell me that you're still mine Tell me that we'll be just fine Even when I lose my mind I need to say Tell me that it's not my fault Tell me that I'm all you want Even when I break your heart

Daylight (Lover). After the heartbreaks and all the fights…they walk into the daylight together.

I don't wanna look at anything else now that I saw you I don't wanna think of anything else now that I thought of you I've been sleeping so long in a 20-year dark night And now I see daylight, I only see daylight

And I can still see it all (In my mind) All of you, all of me (Intertwined) I once believed love would be (Black and white) But it's golden (Golden) And I can still see it all (In my head) Back and forth from New York (Singing in your bed) I once believed love would be (Burning red) But it's golden Like daylight, like daylight Like daylight, daylight

I wanna be defined by the things that I love Not the things I hate Not the things that I'm afraid of, I'm afraid of Not the things that haunt me in the middle of the night I, I just think that You are what you love

Mirrorball (Folklore). Learning the beauty of falling in love and seeing how a mate is an equal, a mirror to show you all the wonderful sides of themselves.

I want you to know I'm a mirrorball I'll show you every version of yourself tonight I'll get you out on the floor Shimmering beautiful And when I break it's in a million pieces Hush When no one is around, my dear You'll find me on my tallest tiptoes Spinning in my highest heels, love Shining just for you Hush I know they said the end is near But I'm still on my tallest tiptoes Spinning in my highest heels, love Shining just for you

Invisible String (Folklore). Isn’t this the song for every mate? Highlighting how there was always a string tying them to a chance for a most magnificent love.

Time, mystical time Cuttin' me open, then healin' me fine Were there clues I didn't see? And isn't it just so pretty to think All along there was some Invisible string Tying you to me?

A string that pulled me Out of all the wrong arms right into that dive bar Something wrapped all of my past mistakes in barbed wire Chains around my demons, wool to brave the seasons One single thread of gold tied me to you

Peace (Folklore). A song from Lucien’s perspective. A future high lord from a broken home. How could he ever bring her peace?

But I'm a fire and I'll keep your brittle heart warm If your cascade ocean wave blues come All these people think love's for show But I would die for you in secret The devil's in the details, but you got a friend in me Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?

And you know that I'd swing with you for the fences Sit with you in the trenches Give you my wild, give you a child Give you the silence that only comes when two people understand each other Family that I chose now that I see your brother as my brother Is it enough? 'Cause there's robbers to the east, clowns to the west I'd give you my sunshine, give you my best But the rain is always gonna come if you're standing with me Willow (Evermore). Elain as she’s realizing how Lucien has sneaked into her heart by being everything she didn’t know she needed.

I'm like the water when your ship rolled in that night Rough on the surface but you cut through like a knife And if it was an open-shut case I never would've known from that look on your face Lost in your current like a priceless wine

Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind Head on the pillow, I could feel you sneaking in As if you were a mythical thing Like you were a trophy or a champion ring And there was one prize I'd cheat to win The more that you say The less I know Wherever you stray I follow I'm begging for you to take my hand Wreck my plans That's my man You know that my train could take you home Anywhere else is hollow I'm begging for you to take my hand Wreck my plans That's my man

Wait for the signal and I'll meet you after dark Show me the places where the others gave you scars

Gold Rush (Evermore). Elain, as she watches Lucien dazzle every crowd he’s in, feeling both proud that he’s her mate (while still nervous and apprehensive around him) but can’t help being slightly annoyed at how many people seem to want his attention.

Gleaming Twinkling Eyes like sinking ships On waters so inviting I almost jump in But I don't like a gold rush, gold rush I don't like anticipating my face in a red flush I don't like that anyone would die to feel your touch Everybody wants you Everybody wonders what it would be like to love you Walk past, quick brush I don't like slow motion double vision in rose blush I don't like that falling feels like flying 'til the bone crush Everybody wants you But I don't like a gold rush What must it be like To grow up that beautiful? With your hair falling into place like dominos At dinner parties I call you out on your contrarian shit And the coastal town We wandered 'round had never Seen a love as pure as it

Ivy (Evermore). The struggle of wanting someone while they both navigate the waters of grieving an old love. The struggle of how they find themselves in each other’s dreams.

