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coucouatoi · 1 year ago

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we're not who we used to be | h.s.

Pairing: Harry Styles X Reader

Summary: Some letters you've written but never sent to Harry over the years.

Warnings: Angst... so much... there's some fluff, emphasise on the some, there's a hopeful ending tho!

A/N: Sooo this is the childhood friends to strangers fic no one asked for... Hope you all enjoy! This is my writing debut in Harry land :)

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April 10' 2010

To: Harry Styles From: Your first fan

Hiya Harry,

It's currently 11:29 pm about 10 hours away from your audition. I figured since you told me to stop praising you and boosting your ego, I'm writing down the rest of the things I want to say.

Firstly, I know you're going to smash it! All the judges are going to want you in. There's no chance that they won't see how special you are, how you're the next big thing.

I won't let you back out of it last second! Anne, Gemma and I are ready to drag you onto the stage, we've discussed it thoroughly...

Secondly, I'm already so proud of you. This is a huge step, I know how nervous you are about it. How you think that everything is going to go wrong and that you'll fail. I've got enough hope in you for the both of us. I'll stand by your side the whole time and I'll cheer the loudest.

To finish, you're Harry Styles. You can do anything.

Break a leg superstar!!

Cheering you on already,

Your first-ever fan

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December 12' 2010

To: Harry Styles From: Your biggest fan

Harry!

You've made it all the way to the finals! It's crazy! I knew you could do it but seeing you go further and further has been surreal.

I hope you and the other boys get along well! We haven't had much chance to really gossip about it all, you seem excited with them!

The finale is set to start in about 2 hours and I had to get some emotions out (my mom was tired of hearing them... rude) Anyway! I remembered that I had written you a letter a few months ago and now I'm back in this notebook.

I'm so nervous, excited and kind of nauseous about watching the last episode tonight. I can't even imagine what you're feeling right now... You must be so scared but incredibly jittery!

I'm counting the days until I get to see you again! I want to hear everything that's happened behind the scenes! You know how nosy I am!

I've already taken up two pages so I'll stop for now.

You can do this!

Talk to you soon,

Your favourite person ever

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March 7' 2011

To: You From: Me <3

You called me Angel today...

I don't know what to make of that.

I had so many butterflies in my stomach.

Could you call me that again?

You're my favourite person,

Angel

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November 20' 2011

To: Harry From: Angel

Boo!

You finally let me listen to the full album today! Said you had to be there when I listened to it so you could give me all the secrets. You also wanted to see live how I reacted to every song. You're too cute.

"I Want" is my current favourite.

You did tell me that you'd resonated with a lot of the lyrics you sang on this album. That almost scares me.

How did you relate? Who was going through your mind?

You do have the world at your feet now. I shouldn't feel jealous but I do like having you all to myself. Don't worry I'll get used to sharing...

The Up All Night Tour is starting soon! I'm happy that you've invited me to come to some shows. I'll be there no matter if I have to miss school.

I have to show all these newbies that I'm THE biggest Harry Styles fan out there!

Hopefully, you thought about me while signing.

Because I think about you all the time,

Your favourite fan.

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April 13' 2012

To: Harry From: Angel

G'Day Mate!

So you're officially all the way in Australia now! That's so exciting I wish that you could have stuffed me into your suitcase... sniff

I bet it's super warm there! Or not wait their seasons aren't the same as ours, are they? I'm not even sure...

Hopefully, you can tan a little while you're there! Don't go near any animals or insects!!

I miss you a lot, maybe I'll send this one (spoiler I definitely won't).

Talk to you soon hopefully.

Go swim in the ocean,

Someone who wants to be in it

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August 29' 2012

To: Harry From: Angel?

You haven't come to see me since you've been back.

Too busy being a celebrity?

I've been seeing all these tabloids... I'm not allowed to be jealous I know but I miss you.

I hope you've missed me.

I really really wish you were here with me or that I was with you wherever you are now.

I just want to be us.

Have you forgotten your friend from the small town already?

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January 1' 2013

To: Harry From: Someone You've Hurt

I don't know what to think,

You kissed me. It made me happy.

You said it was a New Year's kiss.

You said you drank too much, it hurt.

You ended up kissing someone else about 20 minutes later.

That hurt even more it almost made me feel used.

I'm happy you were my first kiss.

I don't think you'll even remember it,

Y/N

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November 27' 2014

To: Harry From: Me

I love the new album, took me a while to finally listen to it. I thought you'd come home and make me listen to it in your presence.

You didn't. The first album that I've listened to alone.

Spaces and Fools Gold are my favourite songs. I wonder how many lyrics you resonate with. How many of them did you write?

Come home?

Only for a day please,

Your first Angel

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October 21' 2015

To: Harry From: Y/N

It's been a while,

It's your mom's birthday today. Well only for a few more hours...

She invited my family and me to the party, and of course we went. I didn't think you'd be there. I haven't seen you in almost a year.

It was fun.

Catching up about everything that's been going on with you and the band. Your life is so much more interesting than mine now.

I'm just a boring college student... you're this huge star but that's ok there's no one like you for me, you're my safe place. No matter how far away.

You asked about my love life and I told you about the date I had a few days ago. You asked if we had sex, I lied and said yes. I didn't want to embarrass myself by telling you no one's ever been with me like that.

We ended up getting drunk. Too drunk.

We fucked.

You took my virginity and you have no idea... should I tell you? You were so good. So gentle, loving but you fucked with a purpose, you needed to get off. I won't ever see your childhood bedroom the same way.

This was only a few hours ago.

I've felt every emotion about it. Now I'm crying because I know you'll find someone new to share a bed with. I'm just a notch in your headboard.

It meant everything to me.

But I think I regret it...

Y/N

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May 12' 2017

To: You From: Me

Really?

I hope Only Angel isn't about me.

But I'm overanalysing every single song. Is one about me? Did you think of me while making this album?

We haven't talked since the last time we saw each other. When we fucked again. It wasn't even the second time, after your mom's birthday two years ago we never stopped. It's all we do when we see each other.

It doesn't make me feel all that much better but I feel like if it wasn't for that we wouldn't even know each other anymore.

I'm moving away this year. Got a job offer in Canada and I'm taking it.

Maybe I'll get over you... hopefully.

I can't live my whole life waiting for someone who I don't know anymore.

I'm blocking your number.

I miss who we used to be,

Your first-ever fan

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December 4' 2019

To: H From: Y/N

Hello,

You've crawled your way back into my life, Harry. This morning, you decided to send me your album. Your new one, Fine Line. Your fans haven't even heard it yet. The public hasn't either.

You didn't write a single thing in your email, the mp3 link was staring me down with your automated signature. Not even a greeting.

I shouldn't have listened to it.

I don't know why you sent it to me. We haven't spoken or crossed paths in over a year. Not since I moved and tried to get rid of every way of contact between us.

I still haven't answered, I don't think I will.

You don't get to know what I feel about it. Not anymore.

I'm sorry Harry.

I've moved on,

Y/N

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December 13' 2019

To: H From: Y/N

Your new album came out today.

I'm proud of you even if we are strangers now.

You're a superstar.

I always knew you would be,

Y/N

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March 17' 2020

To: H From: Y/N

I saw that you had to postpone your tour.

You must feel so defeated.

I know I do. Everything's been closed and opened and closed again here in Canada. It's getting exhausting.

I hope the world starts working again soon.

This all sucks...

Crossing my fingers for the tour,

Y/N

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May 18' 2022

To: Harry From: Y/N

Hi,

You sent me the album before the release again.

This time you did say something: I miss you Angel, Can we meet up?

I didn't think I could feel so many butterflies in my stomach. I felt like a teenager again. And I cried more than once listening to Harry's House.

I'm still considering if I should answer... if I do what should I choose? Should I agree and go into the unknown or forget it happened and keep on going with my life?

I miss you too... the one I knew. Not the one who used me. I guess I used you too... How did we get here?

All I want is to be loved and to be in love.

I'm not sure if I'm ready for the hurt this will bring but maybe I should just be a grown-up about this...

I want you back in my life.

That scares me,

Y/N

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August 16' 2022

To: Harry From: Y/N

Well,

I'm going to the Love On Tour today and after we are going to "meet". We even have until the 20th because that is when your next show is, after today obviously.

You were so excited when I agreed.

It's almost as if no time has passed when we text (he changed his number in the last few years... no need for an embarrassing unblocking).

My friend, the one who convinced me to agree, helped me pick out an outfit. Thankfully for her, I won't stick out like a sore thumb in the crowd of feather boas and cowboy hats.

I really want this to work.

I want to believe that we can be good again. We can be healthy for one another again but I'll be worried until I see you.

Until we speak.

I won't let myself touch you, I have a feeling that it would be far too easy to fall back into a bed. Maybe a hug would be okay.

I'm excited for the show, to see the Superstar Harry Styles in action. After so many years you have to have evolved so much.

You aren't little Harry from Worcestershire anymore.

I'm not the same person I once was either.

See you tonight.

Break a leg,

Y/N

#harry styles x reader #harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry x reader #harry styles fic #harry styles x you #harry styles x y/n

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bugs1nmybrain · 1 year ago

Note

Have you heard the song “give your heart a break” by Demi Lovato imagine that as a cute love story for Shigaraki with the female reader?

(I was thinking about just using the song as a story title and then use your imagination and get creative with whatever you choose and just have fun with it?😅)

Give Your Heart a Break - a soft Tomura Shigaraki x fem!reader series

CHAPTER 1 (Minors Don't Interact)

You can read Chapter 2 here.

Notes: You asked for a love story, and you're getting a love story XD. I plan for this to be a continuing series. No overarching goal with this series, just a sweet story about how Shigaraki fell hard for the reader. It will be messy! Shigaraki is not a healthy guy and would be a vile boyfriend, but I will make this as fluffy as possible. Underneath all that homicidal rage is just a boy who was never loved. This is admittedly a very, "I can fix him," kind of story lmao.

Summary: First encounter between Shigaraki and the reader. The whole chapter is literally Shiggy freaking out in GameStop because you walked in and you're so pretty and he wants to talk to you but doesn't know how.

Warnings will come and go as each chapter comes out.

