#wait i actually translated it and it still rhymes my brain hi

[sar3nka]

LOVE saying "mmmm I'm hungry" or "mmmm I'm horny" on daily basis

#this and #zapalić muszę bo się uduszę #even when i have no cigs on me and 0 desire to smoke #its just. i gotta smoke or im gonna choke. #wait i actually translated it and it still rhymes my brain hi

[onboardsorasora]

Needed a break from all my WIPs and wrote this little holiday bit. It's set in what I'm now going to call the 'Relaxed & Happy Verse' and this AU is going to be only happy fluffy established relationship drabbles. slices of life if you will. This is the same verse as the Love Letters fluff prompt.

Here are the previous fics in this verse.

Christmas Shopping.

Max leaned back into Daniel’s chest, staring proudly over at the Christmas tree the other had insisted on. This was their first Christmas here at home in Monaco. The first one where they weren’t jetting off to be with the other’s family. It wasn’t planned, it kinda just happened that way and Max couldn’t find it in himself to be mad.

This meant that they actually had to put effort into celebrating. The first step was agreeing to decorate the apartment. They argued about the tree– what size, what shape, even the colour. Then they argued about the coloured theme to decorate the tree. It was then they both realized how truly out of the loop they were when it came to actually making a home Christmassy.

So they went to a store and just picked things up that caught their eye. There was no rhyme or reason, no theme or plan. In the end their tree looked beautiful in Max’s opinion. They had unconsciously agreed to not go over the top, so there was still a lot of ‘tree’ to be seen. It was very them but in a simple way.

They didn’t decorate the rest of the apartment, not really. They got a wreath for the front door and Daniel saw some cute tea towels with Christmas puns on them. But outside of that, the tree was the focal point.

Daniel tilted his neck so that his cheek rested Max’s head. He kissed the crown of his head and pulled him closer.

“I have an idea for presents.” Daniel began ominously. Max peeked up at him curiously. “Ok hear me out.”

“Go on.”

“So– well firstly. Are we gonna do that thing where we agree not to buy each other a gift but then buy multiple gifts and like just hand them to each other and not wait til actual Christmas day? Or do you wanna like have everything be a surprise on one day? Because if you do…..”

Max snorted as Daniel’s speech got faster the more he got excited. It was a good thing he was an expert at translating Daniel’s brain trains. 

“Do you want us to wait until Christmas morning to open presents?” Max asked instead.

“Uh, yeah. I think it’ll be fun.”

“Then we’ll do that.” Max said it like it was simple. Because it was.

“Ace! Okay! Then that means we have officially entered an embargo on buying things for ourselves. Lock the doors! Blare the sirens! The embargo has begun!” Daniel cupped his hands around his mouth for his voice to echo around the room. Max laughed heartily at his antics. 

This would be their second ever shopping embargo. The first one happened when Victoria gave birth to Lio and Michelle to Isabella and they both had just been sending gifts without even thinking about it. Grace had to call to put a stop to it. They embargoed for four whole months. It was a dark time.

“Ok, now what?” Max leaned onto the arm of the couch so he could see Daniel properly while he laid out the plan. He lifted his feet to rest in Daniel’s lap and Daniel immediately dropped his palm to circle Max’s ankle.

“Right! So.” Daniel grinned. “Now, we figure out whatever gifts we wanna get and we buy them. BUT like, they have to be a secret. Like we have to promise to not like search for them or go poking at them when they're under the tree. Deal?” He held out his pinky and Max eyed him seriously for a minute before hooking his own pinky around Daniel’s.

“Deal. Of course we’ll both be here the whole time, Daniel.” He said it clearly like Daniel hadn’t considered that fact. Daniel grinned a wolfish grin.

“Oh Maxy Max. That's the best part!” He rubbed his palms together deviously. “So like, literally use everything to your advantage. If you need to lock me out onto the patio and close the blinds while you wrap, just like give me some water and my phone charger yeah?”

Max gave a confused eyebrow lift and Daniel continued.

“Yeah like for this to work, we actually have to play along- suspend our disbelief, pretend we’re in a play and there's a backstage or whatever. We’re both gonna be here almost the whole time so there's not many opportunities to sneak shit. So yeah, if you ask me to lock myself in the bedroom so you can go pick up whatever and take your time to put it under the tree. I’ll be in the bedroom, headphones on– music on loud. Until you let me out.” He shrugged. 

“Ok. I think I got it. Deal.” Max affirmed and Daniel’s answering smile was as blinding as it was mischievous. What had he gotten himself into?

– - –

Max had gotten lucky within a week of their deal. Daniel needed to fly to the Factory for some last minute set up testing before everyone closed down for the holiday. He’d been able to take his time and picked out a gift he knew Daniel would find hilarious and fall in love with.

Max wrapped the box with Sassy’s management and hid it in one of his suitcases in the storage closet. He then ended up buying two more things, deciding they would make perfect dummy gifts and set them for delivery.

Daniel had come back with a flourish, announcing that he had bought Max’s gift and it was on its way. Max had shaken his head fondly. Daniel was enjoying this thoroughly– Max was too, but Daniel was seemingly brimming with excitement about the whole process.

That excitement reached a peak one afternoon. Max was on stream with the Redline boys, playing one of the geography games where Gianni kept lessening the amount of time every round, when Daniel came barrelling into the sim room.

He dipped into the frame and waved to the camera before plucking the headset off of Max’s head. Max’s complaints were heard in the background even while Enzo and Crane both dissolved into giggled and Gianni tried to calm the chat from asking Daniel a barrage of questions. They knew he was only here to cause chaos and leave.

“Hey boys! Can you do me a favour real quick? I need you guys to keep Max distracted for like 30 minutes.”

“Daniel! You can’t just–” Max was laughing in the background, his glee broadcasting for everyone.

“The rules are that I can use whatever is at my disposal!” Daniel argued. “Thanks guys! Hey chat!” Daniel waved and deposited the headset back on Max’s head and left the room. Leaving Max to deal with the fall out while Daniel wrapped whatever gift he’d bought.

“Mate the chat is going crazy, you’re gonna need to give us something here.” Bennett couldn’t keep his grin off of his face. Max sighed in the most fake, put-upon way. They all knew he was extremely private with his relationship– for obvious reasons. It wasn’t as if they weren’t out or open, but they were both very private people. 

“Ok ok! I’ll answer three questions. Make them good Crane.”

“Why give Crane the power?” Gianni complained.

“Because he’s gonna choose shit questions.” Max grinned mischievously into the camera.

“Ok got it. First question Maxy Taxi.” Crane steepled his fingers and raised an eyebrow in a poor evil villain imitation.

“Oh boy.” Bennett couldn’t hold back his giggles.

“First question. What the fuck was all that about?” The group laughed loudly and Max covered his face in his hands.

“I think my Christmas gift just came and of course he wants to make sure I don’t see it.”

“That’s a bit over the top mate.” Gianni pointed out.

“Daniel’s a bit over the top, mate.” Crane shrugged as if it all made sense to him.

“I mean– we are under embargo. Shocking, right?” Max announced to the surprise of the group who nodded sagely, remembering him complaining about the last embargo. 

“OG chat knows.” Enzo piped up.

“That counts as a second answer by the way. So one more!” Max cackled when everyone started arguing loudly into their mics.

“Ok ok ok! Fine, last question. What did you get him?” Crane asked.

“Of course I’m not telling you! Then it’ll end up all over the internet and spoil the surprise.” Max snorted, thoroughly enjoying how everyone started ganging up on Crane for the silly question. He didn’t even realize the door to the sim room finally opened until after all the games were done.

“Am I allowed to come out?” He called out into the hallway tentatively. Sassy rubbed her body around his shins.

“Yup! You’re free to go!” Daniel called from what seemed like the kitchen. Max walked into the living room and snorted a laugh. Daniel cackled from the kitchen at his response. 

The tree was dwarfed by a large wrapped box leaned up on the wall beside it. It was comical.

“It's just a small gift you know? Something tiny that I saw and thought of you.” Daniel’s grin was so wide it was almost manic. It was clear how proud of himself he was. Max couldn’t help but grin back, hopeless against Daniel’s joy.

“Daniel, you told me it was ‘ornament sized’!” Max laughed breathlessly as he looked at the tree.

“Max, it's so tiny! Look at it getting lost by the tree, you’ll never know it was there if I didn’t point it out to you.”

They laughed for a bit before Daniel’s grin got smug. “Well it seems like I’m in the lead Maxy Max. My gift for you is already here. I’m what you call prepared with a capital P.”  Daniel folded his arms and nodded his head. All cocky and self-satisfied.

Max rolled his eyes and looked down at Sassy who seemed to be sharing his reaction to Daniel. He’d had a plan, to present the dummy gifts (that actually were small) before bringing the original gift out with a flourish. But Max was nothing if not a competitive asshole who loved to win. So he smirked at Daniel before turning and walking back down the hallway.

“Max?” Daniel called curiously, hearing the sound of a door opening and shuffling. His eyes widened comically when Max re-entered the room with a large box and placed it gently under the tree. 

“Actually Daniel. Your gift, of course, has been here.” Max’s lips quirked upwards as Daniel rewarded him with a breathless laugh, complete with a clap and little hop.

“That's the spirit Maxy!” Daniel walked across the room and pulled Max into his arms. Max was curious as to the nature of Daniel’s gift, but he truly didn’t care. Because this was already one of the best Christmases they’d ever shared.

“I love you, Daniel.” Max murmured, feeling warm all over.

“I love you too, Maxy Max.” Daniel planted a wet kiss on his cheek that had Max dipping his head into Daniel’s shoulder, blushing wildly. Even after all this time.

#Sorry if it dragged on and on #I just needed this out of my head lol #maxiel #max/daniel #maxiel fic #happy relaxed au #relaxed happy

[honeytae]

if you’re open for regular requests i’d love to request lil scenarios of the boys learning english alongside their english-speaking s/o! this is totally self-indulgent i’m doing the TEFL program and i’m going to south korea next year to teach :)

first of all, that’s amazing omg!! congratulations my love, i hope you have the best time over there and please don’t be shy in sharing your stories with us!!! i tried to stick to the boys actually learning english with their s/o but i strayed from that with a few members just bc i ran out of ideas lol but i hope you still enjoy!

fair warning....i’ve never ~seriously~ tried to learn korean, so i’m not entirely certain of the parallels between korean and english. i just hope these are wholesome enough to override that lmao

namjoon:

“You know,” Namjoon looked up from his phone, “I understand expanding your vocabulary, but why are there so many weird slang words?”

“Kids these days?” You shrugged, the man chuckling in response before flipping his phone around to show you what had puzzled him.

“If something slaps, that’s...good?” He wondered, watching as you suppressed a smile at the tweet he was showing you.

You could tell by the profile picture that the user was an ARMY, one of the many fan profiles on the platform, and the tweet was written completely in English.

Although there was a ‘Translate to Korean’ option readily available with just a tap of his thumb, you knew Namjoon never missed an opportunity to challenge himself to be able to fully comprehend what a native English speaker was trying to say.

You nearly snorted at the tweet’s content, smiling as you read it out loud.

“The Dis-ease bridge just saved my life. Seriously, this song slaps.”

Glancing at Namjoon, he raised his eyebrows, eagerly waiting for you to translate and explain what that could equate to in Korean.

“It’s definitely a good thing, Joon. They love it.”

At your interpretation, Namjoon grinned, nodding to himself as he pulled his phone back in front of his face to scroll through more reaction tweets to the new album release.

seokjin:

“What the hell is that?”

You picked your head up from your sketchbook when you heard Seokjin whine from beside you, eyebrows knitting together at his distressed tone. Taking a glance over at his laptop screen, you found his mouse bouncing from letter to letter on one of his weekly english lessons.

“What is that, like 15 letters? How do you even use that in a sentence?” He went on, obviously flustered by the word on the screen.

Pulchritudinous.

You placed your hand over his to stop his panicked counting of the letters, causing him to look over at you with a sigh as he frowned.

You nearly giggled at his reaction, but the genuine fear in his eyes made you stifle it as you soothingly held his hands in yours. 

“It’s just an over complicated way of saying beautiful. I don’t know why they’re teaching you that, nobody ever uses it.” You assured him, his eyes going down in size a bit at your words before he nodded.

Watching as a smirk tilted his lips, you raised your brows at the sudden expression.

“What?”

“Well like, I could say I’m...that?” He said, eyebrows raised cockily as he gestured to the long word stretched across the screen.

“Well it’s actually not used like,” you paused, giving in with a shrug as you grinned back at him.

“Sure, love.”

yoongi:

“Why did I skip English class all the time?” Yoongi sighed, pinching his bottom lip between his fingers as he plucked at the skin in frustration.

“Because you were trying to be a rebel.” You answered without looking up from your phone, the man obviously not liking your answer as he reached over to where you were laying beside him to pinch at your hip.

Yelping, you scooted across the mattress to get away from his hand, whining his name with a scoff before looking over at his notepad.

“What are you doing, anyway?” You asked, leaning on your palm as you scanned the rows of scribbled English letters written on the page.

“I’m trying to get better at writing.” He admitted shyly, a small grin on his face to match the fond one on your own. 

“Aw,” you pouted, Yoongi raising his eyebrows at your tone, “but I like your chicken scratch.”

“You’re such a brat.” He chuckled, adjusting the velcro on his brace with a grunt.

Since Yoongi’s shoulder surgery took away obvious straining activities like dancing and performing, he’d turned to studying English from the comfort of your bed during his recovery as one of the only safe activities he could partake in for a while.

It was now one of his favorite past times, learning new words and phrases he could potentially use in the future. It worked for you both because it took his mind off the pain and kept him motivated, and since you could speak both his and your language, you could help him out whenever he got stuck on something.

Usually he did lessons verbally on his phone, but it seemed today he had taken the old fashioned route.

“Your handwriting really isn’t bad, Yoongs.” You observed, the carefully placed tails at the end of each ‘a’ making you smile out of fondness for the man.

“My man has the prettiest handwriting.” You cooed, pushing a strand of his stark black hair out of his eyes as he blushed down at his notebook.

“Stop that.”

hoseok:

“Hey, babe?” Hoseok called for you, listening to your footsteps growing closer before you popped your head into the kitchen doorway.

“Yeah?”

“I’m having a little trouble.” He gestured to his open laptop on the counter, you recognizing it as an assignment from his English course.

“What happened?”

“Pronouns. Pronouns happened.” He pouted, his disdain for the new chapter quite obvious as he stared down his computer screen.

“What about them?” You asked, stepping closer to the man sitting at the kitchen island and placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“I need to make ten sentences using proper pronouns and I feel like I’m doing it all wrong.” He explained, causing you to hum as you looked over his sentences.

“These look great, Hobi.” You smiled as you glanced over the first three he’d written, flawlessly executed on the document.

“Can you help me with the next one?” He wondered, you nodding your head as you took a seat on the stool next to his.

“What do you want the next one to say?” You asked, watching as he glanced off to the side in thought, slightly squinting his eyes at the tile floor beneath the sink.

“My house is next to,” He spoke in English, pausing as he searched his brain for what pronoun to put next.

“Theys?” He answered as more of a question, then shaking his head as he switched back to Korean, “wait, no.” He sighed, placing his chin in his hand in thought before glancing over to you.

“I know it’s wrong, I just don’t know what the right answer is instead.” He explained, you shooting him a loving smile as you pushed the dark raven hair off his forehead and pressed a kiss to the newly revealed skin.

“I’ll help you, Sunshine. No worries.”

jimin:

Flopping onto the bed, you let your tired body fall on top of Jimin’s hoodie clad chest, his arm encircling your body as he mumbled a soft greeting to you.

“Hm, what are you learning about today?” You nuzzled into his chest, peering at his phone propped up on his thigh.

“Animals. Birds, mostly.” He answered, briefly turning from the screen to press a kiss to your head before focusing back on the row of English words matched with pictures of popular birds glowing from the device.

The first was a robin, the next a blue jay, and then a dove.

You listened as the virtual instructor prompted Jimin to repeat after her, spelling out the letters before stating the whole word. You smiled as your boyfriend followed instruction, pronouncing the words the best he could after the microphone chimed for him to do so.

“D-o-v-e. Dove.”

“Dove.” He repeated, smiling to himself as the app announced he got the point with a little heart.

“That’s cute.” He went back to his native language, you humming in confusion as you lifted your head up off his chest to look at him.

“The heart?” You asked, reaching up to twist a stray strand of hair out of his eye as he shook his head.

“Dove.” He said again, making you tilt your head, not knowing what he meant.

“It sounds like ‘love.’” He connected the two English words, you smiling fondly at him in response before scooting up the bed to kiss the tip of his button nose.

“You’re so cute.”

taehyung:

Three knocks at the door announced someone’s arrival to your bedroom, causing your head to lift from the novel you’d been so immersed in. Taehyung was home, but you’d wanted to give him space because you knew he needed to work on lyrics for his mixtape in order to submit them on time. 

“Hey,” he poked his head in with a small smile, “can you help me with something?” He asked sheepishly, stepping further into the room when you nodded.

“Of course. What is it?” You set your book down, marking your place before closing it to pay full attention to your boyfriend.

“Well, I’m trying to write this verse in English and,” he trailed off with a shrug, “you know.” He finished, you nodding in response with a gesture for him to come sit next to you.

He eagerly walked over to you with his notebook in hand, lowering himself to the mattress before rolling his way over to where you were leaning against the headboard.

Honestly, Taehyung’s English wasn’t bad at all. He was insecure about it, but you’d never really understood what the reason for that feeling was. His vocabulary was more than decent, his comprehension was good, and his pronunciation was great for having such a thick accent.

But there were many times where Taehyung came to you for guidance, as you were a native English speaker yourself.

And so, as he rested his head on your shoulder confiding in you about everything he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it, you patiently took him through what would work and rhyme best, smiling as he hummed the melody to himself to see if the phrases would work in his creation.

jungkook:

“Baby, can you read it to me again before we go on? Just one more time.”

You glanced over at your boyfriend in his makeup chair, several employees bustling around the man as they attempted to get him ready to go on stage while they had him seated.

With his arm extended backward to where you stood behind his leather chair, he offered his phone to you while shooting you a grin through the reflection in the mirror.

Taking the device from his hand, you opened it to the notes app where he’d written what he wanted to say in his statement on stage in just a few minutes.

You were in London tonight, which meant that all of the boys had been rehearsing their English so that they could communicate easier with their audience.

Jungkook, ever the over-achiever, was determined to do the toughest English tongue twister he could possibly find. Not only that, but in a British accent for his British ARMY’s.

“Betty bought a bit of better butter to make her bitter butter better.” You read from the phone, barely able to read the sentence yourself before you glanced up at Jungkook through the mirror again.

You watched your boyfriend nod as his brain took in the words you’d just said, taking a deep inhale before he began speaking the phrase back to you.

You gawked as the man effortlessly repeated after you, a few of the makeup artists stopping as well as Jungkook raised his eyebrows back at you.

“Was that okay?”

#bts #bts writing #bts fanfiction #bts scenarios #bts scenario #bts reactions #bts reaction #bts blurbs #bts blurb #bts fluff #bts member x reader #bts x reader #namjoon x reader #namjoon fluff #seokjin x reader #seokjin fluff #yoongi x reader #yoongi fluff #hoseok x reader #hoseok fluff #jimin x reader #jimin fluff #taehyung x reader #taehyung fluff #jungkook x reader #jungkook fluff

[jokertrap-ran]

(光与夜之恋 Light and Night) Event! 轻云寻隐录: Sariel’s BDAY 2021 Event! Qingyun’s Hidden Records (Prelude)

“Just go sit at the counter. I have no wish to see my kitchen get blown up.”

*Light and Night Master-list | Sariel’s Personal Master-list *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Join my Light & Night Discord (＾▽＾)~ ♪ *Event story tag will be #For Light and Memories

I stood in front of the entrance of Sariel's place, breathing a deep sigh before raising a hand…

And as to why I'm here… That story goes back to a week ago.

❖☆———————————★❖

Zheng Lin: (Y/n), I have some things here that I require you to handle.

Just as I was haplessly being drowned amid a monotonous stack of documents and materials alike, the unique document that was placed before me perked me right up.

MC: September's Staff Birthday Party…

Sariel Qi's Birthday: 9/1!

My eyes widened in shock, reading the document through again. Yup, my eyes weren't fooling me.

I never thought that this was how I’d learn of his birthday… Although Sariel wasn’t the one who told me about his birthday, how about I celebrate it with him now that I do know it?

I keyed in a reminder on my phone and began seriously thinking about just how I should throw him a special birthday celebration.

❖☆———————————★❖

MC: I need to check what flavour of cake he likes before I can even prepare him one…

MC: I’ll have to be careful not to expose the fact that I’m there to acquire information and keep up the act of having “just passed by”.

Putting on a lost look, desperate for help, I pressed the doorbell.

The wind on the side of the mountain was by no means gentle. It was a little cold as it blew against my face, but it helped calm my nervous heart, providing me with an additional boost of courage and anticipation.

Ding-Dong!

The doorbell had only just rung before the door instantly swung open along with an icy greeting from none other than Sariel himself.

Sariel: Still dare to come back?

He took a second take upon seeing me at the door. He massaged his temples in sight annoyance before his initial expression of sternness loosened up.