Your touch brought forth an incandescent glow Tarnished but so grand

And the old widow goes to the stone every day But I don't, I just sit here and wait Grieving for the living

Oh, goddamn My pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand Taking mine, but it's been promised to another Oh, I can't Stop you putting roots in my dreamland My house of stone, your ivy grows And now I'm covered in you

I wish to know The fatal flaw that makes you long to be Magnificently cursed

it's a fire It's a goddamn blaze in the dark And you started it You started it So yeah, it's a war It's the goddamn fight of my life And you started it You started it

Cowboy Like Me (Evermore). Elain and Lucien realizing they’re both more similar than they think, having to cater to the feelings of those around them, telling people what they want to hear and just trying to make the most of life. Until they find each other.

You're a cowboy like me Perched in the dark Telling all the rich folks anything they wanna hear Like it could be love I could be the way forward Only if they pay for it

You're a bandit like me Eyes full of stars Hustling for the good life Never thought I'd meet you here It could be love We could be the way forward And I know I'll pay for it

And the skeletons in both our closets Plotted hard to mess this up

Now you hang from my lips Like the Gardens of Babylon With your boots beneath my bed Forever is the sweetest con

I've had some tricks up my sleeve Takes one to know one

Long Story Short (Evermore). Elain has had her ups and downs, struggling to find herself, letting herself get lost in options here and there but finally, finds her way home. To herself. To Lucien.

Fatefully I tried to pick my battles 'til the battle picked me Misery Like the war of words I shouted in my sleep And you passed right by

And I fell from the pedestal Right down the rabbit hole Long story short, it was a bad time Pushed from the precipice Clung to the nearest lips Long story short, it was the wrong guy Now I'm all about you I'm all about you, ah Yeah, yeah I'm all about you, ah Yeah, yeah Actually I always felt I must look better in the rear view Missing me At the golden gates they once held the keys to When I dropped my sword I threw it in the bushes and knocked on your door And we live in peace But if someone comes at us This time, I'm ready

No more keepin' score now I just keep you warm (keep you warm) No more tug of war now I just know there's more (know there's more) No more keepin' score now I just keep you warm (keep you warm) And my waves meet your shore Ever and evermore

Lavender Haze (Midnights). The moment I heard this song, I knew it would be an elucien hit. This is Elain and Lucien in the stages of secretly getting to know each other away from everyone. I see this from Elain's POV as they try to take it slow and stay in that lavender haze~

Starin' at the ceilin' with you Oh, you don't ever say too much And you don't really read into My melancholia

I've been under scrutiny (yeah, oh, yeah) You handle it beautifully (yeah, oh, yeah) All this shit is new to me (yeah, oh, yeah)

I feel the lavender haze creepin' up on me Surreal, I'm damned if I do give a damn what people say No deal, the 1950s shit they want from me I just wanna stay in that lavender haze

All they keep askin' me (all they keep askin' me) Is if I'm gonna be your bride

Sweet Nothing (Midnights). Elain and Lucien knowing they're each other's safe spaces.

They said the end is coming Everyone's up to something I find myself running home to your sweet nothings Outside, they're push and shoving You're in the kitchen humming All that you ever wanted from me was sweet nothing

And the voices that implore, "You should be doing more" To you, I can admit that I'm just too soft for all of it

And lastly, to wrap it up with an oldie, I’m Only Me When I’m With You (Taylor Swift). “Mine…you are mine and I am yours. Mate.”

Friday night beneath the stars In a field behind your yard You and I are painting pictures in the sky Sometimes we don't say a thing Just listen to the crickets sing Everything I need is right here by my side

And I know everything about you I don't wanna live without you

I'm only up when you're not down Don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground It's like no matter what I do Well, you drive me crazy half the time The other half I'm only trying To let you know that what I feel is true And I'm only me when I'm with you

#elucien #elain archeron #lucien vanserra #elucien playlists #my elucien tswift dissertation #ANON WHERE ARE YOU!!#this is for you lmao #acotar playlists #gp #playlists #elucien taylor's version

31 notes · View notes

sumamitt · 5 months

Note

(⁠´⁠⊙⁠ω⁠⊙⁠`⁠)⁠！...I'm totally chill and normal about getting to talk to someone about The Masquerade books... Anyway!

