#also what a coincidence that I especially liked this part from the video which includes nut and hong

[chayatorns]

[accio-victuuri]

CPN Round Up : Sugar Rush 2023 Part One 🍭🍬

It’s that time of the year again where i attempt to recap all the sweetness we got from the past 6 months. I may not be able to add every single incident/speculation but i did include the ones that were most talked about, and added some cpn “archaeology” here and there too. most of the links contain multiple cpn, especially since i made a couple of mini round ups for certain time frames or events.

this is also the best time to look back on all the fun we’ve had as a fandom and how the boys give us happiness. i hope this remains the same in the next half of the year and that we continue to support them both. 🫶🏼

past sugar rush posts for reference: 2021 ( one two ) & 2022 ( one two ) ; anything before that is mostly likely archived on my masterlist.

JANUARY 2023

• XZS Vlog Number 3 clues

• NYE CPN things ✨

• Paper Planes again

• A CPN Timeline of how LTS stage was made

• KXZ’s sus greeting and rainbow light show for ZZ’s anniversary with them

• 1/5/2022 tarot card reading of XZ & WYB that made the turtles lose it

• Rainbow Thrasher shirt 🌈

• BLACK PAIRING. 🖤 and the fact that Yibo was doing the same pose as LWJ, keeping his hand behind. the actual performance of yibo also gave way to lots of fanarts of this pairing! they look so good together!

• fake bits & pieces ( additional 45 fake rumors )

• their studios posting on the same day, 1/12 and the similarity of teasing that content will be released in parts

we also see more similarities in the drawings:

The appearance of 🦴 necklace at all the studio rehearsals and even the final one makes me somft. He had to remove it for the stage cause he is meant to be bare. I don’t advertise people to treat this necklace as the indicator of their relationship, but i will be lying if i say i’m not happy seeing it. especially if it’s out there, that he can show it off and not have to hide it.

• XZ & WYB mentioned together three times in one day - 1/14/2023

• YBO’s comment on snow

• 1/17 random cpns = the same trousers again ; 330,000 tickets, bg color of studio posts and YBO’s continuing comments about the weather in the city they are in.

• Bouboo replies to a fan with “DAYTOY” on their username

• CPN @ Xiao Zhan’s lunar new year photos and douyin posts

• XZ’s lunar new year post looks like a movie ticket stub. What a coincidence cause Hidden Blade is also premiering that day ☺️ there was also a cinema that showed XZ’s GUCCI Ad before the show started. Lol. and at the Shanghai Roadshow for Hidden Blade, lots of BXG dolls on in the group photo were captured.

• Hidden Blade Guangzhou roadshow : mention kneepads and looking at dandan doll / yibo asking someone with a suo-er doll and him holding a bjd of himself.

• LRLG contribution 1/23/2023

• XZ’s colleague in ADLAD + Zack ( photographer ) talking about watching Hidden Blade

• 7th day of the Lunar New Year CPN + another xzs and ybo similarity

I don’t usually go for kadians but yibo-official using 13 = yizhan makes me ☺️ ; also the similarity in how they caption posts again. on the same day. yes it’s not an obscure thing to include on a post that is made on the 7th day of the Lunar New Year. Wishing people good luck on a new beginning and all that. but it’s the countless similarities in how their studios do things. they have the same taste? their employees are dating? who knows.

• GG at Sunshine With Me shooting, looking so much like Yibo:

FEBRUARY 2023

• Huang Ziteng posted about watching Hidden Blade and the schedule of the film is coincidentally 10:05

• Yibo shares a post about the snowboards given to him by Su Yiming + sweater paws shadow

• Top comment on Yibo’s 2/2 weibo post is a cpf and similarity with GG using a doge emoji when trying to be humble

• YBO posts about a 🍉 video being fake and it looks the same as xz clarification account. !!!!

• Fandom stories that have been on my mind recently. ( includes cpn on wyb kissing xz backstage of SDC and the 232323 kadian which is “new” for this month. ) old ones mentioned : wyb’s side accounts, a bxg story, changsha home and same day tests.

• 2/4/23 Fake Rumor House contribution

• People in the industry supporting (?) them : GQ photographer is a turtles, Yixuan replies to a fan with daytoy on their username, sungjoo using xz’s cover song as bgm for his douyin post back in 2019 + Yubin doing an unboxing of DVD and praising a spread with zz/wyb on it.

• YBO asks to show off glutinous rice balls and XZ responds ☺️

• Night Light fake rumor & same sun emoji

• Candy compilation from Sunshine By My Side filming wrap up

• Fake Story : riding a bike at night / AI art

• LOYIBOARD 🛹

• On 2/12, Yibo posted a douyin, a stock video where you can clearly see what jacket he is wearing. BXGs noticed that it said “milano” and thought it may be a clue that GG will go to Milan Fashion Week. more explanation here.

• Both boys have been quiet and not “seen” for the better part of Feb, even 2/14 was especially quiet for them online. Yibo-official did post their candid compilation of Hidden Blade behind the scenes but it’s connected to promotions and not exactly for valentines day. It’s a common CPN speculation that when they are together, they get very quiet online and no paparazzi can take their photos. tho I have to say, 2/14 is not that important to them like 520 is. and then come 2/17, it’s interesting how you get to see them. let me rephrase that, they allowed us to see them. xz going to eat a meal with his assistant and wyb filming his drama. i’ve always been a believer that somehow, they can control when people will see them in public. they can be on ninja mode when they want to, especially xz.

the next day which happens to be 2/18/23 Ai Bo Ai Zhan Day, yibo shows up @ Shanghai airport at 6:30 in the morning. knowing that he finished filming past 10:00 PM, dressed in skinny jeans and looking so stylish. which is not his usual airport fashion these days. he will be in beijing for a couple of hours ( no one really knows for what ) and returned to SH the same day @ 5PM. turtles hope they saw each other atleast. Bobo really chooses the early flight so he can be with ZZ longer. ☺️☺️☺️

• Lost General Jewelry

• Chengyi comic about ZZ cutting his hair before going off to see WYB

• Them looking so similar with these photos, GG’s is from his 2/22 Milan flight. The same hair. looking like twins. Also, one of ZZ’s photos had that BOarding design & photo. Yes I know it fits the whole theme of the pictures but still, turtles’ DNA was moved. Lol.

• Using the same security personnel @ PEK?

• ZZ was spotted buying LEGO

• The similarity in their photo composition

• ZZ created an instagram account and his username has similarities to Yibo’s. Again. Same brain cell.

• 2/24 Fashion Show appearance minor candies

• Zhan-ge saw the balloons coded with all the colors! BXGs! ❤️💛💚 @ Tod’s Milan fashion show venue entrance

• This one is hilarious, Bobi in Milan? @ Tod’s store visit 😂

• cpn on yibo-official being quiet during MFW

• a possible connection to yibo’s CCTV performance to ZZ’s suzhou embroidery gift

MARCH 2023

• GUCCI infinite possibilities meaning, ZZ’s veteran cadres style and same emoji

• XZS Chapter 5 vlog candies

• giving thoughtful gifts

• Weibo night account posts a recommendation photoset for person of the year and they put their photos right next to each other. 🤍

• we hear “ i love you” in XZS vlog chapter 5

• Bottled joy campaign/s cpn

• Web’s 3/8/23 instagram post

• A really CPN-y instagram data. HAHAHAHAHA!

• wooyoungmi brand revisited

• Liu Daichu says WYB & XZ are hard to shoot - not so much cpn cause this is really unfortunate that they have to deal with bs like this. however it goes to show how they deal with their fame is becoming more and more similar and they apply the same security for themselves.

• 3/11 zsww rumor house

• more cpn from 2017

• yibo-official related candies

• xiao zhan as a distraction

• similar looking shirt. lol. Yibo, did you borrow this from zhan ge???

• yibo knitting sort of confirmed

• gg’s infinity ring ♾️

• LRLG 3/24/2023 contribution

• Same hotel in Shanghai rumor

• the weibo night 22’ seating arrangement. so near yet so far.

• Weibo Night 22’ candy round up

• XZS posting 8 photos, XZ re posting ads at 10:18 and his missing post-show selfie

• Tencent Video weibo account unintentionally matching XZ/WYB

• Weibo night 22’ exclusive interview sweet bits 💕

• WYB looking at ZZ’s direction 👀

• New Wuji recording easter egg : play with the cat

• 3/29 XZS vlog candies

APRIL 2023

• Esquire Magazine Parallels / CPN

• A new CQL bts photo 😘😘😘

• Colosseum parallels

• Peninsula iron box BGM

• Another example of XZ missing the 10:10 posting time to give way for WYB’s repost of BTF trailer.

• THEM in white shirt and soft cardigan. I love it when they put on the same/similar style!

• not really cpn but an example of a brand using art made by a cpf

• one & only’s release is 7/28 which aligns to double airport 1.0 / bazaar shoot & yizhan ttxs episode

• same city ( shanghai ) 4/11

• red string bracelet of lei yu appears again

• “matching” post for china television arts committee

• boys in esspensive cardigans! 💕

• 2019 kangol bucket hat coincidence

• chengyi comic - kumquat lemon tea 🍋

• zenith pilot series ✈️

• yibo-ge x xiao-ge 👀

• matching shiatzy chen black and white outfit

• LRLG connection to BTF accidental rollover, Anessa livestream sweets, JD mascot heart with a mole and Fake story ( magic wand and minions )

• them going on HS together @ 4/23 & wyb shut up hs + minor candies ( esquire coincidence, #5 seat, bone necklace, kids lovin them )

• 4/25 candy post

• 4/26 yibo official post with 13 photos and heart with a (.)

• same way of tying their shoelace means they are in the same city or together

• ZZ’s GUCCI Cosmos event CPN

• Fake rumor of what happened in Shanghai when they met ( 4/26 )

• the word “wyb” heard in xzs vlog

• same ip address of shanghai even if XZ was in Xi’An. Fans are saying, WYB might have logged on using a different phone number ( GG’s account ) and that’s how it changed. Because if this was a staff, most of them are in Xi’An or in their Beijing office.

MAY 2023

• May Day Candies - ( ZZ’s off white pants, rumor 1 : learning how to cook and zz giving wyb a rabbit charm rumor 2: couple jackets, in the same magazine, heart with a mole again on ybo

• pickle side dish, bruce lee and btf people supporting adlad ♥️

• number 5 seat on zz’s post, yibo and his pots & pans + the story of plane models

• XZ cues Wei Ruolai and WYB “dreams” hoodie

• THEM LOOKING SO MUCH LIKE EACH OTHER 😂😂😂😂

• Friday clowning - ( includes : ADLAD castmate posts cpf photos, same line in GG’s note & LRLG post script, Ryukakusen & XZS/YBO same symbols )

• Sunday candies 🫶🏼 WYB’s departure to LA & Xiao Zhan’s Molsion photos + use of captions

• Clean Eyes song and XX symbol ( XZS molsion live event behind the scenes )

• Bag/Phonecase WYB bought @ LA

• Chanel Cruise CPN photo parallels

• Yibo’s instagram photo reel & story

• The CPN about matching phone case went on HS

• XZS & YBO split photo similarity 📷

• Ace Troops cake CPN, Molsion offline event launch clues & sunset

• The fact that when they started being in the same city again, Yibo couldn’t stay away from Beijing. He had work with EVISU, so he left Beijing in the evening of 5/15, went to Shenzhen / Zhuhai. Then 5/16, did his business and went back to Beijing in the evening. He really organizes his schedule so he doesn’t have to be away from BJ that much. They will be in the same city till XZ leaves for Condor Heroes workshop & Shooting in Hengdian 🥹

Also his EVISU car has 1991 on it. Yes 91 was when the brand was established but please let me clown on this. lol.

• 85 is also Z28 design

• XZS posts a photo that shows his phonecase even after the HS and then on 520, HZT, the actor who plays Lan Qiren posts a very suspicious douyin video related to it.  

• 520/521 ZSWW fake stories

• Yibo using the photo for weibo night 22-23

• The story of the 85 logo

• HUABIAO AWARDS CANDIES : their movies featured as key works in 2023 + Bunny drawing in the background ; Chanel Brooch 🎀

• WYB’s btf co star said he has a delicious beef dish that he eats and people are wondering if it’s the “sauced beef” that cpfs think is from GG’s mom.

• Same phone case timeline

• Candies from WYB’s Chunzhen event + XZ’s team denying a melon about a collab with his former co-star

• 5/28 ( A day that two topics about XZ & WYB together went on hot search ) ONE TWO

• NEW chengyi comic about accidentally listening to a horror podcast & sleeping together

• random old candies

• Cherries 🍒

• WYB’s Fly streetwear shirt going to Japan

JUNE 2023

• Maison Kitsune Couple Shirt. WYB’s is for his Chunzhen Fanmeet & GG’s is for Roborock Ad. Yeah, it’s a pretty good brand that they have both worn before but does it have to be from the same line? and look so much like each other? and for us to see it in a span of a few days on them 5/27 and 6/1? I’m sorry if we’re clowning so much here but we can’t help it.

• 6/1, their studio accounts posting so close to each other. XZS shared WDB video & YBO re posted a one and only movie promo. What a nice coincidence. This would have been something to ignore if we didn’t have so many XZS 🤝 YBO candies. Then just minutes later, YBO posts the photoshoot for WYB’s Chanel show and one of the layouts look like XZS. 😂 also using the sunglasses emoji

• WYB’s Chanel Japan show clowning + WDB drawings resembles Web

• An unusual increase of hot searches that associate XZ and WYB ✨

• Bottled Joy saga Part 3

• both of their works featured in National Cinema Movie Promotion Conference. movie stars! 🎞️

• XZ found to be wearing Uggs

• Minor candies from Douyin Movie Wonder Night

• THIS RIGHT HERE ⬇️⬇️⬇️

• WDB cast and their connection to web: one / two

• Yibo is an introvert and Chunsheng is an extrovert

• Mosquito jokes 🦟🦟🦟

• CPN WRAP UP ( includes : yuli interview clues, bottled joy using their colors for panther and guangdian drawing, numbers on evisu ad, posting almost one hour apart, cute dogs and missing lyrics )

• weekend cpn : same expression, not holding hands, shuke x beita and other sweets

• 6/20, BJYX went on hot search

• BJYX IS BE was gone in the hot search

• Moncler Event CPN

• Heurueh brand

• LRLG leaves yibo-official

• some “new” photos from SINA visit

• Infinity sign on WYB’s clothes

• “how they sleep” CPN

• there are conversations that when WYB went back to Beijing after the Moncler event, he was spending time with GG. it’s also because the shoot for Condor Heroes was delayed so they both suddenly had time to be in the same city 😊

• same-style clothes for recent released ads - NANS

• 6/26 rumors that GG/Web will be participating in the same event and their sus airpot schedules!!!!

