#Most of the dancers stay in the same hotel

[olivers-cocoapuffs]

AU where James and Sirius are in a British dance troupe and they go away to compete in an international competition and James meets Regulus (a member of the French team) and they fall in love.

Except Sirius hasn’t talked to Regulus in years (they’re all in their twenties now) and they’re all staying in a hotel in Sydney, Australia

[yoificfinder]

Hello!!

I would just like to ask for Royalty au for viktuuri please and thank you! ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧

every calculation falls silent by @thehobbem [T, 29K]

With an engagement arranged behind his back, Emperor Victor only wishes to have one last day for himself as a free man.

But the last thing he will be is free, once he meets someone who seems to have the exact same plans, and perhaps motivations, for today.

In Fire, In Whispers by @voxofthevoid [M, 12K]

“What do you think he meant by friendly stabbing?” Viktor asks, deceptively casual as he winds a lock of his hair around his finger.

“Sparring, probably.”

“Ah,” Viktor sighs, his disappointment loud and theatrical. “And here I thought he meant the other kind.”

Yuuri feels himself heat to the roots of his hair.

“Not here,” he snaps, hands clenching at his sides.

Viktor’s eyes sharpen, the veneer of pleasantness finally leaving his face.

“My mistake,” he says, his smile thin and icy. “You seem tired, Prince Yuuri. Let me escort you to your bedchambers.”

~

In which Viktor and Yuuri are the princes of warring kingdoms but manage to fall in love anyway.

My Love, We Deserve the Softest Eternity series by @japansace [G to E, 88K]

"A baby," Yakov gripes. "Not even a thousand yet, and he thinks he's in love!"

My Name on Your Lips by @feels-like-fire [E, 108K]

Yuuri Katsuki has been betrothed to the High King's son, Victor, since he was just a child; furthermore, as an omega, he's forbidden from practicing magic in combat. For years, he's been able to put off the former because the Prince was traveling abroad, and gotten around the latter by practicing with his mentor in secret.

Now Victor Nikiforov has finally returned home, and Yuuri is being summoned to the capital for their wedding. He needs a plan to put off marriage long enough to find a way to break the betrothal, while keeping his practicing from being discovered.

If only the Prince didn't have other ideas.

(Or, the swords-and-sorcery arranged marriage AU. Updates weekly.)

On Your Every Word by @stammiviktor [M, 71K]

It starts, as most things do, with an extravagant banquet.

"Dance with me?"

He’s holding out his hand. It’s an offering, an invitation, and a dare all in one.

The onlookers part and a blinding smile graces the dancer’s lips.

“Of course, Your Highness.”

(A Royalty AU, with a twist)

The Phoenix Lives by velvetcadence [E, 5K]

Prince Yuuri has banished yokai from the world. Now home from his travels, he must navigate another adventure: his arranged marriage to Prince Viktor Nikiforov.

But Prince Viktor is hiding a secret, one that may upset the fragile state of their marriage.

Please Leave a Light On When You Go by adjit [T, 19K]

Everyone knows tales of princesses trapped in towers and guarded by evil dragons, but, actually…

Yuuri is here by choice, thank you very much, and Phichit is quite a nice dragon, all things considered. It’s just that the knights who keep trying to rescue him don’t seem to be getting the memo.

And then there’s Sir Nikiforov, just another knight like the rest, except that he’s not. Because after he realizes that Yuuri is not, in fact, in need of rescuing, he drops it. And stranger still, he decides to stay.

the promise i'll make series by lily_winterwood @omgkatsudonplease [M and E, 102K]

When Crown Prince Yuuri of Japan escapes his army of minders at his Saint Petersburg hotel, he thinks he’s found the opportunity to explore the city as a commoner. When investigative journalist Viktor Nikiforov discovers the Crown Prince of Japan on a park bench in Saint Petersburg, he thinks that he’s found his ticket to redemption at the magazine he writes for. But like the stories of those stranded during the White Nights after the bridges go up, neither of them had anticipated falling in love. (Roman Holiday AU)

Roses of May by @cuttlemefishwrites [E, 47K] *WIP

At age five, all children are assessed for talent and beauty in the City of Hasetsu and the other eight cities of the Empire. Every year, five are branded with the mark of a rose before being carded off to the Emperor’s palace where they are trained to become Roses, or sacrifices to be sent every May to the Ice Spirit that lives in the castle at the top of the mountain. Roses never return, except for Katsuki Yuuri, who shocks the Empire when he appears again two years after his departure with a silver crown on his head and a blond baby in his arms, demanding the Emperor step down or face the wrath of his husband, the Ice King. But, not everything is what it seems.

The Dragon Prince and the Winter Son by @sophia-helix [E, 121K]

Yuuri Stark is a noble son of the north, returning to Winterfell in disgrace after the latest disappointment in his checkered tourney career. He hasn't given up his dream of becoming a knight, but maybe it's time to find himself a new path, settling down at home.

Prince Victor Targaryen is the greatest swordsman in Westeros, but he no longer finds joy in competition. Things are uneasy in King's Landing, where politics are shifting and dangerous, and he seizes the chance to escape north in search of the young man who came so close to beating him in a tourney last year — and was so beguiling at the banquet afterwards.

Together they begin a journey to the great tourney of Harrenhal, with intrigue, honor, friendship and love along the way...and inevitable political conflict ahead.

(A Game of Thrones fusion with 90% less grimdark)

Technically Arranged by @ajwolf84 [E, 78K] *WIP

Yuuri is a tech genius working in Silicon Valley, but he never would have gotten this far if not for the support of the Russian Royal family who offered him a full scholarship to the elite Rostelecom Academy and have been supporting his education ever since. Of course, this help didn’t come for free. He’s now considered a member of the Royal family, which isn’t so bad, other than the inordinate number of weddings he has to attend. There’s also the small stipulation that he is technically a candidate to become the Prince’s consort, but that’ll never happen…

The Tsesarevich Lives by mothedestiel [E, 50K]

An Anastasia AU. Victor is an orphan with no name, no family, and no memory of a time before he was ten years old. Could he really be the missing Nikiforov heir? An adventure across Europe with two conmen will lead him to the answer.

The Vastness of Space by @shysweetthing [E, 17K]

As chief communications officer on board the Interstellar Alliance Fleet’s Star Ship Victory, Yuuri doesn’t have to think about who he actually is on his home planet. He just has to listen to his captain, do his job, and…not fall in love with his best friend, the ship’s science officer, Victor Nikiforov.

Well. Two out of three’s not bad.

Then his mother calls with the worst possible news: She, the Empress of New Nihon, has arranged Yuuri’s marriage.

There’s only one thing Yuuri can do: Fake a boyfriend, and fake one fast. Who better/worse to play that role than the friend he wishes was more? What can go wrong? It’s not like Yuuri can fall more in love...

With Two Hands by whatsup_buttercup [E, 28K]

“Do you think he’ll let you get a picture with him?” Phichit’s voice comes through distorted by the long chain of communications systems and the great distance between them.

“I imagine some official photos might be taken,” Yuuri offers.

“You should try to work ‘I became a translator because of you!’ into conversation. You know, casually.”

Yuuri takes a large sip from his mug of tea, refusing to be baited. “We’ll see.”

Yuuri Enchanted by the__magpie / @wecalleverythinglove [T, 58K]

At birth, Yuuri Katsuki was given the gift of obedience, although he quickly learns as he grows up that it is a curse. He has to obey any command given to him, even if it puts him or others in danger. Too afraid to face the terrifying outside world, Yuuri stays in his home town of Hasetsu, until a chance encounter with Prince Victor urges him to venture outside of his safe bubble. Determined to break his curse, Yuuri begins on an adventure involving fairies, ogres, true love, and courage he never knew he had.

-----

Other people's rec:

Equivalent Exchange by writingfromtheshadows

The Nature of Things by Zombubble

Thanks for the rec, @tanouska, @kittygoeswoof90! 💙

[jikookuntold]

The Untold Truth of Jungkook’s WeLives

I had the idea of this post in my mind for a long time, but I didn't know how to put it out. Since most Jikookers have noticed some kind of pattern in JK's livestreams recently, I thought maybe it's time to write this post and add my notions to the known theories and facts. 

Weverse, instead of VLive

Let’s go back one year in time. On June 16th, 2022, a day after BTS announced the pause in their group activities, which caused chaos due to media misinterpreting it as their hiatus or even disbandment, someone had to reassure ARMY about the continuation of BTS and do the damage control. And for some reason, JK was the one to be called for this duty. He started his first solo livestream in Weverse app in a place we had never seen before. That place had a few pieces of furniture from their Hannam dorm, rumored to be rented by Big Hit just a couple of weeks earlier. 

Months passed, and JK didn’t do any livestreams until his birthday came, and another assigned live in the Weverse app happened at the same place. Like the other six members (five, to be more accurate since Tae evaded this), he promoted his photobook and did the routine of his lives by singing songs and casually talking with ARMY. His next solo live happened after the World Cup performance in a Doha hotel room, and he didn’t appear in any Weverse lives for some time. 

Midnight Streamer

After doing only three lives in almost a year, all assigned by the company, JK came back to Weverse app on the first night of February, and this time it wasn’t an assigned livestream, but it was an unplanned and unauthorized one. He appeared at 2 AM singing songs, including Vibe, the newest release by Jimin. Since this live happened out of nowhere, Namjoon and later Tae tried to intervene and control the situation, then they realized there was nothing to worry about. 

The next JK live happened only two nights later around midnight, and Jimin was the first one to comment. JK was so excited to see Jimin’s comments and invited him to have chicken, but Jimin was too busy with his schedule (even at midnight) to accept his offer. A few days later, on the 11th of February, JK did a livestream at his boxing trainer gym, and again, Jimin was one of the first ones to comment. JK and his coach invited Jimin to resume his training and implied that they both train with the same coach. 

Unfortunately, this was the last livestream from that gym since JK’s privacy got invaded and videos of him doing work out there, were leaked by some stalker. A few weeks later, on the last day of February, JK did another live (this time around noon), and the same day, he deleted his Instagram account.

Is This the End?

You know that I’m among the hardcore believers of Jikook living together. And at this era, anons and non-anons kept asking me if I am still in my belief or not, since JK was showing up alone in the middle of the night, which was against this belief. But I couldn’t wrap my head around it because couples don’t suddenly stop living together unless they break up, which wasn’t the case because they weren’t acting like exes, since you don’t invite your ex for dinner or boxing together, you don’t go watch his dance practice and cheer for him. So, why were these all happening?

Jimin was getting ready for his solo debut at this time, and when the Bangtan Bomb for Jimin dance practices came out, we saw him talking about the strict diet he was on for keeping his weight around 50kg since dancers had to carry him for choreo. We weren’t strangers to Jimin’s strict diets before each comeback, but this statement was the information I needed to have my ultimate conclusion. Jikook had to stay separated for a short time because Jimin was working hard and dieting harder, and spending time with JK would work against his plans (he was literally inviting him for food in one live, remember?). This was the exact time JK started doing his routine livestreams from Brunnen because he had to stay there apart from his Jiminie hyung. But this was not the only conclusion I had from JK’s regular livestreams.

I’m Hyung’s Fan

In March, JK kept doing his livestreams which was a sign of the continuation of Jimin’s tight schedules. JK did one livestream on the 3rd day of March around 2 AM, and I don’t remember anything specific about it, but the next one was unforgettable. On March 14th, The White Day, when Jimin was out of the country for recording Jimmy Fallon show, JK did four consecutive livestreams from around 8 PM till midnight and played a playlist consisting of “There for You”, “Christmas Day” and “Nothing”, all Jimin-coded songs. He finished the fourth live a few minutes before midnight and reminded us that something amazing is coming at 00:00, which happened to be Jimin’s solo pre-release, Set Me Free Pt2. He changed his outfit three times in these lives from a black jacket to a white shirt and a purple jacket which at first didn’t seem to mean anything until Set Me Free MV and dance practice video came out.

The next JK Weverse live was another undercover promotion for his Jiminie hyung. A few hours before the official release of “Face” he came online and spoiled “Letter” the hidden song in the album he did the back vocals for. If you think JK was being obvious in promoting Jimin, then you should have watched the next WeLive he did. Four days after his last livestream, he came back online to watch the newest episode of Suchwita because Jimin was the guest. He admitted that he had never watched any episodes of this drinking show before, and after that, he watched other videos of Jimin on YouTube, letting the algorithm expose his bias. 

