#from the korean update stream they just dropped

[shaadowmilkcookie]

Starts gnawing at my fucking screen GET OUT OF MY SIGHT

[myung-jaes]

hi! i just wanted to come on here again to encourage everyone to please please participate in the boycott against sm! this doesn’t just help in getting justice for seunghan, but also helps in addressing and advocating the fan parasocial relationships & bullying/mistreatment issues in the industry! please unfollow all official accounts on all platforms and avoid streaming any official content and music— here is a link of someone who made mp3 files of riize music for the boycott & for spotify users, there are podcasts with the boycotted music so that we won’t give any streams to sm! also please sign this petition if you haven’t already, and encourage other people to participate in the boycott as well!

as much as it may seem like sm had no intentions of bringing him back w the szn greetings announcement & removing him from under the riize list on their website, there is so so much progress being made with this boycott!:

- our efforts have reached many kpop stores internationally, all of which have decided to halt restocking riize merch! this also include subk which is huge considering that they have collaborated with sm artists before!

- constant trends between the hashtags on twt

- we’ve gotten the support of plenty of non-briize kpop fandoms & non-kpop fandoms (arianators, harries, swifties, beliebers, etc.)

- plenty of large influencers and creators on youtube and tiktok speaking on the situation! there is also the spread in recognition of the situation overall across social media with many videos (such as evidence of the bullying) going viral!

- we’ve reached the recognition of others in the industry, such as a tweet that was retweeted by leeteuk (an artist under sm) & a tweet by jae (former day6 member) talking about the situation!

- i believe pineapple manager also liked an ot7 post on insta?? but pls correct me if i’m wrong!

- drop of riize twt followers from 809k to 730k & riize insta from 4.2m to 3.9m

- the petition has over 260k signatures

- we’ve gotten many big and well-known news sources writing articles on the boycott and the bullying situation with seunghan as well as regarding sm and their treatment of their artists

- tons of korean news sources have released articles on the situation as well as the boycott and updates on it!

- the naver article that covered seunghan’s departure was taken down!

- recent events of ot7 k-briize joining the effort (lots of have tweeted about the hope they have for this!) and organizing a protest outside of sm on friday, the 18th!

- i believe there have also been accounts of people on twt seeing some knetz/ot6s attempting to delete evidence and/or admitting to what they did which shows that our efforts are reaching them! (PLEASE correct me if this is misinformation bc my sources are a few accts on twt!)

please let me know if i am missing any other points of progress and i will add it!

if you would like to continue to make a change beyond unfollowing official accounts:

- if you have twitter (x), please please continue to share the ongoing hashtags we have for seunghan, it is important that we don’t let them drop!

- ALSO!! do not engage with any official accounts regardless of what they post, it will defeat the purpose of the boycott!

- regarding ot6 comments, especially on wv, do NOT interact with them, ignore them! ignoring will help prevent any traction towards their comments, and help increase our efforts!

- helping with funding for ongoing fan projects! one that i’ve seen recently is the sunflowers for seunghan project! this tweet has all the info on it if you’re interested!

— MAJOR UPDATE on the flower project here pls click the link and help in any way!

- some other projects that i’ve heard of but will update more on are the airships (this link includes funding for day 2 of the flowers as well!) & there are ongoing trucks being sent that you can help support!

- there is also the protest happening on the 18th, so if you are or will be in korea during that time, please participate!

- emailing other big accounts that you may know, news sources, or those who write articles on this, or stores that still supply riize merch! (templates & links below):

— template for emailing stores who supply merch!

— template for emailing news sources!

— template for emailing journalists!

— template for other contacts within the media!

— there is also the kwangya project, here is the template!

— template for emailing sm ent!

- there are also tons of updates on the boycott on this account as well as their linktree which has so much info on what you can do for the boycott, such as plenty of email templates as i mentioned above, which i suggest everyone to look at!

again please let me know if there is anything i’m missing on any ongoing projects or updates!

[jiminsass-istant]

https://www.tumblr.com/jiminsass-istant/758059091201572864/so-who-is-streaming-seven?source=share

First things first thank you for making this post cause i have seen everyone dragging LC .

Also LC doens't have any added versions to stream. All those streams are LC with only one version. That's a korean version which charts on global. His English version has separate streams and LC didn't had any covers and remixes don't get add for sp so yeah it's only one korean version for LC. Another thing is the playlisting cause seven has huge playlisting compared to LC. Seven was on TTH for a year(i don't know if it's still there or not) while as LC korean version spent 0 days in TTH. English version was added in TTH with low ranking for some 20 days. So yeah compared to seven LC was doing great given it was a song months older than seven. Seven has covers as well as clean and explicit version to stream which gets combined for sp yet jjks can manage only 2 But will be first ones to drag jm lol.