• Yubin shares a video and we get a 1 second clip of the boys eating hotpot

• 6.29 Hongkong Event : Timeline & CPNs

That’s all for now! 

See you by the end of the year <3 

[girls-lesbiband-cry]

Today I want to look at Nightcord at 25:00’s cover of Bad Apple !! (feat nomico) by Alstroemeria Records.

My reason for choosing to analyze this cover is because, I feel, there are interesting observations to be made in what constitutes N25’s sound both thematically and sonically based on the choices in this cover. Even the choice of Bad Apple !! itself was interesting given how it’s history mirrors the formation of N25 as a group. As the song is a remake based on a melodic portion of the Stage 3 theme by ZUN for the 1998 game Lotus Land Story, which can be heard here.

The N25 cover however is based mainly on the 2007 remake released by the doujin circle Alstroemeria Records and produced by Masayoshi Minoshima. Who took that melodic line and expanded it into the melancholy electronic pop track that is known by many today, because of its inclusion in the viral animated music video by the Anira collaborative. This history is not so different from how N25 itself began as collaboration between Kanade’s music and Mafuyu’s arrangements and later grew into a multi media project with the inclusion of Ena’s illustrations and Mizuki’s video editing. And they too accomplished giving the song a new meaning and sound through their cover.

This was done through two key elements: the addition of the piano and the addition of harmonies. I chose these two especially because other than that the song remains relatively unchanged in terms of composition. This signals to me that this is what ultimately defines the sound of the group as the decision to include the piano changes the dynamics of the track from more traditional club thumping electronica to a sound that is less energetic. As original has more remnants of its roots as a video game track with the energy that provided by its almost relentless tempo. The N25 cover, however feels more like a song rather than a theme, as the piano places more emphasis on the melancholy lyrics that reflective of its member’s journeys and troubles. This is heard in several of the riffs that the piano plays throughout the verses, especially the descending one here (Timestamp 2:09) which coincides with the lines “Even in the midst of time/ I feel languid, look/ Spinning around and around” adding to the idea of sinking “down”. Finally there’s the harmonies that present in the chorus.

The harmonies that are happening in the chorus are further back in the song’s mix but regardless of that make a huge impact on the tone of the song. Functionally their inclusion was to be expected because it’s pretty standard for group’s covers of solo songs to take advantage of what a soloist can’t necessarily do on their own, and harmonies are simple way to achieve that. However, how and where N25 chose to employ those harmonies is what cements it as a part of their sonic identity. The harmonies don’t just add an interesting melodic element to the chorus but also add to a sense of mourning of the person that one feels they can’t be, that pervades throughout the entire song. That emphasis of bolstering the lyrical content through the composition is what gives all of the group’s music its distinct identity even when they endeavor into different genres. It’s their unwavering commitment to truly capturing the human emotions that influence the track through the medium of art in all its forms that makes them Nightcord at 25:00 and this cover showcases it.

[lesbiancarat]

hello! you seem incredibly knowledgeable about seventeen, so I wanted to ask you if you knew anything about what specific songs the performance unit has been involved in choreographing? I remember a point where I regularly saw the misconception that like… hoshi was choreographing the entirety of their title tracks, and I don’t see that anymore, which is nice, but I am kind of curious to know the specifics past “he was involved in choreographing stuff, but these days it’s not super common”

it seems like that info on who’s choreographed something is mostly anecdotal? I know dino did flower, and hoshi did fast pace, and hoshi & dino did 247 & still lonely, and the pfu did highlight, because there’s specific sources for that stuff, but I’m lost outside of that.

my instinctual feeling is that the pfu’s done the choreo for their songs from debut -> an ode, with perhaps the exception of lilili yabbay? shhh & lilili yabbay are what I’m personally really curious about…

anyways! there’s a lot of ambiguity! perhaps that’s just the way it’ll stay, which is fair and fine, but I was curious if you might know anything on the topic, is all.

(as an aside, for the choreography videos playlist linked on the carat resources carrd, would the nu’est w & seventeen “heaven” video count as something that should be listed there…? I don’t know since it was tragically never officially released)

yeah that's because it is mostly anecdotal unfortunately. there are choreography credits in the albums, but it's not always super helpful since it's not usually broken up by song, and it's not uncommon for b-side choreos to be made after the album is released when they're rehearsing it for a concert/tour. I know this has happened with pfu songs especially in recent years

I did find this reddit post that compiles the album credits along with song anecdotal credits up to sector17 era. unfortunately it doesn't tell you anything about shhh or lilili yabbay specifically, though it is interesting to see that hoshi (and some of the other members as well) were at least somewhat involved in choreographing up to heng:garae era, and then member involvement (at least that's credited) sharply drops off. I would guess this mainly had to do with svt just getting busier and the members having less time/energy to choreograph themselves, though it is kind of interesting that this kind of coincides with the hybe acquisition (as much as I like to be a hybe hater I don't think this is directly because of them, but i digress)

i tried to do some research on shhh and lilili yabbay specifically. I couldn't find anything on shhh (it's also just a bit of a hard song title to do searches for in general). for lilili yabbay i did find a translation of this fancall from 2020 with hoshi where he says each of the members choreographed their individual parts and then brought it to the contemporary dance teacher. but ode to you tour was specifically mentioned, and after rewatching the stage, I think he was referring to the intro dance pfu did before lilili yabbay on that tour, not the original choreo itself TT

you could try to watch behind videos (including old going seventeen before it became a variety show) from those eras to see if any of the members mention anything about the choreo in passing, but obviously that's very time-consuming and it's easy to miss things

honestly i've wished for a long time that choreography credits were better documented, but we can only work with what svt/pledis has given us... sorry I didn't have more information for you!

(also yes, i was mainly focusing on official releases for the choreo playlist, but I appreciate the suggestion nonetheless! always looking for things I may have missed!)

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

Thanks for the answers :) got some more if that’s ok?

1: is there a canon reason why Jake is named well, Jacob? What’s your Headcanon about the name?

2: besides the undertaker vs mankind hel in a cell match, what’s the duos favorite OMG moment in wrestling?

3: what’s the official name for the duo: the starburst duo, starburst duo, team starburst, etc….

4: was there another name for the duo before coming up with starburst duo?

5: what’s something the duo would laugh at every time?

6: would Chris like three despicable me movies? I say yes due to the adoption theme & maybe the fart gun weapon. ( can see Jake creating his own version of that XD)

@gothicghost2000 No problem at all my friend ;-)

1) As of this writing, sadly there hasn’t been an official documented reason for Jake’s naming in New Order by his creators so for the canonical part it is currently unknown.

That having been said, Based on a Headcanon by the ever lovely @snothing , Jakand’r translates in Tamaranean as ‘Moonfire’; more implicitly he’s named after one of Tamaran’s moons though in a bit of coincidence, it’s also a name that starts with the letter J which can fit into how both his sister and him are named after Mary and John Grayson. For more on that, that post would be right here

2) Perhaps the Duo’s OMG moments will also include but not limited to:

Cody vs Dustin Rhodes, especially it’s ending from AEW Double or Nothing 2019,

Kofi Kingston vs Bryan Danielson for the WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 35

Kurt Angle Driving a Milk Truck to the Ring then Dousing Milk all Over Steve Austin (aka Milk-O-Mania)

And lastly but never the least

Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series 2016

3) I probably lean on The Phantom Star Vanguard Titans as it reflects both their place of origins and roots while making them a sub branch of the Titans via their respective connections with Dick and Kory.

4) At first they try coining the Star Phantoms as a sort of nickname for them but as time went on after the press gave them their more well known moniker, it ended up sticking to them and they accepted it, finalizing it via their Twitter account being called as such.

5) Probably videos about epic bloopers, special effects failures, and other such mishaps when it comes to big budget movies behind the scenes are a surefire guarantee in getting Chris and Jake to burst out laughing so hard. It's something of a tradition for them nearly every single time they have a sleepover.

6) Oh my yes Chris would adore those movies which is quite ironic in a sense given he's a superhero and yet the main character Gru himself starts out as a self admitted supervillain. As for the tool you describe, I see Jake taking some inspiration only instead he opts for instead gas grenades, packed with instead a compound that emits a powerful odor that can be described being 'Someone accidentally cutting the cheese at the same time a skunk walks right into the room'. Jake would use it in flushing out entire rooms are armed criminals and thugs inside a building during patrols

[fadebolt]

Now this is one I'm actually excited to talk about. And that's quite ironic, cus the question is incredibly easy to answer. But the topic itself is just incredibly interesting - and it's no coincidence that so many others have commented, or reblogged with tags/comments too (even though this was likely an easy one to answer for most of them, too). But what especially surprised me is how civil everything has been under this post. I don't know if the blog's owner has been moderating this post, or not - but what I do know is that I've witnessed discussions about difficulty in the LoL communities of Reddit and YouTube... and those always turn into bloody battlefields, the likes of which you've never seen before. (Speaking from experience, unfortunately. Seriously, don't ever talk about the topic of difficulty with the League community. It's not worth it.) It could just be that Reddit and YouTube are generally more toxic than Tumblr (which they absolutely are, let's be honest), but I've seen the people of this site loosing their cool a good number of times - and this absolutely includes the RW fans of Tumblr too. I guess that's just the nature of the internet, though. People overreact to everything all the fricking time. I'm just grateful that everything is chill over here.

Aaaaaanyways, let's not get too sidetracked here. What's the deal with Rain World's difficulty? Well, Rain World is known to be incredibly tough, for one simple reason: when people do their first Survivor/Monk runs, they die... a lot. And things only get more nuts once you attempt the other 6 Slugcats (we don't talk about the ninth one, they're not real). But frankly, determining the difficulty of a video game by how much you die on your first run, is like determining how smart/clever a person is by just looking at their IQ. Sure, it does show you part of the picture... but the topic is a lot more nuanced and complicated, than that. The weird thing with Rain World in particular is that the things it asks from you are just simply not hard. Neither the platforming/swimming/0G traversal, nor the Survivor/Monk creature spawns are that tough to deal with, and your second playthrough on the basic slugcats will become an absolute breeze as a result of this. Sure, subsequent playthroughs will always get easier, no matter the video game. But the difference between the first and second is substantially higher in Rain World, than in any other game I've ever played.

And that's for two simple reasons: One is that Rain World withholds a ton of information from the player. Most games don't do this, because they would become a lot less approachable as a result, but also because the 'hidden information difficulty factor' becomes completely irrelevant after the first playthrough. But now, you're stuck with the problem, that you've lightened up everything about your game, to adjust for this factor, and you've created something with basically no replayability (though Rain World solved this with colored pearls + new campaigns that are designed with the expectation that the player knows how things work, so this isn't an issue here). And the second is how quickly and easily your Slugcat can die. Sure, you have Karma Flowers, while rocks and spears can be used to escape the grasps of some creatures. But that... really isn't much, especially in a game where there's an element of randomness. A single mistake can kill you in a snap, yet the game is designed in a way where you're not just encouraged, but often forced to play risky (which gets dialed up even further on the following campaigns, so good luck). And that can make things feel quite tough and stressful, when you're not a veteran.

The combination of these two elements results in a game where even if it asks for things that aren't hard in concept, they will still feel incredibly challenging to the players. You could say that it's faking difficulty, but... the struggle experienced by the players is real. So that wouldn't really make sense, would it? It's an interesting conundrum. Rain World has to be simple, to account for its punishing and unapproachable nature, just as much as a complex game would need to be quite a bit more forgiving (hence why games like HoMM3 and Warcraft 3 allow you to save/load whenever you want, for instance). Because of these things, I'm honestly thinking that the discussions about the difficulties of single player games is actually sort of irrelevant. Telling a new player that a game is 'very hard' will never paint a clear picture. Is the game unforgiving? Does it require high APM? Do you die easily? Does it require combos of fast button presses that are difficult to pull off? Does it require a quick reaction time? Does it require tricky resource management? Does it require multi-tasking? Does it have puzzles with tricky solutions? And so on, and so on. The only things you'll know for sure, is that you'll have to be patient (cus you'll be failing a lot), and you'll likely need good quick thinking. But the fun part about all this is that different people find these elements to be challenging to different extents. So an objective difficulty rating is not even really possible. You could do a scale (something like - "at best, you'll find RW to have a 6/10 difficulty, and at worst, you'll find it to be a 9/10"), but that's basically the most you can go for.

