#it kind of felt like improv on a piano. which was interesting. but then it started sounding like midi files.?????

[misterradio]

those reviews weren't lying that movie can be so bad it's amazing

#original nonsense #there was so little concept of like... good filmmaking techniques? #like the harsh lighting and barren sets. and the audio distortions. #that they all sort of just lended to the surreal atmosphere. #but they did not save the movie from being bad in too many other ways #there were a lot of characters/scenes that had no bearing on the plot? #mostly it was just like the main characters having a random conversation with a friend or whatever. #and i kind of think they were just trying to establish characters and scenes and stuff with them? #but i ended up having no idea what was going to be important to the plot. #i dont even know why the movie ended on the scene it did. #also the acting was awkward and so was the dialogue etc etc. even the music was weird #it kind of felt like improv on a piano. which was interesting. but then it started sounding like midi files.????? #like where did the piano go... #anyways. not a good movie but it could have had something. i also could have paid more attention. i liked the cgi. yeah #also the framing of the scenes and the lack of any transitions and the fact that the signs were just printer paper with arial font ETC

[muzaktomyears]

Of the many attractive girls who hung around the Casbah, one in particular caught John's eye. She was an elfin blonde with a tense, wounded look, whom he nicknamed Bubbles, for lack of a proper introduction and because it so unsuited her. In fact, all the guys had noticed her watching them. While not a beautiful girl, she was catlike and intense, in a mysterious kind of way. She also was eager to meet them. "It must have been all over my face that I fancied John," recalls Bubbles, whose real name is Dot Rhone, "but once it became clear he had a girlfriend, I lost interest." Instead, she approached Paul with game determination, pretending to be faint in order to get him outside, where they could be by themselves.

Once alone, an "immediate attraction" developed between them. Paul discovered in Dot a person who hardly fit the profile of the other girls at the Casbah. She had grown up in a better section of Liverpool called Childwell, around the corner from Brian Epstein, the Beatles' future manager. But "it might have been two different worlds," Dot says, her humble situation being anything unlike Epstein's glaringly "posh" circumstances. "I didn't have a normal childhood. My dad was an alcoholic; he never hung on to any money. And the only reason we lived in that neighborhood was because a sickly aunt left the house to my mother." A year younger than Paul, Dot had gone to Liverpool Institute High School, "the girls' school across the road from the Inny", but had left in June, taking a clerk's job at the Dale Street branch of District Bank in order to support her family. Paul, she believes, was attracted by how needy and impressionable she was, which put her under his sway; she found him "adorably handsome, opinionated," and loaded with confidence. "He came from the first family I'd ever known that cared about each other so much," Dot says. "Everyone would gather around the piano, while Jim played songs like 'You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby', and sometimes [he] would sing with Paul and Mike." At a deeper level, they undoubtedly recognized the loneliness in each other's lives, each absent a parent - in her case because of addiction. [...]

As 1959 drew to a close, the boys spent more time with girlfriends than with one another. John and Cynthia, according to friends closest to the couple, were "besotted with each other". For his part, Paul stopped playing the field and settled down with Dot Rhone. As a couple, they had an appealingly unthreatening air. They discovered each other to be solicitous and sensual, gentle and clumsy, with Paul at times taking on a paternal and sympathetic role. Once, at a friend's house, Dot happened to mention that she'd been standing all day and he began to massage her feet, stroking them as though they were precious pets. And yet, at the time the gesture felt almost preposterous.

Eventually Paul's attention grew relentless, almost disparaging. His simple gregariousness turned uncompromising and willful. Paul was immensely charming, but there was a darker side. He had a need - Dot believes a compulsion - to control every situation. As John had done with Cynthia, he began to pick out her clothes, redesign her makeup. Dot remembers how much it pleased Paul to stand beside her and study her appearance, then, in a roundabout way, critique the way she looked - and suggest how to improve upon it. On one occasion, he insisted that she have her hair done and produced money to pay for it. Not wanting to displease him, Dot went off to the beauty parlor. "Unfortunately, they did [my hair] in a terrible-looking beehive", she says. "Paul was furious when he saw it. He told me to go home and not to call him until it grew out again."

She detected other changes in Paul that proved equally disagreeable. He had an almost stuffy, explosive air of self-importance, with his simple superiority, cool poise, and weatherproof rightness. He scorned any sign of self-confidence in her. And Dot, pricked by love, submitted. As a rule, she did not impose her will on him, certainly never when they were among friends. She would sit quietly and smile tensely for entire evening at the Jacaranda while Paul and John discussed music. If Paul glared, she would freeze like a rabbit. "We weren't allowed to open our mouths", Dot says of her and Cynthia's attendance at these nightly discussions. "They'd talk all night, and we just listened."

The Beatles: The Biography, Bob Spitz (2005)

#the dot quotes are from an author interview in 1998 #poor dot! #also v interesting that this is how she saw it looking back... #give me all the terrible teenage paul content tbh #dot rhone #paul mccartney

[melanielocke]

Alastember - day 5 - songfic

Instead of a traditional songfic, I decided to write about Alastair singing. This one is a little shorter than the others but while I'm putting this in my drafts I can already promise day 8 will be a long one, and most others will also be longer than this. However, I cannot write a 3000 word fic every day for a month. If anyone had any magic that could give me that kind of time, I am interested.

The song Alastair sings is Until it Sleeps by Metallica. Alastair was a Metallica fan in the original Lost in the Shadows, and I think this song kind of suits him. The lyrics are angsty and open to interpretation. I'd recommend listening to the song while reading this, don't worry, it's not one of Metallica's heavier songs and if you're not into metal I think this one can still be enjoyable.

@alastair-appreciation-month

‘Question,’ Alastair said when Matthew was finished. ‘How are you not embarrassed?’

Matthew made an annoyed sound. ‘It’s karaoke. It’s supposed to be fun, not good.’

Thomas had invited him along with the Merry Thieves, Lucie and Cordelia for a karaoke night. It wasn’t something they did often, as Alastair understood, which was for the best because Matthew’s singing voice was something like a screeching cat and Alastair didn’t think he could spend all night listening to this. He was already looking for an escape route when Matthew pressed the microphone into his hand.

‘Your turn if you’re so good at it.’

Alastair rolled his eyes. ‘Fine, whatever.’

He chose a song he had always felt suited him in lyrics. In vocal range it was a little on the low side, but Alastair had a big range and he’d practiced a lot.

He started out soft, matching the first part of the song. It was something he liked in music, the build up from small and soft in the beginning to much louder and more dramatic in the end. He noticed Thomas’ stare, jaw hanging open in absolute surprise, and Alastair smiled as he continued to sing.

Most days, he avoided people and preferred to be by himself but in moments like these he loved the attention, the surprised reaction on all their faces except Cordelia’s. He’d started playing the piano and singing again about a year ago, and he liked how much he’d improved with practice. Cordelia had been urging him to perform, and so far he’d refused, but maybe he should.

He increased the volume at the end of the song while still maintaining his technique.

‘I don’t want, want it, want it, want it, want it, want it, no,’ he sang.

So tear me open, but beware

There’s things inside without a care

And the dirt still stains me

So wash me, 'till I'm clean

I'll tear me open, make you gone

No longer will you hurt anyone

And the fear still shapes me

So hold me, until it sleeps

Until it sleeps

Alastair finished with a smile and put down the microphone.

Taglist: @alastaircarstairsdefenselawyer @life-through-the-eyes-of @styxdrawings @justanormaldemon @ipromiseiwillwrite @a-dream-dirty-and-bruised @amchara @all-for-the-fanfiction @imsoftforthomastair @ddepressedbookworm @queenlilith43 @wagner-fell @cant-think-of-anything @laylax13s @tessherongraystairs @boredfangirl16 @artist-in-soul @broodyhawthorne

#Alastair Carstairs #Thomas Lightwood #Matthew Fairchild #songfic #Alastember 2022 #the last hours #tlh #until it sleeps

[frozaru]

Review: Soundcore VR P10

Greetings everyone! Here I'll be giving my honest thoughts on what I'd consider quite unique earbuds - the VR P10 from Soundcore. They're catered for gaming and have verified functionality with VR headsets such as Oculus Quest 2. Peak your interest? These can be found priced at £99/$99 via Soundcore's official website + Amazon directly, or in-person stores if you live in USA. Let's get started!

📦Unboxing Experience:

Pretty clean packaging imo with it's appealing design in addition to convinience. They also come with a decent amount of silicone ear tips which will suit many ears big or small (medium worked for me). Simply looked and felt premium all around, which gives me a great first impression. Good job so far!

🔎Appearence [next to Soundcore Life A2]/Comfort:

Though I'm not a fan of this "Airpod stem" trend, these make an exception for me with nice silver details, signature logo finish + 3 customisable lighting modes (breathing, lights on and battery saving/lights off respectively). Those lights can indicate helpful stuff such as solid purple for on/fully charged, blue for pairing or flashing red when very low. Case looks great with a shape akin of stones...can I say it's included dongle is pretty neat too? Okay ty! Moving on, ear tips themselves also felt comfortable enough with only fatigue after some hours which was usually when both buds were low anyway. Speaking of...

🔋Battery/Connectivity:

You'll be glad knowing that these earbuds have USB-C featured both on case for charging and a connector on the dongle. Also expect about 5/6 hours on buds (in 'battery saving mode') with an average 24 hours of battery life after giving them a full juice up. This is enough to get through 4 or more gaming sessions in my experience! In terms of speed, 10 minutes shall grant approx 1 hour of battery life for those clutch on-the-go moments.

Facts regarding this dongle btw...it's incredibly versatile featuring multi-platform support for PC, PlayStation, mobile and even Switch with lag-free playback. What's more, it allows Bluetooth audio from phone + received audio SIMULTANEOUSLY with Game and Talk (something I haven't come across before in other true wireless earbuds)! They can also be further compatible for Switch in docked mode or older devices with a USB to USB-C adapter (here's my recommendation). I've found the feature pretty useful for communicating on Discord or taking a phone call without much compromise.

🎵Sound Quality/App Features

From my experience of "default" aka Soundcore's signature (no super hearing or Bassup), it seemed clear with bass which gladly dosen't drown out the mids and highs. Highs may sound weaker but that's kind of justified as these are geared for subtle audio like footsteps or gunfire rather than instruments like violins and pianos. BUT as we get into Souncore's feature rich app, there's so many settings to tweak and fit your personal taste!

You've got a plethora of equaliser options + the ability to create custom ones as standard with their app. Acoustic (my fav as it brings everything up a notch), Electronic, Pop, you name it. Mentioned earlier is bassup which allows bringing in more for a stronger punch which bassheads may enjoy and super hearing that will make subtle noises more audible, perfect for a competitive edge.

Speaking of tastes, let's talk colours with 5 options being light purple, red, pink, blue or Violet. Heads up that lighting will effect battery life to varying degrees. Have multiple dongles? Great news as which ones in use can be selected directly from app! Very useful if you're someone who has a busy life (on the flip side though, Soundcore hasn't made things clear rn regarding where more can be purchased).

💭Are these worth the purchase? If you're looking for something with striking design, good sound for gaming in a small package and flexibility with software and hardware, absolutely Imo! Although I would personally like to maybe see slightly improved battery if Soundcore ever comes back to this concept in future. That's it for this review, tysm for getting here! Oh, and if you'd like to help me create better content or maybe obtain better equipment by donations, I've recently created a Ko-fi! It's completely optional but if you do, I'll be really grateful. Take care and live a good life!

🎴My Carrd

#review #technology #soundcore #honest thoughts #gaming #earbuds #6.3 #2023

[gelmaah]

Starting a new hobby (?)

(look at this cat i found at the local park~)

June blog post (2022) 🌤

It's the end of the school year and I want to start a new hobby, maybe something related to music. 🎵

I feel like I've always wanted to do something related to music ever since I first listened to that one song that came to me in a youtube recommendation. I think that song was obenkyou shitoiteyo (a jpop song mixed in with rock elements)

I remember that I first listened to it during the earlier half of the first semester in 2021–it was a monday afternoon after late night classes. It was really uplifting for me at that time for some reason and when I relistened to it I kept feeling that way. So whenever I felt down I just repeated it and it somewhat calmed me down. (and I'm glad I found it too)

Apparently this is backed by research too:

'scientific research has shown that it can influence physiological processes that enhance physical and mental wellbeing.' 'benefits of music, including improved heart rate, motor skills, brain stimulation, and immune system enhancement.' https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8566759/

And I don't disagree, music helps a lot more than I thought it would.

As a person who hasn't ever taken an interest in music before this their entire life, the whole music culture and the idea of 'vibing' to something is starting to makes a bit more sense.

Surprisingly enough, thinking back, I've been surrounded by music more than I previously thought–playing the radio from the car and singing along to songs like broken (lovelytheband) and havana (Camila Cabello) and the like.

take a look at your spotify wrapped or the radio stations you listened to and you may be welcomed by a wave of nostalgia as you reminisce how you were back then.

I felt very inspired to do something about this after listening to their songs for such a long time. So I thought I might as well do something about it–express it.

A few weeks ago I tried to learn piano. Downloading booklets with practice sets and practicing an hour every day after school. But as a week passed I started practicing less and less until I it came to a point where I had basically given up. I think one of the key reasons I failed was that I didn't have a tutor–and also the fact that the piano was in the coldest room in the house 🧊.