The next day, he answered Jimin’s comment about missing “ARMY” with “me too” and Jimin replied making it obvious that JK was missing “him”. The same day, Jimin did a livestream on his way back from pre-recording a stage performance, and JK spammed it with 19 comments. JK never did this for any other member. All the Hyung line had their solo releases too, but JK never did anything for them that was remotely close to what he did for Jimin. He obviously wasn’t lying when he commented ‘I’m Hyung’s fan”. 

I Really Want to Stay at Your House

After the end of Jimin’s solo album promotions, JK’s regular livestreams suddenly became less and less regular, and it was safe to say they were back to their normal living routine. I know Jikookers heard his voice in Jimin’s livestream after getting Billboard Hot100 No.1 on April 3rd, but I’m not going to go there. JK did a short WeLive on April 8th before his trip to LA, but it was a different story, he did that to explain the situation earlier happened in the house. On the 18th of April, when Jhope was enlisting, we saw Jikook’s passionate hug and hinting about the drinking they had the night before, proving again that they spend a lot of time together in their free time.

On April 25th, Jimin traveled to NYC for a Tiffany event and recorded his latest collaboration, and on the same night, JK appeared in Weverse app for another livestream, and the first song he played was named “I Really Want to Stay at Your House”. The next day he posted his food, and a few days later he attended the LV event after-party with Mingyu. On the 4th of May, he complained about a stalker sending food to his door in a Weverse post and threatened with legal action. Two days later Jimin came back from NYC, and JK went on socmed hiatus again. On May 21st he posted a cute photo of Bam, and on the 23rd Jimin left for London, and the next day JK came back to WeLive like a clockwork. 

I tried to review everything in chronological order, but I know I have spared lots of details. I don’t think this post needs any conclusion or further explanation because everything explained itself, and you are free to have your own concussion. JK doing livestreams or posting food photos only when Jimin is away or busy, promoting his work and adoring him the way we had never seen before, only has one reasonable explanation, and anything other than that is not valid. 

[winkle-pickers]

excuse me SPIDEYKAIBA?! PLS

Jay ilu thank you for always enabling my crossover hoe tendencies 😎

spideykaiba

A post-canon YGODM/Spider-Man crossover! The story begins with Shizuka moving to NYC for med school and rooming with Anzu, who is now an early-career dancer. The Kaiba brothers are also in NYC heading up KaibaCorp America, and predictably they have gotten themselves involved in some weird shit that may or may not have to do with SHIELD.

“I was on my way home from work. Street was totally blocked off,” Anzu said. “The cops didn’t want to let me through, but I managed to get a good look. Apparently most of the apartments were undamaged, we just got really unlucky.” “Woah.” “Yeah. The police officer said it was Spider-Man’s fault.” Mokuba frowned. “The NYPD don’t like Spider-Man very much. You have to take everything they say about him with a grain of salt.” “Thank God I had my laptop with all my homework,” Shizuka muttered into the vinyl tabletop.

“Priorities, both of you!” Anzu cried in frustration, smacking the diner table with her open palm. “Who cares about defending Spider-Man right now? He blew up our apartment. Which means we are homeless. Which means stop worrying about your grades for one second, Shizuka.” “Aw, you’re not homeless,” Mokuba soothed. “You can come stay with us.” “Oh, yeah, because we’re clearly your brother’s favourite people right now.” “My brother only has one favourite person, and that’s me. Everyone else is divided into people he hates and people he tolerates. You guys are still in the second category.” Anzu groaned. “I wonder if we can stay with Michelle for a couple weeks while we look for a new apartment? Is it too weird to ask? Maybe we can afford a few days in a hotel.” Mokuba finished drafting a text and hit send. The reply pinged back a moment later. “Yup. Nii-sama says you can stay with us. He’ll buy you new clothes and supplies and stuff too, to replace what you lost.” Shizuka lifted her head from the table, stunned out of her stupor. “What?” She craned over the phone to read the text exchange. Mokuba: anzu and shizuka’s apartment got blown up by spiderman last night can they stay with us for a while and can we help them replace their stuff thanks niisama you’re the best and i love you forever 💙🐉👍 Seto: Fine Anzu finished reading at about the same time Shizuka did and turned to Mokuba. “Has it ever occurred to you that you have a frightening amount of power?” “Yup,” Mokuba said again.

[the-rewatch-rewind]

Heaven, I'm in heaven...

Script below the break

Hello and welcome back to The Rewatch Rewind! My name is Jane, and this is the podcast where I count down my top 40 most frequently rewatched films in a 20-year period. Today I will be discussing number five on my list: RKO’s 1935 musical comedy Top Hat, directed by Mark Sandrich, written by Allan Scott and Dwight Taylor, and starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

American dancer Jerry Travers (Fred Astaire) comes to London to star in a show produced by his friend Horace Hardwick (Edward Everett Horton). The night before the show opens, Jerry’s tapdancing in Horace’s hotel room awakens model Dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers) in the room below. She calls the manager to complain, who calls the room above hers, and Horace answers the phone. Because he can’t hear over Jerry’s dancing, he leaves to see what the manager wants. Tired of waiting for the noise to stop, Dale storms upstairs to confront the dancer. Upon seeing her, Jerry immediately falls in love, and the next day he starts following her around in a mildly creepy but mostly charming way. However, he never tells her his name, and when Dale learns that her friend Madge Hardwick (Helen Broderick)’s husband is staying in the room above hers, she naturally assumes that Jerry is Horace Hardwick. All of this results in much confusion, hilarity, and of course, dancing.

Top Hat was one of the many old movies that my mom introduced me to in 2002, and it has been among my favorite films ever since. I had already seen it several times before I started keeping track, and then I watched it five times in 2003, three times in 2004, three times in 2005, once in 2006, once in 2009, twice in 2010, three times in 2011, four times in 2012, once each in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018, twice in 2020, once in 2021, and once in 2022. This was the first Fred and Ginger movie I ever saw, and while I’ve since watched and enjoyed all nine others multiple times, none could top Top Hat, in my opinion.

This was the fourth film that Fred and Ginger made together, but only the second in which they had starring roles, and the first that was written specifically for them. Two of their previous films – 1933’s Flying Down to Rio and 1935’s Roberta – gave them relatively small parts, although their scenes were unquestionably the highlights. In Flying Down to Rio, they got fourth and fifth billing and are barely in it, but they caused a splash with their one dance number, and an iconic duo was born. They got second and third billing in Roberta, in which they basically function as the B romantic pair, with Irene Dunne and Randolph Scott as the A couple. Fred and Ginger’s first starring roles had been in 1934’s The Gay Divorcee, which was an adaptation of the Broadway musical Gay Divorce. Critics of Top Hat (including Astaire himself) complained that it was basically a rehash of The Gay Divorcee, and like, I can see their point: both films have a weird mistaken identity story and feature essentially the same cast filling very similar roles – with the notable change from Alice Brady to Helen Broderick in the “Ginger’s older relative/friend” role. But while I also enjoy The Gay Divorcee, somehow I feel like Top Hat just works better. The story makes at least a little bit more sense, and they didn’t devote a quarter of the runtime to a single interminable musical number like The Gay Divorcee did with the frickin Continental… although The Piccolino came dangerously close to replicating that. After Top Hat, Fred and Ginger made five more films with RKO in the 1930s: 1936’s Follow the Fleet, in which they were basically the B couple like they had been in Roberta, although they did get top billing in this one; 1936’s Swing Time, which is mostly very good and would probably have made it onto this podcast if not for that one blackface number; 1937’s Shall We Dance, which I kind of slept on for a while but now I think is probably my second favorite of theirs, although the ending drags a bit; 1938’s Carefree, possibly their weirdest movie, which involves hypnotism; and 1939’s The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, which I find to be disappointingly forgettable. Then, after 10 years apart, they reunited for MGM’s The Barkleys of Broadway in 1949, which is basically Fred and Ginger fan fiction and it makes me so happy that it exists.

While there were lots of other dancing musicals being made in Hollywood around this time, the Astaire/Rogers ones feel like their own genre, and not just because of the stars. I think a big part of what makes Top Hat feel like the quintessential Fred and Ginger film is the supporting cast. Edward Everett Horton, Helen Broderick, Erik Rhodes, and Eric Blore were each in at least one other Fred and Ginger movie, but this is the only one that has all four of them. Edward Everett Horton excelled at playing the kind of guy who thinks he’s in control of every situation, but actually has no clue what’s going on, and he’s especially in his element as Horace Hardwick, convinced that he can get to the bottom of everyone’s strange behavior while never suspecting that he could end all the confusion just by meeting Dale. Helen Broderick delivers wisecracks in a brilliantly dry, cynical tone that contrasts with Horton’s bumbling to great comedic effect. Their characters don’t seem to have a very functional marriage, but they also don’t really seem to mind that. Typically the “haha, married couples hate each other” types of jokes really irritate me, but Horace and Madge are such ridiculous characters that it’s actually kind of funny when they do it. And then there’s Erik Rhodes, whose absurdly over-the-top Italian characterization in Top Hat and The Gay Divorcee so offended Mussolini that both those films were banned in Italy. Personally I feel like Top Hat’s portrayal of Venice as a giant white soundstage is probably more insulting to Italians than a guy doing a bad accent and being silly is, but I don’t know, maybe it’s still offensive. To me, as a non-Italian, I just think Erik Rhodes is very funny as Alberto Beddini, the dressmaker whose clothes Dale is modeling. He has some truly excellent lines, like, “Never again will I allow women to wear my dresses!” and “I am no man; I am Beddini!” Despite his declarations of love for Dale, he is extremely queer-coded, while also interestingly being one of the most masculine characters in the film, which is…kind of the opposite of how male characters are typically queer-coded. So Alberto is very silly but also quite fascinating. Eric Blore was in half of the Fred and Ginger movies and he’s always hilarious. In Top Hat he plays Horace’s valet, Bates, who always refer to themselves in the plural (“We are Bates, sir”), so the next time someone complains to you about this so-called newfangled trend of young people messing with pronouns, feel free to point out that at least one middle-aged man was doing that way back in 1935. One of my favorite exchanges in the movie is when Horace is trying to explain to Bates that Jerry seems to have gotten into a perilous situation with a woman by saying, “He has practically put his foot right into a hornets’ nest” and Bates respond with, “But hornets’ nests grow on trees, sir.” “Never mind that. We have got to do something.” “What about rubbing it with butter, sir?” “You blasted fool, you can’t rub a girl with butter!” “My sister got into a hornets’ nest and we rubbed HER with butter, sir!” “That’s the wrong treatment, you should have used mud – never mind that!” It has nothing to do with anything but it makes me laugh every time. This supporting cast adds a silly, somewhat Vaudevillian aspect to Top Hat that no Fred and Ginger film would be complete without.

Of course, Fred and Ginger movies are better known for a different somewhat Vaudevillian aspect: their songs. It’s very interesting to watch Top Hat from a musical history perspective because it was made before the advent of the book musical – that is, a show where the songs are fully integrated into the story and used to tell a specific narrative. The songs in this movie do sort of advance the plot, but the lyrics are generic enough that they stand alone completely out of context. It’s kind of a bridge between the disjointed songs and scenes of vaudeville and the continuously flowing story of book musicals. All the music in Top Hat was written by the legendary Irving Berlin, including two solo numbers for Fred: “No Strings (I’m Fancy Free)” which is what Jerry is dancing to in the hotel when he disturbs Dale, and “Top Hat, White Tie and Tails” which is part of his show; and three numbers for both Fred and Ginger to dance to: “Isn’t This a Lovely Day (to Be Caught in the Rain)?” for soon after they meet, before Dale thinks that Jerry is Horace, “Cheek to Cheek” when they’re in love but Dale is conflicted because she thinks he’s married to Madge, who is confusingly encouraging them to dance, and “The Piccolino” after Dale finally learns Jerry’s true identity. Both Astaire and Rogers were significantly better dancers than singers, but typically Fred did most of the singing, and the only song he doesn’t sing in Top Hat is the Piccolino, apparently because he didn’t like it, so Ginger sings it first and then an offscreen chorus repeats it. My favorite number in the film has always been “Isn’t this a Lovely Day (to Be Caught in the Rain)?” because I love the way Jerry starts dancing fancier and fancier and is pleasantly surprised that Dale can keep up with him, and it’s fun that Ginger got to wear pants for once, and I also just really enjoy that song. There was a time soon after I first fell in love with this movie when I tried to make saying the word “lovely” a lot part of my personality, mainly inspired by this song. I truly enjoy all the numbers, even if I do think The Piccolino goes on a bit too long, although, again, it’s not nearly as painfully long as The Continental in The Gay Divorcee, which it’s clearly meant to pay homage to. But Fred and Ginger’s most famous dance number – certainly in this film, and also probably in any of their films – is “Cheek to Cheek.” It is pure, breathtaking magic, and even knowing about the major drama with Ginger’s dress in no way detracts from that.