They love hating on jm for no reason like they wake up in the morning and their first tweet will be dragging jm over something that has happened with jk too. Like i was Today years old when i got to know that 3D went to -53 spots in 2nd week from #5 to #58 and SNTY despite having more remixes #1 on TTH (I'm not sure about radio. About cover maybe it had i don't remember now) yet it went to #50 from #5 in 2nd week which is -45 spots yet they spend day nd night dragging LC which had -44 drop in second week all because BB changed their rules at last moment and Deleted LC's 100k+ sales. My point is why drag jm for something that has happened with jk too? Just because LC went from #1 and not #5 ??? It's same thing lol. But i never knew cause i always saw them dragging LC so i thought snty and 3D had done better. i was little inactive during that time so I'm not much updated about every chart but given how they dragged jm you'd think otherwise.

Anon is talking about this post of mine, first read this:

I thought LC had 2 versions- grey and pink (pink from the remix EP). Anyway, it's still 1/4th of what seven has. 3D and SNTY had such big drops too. The only song that was somewhat stable was Seven. The promotion for Seven was 'heavy' heavy and it gained good number of GP streams too.

All this time, it's becoming so clear that jjks are just kpoppies with side accounts. Huge in numbers, giving 150k likes to JK videos/photos too, but none of that reflecting in the streaming. Thank god jk has armies and label support because these twt pixels are useless. All they do is hate on jm and ass-kiss western fans.

Also, adding this post for you all to read about LC, let me know if I'm wrong:-

[mirageofficial]

✿﹒⤷﹒🧸﹒ EUNAE'S LIVESTREAMS ﹒

( headcanon )

just like ateez, mirage goes live on youtube!

much like her brother when he goes live himself, she rambles on about whatever it is that they’ve been up to

the jeon siblings are incredibly close, they spent a lot of time together throughout their lives—eunae moving to korea to support jihun is the product of it

although...eunae likes to tease her older brother and share funny stories (or, at least SHE finds them funny…typical sibling bantering basically)

talks all about how he tries very hard to be that overprotective & scary big brother type, but he’s so soft n sweet that he’s practically just a big teddy bear like her

her most recent episode of "exposing her dorky big brother," was this week’s livestream, her first solo stream since tour ended

gossiped about how at the seoul show, both jihun and her boyfriend (of only about a few months at the time) were present—naturally, it was the first time they were introduced to each other

jihun tried to play it off as being overprotective but his own members (cough cough marley cough cough) called him out for being a bad actor…right in front of jeonghan

"so…moral of the story…promise, isn’t my brother great at first impressions? marley is a fantastic wingwoman, gotta give her props for her hard work…"

IN SHORT, EUNAE IS A SWEETHEART BUT SHE HAS RECEIPTS…AND WILL SHARE ALL THE GOSSIP WITH HER FANS

just like she gives daily song recommendations on bubble, she does the same when she's live!

at some point, nako will insert herself into the livestream

one way or another, she will FIND. A. WAY.

whether it be a phone call, barging into the room, or yelling from the other side of the dorm

but it’s okay because that’s eunae’s bestie & nobody tolerates nako like she does

nako once pranked eunae while she was live during rebirth promotions. she hid behind eunae’s curtains for like half an hour into the stream & jumpscared her so bad that she fell out of her chair

now eunae doesn’t go live if there’s curtains behind her lmfao the poor girl was swearing in both english & korean just from pure shock—the staff had to mute her 😭

nako was also banned from pranking the members on livestreams after that, much to her dismay lol

if her mom or dad calls her while she’s on live, eunae always answers and asks for them to greet everyone

gushes (and i mean GUSHES) about her boyfriend, never drops jeonghan’s name for the sake of privacy but simply mentions that she’s seeing someone…does not care if people hate her for it honestly lmao she just wants to tease her fans a little and be candid about what her life is really like as an idol

talks so much about him & what they’ve been doing together that fans even ask for updates it’s so cute…and they don’t even know WHO he is either

"ah…no, i can’t show you this picture of our recent date, but i can tell you about what we did!"