There's a lot of nuance and room to read into the implications of the scene, and your surmising that it means Baru couldn't choose to take a life of her own volition is one such implication or meaning that could be read of the exchange. The foreshadowing is more specific to literal details:

Baru and Tain Hu on a beach/shoreline with notably shifting sunlight, Baru presented with a prisoner (of war; of Falcrest's machinations; of Baru's single-minded pursuit of her goals) and having said prisoner's life put *wholely and entirely* in Baru's hands, Baru being goaded and subtly manipulated to take the prisoner's life, in both instances the person (or at least one of the people) who is urging Baru to take the prisoner's life *doesn't actually want her to do so*, in both instances Tain Hu is urging Baru to place her personal feelings about the death aside and that within the wider context of the struggle and conflict this one death is meaningless or even necessary...

Most importantly, at least from what was highlighted by that original poster, are these two points:

Baru. Internally rationalizing and reasoning that in the grand scheme of what's at stake, in the face of all the other atrocious and deplorable things shes done, this one death *weighs nothing*. Or... That it *should*. And just like the first time [SPOILERS for book two (and three?)] she's so entirely and completely wrong. And for all her sheer force of will and commitment to her cause, for all she has done, this one death would/does undo her.

And [MASSIVE SPOILERS?? for book three (and two?) but it's subjective and open to interpretation?] after everything, after all that thinking about it and rationalizing... as Tain Hu says herself... "The prisoner lives" 🥹

ok I looked away from the last two spoilers because I am still in the beginning stages of book 2

this is so beautiful and thoroughly evaluated, thank you so so much for taking the time to share it with me! i need to keep reading 🙊 i'll make posts as i read!!

#the traitor baru cormorant #baru cormorant #tain hu #the masquerade #the masquerade series

25 notes · View notes

saelterlude · 2 months

Text

Gushing About Zhu Hanbin and Jing Yanqiao in The City of Musicals S2

The City of Musicals (S2, at least) is kinda like The Voice. 24 musical actors, 3 troupes, covering musical numbers, elimination every episode. Season 2 focuses on young/fresh talents.

I was on a Zhu Hanbin(LG musical actor) binge and got really into this show once I found out his frequent CXS counterpart, Jing Yanqiao, is there as well. Now seems like the right time to make this post since JYQ's birthday is soon (April 13th!) and everyone barely knows him so, to begin here's a cute interaction they had on weibo after what I can only assume is a Link Click rehearsal.

You can access the full episodes here. But I'm going to discuss and link each performances under the cut.

Oh yeah, before I start. I have notes of the context of some performances (not including them bcs I only researched some and not all), so if you like any of them and would like to dive deeper or just wants the context in general just ask and I'll share what I have. (That said, the 10th is Ied so I might be busy and took a while to answer)

Scouting stage (Ep.1-2)

They are sorted into groups of three and perform together as the same character.

For Forever from Dear Evan Hansen

Performed by Sun Tiecheng, Zhu Hanbin, and Wang Haoran. I love ZHB's expression in this performance, it's very innocent and hopeful but also with a hint of hurt? It fits the vibe of the song. It's a really nice, soft and hopeful performance. ZHB's expression really paid off since he got scouted into 2 troupes. Funfact, ZHB and Wang Haoran are classmates lol, they didn't know the other auditioned on this show before they got sorted together. Their third teammate felt very awkward lol.

Dans Le Noir Je Vois Rouge from Le Rouge et Le Noir

Roughly translated to "In the dark, I see red" performed by Alladin, Jing Yangqiao and Tian Ye. It's very good, dark and angry vibes. It's from a French rock musical so yea I really like it. I know I wanted to highlight JYQ but the original rap that Tian Ye (right) arranged is definitely the best part of this performance. The three of them worked really well together. Also, Jing Yanqiao was asked if he felt pressured performing with his seniors (he's still in school) and he answered yes, but most importantly he was intimidated by their heights. so cute lmao. Don't worry JYQ, you're still taller than ZHB. This is also 1 of the only 2 groups where all three performers get scouted.

Sidenote: I found the original song and I've been translating it to practice my French lol. In fact, I found a recording of the whole original musical.

Round 1 (Ep.3-4)

Each troupe prepares 2 Duo performance and 1 solo performance.

