#but it looks like a stylistic choice for the tone so lets just say that it is

[melonsharks]

pacifica, mabel + relativity falls with transfem dipper aka losing your sister and discovering you have one all in the same day

my og tweet abt this below

[neferaskingdom]

♡ It's Not You, It's Your Pants | CL16

NEFERASKINGDOM

Summary: Girl roasts Charles Leclerc’s tragic pants online, then accidentally crashes into him in Monaco. Cue spilled coffee, fashion rants, and an existential crisis about how her life turned into a Wattpad fanfic in under five minutes.

A/N: Just a random crack idea I had after seeing Charles' pants on Pinterest.

CHARLES LECLERC MASTERLIST | MAIN MASTERLIST

The pants in question:

Monaco was as glamorous as your Instagram feed had led you to believe—blue skies, sparkling yachts, and streets that looked like they’d been personally polished by billionaires. You’d come here for a break from your intense fashion studies, soaking up the vibes (and let’s be honest, hoping for a celebrity sighting). And maybe—just maybe—you’d catch a glimpse of a certain F1 driver whose face had become a staple on your social media, along with some questionable fashion choices.

It was your first time here, a small vacation before diving back into the hectic world of fashion school. Your excuse? Inspiration. But honestly, you just wanted to escape to the Côte d'Azur and sip some coffee.

But you weren’t just an F1 fan. You had your own little corner of fame on Instagram. As a fashion student with a decent following, your niche was breaking down and rating celebrity outfits. Recently, you’d gained serious attention for a video where you roasted none other than Charles Leclerc—the beloved racing prince of Monaco—for wearing, and you quote yourself, “blue baggy pants that looked like they were in a fistfight with a bunch of scissors.”

It wasn’t personal; it was business. And the fact that the pants had star-shaped rips in them? Your comment was basically a public service announcement.

“Look at these pants,” you’d said, holding up a screenshot of Charles sporting his, ahem, questionable fashion statement. “I mean, what are we even doing here? Are these pants or a craft project gone wrong? Who looks at a pair of baggy jeans and thinks, ‘You know what’s missing? Giant star-shaped cutouts for maximum confusion!’”

As you strolled through Monte Carlo, cappuccino in hand, you scrolled through the comments on your viral video.

“Not gonna lie, I kinda miss when Charles used to wear those skinny jeans that made him look like a confused hipster.”

“ARE WE JUST NOT GONNA TALK ABOUT THE STAR CUTOUTS?!?!”

“I think Charles Leclerc has been taking fashion advice from his 8-year-old self. Stars? Really? Babe, it’s not the 2000s anymore.”

“Not the hero we deserve, but the one we need—thank you for saying what we were all thinking about those pants.”

“Leclerc’s stylist should be fired, immediately.”

You chuckled at one of the memes someone had made—a zoomed-in shot of Charles in his infamous star-cutout pants, captioned: “I’m a star, literally.” Honestly, the internet was undefeated.

Mid-laugh, you rounded a corner, not looking where you were going, and—WHAM—collided with someone solid, causing you to spill your coffee, drop your phone, and let out a noise that was somewhere between a gasp and a scream.

“Oh my God! I am so, so sorry!” you babbled, fumbling to grab your phone off the ground.

“No problem, really—”

You froze. That voice.

You didn’t need to look up to recognize that slightly accented, velvety smooth tone. The universe had decided today was the day it turned your life into a Wattpad fanfiction.

Charles Leclerc was standing right in front of you.

And not just standing. He was smiling—that damn heart-stopping smile—and then something in his expression shifted. His eyes narrowed slightly as if he was trying to place where he knew you from. You, meanwhile, were contemplating whether it was possible to will yourself into nonexistence through sheer force of embarrassment.

“You’re…” Charles blinked and then a glint of recognition flashed in his eyes. “Wait, you’re the girl from that Instagram video. The one about my pants.”

If your life was a movie, this would be the part where someone hit pause so you could have a full existential crisis. Unfortunately, reality didn’t work like that, and all you could do was stare at him, jaw slack, as your brain tried to reboot.

“I, uh… well…” you stammered, unsure of how to explain to the very person whose fashion choices you’d roasted in front of millions of people that it wasn’t personal.

Charles tilted his head, his smile widening. “You really didn’t like my pants, huh?”

Oh God. This was happening. This was actually happening.

“I mean, it’s not that I didn’t like them…” you began weakly, still trying to wrap your head around the fact that you were currently being confronted by Charles freaking Leclerc. “It’s just… they were, you know, kind of…” You gestured vaguely toward his legs as if that would somehow help explain your deep-seated hatred for the star-ripped monstrosities.

“Kind of what?” he asked, clearly enjoying watching you squirm.

You took a deep breath, deciding to just go for it. “Okay, look. They were confusing. Like, were they pants? Or was it some weird attempt at turning your legs into a constellation? I couldn’t tell. They had star-shaped rips, Charles. also, why were there so many weird cutouts? Are they… windows? Are your pants ventilated?”

Charles let out a snort, clearly struggling to keep it together. “Ventilated?”

You nodded, gaining momentum now. “Exactly! They look like they’re half-torn on purpose, but not in a cool, grungy way. It’s like someone started cutting them up and then gave up halfway through. And the bagginess? Charles, I don’t even know where to begin. It’s like you bought them two sizes too big, but then tried to fix it by adding rips. And it just… doesn’t work.”

Charles burst out laughing, his hand covering his mouth as he tried to rein in his amusement. “You really think they were that bad?”

You blinked at him, dead serious. “Charles, those pants looked like they got into a fight with a pair of kindergarten scissors and lost.”

He was full-on laughing now, and you felt a small victory in that. At least he wasn’t offended. Although, considering how often people talked about drivers online, he probably had thicker skin than you’d given him credit for.

“I have to admit, I didn’t think anyone would notice the stars,” Charles said between laughs, wiping away a tear from his eye. “But you? You gave them a whole five-minute segment.”

You groaned, pressing a hand to your forehead. “I didn’t mean to turn it into an entire rant! It just… it snowballed.”

Charles grinned at you, his expression softening a bit. “No, it was funny. I saw the video. My brothers couldn’t stop laughing. Arthur sent it to me like five times.”

You blinked. “Your brothers… sent you the video?”

“Yep. They even gave the pants a name. They call them ‘the constellation pants’ now.”

You couldn’t help it. You snorted. “You should burn those pants. Like, immediately.”

He looked down at his legs, pretending to think it over. “They’re not that bad.”

“Charles,” you sighed, suddenly feeling a wave of passion wash over you. “Those pants were an abomination. They weren’t just bad—they were like an insult to pants everywhere. Like, what even were they? Baggy, ill-fitting, with random star-shaped rips? Did they start out as pants or was it some kind of tragic attempt at upcycling? Because I swear to God, it looked like a fabric store exploded on your legs.”

He blinked, clearly not expecting you to dive headfirst into a passionate rant about pants, but there was no stopping you now.

“And don’t get me wrong,” you continued, gesturing wildly. “I’m all for experimental fashion. I love a good risk. But those pants? They looked like you lost a bet to a five-year-old. I’ve seen better craftsmanship at a kids’ summer camp sewing class. They were offensive, Charles. Offensive to pants, offensive to legs, and offensive to anyone with eyes.”

Charles looked back up at you, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Okay, but what’s so wrong with adding a little personality to my wardrobe? Stars are cool.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at that, shaking your head. “Not when they’re cut out of your pants, they’re not!”

“Fair enough,” he said, still smiling. “But now you’ve got me curious. If I did burn the pants, what would you suggest I wear?”

Was this a trick question? Was he seriously asking you, the random fashion student who insulted him online, for fashion advice? What was your life?

“Well…” you began, mentally assembling an outfit in your head. “For starters, how about something that doesn’t look like it belongs in a bad 2000s boyband? Maybe some slim-fit jeans that actually fit properly. And—oh!—ditch the weird rips. You’re Charles Leclerc, not a rejected *NSYNC member.”

He raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed by your decisiveness. “You’ve thought about this a lot, haven’t you?”

You shrugged, trying to play it cool. “I’m just saying… you’ve got the face, the career, the whole package. You shouldn’t let the pants drag you down.”

Charles grinned, leaning in slightly. “So, you think I have the whole package?”

Your brain screeched to a halt. Did he just—? Did Charles Leclerc just flirt with you?

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, star boy,” you shot back, smirking despite the fact that your internal monologue was currently having a breakdown. “I’m only here trying to fix your fashion sense.”

Charles chuckled, his gaze lingering on you for a moment longer than necessary. And that’s when the next bomb dropped.

“Well then, maybe you can help me shop sometime?” He said it so casually, like he wasn’t currently turning your entire existence upside down with one smooth sentence. I THOUGHT CARLOS WAS THE SMOOTH OPERATOR.

“I—wait, what?” You blinked rapidly, wondering if you’d heard him correctly. “Did you just… ask me to go shopping with you?”

He smiled again, that devastatingly charming smile that should probably come with a warning label. “Yeah. I mean, you clearly have strong opinions about what I wear. Might as well put them to good use.”

Okay. Okay. Deep breaths. This was fine. Everything was fine. You were standing in the middle of Monaco, and Charles Leclerc—your internet crush since forever—was asking you to go shopping with him. Totally normal. Just another Tuesday. Nothing to freak out about.

Yet your inner monologue was screaming, “MY LIFE IS A WATTPAD FANFICTION, WHAT IS HAPPENING?!”

“I, uh…” you stammered, trying to process this. “Are you serious?”

“Of course,” Charles replied smoothly, his eyes twinkling. “I’ve got to fix my ‘constellation pants’ problem, right? Who better to help me than the girl who went viral for hating them?”

You were pretty sure your brain had short-circuited at this point. But somehow, you managed to respond, your voice steady despite the fact that your insides were doing cartwheels. “I mean… I guess I could do that. If you really want fashion advice.”

Charles nodded, then casually pulled out his phone. “Great. Let me get your number, and we’ll sort something out.”

You stared at him. Was this real life?

He handed you his phone, and you slowly, robotically, typed in your number, still half-expecting to wake up from this fever dream.

After you handed it back, Charles shot you a grin that could probably melt steel. “So… how about lunch tomorrow? We could discuss your fashion intervention plan.”

Your internal monologue was now full-on screaming. WHAT IS THIS LIFE?

“Lunch? Uh… sure?” you replied, feeling like a character in a rom-com who was two seconds away from tripping over their own feet.

“Perfect,” he said, his smile widening. “I’ll text you.”

And just like that, Charles Leclerc—the man whose fashion sense you had ruthlessly destroyed in front of the entire internet—waved goodbye, leaving you standing there in a daze, wondering if you were hallucinating or not.

Your life? Officially. Unreal.

[ohsc]

Imagine Sam with his daughter and she's dressing him up and doing his hair. You know those fairy wings you can wear, her forcing him to wear those and she's wearing a princess dress.

tysm for the request!! i’m a bit rusty so i feel like this kinda sucks and it ended up being much longer than intended lol but i’m loving this verse sm so much more to come :) | juno verse, single dad sam winchester x fem!reader, 1.5k, kid fic, fluff, not proof red, requests open only for juno fics

“Don’t laugh.” Were the first words out of his mouth when he opened the door and saw her stood there.

He had been trying to clean up the apartment when he knew that she was coming over after work — also in an attempt to starve off the giddiness, which hadn’t worked out either — when his daughter had attached herself to his leg and refused to let go until he played with her. Juno, he was convinced, had all of the stubbornness of a Winchester, and he’d rather just give in easily then peel her off of his leg and have a crying toddler and a messy apartment.

Y/N had been visiting more and more over the recent weeks, she had started to work herself into the little routine that he and Juno had been building, and it made him so soft. There hadn’t been somebody that he’d looked forward to seeing like that in a long time.

Her lips were curving upwards as she looked at him, lips pressed together in a clear attempt to not laugh at him. “…you look pretty.”

Juno’s recent game of choice had been dress up, which was honestly just a kinder way of saying she liked to hold him hostage and dress him up until she got bored. His hair was pulled into three pigtails, there were god knows how many butterfly clips up there, and he was pretty sure there were at least two stickers on his face somewhere.

“Thanks,” he rolled his eyes, stepping aside to let her into the apartment. He really tried not to stare as she stepped past, but she really was just so pretty. It would help if he didn’t have Dean in his ear whenever he called telling him that he clearly had a thing for waitresses. “My stylist got bored waiting for you, here.” Sam gently took her jacket from her and hung it up next to his own and Juno’s red coat on the hooks by the door.

“I’d say I’m sorry but I’m not, you look great.” She giggled, a hand reached up with the intention of touching his hair, but the shout of her name from down the hall took both of their attention.

She crouched down just in time to open her arms to the toddler barrelling down the hall towards her, almost slipping on the material of her princess dress in the process which made Sam wince.