I’ve heard a few different accounts of the dress drama with slightly conflicting details, but what they all seem to agree on is that Ginger Rogers insisted that a low-backed, light blue, ostrich feather dress would look perfect during the “Cheek to Cheek” dance, and pretty much everybody else tried to talk her out of it, but she refused to back down until they were all forced to concede. And she was correct, it looks incredible, although if you’re watching closely you can see some feathers falling off while she dances, which was the main objection to the dress. Fred Astaire was reportedly extremely annoyed about the flying feathers, although he betrays none of that to the audience, and afterwards gave Ginger the nickname “Feathers,” which he continued to call her for many years. My interpretation of this is that it started as kind of an insult when he was genuinely upset about the incident but evolved to become more of a term of endearment, although obviously I don’t know for sure. As far as I can tell, apart from the occasional disagreement, Fred and Ginger got along pretty well in real life, although the studio sometimes invented or exaggerated stories about them fighting to try to generate more buzz. Personally I don’t think that was necessary; their talent spoke for itself, and audiences would have flocked to their films whether or not there was conflict offscreen.

One thing that I don’t like about old movies is that in general, most of the people who worked on them were deceased before DVDs were invented, which means that the special features are often lacking. I have watched Top Hat with commentary, but it’s by a film historian and Fred Astaire’s daughter who was born after this movie was made. It’s mostly the historian talking, but every once in a while Astaire’s daughter shares a memory of her father, and every. single. time. the historian responds with, in the most patronizing tone of voice I’ve ever heard, “Thank you for telling us that” and I hate it so much. But one thing that I did learn from the commentary that I definitely wouldn’t have noticed if nobody had told me is that Lucille Ball makes a very small appearance in this movie as a worker at the flower shop in the London hotel. She has a couple of lines, but even though I’m used to watching her in Stage Door, which was only made two years after Top Hat, I absolutely would never have recognized her. So that’s kind of fun.

Now, when it comes to watching Top Hat from an aroace perspective, even I cannot deny that this movie in general, and the “Cheek to Cheek” number specifically, is extremely romantic. The main storyline is Jerry immediately falling for Dale and flirting with her until she falls for him, and then her attempting to suppress her feelings when she thinks he’s married to her best friend. But somehow, even watching it as a young teen who had no idea that I was aroace, this felt different from other romantic films I’d seen. I remember feeling irritated the first time I read a description of Fred and Ginger’s dancing as their version of making love because “ugh, why do people have to make everything about sex?” It took me a while to realize that not only is that an apt description, but it’s also part of what drew me to them in the first place. Because despite the way the terms “making love” and “being intimate” are now used almost exclusively as synonyms for “having sex,” they don’t necessarily have to be. There are other ways of experiencing and expressing love and intimacy besides sex. It’s just that our allonormative society puts sex on such a high pedestal and portrays it as the One True Form of Intimacy that all other forms are devalued to the point that often they feel barely worth mentioning. And I do feel like when some people talk about Fred and Ginger this way, what they’re implying is “Their dances were the Hays Code era version of sex scenes.” And, granted, it’s quite possible that that was the intent. But nothing about their dancing is inherently sexual, and yet, it would be hard to deny that it’s extremely intimate. So as someone who craves non-sexual intimacy, in a world where that concept almost seems oxymoronic, it’s so encouraging to see these characters express that. Of course, I don’t want exactly what they have – for one thing, I’m a terrible dancer, despite my one year of tap lessons in 2nd grade. And for another, what they have is way too romantic for me. But although I could never have articulated this at the time, just seeing this example of extreme intimacy coming in other, non-sexual forms as a young obliviously asexual person was so important. It gave me some armor against the onslaught of allo- and amatonormative messages implying that sexual relationships are inherently more valuable and valid than any other kind of relationship. Top Hat ends with the implication that Jerry and Dale are about to get married, so I guess we’re meant to infer that their relationship will eventually become sexual, but I don’t see how anyone could watch this movie and still think that a sexless marriage consisting of dance numbers like “Cheek to Cheek” would be any less valid than a sexual marriage. Like so many of my favorite movies, it’s not exactly ace representation, but it’s easy to imagine many of the characters in Top Hat as ace, and often that’s as good as it gets.

While the subtle and probably unintentional message that sex doesn’t have to be the end all be all is great, the main reason I love this movie is because it’s just a lot of fun to watch. I’ll be the first to admit that the plot is a little ridiculous and doesn’t make a ton of sense, but I also have to admire the lengths they go to in order to maintain the mistaken identity for so long. Like the part when the London hotel manager tells Dale that Horace Hardwick is the gentleman with the briefcase and cane on the mezzanine, and Horace steps behind a chandelier before Dale can see him, and while she’s trying to get closer, Jerry runs up to Horace and says that he has a phone call, and Horace hands Jerry his briefcase and cane and rushes off, so Dale will see Jerry alone holding a briefcase and cane and therefore still think he is Horace. Or when Horace just happens to be in the bathtub when Dale comes into their room in Italy. Or how Jerry tells Madge that he’s met Dale so she doesn’t think she needs to introduce him. It’s like simultaneously the most far-fetched, bizarre plot imaginable and also kind of brilliantly executed, and I love it for that. And even if the plot doesn’t work for you, this movie is still worth watching for its truly phenomenal dancing by one of the most iconic pairs in Hollywood history.

Thank you for listening to me discuss another of my most frequently rewatched films. When compiling this list, I was very surprised to discover that Fred Astaire would only appear in one film, since I consider him one of my faves, but I hope he would at least be happy to know that that one film is in my top five. Next week, I will be talking about another Old Hollywood musical that I watched two more times than Top Hat, for a total of 33 views, which stars a man who is often compared to Fred Astaire, although I feel like, apart from being dancers, they were very different. So stay tuned for that, and as always, I will leave you with a quote from that next movie: “I make more money than…than…than Calvin Coolidge! Put together!”

[walker-extended-universe]

This Old Song and Dance

Ship: August Walker/Sadie Yoo

Tags/Warnings: Wild West AU, Flirting, Social Expectations, Dancing, Piano

Summary: In which Sadie is a dancer, August plays the piano, and there's a routine they know all too well. It's a routine they perform every night, even when Sadie isn't onstage.

Written for @yeehawgust Week 3 Prompt 15: Desert Rose

Taglist: @ihavepointysticks, @theladywyn, @klaatu51, @itsjessiegirl1, @neptunium134

------

Sadie wasn’t sure if it was the wine or the full moon but the hotel was lively tonight and she and her dancers weren’t even on stage yet. “Got quite a crowd out there. Stay sharp, ladies.” There was a general “No Touching” rule in place but she knew very well how a little too much liquid courage could make even the finest member of the community forget his manners and the owner of the hotel wasn’t always inclined to step in. She double-checked where her knife was held in her garters and practiced her smile one last time before they were called out.

It was all the same song and dance. A full house of leering men that were perhaps a little too close for comfort. A jaunty tune on the piano to keep the energy up and the drinks flowing. Practiced choreography almost going to waste since the audience is just looking for a shoulder shake and a too-high flip of a skirt. 

And then it was time to mingle. None of the girls were expected to do anything, but men were more than happy to buy drinks for them. Sadie hated this part of the night the most. The wandering hands, the lingering looks, the unwanted advances…. If she could get away with stabbing a few eyes out, half the men in town would be blind. Instead, she smiled and counted the money she’d be getting on her next paycheck. Most men knew how to back off when her smile faded and her fingernails dug into their arm.

But there was always one.

“Don’t be shy, darlin’. Just one night.”

“No, I don’t do that sort of thing.”

“Oh, come now. I’ll make it worth your while.”

“She said no, Sean.”

Sadie couldn’t help but smirk a bit. August knew very well that she could take care of herself; all the girls could. But he always stepped in when the crowd got too rowdy, the men too demanding. It was sweet, if unnecessary.

Sean grumbled something about just asking and wandered to the other side of the bar. August turned to Sadie, face melting from stern to concerned. “Are you okay, Miss Yoo?”

She chuckled. “Just fine, Mister Walker. Say, when are we closing?”

“Another hour or two, Miss.”

This was another song and dance. August “rescuing” her when she didn’t ask, checking up on her periodically for the rest of the night, and closing up a little early if she asked so the girls could get home and Sadie could get comfortable. He didn’t own the place but his family was good friends with the owner, Ms. Broussard, so his word was as good as law whenever she wasn’t around (which was often at night). If Sadie took advantage of that every now and then, that was just compensation for poor working conditions.

After the hotel closed, Sadie changed into something more comfortable before going back downstairs for the next song and dance. A soft piano melody drifted up the stairwell and she practically danced to it on her way down. August’s main role was technically maintenance but he played the piano for their shows and he told her in secret one night that he had aspirations of being a “real musician”. Sometimes he shared his music with her. Sounded like it was one of those nights.

“That sounds new,” she said as she descended the last steps. “Something you’re working on?”

August glanced up from the keys, the lamplight just barely revealing his blush. “Uh, yeah. I- I got inspired recently….”

Sadie smiled and sat on the bench next to him. “Yeah? Inspired by what?”

He stopped playing just long enough to make a note on his sheet music. “You,” he said softly, voice almost covered by the scratch of pencil on paper.

“Mister Walker, are you telling me you wrote me a song?” she teased.

His blush darkened. “Well…yes.”

“What’s it called?”

“Uh…. My Desert Rose.”

“Poetic.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Play it for me?”

He nodded, flipping back to the beginning of his sheet music and starting to play. Once he got past the first page, once he started to play confidently, she left his side and danced on the stage. Just for a moment, she let herself live in a world where this was the only song and dance she had a part to play in. Just her, her lover, and their music. No more leering outlaws, no more just scraping by, no more lingering stares from people who didn’t understand why a “good boy” like him would love a foreign outcast like her. Just them and the piano and her steps.

He came up to her room that night, and they danced to a different song until the light of dawn broke through her window.

[lgcmanager]

CRYSTALLIS MISSION 008

SCHEDULE TYPE: TRIMESTER ( PART 1 OUT OF 1 ) SCHEDULE RESTRICTIONS: cannot be paired with another trimester schedule, unless stated otherwise. for reference as to whether your muse is eligible for this event, please click over HERE.

with CRYSTALLIS preparing for their concert in saitama, YEWON, NAHEE, and EUNJO gather all of the CRYSTALLIS members together in the managers’ hotel suite. YEWON begins the meeting as she explains the current whereabouts for the past few hours since they arrived at saitama from the airport, “i know this is quite tiresome for all of you, but i just contacted the higher-ups earlier and they sent me your schedule for the upcoming weeks. fortunately there isn’t much seeing that we have this concert tour and individual activities to attend to, but there’s some exciting news to say the least.”