Though let's just be honest for a moment. Did any of us answer to this poll through objective lens? A few of you may have. But most of us just thought back on which games gave us the most trouble. And let me tell ya, that really simplifies the process. One potential issue is that more often than not, players can influence the difficulty, and deliberately make things easier/harder for themselves. Rain World is no exception for this. You have lots of campaigns with different levels of difficulty. Settings and assists that can help you out. Mods that can also influence the game in a variety of ways. Challenge mode, which offers entries that are somewhat light, but also ones that are incredibly daunting. And Expedition mode, which you could set up to be a chill fetch quest, or a complete hellscape of death and agony. I've messed around with some things that are on the more extreme side of things, and many of them have indeed bested and frustrated me. Though if we look at the baseline of what Rain World considers to be 'hardmode' (so like, Hunter+DP campaigns), Warcraft 3's hard difficulty wins by a mile. Oh, sure, its normal difficulty did feel easier than Survivor, but I also happened to do challenge runs, and tough mods on hard difficulty... and I've had many horrid experiences that actually exhausted me. (In case you know WC3, and are wondering about the worst 5, it's: 5 - Second Human Book of Arkain, map4/Lord of Shadows 4 - Curse of the Forsaken, map5/A Rallying Point, hard difficulty 3 - Everything in To the Bitter End from map5, and onwards 2 - Second Human Book of Arkain, Menace Below (I don't remember the map number, it was something like 10-11) 1 - Resurrection of the Scourge, map7/Disobeying Orders, hard difficulty with 'only no upkeep challenge')

And I've had a bunch more gaming experiences that felt more rough than Rain World, so I'm going with a 'no', for sure. Maybe my opinions would be different if I did challenge runs, and played challenge 70, and did ultra tough high point Expeditions with many burdens, played Inv, and tried mods that make things crazy hard. But I didn't, so I wouldn't consider this to be one of my most difficult gaming experiences. (And I likely won't do those in the future either. RW just doesn't lend itself well to that stuff, I feel. I could change my mind on this, though)

Is Rain World one of the hardest games you've ever played?

[joelpottermanipulatedimage]

Week 05 | SDL

Rationale & Reflection

"A Last Goodbye" is a very personal piece to me. Just over 2 years ago, my cat Charlie Brown died. Losing a pet is such a strange feeling, especially one that has been with you since you can remember. Animals live in this beautiful state of blissful unawareness. I've always felt that they deserve so much since they never really mean to do wrong because they don't understand. I also have two other pets that are getting old, Nacho and Neo. I have to know and recognise that they will pass, but it hurts to think that they may be alone after. The stairway in this piece represents their journey to a better place—a bridge between the world that they knew and a last goodbye.

I wanted this piece to feel surreal, like a dream but with an odd sense of reality to it. The darker highly saturated blue sky and glowing halos were inspired by art that I saw on my trip to Italy over the break. Looking at art galleries and prior research, I understood that lapis blue and golden halos represent something holy or all powerful. The halos stand out from the background, which makes the animals more focal to the piece but also emphasises their own ethereality.

This work was inspired by ideas from different photographers. Ted Chin (@tedslittledream) is known for his more whimsical and surrealist photo manipulations. His pieces are both visually appealing but also push a deeper meaning and something that is truly connects to the viewer. Erik Johansson is a surrealist who blends both the real with fantasy. He is able to create almost dream-like elements with familiar ideas to create pieces that feel imagined in dreamscape. Both of these photographers influenced the style and ideation for my piece.

From my readings and research throughout this brief, it has become extremely apparent to me that while photography is changing, the concept remains the most important part of creation. Andreia Alves de Oliveira has a slightly differing opinion in her essay "Post-Screen: Intermittence + Interference." She talks about how digital technology has pushed us into a "post-photography" era, where images are not just captured but created. I agree with her to some extent, but I also think that photography has always involved some level of manipulation. Whether it was darkroom techniques like dodging and burning or today’s digital edits, the overall idea of photography as a medium hasn’t really changed, it is just faster and more accessible nowadays.

The ethics of image manipulation are also discussed in the YouTube video "How Photographs Can Tell Lies" by Gwinnett County Public Library. It discusses that the way an image is presented can drastically change its meaning. Photographers have all of the power to warp reality in images, making choices about what to include, exclude, or even completely fabricate. This piece, while deeply personal, also plays with the idea of perception. The stairway is a completely imagined reality. It is literally just a hopeful illusion meant to comfort. “A Last Goodbye” is more than just a goodbye to my pet(s), it is also a reflection on the power that photography has to show our imagination and the way we perceive the world. Through digital manipulation, I have made something that can bridge reality and fantasy. It can offer comfort with the idea of an afterlife for passed animals. It shows that all of photography (and the coinciding photo manipulation) is a tool for both our own personal expressions but also can show how we see and interpret the world. References

Oliveira, Andreia Alves de. "Post-Screen: Intermittence + Interference." Repositorio.ul.pt. "How Photographs Can Tell Lies." YouTube, 2023 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj0AhfAf_Fs

[x3rrorx]

Catching up on everything that's been happening recently.

Juli will kiss ass of whoever she needs to for her benefit at the time, and the fact that she has grown ass adults defending her behaviour that seem oblivious to her antics is insane (who all incidently also interact with the ex). I'm sure this sweet little good time girl they all see is in there somewhere, but jfc the number of times she gets called out by people (including the very band they all worship!) is beyond a joke. And at some point you have to take a step back and realise that it can't all boil down to jealousy, or is Matt meant to be jealous of her too? Wake the fuck up and realise there's a common denominator! And honestly some of the people in that circle seem like decent people but get tarnished by association.

And then there's just all her constant bullshit.

One minute she's going to Europe for CF, then she isn't because it would cost too much.

Then she's going to the Vancouver show to see her bestie, then she isn't because it would cost too much.

But she still managed to go to all the other shows and pay for VIP for all of them (didn't she say one was $200?) so cost clearly wasn't THAT much of an issue (if the "bestie" can't see that then idk). Especially not when she's practically boasting about her credit card debt (weird flex for anyone, let alone an 18 year old!).

Then she claimed she was going to do goofy poses in her m&g but all her pictures are exactly the same pose because all she does is talk.

The whole thing with threatening a Sumerian employee? The opportunity was apparently there for her to make her point in person but instead she comes on twitter and talks about what she could have done. And was the problem with the video on their instagram the comments or the fact she wasn't being paid? Because those comments that were apparently hurting her so badly would have still existed if they had approached her and she'd profited from it. But does that then make it worth it for her?

And what about the email she published on her twitter asking Sumerian for work experience or a job? One minute she's bad mouthing them and the next she's licking ass to try and get into the industry and then when they don't get back to her she's back to bad mouthing them again. Which I suppose takes me back to my original point.

The thing Juli (or someone close to her) needs to realise is that things follow you through life. I don't know her, and she could indeed be incredibly sweet, but that's not the image she portrays online. She comes off as being problematic and the level of documentation out there relating to her dramas isn't going anywhere, it's all over twitter, tumblr, reddit, who knows where else. Hell, I don't even follow her but the drama always makes its way to my timeline, or her posts her all over my fyp. And tweeting and deleting only works to an extent. She has a reputation and it's far from a good one. The level of hate some people have towards her isn't warranted, but the fact that she's so disliked within multiple communities she's a part of isn't a coincidence, neither is the fact that everyone automatically assumed Matt's tweet was about her. Being young can only be an excuse for so long and she's way past that point, she knows what she's doing and has insane main character syndrome.

It's completely possible to enjoy music, bands, going to multiple shows on tour etc. without becoming public enemy number one and creating drama at every turn. The problem is she's never held accountable by anyone close to her, they just continue to enable her. If people close to her truly cared about her they'd realise they need to intervene before she ruins her life (with debt and an inescapable reputation) because she won't be 18 forever.

Not every criticism comes from a place of hate or jealousy. Some comes from a place of worry, because if my friend or family member was putting everything out there Juli is/has, or was acting like she does and getting the reaction she does I'd be deeply concerned. Do all her adult friends that defend her not stop and seriously question what's going on with her? Like, it's great she's got no responsibilities and is having fun (is she really with all the shit she gets?) but the amount of debt she's in would be worrying enough for some people with a full time well paid job, let alone an 18 year old who I'm guessing is still being paid similarly to when she was at Starbucks. Great she has no rent/mortgage to pay and her parents help with her car payments but she's literally spending money she doesn't have and learning no accountability. It's worrying.

And so concludes my TED talk.

Appreciate the TED talk 👏🏻👏🏻

[emilystheories]

Bryce Quinlan's true home: A compilation of all the evidence.

[ACOTAR, CC and slight TOG spoilers!]

It seems that the consensus among fans is that Bryce will return back to Midgard at the end of CC3, and that most of the story will be wrapped up. On the contrary, I think it's just getting started, and instead believe that:

Bryce Quinlan's true home is Prythian. She will be the Starborn Queen, and ruler of the Dusk Court.

And not just Bryce. I think Hunt, Ruhn and everyone else will be joining her too... because (to put it bluntly).. Midgard is fucked.

Allow me to go through the evidence.

Bryce is repeatedly connected to dusk.

One of the first thing Hunt notices about Bryce is that her scent is of the "first stars at nightfall." Nightfall is another word for dusk. SJM often uses scent to foreshadow a character's home (ie. Rowan of TOG smelling like Terrasen, and Rhys smelling like Velaris).

Bryce has been obsessed with Pegasus dolls since book 1. It's then no coincidence that the Pegasus's in Prythian came from the Prison Island... where the Dusk Court (most likely) used to be. (And... think about that Pegasus doll that SJM included in the CC3 reveal video...)

Bryce often has her nails painted in "twilight" colours (another word for dusk), and even her damn nipples are described as "dusk pink" (lmfao).

"Dusk's Truth" seems to be of great importance, and I'm willing to bet that everything Danika did - from giving Bryce the Horn, to even her own death - was so that Bryce could escape Midgard and reach Prythian and the Dusk Court. Recall Baxian's words; that Danika was searching for a way into a new world - one without the Asteri.

The home of the Starborn fae isn't Midgard, it's Prythian - the Dusk Court. Bryce Quinlan is heir to the Starborn fae. She is Queen Theia's descendant.

Bryce is also connected to Prythian.

The star on Bryce's chest is a "beacon" for Prythian, and glows for people who also originate from the ACOTAR world (I don't think people understand how big a deal this is...). If Bryce returns to Midgard permanently, then she'll forever wear a star on her chest that glows for another world.

Bryce is the Horn. If you subscribe to the theory that the Horn is the 4th Dread Trove item, with the other 3 being in Prythian, then she is obviously needed there - especially when ACOSF hinted that all 4 items joined together allows for something big to happen...

The prophecy about the knife and the sword suggests that the ACOTAR and CC fae are going to be reunited. Bryce owns this prophetic sword - she has a big part to play (one that surely can't be fulfilled if Bryce just pops into Prythian for a quick visit, and then leaves again... and really, what would be the point of that?)

Foreshadowing that Bryce will be a queen.

It is repeatedly stated that Bryce bears the exact light of the Starborn Queen.

Bryce's name in Hunt's phone is 'Bryce Is a Queen.'

Hunt himself often remarks on Bryce's queenly demeanour:

And in CC2, Hunt again thinks to himself that the 'princess' title isn't enough for Bryce... that she is something more...

Then in the final CC2 chapters, we see Ruhn pleading with Bryce to become Queen:

To which Cormac agrees, and then says that the future of their people moving forward, all depends upon Bryce...

And most importantly, Ruhn's last words to Bryce: "Long live the Queen."

And now that I'm thinking about it, it is repeatedly stated that Hel's armies strike at Bryce's command. The entirety of Hel... await Bryce's orders. As if she too is their Queen. (It won't surprise me if the Dusk Court is strongly intertwined with Hel, there's SO much evidence... but that's for another post).

Other characters and their connection to Prythian.

Bryce isn't the only one with ties to Prythian. We also have:

Ruhn and Rhys looking identical.

The Asteri originating from Prythian, and making clear that their true goal is to go back there to get revenge (so the plot is likely to follow in this direction...)

The Princes of Hel are connected to Prythian: the Illyrian's and Hel's armies have the same wings, we have a "Lord Thanatos" in the Hewn City, the 7 layers of the library, that "cat presence" watching...

When Bryce is taken to the town house in Prythian, she remarks that the interior decorating is the same as Jesiba's and the Autumn King's - they are both likely from Prythian.

The Bone Carver drew three interlocking circles in the sand, which is the exact symbol of Parthos (and the symbol of Bryce's Archesian amulet). The Bone Carver's brother is Koschei (the upcoming ACOTAR antagonist) - he is also likely connected to Parthos.

The Under-King is described exactly like The Suriel (they're likely the same species). Bryce's star even glows for the Under-King, which tells us he is from Prythian.

Bryce's star also glows for Cormac and the Avallen fae; they're likely from Prythian also (and the Dusk Court). In fact, one of the first thing Bryce notices when she lands in Prythian, is that everyone is wearing the same clothes as the Avallen fae.

The Thunderbirds (and likely Hunt) were connected to "Dusk's Truth." (So, Bryce ending up in Prythian isn't just about the Bryce x Azriel theory...).

And this leads me to my most controversial opinion of all: although unbeknownst to readers, Crescent City is an ACOTAR spin-off series. That's not to say it can't stand on it's own, or that is has lesser value - but rather that almost all characters have ties back to the ACOTAR world - and this is surely not a coincidence.

I truly believe that SJM is planning a full multiverse crossover series between all 3 of her worlds, and CC was the series needed to bridge ACOTAR and TOG together. But, more on this later...

We don't want the characters staying in Midgard. They need to get out.

Midgard is entirely different to the ACOTAR and TOG worlds. The Asteri entered Midgard, absolutely obliterated everyone and everything, and then built their own world from the ground up. Every building, road, every inch of this world - was created and orchestrated by the Asteri. Their power and influence is absolute. Bryce realises this too:

We see the death camps in Kavalla... but I would argue that the whole of Midgard is one giant death camp. Any sense of freedom... is an illusion.

And because the Asteri control everything, they see everything, and know everything. I can't see how any of the CC characters will overthrow the Asteri in Midgard (I mean, they get close to Rigelus at the end of CC2, and Bryce has to world jump to escape, and Hunt and Ruhn are facing slavery, or worse. And yet we're to believe that SIX Asteri will be defeated in one book...?)

However, if this is all part of a larger scheme, where a multiverse book series in the works, and ACOTAR, TOG, and CC characters will rally together to defeat the Asteri (TOG Spoilers - as well as Orcus and Mantyx... they're still out there, don't forget), then maybe there's a chance.