Sariel: You…

MC: Yes, me.

Why do things seem a little different here? Is he waiting for someone?

MC: Err, Director Qi. I just happened to pass by here, but I can't find the road back down the mountain…

Sariel: Pass by? Halfway up a mountain?

MC: I'm actually… mountaineering.

Sariel: I don't seem to recall you ever having a hobby of mountaineering.

MC: Well, we're all office people, right? We need more exercise.

Sariel: So, you just so happened to climb this mountain, coincidentally failed to find the path, yet chanced upon my house?

He slowly blinked, a hint of a smirk playing at the corners of his lips. However, he didn’t look the slightest bit angry at all.

MC: Same goes for you when you happened to pass by my place while on the way home from the vet.

Sariel: …...

Sariel's smile immediately vanished without a trace. He slightly turned away.

Sariel: That WAS a coincidence.

MC: Yes, yes, alright. It was a coincidence.

MC: So, could I bother you to take me in for a while, Director Qi? I didn't bring food with me so not only am I starving, but I'm also feeling a little light-headed.

Sariel: ...Come in.

❖☆———————————★❖

Sariel: Wait. Wash your hands at the entrance.

In the few days I didn't see him, Sariel's clean freakiness seemed to have increased again.

MC: Right, who did you think I was earlier?

Sariel: No one.

Sariel instantly denied it, but then realized that he’d probably refuted it a little too hastily, thus deciding to explain himself.

Sariel: I thought it was my takeaway delivery.

MC: You do takeaway!?

Sariel: ...Occasionally.

MC: What takeaway do you usually eat? Other than salads, I mean.

MC: Do you avoid any kind of food? For example… Are you allergic to tropical fruits? Do you perhaps like chocolate?

MC: What’s the level of sweetness you can take when it comes to sweet food? Do you like slightly bitter things like matcha, for example?

❖☆———————————★❖

I followed closely behind Sariel, rapidly firing questions at him without noticing the fact that he’d halted. My face had already crashed into his back before I could even react.

MC: Ow… Why did you stop all of a sudden?

Sariel: I'm thinking if I've just been duped.

Sariel: You look nothing like a frail and fragile person who's about to faint. In fact, you're bursting full of life.

MC: ……

Despite saying that, he still opened the fridge and took out a few boxes of vegetables and a box of spare ribs.

By the time he’d put on his apron, I already found myself standing up his sides with my sleeves rolled up and ready to assist.

Sariel: Just go sit at the counter.

Sariel: I have no wish to see my kitchen get blown up.

MC: ...Oh.

After about half an hour of waiting, a set of two dishes and a bowl of soup was served on the counter before me.

I took a tentative bite out of it, mentally noting that Sariel liked his ribs a little on the sweet side.

And he liked tea too… So why don’t I just make him a matcha cake? Mildly sweet, yet slightly bitter.

Sariel: I'll send you down the mountain once you're done eating. I'm leaving on a trip.

MC: A trip!?

Remembering the birthday plan, I panicked. Sariel shot me a suspicious look.

MC: Where are you going? When will you be back?

Sariel: To look for someone. I don't know when I will be returning.

What if 1st September passes while he’s gone? Wouldn’t my plan go down the drain!?

Sariel: Judging by the look on your face right now… Just what are you planning again?

MC: Can I go with you, Sariel?

MC: I mean- It’s been a long time since I went out, so I want to admire the scenery!

Sariel: ……

Sariel: I’m going to Qingyun Swamp. It’s not a place for one like you.

Qingyun Swamp? I racked my brains for that semi-unknown name. Then, I finally recalled it after catching sight of an ancient book that was lying open on the table.

❖☆———————————★❖

Qingyun Swamp was a place of the past, located in the southern suburbs of Guangqi City. It was a large forest born from the waters.

It's a shame that now most of the trees there had been cut down in this modern times, and all the water there had also dried up for no rhyme or reason. Right now, only one remnant remains of the place: The abandoned Qingyun Station.

There’s also an ancient legend about Qingyun Swamp. According to it, there is a mysterious secluded island there similar to paradise itself.

❖☆———————————★❖

I subconsciously glanced at the ancient book atop the table again. There was an old map of Guangqi inscribed on its old yellowing pages.

Is he really going to Qingyun Swamp, a mysterious place that had long since disappeared? Just who is he trying to find all the way down there?

Although I was filled with doubts, I still enthusiastically raised my hand to tag along.

MC: Then that’s precisely why you HAVE to bring me along! I might be able to help you if you’re looking for someone! More hands to go around, right?

Sariel: Are you hiding something from me?

MC: You saw through me, huh… Actually, I’ve always wanted to go to Qingyun Swamp, and it’s second nature for me to want to help others...

MC: And this is my once in a lifetime chance and-.

Sariel held out a hand to stop me, seemingly having a brewing headache just from my chattering alone.

Sariel: Very well.

Sariel: But I'll say this first: No regretting it when you get there.

❖☆————— ⊹ For Light & Memories⊹ —————★❖

Next Part: (Prologue)

#光与夜之恋 #Light and Night #Otome #Translations #Tencent #齐司礼 #Sariel #For Light and Memories #轻云寻隐录 #Qingyuns Hidden Records #Sariel BDAY 2021

[aer-in-wanderland]

구미호뎐 | Tale of the Nine Tailed - Lost in Translation EP03

The saga continues: part three in a series in which my sister and I pick our way through all the (mis)translations, humour, and cultural subtext that dropped from the fan-subbed version of TotNT. Thank you so much to everyone who bought us coffee - this one’s for you. ;) 

Before we begin, for anyone just joining us: EP01 / EP02. 

We pick up back where we left off last episode with Yeon dressing Ji Ah’s wound. 

Yeon’s line that’s subbed, “Stop being a crybaby” can be a bit hard to translate. The word he uses is ‘eomsal,’ which literally means, ‘the exaggeration of pain; feigning pain; a great fuss about nothing.’ So he’s essentially saying she’s overreacting. I'm not a fan of the use of the word ‘crybaby’ here though personally.

“Long time no see, Lee Yeon.” > > > 12 Hours Earlier.

We see Thirsty meet his ignominious end in a toilet (we never got character names for these guys so I’m just going to call them ‘Thirsty’ and ‘Hungry’).

Elsewhere on the island, Rang fishes a curse doll with the man’s picture on it out of the surf. That’s quite the atmospheric shot. Point to the director.

Episode 03 Title Card: The Secret of the Dragon King 

We open the following morning as Ji Ah and the man who found the body (who Ji Ah refers to as ‘Captain’) examine the scene.

Sub: “Being at sea wasn’t enough and he drowned himself to death.” I’m not sure that sentence even makes sense. I would have translated the man’s line as: “Ho~ Let no one say he wasn’t a seaman. He managed to kick the bucket by drowning [even on dry land].” 

Sub: “Talk about it being all for nothing. This is what he gets after throwing himself at his life.” Um, what now? The line is: “Human lives are so futile. And after he clung so viciously to life, too.”

Lol Yeon. “I see someone threw a party.” I like this sub. What he literally says though is: “Oh~ Looks like it was a really special night.” (‘special’ here is in English). 

Sub: “He smells like a stinky fish.” What Yeon literally says is: “Ugh, a smell like rotting fish is coming from this kid!” Yeon refers to the man as ‘yae,’ which literally means ‘this kid,’ but can also be used to refer to inanimate objects. So, either way...pfft

Appropriately, the BGM playing as Pyung Hee casts her curse is ‘Shaman.’

Back over to Yeon and Ji Ah as they investigate the body. The chyron on the screen reads: ‘The first survivor of the Milky Way (Deceased)’ Irony-(probably)-not-intended. 

We get another chyron not long after, over a shot of Pyung Hee’s father’s head being returned to shore that reads: ‘Seo Gi Chang (Died aboard the Milky Way)’

Lol None of this has stopped Yeon from nomming on his banana milk. I had thought the milk made him seem like a little kid, but according to Korean fans, it’s also, apparently, commonly enjoyed by old men. heh

Sub: “Besides, they’re not good looking enough.” This is a mistranslation. Yeon’s line is literally: “And besides, I don’t like the look of their faces.” What he means, though, is the feeling they give off, rather than their actual ‘looks.’ It’s a common expression in Korean. If I was translating instead of explaining, I would probably render this as, “I don’t like the look of them.”

As Ji Ah drags him out, however, Yeon can be heard saying, “Ah~ I judge people by their looks~!” I’m 98% sure this is another LDW ad lib. Basically, LDW made a joke of his previous line, as if to say Yeon cared about the look of them because they weren’t attractive enough, when really his line meant they seemed shady. It’s almost as if he predicted the bad sub...

We get a brief scene featuring the second (and only named) survivor of the Milky Way, Jin Shik. Oh, and his headless ‘visitor.’ Creepy.

The music underscoring Hungry gorging himself on raw meat is making everything worse (or possibly better, if disturbing is your jam)

I’ve said it before, but I would watch an entire series of Yeon and Ji Ah being a supernatural investigative duo.

Pfft Yeon refers to Seo Gi Chang as ‘the head’ (mogaji). I’m not sure if I should call that indelicate or irreverent. It’s a bit of both, really. 

Yeon’s line here is subbed as, “What happened on the boat?” but it should more properly be: “What did you do on the boat?” He’s not just asking after the sequence of events; the line is a clear accusation.

Sub: “We met an unexpected storm that day.” Actually: “Rough wind and waves hit the side of the fishing boat.” (i.e. causing it to capsize) 

I appreciate that Yeon sits back here and allows Ji Ah to take the lead. 

So, as it turns out, the 11th hell is actually a fishing boat (I’m sure the cast of 1N2D will back me up on this).

Fun fact: This sequence was filmed in a green screen pool and then made to look like the middle of the ocean with CG.

As an aside, I love that Ji Ah deduced the whole story on her own and that she uses that knowledge to corner Hungry psychologically. Also, that her strategy proves more effective than Yeon’s threat of violence. It’s not so much a ‘you catch more flies with honey,’ as a ‘brain over brawn’ sort of deal. 

Ji Ah: You were frightened, weren’t you? Twenty-eight days straight on a perilous life boat without water or food. They’re the perfect conditions for a person to go mad, aren’t they? First-degree burns from the hot August sun striking your body mercilessly, the boat pitching about all day; despite not having eaten, you feel as if you’ll throw up. Clenching your teeth and waiting to be rescued only works for a day or two. The more you think about it, the angrier you get. ‘Why, me? Why?!’ Around the fifth day was the crisis point. Since, in that time, not a drop of rain had fallen. Dehydration would have set in first. [...] But it’s odd, isn’t it? For having starved for 28 days, you lost too little body mass. [...] What did you eat?

Meanwhile, Yeon’s contribution to all of this is: “And you couldn’t have used a delivery app in the middle of the open ocean where there’s no wifi signal.” Pfft He has, of course, caught on to her strategy. As usual, though, he decides to take the cheeky route. 

Side note: I find it interesting that, in this universe full of monsters, the first incident Yeon and Ji Ah end up investigating together turns out to be an entirely human horror. 

Yo. Hungry deciding Ji Ah is food is just...ugh. Never trust a cannibal. 

Luckily for Ji Ah, her guard dog fox is on the job. 

Over to Rang, who asks a weeping Pyung Hee what she’ll give him in return for granting her ‘wish’. We don’t get to see her answer him, but it was included in the backstory collection.

It’s unclear to me just how much Rang is involved in ‘granting’ Pyung Hee’s wish. Like, is he the one fueling the curse somehow, or did he just teach her what she needed to know? I’m inclined to believe it’s more the latter. 

We cut to Taluipa at the Afterlife Immigration Office, who’s pissed that someone’s messing with her Death List. There’s a fun mythology-related chestnut in this scene: when Hyeonuiong comes running in, he’s carrying a watering can. Taluipa accuses him of having been watching dramas, but Hyeonuiong insists he was watering the Uiryeongsu. 

The chyron for it reads: ‘The Uiryeongsu. A tree that measures the sins of the dead by the weight of their clothes when they’re hung on it.’ The hanja for ‘Uiryeongsu’ (衣領樹) literally mean ‘clothing-amount-tree,’ so its name is essentially its function. In traditional mythology, it grows on the near bank of the Samdocheon. This is also the same tree that the Uiryeong’geom (geom = sword) mentioned in EP13 is made from.

“You watered a tree for 3 hours?” Pfft Hyeonuiong and watering can, exit stage right. 

Minor detail: I just realized I can actually see from Taluipa’s List in this scene that one of the two fishermen is named Kim Gil Sang. Still not sure which one though, so I’m going to stick to calling them Hungry and Thirsty. 

The Dragon King Scroll

Back over to Ji Ah, who examines a creepy scroll hanging in Jin Shik’s vacant quarters. Once again, the show cuts into its own dramatic tension with a moment of levity as Yeon startles both Ji Ah and me by popping open his bag of snacks with a massive bang. The contrast between Ji Ah, who’s in serious investigator mode, and Yeon, who just continues his one-gumiho snack parade, blasé as can be, adds humour to an otherwise grim situation. 

Yeon’s response of, “Oh. Sorry.” is in English, making it sound, if possible, even less sincere.

On the off chance that anyone was wondering, the snack Yeon claims as his favorite here is 솜짱 (somjjang). According to the Korean fans again, this is also a food commonly enjoyed by elderly people.

Subs: “Do you know how many people in Joseon died during the 50 years of war? 3.5 million. I’ve seen more deaths than all the funeral companies in this country.” This is another case of diagonal translation. Yeon’s line is more properly: 

Yeon: Between the Imjin War and the Manchu War, do you know how much of the population of Joseon-era Korea was lost in just 50 years? 3,500,000. I’m a guy who’s seen more funerals than all the funerary companies in Korea put together.  

[Note: Yeon is talking about The Japanese Invasions a.k.a The Imjin War (1592-1598) and The Qing Invasion of Joseon a.k.a. The Manchu War (1636)]

As a linguistic aside, Yeon refers to himself here as a ‘nom’ (rhymes with ‘home’). If you read the breakdown of EP02, you’ll recall that ‘nom’ can mean anything from ‘guy’ to ‘bastard.’ It’s not that Yeon means to call himself a bastard, though. It’s only that the typical alternative here (i.e. ‘person’) carries the implication of 'human.’ Since Yeon is, of course, not human, he opts for ‘nom’ instead. The word gets a lot of mileage in this show in relation to all the supernaturals for that reason. 

Lol This exchange about the Dragon King was great. Point to the writer. I would translate it as: 

Yeon: You’re right, but it looks nothing like him. 

Ji Ah: You’ve...seen him? 

Yeon: Back when I was a mountain god. Well, in today’s terms you’d say we attended a leadership conference together. They over-glamorized him. He’s not this good looking.

Ji Ah’s reaction is perfect too. Her, ‘I don’t even know where to begin with that statement so I’m just going to move on’ look came across loud and clear. 

Yeon’s line as he leans over Ji Ah’s shoulder is subbed: “This is just like ‘Where’s Wally?’” In Korea, the game is called ‘find the hidden picture’ (‘sumun keurim chatgi’). So the line is actually: “What is this, ‘find the hidden picture’ or something?” I’d say there’s a 50/50 chance this line was another ad lib by Lee Dong Wook.

On an entirely different cultural note, ‘Where’s Wally?’ is know as ‘Where’s Waldo?’ in North America and exactly nowhere else. Don’t ask... 

This scene features the first mention we get of Imoogi. Imoogi are among the most famous Korean mythical creatures. In most tellings, they are essentially proto-dragons, though occasionally they can be baby dragons. For example, one imoogi tale claims its imoogi was the son of the Dragon King (the same one Yeon attended a ‘leadership conference’ with). Most of the lore agrees that if an imoogi stays submerged in deep water for a thousand years, it earns the chance to become a dragon, though the caveats vary widely, and many imoogi fail. Finally, while the imoogi in TotNT is evil, imoogi aren’t categorically so; some are good, some aren’t.

Rang and the Mudang

Fun fact: Kim Beom explained in his Instagram LIVE that he chose to wear a red suit partially because the color gave off the feeling of a villain, but also because it contrasted well with the green of the forest. He also named this as his favorite Lee Rang outfit.

For anyone keeping track, Rang speaks to the mudang in banmal. She, in return, addresses him as ‘Lee Rang-nim’ and speaks very respectfully.

Okay, there are a couple of things to unpack in Rang’s following exchange with the mudang: 

Mudang: The Corrupt God, King of the Wicked. He is Lee Ryong-nim.

Rang: [Laughs] What’s with that? Ugh, I seriously just cringed! If you slap a fancy title* from the next world in front of its name, does a snake become a dragon?

First, the mudang’s line here is said in an archaic cant. Second, ‘Lee Ryong’ (properly pronounced, ‘i-ryong,’ since there’s actually no ‘L’ in ‘Lee’), is another name for imoogi.

Finally, when Rang says ‘a fancy title from the next world,’ he’s referring to a posthumous name/title. Nearly every kingdom to have occupied the Korean peninsula has used posthumous titles (시호), most often for deceased royalty. By giving one to Imoogi, the mudang is venerating him. Rang mocks this, seizing on Imoogi’s failure to become a dragon. (Let no one say he and Yeon aren’t brothers).

The subs have Rang referring to Yeon as just ‘Yeon,’ but he actually calls him ‘Lee Yeon.’ That’s a very impersonal way to refer to one’s older brother, which is, of course, intentional on Rang’s part. It serves as another linguistic cue to the audience as to how Rang regards Yeon at this point. 

A note on the evening primrose: tvN released a short blurb about it, since, as far as I can tell, the mythology was invented for the show. It reads: 

Evening primrose that has grown while feeding on the blood and flesh of corpses is the same as poison to gumiho; if they so much as touch its powder, their bodies catch flame.

While the subs consistently just say ‘evening primrose,’ this should more properly be ‘burial ground evening primrose,’ which is how the various characters refer to it. 

Fun fact: ‘Evening primrose’ in Korean is ‘dalmaji-kkot’ (달맞이꽃), which means ‘flowers that welcome the moon’. 

Sub: “Half-brothers, to be exact.” The term Rang uses in Korean is quite literally, ‘brothers from different stomachs,’ so it refers specifically to half brothers who share a father but who have different mothers. I mention it only because Korean viewers will have been given slightly more information about their familial relationship here than was provided in the subs. 

Back over to our leads, as Yeon urges Ji Ah to leave the island post-haste. His line is subbed: “I’m saying you may die if you stay here.” That’s a perfectly fine translation. For anyone curious, though, his line is quite literally: “I’m saying if you stay here, [the conditions are] perfect for dying.” 

Sub: “That’s none of your business.” Yeon’s line is more properly: “That’s not for you to know.”

Ji Ah’s response to this is very literally: “I have no intention to go home for a reason I don’t know. So Lee Yeon should find the person Lee Yeon came here to find. I have to know why my parents came to this island.” This is the first time Ji Ah uses Yeon’s full name as a second person pronoun (so basically to mean ‘you’) when speaking to him. It’s hard to make generalizations about any form of address that don’t have multiple exceptions, but in this case, using his name is a more neutral, and somewhat more familiar, alternative to some of the other pronouns she’s been using when speaking to him. To my sense, it softens her rejection of his advice a little bit.

Back to Rang. His line is a bit awkward to translate, but essentially what he says is, ‘Calling my brother a ‘mountain god’ is an overstatement/ putting it nicely.’ I might approximate this as, ‘Sure, my brother was called a mountain god.’ This is the only time in the entire drama that Rang refers to Yeon as ‘uri hyung,’ and it kills me a bit that it’s not out of fondness, but rather derision. ㅠㅠ

Similarly, when Rang says, “I’m a fox, after all. I have to repay eunhye properly,” he is, of course, using eunhye sarcastically.

The subtitle here once again says ‘the underworld,’ but Rang’s line is actually: “I’m going to go to hell, without fail. Together with Lee Yeon.” The subs really need to do a better job of distinguishing between hell and the afterlife. 

We see Ji Ah instruct Jae Hwan over the phone as to what to search for in the library records. She’s split off from Yeon since we last saw them. 

Elsewhere on the island, Yeon also makes a call, only his is to Halmeom (Taluipa) to ask about Imoogi. When this episode first aired, I thought it was odd that Yeon was using ‘Imoogi’ as if it were a name, since this would be like referring to Yeon as ‘Gumiho.’ He later taunts Terry-Imoogi about just that though (i.e. not even having a proper name), so obviously it was an intentional decision on the writer’s part. 

Sub: “If by chance Ah Eum was born again into this world, I can’t let that thing coexist with her.” This sub went a bit sideways. The ‘by chance’ has been mis-attributed. The line is properly: “There’s no way I could possibly (i.e. by any chance/under no circumstances can I) let such a thing exist in a world in which Ah Eum has been reborn.” Yeon is already sure that Ah Eum has been reborn at this point. He’s saying that because she’s been reborn, he can’t allow Imoogi to coexist with her under any circumstances.

Rang vs Ji Ah

Ji Ah returns to Pyung Hee’s to find ‘Pyung Hee’ reading Moby Dick. This is an ironic enough choice of literature to clue her in to the fact that this isn’t really Pyung Hee. Smart cookie. 

On a character note, I loved that Ji Ah’s knowledge of, and love for, world literature was threaded believably throughout the drama in a way in which it feels natural that she caught on to Rang’s hint here. Point to the writer. 