“Hey, sweetheart.” She caught Juno in her arms with a tight squeeze, somehow not knocked to the floor. Sam was so immeasurably soft whenever he got to watch her with his daughter, how much she was adored by Juno and how much she adored her back. It was the most important thing to him, that his daughter liked her. And she really did — more than him, he thought sometimes.

“Oh I missed you so much,” she squeezed his toddler once more before pulling back to look at her, smiling as she touched the puffy skirt of her dress. “Oh don’t you look so pretty, Junie? I love your dress.”

“It’s sleeping beauty’s dress,” Juno informed her, smile full of pink chubby cheeks as she soaked up the praise. “Daddy got it for me for my last birthday, when I was three.” She held up three fingers to show her, somehow covered in glitter that Sam could only dread to think was in his hair.

“Well it’s very pretty,” she beamed, gently smoothing over a few wrinkles in the dress. “Are you dressing up daddy to match?”

“No,” she shook her head, tone firm as if it was obvious. “He’s a fairy,” as if she suddenly just remembered what they’d been doing she frowned and let go of Y/N, clumsily stepping around her to grab at Sam’s hand and tugged with far too much strength for her little body. “Daddy, not done.”

Sam sighed, eyes down on her as she tugged on his arm as if she could pull him down the hallway herself. She had turned her big puppy eyes on, the ones he could never really say no to. “I know, Bug, why don’t you let me make Y/N a coffee and then—”

“No,” she whined, tugging harder. “Now.”

The clouds were forming for a tantrum, it had been that way all afternoon, it’s why he’d settled for letting her play dress up in the first place. She always got cranky after pre-school on Mondays. “Baby—”

“It’s okay,” a hand touched his arm and he turned to look at her. “I know where everything is, I can make one. I did interrupt play time.”

“Thanks,” he breathed, ever grateful for how amazing she was with Juno. If he didn’t know any better, he’d have assumed that she had kids of her own. “Really, I’ll make it up—”

“Daddy.” Juno was whining louder, tugging his arm again, and he just let out a breath as he leaned down to scoop her up onto his arms, settling her on his hip.

“Why are you acting up, hm?” Not really annoyed, he knew she couldn’t really help it, he reached his free hand up to tickle at her side until she giggled. Satisfied that he’d successfully worked around a tantrum he led Y/N down the hall with his daughter on his hip, though she already knew the place like the back of her hand. If he wasn’t so nervous he would’ve invited her to stay the night already.

He watched her disappear into the kitchen to make herself a drink before he took Juno back into the living room, and returned to his spot on the floor where he’d been held captive for the past twenty minutes. The floor was littered with hair clips and tiaras and plastic shoes which he’d clean up when she went to bed, but he didn’t really mind the mess if it meant she was happy.

“Daddy,” she was pulling at his hair again, stood on his thighs, only not falling off onto the carpet because of his hands on her sides. He watched her reach for another hair clip, a glittery yellow butterfly, and tried not to wince as he felt it’s teeth scrape against his scalp as she shoved it into place. “Can Y/N play too?”

Juno had been attached to her ever since they’d become friends. It was sweet, endearing really. Aside from himself and Dean, the only other adults she really got to see were her teachers at pre-school. Juno really adored her, clung to her every moment she could. She’d come with Sam to pick Juno up from school once and she’d practically screamed across the playground when she saw her.

“If she wants to, Junie,” he hummed, holding her steady as she leaned to the floor to grab something else. “She had a long day at work, she might be tired.”

“I still play after school.” Her nose scrunched up in a way that made him smile.

“Waitressing is a little different to school, baby. It’s not very fun.”

Juno hummed like she was thinking about it as she scrambled off of his lap to reach into her toy box. “Then she should get a new job,” she settled on, tugging out her pink fairy wings from the crate. “A fun one.”

Sam nodded a little, smiling softly as he murmured, “I agree.”

Little hands pulled at his arm, and he leaned forwards like she’d moved him herself. The elastic loops of the fairy wings were a little small for his shoulders, but he didn’t complain about the tightness of the band as he helped her get them on him, worth it to hear her giggle when it was all done.

“Those look great,” he looked up and watched as Y/N walked into the room, two mugs in her hands, one of which she placed down on the coffee table for him. “You did a really great job, Junie, now he really looks like a fairy.”

The way she was smiling at him was making his face heat up. Jesus, he needed to get a grip.

“Can you play?” Juno clambered off of Sam’s lap again to head over to her, grabbing some butterfly clips from the floor on her way. “Pretty please?”

“Baby, I’m sure she’s probably really tired—”

“It’s okay,” she waved him off with a fond little smile, before she looked back to Juno. “I’ll play if you make a deal with me, sweet girl.”

Juno nodded furiously like it was the most important thing in the world.

“If you promise me that you’ll eat your vegetables with dinner you can dress me up however you like, hm?”

Juno beamed and nodded, her little pinky clunkily hooking around the one that Y/N held up.

Sam met her eyes over Juno’s head, mouthing a thank you that earned him a smile in return. God, he was smitten.

[bambambwi]

Back in the Spotlight?

context ; you had to cover a song for the 2024 mbc music festival.

"you agreed to WHAT ?!" you said both shocked and anxious at your staff.

"You can’t back out now." one of your staff members insisted, their tone firm.

“We already made the decision, you’re performing, and that’s final." another added, arms crossed as if to shut down any argument before it could begin.

You swallowed hard, anxiety creeping in. It had been a long time since you last performed as an idol, and the thought of stepping back onto that stage made your chest tighten.

With a deep breath, you exhaled sharply through your nose. “Fine. At least tell me what song I’m covering.”

“Move, by Taemin.”

You froze.

“…You’re joking” you said flatly, searching their faces for any sign that this was some kind of prank. But the silence that followed only confirmed the worst.

Letting out a slow sigh, you ran a hand through your hair, trying to process it. Like it or not… this was happening.

"Move, huh?” ji yong leaned against the frame, arms folded with a knowing smirk. “Not a bad choice.”

Your head snapped toward him. “You knew?”

He shrugged, pushing off the doorway and walking over to you. “I may have been the one who suggested it.”

Your jaw dropped. “You-...” Words failed you for a moment as you pointed at him in betrayal. “Why would you do that?”

ji yong chuckled, completely unfazed. “Because I know you can pull it off.” His voice was calm, steady, like he had no doubt in his mind. “And honestly? I think it’s about time you reminded everyone just how good you are.”

You wanted to argue. You wanted to protest. But the way he looked at you like made it hard to fight back.

Letting out another sigh, you muttered, “You’re lucky I like you.”

ji yong grinned. “I know.”

You spent weeks preparing and practicing for this performance, pouring every ounce of energy into perfecting each move. Move wasn’t just any song, it was Taemin’s. And of course, that meant it was hard.

The fluidity, the control, the precision,it demanded everything from you. Every practice session left you exhausted, muscles aching, mind racing with thoughts of whether you could really pull this off.

But backing out wasn’t an option. Not after how much time and effort had already been put into this. 

ji yong attended your practices from time to time, offering quiet observations and the occasional smirk when he caught you messing up. 

At first, it was just him watching from the side, arms crossed as he leaned against the wall. But eventually, he started stepping in. Adjusting your posture. Helping you refine the details.

“You’re overthinking.” he murmured one evening, placing a hand on your shoulder to steady you. “Just feel the music.”

Easy for him to say. 

Still, having him around his guidance, his reassurance made it easier. Like some of the weight on your shoulders had been lifted, even if just a little.

And then, just when you thought his involvement couldn’t get any deeper, he decided to help with your stage outfit.

“This isn’t just about the performance.” he said, casually flipping through a rack of clothes. “It’s about the presence. how you own the stage before you even start moving.”

You gave him a flat look. “Since when were you my stylist?”

He grinned, “Since you agreed to perform.”

You sighed, but a small smile tugged at your lips. Your boyfriend was into this more than you were.

It was cute, the way he carefully picked through the outfits, tilting his head in thought as if he was styling himself. 

“You know...” you teased, crossing your arms, “I feel like you’re having more fun with this than I am.”

ji yong didn’t even hesitate. “Of course I am! If you’re gonna be on stage, you might as well look good doing it.”

You shook your head, but you couldn’t fight the warmth spreading in your chest. Maybe you were still nervous, but with him so invested in every little detail, it was starting to feel less like pressure and more like excitement.

The day of the performance had arrived. You sat at your vanity desk, staring blankly at your reflection, hands resting on your lap. The nerves settled deep in your stomach, making it hard to focus on anything.

You barely noticed when ji yong walked in, but you felt the warmth of his presence as he stood behind your chair. Then, his hands found your shoulders, grounding you.

“It’s going to be okay..” he murmured, his voice steady and reassuring. “You’ll do just fine.”

Before you could respond, he leaned down, his face close to yours, and pressed a soft kiss to your cheek. When you turned to look at him, he was smiling, calm, confident, like he had no doubt in you at all.

And somehow, just that small gesture made it a little easier to breathe.

You let out a slow breath before standing up, turning towards him, your arms naturally found their way around him. You stayed like that for a moment, letting the warmth of his embrace calm the nerves buzzing under your skin.

Neither of you spoke. You just rested against him, feeling the way his hands gently rubbed your back in silent reassurance.

Then, a knock on the door.

“It’s time.”

You exhaled, pulling away just enough to meet ji yong’s gaze. Without a word, he leaned in and pressed his lips to yours, a soft, lingering kiss that felt like everything you needed in that moment.

When he pulled away, his eyes were full of quiet confidence. With a final squeeze of his hand, you turned and walked out. It was time to take the stage.

ji yong stood backstage with your staff, his eyes fixed on you as you performed. He watched intently, a quiet smile tugging at his lips, his hands occasionally giving out small, appreciative claps.

The staff members around him exchanged glances, some quietly giggling at how adorably invested he was.

“Look at him.” one whispered, nudging another. “He’s like a proud boyfriend, isn’t he?”

“He really is!” another murmured, grinning at how ji yong seemed to be fully caught up in your performance.

Were you even nervous? The way you commanded the stage, your every movement exuding confidence, left no room for doubt. Your presence was unmatched and effortless. It was as if you’d never left the spotlight at all.

As the performance continued, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride. He’d known you had it in you, but watching it unfold before him was something else. he was just lucky enough to be there to witness it.

Once you were done, the transformation was subtle, but ji yong noticed it immediately. You shifted from the fierce, captivating presence you had commanded on stage to your usual, shy self as your staff hurried to fix your hair and makeup for picture time.

He couldn’t take his eyes off of you. Even as they worked, adjusting your hair and touching up your makeup, ji yong’s gaze never wavered. He was mesmerized by the way you effortlessly slipped between the two sides of yourself.

Despite the quiet change, there was no denying that you still held him, and everyone else, captivated. Even in moments like these, you were unforgettable.

ji yong stayed back, not wanting to disturb you or your team as they took pictures. He admired you from afar, content to let you shine in that moment. but the staff members nudged him.

“Come on, take a picture with her.” they urged with a grin.

How could he refuse? You looked absolutely stunning today, and he wasn’t about to miss a chance to capture this moment with you.

With a soft chuckle, ji yong slipped into position beside you. His arm naturally found its way around your waist, pulling you closer as you leaned your head against his shoulder. You positioned your hands into a heart shape, your smile bright and warm, radiating everything he loved about you.

Once the staff finished taking pictures, ji yong didn’t let go. Instead, he wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you closer as he leaned his head against your neck from behind. The weight of his embrace felt comforting, like a safe haven after the chaos of the performance.

“You did better than expected.” he mumbled, his voice warm and filled with admiration.

You stared down at the ground, a soft smile playing on your lips, but you didn’t respond. His words were more than enough, he didn’t need a reply.

Before finally letting you go, ji yong pressed a gentle peck to the side of your neck, lingering there for a moment. “I’m coming with you, I don’t feel like saying goodnight just yet.”

You didn’t argue. You were perfectly fine with the thought of spending the rest of the day by his side.

Later, you found yourself snuggling on the couch with ji yong, the soft hum of the TV in the background as you scrolled through your phone. The adrenaline from the performance was finally starting to fade, but the excitement lingered, especially when you noticed the pictures from your performance flooding the media.

Every swipe seemed to bring another shot of you on stage, your fierce energy captured perfectly in every frame.

ji yong noticed the photos on your screen and let out a chuckle, his arms tightening around you a little more as he leaned closer to see.

“Guess the whole world saw you kill it today !” he said, his tone with a hint of pride.

You smiled, not knowing whether to feel embarrassed or flattered by the attention. 

“Guess I did..” you said, your eyes still glued to your phone as you scrolled.