Warnings: The canon of BNHA is altered; quirks still exist but Shigaraki is more of a domestic gang leader than a domestic terrorist lmao. NSFW (no sex in this chapter), Shigaraki is a creep, fluff, blue-haired Shigaraki (season 4ish), CHEESY, Shigaraki hears voices and has very loud intrusive thoughts (they are highlighted in blue and red), POV swings, CLIFFHANGER

Notes about Reader's Appearance and Personality: HEAVILY based off of me. She's shy and polite up front but silly and vulgar with people close to her. She is short and a little thicc. Alternative clothing style and she's messy looking. She is a gamer! She is insinuated to be Shigaraki's age (20), maybe even older. She likes anime! She has crooked teeth.

Tomura wasn't unlike other 20-year-old men in that he found himself checking out girls from time to time. He usually didn't do more than look in his peripheral vision, actually, love and romance and even sex were all things Tomura wasn't acquainted with. There's no way someone so twisted could ever be loved.

Tomura loved giving off the impression that he needed nobody. Even in the League, he isolated a lot while the other members would be doing something together. He'd retreat to his own room and play games or plan out operations, but sometimes he'd retreat so that he could cuddle up with his favorite body pillow and just lay there.

He'd probably kill anyone who ever found out about it, but he was starving for love. To be touched, held, kissed. For someone to play with his hair and be comfortable around him. Everyone's so afraid of him, and that's a good thing! However, sometimes he just wished he had someone, just ONE person who wanted his company. Someone to listen to him rant for hours about how much he hates heroes, someone to play games with, someone to make love to, or someone to just hold for comfort when he was stressed.

He'd commit mass genocide if anyone knew he'd had imaginary girlfriends.

Now, a big scary bad guy like Tomura could get a girlfriend, right?? Just use those scare tactics, hold her by the throat with one finger up, and tell her she has no option but to love him. Steal her, hide her, keep her to himself? Sure, the fantasy was a little hot to him, and he could so easily do it. Tomura didn't want that though. As possessive as he is, he wanted to be loved. Not feared. He's feared plenty.

He'd kill if anyone knew how much pain he's in every time he sees a cute couple walk into GameStop. It pisses him off so bad. Why can't he have that?

"Well, doi, Shigaraki. You're a murderer, a psychopath, and a villain. Just one touch and it's over. What girl is going to want your hands all over her?"

"Whatever."

Shigaraki was currently at GameStop looking for a video game he'd been wanting to play. He picked the game and came up with a few fingers, turning it the other way around to read the details. As he was reading, he heard a ding from the door, meaning someone was entering the store. Shigaraki always looked when it went off because he could never be too sure that some hero bounty hadn't tracked him down. He looked over to the door, expecting it to be nothing special.

Whatever Tomura was feeling right now started in his eyes. Goodness, you were so...colorful. Not even! It was funny, considering you were wearing mostly black. However, your pretty hair that was put up in pigtails and your sharp black eyeliner made you stand out like a sore thumb.

You were little, too. Tomura looked in comparison as you stood at the door, seeing that you were only around the 5' mark on the height scale.

The feeling started going to his brain now. You stepped closer and closer to the store, your pumped boots making you seem all big (even tho ur're small), bad, and mysterious. He worried you were going to walk over to his area, but you made a beeline toward the anime section.

"Hehe weeb."

Tomura didn't want to stand out, so he just stayed put, looking at games he was never going to play. He didn't even read the labels, he merely pretended to so he could observe you. He saw the other losers in the store eyeball you, too. That made him wanna kill them for some reason. He wanted to get a proper look at you, but he didn't want you to know that he was blatantly creeping on you. Even if he just looked at you, you'd probably leave the store like that. After all, he was wearing a black hoodie and the parts of his face that were visible were his rather creepy features. He'd scare you off.

He's planned some pretty crazy missions before, surely he could gather intel on you in your short time in GameStop, right?

He wanted a better look at you, so he switched from the PS area to the T-shirts. He even pretended to do a little "aha" at the shirts to make it seem like he wasn't purposely there so he could see you better. When he could get a solid look, though, he instantly needed to know everything about you.

Goodness, he's a simp, huh? You were just so goshdarn cute. Sure, he saw gothic and alt girls around the mall all the time. You looked a bit silly, though. Your makeup wasn't bad, but it was messy. Your hair could probably use some brushing too. You held a phone that had a case of some anime guy, though he didn't know which one.

"Hehe weeb."

Fuck, you were heading his way. He didn't know if he should leave before you were near him or just stay. You kept your distance anyway, as you were standing very far off to the side. Surely, you weren't able to get a good look at the shirts. He stepped back, hoping that you'd be able to tell he was giving you room. You smiled and said, "thank you," going to step forward.

Now the feeling was going to his nuts.

Now that you were in front of him, he got a nice view of the back of you. Not only could he see up close how small you really were, but he got a great view of your more intimate areas. He could tell from your skirt that you had wide hips and thick thighs, which made him pop a tiny smirk while you weren't looking.

"Grab her."

Oh, come on, not now.

Stupid fucking voices. Though, they had a point. She's small and seems polite enough to manipulate. She's thick but probably isn't that heavy in the grand scheme of things. Alone. And she ain't getting nowhere in those shoes.

While his voice distracted him, you had managed to end up at the registrar with a t-shirt in your hand. Tomura didn't really think as he bolted over behind you, he wasn't ready for you to leave. He already had his game that he had to buy so it wasn't like he was in line for no reason.

The feeling started going into his blood. He felt hot, and it was because of the stupid cashier making jokes with you and being friendly. Your laugh. He could tell it was fake, but you were so warm?

"Pet her hair."

Wow, ok, Tomura thought. Sometimes they'd say very bizarre things. Voices were confusing because he could never tell if they were deep-seated desires of his or if his brain just purposely wanted to fuck him over.

She started to pull out her wallet to pay but ended up dropping something. It landed right at Tomura's feet, so he bent down to grab it. A debit card!

"I'm sorry," you laugh nervously.

Tomura made sure to read your name intently before handing it back to you.

"No worries, hah. Guess I got to be somebody's hero today," he joked. Fuck. That was a bad joke wasn't it?

"That'd be the first time a hero has done anything helpful for me, then, haha."

...!

"That was a jab at heroes, wasn't it?" He thought. Now the feeling was in his chest. Maybe he's running with too little information but that sounded like an "I hate heroes," joke. Oh, now he's really got to know you.

"Yeah, maybe if they got off all those stacks they make they'd actually save a life, huh?"

"Hehe! You get it!"

You were smiling at him. And laughing. But not the fake laugh you gave the cashier. Your cheeks also flushed up as you giggled at his insult to hero society and he even got to see your teeth. Crooked, like his. He felt paralyzed, being able to look at you without sneaking it this time.

"I like your hair," you said to him.

Shit. He didn't even notice his hoodie fell off when he grabbed your card. Hopefully, the shopkeeper didn't know what "Shigaraki" was supposed to look like.

"I don't see many guys with blue hair like yours."

His eyes lit up when you said that. He may have even felt a small blush creep on his cheeks. Tomura knew he had an ugly face, one that made people whisper and steadily move away from him. But you complimented his hair instead of getting creeped out by him. "Really?"

"Yea. I like it a lot. Most people go for dark blue, but your color is prettier."

Pretty?!

He could swear that he can see you flustered. Is he making you blush? He didn't even do anything but have blue hair.

"Sorry, that was weird," you stammer, realizing that the word "pretty" could've offended him.

"Oh, no. You're fine! I like your hair too, the way you styled it is cute," he beams, hoping to earn some flirting points. You flashed him an adorable smile back, so he must've struck a chord.

"Ma'am, I don't mean to interrupt, but there's a line," the cashier says, getting your attention.

"Oh, right."

The way your voice shot down maybe two octaves was so funny to Tomura. You were so bubbly and flustered with him and yet so dry and indifferent with this guy. You were so interesting already. It's a good thing he made sure to remember the name on that card. Your name fits you so well, too.

You paid for your shirt and started leaving the store. Fuck, no! He didn't want you to go just yet.

"Stop her."

"Grab her."

"Tell her she's hot."

"jesus christ shut the fuck up!" Tomura mutters to himself as quiet as he could. He was trying so hard to think of how to get your attention again, but before he could, you had already been no where to be found.

"Stupid short bitch, I'll find you."

He may have thought of that one voluntarily.

#shigaraki x reader #shigaraki tomura #shigaraki tomura x reader #tomura shigaraki x reader #tomura shigaraki #shiggy x reader

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giggly-squiggily · 2 months ago

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Amazing, Showstopping, Glamorous Blue Lock Headcanons That Are Definitely True Ego Told Me So #4

The Blue Lock brain rot is severe in this one lols

-Isagi is touchy in the sense of always fixing or adjusting something on those around him. Stray hair? He's smoothing it out. Jersey's all bunched up in the back? He's tugging it straight. Shoe's coming undone? He's dropping to the ground and tying them for you. The team like to tease him about being a mother hen, but really; where would they all be without him?

-Bachira is great lyricist but a terrible singer. He can make up some really good lines and verses if he tries hard enough, but they never really sound right. Reo offered to sing them for him once, as did Aryu- they formed their own little group they called "The Wisteri-AHHs!" The band broke up not too long after when they couldn't decide on what to call their first single.

-Nikko cried in the locker room when he heard The Wisteri-AHHs broke up. That was his big One Direction moment. (He also cried when One Direction broke up.)

-A lot of people speculate Sae was the one to introduce Rin to the horror genre given how much his younger brother idolized him in their youth, but paparazzi once caught sight of him playing MySims on his switch and that idea was quickly dismissed.

-On that note Sae hates horror movies and gets ridiculously jumpy after enduring such things (Shidou is a big fan- every other movie night has at least ONE cheesy horror film from the 80's/90's- those are the only ones Sae will sit through).

-Chigiri can tie a cherry stem into a knot with his mouth. Isagi tried to copy him and proceeded to choke. Bachira tried to tie a banana peel into a knot with his mouth once. Ego has since put a ban on doing such things.

-Reo is a HUGE Wicked fan. He knows all the steps and words to every song (His favorite is Popular- he likes to sing that while getting Nagi up and out of bed) and will belt out Defying Gravity if given the opportunity. Raichi will claim it's annoying but he's secretly a huge Wicked nerd as well and will occasionally join in with Reo's antics.

(Season 2 character mentions below the cut!)

-Otoya one time convinced Karasu that waxing his armpits would make his arm-span range better. The result was him laughing himself sick in the bathroom while the bird man struggled to rip the wax strip off. He may have cried when Yukimiya-beyond over their bullshit- ripped it off for him.

-Isagi unironically thought Oliver was in his late 30's when he first saw him during the U-20 match. When he found out he was only 19 he accidentally blurted out "in dog years?" No one ever lets him live it down and Oliver has yet to recover.