Again, for anyone keeping track, Ji Ah and Rang speak to each other in banmal, as has been the case since Rang revealed himself at Ji Ah’s house in EP01. Not because they’re close, obviously, but because they have zero respect for one another. It’s a bit of a power play on Ji Ah’s part, too, since she’s (hundreds of years) younger. 

Over to Yeon, who barges into the local market owner’s personal quarters to interrogate him. His line when he catches sight of the scroll on the wall is subbed: “Look at this.” This should more properly be: “Check these people out. There’s one here too.” The word he uses that I translated as ‘these people’ is ‘i-geot-dul,’ which is very literally ‘these things,’ so I sort of understand the confusion in the subs. He means the islanders though, not the scrolls. In contrast, ‘there’s one here too’ does actually refer to the scroll.

The knife Yeon throws hits directly over the slit pupil of the scroll dragon’s eye. Nice aim.

Back to Ji Ah and Rang. When Ji Ah accuses Rang of orchestrating the deaths of the Milk Way survivors, ‘to distract us,’ what she says quite literally is ‘to cover our eyes and ears.’

When Rang applauds Ji Ah’s deductive abilities, his line is subbed, “Awesome.” This should more properly be, “Outstanding,” or, “Exceptional.” I honestly believe he’s being sincere in his praise. Being Rang, though, he’s probably just delighted this makes her more challenging to toy with.

Having completed his interrogation, Yeon’s eyes change as he erases the man’s memory of the event. I suspect the reason Yeon is so cavalier about revealing he’s a gumiho is because he can basically ‘undo’ it whenever he wants using this power.

Ji Ah’s quiet, “I decline” is so satisfying. Also the way Rang pulls back in surprise haha I guess he’s not used to being turned down. 

Rang’s exchange with Ji Ah is subbed as: “Loosen up. Why be so stiff when it’s just good old me?” / “Let me give you some advice since that’s how you feel. Don’t gamble with another’s tragedy just for kicks. There’s a word for people like you, you know. A colossal jerk.” This is difficult to translate, and I think the subs have done a pretty good job, but a closer translation would be:

Rang: Augh— So uptight! Are you going to keep acting this uptight, just between us* (literally, ‘between you and me’)? 

Ji Ah: Between you and me, then, I’ll give you just one word of advice: Don’t carelessly role the dice atop others’ misfortune. People call jerks like you ‘sleazy bastards.’ 

[*Note: Rang’s phrasing implies that they’re somehow close/on good terms, but he’s being sarcastic, of course.]

First off, the word Rang uses for ‘uptight’ (빡빡하다) means ‘stiff; uptight; rigid; inflexible; strict.’ By this, he’s referring to how she never lets her guard down. I don’t know that any of those words properly conveys that, though. 

Second, while I translated Ji Ah’s line about the dice very literally here (in keeping with the spirit of this post), I actually like how the subs handled it from a translation/subtitling standpoint. 

Finally, the subs have Ji Ah calling Rang ‘a colossal jerk,’ but the term she actually uses (‘yang’achi saekki’) is a much stronger expletive. ‘Yang’achi’ is a term for a thug, gangster, or hoodlum. ‘Saekki’ literally means ‘child of.’ In practical use, though, it’s close to ‘bastard.’ (I really didn’t think I’d be explaining the finer points of Korean expletives when I started this series, but here we are). I approximated this as ‘sleazy bastard’ above. 

Pfft Rang being genuinely offended at Ji Ah’s language. Jo Bo Ah talked a bit about what she thought of all the explicit language Ji Ah uses towards Rang in her wrap interview. 

Subs: “When he finds what he wants, you’ll be begging for mercy.” No idea where they got 'begging for mercy.’ What Rang actually says is, “When he  finds what he wants, you’ll see hell.” Unlike in the subtitle, Rang’s warning actually has substance to it, since he’s referring to the fact that, once Yeon identifies Ji Ah as Ah Eum’s reincarnation, their fate with Imoogi will repeat itself. 

By the time Yeon rushes back to Pyung Hee’s, Rang is long gone. His line subbed as: “What did he say?” is, quite literally, “Lee Rang, that nom, what’d he say?” This use of ‘nom’ manages to come off as fairly mild. (He may be a jerk, but he’s Yeon’s jerk). 

Ji Ah’s response has undergone cultural translation to become: “Even when I order pizza, I never go for half-and-half. I always choose just one.” Honestly, though, I don’t know that it was necessary. What she actually says is: “Even when I order chicken, I don’t go for half-seasoned, half-fried; I’m the type to just pick one.”

This scene was originally longer but part of it got deleted. They released the clip, though, so I’ll translate the full exchange here:

Ji Ah: I'm saying I turned him down, your younger brother. Since I bet on this fox.  

Yeon: Let no one say you aren’t a learned (wise) woman. Is that all?  

Rang (voiceover): Don't trust Lee Yeon too much.  

Ji Ah: That's all. But...you said the two of you are brothers.

Yeon: Yeah. We’re brothers. 

Ji Ah: Why are you so hellbent on destroying each other? 

Yeon: It seems like you don’t know since you’re an only child, but, as a rule, the relationship between siblings is a lot like noir, just without the guns.

Ji Ah: There you go, deflecting the question again. Is that a secret, too? 

Yeon: If you ever happen to run into that guy again just the two of you, no matter what, run fast. That kid* despises humans. Especially humans that look like you. 

Ji Ah: Why do you keep taking cracks at people's faces?

Yeon: ...I'm hungry.  

Ji Ah: Why don’t you take the opportunity to pack up and leave while you still can? Your younger brother...it seems he’s preparing some sort of special event. 

Yeon: That’s what I’m waiting for.

*Note: The word Yeon uses that I translated as ‘kid’ is ‘jashik.’ This is another word that, depending on how it’s used, can either be fond or rude. ‘Jashik’ literally means ‘[one’s] child,’ but it’s also commonly used in the sense of ‘punk.’ It’s a bit softer than nom. You wouldn’t use it to refer to yourself, though. 

Ji Ah’s “Why do you keep taking cracks at people’s faces?” (meaning he’s insulting/taking issue with how she looks), is referencing their exchange the previous night when he told her not to smile because she was ugly.

We cut briefly to Shin Joo eating at the Snail Bride as he sizes up Yoo Ri from a distance. Come to think of it, we never got this BGM for the Snail Bride, either...

Ramen Heart-to-Heart

Lee Yeon’s one-gumiho meokbang continues. I feel like Yeon has been nomming on something in nearly every scene this episode. 

The BGM while Yeon and Ji Ah eat is a remix of Yeon’s theme, ‘The Fox’s Wedding Day.’

Sub: “Just because these ladies wear baggy pants in floral prints doesn’t mean they have kind hearts. Get digging, and you’ll find all sorts of dirty secrets.” Yeon’s line is more literally: 

Yeon: Living is all the same [everywhere]~ Just because grannies in the countryside wear flower-patterned pants doesn’t mean that even their insides are flower-patterned. If you start digging, venomous and insidious years come pouring out. 

Ji Ah’s response then plays off of Yeon’s turn of phrase: “Is that the case for you too? I just wondered, ‘With what pattern did you live all those long years?’” (referring to the ‘pattern’ of his heart).

On a minor cultural note: the word Yeon uses is ‘mombbae pants’ (몸빼바지), which are a fashion(?) staple in the countryside. You’ll know what I mean if you run the hangeul through a google image search. That’s where the subs got ‘baggy’ from even though Yeon doesn’t explicitly say it. 

Sub: “Why have you been searching for your parents all this time?” Yeon’s line is more properly: “Then what about you? What has made you wait for your parents for such a long time?” 

Sub: “I’m the same. I’m waiting for the one I miss.” I would have translated this as: “I’m waiting for someone I miss,” which is literally what he says. 

Sub: “Why did you part ways when you still miss her this much?” This is a bit hard to translate into natural-sounding English. The word Ji Ah uses is ‘mi’ryeon,’ which means ‘lingering attachment.’ So her line is quite literally: “Your face is so full of lingering attachment, how did you come to part ways/break up?”

Sub: “The first being I loved was a human girl who ended up dying. It’s why I’m still hung up on her. Happy now?” Hmm... I would translate Yeon’s line as:

Yeon: My damn* first love was a human of all things, but she died, so I’m foolishly unable to let go of my lingering attachment. Happy now? 

[*Note: Yeon is cursing is the phenomenon of first love itself, not Ah Eum.]

His statement is witty, because the word he uses for ‘foolish’ is also pronounced ‘mi’ryeon.’ In this case, though, 'mi’ryeon’ means, ‘foolhardy and dense enough to be stubborn to a preposterous degree.’ Which is probably a fair assessment given he’s been waiting 600 years. The sub for this line made it sound like he’s saying, ‘I’m hung up on her because she’s a human girl who died,’ which would just be weird. 

Shin Joo Meets Yoo Ri

Okay, minor detail, but what exactly was Yoo Ri trying to accomplish here before Shin Joo stopped her from entering an off-limits area of the Snail Bride?

The BGM here is called ‘Skip a Beat’ (‘Kanju Jump’). I found the track title slightly surprising since it’s actually taken from an ad lib made by Kim Yong Ji (Yoo Ri) in a later episode. 

For anyone keeping track, Shin Joo and Yoo Ri are speaking in a mix of banmal and jondaetmal in this scene.

We next see Shin Joo on the phone with Yeon, whining about the whole ordeal and asking an unsympathetic Yeon to come back and retrieve his necklace for him.

Yeon’s line that’s subbed as, “Deadly?” could mean more than one thing. The line is literally, “What? The thief was deadly?” The word for ‘deadly,’ though, could equally mean that she was a knockout (i.e. gorgeous). It’s probably a bit of both.

Subs: “There’s nothing more pathetic than being blinded by a woman’s beauty...” / “But you also ruined your life by falling for beautiful woman.”  For the record, neither of them actually uses the word ‘beauty/beautiful’ here. I would translate this exchange as: 

Yeon: You... The most pathetic thing in the world, is being blinded by a woman, and... 

Shin Joo: But being blinded by a woman and wrecking your life is something Lee Yeon-nim did too, isn’t it? 

Yeon: What, you punk?!

Lol Yeon’s “What, you punk?!” is a familiar refrain whenever Shin Joo unwittingly(?) insults Yeon. The word is ‘imma’ (임마) or sometimes ‘inma’ (인마). Yeon consistently uses the former.

‘Bad Fate’

Subs: “Why is that branch broken? It must’ve hurt.” Yeon is actually personifying the tree here, which makes sense seeing as he can communicate with it. So his line is more literally: “Now why has this kid gone and made a fuss breaking [his] branch? It must’ve hurt.” Which is cute.

I actually really appreciated this short scene of Yeon healing the tree. Yeon may no longer be the master of Baekdudaegan, but this scene showed that it’s still very much a part of who he is; not just his powers, but the care he has for the forest. 

Fun (?) fact: It turns out this simple scene was actually a huge pain to film. 

Subs: “I hope you grow well.” Actually: “Eat well and grow well.” I realize that sounds awkward in English, but the line is a directive. He’s once again speaking to the tree. 

Sub: “The wind is blowing from the northwest. Something is coming.” I would have translated this as: “A northwest wind blows... Something is coming.” That’s partly a tonal choice, but it’s also a more literal reflection of the original Korean. 

We finally catch back up to the end of EP02, as Jae Hwan calls Ji Ah from the library to tell her what he’s found. This time, we see her connect the first dead body in 1954 to what the forest spirit told them more explicitly. 

The dates of the four incidents are: August 13, 1954; August 25, 1961; September 6, 1979; and September 7, 1987. Ji Ah quickly deduces that these all work out to be the same date on the lunar calendar: July 15th. In 2020, that works out to be Wednesday, September 2nd. If you’ll recall, the wedding at the start of EP01 was held on August 29, so it’s only been 3 days since Yeon and Ji Ah crossed paths at the wedding hall. 

“Long time no see, Lee Yeon.” What is it with Imoogi and choking Yeon?

Subs: “You should’ve let me go.”  More precisely: “I know, right? You should have let me go.”

Yeon’s final “What are you?” should probably have been subbed as: “I’m asking what you are!” since both his tone and phrasing have grown more insistent. 

Subs: Our ill-fated relationship would’ve ended if you hadn’t stopped the boat from crossing the Samdo River. More literally:

Jimoogi: Our ak’yeon should have ended. That is, if only you hadn’t stopped the boat from crossing the Samdocheon. 

The word the subs translated as ‘our ill-fated relationship’ is ‘ak’yeon’ (悪縁), which literally means ‘bad fate.’ In contrast to the broader, ‘destiny’ sort of fate (‘un’myeong’) however, ‘yeon’ (縁) is inherently relational. It refers specifically to the fate between two people (or even between a person and a place). ‘Ak’ (悪) means ‘evil.’ So 'ill-fated’ is a bit misleading as a translation since the word actually refers to the relationship between Yeon and Imoogi (i.e. mortal enemies), rather than the fact that Yeon and Ah Eum’s story ended tragically (as in, ‘an ill-fated love’). 

WAIT. Subs: “No. That woman is born with a face that only I can recognize. And I don’t see it in you.” What?? That doesn’t even make sense. Yeon’s line is: 

Yeon: No. That woman is born carrying a sign that only I can recognize. You don’t have it. 

Obviously, Yeon is referring to the fox bead, and I’m fairly sure that was apparent since the line was intercut with the scene in which he imparts the bead to Ah Eum, but that seems like a pretty critical line to fudge up. 

Jimoogi: “You really don’t know anything, do you, Lee Yeon?” It’s weird to me that they have Imoogi addressing Yeon as just ‘Yeon’ in the subs. That makes it seem like they’re friends or something...

Subs: “The scar is gone.” Actually: “The wound disappeared.” 

Deadball

Subs: “We hate each other too much to play catch. I actually meant to kill you.” Wait, WHAT?! Yeon’s line is: 

Yeon: Our relationship is too makjang for that. That was meant to be a deadball, actually. 

Makjang, for the uninitiated, is a slang word taken from the phrase ‘the final scene’ (‘majimak jangmyeon’) that has come to refer to an entire genre, as well as particular dramatic elements or conventions of Korean storytelling. Dramabeans explain the term here. When Yeon says his relationship with Rang is ‘makjang,’ he’s essentially saying it’s overly fraught, not that he hates his brother. 

He also doesn’t say he meant to kill Rang. ‘Deadball’ is a Korean baseball term for a pitch that hits a player (typically causing the game to be paused). So Yeon’s just saying he meant for the ‘ball’ to hit Rang, rather than for Rang to catch it. 

On a personal note, it really bothers me when the subs spread all over the internet and they’re wrong like this. I don’t mind slight changes in phrasing or wording, but when they grossly misrepresent the characters like this it can be a bit upsetting. It’s no wonder I sometimes feel like I watched a completely different drama. ㅠㅠ

Yeon’s cheeky smile™ XD

The BGM in this scene is actually ‘The Forest of the Agwi.’

Subs: “Run away.” Yeon’s line is quite literally: ‘Get away from here,’ or even, ‘put distance between here and you.’ I mention it because I really appreciated that, despite all the danger she confronts, Yeon never once tells Ji Ah to ‘run away’ (‘domang ga’). His second ‘run away’ in the subs is also just him telling her to hurry up (literally ‘go quickly’).

The following banter between the brothers is something I mentioned in an ask a while back because all the humour had been lost in translation. To recap, though, one recurring joke the show uses plays off the word for ‘bastard/son of a bitch,’ which translates literally as ‘child of a dog’ (kae-saekki). As you might imagine, this gets a lot of mileage in relation to Rang, our resident ‘baby fox’ (agi yeou) a.k.a. ‘child of a fox’ (yeou-saekki):

Rang: This is domestic violence, you know?

Yeon: (Nodding) They say you’re supposed to raise wild children* with a firm hand (literally: hit them as you raise them), but I couldn’t do that, so I ended up raising a fox child into a dog child (son of a bitch), didn’t I?

Rang: And who was the jerk who kicked that child (saekki) to the curb? You treat me like a stray dog any chance you get. 

Yeon: My little brother, I’ll have to gift you a muzzle this Christmas. 

Rang’s line was subbed: “You keep blaming it on me, when you were the one who turned me into an orphan.” which I find fairly problematic since that makes it sound like Yeon killed Rang’s parents. It’s also just plain wrong; to the extent that I’m not even sure what went wrong in the translation process. 

The word Yeon uses here for ‘wild children’ is ‘horo jashik’ (호로자식), which many Koreans understand to mean something like a barbarian child, but the true origin, as it turns out, is a parentless child. It’s also a term used predominantly by elderly people heh

Finally, because the dog jokes dropped out ‘muzzle’ became ‘mouth guard’ in the subs, which is both less funny and less sensical. The two are also conceptually opposed, since ‘muzzle’ implies that Yeon means to protect the world from Rang whereas ‘mouth guard’ is more about protecting Rang.

As Ji Ah continues to put distance between herself and the brothers, she happens upon the mudang’s house, which she immediately clocks as such from the obangi. 

I like that Ji Ah doesn’t immediately call the mudang out for lying, but instead continues to question her knowing she’s lying. Sometimes the lies people tell can be as telling as the truth. 

When Ji Ah questions her, the mudang tells her the fishing ritual is held during the ‘Ghost Festival’. This is a Buddhist festival similar to All Souls Day. In Korean it’s called ‘Baek Joong Nal’ (literally ‘hundred-gather-day’) meaning ‘the day when all the spirits gather.’ It falls on the full moon of the seventh lunar month (so July 15th of the lunar calendar), which is, of course, the date Ji Ah identified as the day when the murders were taking place. That’s why we get the zoom in and the flash to the newspaper dates: Ji Ah has put everything together. 

Chyron: “Obangi (五方旗) A five-colored flag symbolizing ‘life, death, illness, sacrifice, and ancestors’”. This is the quick quotes version. Obangi have their roots in the Chinese philosophy of Wuxing, but for more on that, I’ll refer you to Wikipedia. In Korea, the colors of the obangi (red, blue, white, black, and yellow) are known as the five orientation colors, and are closely tied to both shamanism and fortune telling. You’ll notice these same colors flying outside the fortune teller’s in EP06.

I also appreciated that Ji Ah didn’t just foolishly drink the tea here. She was properly on her guard. It’s only that she mis-identified the source of danger.

Back over to our fox brothers. Rang’s line is subbed: “That was plenty of time.” This is more properly: “I think I’ve bought more than enough time by now.” So he’s actually quite overt in telling Yeon exactly what he'd been up to.  

Subs: “Don’t you know why she ended up on this island?” More closely: “Do you still not get it? Why that woman ended up coming to this island of all places?” 

We see the mudang encircle the creepy well with burial ground evening primrose to ward against Yeon, who is currently searching the island for Ji Ah to no avail. 

Subs: “You tricked your mom while you were in her womb.” This is a bit difficult to translate. The word the mudang uses that was translated as ‘tricked’ is ‘ggweda,’ which means to ‘lure’ or ‘entice.’ So what she means is that the part of Imoogi that was reincarnated with Ji Ah ‘lured’ her mother to the island by sending her recurring dreams. 

Gumiho

Lol Yeon: “I am the original mountain spirit, the master of the mountains and streams. Lift this darkness and lead me to her!” This is more literally:

Yeon: I am the original mountain god, the master of your mountains and streams.* Part this darkness and lead me to that woman!

[*Note: ‘Mountains and streams’ here can also be taken to mean ‘nature’ at large.]

Lol The line is met with silence and the soft hoot of a lone owl. That’s basically the director’s version of *crickets* isn’t it?

This line is another rare case in which Yeon speaks archaically, and it serves to make the command sound more formal and potentially magical. It’s also worth noting that he’s addressing the forest directly as a whole here (thus the ‘your’). 

Fun fact: When Lee Dong Wook did his TotNT VLIVE, his promotional team made him perform this line again live just to mess with him haha

The BGM here as Yeon heads off through the forest led by his (supernatural?) fireflies is ‘Opening Title: The Legend of the Fox.’ It sounds vaguely Harry Potter-ish to me (not complaining). 

For the record, Ji Ah is now speaking to the mudang in banmal out of disdain. 

Sub: “Be a sacrifice. You are a very special child.” Pfft ‘Be a sacrifice’ sounds oddly funny to me. Her line is: “Become a sacrifice. I’m told you’re a very special child.” So the implication is that this information came from someone/something else. 

Does anyone know what BGM this is as Yeon sprints though the forest? I think it might be another unreleased track, but I’m not positive...

Yeon’s “Halt!” is once again in olden speech. It indicates linguistically that he's in Gumiho mode.  

Out of curiosity, is it not odd for people watching with subs when Ji Ah’s only utterance is ‘Lee Yeon’ but the subs just say ‘Yeon’? 

Subs: “This has nothing to do with the old master of the mountain. Why don’t you keep walking?” I would have translated this as: “It is a matter unrelated to the former master of the mountain. Beg, go along your way.” She’s once again using olden-speech in her second sentence.

Lol Sub: “Says the living corpse.” I like this sub. Yeon’s line is quite literally: “With the ‘juje’ of a living corpse...” ‘Juje’ is essentially your station or lot in life, and it’s used almost exclusively derogatorily. 

Sub: “Who was it that provided you with longevity you don’t deserve?” More closely: “Who was it? The one who gave you a lifespan so much longer than you deserve?”

