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bluemari23 · 7 months ago

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darl+ing you || choi seungcheol

summary: You were on your way to South Korea, leaving your life behind to follow your soulmate back home. Your anxiety runs amok, and Seungcheol tries his best to get to know you better. pairing: choi seungcheol x neurodivergent reader genre: soulmate au, soul bonds, fluff, angst, idol au warnings: major angst, some light fluff, airport mayhem, angry cheol (not at mc), sneaky jeonghan ofc, word count: 2.8k new _world / part 2 of ?

masterlist

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You truly weren’t sure how to do this. You had been alone forever and didn’t know how to adjust to suddenly having someone in your presence, wanting to be in your presence.

You were at the airport, your flight with Seungcheol, he insisted you call him Cheol or another nickname but you weren’t too comfortable with that yet, leaving at almost 5 am this morning. So, you arrived at around 2 am, a driver coming to pick you up, ordered by HYBE.

After packing yesterday, you realized that Seungcheol only had what he was wearing when he was transported, so you took him to the store to try and grab a couple of items for him to last until we got to Korea and he was able to get back home. He pouted almost the entire time, claiming he didn’t need anything, but you just ignored him.

Once at the airport, you had to go through customs and security, which you thought would take longer with Seungcheol not having any of his things. But you were proven wrong when the driver had handed you a soulmate passport, made specifically for those with the soul transport bond that had been transported into a different country. This meant that you had the same privilege and status as your soulmate.

After going through customs, you and Seungcheol were led to a separate lounge, away from other people, besides a security member that had been assigned by Seungcheol’s company to stay with you until you both got to South Korea.

“It’s okay, baby.” Seungcheol whispers into your ear, trying to ease your anxiety as he places his palm on your thigh, causing your leg to stop shaking up and down. You freeze again, so unused to any affection but he doesn’t act like he notices, instead choosing to rub his thumb against your legging covered thigh.

You were anxious about everything right now.

You were trying to ignore the thoughts circling in your head about being unlovable, the television program’s voice just ringing in your head. It was hard to overcome the cemented feeling of being unlovable and an outsider and then all of a sudden that idea being thrown out at the appearance of your soulmate in your bed.

You slowly relax into his touch despite your thoughts, causing a small smile to grow on his lips. He had a feeling your life was tough before he showed up, literally. He wanted to know everything about you, the way you took your coffee, if you were an artist of some type, what your favorite song was; he wanted to know anything you were willing to tell him.

You felt the same, wishing to know who the person behind the screen was. You felt so comfortable with him already, not having the usual tense reaction to touch that you usually experienced. You felt like your body and soul had already accepted your bond, they were just waiting for your mind to join in.

“I’m just nervous, I guess.” You let out a little breathy, wanting to take full advantage of having a bond. You’ve always dreamed of being bonded, and you weren’t gonna let anyone take it away from you. “All of this is so…new.” You threw your hands up, gesturing to everything around you.

Seungcheol turned in his seat to face you, his hand still working small circles into your thigh. He could see how much you lean into his touch; how much you crave that intimate feeling his touch could bring you. He was so happy to have a soulmate, and he was going to do everything in his power to prove to you that you were his and that he was going to treat you like a queen.

But, before he could say anything, give any reassurance to you, his phone began to ring. He moved forward quickly, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead as he put an arm around you and pulled you into his chest to your head rested on his shoulder. Then, pulling his phone out of his pocket, he realized it was a facetime call from Hoshi, but he knew that all of his members were probably going to be on the other end.

With you still in his arms, he answered the facetime. There were so many faces trying to push their way into the screen, whether to see you or to hide others, Seungcheol didn’t know, but it made him grin either way.

You remained frozen as you watched the members of Seventeen, besides your soulmate, fight over the phone. This was just another reality check for your new world, being a part, even if it’s a small part, of the idol scene.

Eventually, they all backed away from the screen as Mingyu balanced the phone on something so they could all be in screen. You look up at Seungcheol to see if this was normal, only to see him smiling at the screen with fondness, before looking back at the phone.

So many questions start at once, everyone having something to say to you and their leader.

“Okay guys. One at a time.” Seungcheol finally manages out between laughter as you tense up at the loud noises coming from them.

“Can she understand Korean?”

“Are you guys at the airport already?”

Those were the two questions you could make out, as they all tried talking at once again. You were frozen, shy at all of the members looking at you. You almost turned your head into Seungcheol’s shoulder, trying to hide your shyness and the blush creeping up your cheeks.

Seungcheol could tell as well, squeezing your shoulder in his grasp before moving his arm to rest at your waist, holding you to his side for comfort before answering.

“She does understand some Korean, but you need to speak slowly for her to understand. She is Seungkwan and Vernon’s age. She is a carat. And we are in one of the private lounges at the airport.” Seungcheol answered the questions he heard, some shouts of excitement from the two ’98 liners being heard in the background as he answers Dino’s question.

“It is very nice to see you, Y/n. We can’t wait to get to know you better when you get here.” Woozi spoke softly but was still heard by you as he waved to you. He spoke slowly enough for you to understand, thankfully. You were still a bit shy, but you knew you needed to be polite and respond to him, plus, you wouldn’t turn away the opportunity to speak to members from one of your favorite groups.

“It is nice to see you all, too. I—uhm, I’m excited to get to know you all as well.” You respond in your best Korean receiving a big smile from all the boys, but the biggest grin from your soulmate who leans down and kisses you on the head, unable to help himself.

The call is cut short from the hired security coming in to tell you both that he was ready to board the plane with you and your luggage. You only had a carry-on and a suitcase as well as your personal backpack that had your purse in it while Seungcheol had borrowed one of your duffel bags for the things you bought him and the stuff he was transported in.

“We are about to board so we got to go, but I’ll text you when we get in the air.” Seungcheol ends the phone call after several thousand goodbyes are said.

Once he puts his phone away, he leans down and grabs the handle for your suitcase while you put your backpack on and grab the handle to your carryon. Once he puts his duffle on his arm, he grabs your hand to hold in his and the both of you follow the security to the first class entrance.

You felt like you were in a trance, having flown only a couple of times and being in economy every time. First Class was so extravagant looking. Everything was clean and you definitely felt out of place as you walked forward, Seungcheol leading you to your seats. As you passed by the other seats, you noticed a small blanket, eye-mask, and earbuds were placed on each seat as well as a water bottle and an empty champagne glass. The seats reclined into a bed and there was even a small side table and television in each seat pod.

When you got to your seats, Seungcheol surprised you by placing your stuff in the overhead compartments and helping you into your seat-pod. You didn’t expect for him to do this, to take care of your things and you before himself.

You had a feeling that your wishes for a soulmate were actually manifested in Seungcheol. Yes, you were a carat and knew he liked to take care of his members, but you weren’t a member and you were used to having to do everything yourself, always being overlooked and forced to be hyper-independent. It was such a nice thing that you almost began to tear up as he made you sit down as he opened your water bottle for you.

“Why are you crying, baby?” He questioned you softly, leaning down to look you in the eye. You didn’t think he would notice, but he did. Which was something you were sure you would need to get used to.

“I’m not used to others taking care of me.” You whisper, answering without thinking, still too in your head over your soulmates caring actions.

Seungcheol can’t help but to get a little angry inside, nodding his head at your words. He swears in his head to anyone listening that you will always be taken care of with him. He loves how open you are being with him though, that you feel safe enough with him to tell him to truth about your feelings.

“I will always take care of you, my soul” He cups your cheeks softly, tilting your head downward so he could place another soft kiss on your temple, resting his lips there for a couple seconds before getting up on his feet and moving to his own seat. He doesn’t miss the blush on your cheeks though, beaming to himself that he can make you so flustered so easily.

-*-*-

You spend the rest of your flight playing twenty questions with your soulmate, Seungcheol having managed to put the divider between your seats down so you could see each other. It was a nice time, truly, just getting to know your soulmate without the pressure of everything you knew was going to happen when you get to South Korea.

