#Gen-x Summer Tour
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battleangel · 1 year ago
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4 Minutes Is An Eternity
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I am 42 years old.
I was in college 20 years ago in 2003.
In just 20 years, I have noticed a profound shift in society.
I was born in October 1981 so I am considered an older Millennial.
I have noticed a signficant macro difference between Gen X & older Millennials vs younger Gen Z and Generation Alpha (the generation after Gen Z).
What is the one change across society in the past two decades that could account for this change?
The total ubiquitousness of social media.
Whats the change?
The shortening of attention spans and the shortening of the mind.
Songs used to be, on average, approximately four minutes long.
Go back and look at the Billboard 100 in 2003 and look at it today.
Something should immediately jump out at you.
Songs today are much shorter than 20 years ago.
Songs today are typically just under 3 minutes long.
How did we lose a full minute in only 20 years?
Billboard also recently announced they established a TikTok chart to track the success of songs on TikTok, which is the new radio.
You may not know who Flyana Boss is but if I say, "Hello Christ?" if you were on social media at all the past few months, your mind probably automatically filled in the next bar, "I'm bout to sin again".
"You Wish" by Flyana Boss was literally all over TikToks for you page and later Instagram Reels to the tune of over a billion combined views.
They cleverly had their director film them while they ran towards him in public places as the director ran backwards in front of them with a camera on top of his head.
It is an arresting visual and the views racked up as Flyana Boss started to get requests from local businesses in LA begging them to run through their restaurants and stores for the publicity on TikTok.
Flyana Boss are Black female rappers, eclectic and a total callback to 90s rappers like Missy Elliot.
The kawaii aesthetic, elf ears and relatable clever lyrics about life and sex resonated with people.
They provide an alternative to the Ice Spices shaking their ass in a deli.
They also represent the Sexyy Red "Skee Yee" phenomenon.
Sexyy Red was the first artist to top the newly established TikTok Billboard 100 chart (she debuted at number 1).
Whats the Skee Yee phenomenon?
Its never about the actual song anymore.
You've probably heard "Skee Yee" by now.
Or maybe you saw Sexyy Red in the MetLife VIP area meeting the Jets owner with a stack of 100s held up to her ear.
The truth is, despite literally billions of views on TikTok and Instagram, almost noone has heard the full songs for "You Wish" by Flyana Boss and "Skee Yee" by Sexyy Red.
Because of TikTok, all you need today as a music artist is a catchy 5 to 7 second jingle, verse, hook, chorus or bar and if you can film viral content to it that people either imitate or watch, you can launch yourself into music superstardom.
Flyana Boss has already toured with Janelle Monae.
They were virtual unknowns prior to Summer 2023 with a few hundred views on their respective Soundcloud profiles.
Sexyy Red released her first mixtape, "Ah Thousand Jugs", in 2018.
The Hood Hottest Princess had been grinding away for the past five years on mixtape releases and trying to go viral on Triller.
"Dogg Pound Town" blew Sexyy Red up earlier this year.
Its the song about her toes and ass being ate while she eats Popeye chicken.
She has fire engine red hair and facial tattoos.
If you have a TikTok or Instagram, there is literally no way you havent scrolled past Sexyy Red at this point.
This is the new way to make it in the music industry.
We see Lay Banks, a 19 year old female rapper, utilize this formula to great success with "Ick".
Lay hired the same director that Flyana Boss used for "You Wish".
Instead of running in public places, Lay was filmed rapping "Ick" at a gas station.
"Ick" is about a guy with a foot fetish and bad credit who kills Lay's lady boner and gives her the "Ick".
The hook at the beginning of the viral clip is "Lady boner gone".
Lay is an extremely high energy rapper with hard hitting beats, a sick flow and clever and humorous lyrics complaining about men being in their soft girl era with their credit cards declining.
Its the updated 2023 Missy Elliot "I dont want no one minute man".
Lay is also strikingly beautiful, young and knew that "lady boner gone" waa a viral TikTok catchphrase that would catch on and go viral.
She also cleverly asked female viewers to film themselves rapping the lyrics to "Ick" if any guys had ever given them the "Ick" and then she reshared hundreds of these Youtube Shorts, TikToks and Reels to her personal social media profiles.
Lay has already charted on the TikTok Billboard 100 chart and she has millions of combined views.
This is clearly the new path to musical success as Billboard has recognized by establishing the TikTok Billboard 100 chart.
What have we lost in the process?
To be very clear, I love all three songs and all four rappers (Flyana Boss is a rap duo), especially Lay Banks "Ick".
That doesnt mean that this is a good change for society as a whole.
We, to speak on a macro universal level, dont listen to full songs anymore.
Everything became a sound bite, a viral clip on the for you page before you scroll on to the next video.
TikTok replaced radio.
New music is now discovered on TikTok.
But only in 5 to 7 second snippets curated to blow up on the for you page.
What happens to the Radioheads, Slipknots and Deftones in this brave new world?
What happens to us on a macro level when our attention spans have been so shortened by social media we cant even be assed to sit through a four minute song?
Social media, including messaging apps, is constant and ubiquitous.
It is a pervasive and constant distractiveness and mindlessness.
Its constant scrolling, constant notifications for discord servers & Whatsapp group chats, likes on Instagram & TikTok, trending hashtags on Twitter, new uploads on Youtube.
Constant validation, constant distraction.
Doom scrolling, scrolling for likes, scrolling for vanity, scrolling for boredom, scrolling for depression, scrolling for jealousy and envy, scrolling to endlessly compare.
When TikTok surpassed Google as the number 1 website in the world last year per number of visits, Google removed the pages in their results and made their results pages endless just like TikTok's for you page.
Googles results page was the new limitless rabbit hole of Youtube Suggested Videos -- it never ends.
No more iconic "Gooooooogle" at the bottom of the search results with a different colored "o" above each individual page number.
Nothing ever ends anymore.
Coupled with nearly limitless options to binge watch on streaming services where all episodes are released instantaneously and noone ever has to wait for anything, there are no weekly episodes anymore, no mid-season hiatuses, there are no repeats, season finales that are breathlessly anticipated...
Everything is immediately and constantly at your fingertips.
Its a total closing and shortening of the mind.
It is the evisceration of our collective attention spans.
Multiple screens at all times -- flat screen TV, smartphone, tablet, laptop, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Live, Playstation Network.
Multiple inputs -- music on Spotify, podcasts on Youtube, streams on Twitch, sports games, competition shows and reality TV on regular cable, streaming shows on Netflix/Disney+/Hulu, multiplayer online games on Xbox, Playstation & Nintendo, group messaging chats on discord, Whatsapp, iPhone, Facebook Messenger & Instagram.
Everything is always on, especially you.
Theres always a buzz, theres always a noti, theres always an active discord server, theres always something to check, theres always something happening, theres always something to distract your mind.
Do not disturb is only for when you're asleep.
We were not designed for these constant notifications and interruptions.
They are short circuiting us as a species by design.
Everything became bingeable, nothing ever has to be waited for.
Once the show is released to Disney+ & Netflix, I can binge to my hearts content.
It is a relic of the old days to have to wait a week for new episodes of a favorite show and to have to wait months for a highly anticipated season finale.
Everything is bingeable, including you.
Everything is easily consumed and passed through like the ephemera it is, including you.
There is no permanence, there is no gravitas.
Everything is trending, everything is the now.
Everything is forgotten in 24 hours.
What genocide in Palestine?
There are people trapped on the Gaza Strip?
Emergency medical supplies, food, fuel , water and electricity are being cut off to the Gaza Strip?
Did Travis and Taylor already break up?
Its the shortening of collective memory, the evisceration of our attention spans and the shortening of the mind.
Everyone has already forgotten that Sexyy Red supported Trump on a podcast and posted a sex video of herself on her Instagram stories (right after the Trump story broke so no I dont believe Sexyy was hacked) -- both of these things happened last month.
Does anyone remember Biden brazenly, unapologetically and inhumanely telling reporters on video, Aviators firmly in place, that he guarantees "there will be no ceasefire" between Israel & Palestine despite 13k+ Palestinian civilians being murdered by the Israeli Defense Force over the past two months in one of the worst instances of ethnic cleansing this century?
That literally happened this month and its already been collectively forgotten.
Theres always a new Skims ad for undergarments that give you the perfect nipples.
Taylor Swift was being discussed on NFL broadcasts more than Patrick Mahomes while dating Travis Kelce -- now she has been disappeared from all NFL broadcasts as if she had never been endlessly discussed to begin with.
We are no longer being shown Taylor sitting by Kelces mom and Mahomes' wife and daughter.
But there has been no corresponding commentary at least making a joke about a breakup and a possible Taylor Swift song about same.
The NFL literally had Taylor Swift as their header on Twitter and now she is gone and they are acting like the above never happened.
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I get it, the NFL wants female Gen Z to tune into their games but they literally had a slow mo of Taylor walking into Arrowhead Stadium.
Thats not drumming up female viewership, that is patently insane.
They were slow mo'ing Taylor high fiveing Kelces mom when Kelce scored a touchdown.
That is just downright bizarre and is not about increasing the young female demographic that watches NFL games.
It was creepy in how over the top it was.
Taylor was now the big topic of discussion during pre-game analysis of the Chiefs instead of Mahomes, Kelce, MVS, Pacheco, Chris Jones, Andy Reid.
It was an all out blitz for a month that went so far as Kelce being described as "Taylors boyfriend" instead of as a 3-time Super Bowl champion and star tight end of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Kelce was always the new Gronk, the current poster child party boy of the NFL.
But the slew of commercials, brand sponsorships and SNL hosting gig didnt come until Taylor.
Predictably, young female NFL viewership went up over 300%, Kelce gained hundreds of thousands of Swiftie social media followers then Kelce stopped attending Eras tour shows, Taylor stopped attending NFL games, the NFL dropped it like it never happened and switched their header to Vikings QB Dobbs.
Back to your regularly scheduled programming.
Movies are going to head in the same direction.
2 hours will no longer be the default film duration.
These conversations are already happening within the film industry as studios are pushing a "crowdsourced film by committee", a Choose Your Own Adventure clusterfuck where multiple endings are filmed for each movie and each individual movie theater audience decides the ending in real time as they watch.
Everything is instantaneous, everything capricious, everything fickle, any demand can be met.
What happens to a directors vision if the audience can just decide everything?
And bet that studio analysts and executives will be closely monitoring what audiences vote for and will change future films to align with those votes.
What happens to A Clockwork Orange?
What happens to the Stanley Kubricks, George Romeros & Quentin Tarantinos?
What happens to taking risks?
Will there never be another cult classic?
Will there never be another Rocky Horror Picture Show?
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Would these future audiences have changed the iconic twists in classics like Empire Strikes Back and Sixth Sense?
Will all the sharp edges go away and will we be left with a frictionless existence?
Wheres the space for a nearly six minute operatic genre defying theatrical dramatic essence of drag singular revelation like Bohemian Rhapsody?
Will everything be safe, sanitized and sterilized?
What happens to horror movies that take risks and confront their audiences and skillfully mix gore, humor, satire, societal critique, snark, comedy, slapstick, survivalism, political commentary, dystopia, sci-fi and parody?
Will every rough edge be sanded away?
Do we want an existence like that where our art mediums no longer challenge, repel, confront, repulse, enlighten, elucidate and force us to take a look at ourselves?
Do we no longer want art that takes the piss out of us as an audience?
Do we just want all of the art and media that we consume to be like the Netflix algorithm, endlessly adjusting to our every whim and preference, tirelessly trying to please us in every way, never offending?
Do we never want to be shocked or angered by our art again?
Isnt that what art was supposed to be?
Do we always want to be perfectly happy and satisfied with everything we see?
What will happen to movies that are so bad they're good?
What will happen to guilty pleasures?
Will everything be bland and vanilla, too dull to offend or tittilate, instantly consumed and forgotten with all of the other endless media we are constantly bingeing?
Our existences have been Doordash'd & InstaCart'd.
Everything can be done for us, delivered to us, driven to us, picked up by us, ordered for us, shopped for us, cooked for us, prepared for us, written for us, applied to for us.
Theres an app for almost everything.
The age of inconvenience and frustration is over.
Everything is frictionless -- even our art and entertainment.
What happens to quirky oddities?
Random ideas and concepts?
Harebrained notions and acid dreams?
Paranoid androids and visions?
Night terrors and daydreams?
All of the above have led to crazy innovative mindfucky scripts, films, songs, album concepts, music videos and movie shorts.
Where is the space for body horror films and Takashi Miike?
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When do songs become 2 minutes vs the current 3 minute average?
When do songs become 1 minute?
When do songs cease to exist and people just start to record the chorus or the catchy part for TikTok virality since thats all anyones listening to anymore anyway?
When do 2 hour movies become 1 hour?
When do 1 hour movies become 30 minute shorts?
When do movies in general just become instantaneously streamable shorts that are a few minutes long available simultaneously on every platform?
When will the concept of a full length movie that anyone would have the actual patience and attention span to sit through become anachronistic?
When do single player video games go away because noone has the patience to sit through a solo adventure and play through the game for the plot, storyline, twists and turns and all anyone wants to do is get online and just play against each other?
When do we lose our humanity?
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tomorrowxtogether · 1 year ago
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Everything We KnowFeels Like Summer! TXT to Drop Disney+ Docuseries ‘Our Lost Summer’ Following First World Tour
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TOMORROW X TOGETHER are ready for summer! The K-pop boy group is set to release their Disney+ documentary series, Our Lost Summer, in July! Keep reading for details on TXT‘s docuseries, including release date, what it will focus on and more.
What Is TXT’s ‘Our Lost Summer’ Documentary About?
TXT’s Disney+ series TOMORROW X TOGETHER: Our Lost Summer will release on July 28, 2023.
It will follow the K-pop band on their first world tour, as well as their first time headlining Lollapalooza in August 2023 (the first K-pop group to do so).
Last year, TXT made history at Lollapalooza as the first-ever K-pop group to perform at the famed music festival, and they brought a live band with them! The 5-member band sat down on the same stage to talk to J-14 about the experience at the time.
“So, our first time with our live band, it was a little bit hard at first, but their mood is really good. So, [we] really loved it. It feels like, ‘Oh, I’m [in a] festival,'” the members gushed, teasing that they were “switching things up just a little” with this particular performance because “there are more people” in the crowd.
“Their cheers are really amazing,” the boys gushed of their ‘MOA’ fanbase ahead of their set 2022 Lollapalooza set, noting how much they “really love” taking the stage every night. Initially, the group explained, they were “a little bit nervous” about touring because “it’s been a long time,” but the crowd made them feel super safe.