Yeon: “I asked you whom you serve!” (literally ‘what’ you serve). Yeon once again drops into an archaic cant for this line. It serves to underline his full age and gives his demand an extra air of authority. 

Yeon’s TAILS. I can’t believe this was the last we saw of them. ㅠㅠ Personally, I interpreted the firey tails as being a sort of ‘shadow’/ projection of his actual tails, which I assumed were actually more physically there (since he talks about shampooing them in the teaser interview). My sister thinks differently, though. Guess we’ll never know...

The BGM for this sequence is naturally ‘Gumiho.’ If you read our EP01 breakdown, you’ll know I was fully expecting this to be Yeon’s theme. But no, it’s the whimsical 'The Fox’s Wedding Day’ instead haha

Okay, Yeon just casually smiting the mudang is pretty badass. Seeing as he can command lightning, I’m pretty sure he was joking when he told Ji Ah, ‘even gumiho are afraid of electricity.’ 

If by chance you wondered what was going though Yeon’s mind when he smote the mudang, it’s featured in the EP03 subtitle poster.

I appreciated that Yeon just accepts Ji Ah at her word here when she tells him all she needs from him is one arm for support. I feel like in most dramas the male lead would have just forcefully swept the heroine off her feet amidst her protests, which I always find more problematic than romantic.

For that matter, when it became clear that Ji Ah really did need help, I appreciated that she didn’t act shy or coy and just accepted being carried without making a big deal of it. 

Pfft The way Ji Ah’s eyes flash when Yeon tells her the mudang was just a human being says it all. 

Yeon: “So you say... Excuse me, but you nearly died just now, you know?” This line is once again cheekily in jondaetmal.

*Ominous close up of the well*

Thank You

We catch up with Shin Joo at the supermarket as he talks to Yeon over the phone. 

Shin Joo’s ‘PD-nim’ has once again become, ‘the director lady’ in the subs. *Sigh*

Subs: “Your love story is more than just famous among us.” Actually: “Just how famous is Lee Yeon-nim’s love story in our world? It’s obvious your younger brother* must have been playing tricks!” 

Shin Joo refers to Rang here as ‘donsaeng-bun’ (younger sibling + polite word for person) for the same reason he calls Rang, ‘Lee Rang-nim.’ It’s an extension of his regard for Yeon, rather than for Rang himself.

Lol Shin Joo hanging up on Yeon. His love for supermarkets and fried chicken are actually in his character profile. Apparently, they’re what convinced him living as a human was worth the existential crisis that came with it. 

Sub: “I’m too much of a human to easily fall asleep after such an event. Join me.” More literally: “I’m human, so on a day like today I can’t sleep sober. You* have a glass, too.”

The word Ji Ah uses for ‘you’ here is ‘ja’ne’ (자네), which is a polite term... except it’s only used to refer to people younger than you. So’s she’s talking down to him politely haha This is what prompts Yeon’s line that follows it:

Sub: “I never said anything since it could make seem old-fashioned, but you’re too informal with me when you don’t even know my age.”

 Yeon: I kept holding it in thinking you’d call me an old fart, but you’re [using] banmal really blatantly. Just how old do you think I am?”

Yeon’s ‘Just how old do you think I am?’ is rhetorical. It’s not that Ji Ah is necessarily unaware of his true age, but rather that she acts as if she is. 

Sub: “Those over 60 are universally considered as grandpas.” Actually: “You know everyone over 60 can be called a grandpa, right?”

Pfft Sub: “Be as informal as you like.” What Yeon literally says is, “Please lower your speech,” but he uses very respectful language to say it. I’m not sure if he’s being sarcastic, or if he just hates the thought of being considered a grandpa that much haha It’s probably a bit of both.

Aww Ji Ah promising to protect Yeon. I luff her. 

Ji Ah: "Do I perhaps have something you’re looking for?” I love that she doesn’t miss a thing.

Lol Yeon: “Who am I, Jesus? Just drink what you have.” 

The Vanishing

Subs: “Don’t ever resort to cursing people again. Karma can sting.” Quite literally: “You were lucky you kept your life, but don’t do such a thing* as cursing others ever again. They return, you know. Back on the one who casts them.” 

*Yeon uses the disparagement marker ‘ddaui’ (따위) to refer to the act of cursing someone here. You may recall it from our EP01 breakdown. 

Ji Ah chooses this moment to come running in to announce that the island has turned into a ghost town over night, which is enough to make even Yeon pause, perplexed.  

I love the way Yeon and Ji Ah exchange looks here on the dock. They don’ t know what’s up yet, but they intend to find out. 

‘Blue Moon’~~~ This worked great scored over the drone-camera pan out. I may be slightly biased, though.  

And that concludes Episode 3. Once again, thank you to everyone who commented or left feedback on the last episode! Never hesitate to send me your thoughts, even if they’re just to say what you found funny or surprising. It helps me to know what’s of interest for one thing, but I also just enjoy chatting about the show. ;)

A brief note on pronunciation/notation: for words like ‘sa’ingeom’ and ‘mi’ryeon,’ the apostrophe is there just as a pronunciation guide. So in the case of the former, to indicate that it’s pronounced ‘sah-in’ and not ‘sine’ or ‘sane.’ Similarly, for the latter, the apostrophe is just to indicate that this should be pronounced ‘mi-ryeon’ and not ‘mir-yeon.’ I could have just as easily done this with ‘Hyeon’ui’ong’ except that’s a lot of apostrophes and I set an earlier precedent of not. It’s not an aspiration or anything fancy. Hopefully that makes sense. 

Once again, I’d like to credit my sister for being the main researcher and fact-checker for these, in addition to weighing in on all the translations. I don’t always take her advice, but I do always appreciate it haha. 

Thank you also to everyone who bought us coffee! Your support is truly felt and appreciated ♡ As usual, this took an ungodly amount of time, so every coffee helps haha. For anyone just joining us (or not), if you’d like to see more of these, please consider buying us a coffee. If you follow the link, you can buy a $2 cup of virtual coffee. This helps me to gauge how much interest there is, and also how much value people place on these. If you cared enough to read all the way to the end, please at least consider it. Once I’ve established there’s enough interest, I’ll proceed with Episode 4. ;)

#tale of the nine tailed #totnt #lost in translation #구미호뎐 #kdrama #korean language #happy new year!

[incorrecttwoset]

Lesson time with Dani:

I think the lesson we all learned here today is that I probably shouldn't look down on kpop too much. But then, I have listened to a lot of vocaloid and read along with the lyrics which get pretty intense sometimes. I would give examples but Prof. Nic has gone through many a phase and I cannot remember all of them. (And some i dont want to remember)

So, lets get on with the... songs? Pieces? Lyrics? Shall we?

1. Opera: Verdi - La Travita, Aria: Sempre Libera (Always Free), Character: Violetta. Lol i seriously thought that this was a pop song I havent heard of. But when i realized how this game was gonna go, aka when they revealed that it was opera and a translation thing, i stepped up my guessing game. But like SERIOUSLY THOOOOO. Who could've known? (Probably the singer or a person who actually understands the language) But damn son. Quiz-sama ain't playin aROUND.

2. Pop: Arianna Grande - Imagine. When i read the lyrics, i knew iMMEDIATELY. Why wouldn't I when I live with a sister who blared this fucking sing day in and out. (No offense sis, no offense Arianna) But like, when i saw that Twoset thought this was an opera? Oh bOI. Thank goodness I'm great at controlling my reactions. Because fam, I would've laughed my ass off in disbelief like what the fuck. I'd understand Brett's ignorance but Eddy too? Damn. (Brett's lofi intensifies)

3. Pop: Billie Eilish - . I honestly thought that this was like- okay, my thought process had phases. First sentence I thought "okay this sounds like that one Arianna Grande song." When I got to the "set fire" part, I thought "adele?" And then when i read "burn", i thought "is this that really old song? The "and im gonna let it burn burn burn" thing?" As you can see, all my song guesses were wrong. At least I got the genre. And like me, the bois were learning. (Cue that bear grylls meme)

4. Opera: Tchaikovsky- Eugene Onegin, Aria: Ya lyublyu vas, Olga (I love you, Olga), Character: Lensky. Like what Eddy said, this one's pretty obvious. Also, "I can see why people like opera now. I'm getting old." "Why yes, I do love opera as well." I say, a not legally an adult person. But like, seriously tho. Opera is good. Granted, I havent listened to a lot and to be frank the only opera I've listened to all the way is the Magic Flute but like- its good stuff. Only thing I want is to be able to appreciate it better. (Also check out Patricia Janeckova's recording of the Doll Song. I love it, its wonderful)

5. Opera: Donizetti - Lucia di Lammermoor, Aria: Il Dolce Suono (The Sweet Sound), Character: Lucia. I'll admit that Eddy's singing threw me off a lil but I guessed opera. With... not a lot of conviction. Sounded like something Lana del Rey would write okay.

6. Opera: Mozart - Don Giovanni, Aria: Madamina, il catalogo e questo (Dear lady, this is the list), Character: Leporello. I thought that this was either some really obscure rap, or weird opera. I couldn't decide so I just let it play out. When I saw it was opera, I was confused. Then, I wasn't because I saw that Mozart wrote it. I swear, Mozart would make a killing as a rapper or some kind of foulmouthed idol if he was born in modern times. Also, small Edwina and Brettany cameo!!!!!

7. Opera: Bizet - Carmen, Aria: Tout Doux, Moniseur (Softly, Sir), Character: Carmen. Honestly, by this point of the video (when I watched it for the first time) I was just straight guessing opera. Although, if the lyrics were rephrased, this line could fit in perfectly somewhere in a pop song. And also, I did not expect the dRAMATICNESS of the singing when they played that excerpt. Like, wOW OKAY. I mean it makes sense for Carmen as a character... and the language they used it in... and the style of opera... okay I really can't say anything about the extraness can I?

8. Pop: Billie Eilish - No time to die. I knew it was pop. (Rhyme scheme and lyric pattern and subject matter too predictable babey) But the fact that it was by Billie Eilish was what confused me. Idky, but them lyrics givin me Taylor Swift vibes. Or Lana del Rey vibes if you slow it down and make it "dreamy".

9. KPOP: Blackpink - Kill this love. This one was sUUUUUPER ambiguous to me. It was very eloquent and poetic in a sense. But then it also gave out pop vibes. I couldn't answer though I leaned more towards opera. But when i saw that it was Blackpink's Kill this love? My brain melted out my ears. I mEAN ITS IN KOREAN ITS A TRANSLATION THING. That still doesn't excuse the fact that im very- aSDFGHJKL about it.

10. Opera: Dvorak - Rusalka, Aria: Mesicku na nebi hublokem (Song to the moon), Character: Rusalka. This one was very obviously opera to me. But dem kpop lyrics threw me for a loop man! I went opera but yall, I was dOUBTING.

11. Pop: Charlie Puth - Attention. Was there really any need to guess this one? Although, if you've never been exposed to pop music and are hearing them for the first time then thats okay. We're all learning.

12. Opera: Mozart - Cosi Fan Tutte (All Women Do It), Aria: In Uomini in Soldati (In men, in soldiers), Character - Despina. I sincerely thought that this was a really obscure rap. And I wasn't surprised when it said that Mozart wrote this opera. (His creepy smiling face tho...)

13. Pop: Justin Bieber - Sorry. Like I said in number 11, was there really any need to guess. And Brett's (albeit braindead) singing of Super Junior's Sorry Sorry is- aUGHCK MY STAN HEART. I WAS ALREADY SLAUGHTERED BY HIM WEARING THE VIOLIN BUTTON UP AND HIS ADORABLENESS AND HIS DADDYNESS OTHER NON ADORABLE QUALITIES. Ughhhhh. Jesus christ i really have to simp for Brett in each of these posts huh?

14. Pop: Taylor Swift - Delicate. I thought that this was fOR SURE an Arianna Grande song. Because of that one song with the sleep thing. But ugh, Eddy's assumption of the song was just too good not to be mentioned. (And also because i need to fill these paragraphs but like- dat voice dow) And oh gOD SEEING THEM LAUGH TOGETHER AND VIBE LIKE THAT? IM- wow look I just died of blood loss.

15. KPOP: BTS - On. Brett picking opera and falling off his chair is me. Quiz-sama. Mercy. Mercy pLEASE. Dude, translated kpop is intense.

Also editor-san was on fIRE TONIGHT. The sass was very string today. Fuck, i LOVE IT. Wait. Holy shit I just realized something. Editor-san, subtitler-san, and quiz-sama. The holy trinity of subtle twoset humor and behind the screen action. The cast is huge and i am a simp for all of them.

#lesson time with dani #you know i was gonna save this lil tag section for editor-san appreciation and brett simping #but turns out i already did those two things in the actual post #so instead im gonna talk about how beautiful twoset looks on tv. #yes. #my first viewing of this video was on my tv. #my god the dETAIL #the cLARITY #the aCTUALLY NOT BLURRY FOR ONCE #it is an experience that i cannot describe #because its just so- ASDFGHJKL #and also it is 1 am and my brain is falling apart as we speak #i probably shouldn't have procrastinated on this post #twosetviolin #twoset violin #twoset #eddy chen #brett yang #editor-san #editor san #subtitler-san #subtitler san #quiz sama #quiz-sama #opera #opera music #pop #pop music #kpop #kpop music

[atamascolily]

An Appointment in Sawarra, 9/?

In which Luke is sorely vexed.

(previously: one two three four five, six seven eight)

The official reason they wouldn't let him fly the X-wing through the Ring--their name for the neutron star cluster--was safety, though Luke suspected security and paranoia were equal concerns. His brain turned to mush from the interminable paperwork, Luke met this turn of unexpected turn of events with as much grace as he could muster.

It wasn't as if he had much in the way of luggage--just the simple rucksack he'd packed with a few changes of clothes, back when he'd thought this would be a simple trip out and back again. He should have known it wasn't going to work out that way.

<i>"I have a feeling you may be gone longer than you think,</i> Mara had said back on Coruscant. Her hunch had been spot-on. Luke was starting to get the same feeling--though like her, he wasn't sure whether it was good or bad yet.

If Karrde's contact could help him with the uneti seeds, all of this would be worth it. If not--well, he'd been on wild bantha chases on much less cause. And perhaps he could use the time in transit to learn more about his mysterious hosts.

The journey through the Ring was uneventful to the point of boring. In theory, Luke was allowed the run of the transport. In practice, they treated him as a bizarre cross between an honored guest and a poltical prisoner, and he didn't understand why.

Luke's attempts to coax out information out of the rank and file proved fruitless. The crew pretended that he wasn't there, with no eye contact or acknowledgement of his presence unless he spoke to them directly. Even then, they were curt almost to the point of rudeness, reverting to cursory nods or gestures whenever possible. Despite the translator box looped prominently around Luke's wrist, they refused to speak anything but simple Basic in his presence, making conversation about anything more complex than the direction to the 'fresher impossible.  

Eventually, he gave up and retreated to his assigned quarters for the remainder of the journey. The room was simple and spartan, the only spots of color a holographic image of a flower arrangement and calligraphy scroll on the shelf over the bed. Luke didn't recognize any of the flowers, and the translator was voice-only, leaving him effectively illiterate--an oversight, he realized now. He sat cross-legged on the bed and tried to meditate, but he couldn't let go of the thoughts swirling around his head.  

Why had the authorities let him enter Sawarran space if they clearly didn't want him? Either they weren't as xenohobic as Leia and Winter had claimed, or they had mellowed considerably since throwing off the Empire and declaring their independence. Neither of those explanations fit the evidence. Why, then, had they made an exception for him? Because he was a Jedi?

Luke had grown used to people treating him differently once they learned he was a Jedi--sometimes with awe and reverence, sometimes with gestures to ward off the evil eye. The customs agents been intrigued, but not impressed, by Luke's lightsaber and his claimed occupation. It was his connection to Yoda, of all people--a direct, tangible connection, as teacher and student--that had captured their attention.

What was Yoda to these people? And, more importantly, <i>why</i>?  

Their arrival in Ri'tarn City a few hours after local dawn was routine to the point of anticlimax. Luke didn't know what he'd expected--a parade? a riot? another horde of bureaucrats?--but there was nothing and no one waiting for him at the docking bay. He was escorted politely but firmly off the ship by the crew and abandoned outside in the bustling street.

"Hey!" Luke shouted at their rapidly retreating figures. "What am I supposed to do now?"

The leader turned back long enough to shrug and gestured off to the side. "Temple that way," he said in Basic, and hastened off after the rest of his squad.

Luke stared, blinking in the morning sunlight, as the crowd bustled around him on the cobbled street past elegant wooden townhouses with open-air shops on the lower levels. They'd let him come here, to a place where foreigners were never supposed to come... and now they were letting him wander around unsupervised?

Then again, he thought, taking in the dark skin and voluminous, colorful robes in the press of people around him, maybe the authorities didn't need to hold his hand to track his movements. Between his pallor and his tightly cut clothing, he stood out like a Wookiee at a Jawa family reunion.

He was relieved and confused to be left to his own devices so abruptly---and, he had to admit, more than a little insulted. He'd been prepared for anything--except, apparently, total indifference. No one in the bustling street was paying the slightest bit of attention to him, the crowd parting around him like a crowd of Coruscanti swoop-bike racers around a cloudcutter.

That, too, was unnerving.

He was alone on a strange planet outside the New Republic's jurisdiction--and, thanks to the pulsars of the Ring, no means to contact anyone on the outside should things go sideways, except through the Force.

Thankfully, <i>that</i> still worked. He could probably reach Leia in a pinch if he violated some taboo by mistake, though she wouldn't thank him if he ended up triggering an intergalactic incident.

<i>Why am I here? What do THEY think I'm supposed to do?</i>

<i>Pay your respects</i>, the head customs agent had said.

"My respects to what?" Luke said aloud. "Yoda is <i>dead</i>. How does this even make <i>sense</i>?"

The crew's mention of a temple intrigued him. Perhaps there were answers waiting for him there. But that wasn't why he was here. He needed to find Dr. Mendoza at the university and ask her about the seeds. Maybe she could help with the other mysteries, too.

But he had to find her first.

***

Luke had assumed it would be easy enough to locate the university with the address Karrde had given him, but it quickly became clear that Ri'tarn City, like everything else in this system, was determined to make even simple tasks an ordeal. Whatever rhyme, reason or logic underlay the streets was nothing like standard grid/level system for ships, stations, and Coruscanti high-rises. Signs were few and far between, not that he could read them anyway.

Meanwhile, the inhabitants seemed intent on thwarting his efforts through sheer indifference. As with the transport crew, none of them would acknowledge his presence unless Luke forced them to. Even then, they refused to meet his eyes or say much beyond the simplest gestures when he asked for directions. Even the wooden seal representing his visa didn't impress them.

The only exception to the general impassivity were the children, who stared openly as he passed, pointing in his direction and giggling among themselves, only to flee if Luke approached them. The contrast between the stoic adults and their offspring made the former's stoic unconcern even eerier.

The sun inched its way across the sky overhead, bright and hot as he wended his way through the streets, increasingly lost and confused. He was thirsty, but there was no sign of water anywhere, and none of the shops he passed would serve him.

A high, piercing alien cry came from overhead. Luke looked up to see feathery lizards gliding overhead, a welcome breeze breaking the heat with a distinctive salt tang. Was it his imagination, or were those ocean waves in the distance?

Out of ideas, he wended his way in the direction of the flying lizards, hoping it would somehow get him to the university. The docks didn't seem like the typical site for an institution of higher learning, but maybe the Sawarrans did things differently here. Either that, or the entire population was in on some big joke they weren't going to share with Luke.

He came around the corner to find himself on the edge of a stark, man-made seawall a dozen meters above the bay--or would be a bay if there were any water in it. A bare tidal flat stretched to the horizon in an endless expanse of sand, a mockery to his hopes. There was no sign of anything even remotely approaching a university, only crabs skulking in and out of their burrows as they dodged the attentions of flocks of hungry lizards wheeling and diving from above.

"Maybe I should have gone to the temple after all," Luke said, to no one in particular, slumping against the wall.

He was tired and thirsty, light-years from home on a strange planet where no one would meet his eyes, let alone talk to him. He'd been here for hours there was no sign of Karrde's contact, and now he was faced with yet another dead end. <i>How did I get into this mess?</i> he wondered, not for the first time.  

He hadn't been this off-balance since--since his first trip to Dagobah, actually. <i>Maybe that's why they like Yoda so much</i>, Luke thought sourly. <i>Or maybe they're testing me, the way Yoda tested me at first?</i>

<i>I failed that test back then. I won't fail this one, too.</i>

He had to be missing something, something obvious.

He leaned against the sea wall, and stared out into the distance, struggling to calm his racing thoughts. <i>Think. Think. Think. There's got to be some sort of key. What am I missing here?</i>

Something shimmered on the edge of the horizon.

<i>Wait.</i>

It wasn't his imagination. There was a tower rising out of the tidal flat, with what looked to be a small city at its base, far enough away that he hadn't noticed it on first glance.

There were no signs at this distance, of course, but Luke <i>knew</i> what he was looking at. It was the university. Had to be. What <i>else?</i> could it be?

He squinted. There was no bridge or road leading to the tower from the mainland. The buildings rose out of the sand, shimmering like a desert mirage in the afternoon heat, completely disconnected from the mainland.