No Longer Human from No Longer Human

Performed by Sun Sankai and Zhu Hanbin. Yes, as in the Osamu Dazai novel. ZHB played Yezang (Oba Yozo) the protagonist of the novel and Sun Sankai played Osamu Dazai the author. So this is an existential conversation between author and his character. That's probably why this set design is creepy, but in a good way! An amazing duet, very powerful vocals from both of them, a very nice listen. But damn those hands are wobbly and every time I watch them climb up it, I worry if its gonna fall. Also, camerawork feels like something out of a 2nd Gen K-pop music show lol. And ZHB is barefoot for some reason... If I caught it properly it's bcs he's scared of falling off the hand? I need to double check but understandable.

Therapy from Tick, Tick..., Boom!

Performed by Jing Yangqiao and Feng Difei I couldn't find the cut version of this performance so you would have to do with the timestamped link of the full episode. This is such an adorable and fun performance. I love the cutee original phoneline choreography they have and how their voices work together. Also, JYQ and Feng Difei playing couples and going on a date bcs the coach tells them it would help their chemistry. Why are they lowkey kinda cute though. The post-performance interview of this reads like a blind date interview istg. The interview keep asking questions like what JYQ got her for her BDay and if they have made each other mad like the characters in the musical, etc.

Round 2 (Ep.5-6)

There are 2 troupe duo performances, and 2 cross-troupe trio performances.

The Other Side from The Greatest Showman

Performed by Sun Sankai and Zhu Hanbin. This one is so good, soooo good. I already liked the song before but their voices fit this song really well. Then you get to see, ZHB can dance y'all. I like how energetic this performance is, they really ran around the stage and walk across the table. Special mention to Sun Sankai who practiced that hat kicking trick to perfection, he got to a streak of 100 successes during practice. And to the bartender too, I love his expressions.

In A Crowd of Thousands from Anastasia

Performed by Jing Yangqiao and Feng Difei Yes, it's these two again, playing a couple again lol. Yes, they also went on a date again to prepare for this performance. (In fact, they're paired in a new musical "Love Myth" airing next month) Truly giving off a romantic, magical, and almost fairy tale-like feels. I love how sweet it is. The mini-them also did a good job with their performance. Fun fact about this one, JYQ played in Anastasia musical before this show and is still currently playing in Anastasia, both as Dmitri, just like he did in this performance.

It's Not Me It's You from uhh pretty sure it's an original rap based on disney villains. So it's from Disney, I guess.

Performed by Jing Yanqiao, Zhao Qianlong, and Zhou Mohan. I can't take this performance seriously, not with those outfits LMAO. JYQ as Gaston looking like Winnie the Pooh instead, I can't. That said, the rap is really good, I like the flow, I like the beat, it's great. I jusst, those outfits lmao. Even JYQ posted on his weibo how the outfit simply wasn't it. I can add the photo he took in the rb but pls just watch the performance.

Round 3 (Ep.7-8)

Each troupe prepares 2 duo performances again.

Disappear from Dear Evan Hansen

Performed by Jing Yanqiao and Zhu Hanbin. Yes, they both performed together in this one! I couldn't find the cut version again, sorry. IDK why, maybe it's copyright? For now, timestamped link. I can't explain why, I really like this performance and I really like their dynamic. Their voices also goes nice together but I know that already from watching them together in the LC musical. So yea, this is good. Though, ZHB being projected as JYQ/Evan's hallucination of Connor is kinda goofy looking. Also, so far ZHB has been kind of type-casted as the innocent boy or bright-eyed young man in need of guidance type so to see him playing a more aggressive/leading character (though not by much) is nice.

(JYQ doesn't have that problem, literally he was scouted by the troupe bcs they feel 'he's young and thus can be molded into anything'. ZHB did have to help him perfect the anxious boy act for this performance.)

Quarterfinals (Ep.9)

A trio performance from each troupe, along with a single cross-troupe performance.

Believe in Miracles from Ultraman (yes, the superhero show)

Performed by Sun Sankai, Zhu Hanbin, and Jing Yangqiao. Original skit. Both JYQ and ZHB act as students to Sun Sankai's teacher. The song sounds vaguely familiar to me, maybe that's why I like it so much. It's very fun, rock vibes. JYQ intentional voice crack in the beginning cracks me up. It's a very energetic song too, makes me want to pick up a guitar and jam along. (No, IDK how to play the guitar beyond the basics lol). It honestly looks like they were an idol group or something. (LC Idol AU anyone?)