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Who Are TXT?
TXT first debuted in 2019 with “Crown,” and was the first group to come out of the music company HYBE since mega-famous group BTS‘ debut in 2013. The 4th Gen It-Boy group is comprised of members SOOBIN, YEONJUN, BEOMGYU, TAEHYUN and HUENING KAI.
“Our music is our story of growth and, honestly, we’re nowhere near done with growing,” BEOMGYU told NME in September 2021. “We have a long journey ahead, and through our music we’ll continue to represent the emotions we feel and the experiences we have as young people growing in this generation.”
He added, “I’m sure that the story we’ll continue to tell will be one that all our fellow Gen Z will be able to relate to, as well as all those who have been at this stage of growth in their lives.”
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dojae-huh · 2 months ago
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it was reported that TI was supposed to enlist later this year after the delay with his injury, other than the fanmeeting he wasnpt performing not even seated on mushows where they promoted a slow song like the meaning of love so i don't think he was part of the concert in a timeline where nobody knows what he was up to
JH just pulled a kyungsoo and as someone who went through all that bulls*it 5 years ago i'm just angry (i guess is the denial phase) but even ksoo made more sense he had articles about not renewing and did a unpromoted song as a farewell with an animated mv instead of him singing there or whatever. is not like JH was in a controversy for him to rush that much, the DY thing doesn't make sense when you are not that deep into the delulu bubble of them being a couple, if they are or not honestly i don't care at this point.
its funny because i think jh solo was overhyped, but i still like it but sorry i dont get his train of thought because there are some other saying he could still apply later. About the concert, it would've been nice to have an ot7 concert before everybody had to enlist and end things on a high note despite the sh*t that was this year
I mean man couldn't even wait for the gayos, 127 did great last year and i was looking forward, now i guess they won't be there, dy might as a solo act, mahae with the favorite unit but there's people like johnny and jw that have nothing going on and were excited for a concert. Honestly I hope is cancelled now
Jungwoo wont go earlier and 127 will comeback like never yay! but in the end is sm's fault for not doing things well in after 2020 i guess good luck to them with dream that might sell well but their have been suprased by the main 4th gen bgs on terms of touring (txt, enhypen, ateez, skz)
I haven't seen that info about Taeil. Maybe so. The fact that other senior groups performed with reduced number of members stays.
I expected Jaehyun to go in Spring (as I still thought 127 neos shortening their leave as much as possible was the best). That's why the news of his earlier enlistment was not a shock to me. A surprise, yes. And I can mourn the lack of DJJ, but it is Jae's life and 1,5 years of his life taken away from him for the military by the government, I don't own him like a slave to say he betrayed me and my expectations.
When Jaehyun and SM made that decision about enlistment, noone knew about Taeil. Who are you blaming here? The universe?
127 still can perform without Jaehyun on awards shows. They can do Walk no problem. And then there is U sub-units and special collabs with other groups.
I see the unit war that has been happening on X the past few days has added fuel to your fire. I won't address the topic of 127 vs Dream right now and NCT in general, it will fall on deaf ears.
Personally, I think it's not bad how it is now. As one of the anons a few days ago said, 127 neos need rest. And they need those solos to feel content creatively. They did have rough years, so they need a phychological restart. Look at how Do's album brought life to him. Jaehyun also smiles ear to ear on all his personal promotional things. We got a couple of great performances in summer from 127 (KCon and Dream show sets). And, most importantly, a great full album. It is about music in the end.
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thelensofyashunews · 4 months ago
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OSAMASON SHARES NEW SINGLE "POPSTAR"
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Fresh off his performance at London's Wireless Festival, burgeoning new wave star OsamaSon has just shared a new single, "popstar", out now along with an accompanying video. The high-voltage outing is defined by OsamaSon's uptempo flow, experimental production, and an offbeat visual rooted in hyper-online imagery. "popstar" follows last month's viral track with resident internet "badass kid" Nettspend on their OK-produced single "withdrawals" (2M+ Streams), which marked a high-profile collaboration between two of Gen Alpha's must-watch new acts. Known for his irresistible hooks, off-kilter adlibs, and otherworldly flows, the Charleston, South Carolina, native has been on a transcendent run as of late. 2023 saw OsamaSon release his critically-acclaimed debut project Osama Season, which was lauded by the likes of Pitchfork and Our Generation Music and featured tracks “X & Sex” (18M Streams), "Werkin" (5M+ Streams), and“Troops” (5M Streams). Project Flex Musix quickly followed later that year, which boasted contributions from some of rap's most noteworthy new producers, including Rok (Young Thug, Lil Uzi Vert, Future, Ken Carson), Legiiion (Ken Carson), and Skai (SoFaygo) and was bolstered by hit tracks "Pop" (11M Streams), "Trenches" (9M Streams), "All Star" (8M Streams), "Blonde"(7M Streams), and "Baghdad" (3M Streams).
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It's already been an explosive year for OsamaSon, who kicked off his Flex Musix Tour on February 18th with eleven sold-out shows across the United States. The tour followed the release of the deluxe version of Flex Musix, FLXTRA, which debuted at #8 on Apple Music's All Genre charts and garnered strong buzz thanks to songs like "Rehhab"(6M Streams) and "Cartel" (5M Streams). Recent months have seen the rapper link with Glokk40Spaz for collaborative project 3vil Reflection and turn heads with a high-energy performance at Lyrical Lemonade's Summer Smash in Chicago as well as an appearance at Rolling Loud Europe in Vienna.
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snalsupremacy · 2 years ago
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2023 events
2022 events list
Again, these are not all of the events, just the ones i happen to come across with
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- All of Sherlock Holmes is now officially public domain - Lil Nas X back at it again with... THE WIGGLES?! - Noah Schnapp, who plays Will Byers in Stranger Things, comes out as gay - US gov can't vote for a speaker of the house - McCarthy wins speaker of the house after 15 votes - Bolsonaro supporters storm the Congress and vandalize the whole place, are arrested on location -golden globes n stuff -JOJO LEAK JOJO LEAK ITS A BOY ITS A BOY -Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, dies at 54 -M3gan is a gay icon pass it on -AO3 down, 40 injured 15 dead -New FOB album - Velma show unsurprisingly sucks - Pink Sause on wallmart -Paramore back & new album coming soon - UK blocks scottish law that helped trans people and this might lead to their independence (pls) -TUMBRL ADDED POLLS! TUMBRL ADDED POLLS!! - #team snail worm deserved to lose the centopéia or however you say in english winning was RIGGED AND I CAN PROVE IT - Pete Wentz leaked Brendon Urie’s oncoming baby which leads him to breaking up Panic! At The Disco. Finally. - Holy fucking bingle! Trans Bi Lesbian It/She pronouns swiss hacker just leacked the US no-fly list, and plot twist, its very racist, what?! :3 - Justin Roiland is fired from Rick and Morty for being a bad person - Cecil from welcome to nightvale defeats Reigen in the Tumbrl Sexyman rematch pools! Idk who he is i just voted him bc i dont want reigen to win. -CECILSWEEP IS EVERYWHERE THE FINALS ARE SANS VS CECIL WHO WILL WIN - CECIL PALMER WITH THE STEEL CHAIR BEATS SANS TO PULP AT THE BACK OF PAPA JOHN'S!!! -The last of Us everywhere, seems to be a good game adaptation! glad to see more of those!
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-Toby Fox scores the very first interview with creator of Yume Nikki, kikiyama with 9 yes or no questions and 1 "free response" question asking what they would get at a Denny's -FNAF movie officially starts filming - Marceline wins tumbrl woman - Just vote for vanilla extract and waive boys, just vote for vanila extract and wave - 7.8 earthquake hits Turkey and Syria, thausands of casualities - Spotted chinese (?) spy baloons (?) in America - Now theres a Tumbrl vanilla extract bottle, awesome - Hogwarts Legacy release discourse follows - Tear of the kingdom trailer out this is the most emotion link has shown in canon in 36 years - Youtube channel schaffrillas productions gets involved in car accident, Christopher Schaffer and Patrick Phyrillas pronounced dead on site while James Phyrillas in critical condition - Italian manwhore summer (Sanremo) - Netflix creating something thats gonna ruin password sharing people and everyone is mad - Brianna Ghey, 16 yo trans teenager, is stabbed to the death at a park -THE JOJOLANDS! AMAZING! MINDBLOWING! LIFE CHANGING! NEVER THE SAME! 10/10! -Succession will end in S4 -NEW MAGNAPINNA SQUID FOOTAGE HUNTING??
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-New gen of TMNT (Mutant Mayhem)!! -Minesota lagislature makes trans health care (wait for it) LEGAL! - New mario movie trialer the babygirlification of Luigi continues -Willow project approved ‘_’ - More anti trans legislation. whats the news - Esc songs dropped the guy w the green top is already tumbrl’s top 1 jenn should have won etc etc -Gerard Way presenting in full office lady style. Tbh im just more impressed he did a show in tights. - Jojolands #2 out! Hot dog guy has a name now and Rohan canonically transcend the multiverse! - Taylor Swift eras tour congrats swifties - ICC issues arrest warrant to Vladmir Putin for war crimes -Trump to be arrested -Arab Cartoon Network hacked (Update: hacking was fake) - Tik Tok banned on government phones after spying accusations -New FOB album - The ladies from RWBY just kissed! mazal tov! - Justin Roiland case dropped - Kid in brazil attacks school teacher with knife - School shooting in US - Resident Evil 4 remake - Dobi dies in a glue trap -Trump got indicated, idk what that means but seems bad for trump which is good
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-10 year anniversary of the Mishapocalypse - Ofc all your fave properties do an April fool’s special,, most notably Toby Fox’s “accidental foam pic” and Sonic The Hedgehog free murder mystery game that looks gorgeous?? they take the trophy this year -Kasane Teto gets her official voicebank for her 15th anniversary -wait... the DSMP is over..? it ended..? for real..?? WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLL!!1!!11!!!!!11 - Dalai Lama [redacted] [redacted] [redacted] - Harry Potter HBO series... just what we needed ‘_’ - Misha Collins reveals Warner Brothers wanted him to stay out as bisexual after that one off joke last year - Out of touch thursday on 4/20 we did it boys - We DOUBLE DID IT BOYS! Elon Musk’s rocket explodes because he forgot to build a flame diverter?? Or did he not build one on purpose? Anyway no one was inside THANKFULLY - Movie markplier is working on is revealed to be..IRON LUNG?! - Elon Musk takes out all the unpaid blue check marks expecting the celebrity accounts to pay for them, instead #blocktheblue movements started in which you block all users with blue check mark, Musk then responds to this by awarding random popular users with check marks -Tucker Carlson fired, ill b real, I have no idea who he is -Don Lemon also fired, again, idk who he is - Ray Toro and Gerard Way on fnaf movie soundtrack?!? -Disney sues Florida governor Ron Desantis, woag.. I cant believe im saying this but it’ll be easier to make the governor leave than the rat theme park
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-JASON DERULO JUST FELL OFF THE STARS AT THE MET GALA! 😱😱😱 - WGA on strike! -And may Eurovision posting begin! Im rooting for finland what ab y’all - Tony Hawk and chocolate guy collab?!?!?!?! -ABSOLUTELY BULLSHIT EUROVISION RESULTS KAARIJA IS THE REAL WINNER SWEDEN BE DAMNED -FNAF trailer drop -Barbie Movie trailer drop -IDubz apologises for content cop, better late than never ig -Succession finale - I saw that execution clip from generation loss cuz it cant be thaaat fucked up right? haha.... im traumatized -Seth Everman announces he will leave the internet in 200ish days -Ted lasso ends, and so, pride month begins.... -Hank Green got cancer
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-Happy pride month guys! - Jojo musical adaption of Phantom Blood confirmed - Russian occupiers in Ukraine blew up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station -Across the spiderverse takes the internet by storm AS IT SHOULD - Fires in canada kinda spreads the smoke like all around and its all a gray haze over there -Kaarija and Bojan concert together doing a shit job at beating ther allegations happy pride month kings -Hank Green is bisexual, likes Brennan Lee Muligan, and found that out because of wreck it ralph cosplays i can’t believe this is real -Redit blackout? 196? im very confused, but the redditors are here and tumbrl are welcoming them WAY better than we did twitter users which i find fitting lol -Adrien and Marinette from miraculous lb finally kissed omg its been like 8 years?? insane -The Idol sucks - Shit submarine w 5 people goes missing and the more we find out the more inevitable it felt       • Oceangate...gate brings awareness to migrant ships who drown and kill hundrents of migrants       • Iron Lung game sell suddenly spikes       •Submarine found, it imploded, all passengers dead - Joes Biden (US president)'s son committed tax fraud -Mark Zuch and Elon Musk are going to fight?? -Military coup in Russia (failed) -Miranda sings revolutionizing the YouTuber apology genre by apologizing for groomer allegations via ukulele - wtf is a grimace shake - Happy pride month! US overruled law prohibiting homophobic discrimination based on religion!
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-Nimona is out! I haven’t watched it yet but the reception is great! (Edit: watched it, its good) -Superman finally got his long deserved sailor moon style transformation. good for him. -AO3 down, 500 dead 756 injured (Update: AO3 is down due to DDOS attack, which is when a group overwhelms the website with requests. This seems to be made by a group who claims to be doing it for homophobic reasons tho they likely have uterior reasons) -SAG-AFRA joins WGA strike - Universal prunes trees outside their building to try and prevent WAG/SAG-AFRA picket line. However, these trees are city property and "tree law" (heavy fine for destroying gov owned nature) might be called into action - Happy Barbenheimer tho all who celebrate - MITSKI ALBUM ANNOUNCEMENT?! - Fnaf DLC smth smth eclipse - Elon Musk tries to change twitter to X ? - Good Omens season 2 finale so tragically good it re animated OFMD SPN and Hanibal into trending page
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- Tik tok parody of every 90's euro disco song goes viral - New James Webb telesc ope picture shows a giant ? in space. poetry. - Forest fires in Hawaii destroying homes -Anti semetic hate crime against USP teacher in Amazonas - Tik tok tried to create their Goncharov (Zepotha) and it turns out to be a plot to promote a musician's new song - Planet of the bass music vide out!! - Trump might actually get arrested, mugshot and all - Who thought it was a good idea to make the actor portraying Bernstein in the new biopic wear a PROSTHETIC NOSE?? - India first country to land on south pole of the moon! - Someone tracked down spanish spn’s rogue translator, who claims he did not add that in, meaning in some version of spn destiel was canon - Riverdale ends with all of them in a polycule. Which honestly is the best possible ending - TRUMP MUGSHOT TRUMP MUGSHOT
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-That mole do be interesting -Castiel 15th birthday WAIT 15?? A DECADE AND A HALF?? - Ladybug and Chatnoir are emo now. Like, literally. - WGA strike succesfully ends -The Pokemonx Miku collab is everything actually - WGA stricke officially ends wed 27/9 12:01 AM, the deal is finalized and the writer’s guild got most of what they wanted! yay uniuns!
