#for the biggest TV event in the country

[percivalarthur]

i feel like most people aren’t talking about the fact that a major section of Kendrick’s performance was the words “Turn this TV off”

[teaboot]

I don't know if you're American or not but in my experience as a person who is not American, American events and media are so incredibly loud and visible that they tend to leech into everything.

Like I'm Canadian born and raised and can name more American presidents than I can Canadian Prime Ministers. I have Canadian friends from Canada who can accurately describe themselves as Liberals but are still sorta foggy on NDP policies. Do you know what day Canada Day is? It's July 1st. Do you know what's on my dashboard on July 1st? Early posts about July 4th.

And if you're an American reading this: Or, hell, anyone else reading this: We all know George Washington was the first American President. Do you know who the first Prime Minister of Canada was? Can you name two British political parties? What are two countries that have Monarchies, not Democracies? What was the most recent political scandal you can think of that took place outside the US? What's your favourite TV show that takes place anywhere outside of America? What are your top three favourite non-american musicians? If English is your first language, how many foreign countries can you go to where you don't speak the language, but don't have to worry about it?

I said "International America Day" as a joke, but there is a very real phenomenon in countries outside of the US where the general population becomes Americanized through the prevalent American media.

We know American current events, we know American scandals, we know about American cops and American movies and American accents and American fast food chains. We have serious opinions on the American legal system and we talk about American law and American policy and American celebrities, and many of us don't know Jack Shit about what's going on where we live.

I'm Canadian. I've heard all about 'building the wall' and ICE and Jan 6th, the intentional government distribution of narcotics in Black communities and the use of Marijuana Illegalization to persecute Black and Mexican people under the Nixon administration.

Do you know what Canada did to Chinese immigrants to build the Canadian railroad? What about the Sterilization Act? Residential Schools? Do you know what a Status Card is? Does it, or does it not cost money to ride in an ambulance? Can people with breasts legally walk around topless? What's the legal drinking age? What are our biggest cities? Who was our least-popular PM? What are our allied nations? Where does the Canadian military get deployed?

"International America Day" was a goof. But Jesus, it's a little bit serious

*edit: yeah I wrote June instead of Jan my bad

[rivalsispunk]

The Interview (Chapter 1 of ongoing series When We’re Alone)

Best friend’s dad!Declan O’Hara, boss!Declan O’Hara x AFAB reader

Journalist Declan O’Hara is in need of a personal assistant as his Corinium career skyrockets, and his daughter Taggie has the perfect candidate: her best friend. What seemingly starts as a professional relationship soon snowballs into something both Declan and reader were never expecting and are no longer able to deny.

Warnings: 18+ MDNI, (eventual) smut, cursing, age gap romance (reader is a few years older than Taggie), more warnings added per chapter

Word count: 3.1k

Author’s note: Hello! Long time reader, first time poster! Please be kind but also let me know what you think! Proof read but probs still some mistakes. Not entirely canon, Declan still works for Corinium, Maud has disappeared to god knows where and the rest, well, you’ll have to read to find out :)

© rivalsispunk please do not steal, copy, or translate any of my work onto other platforms!

Chapter One: The Interview

You were going to positively kill Taggie once you returned to the Cotswolds. Only she, your closest friend since you relocated to the country after finishing your university degree six months ago, could convince you to cut your gap year short in favour of interviewing for a personal assistant job at Corinium. And, for her father, Declan O’Hara, no less.

“Oh, go on!” Taggie had pleaded with you over The Priory’s kitchen counter. “I know you’re getting bored out here. You can’t spend all of your days sitting around here, helping me peel the shite out of prawns for dinner parties.”

“Why not?” You plucked a grape from the fruit platter she’d just finished assembling for an event at Freddie and Valerie Jones’ that evening. “I happen to like spending all my time with you. Even if it does mean peeling shite out of crustaceans.” You eyed your friend with faux suspicion. “Are you getting sick of me already?”

“Of course not! I just think you’d be grand at it, that’s all, what with your journalism degree and all,” Taggie explained. “You’ve heard Daddy when he comes home. Always complaining about the sorts he’s had to interview. Plus, he already knows you. That’s ought to win you some points right there.”

“I suppose it wouldn’t be all bad,” you confessed, mulling the opportunity over as you chewed through another handful of grapes. It would look amazing on your resume and you’d have a foot in the door at one of the biggest TV networks in the United Kingdom. Plus, it wouldn’t kill you to have a front row seat to Declan in all his glory every single day. You would never mention it to Taggie, but you fancied her dad a rather handsome sod.

“Say you’ll do it. At the very least, for me?” Taggie bat her thick eyelashes at you.

“Fine,” you eventually relented, a smile cracking over your face at the new possibility. “I’ll go in for an interview, but no promises. And I don’t want you convincing him of me either! I want to get this job on my own merit, okay?”

“Convince Daddy of you? Please, he already adores you.” The sentiment spread fire through your chest. Tag rounded the kitchen bench and grabbed you by the hand. “Now let’s find you an outfit! Mummy ought to have left something halfway suitable behind.”

Taggie nor Declan had said much about their absentee matriarch Maud in the recent weeks since she fled the countryside after yet another explosive argument between her and her husband. You knew better than to ask, but you could tell by the way Taggie’s shoulders sagged at the sight of her mother’s partially empty closet that her absence had a somber affect on her.

You’d only been into the main bedroom of The Priory once before, when the room was overtaken by Maud’s florally perfumes and extravagant evening gowns. This time, however, the space was so intrinsically Declan; all heady cedarwood and whisky and smoke. Shirts with patterns of plaid and tartan as well as numerous odd, natural-coloured socks were peppered across armchairs and vanities, while a stack of memoirs sat on his bedside with a full ashtray perched atop. Your heart swelled, and sunk simultaneously, at the thought of Declan being sat up here alone at night, or early of a morning, thumbing through a book while taking slow drags of his cigarette as he let himself be consumed by a life far different to the one he was currently living.

“How about this?” Taggie’s voice ripped through your daydream, forcing you away from thoughts of her father. You peered at the oatmeal-coloured dress she had retrieved from the closet, surprised that Maud owned something so…brown. You’d always known her to wear jewel tones that complimented her flaming red hair. You shook your head, and thus began a cycle of Taggie suggesting an outfit and you shooting it down. Eventually, you agreed to Taggie swapping out your creature comfort jeans and Wham! T-shirt for an old black pencil skirt that you were convinced had given you hives from the way your legs hadn’t stopped itching since you put it on, as well as a silky fuchsia blouse that stretched a little too tight over your breasts. While your friend had done a good job at assuring you that you’d fit right in at the Corinium offices, you weren’t as convinced.

The receptionists, all in latest season fashion with not a hair out of place, had looked you up and down as soon as you stepped foot in the marble foyer, snickering behind your back about your fashion fauxpas once you’d checked in. Sarah Stratton wasn’t as covert with her judgement. As you sat outside Declan’s office, waiting to be called in, Sarah outwardly guffawed when she spotted you across the floor. You’d met her several times in passing at parties and Corinium events you’d previously attended as Taggie’s plus one, and for the most part, she’d kept her observations to herself. But now, as her red heels clip across the carpet, her gaze set right on you with her matching rouge lips upturned. “I would never have expected to see you here, darling!” she coos down at you, reaching for a strand of hair that has slipped in front of your shoulder. “And playing dress ups, no less!” Another laugh tinkers out of her as she twirls your hair around her finger. “Interviewing for the assistant job with Declan, hm?”

You nod with a taut smile and try not to let her comment about you looking god-awfully out of place get to you. Sarah’s eyes shift to Declan’s closed mahogany door and tuts. “Well, good luck, sweetheart. Seems like you’ll need it with the way the rest of those interviews have panned out.”

“Oh, hop off it, Sarah!” an unmistakingly Irish voice barks from your left. Sarah jolts upright and despite the embarrassment that tinges her cheeks pink, still manages throw a sultry smile in Declan’s direction. Your posture matches her pin-straight stature as you side-eye his office. It hadn’t occurred to you that he wasn’t inside, preparing for your interview the way you had been all morning. You’d crafted your pitch of yourself perfectly, complete with ideas and suggestions for potential guests for Declan’s show, anything to set you apart, make you seem even a fraction less useless that the interviewees that came before you. “Don’t you have anything better to do? Where’s James?” he questions Sarah, alluding to the very common knowledge that she and her co-host James Vereker are having an affair. Declan makes a show of raking through his moustache - god, that moustache - then adds with a smirk, “James and better. Probably not two words that should be in the same sentence, eh?” Sarah’s smile plateaus at that, and that stiff upper-lip culture she was dying to marry into takes its place.

“I’m sure I can make myself busy, Declan. Got a show to prepare and all that. Ciao!” She doesn’t look at you again and you’re grateful that Declan starts to speak before you bumblefuck your way through the silence.

“Ciao,” he repeats once Sarah’s out of earshot . “Doubt that leech of a woman’s ever had a decent carbonara, let alone stepped foot in Italy.” he says, offering you the first genuine smile you’ve received all day. “Let’s get to it, shall we?” He swings open his office door and holds an arm out. “After you, love.”

“Thanks.”

You shuffle into the room ahead of him, completely oblivious to the way Declan’s eyes are trained on your arse in a skirt that’s familiar to him, but he’s unsure how. Right now, however, he doesn’t care, because it fits your body so magnificently, as if it were made for you. He fights to ignore the dull throb beneath his trousers while he watches you sit, the black fabric pushed to its limits as it stretches across the globes of your arse.

God, has she always been so… womanly? Declan wonders, then immediately chastises himself for leering so openly at his daughter’s best friend. Yes, she was a few good years older than Taggie, and always a beautiful girl, but he was glad his middle child had finally made a friend amid the shitshow that was the move to the country and his crumbling marriage to Maud. He didn’t need to muddy the waters with pervacious thoughts about the young lass’ curves. If only she’d shown up to his office in her usual ripped jeans and George Michael-adorned tees.

“Everything okay, Mr O’Hara? Should I sit somewhere else?” you ask when you notice Declan frozen in the doorway with a furrow etched in his brow. You immediately start second-guessing yourself and wonder if this was a bad idea after all. You can only imagine everyone else who lost out on this job before you faced that same expression. He shakes his head at you, at himself, then busies himself with straightening his maroon tie as he moves to sit behind his desk. You shift in your seat, trying to thwart of the lingering itch Maud’s skirt has buried into the back of your thigh. You think if you can wriggle just so, you can ward it off for at least the main portion of the interview. While you think your subtle movements go unnoticed by Declan because he’s perusing your resume - impressive, he’d earlier noted in black pen beside details of your internship at The Times - he’s been clocked onto your behaviour since he’d laid eyes on you across the office. Scared shitless, and he doesn’t half know that Sarah’s sneaky comments only added to it, thanks to the way you’re fidgeting with that damned skirt mere metres away from him. If Declan had any less sense in him, any less dignity, he’d have half the mind to tear it straight from your body. Of course, he decides against it and tries a less barbaric approach to settle your nerves.