NEW GROUP POSITIONS & MUSIC CHARTS

as mentioned in the prior term, here are the confirmed group positions for CRYSTALLIS:

AHN JAEHWA: main vocalist, lead dancer

GONG HYEJOO: main vocalist, lead dancer

KIM YUJIN: lead rapper, lead vocalist

LIU YUXI: lead dancer, vocalist

MIN SOYOUN: main dancer, main vocalist

MOON SOMIN: main rapper, lead dancer, vocalist

SEO YURA: main dancer, lead vocalist

YAMASHITA ICHIKA: leader, lead rapper, vocalist

due to busy ooc schedules, here is a quick reference as to how the august comeback song(s) were ranked in the music charts ( based on the top 15 ):

AUGUST 22-27

3RD-4TH: DANCE ON | originally placed in 4th, then moved up by one by near the end of the week 

12TH: MY GOSH | originally placed in 30th then went up and stayed at 12th for the rest of the week

13TH: WOULD YOU RUN ( CRYSTALLIS VER. ) | originally placed in 25th then went up and stayed at 13th for the rest of the week

AUGUST 29-SEPTEMBER 3

2ND-3RD: DANCE ON | moved up to 2nd in hopes of winning 1st in THE SHOW and SHOW CHAMPION, but fell short. ended the week at 3rd place

12TH: MY GOSH | stayed in the same spot throughout the week

SEPTEMBER 5-10

3RD-4TH: DANCE ON | stayed in 3rd for most of the week until sunday, where it moved down by one

15TH: MY GOSH | moved down by three due to new (non-lgc) songs being released

as you may have noticed, “DANCE ON” didn’t receive any wins in this specific comeback but it maintained being in the top five for the three weeks!

YURA’S BIRTHDAY

“since YURA’s birthday falls on the same day as the concert in BANGKOK, YURA will be given a chance to interact with the fans through a youtube livestream. because there will be day two of the concert the next day, the livestream will be quite short. however, after the second day's concert ends, one of the managers will be treating you to a michelin star restaurant in bangkok. it’s up to YURA to decide which manager she would like to join this dinner with, but i personally suggest myself since i was the one who thought of the idea.” there was a smug look on YEWON’s face, which caused NAHEE to nudge her arm lightly for not letting it be fair for all of them. as for EUNJO, she still kept her stoic look as she watched the rest of the CRYSTALLIS members.

the solo birthday livestream will last around 20 minutes long and be filmed in the living room of the managers’ hotel suite while the rest of the members will be in their designated rooms.

LGC WEBTOON OST

YEWON then announces another small project, “it’s going to be announced soon that LGC’S WEBTOON — which originated as PROJECT ORIGIN, will now be an animation series! since all of your alter egos are a part of this universe, LGC has asked CRYSTALLIS to record two songs that will be part of their OST.” 

more details about the webtoon will be coming sometime around Q1 2024, but CRYSTALLIS will be recording two songs:

HEROINE

WELCOME TO MY WORLD

due to their busy schedules, this will be done whenever the girls have any free time and will be done in several separate recording sessions.

NEW MODELING ENDORSEMENT ( HAUSING COMPANY )

YEWON’s tone changes slightly as she addresses an issue that the managers have noticed in passing, “we’re aware of the bathroom situation that many of you seem to be struggling with since YUJIN and YUXI were added to the group.” she sighed before clarifying the issue for all of them. “you see, the company wanted to surprise you with renovated dorms while we were on this concert tour but things didn’t go as expected.” YEWON was unsure as to how to explain what really went on because to her, it was truly a lot to understand.

“long story short, the initial plan to have a renovated dorm was intercepted by some complications that would take a long time to plan and figure out. the silver lining to this is that coincidentally, CRYSTALLIS was offered a modeling gig from a housing company so now CRYSTALLIS has an endorsement with them!” YEWON smiled, hoping that the good news would be exciting for the members once the concert tour was done.

after their concert tour concludes, all of the CRYSTALLIS members will be packing up their belongings and headed to a new dorm that is still in seoul, but farther away than the rest of the LGC dorms. on NOVEMBER 20, the each of the girls will enter inside the new apartment and be filmed to get a genuine reaction of the place. at the front door of the apartment, there will be a table with a box inside of it. inside the box are eight strips of paper, each paper denoting which colored room they will be getting ( ROOM A / LAVENDER ROOM [ 1ST FLOOR ], ROOM B / SKY BLUE ROOM [ 2ND FLOOR ]. the colors of the room do not reflect the colors of the rooms, just the colors of the beds ). the CRYSTALLIS member will be randomly picking the strip and that will decide the room they will be staying in for the next few months.

for reference, here are the new room arrangements:

ROOM A / LAVENDER ROOM: AHN JAEHWA, LIU YUXI, KIM YUJIN, SEO YURA

ROOM B / SKY BLUE ROOM: GONG HYEJOO, MIN SOYOUN, MOON SOMIN, YAMASHITA ICHIKA

if you want a visualization of the room arrangement, it would be similar to THIS but there are two bunk beds instead. in total there would be 2 BATHROOMS, 2 BEDROOMS, and 2 KITCHENS in the apartment ( the second bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen would be on the floor above ). by the time all of the CRYSTALLIS members have entered and looked at the arrangements, they will be given some time to talk to the camera about what they like about the place, how they will decorate it, and their thoughts about their roommates.

for privacy reasons, the videos will be released AFTER their contract to stay in their new dorm arrangement ends and will serve as promotion for HAUSING COMPANY. overall, their contract will last for a year ( depending on various factors ) but they will not be staying in the same building during that period.

YEAR END CEREMONIES & PROJECT ???

year end ceremonies will be in a separate post and be revealed at a later time. near the end of the meeting, YEWON will inform the girls that during the week of DECEMBER 4, they will be having a special schedule, but not much is discussed about it except that for one of the days, they are expected to wake up at 3AM in the morning.

WRITING REQUIREMENTS

BIRTHDAY LIVESTREAM: write a 250+ word solo about the livestream for +5 POINTS TO DISTRIBUTE ANYWHERE and +3 NOTORIETY ! ** only for YURA **

CRYSTALLIS x HAUSING COMPANY: write a 300+ word solo or a 4 replies ( minimum 8 lines ) thread with another CRYSTALLIS roommate about their reaction to the new dorms, how they’ll decorate the place, and/or their thoughts about their roommates. do note that the solo/thread will be aired when the video is released. completing this will earn you +5 MODELING, +5 VARIETY, and +7 NOTORIETY !

make sure to use the hashtag lgc:crystallismission for the task. you have until JANUARY 6, 2024 at 11:59PM EST to complete the requirements and validate your points. please submit the following form ONCE on the points blog.

MUSE NAME ∙ CRYSTALLIS MISSION 008 - BIRTHDAY LIVESTREAM: +5 ( skill points distribution ), +3 notoriety [ LINK ] ** only for yura ** - CRYSTALLIS X HAUSING COMPANY: +5 modeling, +5 variety, +7 notoriety [ LINK ]

[another-melomanie-blorbo]

Spark Gone AU

~~~~~~~~~~

Okay so I already have playlists for this AU well they're in progress and i already have an idea abt what it is and the design (im just not very artsy like that TvT)

ANYWAYSSSS

~~~~~~~~~~

Splinter and Draxum take care of the turtles but they're always fighting and the fights have even gotten physical before. All and all its not a very good environment.

As for the boys, they mostly live in the sewers but frequently go to Big Mama's hotel to escape it.

In this AU Mikey is no longer the sunshine character, as much as he would like to he just... isn't. Instead a girl named Vicki (my besties oc) is. She lives with her father and step-mother and has a good environment, however, every other week she goes to stay with her mom and step-dad which is not exactly a good environment.

Donnie is often getting in fights WITH his two dads. He's sick of it but at the same time doesn't care. Still, he gets in between them which hes never ended well. If he doesn't feel like getting in the fight Leo told him not to and he needed to heal he'll lock himself in his lab and work, ignoring it as much as he can.

Leo is still the medic, actually he's really good. That comes from practice though. He would/will patch up his dads and Donnie after their fights. Its would always be so brutal, he was glad they at least were good fighters, at the same time though he wished they wouldn't fight at all. When they start arguing he goes to the med bay and starts to prep wondering if it'll ever end.

Raph is the oldest and is normally taking care of his brothers, making sure they are fed, that the have clean clothes, etc., etc. He protects them, tries to keep them out of trouble. Raph normally stays im his room or with one of his brothers. When his dads start to fight he just tries to ignore it by meditating or training.

Mikey spends most his time out of the lair. In the Hidden City, Big Mama's hotel, New York City roof tops, anywhere that wasn't home. He hated when they fought and hated hearing it. When he's on roof tops he listens to music and sketch's. He used to dance and he was a beautiful dancer at that. When Splints and Draxum fight Mikey leaves the lair, if he can't leave then he goes to Donnie's lab with his headphones and turn the volume all the way up.

Mikey has also thrown away his ballet shoes and no longer dances, only he knows why.

The boys have gone to school before but are now home schooled. They went to April's school thanks to Big Mama giving them cloaking broaches.

VICKI! okay so she has step parents on both sides. She lives with her dad and step-mom which is a pretty good environment. Every other week she goes to her mom and step-dads, which is not. They are always drunk and fighting. When she meets the turtles shes like "okay if i can't fix my family i can try here" she pretty much gives them their spark back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OKAY so whadaya thiink~? honestly i kind like this one. IM EXCITED EEEEEEEE i wonder how it will turn out OH WELL :D.

[shop-korea]