talks about the books she’s reading recently & reviews them in english

ALWAYS blushes when she gets comments about how pretty, fancy, or beautiful her english accent sounds…she’s also a wreck when someone comments that her accent suits her better than when she speaks korean

rarely does her lives in english, instead she has small segments where she does or announces if they’re going to be fully in english

a BIG romcom and fantasy romance enthusiast…gossips about kdramas like you’re her best friend fr!

ask her about whatever it is that lee dongwook did and she probably knows lol she LOVES that man and has seen all of his acting projects

talks about her time while performing in musicals a lot as well! shares the shows she was in + her roles, also shares all of her stories of successes & failures as a (very short-lived) musical theater actress!

overall? eunae makes it feel like you’re on facetime with her as an old friend, there’s always a warm and fuzzy feeling when you get that notification that she’s live!

MENTIONS JEONGHAN FROM @offlivne

TAGLIST | @neocityocs @alixnsuperstxr @ying-yang-qiao @kadieswrld @ino3zi

JOIN THE TAGLIST HERE!

[thetoxicgamer]

Worlds 2023: Play-in Stage Scores, Standings, and Results

The Play-Ins stage of the 2023 League of Legends World Championship is currently unfolding at the LoL Arena in Seoul this week, featuring the initial maneuvers, clashes, and moments of disappointment. After Team BDS swiftly defeated the LCS hopefuls Golden Guardians in the opening match on Monday, the competition for Worlds 2023 has now commenced in full swing for eight contenders, which include teams like GAM Esports, PSG Talon, LOUD, and many others. Over six days, the first eight teams up to the mark will battle for just two spots in the next stage, the illustrious and very star-studded Main Event Swiss stage. Teams begin with best-of-three action on Tuesday and Wednesday before moving to do-or-die lower bracket clashes midway through the week before it all culminates in two best-of-five qualifying matches. It’s all very exciting, and of course, you have to keep up with all the action. Worlds 2023: Play-Ins standings Right now, not a single minion has been killed in the 2023 Worlds Play-Ins stage, with eight of the world’s best-in-class League teams waiting with bated breath to prove their strength out on Summoner’s Rift—all of which means the Play-Ins standings haven’t changed just yet. Soon, we’ll have our first winners and losers of the tournament, starting with Movistar R7 vs. PSG Talon on Tuesday. Worlds 2023: Play-Ins scores and schedule Here’s the full schedule for Worlds 2023 Play-Ins, including the results of each match and any eliminations. This first stage of the championship will run until Oct. 15. All times here are listed in CT and are subject to change and delays. Round One Tuesday, Oct. 10 - 2am: Movistar R7 0-2 PSG Talon - 5am: LOUD 2-0 GAM Esports Wednesday, Oct. 11 - 2am: DetonatioN FM vs. CTBC Flying Oyster - 5am: Team BDS vs. Team Whales Friday, Oct. 13 - 2am: GAM Esports vs. Movistar R7 - 5am: TBD vs. TBD Round Two Thursday, Oct. 12 - 2am: LOUD vs. PSG Talon - 5am: TBD vs. TBD Saturday, Oct. 14 - 2am: TBD vs. TBD - 5am: TBD vs. TBD Qualifiers Saturday, Oct. 14 - 10pm: TBD vs TBD Sunday, Oct. 15 - 3am: TBD vs. TBD How does Play-Ins work at Worlds this year? The Worlds Play-In acts as a mini-qualifier for the world’s minor League regions, with eight teams from the PCS (Asia-Pacific), VCS (Vietnam), LJL (Japan), CBLOL (Brazil), LLA (Latin America), and the WQS clashing heads for two spots in the main event next week. The teams have been sorted into two double-elimination brackets of four teams, with the top two from each reseeded into a qualifier best-of-five. The two Bo5 winners will join the world’s major league representatives in the Swiss stage. How to watch the League Worlds 2023 Play-In stage If you’ve got a Riot Games Account and actively play League, you might want to tune in for Worlds via Riot’s official League esports site. Connecting your Twitch account to your Riot account and watching through the website will enable drops on your account, with a variety of League rewards up for grabs just by viewing the tournament. Otherwise, you’ll be able to watch the main event stream on Twitch or YouTube. For those who want to watch in another language, Leaguepedia has listed a number of official channels covering the event in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Korean, and many more languages. Alternatively, some popular streamers and content creators have linked up with Riot as official Worlds co-streamers, broadcasting matches live. This article will be updated throughout the Worlds 2023 Play-Ins. Read the full article

[man-creates-dinosaurs]

February is over and I’m ready to offically declare this month Kaijū Māchi.