“No band t-shirt today?”

Now it’s your turn for your brows to knit together. “I’m sorry?” Declan nudges his head in the general direction of your chest and your chin dips in response to see what he’s referring to. There, your vision is flanked with fluorescent pink and a tinge of flesh where the silky material doesn’t quite stretch to cover your breasts between buttons, and you silently curse Taggie for allowing you to wear something so borderline revealing at her father’s workplace. Plus, you were surprised he’d even noticed your usual attire.

“I thought it was best I grow up a bit in the clothing department if I were to go for a job at Corinium,” you confess. Declan doesn’t miss the way the swell of your breasts arch against your shirt when you take a deep breath and fold your arms across yourself. “But now I’m thinking the bright pink was a mistake.”

You peer across the expansive wooden desk expectantly, and Declan pitches his hands up in mock surrender. “Don’t ask me! Fashion, clearly, is not my strong suit. All I know is, according to my girls, leaving the house with ladders in your tights is a big no-no unless you’re a gothic or Winona Ryder.”

You chuckle at that, even more so for knowing that his youngest daughter, Caitlin, would be all for half-shredded tights.

Declan looks coy as he sips from his tea. “But if it counts for anything, you look lovely.”

“Well, I should hope you think so. These are your wife’s clothes, after all.” Your confession elicits a splutter from the otherwise put together man in front of you. Tea spouts from his lips across the desk, marring your resume and any other papers with brown stains. You immediately spring into action, scanning the room for a towel, handkerchief, anything that could mop up the mess.

“Sorry, love,” Declan says quietly, thumping a fist against his chest. “Wrong pipe.”

That’s when you see it, a pocket square the same colour as his tie poking from his breast pocket. Without thinking, you lurch across Declan’s desk and pluck it from its resting place, and begin soaking up the liquid. Declan ought to help you, it’s his mess after all, but he’s frozen at the view you’ve awarded him as you lean over. Your cleavage fights against the V cut of Maud’s blouse and Declan can just make out the ripple of a black lace bra below the neckline. He can’t even imagine Maud in that outfit. Right now it’s all so you. His cock stirs at the sight and he can’t help the pained groan that bubbles up his throat.

“Stop,” he breathes in barely a whisper. You don’t, of course, you can’t hear him, and you keep wiping at the desk, your breasts bouncing with every swipe up and down.

“Christ, girl, stop it!” Declan explodes, bolting up from his chair. Thankfully, the height of his desk hides his growing bulge, but it doesn’t matter. The look of pure fear painting your face has the same effect as a cold shower. You sink back into your seat and begin spluttering apologies, that you shouldn’t have used his pocket square, that you were out of line and another dozen variations of sorry, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes. Declan mirrors you by returning to his chair, raking a hand over his face.

“I’m sorry, darlin’,” he states eventually. “I don’t give a dying rats arse about the pocket square. It’s just… I’m a bloody fool just standing here while you clean up after me. I can’t have you doing that. You don’t even work for me.”

Despite the shock of Declan’s outburst, you manage to muster up a bit of cheek in response. “I don’t even work for you yet,” you correct him.

Your confidence juts Declan’s eyebrows to his curly hairline and a grin cracks across his face. “Cocky little thing, aren’t ya? Go on then.. tell me why I should hire you.”

You spend the next twenty minutes talking Declan through your university studies and experience, the tension from earlier already forgotten. When Declan mentions he once worked with your media law professor, the conversation detours into the pair of you sharing stories about your experiences with the man, far too senile and set in his ways to do the younger generation any good. The rest of the interview carries on like that, you and Declan laughing and exchanging anecdotes like two friends in the pub rather than an employer vetting a potential employee. You’re about to pitch the idea of getting Farah Fawcett on Declan’s show when the office door thumps open to reveal Corinium’s managing director, Tony Baddingham, at its entryway.

“O’Hara! If you’re done with giggling like a little schoolgirl down here, we’ve got a production meeting to get to,” he bites, barely glancing in your direction. You don’t miss the roll of Declan’s tawny eyes as he waves Tony off.

“Alright, Tony. Give me five, I’m just finishing up here,” he says before introducing you by name.

“Nice to meet you, Mr Baddingham,” you tell him, standing to shake his hand. He doesn’t properly look at you until your palms meet, and your spine stiffens when his beady eyes rake over you.

“One of Declan’s assistant candidates, I presume?” he wonders aloud.

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, you’re far prettier than some of the other trolls we’ve had roll through here recently.”

“Tony,” Declan warns. The last thing he wants is another man leering at you like you’re a rite of passage for them.

“Right, well, lovely to meet you,” Tony clasps his other hand over the top of yours, careening his neck so he’s at your eye level. “Hope to see you around here. You’ll definitely be a much-appreciated addition.”

Offering a tight-lipped smile, you reserve the urge bawk in his face. You’ve worked with enough Tony Baddinghams to know his interest in you has nothing to do with your professional ability and everything to do with aesthetics. Fucking men.

For the most part, they sickened you and Declan all the same, but for the latter, he was mainly sickened with himself for wanting to pummel Baddingham for the way he was eye-fucking you. But who was he to talk? He’d been doing the exact same thing just minutes earlier.

When Tony leaves the office, he leaves the door ajar, a reminder that Declan is expected elsewhere. You’re about to ask Declan if Tony is always so…Tony, but he’s already got his briefcase in hand and is ushering you towards the door. “I have to admit, I was surprised when Taggie said you wanted to interview for this position, with you being on a gap year and all,” he confessed as you strolled out onto the office floor. “But you know your stuff. You’re bloody intelligent. Passionate. That’s rare these days.”

“Thank you, Mr O’Hara.”

“Please, call me Declan. Here, and at The Priory. Just Declan,” he smiles and you return it.

“Alright, then. Declan.”

“I’ve got to get going, but I’ll let you know about the job. There’s a couple more interviews on the books in the next few days, I’m sure you understand.”

“Of course.”

Declan gives you a curt nod, and you start for the elevator, but you barely make it five steps before he calls you back.

“For what it’s worth, I’d be lucky to have ya here. And like I said, you look great, but I prefer the jeans and t-shirts. They’re much more…you.”

His admission sends your heart thrumming against your ribcage, and red creeps up your neck and onto your cheeks. “Thank you, Mr O’Ha- Declan,” you correct yourself. “Thank you, Declan. See you around.” You turn on your patent black heel, leaving Declan standing there with an image that’s bound to haunt him for nights to come: you in that fucking skirt.

Please let me know if you enjoyed this, and if you’re feeling generous, a lil’ reblog won’t go astray <3

[valeskawhore]

Hi darling<3, hope you are doing okay<3! I was wondering if i can get a one shot or headcanons (wichever is easier for you) where Homelanders fall in love genuinely for a Female s/o wich is so cute, sweet and kind and have angel powers, like the wings, she can put people to sleep if she sings and almost looks like an angel (perfect sking almost in a pale pink tone, and pink hair<3). And the team is very confused like "How in the hell you fall in love with someone?", but Homelanders is very happy and wants to be a good boyfriend :D

Sorry it took me a bit!!!! Here you go lovely!!!! ❤️

Homelander x fem! Angel!! Supe reader!!

~•~•~•~•~•~•~

It was such a surprise that Homelander could pull any bitches tbh.. (according to Maeve and A-train)

There was that one nazi chick but nobody even knows what happened to her? Didn’t she commit? Ehhh— nobody cares anyways.. especially not him.

You were the light of his life, his Angel on earth.

You both met during a Hero Galla being hosted in the tower. You weren't the biggest supe out there but you were a good friend of maeve's and what better time to have and reconnect then to get drunk at a hero gala? She was thrilled to see you again, as thrilled as Maeve can be anyways. You joined her at the bar, your wings stayed tucked on your back. They were huge so everytime you went to a public event you always ended up folding them into eachother as tightly as they possible could without them hurting. His words caught in his throat when he first saw you. And fun fact, he actually thought you were a painting when he first saw you. You were standing outside the bathroom, waiting for Maeve to stop throwing up after she ushered you outside, insisting that she was fine. You stood under a giant mural of a painting, one with angels on it unitentionally. It was very christain or something, with naked babies flying around in their white clothes wrapped around their bottoms and shooting arrows. Just something like that-- he dosent know, he didn't stare at the painting. This man had to do a double take. He glanced and was like-- "oh painting" and just as he was about to turn and walk away, Yanno do his job and charm the president for madam stillwell, The painting MOVED-- You simply turned to the side like a smidge and this man was on you when he found out you were REAL. You had the soft pink complexion with bright light undertones. You're hair was as if you were cupid. The color of love even in his eyes. Was it hearts? shingling in the reflection of his blue saucers? or was it your hair? he didn't know, he didn't give a fuck. But best believe, he was on you like white on rice. Homelander had never felt so bold before but there was something about your kind smile and words. Your voice was soft and quiet, he wasn't complaining, this gave him an excuse to step closer to you and invade your personal space so he could hear you over all the commotion in the room. He would grab your hand and introduce himself as THE homelander, Kissing your gentle soft knuckles. Did he mention you were soft? SOOOO soft. You blinked at him, "Oh..? are you important? iv'e never heard of you before?" And you really hadn't. you grew up on a small farm in Washington state allllllll the way over on the last state on the west side of the country. You didnt own a TV, you didn't even have a phone. that's why it took so long for you and make to reconnect. He was shocked, his pride was almost hurt a bit. Ofcourse he went into the fact that he's above everyone else because he was KINDA a big deal but it's fine. Cue to him obnoxiously shrugging and rolling his eyes with a wave of his hand, no biggie. But you were fascinated. He was so caught in your eyes, he didnt even realize the fact that you had wings until you turned around when you heard maeve's voice. Asking what the FUCK was Homelander doing. But it was no matter, because now it was your turn to sing for the gala! Little to your knowledge did Maeve make a public announcement that there was going to be a special preformance tonight from the one and only, "Seraphina" Your hero name. You were ushered to the stage pretty quickly by Maeve but untimatley she just wanted you away from Homelander as fast as possible. The song started pretty slowly. But that was your motive, the song was supposed to be a slow almost-lulliby theme. And if this man wasn't Inlove with you from the start, he definitely was now. There was something about your voice. something so calmly and soothing. Visable, his muscle sunk to the ground. He felt so relaxed under your tone.

It wasn’t until you had stopped singing abruptly and the crowd began to murmur was when he opened back up his eyes to see that your backup violinist had fallen to the ground in a deep slumber and you went rushing to his side.

Homelander’s eye twitched. Causing him to swiftly approach the stage in a not so calm like manner and step into it causing the crowd to cheer.

“Come on, sweetness. He’s fine.” Homelander smiled his signature smile. When you turned around, Homelander landed a swift kick to the man’s groin causing the man to choke out.

“See?” He turned to you, almost searching for approval. “He’s fine, sing. Please.”

He demanded.

And nervously.. you did.

——-

The rest of the night was history. Homelander remained attempting to chat you up until you finally told him that yes, you’d go on a date with him. He was ecstatic, but yet fearful.