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- Israel-Palestine conflict breaks into full on war with many casualities on both sides -NOOOOOO BAKUGO IS ALIVE PUT HIM BACK IN THE GRAVE!! KILL HIM AGAIN!!
- Spock wins the AO3 polls unsuprisingly - youtuber SSSniperwolf doxxes youtuber JacksFilms -Merlin twitter account is active...why? -Mathew Perry, Friends actor and advocate for alcoholism and drug abuse issues dies at age 54
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-Happy 3 anniversary to Nov 5th -THANK G-D ATTACK ON TITAN IS OVER ITS FINALLY OVER FUCKK YES FINALLY -NOOOOO LIVE ACTION ZELDA CONFIMRED WHYYYY - Actor strike is over =D - GTA 5 anounced - SHREK 5???? - Omegle shut downs for ever - Zack and Cody’s restaurant reservation is today - Dream and the voice actor of Gumball beefed and tbh it was hilarious - Russia declares LGBT groups extremists organizations - Henry Kissinger, american politician, dies at 100 - SONIC 3 DATE REVEAL YEAHHH
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-Hbomber guy DESTROYS James Somerton and Internet Historian’s career with his new video on plagiarism - TODD IN THE SHADOWS COMES BACK WITH THE STEEL CHAIR IN JAMES SOMERTON!! - BG3 Game Awards Sweep including GOTY
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sarah-dipitous · 1 year ago
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Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 222
Halt & Catch Fire/Time Heist
“Halt & Catch Fire”
Plot Description: when a vengeful spirit starts killing off a group of friends through their electronic devices, Sam and Dean race to find an explanation
Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: the GPS told the girl to get out of the truck so I’m gonna go with sure
“What do you know? Your phone’s 3G” is such a weird burn, especially for like 2014 or maybe 2015.
This was the funniest opening to the show I’ve seen yet, I think…but I don’t think it was necessarily trying to be. Between the aforementioned comment, the GPS first calmly telling the girl to get out of the car and then screeching at her to, and then “destination dead ahead” as the car careened off a bridge that was out. BRAVO, supernatural writers room
WHAT IS THIS EPISODE?! We’re not far in at all and dean’s eating something that sounds like it’s part brownie, part croissant, and part cookie, and Cas has discovered riverboat gambling which is apparently a problem???
Bitch, you are from KANSAS, why did you say the Midwest so derogatorily??
This girl reading Dean for FILTH with his lack of technological knowledge and then just going “you’re gen x. Right.” Girl, you are my new best friend.
This is quite possibly my favorite conversation in this whole show. Sam is an older millennial, Dean’s late gen x, and this girl is full gen z. Sam is enjoying himself, knowing everything the other two are talking about as they snark each other on things the other doesn’t know
Is there NO security at this junk yard? You can just torch an entire pick up truck and no one notices???
I know I still sometimes do it, but the whole talking out loud in hashtags these girls are doing IS annoying. Unfortunately, it does fit with the time
…I’m sorry…this girl’s laptop charger strangled her. Like…came up behind her like a snake and wrapped itself around her neck. I just…what is this show even??
Dean immediately questioning the decision to name a fraternity Sigma Theta Delta or STD is just…it’s beautiful. I love it here
Also him loving college campus food is so very Dean
Why are all these high school and college boys just the ABSOLUTE worst?? They show absolutely NO remorse and just…are weirdly threatening all the girls they’re in content with. Like…ZERO redeeming qualities
So this ghost is kinda I Know What You Did Last Summer-ing these kids
As much as he pretends to be a skeeze (and kind of is a skeeze sometimes), when it comes down to it, he’s SO kind and compassionate to young women
I hope she has good insurance on all her electronics…Dean just smashed them all
Oh this poor lady…the ghost’s widow (who he was married to for less than a year) just didn’t want to lose her husband again 😭
Dean’s so good at giving advice that he should take
I know they’ll find a cure but I am crying at Dean wanting to just fight the mark as much as he can til he goes down swinging
“Time Heist”
Plot Description: The Doctor turns bank robber when he is given a task he cannot refuse
You can really tell that the budget is so much bigger than it was in earlier seasons AND that Moffat’s stylistic choices are REALLY having their effect (derogatory on both accounts)
Clara in a pantsuit though??? It’s definitely a good look for her
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Ohh!! A very high stakes escape room!!
Yeah, I suppose having a shapeshifter on your team would be good to have when dna verification is something that’s on the table
Why did I, as I was typing about them having a shapeshifter on the team, forget that she was a shapeshifter and wonder where their fourth team member went?? SMH
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This thing in orange is the teller….sometimes it does feel like that
THE TELLER IS NEVER WRONG??! God how I wish that’s how banks worked…ok, it’s very funny that I paused before the end of that sentence because the full sentence is “the teller is never wrong when it comes to guilt” which feels very like people cutting off the “in matters of taste” from “the customer is always right.”
I would LOVE to be able to wipe the minds of customers and turn their brains into soup if I felt they deserved it
Is this why people call it a safety deposit box? Television?? (Buckle in for a lot of really stupid bank talk this episode and good luck figuring out what’s ACTUALLY happening) because at my bank it’s just a safe deposit box and it drives me up the wall when people call it a safety deposit box. I’d never actually correct people like “well ACTUALLY it’s THIS” but I will use the correct term right back
Love Clara’s little nod when the Doctor answers “I still don’t know why you’re in charge” with “basically, it’s the eyebrows”
He just called them Team Not Dead? 💀
I think there’s something wrong with Psi (of all the spellings, I wouldn’t have thought of that. I was thinking it was either Sy or Cy) that’s beyond stress making him glitch
I’m connecting the dots (I’m not connecting shit) between ESPECIALLY the Doctor and Saibra and Psi. Or maybe Psi is more along the lines of Clara, but they all seem to be alone (with kind of the exception of Clara and the Doctor having each other). Psi has had to delete all his loved ones from his memory, Saibra has been taught she can’t be trusted, The Doctor is the last of the time lords and Clara? Well…I dunno.
Oooooo they found the cage the teller is kept in…oh poor Saibra…
I know I’m supposed to sympathize with Team (3/4) Not Dead, but man do I wish I was allowed and even encouraged to destroy people being assholes at the bank
So…all that was pretty much for nothing?? Saibra and Psi are dead and the vault still isn’t opening?
I wish more banks still had the large circular vault doors. I know at least one branch near me does but that’s far too few
Of COURSE the teller is the last of its kind…
THEY WEREN’T DEAD!! The atomic shredders were really teleporters!!!
What is it about powerful but more importantly evil red haired women that are just…you know? First Abaddon, then Rowena, now Director Karabraxos…oh, she’s awful and I would never want to be within a hundred light years of her in real life but oMG
I feel like I’m starting to understand all the weird timey wimey stuff happening for this episode to work but the final part is just out of my reach
Ok. Why’s the Doctor trying to be the funniest person at his brain soupening? “Lots of memories. Big scarf…bow tie…bit embarrassing. How do you like the new look? I hoping for minimalism, but I think I came out with magician” I mean…he’s not WRONG but like…a minimalist magician
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We KNOW and figured out the Doctor and the Architect are the same person…oh, is Madame Karabraxos’s big final regret keeping the teller hostage?? It wasn’t the last of its kind!!! There’s another!!!! I’m just. I’m weirdly emotional
I wish we could get more of Team Not Dead
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OASIS OASIS OASIS OMG
I regretfully missed the Spice Girls reunion tour in 2007 bc of fucking freshman university funds and transport were lol not happening lolll.
I can make the Oasis reunion tour. I will be there in the UK or Ireland
#MANIFESTED #THANK YOU GOD IN ADVANCE
Omg I’m so happy lol. One thing is really all it takes. Summer 2025 Live a child hood dream come true. 2 albums and docs and specials and yt interviews held me thee fuck up these past 4 1/2 years especially.
Oasis music and performance aged like fine wine and thank God I can too.
Shoutout gen x and millennials. Fr fr.
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svt-kiki · 3 months ago
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( 🖇️ ) 𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐑𝐒𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 ⌅ .
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as of august, 2024
3RD GEN IT GIRL ! 𓂃 .⠀࣪*
 unlike today’s 4th gen idol, kiki hadn’t gathered popularity immedietly after the debut. yes, she was known as her unmatched dance skills, but most people recognize her just because she was a only female member among the group, or the very first japanese female idol in kpop industry. in addition, many people thought she would dissapear from the group or public in couple years, because of her quite unique ‘position’ and concerns that were already in the group itself.
 however — surprisingly, she didn’t leaved the group. seventeen didn’t disband. no one never leaved the group. kiki started to blooming each year, step by step, like jun once said. is she a late bloomer? probably. but the flower she made was the most unique and sparkling art piece. now she understand her strongness, the charisma, and the possibility to become the main character not only in the room, but even nation and generation. she knows what she doing, she understands the elements and assignments, and lots of brands and designers love her because she pay attention to deatils and willing to study its history. or, world just can’t help but falling in love with her.
         ୨ৎ — 𝟣𝟫𝟨𝟩 (𝖾𝗌𝗍.)  
        › 𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐏𝐇 𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐍 ‹
AMBASSADOR OCT 2019 —
GLOBAL AMBASSADOR MAR 2022 —
 guess what, she’s a human ralph lauren ! she has that preppy, old money aesthetic by nature. RL is the brand that gave his attention to kiki much earlier than others, and they build the special connection to each other. ralph treats her as their main issue since she pays attention to details of craftsmanship, history and collections. there is no doubt she’s a face of brand.
         ୨ৎ — 𝟣𝟫𝟦𝟫 (𝖾𝗌𝗍.)
          › 𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐒 ‹
AMBASSADOR SEP 2020 —
GLOBAL AMBASSADOR DEC 2022 —
she is a hard worker. it’s never easy to be the only female member among the mostly-boys big band. she trained herself to build her body so that she could complete the tour and live concerts with boys, and she was known for having a disciplined personal image for the public. she does dance a lot, work out a lot, so kiki is the perfect choice for the face of brand. she launched the limited collaboration line in summer, 2023 with the brand as ’kiki x adidas’ including track suits, sweat shirts and sneakers and it sold out within a day.
         ୨ৎ — 𝟣𝟫𝟧𝟫 (𝖾𝗌𝗍.)
         › 𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐎 ‹ 
GLOBAL AMBASSADOR MAR 2022 —
her first achievement with grand maison ! mostly, she represents the later collection and aesthetics by valentino garavani himself in later 90s to early 00s. it’s needless to say that she’s the first kpop idol who associated officially with the brand, and that indicates that valentino taking her seriously. kiki drew attention especially her in recent ‘black tie’ collection. and even pierpaolo piccioli admitted she’s one of the inspiration ! suit and black tie are always her signature look, so it’s natural for them to chose kiki as a muse. although she has a contract with the brand, valentino hasn’t forced her to wear their piece every time.
         ୨ৎ — 𝟣𝟫𝟨𝟪 (𝖾𝗌𝗍.)
        › 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐕𝐈𝐍 𝐊𝐋𝐄𝐈𝐍 ‹
GLOBAL AMBASSADOR APR 2023 —
since she appeared in spring 2023 campaign, the famous jeans & underwear brand fell in love with her. not only jeans and underwear ( well she wasn’t comfortable to wearing just a pair of underwear in ads, so just a sport bra under the jacket that covered her cleavage ) but kiki loves the brand’s classic, sophisticated minimalism in 90s, pulled out vintage and archives and wear it in on and off. she has the class, and it looks really good on her.
         ୨ৎ — 𝟣𝟪𝟦𝟩 (𝖾𝗌𝗍.)  
          › 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐑 ‹
GLOBAL AMBASSADOR SEP 2023 —
 carats found out suddenly she appeared in the big billboard in the major cities around the world, wearing gold iconic jewelries, taken with a model in the same picture with relaxing expression. yes, it was the surprise announcement of kiki as a new face of cartier. she was known for using cartier watch for long time, carries two or three of it whenever she goes to oversea schedules, collecting some vintage watches. she is an ambassador for watch and jewelry. her favorites are standard tank louis with black belt and gold frame, and the love bracelet.
         ୨ৎ — 𝟣𝟫𝟩𝟪 (𝖾𝗌𝗍.)
          › 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐀𝐂𝐄 ‹
GLOBAL AMBASSADOR APR 2024 —
 trust me, they are highly frustrated when valentino snatched her right under their nose lol. they have been inviting kiki to the collection since 2022 and they wanted her as an ambassador so bad. her persona as an idol and performer matches with brand’s lavish and luxury color so well ( speaking of her natural personality which is soft, calm character is ... maybe not so much ). she was thinking her presence would be a bit overwhelmed for versace’s couture like clothing would own her more than she owns it... but kiki became a woman who fits with their aesthetics more and more as she becoming confident as a ‘star’. as of april 2024, maison finally announced her as the face of brand with introducing kiki as an ambassador in new versace icon campaign besides cillian murphy and anne hathaway.
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𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐆𝐍 𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐋 !
         ୨ৎ — 𝟤𝟢𝟣𝟣 (𝖾𝗌𝗍.)  
         › 𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐒 ‹
CAMPAIGN MODEL SEP 2022 —
         ୨ৎ — 𝟣𝟪𝟫𝟪 (𝖾𝗌𝗍.)  
          › 𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐎𝐖𝐀 ‹
CAMPAIGN MODEL SEP 2023 —
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𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏𝐒 !
         ୨ৎ — 𝟣𝟫𝟩𝟤 (𝖾𝗌𝗍.)  
       › 𝐘𝐎𝐇𝐉𝐈 𝐘𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐎 ‹
 he is indeed the one of the most greatest, phenomenal designer in the japanese fashion history. his first company that established in 1972 “Y’s” is under the concept of “women wearing men’s clothes”. it doesn’t remind someone? well, if there’s an one person who can go well with concept the most, it’s her. maybe kiki was the embodiment of the spirit he was looking for long time… and after all these years, she finally appeared in front of him.
         ୨ৎ — 𝟣𝟫𝟨𝟫 (𝖾𝗌𝗍.)  