10 Min | Sweaty Warm up to Burn Fat | Belly Fitness

MAIN - LIBRARY - WOW - AS - I

STOOD OUTSIDE - 2 LOCATIONS

FRONT - OF - AUTO - 2 DOORS IN

THEIR - MAIN - ENTRANCE - NOT

CROWDED - LIKE - THE - DAY THE

BLK - FEMALES - WERE - GOING 2

BOX - ME - BEAT - ME - KICK - ME

ALL - THOSE - BLK - FEMALES

WERE - GOING - 2 - STAB - ME

AFTER - 2 STEAL - MY THINGS

SUCCESS - IN - MIAMI - 4 - THE

MAJORITY - SHOWING US LIFE

IN - A - SPANISH - COUNTRY

EMOTIONAL - ABOUT - ALL

BODY - PARTS - BREASTS FL

SHOWING - THE - MOST AND

PRIDE - IN - BEING - BREASTY

NOT - 2 - BRIGHT - HUGE YES

PEOPLE - DRUNKS DANCERS

LOUD - MUSIC - AS - PEOPLE

KILL - THEY - CRY - THEN EAT

DRINK - TALK - THEN - DANCE

THE - NIGHT - THEN NEXT DAY

SMALL - POPULATIONS - THEY

ARE - NOT - GREAT IN SCHOOL

JUST - COUNTRIES - U - DON'T

RESIDE - IN - VISIT - BUT - YOU

KNOW - THERE - MUST - B YES

BETTER - MY - RESPONSE - IS

EUROPE - ESPECIALLY - THE

SMALLER - THE - BETTER - &

ESTABLISHED - ASIAN - YES

COUNTRIES - JUST - THESE

2 - PLACES - BOTH - AND WE

LIVE - LONGER - PREPARED

SPANISH - JUST - LIVE - EA

DAY - NO - PREPARATION AS

THEY - GET - THEIR - MEN - &

LOVE - MAKE PASSIONATELY

AND - THAT - UNTIL - THEY - R

OLD - ONLY - KIDS - WHEN ITS

NECESSARY - WHEN - THEY R

OLDER - BURST - OF - STRONG

RAIN - YESTERDAY - BUT - GOT

MY PACKAGES - GOOGLE MAP

WE - WANT - BETTER - WE WILL

HAVE THAT - WITH - HDG BANK

SATELLITE - SO - U - KNOW HOW

2 - GET - THERE - APPLE iPHONE

CYRUS - GIRL - IS - FLAKEY - GPS

DOESN'T - STAY - WITH - YOU - AT

ALL - AMAZON - PRIME - ALEXIS

IS - BETTER -APPLE - VOICE YES

ACTIVATION - NOT - THAT GREAT

4 - KATHY's - iPHONE HAS VOICE

BUT - MANY - FALSE - STARTS SO

AMAZON - ALEXIS - IS - BEST YES

SW 1 AV - ENDS - SO - FOUND - A

BRIT - AND - ASKED - SO - HE YES

LOOKED - AT - HIS - MOST LIKELY

T-MOBILE - I - DID - MENTION ITS

CLOSE - 2 - NOVOTEL - AND - HE

SAID - TURN - L - WHEN - U - SEE

NOVOTEL - THE - SAME - STREET

4 - I - MEMORIZED - STREET ADRS

1750 SW 1 AVE

BUT - IT - ENDED - WHAT - DO I DO

THUS - BETTER - INSTRUCTIONS

THERE - IS - ANOTHER - PUBLIX

LOOKS - LARGER - PARKING LOT

WHERE - THE - BRIT - MALE YES

MOST - LIKELY - CAME - FROM

THE - UNDERLINE - ALSO - YES

STRETCHES - OTHER - SIDE - OF

MIAMI - RIVER - THUS - FR - THE

9TH ST - PUBLIX - SMALLER YOU

GO - 2 - HAMILTON - SUITES AND

INN - BY - HILTON - SW 12 AV - YES

AFTER - COYO - TACO - VITAL HAI

PLACES - NEXT - STREET - THAT's

SW 13 AV - ON - SW 1 AV - TURN R

ON - L SIDE - SMALL - PATHWAY

TURN - L - ON - R SIDE - U - WILL

SEE - OTHER - LARGER - PUBLIX

PARKING - LOT - IN - FRONT BUT

R - SIDE - WHILE - WALKING YOU

SEE - END - OF - THE UNDERLINE

AFTER BRICKELL METROMOVER

STATION - SMALL - PATH - L SIDE

KEEP - WALKING - UNTIL - U - SEE

CORNER - HUGE - NOVOTEL - YES

THAT - SAME - STREET - IS AGAIN

SW 1 AV - KEEP - WALKING - LONG

WAY - BECAUSE - HOTELS - AS - U

SEE - THEN - HOMEWOOD SUITES

BY - HILTON - EXTREMELY - UGLY

LOBBY - GO - INSIDE - THAT DOOR

TALL - UNCOMFORTABLE - SEATS

LIKE - FAKE - BAMBOO - GO - YES

STRAIGHT INSIDE - DOORS 2 THE

ELEVATOR - 4 - THEIR - LOBBY IS

L SIDE - INSIDE - HUB LOCKER - &

CALLED - TRANSMISSION - ITS A

BLK - ONE - AND - THOUGH - NO

FREE - WI FI - KEEP - OPEN - THE

PAGE - WITH - QR CODE - 4 - THE

SCAN - BAR CODE - WORKS - YES

ONLY - ONE - LA FITNESS - DOES

NOT - WORK - PARKING - OF YES

HAMILTON - INN - THEIR - AREA

TURNS - OFF - DISAPPEARS THE

PAGE - OF - AMAZON - APP - NOT

SO - WITH - HOMEWOOD SUITES

PARKING - LOT - LOTS - OF BITES

FR - MOSQUITOS - BUT - SUITES

OF - HOMEWOOD - NICE - 2 RED

LEATHER - SEATS - 2 - ENJOY AS

U - DEAL - WITH - BOXES - ONCE

DONE - ENTER - L SIDE - 2 - THE

ELEVATORS - TRASH - ALSO - A

RECYCLING - BIN - 2 BINS - SO I

DELIGHTED - IN - THROWING &

AIR CONDITIONED - AFTER - ME

GOT - MY - PACKAGES - BY - YES

TYPING - NOS - BIT - BY - NASTY

MOSQUITOS - BECAUSE - HOURS

AGO - THE - REPEL - LOTION - AS

RAIN - POURED - MIGHTILY - FOR

I - GOT - MY - ROSS - DRESS - FOR

LESS - $7.99 - SEMI - AUTO - BLK

MINI - UMBRELLA - BEAUTIFUL 2

WELL - ALSO - GOT - FOLDABLE

PAIL - ENJOYED - BATHING - BUT

HAIR - WAS - DIFFICULT - 4 I HAVE

PURPLE - LOTS - OF - SO - HAIR

MOST - DIFFICULT - WILL - DO IT

DO - HAIR - AREA - OF - BACK - 4

TENT - DOING - PAIL - 4 - HAIR AT

BACK - NO - ONE - CAN - SEE ME

AT - THE - BACK - BENDING - FRM

TENT - SO - GROUND - FLOOR - 4

HAIR - BLEACHING - AGAIN I'M SO

EXCITED - FORGOT TODAY - MY

SOLAR - AND USB - LOTS - OF

PLUG - THUS - USING - TABLE

BOTH - PLUGS - ABOVE - AND

VERY - PLEASED - WITH - THE

BATTERY - FAN - IT - ALSO HAS

USB - CHARGING - SO MY NEW

SMALL - KEYBOARD - I'M - YES

CHARGING - WITH - THE BACK

LIT - CHANGES - COLORS NOT

I - CAN - CHOOSE - ONE - BUT

BEST - ONE - SO - FAR - EASY

2 - PAIR - I'M - STILL - LOOK'G

4 - BEST - EAR - PLUG - WITH

BLUETOOTH - BEST - DESIGN

BEST - I - CAN - CONTROL - 4

PHONE - ALSO - HARD 2 FIND

[pixoplanet]

It's December 8th, 🎙️📺🎥 Mister Show Business Day! On this day in 1925, the world's greatest entertainer, Sammy Davis Jr., was born in the Bronx, New York City. He spent most of his life in show business, excelling as a singer, dancer, comedian, actor, and musician. He starred in Hollywood, in Las Vegas, and on Broadway; on radio, on TV, and in the movies. He did it all – and against all odds.

As a Black Man, he had to fight discrimination and racism almost his entire life. As a child, his father and uncle protected him while they traveled and performed together as the Will Mastin Trio, but nobody could protect him when he was drafted into the Army. Being a slight man, he was often beaten up by bigger white soldiers and given the worst assignments by white officers. What saved him was his talent. He learned to disarm his aggressors by doing impersonations of Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Edward G. Robinson.

Even after Sammy became a full-fledged star in the 1950s, he was often not allowed to stay in the same hotel he was performing in – that is, until he and his larger-than-life personality joined the notorious Rat Pack with fellow-entertainer Frank Sinatra. Frank made sure that Sammy had no problem staying anywhere he wanted and going anywhere he wanted in Las Vegas until Sammy's stardom grew to superstar status. Then Vegas, New York, and LA threw their doors open to him on their own.

Sadly, cancer took Sammy from us on May 16th, 1990. Luckily for all of us, though, his amazing talents were recorded. We'll be able to watch and listen to him and enjoy him to our hearts' content. You always thought you'd live forever, Sammy, and you will. ☮️ R.I.P.… Jamiese of Pixoplanet 

[nextwavefutures]

Putting on the style

Top Hat was Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’ most successful film together. The dance sequences are outstanding, and it never takes itself too seriously. New post at Around the Edges.

Watching Top Hat (1935) for the umpteenth time is still a pleasure. It’s one of Fred Astaire’s 10 movies with Ginger Rogers, it is definitely one of his “black tie” movies, and it is notionally set in London and Venice. (Top Hat film poster. Public domain.) He’s a successful dancer opening a new show in London, and she is staying at the same upmarket hotel as he is. (More on that in a…

[sillyname30]

I just listened to the latest episode of and that's what you really missed on Glee and I must say I was surprised. It was actually good.

I expected it to be boring, because they talked a lot about the tour in the recap episodes and had an episode about the tour on Showmance, but it wasn't.

I expected a lot of complaining of how exhausted they were, but it was quite positve.

Kevin actually prepared for the episode. It had structure and Kevin put Jenna back on track when she jumped forward. I wish he would do that with the reccap episodes.

When they signed the contract for the pilot it had a record deal, a tour and six seasons in place. They signed it because they were young and stupid and broke. (I think it's pretty standard to sign the actors for several seasons so they have to stay if the show becomes a success)

Fox gave them 4 weeks to tour, but they needed 6 weeks to make a profite. The actors could decide if they wanted to go on tour. They all said yes, but weren't excited about it and didn't make much money from the tour.

The tour was really fun for most of it. Jenna wishes she could do it all over again with a different mind set. They were so tired and just wanted to go home and meet family and friends. They were grateful to be in a successful TV show, but everybody was worn out at and sometimes you can't recognize the privileges of the success.

After finishing the show, they had 3 days off, but they had to prepare to be away for six weeks. Their bags got picked up at the door and at the hotel room, they had a private plane and stayed at nice hotels.

They went to Vegas for rehearsals. Zach Woodlee and the back-up dancers were already there and had learned their own choreography and the tracks of the actors. Each actor got a dancer to teach them what to do during the show. It was easy to learn, because they knew the numbers and did them before on Glee.

The set list was set, but Ryan let them vote addional songs. It was Safety Dance, Friday and Single Ladies.

They had a friends and family show that was a dress rehearsal at the same time. It was still sloppy and they had to come in early the next day. Kevin's biggest problem was his nerves, but after a few shows they were in a flow. Doing the shows was fun, but all the stuff around it made them crazy.

Kevin said they were fans of the fans. They couldn't believe people were showing up to see them.

At the last show in Dublin they were doing whatever they wanted and everyone came out with weird hair and weird costumes. Kevin's dad was in the audience and he got the whole arena to sing Danny Boy.

Next week they talk about the Glee 3D concert movie.

[outandaboutnycmag]

4/10/23 O&A NYC MORE HARKNESS STORIES: Lawrence Leritz- I've Been Around

I’ve Been Around (Excerpt from upcoming book of the same name) By Lawrence Leritz I arrived in NYC on a Sunday afternoon during the intense summer heat of early July, 1974.  David Howard, co-director of Harkness House, recommended that I stay at The East End Hotel, a rundown boarding hotel on the East River near Harkness House, which was located on East 75th off Fifth Avenue.  Most of the dancers…

[bolontiku]

"Chasing Pumpkin"

Chapter 1

Characters: Syverson x Reader

Posted: Sept 17th

A/N: this was a work drabble but... anywhooo, I put reader there but the more I worked on this the more OC she got, so I nicknamed her Pumpkin.

There will be at least one update (when idk) but I couldn't get this out of my head for the last week and am now shoving it into yalls faces. Idk where this came from I'm sorry.

Hope you enjoy!

WARNINGS: unprotected sex, smut (it happens), no under 18 please, there is fluff, surprisingly no angst.. hints at a bad past relationship.

Like, Comments, & Reblogs are always appreciated and loved.

"We have a problem."

The small crowd of men turned to the best man, well second chosen, first having been Syverson himself but he had politely declined knowing the groom's brother had been expecting to get the part.

They waited for the kid to speak, Syv motioning for him to continue, rolling the sleeves of his shirt up; he was ready to finish the night.

"There are wedding crashers."

"What?" The men groaned, discussing over each other until he cleared his throat. "Let's not make a scene, Heather would be disappointed and it's her day, which is almost over, the worst they can do is show up in a few pictures and steal some of the free booze and we all know Davidson's dad is footing the bill for that so-" he shrugged broad shoulders and met the gazes of the five men around him. "Damage control, just make sure nothing goes awry."

The men nodded, maybe that was asking for a bit much from this crowd. They had all served together and he knew they were a bit too close to ask they not get in trouble much less keep complete strangers from causing trouble, they were also a little past drunk, fuck he had had his fair share, leading him to shed his jacket somewhere along the night, but most of the men had after the main ceremony.

The wedding was in the mountains, the venue was huge and it being a vacation spot meant they were not the only ones on the grounds but the hotel had been primarily booked by the family and guests of both bride and groom. There had been a few rooms left though. Everything had been rented and decked out, he himself had managed to get one of the cabins skirting the lake, more comfort and privacy. There were only two days left for the guests to unwind once Heather and Gregory left for their honeymoon tonight.

Civi life was nice, he thought. He was still looking for a place to call home, his dad kept his room available and had gotten him a temporary place at his job. It worked but Syverson still felt as if something was missing…

The fact that he and some of his men stayed in touch was nice too. And then there had been the phone call and invite by Gregory Davidson. Heather was a sweet thing, Syv had nearly carried her off himself. Inviting smile, light chestnut hair, she could not keep her eyes off the idiot that he had saved too many times out in that godforsaken land.

It was good.

The 'crashers' were easy enough to spot, aside from the bride's family, anyone not in the military was easy to spot. Gregory's family had all served. Syverson figured they were vacationing in the same area and probably came upon the end of the party, a small group of four girls that ended up in the mix of dancers, they almost passed for the occasion. Syverson smirked, he had met plenty of girls like them while on leave, harmless really. Yet he spotted one off to the side of the dance floor, watching, and he found himself watching her in turn. Eyes drifting down her full figure and pausing on her ample hips, he let out a low sigh bordering on a growl, what fun he could have with a woman like that.