He saw the way Maeve looked at you. Not in a romantic way but In a warning way. He knew Maeve was gonna try and say something to you about him, and destroy your relationship with him.

He threatened her that night and actually had her locked up on level 12.

————

When you guys did start dating, it was great. Homelander had convinced you that he was the perfect gentleman for you. That you guys belonged to eachother.

And for a while you thought that you guys did. Sure he was a little possessive but you never once doubted that he didn’t loved you because you knew he did.

He would follow you around and help you clean the house. He would insist on trying for children and on those lonely nights he’d hold you like no other.

And the sex was great. It really was.

But remember that guy from Walmart that said he knew you? And you both ended up grabbing a coffee after finding out you guys were really close in high school?

No? Because Homelander can’t either. That guy never existed apparently.. according to John.

Everything was fine.. that’s what you told yourself. You lived in a lavished home, nothing like the small farm from Washington. And you were taken care of.. set for life.

Until a smaller woman would approach you and ask for your help in rescuing Maeve. Her name was starlight and she apparently was a member of the 7. You glanced around, and told her to keep her voice down before ushering her into the bathroom and demanding that she’d explain.

What was going on? What couldn’t you find Maeve? She had been missing ever since you and Homelander had began dating.

John insisted that it was nothing and that Maeve had went to rehab? So what was going on.

You ended up telling John about your strange encounter with said straight and endorsed that she was strange.

You’ll never forget the look in his eyes from across the dinner table, like something had snapped in them. His blue eyes now felt cold as he stopped chewing his food with a nervous tensed laugh.

For the first time, you felt scared.

Maybe that little blonde girl was right.

[cheynovak]

Unexpected Melody

Characters: Jensen Ackles x F/Reader Y/N     

Summary:  Y/N is a talented singer and a longtime friend of Jensen Ackles. When Jensen invites her to one of his shows, she expects to be impressed by his voice—but nothing could have prepared her for the magnetic pull she feels when she sees him on stage.

Warnings: none

English is not my first language 

*This story is my own original story, please do not copy my work, reblog/comments/likes are appreciated*

Very quick one shot, enjoy!

You’d known Jensen Ackles for years, ever since your paths had crossed at some charity event in Los Angeles. You were a singer, touring across the country, and he was the star of one of the biggest TV shows on air.

Despite your busy lives, you’d kept in touch, grabbing coffee whenever you found yourselves in the same city. Over the years, a comfortable friendship had developed between you, the kind that made it easy to laugh and even easier to talk. You had always admired his talent, his easy-going charm, and how down-to-earth he remained despite his fame. But that was the extent of it.

Until tonight.

You were in Austin, Texas, for a few days after wrapping up your own tour. Jensen had invited you to one of his shows with his band, Radio Company. You knew he could sing—he’d casually serenaded you during late-night hangouts before—but you’d never seen him perform live. So when he asked you to come, you couldn’t resist.

“C’mon, Y/N,” he’d said with that infectious grin of his. “I want you to see what I’ve been up to.”

So here you were, standing in the crowd at a small, intimate venue, surrounded by fans who had come to see Jensen in a different light.

The air was thick with anticipation as you stood near the front of the stage, surrounded by eager fans. The lights dimmed, and the crowd erupted in cheers. When Jensen appeared, guitar slung across his body, the entire atmosphere shifted. It was as if the world tilted slightly, putting him in the center of it all.

The band started playing, and as Jensen’s voice filled the room, you felt your heart skip a beat. It wasn’t just that he could sing—he owned the stage with a kind of effortless swagger that you had never seen from him before. The rhythm of the music seemed to pulse through you, syncing with the rapid beat of your heart.

Your eyes were glued to him. The way his fingers moved over the strings, how his voice growled in just the right way, and the way he seemed to pour his entire soul into every note. And that smile—God, that smile. It was as if he knew something you didn’t, as if he could see right through you.

When the night sky emerged, you realized you hadn’t looked away from him once. You were completely mesmerized by the way he moved, the way the sweat glistened on his skin under the stage lights. The way his shirt clung to his body, revealing the toned muscles you’d never really paid attention to before.

Your mouth felt dry, and a strange heat spread through you. You tried to shake it off, but the sensation only grew stronger, more insistent. Was this lust? You’d been attracted to people before, sure, but this… this was different. This felt like something more primal, more intense.

And then, as if he could sense your gaze, Jensen’s eyes found yours in the crowd. His expression shifted—softened, almost. The intensity of his gaze made your breath hitch. He held your eyes as he sang the next few lines, and you felt like they were meant just for you.

After what felt like an eternity, but was probably only a few seconds, Jensen’s attention shifted back to the crowd. But the damage was done. Your mind was racing, trying to make sense of the torrent of emotions swirling inside you. Could it be that you were starting to feel something for him? Something more than friendship?

The show continued, but you were barely aware of anything other than Jensen. The way his body moved with the music, the way his voice seemed to wash over you, the way your skin prickled with heat every time he looked your way.

By the time the final song ended, your mind was a jumble of confusion and desire. The crowd cheered as the band took their bows, and you clapped along with them, but your thoughts were somewhere else entirely.

As the lights came up and the crowd began to disperse, you made your way backstage, where Jensen had asked you to meet him after the show. Your heart pounded with each step, unsure of what you would say or how you would act around him now.

When you finally found him, he was toweling off, his shirt now soaked with sweat, his hair messy in the most attractive way possible. He looked up and grinned when he saw you, the easy-going, charming Jensen you knew so well.

“So, what did you think?” he asked, his voice still slightly husky from the performance.

You opened your mouth to speak, but the words caught in your throat. How could you possibly sum up what you were feeling? The attraction, the confusion, the sudden, overwhelming need to be close to him?

“It was… incredible,” you managed to say, hoping he couldn’t hear the tremor in your voice.

Jensen stepped closer, and you could smell the faint scent of his cologne mixed with sweat. It was intoxicating, sending another wave of heat through you. “You sure about that? You look a little… distracted.”

There was a teasing edge to his voice, but his eyes were serious, searching yours as if trying to read your thoughts.

“I’m just—” You hesitated, then took a deep breath, deciding to be honest. “You were amazing, Jensen. I didn’t expect… that.”

His smile widened, and there was something in his expression that made your stomach flip. “I’m glad you liked it. I was hoping you would.”

There it was again—that look. The one that made your pulse quicken and your thoughts spiral. You had seen him flirt before, had even been on the receiving end of it a few times, but this felt different. More intimate. More real.

He stepped even closer, and suddenly, the space between you felt charged with something electric. You could feel the heat radiating off his body, and the urge to reach out and touch him was almost overwhelming.

“Jensen…” you started, your voice softer than you intended.

He didn’t say anything, just waited, his eyes locked on yours, patient but expectant. As if he knew there was more you wanted to say, more you wanted to do, but was giving you the space to make the next move.

You swallowed hard, your mind a chaotic mix of emotions. Was this just physical attraction, heightened by the adrenaline of the performance? Or was it something more? Something you had been blind to until now?

You didn’t know. All you knew was that the sight of him—sweaty, breathless, and so incredibly close—was driving you crazy. You'd only ever dated rockstars never actors, you'd made him clear in the beginning. Was this him making it clear he can be both? No that is ridiculous.

Yet without thinking, you took a step forward, closing the gap between you. You could feel the heat of his body against yours, and the sensation made your skin tingle. Your hand reached out, almost of its own accord, and you placed it on his chest, feeling the rapid beat of his heart beneath your palm.

He sucked in a breath at your touch, and you looked up at him, seeing the same desire reflected in his eyes.

Before you could second-guess yourself, you leaned in, your lips brushing against his in the faintest of kisses. It was tentative, testing the waters, but the spark it ignited was undeniable.

Jensen responded immediately, his hand coming up to cup the back of your neck as he deepened the kiss. It was everything you hadn’t realized you wanted—intense, consuming, and filled with a passion that took your breath away.

When you finally pulled back, both of you were breathing heavily, your foreheads resting against each other. You searched his eyes, looking for answers, for reassurance, for something that would help you make sense of the storm inside you.

But all you saw was him—Jensen, your friend, your… something more.

“Y/N,” he whispered, his voice rough with emotion. “I’ve wanted this for so long.”

His words sent a jolt of realization through you, and suddenly, everything clicked into place. The reason you couldn’t look away from him tonight, the reason your body felt like it was on fire, the reason you were standing here now, in his arms.

It wasn’t just lust. It was something more. Something you had been too afraid to acknowledge.

Until now.

--

Please like, share or comment when you liked the story. If you liked this, please check out my masterlist for other stories.

Tag list:-> If you want to be added let me know what you like to read! If anyone feels like you're tagged too much, also let me know please. :)

@kr804573 @nancymcl@suckitands33 @mostlymarvelgirl @globetrotter28 @jackles010378 @hobby27

@call-me-mrs-winchester @cevansbaby-dove @winchesterwild78 @deans-baby-momma

[pro-cycling-primers]

🚴‍♀️🚴‍♂️ So, you're interested in starting watching cycling in 2025 (I hope), but have no idea where to start? 🚴‍♂️🚴‍♀️

Before the start of the road cycling season this year, I thought I'd post some information for people completely new to the sport. You might have seen some Tumblr posts going crazy about men and women in tight lycra, or watched a bit of the Tour de France on TV once, or maybe this post found you some other way! Let's get to it.

When does it happen?

Cycling doesn't have a set timetable nor are races only at weekends. It's mostly the same each year, but there have been some changes over the hundred-plus years professional cycling has been around.

The WorldTour (highest level of pro cycling, more about that in a later post) season lasts officially from January until October, with the full women's calendar for 2025 looking like this:

And the men's like this:

Don't try to watch all of them. Or do, I'm just a Tumblr blogger hoping more people get interested in this great sport 🤷

Okay then, which races should I watch?

The answers to this are many and varied; every list of 'best races to watch' will have at least one cycling fan clamouring 'But HOW could you ignore [x]!?'

In terms of basic introduction to the sport, I think this would give a solid season-wide grounding:

Five one-day races have mostly arbitrarily been declared The Monuments: Milano-Sanremo, Paris-Roubaix, de Ronde van Vlaanderen, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and Il Lombardia. (A more detailed post about these will be coming later in the season). All but Lombardia have men's and women's versions, with Milano-Sanremo Donne running for the first time in 2025, though Trofeo Alfredo Binda is a more well-established women's race in a similar region at a similar time.

Each has its own quirks, history, and favour different kinds of riders. The big names (except the pure stage racers) will be there.

I'd also recommend one of the early-season one-week stage races, Paris-Nice or Tirreno-Adriatico. They run at the same time, for one week in March, and present the first opportunity for the top stage racers to stretch their legs (another post about different types of riders will come). On the women's side, Itzulia Women or Tour de Suisse.

One of the Grand Tours is in my view, essential: Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a España, or the big one, the Tour de France

If you want, you can disregard this entire section and just watch the Tour. It's the biggest race there is, the most-covered, and teams bring their best riders in their best shape. It's a massive cultural event. If you take nothing from this post other than following a little closer in July, then it has been a success in my book.