Goodbye Cassini from Cassini

Performed by Zhao Qianlong, Zhu Hanbin, and Tian. I'll be honest, not a big fan of the skit, it is better enjoyed as just a goodbye song to a beloved space probe, but I am a huge fan of the song (Original ver. here with subbed lyrics, it a got more opera? vibe to it. both ver. are very good though.). I've been randomly humming 'Goodbye, my Cassini~' for days. I am so tempted to make a fic based on this song. Tian (the girl) really carried this performance with her angelic vocals, it's so great and heartbreaking. Her heartbreak at having to leave her friends behind and knowing full well they're never going to meet again. If you're watching this one, I highly recommend you wear your headphones. Trust me, it will cleanse your ears. And if you want to skip straight to the song? 5 minute mark.

Semifinals and Finals (Ep.10)

The semifinals are duo performances of an original musical number. The finals are a solo performance from the top 2. They are available on spotify and youtube music.

The Greatest Show from The Greatest Showman

Performed by the top 4 contestants: Zhu Hanbin, Miao Mengqing, Jing Yanqiao, and Zhou Mohan. I don't have a lot to say about this one. Really nice performance, a bonus to a great episode. Yeaay, both of our LC boys got into the top 4!

Assassin

Performed by Jing Yanqiao and Miao Mengqing To be honest, not the biggest fan but maybe that's just me not being a fan of historical drama in any form. JYQ used a fake facial hair, so that's something too I guess. That said, it's pretty nice to listen to and the dance/sword fight choreography is really cool. (Though as someone who used to do choreographed fights, I feel kinda dissapointed it's more sworddance rather than swordfight.) Miao Mengqing's voice is really powerful, just listen to her. Unfortunately JYQ was eliminated here, but he reached the top 4! I'm proud of him. He also learned the choreo and to play the uhhh (it's 1am, lookup instrument nme later) in only a week. So that's cool.

Don't Believe him

Performed by Zhu Hanbin and Zhou Mohan. This one I highly recommend. This song is an emotional banger and I've been listening to this on loop for days. The choreo and staging is good too, although there's one part that I think is a bit goofy (thankfully it's not too distracting). The fight/struggle choreo they did here have more power than Assassin so I really like it. Really cool, makes you wanna punch a bully, I love it. ZHB played a bullied kid and Zhou Mohan plays ZHB's 'perfect' dream self who wants to keep him in this dream world and away from the hurtful reality. This song (as well as Assassin) is available on spotify and yt music, but the live version is 10x better because it captures the emotion better. You can hear ZHB's desperation and sadness as well as Zhou Mohan's anger and frustration, it's great.

Lonely Mountaintop from The Devotion of Suspect X

Performed by Zhu Hanbin. It's good, I enjoy it. Though as a final song I do kinda wish he picked a song with more power? IDK. It's still good though, it's emotional, I love the build up, the set design is pretty, and the song fit his voice really well. ZHB won 2nd place with this song. Congrats on your hard work!

Miao Mengqing won first place and honestly? She deserved it, she's so good. But this post is focusing on our LC actors ZHB and JYQ so uhh. Please watch her final performance singing "I Have Nothing" here, it's so great, she's great, I love her voice so much.

Fun fact, JYQ did not vote for ZHB in the finals lol, he did it right in front of ZHB too and I'm pretty sure at that point they were already announced as cast in the LC musical. (Sorry ZHB, but I too would vote for Miao Mengqing there)

Last bonus (which I'm not gonna link) before we end this post. In the 3rd episode, around 20minutes in Zhu Hanbin and Jing Yanqiao did an advertisement for their water sponsor together and they're very awkward, it's funny to me.