Fans and aficionados of giant monsters here’s the date-to-date breakdown of all the kaijū content coming at us in March be it TV, comics, home video, or a couple of highly anticipated feature films…  March 2: Monster Hunter - Blu-ray release for the 2020 film based on the hit Capcom game and co-produced by Toho. I only know one person whose seen this and he said it was surprisingly faithful to the game and much more gory then anticipated.  March 4: Pacific Rim the Black - New anime series premiering on Netflix set in the Pacific Rim universe. This story takes place during the events of the 2013 film when Australia was overrun by kaijū. Early reviews say its good. March 8: Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time - The long awaited and frequently delayed final film in the Rebuild of Evangelion series finally has its Japanese theatrical release. No word yet on when American fans can look forward to seeing how Hideaki Anno’s increasingly off the wall re-imagining of his iconic franchise wraps up.   March 17: Marvel’s second Ultraman comic series, The Trials of Ultraman, debuts with a cover by Matt Frank. But how will it compare with James Harren’s ultra-violent homage to the same franchise, Ultramega (Image/Skybound), also dropping the same day? March 23: The 4th Vol of the English translation of the manga Kaiju Girl Caramelise drops. I haven’t read this series myself but it’s apparently about a girl who transforms into a Godzilla-like monster when embarassed.    UPDATE: March 25: Godzilla: Singular Point - Fans have long clamored for a proper Godzilla anime series and Godzilla: Singular Point looks like it may finally be it. While it was previously assumed that the entire series would make its worldwide debute on Netflix this month we now know this is not the case.  March 30: WB Archive is releasing the obscure Tsuburaya/Rankin-Bass co-production The Bermuda Depths (1978) on Blu-ray. The film involves the Bermuda triangle, a mermaid, and a kaijū-sized sea turtle. Also being released this day are two new graphic novels from Legendary Picture’s comic imprint both serving as prequels to the feature film Godzilla vs Kong. “Dominion” will focus on Godzilla while “Kingdom Kong” focuses on, you guessed it, Kong. Both with cover art by the legendary Art Adams. March 31: Godzilla vs Kong - The long awaited and frequently delayed final film in WB/Legendary Picture’s MonsterVerse has its US theatrical release while also simultaneously debuting on the HBO Max streaming service due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.  “Late March” No solid release date yet but independent home video distributor SRS has promised to release the obscure Korean kaijū film War of the God Monsters (1985) on Blu-ray this month; also with a cover by Matt Frank. This film’s SFX content was cobbled together almost entirely from episodes of the TV series Return of Ultraman (1971). So if you’ve ever wanted Ultraman with no superheroes and just kaijū this may be the film for you.  

[mimibtsghost7]

Mimi I am Suffering TM without you, nobody else is out here helping everyone stay updated and providing us streaming links and highlights from their shows and appearances and stuff

[STREAM LINK] BTS at 63rd Annual GRAMMY Awards 

GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony:

Time: 4am KST March 15 -  3pm ET / 12pm PT  March 14

What is it? The Premiere Ceremony, where winners of most of the 83 categories will be announced and the awards will be given. It’s said HERE that the category BTS are nominated for “Best Pop Duo/Grp Performance” will be announced then. 

Official streamers: Youtube Live HERE - Grammy.com HERE

GRAMMY Live Pre-Show and Red Carpet Coverage Presented by IBM & Facebook:

Time: 7:30am KST March 15 - 6:30pm ET / 3:30pm PT march 14

What is it? Pre-show interviews, Premiere Ceremony highlights, and GRAMMY Debates with Watson.

Official streamers: Facebook Live HERE - Grammy.com HERE

ARMY streamers: QDKS HERE

63rd Annual GRAMMY Awards Show:

Time: 9am KST March 15 - 8pm ET / 5pm PT March 14 (The show lasts for around 3 and 1/2 hours)

What is it? This is where BTS will perform. 

Official streamers: CBS HERE (On FuboTv you can have a 7 day free trial HERE On Ustvnow you can get a 10 day free trial HERE | make sure to cancel everything before they charge you) - Paramount+ HERE (you can have 1 mouth trial) 

ARMY streamers: HERE or HERE or HERE QDKS HERE (More streamers will show up and streams start minutes before any event so they don’t get taken down fast)

MNET: Aqstream HERE SkpbLive HERE (Mnet is a Korean channel and will stream it)

CBS free streaming sites: HERE or HERE (These sites are a hit or miss especially on big award show nights but I am adding them just in case)

GRAMMY Live Wrap Show:

Time: 14pm KST March 15 - 12am ET / 9pm PT March 14

What is it? Full recap of the night’s winners, performance and fashion highlights, backstage interviews  

Official streamers: Facebook Live HERE - Grammy.com HERE

Host & Performers: 

Host: “The Daily Show” host and comedian Trevor Noah will host the show.