How can I watch cycling?

Cycling has a serious lack of easily accessible coverage. Every race organiser has different TV rights arrangements, varying MASSIVELY from country to country, with some having free-to-air coverage of most races on national television but some having no option other than the paid services Discovery+ and Eurosport.

For an international suggestion there is a lovely site: tiz [dash] cycling [dot] io has free (!) livestreams of every race you could feasibly ever want to watch, and a back catalogue covering most of the last decade +

5-15 minute highlight videos from YouTube channels such as Eurosport, FloBikes etc. are also available a few hours after a race finishes! The Tour de France has its own channel with decent highlights and interviews.

See you later in the season!

[thebroccolination]

"Ossan's Love" Becomes Japan's Number One Friday Night Drama of All Time

名シーンの連続に、第1～3話とTVerで配信中のスピンオフの見逃し配信総再生数が700万回を突破（※ビデオリサーチにて算出 期間1月6日～24日）するなど、金曜ナイトドラマ枠歴代1位の快進撃となった。 oricon.co.jp

"This series of famous scenes has become the number one Friday night drama of all time, with the total view count of the first three episodes as well as the spin-off episode (available on TVer) surpassing 7 million (calculated by Video Research Ltd. from January 6 to 24)."

The Ossan's Love franchise began in 2016 with a TV movie that earned a small but loyal following that enabled the 2018 series that saw the casting of Hayashi Kento and the introduction of Maki's character. It's his inclusion, the chemistry between him and Tanaka Kei, and the extra work they did on developing nuance in their characters that I think led to the massive popularity of the 2018 drama.

It was only seven episodes, and no one expected it to be popular, but the final episode trended globally at number one on Twitter, which is bananas.

Summer of 2019 saw a movie that continued on from the end of the 2018 version. This was massive. Red carpet event for the premiere, nationwide theaters, merch, and the biggest screen in Roppongi Hills (the one with the fancy armchairs).

Ossan's Love was a massive success.

There was also the plane show in winter of 2019 (without Hayashi). It sure did happen.

The fanbase of the 2018 version (called S1 by the Japanese fandom) is huge and enthusiastic, so it's no surprise to see the success of S2, but to claim the number one Friday night drama of all time!!! For a queer drama!!!

A queer drama just became the number one Friday night drama of all time in Japan, a country that has yet to legalize marriage equality.

Incredible.

[nebuladreamerrr]

Kylian Mbappé imagine where he’s so nervous to meet your family. Especially nervous for your parents. Your family isn’t really a football family they’re more into basketball. They’re not that impressed by him.

Oooo and maybe when you get to meet his family,

And his mom tells him to the side that she has a real good feeling about you

I hope you enjoy it 💗💗

Lakers fan | Kylian Mbappé x Fem Reader

Summary: Despite being a confident man, Kylian can't help but feel insecure and nervous about meeting your family. But will everything turn out okay?

Warnings: English is not my first language

Kylian couldn't stop mentally going over all the plans he had been mapping out for months. When you mentioned that you wanted to spend your vacation in the United States so that your family could finally meet him, his mind started working overtime. He couldn't stop thinking about everything he needed to remember: not to mix up French with English, not to forget the gifts for your family (soccer jerseys for your younger brothers, flowers for your mother, and a bottle of wine for your father), and to make sure not to address your father too informally. All of this seemed like a simple plan, but the fact that everything was in English made Kylian very nervous.

From the moment you met him, you didn't hesitate to tell him that his English was very good and that he should be proud of mastering a language that wasn't his mother tongue. Still, a few lessons with you were enough to turn him into a professional in the language.

But this wasn't what made the French footballer nervous. It seemed unbelievable that before a match against the best players in the world, he had the strength and courage not to doubt his abilities. There's no denying that the young Frenchman is one of the best players in the world, but even the biggest stars tend to get nervous and review the matches of the stars they are going to face. However, Kylian wasn't like that. He could play in a big stadium with millions of fans chanting his name, and in his mind, it was as if he were playing a match with his childhood friends.

Without a doubt, that's what made you fall in love with Kylian: that ability to make even the most exclusive and extravagant events seem like a simple gathering in the park after school. Kylian always showed you that side of himself whenever he could, whether it was when you entered a clothing store and he mentioned how he used to have a shirt with the same pattern when he was little, when you ate at different restaurants and he always compared them to the ones in his hometown (which obviously always won), or even when he had a very important meeting with his representatives and afterward told you, "Phew, I almost fell asleep. For a moment, I was transported back to when my school principal gave talks that were supposed to last ten minutes and ended up lasting 100 hours."

But having to navigate in another language and meet your parents and entire family made him extremely nervous. Especially since he discovered that they weren't big soccer fans; in fact, they rarely watched soccer matches. Instead, it was rare for the TV not to be showing an NBA game. Kylian was a basketball fan too, but with so many matches, training sessions, and competitions, he couldn't watch all the basketball games he wanted or keep up with the big stars and promising future talents.

Kylian wasn't just worried about his own nerves; he was also focused on making sure you felt comfortable and happy. Although the United States was your home country, you hadn't been back in a long time. Since moving to Paris and more recently to Spain, your sense of home had spread across these three places. He knew you'd be thrilled to reunite with your family and make plans with all your friends, but he also understood it would be strange to return to a home that had changed since you last saw it. That's why Kylian planned every detail of the trip to the United States meticulously.

Kylian worked hard to learn a few phrases in English that might impress your parents and practiced how to behave in social situations that might be different from those in France, like not greeting your parents with the typical three kisses. He knew this visit was important to you, and he was determined to do everything possible to make it a success.

Additionally, Kylian had organized a special surprise for you. He had reserved a dinner at an elegant restaurant atop a skyscraper, with stunning views of the city. This was the perfect place for you to reconnect with all your childhood friends—those you had shared moments with since kindergarten, those you had spent so much time training with through cheerleading routines, and, most importantly, those you had shared countless laughs with. He wanted your family to see how much you meant to him and how much he valued every moment with you. He also thought it was a great opportunity for them to understand that he didn't want you to isolate yourself from your friends.

Furthermore, he had prepared a speech with the help of your best friend to express his feelings and gratitude for welcoming him into your home. This would demonstrate his commitment and dedication to both you and your family, making it clear that he had made a genuine effort to integrate into your life and roots.

On the day of departure, while waiting at the airport, Kylian took your hand and looked at you with a calm smile. "Everything will be fine," he confidently assured you. "We've planned everything, and most importantly, we're in this together." His words gave you the reassurance you needed. Together, you boarded the plane towards a new adventure, confident that whatever happened, you would face it with love and mutual support.

The arrival in the United States was emotional. Your best friends welcomed you with hugs and tears of joy, and Kylian introduced himself with the kindness and respect that always characterized him. The first few hours flew by with laughter, memories, and the joy of being together. However, you quickly headed to the hotel you had reserved for your stay to recharge for that special evening.

You had slight suspicions when Kylian warned you to dress elegantly that night because you were going to dinner at a city venue. You thought he might have something up his sleeve, but you quickly dismissed the idea because these spontaneous dates were normal in your relationship. Often, these getaways were the best way to relieve Kylian from stress.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, the waiters guided you to a reserved area. Your suspicions grew when you saw this area was covered by a curtain. Upon opening it, a loud "Surprise!" rang out, and you were greeted with a multitude of hugs and questions about how your recent years had been. Meanwhile, Kylian quickly adapted, chatting with some of your friends he had met that morning or conversing with their partners.

The dinner at the skyscraper was a resounding success. Your friends were surprised to see Kylian, and he quickly won their affection with his warmth and simplicity. The speech he prepared was emotional and sincere, eliciting applause and tears from everyone present. In his words, you could clearly see how much he loved you. He thanked you for following "this crazy head" and for never doubting him, even in his wildest plans. He promised to always make you the happiest person in the world, to take care of you, to be your unconditional support, and above all, to plan your future together with both of your interests in mind.

Kylian felt much more at ease knowing that your friends had accepted him. However, the great challenge of being accepted by your family still lay ahead. He had tried his usual routine to calm his nerves: a cold shower in the morning, a light breakfast, and an intense gym session. But it didn't seem to work today. So, when you informed him that you were going to take a shower to start getting ready, Kylian didn't hesitate to call his mother.

She had always been there for him, not only as a professional and great agent capable of negotiating with major clubs but also emotionally. She was the person who had been by his side during his first breakup, and luckily, she had already had the opportunity to meet you.

"Hello, mom," Kylian said softly as he sat on the hotel bed. "I need some advice… Today is the day I'll meet y/n's family, and I can't help feeling nervous."

His mother, with her usual wisdom and affection, reminded him that being himself was the most important thing. "They will love you for who you are, Kylian. You have shown yourself to be an incredible person, and take the opportunity for them not to be your fans but to fall in love with the real Kylian and not the superstar. Besides, y/n loves you deeply. Trust in that."

His mother's words gave Kylian the reassurance he needed, knowing that everything she said was true. Ten months ago, Fayza had the chance to meet you at a gala organized by Mbappé's association. She was completely captivated seeing you interact so naturally with young children, showing your genuine interest in ensuring everyone was happy and enjoying the day. When you finally made sure all the children were content and had received a small bag with the association's logo, including coloring books, crayons, and a soccer ball, you approached Fayza, apologizing for not being able to do so sooner. So when a child clamored for your attention again, Fayza discreetly approached Kylian to make sure to tell him that she knew you were the love of his life.

After hanging up, Kylian felt more prepared for the meeting. At the end of the day, it wasn't just about impressing your family but showing them how much you meant to him.

When you arrived at your parent's house, your mother opened the door with a big smile, politely greeting Kylian and enveloping you in a warm hug, welcoming you both into your childhood home with her natural charm. Entering the living room, you spotted your siblings with your father. After the initial greetings, you all managed to sit in different parts of the room before Kylian handed out the gifts he had brought, carefully considering your family's preferences.

It's true that your younger siblings weren't big fans of soccer and hadn't heard of Kylian before, but they knew he was a great athlete. Above all, they had seen in recent videos his dedication to the sport and the good values he promoted on the field, so they didn't hesitate to excitedly rush to put on their jerseys while shyly hugging Kylian.

Your mother was delighted with the flowers he had given her and asked about the florist where he had gotten them before quickly running to get a vase and put the flowers in water. But your father was different.

He had always been like this: very affectionate but also very overprotective and, above all, a joker. He had always taken every opportunity to scare the boys you brought home.

"A bottle of wine, Kylian, huh? Interesting. I hope this isn't an indirect way of wishing me to kick the bucket soon, young man. And I also hope this isn't in your regular drinks, because if it is, I'll doubt your sporting abilities."

Nervously, Kylian began to stammer, "Monsieur, I mean, sorry, sir, it wasn't my intention, I…"

"Dad, stop making him nervous and behave yourself. We have a cellar at home, I don't know who you're trying to impress," you replied annoyed, giving Kylian a reassuring look.