Here's two other options–and I'm getting a tutor this time however expensive it is 💸:

It's pretty blurred because I kept it on the back of my phone for such a long time without looking at it. Still, I wrote this initially when the idea of learning an instrument came to me (it says 'drums' on the back) and I'd probably have forgot if I didn't do so

Write down your aspirations! Who knows when you might have the time to act on them––and writing it down turns your thoughts into actions, however little of a step that may be, at least you're going in the right direction ➡️.

So piano didn't work out, and drums seem complicated–well, all the foot-hand-leg-arm coordination jazz feels like a bit too much for what I can handle right now, especially with having to invest in an entire drum set or something of the like to be able to practice at home.

hmmm, by process of elimination bass seems like a viable option:

smaller than piano & drums (transportable and affordable)

the low bass tone (the low–deep feel of the bass is something I haven't explored very much and seems cool)

rhythmic and funky feel (e.g. Disco Yes, Billie Jean, and Feel Good Inc)

there are local tutors (very important if you don't want to give up and provides good motivation to practice)

lower barrier of entry compared to something like the guitar (lower initial investment to sound good, i.e. less complicated)

and stuff like this -> (2:35-2:50)

Also techniques like this (3:07) which vamp the song before the chorus–I like the idea of being the kind of unapparent but essential part of a song that comes up sometimes to do their job and returns back to jam with the rest of the instruments.

'The bass performs two basic and vital functions within a band or group:

Bass provides the rhythmic foundation. Bass provides the harmonic foundation.' https://www.studybass.com/lessons/basics/the-role-of-the-bass/

I'm not too sure yet, but I really want to do something about it. Just take a look at techniques like slap bass–wow.

Maybe i can be like that some day.

#bass guitar #new hobby #church #volunteer #comfort zone #zutomayo #Youtube

[sachasmithh]

Music Performance - MD5320

Task 4 - Visuals

In one of our lectures, we did a lecture on visuals and all about how to create interesting visuals for a performance. It was an interesting lecture as we got to get hands on and try some cool stuff out.

Visuals can be used for many different reasons for a performance, but the main ones are to improve the experience of the audience/viewer, enhance the performance by adding cool effects etc, and to make it more visually interesting so that the audience actually have other things to look at.

We got experimenting with some water in a bowl which was being projected onto a screen, which we then got to use ink to drop into the water to create cool effects and visuals on the screen. This was cool watching it live and it was super calming to look at.

We then got sent out to take pictures and videos of random things we thought were cool and then bring them back in and put them onto a software where you can edit them to create cool loops and effects. This was also super cool, but I think these type of visuals suits more of a dance/house music kind of vibe as it was a bit more unusual and trippier to the eyes.

We then had been set a task which was to get into groups and perform 2 original songs with visuals of our choice in the background.

Following on from the visuals lecture we had to then create our own visuals for our performance, which I was in a group with Brandan, Anya, Rose, and Josh, we decided on performing 2 original songs which were ‘I built a wall’ and ‘Couldn’t see a chance of change’.

For this performance Josh got into an accident before this therefore couldn’t perform, however he made a backing track for one of the songs and Anya played the piano for the other song. This was a brave thing to do as it is very difficult to play piano and sing at the same time.

The visuals we ended up going with for this performance was clouds, as we all agreed it would go with our aesthetic as its relaxing to look at, and the colours of them suited the vibe we wanted to achieve. It also related to our songs as we felt like with the lyrics are heads were up in the clouds, hence why we went for clouds as our aesthetic. I created the visuals for the performance, I found a YouTube video which was just a loop of clouds moving, I used that clip and edited it so the clips would change colour after a few times shown, so that it keeps it different, and it doesn’t just look the same the whole way through.

I think our performance could have gone better, I think without having Josh present it threw me off and probably threw everyone else off as well. I was also super nervous for this performance, and I wasn’t too sure why, I could tell that everyone else in the group was also nervous which I think didn’t help as the nerves were all rubbing off on one another. So, because of that I think we all made a mistake, so we can 100% improve this performance as I know we are better than this. Even though it wasn’t the best performance we still managed to keep it together and not let it show that we were nervous or that we had messed up. Visually the performance wasn’t great either, as we thought that just having the clouds in the background would be cool, it was way too dark, and you couldn’t really see anyone so next time we also need to improve that.

Here is our performance:

Part 1:

https://youtu.be/wE_GizbVoaE

Part 2:

https://youtu.be/LGKj4s9sYYM

Part 3:

https://youtu.be/BORORbjgUrU

Part 4:

https://youtu.be/u9SrZOvN7dQ

#MD5320

[mimicofmodes]

“The Ladies Waldegrave” by Joshua Reynolds, 1780 (NGS NG2171)

I’ve complained before about two very big pet peeves of mine - corset stuff and Regency women being dressed in 1770s-1780s clothes - but one that may dwarf them because of how frequently it comes up in historical and fantasy fiction is the oppression of embroidery.

That’s probably putting it a bit too strongly. It’s more like ... the annoyance of embroidery. Every character worth reading about knows instinctively that sewing is a) boring, b) difficult, c) mindless, and d) pointless. The author doesn’t have to say anything more than “Belinda threw down her needlework and looked out the window, sighing,” to signal that this is an independent woman whose values align with the modern reader, who’s probably not really understood by her mother or mother figure, and who probably will find an extraordinary man to “match” her rather than settling for someone ordinary. To look at an example from fantasy, GRRM uses embroidery in the very beginning of A Game of Thrones to show that the Stark sister who dislikes it is sympathetic and interesting, while the Stark sister who is competent at it is boring and conventional and obviously not deserving of a PoV (until later books, when her attention gets turned to higher matters); further into the book, of course, the pro-needlework sister proves to be weak-willed and naïve.

Rozsika Parker, in the groundbreaking 1996 work The Subversive Stitch, noted that “embroidery has become indelibly associated with stereotypes of femininity,” which is the core of the issue. "Instead embroidery and a stereotype of femininity have become collapsed into one another, characterised as mindless, decorative and delicate; like the icing on the cake, good to look at, adding taste and status, but devoid of significant content.” 

Parker also points out that the stereotype isn’t just one that was invented in the present day by feminists who hated the idea of being forced to do a certain craft. “The association between women and embroidery, craft and femininity, has meant that writers concerned with the status of women have often turned their attention towards this tangled, puzzling relationship. Feminists who have scorned embroidery tend to blame it for whatever constraint on women's lives they are committed to combat. Thus, for example, eighteenth-century critical commentators held embroidery responsible for the ill health which was claimed as evidence of women's natural weakness and inferiority.”

There are two basic problems I have with the trope, beyond the issue of it being incredibly cliché:

First: needlework was not just busywork

A big part of what drives the stereotype is the impression that what women were embroidering was either a sampler:

sampler embroidered by Jane Wilson, 14, in 1791 (MMA 2010.47)

or a picture:

unfinished embroidery of David and Abigail, British, 1640s-50s (MMA 64.101.1325)

That is, something meant to hang on the wall for no real purpose.

These are forms of schoolwork, basically. Samplers were made by young girls up to their early teens, and needlework pictures were usually something done while at school or under a governess as a showpiece of what was being learned - not just the stitching itself, but also often watercolors (which could be worked into the design), artistic sensibility, and the literature, history, or art that might be alluded to. And many needlework pictures made in schools were also done as mourning pieces, sometimes blank, for future use, and sometimes to commemorate a recent death in the family. A lot of them are awkward, clearly just done to pass the class, but others are really artwork.

Many schools for middle- and upper-class girls taught the making of these objects (and other “ornamental” subjects) alongside a more rigorous curriculum - geography, Latin, chemistry, etc. At some, sewing was also always accompanied by serious reading and discussion. (And it would often be done while someone read aloud or made conversation later in life, too.)

Once done with their education, women generally didn’t bother with purely decorative work. Some things that fabric could be embroidered for included:

Jackets 

Bed coverings and bedcurtains

Collars and undersleeves 

Pelerines 

Neck handkerchiefs and sleeve ruffles 

Screens

Upholstery

Handkerchiefs

Purses, wallets, and reticules

Boxes

Book covers

Plus other articles of clothing like waistcoats, caps, slippers, gown hems, chemises, etc. Women’s magazines of the nineteenth century often gave patterns and alphabets for personal use.

(Not to mention late nineteenth century female artists who worked in embroidery, but that’s something else.)

You could purchase all of these pre-embroidered, but many, many women chose to do it themselves. There are a number of reasons why: maybe they wanted something to do, maybe they felt like they should be doing needlework for moral/gender reasons, maybe they couldn’t afford to buy anything - and maybe they enjoyed it or wanted to give something they made to a person they loved. That firescreen above was embroidered by Marie Antoinette, someone who had any number of other activities to choose from. It’s no different than people today who like to knit their own hats and gloves or bake their own bread, except that it was way more mainstream.

embroidery patterns from Ackermann’s Repository in 1827 - they could be used on dresses, collars, handkerchiefs, etc.

Second: needlework wasn’t the only “useless” thing women were expected to do

Ignoring the bulk of point one for now and the value of embroidery - I mentioned “ornamental subjects” above. As many people know, young women of the upper and middle classes were expected to be “accomplished” in order to be seen as marriageable. This could include skills like embroidery, drawing, painting, singing, playing the piano (as well as other instruments, like the harp or the mandolin), speaking French (if not also Italian and/or German), as well as broader knowledge and abilities like being well-versed in music, literature, and poetry, dancing and walking gracefully, writing good letters in an elegant hand, and being able to read out loud expressively and smoothly.

This wasn’t a checklist. As the famous discussion in Pride and Prejudice shows, individuals could have different views on what actually made a woman accomplished:

“How I long to see her again! I never met with anybody who delighted me so much. Such a countenance, such manners! And so extremely accomplished for her age! Her performance on the pianoforte is exquisite.”

“It is amazing to me,” said Bingley, “how young ladies can have patience to be so very accomplished as they all are.”

“All young ladies accomplished! My dear Charles, what do you mean?”

“Yes, all of them, I think. They all paint tables, cover screens, and net purses. I scarcely know anyone who cannot do all this, and I am sure I never heard a young lady spoken of for the first time, without being informed that she was very accomplished.”

“Your list of the common extent of accomplishments,” said Darcy, “has too much truth. The word is applied to many a woman who deserves it no otherwise than by netting a purse or covering a screen. But I am very far from agreeing with you in your estimation of ladies in general. I cannot boast of knowing more than half-a-dozen, in the whole range of my acquaintance, that are really accomplished.”

“Nor I, I am sure,” said Miss Bingley.

“Then,” observed Elizabeth, “you must comprehend a great deal in your idea of an accomplished woman.”

“Yes, I do comprehend a great deal in it.”

“Oh! certainly,” cried his faithful assistant, “no one can be really esteemed accomplished who does not greatly surpass what is usually met with. A woman must have a thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and the modern languages, to deserve the word; and besides all this, she must possess a certain something in her air and manner of walking, the tone of her voice, her address and expressions, or the word will be but half-deserved.”

“All this she must possess,” added Darcy, “and to all this she must yet add something more substantial, in the improvement of her mind by extensive reading.”

Mr. Bingley feels that a woman is accomplished if she has the ability to do a number of different arts and crafts. Miss Bingley feels (or says she feels) that it goes beyond specific skills and into branches of artistic attainment, plus broader personal qualities that could be imparted by well-bred governesses or mothers. And Mr. Darcy, of course, agrees with that but adds an academic angle as well.

But what ties all of these accomplishments together is their lack of value on the labor market. A woman could earn a living with any one accomplishment, if she worked hard enough at it to become a professional, but young ladies weren’t supposed to be professional-level good because they by definition weren’t going to earn a living. All together, they trained a woman for the social and domestic role of a married woman of the upper middle or upper class, or, if she couldn’t get married, a governess or teacher who would share her accomplishments with the next generation.

(To be fair, almost none of the trappings of an upper-middle/upper class male education had anything to do with the kind of career training that college frequently is today, either. Men were educated to know the cultural touchpoints of their class and fit in with their peers.)

There are reasons that an individual person/character might specifically object to embroidery, but it was far from the only “useless” thing that an unconventional heroine would be required to do against her inclination by her conventional mother/grandmother/aunt/chaperone. Embroidery stands out to modern audiences because most of the other accomplishments are now valued as gender-neutral arts and skills.

“The Embroidery Frame”, by Mathilde Weil, ca. 1900 (LOC 98501309)

So, some thoughts for writers of historical fiction (or fantasy that’s supposed to be just like the 19th/18th/17th/etc century):

- If your heroine doesn’t like embroidery, she probably doesn’t like a number of other things she’s expected to do. Don’t pull out embroidery as either more expected or more onerous than them. Does she hate to sit still? I’d imagine she also dislikes drawing and practicing the piano. Would she prefer to do academic subjects? She probably also resents learning French instead of Latin, and music and dancing. Does she hate enforced femininity? Then she’d most likely have a problem with all of the accomplishments.