[elmuvahva]

let me talk about leo and donnie’s matching clothes pLEASE

plus a lil bit of mikey and raph near the end :>

so we all know the obvious ones like in ‘repairin’ the baron’ and in ‘man vs sewer’

but i want to talk about the little things hehe. starting with the two mentioned above anyways lmaooo

yes they’re matching but i love the little differences they add on. leo wears a blue undershirt, fully going ride or die with his blue theme, while donnie goes for a white undershirt for a more classic look.

i think that says a lil but about their characters and how they thought to present themselves to april’s mum (who they thought they were meeting). they both wanted to look good hence the stunning matching outfits, but leo also wanted to be himself (hence the blue undershirt), compared to donnie who wanted to appeal to april’s mother (hence the more classic look with the white).

in man vs sewer, they are both wearing the singlet and board short combo, however leo opts for simplicity and ‘laidbackness’ keeping the bare minimum and keeping his shirt loose and untucked. donnie on the other hand goes further and adds the extra decorative shirt to really hammer home the ‘i’m not a useful member of society’ and the holiday/break vibes he’s trying so hard to feel. he also chooses to tuck his shirt in, which i think is just a personal stylistic choice, one which extenuates and shows off the board shorts more and one which mirrors his belt that’s a part of his usual outfit.

now onto snow day :>

at a brief glance it doesn’t seem like they’re matching but you’d be wRONG! they’re wearing the same shoes, pants and scarf, however they choose different jackets and headgear according to their personal tastes (i also wanna point out how donnie’s pants are more boxy/puffy at the bottom to fit with his whole rectangle theme, while leo’s are tucked in firmly, providing a more angular/triangular look).

leo chose a sirius black looking leather jacket bc why wouldn’t he lmaooo. it very much screams leo in the sense of his faceman attitude and his ‘confidence.’ he also chose a beanie which provides a more hippie, laidback and cool vibe.

donnie, ever the nerd, matches his jacket and headwear, as they both have the light purple fluff. donnies jacket is also much more practical and feels like something you’d see skii-ers (how tf do you spell that), hikers and snow-bikers wear. he’s also wearing the ugliest fucking hat /lh that’s reminiscent of what those occupations also wear.

so what we can take away from this is that leo will look cool whatever the weather and donnie will dress for the practicality of the occasion.

now in the clothes dont make the turtle there are A LOT of matching outfits, not just from donnie and leo, for example, in the images above, all the boys are wearing classic black suits with white button downs, however they all style them differently.

i’d also like to note the slight differences on the collars of the suit jackets (leo and donnie’s are matching, mikey’s is more rounded with a lil point and raph’s mirrors his spikes).

they all style their suits differently by using different ties. leo goes for a black and blue striped tie, which i think showcases his sense of style and his playfulness in comparison to raph, who decides to play it safe with a classic one-toned tie.

mikey goes for a cute bowtie bc why wouldn’t he he’s adorable, and it also fits in with him being the youngest and ‘the baby’, as bowties are most commonly worn by kids.

donnie decides to completely forego the tie altogether bc he doesn’t need it, he’s already stunning 😩 lmao but i actually think he’s just really playing into his emotionally unavailable bad boy image.

there’s also these matching monstrosities for god knows what reason

and it’s not super matchy, but raph and leo also both rock the singlet under the open button down shirt (though the colours are swapped and leo pops the collar causes he’s an idiot /aff)

and lastly!! these outfits. now at first glance, you’re probably thinking ‘elva what the fuck are you going on about’ BUT just hear me out!!

they both have ripped aspects to their outfits, leo’s at the shoulders and donnie’s at the waist. it’s obviously not an intentional match but i think they just subconsciously did it :>

they’re also both wearing head accessories, though in totally different styles (leo with his backwards cap to look ‘cool’ while donnie adorns a beanie to complete his LA hipster vibe)

ugh i’ve met the image limit for this post so here’s the link to the post that continues my rambling lolol

[allphatauri]

あの日、流した涙を忘れない - a retranslation

FOREWORD. The purpose of this retranslation is to not only fix mistranslations found in the original text, but also because I want people to know how Yuki writes. How he speaks. The Players’ Tribune launched in Japan in 2021. Yuki Tsunoda, Japan’s new up and coming Formula 1 star, was quickly announced to be one of the first athletes they’d cover. 

Originally published on March 25, 2021 (the Thursday preceding Tsunoda’s F1 debut on the 28th), the piece was later translated into English on May 6th, 2022 (the Friday preceding the 5th round of the 2022 season, Miami, on the 8th.). 

A blogpost by Daria Steigman describing the very essence of The Players’ Tribune included a rhetorical question that was very specific to me: “You know how nuance is often lost in translation?”. It was a question meant to suggest the opposite. The Players’ Tribune is committed to letting athletes tell their own stories, without catering to advertisers or having to be put through the words of reporters, an idea I adore: but eventually, as it globalized, and articles were no longer always default in English, there were articles you had to read through translation, if you didn’t know the original language. And for a long time I was okay with that. Eventually, though, I heard what a friend of mine, a native Chinese speaker, had to say about Zhou Guanyu’s article: that there was a certain desperation in his tone, an immensely evocative feeling, that just wasn’t portrayed in the English, in the title itself. It’s translated into “I Want You to Know This About Me”, but my friend said it’s more like “Things I Wished You Understood”. So I revisited Yuki’s article, this time not reading the English and Japanese separately but instead side by side: and I thought okay, yeah. There were mistranslations and lost nuance galore: I decided I would have a shot at translating it myself.

Here’s the original article in Japanese. // Here’s the official English translation. (I wish I could credit the original translator somehow. I’ve been poking around for a while, but so far I haven’t been able to find any names.) I’d like to thank Nestor for beta-ing this for me. There were a lot of things I wasn’t sure made sense in English, so he helped a lot in clarifying certain analogies and localizing tone.

TRANSLATOR'S NOTES. For the sake of this translation, I prioritized a direct translation over stylistic choice. The official translation has new paragraph breaks and localizes metaphors. The official translation is, in all honesty, much better written than Yuki’s rhetoric: he’d often explain things twice, and he speaks in a tone that pretty much spoils the story to come. I think that’s quite charming, so I tried to replicate his voice as-is, and thus it’s pretty much a sentence-to-sentence translation.  Notes for reference, seen in numbers throughout the text, can be found AT THE END / BOTTOM OF THE POST.

---

I won’t forget the tears I shed that day. 

I think that that would be the last time I’d ever cry from frustration [1]. 

4 years ago, I was still 16, and a student at the Suzuka Circuit Racing School. It was the final selection for Honda’s formula driver development program. If I got in, I’d be able to run in the domestic F4 next year, and if I failed… I planned to quit racing. 

Now, I stand at the gates of the stage that we call F1. Looking back on it, that was where my life split paths. A turning point. 

The final selection that year didn’t just include experienced drivers who had already ran in F4 previously, but also athletes who had come back from fighting overseas, and of course it was extremely uncertain if I would make it through. 

However, I’ve been karting and racing since I was 4 years old, and I had satisfactory results to my name. That same year, I was allowed a one-off seat and debuted in Formula racing to become the youngest to achieve a podium, and a maiden win in Super FJ’s final round, the All-Japan Master’s race. Even at the school, I had good results leading up to the final selection, and my points totaled for a fair fight for first or second overall. So I thought that as long as I didn’t make some huge mistake, I’d be able to claw into the top 2, and I had confidence I’d end up at the top in the end. 

I’m capable. If I can’t put out a good result here, or if I can’t entrance the judges with my driving, then I know how it all ends. So I had gone in telling myself that if I couldn’t get past this, I’d give up racing forever. Even if I failed, I’m sure there were other paths, like other development programs and driving outside of the Formulas, but I don’t like facing directions that weren’t my own. I decided that rather than half-assing something else, I would just lead a different life. 

However, the worst case scenario awaited me. Back then, my mentality was super weak, and out of all places for it to fail me, it decided it’d be at the final selection. I knew my body was stiff from my nerves from before the races. The very fingertips that gripped the steering were tense. This isn’t the usual me. So there I was, starting in that state, and I immediately did a false start… . I was given a penalty in which I ran slowly through the pit road and rejoined the track. At that point I was far behind the pack in the front, and it was like I was running alone. I felt so pathetic, and I felt nothing towards driving at all. As a result, the points from this race were essentially 0. An unmistakable 3rd, failing at the final selection. 

On the train home, I was so disappointed with myself that tears naturally began to flow. Ever since I started taking racing seriously, this kind of thing had never happened before. Though I was the youngest of the participants, I was confident I wouldn’t lose so it shook me when I did, and even if I try to envision the future I can’t see a thing. I remember clearly even now, how I was in such low spirits [2] that on that train home I didn’t even want to come home and see my parents. 

Despite it all, I had one glimmer of hope. Those were the words that the then-Honda F4 team principal had given to me. 

“You can’t race next year as a development driver for Honda. However, Honda has 4 cars in Formula 4. The remaining two seats, the ones that race for the Suzuka Racing School, might be able to go to you.”

That was because former F1 driver Nakajima Satoru (-san) had recommended [3] me. He was the principal of the school at the time, and had been watching us drive during the final selection at the chicane of the last corner. 

It was a version of myself that was given that penalty at the start and not even feeling up to race anymore, but I put my all into it as if to avoid any regret. I saw Nakajima Satoru (-san), standing at the final corner, past my visor. I didn’t want to show him careless driving. “It’s a despair-inducing position but I won’t give up, and I’ll continue running towards the pack in the front.” That’s what I thought. Then the path ahead seemed to clear.

In 2017, I entered F4, not as a development driver but from Suzuka Racing. Then, my overall yearly total ranking was an immediate third, and the next year of 2018 I was chosen as a development driver where I was crowned champion. 

It’s all because I had tasted failure at that final selection. [4]

I think the biggest change has been my mentality. Until I had a taste of that failure [4], I had good results, and I was kind of like, “oh, it’ll all go well in the end even if I don’t do anything”. Even that start I failed at the final selections– I had already known I wasn’t that good at starts, and I had lots of time to practice, but I didn’t. Somewhere in me I wanted to take the easy route, and believed in myself a little too much. On top of that, at the time, I was terrified of mistakes, and drove in a way that avoided them at all costs, so I was losing sight of ways I could improve. 

Having failed at the selection, a realization bloomed in me that I’m far from perfect, and that I had to get much, much faster. I figured it was important to stop fearing mistakes and just go forth and fail a ton, so that I find new things and learn from them. Because of this, when I came overseas, in the earlier parts of my F3 season two years ago and F2 season last year, even if I couldn’t get points the way I wanted to, I wasn’t pressed about it at all. If anything, I was certain in my process of making a ton of mistakes at the start to learn as much as possible from them. 

It’s famous that current IndyCar driver and former F1 driver Sato Takuma (-san) said “No attack, no chance” but I really think that that’s the truth. No matter what sport it is, you need to push yourself past your limits to discover what lies beyond that, and if you don’t even try, you’ll just stay where you are. So right now, even if I make mistakes or if my results are poor, as odd as it is, I don't feel like I’m struggling at all. Even if I make an error, how I take it is up to me. If I make a mistake, I want to confront its reason. When I remember that getting over that will help me get even faster, I’m less frustrated [1] and the feelings of wanting to get faster prevail: it helps me to always look myself in the eyes and stay positive.

With this opportunity to drive in F1, I realize once again how grateful I am to my parents. I loved to move around as a kid, so I was doing anything if it was considered a sport– swimming, soccer, mountain biking–and this is not a sport, but I was also playing piano. Now that I think about it, I think my father and mother were just letting me do everything I had an interest in. And, the reason I started karting was because of my father. He loved motorsports, and he was even doing gymkhana himself. One day, at a circuit he took me to, he let me drive a kart. That was the first. Actually, apparently I also tried out a pocket bike, but having done both I said “the kart is more fun”... I don’t really remember this myself, though. LOL [10]

But were there ever times when I didn’t like karting? A ton. [5]

For example, I was about seven years old. When I was playing video games at the karting track in some downtime, my father said something like “focus more on the race” and confiscated my game, and I was like “I don’t really want to do this anymore”. From there, my dad got stricter and stricter so that I would improve, and I got yelled at for a lot of things. Honestly, up until when I was about 15, I wasn’t thankful for my father at all, and there were even times I hated him. Talk about “THE rebellious phase”. I think I was right in the middle of it. 

In my studies, it wasn’t just my father that was strict but also my mother. She constantly told me to consider a future in which I wasn’t successful in motorsport and “go study”. My middle school didn’t have excused absences [6] so when the race was over I’d go home within that day and get ready for school, always go to school, be present in my classes, study and do [7] my exams, rinse and repeat. Honestly it was really tough, and I never liked it, but I continued to study pretty decently. 

Back then, I wasn’t able to really feel any gratitude towards my parents, but now I feel the total opposite. It’s only because they were strict on me, yelled at me, and taught me many things then, that the current me that exists now, I think. I’m really, truly thankful. 