-Yukimiya can make a variety of animal sounds ranging from dolphin chirps to monkey screeches to an expansive list of bird calls. He and Nagi make a game out of it, much to Rin's annoyance.

-You know that vine "Stop saying I look like chicken little, he's dumb and a coward, and I'M NOT A COWARD!"- that's Karasu whenever someone says he looks like Kaito from Danganronpa.

#squiggily has a lot of thoughts #blue lock #headcanons #spontaneous headcanon #spontaneous headcanons #I'm getting sick and my period's coming #I need some fluff and I'm sharing it with all of you #apologies for the Wicked brainrot but not really cause it was so good?#I can't stop thinking about it hehehehehe #longish post?

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artsy-the-little-pink-pencil · 18 days ago

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Ragatha (Rosalyn) Anne Miller

Age when she joined: 20

Height: 5’9

Age Now: 32

Fave Color: Pale Blue

Sexuality and Gender: DemiGirl, Lesbian

Pronouns: She/They

Personality Type: ISFJ

Zodiac: Taurus

Home State/Country: Ohio (Scottish, English, American)

Birthday: May 5, 1993

Year she joined: 2013

Headcanons

She is Dane Miller's (The founder and owner of C&A) daughter. She had been a people pleaser for as long as she lived, her father was emotionally abusive and immature, causing Ragatha to grow up quicker than she should’ve.

Being able to summon her sewing needles and sew herself back up instantly, her butcher’s knives, and to go limp just like a ragdoll. She is also very resilient to attacks, being a ragdoll has its perks. If the gash is too big to sew on her own, she’ll either get someone else to sew her or Caine. She won’t die tho, but will definitely be traumatised.

Her father taught her how to sew.

She was raised by her father alone.

She was extremely rich, having a mansion, horses, a pool, yatch, ect. She was basically a modern princess.

She was very popular in school but didn’t want all the attention. She was soon bullied by the same kids for being, “Ungrateful”.

She went to private schools before being homeschooled.

Dane made sure Ragatha was completely under his influence and when she did finally figure out what was going on with him trapping people in his game, he did the same to his own daughter.

Ragatha's mother wasn't very present in her children’s lives. That was because she was working 2 jobs for her family which meant Ragatha had to be her replacement.

Is a firm Christian and went to church every Sunday, prayed every night, and said grace before every meal and still does. But she does respect other religions of course.

Had a wonderful relationship with her grandparents but only knew them for the first few years of her life.

She was born with blindness in her eye (the eye that has the button) and was bullied by her siblings for it.

Ragatha crochets in her free time. She loves making little coasters, sweaters, ect.

Is very oblivious to compliments/flirts.

After leaving the circus, she would have horrible nightmares of her father as Caine.

Ragatha still needs a nightlight to sleep.

Get to know the ragdoll!

Chinese Horoscope: Rooster

Spirit Animal: Rabbit

IQ: 92

Nicknames: Ragsy (Artsy), Raggy Anne (Jax), Mom (Gangle), Honey (Pomni)

Allergies: Wheat and Eggs

Disabilities: Blind in one eye

Right or Left Handed: Right

Quirks/Habits: Pulls on hair when angry or upset and constantly bounces leg

Siblings: 3 younger brothers and 2 younger sisters

Who is the most important person in her life: Pomni

Person she looks up to the most: Kinger

Best Friend: Kinger

Lover: Pomni

Rival: Jax

If he could have a superpower it would be: Flight

Dream Job: Professional Horse Rider

Biggest Fear: People not liking her

Biggest Flaw: Being a people pleaser

Favorite Animal: Horse

Favorite Hobby: Making clothes

Favorite Food: Spaghetti and Meatballs

Favorite Drink: Fruit Punch Gatorade

Least Favorite Food: Basalmic Vinegar Brussel Sprouts

Favorite Season: Spring

Favorite Movie: Breakfast Club

Favorite Book: The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

Favorite Singer/Artist: Brittany Spears

Very skilled at: Sewing and fixing clothes

Least skilled at: Putting her foot down

Greatest Achievement: Won 1st place in her state's horse riding competition

Pet Peeves: Jax, people who are mean to others for no reason, messy sinks/houses.

Introvert or Extrovert: Both

Organized or Messy: Organized

Is she good at singing: Yes

Can she bake: Yes

Can she cook: Yes

Does she play any sports: Horse Riding

Instrument: Violin

Motto: “Treat others how you want to be treated.”

Theme Songs

She's just a Ragdolly - Raggedy Anne and Andy movie

Old Doll - The Mad Father

#the amazing digital circus #tadc #tadc ragatha #TADC Headcanons #TADC Au

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nicoartpage · 8 months ago

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Freelancer RedactedVerse

(Questions from @mr-laveau - LaVeau-gue)

What’s your listener’s name and nickname?

Name: Parker Woods Nickname: Freelancer/Deviant/Voyeur/Silly

What’s their backstory?

Their family work as rangers at FishLake National Forest, Utah. Living in Fillmore, for quick entry to the forest. They grew up learning the way of the land and each part of it; they can navigate the area if they got lost. Once their powers manifested their parents were very shocked, they didn’t understand what was going on with their child so they kept away from them. (Note: their powers did appear at the age of 14 - 15 but they were very weak then. Once reaching later teens to early 20s, they started to become more unstable and they fully got out of control at 25 - 26).

Freelancer decided to go out into the forest when their powers were out of control. One night, it became too unbearable that they began to have a panic attack and that is when Caelum first appeared to them.

Caelum told them about D.A.M.N. Uni to which they decided to go there. They told their parents they are leaving. From that point we are at Freelancer Season One.

What’s the desired aesthetic of your listener character?

(Drawing is made by LittleLuxray)

What’s your listener’s gender presentation like?

Non-Binary (They/Them)

What’s your listener’s ethnicity?

Hispanic/Mixed race.

Mexican + Austrian - Grandpa from Mexico & Grandma from Austria

What’s your listener’s age?

28 years old

What’s your listener’s body type/build?

Slightly built but does have a little chub around stomach area. They do go to the gym three to four times a week, just so they don’t feel like they haven’t done enough exercise that week.

What’s your listener’s star sign?

Scorpio - Birthday is 31/9/1996

What are your listener’s most important relationships and who are they connected to?

Caelum - He is like a little brother to them and they’ve grown to have a very strong friendship. Even when Freelancer gets weird looks from others when talking to him in public, they shrug it off and only care about him in those moments.

Gavin - He has also been a very strong relationship for Parker, probably one of the best people they’ve had a romantic relationship with. They care a lot for each other and even when Caelum is around they are like two parents caring for their child.

Damien, Huxley, Lasko + Coworker - It did take them a while for their friendship with these lot to get to the full ‘trust’ level, but once spending more time they have grown to care for them and Lasko also having family unempowered, he has also become a sibling figure for Parker.

Fredrick - their Uncle. He was a big role model when growing up and is the only one they stay in contact with as he is fine with their powers.

What’s your listener’s hobbies/interests?

Hobbies: Reading, Bowling, Training with Damien, Hiking, Watching storms

Interests: Arcade games, foraging, forest creatures

What Audio RP series are they from?

Redacted Audio’s D.A.M.N. Storyline - Freelancer Season 1, 2, 3 + Gavin’s playlist + Caelum’s playlist + Kody’s playlist + Huxley, Damien, Lasko’s playlists

What kind of lover are they to their partner/what kind of friend are they?

Lover - Passionate but does let boundaries be known now after the incident with Kody. Very much protective as well and will do anything for their partner, whenever they need anything they’ll be there.

Friend - Cares sometimes a bit too much and thinks their problems are lesser than their friends. They are protective but also become care free around their friends, feeling very relaxed around them to the same point as family, once getting to the full trust level.

What is something/are somethings that your listener values?

Trust, family/friends, support, boundaries.

Pick a song that you think represents your listener.

Inertia - AJR

It’s Not A Game/It’s Just A Ride - Ride the Cyclone the Musical

What’s the inspiration behind your listener’s design?

Freelancer is inspired by my love of the woods, some aspects of myself and other info that was dotted through out the series.

Could you give me a vague concept of what your listener’s visual vibe is?

What are some extra tidbits you wanna tell me about your listener?

Their sass is very much like Captain Holt’s (Brooklyn Nine-Nine). Favourite musical is Ride the Cyclone, they find “Space Age Bachelor Man” hilarious but slightly reminds them of Gavin.

#redacted audio #redacted caelum #redactedverse #small artist #redacted asmr #redacted freelancer #redacted gavin #redacted listener #redacted lasko #redacted damn crew #redacted damien #redacted huxley

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alteon77 · 2 years ago

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Updated Masterlist of Writing and Art

About the writer/artist: I like to write and paint. My current obsession is Sandman, but I enjoy most fantasy fandoms as well as anime (I think I’m on season seven billion of One Piece right now 🤣). I'm also weird as they come (and awkward, too), so just please ignore my oddball (coughTERRIBLEcough) sense of humor.

On a more personal note, I have PTSD and suffer from severe manic depressive episodes. Writing and art are my most familiar coping mechanisms, and I need them like I need oxygen. Seriously, there were times in my life that knowing I had to finish a story or a piece of art was the only thing stopping me from ending up dead. So, I don't take part in fandom drama. Having my peace and protecting my mental health are very big deals to me, and I won't risk those for anything if I can help it.

As for my writing, it ranges from short one-shots to ridiculously long novel series. I use third person POV (on longer series) as well as second person (on shorter things). I also try to always exclude physical descriptions when writing main character OCs and assign them nicknames to avoid using Y/N. I love to read Y/N fics, but writing them makes me feel like I'm at work. And who actually wants to ever feel like they're at work when they're engaging in a hobby? Definitely not me.

Lastly, there's usually more stuff on my AO3 page than I have listed here, because I forget to post it pretty often. Oops. I'll get around to moving it all over one day. Probably. Maybe.

Feel free to leave an ask if you want or just drop by my DMs. <3

Artwork links are at the bottom of this list, so if you're here for those, that's where they are.

Sandman 'Verse

All the Precious and Fragile Things (so easily do they break)

After banishing his lover from the Dreaming for her betrayal, Morpheus learns that she is pregnant with his child.

And that she’s been captured by a revenge-seeking Alexander Burgess.

What the both of them are unaware of is that this will set in motion a cascade of unfavorable events, causing a chain reaction that threatens the whole of existence itself.