Once you touch down, your peaceful atmosphere was unfortunately broken. Before you got off the plane, Seungcheol receives a call from his manager who was waiting outside for you, that it has been leaked what had happened the past couple days and that the airport was swarmed with fans and paparazzi, waiting for you two.

You could see Seungcheol was upset, his jaw tense and his grip tight on your hand as he holds you still. You didn’t know what was going on, only that you had to stay on the plan for a little bit longer while HYBE security and the airport security do their thing.

Seungcheol remained on his phone, talking fast as he tries to ensure your safety while now bringing you into his embrace, holding you like he did in your room the morning before. His chin was resting on the top of your head as your cheek rested against his chest, feeling the vibrations coming through your cheek as he talked to another person on the phone.

You stayed on the plane for an additional twenty minutes before someone Seungcheol recognized came onto the plane and over to you.

“We have a route out and to the car. You can leave your things here. We will grab them.” The large man spoke to Seungcheol, before looking toward you and giving you a small smile with a nod of his head.

“Okay. Come on baby.” Seungcheol looks down at you before pulling away. He grabs your hand again without even thinking about it and begins to lead you out of the plan. He holds you closely to him, your shoulders brushing against each other as you walk out to the plane and are suddenly surrounding by maybe ten large men, formed into a circle around you.

You keep your head down as soon as you see the lights flashing ahead of you. You can feel Seungcheol hold you even closer, cursing under his breath at the amount of people waiting for you both. Once you got into the crowd, despite being surrounded by guards, you were scared. You felt like you dissociated once the flashes started, but you were brought back by a tug on your shirt.

Despite the number of guards near you, someone managed to get their arm through them and latched their hand onto your shirt, tugging you to the side, and in turn, tugging on Seungcheol who had a tight grip on you. It was a split second, but the damage was already done. You could hear screams but you were now moving quickly, Seungcheol beyond angry and more guards came over.

You could feel the tears building in your eyes, falling because you were too scared to wipe them away. You were too scared to move your body in fear of being grabbed again.

You hadn’t even realized you had gotten outside and to the car when Seungcheol had opened the door for you and helped you in first. You saw someone sitting in one of the seats from the corner of your eye, but you kept your head down, flashing lights continuous in your vision until Seungcheol got in and the door was closed behind him.

You were frozen, trying to calm yourself down as Seungcheol moves closer, buckling your seatbelt for you and sitting as close to you as possible.

“I am so sorry, baby. I can’t believe we got leaked!” Seungcheol pushes out the last sentence in anger. He was so mad about the entire situation and was beyond worried for you. He could tell that what happened had scared you; you hadn’t spoken to him since the plane and you were practically shaking like a leaf.

Seungcheol was scared. He couldn’t protect you in that moment and he almost lost you to someone tugging on your shirt. He had just found you and then almost lost you in a second. It would not happen again.

Seungcheol only pulled you closer to him, hoping his presence would be a comfort for you before he turned to the other person in the car.

“So, how did you win the competition to be here?” His voice was tense, understandably, but you could still hear some fondness in his tone as he spoke to the other person. You still hadn’t looked up yet.

“I snuck in while everyone else was freaking out.” Jeonghan teased, hoping to get you to look up at him. He wanted to ease the discomfort and fear he knew you were probably feeling right now. They were used to this. You were not.

Jeonghan’s words had you looking up though, eyes red and puffy from your silent crying breaking both of their hearts. Seungcheol hadn’t even realized you were crying and made himself a mental reminder to do his best to pamper you tonight.

“Have the company found the leak?” Seungcheol asked, his hand squeezing your won tightly still, not having let go since you got into the car. You could hear the anger lacing his voice, his determination to keep you safe only doubling.

“They have. And they’ve been fired. It seems that someone overheard a conversation about your announcement to us. Everyone has been dealt with.” Jeonghan didn’t hold back, knowing how his leader and friend got when something went wrong. No one wanted to get in their leader’s way when something happened to one of their members. He could only imagine how amplified that would be now with you.

“Good.” Seungcheol ended that conversation, quickly moving onto another, more light discussion when he noticed your eyes begin to glaze over. He could tell something was wrong, but he would wait until you were both alone to talk to you about it.

You remained quiet as you listened to Jeonghan regal the tale of what happened when they realized what had happened to Seungcheol and how excited the other members were to meet you. Hoshi and DK already fighting over who would be your best friend while Joshua and Mingyu were trying to figure out what kind of welcome gift to get you.

It seemed like the members were more excited to meet you than you could have imagined.

#scoups seventeen #seventeen soulmate au #seventeen headcanons #seventeen x reader #scoups fluff #scoups x reader #scoups soulmate #svt scoups x reader #svt scoups #soulmates #soul bonds #bluemari23

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evermoredeluxe · 4 months ago

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How Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Took Over the Entire World

By Chris Willman

By Alissa Gao for Variety

On the morning that Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” is about to begin a three-night stand in Dublin, the older gentleman taking charge of my passport at airport customs has clearly had his fill of Swifties, probably processing them by the hundreds already today. When I reveal myself to be one too — despite being arguably the wrong gender, inarguably old and lacking a telltale “Lover” mascara star over my right eye — his disdain is palpable. Suddenly, I’m getting way more screening questions than anyone not on a watch list should. “What do you like about her?” he sneers, peering up over specs.

This is probably the wrong time for me to point out Swift’s Irish heritage, or to assert that she is this generation’s James Joyce. (The original king of the Easter eggs, right?) I wouldn’t really go that far — I’m only on record as doing my best to certify her as this century’s Beatles. Trying to figure out how to answer him, the past 18 years of extolling Swift in print flash before my eyes. I end up murmuring the bare minimum: “Um, her songwriting.” This seems to disturb him further. He snaps back: “Aren’t they all the same song” — a slight pause, and I know what’s coming next — “about her breakups?” Then, abruptly, he stamps me through, sparing me a detour to Interpol for more grilling.

In the cab into town, the driver is blasting a local talk-radio personality sharing his dismay about the fans of an awful superstar taking over his country. The host reads an email sent in from a hater who says, “A year ago, when tickets went on sale, my partner and I made a reservation to take our kids out of the country this Friday morning. … Thank you for creating a safe space with your show.” I start to wonder if Swift might have met her match at the Cliffs of Moher.

But from my drop-off forward, the next three days are like living in a Swift-topia. The mile and a half to Aviva Stadium each night is like Disneyland when it shuts its doors early for an affinity group. Whether stopping in the pubs or walking through the charming neighborhood of Victorian brick homes adjoining the fancy new stadium, there’s that warm feeling of people who are united by one quality: They are all super in touch with their feelings — or else they wouldn’t be Swift fans. And they all are happy to stop on the street or over pints to talk about poetical expression. (Well, except for the occasional taciturn, invariably straight young male who has signified his supportive-plus-one status by wearing a jersey bearing the name of Swift’s Super Bowl beau, Travis Kelce.)

So it is that I end up chatting with a middle-aged gay man in a sequin-covered shirt whose female companion whispers to me, while he steps away to trade friendship bracelets with a 10-year-old girl and her mum, that Swift’s music just helped him through a difficult breakup. The girl then runs off to trade her homemade bracelets with a pair of high-helmeted Dublin policemen loaded up to their own elbows with friendship swag — unexpected accessories for long arms of the law.

All the stories about American Swifties swarming overseas to catch “The Eras Tour” turn out to be true: You couldn’t swing a neon golf club around here without hitting a Yank. Approximately one out of every five fans I approach is visiting from the States — and the jubilation they’re feeling about the night’s impending concert is compounded by the fact that nearly all of them financed a European vacation and a concert ticket for roughly the same amount they would have paid on a secondary ticketing site for a typical four-figure ticket to one of last year’s predatorily repriced U.S. shows.