And, let's not also forget that Bryce bargained away her resting place to the Under-King. If Bryce dies in Midgard... she's screwed. She has no chance of reincarnation, or eternal peace, or... whatever happens after death. But, if she dies in Prythian, it's a different story...

Midgard is doomed.

Following the final chapters of CC2, it is clear that Midgard is heading towards imminent destruction.

We know that Bryce has been thrown into another world. Ruhn is in the Asteri dungeons, his future uncertain. Cormac was killed. Do we really think the two fae kings; the Autumn King, and The Avallen King, are just going to sit back and accept this? Let the Asteri murder and torture their children?

We also know that the leader of the human rebels, Pippa Spetsos, was killed. I can't think of anything that would enrage the rebels more (and their mech suits, the synth - everything they've been brewing, feels like it's reaching its climax...)

Then we have Apollion mentioning that the 'Northern Rift' is groaning, and that he senses war approaching. (And for what it's worth, I'm not sure I trust Apollion...)

Lastly, we are still yet to see the consequences of Tharion's actions, and the River Queen's wrath. It is stated multiple times that the River Queen has the power to flood Lunathion if she wished, and I can't help but feel that is relevant.

The flooding of Midgard.

When reading CC1 and CC2, did you happen to notice the sheer amount of times it is raining?

SJM even makes a point to tell readers that there is record rainfall... (and thank you to @/highladyfeyre on TT for her theory on this!)

Then, in Throne of Glass, Aelin falls through the worlds, and sees the ACOTAR world and the Crescent City world. However, she also sees a world entirely covered in water.

Linking to this, in ACOSF, Merrill explains that all of the worlds are stacked on top of each other, even sharing the same space - but what separates them is TIME. Again going back to TOG where Aelin falls through the worlds, it says this; "She was falling. Falling and being thrown. The Wyrdgate sealed behind her, and yet she was not home. As it closed, ALL WORLDS OVERLAPPED. And she now fell through them."

If the worlds are separated by time, then it can be argued that Aelin wasn't looking at separate planets - she was looking at the same world, throughout differing time periods (more evidence for this here). Meaning, the world covered in water... is still yet to happen.

And following CC3, what is the final Crescent City book to be called...?

House of Many Waters.

The Multiverse series.

You might be thinking - what the hell is the point of Midgard flooding?

Well, the 'flooding of Midgard' is a key event in Norse Mythology, and signals the arrival of Ragnarok (a huge war across all of the worlds, that resulted in the end of life as they know it).

Another term for Ragnarok, is "Twilight of the Gods."

The same name as Sarah's WIP book series... one that she appeared to draft at the same time as Crescent City...

Twilight is another word for DUSK. It all just fits too perfectly to be a coincidence.

Thus, I wholeheartedly believe that CC3 and CC4, as well as the final ACOTAR books, are the precursors to SJM's endgame series - Twilight of the Gods. Where the ACOTAR, CC and TOG characters will unite for a universal war, in order to stop the end of the world.

"But SJM said ACOTAR and CC will be standalone!"

Firstly, with all due respect to SJM, her word in interviews is not always gospel. She is known to deceive fans in interviews; for example, in 2020, SJM said a multiverse crossover would never happen, and in her most recent interview, she revealed that she has actually been planning the crossover for years. I'm not suggesting SJM has malicious intent, if anything, it's the opposite - she does not want to spoil the books for us.

Secondly, SJM never confirmed that ACOTAR and CC are both entirely standalone reads (if they were, she'd never go forth with the crossover). Instead, she said that you don't need to read ACOTAR to understand CC3. That makes sense, and to me just means that she is going to include extra contextual information to help out those fans who are indeed standalone readers (which won't be hard, because Bryce will be learning everything about Prythian for the first time too).

But the most important point is this - the multiverse crossover changes everything, and 100% changes the ACOTAR world as well.

As proof of this, consider Rhys. He has been studying the universe intently for years now. He even built his own orrery - his own map of the universe. As of CC2, he has just met a girl from another world. This girl will almost certainly be telling him about the Asteri, and that their true goal is to go back to Prythian - Rhys's home - and exact revenge.

So, do you really think that Rhys will learn about the existence of other worlds, the existence of the Asteri (who actively want to hurt his loved ones), and then just.. forget about it in future books? Send Bryce back to Midgard alone, simply wishing her well, and then going back to his ordinary life? No.

Elain's book.

As even further proof of this, consider that Elain's story will be the centre of the next ACOTAR book.

In ACOSF, we are told that there are three prominent mountains in Prythian, known as the "three sister peaks." The mountain where 'Under the Mountain' took place (and where Amarantha held people captive), Ramiel, and the mountain of the Prison Island.

Feyre conquered the first mountain; when she defeated Amarantha.

Nesta conquered Ramiel.

Which leaves the third mountain, the Prison Island mountain, to the third sister... Elain.

And what is the Prison Island most likely to be....? The Dusk Court.

I'm willing to bet that Elain's story intertwines heavily with Crescent City also.

That all of this... is so much bigger than we can imagine.

[majaloveschris]

Why nothing makes sense part 6.

Ghosted premiere edition 👻

When I woke up and read people talking about her being there, I definitely expected something much worse than it actually was. Don't misunderstand me; I obviously wasn't happy she was there, but it's not as bad as I thought it would be if she were there.

As always, there are things that just don't make any sense to me.

In the past few weeks, we've received no articles about them; the article about Chris didn't include her. However, on the day of the premiere, ET included pictures of the Valentine's Day video, and the Daily Mail also included her. It was like a reminder that, hey, he is supposed to be in a really loving and committed relationship with this Alba girl, remember? He was spotted alone, and we hadn't received any new content since Valentine's Day. The cheating rumor was also posted. I understand why many people think we are getting to the end of this shitshow, because it felt like it.

What's up with Tara and her family? So Tara and her family were in NYC yesterday, on the same day of the premiere, and Gully even met them before the event. Why wasn't she or they at the premiere? The fact that they were there on the same day and even met Gully would be too many coincidences if she or they weren't supposed to be there. But if both Tara and Alba's appearances were planned, then she couldn't have been the reason why she didn't go to the premiere? And they had time for it because, as it turned out, they went to the Broadway Museum before the premiere started. Or was she there? Because I know some people say she was, without any evidence, of course, but if she was there, why didn't we see her? And why wouldn't she arrive with Chris and Alba?

So the one and only time we say Alba was when they got out of the car with Chris, and then when we saw her going in with two people, who are supposedly Chris's friends or whatever. Where was everybody else? Tara was in town. Scott, Steve, Lisa, Shanna, or Carly? Where was everybody? They would've been better company for her, especially since they all adore her. Chris gave something to her; it wasn't his phone, that's for sure. They looked like some kind of tickets, I guess; maybe she got Tara's 😂 People also say they kissed in cars, but there is no evidence of that, and there is no way somebody can tell that from that video. I thought that if she were there, she would walk down the red carpet with him, which didn't happen. I'm not complaining, and I don't believe he was either. But what was the point of her being there? Why wasn't she on the red carpet with him, like his family members and friends usually are? I remember the Lightyear premiere, and I remember seeing Steve on the red carpet, behind Chris, while he was giving an interview. Why wasn't she there too? And please don't say that because of "backlash" or because "they didn't want to get bullied", because I have an easy solution for that: don't bring her to the premiere. He's never had a problem with not bringing his partners to premieres, but he didn't have a problem being at Jenny's premiere, for example, and he didn't seem to care about the backlash then. This whole premier thing was just as half-assed as everything else in this shitshow. You want to come to the premiere? Okay, I will do the bare minimum. You can get out of the same car as me, and we can have a fast chat, and then you can do whatever you want.

I hope those who said this will be the last thing he needs to do and then bye-bye PR contract and Alba are right.

That's my take on everything at this exact moment. Feel free to correct me if I made a mistake here and there 😊; I was trying to write down everything until this whole thing was fresh in my mind 😅

[fictionalmenownmyheart]

Baby Teller (Part 2) • miles teller

Requested by: @nickie-amore

This is part 2 to my other fic, which I will leave linked here.

I first want to start off by saying thank you for all the likes Baby Teller has received, it means a lot to me. I hope you enjoy this one just as much. I would suggest reading the other one first before reading this, however I’ll leave that entirely up to you. Like I said in part 1, I don’t have the knowledge about the US Military or Air Force, I’ve tried to do some research especially about ejecting but it is vague in some areas. It’s not going to be completely accurate, I know that, but I still hope you enjoy reading this. I will also say that I haven’t followed the request entirely, the majority of it is the same but there are some bits that I have changed. Just wanted to include also that Bradley’s speech (I suppose he’s my OC in this) won’t be speaking like an adult and I’ve done that intentionally for what he says in this because he’s suppose to be three so realistically wouldn’t be speaking perfectly.

Gif is not mine, belongs to the owner.

Warnings: mention of ejecting, reader gets injured, vague and inaccuracy towards the US Air Force/Military (I apologise), some sadness, fluff is sprinkled in throughout

Miles Teller x fem!reader

Word count: 2.6k

(Y/M/N) - Your Mum’s Name

It was hard to believe, Miles thinks to himself, but Bradley is now three. It just seemed like yesterday when he found out the news he was going to be a dad. How time goes by so quickly.

Ever since filming ended for Top Gun: Maverick and the whole cast pranked him with the news of (Y/N)’s pregnancy with Bradley at the time, he and all of the actors had stayed in touch and had managed to form a bond with each other even with everyone’s hectic schedules sending them to all parts of the world for filming and interviews and premieres.

Miles was currently watching over Bradley, as he sat beside him, at the dining table with his colouring books placed all around him with an array of colourful crayons and pens practically taking up the entire space.

“What are you drawing, buddy?” Miles asks as he peers over his sons shoulder, watching Bradley’s fist hold onto a red crayon tightly, as he scribbles over the page with an image of a rooster. This specific book had cartoon animals; from sea animals to farm animals to jungle animals. Miles huffed out a breath in amusement, going unnoticed by Bradley who currently had his tongue poking out to the side of his mouth in concentration, as he thought what a coincidence it was for him to pick this specific page.

“For mummy, when she come home.” Bradley replies, swapping his red crayon for a blue one. Miles wasn’t going to even ask, he didn’t understand the workings of a three year olds mind, especially his sons idea of a blue rooster, but he wasn’t going to judge.

“She’s going to love it.” Miles places his hand on his sons back and leans in to place a kiss on the crown of his brown locks.

With each day he grew, the more he was turning into Miles’ mini me. He loved spending this time with his son, but always had a shadow of guilt playing at the back of his mind. He knew he shouldn’t and that (Y/N) wouldn’t want him to feel like that but he felt like she should be here watching Bradley do all these great things, experiencing them right beside him. Just the other day Bradley had managed to do a ‘handstand’ and ‘cartwheel’ which Miles had thankfully thought to video it to show his wife the next time he saw her so he could capture the first look on her face with his own eyes.

Bradley didn’t completely understand why (Y/N) wasn’t always home, Miles tried to explain it to him as best he could saying that mummy had a very important job that involved her keeping everyone safe but meant she had to be away from home a lot. Bradley made the connection of (Y/N) being a hero saving the day as the reasoning for her being away so often. This became the easiest way for Miles to explain it to Bradley.

“When mummy coming home?” Bradley asks, his hand halting from colouring in the rooster, his head turning to Miles with unshed tears in his eyes. It broke Miles’ heart to see him like this. He loves his son and seeing him as anything other than his happy and bubbly self broke him.

“Not long now, buddy.” Miles tried to reassure him, keeping it vague with the time in which (Y/N) would finally be home. How could he lie to his son when he wasn’t entirely sure when she was coming home yet, either?

“I miss her.” The tears that had began to form were now running down his chubby cheeks as he leans against Miles’ shoulder, his little body shaking from the onslaught of emotions that suddenly racked up.

Miles picks Bradley up from under his armpits, scraping his own dining chair back, creating more room, as he places him in his lap and tries to soothe him with a rocking motion against his chest. “I miss her too, baby. I know she’ll be missing you like crazy right now.”

“Really?” A gleam lit up his eyes once he had leaned up straight, and focused on Miles’ face, after having his face pressed against his dad’s chest for comfort.

Miles nods, a small smile finally turning up his lips at the sign of Bradley’s curious excitement. “Really, I bet right now she’s doing whatever it is she’s doing with the thought of you on her mind and wanting to come home to us as soon as she possibly can.”

While Miles was with Bradley at home, (Y/N) was currently in her plane doing some training exercises. (Y/N)’s role in the US Air Force was being a specialist in all the mechanics of the planes, that meant when ever a part needed repairing or replacing, she was the woman for the job. Right now however she was actually in a plane, a place she wasn’t as confident with but something that was not completely alien to her. What would be the point of looking after a plane so closely if you couldn’t even fly the thing?

She breathed deeply as she took to the sky, looking out the windows at the beautiful views around her. Her friend and colleague was flying beside her along with two other fellow airmen behind them.

The training exercises were going well, she had felt confident going into this and wouldn’t have guessed something could go wrong.

She doesn’t even remember what it was that set it off, but the beeping suddenly warns her of danger in the cockpit.

“(Y/N)? Can you hear me? (Y/N)! Eject! Eject now! Bailout!” A voice screams, worry clear in every word spoken, but it doesn’t completely register.

The last thing (Y/N) remembers is the sound of voices calling out to her and her thumb hitting the button, not knowing whether that is going to be enough. A vision of Bradley and Miles enters her thoughts, of them smiling and laughing, waiting for her to come back to them. She tucks in her knees and elbows, remembering it from briefing that left her feeling sick — if anything touches the sides of the cockpit as a person comes out from above then it’s most likely coming off — before everything turns black.

Miles had had a vague idea of when (Y/N) was suppose to be home and had planned a get together with the cast of Top Gun to honour their continued friendship.