- If your heroine just and specifically doesn’t like embroidery, try to show in the narrative that that’s not because it’s objectively bad, and only able to be liked by the boring. Have another sympathetic character do it while talking to the heroine. Note that the hero carries a flame-stitched wallet that’s his sister’s work. Emphasize the heroine’s emotional connection to her deceased or absent mother through her affection for clothing or upholstery that her mother embroidered - or through a mourning picture commemorating her. There are all kinds of things you can do to show that it’s a personal preference rather than a stupid craft that doesn’t take talent and skill!

mourning picture for Daniel Goodman, probably embroidered by a Miss Goodman, 1803 (MMA 56.66)

#history #women's history #writing #embroidery #19th century #18th century #17th century #victorian #georgian #regency

[therealvinelle]

How do you believe Carlisle feels about Esme? How would their break up go? Would he ever cheat on her? I mean like emotionally?

He loves her.

I don’t doubt that his feelings for Esme are genuine, that he respects and cherishes her and wishes to spend his life with her. Esme, too, worships the man.

My complete lack of faith in this ship comes from the fact that they’re together for the wrong reasons and not compatible. 

The Bad Beginning

Carlisle had spent centuries searching for likeminded, he never did. In the end he succumbs and starts creating his own, first Edward and then Esme, and to his joy they both agree to do the diet.

Esme’s transformation was entirely an impulse on his end. He saw this delightful, vivacious young woman he’d known ten years ago lie broken and dying in the morgue, a Jane Doe declared dead, she was all too easy to steal. She was too far gone for him to have time to think it over, and so he went «alright let’s do this. I imagine it seemed rather like God had sent her to that morgue specifically. We learn from Midnight Sun that romance wasn’t on his mind at all (even if it was, that wouldn’t make their marriage more functional) and he expected nothing of her. He bit her because he didn’t want Esme Platt to die.

Esme, of course, wakes up into this new life under surreal, heavenly circumstances. Her child is still dead - but here is the mythic, pedestaled Dr. Cullen, now her savior and more wonderful than ever. To back myself up with the books:

Esme had already been in love with Carlisle—much to his shock—but not through any mystical, magical means. She’d met Carlisle as a girl and, drawn to his gentleness, wit, and otherworldly beauty, formed an attachment that had haunted her for the rest of her human years. Life had not been kind to Esme, and so it was not surprising that this golden memory of a good man had never been supplanted in her heart. After the burning torment of transformation, when she’d awakened to the face of her long-cherished dream, her affections were entirely his. (Midnight Sun, chapter Bloodtype)

Carlisle, on his end, hadn’t had the idea at all until Edward said “Dude, she’s into you, go for it.”

I’d been on hand to caution Carlisle about her unforeseen reaction. He’d expected that she would be shocked by her transformation, traumatized by the pain, horrified by what she’d become, much as I had been. He’d expected to have to explain and apologize, to soothe and to atone. He knew there was a good chance that she would have preferred death, that she would despise him for the choice made without her knowledge or consent. So the fact that she had been immediately prepared to join this life—not really the life, but to join him—was not something he was ready for.

He’d never seen himself as a possible object of romantic love before that moment. It seemed contrary to what he was—a vampire, a monster. The knowledge I gave him changed the way he looked at Esme, the way he looked at himself.

More than that, it was very a powerful thing, choosing to save someone. It was not a decision any sane individual made lightly. (sic)

I’m not entirely void of authorial intent - I get that this was supposed to be romcom where the cute nerdy guy has no idea the girl is interested. 

But, what I see is that after centuries of being alone, never finding anybody who shared his values, Carlisle finally has these two people who share his ideals, the only two in the world. He’s had countless friends, but it never worked out because of that damn diet. But, now he has these two people, and one of them is a beautiful, kind, wonderful woman who’s in love with him.

I imagine falling for Esme was easy. It was just so perfect, simply by being Carlisle Cullen he could make her happier than any other man, and given their shared diet, he wanted her by his side always, just as he did Edward. And this was it for him, really, to Carlisle Cullen Esme might as well be the only woman in the world because she’s the only one who'll share his lifestyle. He also felt responsible for her.

I don’t at all doubt their sincerity or affection for one another.

However, they did not fall for each other for each other’s sakes. Esme fell for the ideal since childhood, and Carlisle fell because she was perfect. Stick them in an AU and it won’t happen.

The Slippery Slope

Where they run into trouble is firstly that Esme doesn’t share these ideals, nor value human life for its own sake. Now, I’m not asking her to be a saint - but over the course of these books we had some lapses that I find pretty damning. 

She wanted Edward back in Forks, when this would almost certainly mean the death of Bella Swan, simply because to Esme having Edward nearby > a person’s life. This wasn’t the case for Carlisle, he made it extremely clear he wanted Edward to leave.

During the “Kill Bella?” vote, she was in favor of whatever meant Edward would stay.

Carlisle, having failed to get anywhere with talking sense into Edward, sends him home to his mother for an intervention. What happens next is that Esme gives Edward her blessing to eat the delicious girl if he wants to. Now, we can’t know specifically the talk Carlisle and Esme had before this, but I can’t imagine it was this. Also, damn, what a miscommunication.

Esme simply doesn’t have a problem with the deaths of individual humans, and she will put her loved ones above all other things, even if it’s a minor inconvenience. Keeping Bella alive only becomes her priority after Edward makes it clear he wants this.

Now, Carlisle’s standards have been worn down over the centuries, he just wants his family to try not to eat people on purpose, that’s how low the bar is. Tragically for his marriage, Esme is stumbling over said bar.

The further trouble they run into is that I don’t think they’re very compatible people.

Esme means well, but she’s peculiar, to put it extremely nicely. Her ambition in life is to LARP the human life, right down to being a master chef of something her species can’t eat, which could be sweet if she did other things. She doesn’t, the closest she gets is designing homes for her family. There’s being single-minded, and then there’s Esme, who appears to have honed herself into someone who exists only to be the housewife.

This leads to bizarre behavior - for instance in Midnight Sun when Edward has realized he’s in love, he sits around laughing to himself like a lunatic while playing the piano. Something happens with Rosalie, who runs out of the house in humiliation. Esme, responding to all this, gives her infamous “the best and brightest of us all” pep talk.

It’s just such a weird scene, even accounting for the inhumanity of Twilight vampires this is weird.

Mostly, thought, it is Esme’s interests and desires in life that I find so at odds with Carlisle’s. She wants to be an improved human, living the shinier, better, life without actually embracing the inhumanity of vampirism, while Carlisle is doing the human thing because he wants to be a doctor and save lives. Before that, he was travelling the world, living with normal vampires, using his eternity to study and pursue meaning in life. Now, they end up in the same place, with similar goals - wanting to blend in with humans - but the motivation is the polar opposite.

Which in turn means that as the world turns and their lives inevitably change, the way they live will have to change. This will spell trouble.

There’s also me having a strong suspicion these two don’t have much of a physical relationship, if any. Meyer specifically referred to their relationship as spiritual, and that fits the vibe we get from them in the books. Quite notably, Rosalie and Emmett were impossible to be around when they were newlyweds, while Carlisle and Esme weren’t a problem at all. 

Not to mention what Esme longed for all those years was very much an ideal of a man, which to me doesn’t immediately point to a very physical attraction.

The Penultimate Peril

Would he cheat on her, you ask. Answer is yes, they’re both cheating emotionally with Edward. No. 

He’s with her because he wants to be, and feels responsible for her. More, developing the kinds of feelings necessary for an emotional affair isn’t really on the table for him, since everyone else in the world is either a. one of his kids or the Denali, b. an unrepentant man-eating demon. So, unless Tanya’s feeling frisky, Carlisle doesn’t have anybody to cheat with.

(I’m here defining an emotional affair, which as I understand it is a bit hard to define, as a romantic, but non-physical entanglement. The cheating party has to know their partner wouldn’t be cool with it for it to count in my eyes.)

As for physically cheating on her, nope. God no, not ever. Unless something really convoluted like the plot of Blue Moon unfolded, but that’s really more a case of Esme pimping out her husband to her daughter-in-law, so everyone’s to blame here.

The end

I think the breakup can happen in any number of ways, but I think either way it will be sudden. 

These two aren’t going to go “you know, I think we’ve grown apart” because Esme would never acknowledge that nevermind walk up to Carlisle and say it, and if Carlisle realized things aren’t working he’d still want to stick it out for her sake.

I think it’ll be sudden, it’ll happen as the immovable object that is them is hit by an unstoppable force. One will go someplace the other can’t follow. Maybe when the Cullen coven splits down the middle, and they’re on each their own side of the chasm, or maybe some other cause entirely.

It’ll devastate them both, but given the people these two are, I think it’s inevitable.

#carlisle cullen #esme cullen #carlisle/esme #twilight #twilight meta #twilight renaissance #hope you all think the header theme was as funny as i did #a series of unfortunate events aka- #Anonymous #ask

[bananaofswifts]

By Paul Tingen

From sketches to final mixes, engineer Jonathan Low spent 2020 overseeing Taylor Swift’s hit lockdown albums folklore and evermore.

“I think the theme of a lot of my work nowadays, and especially with these two records, is that everything is getting mixed all the time. I always try to get the songs to sound as finalised as they can be. Obviously that’s hard when you’re not sure yet what all the elements will be. Tracks morph all the time, and yet everything is always moving forwards towards completion in some way. Everything should sound fun and inspiring to listen to all the time.”

Speaking is Jonathan Low, and the two records he refers to are, of course, Taylor Swift’s 2020 albums folklore and evermore, both of which reached number one in the UK and the US. Swift’s main producer and co‑writer on the two albums was the National’s Aaron Dessner, also interviewed in this issue. Low is the engineer, mixer and general right‑hand man at Long Pond Studios in upstate New York, where he and Dessner spent most of 2020 working on folklore and evermore, with Swift in Los Angeles for much of the time.

“In the beginning it did not feel real,” recalls Low. “There was this brand‑new collaboration, and it was amazing how quickly Aaron made these instrumental sketches and Taylor wrote lyrics and melodies to them, which she initially sent to us as iPhone voice memos. During our nightly family dinners in lockdown, Aaron would regularly pull up his phone and say, ‘Listen to this!’ and there would be another voice memo from Taylor with this beautiful song that she had written over a sketch of Aaron’s in a matter of hours. The rate at which it was happening was mind‑blowing. There was constant elevation, inspiration and just wanting to continue the momentum.

“We put her voice memos straight into Pro Tools. They had tons of character, because of the weird phone compression and cutting midrange quality you just would not get when you put someone in front of a pristine recording chain. Plus there was all this bleed. It’s interesting how that dictates the attitude of the vocal and of the song. Even though none of the original voice memos ended up on the albums, they often gave us unexpected hints. These voice memos were such on‑a‑whim things, they were really telling. Taylor had certain phrasings and inflections that we often returned to later on. They became our reference points.”

Sketching Sessions

“The instrumental sketches Aaron makes come into being in different ways,” elaborates Low. “Sometimes they are more fleshed‑out ideas, sometimes they are less formed. But normally Aaron will set himself up in the studio, surrounded by instruments and synths, and he’ll construct a track. Once he feels it makes some kind of sense I’ll come in and take a listen and then we together develop what’s there.

“I don’t call his sketches demos, because while many instruments are added and replaced later on, most of the original parts end up in the final version of the song. We try to get the sketches to a place where they are already very engaging as instrumental tracks. Aaron and I are always obsessively listening, because we constantly want to hear things that feel inspiring and musical, not just a bed of music in the background. It takes longer to create, but in this case also gave Taylor more to latch onto, both emotionally and in terms of musical inspiration. Hearing melodies woven in the music triggered new melodies.”

Not long after Dessner and Low sent each sketch to Swift, they would receive her voice memos in return, and they’d load them into the Pro Tools session of the sketch in question. Dessner and Low then continued to develop the songs, in close collaboration with Swift. “Taylor’s voice memos often came with suggestions for how to edit the sketches: maybe throw in a bridge somewhere, shorten a section, change the chords or arrangement somewhere, and so on. Aaron would have similar ideas, and he then developed the arrangements, often with his brother Bryce, adding or replacing instruments. This happened fast, and became very interactive between us and Taylor, even though we were working remotely. When we added instruments, we were reacting to the way my rough mixes felt at the very beginning. Of course, it was also dictated by how Taylor wrote and sang to the tracks.”

Dessner supplied sketches for nine and produced 10 of folklore’s 16 songs, playing many different types of guitars, keyboards and synths as well as percusion and programmed drums. Instruments that were added later include live strings, drums, trombone, accordion, clarinet, harpsichord and more, with his brother Bryce doing many of the orchestrations. Most overdubs by other musicians were done remotely as well. Throughout, Low was keeping an overview of everything that was going on and mixing the material, so it was as presentable and inspiring as possible.

Mixing folklore

Although Dessner has called folklore an “anti‑pop album”, the world’s number‑one pop mixer Serban Ghenea was drafted in to mix seven tracks, while Low did the remainder.

“It was exciting to have Serban involved,” explains Low, “because he did things I’d never do or be able to do. The way the vocal sits always at the forefront, along with the clarity he gets in his mixes, is remarkable. A great example of this is on the song ‘epiphany’. There is so much beautiful space and the vocal feels effortlessly placed. It was really interesting to hear where he took things, because we were so close to the entire process in every way. Hearing a totally new perspective was eye‑opening and refreshing.

“Throughout the entire process we were trying to maintain the original feel. Sometimes this was hard, because that initial rawness would get lost in large arrangements and additional layering. With revisions of folklore in particular we sometimes were losing the emotional weight from earlier more casual mixes. Because I was always mixing, there was also always the danger of over‑mixing.