I myself didn’t really think I could drive in F1 this quickly. Of all the drivers here right now, not even as a Japanese driver, but even including foreign ones, I’ve gotten here on the shortest route there is. 

When I was 7 years old, and I went to see F1 in reality at Fuji Speedway, drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso were driving. At that time, it wasn’t adoration but instead a feeling like “one day, I want to race with drivers like these”, and those feelings don’t change even now. Hamilton is already a legendary person, and being able to drive alongside him is such an honor and something I still can’t believe, but once we're in the circuit, Hamilton and Alonso are all the same, just one driver. I think of them as an enemy. 

Those feelings don’t change, regardless of if they’re towards F1’s current fastest, my strongest rival [13] of Max Verstappen, or my teammate in my current team, Alphatauri, of Pierre Gasly. I want to hurry up and know how much I can keep up with Verstappen, and how much of a fight I can put up against him. Gasly was an athlete that was shining in Japan’s top series, Super Formula, when I was in F4 in Japan, so although a part of me wants to learn as much as I can from him, another part of me knows that given we’re in the same machinery, I’ll have to beat him one day, and I think he’s my number one rival. 

In the world of F1, what they want from you is “speed”. Even if you argue as much as you want that it’s not just “speed”, you’ll have impact as long as you have “speed”, and if you have “speed”, even if people pass you or you fall behind in the earlier parts of the race, you’re able to pick it up in the later half. However, it’s actually most difficult to show your “speed” when it matters most. My biggest strength is that “speed”, so I want to continue to absorb where I lack to build on top of that. 

Speaking of which, during this past break I said during an online interview that my goal is “to equal the record of 7 world championships” and came out a little grand, but I didn’t mean to imply that kind of attitude. [9] 

I haven’t even ran one race in F1, there’s no way I can say something like that. LOL. [11]

What I’m thinking right now, for my debut, is to first and foremost put out the maximum performance I have.And to get every extra point I can throughout the season. Like in F2, even if I’m promoted to F1 I’ll probably still make a lot of mistakes from the start to the middle of the season, but I want to make new discoveries and learn lots. At the press conference, I said that kind of general statement, but I got a question that was like “What is Tsunoda’s aspirations?” so I was like, “Maybe get 7 world championships like Lewis Hamilton?” and they used that as a big headline. To clarify, it’s more like my real intention is to focus on every small thing ahead of me, and if, as a result of all that piling up, my “aspirations” came true, I’d be pretty happy. 

Moving ahead, I wonder what lies ahead of me [14]. I want to improve my abilities, and grow to become a racer that represents the world of F1, and in doing that I’d feel a new kind of pressure and motivation, and what the fans expect from me might grow even bigger. 

That’s why I never want to forget the feeling of this year, in 2021, when I ride in F1 for the first time. I want to keep the feelings I have now, as a rookie, close to my chest, and from here on out fail as much as I want, learn a ton, and have fun. 

I don’t think I’ll ever shed tears like the ones I did four years ago, when I failed the final selection. I won’t forget the tears I shed that day. I wonder, though, if I’m to shed tears from now on, what kind of tears they’d be….

Realistically, maybe my first win? Getting to F1 is already really hard, but the road from here is only harsher. Winning is truly difficult, so what I shed from now on must not be “tears of frustration”, but “tears of happiness”.

[12]

----

TRANSLATOR'S NOTES. [1] Literally the first word was already giving me trouble: 悔しい is a really, really difficult word to translate into English. “Frustrated” is generally the go-to translation, but if ‘frustration’ is more of the anger that comes with the word ‘upset’, then 悔しさ is the sadness. That feeling of biting your lip and looking at the floor so you don’t cry. That feeling of misfortune, regret of failure. It’s a word that always felt a little sad to me. Frustrated feels a little angry to me. To me there is a bit of a cultural connotation to it as well: that balled fist of “frustration” feels like an English reaction, and the can’t-even-look-you-in-the-eye-ness of 悔しさ has a bottling up reflective of the culture the language is spoken in. I hope that made any sense LOL and I understand why the translator went with “disappointed with myself” instead. I used this translation the second time you see this word. [2] This word is often translated into “depressed”. In my opinion it’s worse than “becoming sad” but less severe than “depressed”. 

[3] Debated between endorsed and recommended, decided on recommended

[4] The word used for “failure” describes a temporary but deafening sort of defeat. The one that assumes it’s really difficult emotionally to get back up, but also assumes you will, anyway.

[5] okay so the structure of this sentence in japanese is actually really fun: it’s like “Times when I didn’t like karting… yeah there was a ton” so it’s structured as to raise the question, ‘oh, did Yuki ever not like karting?’ BUT he does this thing that he does a LOT where he accidentally spoils the result of that dramatic sentence in the first word. Like by starting with “But” or “however” he often ruins the dramatic effect that the rest of the sentence is supposed to imply. I initially didn’t translate it as a rhetorical question, but like this: But there were times when I didn’t like karting…. A lot of times. This is a more direct translation in the way he says it: but the translation I decided on, suggested by my beta reader and friend, Nestor, keeps the original feeling of Yuki’s speech. For the best possible non-rhetorical question translation I could think of, well, that was it. 

[6] 公欠扱い is when you’re absent for some special event like sporting and your absence isn’t counted, like you showed up. I think in most English speaking cultures this is often called an excused absence or a school exemption or . something of that sort

[7] the word he uses as the verb for ‘doing’ his tests/exams in school are actually the same ones he used going into the final race. It’s more like facing a big foe, to challenge something greater than you. Like he was squabbling up against the exam. Sword in hand. Gloves strapped on. Squared up. That kind of thing. 

[8] I think the official translation entirely mistranslates this sentence. The official translation interprets the first half of the sentence, “[That also applies to] the fastest in F1 yet, the greatest / strongest enemy, max verstappen, and also…” and applies the starting adjectives used to describe Max to describe Pierre also. Pierre actually has a whole ‘nother set of descriptors, roughly translating to “my current teammate for the team i’m in, Alphatauri”. The official translation says Yuki is calling Max and Pierre the fastest in F1, but that’s not really what he said imo. 

[9] It’s actually super vague what he’s saying in the original text: “I didn’t say that with that kind of intention (nuance).” But I think it’s an overconfidence / arrogance thing, since he knows where he is as a rookie, and he’s kind of making fun of himself for the bold claim here, retracting the statement. 

[10] a true LOL. an LMAO, if you will. An LMFAO, if you must. 

[11] the LOL you use when you’re trying to imply that you’re not being hostile . the LOL for when you’re trying to fill an awkwardly silent conversation.

[12]  The official translation is weird. YES, it is more nicely formatted. NO, it does not at all convey the actual emotion in his voice. There is a degree of certainty, in his confidence, in the emotion of his tears, not “I hope they will be”. Also my god he used the same “Here on” like 4 times in two sentences I was like PLEASE. PLEASE USE A DIFFERENT WORD but I think this is also very charming! 

[13] “Rival” is originally “enemy” here. Like deadass he calls Max Verstappen his biggest enemy. But don’t get me wrong: “enemy” has a negative, bad-blood sort of connotation, but Yuki says this like he’s a boss or a mob to defeat in a video game. Like he’s playing Dragon Quest, and Max is, well, the Dragonlord. His original use of “Enemy” over “Rival” only connotes a fighting spirit, and not something so opposing. 

[14] The real words Yuki uses here are “I wonder what kind of scenery I’ll start to see?” but since ‘scenery’ as a word in English can be interpreted literally, like traveling all around the world, I opted for ‘what lies ahead’, since that’s generally a more internal statement that retains the same meaning. 

＊I translated 母 and 父 to “mother” and “father” since those were technically formal. In my opinion “haha” and "chichi” are more formal than “okaasan” and  “otousan” even though there’s a -san. I think you can still replace them with “mom” and “dad” and it wouldn’t really lose much of anything. 

I’ve noticed some habits in his word choice, like how he often uses metaphors for walking / running, paths and doors. Physical places you’d walk on / through, you know. 

thank you so so much for reading up until this point, if you have! and even if you haven't, thanks for scrolling all the way down. <3

[feelingpure]

Fellow Travelers | The Orange Elephant in the Room

Alright, let's talk about it.

For those who've watched the available episodes of FT so far; I'm sure we've all noticed the citrus haze they all seem to be living in.

Especially if you've attempted to edit/GIF any portion of it. The struggle is real and I'm sure has inspired many colouring dilemmas.

And we're all asking "WHY?!".

Now, I'm writing this having not looked up anything about it. So I dunno if anyone responsible has made a formal confession.

One of my initial thoughts around it was; okay... so is this just a 1950s thing? But after watching (and rewatching) episode 2, I feel like it's part of the story in a different way; It's clearly a stylistic choice, yes (I should hope that doesn't just happen by accident). But it also seems to double as a narrative choice.

Putting the rest, with image examples, under a cut because it's kinda long.

Warm vs Cool

The conclusion I've come to is pretty simply, one that we've seen used across media in a lot of movies and shows. Warm tones used to colour scenes that are meant to literally be 'warm'; a loving environment or somewhere where the character(s) feel like they can be themselves. Cool tones used for scenes where it's quite the opposite; a cold hostile environment where the character(s) does not feel welcome. Gradients in between for all the neutral/'greyarea' spaces.

Consider

Cool/neutral outdoor bench scene (with park spies around):

Maybe it's an indoor/outdoor thing? No...

Indoors (even with the mandatory orange lamps nearby) they stay pretty neutral:

Night time/day time thing? No...

Night time vs day time in Tim's apartment:

Compare it to day time neutral alone Tim in the same room before. The difference is that he's with Hawk, out of sight of any would be naysayers.

So yeah, while I am mad about the colouring for giffing needs, I do think what they're doing is pretty neat, and the POC in the show look glorious in the warm tones.

The warm/cool motif is dialled up even more in episode 2, with the contrast of Mary's warm welcoming party and Hawk's cold af family gathering (even though they still have the orange lamps/sconces around, they add nothing to the warmth):

🥺 Ugh, Tim at Mary's party. Might be my favourite part of the episode, alongside the kissing n spooning. Anyway...

The transition of Mary from the same living room where she hosted that party, to the kitchen they were just questioned in:

That transition made me start paying more attention and go back to rewatch previous scenes just for colour themes.

Interestingly Hawk's apartment seems to live in this neutral/warmish space. It was more warm earlier in the episode, especially when they were in the bedroom the morning Tim left his glasses. But in general it's a lot less warm than Tim's apartment when compared; still their skin glows with a hint of tangerine:

Of course, not only the lighting/colouring but their outfit choices say a lot. Tim is usually in the warm browns with his dress, while Hawk pretty much sticks to black, white, grey (hints of a cool toned blues and reds in his ties). This coupled with the differences in their own living space probably reflects a lot about the character and how 'welcoming' they are to others. Idk... or I could just be thinking too much about it.

This is another really interesting transition in episode 2. As Hawk hangs up the phone in that cool toned side room, opens the door to the main room of a gay bar, the warm tones literally seem to absorb him in. Which makes sense, this is obviously a gay friendly place in San Francisco. He doesn't have to try to hide any part of himself, like he probably was still trying to do on that voicemail to Lucy just before.

Now, I could go through and screenshot a load more examples (some scenes with Lucy are interesting, and that lounge/club), but you probably get the gist, you see the pattern. If not before, on your next watch, you'll certainly see it.

This has got longer than intended; I'd be surprised if anyone got this far, I did NOT fully organise my thoughts before I started this, I just began rambling and I feel like it could've been more organised and laid out better. But if you have thoughts about the colouring, I'd really like to see those too. 🤗

[laylawatermelon]

The K-Drama Of It All

Hello! My hyper fixation has (very unhealthily) latched onto this show so I'm gonna be analyzing.

First of all, I am a veteran in these spaces.

Very shy in real life I am an avid observer in all my fandoms but TRUST I know what's up at all times because of it.

This first analysis will be of the phenomenon of how they playing in my face with the classic K-Drama tropes and cinematic choices.

Let us begin.

Now we all agree that The Bear is a cinematic masterpiece right? Right.

I have been consuming media across all mediums since I was a kid.

I quite literally spent most of my life watching behind the scenes, in front of the scenes, and in between the scenes.

I'm also an aspiring filmmaker and screenwriter. As such I analyze stuff I like more.

I try to understand why they are the way they are.

Now that we got all the fluff out of the way let's get down to the nitty gritty.

*stands on soapbox*

Page 1 of 10000 ehem

In this this essay I will -!

Fr tho. Let's look at this from a K-Drama perspective.

I've spent about 10-12/13 years watching them. And luckily got into it during the golden era.