PART I: All of This Past

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

PART II: These Tender, Loving Mercies

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

PART III: When It All Falls Down

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

PART IV: The Dark of War

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Epilogue

Sometimes He's Sweet

Morpheus hates the holidays.

As excited as she seems to experience the mortal holiday, he's… less so. Much less so. With the entire collective unconscious contained within him, this time of year can be wholly overwhelming, a miasma of too much red and green, too much worry, too much loneliness, too much excitement, too many similarly themed dreams, too many similarly themed nightmares, and far far too many holiday songs. It all bleeds out from the collective unconscious into his own mind, sticks there like weeping sap to a tree until he feels half-mad with the unrelenting presence of it, with his inability to get free from its cloying trespass upon his very being.

This is just a little sweet fluff for the holiday season. It takes place between chapters 19 and 20 of "All the Precious and Fragile Things". No spoilers here if you've read that far!

The Dog Debacle (or how best to sneak a dragon into the dreaming)

Morpheus' daughter gets a new dog.

Well..... kind of.

That Familiar Feeling of Family (or how Hob Gadling ended up as an uncle to his stranger's oftentimes feral children)

It's a pretty universally known thing that families are just strange. As Hob is quickly figuring out, however, this little fact is magnified by AT LEAST a billion when the family in question is Endless.

(A lighthearted story in which Hob Gadling finds out his stranger has married, makes friends with a homicidal maniac/ruler, and manages to become an exemplary uncle to a pack of magically mischievous children. Really, now all he has to do is convince everyone to stop calling his and Dream's weekly meetups "playdates", and then his life would be practically perfect.)

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

The Maker, the Muse, and the Sundered Song

In his temple, what remains of Orpheus waits in trepidation. Something is changing. Something that he knows might alter the very fabric of the world as he understands it.

Finally freed from captivity, Calliope struggles to make any meaningful changes to the laws that saw her bound and taken in the first place. When the strange woman appears on Mount Parnassus and offers help, Calliope knows she would be a fool not to accept it. Even if she thinks that she's being lied to.

Meanwhile in the peace of the Dreaming, Morpheus grapples with guilt over his son's fate. As he basks in the love of his new children, he can't help but to regret his own failings where Orpheus is concerned.

And as for May, she's really just got a job to do. And her own traumatic issues to deal with. And if it's all hella awkward because she's having to work alongside her husband's ex-wife, she'll see it done anyway. There's even the small possibility that she might eventually admit to Calliope the truth about her identity. That is if she can ever actually work up the courage to say it aloud.

Chapter 1

Nothing in This Closet but Boots and a Boy

Morpheus is wildly protective of his daughter.

That's probably bad for the boy in said daughter's closet.

AU's and Other Stuff in the Sandman 'Verse

Of Exes, Hellhounds, and Waffle Fries

Morpheus shows up to rescue the woman he probably loves (though he won't admit it) from hellhounds and ends up getting roped into helping with her family. This is one of those extras that doesn't fit into the main story, but it's fun, so I'm posting it.

The Bizarre Breeding Habits of Anthropomorphic Personifications

It's a tale as old as time.

Two idiots fall in love. Two idiots fall out of love.

Neither one of them is expecting a baby to come along and derail their unhappily ever after.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Original Fanart

I like to play around with different styles and to try new things with my artwork. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. I'm still learning, and I am so far from being a professional that it's laughable. But I only post things that I think look decent or that I think others might enjoy.

The Lover's Argument (Morpheus x oc)

Oneiros (Morpheus in Grecian garb)

Because I could not stop for Death, she kindly stopped for me... (Regency era Dream and Death)

#sandman fic #morpheus x oc #morpheus #morpheus x reader #morpheus fanfiction #sandman fanfiction #sandman oc #dream of the endless #dad!morpheus #dragons in the dreaming #preciousfragilethings #PFT #bbhap #fanart #fan art #alteon77 fan art

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deadcactuswalking · 2 months ago

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 30/11/2024 (Kendrick Lamar's GNX, Wicked Soundtrack with Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo, Stromae & Pomme)

Kendrick Lamar is Santa, Ariana Grande is Mrs. Claus, and God, do we have a lot of elves. I suppose that makes Gracie Abrams Rudolph, since she’s leading the pack for a sixth week at #1 for “That’s So True”. Welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

content warning: language, gang violence, potential spoilers for Wicked Part One

Rundown

As always, we start our week with the notable dropouts, those being songs exiting from the UK Top 75 – which is what I cover – after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. This episode, we bid adieu to: “Two Faced” by Linkin Park and “Running Wild” by Jin – both off the debuts last week – as well as “São Paulo” by The Weeknd and Anitta, “Love Somebody” by Morgan Wallen, “Indestructible” by Andy C and Becky Hill, “TOO COOL TO BE CARELESS” by PAWSA, “Diet Pepsi” by Addison Rae, “BACKBONE” by Chase & Status and Stormzy, “Slow it Down” by Benson Boone, “The Sound of Silence” by Disturbed, “Prada” by casso, RAYE and D-Block Europe, “Riptide” by Vance Joy, and finally, “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls. It is safe to say that at least some of these tracks make their return once Father Christmas has dropped the gifts off at the chimney.

Now for the festive flood, and whilst I won’t mention gains for pre-existing holiday tracks outside of the merriest three, we do have plenty of Christmas-related returns this week – every year has the chart week where the floodgates open for holly jolly hits – and even some seasonal new entries which we’ll get to. For now, we welcome back: “Driving Home for Christmas” by Chris Rea at #75, “Holly Jolly Christmas” by Michael Bublé at #72, “Sleigh Ride” by The Ronettes at #66, “Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!” by the late Dean Martin at #65, “Step into Christmas” by Sir Elton John at #56 (I love that one), “Winter Wonderland” by Laufey at #55 (more from her later), “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” by Bublé at #51, “Do They Know it’s Christmas?” by Band Aid at #45 and “Merry Christmas” by Ed Sheeran and Elton John at #31. Our three jolliest jingles are “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” at #20, “All I Want for Christmas is You” at #10 and “Last Christmas” at #8. I would say it’s too early for all that but my tree’s already up, and the only gain we get outside of this is “Messy” by Lola Young at #41, which I can’t complain about.

As for our top five… I suppose it’s best to break the news now. Kendrick Lamar’s new #1 album GNX and the soundtrack to Ariana Grande-led fantasy musical film Wicked have both debuted three songs – the maximum under UK chart rules – and they’ve all landed high up in the top 20. We can see quite early how this affects us, as Kenny takes “luther” with SZA at #5 and “squabble up” at #4. The top three, however, has not shifted in the slightest, with “APT.” by ROSÉ and Bruno Mars at #3, “Sailor Song” by Gigi Perez at #2 and of course, Ms. Abrams at the very top. Now, before we get into the big events, we of course have the filler episodes.

New Entries

#67 – “Christmas Magic” – Laufey

Produced by Laufey and Spencer Stewart

We start our week – of course – with the Amazon Originals. For those who don’t know, Amazon Music makes original holiday tracks with often famous artists, either for their bargain-bin Christmas films or as standalone tracks that automatically play when you ask Alexa for Christmas songs, hence run the streams up from automatic and passive listening but don’t have much of an impact on a lot of the population’s streaming rotation because they simply do not have access to it. It’s a questionable approach, for sure, but now it has been the norm for so many years, I no longer feel the need to complain about it. I used to review suggestions in protest, but this year, I decided that it’s really not difficult to find these songs without an Amazon product or subscription, and I may as well review them even if for the most part, they’re just vaguely festive slop. Plus, sometimes they are cover versions and hence I can talk about chart history. This does not appear to be the case for either of our new Amazon tracks, starting with Icelandic jazz singer Laufey’s “Christmas Magic” – if there’s any time of the year where her bordering-on-easy-listening style is going to gain the most traction, it would be Christmas, and this is fully a traditional Christmas song, with bursts of swing sax and sleigh bells backing what is basically a list of clichés. Laufey sounds nice as always, but it’s so short and there’s so little to it in all avenues of music – performance, lyrics, instrumentation – that it really can’t rise above vague pleasantry.

#49 – “It Can’t Be Christmas” – Tom Grennan

Produced by the Ghosts of Capitalist Past, Present and Future

Find Tom Grennan in around 30 days time and tell him what day it is, he won’t believe it. Anyway, we have our second Amazon-exclusive track, another original, this time from British pop-rock boy Tom Grennan, a semi-regular fixture on this series for the past few years. The horns are flatter here than on Laufey’s song, the tempo is fixed at a staggered classic soul pace which has never always fit holiday music for me – it’s usually used for Christmas songs that are more longing relationship, by-the-fireplace kind of songs, but there’s a cold angst to that drum rhythm to me, especially when in this context of a manufactured mix and song structure cut down for optimal length and audience retention. Grennan’s delivery flails into a really pathetic rasp, especially in that rough bridge, it sounds like a first take, and the staccato backing vocals don’t do much to sugarcoat it. It plays out less like an original Christmas song and more drunken karaoke from a wannabe Teddy Swims. Thanks, Bezos, we really needed this in the repertoire – besides, if you’re going to make a sincere attempt at introducing your song into the Christmas canon, why make it platform-exclusive to a platform largely not considered a major competitor in that particular medium? It’s like making a blockbuster film only available in cinemas located in Bedford – like, sure, people can see it but you have to go to Hampshire and not everyone’s going to be in Bedford all the time, in fact, most of the country won’t, though it’s not that difficult to get to anyways. And yes, Tom Grennan is from Bedford, and no, I didn’t know that before I wrote this analogy in, seriously.