"You have got to be kidding me," Luke said in dismay.

It made a weird kind of sense, though. Who needed roads when you had speeders? Or, when the tide was in, boats.

Luke scanned his surroundings. He was alone on the sea wall, the wind whipping through his hair, lacking both a speeder and a boat. The only way he was going to get out to that hazy tower on the horizon was under his own power.

This was stupid and crazy and pointless, and he ought to just give up and go home, but it was too late for that. He'd come this far.

But he'd done plenty of stupid things over the course of his life, both before and after joining the Rebellion. And at least this time, nobody was shooting at him.

"All right, then," Luke sighed. "I guess I'm doing this."

He stripped off his boots and socks, and stuffed them into his rucksack, wishing he'd brought a hat to protect himself from the broiling sun. Then he jumped down onto the tidal flat, landed with a roll, and set off barefoot across the sandy expanse towards the tower.

#an appointment in sawarra #fanfic excerpt

[treatian]

The Chronicles of the Dark One:  The Dark Curse

Chapter 136:  No Answers to Wrong Questions

It was time to get on with it. He couldn't bear to wait anymore. He'd followed through with his plan, waited a good long time to see if the Blue Fairy went back to his tower, but he never received any warnings that someone was in his territory, and he never felt anything from the spells attached to the Dark Curse. The only thing he was questioning at the moment was the location of his caretaker. And, of course, the questions he had for his mother. He had them all lined out in his mind and he's spent the last few minutes going over them in his head, one after another. Why did she create the curse? What was her anticipated result? Did he have to worry about anything? Would his plan work? Was there anything he should know but didn't?

He was ready. The sooner this was done, the sooner he could return the baby and find Belle. With a deep breath, he moved the child to the middle of the clearing. He could have pulled the paper Belle had written the translation on out of his pocket, but it was only two lines, lines he'd read so many times since he'd take it that he'd memorized it. Dagger already in hand, he looked up at the sky he could see through the patch in the trees.

"Let the night sky tremble, as the Dark Star shall fall. Awake, Black Fairy, and heed my call!"

Now that was the reaction he'd sought out the night he'd attempted to summon the Red Fairy. A stir of the wind but a rush of magic. His voice had echoed from it. And as he saw a violet light appear in the sky and buzz about like a firefly growing above him, his heart started to hammer so that he felt it everywhere in his body. He felt it beat in his neck, slam against his ribs, jump into his throat, and pulse in his fingers. Suddenly a thought dawned on him that he hadn't ever considered until now. This was the first time that he was about to meet his mother. This was the first time he'd be able to talk to her, the first memory he'd ever have with her!

All at once, as the light drew closer and bigger and flashed before him, the entire clearing suddenly felt smaller than it had ever felt before.

She was sparkling, that was significant. So long as she was sparkling she could disappear, see him, spook and leave. That was why she'd brought little Gideon to begin with. She was used to collecting unwanted children, probably alone and in the middle of nowhere or from their scared mothers. He didn't want to be the first thing she saw, not until she stopped sparkling. He raced quickly off to the side of the clearing, leaving a clear view of the baby in the basket.

And then she was there. The sparkling stopped and crouched on the ground in a black uniform that was perhaps a bit too risqué for the Blue Fairy, but still fairy-like all the same, was the Black Fairy. Fiona. His mother. Attracted to the sounds of Gideon's squeals, she looked right at him, smiled, and took a step forward.

And suddenly, he felt an unexpected tug on his heart, a pain as he realized that it was that easy without any idea why or how, without any rhyme or reason she would pick this child up and take it away with her. But she couldn't have been bothered to do the same for him? All those years with his father, years of wishing for something more, yearning for a mother, wanting someone to take him away…she'd shown up for hundreds of children, but never once for her own?

When he stepped forward, he felt like he could hardly breathe. "I'm afraid I can't let you get ahold of that baby!" he growled. "Not yet, anyway."

"Who dares summon me?" she demanded, but he was the one in control, he was the one who had questions, he was the one who deserved answers! He'd deserved them since his birth! For heaven's sake, he'd always been told that his father had named him…did she even know her son's name? Did she know anything about him?!

In a second, he withdrew from his pocket a small vial of something rare that would keep her here in this world, at least for a time, at least so he could finally get his questions answered. Immediately the magic within the vial moved over her in a cloud of black and purple. A small but visible shimmer around her made it obvious that it was working.

"Squid ink!" he announced, letting the vial drop to the ground. "Nasty stuff."

For a moment, there was nothing but silence between them as his mind struggled to grasp at the questions about the Curse he'd come armed with. But then she smiled at him, a sickening nasty smile that made him want to sneer until he realized…

He'd seen her face before! Not just in the drawing his father had done, he'd seen this face before! Pale skin, high cheekbones, black eyes, and that smile, that exact sneer! He'd seen it in the first vision he'd ever gotten from the Seer! This wasn't the exact moment he'd seen though. That smile had been in the day time, this was night time. He was going to meet her again. One day, beyond now, he was going to see her again. How? Why? And what was it the Seer had told him when he'd seen her face? Something about a final battle?

"Rumpelstiltskin…"

Her voice snapped him out of his memory. She knew his name. His father named him, but his mother knew his name.

"So, you know who I am."

"Oh, who hasn't heard of the Dark One?"

He felt his eyes swell, felt them water like they hadn't for decades. Was he truly tearful? Over her? Because she knew him by reputation but had no idea that at the moment she was staring into the eyes of her son? She didn't deserve tears. So why was he so willing to give them.

"And if you've heard of me, you know that squid ink won't hold me long."

No, not long at all. He had to ask his questions. What were his questions? What had he wanted to talk to her about?!

"Oh, I know," he muttered. He was stalling, searching his brain, circling her and finally walking away all in an attempt to clear his brain of that face. "That's why…I have this," he stated, flourishing his dagger.

"And how exactly do you plan on using that?" she questioned with interest. Interest...she'd never shown any interest in him.

"Well, that all depends on how you answer one simple question. You steal babies, steal them from their mothers' arms, so why, of all the babies, in all of the realms, why did you abandon the one child who was actually yours?"

That wasn't the right question. It wasn't anything like he'd come here to ask! Why had he asked it? Why didn't he correct it? And why did the sudden look of fear in Fiona's eyes make him feel like his heart was going to stop?

"No. No, it can't be."

"Oh, I'm afraid it can be…Mother."

Her facial expression hardly changed, but in her eyes, he could see shock and horror. Truly, she hadn't known? Hadn't even stayed around for long enough to learn her child's name? Instead, she'd rushed off, become a fairy, created a curse, and left him to become…this!

She should be ashamed. She should be horrified! He hoped her heart was splitting in two.

"That's right. Rumpelstiltskin is your son. Of course, you would know that…had you bothered to even give me a name. And now you are gonna answer my question," he growled, wondering how his legs had somehow dragged him right back to where she was so that she was looking deep into the bottomless pit of her eyes. "Why did you abandon me?"

He could feel everything. His heart beating. His lungs holding the air in his chest. The crawl on his skin, the dagger in his hand, the wetness moving into his eyes.

And then she laughed. High and breathy, it reminded him of his father when he'd been playing mind games with him. And that smile...he wanted to take his dagger and cut it right out of her face!

"Funny that the Dark One should ask such a thing. Sometimes you have to choose power over love."

He could feel everything, and he could hear everything too. Behind him, now there was another heartbeat, one that he hadn't accounted for. The baby cried, and when he looked over his shoulder, he half hoped to see the Apprentice come to help as he'd planned. But the person holding the baby wasn't a man in a red cloak, it was a woman in a cloak that he'd made for her.

Belle.

The sight of her was sobering.

She was in danger. She had no power to protect her against the Black Fairy.

The Curse, he'd meant to ask her about the Curse!

But Belle couldn't stay! And soon enough the ink would-

"Time's up!"

When he turned back to his mother, he was struck by a hand around his neck. Magic pulsed into him through that hand, Dark Magic, magic that made him feel like his own magic was on overload. Normally that kind of power made him stronger. Now, he just felt entirely overwhelmed. It was enough to keep him still, but as long as her focus was on him and not Belle…he prayed she'd take the baby and run.

"No more answers for you today," his mother taunted. "Guess you'll just have to keep on wondering…son!"

With a vile laugh, she tossed him across the clearing with so much force he landed back several feet. The pulse of magic gone, he was quick to try and get to his feet and chase after her. But she was gone. He managed to run a few steps, but stopped as the violet light he'd seen upon her arrival grew smaller and then disappeared altogether. Through a portal back to another land.

She was gone.

Gone…

And he was here, left alone in this world just like he had been since he was a baby. One parent had gone before he'd had a name, the other before he could begin school and read her name off a single drawing of her, and all of the sudden he had an urge to break into tears in a way he hadn't since he was a child! To sit by a window and stare at the sky and beg her to come back, apologize for anything he'd done, for whatever way he'd hurt her, if she'd just come back and take him away. How was it possible to love and hate someone all at once?

"I understand now."

Belle's voice across the clearing was crisp. It was clear and close. But it wasn't right. He didn't know what she thought she understood, but he knew she didn't. When he thought of all the times he'd observed her over the years and her father had been at her side, he knew that she couldn't possibly understand at all. Not a single bit.

"I mean…you didn't deserve what she did, but sacrificing the life of an innocent child is not the answer. No matter how much pain you're in."

He would have laughed if it didn't remind him so much of his parents. Foolish woman…he agreed with her, and that was why he'd never intended to give the child to her. He'd intended to get his answers and whisk the child away before anything bad could happen.

His answers…he'd never get his answers. He should never have brought up that he was her son, she might have actually given him answers to the things he needed to know if he hadn't let his emotions, his weakness get the better of him. Belle may have been foolish, but what did that make him?

"No one knows anything about my pain," he hissed over his shoulder at her. And then he left her there in the clearing as he went back to the castle. If she'd managed to get there and find him all on her own, then she could bring the baby back on her own as well.

#Rumbelle #Rumple #Rumpelstiltskin #Dark One #Belle #Black Fairy #ouat #ouat fanfiction #fanfic

[northisnotup]

If you are still taking them - 15. I've had a rough day and honestly all I want right now is a drink and someone to cuddle with. For Obiqui?

OKay, as I need to post SOMETHING for May the 4th (be with you) and this idea has been rattling around my brain like a bird in the egg of the bird in the nest of the nest on the branch of the branch on the tree, of the tree in the hole of the hole in the ground of the bog down in the valley, oh - you’re getting the Under The Tuscan Sun au! (though rest assured I had like 7 other ideas for this prompt. it was a GOOD prompt, my friend)

Qui-Gon froze in the street, craning his head and leaving his ice cream to drip over his knuckles to look at, almost through Obi-Wan and sigh. “You’re so boring.” He said quietly, almost to himself as he continued walking.

Struck still in affronted shock, Obi-Wan almost lost the other man to the crowd before he could catch up and demand an explanation for the rare overt rudeness. (For in their short acquaintance - the mysterious flirtation, helpful advice and good company could lend itself to no other description in Obi-Wan’s mind - Qui-Gon could be sly, with dry wit and the vague confusing advice of a holo-net actor pretending to be a Jedi, but he was rarely outright rude!) “Excuse me?”

“You’re boring!” Qui-Gon did him the favor of not even pretending to choose nicer words. “Look at you, you’re sad - again.” In the short time they’d been parted he had attended to the stray cream across his knuckles and Obi-Wan was embarrassed to be upset he had missed seeing it cleaned. 

Obi-Wan dodged another market-goer as Qui-Gon jubilantly embraced a passing fruit seller, kissing the being on both cheeks as was custom here. 

Here, a planet that up until three months ago, Obi-Wan had never set foot on. Where he bought a five century old villa, sight unseen because he was lonely and heartbroken and the man a few meters ahead of him, lapping at an ice cream cone, joking about wine prices had asked if he was going to get it, and when Obi-Wan said ‘No, no that would be an awful idea,’ winked, and said:

“Don’t you just love those?”

So now he had a beautiful, run-down old house, on a run-down plot of land it would take two bantha’s two days to plough. Having neither a bantha nor a plough, Obi-Wan took the seller’s word on that. His neighbors were a family of local politicians who had a great amount of money due to their flourishing fields and winery. Obi-Wan had one fruit which clung stubbornly to a withered vine. He had a group of contractors, foreign, like him, who have adopted him as one of their own. He had a broken heart, a failed marriage and the near ever present company of a man who flirted like he breathed but seemed to view Obi-Wan as a mentee or perhaps some sort of stray, pathetic life form.

He’s stayed silent too long. Qui-Gon looped back, a bag heavy with fragrant fruit on his arm and placed his melting iced cream to Obi-Wan’s lips. “Here, try this.”

The taste burst on his tongue, rich and silky with just the slightest sharp bite as he swallowed. “That is gorgeous.” He said, helplessly leaning back into the hand splayed across the small of his back, leading him Gods know where through the cobbled streets.

“Isn’t it? I love ice cream. It is because of ice cream, I am who and where I am today.”

“Oh?” Despite himself, Obi-Wan hung on to every word, but stole the ice cream for another bite.

“I was an awful child, you must know. An absolute hellion as a teen and my dear friend and teacher, Yoda found me outside an ice cream shop the third time I ran away from home. I thought for sure he was going to drag me back by the hair, and instead he bought me an ice cream and had me take a walk with him. He said, and please forgive the translation, his syntax gives me headaches to this day, he said ‘You have to live spherically. In many directions at once. Never lose your spark of life, and things will work out as they are meant to.’ How are the renovations going?“

Obi-Wan blinked through the conversational whiplash, swallowing a large bite of the treat and handing it back as he thought. He was long past trying to sort out rhyme or reason for Qui-Gon’s patterns and had decided during his third conversation with the man to accept the twists and turns as they came. This one, though, was exceptionally bitter as Obi-Wan, in the privacy of his own mind, blamed his acquisition of the house on Qui-Gon and his flights of fancy. He sighed, longing for the sweet red wine waiting for him. “It is going. Anakin, at least is flourishing, he loves the challenge. Cody and Rex bicker constantly -”

“The married couple who could be clones of one another?” 

“Yes - exactly, and if Plo finds one more addition not included in the plans the council had on file I am afraid he is going to burn the house down with me inside it.” Obi-Wan laughed bitterly. “I keep thinking, why am I doing all this work? Why - I have a death trap of a home that suits a life I do not and have never had.”

His ‘spark of life’ must be flickering because Qui-Gon actually stopped to look at him, worried lines replacing the laugher creases Obi-Wan often admired from the corner of his eyes. “Sorry. I told you I wasn’t good company today.”

 Abandoning their game of tug-o-war with the ice cream, Qui-Gon tossed it in an organic waste bin - just as well, the cone had started to go soft - and cupped his face, tenderly stroking his cheekbones with callused thumbs. “Yoda always said ‘regrets are just the past crippling you in the present,’ my dear. Tell me. What is it you want?”

Blinking hard, Obi-Wan looked up to the sky, both to will away the tears that wanted to form and to avoid Qui-Gon’s piercing gaze. “I want - I want everything I thought I had. I have a house with three bedrooms and no one but me to sleep in them. I have a kitchen and no one to cook for, I wake up in the middle of the night and think I must be the stupidest man in the galaxy.”

“What do you want.” Two fingers stroked the nape of his neck as gentle and insistent as the voice of the man they belonged to. 

“I -” 

Admitting to wanting things he was never going to get was something Obi-Wan grew out of when he was still a child. Wanting did not change what was.

Qui-Gon sighed, tugged him closer and angled his head all at once. Obi-Wan felt his face flame as someone rushed past him, close enough to rustle the fabric of his robes. They were still in the clutter of the market square, an oddity among oddities and though no one was paying any mind, he still felt horribly exposed. “Did you know I hunted ladybugs as a child?”

“No?”

Conversation with Qui-Gon always flowed like a river. Deceptively mild, but with a wicked undertow.

“I would chase them for hours and eventually give up and fall asleep in the grass, and when I woke up - they would be crawling all over me.” His voice was just loud enough to be heard over the crowd-noise but it was the vibration of the low-rumble of it echoing between them that dragged Obi-Wan’s eyes back down. The frown lines started to smooth away, leaving Qui-Gon’s expressive face desolate and blank.

“Are you telling me I just need to be patient?” Obi-Wan wanted desperately to wet his suddenly dry mouth but couldn’t break away even if his life depended on it. In many ways, he felt more like a butterfly being pinned to a board than a child in search of discovery. 

“I am telling you to consider the ladybug. Why do they fly away when someone chases them only to come around when they are not being sought out?” 

“Come home with me.” Tongue turned to cold metal, Obi-Wan cast about his suddenly blank mind to try and find any words to forgive, excuse or explain himself but could only part his lips in surprise when Qui-Gon grinned. 

“My dear, I thought you would never ask.”

#quiobi #my fic #prompt fic #qui-gon/obi-wan #the star wars thing is not my fault #star wars #punsbulletsandpointythings #the under the tuscan sun au

[stopforamoment]

Margarita Challenge: Margarita Date Night

My complete masterlist is at the end of my bio.

Book: The Royal Romance (After Book Three) Pairing: Bastien Lykel x OC Rinda (Parks) Lykel Word Count: 1,145   Rating: M for Language

Author’s Note and Drabble Summary—I was tagged by @bobasheebaby for the @blackcatkita margarita challenge. Rinda is taste testing margaritas and getting drunk off her ass. Obligatory disclaimer that Pixelberry Studios owns the TRR characters and my pocketbook with those darn diamond scenes. Rinda with all of her quirks is all mine. 

Thank you @asherella-is-a-dork-3 and @bobasheebaby  for always being my sounding board! Thank you @silviasutton1989 ​ @riseandshinelittleblossom​ @tornbetween2loves @sirbeepsalot @innerpostmentality @kennaxval @strangerofbraidwood @sawyeroakleyscowboyhat @begging-for-kamilah @teamtomsato for still being a part of the journey!

Margarita Date Night

“Come on. Just a tiny, tiny sip. Pleeeeaaaseee?????” She thrust the straw in Bastien’s face. “Here. Put it in your mouth. Just the tip. See how it tastes.” Rinda was drunk. Bastien took her to a Mexican restaurant for date night, and what started with Bastien encouraging his indecisive Tria order a few different flavors of margaritas eventually turned into a full-on bender. She somehow convinced the bartender to start mixing different flavored concoctions of margaritas, and now the people sitting next to them were dragged into the taste testing. Bastien shook his head and booped Rinda’s nose. “No, Tria. No banana margaritas. I’ll try the next one. I promise.” Suddenly it clicked with a very tipsy Rinda that her husband hated bananas. “Oh, Tiger. I am the shittiest wife for forgetting. I’m so sorry.” She took a big swig of the banana concoction. “Oh, you aren’t missing anything. This tastes like ass.” She turned to the person next to her. “This tastes like ass. Total ass. Wanna try it?” Bastien was snickering as the person took a sip, shuddered, and passed it on to the next person who wanted to see what tasted so bad. “Okay. Next one is . . . um . . . orange mango!” “Tria, I love you, but are you making this up or have you actually had this before?” She looked at Bastien with solemn eyes as she grabbed his shirt to pull him closer. “I can’t tell you. It’s a secret. Sssshhhhh! They’ll hear you!” She managed to put a finger up to her mouth to motion that they had to be quiet. Rinda suddenly started giggling uncontrollably. “Sssshhhh. I said to be quiet. We’re causing a ruckus.Quick. Act natural.” She leaned back and grabbed her drink, trying to take a sip from the straw. But the straw moved. Rinda looked like a cow chewing its cud as she moved her lips in a desperate attempt to grab the straw. Finally Bastien held the straw in place so Rinda could reach it . . . and accidentally shove it up her nose. “Ow. Please help.” Bastien took the drink from Rinda, held the straw, and gently guided it into her mouth. She took a greedy slurp and then gasped in pain. “Brain freeze. Brain freeze. Oh. Fuck. Ow. Brain freeze.” Now Bastien was applying pressure points to her temples to help the shooting pain go away. Then Rinda handed the glass to Bastien, who took a small sip directly from the glass. “Mmm. That one’s actually really good, Tria. What next?” He discretely pulled out the straw that had been in his wife’s nose before handing the drink to the person sitting next to him. However, he wasn’t discreet enough. “Tiger. He needs a straw. Bring that back. I’ll get you a straw.” Rinda reached over the bar to grab a straw that she could plop into the drink, but she missed the glass and the straw landed on the floor. “Wait. Five second rule. I’ve got this.” Bastien gently held Rinda in her seat. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Let’s wait for the bartender to get a straw and then I’ll pass the drink for you.” “Mmmm. Thank you, Tiger. You’re always my hero and so good about helping me. I love you.” “I love you too, Tria. Did you want to try anything else before we go?” “Hmmm. I don’t want another brain freeze. No more slushies. I want the next margarita on the rocks.” Bastien chuckled and kissed Rinda’s nose. “Well, four margaritas ago you asked the bartender to start blending them so you wouldn’t drink them so fast.” Rinda pursed her lips and gave Bastien’s words serious thought. She tried nodding her head, but it just flopped to the side as she pondered the situation. “That’s really smart, Tiger. If they’re slushies I’ll drink them slower. Okay. The next ones let’s switch to slushies. No more on the rocks.” “That’s an excellent idea, my dearest Tria.” “But I want warm ice so I don’t get brain freeze, please.” Rinda snorted. “Freeze please. That rhymes! Oh, and I want it to be blue, too. Blue too! Fuck, I’m funny. Yeah. Blue slushie next. Please use blue cure-a-cow so it’s pretty.” Before Bastien could translate her request for a blended margarita with blue curacao, Rinda leaned toward and rested her hand between Bastien’s legs as she tried to seductively bat her eyelashes. It actually looked like she was losing a contact and Bastien hoped she was too drunk to notice his jaw was starting to twitch. “Tiger, let’s go home and have sex.” Bastien quickly looked down at Rinda’s hand, trying to contain his laughter before he lifted it to his lips, gazing deeply into his wife’s glazed eyes as she tried to focus on him. “That sounds wonderful. Let me take care of the check, sweetheart.” Even though Bastien knew she would fall asleep on the ride home, he also realized Rinda would turn into a sad, crying drunk if he rejected her sloppy foreplay at the bar. They were waiting for the bartender to return with the credit card, and Bastien was trying to squirm away from Rinda’s wandering hands as she tried to unzip his pants. “Can we leave, Tiger? Please? I can’t wait to get you home and suck your huge cock.” It was perfect Rinda timing. The music had just stopped and there was silence as Rinda announced to the room in her loud, drunken voice what she would do to Bastien. Rinda’s eyes widened when she realized what happened. “Tiger, do you think they heard me talk about your huge cock?” Bastien quickly signed the credit card slip, leaving a very large tip for the bartender, and he helped Rinda to her feet. She slobbered her heartfelt goodbyes to the people she met that evening, promising that she’d invite them over for a margarita night. But just not tonight. Tonight she had other plans with her husband. Bastien mouthed an apology as he grabbed Rinda and hoisted her over his shoulder, laughing when Rinda yelled to the room “Let’s bounce bitches! I’m gonna get laid!!!!!!” People were giving Rinda fist bumps and high fives as she was carried away, and Bastien heard their cheers and whistles even after the door closed behind them. As Bastien predicted, Rinda fell asleep in the car. Her mouth was open and she was snoring loudly. When they got home Bastien carried her inside, helped her into the banana pajamas, and left a glass of water on the nightstand. Rinda was still snoring, so Bastien put in ear plugs before wrapping his arms around her and kissing her troll doll curls. But before he fell asleep, Bastien also needed to shift his arm so his dearest Tria wouldn’t drool on it anymore.