Performers: The show will include Bad Bunny, Black Pumas, Cardi B, BTS, Brandi Carlile, DaBaby, Doja Cat, Billie Eilish, Mickey Guyton, Haim, Brittany Howard, Miranda Lambert, Lil Baby, Dua Lipa, Chris Martin, John Mayer, Megan Thee Stallion, Maren Morris, Post Malone, Roddy Ricch, Harry Styles, and Taylor Swift.

ARMY Goals: 

ARMYs on Twitter are gonna trend #LightItUpBTS and it begins at 8 AM KST - 7 PM EST (Do NOT type the “Grammys” hashtag in the same tweet as the BTS’ tags. This is because the BTS tags might end up combining and disappearing under the award show’s | sr). Also the goal is to break THIS Guinness world record.

Chart BTS discography on iTunes HERE

Stream DYNAMITE to get it closer to 1 billion while waiting for the performance and during commercials. 

Stream BTS’ Grammy performance if it drops on BANGTANTV as if it’s an MV and make it the most streamed Grammy performance on YouTube.

TIME CONVERTER: 

Easy time converter HERE

You can use google and type in the search bar: *time* + *time zone* to *add your city’s name or country* and it will convert time for you. For example 9am KST to New York. 

P.S: I might update this later if I find better links. Just posted this for the lost souls. Me miss & love you~ Stay healthy, take care of yourselves. 

[gunsatthaphan]

~ Monthly BL Breakdown: July 2021 ~  

Disclaimer: All shows can be streamed here, here or here! For more info about shows, check out their MDL pages! 

- Updates coming every month - feel free to add stuff! - 

What came out this month? (green tick = seen or currently watching)

🌟 Pornographer - July 1st (Japan) 

🌟 Sweet Curse - July 1st (South Korea)

🌟 Best Sisters Forever - July 2nd (Taiwan)

🌟 Why Love Why SS2 - July 3rd (Philippines)

🌟 Don’t Say No Special EP - July 4th (Thailand) ✅

🌟 My Broken Love Story - July 6th (Taiwan)

🌟 Him Will Be His - July 8th (Philippines)

🌟 Unforgettable Love - July 8th (Philippines)

🌟 The Best Story - July 9th (Thailand) ✅

🌟  Once in Memory - July 9th (Philippines) 

🌟 Love While You Can - July 10th (Philippines)

🌟 The Yearbook - July 15th (Thailand) 

🌟 Given - July 17th (Japan)

🌟 Call It What You Want SS2 - July 23rd (Thailand) ✅

🌟 Lockdown - July 23rd (Philippines)

🌟 Love Area - July 24th (Thailand)

🌟 Gameboys: The Movie - July 30th (Philippines)

Monthly likes/dislikes

❣️ Light On Me - this show captured my heart and owns everything that I am dsjfhkd 😭 I love everything from the production quality to the pacing and the acting - all the characters are adorable and don’t even get me started on Shinwoo dhfjkdl 🥺 One of the best korean bls so far for sure. 

❣️ The Best Story - This really took me by surprise because I never expected a show like this to happen, let alone for it to be so well done. I’m still trying to figure out the purpose of this as a project lol bc it’s kind of random but either way I really liked it! The acting was good & War was killing it as always👌🏻 I just wish it didn’t have such a cliffhanger ending. But maybe there’s more to come... 

❣️ Don’t Say No Special ep - I really liked it and it made me super excited for Don’t Say No!!! 💕

👎🏻 Y-Destiny - I have to put it on this list again because the finale was a crime jkddsdf. It was a huge cringefest and I feel very bad for the actors being put through this..... It was pretty bad. 