#21 – “Ma Meilleure Ennemie” – Stromae and Pomme

Produced by Stromae, Mako and Luc Van Hayer

So, this kind of came out of nowhere. Stromae hasn’t charted internationally in a while and does not do so very often nowadays, especially in the UK, but he’s a Belgian singer best known for his 2009 smash hit “Alors on danse”, which this has amazingly out-peaked and once I found out why, I was a lot less excited to figure out why this duet with French singer Pomme had made a big splash when no non-massive event is otherwise getting through the holiday freeze. To keep it simple, as we’ll be talking about in-universe nonsense a lot for the rest of this episode, this is a song from League of Legends spin-off Netflix series Arcane, about a complicated relationship between two characters that starts off really antagonising and blossoms throughout the series, especially the second season which has recently premiered. I actually really like this song too, with the slightly off robotic vocoder functioning as those emotions coming to boil and bubble up inside the two characters, but not feeling too coherent yet, and Stromae’s spoken delivery fitting wonderfully over a reggaeton beat with a lot of space in the mix for phased wave synth pads and choir swells that take a human touch to a potentially over-produced and slodgy rhythm that comes with slowing a reggaeton drum pattern down and fuzzing out the mix. It’s a pretty good song outside of that, on strength of its chorus and concept, which fits what I’m told is the premise about a city and its seedy underbelly. If there’s cyborgs in the show, this is such a cyborg-coded song, and that’s the kind of in-depth observations you read this for. Between this and “Enemy” a few years back, maybe this show has something to it. Now speaking of shows I’m out of my depth on…

#17 – “What is This Feeling?” – Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo

Produced by Stephen Schwartz, Stephen Oremus, Greg Wells, Jon M. Chu, Marc Platt and Maggie Rodford

So, I have not seen Wicked, and I probably never will – it’s the first part of a musical I have no interest in stretched out to a film adaptation of two and a half hours. No amount of positive reception will bring me to see that. However, I had cleverly predicted this outcome and enlisted a duo of undercover spy agents to research and recount details of the piece to inform and assist with this episode. For the sake of anonymity, I shall call them Jessie and James, and yes, I’m Meowth, that’s right. Bear with me here, as like a third of this episode will be plot details for a movie I haven’t seen, but I will try and keep it brief as unlike Kendrick’s songs, these have very little chance of sticking around once the hype has dissipated. This song is from when the two students at “Shiz University” (again, bear with me) first meet: Galinda, an elite sorceress played by Grande, and Elphaba, the titularly wicked witch played by Erivo, write to their parents about each other and their initial experience as roommates. Apparently, this is near-unchanged from the musical version (which is itself adapted from a novel, itself adapted from The Wizard of Oz), and acts as a reversion of the “hate-to-love” trope in conventional musicals, by presenting two characters who absolutely love to hate each other and finding exhilaration in a quickly-onset and potentially longstanding loathing. My secret agent calls it a “toxic yuri anthem”, whatever that means – I like the intensity of the strings and especially the horns as the song ramps up, and for a show tune, the soundtrack version is less flat than many a musical track sounds in studio quality, even if the drums don’t hit like they should. I do find Ari – sorry, I mean Galinda’s lengthy description of her green counterpart being met with a short and snappy “Blonde.” from Elphaba pretty funny and, if I were more attuned with the narrative, probably an appropriate summary of their characteristics. A song about mutual hate written as if it were a cutesy love ballad is a cool take, especially in the bombast of a musical, but it doesn’t fully connect with me all the way through, it loses me a bit once we get into the choir parts. You know what didn’t need to take time to lose me?

#13 – “Popular” – Ariana Grande

Produced by Stephen Schwartz, Stephen Oremus, Greg Wells, Jon M. Chu, Marc Platt and Maggie Rodford

Now I do know this one! Is it because Ari had covered it prior with MIKA? Yes. Do I like that version? No, it’s horrible, but that is in part why it stuck with me and also in part why I cannot watch this film, as if I at any point think of MIKA in a cinema, security may need to intervene. Yes, I still find this song really annoying in whatever form, but what I didn’t know until now is that I’m somewhat supposed to. The musical’s most famous but not most iconic track, performed by Galinda alone, shows her as a bit of a smug, superficial pest obsessed with “improving” her newfound friend Elphaba that she sees as needing to be changed drastically to gain approval from her peers. The “la-la-la” hook is still incessant, but it plays onto “political performance themes” (quoting my spy) and given its status as both a fan and general audience favourite, I’m sure it’s exciting in the film’s context, and though one of my confidantes loved the extended outro, I find lengthening “Popular” to be somewhat like making sure your murder victim gets slapped around before you stab him, especially since the instrumentation is largely barebones. I get why the song is like it is and at least it’s not the MIKA version, but I’m still not a fan.

#7 – “Defying Gravity” – Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande

Produced by Stephen Schwartz, Stephen Oremus, Greg Wells, Jon M. Chu, Marc Platt and Maggie Rodford

It turns out, coincidentally, that the songs’ chart order also reflects that of the musical, so we observe the character arcs in real time. A seven-minute showstopper, “Defying Gravity” may be the most impressive number, so immersive as a song in thematic context that it’s part of why the film has been split into two different parts instead of released as a whole: it’s built specifically to bring a curtain down to intermission, so the producers cut the film not long after so the events following such a grand, iconic moment didn’t end up “hugely anti-climactic”. I mean, the song is called “Defying Gravity” – leaving the audience with a song that, according to my team of associates, gives them goosebumps, may be more powerful than bringing the film back down to Earth at any point, if it were possible. For the sake of chart history, Elphaba’s stage performer Idina Menzel recorded the song as a single, and therefore, this is the one song from the musical we get here to have charted several times, first with Menzel for a #60 peak in 2008, secondly with the cast of the TV sitcom Glee in 2010 for a peak of #38. To track that in the real world, the #1s at those dates were Rihanna’s “Take a Bow” and Tinie Tempah’s “Pass Out”… which both kind of make sense for such an extensive, transforming song about the two main characters coming to grips with how they’re just too vastly different to go in the same direction, and because of that, it’s a particularly powerful song for Elphaba. One of my friends – I mean, undercover employees prefers Adele Dazeem’s version but Cynthia Erivo’s performance here took me aback by sheer strength in just the audio so I’m sure I’d be impressed seeing its scenes play out on screen or stage. That hook really clings to you as an earworm and whilst getting there each time may not be the most fun to follow, that makes it all the more satisfying once you’re there, and this really is a special tune, even out of narrative context, so I completely understand why, despite the length, this is the highest-charting from Wicked. Once again, thanks to Team Wicked for equipping me with details regarding the film and its source texts because doing actual research is for nerds. Who the Hell would write a chart show based on actual research, facts, history and fair analysis for over half a decade? ...Well, maybe Spectrum Pulse.

#6 – “tv off” – Kendrick Lamar featuring Lefty Gunplay

Produced by MUSTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD

All three of Kendrick’s top 10 debuts from his most recent surprise album – dropping in the middle of the afternoon UK time last week – appear in a row from #6 to #4 and we also don’t get any of the denser tracks, which is to be expected but does mean we partially lose a layer we could use to discuss the album with. This isn’t a problem, though, for if there’s any album in his discography that Kendrick wants you to feel and not overthink about, it’s his series of West Coast tributes seemingly made in just the past few months that he calls GNX. I’ve always been less enamoured by Kendrick than many others, because of what in my opinion is a spotty catalogue and messy approach from his output, DAMN. onwards, but a lower-concept, mixtape-esque record from him may be just what I’ve wanted him to get at since To Pimp a Butterfly. There are themes worth getting into on this album, for you to evaluate and take piece by piece, but there’s nothing cryptic, which isn’t necessarily a problem for me regardless, I can enjoy plenty of abstract rap, but it also means the album’s less heavy, more of a concise product that tells you quite explicitly how Kendrick is feeling. Hateful, he is feeling hateful and he's absolutely proud of finally having the angle and time in his career where proving himself isn’t necessary, and he can pull up to the Super Bowl with a set of new bangers he hasn’t gotten sick of yet, or even thought too hard about in the first place. There’s a real release in this album that comes with the post-Drake beef success: near-unanimously crowned the winner, dragged through the mud and coming out clean as a whistle in the public’s eyes, he realises that he can show off some jams that’ll resonate with his folks in California and boost that scene to worldwide status. As silly as it sounds, it might be my favourite Kendrick Lamar album.

Now as for the three track we have here, I’ll zoom through them, as we have two energetic West Coast bangers and one R&B cut, starting off with what might just be my favourite track, and I’m sure many agree: “tv off”. Produced by Mustard, who takes the same Monk Higgins album to flip as he did for “Not Like Us”, alongside Sean Momberger, Kamasi Washington, Jack Antonoff (of all people, he’s all over the record) and Kenny’s long-time producer Sounwave, Kendrick starts off with what may be the mission statement of the album: he’s finally bought his dream car, and he’s set out on the goal of making hits for the people: “fuck being rational, give ‘em what they asked for”. Once letting you know his rationale, he sets the score over a shrill sample chop that rings of all the malice he self-admittedly approached this project with, the beat animated by his manic flipping between his now signature goofy voice (a nasal whine), restless yelling and deadpan, sick-and-tired rambling. The main conceit of the song is authenticity, how Kendrick feels like he’s the only real one in the game, and there are not enough people like him, which leads to catchy flows and great brags like how he can afford to cut his grandmother off if she doesn’t agree with him (so much for keeping the family close), but also comes with the underlying knowledge that he’s admitting he himself is not enough to save his culture from losing the plot. Of course, the song only really switches into gear with the beat switch, as over a menacing loop from a Disney soundtrack of all places, Kendrick memetically screams “Mustard!” when the beat drops as if the guy who produced “Freaky Friday” was a Dragon Ball antagonist. His scream is not just for the meme, though, he explains why: he wants to walk into the Super Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana with the energy of his hometown of LA, and part of that is screaming California’s biggest producer as part of Kendrick’s own personal victory lap. That’s kind of beautiful, but you wouldn’t know it from Kendrick’s grimy verse and intricate rhyme schemes all enveloping from an already ruthless Biggie interpolation. I particularly love the second half verse from the “prophetic”-“cosmetic” bar onwards, the fricative mouthful leading into that second pained “Mustard!” release is such a great moment. And if you don’t know who Lefty Gunplay is, well, you weren’t supposed to, not only was he initially uncredited but he, as one of many West Coast underground rappers Kendrick gave shine to on this record, only provides the outro here, itself a bit of a memetic mantra of how it can get “crazy, scary, spooky, hilarious”. Theories have arisen that this reflects Kendrick’s four main diss tracks against Drake, but I see this more as just what happens when you see Kendrick in this aggressive mode because this album shows that it can get as zany as it can get genuinely threatening, and Lefty Gunplay’s voice fits like a glove, as expected for a largely unknown California rapper – there are a few others on the album, with Dody6 and AzChike in particular giving really standout performances. Part of me wonders if Lefty had a longer verse on this and that one line was just the part Kendrick liked the most so he looped it at the end. Either way, let’s move on to:

#5 – “luther” – Kendrick Lamar and SZA

Produced by Sounwave, Jack Antonoff, Kamasi Washington, Bridgeway, Rose Lilah and M-Tech