#margarita challenge #choices trr #margarita drabble #bastien lykel #OFC Rinda Parks #tiger and tria #long post

[wandering-verses]

Bohemian Rhapsody lyrical analysis

The song is decades old but unfortunately I couldn’t find a line to line analysis of the song anywhere. Here I will be presenting my analysis and the information I collected from various places and thoughts about the song from my brain.

As many have quoted before the song can be about Mercury’s sexuality in a metaphorical manner but I have a different opinion on that as once he came out, every song from the band was considered to be about his sexuality in one form or other even when it had no underlying tones of that sort.

The lyrics are as copied from genius.com and pardon my English as it is not my first language.

The song, undoubtedly is a pure lyrical genius and is a story of “little boy”. The protagonist mentioned, could be anyone, the listener or Mercury. It is never confirmed by the band at any moment. This song unlike any other, has many characters in itself and has a complex story line.    

[Intro]

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?

Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality

The intro of the song gives us a glimpse of the situation where the boy is. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a dream like situation of his or the reality. The important part that we see is that the boy is into some trouble.

Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see

I’m just a poor boy, I need no sympathy

Opening the eyes, could be a metaphor to forget the dogmas, the ones created by his place of worship. Look up the skies is a show off  to god that he is just a poor boy who requires nothing. Perhaps this same arrogance would make him commit the mistake later.

Because I’m easy come, easy go, little high, little low

Any way the wind blows doesn’t really matter to me, to me

This protagonist of ours, as he tells us, is free of any sort of responsibility and is very happy with his life despite facing the troubles. He is completely oblivious to the conditions that take place.

[Verse 1]

Mama, just killed a man

Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he’s dead

The first character is the boy’s mother. To whom he confesses about killing a man. Here “killing a man” could be any mistake that he has made harming others and even himself. The “man” in this reference could be the boy too.

Mama, life had just begun

But now I’ve gone and thrown it all away

The boy feels remorseful about the mistake made by him and worries about the consequences it may have. He knows about the grave danger he now possess and how he has to now leave everything behind.

Mama, ooh, didn’t mean to make you cry

If I’m not back again this time tomorrow

Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters

He is guilt ridden and worried about his mother and all the ones he has to leave behind and advises to carry on everything as it were before he committed the crime. In a manner where “nothing really matters” as seen in the first verse. He doesn’t want to make the people, who matter to him the most suffer due to him.

[Verse 2]

Too late, my time has come

Sends shivers down my spine, body’s aching all the time

Goodbye, everybody, I’ve got to go

Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth

The final time of his (death) has come and he is seeking the sympathies of the people now, telling about his suffering pains.  His attitude has changed as compared to what we saw in the prior verse where he “need no sympathies”. He is now ready to go and face the truth, alone in god’s court.

Mama, ooh (Any way the wind blows)

I don’t wanna die

I sometimes wish I’d never been born at all

He remembers the people who matter to him and is sorrowful about the events that lead him to the infamous deed and his birth, the one event he blames most for his mistake.  

Next we have an awesome instrumental section by Brian May which helps in changing the music style in the song and gives brings us to the court of justice where the boy is judged. It is important to note that every transformation here is accompanied by a music piece depending on the tone of the ongoing story.

[Verse 3]

I see a little silhouette of a man

Scaramouch, Scaramouch, will you do the Fandango?

The silhouette of the man is a metaphorical view of the repercussions the boy now has to face in front of the jury. Here the song uses the voices of Freddie and the group as the voices of little boy and the jury members respectively.

Scaramouch is stock clown character used for comedic purposes. The boy of our story request the Scaramouch to fandango that is a lively Spanish dance in order to distract the jury.

Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frightening me

(Galileo) Galileo, (Galileo) Galileo, Galileo Figaro magnifico

The boy is very distraught as he doesn’t have any idea about the events going around him yet he presents his first plead to the jury by the name of Galileo.( another character in the story, a scientist who was punished to death when he opposed to the church about the earth being round, despite him being right.)

To which the jury,that is, the chorus replies “Galileo Figaro magnifico”. Its a slightly corrupted Latin phrase, “Galileo figuro magnifico”, translated as “Magnify the Galilean’s image” and thus the jury denies the plead of the poor boy.

But I’m just a poor boy, nobody loves me

The boy is asking for the sympathy of the jury unlike what he said in the first verses where he needed no sympathy.

He’s just a poor boy from a poor family

Spare him his life from this monstrosity

The boys supporters (chorus) now plead for letting the boy set free and not be punished for the deed he done in the past, saying he is just a poor boy which wasn’t a problem in the past passages, sympathizing with him yet again.

Easy come, easy go, will you let me go?

The boy now asks for the jury to set him free since it may have been an impulsive decision by his side (easy come, easy go).

Bismillah! No, we will not let you go

(Let him go!) Bismillah! We will not let you go

(Let him go!) Bismillah! We will not let you go

(Let me go) Will not let you go

(Let me go) Will not let you go

(Let me go) Ah

No, no, no, no, no, no, no

It’s the sheer genius of Mercury when he uses the singular voice for the protagonist and the chorus for the jury. Here the jury hails the name of the lord (bismillah- in praise of the lord ) telling us that the mistake could have offended the Gods and the boy cannot be spared on any grounds.

(Oh, mamma mia, mamma mia) Mamma mia, let me go

Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me!

He asks everyone to pardon him as the Beelzebub (another character in the story- prince of the demons) has a devil for him, seemingly for his journey to hell.

Here we get another great guitar piece showcasing the transition of the boy from the court of lord to the hell.

[Verse 4]

So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye?

So you think you can love me and leave me to die?

Oh, baby, can’t do this to me, baby!

Just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta here!

This is a rock piece in the song maybe because rock was considered to be close to the evil energies when the song was first composed and the band thought to include that in the song. The boy is in hell suffering the punishments and just waiting for them to end to get out of the place.

Again we have a transition in the story or the boy’s mind set shown by the instrumental which is slower compared to the other ones in the song.

[Outro]

Nothing really matters, anyone can see

Nothing really matters

Nothing really matters to me

Any way the wind blows

We have an ambiguous ending that makes us ponder about the boy and his situations. We don’t know if he is in his happy place or has made peace with what life has to offer but on the larger scale of things he is passive because nothing really matters to him and he still would make same decisions if given a chance. (Anyway the wind blows, doesn’t really matter to me).

The gong, played at last, signifies the end of story.

Or maybe this is all a fantasy of my brain and the song is actually “random rhyming noises” as Freddie said in an interview to Kenny Everett.

Feel free to amend and append any mistakes, factual or grammatical.

#bohemian #bohemian rhapsody #bohemian rhapsody facts #bohemian rhapsody song #bohemian rapsody movie #song lyrics #queen #queen band #lyrics #song meaning

[ilikethemwings]

Kristen ( @branchlikeatree ) and Erin rewatch Legend, a really bad, 1985 fantasy movie with Tom Cruise

•the way he eats the cookie and looks up at her— he is a nasty boy (“I know someone sweeter” sir)

•why is he just...holding a fox? Like a live fox

• “Jack, now teach me rabbit like you promised” what???

• he sounds so prepubescent

• K: “he’s tryin to gag her!” Me: “It’s a blindfold you genius”

• “why does he live in the woods like where are your parents”

• K: “his ponytail is like a mid-evolution Pokémon between a rat tail and a full on ponytail”

• Me: “She has good teeth” K: “well yeah she’s a princess, she has dental”

• the pacing

• Me: “he’s a homeschooled boy that’s what he is”

• goblins, about unicorns: “look! Ugly one horned mules!”

• K: “The Unicorn is like ‘b*tch I’m not a sparrow, I’m a unicorn’”

• what’s with the excessive close-ups

• K: “are you sure that’s magic stirring?” Me: *points at unicorn* she’s... horny”

• K: “I’m not saying it’s her fault. But.”

• K: “Jack is she really worth it?” Me: “he doesn’t know any better, he’s homeschooled”

• Kristen: “God I hope those are goats”

• K: “what is he wearing under there Erin” Me: “he’s got spanx. It’s a leotard. It’s undies.”

• *goblins break into room* K: *to the tune of the Backstreet Boys* “everyboooodyyy” me: yeaaaahhh

• K: “how have they not found her?” Me: “they’re goblin do you think they have two brain cells?”

• the goblins just. Rhyme.

• K: “you better hurry. Tim Curry doesn’t wait.”

• “here be forest child, and don’t know the Gump?” K: “it’s the forest Gump”

• K: “me and Gump know what’s going on!”

• me: “did they just have a really low pants budget” K: “no they thought forest? Leaves?”

• *Gump pulls out a violin* K: “you’re my pretty little gumpway girl”

• me: “let’s get turnt with the forest spirits”

• K: “this is Narnia!”

• K: “do you think the unicorns are metaphors for Tom and Lily” me: “....maybe”

• there’s a lot that we have to assume, like, filling in the fact that Tom is currently communicating with a unicorn

• me: “I could see him playing Joseph” K: “oh don’t encourage him”

• me: “they give him armor but they don’t give him pants”

• he is just. COVERED in glitter.

• pig goblin: “why not turn everything into garbage?!” K: “is that actually me?”

• goblin: “shit!” Me: *gasps* he just said ‘shit’!

• goblin: “she’s just a female! She has no power!” Lord of Darkness: “she has the power of creation. Get the mare!” Me: “it isn’t a mare! I saw its horse penis.”

• K: “what in the name of Microsoft PowerPoint was that transition”

• K: “all they gotta do is go for his legs” me, imitating that Captain America vine: “because his shield is the size of a dinnerplate, and he’s an idiot”

• me: “is that me?” Meg, a monster from the swamp, looking at Tom/Jack: “you, come to Meg, juicy boy” K: “it is you!”

• K: “I feel like I’m watching a scene from the Hobbit” me: “yeah but like worse, it’s like the animated Hobbit” K: “it’s like a live action adaptation of the animated Hobbit”

• me: “oh he’s an Elf. But not like a hot Elf.” K: “more like the Keebler cookie Elf”

• Oona, the sprite: “I’ll do what you want if you kiss me” K: “why are you so obsessed with me?” Me: “because he has great hair”

• THE PACING

• “I’m just waiting for Tim Curry and the horrible v-neck dress”

• Lord of Darkness: “I will take her” his father, apparently: “no! You must WOO her!”

• they literally replaced 90% of people’s sweat with glitter

• me: “is she stupid?” K: “yeah she is” me: “she seems stupid” K: “I mean she got wooed by Jack eating a cookie” me: “I mean I did too but”

• K: “I tell you what I don’t like that creepy-ass baby”

• K: “I feel like I’m watching the opening scene of Black Swan”

• the VNECK is BELOW HER NAVEL

• K: “oh shit here come dat boi!”

• K: “his ears are placed where a cow’s would be” also K: “Damn you Tim Curry and your great voice” me: “his horns are...too phallic”

• K: “I feel like I’m watching the French version of Beauty and the Beast” me: “ew”

• K, repeating a line from earlier: “squawk squawk no more talk”

• K: “does Tom Cruise do his own stunts?” Me: “probably at this point. He was 23, he was probably pretty bendy”

• K: “this is like a poorly planned D&D campaign-“ me: “absolutely” K: “-like there��s a main goal but the DM hasn’t given a direct way to get to it”

• K: “....there’s just something....” me: “are you horny for Tim Curry” K, defensively: “there’s just something, appealing! About the way that he’s acting!”

• me: “this movie has made me...tired”

• Lord of Darkness: “in the beginning, there was nothing” K: “this must be one of those new translations”

• THE! PACING!

• me, every time they call the unicorn a girl/she/mare: “it’s a boy!”

• Lord of Darkness: “the birth of the new world awaits your stroke” me and K: “igghhhh”

• me: “he’s just boyish” K: “juicy boyish” me: “He has boyish charms” K: “juicy boyish charms”

• me: “the problem is that his teeth aren’t centered AND his nose is crooked” K: “and yet with the disproportions of his face he still looks good” me: “I do think he is not ugly”

• K: “wait did he just go back for it? I thought it was a flashback” me: “no they definitely used the same footage”

• Princess Lily is not relatable

• me, a little too smitten: “oh she gives him the ring, that’s cute!” K: “wait is she just gonna leave him there?” Me: “I think she’s breaking up with”

• Jack: “will you sing for me?” K, imitating that clip from the Office: “no! God! Please! No!”

•K: “so in conclusion, this was all Lily’s fault”

• Me, confirming both horses are male while K “aw”s: “yes, Kristen, they’re gay unicorns”

•we continue to confirm how bad this movie was, even though we knew this when we watched it freshman year

•closing thoughts:

-K: “I guess all I can say is... squawk squawk no more talk”

-me: “I just.... wish they had given him pants”

[judas-had-a-crown]

good evening, I came here to give you some dull ficlet ideas about Death Note: Light's character reflected through any of seven deadly sins --- ancient Shinigami realm --- Kira's Tokyo --- anything about task force (if you don't mind) :D

Hello dear^^

Finally… okay, the following; since my brain likes to do things without my permission, I’ve gathered your first and second request in one text, thus using six giant sentences in total. For Kira’s Tokyo, I chose a poetric way and hope it doesn’t sound too ridiculous. When it comes to task force I must confess it’s my first time writing anything about them so… bear with me XD I like Matsuda best tho. I want to protect him.

Light’s character reflected through any of seven deadly sins + ancient Shinigami realm 

When Light demands to see the Shinigami realm with his own two eyes, feet planted firmly on the ground, posture straight, his gaze a strict fixture towards him, Ryuk cracks him open like the cap on a bottle of coke.

And though it’s a dream - for dreams, the shinigami said, always walk a fine between life and what’s beyond and grey territory is good for entering a grey world like his own - Light lets him in with shuddering breath; he knows Ryuk enjoys this, prattling on nonsense as he breaks into his bones to count, rib by rib, carving his name upon each with seldom caution to resolve the last barrier that keeps him on earth along with the Death Note locked in his desk.

Pain is not the name for it, more of a furious tickle when nerves are cut opened to tangle anew, stripping him barer than his flesh alone, taking the muscles too, the molecules, the very essence of being human; with eyes closed Light feels the damned god reach beyond matter and mind at last, and even though his scraping nails, long and and sharp and merciless, borrowed from a rabid animal it seems, burn their stigma of boredom into him, he clenches his teeth for he himself is curious to feel if the wilted muscle of his heart has yet failed beating in this realm, where nothing has ever been alive to begin with…

Songs of the dead hang in the tight-strung air, loaded sweet by the stench of decay and dust, as a rough tap on his shoulder encourages him to open wide and take a look around; his feet sink into colorless sands and scrapes of parched skin when he does, a soft layer of fog hanging over his scalp like a rain’s threat refusing to fall; observing further, lakes of crimson pique his sight behind ragged hills and shadows that seem blurred no matter how far or close they are to their position; he steps ahead till he reaches a puddle in his reach and dips his hands in the blood of his victims; he can’t help but smile at the warmth - only then he feels his own frame shake and he wonders how this can be since the dead know no cold no heat no relief or remorse.

„Care for a bath?“ Ruvik asks, his hulkish frame hovering behind him like a second shadow in the sun; if the Shinigami world had a sun to begin with, anyway; the mocking tone has faded in favor of a growl, low and slow and strained; as if a weight was added to his tongue; even then, the alien curiosity Light has come to know so well during the years shines in his round, unmoving eyes; Light tilts his head, a half-smile carved into the right corner of his mouth; it is not fit for a king to bathe in the filfth he created, yet the thought does not irk him as much as it probably should; „Sure. If you go first.“ His hands are soaked in the liquid; he rubs it between his thumb and index finger and waits, but it doesn’t dry, „Did you always have lakes here? Blood, water in general?“ Ruvik snorts despite his apparent difficulty of forming words now; „Not till you came along. You killed so many people in such a short amount of time, their deaths literally bled into our domain. It‘s a nice change of scenery though. A pinch of color to garner the dust.“ A cackle follows, the melody to an old rhyme.

Light sighs; may it be time or local paradoxes or sarcasm that holds this place, he can’t scrub the red off his palms; he lets his hands hang to his sides then; annoyed; wondering, the little wheels in his head giving off steam „Still, they’re rather small, don’t you think? I thought I’d done more than that.“ Ryuk shrugs a shoulder, the movement laggard; „The Shinigami world is vast. A huge, dry, tiring plane. A thousand years of watering won‘t make this earth fertile.“ he hums - Light’s hands move into fists of their own; a thousand years… he doesn’t even have a one-tenth of them left to bring justice to all who deserve it - „I see.“ Minutes uselessly pass into the silent void; then, in a deadpan voice he says gently; „Would you like to have an ocean here, Ryuk? I could teach you how to swim.“ This time, the cackle holds a burst of laughter too; chilling and plenty as ice spinters running down Light’s mortal spine; „Nah, I don‘t care much for oceans.“ Light turns his face to Ryuk’s pale visage bowing to him far too close all of a sudden and sees his own bloodlust reflected by its static features and soulless grin; „But I‘d like to see you try.“

Kira’s Tokyo

Cold and dead the dread did spread, blinding hollow eyes when there in the echo of tears uncried light was shed, it built itspread. Leaving god on osseous thronewith a graveyard to call home.

anything about task force

The day Matsuda said he had met someone, a person sweet as spring (which was arguably and of course over the top, all things aside) , he started to whistle in the office which caused some looks being thrown at him (more of surprise and wonder humbly translated in a „what the fuck?“ being growled from the right side of the room, no malicious intentions gathered, thank you very much); also, his walk held a somewhat lighter step to it and he tripped considerably less times than he was prone to do on a regular day - he even shared a decent moment with L when he decided to buy two big ice cream bowls and sat next to him, humming absently as he put the spoon to his mouth repeatedly and thus, when it came to L in that matter „being in love does seem to make Matsuda less annoying than before“ added by his occasional whisper of “interesting“; in L speech, he deemed it acceptable, so everyone else was down with it was well.

Matsuda’s cheerful behavior continued for two weeks in total until he went through the door on a Wednesday morning one hour late, a blueish-black bruise covering his right eye cast down in a motion far too akin for shame to not alert several heads turning as he staggered to his desk; Ukita was the first to enquire about the injury with Matsuda hastily answering it to be the result of an unfortunate accident that included a door falling into his face - despite being highly aware of Matsuda’s clumsiness, the remaining members of the Task Force had been working alongside him long enough to conclude he was also a truly terrible liar; that day, and the rest of the week following after, L did not receive another “candy invitation“ by Matsuda; actually, no one saw Matsuda eating anything at all anymore; and people, though most of them surely tried to stick to their own life, stuffed with personal problems to deal with as they were, started to show concern for the young man as he continued to hunch into the restrictive patters of a person he was not.

It took the sight of Matsuda limping to work a week later that had L ask Soichiro to take care of the matter and find out about the lover’s address in addition, allowing the men who felt up to the task to pay them a short visit for the “need of clarifying most basic things“; no one was really surprised when nearly the whole division headed into the same direction after work.