      › 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐒 𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒 ‹
 now you can see kiki clearly has a passion for legend designers in japan… and the monochrome haha. rei kawakubo, the founder of the brand is also a big name in japanese fashion history like yohji yamamoto. their couture collections esp in 90s are still so odd, new, fun and refreshing to watch in present and she’s there for it. now carats literally betting what brand she will wore on her first met gala and come des garçons is a powerful candidate alongside these big names. ( aka carats are CRAVING for she goes there and makes fashion moment in the history because they know the girl won’t waste the opportunity )
also, she would love to work with thom browne, miss sohee, le fame, tanakadaisuke, and robert wun.
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(    📁    )   :   NAVI   :  MASTER LIST     
(    tag list    )   :   @smh-anon @jennwonwoo @angie-x3
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“Elliot Page doesn’t remember exactly how long he had been asking.
But he does remember the acute feeling of triumph when, around age 9, he was finally allowed to cut his hair short. “I felt like a boy,” Page says. “I wanted to be a boy. I would ask my mom if I could be someday.” Growing up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Page visualized himself as a boy in imaginary games, freed from the discomfort of how other people saw him: as a girl. After the haircut, strangers finally started perceiving him the way he saw himself, and it felt both right and exciting.
The joy was short-lived. Months later, Page got his first break, landing a part as a daughter in a Canadian mining family in the TV movie Pit Pony. He wore a wig for the film, and when Pit Pony became a TV show, he grew his hair out again. “I became a professional actor at the age of 10,” Page says. And pursuing that passion came with a difficult compromise. “Of course I had to look a certain way.”
We are speaking in late February. It is the first interview Page, 34, has given since disclosing in December that he is transgender, in a heartfelt letter posted to Instagram, and he is crying before I have even uttered a question. “Sorry, I’m going to be emotional, but that’s cool, right?” he says, smiling through his tears.
It’s hard for him to talk about the days that led up to that disclosure. When I ask how he was feeling, he looks away, his neck exposed by a new short haircut. After a pause, he presses his hand to his heart and closes his eyes. “This feeling of true excitement and deep gratitude to have made it to this point in my life,” he says, “mixed with a lot of fear and anxiety.”
It’s not hard to understand why a trans person would be dealing with conflicting feelings in this moment. Increased social acceptance has led to more young people describing themselves as trans—1.8% of Gen Z compared with 0.2% of boomers, according to a recent Gallup poll—yet this has fueled conservatives who are stoking fears about a “transgender craze.” President Joe Biden has restored the right of transgender military members to serve openly, and in Hollywood, trans people have never had more meaningful time onscreen. Meanwhile, J.K. Rowling is leveraging her cultural capital to oppose transgender equality in the name of feminism, and lawmakers are arguing in the halls of Congress over the validity of gender identities. “Sex has become a political football in the culture wars,” says Chase Strangio, deputy director for transgender justice at the ACLU.
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(Full article with photos continued under the “read more”)
And so Page—who charmed America as a precocious pregnant teenager in Juno, constructed dreamscapes in Inception and now stars in Netflix’s hit superhero show The Umbrella Academy, the third season of which he’s filming in Toronto—expected that his news would be met with both applause and vitriol. “What I was anticipating was a lot of support and love and a massive amount of hatred and transphobia,” says Page. “That’s essentially what happened.” What he did not anticipate was just how big this story would be. Page’s announcement, which made him one of the most famous out trans people in the world, started trending on Twitter in more than 20 countries. He gained more than 400,000 new followers on Instagram on that day alone. Thousands of articles were published. Likes and shares reached the millions. Right-wing podcasters readied their rhetoric about “women in men’s locker rooms.” Casting directors reached out to Page’s manager saying it would be an honor to cast Page in their next big movie.
So, it was a lot. Over the course of two conversations, Page will say that understanding himself in all the specifics remains a work in progress. Fathoming one’s gender, an identity innate and performed, personal and social, fixed and evolving, is complicated enough without being under a spotlight that never seems to turn off. But having arrived at a critical juncture, Page feels a deep sense of responsibility to share his truth. “Extremely influential people are spreading these myths and damaging rhetoric—every day you’re seeing our existence debated,” Page says. “Transgender people are so very real.”
That role in Pit Pony led to other productions and eventually, when Page was 16, to a film called Mouth to Mouth. Playing a young anarchist, Page had a chance to cut his hair again. This time, he shaved it off completely. The kids at his high school teased him, but in photos he has posted from that time on social media he looks at ease. Page’s head was still shaved when he mailed in an audition tape for the 2005 thriller Hard Candy. The people in charge of casting asked him to audition again in a wig. Soon, the hair was back.
Page’s tour de force performance in Hard Candy led, two years later, to Juno, a low-budget indie film that brought Page Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations and sudden megafame. The actor, then 21, struggled with the stresses of that ascension. The endless primping, red carpets and magazine spreads were all agonizing reminders of the disconnect between how the world saw Page and who he knew himself to be. “I just never recognized myself,” Page says. “For a long time I could not even look at a photo of myself.” It was difficult to watch the movies too, especially ones in which he played more feminine roles.
Page loved making movies, but he also felt alienated by Hollywood and its standards. Alia Shawkat, a close friend and co-star in 2009’s Whip It,describes all the attention from Juno as scarring. “He had a really hard time with the press and expectations,” Shawkat says. “‘Put this on! And look this way! And this is sexy!’”
By the time he appeared in blockbusters like X-Men: The Last Stand and Inception, Page was suffering from depression, anxiety and panic attacks. He didn’t know, he says, “how to explain to people that even though [I was] an actor, just putting on a T-shirt cut for a woman would make me so unwell.” Shawkat recalls Page’s struggles with clothes. “I’d be like, ‘Hey, look at all these nice outfits you’re getting,’ and he would say, ‘It’s not me. It feels like a costume,’” she says. Page tried to convince himself that he was fine, that someone who was fortunate enough to have made it shouldn’t have complaints. But he felt exhausted by the work required to “just exist,” and thought more than once about quitting acting.
In 2014, Page came out as gay, despite feeling for years that “being out was impossible” given his career. (Gender identity and sexual orientation are, of course, distinct, but one queer identity can coexist with another.) In an emotional speech at a Human Rights Campaign conference, Page talked about being part of an industry “that places crushing standards” on actors and viewers alike. “There are pervasive stereotypes about masculinity and femininity that define how we’re all supposed to act, dress and speak,” Page went on. “And they serve no one.”
The actor started wearing suits on the red carpet. He found love, marrying choreographer Emma Portner in 2018. He asserted more agency in his career, producing his own films with LGBTQ leads like Freeheld and My Days of Mercy. And he made a masculine wardrobe a condition of taking roles. Yet the daily discord was becoming unbearable. “The difference in how I felt before coming out as gay to after was massive,” says Page. “But did the discomfort in my body ever go away? No, no, no, no.”
In part, it was the isolation forced by the pandemic that brought to a head Page’s wrestling with gender. (Page and Portner separated last summer, and the two divorced in early 2021. “We’ve remained close friends,” Page says.) “I had a lot of time on my own to really focus on things that I think, in so many ways, unconsciously, I was avoiding,” he says. He was inspired by trailblazing trans icons like Janet Mock and Laverne Cox, who found success in Hollywood while living authentically. Trans writers helped him understand his feelings; Page saw himself reflected in P. Carl’s memoir Becoming a Man. Eventually “shame and discomfort” gave way to revelation. “I was finally able to embrace being transgender,” Page says, “and letting myself fully become who I am.”
This led to a series of decisions. One was asking the world to call him by a different name, Elliot, which he says he’s always liked. Page has a tattoo that says E.P. PHONE HOME, a reference to a movie about a young boy with that name. “I loved E.T. when I was a kid and always wanted to look like the boys in the movies, right?” he says. The other decision was to use different pronouns—for the record, both he/him and they/them are fine. (When I ask if he has a preference on pronouns for the purposes of this story, Page says, “He/him is great.”)
A day before we first speak, Page will talk to his mom about this interview and she will tell him, “I’m just so proud of my son.” He grows emotional relating this and tries to explain that his mom, the daughter of a minister, who was born in the 1950s, was always trying to do what she thought was best for her child, even if that meant encouraging young Page to act like a girl. “She wants me to be who I am and supports me fully,” Page says. “It is a testament to how people really change.”
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Another decision was to get top surgery. Page volunteers this information early in our conversation; at the time he posted his disclosure on Instagram, he was recovering in Toronto. Like many trans people, Page emphasizes being trans isn’t all about surgery. For some people, it’s unnecessary. For others, it’s unaffordable. For the wider world, the media’s focus on it has sensationalized transgender bodies, inviting invasive and inappropriate questions. But Page describes surgery as something that, for him, has made it possible to finally recognize himself when he looks in the mirror, providing catharsis he’s been waiting for since the “total hell” of puberty. “It has completely transformed my life,” he says. So much of his energy was spent on being uncomfortable in his body, he says. Now he has that energy back.
For the transgender community at large, visibility does not automatically lead to acceptance. Around the globe, transgender people deal disproportionately with violence and discrimination. Anti-trans hate crimes are on the rise in the U.K. along with increasingly transphobic rhetoric in newspapers and tabloids. In the U.S., in addition to the perennial challenges trans people face with issues like poverty and homelessness, a flurry of bills in state legislatures would make it a crime to provide transition-related medical care to trans youth. And crass old jokes are still in circulation. When Biden lifted the ban on open service for transgender troops, Saturday Night Live’s Michael Che did a bit on Weekend Update about the policy being called “don’t ask, don’t tuck.”
Page says coming out as trans was “selfish” on one level: “It’s for me. I want to live and be who I am.” But he also felt a moral imperative to do so, given the times. Human identity is complicated and mysterious, but politics insists on fitting everything into boxes. In today’s culture wars, simplistic beliefs about gender—e.g., chromosomes = destiny—are so widespread and so deep-seated that many people who hold those beliefs don’t feel compelled to consider whether they might be incomplete or prejudiced. On Feb. 24, after a passionate debate on legislation that would ban discrimination against LGBTQ people, Representative Marie Newman, an Illinois Democrat, proudly displayed the pride flag in support of her daughter, who is trans. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, responded by hanging a poster outside her office that read: There are TWO genders: MALE & FEMALE.
The next day Dr. Rachel Levine, who stands to become the first openly transgender federal official confirmed by the Senate, endured a tirade from Senator Rand Paul about “genital mutilation” during her confirmation hearing. My second conversation with Page happens shortly after this. He brings it up almost immediately, and seems both heartbroken and determined. He wants to emphasize that top surgery, for him, was “not only life-changing but lifesaving.” He implores people to educate themselves about trans lives, to learn how crucial medical care can be, to understand that lack of access to it is one of the many reasons that an estimated 41% of transgender people have attempted suicide, according to one survey.
Page has been in the political trenches for a while, having leaned into progressive activism after coming out as queer in 2014. For two seasons, he and best friend Ian Daniel filmed Gaycation, a Viceland series that explored LGBTQ culture around the world and, at one point, showed Page grilling Senator Ted Cruz at the Iowa State Fair about discrimination against queer people. In 2019, Page made a documentary called There’s Something in the Water, which explores environmental hardships experienced by communities of color in Nova Scotia, with $350,000 of his own money. That activism extends to his own industry: in 2017, he published a Facebook post that, among other things, accused director Brett Ratner of forcibly outing him as gay on the set of an X-Men movie. (A representative for Ratner did not respond to a request for comment.)
As a trans person who is white, wealthy and famous, Page has a unique kind of privilege, and with it an opportunity to advocate for those with less. According to the U.S. Trans Survey, a large-scale report from 2015, transgender people of color are more likely to experience unemployment, harassment by police and refusals of medical care. Nearly half of all Black respondents reported being denied equal treatment, verbally harassed and/or physically attacked in the past year. Trans people as a group fare much worse on such stats than the general population. “My privilege has allowed me to have resources to get through and to be where I am today,” Page says, “and of course I want to use that privilege and platform to help in the ways I can.”
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Since his disclosure, Page has been mostly quiet on social media. One exception has been to tweet on behalf of the ACLU, which is in the midst of fighting anti-trans bills and laws around the country, including those that ban transgender girls and women from participating in sports. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves says he will sign such a bill in the name of “protect[ing] young girls.” Page played competitive soccer and vividly recalls the agony of being told he would have to play on the girls’ team once he aged out of mixed-gender squads. After an appeal, Page was allowed to play with the boys for an additional year. Today, several bills list genitalia as a requirement for deciding who plays on which team. “I would have been in that position as a kid,” Page says. “It’s horrific.”
All this advocacy is unlikely to make life easier. “You can’t enter into certain spaces as a public trans person,” says the ACLU’s Strangio, “without being prepared to spend some percentage of your life being threatened and harassed.” Yet, while he seems overwhelmed at times, Page is also eager. Many of the political attacks on trans people—whether it is a mandate that bathroom use be determined by birth sex, a blanket ban on medical interventions for trans kids or the suggestion that trans men are simply wayward women beguiled by male privilege—carry the same subtext: that trans people are mistaken about who they are. “We know who we are,” Page says. “People cling to these firm ideas [about gender] because it makes people feel safe. But if we could just celebrate all the wonderful complexities of people, the world would be such a better place.”
Even if Page weren’t vocal, his public presence would communicate something powerful. That is in part because of what Paisley Currah, a professor of political science at Brooklyn College, calls “visibility gaps.” Historically, trans women have been more visible, in culture and in Hollywood, than trans men. There are many explanations: Our culture is obsessed with femininity. Men’s bodies are less policed and scrutinized. Patriarchal people tend to get more emotional about who is considered to be in the same category as their daughters. “And a lot of trans men don’t stand out as trans,” says Currah, who is a trans man himself. “I think we’ve taken up less of the public’s attention because masculinity is sort of the norm.”
During our interviews, Page will repeatedly refer to himself as a “transgender guy.” He also calls himself nonbinary and queer, but for him, transmasculinity is at the center of the conversation right now. “It’s a complicated journey,” he says, “and an ongoing process.”
While the visibility gap means that trans men have been spared some of the hate endured by trans women, it has also meant that people like Page have had fewer models. “There were no examples,” Page says of growing up in Halifax in the 1990s. There are many queer people who have felt “that how they feel deep inside isn’t a real thing because they never saw it reflected back to them,” says Tiq Milan, an activist, author and transgender man. Page offers a reflection: “They can see that and say, ‘You know what, that’s who I am too,’” Milan says. When there aren’t examples, he says, “people make monsters of us.”
For decades, that was something Hollywood did. As detailed in the 2020 Netflix documentary Disclosure, transgender people have been portrayed onscreen as villainous and deceitful, tragic subplots or the butt of jokes. In a sign of just how far the industry has come—spurred on by productions like Pose and trailblazers like Mock—Netflix offered to change the credits on The Umbrella Academy the same day that its star posted his statement on social media. Now when an episode ends, the first words viewers see are “Elliot Page.”