“We were trying to get the best of each mix version, and sometimes that meant stepping backwards, and grabbing a piano chain from an earlier mix, or going three versions back to before we added orchestration. There were definitely moments of thinking, ‘Is this going to compete sonically? Is this loud enough?’ We knew we loved the way the songs sounded as we were building them, so we stuck with what we knew. There were times where I tried to keep pushing a mix forward but it didn’t improve the song — ‘cardigan’ is an example of a song where we ended up choosing a very early mix.”

Onward & Upward

folklore was finished and released in July 2020. In a normal world everyone might have gone on to do other things, but without the option of touring, they simply continued writing songs, with Low holding the fort. In September, many of the musicians who played on the album gathered at Long Pond for the shooting of a making‑of documentary, folklore: the long pond studio sessions, which is streamed on Disney+.

The temporary presence of Swift at Long Pond changed the working methods somewhat, as she could work with Dessner in the room, and Low was able record her vocals. After Swift left again, sessions continued until December, when evermore was released, with Dessner producing or co‑producing all tracks, apart from ‘gold rush’ which was co‑written and co‑produced by Swift and Antonoff. Low recorded many of Swift’s vocals for evermore, and mixed the entire album. The lead single ‘willow’ became the biggest hit from the album, reaching number one in the US and number three in the UK.

“Before Taylor came to Long Pond,” remembers Low, “she had always recorded her vocals for folklore remotely in Los Angeles or Nashville. When I recorded, I used a modern Telefunken U47, which is our go‑to vocal mic — we record all the National stuff with that — going straight into the Siemens desk, and then into a Lisson Grove AR‑1 tube compressor, and via a Burl A‑D converter into Pro Tools. Taylor creates and lays down her vocal arrangements very quickly, and it sounds like a finished record in very few takes.”

Devils In The Detail

In his mixes, Low wanted listeners to share his own initial response to these vocal performances. “The element that draws me in is always Taylor’s vocals. The first time I received files with her properly recorded but premixed vocals I was just floored. They sounded great, even with minimal EQ and compression. They were not the way I’m used to hearing her voice in her pop songs, with the vocal soaring and sitting at the very front edge of the soundscape. In these raw performances, I heard so much more intimacy and interaction with the music. It was wonderful to hear her voice with tons of detail and nuances in place: her phrasing, her tonality, her pitch, all very deliberate. We wanted to maintain that. It’s more emotional, and it sounds so much more personal to me. Then there was the music...”

The arrangements on evermore are even more ‘chamber pop’ than on folklore, with instruments like glockenspiel, crotales, flute, French horn, celeste and harmonium in evidence. “As listeners of the National may know, Aaron’s and Bryce’s arrangements can be quite dense. They love lush orchestration, all sorts of percusion, synths and other electronic sounds. The challenge was trying to get them to speak, without getting in the way of the vocals. I want a casual listener to be drawn in by the vocal, but sense that something special is happening in the music as well. At the same time, someone who really is digging in can fully immerse themselves and take in all the beauty deeper in the details of the sound and arrangement. Finding the balance between presenting all the musical elements that were happening in the arrangement and this really beautiful, upfront, real‑sounding vocal was the ticket.

“A particular challenge is that a lot of the detail that Aaron gravitates towards happens in the low mids, which is a very warm part of our hearing spectrum that can quickly become too muddy or too woolly. A lot of the tonal and musical information lives in the low mids, and then the vocal sits more in the midrange and high mids. There’s not too much in the higher frequency range, except the top of the guitars, and some elements like a shaker and the higher buzzy parts of the synths. Maintaining clarity and separation in those often complex arrangements was a major challenge.”

#taylor swift #folklore

[simply-zhouye]

Zhou Ye: The Wonderful Ideas of Lotte Girls // Esquire Fine photoshoot & interview ~ a really wonderful interview with Yezi!

Read rough translation of interview below: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/lY3oBM51ytlua7S8ZRdmlw

The lively character is like jumping candy, and the crisp voice is like summer honeydew. It can be a cute angel or a rebellious girl. Who wouldn't like a beautiful and free girl? We met Zhou Ye at a claw machine shop, and she caught the one she wanted five times!

Zhou Ye didn't laugh when shooting the magazine blockbuster, but she liked to laugh privately.

In the eyes of the people around, she is a simple and lively little girl, born optimistic, loves to joke, and loves to share all the fun and delicious. After catching up with the good-looking drama, she will also be ambitious to everyone, even if she encounters any troubles, she It will be resolved soon. She denied the title of "Girl's Heart"-when she was not working, she liked to lie at home and chase dramas, and science fiction and fantasy were her dishes. She enthusiastically gave an example. There is an American drama called "Stranger Things". It is about a little boy who disappeared in a small town in the United States. Everyone went to find him and found that there was an entrance to another world, exactly the same as this world. , But there is no one in that world. Such a story attracts her even more.

A few days ago, she took a four-day holiday, "very satisfied!" During the holiday, she made appointments with a few good friends for dinner, went to the playground, and watched dramas. If the vacation is longer, she would prefer to go home and stay with her family. Playing with mom and dad, playing with grandpa and grandmother, the family finds a beautiful place to go camping, and if you don’t go out, you can play mahjong with the whole family. She can stay away from looking at her mobile phone for a day.

Asked this girl who is not so girly what she wants, she said, "Now I want to accomplish everything in the moment, and every day will be better than the day before!"

Therefore, Zhou Ye, who hopes to be more progressive, raised his face and chatted with us about serious matters.

Before, people often said to me, "I like your performance of "Youth", but now everyone talks more about "Shanhe Ling". Let’s start the conversation with "The Order of Mountains and Rivers".

Gu Xiang in the play is a girl who is cold on the outside and warm on the inside. She helped Cao Weining, Zhang Chengling, and the singing sisters, but it didn't mean that she trusted them. She just felt that these people were very pitiful. Because Gu Xiang was picked up by her master when she was a child, she felt sorry for them and wanted to protect them.

She is defensive to everyone, and she will not trust anyone easily. In terms of character, Gu Xiang and I are a bit like. Both are more lively. What we don't quite resemble is our life experience and living environment.

When I first finished reading the script of "The Order of Mountains and Rivers", I loved Gu Xiang from the bottom of my heart. Gu Xiang grew up in Guigu where she was killed and beaten everywhere. Although she was lucky enough to meet Wen Kexing, the master who protected her, the rivers and lakes were sinister and Gu Xiang never really relaxed. Therefore, she can only protect herself by fierce methods. She looks acrimonious, slurs and curses, and she has to fight or kill at every turn. She looks very fierce and cruel, but her heart is really innocent and special. Kindness. When encountering people like Cao Weining, Zhang Chengling, and the singing sister Hua, Gu Xiang will rescue them and help them beat the gangsters. 

Many audience friends felt that the ending of Gu Xiang and Cao Weining was too miserable when they watched "The Order of Mountains and Rivers". Gu Xiang originally didn't know what the outside world was like. After she came to the world, she met Big Brother Cao, and the two people who loved each other were about to be happy. Unexpectedly, on the day of the wedding, Gu Xiang lost her lover so much that she would fight herself Life. I am also uncomfortable with this ending. It is not easy for them to get to this day. Why can't they live well? If I were to write an ending, it would definitely be two people living together happily forever.

For me, playing Gu Xiang should be more difficult than playing. This is my first time shooting a costume drama, and also my first time shooting a martial arts drama. "Shanhe Ling" really has a lot of martial arts, because it tells the story of the rivers and lakes, so I joined the group some time before I started, and learned some moves from the martial arts masters. 

In retrospect, the scene of the wedding was the most memorable. I had been shooting for three days in a row. I had been beating, killing, and hanging off Wia, and I would beat off some hair accessories from my hair. I didn't dare to hang on Wia at first, and the costume was so thick that I could easily trip on my feet. But I can’t take care of this when I shoot. This is Gu Xiang’s most emotional scene. I feel the same for Gu Xiang and can’t help crying. Until the end of my cry, I can’t tell whether my face is tears or saliva. , I hope that through this scene, everyone can feel Gu Xiang’s pain.

For me at this stage, whether it is a role that is more similar to myself or a completely different role, I am willing to give it a try. If the character of a character is very pleasing, I will have a sense of substitution when I read the script, I will like it, and I will really want to play it. 

In fact, my interest in acting began after I was in college. When I was a child, I learned piano, and I was not very sensible at that time. I thought it would be fine to play the piano every day after growing up and collect tickets. After being admitted to the Beijing Film Academy, we often watch movies. When the directors see their favorite movies, they will think "I can make such a great movie in the future". I am in the acting department, so I hope I can do it in the future. Acting in a particularly powerful movie may be the influence of the school atmosphere. I still remember that I watched some old movies when I was in school. I really liked "Scent of a Woman" and Marlon Brando. He played "The Godfather" very well.

In the film school, we had a lot of opportunities to meet the director and the crew. We tried again and again, and slowly met scenes that were willing to use our young actors, and started the road to filming. I will definitely read the script several times before filming. In addition to my own role, I have to read the whole story, write a short biography of the character, and talk to everyone at the script reading meeting. For example, when shooting "Ah Cradle", I often consulted sister Haiqing and the director. In the filming of "Youth in Youth", I would also ask the director: The girl I played has such a good family, why does she bully her classmates? The director told me that because her parents had very strict education for her, she was required to be particularly good since she was a child. She was under tremendous pressure and kept suppressing it, so she vented the pressure by bullying her classmates.

When taking the play, I don't worry about people comparing my previous works or achievements, as long as my requirements for myself will not change. My request is to do my best to shape each role. Every time I finish filming a film, I will have a certain evaluation of myself, and I will also look at other people's evaluations of me, as well as the opinions given to me by my predecessors, to integrate these. Every time, I hope I can do better next time. 

Up to now, I have been shooting for a few years, and I feel that I am not a talented actor, and I have to be a model worker. However, the sisters who brought me to the management team said that my biggest change and improvement is that I am more independent than before. When I first started filming, I would hide in the room and cry by myself every time I joined the group, especially wanting to go home.

Now I am more comfortable with the life of the crew than before. When I first joined the group, I still felt a little homesick. I hope to finish the filming soon, and become familiar with everyone. After work, I will play with the actors in the same group. When I was resting, I was playing with werewolf killing or something, so happy, I didn't want to kill it. I didn't want to be successful when I was filming "Shanhe Ling", and the same was true when filming "Ah Cradle". As actors, it seems that we can go to different places every time we film. In fact, there is not much time to spend in the local area, but we can eat a lot of local delicacies.

As I said just now, I want to do everything right now, and the current week is the best week.

 Do you often dream? Please share a dream that is more imaginative.

Zhou Ye:

I sometimes dream. Once, I dreamed that I received an acceptance letter from an owl, took the Hogwarts Express train to the magic school to learn magical magic, visited Hogsmeade Village, and met so many new friends. .

What is your dream day like? How to spend it?

Zhou Ye:

At this stage, my dream day is to sleep in late, and after waking up, I will lie in bed and watch a drama or hang out with my friends or watch a drama.

How to arrange the dream holiday? Stay at home or go out to play?

Zhou Ye:

Of course, it is best to have two days, so you can stay at home one day and go out to play one day!

What about the journey of your dreams? With whom, where to go, and how to play?

Zhou Ye:

With your family, you can go to the beach or play paragliding.

What is your dream job announcement?

Zhou Ye:

Go to Universal Studios to shoot hahahaha, I really want to go!

What kind of "dream skills" do you want to have?

Zhou Ye:

Teleport!

Which era is the dream era? why?

Zhou Ye:

Now, now is the best time. Grasp the moment.

#zhou ye #hqs:zhouye #photoshoot #esquire fine #magazine photoshoot #gu xiang #word of honor #shan he ling cast #hogwarts

[patandpran]

heyy cass 💕 for the headcanons ask game, sarawat! i miss him sm :(

- @itoldconcreteaboutyou

Ayeshaaaaaaa!

Ugh I miss him too. I’m going to kind of take this as a continuation from still 2gether…

Sarawat Headcanons:

- since moving in together, Sarawat makes a point of waking up early and making Tine breakfast. He’s not exactly the best at cooking but anything he can do to make his boyfriends morning easier and seeing the sleepy smile on Tine’s face is more than worth it.

- Sarawat has started to teach himself piano and made a point of learning a few Scrubb songs on the instrument to play for Tine when he comes home especially stressed from his internship

- Tine has shared his interest in learning how to play soccer and Sarawat cant help but find the whole process adorable. Just like with learning guitar, Tine is very clumsy at first but Sarawat is patient with him as he improves his skill. Plus, Sarawat won’t complain about seeing his boyfriend in a Jersey….