Miles currently sat on the sofa in the living room and had his head in his hands, not completely believing the news he had just received. His phone had been ringing all morning and afternoon, Miles chose to ignore it but when his ring tone started up again he was surprised to hear his mother-in-law’s voice on the other end of the line.

(Y/N)’s mum, (Y/M/N), didn’t have time for pleasantries before relaying what little news she knew. “Miles, (Y/N) has been injured, she’s currently in the hospital and stable but they won’t tell me anything else or what actually happened. They told me that they have been trying to get through to you but couldn’t so rang me after.”

Miles didn’t even know if the words were fully processing in his head, all he could think was, (Y/N), injured, hospital, stable. His voice caught in his throat, struggling to find the words to say.

(Y/M/N), having heard the noise leave Miles’ mouth and no sound following, takes it upon herself to fill in the deathly silence. “She’s going to be okay Miles, she has to be. Focus on Bradley for now, he needs you to be strong for him and reassure him that everything will be alright. I’ll call you if I find out anything else, let me know if you hear of anything as well. I’ll talk to you soon, bye love.”

Miles stared at the screen of his phone, the Lock Screen staring back at him with a photo taken of all three of them when Bradley had first been born. They looked so happy there, (Y/N) glowing after delivery or just looking sweaty as she more often called it, him cradling the little bundle in his arms remembering feeling scared of dropping him because of how tiny he was.

Please (Y/N), Miles thinks to himself, come home to me soon.

When (Y/N) wakes up she notices the unfamiliar room she is in, confusion settling in as she views the white walls surrounding her and she suddenly realises where she is. Currently lying in a bed in a military hospital, she slowly eases her body up with a lot of strain from her weak muscles in her arms. She hisses as her biceps strain in pain, managing to move into an upright position.

“Take it easy.” (Y/N) looks up and sees her friend hovering above her, plumping her pillows and patting them into place.

“What… What happened?” (Y/N) asks, her throat feeling dry. Her friend, noticing her struggle, pours some water into a cup and slowly brings it to her cracked, dry lips, placing her hand behind (Y/N)’s head holding supportively to take the strain off. (Y/N) takes a greedy gulp, the fresh cool water going down her throat steadily.

Her friend sighs, placing the cup on the bedside table before taking a seat in the chair beside (Y/N). “You had to eject. You’re okay, thank God, but you have got some nasty bruises on your shoulders from the harness straps that held you in place, but you should be alright in a couple of days.”

Memories start flooding back as (Y/N) thinks back to the previous incident. The screaming and dizziness, the thought of Bradley and Miles, worrying about never seeing them again and wanting to just be back home with them, everything from after that becomes a haze of darkness.

Because ejecting is so dangerous, the process of putting pilots at a serious risk of an injury or even worse, it’s the last thing anyone wants to do, essentially the last resort.

Of course she’s trained for this, doing her own VR-styled simulation where you pretend to parachute down to the ground and go through the checklist.

It hits (Y/N) all at once, she could have died if she didn’t manage to eject in time before it was too late, the idea of never seeing her family, her friends, her boys again was too painful to even think about.

A couple of days after Miles had received the phone call from (Y/N)’s mum there was still no news about her whereabouts or how badly she was injured or when it was that she would be coming home.

Miles has been in a state, the constant worry of his wife being on his mind and Bradley who just wants to know when his mummy was going to be home, was hard to placate at times. All he wanted was his mothers comfort and Miles’ reassurance that everything would be okay and that it wouldn’t be long now until she would finally be home.

Due to all of the individual schedules of all of the cast of Top Gun since the end of filming almost four years ago, they decided to postpone when everyone was originally planning on stopping by at Miles house, they had to make a rain check and have only been able to do some quick FaceTime calls with everyone checking in on him, sending their best wishes and love and support to the both of them telling him they would try to get time off work all at the same time to visit him and Bradley.

As (Y/N) made her way through the front door trying to be as quiet at she possibly could, not wanting to give her arrival away, she heard an echoing noise that was coming from the entertainment room just off the living room that sounded like a piano and singing was coming from.

“Kiss me, baby. Mmm, it feels good.”

She creeps in, heading in the direction of the music and pokes her head around the door that’s slightly ajar to try and see what is going on without getting noticed.

“Hold me, baby. Well, I’m off to love you like a lover should.”

She spots Miles straight away at the piano, hitting the keys perfectly in time with everyone else singing the chorus to Great Balls of Fire. (Y/N) is surprised to see who is here, Monica, Lewis, Glen, Danny, Jay and Greg all gathered around the grand piano dancing and singing. Glen has a hold of Bradley, swinging him around, the sweet giggles showing his enjoyment of the entire situation.

“Oh! You’re fine, so kind. Got to tell this world that you’re mine, mine, mine, mine.”

(Y/N) walks into the room, her entrance drawing the attention of her son once Glen twirled him a certain way.

“Mummy.” Bradley calls out, practically jumping out of Glen’s arms and into (Y/N)’s who manages to catch him but can’t help but scrunch her face up from the still slightly bruised areas that are healing nicely but are still a bit tender even though she tries to disguise it.

Miles, catching on to the pain on her face, gently comes over and pulls her close to him, drawing her near by her hip. “What’s wrong baby? Are you okay? They told us you were injured but didn’t go into detail of the severity of it.”

“I had to eject.” (Y/N) states, still coming to terms herself with that sentence even after many days of recovering well in the hospital.

Miles’ arm tightens around her waist, drawing her closer as his other holds Bradley close to them both making their own little protective bubble. Miles’ mind goes crazy, the thought of nearly losing his wife is not something that’s easy to process or have to experience, the fact that she’s well and in his arms and with him calms him slightly, the worry not entirely ebbing away.

Everyone was shocked, they all knew what that word meant after having been on set of one of the biggest anticipated sequel film ever. They of course knew what it was, knew that it could be highly dangerous, some of them even having to ‘eject’ in the film but nothing prepared them for the words that left (Y/N)’s mouth. Having someone close to them have to go through that, a close friend and someone they consider family was hard to imagine.

“Please let’s just carry on having a good time, I’ll tell you all about it some other time. For now, can we continue singing and dancing and enjoying each other’s company.” (Y/N) declares, breaking everyone out of their somber thoughts, hoping to bring back some of the joy she previously witnessed.

Everyone readily agrees, Miles takes ahold of Bradley and sets him on the ground before taking (Y/N)’s smaller hand in his and leads her to the piano where he places her on one of his knees. He wraps his arms around her and starts playing the notes to the song again from the beginning. As everyone around them sings along to the tune, (Y/N) has her arms secured around his neck and leans in keeping eye contact with Miles who manages to play without looking at the keys from plenty of practice over the years, and presses her lips softly to his before placing her head in the crook of his neck closing her eyes and doing exactly as she said, enjoying everyone’s company and being in her husbands arms where she feels the most safe.

[thoughts-on-bangtan]

BTS at the SDG UN General Assembly (210920)

by Admin 1

Six days, as well as one flight from Seoul to New York City, after receiving their diplomatic passports, the day of BTS’ third UN appearance finally came. The SDG UN General Assembly AM session began with several speakers, one of them South Korea’s President Moon who first gave his own speech before introducing BTS by saying: “joining us today are an exceptionally outstanding group of young men who are connecting with youth across the world (...). BTS the first ever Special Envoy from the private sector (...) probably the artist that is most loved by people around the world.”

Like I said in my post about their visit to the Blue House, I was impossibly proud watching them walk onto that stage at the UN HQ bringing along two posters, one of which had pictures sent in by ARMY, and give their speech in Korean instead of English. Unlike the first time back in 2018 when only Namjoon had spoken, this time all the members took turns to lay out a meaningful speech which you can either watch in the video below (English subs, as well as in many other languages, are provided) or read it a little further below.

In the videos of the members sitting on the side waiting for their turn you could see each of them taking deep breaths and practicing their part of the speech a few more times wanting make sure they could deliver it to the best of their abilities on a stage as unique as this one. Their nervousness was clearly visible at various degrees underlining only so much more how historic this moment really was, for them, for the current and future generations, but also for their country.

Over the years, and especially since Namjoon’s first UN speech, ARMY made a million edits about President Kim Namjoon and today we saw a visual that turned edits into real life, even if “only” as UN speaker instead of president. If you ask me, he’ll always be my president. I’m sure JK would agree with me.

Speaking of which, it’s a beautiful coincidence that during his first speech at the UN (aside from the online version last year) JK is the same age as Namjoon was in 2018 during his first UN speech.

Before they began, it was so interesting to see Namjoon take a moment to look at his members, see if everyone is ready, and only once he was sure that they were, he began. Very leader like of him.

Though I don’t have a picture/gif of it, something that I thought was very meaningful and therefore important to mention was a moment during one of Jimin’s parts where his nervousness got to him. Instead of panicking, he simply took a moment, lowered his microphone, took a deep breath, collected himself, and then continued on with what he was supposed to say. It was a very human moment, one that showcases that it is okay to be overwhelmed, to take a small break, just a few seconds, before continuing, that it’s not embarrassing or a sign of weakness, but rather a sign of strength to calmly overcome the moment and continue on, brave and confident.

Another thing worth mentioning was how during their speech the different world leaders sitting in the audience, including President Moon, took out their phones to take pictures or videos of the members, how after they were done and left the stage and made their way out of the Hall, many of them gave them thumbs up as they passed, some even greeting them with a safe elbow bump, a show of respect and admiration. After all it takes tremendous courage to deliver a speech like this in a place such as this one.

The grand finale of their appearance, of course, was the pre-recorded performance of Permission to Dance filmed inside the Hall, the entrance area of the HQ, as well as the space in front of the building and a park next to it. It was shown on the two monitors inside the Hall as well for the attending world leaders to see as well.

We’ve seen so many iconic stages, especially since Dynamite Era last year, but I never thought we’d get to see them perform at the UN HQ, literally. In my early ARMY days, I never expected that our journey would take us here, and yet, as I think about it now, it completely makes sense that it did. Bangtan were always destined for greatness. It’s now clearer than ever before.

I do love how even at a performance as meaningful as this one, Jimin and Tae still found a way to have two tiny moments, the one in the gif below but also one that came just before it (though I couldn’t find or make a gif of it myself, sorry) where they seemed to giggle/smile at each other while Tae showed Jimin a jump he wanted, and also ended up doing afterward, for the camera. 

Though they didn’t interact in the Permission to Dance performance, my little Namjin heart was so happy to see Namjoon and Seokjin side by side throughout the appearance, which I’m aware was in large dictated by their usual lineup (though it was adjusted so Namjoon was in the center with three members to either side from him) but it still reminded me of Namjoon’s request to Seokjin four years ago, as in that he please be by his side at events like this because it makes him calmer.

Much the way it was back in 2018, this time we also got some selcas from Seokjin, Yoongi and Hobi showing off their UN IDs as well as their UN x SK masks which were also worn by the President and First Lady (and likely also their staff). One thing that caught my eye though were their pins which, upon first glance, seemed like the same ones everyone else had, but when you looked closer it turns out that our boys had to be a bit extra. Out with the plain ones, in with the bedazzled versions that, because of the gems, remind me of their mics as well.

Koreas pride with pins that sparkle just as beautifully as they do.

All in all this was a historical moment, something I’m impossibly grateful I got to witness live. My ARMY pride and ego is through the roof today and will remain as such for a long time going forward. The members have come a long way and have grown and matured into stunning young men with bright minds and intelligent words. As much as it was an honor for them to be there, it is an honor for us to be their fans, to support them, and I cannot wait to see where we’ll go from here but one thing is for sure, Hobi certainly was right, liking BTS certainly was the best decision ever.

[mrwinterr]

Over & Over

Pairing: Pornstar!Bucky Barnes AU x Pornstar!Female Reader

Summary: You’re an up-and-coming adult film star secretly eager to work with the popular Bucky Barnes, and with just the right connections, your paths cross much sooner than later.

Warnings: Adult themes. Smut 18+ (unprotected sex, vaginal penetration and instructional fingering, oral [male & female receiving], size kink, spit & cum play, a smudge of male dominance), dirty talk and language.

Disclaimer: I don’t know how the porn industry works; this was just written for fun.

Title Inspiration: “Over & Over” by Smallpools

A/N: After doping up on strong painkillers wasn’t enough, I thought releasing endorphins would help ease my headache, so once again watching porn inspired another fic. Idk. I’m a mess. Enjoy!

Slipping on your oversized sunglasses, you walk along the rectangular outline of the hotel’s lavish pool, to one of the vacant lounge chairs next to the redheaded goddess, whose wings you were taken under and could gratefully call a close friend. You hadn’t known a single soul when you packed up and moved west to Los Angeles at 18, but you knew you were destined for more than what your humdrum life back at home could offer.

The porn industry wasn’t your first choice at a career in entertainment, but the starving profession wasn’t paying the bills fast enough. You weren’t going to survive in L.A. another year juggling to pay for tuition and stay enrolled in acting school from the income of working menial jobs and booking small gigs. However, one minor role as an extra in a one-night stand sex scene of a TV show, you catch the eye of the multitalented adult film actress Natasha Romanoff.

It was pure coincidence she was also casted, playing a bigger role, of the same episode, but she saw more in you in your less than 15 seconds of fame than most casting agents did before offering you a chance to shadow her. You knew she looked familiar and you were no stranger to watching porn, but when you’re as down on your luck as you were, you went all in and soon enough countless scenes now under your belt within a year, you’re porn’s best female newcomer.

“There’s this year’s Best New Starlet!” Natasha proclaims loudly for almost everyone around to hear.

Lucky for you, the shades conceal the roll of your eyes at her comment as you kick off your flip-flops and remove the thin cover up to reveal your skimpy bikini. You dare look over at her in time to catch her mocking reaction, jaw dropped from your attitude.

“After all I’ve done for you,” she says, placing a hand to her heart, feigning hurt.

The pair of you laugh at your nonsense and after she helps you with applying the appropriate amount of sun care protection, you recline in your seats and attempt to soak up some sun. It was a much-needed break with the long stressful week of the award show now behind everyone. Your hard work had paid off and after all you did learn from the best.