Today, there are many out trans and nonbinary actors, directors and producers. Storylines involving trans people are more common, more respectful. Sometimes that aspect of identity is even incidental, rather than the crux of a morality tale. And yet Hollywood can still seem a frightening place for LGBTQ people to come out. “It’s an industry that says, ‘Don’t do that,’” says director Silas Howard, who got his break on Amazon’s show Transparent, which made efforts to hire transgender crew members. “I wouldn’t have been hired if they didn’t have a trans initiative,” Howard says. “I’m always aware of that.”
So what will it mean for Page’s career? While Page has appeared in many projects, he also faced challenges landing female leads because he didn’t fit Hollywood’s narrow mold. Since Page’s Instagram post, his team is seeing more activity than they have in years. Many of the offers coming in—to direct, to produce, to act—are trans-related, but there are also some “dude roles.”
Downtime in quarantine helped Page accept his gender identity. “I was finally able to embrace being transgender,” he says.
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Page was attracted to the role of Vanya in The Umbrella Academy because—in the first season, released in 2019—Vanya is crushed by self-loathing, believing herself to be the only ordinary sibling in an extraordinary family. The character can barely summon the courage to move through the world. “I related to how much Vanya was closed off,” Page says. Now on set filming the third season, co-workers have seen a change in the actor. “It seems like there’s a tremendous weight off his shoulders, a feeling of comfort,” says showrunner Steve Blackman. “There’s a lightness, a lot more smiling.” For Page, returning to set has been validating, if awkward at times. Yes, people accidentally use the wrong pronouns—“It’s going to be an adjustment,” Page says—but co-workers also see and acknowledge him.
The debate over whether cisgender people, who have repeatedly collected awards for playing trans characters, should continue to do so has largely been settled. However, trans actors have rarely been considered for cisgender parts. Whatever challenges might lie ahead, Page seems exuberant about playing a new spectrum of roles. “I’m really excited to act, now that I’m fully who I am, in this body,” Page says. “No matter the challenges and difficult moments of this, nothing amounts to getting to feel how I feel now.”
This includes having short hair again. During our interview, Page keeps rearranging strands on his forehead. It took a long time for him to return to the barber’s chair and ask to cut it short, but he got there. And how did that haircut feel?
Page tears up again, then smiles. “I just could not have enjoyed it more,” he says.”
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fogsrollingin · 3 years ago
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SPN Reclist: Undercover Couple This marks the first time I’ve split fics in a trope reclist! Used to be one big "casefics reclist” but now I’ve divided them to be “undercover couple” and “gen casefic” recs 😊 One of these fics is more just ‘pretend/fake couple’ instead of going undercover for the case, but I figured I’d include it. The lighthearted playfulness comes in spades in these shippy casefics and I can never get enough! ✧ My entire catalogue of fic recs on tumblr here ✧ This post was last updated 1/21/2022
✧ Category: Sam/Dean ✧ The Truth in the Lie series by flawedamethyst. Rated NC-17, Sam/Dean, 76k. Summary: Sam and Dean pretend to be gay lovers while they hunt a monster on a bus tour of Nova Scotia. ao3.org/series/16385 my thoughts: This is such a weirdly charming series. I loved it. It was just so pleasant! And I really like consenting-adults-during-cases-slow-burn-romance fics.
Summer Film Festival of Death by OldToadWoman. NC-17, Sam/Dean, 127k words. Summary: Sam's point of view as he and Dean go on a hunt at a Florida movie theater where a person has died at every Saturday matinee for a month. They are short on clues leaving them an excessive amount of time to watch movies and drink booze and there's nothing to distract Sam from his increasingly inappropriate thoughts about his brother.(Per the prompt, this fic contains spilled popcorn and Winchesters clinging together watching a scary movie. As a bonus, this fic also contains Winchesters in various stages of dress and undress in the Florida heat. "Your un-flannelled Kansas ass needs sunscreen.") ao3.org/works/11965716 my thoughts: This fic is in my top favorite spn fics of all time. season 11 setting, Sam and Dean as mature consenting adults, sweet loving huggy cuddly slow burn romance during an interesting/quirky case of movie-based murders, brilliant atmospheric detail (muggy Florida, outrun movie theater aesthetics, hot motel rooms). I am SO HAPPY to have found this fic. One of the best I’ve read in awhile. And so long! 127k WOO! Also yay fake/pretend relationship trope! This fic is also in my love letter to location fic reclist.
Windfall for the Nonbeliever by Glovered. Rated R, Sam/Dean, 34k. Summary: After Sam's first Hell flashback, he and Dean work a job that means posing as a couple in a planned community. ao3.org/works/261661/ my thoughts: I love that they’re going into this super stable community after something so unsettling as Sam’s hell flashback. And also anything that reminds me of the X-Files episode Arcadia is an instant lovefest from me. That’s this fic and also dragonspell’s (below) 
Welcome to Sunrise Acres by dragonspell, Rated NC-17, Sam/Dean, 36k words. Summary: Situated outside of Phoenix, Arizona, Sunrise Acres boasted of being a quiet, affluent gated community with all the latest amenities: a truly better way of living. With a zero percent crime rate, the only real problem according to residents were the coyotes that sometimes slipped the fence and prowled the neighborhood. Of course, that was before residents started disappearing and the dried out corpses starting piling up in the desert. To hunt the creature responsible, Sam and Dean become the newest couple at Sunrise Acres. ao3.org/works/212563 my thoughts: I just love this premise, lol. Exciting casefic too!
Never Said a Word Beneath the Calm by orphan_account, Rated NC-17, Dean/Sam, 71k. Summary: Season 1. A wave of Missing Persons cases at an upscale couples resort catches the Winchesters' attention, prompting them to go undercover to investigate. Dean figures there's no harm in faking a romantic relationship with his little brother as long as it nets them the best service the hotel can offer, but it's a little unsettling how easily the pretending seems to come to him. Especially when Sam's acting has never been quite this good before. ao3.org/works/13423260 my thoughts: This fic was charming as all get-out. I love how playful and relaxed these pretend-gay casefics tend to be. Just like a breath of fresh air sometimes after reading so much heavy taboo darkness in this ship sometimes, you know? Eugara very recently purged their fandom social media/orphaned their works and I miss them deeply 😭 😭 😭 I sincerely hope they’re okay wherever they are ❤️️ ✧ Category: Jared/Jensen ✧ Operation: Mistletoe by dimpleforyourthoughts. Rated NC-17, Jensen/Jared, 40k words. Summary: FBI Agent Jensen Ackles is a damn good agent, but his devil-may-care attitude, gut instinct, and sheer dumb luck have finally run out. With his job and reputation on the line, Jensen is assigned to a new partner: the overzealous and overachieving Agent Jared Padalecki. Their mission: Infiltrate a ring of drug dealers hiding out in Suburbia in the midst of the Holiday season.The only catch? They have to pretend to be head-over-heels in love with each other. ao3.org/works/5553827 my thoughts: Okay, I actually adore Law Enforcement AUs, whether it’s Sam+Dean or Jensen+Jared, just the mystery and thrill of solving crimes together with some actual authority & resources, having a network of coworkers to banter with, etc. is just kind of an amazing atmosphere to get lost in. Also dimpleforyourthoughts is a fantastic author that brings their stories to life so well. This fic is also recommended in my winter holidays fic reclist and my mundane fic reclist
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independentartistbuzz · 3 years ago
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POP STAR AMBER LIU RELEASES EP “Z!” WITH LEAD SINGLE “EASIER” FT. JACKSON WANG
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Global pop star, Amber Liu, has released her final EP of her trilogy ‘Z!’  on all digital streaming platforms via EMPIRE. Over the past few months, Liu has already released three hit singles from this new body of work as a little tease for what’s to come from one of her most playful but serious albums to date. The music video for her title song of the album, “Easier,” features the international phenomenon Jackson Wang, and will be released on February 28.
The EP “Z!” is the last in the recent series that began with “X” in 2019 and “y?” in early 2021. While “X” was about crossing over to something new, “y?” dove into Amber’s internal struggles. Finally, “Z!” marks a perfect ending to the trilogy; a declaration and commitment to herself that she’ll always be “Amber” even though she is just finally getting to know herself.
As a well-rounded icon, the singer-songwriter brilliantly showcases each single with different music styles and topics in “Z!”. In her ability to easily maneuver through various musical expressions, it ultimately made Amber the versatile and world-renowned artist she is today. Demonstrating her hypnotic vocal abilities through “Paradise,” she gives listeners an other-worldy beat and musical experience to tune into. Along with the first track, the musical star expresses her progression in life as being independent in the up-beat pop song “Don’t Dance”. In addition to Amber’s playful songs, the songstress also dives into more emotional tunes using heart-felt lyrics in the song “Love Somebody.” This emotional theme continues with “Easier” where she demonstrates her willingness to open up and be vulnerable on a global scale, reflecting her authenticity and devotion towards mental health advocacy. Multifaceted international talent, Jackson Wang, incorporates his own unique style to, which highlights the incredible dynamic between the two artists.“Lately” is a track that takes a more personal tone, as Amber wrote to one of her best friends, further reflecting on who she truly is and her desire to advocate for love and compassion. “Done Thinking” is a standout with soul-stringing lyrics, deep beats, and a voice that anyone who listens will never be done thinking about. With “Bad Decisions”, we are taken on a ride from the perspective of a hopeless romantic with fun repercussions.
“Z!” Tracklist
Paradise
Bad Decisions
Easier
Don’t Dance
Love Somebody
Done Thinking
Lately
Paradise (Mandarin Ver.)
别假装
Done Thinking Feat. Gen Neo, 梁根荣, Psy.P (Mandarin Ver.)
After cementing her star power in South Korea as a member of the record-breaking electro-pop-based K-pop girl group f(x), Amber returned to her native California for much of 2018. The move signaled a crossover into new audiences and solo success with fans and critics alike raving about her solo body of work. She soon signed with US management company Steel Wool Entertainment and United Talent Agency for US bookings before leaving Korea-based SM Entertainment. Just two years ago, her EP “X” was released and she went on to perform on two back-to-back North American national tours; with the most recent being a 24-city tour in early 2020 with rising artists Justin Park, Meg & Dia and Justice Carradine. The megastar kept busy last year outside of music with visual language learning app, Drops, tapping her to teach Korean to K-pop fans and hosted her own show, “I’ll Ask The Stupid Questions” as an original program with international mobile streaming service, Ficto. Earlier this year, Liu was not slowing down on her global projects, joining the fourth season of popular national Chinese TV survival reality series, “CHUANG 2021.” As a mentor, she offered her knowledge of what it takes to be an internationally-acclaimed pop idol as the show forms their new Chinese 11-member boy group from 90 contestants competing to debut music in the global market. As a singer-songwriter, she has multiple credits on f(x) hits such as “Goodbye Summer” and her own solo hit “Shake That Brass,” which she performed on the “CHUANG 2021” to rave reviews.
Last year, she came out with her “y?” EP, which featured her hit song “neon” along with the artists Peniel of K-Pop boy group BtoB in the English version and Chinese-born rapper Blow Fever in the Mandarin version. Other featured artists from the album included Junoflo and MaSiWei of hip-hop group Higher Brothers.
Listen in here : https://open.spotify.com/album/45eO8NCdQ4aRbM3iMhLVZM?si=0mIvDWzcTw24EDGwlSU_KQ
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cherryblossomflowers · 4 years ago
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Day 28: Water
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Pairing: Jensen  x Reader
Summary: A little New Years pool party for the Ackles and Padalecki family.
Warnings: Fluff
A/N: Day 28 of my writing challenge! No hate on any SPN Cast/Character. Feedback is greatly appreciated! Enjoy!
***ASK OPEN***
*LET ME KNOW IF YOU’D LIKE TO BE TAGGED*
December One Shots Masterlist
YN walked on to her back porch with a pile of towels in hand, smiling as she heard the laughter coming from her children. She set the towels on the chair and took in the sight in front of her.
With it being New Years Eve and a massive heat wave hitting Texas, Jensen and YN decided to end the year with a pool party. Jensen called Jared, inviting him and his family over that evening to join in the fun.
YN helped her daughters get into their swimsuits while Jensen ran to the store to get stuff for burgers. Jared and Gen came over within an hour with their kids. When Jensen got home, he changed into his swimsuit as well and got started on the burgers.
After YN changed into her swimsuit, she grabbed a stack of towels and made her way to the back porch.
Now YN watched as her daughters and the Padalecki kids swam around the pool, splashing each other and laughing. She turned and saw Jensen and Jared by the grill, working on dinner. She saw Gen sitting at the edge of the pool with her feet in.
Jensen turned when he heard YN behind him, "I think we'll be ready here in about 5 minutes. Sound good?"
YN nodded, "Sounds perfect."
Jared tapped Jensen on the shoulder, "You two want to see something funny?"
YN and Jensen nodded as they watched Jared walk away from them and towards Gen. He walked up behind his wife, picked her up, and tossed her in the pool. YN and Jensen fell into a fit of laughter as they watched Gen swim to the surface.
"Jared, what the heck!?" she yelled.
Jared shrugged, "You can't just put your feet in the water. It's a pool party."
"Yeah, Mom," Tom stuck his tongue out, "Come swim with us!"
"Actually," Jensen called out, "Dinner's ready!"
All the kids in the pool whined in unison. They knew once they got out, the pool party was over. YN and Jensen exchanged a look before nodding to each other.
"I bet we still have that old projector somewhere," YN said to him.
"And I'll have Jared held me put up a sheet for a screen," Jensen smiled.
YN turned towards the pool, "What can we use for a dining table in the pool?"
"They could just eat from the edge of the pool."
"Very true."
"Look for the old outside lights as well. We can use those somehow."
YN smiled at her husband, "You think of everything, don't you?"
Jensen shrugged, "Not my first pool party."
"Our honeymoon was not a pool party, Jay," YN blushed.
"Oh yes it was," Jensen laughed, "You saw the romantic side, I saw the party side."
"You're such a dork," she said as she walked towards the house, "Get to work on the screen."
Jensen looked to Jared and nodded for him to come over. He explained the idea to him, which Jared was all for, and the two got to work.
It didn't take YN long to find the projector in the attic. It was sitting on top of some one VHS tapes, and YN really didn't know why she still had them. As she left the attic, she grabbed a string of the outdoor lights.
Jensen grabbed a bedsheet from the hall closet while Jared grabbed two 2x4s from his garage. The two hammered the planks into the grass in front of the pool. They stretched out the sheet and stapled it to the planks.
YN walked out of the house and handed the projector to Jensen, "I just hope it still works."