#acerbicapplecoffee #thank you! #I was glad to write something again ^^ #replies #story meme

[padfootagain]

Song For Tomorrows

Alright... so this is about Ryan. I was listening to some French songs yesterday and some just stroke me, and I thought that some of their lyrics could fit perfectly into one of Ryan's songs. So... I tried to take a few lyrics from here and there, translate them and put them together. I said that I tried to translate them and put them together... I've tried to keep the meaning and tried to find something that vaguely looks like rhymes... but let's be honest it doesn't rhyme, and I don't know if it sounds good at all. That'll teach me a lesson ;) ... but I said that I would do it, and so I did it... Be nice with me, English is not my natural language, and to translate poetry is so hard (it took me almost two hours for Christ's sake!).

The lyrics were taken from the following songs (all are Francis Cabrel's songs):

- Je l'aime à mourir

-Octobre

-Je t'aimais, je t'aime, je t'aimerai

-Gardien de nuit

-L'encre de tes yeux

I would advise you to listen to the songs L'encre de tes yeux and/or Je l'aime à  mourir, as I've imagined that Ryan's song would sound like either of them (Octobre is not bad either...).

Hope you like this little imagine (despite my awful level of songwriting, at least I know why I didn't become a songwriter....).

Gif not mine

You were watching the sun fall down beyond the hills. September was coming to an end, the first leaves falling, changing their green shades for pale yellow or vivid orange. The wind was cold but you didn't mind. Next to you, Ryan shifted and adjusted the blanket to cover your laps, and his caring gesture brought a smile to your lips. You reached for his hand and you held his calloused fingers in yours, resting your head on his shoulder. Summer had fled and Autumn had brought both the cold and the grey clouds.

And you knew Ryan would soon be leaving.

He was supposed to leave at the end of August. He had stayed with you one more month, watching as the weather turned from sunny days to rainy afternoons. But it was time for him to leave, and you knew it.

None of you had really spoken of what would happen to the two of you when he would go though. Would you still be a couple and wait for him? Would you leave with him? Or would the two of you merely go your separate ways from now on? Would you hold dearly on the memories you had already created together, or would you try to build new ones?

You knew that the choice was yours to make. You knew Ryan was willing to make it work. He had told you before that he would make sure to come back often if you chose to give your relationship a chance. You also knew that he would not come back to you and would let you live your life without him if you wanted this to end.

But your heart was uncertain and your head messy, and no matter for how long you thought, you could never come to a decision.

But time was playing against the two of you, and Ryan knew it. So he asked the question he dreaded so much, deciding that this moment was nor worse nor better than any other would be.

"Y/N?" he breathed, resting his cheek against your hair.

"Yes, Ryan?"

"We need to talk about us. About what will happen when..."

His voice died out in a hushed whisper but you didn't need him to speak another word to know what he was talking about. Your heart was heavy already.

"I don't know, Ryan," you answered.

"You know it's up to you," he said. "I'll make it work if you want us to be together."

"I know."

"But?"

You shrugged.

"But we are so different... what if... what if it was a dream you and I?"

You looked up at him, and you stared at his deep brown eyes for a while, both of you wrapped in a silence that only the wind was breaking.

"It doesn't look like a dream though," he whispered after a while. "It feels real."

"How could it work?"

He shrugged.

"I could come back often."

"What do you call often?" you replied, a sad expression on your face.

"I could stay then."

You stared at him with tender eyes, and you stroked his cheek tenderly, his short beard tickling your skin.

"You would hold it against me sooner or later, if I asked you to stay," you told him. "One day, you would regret it. I can't let you do that for me. You can't waste your life on me."

"It wouldn't be wasting my life to stay with you," he defended himself.

But you shook your head.

"You wouldn't be happy if you stayed here. And you deserve to be happy."

"I wouldn't be happy if I left either, I reckon," he said, staring intensely at you. "I don't think I could be happy without you."

You gave him a sad smile.

"I don't know, Ryan... I don't know what we ought to do..."

"What do you want to do?"

"Sometimes we can't have what we want," you shook your head.

"If we don't try to get what we want, for sure, we'll never manage to have it."

"Ryan..."

"We can't know until we've tried..."

"I don't think it's a good idea."

You felt your heart breaking in your chest. And you could read in his brown eyes that you were hurting him as well. But he deserved the sacrifice you were choosing now. Perhaps he didn't know it yet, but he would regret it one day if he stayed here, in this little town with you. You were sure of it, it was the best thing to do...

...Wasn't it?

"It would be mad..." you argued, trying to convince yourself as much as you tried to convince him. "And we would both end up broken hearted in the end. I think we should... just enjoy the time we have left together. And... try not to... be too much attached."

He nodded slowly, though he didn't seem much convinced by the last part of your speech. The truth was, you were wondering yourself who you were trying to fool with this idea of not 'getting attached'. You already loved him. The only thing you didn't know for sure was if he shared your feelings.

And so your brain was advising you to give up on him while you could. You were not sure about his feelings? He was about to leave town in just a few days? Then the wisest decision was to let him go and to try to forget him.

It was what your brain commanded, you had shushed your heart for now.

"I think it would be best if we... don't try to see each other again after you've left."

He nodded slowly, setting his intense stare on the landscape before you again.

"As you wish then," he said softly. "Are you sure that's what you want?"

"No, but it's the safest option," you answered earnestly.

"And you're willing to choose the safest option, despite the fact that it's not what your heart truly desires?"

You nodded slowly.

"Is there anything I could say to make you change your mind?" he asked in a whisper.

But you merely shrugged, resting you head on his shoulder again, and you let your thoughts drift away as the wind carried away some skeleton leaves...

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

 You were cuddling in his arms, your breathing now regular as you stroked his chest, drawing patterns on his skin. He kissed your forehead, humming softly to himself. You listened to his deep voice that soothed you, and you closed your eyes. But the more he hummed, the more you were certain that you didn't know this melody of his.

"Is it a new song?" you asked, looking up at him.

He nodded.

"I think so," he said, running a hand through your hair.

"What is it about?" you asked, resting your chin on his torso.

"I don't know yet," he answered, his hand moving from your hair to your temple and down to your cheekbone. "I just have a melody for now."

"But I'm sure you know what it's about already," you teased, smiling.

He chuckled, shaking his head.

"No, not yet."

"Could you play it for me?" you asked, kissing his jaw.

He smiled, looking at you with tender eyes, before he would sit up and rise from your bed, not bothering with putting his clothes on.

He came back a few seconds later with his guitar, and he sat next to you in the bed again.

He remained motionless for a moment, before placing his fingers on the strings, and he slowly started to play. He was hesitant at first, but after repeating the melody a few times, he played the notes exactly like he had imagined them in his head.

He hummed softly as he played for you the same melody over and over again. It was sweet and a bit melancholic. It was soft and soon it was acting on you like a lullaby. You laid on your stomach next to him, watching him play, and when you drifted to sleep that night, the last thing you were aware of was the soothing melody that Ryan was playing next to you.

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

 He spent the next few days playing this song over and over again. You saw him writing lyrics into the little notebook that never left his side. But though you asked him over and over again, he always refused to tell you what his song was about.

And then the day you were dreading so much arrived.

Ryan had packed up his things, checked twice if he had everything. He had put on his jacket, his cap, his pack was set on his back and he held his guitar in his hand. He was ready to go. You exchanged a small smile, both of you standing there, motionless, in your hallway.

"You're sure you've got everything?" you asked for what seemed to be the hundredth time.

He nodded.

"You have enough food?"

He nodded again.

"Don't worry about me," he told you, his tone reassuring.

But he seemed just as sad as you were at the idea of leaving your house.

"Won't you tell me then? What your song is about?" you asked one more time, trying to earn a few more seconds by his side.

He smiled, taking a step closer to you, and he cupped your cheek, his thumb brushing your skin back and forth in a tender gesture that made your heart skip a beat or two.

"It's about you," he said softly.

You smiled, tears wetting your eyes.

"Really?" you asked.

He nodded.

"Can you... can you play it for me then? Before you leave? Even if it's not finished yet."

He took his notebook out of his pocket.

"I think I finished it actually," he said.

"Could you play it then?"

But he shook his head.

"I don't think that... I... could play anything right now," he breathed, his voice hoarse, and you could hear that his throat was tightening.

He opened the notebook and tore off a page, before folding it quickly and handing it to you.

"But... won't you need it?" you asked.

He smiled again.

"I'll remember this one. I'll always remember this one..."

You clenched your jaw, trying not to cry. You knew he wasn't really talking about this song of his...

You took the paper in your hand, thanking him.

He rested his hand against your cheek again.

"I wish... I wish I could make you change your mind about this," he whispered.

He leaned down to kiss your brow, and before you could reply, he had turned on his heels and was walking to the door.

You watched him as he walked down the street, but you didn't tell him to stop. You felt your tears rolling down your cheeks, but you didn't sweep them away. You knew you had broken your heart, but you didn't run after him.

Instead, you walked back inside your house once Ryan was out of sight, and you walked to your living room, letting yourself fall on your sofa, still holding the lyrics of his song in your hands.

You looked down at the folded sheet of paper he had given you. For a moment, you merely stared at it, before slowly unfolding the note. You smiled at the sight of his messy handwriting...

... but his words were piercing your heart...

 Song for tomorrows

 I used to be nothing and here I am now

I'm the guardian of your sleep every night

You erased the numbers on the clocks all around here

And you do your best to live in your opaline dream

You dance in the forests you painted

You built bridges between us and the sky

And we cross them whenever you don't want to sleep

I love you so much I could die

 But I still wish to tell you

That everything I have ever been able to write

Comes from the ink in your eyes

 The sky says that it knows you

It is so beautiful, I guess it must be true

We'll walk to the top of the hills

To watch all that October illuminates

The wind will make the branches break

And all around there'll be skeleton leaves

 But I still wish to tell you

That everything I have ever been able to write

Was whispered by your smile

 Love is everywhere you look

And people can destroy everything they choose

You just have to open your arms

To rebuild everything all over again

These people who keep guns even in their baths

And an eye open in their beds

We were dreaming of Venice and freedom

But I hadn't noticed that you were wearing chains

And as I wanted too much to stare at you I forgot

That I was wearing the same

 But I still wish to tell you

That everything I have ever been able to write

Comes from the ink in your eyes

 And even if we will never live together

As we are fools as we are alone

As there are so many of them

And even morality agrees with them

You will be walking for a long time in my dreams

And you'll always be coming from where the sun rises

And everything I've ever said

Will bear for a long while the scent of regrets

 But I still wish to tell you

That everything I have ever been able to write

Comes from the ink in your eyes

 The paper slowly slipped from your numb fingers, hitting the ground in silence, and you remained sitting on your sofa for a while, frozen on the spot. The only things that moved in the room were your tears as they rolled down your cheeks.

He loved you.

You hadn't been sure before now, but now it was crystal clear. He loved you. And you loved him as well...

What were you still doing there then? Sitting idly on your couch?

You jumped up from the sofa, picked up your car keys and ran to the door.

You were still crying as you drove towards the train station. The tears were blurring the world around you, but you didn't seem to care at all.

You drove, raging against the lazy cars that slowed you down, and the traffic lights that forced you to stop. You had to arrive at the train station before he would leave...

You were almost there, you were crossing the last kilometers before reaching the trains when you spotted Ryan as he walked next to the road. You pulled over, stopping your car just a few feet before him. He froze, recognizing your car. How could he not recognize it? You had met in that car, as you had given him a ride to town. He had never left your side since...

You jumped out of the car and ran to him, throwing yourself in his arms, making him drop his guitar in the process, but none of you seemed to care.

"I love you," you breathed against his ear.

He closed his eyes, holding you tightly against him.

"I love you, Ryan. Please, don't go," you begged, your voice drenched with tears. "Stay. Stay forever. I'm sorry..."

But he shushed you, crushing his lips against yours.

When he pulled away again, he was crying as well, but there was a smile on his lips.

"I told you I could convince you," he grinned.

You both laughed, holding on each other tightly. And you remained there for a long time, holding on each other as if your lives depended on this tight embrace.

And after this, Ryan sang often this song he had written about you...

#ryan brenner #jackie and ryan #jackie and ryan imagine #Ryan brenner imagine #imagine #fanfic #writing

[thelonglazyworm]

[TKA Fan Radio Drama] Glory Professional Alliance Sports Meet (with translated transcript)

One of those fan radio drama from a couple of years back. It’s pretty fun~

Many of the voices actors that took part in this ended up officially in the animation for characters such as Ye Xiu, Huang Shaotian, Steam Bun, Han Wenqing. This fan radio drama is actually one of the reasons why they ended up in their respective roles. I really love the voice acting here!

Someone put up the transcript so I took liberties to loosely translate it here. Many thanks to Amsdia & Merlin for doing a quick proofread!

I was halfway into the translation when I realised that people who finished the book probably don’t need this translation. -o- People who are following the English translation of the novel probably aren’t familiar with half of the characters here. There’s also bunch of spoilers... Oh well.... You’ve been warned.

Translation:

Glory Professional Alliance Sports Meet

Chairman Feng: We are at the tail-end of summer, as the autumn wind rounds the corner. Thanks to the valiant efforts of the Sports Committee and the participants, the first Glory Alliance Sports Meet opens today! (Applause) Blah blah blah…...

  Wei Chen: Damn it. Why is Old Feng so long-winded today? He was never this bad during the pro-league prize presentations.

Ye Xiu: Yeah, it’s been almost an hour. Man, I’m about to be burned to death.

Wei Chen: What the fuck are you doing?

Ye Xiu: I can barely stand. Come on, let me lean on you for a bit.

Wei Chen: Get off. Can’t you see that I’m in the same situation?

Ye Xiu: Get Cold Hands to recover your HP.

Wei Chen: Why don’t you do that!?

Fang Rui: Hey, will the two of you keep it down? Have some restraint.

Wei Chen: Fang Rui, you shameless fucker. Saying that when you’re about to fall onto Tyranny’s side yourself.

Ye Xiu: Say, Old Han, aren’t you Tyranny people feeling the heat in all that black clothing? Who’s the designer? Does he hate you?

Huang Shaotian: Hot like hell hot like hell hot like hell hot like hell hot like hell hot like hell! Captain, don’t you think that the Alliance must be brain dead from the heat? What’s with organizing such a stupid Sports Meet before the competitions? That’s totally heartless and inhuman! Don’t you agree, Captain? Don’t you agree?

Yu Wenzhou: Chairman Feng has mentioned that the body is essential to playing games. Therefore pro-players also need to train up.

Wei Chen: Haha. Do you really buy that explanation?

Yu Wenzhou: Ah. Hello Captain Wei.

Huang Shaotian: Say, Boss Wei. How could you eavesdrop on others’ conversations?

Wei Chen: Bullshit, kid. Who needs to eavesdrop when you’re that loud? Didn’t you see Old Feng glaring at you from the corner of his eyes? [Pang Guang = corner of his eyes]

Huang Shaotian: Side glance, Boss, it should be side glance. “Pang Guang” is for pissing. [Pang Guang = bladder]

Wei Chen: Piss off! I meant “pang” as in side! Are you looking for a beating?

Huang Shaotian: Hey, hey, a gentleman doesn’t raise his hands.

Wei Chen: (hitting while saying) I am so raising them! Raising and using them!

Huang Shaotian: Sidestepping, sidestepping. Haha, heh, you can’t hit me~

Cheng Guo: (speechless) Seriously, that’s enough...

Tang Rou: Frankly, it’s a pretty daunting task for people who aren’t used to working out to compete in such sweltering heat.

Ye Xiu: Sigh. Should have applied for sick leave. I’m starting to miss the keyboard and in-game world.

Lin Jingyan: God Ye is sick? What illness?

Han Wenqing: Final stage of lazy cancer.

Everyone: Pft! (laughter)

Steam Bun: What? Boss has cancer? Oh no! When did that happen?

Ye Xiu: Steam Bun, you...

Su Mucheng: Shh. Quiet, quiet. The Chairman is almost done with his speech.

Chairman Feng: … And I hereby announce, the Glory Alliance Friendly Sports Meet, starts now!

  Pan Lin: Hello everyone, I am Pan Lin, your announcer for today.

Li Yibo: And I am Li Yibo.

Pan Lin: First up is the Men’s 200m heats. Let us put our hands together to welcome our first group of competitors!

Li Yibo: They are: Wei Chen from Team Happy, Huang Shaotian from Team Blue Rain, Xiao Shiqin from Team Thunderclap, Wu Yuce from Team Void, and Li Hua from Team Misty Rain.

Wei Chen: Thank you! Thank you, everyone, for all your wishes and support towards me.

Huang Shaotian: Boss Wei, please keep your shamelessness in check. Are you sure those cheers are for you? Take a closer look. See, those are obviously banners for Blue Rain!

Blue Rain Fans: Blue Rain, Blue Rain is the best! Blue Rain, Blue Rain beats the rest!

Wei Chen: Hah. It even rhymes.

Pan Lin: Ok, everyone is prepared and ready to go. And the referee raises his gun.

(Cheers)

Pan Lin: And with a bang, Huang Shaotian is the first to head off, as expected of the best opportunist of the Alliance!

Li Yibo: Right on his heels is Wu Yuce. Ah! And Wu Yuce has overtaken Huang Shaotian! He is fast!

Pan Lin: But Huang Shaotian is not giving up. He is speeding up, and it seems… That he’s shouting something?

Huang Shaotian: Fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you! Look, here’s my triple slash speed boost! AHHHH!

Li Yibo: Huang Shaotian sure is energetic...

Pan Lin: Ah, Li Hua is also close behind! And Misty Rain’s female fans are screaming their hearts out!

Li Yibo: Over at the finishing point, Dai Yanqi is waving her arms wildly, cheering for her team captain, Xiao Shiqin. Such touching team spirit!

Dai Yanqi: Good luck, Captain! All the best! Captain is the coolest! (squeals)

Pan Lin: And so, Wei Chen is the last of them! He’s quite a distance from the finishing line, it’ll be quite hard to catch up.

Li Yibo: Well, it does seem like this level of activity is somewhat taxing for the old guard.

Pan Lin: Yeah.

Wei Chen: (sounds of panting and slow steps)

Pan Lin: As Wei Chen gets slower and slower, Wu Yuce becomes the first to cross the finishing line! That’s truly rare athleticism for a professional gamer!

 (Wei Chen stops, panting)

Wei Chen: (gasping)

Ye Xiu: Say, can you still go on?

Wei Chen: Old… Old me… Is… Is just… Just...

Ye Xiu: I understand, I understand. This elderly one is proving a point~ Shall I call an ambulance for you?

Wei Chen: … Fuck off...!

 Li Yibo: Next up, the 2nd heats of Men’s 200m is about to start. In the order of their respective lanes are: Wang Jiexi of Team Tiny Herb, Zhang Jiale from Team Tyranny, Zhou Zekai from Team Samsara, Yang Cong from Team 301, and Zou Yuan from Team Hundred Blossoms.

Zhang Xinjie: You’re up, Senior Zhang Jiale.

Lin Jingyan: All the best! We believe in you.

Zhang Jiale: No sweat. 200m is nothing.

Ye Xiu: Good luck, Le Le. Aim for number 2~

Zhang Jiale: (shows the middle finger) Fuck you!

 Jiang Botao: Captain, do your best too.

Zhou Zekai: Mm!

Ye Xiu: Xiao Zhou looks like the kind who exercises regularly.

Zhou Zekai: Yes. Every day 20.

Ye Xiu: 20?

Zhou Zekai: 500m, 20 rounds.

Ye Xiu: …(awkward cough) Erm, go on quickly, the referee’s calling for you.

 Pan Lin: Great, everyone’s now in their respective lanes.

(Gunshot)

 Li Yibo: And the race starts! Zhou Zekai is staying put in the lead position and behind him are Zhang Jiale, Zou Yuan, Wang Jiexi, and Yang Cong.

Huang Shaotian: The hell? Does Zhou Zekai intend to run all the way with this speed? Good looks, great gaming skills, and this good at running? Heaven is being absurdly unfair!

Ye Xiu: Uh-huh, it’s quite unfair.

Huang Shaotian: You think so too, right?

Ye Xiu: Why are his conversation skill points all given to you?

Huang Shaotian: … You asshole!

 Pan Lin: There’s 50m left! 30m! And Zhou Zekai has started sprinting! He’s sprinting!

Li Yibo: Awesome! Zhou Zekai leads all the way and is the first to cross the finishing line! That was superb!

Pan Lin: Zhang Jiale also meets everyone’s expectations, doing a good job of taking the number 2 spot. Ah, he’s pointing his... Middle finger at me, expressing his current, erm, enthusiastic feelings...

 Ye Xiu: Take it easy, Old Sun.

Sun Zheping: Thanks.

(Ye Xiu turns, almost bumping into incoming Zhang Jiale)

Ye Xiu: Whoa! Hey, aren’t you too eager to see Old Sun? After all, Zhang Xinjie’s also in this round. You should put on your professional best to support your team, Tyranny.

Zhang Jiale: (gasping) Pah! As if you have any right to criticize me. Who’s the one that’s been going around all morning, putting a wedge among the rivals in competition?