New show announcements

🎥 Spare Me Your Mercy - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 My Lucky Cat (starring DunBas) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Trouble Maker (directed by Jane Botta) - Date & cast TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Only You - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Star Struck (from the producer of Color Rush) - Date TBA, filming is scheduled to start in August (South Korea)

🎥 Color - Date TBA (South Korea)

🎥 My Mate Match (starring Jame, Jet and Big from Gen Y) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Ai Long Nai (THCT spinoff) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Love Advisor - Coming August 2021 (Thailand) 

🎥 Want To Be On Your Mind - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 The Couple - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 Florida Banjeom (플로리다반점 ) - Coming September 2021 (South Korea)

Other news from the bl world

❗️ The author of KinnPorsche, which was supposed to air in August, has withdrawn from the project and cancelled their contract with Filmania (the production company). A bit later, Filmania announced that the series is no longer under their production. It remains to be seen if a different company will pick up the project or if it’s cancelled. Additionally, a few of the actors have dropped out of the project as well.

❗️The first trailer for Peach of Time (starring Mii2 and others) has been released -> Link 

❗️Taiwan’s “Papa and Daddy” and South Korea’s “Color Rush” are getting a second season. 

❗️Nut Supanut (Oxygen) and Plan Koosuwan will be the leads of the upcoming series “Something in My Room”, which is set to air in August.

❗️Due to the current very severe covid situation in Thailand, a number of companies have announced postponements of several shows; one of them being Between Us, which will probably air in 2022.

❗️MD Nutthapong will not reprise his role as Thara in My Engineer season 2.

❗️The upcoming korean bl “Semantic Error” will have 8 episodes à 25 minutes.

❗️The upcoming bl “Dear Doctor, I’m coming for your soul” will be adapted by Studio Wabi Sabi. It will be directed by New Siwaj (LBC, UWMA,...)

❗️The script for We Best Love season 3 is being prepared. (OMFG dsjfhs) ❗️ GMMTV’s youtube channel has been hacked and temporarily terminated. They are currently figuring out a way to retrieve it.

Upcoming shows & movies for August

☝🏻 Be Loved in House Special Ep - August 5th (Taiwan)

☝🏻 Don’t Say No - August 6th (Thailand)

☝🏻 Light - August 13th (Taiwan)

☝🏻 Something in my room - August 18th (Thailand) -> not confirmed!

☝🏻 Bed Weather - August 27th (Philippines)

☝🏻 Bite Me - August 29th (Thailand)

☝🏻 Check Out - Date TBA (Thailand)

☝🏻 Love Advisor - Date TBA (Thailand) 

[buckbarnesjames]

Chapter Eight

Pairings: Bucky x reader

Warnings: Kind of angsty. 

Word Count: 2053

A/N: That’s all of the old chapters updated now so I’ll offically be starting work on the rest of the series this week. Taglist is OPEN. Feedback is appreciated!

Masterlist | Series Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

The ring on your finger felt heavy as you stood next to Bucky, his arm in it’s usual spot around your waist, in front of your friends and his family. It had been his idea to throw an engagement party. Your stomach was churning and you felt sick, your brain was spinning with worry at how everyone was going to react. You take a sip of wine, to steel your nerves, as Bucky calls attention to the both of you. “Whilst we were away a few weeks ago, I asked the beautiful woman next to me a very important question” he starts and you can hear everyone in the room murmuring between themselves. “I asked her to marry me,” he continues and reaches for your hand, flashing the ring to everyone in the room. They all erupt into cheers, whilst Nat and Wanda rush forward from the crowd to gush over the ring and congratulate you - surprised you had been successful in hiding it from them for so long. For some reason, it does nothing to quell the nauseous feeling in your stomach. You swallow the lump in your throat and put a smile on your face,joining in with the celebrations.

“Is everything okay, doll?” Bucky asks later when Johnathan is driving you back to the apartment. You nod, rubbing your forehead. “Mhmm, I’m just feeling a little under the weather. I think it’s the stress from work,” you tell him, giving him a tense smile. It’s true that work had been much more stressful for you since Bucky had moved things around and created a new division, which you were now in charge of. You now worked with graduates of Stark’s business program who were looking for internships or permanent employment. “Why don’t you take the rest of the week off? I can get someone to cover for you,” he suggests and you shake him off with a wave of your hand, shutting down the conversation immediately. “I’ll have Elizabeth make you some chamomile tea when we get in, does that sound good?” Bucky says, wrapping an arm around your shoulder. You just nod in reply, your eyes dropping with exhaustion. Maybe you were working yourself too hard, but you weren’t going to slow down or take a break. You had heard some of the female staff whispering about you and how you had only gotten your promotion cause you were, quote unquote, fucking the boss and you were determined to prove them wrong.