*

It had been awhile.

Since you had egged them on, really it had been months of being a responsible adult, buckling down and working. After everything that had happened with your ex you started all over again, moving out of your apartment into a small house and beginning all over again. You had basically disappeared from your friend group and found excuses that were barely passing plausible to not go out.

The fact that you had managed to wrangle time off from work was a fucking miracle, you had told them it wouldn't be possible, to not expect you. They in turn said you no longer loved them. You knew they were bluffing, alligator tears, saying they would never forgive you… you had threatened to quit if your manager didn't give you the time off.

And that is how you found yourself deep in the mountains by a pretty lake. It was your friends' hesitancy though that made you tug them towards the dance music. You couldn't remember the last time you had danced, the girls took after you, quickly joining in on the dance floor. Yet, once they joined, you took a step out, easily falling into the crowd outside and watching them. You guessed it was a wedding once you had taken time to breathe and were grateful no one had spotted you, the men quickly took up with the girls and you kept an eye on them to make sure they didn't get into trouble.

Syverson smiled, arms crossed over his impressive chest; he watched as you leaned forward, eyes bright as the bride leaned into her new husband, he was positive you were a complete stranger yet you looked absolutely overjoyed for his friends, he supposed weddings did that to a person. He didn't know where you came from but he found you absolutely adorable. Making his way to stand beside you he was surprised that you didn't automatically turn to him, he stepped a bit closer, pumpkin. You smelled like pumpkins and vanilla, an odd mixture, but not in a bad way, you smelled good enough to eat.

"Not your scene?"

You nearly leapt out of your skin at the low sultry southern voice next to you. Glancing over you found a broad chest at your eye level and craned your head back to meet the most vibrant blue eyes you had ever had the privilege of meeting. This one was trouble. Your heart skipped and you swung your gaze back to your friends, biting your bottom lip, you had been found out. Of course you had, the girls were dressed well enough to pass, you had gone for comfy jeans and a top that was barely dressy, if you squinted.

"I had a dance," you answered with a shrug of your shoulder.

Syverson hummed, a little curious at your reaction, he liked the southern in your voice but it seemed out of place, not Texan. Maybe you knew he knew you didn't belong? "Friends of the bride or groom?"

You sucked at lying. "I used to date the groom's brother…?"

Syverson nearly lost his composure, coughing to cover his half escaped laugh. Joshua was nearly married to his partner Liam. "Ahh."

You nodded pleased with your lie, glad there was a brother. "Well," you nodded at the couple that were currently waving their goodbyes and escaping the crowd that rushed to see them off. "That is my cue to get on to bed," you would have to text the girls and remind them to check in with you to assure they got back to their rooms safely.

Large hands caught at you and your eyebrows rose as you stared up at the man, Jesus, he was absolute sin on legs… long thick legs, with a thick solid massive body to go with it. Though to be fair most of the men in attendance were fit enough to tackle a bear in these woods and survive to tell the tale. Dark hair that curled, seemingly just growing out, a carefully trimmed and maintained beard, the way he carried himself screamed military. Yet it was his flash of teeth that caught your attention, a mischievous smile, you swallowed as you caught sight of sharp canines. Your will to leave wavered. If you stayed it would be so much trouble.

"You can't leave? It's early yet and I haven't had a dance."

You frowned at him, "there is no way you ain't gotta date."

Syverson smirked down at you, "you confident about that pumpkin?" Oh, the way you looked away, your bottom lip disappearing between your teeth, he was enjoying himself knowing that you wanted nothing but to escape. He gave you no choice, wrapping a large hand around your waist and leading you on the dance floor.

He knew the men were watching, there had been a few offers and he had obliged but had yet to approach anyone. They had teased him and it had ended with a small warning growl from him, the guys laughing, but he couldn't let you escape. Not before he got a taste.

The dance floor had become crowded yet again now that the bride and groom were off, so he tugged you in close as the music continued, fast paced and loud. He was slightly surprised at how quick you were to keep up, following his lead and laughing when he intentionally tugged you closer. Your hands were small in his, you had to stretch on your toes when he pulled them over his shoulders and he still dipped low, easily leading you through the dances.

His smile was brilliant, cologne a little intoxicating, he smelled like woods and whiskey. You could barely keep his intense gaze, it helped that he was a bit taller, fine- much taller. And you took advantage when the movement changed and slid your hands down his broad muscular back, dropping them to his waist before he dragged you in front of him, one thick thigh pressing between yours as he swayed his hips against yours and you felt your face heat as he grinned at you.

It was a good while before the tempo slowed and you nearly escaped him, hurrying from the floor towards the open bar.

Hecaught you glancing around and frowned, "lose somebody?"

You shook your head, "I mean, my friends that came, but I don't have a date."

He leaned against the bar, "is that so?"

The way he dropped his head to the side, bright eyes softening as he looked at you made you feel things you weren't ready to feel. The bartender slid your order towards you and you smiled into your drink as he served your new friend a whiskey. "Syverson, though most call me Syv."

You blinked, a little surprised you hadn't even asked yet and introduced yourself in return. "I should be getting back-"

"Let me walk you then," he offered, straightening and tucking your arm in the crook of his giving you no chance to deny him. Although being beside him made you feel tiny, it was a feeling you rarely got to relish in and you took it, feeling a bit greedy.

You let him lead you from the crowded area, a few of his friends shouting at him as he waved them off. You found yourself talking as you walked, a nervous habit, the cabins had been taken for the day so your group had to find rooms in the hotel, but in the morning you would be headed out for them. You and your friends lived two hours away and just needed the time to get away, this had been perfect.

"Then you're here for the weekend with them?" You kept silent knowing your answer would oust you, "nothing to be worried about you and your friends are safe."

"What gave me away?"

"Joshua is dating Liam three years now," he answered honestly without pause, looking up at the night sky. Not like home, but damn near close enough. He liked your voice, the calm you seemed to radiate seeped into him.

You couldn't help but laugh at his answer, eyes closing as you held onto him to keep from tripping over your own feet. You snorted and laughed a little harder.

Syverson stopped and couldn't help but laugh along with you, your laughter contagious.

"I- it's jus-" you shook your head and wiped at the tears that escaped. "Of COURSE!" You paused when he reached up and swiped his thumb over your cheek, hand cupping your jaw. You reached up and caught his wrist, your gaze held by his mesmerizing one, you scrambled for a change in conversation. "You haven't told me anything, what do you do? You're no longer in the military huh?"

He tilted his head and pursed his lips, you had a habit of doing that, steering the conversation away as if you were trying to keep him at arm's length, it made him want. He wanted to listen to you go on about your friends and your work, listen to the way you sighed softly while holding onto his forearm. Watch the way your eyes crinkled at the edges as if you laughed all the time, but it seemed that it had been awhile since you'd had the opportunity to do just that. He wanted to give you that, he wanted to give you more than that. "Be honest, you the leader of your little girl group?"

"I take offense to that sir! We are women!"

Syverson watched as you pulled away and placed your hands on your thick hips right before pointing at him, he liked your hips, he liked dancing and having your hips sway and grind against his. Actually he liked all your thick curves, especially when they were pressed up against him, all that softness begging to be kissed and nipped at. He wondered if he could coax you back there? Get you to do that a little more. "You didn't answer…"

The way his voice dropped, admonishing you, he must have figured you out. You smiled at him taking a step back as he stepped towards you, the wooden planks beneath your feet shifting as the two of you moved, "where have you brought me? I thought you were walking me back to the hotel? Are you a serial killer?" You asked, narrowing your eyes at him accusingly.

"Just now wondering about that?" He watched your eyes flicker around, though you tucked your arms behind you, "no, I am not a serial killer." He had just wanted to listen to you talk some more.

"A serial killer would deny it."

"Any experienced killer would know to not let anyone see us leave together. And didn't you text with your friends not a second ago?"

You huffed and turned away from him, the lake spread out in front of you, the narrow boardwalk opening up to a small dock and noticing the two of you were truly alone you decided to change tactics. He was someone you could end up liking and that made him dangerous. You toed your shoes off, "let's have some fun," it would be fun and you could keep from answering anymore questions.

You were steering the conversation to what made you feel safe, he had figured that much out. You talked about things and people in your life but not yourself. It both drew him in and irritated him and he had known you for less than two hours. "Something fun?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms over his chest.

You nodded, smirking at him. "Yes, it's my vacation and I am allowed to do something fun, maybe a little bad."

"Is it a vacation if you live here?"

You huffed, hands going to your jeans, you watched those bright eyes widen before he looked around. "I might live in the state but I work hard and hardly play, it's time I think."

"By skinny dipping?" He could hardly speak when your jeans dropped to the wooden planks underfoot, pretty dark red lace panties making his mouth go dry and he took a step toward you, fingers itching to touch.

"Skinny dippin'?" You shot the word back at him, the spot was secluded enough, you reached down and pulled the bottom of your shirt up and over your head, skin pimpling at the cool breeze and not the way those bright eyes darkened, "that what they call it? Back home it was called chunky dunkin'," you stopped, standing before him in your skimpy underclothes, watching the way those bright eyes darkened and dilated, he had turned into a predator spotting his prey.

This you could work with, this was more natural than any other feeling in the world. Pure physical reaction, you didn't need him looking at you softly, but this way? Hunger in his eyes as they scanned down your body before jerking back up? This was comfortable and empowering all wrapped up together and this was addicting.

His heart skipped as you reached back, tongue peaking out quickly as your bra came off next, it took him all of five seconds to get undressed, by the time he managed to nearly strangle himself with his damned dress shirt you were in the water, panties laying next to your discarded clothes. "Holy fuck," he breathed out, you were a dangerous woman, before stepping off the dock into the dark water.

You cried out as his larger body crashed into yours, warmth chasing away the cold of the lake as you wrapped yourself around him; thick corded muscles under your fingertips as he tugged you into him, lips searching for yours. You let him, your own answering his demands, giving in with a small bite.

He growled, dragging your bottom lip between his teeth before swiping his tongue over it, licking in and swallowing the soft gasp that left you. You were so damned soft, with a quiet wildness that he had peeked as he had slowly begun to know you, dragging a few secrets out of you. There was no way in hell he was going to let you get away.

You squeaked as he gripped your ass in one large hand, laughter spilling out of you as he kissed just under your chin. "Gettin' a little frisky aren't we soldier?"

"No longer in the service remember? And I will take what you are willing to give, no more than allowed ma'am, just say the word and I'll behave."

"Behave? Now where's the fun in behavin'?" You asked as you pulled back, staying in his hold, just enough to meet his mesmerizing gaze.

He leaned in, giving you ample time to pull away, you hesitated, fingers curling on his shoulders. There was something there, the way you held yourself in his arms, a hesitancy, he recognized it. There was pain and distrust you hid behind a practiced smile, the way you kept things lighthearted, "ah, pumpkin, you can trust yourself with me…"

The sincerity cut through, making your throat tighten, you wanted to believe him, there was something in him that broke through your carefully constructed walls. "It's deeper than I thought-" you whispered against his lips, allowing a little vulnerability to show through. It wasn't a lie, swimming wasn't your strong suit and you had come out further than you had anticipated, but that wasn't really what you meant.

It was the most honest you had been with him and he wanted nothing more than to protect you, from whatever or whomever had hurt you before. He wanted you to know that with him you wouldn't need to be afraid. "Just hold on to me."

You whimpered as he crashed his lips against yours, hands slipping up into the curls at the nape of his neck, curls that were just growing back. You let him drag you closer, kissing him as fiercely as he did you. Dropping your hips, pressing closer to him and smiling against his lips as he grunted softly, feeling him press up along you.

"Fuck sweetheart-"

"Kinda hoping for that," you dropped your head to his shoulder as he laughed, rich thick laughter, which carried across the water.

"Then hold on good." It was his idea of a warning.

You couldn't help the moan that escaped you as he pressed into you without hesitation, large hands on your hips guiding you, urging you to take what you wanted as he pressed hungry kisses to your shoulder and neck, teeth marking your skin, you were tight around his cock, skin warm against his own, your chest pressed against his, nails dragging into his back as you drove your hips into his, taking him deeper.