- As much as Sarawat tries to stay out of his brother’s relationship, he’s still a protective older brother which means he makes spontaneous ‘house calls’ where he will randomly drop in to Phukong’s dorm. Of course, Mil is ALWAYS there when Sarawat pays a visit and is aggravatingly doting to Phukong, so much that Sarawat drops in less and less…

- after they adopted charlotte, Sarawat felt like there was something still missing in their little home. As much as he loves the little chihuahua, he’s always been much more of a cat person. So when Tine surprises him with a kitten for his birthday, he’s over the moon and falls immediately in love (of course not as much as he loves Tine though)

- making playlists is Sarawat’s love language so he has one for every occasion and will often even curate and ‘gift’ them to people for their birthdays

- when Earn is still too nervous to confess to Pear, sarawat takes on the duty as professional wingman very seriously. He doesn’t try to be too pushy but with Tine’s help, he arranges a few ‘run-ins’ between Earn and pear. Eventually with enough pep talks from him, Earn is able to gather the courage to officially ask Pear out and, of course, Pear agrees

- there’s something about gloomy or overcast mornings that Sarawat loves. He takes his morning coffee out to the balancing and watches the rain fall peacefully. He even sometimes uses the white noise to compose music. The whole thing confounds Tine who adores the sun.

- Sarawat’s dream is to open a recording studio as a side business but he knows it’s far off… so when Tine surprises him with a home studio for an anniversary, he feels like the luckiest person alive

- unbeknownst to many, Sarawat keeps a ring tucked away on his person because he knows he wants to propose to Tine but he’s still not sure about the timing or how he wants to do it. But, just in case, he keeps it hidden on him at all times just in case inspiration strikes (and also as a precaution as Tine is the KiNG of snooping)

Wow. I haven’t written in so long and especially not for together so this felt v refreshing. Hope these make you smile!

Xx Cass

#2gether #still 2gether #sarawat x tine #Thai bl #my writing

[putschki1969]

「Wakana Botanical Land “Music Party Vol.2"」 Live Report/Commentary

Don’t forget to tune in to today’s event! A live stream option IS AVAILABLE for these two fan club exclusive performances. There is STILL time to buy a ticket so be sure to use that chance! If you can’t watch it live today, you can rely on the archived version which will be uploaded after the event and is available until June 6! (Tweet by Wakana staff)

EVENT DETAILS (find ALL details and a tutorial HERE): ■ May 29, 2021  ◇ Day performance Open 14:15 Start 15:00 (JST) ◇ Night performance Open 17:15 Start 18:00 (JST)

Note: I will try my best to do a live commentary/first reaction kind of thing so this post will be updated as the day goes by. I really hope they have fixed the streaming problems they had last time with the Spring Shark Festival. It worked fine once they got it working but it took quite a while to get there. They don’t have that luxury today since there is an on-site audience, it’s pretty much impossible to delay the performance should any streaming issues arise. On a side note, I am keeping my expectations low as far as the audio-quality is concerned but we will see, maybe it’s good. Without further ado, let’s get to it!

Live Commentary

Okay, it’s about to start, there are some weird noises in my headphones but it’s manageable. Otherwise, it works totally fine! I think they fixed the weird noise issue for the evening performance. Haven’t heard it yet. Video/stream-quality is perfect for me (no freeze so far), they have a few different angles which I appreciate. A bit of shaky-cam here and there but nothing too bad. I feel like they improved quite a bit on the camera work for the evening performance. Sound is also surprisingly good.

Setlist

Happy Hello Day: The atmosphere is already so nice, everyone is clapping enthusiastically. I love it! The arrangement with piano and guitar is perfect for this song. Poor Wakana forgot the lyrics though so they had to start again. Awww, so precious, I wanna cuddle her already! Loved the “lalala” at the end! No mistakes for her night performance. Everything went smoothly. I feel like the atmosphere is a bit more toned down compared to the day performance.

瑠璃色の空 / Ruriiro no Sora (DAY): Okay, I have never really liked this song but this acoustic version is actually pretty nice. I may have actually become a fan! :P Thank you Wakana, for this beautiful rendition. Hard Rain (NIGHT): YESSSSS! So much win! While I didn’t mind this version of Ruriiro no Sora, I MUCH prefer Hard Rain.

ひらりひらり / Hirari Hirari: Not my favourite of the “magic moment” album but I really enjoy listening to the live version like this.

442: OMG, I am already blown away! This IS SO GOOD!!!! The live version (especially with this acoustic arrangement) is a REVELATION, everyone needs to listen to it! I am so glad we are also getting this on the Blu-ray this summer!

Talk Corner: Awww, once again Wakana embarrasses herself by introducing her host Bunta Nagamatsu with the wrong name. Seeing her this flustered is super cute but on the other hand, I feel sorry for her T_T They are answering some of the simple/casual questions that fan club members were able to submit in advance. It was interesting to find out that she stretches for quite a long of them a few hours before a live and that she carries pretty much all of her belongings in her bag on a performance day XD Will be summarising them properly once we get the archived version. They are using different questions for the evening performance! YAY! At the end they are demonstrating their kendama skills but Wakana fails to catch the ball the first two times but then on the third try, SUCCESS! She is so happy! At the evening performance she looked like she pulled a muscle doing the trick but yay, she managed to catch the ball on her first try

海を見ていた午後 / Umi wo miteita gogo: Yuming-cover chosen for Takebe-san due to a connection. They picked this song because it features places in Yokohama (today’s live is taking place in Yokohama). Too short but very nice. Not a particularly big fan of the voice she uses for the song though.

アイノカタチ / Ai no Katachi: Misia-cover chosen for Ishinari-san due to a connection. His guitar playing is actually featured in the original recording of the song. Wakana also sang this in one of her fan club videos (where she did her nails). Wahhhh, I am in love!! Such a beautiful cover! This hit me right in the feels, even more so the second time around! *bursts into tears*

I have a dream: Kalafina-cover chosen for Wakana due to a connection. *sobs* Ahhhhhh, this is beautiful. I have no words. Not all Kalafina songs work as a solo song but this one certainly does. Wakana nailed it!! That Kajiura-go part!! Btw, random question for everyone who has been watching the stream, where is that drum/percussion-like sound coming from? It’s noticable in almost all songs but it’s obviously not coming from the piano or guitar. Just curious since I am not an expert on that kind of stuff so I wouldn’t know what tools they have to create this sort of sound without an actual drum set or whatever. Thanks to @sa-nyan for replying, it is INDEED Ishinari using some sort of pedal.

翼 / Tsubasa: Oh wow, already digging the acoustic arrangement. Can I just say how much I appreciate it that Wakana has two super talented and passionate musicians on her side. She deserves to be accompanied by the best. This is one of Wakana’s oldest solo songs so you can tell she is very sure of herself, no hesitation whatsoever, just powerful vocals. Perfection!

恋はいつも / Koi wa Itsumo: Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! You all know this is one of my faves so I couldn’t be happier!! Wakana showing the audience how to clap :P SO CUTE! I can’t clap in rhythm for the life of me so I am kinda glad I am not there to embarrass myself :P Too bad the audience was able to sing along this time (probably because of COVID regulations). A little lyric slip-up at the beginnging but Wakana dealt with it professionally.

ENCORE: 金木犀 / Kinmokusei: Ohhhhhhh! And another one of my all-time faves!! Such a good setlist!! As always, beautiful!

ENCORE: あとひとつ / Ato hitotsu: Wakana explains the reason why this hasn’t been released on CD yet. She wants it to be a special experience that is reserved for live performances. She feels this exclusivity is nice. The PERFECT ending just like every other time she sings it.

DAY: Wakana is wearing a lovely salmon/orange/pink (?) coloured toga/tunic-sort of dress. She looks so pretty! It’s off-shoulder (always the best look for her!) and there is a white skirt layered underneath. There is also some binding around her waist. her hair is in an elaborate up-do. NIGHT: She changed into a lovely wide blue gown which goes well with the evening flair. Her hair is in a cute high ponytail. She is wearing her clear chain earrings again.

During the first MC of the day performance Wakana is already getting carried away talking about this and that so Takebe-san has to remind her they are on a tight schedule. XD At the end of the live Wakana announced an online release event for her Blu-ray. It’s gonna take place on August 21. The after-talk is now available. They filmed it after the evening performances answering a few more fan questions.

The archive videos for the day and night performance are already available! Please enjoy!

Be sure to fill in the survey to let Wakana and her team know how you felt about the event!! There will also be a Bokutachi no VOICE thread to share your impressions!

#kalafina #wakana #report #live commentary #summary #music party #wakana music party #music party vol 2 #fan club exclusive content #botanical land #long text post

[crazyfreckledginger]

Ikemen Vampire x Reader - “Residents In Modern Times”

Requested by anon: “Hello glorious author-chan! I have a request for you. I have a fun little imagine for you. Can you make an Ikemen Vampire imagine of what their reactions would be like in modern times?”

A/N: I honestly don’t know what this is, like it ended up as the child of a drabble and a headcanon.

Warning: implied smut and nudity (come on Arthur is here)

Napoleon Bonaparte:

He’d be shocked and in awe at the same time.

Wanting to know EVERYTHING about how people live in the 21st century.

Is it a better, easier life? Is everyone treated equally and safe?

He’s astonished by the night lights as well, so bright and beautiful.

It’s absolutely unforgettable and he stays up at night a little longer to watch the busy city below, drinking the beautiful view until he falls asleep. 

Also more content with the clothing fashion.

Yes it’s very unusual to him since he’s not used to it but clothes used to be so uncomfortable, especially for women.

Though he really didn’t feel comfortable with such revealing clothes. 

He’s very cute about it around you though, hiding in your neck with flushed, embarrassed cheeks. 

Leonardo Da Vinci:

Doesn’t show his amazement as much except through his tone of voice.

Wants to know how a phone works.

Surprisingly -- or unsurprisingly --  not having to explain it regularly, he picks up on it very quickly.

He’s very impressed. 

Your days were divided into visiting shops, showing him technologies, public transport, probably every single thing about the city and cuddling in bed and showing him how the TV works because “the mattress is so comfortable”.

Even though you know how comfortable a surface is, never stopped him from falling asleep.

He really likes it in the modern day.

I think he would be one of the residents that would fit in rather quickly and easily. 

Comte De Saint Germain: 

It’s not that much of a shocker for him for obvious reasons but because you’d spent your life in modern day, he got to see your view and had a much positive outlook on it.

Not that it was negative to begin with, he just didn’t pay as much attention to it before and now that he has, it’s eye opening, in a way. 

He loved the sparkle in your eyes as you rejoiced in the things you used to know before you travelled back in time. 

It was a sight for sore eyes. 

He enjoyed visiting with you, even though he spent more time seeing the twinkle in your eyes than being happy over the smaller things. 

Comte is much more open about PDA for obvious reasons and he feels the modern day is something the both of you share as a precious memory now.

Arthur Conan Doyle:

His demeanour is one of someone who’s seen everything already but the huge smile and eyes just showed that he was a little boy excited about discovering everything.

Arthur dragged you around to tell him how things work if he couldn’t pick up on by himself. 

You went to a mall and Victoria’s Secret caught his eye so fast it was S C A R Y.

“Try this sweetheart, and this and this-” 

Yes, despite all your protests, you spent the whole day in the store trying on clothes for him. 

He enjoyed it very much.

Arthur promised he would discover something new with you that didn’t involved being naked.

How nice of him *chokes*

It was a tiring day for you since you did all the standing, changing and displaying for him.

But the night provided to be very rewarding hehe

If you know what I mean

;)

You know what I mean, why am I saying this.

Theodorus Van Gogh: 

He has a similar behaviour to Arthur at first, indifferent behaviour but very curious eyes.

You can tell he doesn’t want to ask questions but wants the answers. 

So you just start talking and explaining things.

He’s a little flushed because he would have told you to stop talking by now but he doesn’t since you’re informing him on everything.

Theo would keep visiting until you got tired and wouldn't hesitate to carry you back to your place and cuddle up on the couch.

Showing him how the TV works but he prefers sleeping in your bed because it’s so comfy and he can hug you.

Vincent Van Gogh:

“WOW!” *sparkly eyes*

Asks you about EVERYTHING

Holds your hand the whole time.

Also he apologises for always inquiring about everything.

Reassuring him that it’s alright.

Proceeds to go back to questioning everything.

Politely asks if you guys can go to an exhibition the next day to see paintings and saying yes.

Very gladly cuddling in your neck and saying how amazing everything is.

He’s too cute T-T

Vincent was smiling in his sleep because he got to discover so many new things with you and he couldn’t express how content he was.

Your heart is constantly melting as he acts like an overjoyed puppy.

He’s forever thankful to you and this will always be engraved in his memory.

Amadeus Mozart:

The pianist can’t physically hide his amazement. 

“Can we go to an instrument store?” 

Holds your hand tightly and keeps you close like he’s protecting you.

When in fact it should be the other way around given that you have lived your entire life in the modern day.

But you already knew that 🤦‍♀️

His eyes light up more than they already did when you enter an empty store and there are three or four pianos. 

Mozart let his fingers caress the smooth surface, taking in all the details of the instruments.

He’s relieved that they didn’t change as significantly as everything else in the world. 

Lowkey wants to buy all the pianos because he wants to try them. 

A very confused boy at attire.

And blushing at how more ‘revealing’ they are. 

He could get used to this.

Jean D’Arc:

He would be in silent shock, staying close to you and looking around in amazement. 

Jean would be pretty shy about asking too many questions, not wanting to bother you.

Reassuring him that it was fine, similar to Vincent.

Jean was somehow more considerate about it, not wanting to bother you with his inquiries.

Whispering questions and trying so hard to try and make sense of things himself, sometimes it works, kind of!!