Earlier on in the album is a more lowkey cut with SZA, the laidback duet “luther”. One of the few tracks of its kind on the album, it is an honest-to-God love song from Kendrick, promising his girlfriend – presumably his fiancé Whitney, played by SZA – that better days are coming, in part because he’s there for her and is on the way to make her life as perfect as he sees her as. Kendrick promises that if the world was his, she’d have no enemies – in this case, he says he’d gun them down, of course – and wouldn’t have to suffer any pain, playing on the sample from “If This World Were Mine”, specifically the cover by Cheryl Lynn and Luther Vandross. As with many SZA tracks, it’s a piano and acoustic guitar-led trap-inflected slow jam, but with all kinds of very special and very Kendrick additions, like the string swell that tries its hardest to make you not notice that Kendrick’s first verse is the same set of bars repeated with two extra bars (it’s not fully successful), and how the beat is reduced to just the bass mid-verse so Kendrick can play with his “fah-fah” ad-lib melodically for longer than he needs to, but it’s still cut and further immerses you into the fantasy of a perfect world. For the rest of the song, SZA and Kendrick switch from going back-and-forth, completing each other’s sentences on the second verse, to harmonising entire verses and refrains together, in a catchy serenade that still plays with the pace of the lengthy chorus in interesting ways, whilst having Sam Dew and Ink fill in some of the vocal gaps Kendrick simply can’t. Kendrick’s less-than-perfect vocal here is part of the self-deprecation he accumulates in the song – he’s helpless to reach his goal of having a perfect world he has control over, but it’s in pursuit of this perfect woman who loves him regardless: “she a fan, he a flop, they just want to kumbaya”. Overall, it’s a charming, loveable little track that I’m very glad was included and could see sticking around – as much as I love it, “tv off” is probably being swapped out next week, but the higher two are probably going to be charting for a while.

#4 – “squabble up” – Kendrick Lamar

Produced by Kendrick Lamar, Bridgeway, Jack Antonoff, Sounwave and Matthew “MTech” Bernard

Unlike how the three-song rule often dictates, we do not see the opening track on the chart this week, primarily because “wacced out murals” is a five-minute villain origin story that is coldly intense and thematically necessary… but not as much of an undeniable jam as its follow-up, “squabble up”, which appears to get the lead single treatment with a midweek video and it should be obvious as to why. First teased in the “Not Like Us” video months ago, “squabble up” starts with intense breathing under Kendrick’s promise that he’s back: one of the album’s main themes is reincarnation, and here, he sets the stage for an album that’s bangers on bangers by saying he’s done stargazing and back outside for the people, whilst also referencing the sentiment that he considers himself Tupac Shakur reincarnated, a longstanding idea in his catalogue. Sentiments are hardly what makes this song great, though, as it’s named after LA slang for a brawl as Kendrick, with a lot of wacky choices of imagery and great wordplay – sometimes about his own producers (again) – over a groove that caught me in a trance on first listen, especially with that phased 80s synth bass, taken from Debbie Deb’s freestyle classic “When I Hear Music”. The vocal sample from Debbie isn’t interpolated in any way but its theme of dancing to the music takes on a different meaning in this more sinister context – Kendrick’s guys are on the floor for different reasons. The group call-and-response vocal in the bridge comes with intrusive drum crashes, and the third verse has so many cute details in how the sample is glitched and chopped into sparkling sound effects and vocoder loops that you almost get distracted from some of the funniest lyrics in the song, especially the flatly-delivered couplet “Bitch with him and some bitch in him – that’s a lot of bitch / Don’t hit him, he got kids with him? My apologies”. One could complain about the relatively simple and staccato hooks here, but the off-key singing in the chorus has always been part of Kendrick’s charm and why he can appear so down to Earth compared to rappers who will use Auto-Tune for a hook like that, and the rubbery effects in the post-chorus keep it texturally rich. This will have its chart run hampered by Christmas, but I still can’t imagine it not sticking around because this is infectious in all the best ways, and also a fun way to wrap up the episode.

Conclusion

Kendrick sweeps, as you’d expect. He grabs Best of the Week for “tv off” with Lefty Gunplay, and just to be fair, I’ll tie his Honourable Mention for “squabble up” with “Defying Gravity” by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. As for the opposite side, Tom Grennan takes Worst of the Week for “It Can’t Be Christmas”, obviously, and though I’m personally scared of my undercover assistants’ capabilities and mob connections, I will also dare to give Ariana Grande’s “Popular” the Dishonourable Mention. I’m sorry, the song will never click with me. As for what’s on the horizon, I can’t imagine much else but Christmas tunes, particularly a new one from Ed Sheeeran, so strap in, folks. We’re in for the slowest month of my year. For now, thank you for reading, long live Cola Boyy, and I’ll see you… soon.

#uk singles chart #pop music #song review #kendrick lamar #gnx #sza #lefty gunplay #tv off #cynthia erivo #ariana grande #wicked #arcane #stromae #pomme #laufey #tom grennan #christmas music

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whimsicallyenchantedrose · 25 days ago

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Christmas Reruns 2024–Day 31: New Year, New Town

Merry Christmas if you celebrate it and happy holidays if you don’t! One of the things I love about Christmas is watching reruns of all the old classic Christmas movies–Christmas is a big time for nostalgia. A few years ago, I decided to incorporate that tradition into my fandom life and post my CS holiday reruns. So here you go! Enough holiday (mostly) fluff to get you to New Year’s Day. (With a new story posting on Christmas Day.)

Word Count: 1915

Other chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

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A/N: Taking place sometime not long before grown up Henry calls for Hook, Regina and Emma to come to his aid in the alternate Enchanted Forest in 7x2, the residents of Storybrooke are living out their Happy Beginnings. With New Years approaching, Regina and Snow decide it’s time for a new town wide initiative. Emma and Killian use the occasion to make a special announcement of their own.

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“Good morning, Beautiful. How was your night?” Killian crooned softly as he leaned down to kiss Emma’s cheek, his hand softly caressing her shoulder.

Emma smiled as she slowly opened her eyes and turned over to meet her husband’s adoring gaze. She’d introduced him to the song a few months ago, and ever since then, he’d woken her up to it nearly every morning.

They’d been married for five years now, and yet Killian could still make her stomach swoop like a teenager with her first crush. It should be illegal for someone to be so romantic.

Emma sat up, ran a hand through her riotous curls, and then pulled Killian down for a long, slow kiss. Life was good. Life was really good.

Killian pulled away with a reluctant groan. “I’ll never complain about a good morning greeting like that, my love, but if we continue on in this manner, we’ll never make the city council meeting on time.”

Emma groaned. “You sure we can’t just skip it? It’s New Year’s Eve; I’d much rather just stay here in bed with you.”

“Likewise darling,” Killian said with one more smacking kiss to her lips before he threw back the covers and got to his feet, “but you know neither Regina nor your mother would ever let us get away with that given their New Year, New Town initiative.”

Emma groaned again. “Oh yeah, that. Can’t wait”

About a month ago, just after Thanksgiving, Regina and Snow had called a special town council meeting.

“We’ve been Big Bad free for five years now,” Regain began without preamble, staring down each of the members of the council, “and you’d think that would mean our town would be nearly perfect, by now, but that is not the case. I’ve still had to deal with the same petty squabbles as I’ve always had to, and I think it’s high time we do something about it.”

“Just what kind of squabbles we talking about ‘your majesty’?” Leroy asked, scowling fiercely

“Well, for one thing, I think we would all appreciate it if you’d lay off the threats of a lawsuit everytime someone eats the last of Granny’s bacon before you get there.”

“I have always tried to get as much bacon as I possibly could, and my brothers all know it”, Leroy argued. “They double cross me at the diner counter, they know what to expect.”

Regina rolled her eyes and looked on the point of retorting back, which Snow quickly stepped in.

“The point is not to point fingers at any one person,” she said. “The point is that I think we all have things about ourselves that we could change in order to become the best versions of ourselves.”

“So, Lady Snow, what particularly are you and the queen proposing?” Killian asked.

“As you all well know, the holiday season is just now ramping up, and before you know it, it will be Christmas and then New Years,” Snow explained. “Regina and I were talking over tea one day, and we had a thought. New Years is the time for resolutions. What if we–all of us–the whole town–made new year’s resolutions to make our town a better, friendlier town?”

“We’ll call it the ‘New Year, New Town’ initiative,” Regina said in her typical no nonsense tone. “It will, of course, be compulsory for all residents of Storybrooke.”

There was a general groan among the council as everyone began talking at once. Regina banged her gavel, finally restoring quiet to the council room.

“While I personally don’t think New Year’s resolutions are a bad thing,” Archie said, “I do have questions about how it would work practically, though. Surely you can see that forcing the town to make New Year’s resolutions is a bit heavy-handed, even for you.”

“Not happening, Sister,” Leroy tossed in.

“For once, I have to agree with the dwarf,” Killian tossed in. “No bloody way in Hades you will get the town–or even most on this committee–to go along with such an authoritarian scheme.”

Regina sighed in exasperation. “Listen Captain Guyliner…”

Snow stepped in again before things could further devolve. “Okay, maybe we can’t make it compulsory, but I was thinking, we could have incentives. You know, get pledges from various businesses for prizes for anyone who makes and keeps their resolutions until the end of the year. Make it a fun, citywide competition. That sort of thing.”

After a fair bit more debate, the council finally voted six to five–with Regina, Snow, David, Archie, Whale and Marco voting aye and Zelena, Emma, Killian, Leroy and Granny voting nay–to implement the initiative. Emma had been on the fence about the whole thing, but what finally tipped her to the “nay” side, was Regina’s final decree.

“There is one thing I must insist upon,” Regina said. “If we can’t force the entire town to comply with the initiative, we must at least stand in solidarity in our efforts to encourage full participation. To that end, I move that the initiative be compulsory for the members of the council.”

Another groan around the room.

“What’s stopping everyone from just making self-serving resolutions?” Whale asked.

“Well….” Snow began slowly. “Now just hear me out!”

No statement that started like that could ever end well.

“Regina and I discussed that, and we came up with a plan that we think is fair for everyone,” she said. “We, the council, have a say in each other’s resolutions. Everyone is free to submit resolution ideas for each other, and then on New Year’s Eve, we hold a vote to determine what each person will focus on next year.”

That suggestion got more than a little pushback, but in the end, it was reluctantly adopted.

And so here they were, New Year’s Eve morning, making their way to town hall to decide upon and commit to their resolutions for the coming year.