I literally watched She Was Pretty air (among others). Ex, Strong Woman, Descendants of the Sun (never watched; controversy+ bad attention span), School 2013.

So you know I'm (somewhat) of an og.

I'm those shows it's very formulaic.

This can extend to other Asian dramas but I'm going to try to stick to K-Dramas.

For example, the 10 ep rule. Must have a kiss or kiss in that episode. (Before is fine)

Now they're getting a little willy nilly and getting down in the first EP but I can argue they was down bad back then as well. Just more angsty longing looks.

(which tbf Sydcarm does all the time but it's 99% Carm though)

In KDramas there's something common in the cinematography that I'd call the halo of light. Almost all the time there are some form of beauty shots with them beautifully lit where they're together, the way they look at each other etc.

Which ironically they do with these two a lot on the show.

I know the show is gorgeous but you can't just explain away some of the choices.

I have watched and read a lot of discussions so this will be influenced by a lot of people. I will mention when I got the help from (if i can find it).

Now I just want to say I think this.

These following trope have been here since the dawn of K-Drama time.

Enjoy my infodump.

Firstly let's discuss this here:

1. The Meet Cute/Halo Effect

We've all been screaming to the void about the classic meet cute that happens with Carmy's life and him being constantly bombarded with noise and chaos.

Stylistically this wouldn't be a typical formula for K-Dramas as it leans more into Kmovie style (which valid The Bear was originally a movie) I think it's as textbook as it comes.

Now the original script (which I have read) had a story of different tone. Very Chicago and chaotic but still...

In this iteration of the script idk what the actors were on but JAW looked at the script and chemistry test and was like hmm yes.

A dramatic romcom. I see.

For her she's an ambitious woman who has (maybe a tiny crush) admiration for him cause like he's literally who she wants to be.

Young, talented and successful. He's made a name in their industry so of course she wants to work under him.

But he he's playing the male lead in an early K-Drama with the classic *she enters* and it's like the second coming out Christ being lit from behind her.

The classic 'I can't believe I never noticed how beautiful she is' in all dramas (and romcoms honestly).

You can also compare it to the corny slightly funny moments in slow motion when they miss each other/do the angsty look.

Like this.

Good old kdrama tropes.

What's interesting is that in their scene they do the opposite of what a K-Drama would usually do. They cut the music and let it become calm.

You get to breathe and relax and so does he. He feels at peace.

In K-Dramas, osts are a kind of a life line so they would most likely blare it when he has that realization.

And then at every other romantic moment after.

Another way that it could be is by using very like calm music (still the ost but still).

They do use this with having mostly romantic music in their scenes but it's usually quiet and a bit hard to hear or understand (unless you're analyzing like many of the wonderful people on this app).

Now you can argue her warm lighting in each scene from the finale and introduction represents his hope/life/good change being given back to him in the form of her (but if that's not the most romantic thing I ever heard).

Now for the flashback in the panic attack scene you could argue the blue tone he sees her in, as it usually represents some kind of sadness/distance/professionalism in this show, it can also represent his piercing blue eyes remembering her in the only shade they know how.

Good God that color grading is nuts. His eyes *ARE* the color Blue.

Now I want to talk a bit more about shot composition, color grading and color choices.

In a few interviews I've seen and read the editors, directors and others were quite serious about the shots and music they used were very much on purpose.

I mean come on.

Also Announcement from a novel/screenwriter:

EHEM

WE DON'T EVER INCLUDE NOTHING THAT CAN BE MISINTERPRETED IN SCRIPTS!

AND THE DIRECTOR WOULD DEFINITELY CUT IT IF IT WASN'T HOW HE ENVISIONED IT!

(/hj)

The most telling scenes is the beginning of omlette and the end of the episode before it.

The director had chose to show her tattoo that represents loss in a deep blue lighting which was actually in a similar lighting that Carmy and Claire were bathed in afterwards.

The quora search says it means pain, heartbreak, and emotional turmoil.

It also lines up with the rest of the shots with him preparing dinner with Claire and her being alone.

I believe this kind of represents the emotional cheating (?) going on between them as he practically abandoned her (and their child, The Bear).

(which is a wild choice for platonic coworkers)

As I've said before blue lighting is usually representative of sadness, coldness etc.

In the scene personally even without connecting it to shipping or everything the message came clear to me.

Suffocation.

He was quite literally being suffocated as in the last scene her body was on his as he stared in the distance blankly.

Honestly that shot was kind of heartbreaking because it feels like coercion in a warped way.

He feels like he should be happy, he should participate in these acts, he should be doing well.

He's fulfilling his family's wish.

So why isn't he happy?

That's my writer kicking in but that's what I got from it.

🥲 (gimme a sec i gotta cry)

But the same blue tone was used in his panic attack as the camera zoomed in.

Now the ironic part was that they used warm lighting for the scenes with Claire, but it's not that unusual.

Warm lighting has always been used to also represent a time period in the past in addition to good/warm times.

What's ironic is what's literally colored in what should represent good times isn't working.

He's remembering his family in those same tones. The past isn't helping.

But the future does.

Enter Sydney in blue.

Now blue usually represents sadness (or calm) but it's also used in futuristic scenes.

*They benefit from the cold clinical look i guess🤷🏾‍♀️*

Then he becomes calm.

I can also say that their kitchen scenes in early season 2 are blue coded but it has a calm feeling not a distant feeling. It ironically feel warm and calming despite the cool tone.

This appears in a couple other scenes in the show when he's showing her the work done in the early season.

But color wise it's usually warm tones with them as the color kind of transitions in that scene. It's half half.

His view is warm because he thinks she's good with what he did and hers is cold because he ditched her so yeah.

Now shot wise let's discuss because it's a bit obvious.

The staff head mentioned loving close ups to show the characters emotion but also to convey a sense of what's not being said.

An example of his uncertainty with Claire is the car scene. In most of his shots it's extremely close to her and gives off an awkward vibe.

But when you go to her perspective, she's more open and his shots show background and more of his character, also reflecting their relationship with each other,

This persists with the kitchen scene as well.

When I rewatch it it has that same quality. It's a bit more pulled out (obviously as they literally spent the night together so anyone would feel closer) but there's still an awkward/dreamlike feel like when its on her like she's not quite based in reality.

Or in Carmy's self sabotaging view, too good to be true.

In comparison to Sydney, the shots with her are almost always wide and open.

We see it with them as early in season one with the outside scene where he's staring her down and gets her to open up.

You can argue that almost all of their shots are as equals, or in the same frame with an openness that have/represents when they're communicating with each other. (I'm def writing about their communication)

Sydney's character is ironically what a male lead would be like and Carmy would be more of the female archetype.

Which I really appreciate now that I think about it.

The male lead is usually very successful/good at what they do, hesitant to share but when they do you feel it and know it's sincere. They're usually more bumbly with expressing when they're emotional but when they do its like a huge release. And when they love it's very obvious and excessive at times.

In comparison, Carmy is very expressive, sensitive and aware. He's devoted (Claire sorry but you don't quite count) to things he's passionate about, willing to communicate and has traits of sensitivity.

His eyes and body tells what he's feeling almost immediately. (Also JAW is just an incredible actor)

In Kdrama land their roles would be switched. Hell I can argue some American dramas as well.

Back on topic though.

The Halo Effect is there. Like all the time.

To my next point-

2. The She Looks Away, I Look At Her

Now you may argue this is very Disney Rapunzel, all that coded.

You will also be correct.

I am a Disney (more Nick honestly) kid.

This too applies to the K-Drama world nay I would say it originated there (it did not).

Do you know how many shows I can name where the male lead is just hopelessly in awe as he stared at the female lead because she just insulted him and he wants to tell her he loves her in every way.

Ring ring.

I heard The Bear calling. Yeah imma need you to clock out on this gaslighting.

time to fangirl

Look at the gif sets!

But honestly, it's a common way to show that the character cares and wants a person without outright saying it.

You understand the vibes almost instantly.

He likes her. He wants more.

She likes him. She wants more.

3. Matching Clothes

This one is a simple one but we all know how common it is in K-Dramas to have a matching something.

A good example of a recent show is Extraordinary Attorney Woo, and how they almost always matched even if he was in casual clothing and she was in office clothes.

You're supposed to get a telepathy feel from them. Like they're on the same wavelength.

In ships/shows they usually subconsciously brainwash you into details of a relationship by having them wear or have something that reminds you of them.

In wardrobe, clothing is meticulously planned to match characters financial situation and express their personality. The clothes tell the story.

And the story usually is we go together. Real bad.

So yeah, sure in this scene/episode they were more in tune and tandem and as time went on they became more disjointed.

Granted they do work in a place with uniforms but I digress.

And lastly my third point part II-

Same But Different

If this were a kdrama there'd be like 0.00% chance that they WOULDN'T happen.

First they're the main leads so duh, and second the way that they parallel each other is insane.

There are many edits and examples of them directly mirroring each other in certain situations.

Scrubbing the floors when feeling lonely seemingly in the exact same spot, stressing in the freezer, saying stuff at the same time and their weird telepathy and answering each other's - sandwiches (that's what I was gonna say).

(sorry)

And if any of you say work wife I will rage cause let me catch my man laying under a table like that!!!

Sparta!

But for real, yes there's intimacy and friendship and all that but I ain't everr look at my friends of either gender like that.

If did I probably had feelings and just kept em in. And did the Carmy puppy eyes (TM).

And yes we are aware Carmy is emotionally constipated like a coke bottle filled with mentos with a tight cap on and his lack of a social life coupled with his (many) different mental illnesses/difficulties.

So he probably doesn't even recognize or even want to recognize them as such and honestly as a 4 lifer

I'm really sad but I don't think he'll confess in the next season.

I'm making a post about it but I'm also uncertain about it lasting more than three seasons as thematically and the way it was intended to be a movie I feel kind of uncertain.

It can extend to 4 but it was intended and the way it's narratively been flowing its exactly like a 3 act structure just spread out (like butter).

The next season is after the dark of night aka main character loses everything.

This season was fun and games - quite literally him having amusement and such. (Training Arc!!) It ended with his demise I'd say.

Now there's no where to go but up.

I'm not saying that it's impossible, but a 4th season would likely be more aimed toward getting a star or maintaining a star etc and family ties and such.

That'd be most likely when, if any, outwardly romantic contact should happen.

But they might surprise me.

Butt honestly in KDrama land there's no way the set up isn't romantic even if it was just a chef or professional focused show.

I'd say it'd be standard honestly for ones focused on career with a dash of romance.

Ex. Miss Hammurabi (best example)

The Good Doctor (Japanese Version)

There's probably more but I exclusively watch romance so 🤷🏾‍♀️.

In Conclusion,

Yes. They are end game.

I also wanna say how odd it is that this ship is attacked by fans of the show and non fans alike because I've literally grew up in the age of Rise of The Brave Tangled Guardians.

There's nothing more random than that time period.

They all dated each other!

Like my guy there's a Tony the Tiger x Grinch fic and don't even get me started on the Onceler selfcest as different flavors of himself (/j i love stuff like this)!

My point is it's not that unusual for the two leads to be shipped. Same gender or not.

I also have years of teenage brain rot developed from eating movies for breakfast so I know more than you! (/hj) I'm obviously right!

I will be discussing some more of this in length at a later date.

But I rest my case.

I will retreat into my cave until next time.

[davekat-sucks]

Re: the Lost In Translation fanart, it makes an interesting point that is fun to explore (ie how Earth C’s perception of the beta kids is so wildly different from who they truly are and the conflict that creates) but only points out the surface level ways the public that literally worships them are wrong (race and gender), and doesn’t dive deeper into the much more interesting questions it leads to.

That being said, I also feel like the follow-up they did where June says “what do I say to them? I’m not white?” Is an annoyingly literal take on their original depictions. I feel like the hs characters are less white coded (bar a few characters like Dave) and more just Very American because Hussie is Very American.

Someone from a diaspora like me, for example, wouldn’t have much of any immediate indication that I’m Armenian other than my appearance since I’m culturally American (like the hs kids). Am I suddenly lost in translation, just because I don’t speak my father’s mother tongue, or eat dolma every day? Is Jade suddenly not [insert race/ethnicity here] because she talks like an American bc she grew up on the Internet/talking to the other Beta kids? Much like the story being set in 2009 is important in informing the reader of the cultural context, so is the fact that the author is writing culturally American characters regardless of what their intended ethnicity is.

Idk it just seems silly to take an obvious stylistic choice made to save time and use it as an emblem of white washing when 1.all races are valid hc for the kids and 2. Just because a character talks like what you think a white American talks like doesn’t necessarily mean they’re white coded, just American.