Your predecessor before you, Natasha was also a former Best New Starlet, and now is a household name in pornography. She didn’t welcome a lot of people into her inner circle, but she had plans to one day direct and knew she had to find the next big thing before anyone else to take her place.

“Hello, ladies,” comes from the voice of this year’s Director of the Year and other close friend Wanda Maximoff.

“Hey Wanda,” you greet her by sitting up to give her a proper hug.

You met her through her twin brother, Pietro, who happened to be your first co-star and was very welcoming and caring to you. The twins took care of you during your first few months starting out. Much like Natasha did for you, you help her administer the same amount of sunscreen on her body.

“Congrats on your achievement,” she says wholeheartedly, looking over her shoulder at you as you finish up on her back, and even under the heat of the sun, she could still see the blush creep up on your face.

“She’s a natural, isn’t she?” Natasha comments casually, to which Wanda nods enthusiastically, only speeding up the process of the rose tints on your cheeks to spread all over your face. They were your biggest fans and supporters; you were so happy you could make them proud.

“I owe it all to the queen herself,” you say, downplaying your achievement and turning the attention to your mentor in Natasha. She scoffs at that and teases you about just taking the damn compliment. You put in the work; it was all you.

“Seriously, you deserved it,” Wanda says honestly, and you finally accept the praise.

“So, what’s next for miss Director of the Year?” Natasha asks leaning on a propped elbow, body facing towards you and Wanda.

“Well, I managed to finally book Bucky Barnes in an upcoming project…” she starts out, but the moment you heard his name slip from her lips, the rest almost didn’t matter.

Bucky Barnes was somewhat of a legend. There wasn’t a model or director that didn’t want to work with him. The man was downright gifted in every aspect and his work speaks for itself. Before you broke onto the scene, you’d gotten off to his videos, and only dreamed of one day starring in a scene with him, but you were still new to this world.

As a promising star, you had a long way to go and tons of plots, positions and people to still experience, so landing a role with someone like Bucky Barnes wasn’t entirely written in your plans any time soon. Then again, your first girl-on-girl scene was with your mentor herself, so anything could happen, right?

“I just haven’t found my girl yet,” was the next thing you pick up Wanda say the moment your head comes back from the clouds, “...I have all this momentum now that I want this to blow everyone away, especially Stark.”

Tony Stark was her rival. It was a friendly competition amongst friends. You hadn’t gotten the chance to work for him yet. He was a playful character and had directed some of the best adult films out there, Wanda just happened to be the better of the two this year…

“Sorry, I’m retired,” Natasha reminds her and repositions herself on her back.

“Fuck you,” Wanda says playfully to which Natasha responds with a finger in the air before she clarifies, “I was hinting at this year’s Best New Starlet…” and slyly looking in your directly.

“Me?” You ask incredulously. Your head can’t even start processing that you’re finally getting the opportunity to work with Bucky.

Wanda rolls her eyes at your obliviousness, “no, last year’s Best New Starlet. Hell no! Of course, you!” You respond in the same manner as your mentor, who is more than amused at you also following her lead, and flip Wanda off. Wanda snatches your hand to bring it away from her face, “I’m serious!”

“I-I don’t know, Wan,” a part of you is a little scared that you’re not going to be able to keep up with someone as established and with the star power as Bucky, “...like you said, you have all this momentum behind you. I don’t want to fuck this scene up because I don’t have a lot of experience.”

“Are you fucking kidding?” Natasha pipes up on the other side of you. “This is the perfect role for you!” She sees the questionable look on your face and sighs before explaining. “You’re a fresh face and rising star! People are lining up to book you, Stark included.”

“Nat is right. You’re a hot commodity now! I need someone who is a little inexperienced to mix with someone that is,” Wanda further explains her premise, “let him take the lead, but at your pace. I need it to be raw and passionate. People love that shit!” They were right, he had all the experience, and you were a fresh loveable face. It was the perfect combination.

You remain quiet for several seconds before Natasha rats you out, “and don’t even try to act like you don’t want to work with Barnes. This is your fantasy come to life.” Way to throw you under the bus like that…

There’s no denying your goal to work with him. He’d been in this business much longer than you had, you didn’t think your paths would ever cross on a set, but the opportunity couldn’t have presented itself in a more perfect point in your career.

The room is very pristine. White walls with a king size bed, also adorned in white sheets, fluffy pillows scattered at the top, minimal furniture around to make it look realistic, and the lighting was just right. Wanda had received a hefty budget after her recognition that’s for sure.

“Alright, girly, let’s get you on the bed!” Wanda happily directs.

You nod silently, remove your footwear and plop down on the center of the large mattress. You decide to leave your legs sprawled on one side of your body, settling on a bashful position. It’s not hard for you because although you agreed to do this and have done several scenes, internally, you’re freaking the fuck out. Unbeknownst to you, it’s all part of your charm; the innocence you somehow still radiated was an all too endearing quality and actually sexy.

Even your attire was pretty modest, opting for a more casual look with black leggings and a tight long sleeve that accentuates your figure and shows off the right amount of cleavage. It was something that you could easily wear out in public, which again was a part of your brand in being as natural as possible, but come the right circumstances, when it was time to roll you could turn on the right switch.

“We’ll start off like a typical casting interview before we bring Bucky in and then we’ll go from there. Sounds good?” She runs down the plan with you, fixing a few strands of flyaway hairs on your head before back away from the bed. With a thumbs up and a smile from you, she starts recording.

“Welcome, Best New Starlet of the Year!” Wanda greets from behind the camera.

“Hi,” you politely reply with your signature sweet smile and a wave to the screen.

These scenes start off with a small interview recounting your tale into the porn industry leading up to your recent achievement and even delving a bit into your personal life before the topic changes to your co-star.

“So, how excited are you to work with Bucky today?”

No matter how hard you practiced at keeping a straight poker face, that was something you were unable to master from Natasha, and the blush couldn’t be contained.

Fidgeting at the hem of your top, you open and close your mouth, trying to find the right words. You’re overly flustered at the thought of Bucky and he wasn’t even in front of you yet. You don’t want to sound like a fool and ruin the atmosphere. Wanda mouths words of advice from where she sat in the director’s chair, “be honest.”

“Um, I’m...nervous,” you say truthfully.

“Nervous?” She questions, urging you to elaborate.

“Yeah, he’s Bucky Barnes! He’s hot and he’s got so much experience. I’m kind of scared I’ll be boring,” you finish explaining and hope to God that Natasha doesn’t kill you afterwards, or with that answer let Wanda down, but the smile on her face sends you a wave of assurance.

Maybe you could do this...

Earlier that day, Bucky had already recorded his little opening scene. Wanda had called him to report on set before you were scheduled to arrive.

On the contrary, Bucky was also a tab bit anxious to work with you. He’d seen some of your work and more so heard about your talent from his own best friend, Steve Rogers.

He didn’t deny it, he was very much attracted to you and he wanted a chance to work with you too. Bucky wasn’t a jealous person, which made working in the porn industry easy for him, but when he had to hear Steve recount his scenes with you, he couldn’t help but want to sock his own childhood friend. He didn’t of course, but the rage was evident and his other friend, Sam Wilson, took some sick pleasure in teasing him over it. In fact, the eccentric personality of the trio of friends, decided to tag along with Bucky to introduce himself to you and get under his skin a little more.

“What’s going on in that nasty head of yours?” Sam poked at Bucky as they made their way over to Wanda, who was by the camera setup going over a script with another stagehand. When Bucky doesn’t respond, it provokes Sam even more, “no way, you’re nervous!”

Bucky sighs fed up with dealing with the anxiety brewing ever since he found out he was going to star in this film with you. “Shut the fuck up, will you? Of course, I’m nervous,” he says, trying to remain calm.

“Dude, you’ve slept with some of the hottest people in the world and millions of people have seen you naked. Why is one girl any different?” Sam wonders.

“I don’t know, ok. She just seems so down-to-earth and normal?” Bucky attempts to explain. You were real. His work was just that, it was a work, and he was afraid that it would be different with you. He could say he was almost intimidated by you.

“Yeah, as if I don’t have to hear that enough from Rogers…” Sam chimed in. Steve had nothing but high praise for your performance. In fact, his testimony helped expose you a little further. He was an honorable performer and a respected one, so they took his word on you. “Maybe, I’ll be her next co-star,” and just like that Sam ruined a moment.

“God, I hate you,” was the last thing exchanged between the two friends as they finally reached Wanda. She warned Sam to behave and gave Bucky a quick rundown before instructing him to hop on the bed.

Bucky’s interview starts a little differently than yours. Having already been a more established performer than yourself, no one needed his background story. The only thing Wanda wanted out of him was his plans and opinion on you.

“Well, I don’t know too much about her, personally speaking...but everyone seems to love her,” Bucky’s answer was a bit bland for Wanda.

“She’s a great person to work with,” she comments and that’s a tactic most directors used to get talent to keep talking.

“That’s what Steve keeps saying,” he says with somewhat of an awkward light laugh. He could see Sam facepalming next to Wanda at that lame answer.

“Yeah, you don’t win best female newcomer for nothing,” Wanda points out. If anyone was the lucky one here, it was Bucky. He was climbing up in age and you were the next big thing. You were the real star of this film not Bucky. She was counting more on you to deliver than him.

“That’s right. She’s a very talented performer,” Bucky says, and this small comment opens up a can of worms for Wanda to build up on.

“Oh, so you’ve seen some of her work?” Bam! He was caught.

Bucky’s mouth starts twitching slightly and Wanda and Sam are smirking from their spots as they watch the gears in Bucky’s mind start turning faster trying to think of something. The only piece of advice Wanda gives is “be honest.”

He sighs, the jig was up. Smooth Bucky Barnes was caught red-handed, “yeah, I’ve watched some scenes. I’ve seen her in person a few times too…”

“Wait,” Wanda interrupts him abruptly. She knew you were attracted to Bucky, but never knew of any encounters between you two, “when did you meet her?”

“I haven’t,” Bucky starts, which causes a look of mass confusion on Wanda’s face before he follows up, “formally. I haven’t met her formally, but I’ve seen her at a few parties and at the award show...I was just nervous to walk up to her,” the words just kept flowing out of his mouth and he inwardly cringed at how awkward he might’ve sounded.

Sam was amused by his embarrassment, but Wanda was pleased with this result. Bucky was good at what he did and that included him trying to play it cool, which he did well on screen, sometimes.

“You know she was actually thrilled to find out she would be working with you,” Wanda said, stretching the truth. The truth was, you hadn’t verbally confessed that, at least not yet.

“Really?” Bucky asks all too hopeful, his mood noticeably perking up.

“Yup! Ever since she won Best New Starlet of the Year, people have been lining up to book her, but she chose this project. You were the deal breaker, Barnes,” she fabricated and hoped this all worked out for you two in the end.

“Wow, who would’ve thought this has-been still had it in him?” He jokes at himself. His humility would get the best of him in every situation.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself! You didn’t win Best Male Performer of the Year again for nothing!” Wanda says and then steers the interview to a close.

After wrapping up Bucky’s scene, he’s allowed to stay in another room with a monitor. At first, he thinks it’s to help him prep for the scene, but to his surprise it’s a live feed of your interview and he starts clinging onto your every word. Enthralled by your journey, work ethic and he gets flustered all over again hearing you talk about your equal eagerness to work with him.

“You know, if anyone is the lucky one in this situation, it’s Barnes,” Wanda reminds as your interview comes to an end.

“Right,” you sarcastically remark.

“Are you ready for us to bring Bucky in?” She asks.

“It’s now or never,” you reply. 

You watch the doorknob twist and the door open to slowly reveal Bucky. Where do you even start with him? He just looked like the total package. His gaze immediately on yours. As he makes his way towards the bed you’re still sitting on, when his knee comes in contact to the edge, you maneuver your body in his direction, sit up on your knees to meet him halfway and welcome him in a hug.

“Hi, it’s nice to finally meet you,” he says when you pull apart. The both of you don’t break away completely. Your arms are still wrapped around his neck, his hands placed just above your waist, you can feel his fingers that slipped under the fabric rub your skin.

“It’s nice to meet you,” you respond, giving him a genuine smile and can’t help but stare at his pretty face. You had to remind yourself he’s just another guy, except he wasn’t. You didn’t know how he felt, but you wanted this, wanted him. You also don’t know if you’ll ever work him again after today, so he was going to get the real you.

A small, subtle clearing of someone’s throat shatters the staring contest between you and Bucky causing you both to sheepishly break away from the other, not realizing you’d both allowed dreaded dead airtime to pass by. You scoot over to make room for him next to you on the bed. After he pulls his footwear off, he sits cross legged in front of you, you have one leg tucked in and the other extended in front.

Bucky’s not entirely oblivious. He not only witnessed you backstage reveal you were actually nervous to work with him, he could feel it, so at an attempt to help ease both your nerves, he places a hand on your shin and absentmindedly run his hand up and down the fabric, fingers sometimes stopping to mess with the cuff of your leggings and at the skin of your ankle, while he listened to you speak.

He congratulated you on your achievement as you did with him, both a blushing mess before diving into different topics like traveling and other interests.

Wanda stood proudly behind the camera watching the scene unfold. Everything was so candid and real between you and Bucky, the chemistry was clearly evident, she didn’t foresee there would be much directing on her part today, which was going to make her job easy.

“Wanda said you were excited to work with me,” Bucky teases, wanting to see if what you said was just for the cameras or if it was really true, but also, he found out he liked to see you get all hot and bothered in more than one way.

Your jaw drops and you look directly into the camera, breaking the fourth wall, calling out to Wanda. You playfully chastise and curse at her for revealing your secret. She tells you it was going to come out anyways, and while that was true, you’d hoped it was later and much after you’ve slept with him, hoping it doesn’t ruin the shoot, but Bucky assures you that it’s actually a flattering to hear or in his words, “assuring” for someone like him.