Remember the venerable stereotype of the Ugly Americans, brusquely trampling over refined Europeans in their travels? Thanks to Taylor Swift, who has a gift for laying out global welcome mats, this is the summer of the Spangly American.

At the stadium on night one, just down the row from me are a group of millennials from New Jersey, several in glam unitards inspired by the “Lover” or “1989” portions of the career-spanning show and looking like they were costumed by Swift’s own designer, with fake jewel-encrusted microphones to match. I ask how many hours went into perfecting these nearly pro-grade outfits.

“About 80 hours for mine,” says Megan McLaughlin. “Hers probably longer,” she adds, nodding toward one of her sisters, Margo Steinberg. “She knows all the glues and the best gems.” Indeed, confirms Steinberg, “I was working on mine since January. And, yes, I did quit my job to finish it!” She adds, when I ask if she cares to share any secrets to a particularly good look, “You have to use the B-7000 glue.” (A third sister, Amelia McLaughlin, admits she resorted to buying her spangly dress off Etsy — “I was doing a PhD, but I had to match these girls’ enthusiasm” — while a fourth, Carolyn McLaughlin, skipped the glitter and went for a red dress that matches Swift’s from the “I Bet You Think About Me” video.)

Certainly, there is an element of cosplay to many of the fans’ outfits. Some have seen footage of the new segment Swift added to the tour beginning in April 2024 — devoted to her most recent album, the 31-song “Tortured Poets Department” — and have managed to manufacture gowns that look like they’re made of paper and feature lyric excerpts printed on them in script, à la Swift’s custom-made Vivienne Westwood dress. I meet a group of American women who became friends as literature majors in college who have “Tortured Poets”-themed outfits, one duplicating the Westwood dress and the other with handmade printouts of the latest album’s lyrics pinned all over her black dress, as if she were literally pulling pages out of Swift’s playbook.

It’s the devotion to lyrics, even more than glitter, that is most impressive about the bespoke outfits fans have concocted for the occasion. There are scores and scores of Swifties wearing homemade T-shirts — sometimes singular, sometimes matching with a friend, like walking Burma-Shave signs. Some of the messages are obvious, like the dozens of laddies wearing “It’s me, hi, I’m the husband/boyfriend/father, it’s me” shirts. (Bet that seemed really original at one time.) But a lot of them refer to more obscure songs or stanzas, as if every nearby street or stadium loge section is full of human Easter eggs, begging to be unpacked. It’s hard to think of any other superstar in the history of stadium tours who could have inspired as much fan-crafted clothing rooted in the power of words.

Combos of middle-aged mothers and their teen or 20-something daughters abound; some of them have seized on Swift’s mentions of her own mother, Andrea, to come up with their T-shirt ideas. On Lansdowne Road, I talk to a mum whose red-on-black shirt says, “Had to listen to all this drama,” accompanied by a daughter bearing the legend, “And here’s to my mama.” (This is a reference to Swift’s song “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things.”)

Later, in a stadium Guinness line, I chat up a pair of thirsty locals, the daughter’s shirt reading “I call my mom, she said …,” with the mom’s shirt completing the thought: “It was for the best.” (Damn it, I had to Google to recall that’s from a “1989” Vault track that came out last year.) I ask the daughter if she had to explain to her mom what she was wearing. “She’s 52,” she replies. “I don’t think she knows.”

Age is really no guarantor of not getting it — the popular #SwiftieOver50 hashtag on X proves that. Although outnumbered, plenty of older people are unaccompanied by a minor, or by anyone who has been a minor in the past 20 years. I approach a middle-aged couple, Jean Sebastian Conley and Natasha Gagne, again bidden by their matching shirts — “Who’s Taylor Swift?” and “Who’s Travis Kelce?” They turn out to be French Canadians who found their 206-euro SRO tickets to be a steal compared with the extravagant resale prices they briefly considered back home after being shut out of the initial on-sale. I ask what attracted them to Swift since, unlike so many others here, they didn’t grow up with her.

“I really fell in love with her with the ‘Folklore’ album,” Conley says, referring to her low-key Grammy-winning album recorded during the early months of the pandemic. “I think different audiences and older audiences found her through that and ‘Evermore’ because they were more singer-songwriter, a little bit rougher indie music, and that’s what we like most. So that’s how I got hooked.” For her part, Gagne says, “I like everything she represents. And when she redid all her masters, that’s where I thought she was a lady boss.”

It’s a reminder that, for however many mini-narratives Swift packs into the three hours and 20 minutes of an “Eras” show, there are really four or five years of backstory that feed into the audience’s shared awareness. When she sings the ominous ballad “My Tears Ricochet,” accompanied by a coven of stone-faced dancers, at least some fans will understand it as a distant reflection of her very public feelings about the men she considers her business bêtes noires, Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta, who bought and sold (respectively) the rights to her first six albums, spawning much vitriol as well as four “Taylor’s Version” rerecorded albums to date.

When the dancers put their grins back on, Swift plays an ebullient excerpt of a very recent “Poets” bonus track, “So High School,” which every person in the crowd will know is inspired by Kelce. There are some breakup songs of recent vintage too — yes, Mr. Customs Man! — like “The Smallest Man in the World,” which may or may not have cost Matty Healy, the 1975 frontman and former Swift paramour, a night of sleep.

The whole tour is themed around not just the newer records but the rerecordings that have made every older album in her catalog feel improbably fresh. It was, quite possibly, the single most baller move in the history of the record industry … and led to the career-retrospective concept for what is already unquestionably the biggest tour in the history of popular music.

Any discussion of the charms of fandom isn’t meant to forestall discussion of “The Eras Tour” as big business. The numbers are fuzzy because Swift’s camp does not release grosses from her shows, unlike nearly every other artist at the stadium or arena level. Even when the tour wraps after 20 months on Dec. 8 in Vancouver, it seems likely those numbers will continue to be guarded with a zeal on par with the government of North Korea’s. Many industry experts believe the gross will approach or even surpass $2 billion.

What is known for certain — even without a confirmation from Swift World — is that she broke the all-time tour-gross figure when she hit the $1 billion mark, whenever exactly that might have been. The two trade publications that specialize in the touring industry have slightly differing estimates: Billboard calculated a cumulative gross of approximately $900 million when she took a break at the end of 2023, figuring that she would crack $1 billion shortly into the tour’s resumption in April, while Pollstar estimated that she had passed $1 billion by the conclusion of last year. Any way you guesstimate it, Swift took less than a year to break the previous record of $939.1 million, which Elton John grossed with his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour across nearly three years of shows.

One source close to the production said early in the “Eras Tour” era that her average gross each night is $14 million. Others believe that is a highly conservative estimate, with a possible total that on at least some nights edges closer to $17 million. One remarkable aspect is that this does not include the revenue from any inflated resale tickets — which, as anyone who has tried to get tickets through Vivid Seats or StubHub knows, mostly have gone for several times their face value. It was little publicized, but Swift had “dynamic pricing” turned off for her ticket sales, possibly to avoid the controversies Bruce Springsteen encountered when the face value on some of his tickets leaped to the four-figure range upon their first sale. Swift left money on the table by not participating in the scalping of her own tickets, which had an average price of around $230 and topped out at $499, excepting VIP packages, which zenithed at $899 — all well short of what some other superstars ask nowadays. Of course, neither Argentina nor anyone at Wembley Stadium ahead of Swift’s opening night performance in June will be crying for her when she’s in reach of $2 billion without the resale inflation … not to mention the hundreds of millions of dollars in merch.

(This is extraordinary also because Swift hasn’t done any press to promote the tour, except for when she was selected as Time Magazine’s Person of the Year in December. But she doesn’t need to — the tour is constantly being celebrated on social media with every outfit change. And it’s also become so huge, it’s featured more A-list sightings than the Oscars, from Julia Roberts to Tom Cruise to Stevie Nicks, who had the surprise song “You’re on Your Own, Kid” dedicated to her in Dublin.)