The tension had already set in, and even though you tried to calm Kylian by gently caressing his hand, you understood that this wasn't entirely calming him. With each passing minute, his discomfort became more evident.

A few minutes later, your father insisted again with another uncomfortable question: "So, Kylian, tell us, what makes soccer the best sport in the world for you?"

"Uh, well, there are many good sports and I appreciate several of them, but soccer has always been the sport I've practiced. I just enjoy it like a little kid when I play with my teammates. I really enjoy playing a team sport," nervously replied Kylian.

"Well, I value your opinion, but let me question what you've said. I'm not sure if you've considered that soccer is a sport where many people win titles, but only one player from the team stands out. That doesn't happen in basketball. Everyone must stand out, whether as a team, training hard individually, and respecting the coach's decisions. The latter you've had a hard time with in the last year, haven't you, Kylian?"

Kylian didn't know where to put himself. He didn't expect his girlfriend's family to criticize his sporting actions. He agreed that many times he hadn't had the best reactions, but he was working on that. "Yes, sir, I know it's something I need to work on and…"

"Dad, stop it. It's the last time I tell you," you responded firmly, with a challenging look.

"But if we're just having a conversation, right, Kylian?" your father said.

"Yes, yes, calm down, honey," Kylian replied, trying to smooth over the situation.

Taking advantage of the uncomfortable pause, your mother entered the room with a tray of refreshments and some snacks, trying to ease the tension. "Let's relax a bit, okay? We're here to have a good time and get to know each other better," she said with a smile.

Grateful for the change of subject, Kylian dove into conversation about some childhood memories and funny anecdotes from his career. Your younger siblings, fascinated, started asking him lighter questions about his training sessions and encounters with other famous athletes.

The evening continued with ups and downs, but gradually everyone relaxed. Kylian took the opportunity to show his more human and approachable side, which slowly won over your father's sympathy.

The tension continued to build in the room when your father, with a cunning smile, asked, "And tell me, Kylian, are you a fan of any basketball team?"

"Yes, sir, I'm a big fan of the Lakers," Kylian replied with a tentative smile.

"I can't believe it, the most wretched team of the season. Do you really support a team like that? If you consider yourself a great player, which I'm still not convinced of, you should support a great team like the Celtics," your father replied, not hiding his disdain.

Kylian had lost all the energy he had. He felt mentally exhausted and didn't know what to say anymore. He lowered his head, ashamed, feeling like he had failed to impress your father.

"That's enough, we've had enough. Kylian, let's go," you said, getting up quickly. Kylian was astonished, not expecting you to take his side and confront your father.

"No, honey, it's okay," Kylian tried to calm you, though he clearly appreciated your support.

At the end of the night, when the atmosphere had calmed down, your father approached Kylian with a softer expression. "You know, soccer may not be my favorite sport, but I see how hard you work and how much you mean to my daughter. I just want you to know that you have a family here that will support you, as long as you make her happy."

Kylian touched and shook your father's hand firmly. "Thank you, sir. I promise to do everything I can to take care of her and make her happy."

When you finally retired to the hotel, Kylian looked at you with a mixture of relief and happiness. "It's been a tough day, but I think we passed the test."

You smiled, feeling a weight lifted off your shoulders. "Yes, we did. Together, as always."

That night, as you prepared to sleep, Kylian was reflective. "You know, I always knew meeting your family would be a challenge, but I didn't expect it to be so intense."

"My father has always been protective, but over time he'll see how amazing you are," you replied, gently caressing his face.

"I hope so. I want them to know how much I love you and how much you mean to me," said Kylian, with renewed determination.

[papiliomame]

@dp-crossover-angst-week-event

July: 11, 12: Controlled by an outside source, Runaway

DP x The Truman Show x American Arcadia

Welcome to the biggest and most popular reality- TV Show in the world! Watch the exciting adventures of our favourite Ghostboy Danny Phantom all day long 24/7! Don't miss any second of it and be part our Phandom with our numerous Phan-merchandise or maybe you want to be a little more engaged, then vote on our Community "Ghost of the Week" poll! Does The Box Ghost escapes his cylindrical contaiment device again or will Vortex wreck havoc over the city or maybe a new ghost makes his entrance! Everything is in your hands, everything is real and don't forget to get " Going Ghost"!

For anyone not familiar with " The Truman Show": It is a movie about Truman who is without his knowledge the protagonist of the reality-TV show " The Truman Show". His birth to his now adult life was documented on TV and every person in the world could watch it. For Truman everything was normal until some strange things happened, like a spotlight falls from the "sky", and Truman become suspicious. He slowly realize he is trapped in a TV-Show and tries to escape the fake town with his fake life everyone played for him.

"American Aracadia" is a game released last year with the same concept put in big and modern. A whole city with mulitple people living a "normal live" without their knowledge of beeing watch by millions of people. The audience can watch every single "Arcadia-born" online per livestream and citizens who are too boring and don't get clicks will get "retired"(aka death). You play the "Arcadia-born"- Trevor and with outside help you unveil the secrets about the city and the TV Show and try to escape.

In both franchises the town/city is built under a huge dome which simulates a fake sky with fake weather and climate.

-----

This crossover idea is based on the same concept. People can follow live 24/7 the life of Danny "Phantom" Fenton. In this crossover ghosts are actually not unknown and are very well contained. Vlad Master is the CEO of the TV show ( and he plays himself as a villain for the show) and works together with ghosts to get enough "supply" for new ghost fights. Danny transformation into an halfghost was planned after the TV-Show was declining for a bit. This and the following ghost fights made the show the most popular show in world (and the show was rebranded to "Danny Phantom"). The Fenton parents are not the real parents and are just "NPCs" to play the "crazy Fenton parents". His real parents sold his rights to Vlad for a large sum of money. This also means that the whole world actually knows that he is Phantom and the audience decides with a poll how Danny live his life. Everything that happens around Danny is staged: Trip to another country, oh no something happens that the plane doesn't reach his original destination (like the episode" Maternal Instincs") ; Danny need to fight Dan to save the world?, this is just a new stage Clockwork fabricated for Vlad, and Dan is just an NPC Ghost.

Danny himself somehow gets suspicous about this whole charade and tries to flee. And he asked himself question like: Is his sister his real sister or also a NPC? What about his best friends, Sam and Tucker, did they lie to him the whole time? Can he trust anyone anymore? Maybe he is the one who gets crazy and paranoid?

The citizens activate the ghost shield which surrounds the city and they try their damnedest to bring Danny back where he belongs ( for them anyway).

[mrs-stans]

A Day in the Life of an Oscar Stylist

All the fashion savvy, industry connections and endless schlepping required to get Hollywood’s top names ready for their big night.

From left: Cristin Milioti (styled by Bailey Moon), Jake Gyllenhaal (styled by Michael Fisher), Diane Lane (Moon’s client) and Sebastian Stan (Fisher’s Oscar-nominated client).

By Max Berlinger

February 24, 2025

Once, the stylist Bailey Moon was dressing a female client for a major event, and moments before she left her hotel, a piece of tile, used as embellishment, fell off. Having handled hundreds of situations like this in his career, Bailey leaped into action with some hot glue.

The problem was, though he succeeded in reattaching it to the dress, he had also accidentally glued himself to the garment, too. And thus he found himself in the sleek town car with the actress, on the way to her engagement, desperately trying to get himself unstuck.

Suffice it to say, he managed to disengage from his client’s garment before she hit the step and repeat, but he didn’t relish the moments of mild panic. “My thing is to not have this chaotic atmosphere,” says Moon, who dresses actors Cristin Milioti, Diane Lane, and the married couple Rebecca Hall and Morgan Spector. He also works outside the entertainment industry, most notably with Dr. Jill Biden and other members of the Biden family. “I know some stylists who love that adrenaline rush of, ‘We have five minutes, and we have to sew the dress together.’ I refuse to do that.

“But,” he added, “it doesn’t always work out that way.”

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A post shared by Bailey Moon (@bailey.moon)

Welcome to the high-stakes and sometimes hectic world of celebrity styling. Although the result is undoubtedly glamorous, getting there can be anything but. Behind each million-dollar necklace, sleek custom dress and expertly tailored tuxedo there lies a lot of hard work: countless emails and phone calls to coordinate labyrinthine logistics, hours logged driving across Los Angeles or New York, negotiations for money and coveted one-of-a-kind gowns, numerous cross-country (or international) flights and more schlepping of overstuffed garment bags than seems humanly possible. And as Hollywood’s biggest night approaches, the ante gets nudged ever upward.

“If you have a nominee, it does get crazy,” says Michael Fisher, whose clients include Jake Gyllenhaal, Oscar Isaac, Bowen Yang and Sebastian Stan, who’s nominated this year for an Oscar for best actor. “If you have multiple, it’s even crazier.” Today, he says, it’s not just the Oscars or Emmys themselves, but the slog of events that lead toward them. “All the lunches, the breakfast, the teas, the festivals, the Q&As. You go through a really intense boot camp as they’re campaigning, and then once the nominations start locking in, it’s almost like resetting, going back to ground zero and starting all over again.”

Michael Fisher styled Sebastian Stan in Thom Browne for the CFDA awards last Fall.Source: Michael Fisher

“Have I cried? Yes,” says one stylist who prefers not to be named. “Have I been yelled at? Yes. It’s very rare that there’s really crazy drama, but I’ve definitely had moments where there’s a pile of couture on the floor of my studio, and I look around and think, ‘What is my life?’”

Dressing celebrities has become something of a cottage industry. Stylists at the top of their game can be well compensated, but much like the actors they work with, their incomes can vary dramatically depending on client or project. For example, it’s customary that stylists are paid “by look” when outfitting an actor for the press cycle of a movie or TV show, including premieres, interviews and talk show appearances, a fee that generally ranges from $1,000 to $5,000. These fees are often paid, at least in part, by the studio overseeing the project, though sometimes the actors subsidize them. In some cases, deals are struck for entire press cycles, or clients keep stylists on a monthly retainer.

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A post shared by Bailey Moon (@bailey.moon)

For high-profile events—the Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Golden Globes—top-tier stylists dressing top-tier talent can make in the mid-five-figure range, with stories of $100,000-plus fees floating around. Brands have also been known to pay the talent to wear their clothes to these types of occasions—something that can bring in fees as high as the low six figures—an arrangement that extends to jewelry and, for men, the lucrative business of luxury timepieces.

“The fashion-entertainment relationship is more important than ever,” Moon says. “That’s why UTA [United Talent Agency] and WME [William Morris Endeavor] have fashion divisions now.” This recent push by major talent agencies to create fashion-specific departments is intended primarily to represent stylists, photographers and designers such as Loewe’s Jonathan Anderson, who created costumes for last year’s Challengers and Queer (both directed by Luca Guadagnino), and then outfitted these movies’ male stars for their buzzy press tours. But these agencies can also help broker deals between brands and talent. Moreover, the agencies can help the stylists and clients convert these red carpet relationships into something more long-lasting (and financially lucrative), such as spokesperson deals or brand ambassador roles—think of Zendaya’s association with Louis Vuitton and Harris Dickinson starring in this season’s Prada advertisements. These deals are, in many ways, the most desirable of all and can, under the best circumstances, yield seven-figure payouts.