Emma took a deep, calming breath, as she and Killian took their seats at the council table. Killian took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze offering her his support and strength. She couldn’t care less what the council had decided for her resolution; the whole thing was ridiculous anyway. What did have her nervous and excited and a little freaked out was the plan she and Killian had come up with just before Christmas when they learned the news. Fact was, it was a big deal, a really, really big deal.

Regina, dressed in her customary power suit, banged her gavel against the table to quiet the gathered council and call the meeting to order.

“Okay, as it’s New Year’s Eve, and I’m sure we all have better places to be, let’s go ahead and get to it,” she said.

“Here’s how it will work,” Snow said eagerly. “Everyone will vote on the proposed resolutions via secret ballot. The ballots will be tabulated, and then each one of you will be given an envelope with the list of suggested resolutions the council proposed. The one picked for you will be listed at the top in red.”

“And if we refuse to go along with that one?” Leroy asked, crossing his arms and scowling fiercely.

“We aren’t unreasonable,” Snow said in answer. “If you can’t go along with your top choice, you have the option to choose one of the other selections on your list.”

Voting and tabulation were rather quick affairs, and within fifteen minutes the results were in.

“Just to get you all to stop bitching about this and see that it’s not that big of a deal, I’ll go first,” Regina said, taking her own envelope. Taking her letter opener, she neatly slit the top of the envelope and pulled the single sheet of paper free. Taking a moment to read through it, Regina scoffed. “‘Cut back on snarkiness and insulting nicknames’? Really? I don’t–”

“Oh yes you do, your majesty,” Killian said. “I’ve lost count of the number of times you’ve called me some variation of ‘Handless Wonder’ or ‘Captain Guyliner’.”

“Oh, did I hurt your little feelings?” Regina snapped.

“Aaaannd there’s the snark,” Emma commented.

“Fine!” Regina said, “just to prove to all of you that I’m serious about making this initiative work, I’ll accept your stupid resolution.”

With the first resolution reveal out of the way, the rest went rather smoothly. Snow resolved to refrain from revealing secrets (although Emma personally preferred the resolution Killian had submitted for her mom: Call before coming over to your daughter and son-in-law’s house). David resolved to make time for his mates now that his farm was taking up so much of his time. Zelena resolved to cut out envy from her life. Leroy resolved to stop running through the town yelling “terrible news!” about anything less than a full blown emergency. Whale resolved to stop drinking while on duty. Archie resolved to actually get a medical degree not given to him from a curse. Granny resolved to replace the uncomfortable mattresses in her inn. And Marco resolved to take classes to bring his woodworking business into the twenty-first century.

Finally, it was down to just Emma and Killian. The moment of truth.

Emma stood up, and without even looking at what was written on her envelope said, “I resolve to be the best mother I can possibly be and to learn all I can about how to care for a newborn.”

She was met with blank, confused stares as she sat down and Killian rose to make his announcement.

“And I’d like to address my resolution directly to Dave,” he said with a cheeky grin. “Mate, my resolution for next year is to not get your daughter pregnant….again.”

For a moment the blank stares continued until suddenly Snow gasped. “Emma….Killian? Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

Emma stood, and laced her fingers with Killian’s as her smile bloomed and a tear fell from the corner of her eye. “If you think we’re saying you’re about to be a grandma again, then yes. We found out on Christmas Eve. It finally happened! I’m pregnant!”

Later that night, after the ball dropped and the new year came in amid fireworks and cheers, Emma settled in bed in Killian’s embrace.

“How are you feeling, love?” he asked, holding her to him and nuzzling her neck. “Is the little one causing any distress?”

“At the moment all is well,” Emma said. “Now in the morning when the nausea hits like a ton of bricks I might have a different answer, but for right now, everything feels just about perfect.”

Killian placed his hand on her belly and rubbed gently, his attempt, she knew, to caress their growing child. “Something tells me this new year is going to be our best one yet.”

“Something tells me the same thing, babe,” Emma said.

They fell silent for another moment before Emma broke the silence with a chuckle. “How long do you think it will take for the council to realize we totally blew off their resolutions for us?”

#cs fanfiction #cs christmas reruns 2024 #my fanfiction #new year new town

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door · 11 months ago

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my friend asked me for murder show recs and i put together a list of a bunch of them and thought i'd also share it here in case anyone else who was not raised by the glow of mystery! on pbs might want an intro. extremely subjective commentary, obvs. enjoy.

hello. welcome to the world of finding television shows about people getting killed comforting. it's fucked up, but who isn't. here's a list of the ones i like and why and where to watch them.

midsomer murders (1997-current): this is one of those sterotypical "it ran for 25 years and did nearly 18 episodes" british shows. it was adapted from a book series, which are the early eps. they're really fucked up and great imo. the later ones lose that sharpness, but until seasons 20+ i think it's a really solid show. the theme song is performed on a theremin. pluses: every great british actor shows up at least once, incredibly great deaths, lots of hyper niche hobby groups, tom barnaby is the best. minuses: showrunner brian true-may quoted as saying that his version of "english countryside" is entirely white. he was booted from the show at that point, however. i've watched the entire series 2-3 times, except for s5e3 "Ring Out Your Dead" because there's a death in it that i found particularly tragic the first time i watched it and have no desire to revisit it (but ymmv). robyn's fave ep is s3e3 "Judgement Day," because a brass band plays the show's theme song at a village fete and also Orlando Bloom is run through with a pitchfork. (ACORN)

Poirot (1989-2013): truly the goat. David Suchet bodies this role. i don't know how familiar you are with christie, but hercule poirot was her recurring detective character, a fastidious little belgian living in 1930s England. in this show, it's the late 1930s for 20 years, and the sets and costumes are so good. not a single streamline moderne property in england is overlooked. the early episodes are short--40ish minutes each--but they transition to 90 minutes at some point. they adapt all of the poirot books, with the big ones--murder on the orient express and death on the nile--done as higher budget tv movies. (BRITBOX)

marple (2004-2013): another christie adaptation, with 2 actresses playing miss marple in sequence. they also adapted a bunch of non-marple stories to have miss marple in them. set post-WWII, mainly countryside english mysteries. (BRITBOX)

miss fisher's murder mysteries (2012-2015, film in 2020): set in 1920s melbourne, mfmm follows independently wealthy private eye phryne fisher. it's an adaptation of modern novels, so it's less conservative than the christies. phryne's best friend is a suit-wearing lesbian doctor. it's a sharp, smart show, and phryne herself (as well as her relationship with buttoned-up detective jack robinson) is very sexy. it ran three seasons and was followed by a crowd-funded film in 2020, which isn't GOOD, but it is FUN. there's another a spin-off set in the 1960s called miss fisher's modern mysteries, which follows phryne's niece. again--not good, but fun. nothing beats the og series tho. (ACORN)

lewis (2006-2015): this is technically a spin-off of the inspector morse series, which started in the 80s, but i've never watched it so you should be fine. this follows very un-academic inspector lewis and his very academic assistant DS hathaway in EXTREMELY academic oxford england. i really dig the pacing of this, as well as how profoundly weird smart people can be. the big downside is the actor who played hathaway is laurence fox, who's a real stinker of a dude. right-wing, racist, etc. so. ymmv. (BRITBOX)

vera (2011-current): vera is a nearly retired, irascible, set in her ways detective in northumberland. she heads her own department, so part of the appeal is definitely trim youngsters dashing to do her bidding with a "yes mum." she drives a huge old land rover, wears a raincoat everywhere, has no patience for class barriers, and in short i love her. in the newer seasons there is also a detective in her squad called Jaq who is a very cute butch. (BRITBOX)

dalgliesh (2021-current): adaptation of pd james novels following detective-poet adam dalgliesh. set in the 1970s, which sets it apart and which i quite enjoy. his character is really sensitive and thoughtful is a way that's unusual for cop shows. (ACORN)

annika (2021-current): i'm gonna dive into some of the weirder ones now. annika is still pretty serious, but the title character has a habit of breaking the 4th wall to loop the audience in on the meta nature of her thoughts--usually relating to a book or story. it's set in glasgow and they investigate marine crime specifically. annika is played by nicola walker, who full disclosure i find VERY attractive. she's norwegian, she's odd, and she's trying her best. she has a teenage daughter who's gay. (PBS)

queens of mystery (2019-current): this one is VERY odd. think british murders meets pushing daisies. there's a narrator, and occasional technicolor flights of fancy. it follows a very serious detective who was raised by her three aunts after her mother was killed. she comes back to work in her home town and has to navigate both sides of her life, plus still wanting to know who killed her mother. production was interrupted by covid, so the main actress changed between seasons, but the new person is also very good. (ACORN)

brokenwood mysteries (2014-current): this one is sort of...sillier than the rest? it's a new zealand show set in a small town. it's fairly queer (although not nearly queer enough), and one of the things i love the most about it is it maintains a roster of recurring characters (which i think is only possible because of the small size of the NZ film industry). pretty good maori rep, especially jared, a local who seems to know or be related in some way to everyone in town. i adore him. he's off the show now, and i miss him. (ACORN)

mcdonald & dodds (2020-current): set in bath, this is an odd couple partnership of an ambitious young cop lately from london and a shy older cop who has lived in bath all his life and hasn't seen action in a decade. their interactions are funny and lovely, and it's refreshing to see a black woman character allowed to be ambitious. (BRITBOX)

#took out the julie mentions left in the robyn mention #because their love of a tv show playing its theme song on the show is so funny and i love it #gentle murders #this is like. half the length this list could have been #and that's not even getting into the mini-series

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marengogo · 1 year ago

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Silver Lining - What If #6: FOR(ever) ↔️ YOU(ng) - Jikook the Musical

Good Morning - by Verbal Jint [10 Years of Misinterpretation Part I]

[Music is a very big part of my life and I’m MOSTLY INCAPABLE of writing without music, so I just thought I'd share what I am listening to while writing this]

🐺 — 🐺 — 🐺—

Dear Ladies, Gentlemen and Distinguished Enbies, welcome to a one day only “showing” of FOR(ever) ↔️ YOU(ng) - Jikook the Musical. Tonight I shall try my best to narrate a cute little story, which has various songs as centre plot developers; hence a “musical”. Taken individually, all these events may seem absolutely disconnected, and with no relevance to each other. However, as I started to collect them, they turned out to compose quite the neat little story about two boys their love for music and perhaps each other? So grab a snack, and a thin hat everyone, sit, relax and enjoy the show.