Benson Boone, whose “Beautiful Things” is the most-streamed song of 2024 in the U.S. and the world, says he felt dwarfed when performing as the opening act at one of Swift’s seven shows at London’s Wembley Stadium. He has forever committed to memory the exact attendance figure he was given for the night: “89,497,” he says. “Just her stage alone is bigger than anything I’ve ever seen — 300 feet of it!” he says. “I took in every moment. It was cool for me to experience another artist’s world and learn from it. I want to work that hard and be the captain of my ship.”

Although it’s maddening to a media that likes official box office reports and can’t get them, it’s easy to see the wisdom in not flaunting those figures if you’re a superstar artist who counts on being seen as relatable. Swift certainly is proud of breaking records — she posted a tweet when “The Tortured Poets Department” spent its first 12 weeks at No. 1 on the album chart, one of only three albums in history to do so. But she’d rather count fan impressions than dollars. By the same token, she doesn’t publicize or confirm acts of generosity that leak out, like the sizable food-bank donations she makes in every city she tours, or the $100,000 bonuses that the tour’s 50 truck drivers reportedly got for Christmas.

An addendum to all this is how the “Eras Tour” film — released last fall, less than halfway through the actual tour — grossed just over $180 million domestically and $261 million globally, beating the records set by Justin Bieber’s concert film in the U.S. and Michael Jackson’s globally. Massive big-screen spoilers only heightened, rather than diminished, resale demand for the shows yet to come on the 152-date tour and helped precipitate the movement among Americans to head overseas, to make up for the supply found sorely lacking at home.

“She is the torchbearer for the live industry,” says Andy Gensler, editor of Pollstar. “It’s nothing we’ve ever seen before, and it’ll be a long time before we see it again. Her timing was exquisite: The pandemic created this yearning and hunger for live entertainment like nothing else in our history, so she couldn’t have picked a better time to go out.” Pollstar called last year a “historic golden age” for touring, as the top 100 global tours collectively surpassed $9 billion — up 46% from 2022 — with Swift obviously contributing a significant chunk of that total. (This year, the trade reports that overall tour attendance is down, with flat grosses, representing a slight reckoning for the live industry that, obviously, isn’t impacting “Eras.”)

“What my partners and I talk a lot about is how it’s one thing to have a big tour in North America. It’s another thing to have an equally big tour wherever you are in the world and to do doubles and triples in these markets,” says Bernie Cahill, an Activist founding partner and manager of acts including the Grateful Dead and the Lumineers. “It’s an anomaly. It’s not normal. And don’t forget, you’re going into what I call asymmetric venues, which are venues that are not really built for music; these are venues that are built for football games or soccer games and can be very challenging to do music. And they get it right every time — Louis Messina [Swift’s tour promoter since her earliest days] and his team are world-class.” But for all that globe-trotting, he notes, “there are some artists that you see do a show and you know they don’t even know what city they’re in. I always feel like Taylor knows exactly where she is. She has a relationship with that city or that market and those fans and she’s connected to them in ways that are very authentic, that you can’t fake.”

The one big snafu in the rollout of “The Eras Tour” occurred in November 2022 when the Ticketmaster system melted down after too many North American dates went on sale at once, causing thousands of fans to experience long delays. The on-sale broke the all-time record for tickets sold in a single day at 2 million, but it also nearly broke the world’s largest ticketing platform. Swift herself was Teflon in this situation, as the blame fell on a ticketing system not capable of handling so much of the Swift-loving world at once. And although most of the problems people have with Ticketmaster are different from what fans faced in the “Eras Tour” debacle — mainly, hidden fees and monopolistic practices — it could have big legislative consequences anyway. Dean Budnick, co-author of “Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped,” believes that the Swift hullabaloo was the main catalyst for Congress enacting reform. “There’s no question that perhaps there’s gonna be some meaningful change in ticketing as a result of what people experienced with that on-sale.”

That sense Cahill spoke about of the singer making it clear to an audience she knows exactly where she’s at is in full force in Dublin. Swift introduces the “Folklore”/”Evermore” segment by suggesting that she had a spiritual locale in mind when she started writing that more intimate material, locked in during the first part of the pandemic. “It keeps me up at night all year long: Which era is the most Irish?” she half-jokes to the crowd. “I’m gonna make a case for it being ‘Folklore’ … This album’s imaginary world had a whole aesthetic — like I lived in this cabin in a really green, nature-y, moss-covered landscape. You see where I’m going?… Another thing that I think makes it more Irish than the other eras is, ‘Folklore’ was all about storytelling. And I know you hear this a lot, but you guys are naturally gifted storytellers, right?”

Later on, Swift will cement the local connection by playing, as a “secret” surprise acoustic song, “Sweet Nothing.” She doesn’t have to give the crowd any explanation for that: From the first notes, Irish Swifties will immediately recall that the lyrics reference to the coastal town of Wicklow. The real cherry on top of the show for locals at any international Eras Tour stop, though, comes with a customized moment each night during “We Are Never Getting Back Together” when the spotlight is put on backing dancer Kameron Saunders for a couple of seconds, as he blurts out something locally appropriate, and cheeky. One night in Dublin, it’s the Irish catchphrase “the neck of ye!”; on another, he yells out “pog mo thoin,” meaning “kiss my ass!”; the massive, knowing laugh that inside joke gets makes it clear this isn’t entirely an audience of American tourists after all.

But the basic theatrics and emotional currents remain consistent from show to show. If Swift is surprisingly reticent to make her “Eras Tour” numbers public, that may be, in part, her desire to keep the focus primarily on a personal fan connection. Music industry veterans are taken aback by Swift’s ability to be giant and intimate onstage. “She’s a master marketer of herself — and she is not afraid to be vulnerable to her fans,” says Michele Bernstein, who runs a consultancy that works with stars like Drake. Bernstein could almost be quoting the lyrics of “Mastermind,” where Swift describes herself in almost comically omniscient terms, then dives into a bridge about how no one would play with her as a little girl.

People like my guardian of the customs gate may complain about Swift’s songs centering on her romantic splits, but that subject matter magnifies her own insecurities and weaknesses, expressed in genuinely eccentric wordplay, in ways that keep the audience in thrall to someone they perceive as a humble underdog as well as a veritable cage fighter. She could do a $10 billion tour someday and still keep the crowd enraptured by how she measures up to, or rallies to exceed, the smallest man — or men, or Kardashians — in the world.

This plays out in the “Eras” show in all sorts of symbolic ways, like the new segment in the “Tortured Poets” section where she seems to have fainted from the vapors of failed romance. Dancers in tuxedos try to revive her while a swing version of “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” plays over the PA. A pair of women dressed as nurses fit her with what looks like a majorette’s uniform — or, with all its off-white stripes, is it really meant to resemble a straitjacket? The resemblance is probably not coincidental. Swift fans know there’s nothing like a mad woman.

The most exhilarating moment that has been added to the show this year has her gliding down the ramp on a platform, appearing to anyone at floor level like she is levitating like the witch she makes herself out to be in “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” Taylor Swift: She was Agatha all along!

Yes, there is much to unpack. But in Dublin and in every other city where “Eras” has alighted, there is also pure inspiration for those who maybe haven’t always felt like they’ve had a voice, whether it’s her LGBTQ+ fan base or, well, women. It’s a modern transmutation of Beatlemania in which Swift manages to be all four Fabs, and a mirror, as well as object, of that gaze. You don’t have to be a woman to experience the explosion of pure female joy that takes place on a mass scale at an “Eras” gig, but for men, it doesn’t hurt to have a healthy sense of where you might sit on the female spectrum.