Although awards season is their busiest time of year, stylists don’t work only for the superfamous. Up-and-coming actors can seriously boost the profile of their on-camera work with successful red carpet appearances, as Ayo Edebiri, of The Bear, has done with her stylist, Danielle Goldberg. Social media influencers or gadabouts with large followings may employ the services of a stylist. And there was a time when men were merely suited and sent on their way, but a new generation of rakish male celebrities, including Timothée Chalamet and Colman Domingo, require as much preparation as their female counterparts. Stylists themselves have become famous as well; for instance, Law Roach, who works with Zendaya, can now make brand deals for himself.

Despite all this pressure, several stylists stress that their work often lacks dramatic fireworks. Instead it requires meticulous planning and an almost militarized approach to organization. Take Fisher, who estimates he’s dressed Stan in almost 100 outfits over the past year as the actor has done press for both The Apprentice and A Different Man. The stylist put outfits together in “chunks,” he says, meaning he will try to call in clothing and create looks in batches that can then be used for a few weeks of appearances.

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“Depending on the team surrounding the talent, you can get this well-oiled machine and plot it all out,” Fisher says. All of which is no small feat. He has a studio in New York with two full-time assistants, plus a space in LA with freelance help, and says he likes to overcompensate in his “pulls”—meaning he will request more clothing from brands than is necessary, so he can provide plentiful options to his clients. Those outfits must all then be sent back to the labels.

Still, no amount of organization can save a stylist from the moments of absurdity or stress that the job sometimes requires. “I’ve had people literally lay down on the floor of an SUV to not wrinkle a dress,” Moon says. “Or people use those standing buses now. But those are just tricks of the trade.”

“Awards day is always a stressful time,” Fisher says. “You have to pray that everyone is in the same radius. Sometimes you’re lucky, and they all get ready at the same hotel, and you’re just going between floors, but there’s always that one rogue person who wants to get ready at home in Malibu.” Fisher, like other stylists, often employs an additional platoon of assistants, full-time and freelance, on both coasts, who can help during the busier periods. “So then you’re just trying to prioritize everything, running on adrenaline and driving against traffic. I used to drive myself, but then I was just getting ulcers trying to get cars out of valets.”

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On paper, stylists are there to dress the client, but at least one notes that they’re often tending to emotional baggage as well. “I’ve worked with younger nominees who are newer to the game, and there can just be really high emotions on the day of a big show,” says a stylist who preferred not to be named. “It’s like a wedding. One detail can be thrown off, and they can spin out. All I can do is try to be a calm presence and overly prepared for any unforeseen disasters.”

And when all the awards have been bestowed and the Champagne has been sipped, remember the stylists—even those at the top of their game—who are doing the very unglamorous work of returning those designer gowns and preparing for the next event. “The other day I was at the 42nd Street [subway] stop with two Away suitcases waiting for a train to Brooklyn,” Moon says with a laugh. “That part never really stops—the picking up, the dropping off. And I have a great team, but it is not glamorous in that sense—in Ubers with garment bags and heavy gowns and at the FedEx store every fricking day. It’s an endless cycle.”

[infernalodie]

𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 || 𝐉𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐎𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐚

“𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦“

Inspo: Michael Bublé - Home

Pairing: Jenna Ortega x Male!reader

Summary: The distance made you chose home and you would do it again...

Warnings: Fluffy

Words: 1726

Out on the road, it held some of the greatest moments in your life. Going big and being able to travel across the world or on a tour bus, seeing places, meeting fans, spending years with friends getting to experience all these things together. It truly is a gift that you wouldn’t take back. Fame and the extra responsibilities were meaningless when you got to live the dreams you had since a child.

But as years went on and as you got older, you met people. You had partners that came and left, but none felt like something you wanted to have for life. Until Jenna met you backstage. She was beautiful, far more beautiful than what you saw on the internet or in movies. You two talked until your manager pulled you to the stage. But in those 5 minutes of talking, seeing her smile, hearing her laugh, some part of you had this feeling. It was a swelling effect in the chest that hadn’t been prevalent for so long. So, you had made it your mission to exchange numbers and see if it would work. If it just meant being friends, then that would be enough.

So, on nights when you were laid up in a hotel or on the tour bus and you couldn’t sleep, you sent her a quick text. Feeling your lips twist into a smile when she texted back. She was a movie star and you were just some unknown (almost) jazz artist that lived for the music. Yet, she gave time to you when she was also free. Your friends would joke when they found you smiling at your phone. Teasing you for being so whipped over a girl you met once.

And it only felt inevitable that you guys attempted to give it a chance. When the tour ended, you guys met again and went on countless secretive dates since Jenna wasn’t prepared for that type of press. You supported her and she did you. Most days, you attempted to just call her if she wasn’t busy and would see her when she had a day off. Going with her to TV and movie premiers is a plus one that the two of you labelled as “best friends.” And something about your guys’ relationship being so secretive gave it that much affection and genuine love behind the scenes because it was your guys’ secret. It was only for you two to know, feel, and experience.

That was a year ago. The two of you were still going strong but tours and shows were sucking more of the life out of you. Performing was still magical and a god given gift to you, but being away from Jenna was hurting more and more as time passed. Seeing the fans were great, but you missed Jenna’s arms around you. Hearing the crowd sing the lyrics was exciting, but feeling Jenna’s lips against yours was different and better.

You started touring at 17 and that was after putting out two studio albums. You were 22 now and the love for music was still there, but it wasn’t the forefront like it used to be. And you accomplished everything you needed to. Going to countries and cities you wanted, doing certain events, going on talk shows, meeting your celebrity idols- all of it was done. The last show of your tour was in the 3rd biggest stadium in the world. You had reached the top. So, where else were you supposed to go? There was only so much you could do before the drive was lost and you might’ve wanted to conserve it honestly. Maybe drop the whole music thing for a few years and come back with a fresh mind and new things you’ve experienced. It was a tall order and one you believed and everyone close to you did too.

So, walking out on that stage with the sound of fans screaming in excitement, cheering your name as far back as your eyes would allow you to see, it felt surreal. It also tore way at your heart. But you managed to force the tears down and smile, adjusting your suit and bringing the mic to your lips. “Michigan.” Your monotone voice was overtaken by the screams, making you laugh. “Who is ready for the show?” They screamed again.

The night slowly divulged down into you giving the best performance of your life. Dancing, running, jumping, screaming, you gave your all to the show and the crowd was loving it. But you knew time was whittling down and the eventual final song would have to be performed and you would be left sorrowful. Because you knew that the moment you stepped on stage, this would be the last show for a while. And it almost felt like you were saying goodbye to someone or losing someone. There would be a grieving process and it would take long to overcome it. But you knew it wasn’t over.

Soon enough, that time came and you had to pull the stool in the center of the stage close to the piano and sat down. “Listen, I know I’m 22, but I am getting too old for this,” you grumbled, taking a sip at your water as the crowd laughed. “But I am sure you guys realize that I haven’t played the last song. But there is a good reason for that. I…I am going to be taking a break for a while.”

You lowered the mic as you felt your nose start to tingle and burn. Sniffling as you swallowed the lump in your throat. “I met someone a few years ago and being on tour has been a gift and I love every single one of you, but I need to spend that time with them. They changed my life and so many ways and I love them too much to step away any longer.” you explained. “It hurts being away from loved ones and it hurts more not being able to be in their arms.” Exhaling shakily, you allowed the tears to flow down your cheeks without care. “I’ve been doing this since I was 13. Making music out of my parent's basement and when I was 17, I finally went on tour and it’s been nonstop since. So, I made a few calls and cleared it, but an album will be dropping my birthday with this next song.”

The crowd cheered, seeming to support your decision. It made your face twist in so many emotions and your heart swell in happiness. But when you turned your head, you found her standing on the other end of the stage, tears in her eyes, hands clasped to her chest. Your bottom lip trembled and a choked laugh fell from your lips as you got up and walked toward her. When Jenna stepped out from the curtain, the crowd screamed and cheered.

Yet, the world became so meaningless when you were wrapped in her arms. Her warm tears wet your cheek, which made you sigh shakily. “I love you so much.” It was the truth. In so many circumstances, you felt like the four-letter word didn’t have the much weight as it did now. You also didn’t feel worthy of being the one to say it. But you were giving up so much money to just be with her because she meant more than the money. She gave more memories than the road could ever, so you hoped she knew how much you meant it.

Jenna rubbed your back, pulling away to kiss you on the forehead. Her hands hold your face with her lips etching into a grin. “I love you too,” she whispered. Taking your hand, she pressed a kiss to the back of it and tilted her head. “You gonna sing that song or keep ‘em waiting?”

You smiled, taking her hand and pulling her further out on stage. Raising your interlocked hands, causing the crowd to cheer in bliss. The band began to play with you and Jenna sat at the piano. Her hand rested on your lap as you played the keys just like you practiced so many sleepless nights. “Another summer day. Has come and gone away. In Paris and Rome. But I wanna go home, mmm,” you sang. “May be surrounded by, A million people I still feel all alone. Just wanna go home. Oh, I miss you, you know.”

The crowd was a sea of lights, waving from left to right with the rhythm of the song. Making you smile as you moved closer to the mic and tilted your head to glance at Jenna. Her eyes dreamily admired you as you smiled. “Let me go home. I'm just too far. From where you are. I wanna come home. And I feel just like I'm living someone else's life. It's like I just stepped outside. When everything was going right.”

You had created the song while on the road. A distant cry of what you wished for more than anything else in the world. Just to be with Jenna. You were mainly surprised by the fact that you were allowed to do this. The record company had cleared it and was in full support of the long break from music. And they had been helpful to make things easier to create your new album while on the road. Willing to pay and have equipment set up and ready for you to use.

“Another winter day. Has come and gone away. In even Paris and Rome. And I wanna go home. Let me go home.” Head bobbing to the drums, you looked at Jenna and smiled. Her hand reached up and threaded through your neatly styled hair, gently caressing your scalp in the way you liked it. The sting behind your eyes grew as you licked your lips. “Let me go home. I've had my run. Baby, I'm done. I gotta go home. Let me go home. It'll all be all right. I'll be home tonight. I'm coming back home.”

With the last chord of the piano that played, the crowd screamed and cheered as you sat there with your hands resting in your lap. Blinking rapidly as you sniffled, pursing your lips and nodding. Looking at Jenna, you smiled through the tears. “Let’s go home.”