“Are you kidding?” You say, lightly shoving him back, “you’re like a legend! Of course, I was excited! I’m surprised you agreed to work with a rookie like me!” Now that the cat was out of the bag, you might as well own up to your secret.

“Everyone wants to work with you,” he makes clear, leaning in closer. Fuck, he didn’t even need to initiate foreplay because with the way he was looking at you right now, you could come swear you’d come undone for him in an instant.

“Oh really?” You challenge, your body gravitating like a magnet towards his.

“Yup, Steve wouldn’t shut up about you and even Sam said he can’t wait to someday work with you,” he said, voice slowly dropping in decibels and his hands sliding up your thighs.

“Did he?” You ask, but you don’t really care about Sam as your eyes look dead into Bucky’s blue ones, swirling into a darker shade full of deep want and desire.

“Yeah, but let’s see if he still wants to try to outdo me after I’m done with you,” he whispers, finally closing the gap between your lips in a sweet kiss. It was about as sweet as it could last because after just one taste of your lips, he was a starved man, hungry for more. You tried your best to match his pace and the kiss turned sloppy very quick.

You moaned at the pressure of his lips pressed roughly against yours, and you do your best to keep up, but you’re already finding yourself short of breath. However, the more you try to pull back to regain some oxygen, the more he’s unwilling to part as he grasps your face in both hands to keep you still, so you lightly squeeze at his biceps as a warning in hope he gets the message.

Lucky for you, he does and lets up. He’s also noticeably breathless, his warm breath fanning against your kiss-swollen lips, his forehead resting against yours. Bucky’s hands are still on your face.

“Sorry,” he apologizes, and you let out a small chuckle at the sincerity. He was cute.

You take his hands in yours and bring them back down to begin undressing him starting by helping him slip his shirt over his head, the fashionable dog tags around his neck clank as it slaps against his toned chest, you let him keep them on though.

Bucky sits up on his knees as he watches you settle on your stomach, propped up by your elbows, hands getting ready to work on his lower half. He patiently watches as you unbuckle his belt, pop the button of his jeans off, and drag the zipper down.

With his pants hanging loose off his hips, you begin to plant soft kisses along his navel down the defined lines that lead to his cock. Each contact of your lips sends a ghostly tingle and the blood to rush even quicker down his lower region. The imprint of his endowed member doesn’t leave much to your imagination, you can already see the stain where the tip is through his tight boxer briefs. It gives you a little boost of confidence knowing you’d caused this and would get to take care of it.

You hook your fingers into the undergarment and tug them down his muscular thighs. His cock springs out, almost hitting you in the face causing you to jolt back a little and a smile to spread across Bucky’s.

Your clumsiness was also a part of your charm. It wasn’t on purpose, you were still learning after all, and that’s what made it so unique and fun to work with you. Your partners just felt a real, genuine connection, citing it felt less choreographed and of a porno with you.

A little embarrassed about that move, you’d watched what he can do with that cock, but nothing could’ve prepared you for it face-to-face. You don’t waste any time on getting your hands on him and wrap your fingers around his half-hard cock and start pumping him sensually.

He’s hot and soft in your hands before getting gradually heavy. The look in your eyes grows more predatory as you watch him grow and feel him getting harder with each pump causing more and more pre-cum to ooze out. You spread it all over the head of his cock with your thumb then daring to look up at him, hoping he was indeed enjoying your work, before you pucker your lips and kiss at the crown. Bucky curses when he sees your lips shining, coated in his pre-cum, with a string connecting you to his cock.

You gather the fluid up in your hand before spreading it all over his length, when it’s not enough you start not only pumping him faster, but also licking up and down, from the base to the tip, hoping to effectively slick him up. The way your tongue scrapes along over Bucky’s sensitive flesh stirs him up. Your other hand joins in to fondle with his neglected balls, massaging and pulling at them in the right moments, sometimes you travel a little south and take them in your mouth. It all but drives Bucky wild and it’s confirmed with each swear that leaves his mouth.

Bucky wants nothing more than to lodge himself deep in your throat, but he remembers he needs to go at your pace, and once you’re broken in a little more, you could follow his, so he’ll bide his time for now and watch you work.

When you’re ready to take him in, you regain his attention and he watches you slowly take in his inches down your mouth, stopping halfway before your wide-open mouth hollows out. Your full mouth immediately waters around him and it doesn’t take long before you’re a drooling mess all over his cock. You pull back torturously slow, looking back down watching his cock reappear and loving the way it disappears back in, and especially how it feels when it drags through your mouth, taking note of the veins and unique ridges.

“Don’t be like that, doll,” he says, wiping some of the hair away from your face, “come on and show me why they don’t stop talking about you,” he coaxes, now gathering some of your locks in his hand to completely give you both a clear view. He tries his best to not take the lead, but you don’t disappoint as your mouth works faster on him. The gagging and sucking, mixed with Bucky’s moans of pleasure soon become the soundtrack.

You’d gradually take him more and more in, close to deep throating him, and you’re just ready to let up, but he can’t help it and before your last round, he holds your head in place.

“Don’t quit now, baby,” he encourages you, placing his other hand on the back of your head, keeping you still and carefully starts to thrust his hips, urging you to take him all the way, “...that’s it, you can do it, you can take it,” he releases a big sigh feeling the tip of your nose bump his lower abdomen. The moisture builds up in the inner corner of your eyes and you do your best to mind your breathing and not choke.

“Fuck!” He can’t help but shout when he feels your throat contract around him. You just looked so divine, mouth full of his cock. He keeps you there for a few seconds, before releasing his hold, and you immediately pull back, drool dribbles down your chin, and you’re desperate for oxygen to return back into your system. He grabs your face by your chin forcing you to look up at him.

He uses his fingers to scoop up some of the mixed fluids of his arousal and your saliva at your chin before presenting it in front of you. You easily read his mind, look up at him with big, watery eyes, and take his coated digits in your abused mouth sucking the juices clean off him. 

He growls and commends you, “...such a good girl.” When he slips his fingers out of your mouth, a small pop could faintly be heard, he gently yanks at your hair, craning your head back further, it’s almost painful but you don’t care, “do it again,” he demands.

You bite your lip and reposition yourself. Bucky settles in a more comfortable position on his back, completely rid of his pants and underwear, his legs spread open for you to lie between them. Before you get back to the job, you slip your tight top off, all-natural breasts spilling out and on display for him. His cock twitches at the sight and he lets his head fall back when he’s once more fully encased in the warm, wet cavern of your mouth.

When he finally starts begging you to let up, you pull back slowly pumping him and watch his every move, the rise of his chest as it heaves from the activity, the way he runs his hands over his face. He’s absolutely stunned by your performance so far.

“On your back,” he says, and you do as he commands, and forget who is supposed to really be in charge. He yanks your leggings and panties all the way down, chucking them behind him somewhere in the corner of the room.

“You’re so sexy,” he compliments, eyes taking in every inch of your naked body, hands getting their fill. His body dips, lips latching onto your breasts, kissing at the skin and sucking on each nipple before they make their way up the juncture of your neck and claim your lips again.

You feel his tongue run along your bottom lip, and they part to grant him full access. You barely notice how he takes a hold of one of your hands, he pulls his face away to bring the hand in his grasp up to your face, using your fingers to trace the outline of your lips. You see him inaudibly instruct you to open your mouth, you do as you’re told.

“That’s right get those fingers nice and wet,” he coaxes you to suck on your own digits until he deems you ready for the next move. When he finally does pull your fingers out from your mouth, he extends your arm, ghosting them just over your pussy.

“Play with that clit,” he tells you and you don’t need to be told twice. Your pussy was begging for any kind of attention. You let your wet fingers roll over the bundle of nerves, puffs of breath escape your body as you’re finally attending to your own needs.

Bucky sits back and watches you intently, fascinated by your every move. He instructs you to close your eyes and listen to his voice, instructing you to go slow at first, “does that feel good?” the only reply he gets is a fast nod, “yeah? Make yourself feel good...that’s it,” his words only encourage your fingers to soon work faster, “let me hear how good it feels,” he demands, and you moan and whine like the true pornstar you are, your circular motions speed up, the lewd noises egg him on and soon enough he wants a taste.

“Let me help you out,” and you feel the bed shift a bit, “spread those wet lips for me,” he requests. You use both hands to invite him into your wet, glistening hole. You pick your head up to see his face buried between your thighs, you watch just long enough until each broad lick up and down your pussy sends you close to the edge.

He no longer needs the support of your hands, and they find purchase in his dark, fluffy hair as he starts sucking on your clit and tonguing your folds. At first, you’re doing a good job keeping your legs apart to accommodate him, but it gets harder and harder for them to not clamp around his head, with every nudge the tip of his nose makes at your clit and it doesn’t help your case when he inserts a finger inside you. With a good curl, his finger scratches dangerously close to your sweet spot, causing your legs to start quivering.

The sudden hitch in your breathing catches his attention, and Bucky tests the waters more by digging in deeper and curling in further. He notices the increasing agitation and knows he’s found the trigger.

“Bucky,” you whine, hoping he doesn’t push you over just yet. You want to last longer, and so you reluctantly attempt to scoot back further away, but the sudden strong grip  he has around your leg locks you in place. You pick your head back up and find Bucky’s eyes trained on you. You see the stoic look in his eyes laced with determination. Oh no, he wanted you to come now. You feel a hum from his full mouth, only pushing you further.  

“Don’t hold back,” he says against your pussy, “let go,” and the gruff in his voice, vibrating against you, his thick digits still curled deep inside you, you can’t hold back the floodgates from bursting any longer.

He laps up your arousal as you desperately try to regain composure. He really pulled one out of you, proving he was as every bit good as he put out and you’re not even close to the end of this scene.  

“Come here,” he says, getting back on his knees and pulling you up by your arms so you’re in an up-right sitting position once again, but with Bucky still towering over you, “open up.”

You comply and open your mouth wide, tongue out, not understanding his motive, and you’re met with full surprise when he spits in your mouth, a firm grip on your face, he holds you still.

“Don’t swallow,” he gravely warns. You feel and probably look stupid not knowing what he wants you to do with your mouth open wide and full of his spit mingling with your arousal, just trying to keep it all contained. Bucky was testing your patience and obedience and you passed every test so far. You were just the right amount of submissive, absolutely perfect.

You can feel his hard cock pressing up against your sensitive pussy, it slides up between your folds and the base rests on top of your mound. “Drool it out...on my cock,” he instructs. Oh. He guides your gaze down between your bodies, you purse your lips, and both watch as the liquid cascades down onto his erect member. He uses it to lube himself up before he pushes you down to lie flat on your back.

Bucky slowly but easily slips inside your wet channel but notices your slight struggle. He was big, and he gets it. The way your eyes are tightly shut, hands pulling at the sheets, you struggle to breath and your walls cruelly grip him tight. Normally, he’d just pound away until his partner got used to him, but he didn’t want to do that with you. He wanted you to enjoy feeling him.

He tries to help you relax by rubbing your thighs a little with soothing motions, when they fall limp on either side, he leans down, you feel the cool metal of his dog tags against your heated skin, his weight sort of comforting on yours, and arms entrapping your head. He lovingly calls out your name, and your eyes flutter open, your attention refocusing on him.

“We’ll go at your pace, alright?” he assures you. You curse yourself for allowing your heart to swell at his concern, but you nod giving him permission to move slowly. Your whimpers soon transition into pleasurable moans, the more your body begins to adjust to his.

“Damn, you’re so tight. You’ve never been stretched out like this by anyone before have you?” he dares ask, once he sees it’s a safe playing field once more, his hips moving slow, his cock sliding in and out of you. You attempt at a laugh between your ragged breathing and the intense sensation coursing through you.

“No,” you respond and kiss at his chin, the light stubble pricking your soft lips, “you’re so big.” You feel his cock twitch inside and you want to curse yourself again at the comment that unintentionally riles him up because he was nestled close to your spot again. Fuck, he could reach just the right depth in you.

“Fuck, Bucky,” you don’t want to go slow anymore. Fuck Wanda and this movie, you wanted all of Bucky now, “please fuck me,” you resort to begging. He inwardly growls and his hips start snapping forward, thrusts growing hard and uncalculated. You just lie there and allow him to use your pussy for his pleasure.

Bucky’s movements falter a bit in this position, so he steers both your bodies on their sides, still facing each other, he slings your leg high up over his hips, and resumes his task. His cock glides right back in your pussy and the new angle causes you to yelp and walls to clench around him.

“You feel so good,” his voice riddled with so much lust as he brings your body closer to his with a hand behind, full of your plushest asset. Your head rests on the bicep of his other arm that was underneath it.

Bucky’s expressive eyes ask you if you're close, and the more your walls continue to grip him, he starts begging for you to come with him. “I’m gonna cum,” he warns, giving up and letting you take the rest of the lead.

“Yeah?” you huff out, your fingers digging into the side of his hips, “you want to cum inside me?” You know he does; you can feel and see it written all over him, but you want to just poke at him like he had with you, “I want you to...I want all your cum inside me, Bucky,” and you wanted him to cum hard, deep inside, “fill my tight pussy up, please,” you plead.

With one more jab of his hips, your back arches and head is thrown back, you can’t help but let out a scream as your orgasm rips right through you like it’s never before. Bucky’s body on the other hand caves into yours, feeling almost paralyzed as your tight walls hold him in place and all he can do is bury his face into the sweaty skin of your neck.

His mouth hangs open, a plethora of profanities coming out of him, and he waits for his cock to finish spewing ropes of his hot, thick cum into you. Your walls can’t help but to involuntarily contract in small aftershocks, especially when he’s still coming.

Bucky continues to moan as he does as you hoped, he came hard and deep inside you. When you’ve both finally come down from the high, it’s silent, and even though you’d both long forgotten you were on a set with multiple people watching you two, they were also quiet, completely taken back by the performance.