"If it doesn't, we'll think of something," Jensen winked.
"Hey, Jared. Want to help with the lights?" YN asked.
Jared nodded, "Sure thing."
YN handed him the end of the lights and explained how they need to spread them out. There were poles coming up from the edge of the pool, which is where the lights would go in the summer time. Jared helped YN string the lights around the pool then they stood back to look at their work.
Jensen whistled to get their attention, "Projector still works! What should we put on?"
Lilly, Jensen and YN's oldest daughter, shouted from the pool, "Daddy, you should put on Trolls: World Tour!"
"And why that one?" he asked.
"Because we like the music!" Addie, their youngest daughter, shouted as she dived back into the pool.
YN chuckled, "Well, she's got you there, Jay. It does have some good music in it."
Jensen rolled his eyes, "Never thought I'd be spending my New Years Eve watching a Trolls movie."
YN walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, "You also never thought you'd be having a pool party in December, love. Or that you'd be setting up a projector right now. Or that the kids wouldn't want to get out of the pool-"
"Come on, that one was a given," Jensen laughed.
"True," YN kissed his cheek, "Still, it's an unusual thing. But at least it's with my favorite person."
Jensen turned to her, "Yeah, I know. Jared's a pretty cool dude."
YN scoffed, "I meant you!"
Jensen kissed her, "Yes, I know. And I love you."
"I love you, too," YN kissed him.
"Ew!" Shep shouted from the pool, "They're kissing!"
Jared took the opportunity to jog over to Gen at the edge of the pool, "You think that's gross?"
Gen knew exactly what he was up to, "You forget, all grown-ups kiss."
Jared bent down and kiss his wife, "I love you."
She kissed his back, "I love you, too."
All the kids in the pool shouted in unison, "Ew!"
--------------------
Masterlist
My Cherry Blossoms
@mlovesstories​​​​​​​​ @smollestbean-2​​​​​​​​ @kitwithnokat​​​​​​​​
@idksupernatural​​​​​​ @desiredposion​​​​​​ @thevelvetseries​​​​​​ @let-me-luve-you​​​​​​​
@obsessedwithfandomsx​​​​​​​​​ @mangueweaschester​​​​​​​​​ @starchildwild​​​​​​​​​ @deans-baby-momma​​​​​​​​​
@spnbaby-67​​​​​​​​​ @unicornmadness2444​​​​​​​​​
@emery--nicole--morrison​​​​​​​​​ @spnfamily-j2​​​​​​​​​ @akshi8278​​​​​​​​​ @avocadogirl216​​​​​​​​​
@imthedoctorlove​​​​​​​​​ @wecantgiggleitsafandom
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x-exo · 3 years ago
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*slides into your asks with a rose in my mouth* why hello, tis me!
Apologies for the long wait but your favorite long asks anon is here and OOF so much has happened. Let us break it down one by one lol
Monsta x our beans, welp we can officially say we are army wives for them because shownu is now at the military and just welp this feels weird lol. I lowkey forgot he was meant to enlist so when the news came out I went through so many emotions. Its why the latest comeback feels a bit bittersweet to me. It is their BEST for sure and for this year, I agree so to not see him perform right before he left is a bit sad. I don't blame him of course (if anyone does i am fish slapping you) but just a shame. I'm happy we do get content with him still? Seems pre-planned so that is nice!
Onto legends exo, fantastic comeback. I cannot stop listening to the album, its just bops full of bops to me. They broke so many records and I'm over here sipping my tea because fudge yes. It isn't a full member comeback, 2 of the members featured in the comeback are off playing call of duty and they still did THAT. While having lay properly in the comeback!? (Or at least some form, better than tempo era!) Kyungsoo my beloved, the man that can swoon you off your feet, his proper solo album. Omg I am just in love? The album feels like a Playlist that you hear while taking a walk or on a raodtrip? I love it, I just love everything about this with how much thought was given. It makes me feel warm and I'm so proud of him (I think he even got a first win) but sadly xiumin got the it shall not be named virus D: I feel so bad and I can only hope he gets better! It makes me worried because I keep seeing more and more idols getting sick and I can't help but wonder why don't the kpop entertainment just put a pause with stuff? Of course that is VERY unrealistic, I am aware that is naive for me to think but its just so idk how to word it properly (my English brain is not working I am sorry) I cannot help the feeling of while I get people are being safe and yes we need to still live like normal beings, is it worth risking idols health just for some entertainment? Idk how to explain my thoughts properly but maybe I hope I made sense!!
Onto svt! That is perfectly fine to not vibe with a comeback! I will admit, I didn't fully vibe with this comeback and it shocked me because every comeback was a hit to me. Even fear, left and right or homerun where I know many fans were split on, I liked but RTL was a grower. For me, listening to it without watching the mv, helped it alot and it is a song I like. Is it their best? No I don't think so but it is alright to say "hey I didn't bop to this, not my cup of tea" (imo I blame the mv? The mv REALLY didn't do the song justice at all, I am sorry if I sound like a fake fan but this mv Just is bad in all aspects. Sure we have some pretty shots but like it just doesn't fit at all?) So if anything listening to the song or wishing the live performances does it better. Seeing the choreography amps the song up more, cannot go wrong with their dancing. As for the rest of the songs, I admit game boy is my top favorite? Idk if it is because I am a gaming nerd and found all the production of the song so creative but yeah. We can wait for the next comeback! Svt always have something up their sleeves, plus we do have their music projects to look forward too (I wonder when we will get one? Seeing as RTL promotions stopped) some positive news with the boys is they resigned like a year before their contract ends and I'm a bit emotional :') I'm excited to see the boys future projects. We did have caratland recently! Did you watch it if I may ask? We did get in the soop confirmation so I'm excited to watch that, the boys deserve that nice break (even if it was filmed for a show fjsbsns)
Ok I think that is it for kpop updates? XD I do hope life has been treating you kindly! Life has been a bit all over the place sadly so I hope it wasn't like that for you as well! Until next time my bean!
hii!!!! omg sorry for the late reply i've been pretty busy these days 🙈
indeed so much has happened! and much more since you sent this ask omg!!
our shownu is at war *looks into the distance* *wipes away tear* *sighs* by now I got used to enlistment news (see what happens when you stan 2nd and 3rd gen groups) but STILL [[IT HURT]] when they uploaded the monchannel videos of his goodbye day like ????? what kind of twisted mind diuhdfuihdifuhs but the boys were all so cute and soft but they seemed so sad they didn't want to let go of their super leader :(( I hope he's learning lots and making new friends (and also we've got our international super spy yoo kihyun giving us small updates on him every now and then so everything's fine!). Yeah I totally get you it felt empty without him this comeback and at first it didn't really clicked with me but when the enlistment news came out i understood he had to take care of his health and thoroughly check on his eye sight in order to be 100% ready for the military so it made sense he had to be absent :( everything was so close (the comeback and enlistment) that I'm sure there was no other way for doing it I'm pretty sure he couldn't maybe postpone the enlistment day any further
onto exo! my ksoo my soft boi my romantic boi 🥺 his album is so him SO HIM i can't explain it bur it's just HIM you know it's the type of album you'd play on loop on a summer afternoon when you've taken your papers and paints outside in the garden to paint a bit with the warm soft breeze moving the trees lightly 🤧 and he signs in English and SPANISH (he did it for me) my multilingual king he's a native. Also I've been watching Honeymoon Tavern with Jongin these days and OMG i could d word for him really (if you haven's watched it go do it when you have time) he's SO SOFT and SO CUTE and he works as a waiter and a wedding planner and helps with the room preparations and is also a tour guide and he's just so cute so happy al the time the way he interacts with everyone is so 🥺🤧😭 onto more serious stuff now: yeah i was so worried about minseok catching covid omg but i'm glad he went through it with our any major complication and the rest of the boys are safe too! I guess the industry doesn't stop bc that would mean a huge loss of thousands and thousands of dollars/won/etc so as long as the gov doesn't prohibit going out or gathering like at the beginning of the pandemic, they'll keep on going with the idols' schedules otherwise the industry would just shut down having no way of earning money to sustain all the companies and idols.
as for seventeen! yeah i like the songs too! the mv sure ruined rtl and listening to it without watching it has really helped it grow on me more but still it feels kind of meh to me idk i really like anyone i think it's my favourite from the album. AND NOW WE'VE GOT A COMEBACK IN OCTOBER!!!! yayyyyy i can't wait they seem to be preparing very diligently (i hope they release a sexy bop) it's a shame junhao aren't gonna be present for this comeback but i'm soooooo happy they have the opportunity to visit their families again omg they have spent 2 whole years without seeing them in the flesh they must be so happy to get back to them again!!! it's so funny seeing them be bored at the quarantine hotel and doing lives every day duhdfiudhfiuh i hope it passes quickly and they can see their loved ones finally! and I did watch Caratland!! omg the unit switch song was the best thing ever hhu doing lilili yabbay and not being able to stop laughing idfuhdifuhs perf team doing chocolate and owning it????? hello??? performance team more like main vocal team wow! and the vocal team being a complete mess during check in lmaooo i loved it! In The Soop has finally started!!! I love these kind of "normal life" concepts I love seeing the boys being themselves cooking and relaxing I've watched the first and second eps as of today and also few clips from the third and omg mingyu and jeonghan drowning in the pond dfuhidfhidfs lmao they're so dumb i love them 🤣 i'm glad they could go away for a few days and spend time together away from their hectic schedules!
I hope you're well now and if not hang in there it'll all pass soon enough! 🥰💕 bye bye!!
p.s.: I got your request for the svt this or that gifset and i promise i’ll do it one day i just don’t feel like giffing these days dhbduusi i’m out of energy 
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thelensofyashunews · 5 months ago
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OSAMASON SHARES NEW SINGLE "WITHDRAWALS" (FEAT. NETTSPEND)
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New wave star OsamaSon joins forces with online jerk rap phenom Nettspend for their OK-produced collaborative single "withdrawals" — out now along with an accompanying music video. A high-profile collaboration between two of Gen Alpha's must-watch new acts, "withdrawals" (feat. Nettspend) is a post-rage anthem that blends shimmering keys with addictively surrealist bars. Known for his irresistible hooks, off-kilter adlibs, and otherworldly flows, the Charleston, South Carolina, native has been on a transcendent run as of late, while Nettspend recently made waves for his viral appearance with Anna Wintour at Paris Fashion Week. 2023 saw OsamaSon release his critically-acclaimed debut project Osama Season, which was lauded by the likes of Pitchfork and Our Generation Music and featured tracks “X & Sex” (18M Streams), "Werkin"(5M+ Streams), and“Troops”(5M Streams). Project Flex Musix quickly followed later that year, which boasted contributions from some of rap's most noteworthy new producers, including Rok (Young Thug, Lil Uzi Vert, Future, Ken Carson), Legiiion (Ken Carson), and Skai (SoFaygo) and was bolstered by hit tracks "Pop"(11M Streams), "Trenches"(9M Streams), "All Star"(8M Streams), "Blonde"(7M Streams), and "Baghdad"(3M Streams).
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It's already been an explosive year for OsamaSon, who kicked off his Flex Musix Tour on February 18th with eleven sold-out shows across the United States. The tour followed the release of the deluxe version of Flex Musix, FLXTRA, which debuted at #8 on Apple Music's All Genre charts and garnered strong buzz thanks to songs like "Rehhab" (6M Streams) and "Cartel" (5M Streams). Recent months have seen the rapper link with Glokk40Spaz for collaborative project 3vil Reflection and make guest appearances on Draco's"Flex" and Jovon???'s"Rolling My Spliff???". The next generation icon also recently turned heads with a high-energy performance at Lyrical Lemonade's Summer Smash in Chicago and is slated to travel across the pond this summer for appearances at both London's Wireless Festival and Rolling Loud Europe in Vienna. 
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deans-mind-palace · 4 years ago
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Rock ‘n’ Roll, baby
Pairing: Jensen x Male!Reader
Summary: Jensen has always been such a flirt. There has always been a chemistry between you that neither of you can deny. But no-one makes the next step. What is only a flirt for fun soon turns out to be more.
Word Count: 1,438
Warnings: Fluff, smutty comments
Author’s Note: We all know that the touring times of Led Zeppelin are long over, but for the sake of this story they are at least 30 years younger and alive and touring. Based on this request by @outofnowhere82​ I didn't have too well of a thought out prompt, other than another Jensen x male reader. They're friends or colleagues in some capacity. Some sort of secret pining going on. They've never done more than flirting, so when something happens (physical or confession of feelings) it comes as a surprise. Enjoy reading and show it some love.
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Dance in the dark of the night, sing to the morning light. - Led Zeppelin
"There are my favorite boys!" you said when you finally found Jared and Jensen on Jensen's terrace. You had had an appointment with the actor, but when nobody opened the door for you, you let yourself in without further ado. You quickly crossed the spacious living room and noticed the open terrace door. Laughter echoed through the leaning door and you recognized Jensen's deep laughter.
"Hey there, man." Jared greeted you with a hearty handshake and a brotherly embrace. Jensen smiled at you and sipped his beer bottle. "We all know that I am your absolute favourite." He winked at you and put down his beer bottle. You rolled your eyes and smiled as well. "You wish, Jay." Jared burst out laughing and Jensen's eyes went wide open as he playfully grabbed his chest wounded. "That one hit right into my heart." he said in a fake tortured voice as he twisted his face painfully. "You'll get over it, buddy," said Jared and patted his colleague on the shoulder.
"Give me two more beers, Jared. We don't want our friend here to die of thirst." Jensen laughed and nodded at you. Jared took two bottles of beer from the cooler and slipped them over the table. Jensen caught and opened the bottle at the edge of the table. You also took a big sip of the alcoholic drink and enjoyed it flowing down your throat. It had been an exhausting day and you sighed.
"Dude, do you sound like that during sex?" Jensen asked laughing. This time it was your turn to grin and wink at him. "Wouldn't you like to know, huh?" "Oh baby, I bet I could make you make sounds you didn't even know you could do." Jensen said and his voice became even deeper than before. "Go ahead, show me." you challenged him. Jensen was about to counter when Jared interrupted your little exchange of blows in annoyance with a disgusted grimace. "All right, guys, enough. Jens, we got it." he stepped in. Jared was used to all that banter from you guys. Since he had introduced you to each other a few years ago, you and Jensen had never missed an opportunity to annoy each other. It had become quite normal for you and the people around you. After all, they were just words with nothing behind them. A friendly teasing among buddies. Nothing more. At least that's what you tried to tell yourself so as not to get your hopes up...