Like Napoleon, he’s relieved the world is happier and fairer. 

It was a huge shock for him at first, everything was different, but he was fortunate enough to be with you.

Now he reminisces of the experience as a magical moment that will forever be engraved in his memory.

Isaac Newton:

Absolutely astonished.

He has so many questions but he didn’t know where to start.

Similar to Jean, he was a little shy about asking questions and trying to solve things on his own.

Being surprised at how complex things turn out to be.

Isaac has mixed emotions about knowing that the foundation of physics are his three famous laws. 

Because the world seemed overwhelmingly unknown and huge, he nearly clung onto you.

You locked your arm with his, seeing his unease but also not wanting to trouble you.

He felt better instantly and silently thanked you, blushing in embarrassment. 

The first thing you taught him was what a phone was and about the kindergarden/school system.

You reminisce about how he went along into town with Napoleon to attempt to teach children.

It wasn’t a particular detail he would have inquired about but he feels strangely relieved about it.

He was touched by the small details you remember about him and he keeps it in mind.

It was an unforgettable experience for him to have with you.

But something he does not want to let go is the bed, it’s shockingly comfortable for him.

Osamu Dazai:

“Wow, are you seeing this (Not Y/N)-chan?” 

“That’s not my name-” 

“What is this?” 

No shame about asking whatsoever. 

“Miraculous!” 

A lot of him grinning and praising everything and anything, including you.

“You’re delightful (Y/N)-chan, such an interesting answer!” 

“D-did you just call me by my nam-”

“Are you coming (Not Y/N)-chan?” 

“Nevermind,” you grumble, pouting as you follow behind him.

He chuckled, finding you so cute before cupping your cheeks and openly kissing you in public.

Dazai finds even more amusement with how flushed you are for a while as you clung onto his arm, answering questions with a breathy tone.

Despite his second degree humour throughout everything, he’s actually thoroughly enjoyed spending time doing this with you and becoming a treasured memory.

William Shakespeare: 

He was actually rendered speechless for a long while.

Which was unusual for him obviously.

But it was a little disconcerting for him since he always had something to say. 

You couldn’t help but eye him admiring everything.

Despite his unnerving silence, the way his eyes lit up was something that you didn’t know you needed to witness. 

It looked like he found something to look forward to in life. (can’t relate lol)

That thought alone made you hopeful and sad at the same time.

He was always very polite and considerate about inquiring about things. 

As in, he always read the ‘room’ before asking, wanting to stay in your good graces, even though he is already in them.

Finding the bed in your place being painfully heaven-like.

If he wasn’t as invested in learning about the modern world, he would totally examine and savour the beauty that is a bed.

Without you knowing, however, he would spend a lot of time studying you as well.

It was fascinating to him, seeing you enjoying yourself in your natural habitat.

Sebastian: 

I mean he lived there before so there isn’t much to say.

He does reminisce a lot though, all previous memories rushing back.

Just as if the residents were a long dream. 

One thing that surprised him a little was that he enjoyed spending time with you in the modern day so much that it’s in a smal, different compartment in his brain altogether.

Basically nostalgia but also happy new memories.

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[pianistbynight]

19 Jul 2021

It's funny 'cause I wasn't planning on practicing today but I left the piano uncovered after taking the picture for Day 14 of @myhoneststudyblr's studyblr community challenge, and when I saw the piano later, I felt sad about it looking so lonely, lol, so I ended up practicing for an hour to 90 minutes...And nothing hurt! 😀😀😀 (Though after the hour/90 minutes of practicing I was so tired - apparently just a few days away decreases your stamina really quickly??? But that's okay because with regular practice you can gain it back pretty quickly as well 💗)

🎹:

Solfeggietto by CPE Bach - read through and practiced most of 1st page as warm-up // I just need to make sure I'm playing all the right notes and playing them evenly before getting everything up to speed (it says Prestissimo 👀)

K545 Sonata, 1st movt, by Mozart (aka "Sonata facile" which I'm happy to say is gradually getting easier!) // I was reaaallyyy having trouble with voicing the melody in bars 13-17 and 58-62, so I tried out a tip I recently heard where you play the accompaniment (in this case, the left hand [LH]) soft and staccato while playing the melody (the right hand [RH] here) loud and legato, and it worked! Also for those bars, I need to make sure I'm moving my hand/arm/wrist in a way that better shapes the melody and improves my touch (the way I press the keys) so it doesn't sound blocky anywhere (rn my RH is kind of confused, somewhat following the up-down movements of the LH but also somewhat not, so I guess it's kind of like the pat-your-head-and-rub-your-tummy situation?). Another trouble spot was aligning the hands in bar 69, and since nothing I tried was working, I made myself practice that section in different rhythms because I heard that works, and it did! (I just really prefer not doing rhythms if I can get away with it because it really messes with my brain and I'm lazy. But in being forced to slow down in a different rhythm than I'm used to, I found where exactly I was getting misaligned, which I couldn't figure out with regular slow practice or breaking it down into sections, which is interesting... Hm, maybe I should do rhythms with C major scales as well because I *still* can't get them as fast as the others without getting my hands sooo unsynced somehow...)

Geez, I was thinking that I didn't need to write down any notes in my practice journal this time because it was pretty straightforward, but maybe I should write some of this down in my notebook... XD Sorry this post got so technical (unless you actually like this kind of technical piano practice post, in which case, I'm not so sorry, and hi, nice to meet you! 👋)! 😅

#practice journal #piano practice #if things go as they have been i'll be back to playing regularly again soon!! 😄😄😄 #brain dump #healing process #this is my reminder to practice different rhythms no matter how much it might hurt my brain at first XD #studyblr #new studyblr #musicblr #music studyblr #music student #self study #hobbyist #myhoneststudyblr #heypat #jeonchemstudy #heyharri #problematicprocrastinator #heycazz #lookrylie #gloomstudy #theclassicalmind #k545sonata #solfeggietto #cpe bach #mozart #classical music #classical piano #lol i'm feeling like chen-lu from biohackers rn except with music after writing this post XD #i'm... not so sure how to feel about that XD

[sonia7atm]

BRIDGERTON BOOK SERIES REVIEW.

So here it is, before I start I just wanted to say that I’m in no way shape or form an expert in english or literature for that matter. English is my third language and I’m studying science. Having said that, I have read all eight books in less than two weeks and I have a lot of opinions that I wanted to share so here they are. Obviously: SPOILERS AHEAD

The series in its entirety

The bridgerton series is probably the best written series that I have ever read. I loved the fact that it is made up of 8 books, but also the way the books are structured. In each of the books we focus on one of the siblings and their significant others, and even when the side characters are there, they are not really a main focus of the story. This means you can pick up a random Bridgerton book without having read the other ones and you would not feel like you are missing something. I really liked this because it meant that with each book you were getting to know a different sibling, thus you are never really bored and there wasn’t unnecessary drama happening with the already established couples, which is refreshing at the least.

However, it does have setbacks. In some of the books, you find that this side characters really change from the way they appear in the background or the other novels, and it can be difficult to digest at first. Another flaw that I found is with the brothers' books. When I was reading some of the books dedicated to the men of the family sometimes I found that we don’t spend enough time with them and when you finish the books you don’t have an understanding of who they are. Maybe I’m not making sense but I’ll elaborate in each book a little bit more.

But in the end, even these little flaws, I had a great time reading the books and finding out what was happening with the family.

My favourite book - AOFAG

I know some people have trouble ranking the Bridgerton books, especially, the favourite one, but I’m not one of them. I am obsessed with “An offer from a gentleman”, I love the story, I love Sophie, I love Benedith and I love Violet Bridgerton with all of my heart. This book is great from the start, even though b, the third book you know a happy ending is what the book is leading to, it still excites you and makes you wonder. AMAZING DARE I SAY.

Sophie is one of my favourite characters in all of the books. She has a strong morals system and you get really inspired by her. All of the things she goes through are horrible, but she still remains such a calm and kind individual that I cannot help but stan. HARD. She has very strong ideas and morals and she sticks with them even when they mean losing Benedict. I found this message really important and powerful because we usually see the opposite: people changing their views for their significant other, and I don’t think it's right. So, hereby I declare Sophie QUEEN of the Bridgerton clan.

Moving on to Benedict, I heard a little bit of criticism with his actions in this book and I see where they are coming from, but I don’t share them. I think Benedict is one of the brothers that suffers from a really deep female counterpart and as such his thoughts are not fully explored. In my opinion Benedict is tormented by the fact that he is the second Bridgerton and nothing more (similar to Colin and kinda Gregory really), and also by the fact that he lost the woman at the ball. On top of that, Sophie comes along and he starts falling for her and he feels guilty that he is falling for someone else, so he doesn’t fully commit to Sophie but also doesn’t really leave her. It’s a messed up situation and he doesn’t make the best decisions but I understand his actions and I support him. The only thing that really annoyed me about Benedict is that he doesn’t recognize Sophie at all. I wanted to hit him, hard, in the head, with a fucking piano.

Now the best of the best: Violet Bridgerton. She was the surprise character of this book in that prison scene. In the previous book you still see her and like her but she saves the day in this one, and I felt like I really knew her after that. She is not the typical ton mother, she really values their children’s happiness and takes everyone under her wing. She knows who she is and the importance her family has and she uses her powers for good. I gained so much respect for her. A surprise character and a great one.

To sum it up, Benedict and Sophie are perfect to each other, like this mellow entity. Two kind souls, always happy, always calm. Of course they live in the countryside, they could not live anywhere else.

Top tier books - WHWW, RMB, TVWL

WHEN HE WAS WICKED

This book wrecked me, I have to admit I was a mess, I could not deal. A tragic story with so much longing and guilt and despair, I love a drama, man this is great. I went in knowing the basics of it but I was not prepared.

The poor Francesca has the most devastating story in my opinion: she suffers from infertility, her husband dies, she doesn’t feel like she fits in her family, and when she falls in love Michael is sick, WHY?!. Throughout the book you get to see how strong she is, how strong-willed she is. We are not talking about this enough. She loves with all her heart and she suffers with all of it too. She and Michel have a really strong chemistry and it translates really well. I think she was really clever to wait and think before committing to Michael, and I see how she would need to see him in danger to really let herself fall completely. In the end, she knows what losing someone you love feels like and she doesn’t want to feel that again. I understand. Also, an important part of Francesca's journey is to realize that loving someone else doesn’t diminish her feelings for John, and I love how Michael acknowledges it. 

Michael is a really interesting character who falls in love at first sight with the wrong woman. He is fully aware of this fact and it is really good to see that he doesn’t doubt his love for her, but is instead aware of the impossibility of doing something about it. Even when he can do something about it, his respect for his cousin is always present. The guilt he feels for loving Francesca both when John was alive and after he died is so different but so well written. It’s eating him up and It is painful to read to be honest. However, I found that said guilt disappeared rather quickly after his conversation with Colin. I may be the only one but I was a little bit put off by it, and that’s why this is not my favourite book in the series.

THE VISCOUNT WHO LOVED ME 

The bees, I could talk about the bees for days after reading this one. This one has a lot of Bridgerton backstory, and it explains so much of the rest of the bunch even if not directly. So I would say not to skip it (but why would you skip any of them?).

Kate Sheffield is one of the best written characters in this series. She is complex, fierce but delicate, confident but self-conscious. I would kill for her, she deserves it. Her family dynamics are impeccable. You feel the love between these three women and the roles they have, and you get them really quickly: Edwina is the little sister, a little naive but good-hearted, Kate is the fierce older sister and Mary is the compassionate step-mother. I really enjoyed their dynamics. The introduction of Kate’s character is by presenting her goal for the season: defend her sister. When Anthony enters the pool of suitors, she obviously opposes and their back and forth shows she is very witty. But as the story goes on we get to see her insecurities and fears, in a way that it’s so in character but at the same time so different from the start. It’s amazing and I can see why she is such a fan favourite.

Anthony is a baby.We can see how Edmund’s death really scarred him, and those wounds are deep. He believes in his own demise so blindly that it is conditioning all of his decisions.He grows a lot until he is able to share them with Kate and they bond so beautifully over it. Getting to see that, was something that I loved and enjoyed so much. It makes you really connect with both of the characters and it explains so much of his behaviour, that even if he frustrates you, you can’t be mad because you understand where he comes from.

Newton is the guest star in this one and I would like to take our time to appreciate the captain of the Kanthony ship. This little dog is such a plot device, put there to cause havoc and bring Kate and Anthony together, it is so funny. He smelled Anthony and decided he wanted a new dad. Put a plan in march, probably alerted his friend, THE bee.

ROMANCING MR BRIDGERTON

The message of this book is amazing. The journey they both go through to re-know each other is beautiful. Penelope and Colin have known each other for years, and they both have a version of the other in their minds but as the story progresses they unveil hidden personality traits about each others and I love how it is acknowledge and developed into a clear message of “people are flawed and not the perfect individual you wish them to be, and that’s ok”. It is really necessary and it made me reflect on my own relationships and how I could improve them. Colin and Penelope have to be my favourite couple of the series, but, because they were because of the show and not the books, when I finished this book I was left feeling like I wanted more, and that is why it is not my favourite one.