Incoherent cries come out of each of you, when Bucky agonizingly pulls his cock out. For the most part you’re able to keep him inside, but he’d proven to come so much some of it seeps out and runs down in streak fashion along your thigh, staining the bed sheets.

In your last act, as your gazes meet each other again, your fingers dip inside your soaked cunt and coat them. Hypnotized by you, Bucky watches as you greedily suck off his essence from your digits, and you evoke a small hum in his favor at the taste bursting in your mouth.  

Bucky bites at his bottom lip, trying to not lose it again. When your hand disappears, he tenderly wipes the matted hair away from your face, smoothing your hair back before pulling your body close again, swooping your lips for a deep kiss.

“Shit, you’re good,” he admits, when he pulls away, effectively breaking the blissful silence. You bust out in a fit of giggles beside him and it’s the cutest thing he’s ever seen. He’s not sure what he’s feeling, but it’s not something you’re supposed to feel towards your co-star, especially in the porn industry.    

He smiles at you, basking in your afterglow and all he knows is that he wants to feel this high with you over and over, so he decides to risk it all, “I hope this doesn’t ruin the moment, but can I take you out some time?”

You try your best to read him, wondering if he was just still in the heat of the moment. Either he’s really good or he’s being sincere, you can’t tell and you’re hoping you’re not overthinking it, but his eyes, this whole time, were what gave him away. He performed with them and he definitely spoke through them.

Before you could accept and give him a definite answer, you’re both brought back to reality, “we’re still rolling here!” Wanda reminds.

A/N: Thank the pain meds for this. I think I effectively used up my vacation days the right way, won’t you agree? Likes, reblogs and comments/emojis are appreciated! 

[mercuryonparklane]

I know it’s been a while since I made a tayliz crack theory post. So, now that the Eras Tour is happening and we are getting footage from it, I have a few thoughts.

First of all, I love that Paramore included “That’s What You Get” in their set. It makes my Tayliz-loving heart happy, even if it’s just a coincidence.

Now, let’s talk about “‘tis the damn season”. I’m no music expert, but I still think the guitar riff sounds a bit like a sped up version of the guitar riff in the song Liz wrote called “Don’t Let It Hurt You” and watching the footage of Taylor performing ttds reminded me of this.

The dress Taylor wears during ttds is a similar color to Liz’s Mean dresses:

Of course, the Mean music video is also the one with Willow sign on the windmill (not that I necessarily think willow is about Liz, but it could be):

And, of course, I have to mention that ttds is supposed to be the sister song to dorothea, which includes similar lyrics to Liz’s song Never Know (a song Taylor clearly references in the 1):

“Do you ever stop and think about me”

vs

“And I wonder if you think about me”

“I guess I’ll never know”

vs

“I guess I’ll never know”

(Yes, it the same exact lyric - not even a slight change like she did in the 1)

Yes, both of these are a pretty generic lines and if not for the line in the 1, and Liz making a point to tweet about that song in particular, I probably wouldn’t have even thought about these lyrical connections, but they do seem to be references to Never Know.

Not to mention, that the next line in dorothea is “and you’ll go on with the show”

That line could hold so many meanings. The obvious one being that even with Liz gone, the show will still go on. She was not a necessity to keep the Taylor show going. There’s also the idea that Taylor, the public persona, is all for show and now that Liz is out of the loop, she might now know what’s really going on in Taylor’s actual, private life. She may only get to see what the rest of the world is allowed to see. Of course, with quite a bit more insight than fans/the general public and she might be able to tell which smiles Taylor is faking. And Taylor will continue to only show the world what she wants it to see.

Plus, the whole sentiment of dorothea (especially in the sense that it is meant to be the opposing POV to ttds) reminds me so much of the song Liz wrote called “Not Going Anywhere”:

“It’s never too late

To come back to me side”

(This also reminds me of this lyric in Never Know “you’d come back to me like the tide”)

“And if you’re ever tired of being known for who you know

You know that you’ll always know me”

“And damn, Dorothea

They all wanna be ya

But are you still the same soul

I met under the bleachers”

vs

“When you always have a better place to be

Some upgrade to the company you keep

Does the distance make it hard to see

Old friends like me, not going anywhere?”

“Oh, this world can seem so small for you

Rising up above the clouds”

“If they ever stop this fast train you are on

And you don’t recognize where you get off

You don’t ever have to be lost and alone

Just come back home

I’m not going anywhere”

Taylor also does a little, tiny head bang around the 1:58 mark of the video of her performing ttds. The crack theory part of my brain wants to say it is a nod to “Better Than Revenge”, but the more rational side of my brain reminds me that Taylor has been head banging her whole career (even before Liz joined the band).

So, in conclusion, ttds and dorothea (and of course, the 1) could be about Liz (she did continue live in Nashville for a long time even after she left, or was forced out of, Taylor’s band). But the lyric references don’t necessarily mean they had a relationship or that these songs are about Liz. It could be a coincidence or maybe the songs are actually fictional (I don’t really buy that, though) and she thought it would be a fun little nod to her old friend/former backup singer to reference her song (that just so happens to include a lyric about how Liz catches herself singing the muse’s old song, which I imagine would be easy to do if you had to sing the songs probably hundreds of times between rehearsals and performances).

[writingwithcolor]

Hi! My main character is a Korean girl who will be away from her family over Korean New Year. How would she celebrate this holiday when she's not able to be around family? Has anyone had any experience of this when you were away at school/college for the holiday? Or is it a holiday that absolutely necessitates going home and being around family? Thanks in advance :)

Celebrating Korean New Year with no family around

Oh, this is a great question. This isn’t an uncommon experience, and it’s only become more likely because of the pandemic.

National Holidays in general

Seol (Korean New Year) and Chuseok (Korean Harvest) are the National Holidays in Korea; they’re the only holidays where we are guaranteed at least three consecutive days off - the day itself, the day before, and the day after. If any of the days coincide with the weekend, then the government also compensates for it with the same number of additional days off. This is at least in part to make sure that people whose families live far apart get at least one day to travel to their families, a day to relax and enjoy, and a day to get back home. Because of this, most people do manage to see their family for Seol and Chuseok.

I’ve seen plenty of college students who just decide to study or do part-time work instead, and this goes the same for working adults. More women might choose to not go home, because Confusianist expectations mean women are far more likely to be put to work with cooking traditional dishes and whatnot, especially if they’re married.

Seol (Korean New Year)

Now, what do Koreans do on Seol? 

Four things come to mind immediately:

we eat tteokguk

have charye

give sebae 

play yut 

Between these, charye and sebae are impossible to do without your family, but I’ll mention them anyways.

1) Charye

I’ll keep charye brief because this is also done on Chuseok, so this doesn’t quite define Seol the way Sebae does. Charye is the most commonly performed memorial ceremony for our deceased ancestors, up to and including your own parents and your spouse if they’ve died. The actual ceremony varies by region and family, but most usually include setting up a ceremonial table with a selection of food according to both tradition and the deceased’s personal preferences, lighting up incense, and pouring spirits. Once the ceremony is done, the prepared food is eaten by the participants, and many families often tell stories of what the deceased were like in life.

Because charye has its roots in both Confucianism and ancestor worship, both of which are losing influence in the modern day, there is a growing number of families who choose to skip or simplify the ceremony, and the food is more often bought or replaced with mockups. A lot of Christian families also don’t perform charye as they feel it’s too close to idolatry.

2) Sebae

Sebae is when people give deep, formal bows to the elders in their family, and by bow, I mean something like the picture below. The hanbok (traditional Korean clothes) isn’t necessary, and most teens and above skip wearing it, but parents love to dress up younger children if they can afford it.

Image of two people bowing, wearing traditional Korean clothing

When you bow, you usually say “Saehae bok mani baduseyo (새해 복 많이 받으세요)” which means “Have lots of luck/good fortune in this new year!” In response, the one who receives the sebae gives deokdam (words of blessing), and in case of minors, some pocket money as well. This is called sebae money and is usually given via a white envelope (it can be other colors too, but red is characteristic of China, not Korea). As sebae is given to all the elder generation of the family (grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, etc.) children can usually receive quite the tidy sum in return, which is why it’s the favorite holiday of many children. But even if you aren’t a minor, you still give sebae to the older generation and receive deokdam.

While your Korean character might not be able to do sebae in person, it’s highly likely she will at least call or maybe video call her parents to do a sebae, or at least say the traditional greeting and receive deokdam. 

3) Tteokguk

Now, if there is one tradition your Korean girl is likely to keep, it’s preparing and eating tteokguk. Tteokguk, also known as rice cake soup, is easy enough to make and eat by yourself. While there’s a great variation of recipes, the basics is adding slices of rice cake into meat broth, then add what you like and looks good. There’s an old saying in Korea that you don’t grow another year older until you’ve had a bowl of tteokguk. This usually leads to children eating more than one bowl while those in their late twenties to early thirties tend to joke about not eating it to stay young.

4) Playing yut

Playing yut might be something your character may or may not do, depending on whether she has the yuts lying around. A game of yut is played with a board and four yuts, which are uneven sticks that serve the roll of dice, depending on how many of them fall face upwards. It’s a traditional Korean game that has been around since before the 10th century at least and probably well before that. It’s almost always played around Seol because it has its roots in wishing that the new year will bring with it a bountiful harvest. Your character may not know that last bit, though, just that it’s usually played around Seol. Your character could convince some of her friends to play yut with her, as the rules are easy and the game is near addictive if I say so myself.

I hope this gives you some ideas for what your Korean character might do!

- Mod Rune

WWC Follower Additions

@phen0l said:Speaking specifically to celebrating New Year away from home (e.g. at college): in my experience, people who can’t go home to their families will get together with their friends and do it instead. I’m Chinese and my best friend is Korean - in our school years we’d celebrate Lunar New Year together and combine respective practices. When we were very young, she’d come over to mine and my parents would even give her New Year money. 

So maybe anon can consider whether their character has any friends that would be down for celebrating with them!

@sylvrn said:My family doesn’t really celebrate holidays as intensely, but we still eat 떡국 because it’s food and it’s chill. We did do everything else at a relative’s house in a big family gathering when we lived in Korea but in Canada we don’t do much except for a happy new years phone call to our grandma and sometimes our uncle :)

[stylesnews]

“We’ll dance again,” Harry Styles coos, the Los Angeles sunshine peeking through his pandemic-shaggy hair just so. The singer, songwriter and actor — beloved and critically acclaimed thanks to his life-affirming year-old album, “Fine Line” — is lamenting that his Variety Hitmaker of the Year cover conversation has to be conducted over Zoom rather than in person. Even via videoconference, the Brit is effortlessly charming, as anyone who’s come within earshot of him would attest, but it quickly becomes clear that beneath that genial smile is a well-honed media strategy.

To wit: In an interview that appears a few days later announcing his investment in a new arena in his native Manchester (more on that in a bit), he repeats the refrain — “There will be a time we dance again”— referencing a much-needed return to live music and the promise of some 4,000 jobs for residents.

None of which is to suggest that Styles, 26, phones it in for interviews. Quite the opposite: He does very few, conceivably to give more of himself and not cheapen what is out there and also to use the publicity opportunity to indulge his other interests, like fashion. (Last month Styles became the first male to grace the cover of Vogue solo.) Still, it stings a little that a waltz with the former One Direction member may not come to pass on this album cycle — curse you, coronavirus.

Styles’ isolation has coincided with his maturation as an artist, a thespian and a person. With “Fine Line,” he’s proved himself a skilled lyricist with a tremendous ear for harmony and melody. In preparing for his role in Olivia Wilde’s period thriller “Don’t Worry Darling,” which is shooting outside Palm Springs, he found an outlet for expression in interpreting words on a page. And for the first time, he’s using his megaphone to speak out about social justice — inspired by the outpouring of support for Black people around the world following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in May.

Styles has spent much of the past nine months at home in London, where life has slowed considerably. The time has allowed him to ponder such heady issues as his purpose on the earth. “It’s been a pause that I don’t know if I would have otherwise taken,” says Styles. “I think it’s been pretty good for me to have a kind of stop, to look and think about what it actually means to be an artist, what it means to do what we do and why we do it. I lean into moments like this — moments of uncertainty.”

In truth, while Styles has largely been keeping a low profile — his Love On Tour, due to kick off on April 15, was postponed in late March and is now scheduled to launch in February 2021 (whether it actually will remains to be seen) — his music has not. This is especially true in the U.S., where he’s notched two hit singles, “Adore You,” the second-most-played song at radio in 2020, and “Watermelon Sugar” (No. 22 on Variety’s year-end Hitmakers chart), with a third, “Golden,” already cresting the top 20 on the pop format. The massive cross-platform success of these songs means Styles has finally and decisively broken into the American market, maneuvering its web of gatekeepers to accumulate 6.2 million consumption units and rising.

Why do these particular songs resonate in 2020? Styles doesn’t have the faintest idea. While he acknowledges a “nursery rhyme” feel to “Watermelon Sugar” with its earwormy loop of a chorus, that’s about as much insight as he can offer. His longtime collaborator and friend Tom Hull, also known as the producer Kid Harpoon, offers this take: “There’s a lot of amazing things about that song, but what really stands out is the lyric. It’s not trying to hide or be clever. The simplicity of watermelon … there’s such a joy in it, [which] is a massive part of that song’s success.” Also, his kids love it. “I’ve never had a song connect with children in this way,” says Hull, whose credits include tunes by Shawn Mendes, Florence and the Machine and Calvin Harris. “I get sent videos all the time from friends of their kids singing. I have a 3-year-old and an 8-year-old, and they listen to it.”

Styles is quick to note that he doesn’t chase pop appeal when crafting songs. In fact, the times when he pondered or approved a purposeful tweak, like on his self-titled 2017 debut, still gnaw at him. “I love that album so much because it represents such a time in my life, but when I listen to it — sonically and lyrically, especially — I can hear places where I was playing it safe,” he says. “I was scared to get it wrong.”

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