#oh look #this is where my insanity takes me #pleaseee watch these #zhu hanbin #jing yanqiao #link click musical #for this post alone #im not adding any bonus clips to pt6 #of lc musical list #maybe #the city of musical #the city of musicals s2

19 notes · View notes

aguamarinee · 4 months

Text

➪ 𝐀/𝐍.: Finally I got around posting this... I got this request ages ago tbh and as I wanted to edit the final post I messed it up and now I lost the original request which I feel really bad about... It was such a cute message from this anon, and every time I reread it, it made me feel so happy! I don't know if they remember sending this ask, but now I've gotten to complete it after so much time, and I hope I did it justice in the end!! (Pls forgive me anon) Angst can really challenge my brain sometimes but I hope it turned out acceptable! > <

➪ 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: Jo × reader

➪ 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: angst, no comfort, lot of reminiscing, post-breakup frustration, conflicted feelings

➪ 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭: there are multiple parts in the song I got inspired from, so I'll just highlight the chosen lyrics!

➪ 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬: 1,6k

From outside it all seemed perfect; the venue, the lighting, the scenery from the top, and the two of you sitting opposite each other.

Both of you were dressed nicely, holding light alcoholic drinks as if you truly belonged together, when in reality you knew that this wasn't the case for quite some time now.

You actually hated how picture-perfect it all seemed — you might have loved it once, or you might have wished for something similar in the past thinking about the far future, but certainly not anymore.

...Really, it was pure coincidence and the universe's own momentarily punishment towards you that right now you're bound to be here and witness, even indulge in such a scenario.

"Should I pour some more?" Jo's distant voice hit your ears making you tear your eyes away from your drink, but you didn't let your irises wander onto his comfortable sitting frame.

"No need." Your response was curt and frustration was building inside you like a fresh fire setting ablaze, flame particles rubbing off on your exposed skin burning the surface for a second — or it seemed, as your body was undefyingly growing warmer and warmer.

Why are you even here, having this 'talk' with Jo?

Why are you even breathing the same close air as him? Even if you're under the seemingly endless night sky stretching far beyond your eyes' reach, providing enough room for a thousand new breath strokes... Why with him?

You were surprised by your fast rush of frustration turning into anger, but at the same time, it clouded your mind so thinking clearly was a challenge currently.

The Rosé in your tall glass seemed to swim and flow so efficiently, just like it could rush down your throat, but even consuming alcohol to ease your mind seemed to be just a distant wish for the rational side of your brain.

Damn it.

For digging up the grave another time, weren't you two?

The grave, in which your past relationship lay undisturbed until now.

Even though both of you had the chance to ignore each other when you made eye contact at the far ends of the jazz bar, for some reason you chose to start a conversation anyway.

It seemed especially nostalgic and romantic since you two decided to go out onto the rooftop, for privacy...

Privacy?

What kind of privacy do the two of you need, who now act like total strangers who forgot what their past relationship looked like?

Who erased all past connections, mentions of love, and adoration towards the other, putting all of those now cursed memories in a small box, locking it, then throwing its key away, and then throwing the whole box away. Far away.

...The past few minutes seemed to pass by in a blur, you almost had no recollection of how you got here.

The sweet wine was just a distraction, just like the way Jo made conversation about pouring more of the reddish liquid into your glass, to which you sternly said no.

It was all a getaway from the harsh reality; Rosé flowing with your chosen family which you both knew well... that you weren't each other's home or trusted family-like, significant other anymore.

When the wounds of the breakup were still fresh in your heart you always thought of countless ways to rewrite your broken fate.

'And it would've been sweet... If it could've been me.'

These were the thoughts that still clouded your sunny mind from time to time, bringing a sudden wave of dark winds and rain into your feelings and mental state.

Thinking of all the possible scenarios that could have occurred in the future was always a dangerous mind game for anyone who's trying to forget rather than build new, unlikely, and even delusional memories.

"Some snacks, you'd like?" Jo continued in a quiet, very respectful but still neutral tone — he must have felt your nerves getting the better of you — as he seemed to be averting his eyes for split seconds.

It looked like he finally realized how this situation is wrong on so many levels and he seemed to be getting nervous too.

There were too many feelings swirling inside you; Feeling bad because you snapped at him a minute ago, but frustration also kept building on the side which tore you apart. It made you see two sides of the same coin in a bad way.

The whole situation felt like it was forbidden, for the two of you to even breathe the same air with such conflicting feelings developing inside... you could almost physically see the dark gloomy clouds on top of your heads, as if indicating your personal moods minute by minute.

It was not okay how you were going round and round inside a spinning reel of strong impulses.

You needed to put an end to it somehow, anyhow...