Anyways my point is the artist had some good points but ultimately kinda makes a mountain out of a molehill

I wonder if you tell that to the artist, will they block you for it. But I also think it makes some weird implications that they did not address or really think deeply about like how said interpretation came from the Carapacians, literal chess people who have two skin tones. Were the kids only depicted white because the Prospitians won the won, thus Dersites must give in? Don't forget as well that Wayward Vagabond was among them, who revolted against monarchy and his people being part of it. Does that mean Wayward Vagabond was fine letting them depict the people as this? Even if he was """"""""close"""""""" to someone like Dave Strider (who the fuck is John Egbert? Exile? The fuck was that?) Fanarts and interpretations can carry a lot more meaning if one looks deeper. Ex: Making Eridan trans. People will forget the fact said character was killed off in the story. Does that mean they are fine with a trans character dying in the narrative, no matter the reason? What about making Jane fat? Isn't that just validating Caliborn's insults when he kept saying that to make her feel awful? Does that mean the sexist Cherub was right and was all along validating her appearance?

[lobster-tales]

Beat the Daylight

Sequel to Face the Noise, an Arcane Rock Band AU

Rating: M

Chapter 10: The Studio

Summary: The bands make changes for next round | Viktor opens up

This work is available here on AO3. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9

Fissurefolk should have been celebrating their victory, but Finn spent the next practice acting like they lost.

“That was sloppy,” he said with a scowl. “Sevika, you were off tempo on the third song. Clean it up.”

She scoffed. “I was only off because Jinx was off.”

“That was on purpose,” Jinx said, twirling her butterfly knife in her hands. “It’s a stylistic choice.”

Viktor added, “There’s actually a word for it: rubato. It means ‘stolen time’.”

“See?” Jinx pointed to him. “I’m a fucking virtuoso.”

Finn interrupted, “You’re a disaster, that’s what you are. You almost crashed into me four times during the set. If you’re going to dance, do it on your side of the stage.”

She stuck her tongue out at him. “What’s up your ass, Finn? Did you miss the part where we won?”

“I told you, I have high standards.” He hoisted the guitar strap over his head. “Now get up.” He nodded to Margot, who was working behind the glass of the control room. “Margot printed new chord sheets. We’re going through as many as possible today.”

Hours later, when practice ended, Jinx threw on a big coat and headed to the door, eager to jump in the car with Viktor and escape to her studio together. But a soft voice stopped her.

“Hey.” Margot was leaning against the door frame of the control room. “I feel like we haven’t really hung out in a while. How are you?”

She was so unassuming, but Jinx knew better than to let her guard down. “Good. You?”

“Good. Busy, but good.” Margot considered her. “Where you headed?”

“My studio.”

“Alone?”

Is that what this was about? Jinx picked her answer carefully. “I guess. I think Viktor needed a ride.”

“Right… I’ve noticed you guys ride together. A lot.”

“Yeah, well we both live at the fucking hotel.” Jinx didn’t mean to get so defensive. Her tone had bitten too hard, and Margot sensed that she was hiding something.

Margot was gentle, but firm. “Of course. But it seems like you never just drop him off. You both always get home… late.”

Ohhhhhh. “Ew, we’re not fucking, Margot,” Jinx gagged. “Gross.”

Relief flashed in Margot’s eyes, but she still held her ground. “But you are spending a lot of time together.”

It wasn’t a question, and even if it was, Jinx wouldn’t answer anyway.

Margot cleared her throat. “Look, I’m glad you have a new friend, Jinx, especially considering how busy the rest of us are. But you were the one who suspected Viktor the most, and with good reason. I mean, you were right: it’s too convenient to be a coincidence. That’s why we’re so surprised you’re spending that much time with him.”

We. So Silco did put her up to this. Jinx felt a knot in the pit of her stomach. She knew that Fishbones was in her studio for surveillance. She knew the glassy stuffed animal eyes had hidden cameras. Silco had been watching them, this entire time. But only in the studio: at least he hadn’t seen her sleep in Viktor’s room. Unless a member of his hotel staff saw her leave Viktor’s room hours later.

Paranoia set her hands to shaking, but she stuffed them into her coat pockets to hide it. She had to calm down. Silco hadn’t approached her yet, which meant that so far, she hadn’t done anything wrong. And if he did confront her…

“Well,” she shrugged. “You know what they say. Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer.”

Margot wanted to say more, clearly. She was hard to read sometimes, always towing the line of diplomacy and deceit. But she said simply, “I just want to make sure you’re being careful.”

“Ha!” Good thing the studio was already empty. Lightning flickered along Jinx’s nervous system, eliciting a sudden rage. “That is so fucking rich, Margot.”

She was still, waiting for Jinx’s reaction. “What is?”

“You’re the one who brought me to all those night clubs. How many shots have we done together, Margot? How many lines? You sure didn’t give a shit about my safety when we’d go out partying, and now you want to act all high and mighty now that I’m doing at-home espionage?”

Her expression was… sad, but Jinx couldn’t tell if it was a performative sorrow or not. “I was always in control,” Margot murmured. “You were never in any danger.”

“And I’m not in danger now. I know what I’m doing. And you can stop pretending that you care.”

Margot closed her eyes, breathing deeply. If this was an act, she deserved an award. “I… I’m sorry, Jinx. I do trust you. I know you know what’s really at stake here, and you would never do anything to jeopardize what we stand for.”

An itch of guilt. Jinx was so wrapped up in the band, she kept forgetting about her inheritance, that this whole thing had a higher purpose. So much had changed so quickly. She hadn’t even considered what would happen after the contest. Would Viktor stick around, become one of Silco’s scientists? Would Lux return back home with her swoopy hair boyfriend?

It was too overwhelming to think about now. She had to focus on the present. Viktor was waiting for her in the car, she had a call scheduled with Lux later tonight. She could put off her destiny for another day.

“Good,” Jinx said. “I’ll see you later.”

When she turned away, Margot’s soft voice followed her. “And this might be hard to believe,” she whispered. “But I do care.”

Jinx didn’t respond, just let the studio door close behind her.

                                                       ☆ ☆ ☆                                                        

The first few practices after Progress Day’s debut performance were rough. The tension between Vi and Ezreal hung heavy in the air, and the overall discouragement was affecting their sound quality.

After a few listless rehearsals, Ekko finally put his foot down. “Alright,” he said, addressing everyone. “That’s enough. Let’s get it out in the open. Ez, that was a shitty thing you did.”

Ezreal muttered, “I apologized already.”

Vi scoffed. “That was barely an apology.”

“Well it’s hard to be sincere when you’re attacking me.”

“Well maybe if you respected people’s boundaries, you wouldn’t get attacked.”

Ekko said, “Enough. Ez, apologize. For real this time.”

Ezreal shifted uncomfortably under their scrutiny. A small nod from Jayce encouraged him, and he said, “Vi, I’m sorry for overstepping your boundaries. I won’t do that again.”

She wasn’t completely satisfied, but still said, “Thanks. Appreciate it.”

“Alright, that’s done,” said Ekko. “Next order of business. We tried once, we failed once. So the question is,” He swept his gaze over the room. “What are we going to do about it?”

A few feet shuffled. Lux finally said, “I liked their outfits. They looked more like… well, rockstars. Compared to us. No offense or anything.”

Ekko pointed to her appreciatively. “Yeah, good one. We need more of a look.”

“Agreed,” said Vi, and Jayce nodded.

“Eh, I don’t know,” Ezreal said. “I think our look is more wholesome. Makes us stand out from them.”

“Then what do you suggest we do differently?” Ekko asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Ezreal nodded towards Lux. “I think you should let Lux sing a few songs.”

She gasped as all eyes landed on her. “Wh-what?”

“Come on, babe,” Ezreal prompted. “You have an amazing voice.”

“But- but so does Ekko! And Vi…”

Jayce asked, “Do you want to sing, Lux?”

But Ezreal chimed in, “Of course she does, she’s amazing. You should hear her.”

Vi’s voice was patient. “He didn’t ask you.”

“It’s okay!” Lux said, trying to keep the peace. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind singing, if you’re both okay with that?”

“Sure,” Ekko said. “You mind if we hear a sample?”

The room went quiet. Lux asked permission from everyone’s faces, standing when she felt sure.

La la-la La la-la la-la

She cleared her throat. “S-sorry, I’m not totally warmed up yet.”

“That’s okay,” Jayce said with a grin. “Keep going.”

Lux took a deep breath, and sang,

Gales of song Guide me through the storm

She collected herself, slowly getting into the rhythm of the song.

On the wings of a small, simple melody Words take flight and soar They carry me, a world we'll see Looking for a farewell, I pull the threads A life without you I cannot accept I can't tell that lie, I can't let go

With each line, her confidence increased. Her voice rose and fell, a breathy soprano that could be surprisingly powerful. As the song crescendoed, so did Lux, her eyes closed as she breathed in the music, a smile playing on her lips.

I walk alone, there's more to life I have to know It's just me, lost so far away from home Alone I shut myself in Still the winds howl, they call and their voices lead me Gales of song, guide me through the storm

Her voice rose on the final notes, carrying them effortlessly.

Let the melody lift me hiiiiiiiiiigh, I'll be meeeee

They all just stared at her, mouths agape. Lux squirmed. “Um, was that okay?”

Vi breathed, “What the fuck, Lux.”

The boys made noises of approval. Jayce said, “You’ve been holding out on us, Crownguard.”

“Told ya,” Ez crossed his arms triumphantly.

Ekko was already planning, coming up with different songs for her to sing. “You know, you’d have a good voice for like gothy, ethereal metal. If you’d be down.”

“Metal?” Ez scoffed. “No way. She’s more of a pop-”

“Ezreal,” Vi said. “Respectfully, shut the fuck up.” She locked eyes on Lux, ignoring his shocked indignation. “It’s your voice, Lux. What do you want to sing?”

This time, Lux avoided Ezreal’s gaze, focusing instead on the rest of the bandmates. They gave her the space to speak, and when she understood that she was in full control of the situation, she squared her shoulders and said quickly, “I want to sing gothy, ethereal metal!”

Everyone but Ezreal cheered, though he stopped protesting.

“Alright,” Ekko said, placing a hand on her shoulder in comfort. “We got our gameplan. Let’s get to it.”

                                                       ☆ ☆ ☆                                                        

“That’s right, Ezreal,” Jinx murmured. “She’s mine now. And if you ever want to see your little girlfriend again, then you better forfeit the contest. Your choice.”

Her hand lifted a crude doll with swoopy boy band hair. She did a poor impression of Ezreal. “Noooooo! Well, I guess you win, Jinx. You’re just too smart for me.”

She picked up two dolls: one of Lux, and one of herself. Her Lux voice was lighter, more breathy. “Thank you, Jinx! You’re my hero!” She pressed the dolls together and made a “Mwah!” sound.

Back in her normal tone, imitating herself. “Let’s get outta here, Starlight.”

There was movement at the studio door, followed by Viktor’s amused tone, “Am I interrupting?”

Jinx panicked, scooping the dolls under the counter. “N-no!”

“Interesting strategy,” he noted, taking his seat beside her. “Though, I don’t know how effective it will be in practice.”

“Shut up,” she grumbled. “It’s just my writing process.”

“I have no doubt,” he chuckled under his breath. “Ah, I don’t envy your situation, pupsik. But at least things seem to be going well?”

“Yeah.” She fidgeted with a dial on the soundboard. The conversation with Margot still haunted her. The last few times she had seen Viktor, Jinx was careful to keep it to just work. Especially under the scrutiny of Fishbone's glassy eyes.

She wondered how much Silco was paying attention. He didn’t care about the dolls: she had run through countless situations with them, hypothetical scenarios. Once, verbatim, he had told her he always skipped through that part of the feed, in an attempt to save her from embarrassment. This time would be the same, without a doubt.

But Viktor was different. She told Margot that she was doing at-home espionage, but that wasn’t really true. If she was supposed to be spying, she was doing a shitty job. She didn’t even know what happened between Viktor and Jayce that caused the fallout.

An idea struck her, something Lux had mentioned last night on the phone. Jinx considered him. “So are you and Jayce, like, broken up broken up?”

“We’re not together right now. Why?”

“Well, I’ve heard… and I know it’s none of my business, but a lot of people are saying that he and Medarda are… dating now.”

“Oh, I know,” Viktor said, unbothered. “They were seeing each other when Jayce and I were still together.”

Jinx started. “Wait. He cheated on you?”

“No! No, we had an open relationship. He and Mel have been involved for about a year now.”

“... Is that why you broke up?”

She could practically see the gears turning in his clockwork brain. “The reason was mostly because of… well, work was putting a big strain on our relationship. We had different ideas of how to improve the company. But I can’t deny that she was… a small part of it.”

Fishbones grinned in the corner of her vision. She did feel a little guilty for investigating, but she was also curious for her own reasons. “Because you were jealous?”

“No, not really,” he said. “I’ve always known Jayce was bisexual, and I never felt negatively towards any of our other opportunities, or even when we shared partners.”