The sun slowly set and threw an orange glow on you. It sparkled in the brown beer bottles and got caught in Jensen's blond hair, which made it shine like gold. His eyes sparkled in a pale green. He didn't notice your look, Jared did, but he didn't say anything. Whatever was going on between you and Jensen was none of his business.
You spent a men's night on the terrace and talked about this and that. It was a mild summer evening and the crickets were chirping somewhere in the grass, while regular laughter came from the terrace. "Okay, guys. The reason why I invited you-" Jensen now began. "I'm going with some buddies to a Led Zeppelin concert and I've got an extra ticket. I thought maybe one of you would like to go." He looked at you while Jared put his beer bottle back on the table. Jared noticed the look. "When is it?" he asked. Jensen looked at the ticket in his hand. "In two days." Jared whistled through his teeth. "No, sorry, mate. I've got a date with Gen." A lie that neither you or Jensen could see through. Jensen nodded, and his eyes went back to you. "What about you, pal?" You thought for a moment. Led Zeppelin wasn't your favorite band, but you thought the music was okay.
"Sure, why not?" you agreed. Jared seemed to be the only one who saw the joy in your eyes and hid his grin behind his beer. "Cool, if you want a ride, I'll take you." You nodded. "I'd love to." "Cool." Jensen repeated and ran through his hair, sheepishly.
Two days later Jensen was standing at your door in a Led Zeppelin shirt from the 1971 tour. "Are you ready?" he asked you. "The others are already there. They wanted to save us good spots in the standing room." And you looked up at him. He was leaning in the doorframe and his shirt had slipped up a little, exposing his well-defined, sun-tanned abs. "Like what you see?" He teased you while you grabbed you jacket. "Not a bad view," you replied, leaving him standing in the doorway while you took a seat in his car. He followed you a few seconds later. Soon Led Zeppelin sounded out of the speakers, the volume turned up all the way and Jensen tapped the steering wheel with his fingers in rhythm. The ride didn't take long and soon you were squeezing through the crowds looking for Jensen's friends.
"Guys, that's my man, Y/N." Jensen winked at you as he pushed you forward towards the group of his friends. Some of them introduced themselves, but you couldn't remember their names. Jensen and you were handed beer in plastic cups and a euphoric mood prevailed. Although they were all Jensen's friends, he always stayed with you. Sometimes, when he took a sip from his cup, your elbows touched and his aftershave went up your nose, that's how close you were. And the stadium wasn't even packed. "Don't you want to talk to your other friends?" you asked and looked at him in surprise as he shook his head. "Nah, you're more than enough for me, honey," he replied and his deep laughter sounded. Before you could respond to the nickname, the first notes of 'Thank you' sounded. Immediately cheers broke out around you and carried you along like a wave.
The people around you began to dance and sing. Even Jensen wrapped an arm around your shoulder and you started dancing. You might not have been the best dancer, but you weren't miserable either and it was almost dark, so you didn't care. But you felt Jensen's look on you. When you raised your gaze, it stuck to his eyes, then it moved to his mouth. Jensen started to sing along with the first lines without even looking forward to the stage.
If the sun refused to shine I would still be loving you When mountains crumble to the sea There will still be you and me
You were mesmerized by the look in his green eyes. His lips moved and he looked at you intensely as he sang the words. You could hear his deep voice above the noise. Closer and closer you came, as if an invisible power was drawing you together. You were now so close that you could count his freckles.
Kind woman, I give you my all Kind woman, nothing more
His lips were still moving. His eyes moved across your face, as if he was trying to imprint you in that moment.
Little drops of rain whisper of the pain Tears of loves lost in the days gone by My love is strong, with you there is no wrong Together we shall go until we die My, my, my inspiration is what you are to me Inspiration look, see
You were also fascinated by him and could not tear yourself away. His breath brushed over your lips and his stubbly chin scratched across yours. He sang as if he could feel and understand every word exactly.
And so today, my world it smiles Your hand in mine, we walk the miles Thanks to you it will be done For you to me are the only one Happiness, no more be sad Happiness, I'm glad
Then your lips met. Jensen's hand buried itself in your hair and you wrapped an arm around his neck to pull him closer. Jensen tasted like alcohol, cigarettes and sweet like Jensen. It was a wild mixture, but you were sure you had never tasted anything better. His kiss became more demanding. It was your first kiss. As you broke apart and gasped for breath, he pressed his forehead firmly against yours. "Damn, I've wanted to do that for a long time, baby. I love you," he said with a wry grin.
If the sun refused to shine I would still be loving you Mountains crumble to the sea There will still be you and me
Wanna get tagged? Head to my bio or drop an ask.
Jensen/Dean tags: @vicariouslythruspn​ @crazybutconfidentaf​ @zizzlekwum​ @ashthefirefox​ @outofnowhere82​ @rintheemolion​  @myopiamystical​ @vicmc624​ @imaginationisgrowth
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astyle-alex · 4 years ago
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[Fanfic] Museum Mishap | the BatFam
Heya! As we approach the End of 2020 (FINALLY), I’m realizing that this story is ridiculously close to reaching the milestone of 25k hits on Ao3. To celebrate, I’ll be posting the whole thing here on Tumblr!
(I would however, deeply appreciate it if y’all would pop over to view it on Ao3, briefly, so I can get the view counted as a hit and actually make it over the line for 25k in views before the close of 2020!)
Museum Mishap  |  Chapter 1/6
Fandom: the DC Universe, Batman & co. Pairings: Jay x Tim Characters: Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson Rating: Gen Audiences Warnings: None
Total Word Count: 38,590
Summary:
Middle-School Tim Drake is on a field trip to the Science Museum, but with a WE exhibition of top-secret new technologies being staged in the basement, Tim separates from his classmates and breaks into the staff-only areas by using the skills he's developed over years of stalking Batman and Robin.
Current-Robin Jason Todd catches him in the act, but he's not there to confront Tim for trespassing or truancy - he's there because there's a rumor on the street that Tim Drake knows Batman's real name. And the rumor's gaining ground, quick, drawing in the wrong kind of attention.
When a Drug-Lord decides to take the rumor seriously enough to kidnap the little genius, Jason jumps into the crossfire. It all goes downhill from there. Fast.
(Jason is 14, Tim is 12)
Chapter 1 : Special Access
           A trip to Gotham’s History of Science and Technology Museum would’ve been exciting for even your average twelve year old – it was a day of school that didn’t feel like school, and it meant a chance to hang out, relatively unsupervised, with your friends all day instead of just the one or two classes you managed to luck into having together.
           Timothy Jackson Drake was not your average twelve year old, and a trip to the SciTech Muse was the kind of thing that made his enrollment in middle school entirely worth it. For starters, it was an entire day spent in the heart of the city surrounded by some of the coolest artifacts of science humans could craft.
           And to make things even better, the trip was an all-day, delayed opening affair, starting at 10am and ending at 6pm – which meant he’d actually been able to get enough sleep last night to be well-rested, a rarity in its own right with his particular extra-curriculars. Better yet, he’d been able to tell the Drake housekeeper / nanny that he’d be having dinner with his class so she could go home right at 6 without having to wait for him to get back so she could cook for him.
           That part wasn’t true, of course, but he had concrete evidence that had been legitimately published by the school to help back up his story. Mrs. Simz had her own kid, and was therefore harder to convince than some of the others Tim’s parents had hired, but that also meant she had more reason to hurry home when presented with a believable reason excusing it.
           Being a sixth-grader meant Tim couldn’t just stay in the heart of the city when the field trip was over, he was on a rollcall and the bus back to Gotham Academy wouldn’t leave without his name getting checked off. The high schoolers were allowed to take public transit home if they had a signed permission slip from their parents, but Tim had to wait a few more years before he could con his way into having such freedoms.
           Still, getting over to the West Side from where his school was in Coventry would be far easier than getting there from the Drake Estate way out in Bristol. The extra hour and a half he’d save himself in commuting time mean he would be able to grab some coffee and something to eat without having to rush to get in place for the nighttime adventure he’d planned.
           Beyond all that, the fact that the field trip was this week, meant there was a special exhibition from the cutting-edge tech division of Wayne Enterprises in the midst of being set up. All the main components were being staged in the museum's basement and the ones too big to steal were as close to unprotected as they would ever be �� and Tim intended to take full advantage of that.
           He’d been summarily and repeatedly denied acceptance to the WayneTech summer camps as his parents owned one of the company's main competitors: Drake Industries. Apparently corporate espionage was a big enough problem that even ten year olds were suspect. Tim found it ridiculous that the one time he would’ve been entirely okay with having his abilities underestimated was the one time he wasn’t assumed to be just another dumb kid. Honestly, Tim was pretty sure that no one had actually read his application – the computer had probably scanned his ID and kicked his profile out of the running before it had even made it to a human that might care about his actual qualifications.
           Tim hadn’t figured out how to make a bulletproof fake identity profile – not yet, at least – And he certainly wasn’t going to get caught trying to gain illegal access to WE on a sub-par fake ID. Because there were all kinds of ways that would go poorly for him – between his parents possibly being disappointed in him enough to hire a live-in Nanny to the legal ramifications he’d face, even as a minor, it just wasn’t worth it.
           But the thought of getting an up-close look at the new tech WE was rolling out still made Tim's heart pound like he’d just downed a full pot of coffee. WE took a very different approach to developing their tech than DI – more of a ‘you know what would be cool? can we make that reasonable?’ philosophy than a ‘how do we solve this problem?’ sort of thing. Tim found the both the WE approach and their results utterly fascinating.
           Not that Tim had been allowed to play with much of DI's tech, being that his parents would hear about him attempting to gain unsupervised lab access, and promptly ground him, and anyone who might supervise treated him like a kid far too young to understand or unobtrusively observe the work going on inside the places he wanted to see.
           So, the fact that a spectacular spread of WE tech was set up in the basement of a rather glaringly unsecured staff only area in the very building Tim’s class was touring stood as an open invitation for Tim to investigate.
           An invitation that Tim took very seriously. He’d spent at least 18 hours over the past week examining the museum’s blueprints – courtesy of the Gotham City Hall Public Archives – And the rundown of the security, both in terms of the human guards and staff on-hand and the electronic countermeasures – via close examination of the extensive repertoire of ‘insider access’ videos on the museum’s own webpage. Tim would probably end up sending the museum an anonymous suggestion about adjusting that at some point, but he’d worry about that later.
           After he used it to his tech fantasy fulfillment advantage.
           For now, he simply slipped away from the unwatchful eyes of his teachers, stuck headphones in his ears, and carefully made his way – casually, calmly, and like he had no destination in mind – over to the hallway by the cafeteria near the east wing gift shop. The hallway that had restrooms and a staff-only door halfway down it. A door secured with a heavy-duty machine-lock, with a ten-digit keypad, but a door that was not alarmed.
           The human guards were always more focused on preventing shoplifters from stealing over-priced – for a good cause, but still over-priced – museum memorabilia than on the high-traffic restroom hall by the cafeteria. Using his headphones as an excuse to tap his fingers to keep count – while his eyes and most of his brainpower focused on evaluating targets – Tim tracked the museum employees on their lunch breaks and calculated the best option to use as his ticket backstage. He had some in mind, but he had contingencies for last-minute adjustment.
           Tim settled on a big guy whose name he’d read on staff profiles but had forgotten with the other useless information provided about his role in the marketing department. What Tim hadn’t forgotten about him was that his department’s office was right by the staff door he was eyeing – 4.5 meters down and to the left, to be exact – which meant that, even with his slow stride, he would be behind another door in the hallway approximately 17 seconds after the door Tim needed closed behind him.
           When Mr. Marketing got up and lumbered over to the trash, Tim sidled over towards an informational sign with a museum map. As Mr. Marketing passed him, Tim counted off 4 seconds before he turned around to follow. He slid his hand into his pocket and wrapped his fingers around the u-shaped metallic magnet he'd had to smuggle in by jamming it into his mouth and using sleight of hand to pretend it was his retainer – Less than sanitary, but effective, and he’d taken an extra vitamin this morning as a precaution.
           Mr. Marketing punched in his code and pulled the door open to well over 90° before he lumbered through the gap. Tim kept his pace consistent; patient, he could be patient – even though it made his heart rate kick up uncomfortably as he put his faith in his calculations instead of in his feet. He reached the door with almost 6 inches of clearance left for him to slide his hand in and clip his magnet into place over the latch.
           The door closed as he withdrew his hand and kept walking, but it did not click.
           The machine lock whirred with an attempt to close, but its components struck the flat surface of his magnet and failed to properly secure the door. Had the door been alarmed, that would have drawn a lot of unwanted attention, but as it was Tim made it to the restroom with almost nothing noticeably amiss.
           The restroom was crowded enough that his entrance didn’t draw attention and he shut himself in one of the stalls to count off exactly 10 seconds. Then he washed his hands, acquired a paper towel that he did not immediately dispose of, and went to retrieve his magnet. The paper towel allowed him to grasp the handle without leaving fingerprints and he retrieved his magnet without incident – opening the door onto an empty hallway and promptly swerving right to access the unsecured stairwell he knew would be there.
           Tim had no way to hide himself from the singular security camera watching the hallway, but the area was so highly trafficked that he doubted any security guard had been monitoring closely enough to spot his detour. He would get in a ton of trouble if he was caught here – phone calls to his parents would be unavoidable and they’d likely be so angry at him they’d fly back from Spain a week early. But he’d almost certainly avoid any kind of legal consequences.
           Besides, he wasn’t going to get caught. He’d planned this too well for that.
           Tim made his way through the less convenient passageways in the museum’s basement until he reached the corner of the sub-basement where the WayneTech exhibit was being staged. It was, as he’d known it would be, isolated and completely vacant of staff.
           A smile split his face as the relief he felt in making it there successfully was quickly replaced by the buzz of unadulterated excitement. He set his backpack down carefully – mindful, as always, of his precious camera. Then he rolled up his sleeves as he stepped closer to the first machine he saw with the WE logo stamped proudly on its side.
           According to the signage prepped in the binder sitting next to the behemoth, it was a component of the quantum computer WayneTech was developing to facilitate physically interactive virtual realities. Tim bounced on his toes as he warred with himself – half wanting to read more about the technical specs and half wanting to dive right in and see it for himself.
           Tim made it through another two pages of engineering details before he gave up and literally tackled the machine to hoist himself up high enough to look inside via the glass panel built in for that specific purpose. There were at least a dozen windows in the casing and Tim wondered – for a brief moment of distraction from the tech itself as he clambered higher up its exterior – how the museum was going to work in ramps and such for visitors to get the best views. If he didn’t get arrested tonight or banned from the museum forever, he might have to come back to see it in its full glory.