The next week, you’re not feeling much better but try your best to ignore the nauseous feeling that seems to constantly be swirling in your stomach. You also spend a lot of your time trying to ignore the growing concern in Bucky’s eyes. He was worried about you and pushing for you to take a break which had resulted in a few arguments that you were sure the whole office had heard. You walked into your office - you no longer shared with Bucky, and at the moment, you were grateful for the space from- to find him standing at your desk. “Let’s not rehash the argument from earlier, James, please” you say to him softly, walking over to your desk and dropping a stack of files on it. “I’m not here to argue” he says holding his hands up in mock surrender.”You have a phone call in my office, they said it’s urgent” he says, concern spread across his face. You gesture for him to lead the way and follow him to his office.You immediately saunter over to his desk when you get there and pick up the office phone, “Y/F/N Y/L/N speaking.” Your blood runs cold at the voice on the end of the line. It’s your mother. “Y/N, darling! I just heard the wonderful news. You’re marrying James Barnes!” She gushes down the phone at you. You clench your jaw, willing away the tears that threatened to well in your eyes. It feels as if all your old wounds of rejection are reopening knowing that she hadn’t called to ask how you’d been doing the last few years or how proud she was of the career you’d made for yourself. “Yes, mother. I’m marrying James Barnes. Thank you for your congratulations but I have to go” you say, slamming the phone down on her. As you do , you briefly hear her shout  “Wait, Y/N. We need to talk about your father. He’s…” As soon as the phone is placed back onto the receiver you let out a strangled cry. Bucky rushes over to you, enveloping you in a hug. You hug him back and sob into his chest for a moment,before suddenly pushing him away and reaching for the office bin. Bucky rubs your back and utters soothing words to you as you throw up. He hands you a tissue once you stop vomiting and you wipe your mouth.”I know. I’ll have Johnathan come and pick me up” yousay, putting a hand up to stop him as he opens his mouth to speak. You turn on your heels to leave his office before turning back to look at him. He’s sitting at his desk now, typing away at the computer. “Bucky” you say,getting his attention. He looks up at you, a soft smile on his face. “I’m sorry” you whisper, wrapping one arm around your waist and wiping away tears with your free hand. “Sorry for what, doll?” he asks, his eyebrows furrowed. He knew you’d been under a lot of stress lately and that blaming you wasn’t going to fix anything. “I’m sorry for how I’ve been acting lately” you admit. You knew you hadn’t been fair to him recently and had been shutting him out a little. “Don’t worry about it. I know things have been hard lately, for the both of us. Now...get yourself home and get some rest,okay?” You nod and head out of the office, texting Johnathan to pick you up.

Bucky comes home from work a few hours later and finds you hanging on to the toilet bowl for dear life,tears streaming down your face.”Y/N!” he gasps out and runs towards you, kneeling down. “What’s wrong?” he asks, the panic in his voice evident. He grabs hold of your face, his eyes raking over you at a rapid pace. “Bucky” you croak out, your voice raw from having thrown up several more times since you had gotten home.”Please don’t be mad” you whisper and his eyebrows furrow. “I think...I think I’m pregnant” you whisper and start crying again. “We haven’t exactly been careful about protection, Y/N” he chuckles softly, trying to break the tension. “So...you’re not mad” you sniffle and he wipes a stray tear from your cheek.”Why would I be mad?” he says, standing up and taking you with him. You just shrug at him, your gaze cast down to the floor. Bucky hooks a finger underneath your chin and brings your head up to look at him. “I’m not mad. I love you and having a family with you was always going to be on the cards...from the minute you agreed to marry me. It might be a little fast but we’ve never been ones to take our relationship slowly” Bucky’s obvious statement elicits a small chuck from you. “God, you’re so cute...even when you’re sick” he says before kissing your forehead and leading you to bed.

Bucky makes an appointment with the doctors for you and the next morning, you find yourself sitting in a waiting room with crisp white walls and dark furniture. You’re waiting for the results of the test that had been administered to you when you first arrived. There’s a clock on the wall ticking loudly and it makes your head pound and your stomach twist with anxiety. Bucky is sitting next to you and he reaches over to squeeze your hand.”Hey, it’ll be fine” he whispers soothingly. A few minutes later, a Korean woman dressed smartly with a lab coat thrown over her clothes enters the room.”Y/F/N Y/L/N?” she says and you and Bucky stand up slowly. “Come on in,” she ushers you through a door and into an office that’s decorated similarly to the waiting room with an examination table in the far right corner and a large desk in the middle of the room with a silver name plaque front and center, ‘Dr Helen Cho’. She takes a seat at the desk and gestures for you and Bucky to sit down. The room is tense with silence for a moment whilst Doctor Cho sifts through the papers on her desk. You glance at Bucky and he softly squeezes your hand and mouths ‘It’s gonna be okay. I love you’.