Outside Aviva Stadium, two young Londoners have formed their own two-woman straight-gay alliance: One is wearing a shirt with the hand- drawn words “You’re obsessive and crazy,” and the other’s shirt has the phrase “You’re gay,” each with an arrow pointing to the other. This echoes the original lyrics to Swift’s 2006 oldie “Picture to Burn,” which was rerecorded after some were offended by “gay” as a possible teen epithet. “I am obsessive and crazy, and she is gay,” laughs Zoe Gibson, pointing to her friend, India Day. “We want to bring back the original lyrics. We never found them homophobic — we want to reclaim it.” Day adds, “We’ve listened to her since we were 4 years old, so obviously there’s the nostalgia factor. But for me, she speaks on quite a lot of issues like gay rights and feminism, and all of her songs perfectly sum up the experience of being a woman.”

Some of the shirts are apropos for Pride Month. Seeing a boy of no older than 15 or 16 wearing a homemade “But Daddy I Love Him” shirt (the title of a “Tortured Poets” fan favorite), it’s easy to imagine some courage was required to don that apparel. Along the same lines, I spot any number of women making their own statement in shirts with the modified exclamation “But Daddy I Love Her.”

Gay or straight, 6 years old or 60-something, female or just female-allied, the crowd inside gets its sway on early in the show, with the arrival of the gentle, waltz-time “Lover.” It’s not one of the big set-pieces of this nonstop Broadway-style production — the spotlight is just on Swift and her acoustic guitar — but it might be the one where the entire audience feels like it’s at a four-minute campfire. No wicked witchiness here, just winsomeness.

Down on the floor, I’m seeing what amounts to a Taylor Swift mosh pit: gangs of two or three or five young women, ignoring the fact that Swift herself is just yards away from them on the ramp. They’re singing and acting out every last line to each other, as if the superstar isn’t even towering right over them. A waste of their euros? Hardly. Swift will capture their full attention again as the show proceeds, but in the moment, she isn’t just a superstar — she might be the world’s greatest community organizer.

#variety 2024 #variety #eras tour #taylor swift

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ermine-57047 · 1 year ago

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Mundane things that feel like TMA entities

The Buried - When you cover your entire body in blankets but have to poke your head out a few minutes later bc you can't breathe.

The Corruption - Being anxious about opening a tupperware from the back of the fridge, the contents of which have probably been rotting in there for months.

The Dark - When you turn off the lights in a room and walk just a bit faster than normal back into the light.

The Desolation - Burning paper, tossing something into a bonfire just to burn it.

The End - Trying not to think about how the elderly people you know won't be around in a while.

The Extinction - Anxiety about not recycling a singular plastic bottle.

The Eye - Looking at yourself in those little surveillance monitors that show customers in a store what the cameras are seeing.

The Hunt - Playing tag or any other chasing/being chased game.

The Flesh - Picking at your skin, in any way.

The Lonely - Driving at night through the suburbs.

The Slaughter - Killing any sort of bug, stomping on ants just because.

The Spiral - Losing something small, upturning everything around you, only to find the thing in a pocket or a place you don't remember putting it.

The Stranger - Not liking your voice in recordings because it sounds different from how you usually hear it.

The Vast - Looking out the window on an airplane, watching the world fade away beneath the clouds.

The Web - Going through a bureaucratic procedure like renewing a passport or filling out banking paperwork.

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aurorialwolf · 3 months ago

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Ok I’m feeling better (got burnt out) so now I’m gonna continue my posts about next gen redacted ocs!! I made a custom tag for these posts, so you can click that to see the rest of them :D (it’s tagged on this post)

This time: David’s son, Dante!

- His full name is Dante Gabriel Shaw

- His nickname is probably smth like Danny, so Davey and Danny lol

- He looks a lot like Gabe, his eyes being closer in shade to Gabe’s than David’s, and his facial structure & hair being very similar as well. This makes David both happy and a little sad, which Dante doesn’t understand until he’s a little older and David explains everything about Gabe to him.

- David brings him and Angel to visit Gabe’s grave regularly, and they leave dahlia flowers and honeysuckles (which i stole from other ppls flower hcs sry fhksdhjs)

- He’s besties with Ashlyn (Asher’s daughter) because of course

- He has a sort of inner circle who are all his friends in the pack, so that includes Samuel Jr., Ashlyn, and Milo’s daughter

- He’s always acted like a mini alpha, protecting his friends like David does, he started mimicking David when he was 2, attempting to do speeches to the rest of the pack toddlers

- He shifted for the first time when he was 14, a week before the winter solstice, and while it was painful, he managed pretty okay. His shifted form is very similar to his dad’s (large black wolf in my hc), but with a white swirl pattern on his right flank.

- He is the most responsible in his friend group, making sure they’re all eating, they’re on time, etc. would absolutely be the guy who has all the papers and passports when they go on an international trip.

- He may act a lot like his dad, having a gruff exterior, but it’s mostly a cover, and he can be a little goofball sometimes, like his other parent (Angel)

- He loves playing minecraft, started when he was 5, and co-ops with Angel often to make cool builds

Ok now for official alpha / security company stuff that he’d do!!

- He’s David’s only kid (in this version of things) so he’s naturally expected to become Alpha

- So, he often shadows his dad to important events, as well as security gigs

- One of the major things is he accompanies his dad to Solaire-hosted events, and while his dad greets William and shakes hands with him, Dante greets Emilie (William’s daughter), and shakes hands with her.

- She enjoys messing with him, and has held him in a couple second trance to see how he reacts (like I said in her post, she’s not great with mortals), which he eventually, after a couple meetings, can reliably break out of.

- Usually at these events, he stands around with his dad mostly separated from the vampires, interacting only with those who approach them, because David is worried about him being vulnerable to attacks or trances

- Luckily for him, Samuel Jr. (Sam’s son) is a regular attendee at these events, as William invites him, Vivienne (Vincent’s daughter), and their parents. Of course, Samuel is very protective of his friends, so whenever Dante has been at risk, he’s protected him, albeit maybe too violently, but it gets his point across.

- Now I feel like it’s a good time to mention that Samuel jr and Dante are boyfriends / eventual mates!! So it adds an extra layer considering Samuel has a rightful claim to him (the magic bite thingy), mostly for the purpose of being allowed by vampire law to protect him somewhat violently 👍 (Samuel also visits Gabe’s grave independently to leave flowers, because he’s paranoid about getting permission to date and eventually propose to Dante cuz blah blah tradition even though Gabe wouldn’t care if he were alive)

- He also shadows his dad on security gigs, learning all the best ways to keep large groups safe and orderly in case of an emergency. He also gets properly trained in gun use, just in case, and does pretty alright (they train at a typical gun range after he gets the proper licenses)

- Dante eventually heads his own event security gig, and manages pretty well. He’s doing it with his group of friends, so they goof off a bit over radio, which he scolds them for, though lightheartedly

- He does experience some rough gigs, not ever quite inversion level but there was a time when a clan of vampires descended on a large event being held in a stadium that had similar levels of danger, with luckily less losses

- One day, when Dante is ~25, David gets pretty sick, though is not in any danger, simply is somewhat immobilized and can’t perform his usual duties. Asher takes over, as a beta typically does, but starts trying to convince Dante to take over as alpha, which has been a previous conversation before, especially between Dante and David, but Asher is now making it a bit more urgent, and Dante is resistant to the idea.

- Dante says something along the lines of David not being dead, just sick, so he doesn’t need to take over yet, since he’s scared of taking over so soon. Asher flinches at that, and things become awkward. He eventually apologizes, but Asher insists it’s okay.

- Dante takes some convincing, but eventually decides to step up and take over, after David promises to support him in learning his duties.

- He picks Ashlyn to be his beta, and she does a good job! His takeover of the pack goes pretty well, mostly because everyone was expecting it anyways. David recovers fully, and helps him keep everything orderly, and keeps being in charge of the security company for a few more years before signing that over to him as well.