SCENE 1: FOR YOU

This story brings us all the way back to almost 8 years ago, to be precise, the year is 2015, the date is August 18 and during BTS’ Japan Official Fan Meeting Undercover Mission in Osaka (this fan meet went on from the 13th to the 20th of August), while playing a game, JM suddenly loses consciousness and falls off stage. He is taken to a hospital immediately and as soon they are explained the situation, Big Hit Entertainment tweets the following:

TRANSLATION:

The same day, JM himself goes ahead and posts the following

TRANSLATION:

Fans panicked. Obviously VERY LUCKILY FOR ME: I WASN’T AROUND AT THE TIME. As for his members, I am sure they were worried out of their minds, so much so that one particular member would express his relief perhaps at having JM safe and sound back with them, right on their very stage. This member was JK, whom two days later (August 20), on the last day of this event, as they performed "For You", walked right by JM and stopped for a couple of seconds, looking at him while he was singing part of the song’s first verse. For the rest of the song, it would become quite visible how JM couldn’t help but smile (cutely).

youtube

SCENE 2: I KNOW

So, even though we do not have an elaborated tale of what all the members must have felt exactly, it is safe to say that JM’s accident had a bit of an effect on JK’s mind. So much so that, a couple of months later, while he was playing around as Romeo & Juliet with JM, on the shoot-set of Season Greetings 2016, JK suddenly “refused” to play with JM because, and I quote:

Let’s fast forward to June 2016, this time we are in Paris, and the boys decide to start a VLIVE just before performing at KCON and, at the beginning of the live, we only have VMIN in sight. They start to talk about RM & JK’s new song “I Know” and, as the two are actually in the room but off camera, Tae asks bribes JK to sing a bit of the song. We still can’t see JK, but, while Tae looks away JM looks straight into JK’s direction as the latter proceeds to sing

🎶Know you love me, boy

So that I love you🎵

… The expression on JM’s face is priceless the things I’d give to know how JK sang this to JM. ANYWAYS, RM eventually also joins into a funny rendition of the song and when they are done, VMIN resumes talking to ARMY and though we will never know for sure what caused it, perhaps JK’s expression, or the lyrics, or the fact that it was JK or all things together, or none of the above, BUT JM did stumble his way through trying to describe the song, in the words of Tae, JM suddenly seemed to be a bit “nervous” almost as if someone had suddenly serenaded him out of nowhere.

Another example at JM being flustered actually happened a month earlier to the Paris trip, at the ISAC where the Tannies needed to sing a song called Hand in Hand and while they are practising (at minute 0:57) I believe that JK might have change the lyrics to “promise me” but don’t quote me on that!, which made JM react in that way Joon and Hobi on the other hand; LOOOL 😬.

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Basically, 10 months had effectively passed since the “For You Incident-Serenade” and it feels as if JK might have caught on to the fact that the easiest way to get a flustered reaction from JM is to sing to him. Perhaps he had to sing at him a couple more times off camera, in order to confirm this theory AS ALWAYS; WE WILL NEVER KNOW but from this moment on, whenever he’d find a chance to, it would seem like JK would take the topic at hand and find a way to romantically sing it at JM.

SCENE 3: A DAY LONG AGO

It is finally February 2017, and love isn’t the only thing in the air, in fact, on paper actually, on February 7, JK graduates high school. He is visibly hella excited, and though he goes to the ceremony alone, all his members show up, and afterwards, on their way to the restaurant, VMINKOOK share a ride. For the most part jikook are doing most of the talking and at a point in which JM is talking a very eager looking JK suddenly starts singing, at JM, the beginning lyrics from A day Long Ago (오래전 그날) by Yoon Jong Shin.

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AND, For the very first time on-camera, JM does his very best not to react. We can still see the slight hint of a smile, but for the most part, he’s successfully brushed it off and he is very quick at keeping the topic of discussion on track.

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This might have thrown off someone like your-truly, but JK? No, the boy likes a good challenge. JK nor was discouraged, nor did he try to force JM to listen to him, he just went along with JM. We are talking about an almost 20 year old boy who, for the greater part of 2016 (that is when he turned 19, which is the age you become an adult in Korea) has been trying his mighty best to have his hyungs, and JM in particular, understand that he is now an adult and that he has been for quite some time. But hyungs gonna hyung, immaright? Sorry JK…

SCENE 4: BEST OF ME

Now, I don’t know what happened in the months between JK’s graduation and the 1st of October (2017), but there seems to be no on-camera attempt of JK even attempting to sing at JM, in fact, if anything, JK has been trying to appeal in different ways. For example, JM-Encyclopedia JK makes an appearance, or I’d rather not call you hyung makes a strong comeback. Regardless, for the first time, at the Fan Meet in Goyang (1st October, 2017) JM is singing at JK lyrics from the “Best of Me” where he substitutes the word heaven (cheonkook) with Jungkook (he would do it again on episode 28 of RUN BTS, which would be broadcasted on November 7, 2017, but telling from the hairstyles it was probably filmed around the same period as the Goyang Fan Meet).

We are now halfway through the movie, and though our heroes have gone through a series of back-and-forths, they haven’t really encountered any “conflicts” per say; namean? Sure, JM is the one doing the singing now, because maybe he is trying to get JK’s attention. Had he lost said attention? Had something happened between the two of them? Or had their relationship evolved to a point in which he was just trying to return some of the musical energy he’d received thus far? WE WILL NEVER KNOW unless they tell us that is. But what we know is that a good 30 days after this, JK would take JM on what we now know to be, thanks to Beyond The Story, a healing trip to Tokyo, which would give birth to the first and most famous gcf: GCF in TOKYO.

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SCENE 5: BOY WITH LUV

Upon returning from Japan the two of them feel closer. It looks like they had the time of their life and they can’t seem to be able to talk about anything else. Basically they appear to be quite smitten with this shared experience, and perhaps, with each other? In addition, while still being the maknae, JK is sort of shifting into being more of a protective entity for JM and though JM tries his best to keep him in that designated maknae-slot, he also can’t help but indulge in the “offered protection”.

They are now spending a lot more time together and this fact is not lost on some people in their environment, regardless of whether said people want to admit it or not. Particularly in 2018 (where, before even getting to the infamous Nampyeon-Namchin December )

we are in Hamilton, September 22nd, on their Love Yourself Tour. As they perform Attack on Titan, during the song’s break, JK pulls a For You Serenade-typa thing, but this is not 2015 and JK is no longer 17. This time, he focuses on JM for the whole part, hair pushed back and all, and for the first time in a while JM is visibly flustered, he silently giggles, turns towards ARMY, and also pushes his hair back. JK’s satisfied expression as he got JM’s attention says it all.

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Yeah, this is not the same JK. He is not a boy who is relieved to see his bandmate's being well and alive, or trying to use the situation to his advantage in an awkwards manner. NO. This is a 21 year old, who’s just come back from the trip of a lifetime, this right here, seems to me, to be a boy with luv.

Speaking of which, fast-forward a couple of months, May 21, 2019, they are in California, and as they are getting ready to perform on The Voice, Memories 2019 will show us how, for the first time JK substitutes words of a song while singing at JM. He substitutes the word “Love is” with “Jimin” while singing Boy With Luv at JM, who acts like he is ignoring him completely but actually proceeds to sing along. Who knew there was an art in serenading and beginning serenaded? Jikook circa 2015 🤡

Indeed, there is nothing stronger than a boy with luv, let’s not forget that a couple of weeks prior to this (May 5th to be exact) Rose Bowl-gate did happen. Well, up to this point, all seems very flowery and very peachy; what could go wrong, right?.

SCENE 6: THE TRUTH UNTOLD

AND, here we are, the part right before the end of the “musical”. We all know some sort of “big conflict is coming” and at this point some might just turn off the movie and leave it at a happy place but the majority will probably just brave it through to this day I start watching Baz Luhrman’s Romeo + Juliet and stop the movie right before the part whenthey take the fake poison, nobody dies in my Romeo + Juliet, thank you, bye! . Let’s brave it through.

Things are going quite well in Jikook world. The Tannies were given a break for the first time ever and thought JM left to go explore the world, he made sure to travel all the way back to Seoul to spend JK’s birthday with him, just to then travel off again; dedication. BTS then takes off to go and shoot Bon Voyage 4, and amongst the many things JK goes up a mountain and comes down with snow for JM; devotion. The two of them are living life, all while diligently performing touring as well.

Thus comes the end of the Speak Yourself tour, Seoul, October 26, 2019. The vocal line performs The Truth Untold and it happens, not only do JK and JM turn to face each other as they sing the last part of the song, but they also change “And” to “But”.

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Jikookers who notice are left speechless, but jikookers weren’t the only people who noticed. That and a series of “jikook moments” throughout 26th-29th of October, made October 30, 2019 quickly roll by and the following happens:

I can’t even imagine what it must have felt to have experienced THAT. To be honest I don’t even want to think about it, but then actually is more like “I can’t believe they actually fucking did that…”. BUT, guess who won the IDGAF war?:

JIKOOK

I bet many thought jikook would perhaps “tone it down”, but they kept being themselves. They kept being as affectionate, annoying, close and “flirty” as per usual, I mean some time in 2020 we got 👇🏾

So yeah, I suppose, love will always win.

SCENE 7: GOOD MORNING

It’s now 2023. All the boys are getting ready to go to MS, as a result, they are giving it their all working on solo projects. Jikook has finally managed to become a bit more private, and this isn’t as a consequence to what happened in 2019 (if not we wouldn’t have had that hickey-incident). A lot has happened since then, but I believe that, perhaps, as things got more serious, and as they got older, their relationship naturally progressed into something more mature, personal and deeper in significance. For example JM associating JK with the song Young Forever

*The writing in the shoe where JM is sticking his tongue out says Jeon Jungkook.

a song that holds a very special place in JM’s heart; tattoo-worthy special.

There is that, the adult side … Aaaand then there is also JK & JM quietly spending 4 days together in NYC/CT, in the midst of JK’s debut (perhaps getting content ready?) and there is also JK half naked in bed trying to bait JM into doing a live with him and starting off the bat with singing at JM the initial lyrics from Good Morning by Verbal Jint.

🎶Good morning – that’s what I texted you

I think I’m into you, it’s dangerous 🎵

… I suppose old habits die hard.

THE END

Always respectfully yours 💜🫰🏾

Marengo.

DELETED SCENES:

THROUGH THE NIGHT by IU

MAKE IT RIGHT by BTS

DAY vers.

NIGHT vers.

ROLLIN’ by BRAVE GIRLS:

#Spotify #Youtube #SoundCloud #Marengo's Silver World #jikook #jikook the Musical

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