This is the book where readers find out Penelope is Lady Whiseldown and it is a big plot line. However, this revelation is maybe halfway through the book and until then, Penelope's inner monologue doesn’t reveal anything. I would have loved to really focus on it and know from the start how she really did it but at the same time, we get to see so much of Pen’s growth anyways. She is shy and kind but when she is with someone she trusts (in this case Colin and Lady Danbury), she is full of wit and boldness. I see myself so much in these characteristics that I cannot help but make her my favourite character in the series (totally biased but it is what it is). She starts with a sense of discontent about her, she knows her fate and accepts it but, she doesn’t necessarily like it. She is trying to change the way people see her and Lady Danbury helps a lot with it. She and Colin spend a lot of the book kind of on opposite sides in part because of their own demons, she wants to prove herself and at the same time is faced with the realization that the Colin she made up in her mind is not the real one. It really makes you wonder if it’s a happy ending at the end of it, because they both have such strong points but they are so diverse. At the end, after they talk about it, their relationship is full of devotion and you feel how they are making each other focused and better. I would die for them.

Colin is such a tumultuous character and it is a stark contrast on how we get to see him in the previous and following books. He is used to putting the charm on and fooling everybody but, of course, in this book we explore his inner workings and now we know the truth. He is just a lost puppy, looking for something to do with his life, and he is so focused on this search and runnin away for his family that he doesn’t see that there is already something that he is good about: writing. His relationship with Pen is obviously key in all of this searching because it pushes his limits and makes him think. His realization, of both his vocation and his love are slow and steady. He sometimes jumps to conclusions and rushes things *ahem*the proposal*cough* but not love, and once he commits he does it fully. The “stay, stay, stay” scene is a monumental hallmark in the book. We see Colin really deciding and choosing Penelope and Lady Whistle down with all that it entails. And later on, he opens out about his jealousy over her work, but he does it when he is ready, and Pen allows him to come to her when he needs without judgement. They are so perfect it hurts. 

The lack of Eloise is an insult to my soul but we get Lady Danbury as the guest star. She is on Penelope's corner helping her navigate the ton and her relationship with Colin, as a mother figure would. I believe she at least has a big suspicion that she is LW, but I might be wrong.

All-nighter books - OTWTTW, IIHK. ON THE WAY TO THE WEDDING

Gregory’s book is full of twists and turns that you just cannot put it down. Not the fact that the main female character is Lucy and not Hermoine, like Gregory thinks half of the book, just because you don’t. It is pretty clear that Lucy is our heroine so the fact that Gregory falls for her is not a twist itself because we (and Kate) already know. But in my opinion, the fact that it starts with Gregory interrupting the wedding and then it goes back and explains the backstory to you, so it is constantly leading up to it. 

Lucy is not the most interesting of the female leads but it is part of her charm. She is a normal girl, her life is already arranged, so she doesn’t feel the pressure the rest of them do, she is just enjoying herself. She doesn’t believe in love, and it is so funny how in denial she is about it, until it all explodes. 

Gregory’s life was influenced by her brothers before him and his big family but he feels so alone because of the age difference. He is trying to find his place in life and, because he saw all of his siblings fall in love he wants the same thing so badly, that he confuses desire with love. He is so precious, and must be protected at all costs.

The last few chapters are action packed, there’s an urgency in everyone's actions: Lucy, trying to save her family and Gregory, trying to save Lucy. I couldn’t figure out what was going to happen and that hooked me. The fact that the wedding actually takes place is the most shocking plot of all of the books.  

To conclude, Gregory owns my heart and I trust him with it.

IT’S IN HIS KISS

This story is another “all-nighter”, because it revolves around a mystery and the search for Gareth’s grandmother lost jewels. This quest brings Hyacinth and Gareth together, with a lot of Lady Danbury’s help. It’s really interesting to read about the felonies they commit, all of them instigated by Hyacinth, who, in my opinion, is chaos personified. 

Hyacinth is the most forward-thinking woman of this series. She is outspoken, confident, loud and apologetic. All of these traits really set her apart, because she doesn’t play by the rules of society, she does what she pleases, and she should. She is the typical little sister, a little spoiled but with a good heart. Her conversations with Violet are really touching. 

Gareth on the other side, is not in a good place with his family, and it is endearing to see how shocked he is by the Bridgerton’s closeness. He has a severe lack of self love, and sees himself as an imposter, and not worthy of Hyacinth. But when he falls, OMG, HE FALLS. His attitude towards Hyacinth’s personality is amazing because he loves her exactly as she is, and knows he will be following her orders for the rest of his life. Adorable. (He is the “That’s my wife” meme).

Lady Danbury is again the guest star and it only helps to cement her as the cool grandma that we all aspire to be. An honorable mention is Anthony getting super-duper happy that all of his sisters are married and therefore he is free (my poor guy).

However, the main issue I have with this book is that the decision of getting married is really attached to Gareth’s need to vex his father, who is a horrible person, and it makes me mad. 

Not my favourite books - TSPWL, TDAI

TO SIR PHILIP WITH LOVE

In this book Eloise decides running off to meet a possible husband is a great idea. Her brain, I can’t. Obviously the Bridgerton brothers follow her and force the two to marry anyways, although they were already falling in love when they found her. Phillip, Eloise's love interest is a loner and lives outside of the ton and I think that these traits really work with her because they are polar opposites but at the same time they fit so well. The relationship Eloise has with Amanda and Oliver is so cute, because you can see that these kids just need some attention and help navigating the world without her mother and Eloise is there for them.

However, even though I loved their storyline and I wanted to rank this higher I couldn’t. The other Bridgertons are a big part of this book and when I was thinking back on it the parts that I remember fondly the most are when Anthony, Benedict, Colin and Gregory arrive to kill talk to Philip, and then when Charles is ill and we get to see Benedict and Sophie as parents. So, I like this book because of side characters and not the main ones, even though I know there is nothing wrong with them. However, I do think the book is ok and I would recommend it nevertheless.

THE DUQUE AND I

I don’t have much to say about this book. The r*pe is completely unnecessary in my opinion. Daphne and Simon have terrible communication skills, but so do Kate and Anthony, for example, but still, the repercussions are not that severe. It is so much worse in the books and it has no consequences whatsoever. Up until that point, the enemies to secret dating to falling in love is such a classic thorpe that I usually like, but I cannot separate the two of them. In fact, I would advise to skip this one.

Hapily Ever After

Thank you to the heavens for this book. It is just a little exploration of all of the sibling’s future and an extra story for Violete.

Daphne’s story revolves around her last pregnancy. A surprise one when she is quite old. I found it really sweet and it looks like she and Simon are really happy with their life so good for them. Also, Colin and Penelope visit with all of their children so I’m obligated to like it.

The TVWLM continuation is a get together in Aubrey Hall for a Pall Mall rematch. I had so much fun reading it and getting to see all of the Bridgertons interact in a “relaxed” manner.

Sophie and Benedict’s story focuses on Posy and her search for a husband. She is lovely and I do want her happiness but getting to see Sophie and Benedict interact while actually together was a treat. I feel very blessed to see them be the balls of sunshine they both are.

Then we get to see how Eloise found out Lady Whisheldow’s identity. It was fun, and we get to see Pen and Eloise being friends, which we don’t get enough of in their respectives books. Colin and Penelope leaving the wedding early, was a gem. They are a couple of horny idiots and I love to see it. After that, we focus on Eloise again and we get to see a little bit more about Amanda and Oliver.

One of the main things about Francesca in her book is the fact that she wants a baby, and it is never resolved. In this one, we get to see how Francesca and Michael become parents and it's another heartbreaking one. We get to see how worried Violet is for her and also how Michael and Francesca talk and understand each other. They are one of the best relationships on this series, I said what I said.

In IIHK the diamonds are never found, but we find them here. It is great to know they were not missing and also a relief to know that Gareth was able to rescue the family even without them. The fact that Isabella actually finds them and proceeds to say nothing is hilarious. But when Hyacinth finds them the happiness she feels is so wholesome.

Then we get to see Gregory and Lucy’s twins be born (their 8th and 9th children). It is not an easy task and for a moment I was afraid for Lucy but it all works out in the end. It was filled with great moments but the one that I like the most is when Gregory says that Katherine gave him purpose in life, because he was meant to be a dad. I cried ngl.

And lastly, we meet Edmund. He is very present throughout the book but I was not expecting to grow so attached to him with this little story. It is divided in different stages of Violet’s life and obviously we get to see her romance with Edmund. I loved the little details, his behaviour reminded me of Gregory but he eats a lot like Colin so it is great to see where they get their traits from. The later parts, after he dies, show you how much importance Violet puts on remembering him and preserving his memory. They were truly soulmates, and it is such a shame that their time together was cut short.

#Bridgerton #Anthony Bridgerton #benedict bridgerton #colin bridgerton #daphne bridgerton #eloise bridgerton #francesca bridgerton #gregory bridgerton #hyacinth bridgerton #kate sheffield #sophie beckett #penelope featherington #simon basset #phillip crane #michael stirling #lucy abernathy #gareth st clair #kanthony #kate x anthony #anthony x kate #benedict x sophie #sophie x benedict #polin #Colin x penelope #penelope x colin #phillip x eloise #eloise x phillip #francesca x michael #michael x francesca #gregory x lucy

[jingabitch]

Armed to the Fangs ch.8

SUMMARY: you grew up in the hunter’s guild, understanding that it is your sacred duty as a hunter to protect humanity from the vampires that lurk in the dark, draining the life from anyone unlucky enough to be caught. while making the rounds one night, you encounter taehyung, a fabled born vampire - not that you know that when he tries to entice you into a dark alley. next thing you know, you’re kidnapped and taken to their home, where you realise that all of them somehow crave your blood and seem to know more about your past than you do. finding out about where you came from might be the key to setting humanity free.

PAIRING: eventual ot7 x reader

WARNINGS: some description of violence, angst, pining, maybe eventual smut but not for a looooong time, slow burn (really the slowest of burns), injeolmi being adorable, argument between some of the boys, hobi is sad :<

RATING: T

WORD COUNT: 3.5k

A/N: hello it’s back!! I’m alr halfway through ch9 so i hope you guys like this and are excited for more~

thanks as always to my lovely betas @jminacious and @pasteljeon for looking over this!

series index

Over the next few weeks, you were able to put your strange encounter with the man from the painting out of your mind. You asked Jimin about it once, but he just shrugged and told you that his brother didn’t really like people, before going back to playing with Injeolmi. He really was whipped for your cat, and you had to supervise him strictly to make sure that he didn’t just let Injeolmi eat a whole bag of treats at once.

Gradually, as you eased up and realized that they truly had no intention of harming you, you had the chance to interact more with the six vampires you saw on a regular basis. Meals together became a nightly occurrence, and you found things to do with each member. It was fun to watch Jin cook for you, since you’d never had a chance to cook for yourself at the Guild. Yoongi volunteered to teach you how to play the piano, Namjoon took you gardening, and the maknaes seemed to be a package deal, all of them hanging out with you (and your cat) together. You’d even managed to strike up a lukewarm relationship with Taehyung, despite him trying to eat you the first night you’d met.

Eventually, you had to admit that maybe this ambassadorship wasn’t that bad after all. Even though you missed the Guild and being with all your fellow hunters (especially Jennie), being here let you see a whole different side of vampires. You didn’t know why they were so different from the mindless, bloodthirsty creatures that roamed the streets at night, but this gave you hope that maybe there was a better future. One that didn’t involve so much death and fear for everyone involved.

Plus, being here gave you so much more freedom. You’d grown up in the Guild, unlike most of the other hunters, and your entire life had always been strictly regimented, training and more training to be a hunter. Sad as it may seem, the Head was the closest thing you had to a father figure. In comparison to the spartan life you’d led at the Guild, being able to explore your interests in music, literature and food was like opening your eyes to a whole new world.

You couldn’t remain completely insulated from what was going on in the world, however. You continued to keep in touch with the hunters at the Guild, especially those who had been your friends, and what you were hearing was concerning, to say the least. There had been a rise in the number of vampire attacks on the public, and the vampires were getting increasingly vicious. The number of deaths and injuries among the hunters’ ranks was spiking, and no one at the Guild knew what had changed among the vampires.

This put you in a bit of a dilemma. Was it your job as ambassador to talk to the vampires about this and try to find a solution? The Head hadn’t told you to investigate, or even updated you on what was going on with the hunters, but you couldn’t help but feel some responsibility for what was happening. You were supposed to help improve the relationship between humans and vampires, right?

It hadn’t occurred to you till now that you actually knew very little about the role you were supposed to be filling. You’d been too engrossed in enjoying yourself at the manor with the vampires who seemed intent on catering to your every whim to think about it, especially since you were stuck here and not out on the streets. Out of sight, out of mind, the saying went.

Maybe you should take your ambassador duties more seriously, you thought. As soon as you figured out what they were. Talking to Seokjin seemed like a good place to start.

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

Hoseok was so thirsty. Every breath he took felt like sandpaper rasping along his throat, and yet he was unable to quench his thirst. Blood from the bags they stocked up on smelled awful to him, and when he did force himself to drink it, it came right back up every time.

Born vampires usually didn’t need to feed that often. He’d gone longer than this without blood before and been fine, and he wished he didn’t know why this was happening now. Even if he was willing to take a mate, the last thing he needed in his life was a hunter. The irony of it all was not lost on him – it was the hunters who had murdered Minhee, and now the fates were trying to force him into this?