Taglist: @vegafan69 @darlin-collins @kxemii @professionallyyappin @sereh624

#redacted audio #redacted david #arias redactedverse kid hcs

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velvet-serenity · 5 months ago

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Hello! My name is Lucian and Im in dire straights rn. I am a trans, intersex, disabled, otherkin who really does not want to be on the streets. My commissions are open in a sort of emergency mode as my housing has become incredibly unstable and I need to get out of the state I'm in (Missouri) and preferably this country.

Between all of us (my two partners, who also need to escape) we have 3 cats and a dog who all need to come with us. I cannot leave them behind.

Here are my goals so you know what any money you spend or donate will be going towards:

Feeding me and my cats: pretty self explanatory I think.

Passports: we all three need them and they're about 165 dollars each.

A mobile home or RV big enough to fit all of us, used: I have no idea how much this will cost but I know it's a lot. We may also need a vehicle if it's a 5th wheel.

Everything you give will go to keeping me and my pets off the streets.

If you aren't interested in Fursuits, Bleach Painted Clothes, Traditional Art or Pixel Art, but you ARE willing to donate, please send it to $SignalEhxx on cashapp. Everything helps, even one dollar.

I am willing to take "after dark" style commissions! Please feel free to dm me if you have any questions regarding ANYTHING.

I'm thinking of offering writing (fic/custom work) coms but I have no idea how to price those so if you're interested in having a fic written please message me about it.

Here is what I offer! ALL QUOTES ARE FREE AND REQUIRED!

Fursuit commissions:

! quotes required for full pricing !

This list does not include material pricing, which will be a part of your quote. These prices can, will, and do go up based on complexity and other factors such as tail length and plantigrade (humanlike) or digitigrade (animal like) legs.

Head Only: Starts at a baseline of 100USD.

Head+Handpaws: Starts at 150USD.

Mini Partials(Head+Hands+Feet+Tail): Starts at 200USD.

Partial(Head+Hands+Feet+Tail+Armsleeves OR Legsleeves): Starts at 300USD, if choosing legs, digitigrade legs add 50USD.

Full Partial(Head+Hands+Feet+Tail+Armsleeves+Legsleeves): Starts at 400USD for plantigrade legs or 450USD for digitigrade legs.

No Fullsuits at this time.

Individual Part Prices:

Handpaws: Starts at 50USD

Feetpaws: Starts at 75USD

Tails: Depends on length. Nubs/Short tails start at 25 USD, Long Tails+Husky Curls start at 75 USD, Floor Draggers/Oversized Tails start at 150USD.

Armsleeves: Start at 100USD.

Legsleeves: Start at 150USD plantigrade, 200USD digitigrade.

Price will go up depending on certain factors and complexities in your design. Here are a few:

Colours: Suits exceeding 3 colours (including blacks, whites, and greys,) will have an additional 25USD added per colour. this is because it will add to the working time.

Markings: Stripes, Spots, Lines, Swirls, and other numerous small markings will raise the price by 50USD per type, this is because i have to hand sew them and they take a very, very long time. if it is a single marking, i likely wont charge for it unless its very complex, like a cutiemark.

Specialty Fabrics: Fabrics including Vinyl, PVC and Metalic/Leather look type fabrics will raise the price by 25USD per. this is because theyre very hard to work with, especially when hand sewing.

Payment Plans Available.

Material Costs will be expected to be fully covered before work begins. Completed items will not be sent until all costs are covered. At this time, I cannot give refunds.

Bleach clothes:

Simple designs: 15 dollars + shipping

Medium design (ie lots or words or a character) 20 + shipping

Complex/Dual Sided: starts at 30 and depending on just how much you want may go up! + shipping

Traditional Art:

Simple doodle: 5 dollars, may be less depending what you ask

Sketches:

Bust: starts at 10

Half body: starts at 15

Full body: starts at 25

Full body + scenery (ie furniture, background): starts at 35

Shaded Sketch:

Bust: starts at 15

Half body: starts at 20

Full body: starts at 30

Full body + Scenery: starts at 40

Badges: must pay shipping! Otherwise prices above + 10 (so I can laminate them!)

Full colour:

Bust: starts at 20

Half Body : starts at 30

Full Body : starts at 40

Full body + Scenery: starts at 50

Badges: must pay shipping! Otherwise prices above + 10 (so I can laminate them!)

After dark adds a small fee of 5 dollars for all of the above

Pixel art: all of the above prices, but does not offer badges.

Tos:

My work is under no circumstances allowed to be used for nfts or ai generation.

You are not allowed to claim my art as work you did.

Please don't post my work on Pinterest just for personal comfort

Won't do:

Any of V1vzie P0ps works

Z00, n3cr0, or p3d0 nonsense. Get out of here.

Anything promoting racism or bigotry, including exclusionism or medicalism of any kind.

Extensive gore.

Wont do AD (tbh this mostly all applies to everything):

All of the above

Sc4t or Di4pers

R4p3 or anything non consenting

Anything where one of the characters is dead or dies.

L0li, sh0ta, or anyone who is not of age

Abdl/ddlg or anything similar.

Thank you so much for reading, if you made it all the way down here. I will be posting examples separately! Please scroll my page to see them 🥺

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quackity1999 · 5 days ago

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Hello President Quackity, i wanna ask how many cities are there in Las Nevadas? What are the famous landmarks i can visit around the country? And how is Las Nevadas was divided into regions? And what's the name of said regions?

it's a lot smaller than you'd believe. there's districts and whatnot, but we're incredibly effective despite the size.

in consideration of landmarks . .

THE TOLL GATE — the official entrance of las nevadas. manned by our highest security, requires a fee and background check just to ensure there's nobody bringing their bad intentions with them.

THE CASINO — a las nevadas hotspot for any high rollers or gamblers willing to put their stakes on the line! proudly partnered with a variety of investors to bring you the best of entertainment. blackjack, pool tables, slots, lottery, poker, roulette; we're open 24/7. if you're looking for quackity, he walks the floor on wednesdays. be sure to stop by.

[ ↑ minors are strictly banned from this venue. ↑ ]

THE FOUNTAINS — a visual display positioned right in the heart of the nation. drop in a coin for luck. or you can play in it if. if you really want, we don't especially care??? but please don't use it for a bathroom. Pleas.;e

THE SPACE NEEDLE — also known as the needle. it serves as both a breathtaking landmark and a go-to destination for any las nevadas’ elite. catering to curious tourists, hustlers, or innovators who've got cash to spend, it offers a personal dining experience perfect for exclusive gatherings or business meetings. with a strict reservation-only policy, the upper floors promise unparalleled views and luxury meals tailored to those who deserve nothing less.

THE HOTEL — need to catch up on the z’s? book in a room at the las nevadas hotel, where opulence meets indulgence. from plush, custom-designed suites to 24/7 concierge service, every detail is tailored to ensure a good night's rest. whether you’re unwinding after a big win or escaping the chaos of the strip club, the las nevadas hotel promises tranquility, style, and a better morning than your last.

THE STRIP CLUB — if you've had a long night of losing your bets at the casino, the strip club will tend to your ego with a wave of her feathered fans and a kiss on the cheek. the bartenders, while not always the most social, know how to mix the most eloquent of drinks. with our three stages full of the latest talent, trade your morals for martinis and let the desert’s finest entertain you.

[ ↑ minors are strictly banned from this venue. ↑ ]

THE WEDDING HALL — . . while it can serve as a wedding hall, it's better as an. uhhh. bridge. overgrown garden. thingy. WE'RE GUNNA FIX IT. ITS FINE. ITS GOT SOME COOL LILYPADS.

THE GAS STATION — also known as gas me up. local gas station. you get the gist.

THE RESTAURANT — the local dining hub for regulars, citizens and tourists alike! whether you’re here for a quick bite or a hearty meal, we’ve got you covered. proudly partnered with tubburger, serving up gourmet burgers that are as iconic as the las nevadas skyline. kick back and take in the view, whilst also stuffing your face. no need to try and look pretty.

THE DOCKS — if you're a little overwhelmed by all the glitz and glamor of the nation's central, catch some fresh air down at the docks. yes, we have a cruise ship.