[3liza]

re: delivering a baby, unlike the plane landing thing most people actually have a chance of being able to do this, not because it's easy but because the person actually giving birth is really doing most of the work here. TBH the biggest issues we get with BBAs are the fact that people get this idea that they need to be 'doing something' when, if someone's labour is progressing so quickly that there isn't time to get to a hospital/planned birthplace, the bus is basically driving itself at that point, and the best thing you can do is just try to get them to the safest, cleanest space available and stay with them. You don't need to like, put your hands up there (all you will do is introduce an infection risk) or pull the baby out of there (you will probably just give that kid a brachial plexus injury) and for the love of god, you do not need to cut the fucking cord as soon as baby is out. People seem to fixate on this even though, in most countries, delayed cord clamping is standard practice, but everyone's seen the tv or movie where people act like if you don't cut that cord immediately the baby is going to...idk, go back in? We've had a horror stories of even paramedics cutting cords and not clmaping the umbilical stump (that is now an open wound with thre huge vessels in it, guess what happens) or snapping cords by yanking on them, or in one case even causing a uterine inversion (basically what you think it is) by trying to pull out a placenta that had not yet detached from the uterine wall.

Fortunately, the births that happen that quickly are generally at lower risk of complications, for the person giving birth or baby - it's the ones that labour for days, or push for hours, where you're more likely to see babies that come out flat or don't transition well to breathing, or massive PPHs.

look "doctor" everyone knows that the umbilicus is basically a bungee cord and if you dont sever that thing asap the baby's gonna ricochet right back up there and make a bunch of gmod collision noises

no you're right, landing a plane is probably not the best comparison lol. i did really like that one story about the expectant mom who got lost on a hike and ended up successfully delivering the baby herself, including if im not mistaken successfully tying off the cord with a hoodie string or something and then chewing through it herself? i might have made up a false memory about the cord part but both she and the baby were completely fine even after being stuck in the wilderness for, iirc, several days. ive never been pregnant and probably never will be BUT that has always seemed like the ideal birthing environment for me, a person for whom the greatest risk to my mental health in that scenario is people fussing over me and telling me what to do in a maternity ward while im trying to concentrate (i dont actually believe this, i am sure in the event i got pregnant i would prefer to make choices that minimized the risk of injury to myself and the baby)

[gemsofgreece]

what do mainland greeks and cypriots think of eachothers ?

The Helladites (the Greeks of Greece) have a pretty unanimous opinion about the Cypriots. They all think Cypriots are Greeks far far away who are prevented by Turkey from the Énosis (unification) of Cyprus with Greece. Helladites think of this in emotional terms, rather than strategic or political ones (ie wanting Cyprus just because that would expand the country and make it stronger). First and foremost, they think of it as Greeks who are kept apart from the rest of Greeks and I perceive this as a honest sentiment amongst the people. Other than that, Helladites also believe Cypriots run their country better and that their economy is stronger (per capita). Helladites find the Cypriot accent and dialect “heavy”. Helladites love Halloumi, the Cypriot national cheese, maybe not as much as feta but they still hold it to a high regard.

I feel like the Cypriots have more mixed and stronger opinions but I don’t know if I am an expert because I have interacted with few Cypriots in my life. Historically Cypriots wanted the unification with Greece. After the Turkish invasion of Cyprus and Greece’s failure to protect Cyprus let alone that some of its actions made the situation worse, Cypriots were very disappointed and angry at the Helladites. Cypriots call Helladites “kalamarádes” with a touch of irony, which means “the educated ones”. I don’t know why actually, probably due to speaking the standard textbook Greek? I honestly don’t know. Cypriots make fun of the Helladites for their poorer English accents and they defend their dialect for preserving some archaic elements Standard Modern Greek does not.

(Greek) Cypriots are probably grouped in three categories. The largest group is those whose disappointment has started cooling down and they want tight bonds with Greece in all aspects, however they want to keep their sovereignty separate, maybe due to trauma and distrust, or maybe because if we ever attempted something like that, Turkey would start WW3. This is already more or less our situation but there’s always room for further bonding.

The second group are the Cypriots who still want the Enosis. I was reading a comment in YouTube by a foreign tourist saying how he saw more Greek flags in Cyprus than in Greece. Then I had seen in the news about a Cypriot raising one of the biggest Greek flags in the world in a building, I don’t remember exactly why. Greece had some victory in sports or some event or something and he was celebrating like that. Also, this is not just this group of people but an official fact: Greece and Cyprus share the same national anthem. They have the same history books in school. The Cypriot president comes to Athens to attend the Greek Independence Day military march there. Most Cypriot artists come to study and become famous in Greece. There are a lot of Cypriot singers that are crème de la creme of Greece. In the last years there is also almost every year a Helladic - Cypriot TV production. In general the famous people of the two countries are shared totally.

There is a third group of people which I believe to be smaller but it’s particularly promoted by the British zone of influence in the island. Those claim to be “just” Cypriots, with Cypriot being perceived as both a nationality and a separate ethnicity, and wish to cut the so many ties with Greece. I don’t think they are many because their beliefs are not reflected in however the majority of Cyprus and even the state of Cyprus officially act in relation to Greece.

Helladites and Cypriots often pick up silly fights on the social media, where each accuses the other for lack of support or understanding. That one time we gave 4 instead of 12 points to Cyprus in Eurovision almost started a diplomatic episode 🤣 Then Cypriots always participate in reality and contest TV games in Greece and when the winner is voted by the public all of Cyprus votes for the Cypriot only whereas the Helladite participants’ votes are dispersed throughout Greece and as a result nearly always a Cypriot wins in Greece’s game tv shows which at this point makes Helladites mad and accuse Cypriots of bombing the televoting. (Cyprus is always able to vote in Greece tv shows.) You know, such serious stuff.

All in all, from the few Cypriots I’ve met, if you don’t hear the accent, you can’t tell them really apart from a Helladite, despite the actually long marine distance between Greece and Cyprus. By a Helladite acquaintance who lived in Cyprus for a while, I was told there were some small differences in the lifestyle and society but they didn’t expand more. Cyprus is a smaller country and therefore Cypriots tend to stick together more, however most of the (few) Cypriots I have met had flawless smooth friendships, affairs and interactions with Helladites, more like they were too Helladites from a remote Greek island than from a different country.

That’s my personal recollection but again I haven’t met many Cypriots so maybe something here is inaccurate idk

[ktyekmrf30]

on why Oner wants to send Thame to Korea alone and it make scense

With all the love and respect I have for the MARS members and Thame personally for his desire to succeed together, I see and understand where Lady Pemika's words come from and from a business standpoint she has more reasonable points than Thame. As a fan of kpop, cpop and a little bit of jpop for the last 12 years, and as someone who is just starting to explore t-pop and I'm also came from western market, I can clearly see the difference in opportunities of each market individually, domestically and internationally, and the trends they follow through the years.

China (represented by the government) will never be interested in being influenced by foreign artists. The chinese market is very isolated, artists work there 24/7 to the point of breaking bones to get to the top. Monthly comparisons of Weibo subscribers, daily flights from one city to another to sponsor events to attend them all and get into Weibo trends, increase their mentions, and at the end of the year receive an award as a Weibo prince or princess, to get more acting roles, more brand contracts etc. Chinese artists are controlled not only by their agency, but also by the government. All content (dramas 100%) is pre-filmed and reviewed by the government, otherwise they do not receive a broadcast license, so some tv shows can be released 2-3 years after filming or re-shot several times. I remember several scandals where foreign fans discovered how artists were forced to release videos where they read statement with party ideology, and also we can’t forget all the negativity and artists' removing from the industry if any of the artists accidentally says something about the territorial integrity of China or called Taiwan an independent country.

After Hallyu wave ban back in 2016, China was clearly focused on developing its own independent music idol industry, which is now in a strange state, and very differently from korean industry. There are also no big permanent idol groups - all groups created on music survival shows barely release a few songs and albums before they all go solo. It's like you probably know the name of Liu Yuxin more than THE9 or Cai Xukun than Nine Percent. I believe nobody remembers now that Lin Yanjun from cdrama Crush was his co-member back in 2018. Those groups can release albums under solo, but most often it's an acting career, because it is more stable. There are unique ones like Zhang Yixing, who can manage acting, music releases and becomes a CEO of his agency with idols all at once, but such cases can be counted on the fingers of one hand. And all idols who leave for Korea still return to China, because it's their homeland and honestly China brings them more money (ex: Victoria from f(x), Kyulkyung from Pristin, WJSN chinese members, Yixing from EXO, etc).

China doesn't want to enter the international market and doesn't want to let the international market in, because they are satisfied with themselves.

Same with Japan. It's too have a closed market, where they don't allow anyone from abroad in, with rare exceptions. It's considered a huge achievement for Koreans that my queen BoA in 2002 became the first South Korean pop star to break through in Japan following the fall of barriers that had restricted the import and export of entertainment between these two countries since the end of World War II and then with TVXQ, TWICE etc. Yes, japanese people love some kpop idols and some western songs but the main industry is not adapting to western trends, nor are artists seeking international fame or leaving their home market. Let's not forget how Japan has been in the top3 biggest music markets in the world for years and there is no influence of western artists or labels.

And there is Korea which became international: back in early 00s with Asia market thanks to BoA and TVXQ, in China with EXO in 2012, and in 2012 in USA and Europe thanks to PSY and later with BTS. And it's still expanding with 4th-5th generation idol groups. The most resent SM girl group has an indonesian girl to debut and they will become big. Every year Korean music market is expanding. They are open to debuting foreign artists in their groups, because it will bring money to the agencies from foreign fans, investors and sponsors. They have managed to popularize their language, so they don't have to adapt and teach their idols English. You need to just run autosubs on the platform or wait for bilingual fans to translate everything themselves for free. Easy.

Unfortunately this industry is insanely cruel, if you look at the number of groups debuting each year (all of them, even from small agencies, not just the top 4 biggest music labels) and how many of them get at least one release a year and how many of them survive at least 2 years of entire existence, the situation becomes sad. The competition to debut is fierce, you can see how a chinese boy Chenle from NCT debuted after ~4 months of training, while his bandmate japanese Yushi trained in the same agency for almost 9 years before finally debuting (he was accepted into SM in 2015 and debuted in 2024). And they are both insanely talented singers and dancers. Similarly, you can look at my boy Jinho, who became a trainee at SM in 2008, released a few project songs but never debuted in 7 years so he left debuted as member of Pentagon after 8 years of training in some not so big agency, although Jinho is one of the most talented vocalists in the industry.

So Lady Pemika's words about Korea only wanting Thame make sense, because Thame is talented, he has everything Korea wants: the look, the personality, THE voice, and also established popularity. It is obvious that Thame has the biggest fanbase among all the MARS members, who will loyally follow him to Korea and bring money to the korean agency. And it will profit Oner too because Thame clearly will have some kind of double contract, which actually are common with chinese idols in kpop, who have two agencies at once. Only, unlike China, the Thai music industry is several steps behind the Korean one, and still very much follows it. The terminology, the model of promotion, music shows, training systems and group creation process, sound of music - all of this in the Thai idol industry is somehow borrowed from Korea and this cannot be denied. Yes, they have adapted korean industry standards to suit their culture, but still.

That's why they are so proud of Nichkhun, BamBam, Lisa and Ten who have become big in Korea and are getting global attention. Because the Thai industry is growing and developing based on the korean model and when their people are shining when they achieve success in Korea it is important for Thai companies to evolve, especially in the case of Oner, because Lady Pemika will benefit from Korean fees under the double contract. And for her as a businesswoman, this plan will come true with 100% probability, because Thame is already wanted, he has already been invited. But MARS is not.