“Ew. TMI, Vik.”

“But,” he continued, “Jayce has always approached men and women differently. With men, and especially in my case, he burns hot but it takes a long time for him to catch feelings. But with women, he falls hard and fast. And of course, Mel was the same. Not that I blame him: she is beautiful, and I’m certain that if I was attracted to women in any capacity, then I would be taken with her too.”

To say Mel Medarda was beautiful was an understatement. She was physically attractive, sure, but she was also elegant, diplomatic. The woman could charm a snake. Even Jinx had her celebrity crush phase, in early middle school when Mel first joined the senate. It was a parasocial relationship, of course, one of Jinx's romantic awakenings. The irony that Mel ended up sponsoring Ekko was not lost on her.

Viktor said, “She’s a busy woman, so he made sure he was available any time she was. And because of that, our schedule began to revolve around her’s.” His voice lowered just slightly. “And our home… she felt that our space was messy and disorganized, which it was, but… it was our space. And she took it upon herself to redecorate. I know she had good intentions, but…”

“... but it didn’t feel like home anymore.”

He didn’t say yes, but his sigh did.

“Did you ever talk to him about it?”

“Why would I? She’s our investor. Hextech wouldn’t exist without her. So instead of confronting him, when I saw an opportunity to step away, I took it.” He seemed to realize his own vulnerability, and shrugged it off. “That’s all.”

Jinx tried to think of what to say. People never really opened up to her. Probably because she was so unpredictable, which was fair. But when she came up with a way to talk to him, it was Vi’s voice that guided her words. “But if he doesn’t know, then how is he supposed to fix it?”

Instead of answering, Viktor said, “Perhaps it’s for the best. Jayce has always been more physically affectionate, more emotional. He deserves someone who can meet his needs, someone who is better off, someone… healthy.”

Jinx had felt that pain so many times before. She had fought it off for years after the accident, that feeling of being a burden to her family, that she was just in the way. They were words that she had accepted from herself thousands of times, but now, hearing Viktor say them, she found them unacceptable. “No,” she said. “That’s not true, Vik. You’re not less valuable just because you’re different.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t know what’s going through Jayce’s head, man,” she said honestly. “But I know that he cares about you. A lot. I didn’t really get a chance to hang out with you guys before… all this… but I know that the way he looked at you…”

She knew what she felt, it was just a matter of collecting it together into a coherent sentence. “Like, for example, Sky. When she was really down bad for you, she always looked at you differently. It was like… she wasn’t seeing you, the real you. It was like she was seeing the person she wanted you to be. But when Jayce looked at you, Vik, he saw you. Like, no offense, but you’re really fucking weird.”

“Thank you,” he said brightly.

“And when Jayce looked at you, he clearly knew you were really fucking weird. But he also really liked that about you. And I remember…” Her cheeks warmed at the thought. “I remember really envying that.”

The words were coming, too fast. The only person she ever shared these thoughts with was Silco, and even then, it had been years since she last said them out loud. “I always felt like Ekko and Vi wanted me to be a certain way, you know? They had this idea of who I should be, and they didn’t want me to be so weird and intense. But ultimately… That's who I am. And that’s why Silco was such a relief. You know, he accepted me, crazy and all.”

Viktor’s expression had dimmed. Probably because she was rambling, getting off track. “What I’m saying is,” she said. “Don’t just assume that Jayce doesn't like you anymore. Obviously right now isn’t the best time with the contest and everything, but when this is all over, just… talk to him. Maybe he’ll surprise you.” She cracked a grin. “And if he doesn’t, his loss.”

Viktor’s smile was thoughtful. “I’m the older one, shouldn’t I be imparting life lessons to you?”

Jinx rolled her eyes. “I can be emotionally intelligent. Sometimes.”

Viktor said, “I… I don’t know what your situation is exactly, with Vi and Ekko. But I think they could surprise you, too.”

Panic laced itself along her spine, though not as intense as usual when Vi and Ekko were brought up. “No,” she said. “No, I can’t. At least… not right now.”

“That’s fine, pupsik.” Viktor made sure not to overstep. “If you need time, you need time. I know I certainly do.”

She watched as he pulled up the recording software. “What does pupsik mean, by the way? You call me that a lot.”

“Eh, it’s like… baby. Or doll.” At her horrified expression, he said quickly, “It’s different! It’s a term of endearment, that’s all.”

She eyed him suspiciously.

“Really, it’s because of your-,” he indicated her hidden stash of dolls under the counter. “Your um… ‘writing process’.”

Her face flared red. “You know what, let’s-let’s get back to work.”

Viktor played the track they’d been working on, listening and altering the beats. Jinx tried to focus, though it was difficult with Fishbones murmuring in her mind. A weakness to exploit. Well done, Jinx.

[madridfangirl]

Star crossed lovers

Ch 20 blurb

...................................................

Roma and Jobe had front row seats to their journey, serving as external voices of reason when they were too drowned in each other to realise what was happening.

‘You’re practically living together now, you see that right?’

‘What? That’s rubbish.’

Ananya dismissed the thought immediately, going back to her Wordle. Roma and her were plopped on her bed, enjoying a lazy Saturday afternoon after ages. Jude was out of town for an away game.

‘Yeah? Let’s see.’

Roma got up from the bed with purpose. Something about her tone & stride making Ananya put her phone down & take notice.

She opened Ananya’s cupboard and pointed at one full cabinet stuffed with Jude’s things.

‘It’s just for convenience, so he doesn’t throw things around the room.’

‘Hmm.’

Roma went to the adjoining washroom, carrying out one basket filled with Jude’s toiletries. It was bigger than Ananya’s.

‘You know how he is. If he doesn’t find the specific product he’d bring the house down or send Agnes scampering for it. Just for conve…’

‘…convenience you say? Sure. I’m guessing your stuff would be in his room too, for convenience?’

‘….yeah.’

‘And that particular brand of sugarless pancake batter in the kitchen, those cereals that taste like mud, all that healthy vegan crap that you & I hate, is there for convenience too?’

Ananya averted her eyes, unsure of what to say. Or feel.

‘When he’s not here, you’re there. If you both are in Madrid and have time on your hands, you’re always joined at the hip. That’s called living together.’

Realisation set in for Ananya, followed by panic. She grabbed Roma’s hand & pulled her to the bed.

‘Is this…wrong?’

Roma’s tone softened immediately, looking at her friend’s state, knowing that the point had hit home.

‘Why should it be wrong? But it’s serious. And intense. And maybe a bit faster than what I would have done. But hey, to each his own yeah? Just want you to be aware that you’re in deep waters now, my friend. And maybe you should talk to Jude about it.’

Ananya nodded aimlessly. The idea of talking to Jude about this was unnerving. The dreaded conversation of where they were and where it was heading and if they were moving too fast. So she put it on the back burner for now, letting things unfold at their own pace.

Similarly, Jobe was amused to see his erstwhile ‘player’ brother turn more & more into what he called a ‘lovesick puppy.’

‘Say what now?’

‘You heard me.’

‘What do you know? You’re practically a child.’

‘I’m 18, bro.’

‘Exactly.’

‘More relationship experience than you. Just saying.’

‘Teenage relationship.’

‘Still counts.’

‘Whatever, you’re wrong.’

‘Yeah? So you didn’t discard last event’s outfit, custom-made by your stylist, just coz your girlfriend didn’t like it?’

‘She’s got taste. Picked me, yeah? So what if I listen to her opinion sometimes?’

‘What happened to having ‘uniquely distinct fashion choices that others are too stupid to understand’? At least that used to be the house line?’

‘She’s not others.’

‘Precisely my point.’

‘You have no point.’

‘Whipped.’

‘Shut up you loon.’

‘So you’re saying keeping the beard was your choice?’

The beard had been a sore point between Jude & Ananya. She liked him in the goatee but when he graduated to a beard she was thrilled. She had never been a fan of facial hair but she claimed that the beard suited Jude so so much. Plus she found it super sexy, which Jude always cashed in when he needed to. When he randomly moved back to the goatee one fine day, she just looked him up & down & didn’t kiss him like she used to. Didn’t wrap her arms around his neck when he kissed her, like she used to. That night, she didn’t deny him his tumble but didn’t doll up for him like she used to. He got the message, without her saying a word. He kept pestering her if she didn’t like it and she said it should be his choice. She shouldn’t have a say here. But he knew it was bullshit. She obviously had a preference and this was a passive aggressive way of showing it. Jude complained that it was discrimination and she was indirectly influencing his choice by using her sexuality. She retorted that she hadn’t denied him in any way that night and he shot back saying that she hadn’t invited him either, like she used to, especially after a difficult away game where he scored the winner. This half-hearted passion was unlike what they were accustomed to. The spark, the heat was not the same, coz she was not the same. And she simply said she couldn’t help it since she was ‘mourning his beard.’ Jude wanted to turn around and call her over-dramatic but decided not to, choosing to play the long game & not get kicked to the couch.

Her reaction to a clean-shaven look was far worse. Jude had to do it for a shoot and she refused to be anywhere near him, saying he looked like a child and she didn’t want any funny business when he had that babyface. She even tried to put a pillow between them when they went to bed, which Jude had to practically wrestle away. No amount of whining, cajoling or begging from him made her budge. That night, Jude realised he was in love with someone who could be as obstinate as him when she wanted to.

In an unfortunate moment, he had shared all this with his useless brother. 

‘Never telling you anything else from now on.’

‘Pls you’ll die without babbling to me.’

‘Oh fuck off.’

Jobe ignored that completely. 

...............................................................................

I promised a blurb, so here it is :)

Next will be the full chapter! In a few days or by the weekend hopefully.

[naughtygirl286]

This past Tuesday we went to see our first movie of 2025! We went to see Wolf Man and I would have to say there were alot of people there for this which I kinda was a bit surprised by.

Now I thought the movie was pretty good I didn't find it scary but I did find it very intense. Its like that edge of your seat almost like adrenaline type of horror I guess you would say.

I think that the opening sequence where the guy is out hunting with this son and they encounter some type of "creature" in the woods I think that sequence sets up the tone and the pace for the rest of the movie.

its al little slow after that for a bit and it has a time jump of about 30 years or so and you meet up with the boy from the first who is grown up now living away and has a family of his own. After receiving word that is father has been declared dead after he was missing for sometime he decides to take his family on a trip to the house to collect his father's belongings and close up the house. On their way there they have a bit of a traffic accident not far from the property and that is were everything goes crazy.

So in this they kind of stripped away all the lore of the Wolf Man or werewolves in general. It was more I would say Zombieish where it was like its a virus like he gets scratched and he is now infected by this "wolf" virus. The transition from Man to Wolf Man is kinda slow at the start with was kinda interesting because it start off with him noticing small changes like his senses begin to heightened also there is a cool effect that they use in the movie like its a type of I guess you could say "animal vision" like you get to see things from his perspective and it is something you would normally see from say a Predator movie. I just thought that was a cool thing

Now as for the Wolf Man himself if your going into this to see some dazzling visuals you might be disappointed the Wolf Man is very practical. The make-up effects are pretty good and there is from what I see quite a bit of prosthetic special effects makeup used in this but I feel it was largely kept at a minimum from what I could see. I feel this Wolf Man still looked more Man then Wolf. He does not resemble anything familiar nothing like the 1941 version or even the 2010 version and defiantly not something you would see in The Underworld Series or Van Helsing. I feel that this was a bit of a let down in the movie. Where you are expecting one thing and get something very different.

Another thing that was a bit not good was I felt this movie was extremely dark, not in its content but in its environment. Its takes place primarily at night and outside. I feel that they shot this just using the light from the moon. You could argue it was a stylistic choice but at the same time you want to see what is going on, even when they are in the house the light I felt was kept very low. I know you want to make this thing atmospheric but again like I said you want to see what is going on.

Now in general like I said I thought it was a pretty good movie I felt the acting was good and it was a very intense movie over all but at the same time I do feel that this wasn't about the actual Wolf Man at all it seemed like it was more about family drama, It was more about the character of Blake (Christopher Abbott) and his relationship with this militant father, his relationship with this daughter and the possible marriage problems with his wife Charlotte (Julia Garner) and not the actual Wolf Man. I feel the Wolf Man was meant to be a thing for him to manifest these issues like I feel that the Wolf Man was a secondary plot to the family issues. I could be wrong but that is just how it feels to me.

Now personally I do think 2010's The Wolfman is a better Wolf Man movie then this one and it focuses more on the actual character of Wolf Man then this does. but like I said I thought it was pretty good but I do think it could have been better but if you are interested in seeing this I would say give it a watch and see how you like it.