THE POOLHOUSE + SAUNA — the desert gets heated when you're stuck counting your chips, so sink into pristine temperatures at any hour of the day for some critical relaxation. coming soon: a massage parlor!

THE EIFFEL TOWER — experience paris in the heart of the desert. towering high and mighty, our lifesize replica of the eiffel brings the charm and elegance of french taste right to your doorstep. immerse yourself in a piece of history — no passport required. perfect for those seeking romance, adventure, or a simply unique experience. come visit the one of the world’s most iconic landmarks, now closer than ever!

THE THEATRE — from blockbuster films to mesmerizing live performances, we bring the magic of the screen and stage under one roof. we're more than happy to deliver the visual delights, from classic to indie. free seating, membership lounges, and a full-service bar, we offer the ultimate in comfort. our exclusive screenings and priority booking (VIP only) make every movie an unforgettable experience.

OTHER — uhhhhh. walltown, i guess. we got that to settle the dispute with snowchester, blah blah. and as much as i hate to bring any attention to it, there's the . . ranvan? wilburger? thing? just outside the borders, anyway. it's a burn mark on the edge of the greater SMP, in my opinion. i recommend staying on the highway instead of taking a shitstop. sorry, i meant pit stop.

#quackitychirps #ask blog #delegation — LN TEXTBOOK.#ooc: girl this took so long to write. Pleas enjo y

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metamorphesque · 2 years ago

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Now the story of the trip and then you can go ahead and say you’re not an angel: I knew for ages that my Austrian visa had actually (and figuratively) run out two months back, but in Meran I was told it wasn’t required for transit and indeed I had no troubles when I crossed the Austrian border. Because of that I completely forgot about this omission while I was in Vienna. In Gmünd, however, the official at the passport control—a young man, hard—discovered it immediately. The passport was set aside, everyone else allowed to pass through to customs control, everyone except me. That was bad enough (I am constantly being interrupted, after all it’s my first day back, I don’t have to listen to the office gossip, not yet anyway, and people are coming in all the time and wanting to drive me away from you, that is, you away from me, but they won’t succeed, will they, Milena? Nobody will, ever.) So that’s the way it was, but then you started working. A border guard comes—friendly, open, Austrian, interested, cordial—and leads me through stairs and corridors to the headquarters of the chief inspector. A Rumanian-Jewish woman was standing there with a similarly defective passport, strangely enough also one of your friendly emissaries, you angel of Jews. But the opposing forces are still much stronger. The large inspector and his small adjudant (both yellow, emaciated, sullen, at least for the moment) take possession of the passport. The inspector is finished in no time: “Return to Vienna and obtain the visa at police headquarters!” I can do nothing but repeat several times: “That is terrible for me.” The inspector also repeats his answer several times, ironically and angrily: “You only think it is.” “Can’t the visa be obtained by wire?” “No.” “Even if I pay all costs?” “No.” “Isn’t there a higher authority here?” “No.” The woman, seeing my distress, remains magnificently calm and asks the inspector to let at least me pass. Your means are too weak, Milena. You won’t get me through that way. I have to walk all the way back to passport control and fetch my luggage, there’s no question of my leaving today. And now we’re setting together in the chief inspector’s headquarters, the guard has little consolation to offer except that the train tickets may be extended etc., the inspector has said his last word and retreated into his private office, only the small adjutant is still there. I calculate: the next train to Vienna departs at 10 P.M., arrives in Vienna at 2:30 A.M. I’m still covered with bites from the Riva-vermin, what will my room at the Franz Josefs Bahnhof look like? But since I don’t get a room, I go to the Lerchenfelder Strasse (that’s right, at 2:30 A.M.) and ask for a room (that’s right, at 3 A.M.). Anyway, whatever happens, I must obtain the visa Monday morning (will I get it right away or will I have to wait until Tuesday?), then go to your house and surprise you at the door, which you open. Good heavens. Here my thinking takes a break, but then continues: But what shape will I be in after such a night and the journey, and in the evening I’ll still have to leave on the train that takes 16 hours, what will I look like when I arrive in Prague and what will the director say, whom I’ll have to ask for sick leave once again? Certainly you don’t want all that, but what do you really want? There’s no way out. It occurs to me the only slight relief would be to spend the night in Gmünd and wait until morning before traveling to Vienna and so, already exhausted, I ask the quiet adjutant about a morning train bound for Vienna. There’s one at 5:30 which arrives at 11 A.M. Good, I’ll take that train and so will the Rumanian woman. But suddenly the conversation takes a turn, I don’t know how, at any rate in a flash it’s clear that the little adjutant wants to help us. If we spend the night in Gmünd then the next morning, when he’s alone in the office, he’ll secretly let us through onto the local train to Prague, where we would arrive at 4:00 P.M. But we’re supposed to tell the inspector that we’re taking the morning train to Vienna. Wonderful! Although just relatively wonderful, since I’ll still have to wire Prague. But even so. The inspector arrives, we act out a small comedy about the morning train to Vienna, the adjutant then sends us off, we’re supposed to pay him a secret visit later in the evening to discuss the remaining details. In my blindness I think that all this is your doing, whereas in reality it’s merely the last attack of the opposing forces. So now we slowly leave the station, the woman and myself (the express train which was supposed to have taken us on is still standing there, customs control is taking a long time). How far is it into town? An hour. That too. But it turns out there are 2 hotels at the station, we’ll go to one of them. There’s a track running right next to the hotel, we still have to cross it, a freight train is coming. I want to hurry across the tracks, but the woman holds me back and we have to wait. A minor contribution to our misfortune, we think. But precisely this moment of waiting, without which I would not have made it to Prague on Sunday, is the turning point. It’s as if you had run up and down knocking on all the gates of heaven to plead for me, just as you ran up and down knocking at all the hotels of the Westbahnhof, for now your guard comes running after us down the long path from the station, out of breath, shouting: “Hurry up, come back, the inspector is letting you through!” Is it possible? Moments like that make one choke with emotion. We have to beg the guard ten times before he’ll take any money. But now we have to run back, fetch our luggage from the inspector’s headquarters, run with it to the passport control, and on to customs. But now you’ve already set everything aright; I cannot carry my luggage any further—by chance there’s a porter next to me; at passport control I run into a crowd—the guard clears the way for me; at customs without realizing it I lose the little case with the gold cufflinks—an official finds it and hands it to me. We’re aboard the train and leave at once, at last I’m able to wipe the perspiration off my face and chest. Stay with me always!

a fragment from Kafka’s letter to Milena (Letters to Milena, Franz Kafka)

#please take your time and read this #it's so soft #he's so soft #letters to milena #milena jesenská #love letters #franz kafka #kafka my beloved #classic literature #translated literature

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agentsquirrelsgotrobots · 1 year ago

Text

"Prime, I wouldn't do this." Charlie warned, putting his hand on the holster of his tox-en knife. He had bought it from Swindle and only carried it when he thought he would use it. It was too dangerous for everyday carry.

"Where is Heatwave? He hasn't reported in." Optimus sounded angry, his plating flared and smokestacks steaming.

"He's busy sir." Chase said. "With the wedding."

"Whose wedding?" Optimus asked, a cold edge to his voice.

"My daughter and Blades." Charlie said. Optimus was shocked. "They haven't proposed yet, but it's practically set in stone.

"Literally," Chase said. "Dani's wedding rings came in yesterday, and Blades's conjunx medal has been custom ordered."

"Which means?" Charlie said, a smirk on his face.

"By Autobot code on interspecies marriage, the deployed bot must stay at a base within a visitable distance of their spouse, especially if there's additional dependents. Blades would be duty bound to stay on the nearest autobot base to Dani." Chase recited.

"We will relocate her then. Blades is needed in China." Optimus said.