The topic that MARS can shine together is very sensitive, because yes, these guys love each other, have a dream of achieving success together and I am as a fan will buy their album and cry for them and pray for their success. But from a business point, there are millions of artists like them, especially in Korea. As a huge fan of unpopular groups, I have a million examples in my head. We have Astro, who have been on everyone's lips their entire career because they managed to get Cha Eunwoo, there's a KNK and they went kinda viral in debut because they have Seungjun aka Seoham, who did some crazy shit in early days and then he played in Semantic Error (yes, that same Jaeyoung was once an idol). My boy Jangjun worked his ass off for years as an entartainer to make Golden Child famous in Korea, but they still met a sad end recently. And you don't even want to hear from me about Madtown guys. I bought their albums back in 2014. I watched their streams when there were no translations, let alone autosubs. They had like 2,5 fans and I was one of them.

So yeah. Thame's plan about MARS become popular together is something undefined and not an option for a company whose main priority is to make money and not to let five friends achieve their dreams. That's why Lady Pemika made all these plans leading to the fact that Thame would agree to leave MARS, because it is her main source of income from a big industry that has already expressed a desire in her assets. And also her words about T-pop becoming bigger as an industry may be based on her inner desires to become the CEO of a major agency that will lead the T-pop wave, that technically isn't even a wave yet, but just a hint of a breeze, just like Lee Sooman from SM Entertainment once led the Hallyu wave.

[therealenemy]

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/elon-musk-appears-video-german-far-right-campaign-event-2025-01-25/

I need to talk about what’s happening in Germany right now as our elections come up in February, because I am so angry right now and now the amount of foreign influence from America has become, in my opinion, untenable.

For context the AfD Party in Germany ( or alternative for Deutschland ) is a far right neo Nazi party that has been on the rise in Germany for a few years now. They have played on fears of immigration to get elected and this has sadly worked because many Germans are still terrified of any religion that is different from the norm. They have very cynically used past terror attacks to imply that all Muslims have a „culture of violence“ and frightened Germans into believing that those of Arab descent all want to hurt our women and children.

They cannot call themselves „Nazi“ because that is illegal in our country but they use Nazi talking points and propaganda even to the point of copying their methods to get elected. For example; a little while ago they sent election mailers to to the homes of known immigrants that looked like fake plane tickets telling them they need to go back where they come from.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/14/german-police-investigate-afd-flyers-resembling-plane-tickets-for-immigrants

They have advertisements on our TVs and posted everywhere, featuring only white Germans using taglines like „Germany for Germans“, and implying that we used to be safe from violence and rape in our country (which, as a women, is ridiculous) but now we can’t be, you know, because of all those brown people.

Most recently, they hosted a rally in which Elon Musk was a VIP guest speaker. He talked to Germans and claimed we shouldn’t allow our „culture“ to be „diluted“ by multiculturalism. He opined that Germans should no longer feel ashamed of being German because of our Grandparents and Great Grandparents. Saying, as he has before on twitter, that the AfD were the only ones could „save“ Germany. It was the most direct references to our Nazi history that I have ever seen in German media.

Musk, the worlds richest man, who built said wealth on the back of other ppls labor and by buying up the intellectual property of people far smarter and more accomplished than him, now is determined to use that wealth and the influence it comes with to create a resurgence of the far right white nationalist extremism world wide. He, a man shaped by his Grandparents support of Adolf Hitler while they lived in Canada and his family’s support of South African apartheid while they lived there, now believes that he can shape the world, our world, in his image.

For my German friends: any German who votes AfD ( or CDU who at this point have capitulated completely to the far right ) are admitting that they have learned nothing from our history and are allowing themselves to be led by the nose by this worm of a man and his pet, Frau Weidel. And for my American friends, please I beg of you, resist this man and the politician he supports at every turn. It should be obvious by now why Elon Musk, who proudly does Nazi Salutes on your biggest political stage and then jokes about it, who has previously told the world that he believes western Jews are stealing from white Americans, supports Donald Trump.

What we should be doing is banding together internationally to stop this attempted destruction of our democracies and, frankly, our lives. This man should be brought to heel, we cannot allow a man to control elections internationally simply because he has collected such unspeakable amounts of wealth.

[everydayyoulovemeless]

Living in Big MT With the Think Tank

➼ Word Count » 1.5k ➼ Warnings » Think Tank? ➼ Genre » Platonic/Romantic, Slice of Life?? ➼ A/N » Really into them again, so I figured I'd make this

Assuming that this happens after the events of Old World Blues, the majority of the Think Tank isn't going to be that opposed to you moving in. However, Klein is, and he'd do anything to get you extracted from the facility.

Living in the Sink isn’t going to allow you much privacy, but it’s the best you’re ever going to get. The only other place you’d have to sleep is wherever Dr. Dala suggests and it’s probably better to just stay with the talking objects than to unwillingly participate in whatever she has planned.

Dr. 0 likes to pretend that you're the worst thing to ever happen to him, especially if you're working with Mr. House, but most mornings he'll send Muggy down with coffee. It's mostly because he wants your mind to work faster so he can berate you with questions and shake you for ideas, but at least you get coffee out of it.

Dr. Klein will sometimes barricade the entranceway to the Think Tank so that you stay locked out.

If you're going to stay then Dr. 0 is going to have to replace the pip-boy with something... more appropriate. He'll take that thing away from you and build you a better, more advanced version that House wouldn't ever have been able to come up with. He'll have Mobius help him out in making the ultimate and perfect design of the pip-boy that talks to you like all the other Sink personalities. It's hit or miss what kind of personality he installs, but chances are it's either a mocking impression of House, or just 0.

Dr. 8 still can't really speak to you (no one ever bothered to fix him) but he does his best to get you away from Klein whenever he's upset at something. He likes to try and take his anger out on you... usually by strapping you down to a table and attempting to dissect you, but 8's normally there to calm him down before he can go through with anything.

Borous lets you keep Roxie in the Sink with you, as long as you promise not to bring her into the labs. He might specialize in animals, but he hates having to brush dog hair off of everything. Keep her in your quarters or he'll run experiments on the both of you.

The biggest downside to living here is that there's no bathroom to be found in the Sink, meaning you're going to ask one of them to build one for you. Most of them will give you a bucket and a stack of papers that still need to be shredded, but Dala would be willing to help you out. There's going to be a catch, of course, and there's a 70% chance she puts cameras of some sort in the room, but you get a useable bathroom by the end of it.

Whenever Mobius gets high he'll send you videos of himself on the TV in the Sink.

Blind Diode Jefferson will play jazz and blues music nonstop. Either that or he's giving you the most useless, outdated advice. The only way to get him to stop is by turning him off completely, but why would you do that? The best course of action for dealing with something like this is getting 8 to come down and tune him to a different radio station like the Mojave Radio, or even Galaxy News. He'll still talk, and the music won't turn off, but at least this way you can hear about the things happening on the other side of the country. It's something different, right?

Muggy sometimes wakes you up at like 6 because he needs you to drink coffee, tea--anything! Just wake up and use some of the mugs, please!

You're going to have to be very sneaky about reading anything in The Sink, as the Book Chute will talk continuously about you being a communist if he knows you have something that hasn't been washed out yet. It's best to just read in the Think Tank, however, that also runs the risk of one of the scientists calling you a nerd.

Dr. Klein will reluctantly ask you to gather information for him. Usually, it's something out in one of the labs in Big MT, but occasionally he'll ask you to bring back something new from the Mojave so that he has something new to look at.

Dala will very lovingly make your bed for you and tidy up the places in the Sink for you. She almost always has ulterior motives for doing so, but at least the areas clean?

Dr. Mobius has a bad habit of forgetting things, so to combat that, he'll write himself notes and stick them in random places around the Sink. He would put them up in the Think Tank, but he knows that the others would trash them the second they discovered them, so in the Sink, they go. At least, this way he can count on you to remind him.

If you left your brain in the jar, then he'll honestly be one of the only people you can confide in or rant to. He's fairly sane in his reasoning and is a decent therapist. Give him some more psychology books and he'll be even better at good advice. Just be careful Blind Diode Jefferson doesn't overhear you, he might get jealous you didn't come to him.

Every now and then, Klein, Dala, and Borous will put you in a cage. They'll tell you that there isn't anything to worry about and that it's just for fun, but they're liars and you're going to have to pray one of the other three will agree to get you out before they decide what they actually want to do with you.

Sometimes you'll wake up to like 10 different teddy bears in your bed. Then one of The Sink personalities will have to explain that Dala visited you while you were asleep. Comforting.

Light Switch #2 loves talking with your Brain. She thinks his intelligence is sooo hot, and if you agree to not move his jar from your room, she'll alert you to anything suspicious that happens in The Sink while you're away. Promise!

However, Light Switch #1 also happens to find your Brain to be an intriguing character as well, and will kindly offer to move him into the room with her. She'd just love to have a meaningful conversation with someone as smart as him.

Your Brain hates it and will beg you to move him anywhere else as long as he's away from either one of the light switches. He thinks the entire thing is weird and despises the fact that either of them would actually be into him.

Mobius worries a lot about you whenever you leave to explore or finish quests, so he always sends you off with a small army of robo-scorpions to accompany you in any way you may need. 8 also gets worried, but the most he can do is send you messages on your newly improved pip-boy.

The Sink in The Sink acts more like a mother than anyone else in the facility. She's always doting over you and making sure you're not falling victim to anything those disgraceful scientists may be up to. She's always making sure you go to bed at reasonable hours, aren't being taken advantage of, and are in healthy condition to continue doing the things you do. She especially makes sure you stay away from the Biological Research Station. Dear God, he might just corrupt you.

Dala and 0 are the only ones who feed you. Everyone else forgets that you still require something so uselessly time-consuming to survive. They only ever have expired food from 200 years ago, but it's better than nothing.

If you ever start talking to Borous, he'll go on for hours. It could honestly be about anything, but once you've got him started on something then he's not getting off of it. He'll go on about his time in high school, memories he has of Gabe, or what Klein claimed he was going to do to you once he finally found you.

The Auto-Doc is going to be the realest person there. If you want someone's honest opinion, he's the person to go to. Sometimes, he'll tell you what he thinks without you even asking, which can be annoying, but the Centralized Intelligence Unit will gladly shut him off for you.

Speaking of the Centralized Intelligence Unit, he lets you know of everything that happens. Most of the others will too, but he deems it a priority to let you know. One of the other appliances is talking shit? He's snitching. Please, let him turn them off. One of the doctors came down and did something sketchy? You'll be alerted as soon as you come back.

Both 8 and 0 always get concerned about the toaster being so close to where you sleep. Mobius isn't as bothered, but those two like to make sure he can't actually gain access to any kind of 'power reactor', so, you're welcome.

The Sink is probably not the safest place to live, but it gives you a ton of stories for you to tell when you go back to the Mojave. So, you can't complain too much.