           He’d finagled his way to the last protrusion from top and was marveling at the neat rows of complicated wiring laid out below him when something crucial changed: he discovered that he was not, in fact, alone.
           “Ya know, I don’t think you’re supposed to be down here.”
           Tim really wanted to pretend he didn’t yelp like a kicked puppy when the sudden voice scared him half out of his skin, but the basement echoed enough for him to know it would be ridiculous to think the newcomer hadn’t heard him. Tim ducked his head in shame as his ears burned red and he turned to face whoever had caught him with hunched shoulders and guilty hands raised in surrender.
           And then he spotted his accuser on the floor and froze.
           It was Jason Peter Todd.
           Jason Peter Todd – Bruce Wayne’s new ward and the new Robin. And also kinda Tim’s neighbor. Well, as far as the word ‘neighbor' applied when your respective estates were so big it took an hour to hike door to door. Tim’s brain got caught in a loop of wondering what the frack Jason Peter Todd, of all people, was doing at the museum on a Thursday afternoon. Was doing down here, in this particular sub-basement, on a Thursday afternoon.
           Tim had fully been expecting to see the new Robin today, but that was when he was in full costume and wasn’t supposed to be for at least ten more hours. And Tim had not – in any of his contingencies – planned for Robin to see him.
           “Uh, hi,” Tim floundered.
           “Hi,” returned the crime fighting teenager Tim idolized and had been planning to stalk through Coventry later today. There was a glint in his eyes as he stared up at Tim with a smirk.
           They stared at each other in silence for way longer than could possibly be considered reasonable and Tim's ears resumed to burn at that, and at the distinct realization he had no idea what to say next.
           Because what exactly are you supposed to say when Jason Peter Todd catches you red handed in an off-limits part of a museum? Sitting on top of a piece of cutting edge computer engineering that you had absolutely no right to touch?
           “You're Tim Drake, aren’t you,” Jason asked – in a way that was definitely not really a question and also made it clear that Jason was laughing at him. “We met last month at the charity gala. I’m Jason.”
           “I remember, Mr. Todd,” Tim spouted, falling back on the robotic safety net of manners his mother had drilled into him. “Um, what brings you here?”
           “It’s just ‘Jason’, kid.” He jerked his chin at the machine Tim clung to, continuing, “That shit’s WayneTech. B sent me over to make sure it’s got all the right bits with it.”
           Tim nodded like a puppet, trying not to drown in his horror as he realized what it meant that Jason had caught him. He was messing with tech that Batman owned. There were probably a hundred undetectable BatSecurity features on this thing. Robin had probably been sent to see if someone was trying to steal it when one of Batman’s invisible alarms had gone off.
           “How about you, kid,” Jason asked, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his cargo pants. He regarded Tim with openly amused parody as he asked, “What brings you here?”
           “Field trip,” Tim responded automatically.
           “Field trip?” Jason echoed with an incredulous chuckle.
           He stared at Tim for another long moment and Tim stared back, terrified and unblinking and too tongue tied to substantiate his claim.
           “Alright then,” Jason said eventually, with a one shoulder shrug inside his leather jacket. “So, you got yourself stuck up there or are you gonna come have lunch with me?”
           “Lunch?”
           “Yeah, ya know, food. You eat it,” Jason explained. “I know I could use some pizza.”
           Tim frowned – at the confirmation of the non-sequitur of lunch plans, not the various insults attached to it.
           Jason seemed to falter briefly. “You actually stuck up there, Tim?”
           “No,” Tim huffed, willing to admit he sounded slightly petulant about it.
           “Well then get your skinny ass down here,” Jason prompted – a beat too late in a way Tim didn’t quite understand. He blinked, trying to puzzle out what didn’t sit right, but Jason arched an eyebrow – in the way Tim had seen him do as Robin, magically managing the expression despite the mask – and Tim realized he was supposed to be doing something.
           He was already in enough trouble as it was, so Tim scrambled down the computer and found himself face to face with the second Robin. Or face to chest, as it were.
           Tim hadn’t hit his growth spurt yet, so he knew he was a scrawny twelve, but he hadn’t thought Jason would be that much taller. Jason was only two years older and he was stocky to start with. It was different when he’d been in the suit he’d worn for the charity gala. In civvies he looked broad and strong, and he stood up straighter.
           Jason pulled one hand from his pocket and threw his arm around Tim’s shoulders – began dragging him towards the exit. Tim lunged for his backpack as they passed it and clutched it close to his chest as Jason continued to drag him back upstairs.
           They ended up in the west cafeteria, in a corner that Jason had clearly selected for it’s state of semi-privacy. It was crowded and public enough to make raised voices problematic, but private enough to discuss sensitive details without much worry of being over heard. And it was neutral ground, like Jason was trying to make Tim comfortable before hashing out exactly how much trouble he was in for touching Batman’s stuff without express permission.
           Jason had acquired a large pizza, dripping with extra cheese and a blanket of peperoni, and two double-thick paper plates – one of which he piled high with three slices and placed in front of Tim. He gave himself five slices and settled down to chat having somehow already inhaled half of a sixth.
           “So,” Jason started around a mouthful of food as Tim poked tentatively as his own serving, “Some people are saying you’ve got some sort of connection to the Batman.”
           Tim frowned, his gaze snapping up to evaluate Jason.
           He’d spoken quietly, conspiratorially – like he wanted in on a secret Tim had. Like he wasn’t about to threaten to hang Tim by his thumbs in the depths of Batman’s secret lair for the rest of the foreseeable future.
           Awareness that Jason didn’t know that Tim knew his vigilante identity sparked inside Tim’s brain. He might be able to get out of this. If Robin didn’t know then Tim was only in trouble for touching the quantum computer because Batman didn’t want anyone touching it, and Jason was limited in how he could exact vengeance because the wrong move would reveal his role as Robin. All Tim had to do was talk his way out of this.
           Tim could do that. Right?
           All he had to do was figure out how.
           “I’m sorry I touched the quantum computer,” he blurted.
           Probably not like that.
           Tim hunched down into his shoulders and poked again at his pizza to avoid eye contact with Jason. His ears began to burn again as he felt Jason staring at him.
           “Shit, kid,” Jason said, after swallowing his bite this time, “You’re not in trouble.”
           Tim’s finger paused mid-poke. “I’m not?”
           “Nah,” Jason promised. “Fuck the Man.”
           Tim blinked. “Then why are you talking to me?”
           Jason blinked. A sort of confused expression that was vaguely pitying flickered across his face. Then he reiterated, “’Cause I hear you know who the Batman is, ya know, under the cowl.”
           Okay. So, Jason didn’t know he knew, but he suspected.
           Tim could work with that. Probably.
           He took a bite of pizza purely to keep himself from blurting anymore unhelpful apologies and attempted to calculate the best response.
           “Nobody knows who Batman is,” Tim said eventually.
           “But you’re a fan, right?” Jason nodded at Tim sweater – at the big black and yellow R embroidered on the left-hand side of the red-wool knitwork. Mrs. Davis had made this sweater for him, before her kids had insisted that she retire from babysitting rich Gotham kids and go be a grandmother in the safety and comfort of their town in Florida. Mrs. Davis had been one of the very few people who had supported Tim’s moderately obsessive interest in Batman and Robin.
           She hadn’t really understood, but Tim missed her – missed being able to talk about it.
           “You’ve gotta have some theories,” Jason was saying, his voice persistent enough to pull Tim back out from inside his own head.
           “I don’t have any theories,” Tim said. And it was true enough. He’d had theories. But that was before. Now, he had evidence. Another bite of pizza kept him from saying that out loud.
           “Seriously? None?”
           Tim shrugged and counted the circles of peperoni left on his first slice. Nine more circles, fifteen more bites. His stomach was already wary of the food he was putting in it. If this interrogation lasted more than ten bites, Tim’s stomach would probably begin to protest.
           Adamantly.
           He peeked up at Jason. Who was somehow already finishing slice number three.
           “Then why’s the word on the street that you’ve got insider know-how on ole Batsy?”
           “I dunno,” Tim said with another shrug. Truthfully, the question was bothering him too.
           Tim had never been seen when he’d staked out a spot to catch the dynamic duo on patrol or in the midst of a big bust. Never. They would’ve confronted him then and there if they’d ever found him with a camera full of very clear photos of them in action.
           So, how did Robin know enough to suspect him?
           “Who’d you hear it from?”
           This time, Jason shrugged. “I dunno. People. But like seriously, you don’t have any fucking idea why someone would think you know Batman’s real name?”
           Tim shook his head silently. He wanted to save his pizza for the questions that really needed him to have something to do with his mouth other than blabbing out his secrets.
           “Huh.”
           Jason’s eyes were narrowed, not quite threateningly, but pressingly – like he wasn’t quite sure a threat would be appropriate, but he was certain that Tim wasn’t telling the truth. It was another look Tim had captured him using as Robin. A kind of gentled-down BatglareTM for Robin to use on uncooperative victims instead of how Batman used his on uncooperative criminals – because victims could be uncooperative for all kinds of non-criminal reasons.
           Tim suddenly understood why it was so effective.
           He squirmed in his seat and caved to the need to take another bite of pizza.
           But he wasn’t a victim. Was he?
           Suddenly, Robin’s presence at the museum seemed a lot more suspect. It made sense for Robin to be there because Tim had triggered some sort of invisible Batalarm on the quantum computer, but he’d gotten there way too quickly for that to have been what brought him to the museum initially. He’d’ve had to have already been inside the building.
           But why?
           Tim’s class had been scheduled for this museum trip over a month ago. He’d even talked about it briefly with Bruce Wayne himself at the charity gala he’d attended with his parents – that’s how he’d known about the WayneTech exhibition far enough in advance to plan effectively to sneak down to the basements.
           “When’d you start hearing that rumor?”
           Tim’s question was so sudden and loud in his own ears that he startled himself.
           He seemed to have startled Jason too – who was starting on pizza slice number five and appeared to have been in the middle of a sentence when Tim had jolted into questioning him.
           “Uh, about a week ago, I guess,” Jason explained. “Your name had come up a few times before that in regards to you being a fan, but it wasn’t too long ago that it changed to you having special access or some shit.”
           Tim nodded absently.
           Two weeks ago, there’d been a major drug bust in a neighborhood just over half a mile away from his school. Batman had been tipped off about the drug ring in the same way Tim had: kids who came to school high rode the bus home and the chalk marks on the benches at the stops used by the kids who were using weren’t terribly sophisticated code.
           Tim had snagged some really spectacular shots the night that bust went down.
           Several of Tim’s classmates had exhibited symptoms of withdrawal shortly after that. A few of those students – namely some who’d never seemed to be able to have a civil conversation or simply let Tim pass in silence – had stopped exhibiting those symptoms a few days later. Tim had assumed they’d found a new dealer.
           Maybe they’d needed to find something more valuable to trade too, to make up for getting their old dealer busted.
           Info on the Bat who’d busted them would be pretty valuable.
           Even just a lead on info would’ve been valuable. Tim had been outright stalking Batman and Robin for over a third of his entire lifespan, at this point, and only just recently figured out who Batman really was. And he was a verified genius who’d happenstantially acquired the right life experiences to recognize things like quadruple somersaults. Who’d circumstantially idolized and stalked two different costumed acrobats for several years before he realized they were actually the same person and begun to extrapolate from there.
           Nobody knew anything about Batman.
           A tip on someone who might, would be very valuable indeed.
           Tim was being interrogated by Robin because he was a victim. He just hadn’t been victimized quite yet.
           Tim dropped his pizza like it’d burned him and began to rifle through his backpack for the new cellphone his mother had bought him when school started. It was ‘so he could fit in with his peers’. It was too big to fit in his pocket and he’d never liked wearing a watch, so he’d had to dig to find it and figure out the time.
           It was 4:32pm.
           Shift change for the guards was in less than an hour and they were already definitely antsy for it. Most of the science staff were already heading home to beat the traffic, and most of the new guards wouldn’t be coming in for at least another twenty minutes.
           If Tim were going to lead a team to invade this place and capture an unwilling potential asset, he would do it in the next ten to fifteen minutes.
           “We have to get out of here.”
           Jason frowned, his confusion pronounced with wary unease. But he demonstrated a willingness to trust Tim at his word for no other reason than Tim wanted him to and clambered to his feet. He took his last slice of pizza with him though – and nabbed the two untouched pieces from Tim’s plate as he followed.
           “What’s wrong, Tim,” Jason asked, carefully nonchalant. His hands were full of pizza in the way Tim’s mouth had been to stop him from doing what he wanted to do when asked a stupid question he should’ve known better than to answer – Tim suspected that if Jason wasn’t holding onto the pizza he’d’ve grabbed Tim’s shoulder at this point.
           Tim didn’t know how to answer at all, let alone efficiently communicate what he’d deduced about their current situation. Especially not without revealing that he knew Jason was Robin and could guess why Robin was here talking to him to begin with.
           Jason was rapidly eating though the pizza that was keeping him from grabbing onto Tim’s arm to stop their not-so-subtle scramble towards the museum’s main exit. They made it to within sight of the doors before Jason had inhaled the last piece of crust, and Tim had probably ignored several unheard comments and questions about their rapid egress, when Jason finally lost the battle to avoid physical contact and wrapped his hand around Tim’s elbow.
           Tim swung around to face him as his inertia asserted dominance.
           “Timmy, what’s got you so spooked?” Jason asked. “C’mon. You can tell me. Anything. I won’t rat on you, even if it’s something bad. Lemme help.”
           “I can’t – it’s not – You don’t,” Tim could practically feel the whine building in his voice at all the false starts that his brain attempted to send through his mouth to make the act of communication happen. His brain apparently thought it worked something like magic.
           Tim was frustrated and embarrassed and still very acutely aware of the fact that they needed to get out of the building. Right now.
           And Jason was doing the Robin look, the other one – the one for the scared little bunnies of the victims they came across that needed to be soothed and calmed and promised that they had a friend somewhere in the cold cruel world. Tim knew why it worked – felt it working on him – and yet he was mortified that Robin thought it necessary.
           He wasn’t a bunny. He was an asset. Currently being targeted.
           Recentered, he focused and forced words to come out of his mouth intelligibly.
           “We have to get out of the building.”
           Jason had moved to holding onto both of Tim’s shoulders at some point – holding him steady, holding him still. He looked Tim right in the eye and asked gently, “Why?”
           The words got jammed up in Tim’s throat again and he squeaked.
           And then the museum’s windows exploded inward with a dramatic shower of glass and gunfire as more goons than Tim could count began to repel their way inside.
           Tim closed his eyes and winced at the bite of regret on how fracking close they’d been to getting out of this without any major complications.
           “That’s why,” he groaned.
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