"Optimus, with all due respect, that's a twelve hour one-way plane trip to and from Griffin Rock. And even if you used the ground bridge, Dani isn't fluent in Chinese or Mandarin, never mind getting a job in her field. It would require her to renounce her American passport, become fluent in both languages, pass the citizenship exam, and then the civil service exam. The process would take years, and she would have to start over in her career, retaking all the licenses exams too. She would be confined to the house, with very little access to the community before she reaches fluency." Charlie said.

Optimus sighed. "Very well. I will reassign someone else. It's been a while since I have seen my son. I still want to see a report from Heatwave by the end of the week."

Optimus transformed and drove through an open ground bridge.

"Sir, when will you tell Optimus that Heatwave is deceased?"

"When I can plan an accident to cover up the hole in his crotch. Bastard had to have the weirdest place for a subspace, didn't he. I like your new cyber matter avatar. Doc Greene worked wonders with the base design. I'm glad you added your own personal touches. Maybe later I could find out how personal?" Charlie smirked as Chase's avatar blushed.

"I would be happy to if I still feel up to it."

"If not, we will take a rain check. Your alt mode does need a bath, you know."

Chase's avatar blushed harder. "Could we keep it platonic? I really just want a quiet evening and sleep in my alt mode tonight."

"You know what? For your quick thinking, I will give you some cash and you can go to the car wash you like on main street. The one with the soft scrubbers."

Chase beamed. "Thank you, boss."

"That's alright, my siren."

#mafia au #tfrb cody #transformers rescue bots #chase rescue bots #rescue bots #charlie burns #DaniBlades #dani x blades #chase has a literal pet name now #Charlie Burns x chase #“my siren” is a BIG bit of foreshadowing #i will write Heatwave's death tomorrow #and Quickshadow's #MUUURRRRDDDDDDEEEEERRRRRRRRR

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url-is-url · 1 day ago

Text

who wants a snippet of a Venom and Miraculous Ladybug crossover

Turn your airplane mode off, we are off the airplane.

What are you so eager for?

I want to look at the map.

For?

Everybody says the chocolate in Europe is better. I want to look for un chocolatier.

Eddie frowned as he trudged through customs at Charles de Gaulle. Venom’s accent was damn good. Where the fuck did you learn French?

Remember the roofie chemist we ate last year? He was from Montreal.

Have you just been casually burning skills off of every bad guy you eat?

The interesting ones, yes. Human languages are interesting because you are terrible at using them.

You as in me or you as in humanity?

Yes.

Attitude problems aside, that was helpful, actually. Eddie did damn well in his high school French classes, but, well, high school wasn’t exactly last week. Unfortunately, that still made him the best French speaker in the office, so his boss threw him on a plane to Paris to cover a science conference. Apparently there were some rumors about one of the sponsors of the conference funding less-than-ethical research and after the Life Foundation, mad scientists were Eddie’s beat.

A customs agent noticed Eddie making faces at himself and decided he needed closer inspection. Eddie rifled through his pockets for his wallet and passport and other things that proved he was allowed to be there and hoped that the agent wouldn’t Google him; he was pretty sure the Lobster Tank Video had made its way to international waters. “You are here for work?” he asked in a light, disappointingly un-cartoonish accent.

“Yeah.”

“And what sort of work is that?”

“I’m a journalist, I’m supposed-”

“A journalist?” the customs agent grinned mischievously. “Well, monsieur, you have certainly come to the right city.”

He wasn’t even out of the airport yet. Eddie raised one eyebrow and leaned in slightly. “What do you mean?”

“Paris is very interesting these days, even more than it has always been. You’ll see,” the agent chirped, passing his papers back to him. “Enjoy your visit.”

Okay. That wasn’t ominous at all.

We should visit Notre Dame.

Why?

Because you would enjoy the blasphemy of making out on top of the most famous church in the world.

Venom certainly wasn’t wrong. Charles de Gaulle was way out at the northeast edge of the city, and Eddie’s assignment was all the way in, inside the perimeter highway, so they hunted down the train station and sat on a bench to wait for one heading downtown. They people-watched together. Eddie liked people-watching, and Venom’s host radar elevated the hobby. Between the two of them, they could get a decent bead on who was in Paris for work and who was there for pleasure, and their general… carnivorousness. A family of five, who had been in the rows behind Eddie on their flight, limped into the platform. The parents looked bedraggled, as one would after herding small children through international travel. As Venom decided to take pity on them and make Eddie stand up, the especially wiggly little girl broke containment and raced towards the tracks, presumably deranged with excitement about seeing a train for the first time. Venom heard the next train approaching and the child had a lot of momentum; Eddie darted after her and scooped her up before she bowled over into the tracks.

The kid’s father was right behind him a few seconds later, just as the train became audible to humans. He paled as he realized that there wouldn’t have been time to pull her off the tracks, if she had fallen. “Thank you, or merci, uh-”

“It’s cool, man,” Eddie said, handing the girl off. “I hear it takes a village or something.” They shook hands, and the father walked away.

Is it just me, or is that kid the twentieth person we’ve seen today wearing black polka dots on red?

Must be some kind of fashion trend. There have also been just as many people wearing things with black cats on them.

Maybe some kind of celebrity who likes cats and polka dots? Eddie mentally suggested, but that didn’t add up. Most of the people around them were just visiting Paris, so why would they be emulating a hypothetical Parisian fashionista? Eh, whatever. It could have been an American trend that he was just now noticing, for all the attention Eddie usually paid to that sort of thing.

Eddie bought a couple of newspapers, a national and a local, at the train station, which he read on the ride into downtown. Most of the national paper was of little interest to him, but he hoped the city paper would have some juicier stuff, given what the customs agent had said. There was one article that… he wasn’t sure if it was juicy, but it was certainly incomprehensible. “Collège Françoise Dupont Most Frequent Site of Akuma Attacks - Is Mayor Bourgeois’ Daughter A Target?” First of all, the Mayor of Paris was named Bourgeois? Eddie believed it, because it was entirely too on the nose to be made up, but Jesus Christ that was ridiculous. Second of all, they were casually shouting in a headline what school the Mayor’s daughter went to? This was a major city, surely that was a security issue. Third of all, what the fresh fuck was an Akuma, and how did it attack people?

Akuma means demon in Japanese, Venom pointed out.

Eddie frowned. Some of the cryptid bloggers back home call us the Demon of San Francisco. You don’t think…

Almost certainly not. The others that came with the Life Foundation are dead, and I doubt Carnage had any time to spawn, and Carnage is also dead. When could others have arrived?

That was a good point, and Eddie relaxed and read the article. It heavily cited data taken from a website called The Ladyblog, and used that data to speculate that somebody called Hawkmoth wished to use the Mayor’s teen daughter as leverage for some sinister purpose, perhaps to do with a desire to obtain something called a Miraculous? It sounded like comic book nonsense and Eddie was half-convinced that it was some kind of kayfabe art, a la War of the Worlds. So, naturally, he got out his phone and looked up this exalted Ladyblog.

It was written by a high schooler. A smart high schooler, with a strong, if immature, writing style and a slightly unhinged willingness to tread into danger, camera raised, if their videos were anything to go by. Still definitely a teenager, though Eddie found himself respecting the kid quite a bit as he read their coverage of Paris’ own superheroes, whose villains were quite a lot more… flamboyant than the people that kept Venom fed back home. He still wasn’t completely sure this wasn’t a very elaborate kayfabe, but those videos were either made with a Hollywood special effects budget, or they were real, and Eddie couldn’t decide which was more outlandish. Ladybug and Chat Noir, real or not, certainly explained the increasing amount of polkadotted and black cat themed merchandise he was seeing as the train journeyed closer to the city center.

My name is cooler, Venom grumbled.

Eddie grinned. Are you jealous that you don’t have merch?

…No.

#obviously the endgame of this fic would be hawkmoth attempting to akumatize eddie and having A Very Bad Time #venom #miraculous ladybug #i love a completely nonsensical crossover what can i say

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