He’d rather starve to death, and as the weeks passed and his condition deteriorated, the possibility of it happening loomed large.

Still, he didn’t want to let his brothers know what was going on, not wanting to worry them any more than he already did. It wasn’t like he didn’t know what they said about him behind his back, although he chose to let them believe that he remained oblivious. He wished, more than anyone, that he could be the cheerful, jovial man he’d been in his past, if not for himself, then for them, but every day weighed heavily in his heart and his soul. He should have died with Minhee four hundred years ago, and he still didn’t know how he’d survived.

Curled up in bed in the dark room, he struggled to keep his breathing even. In, out, in, out, he repeated to himself. The windows were drawn shut to keep all sunshine out, since in his weakened state, there was no way he would survive exposure. In contrast to his weak, trembling muscles, his senses were heightened, and it felt like he could hear everything in the manor, from the footsteps of his brothers to the heartbeat of the human who was responsible for his condition.

His fists clenched, his nails digging into the flesh of his palms as he struggled to keep his fangs from descending. In, out, in, out. Was he burning up from the inside? The instinct to run straight to you threatened to overwhelm him, and he clutched the tiny portrait of Minhee like a talisman.

No, he told himself. It was only in his mind. He could get through this. He’d done it before, even though it was still a mystery how he’d gotten through it then.

The safety of everyone in this house depended on it. You were not for him.

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

“Hey, has anyone seen Hoseok-hyung recently?” Taehyung wondered. You had yet to arrive at the table for dinner, so he took the opportunity to sate his curiosity about his aloof older brother, who’d been on his mind ever since you’d asked about it.

Namjoon and Seokjin exchanged glances. “Why?” Seokjin asked cautiously. They tried not to talk to the younger vampires too often about Hoseok, since it was something of a sore spot for them. They basically thought he was just a jerk, which to be fair, the older vampires could see, but after he’d already been through so much in his life, he deserved some slack.

Taehyung shrugged. “Y/n-ie asked Jiminie about him the other day. I was just curious. I didn’t know they’d met.”

Namjoon hummed noncommittally. “Did she say anything about him?” Would he need to run interference between you and Hoseok? There was something big going on here, it seemed, and he needed to do some research.

“Just that he seemed kind of irritable,” Jimin piped up. “She’s not wrong.”

Yoongi, usually quiet and impassive, made a noise of disapproval. “Don’t be so rude about your hyung.”

“Well, he is,” Taehyung said defensively. Jungkook kept quiet. He knew his hyung could be grumpy and unsociable, but he was nice sometimes. Over the past four centuries that they’d been living together, he’d run into Hoseok a few times since his room was the closest to the other vampire. When Hoseok was in a chatty mood, they often spent hours together just talking about stuff, and Hoseok was actually happy enough to share details about what it had been like in the past – provided, of course, that Jungkook didn’t ask too many questions about his mate.

Hearing you come down the stairs, Seokjin was quick to shut the discussion down. “Stop it,” he said firmly. “You know Hoseok is struggling, and you should be more understanding,” he rebuked.

“He’s been struggling for four hundred years,” Taehyung muttered under his breath, though everyone heard it. “You’d think he’d get over whatever it is he’s moping about by now.”

Only your arrival stopped Yoongi from leaping clear across the dining table at Taehyung.

“Good evening, everyone,” you chirped, not noticing the tense atmosphere. When they merely turned to you, still wearing somber frowns, you stopped short. “Is everything okay?” you asked tentatively, standing by the entryway of the dining room.

Your question seemed to break the oppressive air. “Of course everything’s fine,” Seokjin told you, smiling warmly. The others made varying noises of assent, and the mood shifted back to normal, but you couldn’t shake the feeling that they were hiding something from you.

It seemed it wasn’t only the Guild that had its secrets it wanted to keep. The sense that you were out of your depth grew.

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

“Hoseok-hyung?” Jungkook stood outside Hoseok’s door, a bundle of blood bags in his hands. He hadn’t seen Hoseok leave his room in ages, and figured that his stash had to be running low by now. He didn’t bother knocking or raising his voice, knowing that his brother would hear him just fine.

Hoseok had actually heard him coming down the hall but was steadfastly ignoring him. Still in bed, huddled under the covers, he stayed as quiet as possible so that Jungkook would give up and leave. He’d heard every word of the conversation earlier, of course, and didn’t much feel like talking about you or your cat. Maybe he’d been a little rude to you, but it was for your own good (and his). He didn’t need to be scolded like a recalcitrant child.

“Hyung?” Jungkook was nothing if not tenacious, and Hoseok knew he was going to leave easily.

“Go away,” Hoseok growled.

“Come on, hyung, I brought some food for you,” Jungkook tried to cajole the older vampire.

Starvation must be weakening his willpower, because Hoseok capitulated easily enough even though he didn’t need the blood. His fridge was still full; he hadn’t even tried drinking for about two weeks. “Fine, come in.”

Jungkook opened the door slowly, peering in. It was pitch black, but that didn’t bother him – vampires had excellent night vision, after all. Still, it took him a moment to locate Hoseok, buried under a mountain of blankets and pillows.

“You doing okay there, hyung?” Jungkook asked cautiously, padding across the room.

“Yeah,” Hoseok grunted, although it was clearly a lie. Even though Hoseok was mostly covered up, Jungkook could see the way his cheekbones had hollowed slightly and hear the slight tremor in his voice, as if speaking was too much effort for him.

“Jesus, hyung, what’s going on with you?” Concerned now, Jungkook picked up his pace and was at Hoseok’s bedside in a matter of seconds.

“Nothing, just go away,” Hoseok groaned, pulling the covers over his head. The last thing he needed was for Jungkook to realise what was going on and blab to everyone in the house. It wasn’t like there were many things that could cause vampires to become sickly like this, and the deterioration was happening so quickly that there really was only one explanation. Even if Jungkook didn’t know, the older vampires would, and he wasn’t ready for that.

“Come on, you look awful,” Jungkook begged. “Are you okay?”

“What are you going to do, find a doctor for me?” Hoseok snapped, though it lacked its usual heat because he didn’t have the energy.

“I can get Namjoon-hyung,” Jungkook responded. Actually, maybe he should get him anyway. He’d know what to do.

“No!” Hoseok exclaimed, poking his head out from the covers. “No, don’t,” he repeated in a more measured tone.

“Hyung, you look awful,” Jungkook said, peering closer now. “Are you sure you don’t need any help?”

“I know what the problem is, and you can’t do anything about it.” Well, more like Hoseok was too stubborn to do anything about it, but it was the same difference in his mind.

“Really? What is it?” Far from being deterred by Hoseok’s words, Jungkook perked up curiously.

Hoseok groaned. “None of your business. Just go away.”

“Hyuuuung—” Jungkook, as the youngest, had learned that whining got him his way more often than not, and employed it now to try and coax the truth from his older brother.

This time, however, it didn’t work. Hoseok was determined to keep his secret, even if it cost him his life. Death would probably be better than the purgatory he was currently living in, anyway. Ducking back into his blanket burrito, he ignored Jungkook’s further entreaties, until finally the younger vampire had no choice but to leave, dejected and more worried than ever.

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

After your meal, everyone went their own separate directions, as usual. You, on the other hand, requested to speak to Seokjin privately after the meal. He accepted your request, and you made your way to the study together.

On your way there, Seokjin, ever the polite gentleman, inquired after your wellbeing at the manor, and asked whether there was anything he could do to make your stay more comfortable. You demurred, of course. Even though you were thoroughly enjoying your time at the manor, you were still confused about why they treated you so well, since you were technically here on work and not a guest. Although in all fairness, you had to acknowledge, it wasn’t like you’d been doing much work around here.

Well, that was going to change tonight, you told yourself. You’d decided to ask Seokjin what he knew about the recent spike in vampire attacks, and whether there was anything he could do. At the very least, you’d find out more about the dynamics of the vampire world. Killing every vampire that you chanced upon, while necessary for the safety of the public, wasn’t exactly the best way to understand the supernatural.

Seokjin settled into his seat behind the desk and you sank into the now-familiar chair in front of him. “Now,” he said, his fingers steepled together. “What did you want to ask me?”

You cleared your throat, wishing you’d had some diplomatic training or something before being thrust into this situation. “Well,” you started, trying to project more confidence than you were actually feeling. “It’s come to my attention that the vampire attacks on the public have increased in number and severity.”

He hummed thoughtfully. “Is that so?”

“That’s what my contacts at the Guild have told me,” you confirmed. “I just wanted to bring this to your attention, if you didn’t already know.”

Truth be told, he was very aware of what was going on outside the walls of the manor. The vampires living here (minus Hoseok, of course) took turns going out to stock up on supplies and observing. Taehyung and Namjoon had been on one such trip the night they’d found you.

However, “We aren’t typically in the habit of interfering in the events that occur outside the manor,” he informed you smoothly.

You frowned, confused. “You’re not?” That was new.

“No,” he confirmed. “There’s a reason why we retreated here.” His expression tightened as he said it, like he’d tasted something sour, and you knew that whatever it was, it was a traumatic memory for him.

That led to more questions in your mind, though. If they didn’t have anything to do with what was happening outside the manor walls, then why were you here? Obviously, the Guild Head had wanted you out of the way, but he could have just had you dishonourably discharged or something if he was that upset. And why had they wanted you here in the first place? You were once again questioning everything after having complacently accepted things for so long.

Seokjin could probably tell from your expression that you were about to implode as your mind went into overdrive. “I can find out what’s happening if you insist, though,” he said hastily. The last thing he needed was for you to start asking questions and getting all belligerent again.

Your brow furrowed. That was a very rapid 180-turn. “Really?” you asked suspiciously, wondering if he was just trying to placate you.

He was, but now that he was committed, he had every intention of following through. It wouldn’t be as difficult as you thought – he was pretty sure he knew what was going on anyway. The only thing he didn’t know was why.

“Yes, you have my word,” he promised.

“All right,” you accepted. “Thank you.”

He nodded, and you could tell from the subtle way his gaze drifted away from you that he was busy thinking about something else and you were being dismissed. “I won’t take up any more of your time, then,” you excused yourself to return to your own quarters.

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

Injeolmi was never pleased about being shut in your quarters alone for too long, and you didn’t know why, since your rooms here were much more spacious and luxurious than the tiny room you’d lived in at the Guild. He’d never even left your room then, so your only conclusion was that you were spoiling him way too much.

When you opened the door, he ran to you, meowing excitedly, and you rolled your eyes. “You’re such a drama queen,” you reprimanded him playfully, though you were happy enough to pick him up for a cuddle. Still carrying him, you walked over to the coffee table, where you’d left your phone.

Your chat history with Jennie was filled with mostly mindless chatter as you updated her on what you’d been up to at the manor. Gardening with Namjoon, learning how to cook from Seokjin, music lessons with Yoongi… you were excited to tell her about it all.

The last message was you telling her that you had to leave to have dinner with the boys. She’d left you on read after that, but you didn’t mind, excited to tell her your news.

Y/N: Talked to Seokjin, he says he’ll look into it!

Jennie: Did he explain anything?

Y/N: No, but he said he’d look into it.

Jennie: That doesn’t sound like much of a commitment. People are dying.

Y/N: I trust him, unnie.

Jennie: Enough to bet the lives of the hunters?

You paused. That was a strange and extreme way to look at it, you thought. Weren’t you all fighting on the same side here?

Y/N: What’s that supposed to mean?

You saw the dots that indicated Jennie was typing appear, then disappear, then appear again. This happened a few more times, and you were sure she was going to leave you on read again, when a message popped up.

Jennie: You remember that they’re vamps, right?

Y/N: I know, but they’ve been really nice. Maybe vamps aren’t that bad.

You hesitated before sending that last message. It might not be what Jennie wanted to hear, but you thought she needed to know. Being here had really changed your perspective on vampires, and you hoped she would trust you enough to understand where you were coming from. After all, hunters lived a life of discipline, filled with sacrifice and death. All of you accepted that this was necessary, but… what if it wasn’t? What if you could set all the hunters free from their burdens?

Jennie didn’t reply after that. You sighed, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected. She’d probably need some time to process things, which you fully understood. After all, it had taken a while for you to accept that there was more to vampires than you knew before, and you were living here among them, able to see with your own eyes that the things you’d been taught at the Guild weren’t necessarily true.

You’d try to talk to her again tomorrow, you decided, putting down your phone. Injeolmi meowed, pawing at your hand to ask for pets, and you turned your attention to him.

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

Jennie ran through the corridors of the Guild, tears streaming down her face. In her panic, it felt like her mind had fizzled out – she couldn’t think about anything but the last sentence you’d texted her. For weeks, she’d been defending you against the Head’s accusations that you’d defected and become a vampire sympathizer despite her personal doubts.

This was too much, though. How could she possibly ignore this?

She burst through the door of the Head’s office without knocking. It was an egregious violation of etiquette, but she couldn’t think about that right now.

Master Bang emerged from his bedroom door, off to the side of his office. He looked flustered, like he’d been caught doing something wrong, but Jennie was too worked up to think about what that meant right now.

“What is the meaning of this, Jennie-yah?” he reprimanded, frowning.

She ignored his scolding. “Sir,” she gasped, folding herself into a deep bow. “I’m sorry. I think Y/n has defected.”

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