He cursed as he watched your eyes flutter shut, attempting to stifle any noise by biting your bottom lip, brows drawing together in concentration. You were quite simply intoxicating, he was drunk on every little breath and whimper that escaped you, the feel of you as he pressed in and dragged out achingly slow and addicting. Better than any whiskey he had ever imbibed, you laughed softly, it turned into a delicious moan that he swallowed as he quickened the pace before reaching down between the two of you.

The moment his thumb swiped over your sensitive nub your grip tightened, legs tensing up as fire lit through your veins, you muffled your cry by biting down on his shoulder.

It drove him over the edge, your stifled cry, the way you tightened around him even more, body coiling and tensing as he drove in, seating himself completely with every thrust into you until he came, buried deep inside you.

He got you back to the dock, a little miffed as he pulled out and kept his eyes on you as the both of you dragged on your clothes. It took little to persuade you to come back to his cabin, closer than the hotel, where he was quick to tug your clothes back off.

There was his intense gaze as he pressed you gently into the warm bed, eyes locked on yours as he knelt between your legs and dragged his tongue through your folds slow and torturous. You dropped your head back, hands curling in the bedding as he continued, his beard burning into the skin of your thighs, a surprised cry escaping you as he drove two thick fingers into you, your hips twisting and jerking up, seeking more.

Fuck he was damned hard as you writhed under him, chest rising and falling as he took his time, dragging deliscious moans out of you. Your hips bucked up and Syverson planted one large hand on your tummy to hold you in place until you let go and came undone, body going limp. It wasn't until then that he crawled over you and pressed his thick cock into you slowly, filling you inch by impossible inch.

He watched as your eyes darkened, pressed kisses to your lips as you whimpered and pulled your arms around his neck as he finally seated himself completely in you.

"Syverson! Ahhnnngh!" You met his gaze, eyes unfocused as he pulled out and slowly drove in one hand dragging your leg around his waist as he groaned softly above you. You lifted your hips to meet his, his cock stretching you impossible wide, his thighs pressing up into the back of yours and forcing your legs open wide, tongue seeking yours as he planted himself so deep you were a little afraid you wouldn't be able to escape him.

He wanted you, more than just tonight, he wanted your little gasps, your moans, the way you smiled so softly. He wanted to wake up to the smell of pumpkin and vanilla, listen to you laugh and learn everything there was to know about you; so he drove in a little rougher, kissed a little harder, he wanted to imprint himself in your heart so that if you disappeared there would be no other, but he had another few days with you. He had been planning on leaving after tonight, but then you had come along.

"Syverson?" You gasped, tightening your legs around his waist and he knew with one look you were close again.

"Atta girl, that's right, need you to come all over my cock sweetheart." And you did, his low groan fueling the fire within you, your walls clenching down on him. It took him a few more thrusts, before he came, pulling out reluctantly and only when he was soft before dropping to the bed beside you.

He pulled you in close, you wrapped around him dropping your head to his shoulder, "glad you decided to crash the wedding…" he hummed, eyes closing with the weight of exhaustion.

You laughed softly, "me too," you answered, watching as he drifted off to sleep. You laid there enjoying the delicious burn between your legs, you would be sore for a couple days, and you hadn't planned this. It had been so long you had gotten carried away and it would be a good memory.

The bed barely shifted when you moved, yet a big beefy arm wrapped around you and Syverson dragged you back against him, beard scratching your sensitive skin, voice low and gravely, "mmmnn, stay, don't go, stay here pumpkin."

You tensed, heat hammering against your ribcage. Pumpkin. He had called you that a few times already.

"It'll be okay, I promise…"

He was dangerous. You had known it. The way he watched you, his smile, how he kept you close, it was all dangerous and you had kept yourself safe for so long. You took a moment, leaning back into him, savoring the warmth radiating from him, reaching back and running your fingers through his beard.

But you had to keep protecting yourself, slipping out from under him proved a little tricky but you managed, whispering that you had to use the restroom, you studied him as you dressed quietly memorizing his face, and then you slipped out the door.

[mauesartetc]

What is, in your opinion, something or some things that we can learn from Helluva Boss and Hazbin Hotel as both writers and artist?

There's plenty to learn, though the sad thing is, much of it is what not to do. (Strap in; this is a long one.)

Visuals

- Don't let one color dominate your palette. It overwhelms the eyes and makes characters blend in too much with the background. I'm glad they toned down the red a bit in Helluva Boss, because damn.

- Conversely, don't use so many different colors on background characters that they look out of place in the world. Yes, I'm aware these characters were fan-created, but Viv Medrano could've given these fans a palette as a guideline to stay within so their designs feel like they belong in the show's setting.

Here's the master palette I used for my hellhound designs, based on colors taken from canon Helluva Boss characters.

By making adjustments to the value and saturation of each of these colors, I created a range of new ones that wouldn't clash with the established setting.

Now let's apply the same approach to the background characters in the Hazbin pilot.

For the recolored pic, I took hues from Charlie and the background, and tweaked values and saturation as needed. And for the sake of cohesion, I did a quick and dirty faux-compositing pass on the image.

Notice how the added background shading lets Charlie stand out much more clearly from the extras. In short, paying closer attention to color theory would've made the pilot much more visually pleasing.

-Don't give all your characters the same body type. Not only is this boring to look at, but it robs them of their individuality. We all have unique habits and interests. Maybe one person loves to eat, maybe another likes to work out, maybe another never has much of an appetite. Maybe someone has a HUGE appetite but never gains much weight due to their fast metabolism. Also note that there are numerous ways to be muscular; a bodybuilder's frame will be different from a swimmer's, which is different from a dancer's, which is different from a weightlifter's, which is different from a track star's. It's all about which muscle groups are doing the most work.

Now if there were a story-based reason for everyone in Hazbin (and plenty in Helluva) being stick-thin, this would be easier to forgive. If, for example, sinners took on an undernourished appearance and constant feeling of hunger as part of their punishment, that'd make much more sense. But given Viv's long history of designing stick bugs before she ever gave a thought to Hazbin, I highly doubt this physiological uniformity has any bearing on the story. She just likes the aesthetics of skinny people. Nothing wrong with expressing one's tastes, as long as it has a purpose. Which brings me to my next point:

-Don't include stuff in your designs just for the aesthetics. If it doesn't serve some kind of tangible function, leave it out. Accessories, for instance: Does the accessory show a sense of style unique to this character? Is it part of a uniform? Does it hold special meaning for the character, such as a family heirloom or treasured gift? Does it serve a practical purpose, such as glasses to improve their eyesight? Is it symbolic?

A metric ton of Viv's characters have bow ties for the simple reason that she likes the way they look. Nothing deeper than that. She's only concerned with what she likes, not what the characters like. And much like the samebody syndrome, this steals away their individuality. If so many characters make the same fashion choices, it makes them look like a hive mind. Don't do such a grave disservice to the souls you've created. They deserve better.

-Make the environment make sense. Ever wonder why IMP's building in Helluva Boss has imp horns on it? Isn't that like humans working in a human-shaped building? Some sort of cultural rationale could make this work, but I doubt Viv thought that far into it.

(Writing tips after the cut)

Writing

- Give your characters agency. I've talked about this before, so I won't go overboard with detail, but it definitely applies to Helluva Boss.

These characters don't feel like real people due to how contrived their choices are. Why didn't Blitzo silence his phone while being hunted by murderers? Why did Octavia fully forgive her dad, no questions asked, even when he couldn't explain why he cheated on her mom? If Loona hates being around Blitzo so much, why didn't she just stay with the succubi on the beach? Why did Blitzo make out with the guy who treated him like a slave in the trip-out sequence mere minutes before? Why did Moxxie make a huge romantic gesture in an environment where such gestures are frowned upon? Why did Blitzo draw attention to himself when he knew there were people in the room he didn't want to engage with (and don't say "because he was defending Moxxie and Millie"; he could've easily done that without showing himself. There's a thin line between courage and stupidity, and he's crossed it several times)? Why did Stolas bring an imp to a couples-only club despite knowing it'd ruin his reputation?

The answer to all these questions is "Because the plot demanded it" (seriously, Ozzie's was just one big idiot plot that could've been avoided entirely if the characters used their brains). But let's be honest, if we non-fictional folks found ourselves in the same situations, the outcomes would've been very different due to our possession of common fucking sense. It's hard to relate to and root for characters who make so many facepalm-worthy decisions.

Your characters aren't your puppets. Let them drive the plot, not the other way around.

- Show, don't tell. Yeah, you've probably heard this phrase in the past. In this case I'm applying it to Truth Seekers.

First, we have the DHORKS agents (any clue what DHORKS stands for, by the way?) saying no one takes them seriously, yet they work out of a huge skyscraper with at least a few dozen employees and access to a nigh-unlimited variety of weapons. Whoever's funding all this must take them seriously; otherwise this person/people wouldn't have blown such a huge wad of cash on them.

Then, Blitzo claims he's only hard on Moxxie because he cares, yet we've only seen him berating Moxxie, belittling him, threatening to withhold his paycheck because of a mistake, making fun of his "smooth brain" and "baby dick", stalking him and his wife, watching them have sex, and did I mention the rape threat toward them in Ep 1? If Blitzo had shown some caring behavior prior to this, it'd be so much easier to believe him. But as it stands he's an abusive little shit who straight-up gaslights Moxxie in this moment, and Moxxie just... goes along with it (again, as the plot demanded). Blitzo's words don't match his actions at all, and this is the main protagonist we're supposed to sympathize with. On that topic...

- Don't coddle any of your characters just because they're your favorites. Their actions should always have realistic consequences, regardless of how unrealistic the genre and setting may be. If Blitzo and Stolas had gotten their just desserts from day one, Octavia would've left Stolas, Loona would've left Blitzo, and Moxxie would've fucking quit IMP and filed a restraining order. Yet nearly everyone in their lives lets them get away with murder because the writers favor them. This is beyond insulting to the audience's intelligence. Don't make the same mistake.

- Give romantic partners things in common other than the romance. Whenever we see Blitzo and Stolas sit down and have a conversation, it's always about their relationship or Blitzo's job, and the talks take place in either Stolas' bed or on a date. And at some point between episodes 6 and 7, Stolas' attraction to Blitzo magically developed from lust to love... off screen. If the writing gave this more time to evolve organically over several episodes, the relationship might actually be worth rooting for.

Don't these people have hobbies? Political views? Favorite foods? Favorite restaurants? Favorite movies? Opinions on the huge power gap between them? We know Blitzo's favorite animals are horses; maybe he could gush to Stolas about that-? Y'know, just so they have something to talk about other than sex sex sex grimoire sex.

And here's a thought: Maybe they could... laugh about something together? Cry about something? Experience strong emotions in each other's presence other than lust? That's how you make the audience care about your romantic pairing: Understanding the difference between adult content and mature content.

- Cut the fluff. The Hazbin pilot did NOT need to be half an hour long.

First, there's Vaggie's exposition dump to Angel Dust regarding Alastor's past. She could've simply said "I don't trust him" and then explain why to Charlie in two sentences. This would leave Alastor's origins shrouded in mystery and make the audience curious to learn more in future installments. Plus, he wouldn't seem so ridiculously OP (you're tellin' me some guy who died in the '30s killed tons of overlords who'd been around for centuries, and no one was prepared for it? Also, I thought only angelic weapons could properly kill demons-? Gettin' some Gary Stu vibes there) and the animators wouldn't have to deal with that sequence.

Then there's Husk and Niffty. They really didn't need an introduction here, as they add nothing to the story's climax. And as another ask pointed out, neither did Cherri Bomb. She has no powers outside of her weapons, so Angel could've just taken some bombs and fought Sir Pent on his own. If all these characters were cut from the script, it would've saved the animators countless hours of work (it's so obnoxious how complex Husk and Cherri's designs are), and it would've saved the audience from slogging through a slow-paced second half.

That's all I have for now. May we all learn from these pitfalls and do better in our own projects going forward.