"No, I'm good." You finally answered his previous hesitant question.

Well... you feeling good was the biggest lie currently, but what else could you say?

This was not the place nor the right person to share your emotions with. And clearly, he'll never be one of them again.

A heavy silence fell for the first time and it stayed for several minutes.

As you had time to ponder the spinning reel came back, inviting you in once again; you could cut this meeting short and leave, or in fact, you should leave for both of your emotional safety, or you could change the topic to a light-hearted one, or keep the silence, and so on...

The burning frustration turned into hot nervousness within you as you grew more self-conscious around Jo.

It was even weirder, considering how you felt as if it was the first time you saw him, like your first ever date when it all started.

Or your first kiss.

Right time, and right place, but the wrong person.

...How much time has it been since you parted ways?

6 months.

Over half a year, but not a full-length year yet, so there's still a chance for forgiveness.

Or at least this is what you read in many novels, or saw in consolatory movies, series, dramas.

Is it weird to have a little faith in that?

Is it foolish or even selfish to think about your happiness like that?

—You have to say something or your thoughts will start to spiral again.

"...We went from strangers to friends, then to lovers, then to strangers again but with a shared past. We were something, don't you think so? " You spoke out of turn, surprising your rational self and poor Jo, who currently looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

Quite the change of topic, but there was no turning back now.

"I, well... That's in the past now. We're not in a relationship anymore." He said, still unsure but his voice had a cold tone to it. "We were something, we had something, but that something — seeing that we can barely name it, passed a while ago." He kept his voice quiet as if he, too, was afraid of saying such harsh things, or worried about hurting you.

But he said what he said anyway, no eye contact whatsoever, nevertheless, just as brutally honest.

Silence fell again, your surroundings seemed to falter and blur around you, and you barely registered the fine wine in your hands.

Tears weren't coming to your eyes, it wasn't that, your focus just simply shifted, altered itself.

Right, it passed.

You hummed, almost inaudible even to yourself as you ran his words over your head once more, to confirm them.

You unintentionally ignored Jo for a couple of moments too, while being lost in your thoughts, but then he spoke again, louder, to direct your attention back to him.

"In my defense—"

"I have none." You cut him off sharply, trying to imply the end of the conversation somehow, anyhow.

You were desperate to stop, but he was desperate to continue... When there was nothing to continue, but a lot to stop.

He said enough already and you too, way more than you should have and wanted to have.

It has all been said and done between you two, six months before and now, this turn of events confirmed everything for you.

There was nothing to talk about anymore, it was starting to get awkward how Jo seemed to try communicating with you again.

As if he foolishly wanted to make everything right after such a long amount of time, just because he might have realized his mistakes...?

...No, that time has passed.

Memories were bulging up inside you once again, those sweet, promising times, as if after a long drought on dry land suddenly salty ocean water washed over the desert-like place, just like that your recollection started flashing vividly.

As if everything suddenly got reborn, every single little thing, feeling, thought, and future plan.

Rainwater was something most lands and owners were happy to receive but you weren't this time.

It was like a blessing for them... but the worst curse for you currently.

But if it gets out of hand... Flood is not an option, it would destroy every house and shelter that you've built up until now.

It would be a shame to see your hard work go, so you had to do something to prevent such bad things.

"I should go." You said, interrupting whatever Jo was explaining before in an uncertain tone. "No, we should go. On separate ways." You added, a rush of confidence taking you over and you stood up abruptly putting down the fancy wine at the same time, indicating your words further.

"...We need to say goodbye at some point, for both of our sakes. It didn't work out, and by now I'm certain that it never will. This has to be it." You sighed audibly, peeking into the nicely decorated inside of the jazz bar for the first time since you've got here, and you hastily stepped closer to the balcony glass door. "Goodbye Jo, take care." You looked back for a split second and then left, finally, forever.

➪ 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 【𝐌 𝐀 𝐒 𝐓 𝐄 𝐑 𝐋 𝐈 𝐒 𝐓】 !

Tagging: @nichoswag

#Spotify #&team #andteam #&team scenarios #&team fanfic #&team fluff #andteam fluff #&team x reader #&team imagines #&team jo #jo asakura #asakura jo #andteam fics #andteam fanfic

15 notes · View notes