(Zhang Jiale turns to wave at Sun Zheping)

Zhang Jiale: Do your best, Big Sun!

(A sudden burst of fangirls screaming among the spectators)

Fangirls: Zhang Jiale! Sun Zheping! One million years of Blossom and Blood! One~ Million~ Years~ [Blossom and Blood: their famous combo move]

Zhang Jiale: (shocked) What the hell… What is this!?

Ye Xiu: Just focus on watching the game...

(Zhang Jiale drinks water)

Zhang Jiale: (swallows) Sigh, I can’t tell what Sun Zheping is thinking. He usually doesn’t exercise. It’s a miracle if he even bothers to sweep the floor…. Hey, don’t spread this around. I’m screwed if he finds out I’ve been complaining behind his back.

Ye Xiu: No problem~

(Ye Xiu turns his head to shout)

Ye Xiu: Dear friends from Heavenly Sword! I’ve heard that Old Sun doesn’t even sweep his own floor! Send my heartfelt regards to your cleaning lady!

(Zhang Jiale spits out his drink)

Zhang Jiale: (coughs) Fuck, do you want to die? Don’t run!

Ye Xiu: I am off~

(Ye Xiu runs off)

Zhang Jiale: (shouts) Just you wait, Old Ye! I will get my revenge someday!

 (At Samsara)

Du Ming: This looks nice. This one’s also good. So hard to choose...

Lu Boyuan: Du Ming! What are you doing, acting so suspiciously?

Du Ming: Ah?! No...nothing in particular!

(Phone is snatched)

Du Ming: Hey! Give it back!

Lu Boyuan: Yo! Pretty lady Tang Rou huh~ Not a bad photo.

(Jiang Botao walks over)

Jiang Botao: Tang Rou?

Du Ming: Um.. Taken just… Just now during the Women’s 200m race.

(Swipes the phone)

Jiang Botao: Well, this one looks nice.

Du Ming: Thank you, Vice Captain.

Jiang Botao: What is it for?

Lu Boyuan: Need you ask? For his handphone wallpaper, of course~

Du Ming: Go away!

 Li Yibo: The morning matches have all ended. We will continue in the afternoon at 1.30pm. Have a good break, and we’ll see you again in the afternoon!

 Li Yibo: Hello everyone, good afternoon! I am Li Yibo.

Pan Lin: And I am Pan Lin.

Li Yibo: Welcome back to the live of the first ever Glory Sports Meets. You probably still can’t get enough of the exciting matches from this morning. Worry not, as there’s more to come!

Pan Lin: First up is the finals for Men’s Long Jump. In this match, we have our famed Glory Textbook, God Ye Xiu! A rare sighting indeed!

Li Yibo: That’s right! What else could be more exciting than that?

(Behind the scenes)

Ye Xiu: Say… Is it too late for me to back out...?

Chen Guo: Too late! Go, go!

Su Mucheng: Do your best~

Steam Bun: Good luck, Boss! Good luck!

(Ye Xiu is pushed out)

(Crowd cheering)

Pan Lin: Oh? Speak of the devil! Team Happy’s Captain, Ye Xiu, has just appeared on the pit.

Li Yibo: God Ye Xiu immediately strikes up a conversation with Sun Xiang who is also competing in this category.

Pan Lin: The two of them have a somewhat delicate relation in the Pro-Alliance. I can’t help but wonder what they might talk about before the match.

Li Yibo: Now that you’ve mentioned it, I’m curious too!

(Ye Xiu walks over)

Ye Xiu: Comrade Sun Xiang looks spirited. But are you prepared to admit your loss to this awesomeness in front of you?

Sun XIang: You…!

Jiang Botao: Sun Xiang, it’s your turn!

(Crowd cheering)

Sun Xiang: Hnn!

(Sun Xiang left)

Ye Xiu: Ah, that kid’s still as impulsive as ever.

(Sun Xiang aims)

Sun Xiang: Hng!

(Sun Xiang jumps)

Pan Lin: Sun Xiang’s record is a little unexpected… But to be able to jump 2.5m, it’s already not bad for a professional gamer, right? Yibo?

Li Yibo: Haha! That’s right. After Sun Xiang, we’ve now come to Ye Xiu’s turn. Fans here are pretty worked up right now! Ah, someone just threw a water bottle from Tyranny’s side.

(Cheers and Boos)

Ye Xiu: Fans are way too passionate. Oh well, with my overwhelming popularity, that can’t be helped.

(Ye Xiu walks over)

Pan Lin: God Ye Xiu is getting ready to jump! What will his result be? Let‘s keep our eyes peeled!

Ye Xiu: 1, 2, 3… Hey ho!

(Ye Xiu jumps and lands)

(Crowd boos)

Pan Lin: (awkward).....Erm… Ah…. This is a friendly match after all, nobody is a professional athlete. 1.9m is already quite good...

Li Yibo: Yes, yes… Ye Xiu is probably much better performing in Glory. Erm…. Moving on to the next match!

  (Behind the scenes of Team Happy)

Wei Chen: My back is about to break!

Ye Xiu: Don’t say anymore. I have a headache – it’s as if I’ve listened Huang Shaotian perform a crosstalk…. For that team captain friendly something-or-other match later, can I pretend I’m dead?

(Chen Guo jumps up and slaps Ye Xiu’s back)

Chen Guo: Of course not!

Ye Xiu: Oooh ouch ouch pain pain pain!

Chen Guo: Other teams have gotten quite a few champions! We have nothing except for Steam Bun’s win at discus throwing!

Ye Xiu: Sis, it’s just a friendly match…. Surely you don’t have to be so serious?

Chen Guo: Even if it’s a friendly match!

Wei Chen: Girl, you’re getting desperate...

Chen Guo: Shut up!

 Pan Lin: Everyone! We are now at the most exciting part of the day! The final match of this Sports Meet, the Three-Legged 200m Run!

Li Yibo: This is a friendly match where all the team captains participate together in groups of two. Each group is decided by random draw. Isn’t it exciting? Aren’t you looking forward to it?

(Crowd cheers and screams)

Li Yibo: Let us take a look at the final outcome of the draw.

Pan Lin: Okay.

Li Yibo: Blue Rain’s Yu Wenzhou with Samsara’s Zhou Zekai; Void’s Li Xuan with Hundred Blossom’s Yu Feng.

Pan Lin: Tiny Herb’s Wang Jiexi and Excellent Era’s Qiu Fei….. Oh? Who’d have thought, who’d have thought!? Team Happy’s Ye Xiu and Tyranny drew the same lot! Hahahahaha! This must be destiny!

(behind the scenes)

Ye Xiu: Are they trying to make a joke out of me?

Fang Rui: My, my! What a rare matchup! O’ Great Ye Xiu is lucky today!

Tang Rou: Do your best, I favour you two.

Wei Chen: (claps Ye Xiu’s shoulder) I truly admire the close relationship you two share.

Qiao Yifan: Captain, be careful not to trip.

An Wenyi: Captain, you… are really my idol.

Luo Ji: Captain, we’ll all be cheering for you!

Su Mucheng: I needn’t say anything. You know~

Mo Fan: Er… Good luck.

Chen Guo: (claps Ye Xiu’s shoulder) Get a hold of yourself! See, even Mo Fan is cheering for you. Do a good job and don’t tarnish Happy’s reputation!

Ye Xiu: You all definitely planned this together...

(Tyranny’s F4 comes over)

Zhang Jiale: Hahahaha! Serves you right! Karma’s a bitch!

Zhang Xinjie: (serious) All the best. I believe in the unspoken understanding between Captain and Senior Ye Xiu.

Lin Jingyan: (gleefully fanning fires) Haha! Me too!

(elbows Han Wenqing)

Ye Xiu: Wipe off that suffering look, Old Han. Do you think I’m happy? This is the fault of the ballot...

Han Wenqing: Don’t drag me down.

Ye Xiu: Che. That’s my line. Don’t you dare trip in the middle of it. Many pairs of eyes will be staring hard at you.

Han Wenqing: Same to you.

Steam Bun: Boss, you can definitely do it!

Fang Rui: Good luck, good luck~

Steam Bun: Good luck, Boss!

(Crowd cheers)

Tyranny Fans: Tyranny! All the best! Tyranny! All the best!

Happy Fans: Go Happy, go! Go Happy, go!

Su Mucheng: What’s there to fight about when those two are already tied together… Do the fans still want them to fight each other while tied up?

Wei Chen: Must be a sin...

Huang Shaotian: Captain good luck good luck good luck! Zhou Zekai, don’t you dare drag our Captain down!

Sun Xiang: For all you know, it’s the other way round.

Huang Shaotian: What about it? You looking for a fight? Tonight 8pm PK in the arena! Whoever doesn’t turn up is a scaredy cat!

Sun Xiang: Fine! What’s there to be afraid of?

 Ye Xiu: It’s real lively, huh.  Say, Old Han, let’s start with the tied legs first. Look at Xiao Shiqin and Yunxiu discussing, (leans over to whisper) I’ve heard all their tactics.

Han Wenqing: So did I.

Ye Xiu: Bravo, Old Han. Never knew that your heart’s pretty black too.

Han Wenqing: Hn, not as black as yours.

Ye Xiu: Hah.

 Li Yibo: All the groups have been announced and the team captain’s legs are all tied together. Everyone’s ready to go.

Pan Lin: I’m sure all the fans with us are as excited as we are. Let’s cut the chatter. An amazing race is about to start!

Ye Xiu: (whisper) It’s this leg.

Han Wenqing: Shut up.

(Gunshot, Crowd cheers)

Fans: Go! Go!

Pan Lin: This three-legged match demands synchronisation from both partners. And as everyone knows, all the captains are opponents.

Li Yibo: That’s right. Will they be able to overcome their enmity in such a short time and become friends?

Yu Feng: (impatient) Li Xuan, is the rope a little loose? Why do I feel like my legs are getting lighter?

Li Xuan: (panting) That’s because my leg isn’t even reaching the ground okay!?

Qui Fei: (cautiously polite) Senior Wang Jiexi, aren’t we being… a bit too cautious? We have only moved four steps...

Yu Wenzhou: Wait a moment, Cap’n Zhou, hold on! You’re going too fast, I can barely keep up… Ah… now it seems too slow...

Chu Yunxiu: (testily) Darn you, Xiao Shiqin, run slower! Mind the pace, the pace! Counting 1, 2… That’s not 1! 1 is the right leg! Right! You are using your left!

Xiao Shiqin: Sis, my left leg is your right leg!

(Fans cheering)

Li Yibo: Looks like this particular competition is of some difficulty for these long-time rivals.

Pan Lin: But the most unbelievable thing is Ye Xiu and Han Wenqing, who are in the lead right now! And they’re ahead of the current number 2, Yu Feng and Li Xuan, by almost 50m!

Li Yibo: That’s right! Speaking of which, they’re both nearing the finishing line!

Li Yibo: Go for it!

Pan Lin: They’ve passed it! That’s simply incredible! The number 1s are actually Tyranny’s Han Wenqing and Happy’s Ye Xiu, who’ve been bitter rivals for 10 years! Have they just proven that “your enemy knows you best”? This is crazy! The fans of Tyranny and Happy are also ecstatic! They’re waving the team flags enthusiastically!

Tyranny fans: Tyranny! Champion! Tyranny! Champion!

Happy fans: Happy! Champion! Happy! Champion!

(Ye Xiu bends to untie the rope)

Ye Xiu: Damn it....

Han Wenqing: (impatient) What’s taking you so long?

Ye Xiu: Fuck… Who was the one who tied the rope on us!? It’s a dead knot!

 Chairman Feng: To all the participants, referees, and people involved in this event. After a long day of intense matches, we’ve come to the end of the first ever Glory Alliance Sports Meet. Each exciting moment shall be a part of our memorable journey with Glory. Regardless of winning or losing, glory is forever in our hearts. Among all the blessings we’ve received, to be able to stand here together is our greatest blessing….

(below the stage, everyone is whispering/chatting)

Su Mucheng: Hahaha~

Cheng Guo: What’s so funny, Mu Mu?

Su Mucheng: Guo Guo, see this. Pictures of Old Ye and Old Han tied together are being spread all over Weibo by fans.

Tang Rou: That looks like the Alliance’s Weibo interaction with the fans, doesn’t it?

Fang Rui: Let me see! Let me see! Oh~ The photo’s pretty good.

Wei Chen: Hey, hey, this angle is a bit too….

Steam Bun: Woah, it’s trending like crazy! Boss, you’re a super hot topic~

Huang Shaotian: What is it? What is it? I want to see too, I want to see! Let me see! Damn it, Su Mucheng! Don’t you switch it off! Hey!

(ruckus)

Ye Xiu: Eh, Old Han. Maybe we should take a selfie of ourselves and post it up.

Han Wenqing: (black face) Go away!

Chairman Feng: …..and friends, thank you everyone for your eager participation in the Glory Alliance Sports Meet. Next year we shall continue to do our best!

  Huang Shaotian: Geez! It’s finally over~ Seriously, the Alliance organising such a stupid sports event. Pah! Zhou Zekai you bugger! Getting three golds for Men’s 200m, 1000m and high jump alone! Where’s the fairness in that? And that Wu Yuce, so what if he has long legs? What’s so great about that? And that Yu Feng! And that, that Bao something! I protest! The Alliance should seriously consider banning these buggy people from competing! Oh~ Right, right~ Old Ye and Old Han’s photo broke a million views! That’s definitely a headline for the next Gaming Weekly Magazine! It totally proves that what goes around comes around~ Heaven has eyes and you can’t hide~ Hahahahahaha!!!

 Ye Xiu: What is Shaotian muttering to himself over there?

Han Wenqing: His skin itches [for a good thrashing.]

 [END]

P.s, If you liked this, do check out another fan radio drama, 全职高手之全员闹微博配音剧 (TKA: Chaos on Weibo). Because that’s another awesome production!

And if you need a translated transcript for that (shameless plugging =P):

https://thelonglazyworm.tumblr.com/post/162012493344/

#the king's avatar #quan zhi gao shou #全职高手 #全職高手 #qzgs #fan radio drama #translation

[mindfulwrath]

The Strange Case of Dr. Jones and Mr. Hector

I was hanging out in one of @fighteramy‘s streams and she played a song from the Jekyll and Hyde musical, which then caused me to listen to the whole soundtrack from the musical and instantly become obsessed with it, which then led to me re-reading the entirety of the original Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (it’s only 96 pages and you can find it online), and long story short, here’s a Lab Buddies fic in the style of Robert Louis Stevenson.

Pain was not the whole of what Lalna had retrieved from the memory upload, but it was a large part, and by far the most palatable. At first he had not noticed the rest, or at least not remarked upon it; it came in fits and sputters, like rain upon a window, and at first left as much impression. He had known, of course, about the murders; had kept a tremendously close eye on them, both as a matter of personal interest and out of regard for scientific professionalism; and he had at times been taken by flights of dream or fancy wherein he would picture the scene as it must have fallen out. These brought him no pleasure, or if they did, he quickly quashed it or assigned it a more noble source; curiosity, perhaps, was responsible, or a delight in the impossibly tangled question of how such a monstrous Athena could have sprung, fully formed, from the restrained and laconic forehead of Dr. Jones.

It was because of these dim fantasies, these besmirched dreams, that at first he did not recognize the thread of veracity slowly stitching them to his mind. If before he had conceived the scene in the third person, an impartial observer like the cameras on every street corner, now he saw them in the first; a foreshortening of perspective from above to below, a greater strength of sensory detail. It became easier to lose himself in the imagining, or the recollection—sometimes he would find that he had dozed at his desk, eyes open, hand loosely curled around some innocuous implement, a faint smile gracing his face. He would wipe the expression away with alacrity, displeased and in small part alarmed by his vicarious pleasure at these half-remembered dreams. His work suffered for it, his attention drawn to brighter baubles of inquiry. The cloning program was, as a matter of course, a settled issue; his tasks and assignments, while not overtly forbidding him from attending to it, nonetheless trended in a different direction; Xephos never brought it up, and would rapidly change the subject if it was mentioned.

'I've been wondering,' Lalna said, over an afternoon meal.

'Have you?' Xephos inquired. The politeness of his interest did not quite manage to mask the barbs in his expression.

'Yes,' said Lalna, 'and at some length.'

'A rapidly growing length,' said Xephos. 'Out with it, come on.'

Lalna did not answer immediately, cautious of overstepping some well-hidden line in the sand and earning himself a sharpened rebuke.

'I've been wondering,' he said, 'about the transcription errors in our early cloning efforts.'

'Resolved, last I checked,' said Xephos. 'Has something come up that I wasn't made aware of?'

'No, no,' said Lalna, which was not entirely false, but by the same token, not nearly true. 'Just idle curiosity, on my part.'

'I should think you wouldn't have very much time for idling,' said Xephos.

'I don't,' said Lalna, recognizing immediately the unspoken threat of a heavier assignment. 'But seeing as one of those errors is still up and about, I thought—well, there was some relevance to the issue.'

'There's not,' Xephos said. 'That particular error has been carrying on quite well for a significant period of time. There's no cause to go stirring up trouble.'

'I had no intention of stirring up anything,' said Lalna. 'I only wondered what had gone wrong, to produce a copy so markedly distorted from the original.'

Xephos gave him a hard, penetrating look, under which Lalna fought to restrain his urge to squirm.

'A skipped line, perhaps,' he said dryly, 'or else several skipped lines, resulting in an improper translation with the syntax mangled. Certainly nothing was created that wasn't there to begin with; the only errors were by omission.'

'Oh, surely not,' Lalna said, frowning. 'You can't be suggesting that—that the only issue is some missing inhibitions. Information, I mean.'

Xephos's eyes gleamed, and Lalna was taken with the sudden and claustrophobic sensation of being surrounded by busy machinery, a sort of low hum that rattled the ice in Xephos's glass.

'There is, in all of us, a duality between good and evil,' he said. 'Perhaps in some, the balance is markedly more delicate.'

'Must you wax poetic at every possible opportunity?' Lalna asked, in a fit of exasperation.

'I am a scientist, and furthermore, an innovator,' said Xephos. 'It is my prerogative—more, my sworn duty—to wax poetic whenever poetry presents itself; and beyond that, as you must know, poetry of thought—the symmetry, the internal rhyme of an idea—is more efficient at wringing funding from the masses than anything short of abject patriotism.'

'A person would think you'd put that away, to save it for when you needed it.'

'Oh, no; it's a renewable resource, friend, and it grows in the using.'

Lalna did not press the topic further. There was a time when Xephos's amicable epithets had been an expression of affection, but that time had long since passed. Xephos no longer had friends, and he was well aware of it; Lalna was eternally wary of his friendliness, because he was in a position to know why.

Still, the conversation had given hime plenty else to muse on, and muse on it he did. He could not reconcile himself to the idea that the only distinction between himself and that mad and vicious creature which had so wrought havoc in the back alleys of the city, was a few simple omissions. Were decency, civility, propriety the only things preventing him from similarly grotesque preoccupations? Did such a wild abandon exist within him, simply waiting to be unleashed from its master? It seemed incredible. Certainly, there had been thoughts, fleeting impulses, base instincts of the primate brain, but all people were subject to such fits of internal violence. How often had threats of murder been cried out in heedless anger? How many cheap ceramics dashed, pillows beaten and papers burned in concession to that thoughtless hatred? There was not a man alive, he thought, who had not basked in the imagined glory of a crime of passion. There was no pair of human hands that had not itched for the taste of blood.

It was a vast gulf to span, between the impassioned imaginings of rattled minds to the actual commission of such gory deeds. If he fondly recalled the drunken empowerment from a stranger's helpless terror, it was only because the fondness was woven into the memory; if he yearned for the crazed zeal of that reckless murderer, it was only because of the strict sobriety of his own confinement. He was not forbidden from leaving the laboratories, just as he was not forbidden from working on the cloning project, but he was likewise discouraged from it by necessity. Perhaps now that the other failed clone had been made aware of its origins, the restrictions could be relaxed; there was very little left to hide; and if he pictured his first forays into freedom as midnight strolls through darkened alleys, it was surely a harmless fantasy. What a joy it would be, to walk beneath the open sky again; what delight, to mingle with his fellow-creatures; what bliss!

Sweet miss.

There had been some unfortunate side-effects to his prolonged isolation, ones that he kept well hidden, both from himself and from Xephos. He was not tremendously ashamed; he was only human, after all; and although Xephos seemed capable of drowning his baser desires, if he had them, beneath a steady tide of gin, Lalna could eke out no such reprieve from chemical pleasures. Neither food nor drink could satisfy the carnal itch, no distraction could subdue it. If there was shame, it was only that he was incapable of discovering a suitable surrogate; he felt his mind had betrayed him in this, refusing to accept even the most sensible of solutions in favor of a dogged determination to play slave to his body's whims.

If he envisioned those midnight strolls leading to a chance encounter with some comely stranger, surely it was only a symptom of this same malady. If he considered in vivid detail every touch and word and motion, constructed a perfect scene to make his pulse quicken and his hands itch, if he dreamed a hungry dream of replicating the crucial error and loosing its madness on the world again such that he might soak in the unfiltered memory of its cruelty, it was all born of the certainty that none of it would ever come to pass.

But if it did, oh, if it did, what utter bliss. . . .

#yogfic #lab buddies #i like RLS but he writes like he ate a thesaurus for breakfast