[shop-korea]

SECRET - LOFT - ROOM

JAPAN’s MOST FAMOUS

BUDGET - HOTEL

OMO5 - TOKYO - OTSUKA

RECEPTION - DESK

CHECK IN AND OUT

4TH - FLOOR

LOVE - THAT

TOKYO - $72.78 - PER - NIGHT

DEAR - KOREAN GIRLS,

DEDICATING - MY - PRICES 2

EXOTIC - PINAY - DANCER

NIGHT - TIME - PEOPLE YES

WATCH - TOKYO - MALES &

THEIR - GIRLS - ORGY - YES

WATCHED - AS - THE MALES

BEAT - UP - BOXED - KICKED

PINAY - EXOTIC - DANCER

THEY - HATED - HOW - THIN

SHE WAS - LOUSY DANCER

ALWAYS - HER - HAND HAD

THE - CATHOLIC - ROSARY

NIGHT - OFF - FOLLOWED

HER LIKE - MEXICO’s MENUDO

BOY - GROUP - SURROUNDED

HER - PUSHED HER - 2 - BOX

HER - MEN - & - WOMEN JUST

WATCHED - LIKE - KOREANS

BOYS - BOXED - BOXED AND

KICKED - HER - BECAME LIKE

CAT - BALL - LET - THEM - AS

SHE - CLOSED - HER - EYES

POLICE - TELL - U 2 - DO THE

SAME - SO - BOYS - KNIFED

KNIFED - KNIFED - HER - 2

DEATH - GIRLS - ASKED - 2

JOIN - AND - STABBED HER

EVERYONE - WATCHED

NIGHT - NIGHTCLUB AREA

SAW - PHILIPPINES - BEAT

MISS UNIVERSE - GLORIA DIAZ

MARGIE - MORAN - JAPAN ALSO

WON - MISS UNIVERSE

MY - HDG - INN - STARTS IN - CN

SHANGHAI - BEIJING

TAX FREE - HONG KONG ISLAND

SEOUL - SOUTH KOREA

PARIS - FRANCE

SOUTH - OF - FRANCE

HDG - INNS

$0.25 - PER - NIGHT

24/7 - CHECK - IN

3P - CHECK - OUT

PAY - INSIDE - ALSO

COINS - ACCEPTED

PAY - OUTSIDE

PAY - LOBBIES

PAY 7 DAYS - IN ADVANCE

ELECTRONIC - CHECKING

MONEY - ORDERS

TRAVELERS - CHECKS

PASSPORT

TOKYO - JAPAN - WILL

START - THIS - INNS

DEDICATING - 2 - OUR - EXOTIC

PINAY - DANCER - TURNED YES

DOWN - BY - USA - OR - WOULD

HAVE - BEEN - COCAINE - TRUE

HEROINE - ADDICT - ALCOHOLIC

DEAR - KATHRYN BERNARDO

KIM CHIU - JULIA BARRETTO

HEART EVANGELISTA

(BARBERSHOP - QUARTET)

REQUESTING - RED RIBBON

CUTTING ALL 4 - SAME TIME

TOKYO - JAPAN - MALE SCIENTISTS

CREATED - BY - MACHINES - FAST 2

‘HOME - ALONE 4′ - SMART HOTELS

REMOTE - CONTROL - WONDER

LIKE - NARITA - AUTO - WALK - 2

STEP - AUTO - WALKS - ALL YES

BARBIE - INNS

BARBIE - KIDS - INNS

ITZY - HELLO KITTY - INNS

SANRIO - KIDS - INNS

AESPA - CHARLIE BROWN - INNS

KIDS - INNS

24/7 - HOLIDAYS - TYPHOONS

KIDS - SENIORS - MILITARY LOCAL

WORLD - FREE - STAY

24/7 - BUFFETS - FREE - DAILY

ALL - AGES - ANOTHER FLOOR

PARIS - FRANCE

I - LOVE - SWEET - WINES

BRITTANY - FRANCE

ORGANIC - APPLES

MAYBE - APPLE - WINES

BUT - AT LEAST - BRITTANY

CREATING - SWEET WINES

RARE - WINE

DEDICATING - ONE - 4 HER

MAYBE - THE - APPLE WINE

I - WILL - B - HONORED

DEAR - KOREAN GIRLS,

I - SAID - IF - SHE - CHOSE

BALLET - INSTEAD TRULY

I - KNOW - SHE - WOULD B

STILL - ALIVE - TODAY

WHY - I’M - GOING - BACK

2 - CLASSICAL - FRENCH

AND - RUSSIAN - BALLET

AGAIN - AFTER SURGERY

PRIME - DANCER

SPLITS - IN - THE - AIR

WORLD - PRO - SPORTS 2

MOST - LIKELY 

APPLE - SWEET - WINES

‘AN - APPLE A DAY - KEEPS

THE - DOCTOR - AWAY’

CORONARY - REPORT - TOKYO

HEART - FAILURE - IN HER - 20′s

PARIS - FRANCE

CREATING - MOST - LIKELY

ORGANIC - APPLES

SWEET WINE - JUST 4 HER

THOSE WINES - WILL - B - SOLD

ROOM - SERVICE - ONLY

BARBIE - INNS

ITZY - HELLO KITTY - INNS

AESPA - CHARLIE BROWN - INNS

THE - AUTO - BARS

AUTO - SCAN - FACING FACE

DOWN - YOUR - ID - PRIVACY

REGISTER - 2ND - FINGER

BOTH - 2 - OPEN - BARS - 2

DEAR - KATHRYN - KIM CHIU

JULIA BARRETTO - & HEART

YOU - WILL - BE - TASTING

THESE - WINES - DURING

OUR - ROSES - BALL - AFTER

2 COLOR - ROSES - BALL - TO

CELEBRATE - GRAND OPENING

$0.25 - PER - NIGHT 

FOREVER

PAY - 7 DAYS - IN - ADVANCE

IF - SHE - WANTED - 2 - QUIT

HER - JOB - A - HOTEL - LIKE

THIS - BETTER - THAN MIAMI

POLICE - BLK - MALE - HAITI

JAIL - OR - SHELTER

MISSIONARIES - OF - MIAMI

4P - 6:30A - 2 MEALS

ALL SHELTERS - EMERGENCY

2 MEALS - ONLY - COLD - AND

DONUTS - IF - U - WAKE - UP

EARLY - MOTHER - TERESA

CAMILLUS HOUSE

CHAPMAN - PARTNERSHIP

SMALL - MEALS

SOUTHERN - GRITS

REPUBLIC - PARTY - OF - FL

GOVERNOR

JAIL - OR - MILITARY TENTS

1 YEAR - 3 SMALL - MEALS

BUT - AS - AMERICANS

REPUBLICANS FLORIDA

THEY - HAVE - 5 MEALS 

EACH - DAY

AMERICAN - PIGS - AS

GAINFULLY EMPLOYED

I CHOOSE - JAIL

55 AND OLDER

AS - THEY - THROW MY

THINGS - AWAY

CALVIN KLEIN - JACKET

WINTER - DESIGNER

$4,997.99 - ADD - TAX

REPUBLICAN - GOVERNOR

FEMALE - MAYOR

COUNTY - EMPLOYEES

WASTE - MANAGEMENT

MIAMI - POLICE

GRAND - THEFT - $750 AND 

MORE

POLITICIANS - CHRISTIANS

POLITICIANS - DON’T WEAR

DESIGNER - CLOTHES

POLITICIANS - CATHOLICS

ALL - DON’T - WEAR - ANY

DESIGNER

AMAZON - PRIME

NET - $1.79 TRILLION

HUB - LOCKERS

DAILY - $1.29 BILLION

BECAUSE - OF - AMERICAN

WOMEN - NON-CHRISTIANS

WHO - SHOP - DAILY - MANY

TIMES - JESUS - IS - LORD

BIBLE - ‘GOD - LOVES - A

CHEERFUL - GIVER’

DEAR - KOREAN - GIRLS,

OVERTHROWING - GOVERNMENTS

2 ENJOY - DOMESTIC TRANQUILITY

USA - PHILIPPINES - SOUTH KOREA

OUR - INNS - IS - WHERE - 2 - PUT

HOMELESS - AND - THE - POOR

FORGOT - MY - REQUIREMENTS

TONGUES - 2 - ENTER

WELCOME - PACKAGE

TONGUES - TOKYO - 500 BILLION - YEN

SING - TONGUES - SAME - TAX PAID EA

INN - APP - FREE 

TONGUES - 2 - ENTER

OUR PHILIPPINE - STARS

WILL - ALSO - SPEAK - IN

TONGUES - IF - NOT YES

ALREADY - B 4 OPENING

GOING - EARLY - HELPS

WEEKDAYS

WEEKENDS

I’M - CHOOSING - JAIL AS

THEY - THROW AWAY MY

THINGS - AS - I - WILL BE

SLEEPING - ON THE YES

STREETS - SITTING - ON

THE - FENCES - AS - I’M

GOING - 2 B - CONSTANTLY

ARRESTED - AND - PUT - IN

JAIL - MIAMI - FLORIDA HAS

DECLARED - HOMELESSNESS

LIKE - COCAINE POSSESSION

YOU - SHOULD - HAVE - $$$$$

2 - HAVE - PLACE - 2 - STAY

AFTER - REPOSSESSION

EVICTION - FORECLOSURE

JUST - LIKE - POLICE - BUY

REPOSSESSED - HOUSES

$10 - PAY - ELECTRICITY 2

THEY - DON’T - HAVE - $$$

EXTRA - THEY’RE - LYING

MANY - ARE - ROBBING

BANKS - CONSTANTLY

EACH - YEAR - STEALS

AS - MANY - BANKS - HAVE

CLOSED - AS - 2 - WE MUST

HAVE - HUGE - SAVINGS - 4

EVICTION - REPOSSESSION

ESPECIALLY - HIPOCRITES

AS AMERICANS - LIES LIES

DEAR - KOREAN - GIRLS,

SULLI - KILLED - HERSELF

GOO - SULLI - $12 MILLION

JONGHYUN - $3 MILLION

AS - WE - DEDICATE - OUR

LIVES - 2 - MAKE OUR STAY

ON - EARTH - ENJOYABLE 2

SHEIN - CHINA

MY - PINK - DRESS - PRICE

INCREASED - SO - PLACED

ON - WISH LIST - OVER $12

I - WAS - UNCOMFORTABLE

ANYWAY - MAIN - LIBRARY

GOING - 4 - NEW - SHIRT - PINK

DARKER - AND - DUSTY - PINK

DARK - PINK - JEANS - BUT ITS

SOFT - LOOKING - POCKETS

I - THINK - WEARING - TIARA

AS - I - GET - MY - CAKE - AT

PUBLIX - MAKES - ME FEEL

GOOD - ONLY - MAIN LIBRARY

I’M - UNCOMFORTABLE - WITH

DRESS - LIKE - IT’s - BIRTHDAY

TIME - SO - PINK - TOP - AND

PANTS - I’M - MORE - HAPPY

TIARA - AS - I - PREPARE

WILL - BE - IN THE MORNING

B 4 - LUNCH - AS A FRIDAY 2

60TH - BIRTHDAY

THEN - IN - MAIN - LIBRARY

I’LL - PIN - MY SASH - HERE

BIRTHDAY - QUEEN

THAT WILL MAKE ME HAPPY

ANNOUNCES - MY - CAKE 2

MY - TOTAL - LOWERED - 2

$30.76 - IF - IT - INCREASES

REMOVING - STRAW - BAG

CHECKOUT - 6 ITEMS

MY - NEW - PLAN

HAPPIER - WITH

THAT - DIDN’T FL

QUITE - LIKE THE

WEARING DRESS

MAIN - LIBRARY - ONLY - FOR

MY - 60TH - BIRTHDAY AFTER

I - GIVE - CAKE - WILD BERRY

8 FL - OZ - THEN - AFTER YES

LUNCH - GOING - 2 - PUBLIX

WITHOUT - SASH - AS I - GET

ME - FRIED - CHICKEN - AND

ASIAN - CHILI - MILD - SAUCE

NICER PLAN - SOUNDS NICE

SPARKLERS - IN THE - PARK

HAVEN’T - SEEN - LONGEST

TIME - ANY - SECURITY YES

IN - THE - EXERCISE - AREA

DOING - SPARKLERS AS ME

CELEBRATES - FRIDAY

12 APRIL 2024 - 10:30P EDT

OFFICIALLY - AGE 60

CHINESE - YEAR - 2024

MY - 1964 - BIRTHYEAR

YEAR - WOOD DRAGON

JESUS - IS - LORD

KOREAN - GIRLS 2