[charleyad]

Transform Your Look Instantly: Find the Magic of iFoto's Virtual Hair Style Try On

Ever wonder if you could try out a new hairstyle without actually cutting your hair? Well, wonder no more! iFoto has revolutionized the beauty experience with their innovative Virtual Hair Style Try On feature. It's like having a professional stylist at your fingertips, without the hefty price tag or the commitment of a salon visit.

Imagine walking into a salon, excited about a new cut, only to find out it's not quite what you foreseeed. With iFoto's Virtual Hair Style Try On, that's a thing of the past. Whether you're thinking about a sleek pixie cut, a classic bob, voluminous waves, or a chic updo, this AI-powered tool can show you exactly how it will look on you—before you even step foot in a salon.

But what sets iFoto apart from other virtual try-on tools? For starters, the technology is incredibly advanced. The AI haircut simulator is designed to analyze your facial features and suggest styles that flatter your unique look. It's like having a personal stylist who knows you better than you know yourself.

Let's talk about the versatility of this tool. Whether you're a fashion-forward trendsetter or someone who appreciates timeless elegance, iFoto's Virtual Hair Style Try On caters to all tastes. Experiment with different colors and lengths, and see how they work with your skin tone and hair type. It's a playground for your creativity, where you can try out hundreds of styles without ever stepping into a salon chair.

Have you ever spent hours browsing through hairstyle magazines, only to find yourself asking, "Will this really work for me?" With iFoto, you can bid goodbye to those moments of uncertainty. The AI technology is designed to provide realistic, life-like representations of how different hairstyles will look on you, ensuring you're never disappointed.

But the benefits of iFoto's Virtual Hair Style Try On don't stop there. For those who are environmentally conscious, this tool is a game-changer. Say goodbye to the waste of time and resources associated with regular salon visits. With iFoto, you can find your perfect hairstyle from the comfort of your home, reducing your carbon footprint one virtual try-on at a time.

Now, you might be wondering, "Is this as accurate as seeing a hairstyle in real life?" The answer is a resounding yes. The technology has been refined to provide highly accurate simulations, allowing you to make an informed decision about your new look.

So, how does iFoto's Virtual Hair Style Try On work? It's simple. Upload a photo of yourself, and within seconds, you'll see a variety of hairstyles that are tailored to your features. Play around with the options, and when you find the one that speaks to you, share it with friends or schedule an appointment with a salon that uses iFoto's technology.

In a world where personal style is more important than ever, tools like iFoto's Virtual Hair Style Try On are becoming indispensable. It's not just about looking good; it's about feeling confident in your choice. So why not give it a try? Who knows, you might just find your new signature look with a few clicks of a button.

[morlock-holmes]

@lynettethemadscientist

"I think the issue with AI art is less the “theft” aspect and more the laziness. I could use an AI program to help me write a niche fanfic. Or I could write it myself, which would require time and effort. It would require me to build skills and have dedication. These are all good things that I *should* be striving for, rather than taking the easy way out. Functionally, using AI programs for creative projects is the same as buying a Hostess cake instead of learning how to bake"

When you say "Write it myself" what do you mean? Type it into a computer? Type it on a typewriter? Write it all out by hand? How would you publish it, would you upload it to AO3? Carefully write the whole thing out in black letter caligraphy? Once you write the first copy would you use mechanical reproduction like a scanner and printer or would you only allow hand copies?

Mind, there's no "right" answer here.

I remember taking a comic book course at the local community college about 15 years ago and one of the students asked about using zip-a-tone.

You know how a bunch of manga uses grayscale:

source

When printed, each of those grays is actually a pattern of tiny dots, which are so small that they create the impression of a large block of gray.

Nowadays, and fifteen-years-ago-a-days, you could just scan your art, and use photoshop's fill tool to make those tones.

But prior to the invention of computer image editing software, artists would buy large sheets of what were essentially tape covered in tiny dots, use an xacto knife to cut them manually into the shape of the artwork, and physically paste them on top of their ink drawings.

One of the students wanted to do that instead of using photoshop, and the teacher went,

"Man, I can't stop you but I hated that stuff, it was awkward to use and stuck to the wrong things and all the little scrap bits would get everywhere. I remember I'd get in the shower and find pieces stuck to my pubes."

Artists are always reaching back. Why do CGI when I could photograph everything on 32mm film and use an optical printer to make the special effects.

Well, because it's really difficult and awkward, and that's your trade-off.

The thing about the ubiquity of computers is that they are draining the physicality out of the art production process. Zipatone, film cameras, pen and ink, caligraphy, gold leaf, sculpture, optical process shots, cutting film with a razor, shooting ink and paint drawings on an oxberry, these are radically different as physical processes; duplicating any of them on the computer consists mainly in using a mouse, a keyboard, and a wacom tablet.

This is not a trivial difference.

Probably Marshall McLuhan would have said something about it.

Text is exponentially easier to produce than imagery. While I was at work today I composed a little scene in my head:

"The strange girl puts her fingers to her lips and lets out a shrill whistle. Suddenly I see a speck in the sky, rapidly growing. It's traveling so fast I can barely make out what it might be.

I've only just had time to brace myself when it crashes into the street in front of me. It's huge, twenty or thirty feet tall, a kind of humanoid robot, or vehicle. It's feet appear to be made out of two monster trucks. Rather than a head, it has what looks to be a long gun, reminiscent of a tank or artillery piece. It has hands, but the fingers of the left one terminate in whirring drill bits, and the fingers of the right terminate in spinning buzzsaws. They make an ungodly racket as the hulking thing slowly steps out of the crater it made when it landed."

It took me about, oh, two minutes to write that description of my OC (It's a Warmain shard, if you play Nobilis) and I am extremely confident that this prose at least reaches the level of "workmanlike". It's good enough. Nobody is going to read it and then make fun of my stylistic choices on youtube. If you read it in a light novel you wouldn't stop and think about how amateurish it was.

Making a workmanlike drawing of the same scene would take me literally days, and I'm not sure that I could do it.

On the other hand, I typed this prompt into the Microsoft CoPilot thing that they put on my roommate's computer.

Hi, can you generate an image, shot from a low angle, of a giant robot standing in the middle of a city and towering over a human figure. The robot is green, has monster trucks for feet, and a tank turret instead of a head. The fingers on the left hand have drills on the end and the fingers on the right hand have buzzsaws on them.

After about 20 seconds it produced several images. Here's the best:

You will notice that it is wildly off from my prompt; of the eight images I generated this is the only one that put truck cabs on the feet. They are the wrong kind of trucks; they appear to be more like cargo trucks than monster trucks, but this guy has Vehicle Voltron/Dairugger feet, that's a non-negotiable detail.

Anyway, that aside, it is also workmanlike in a way that I would find extremely difficult to reproduce even after years spent bashing my head against visual art with little improvement.

One of the big questions is what happens when these tools begin to improve their responsiveness to prompting? Stablediffusion is less user-friendly and I'm much too tired to get it working properly, but it looks like it could come significantly closer to what I actually described, particularly with some inpainting work.

In the dada spirit I decided to make a prompt from looking at the next few posts on my dash and feeding excerpted phrases chosen at random into an AI image generating model...

And then doing it several more times because a certain word you will probably be able to guess swamped basically everything else in the prompt in a way that I found rather boring.

Here is the most successful image, in my opinion:

This, according to many people, is theft. I would challenge anybody to determine, simply from this image, first of all the exact wording of the prompt, and second of all, which visual artists I "stole" from.

Frankly, I find the idea that the above image inherently constitutes "theft", but that fanart and collage do not inherently constitute theft, just facially absurd.

Second, most of these software are artistically muddled; a semi-random string of words produces a homogenized product heavily weighted towards certain words. Certain parts of a prompt will tend to burn so bright that they blot out everything else about your prompt.

For science, and further demonstration of my point, the other images are below the cut.

[decodedlvr]

Hi! I just felt my autistic sense of justice and played tone police in your comments. Sorry about that, but their behavior as a fellow fanfiction writer was not okay. We have an etiquette, and there are some manners you should have when being part of a fandom.

About your fic: I liked it. It's definitely a different take on Steve since the fandom headcanons him mostly hung like a horse, and you wrote his insecurity and emotion well.

Billy and Tommy are dicks—nothing new. It is definitely behavior I can see them have without it being too out of character.

It's a little short and not finalized, which is expected since it's a series, and this is part one, after all. The wording was very good. The emotions came across. We were thrown into the story and got carried along.

Only thing I’d do is use the “keep reading” feature // :readmore: since it's easier for people coming across your story and/or reblogging it! BUT I am aware that that feature is currently a little buggy, so no biggy!

I also don't like people using ‘’ instead of “” but it is a personal peeve of mine and a question of personal taste and stylistic choice, therefore a me problem, not one for you to worry about.

Please don't let yourself get discouraged by this one person lacking manners, and continue writing. You clearly have a vision of where to take this series.

— Love, Lynn

PS: You do NOT have to respond to this. I just wanted to give you some feedback and apologize for spamming in the comments of your fic.

Hi. I appreciate this, you told me your likes and some constructive criticism, even though you weren’t really criticizing me lol. I thought my idea for the storyline for ole stereotypical king Steve, was pretty good imo🤷🏽‍♀️

I make it very apparent that I’m not a writer( so yes I will have flaws) and yes; I do write short thoughts or mini ideas I have and people seem to like it.

I’m sure some people don’t like reading about how Chrissy would be an evil bitch in fics, because she so sweet in the show right? I don’t make characters to be assholes on purpose. I just do what I do, and yes I like Billy and yes I made Billy a dick.. because he is one? I could have made him like so very very evil but I made it pretty basic.

Also, I never really liked (‘ ‘) either but everytime I made people talk (“””) just felt like so many dots to me. I still haven’t figured out what I like better; but I do get why the ‘ ‘ looks odd. The “keep reading” thing is back and forth for me, idk how to make it always say that :/

My blog is small, any like i get makes me wanna make more but I’m just too lazy to go full on haha. And your comments were spot on btw.

Thank you ❣️ and I love your fics btw too

[ajusnice]

a couple of people have asked how i colour shots that have an awful yellow tint, and it was requested by an anon that i make a tutorial today, so... here we are.

this tutorial will detail on how i remove the yellow tint and touch on my basic colouring, and i’ve tried to make it as concise as possible. it’s aimed towards heavily tinted shots, though you’re welcome to also follow along with shots that are more subtle (you might not find step 3 necessary though). please keep in mind that the more in-depth explanations are only applicable to the example shot i used, and when colouring your own, the settings will be different.

tutorial under the cut, please reblog if you can!

first, let’s start off with our shot. i’m using this one from the beginning of the willow music video:

as you can tell, the entire shot has a pretty heavy filter on it, and looks like an absolute pain to gif. but fear not, because we’re going to tackle that soon.

1. basic colouring to start off, i like to do a very basic colouring, which includes using layers like curves, levels, and brightness/contrast. it’s more of a stylistic choice though most gifmakers would say that they’re pretty essential, and i find that using these helps create more definition and contrast:

we haven’t adjusted much except increased the intensity of the blacks, and you might be wondering, “ace, isn’t this bit a little pointless?” well, even though it doesn’t really adjust the colours or remove the tint, i think the gif wouldn’t look as nice without these layers (i’m also just a sucker for contrast).

2. channel mixer immediately after this, i use channel mixer to help reduce the intensity of the yellow tint (note that i am reducing, not removing).

if you’re not sure how to use channel mixer, i highly recommend looking at kate’s tutorial here; it’s not something i’d want to skip learning, because it’s pretty essential for shots that involve heavy tints. nonetheless, i’ll try to explain what i’m doing throughout.

firstly, i went to the blue channel (as yellow and blue are contrast) and increased the green (+37) and blue (+118). i however decreased the red (-12) to try balance it out a little.

it was now a little too red for me, so i went to the red channel and decreased the red (+91).

and finally, i went to the green channel. i knew i wanted to increase the yellow in anticipation of the next step (which will make things less difficult), and similar to what i did with the blue channel, i increased the green (+115) and blue (+15), balancing this by decreasing the red (-7).

as you can tell, the yellow tint is a lot softer, but still pretty obvious. but don’t worry, in the next step, we’ll remove the yellow tint altogether.

3. hue/saturation this has to be my favourite step of the entire process, simply because the result is so satisfying.

without adjusting any of the other colours, go straight to the yellows and remove all the saturation (-100). it may look a little funny or the brightness may not be as you want it, so adjust the lightness accordingly (i adjusted mine to +64). just look at the difference:

after this, you can adjust the other colours. i increased the saturation in master, and adjusted the reds to help with taylor’s skin tone as it was now too pale.

4. finishing touches now that the yellow tint has been removed, you can continue your colouring (if you need to). the adjustment layers i used were brightness/contrast, selective colour, another hue/saturation layer, and exposure; this created a more vibrant and brighter final product.

and voilà!

i hope that this tutorial will help you. if you have any questions, please feel free to send me an ask.