“The pregnancy test result came back negative��� Doctor Cho says, offering you a gentle smile. “Your blood pressure is a little higher than normal which leads me to believe you’re experiencing stress induced vomiting. Our next step is looking at the lifestyle changes we can make to reduce your stress levels and I would…” Doctor Cho’s voice seems to slowly slip away as you try to process that you’re not pregnant. You try to sort through the emotions you’re feeling and the one that strikes you is your disappointment. You’d truly been prepared to hear that you were pregnant. “Thank you, Helen” Bucky’s voice interrupts your internal monologue. “We’ll make the changes you suggested immediately.” Bucky stands up and offers his hand to you. You take it and he helps you up from your chair. Everything around you is hazy as he walks you out of the office and back to the car.

You don’t say much the whole car ride home. In fact, you’re silent for most of the night, trapped in a daze. You can’t stop thinking about how disappointed you are. You’d never given any thought to having children before Bucky and now all you could imagine was getting married and settling down in a nice big house with the sound of children's feet running across the floor.

You’re lying in bed facing away from the door when Bucky comes to bed. He gently slips in next to you and wraps his arm around your waist pulling you closer. “Hey…” he softly whispers to you and it breaks your resolve and the flood gates open. Bucky holds you as you cry. He doesn’t say anything, he just smoothes his hand up and down your back. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m crying. We weren’t exactly planning on starting our family.” You say once you stop crying.You turn over to face him in the darkness and he moves to wipe the tears from your cheeks. “We could be,” Bucky whispers.”If you'd like to, we could start trying.” he continues as he wipes the remaining tears from your eyes. He leaves his hand on your cheek and you snuggle your face into it, pressing a kiss to his palm. “You’d want that?” you ask, unsure if this is what he truly wants or if he’s just trying to placate you. “With you? One hundred perfect. From the moment I saw you, I thought maybe you could be the one I finally find happiness with” he states firmly then kisses your forehead. “Okay, then we’ll start trying.” The affirmation is all Bucky needs before he’s pulling you on top of him and kissing you hard. “I don’t think Doctor Cho had this in mind when she said I had to relax” you say in between laughs. “It’s a scientific fact that an orgasm is a great way to release stress” Bucky cheekily answers you. You laugh and lean down to kiss him. You kiss each other lazily for a few moments before Bucky flips you over so he’s hovering above you. “We could start trying right this minute” he says as he kisses your neck. You laugh at him again until he kisses the spot on your neck that he knows drives you crazy, and then you’re sighing in pleasure.

As Bucky makes love to you, a smile graces your face and you think about your future together.

[youarejesting]

Limited Edition.1 Unboxing

[FULL MASTERLIST]

[Limited Edition Master list]

Rating: All audiences Genre: Fantasy, Comedy, Fluffy Fluff, Adventure. Pairing: Bts x Friend!Reader Words: 800

Summary: It is your first time buying proper merchandise, there are new chibi figurines and the first person to order will recieve a limited edition set. But what happens when BTS have gone missing without a trace and a few days later you receive your package. The box says congratulations, you open to find your limited edition figures, they look so lifelike. OH WAIT! it’s cause they are.

They had launched a new range of BTS chibi figures. You had never bought merchandise, never been to a concert. You did, however, own a few albums, but you could only purchase them after a long week of overtime. But this was your chance you could buy something. There was a rumor that one set of figures was special and different from the rest, people were ordering trying to get them. You happened to order yours that night, under a minute after its release.

So here you were heading to the shop, to pick up your order. When you got there they handed you the brown shipping box with your details on it. It wasn’t very exciting, but your bright smile said otherwise. You carried it to the car, feeling a little heavier than you had expected. Once arriving at your apartment you placed the box on your bed, started your computer. It took a moment to set up the video camera. You were ready to do a video reveal.

Loading up your streaming website, you saw a small news article on an online forum saying that the members of BTS had gone missing. Starting the live stream you began talking to the viewers about the article and how it had to be false. They couldn’t just disappear. You showed the large box covering your address for your own safety before opening it.

“Oh my god, the box is different than the pictures!” You squealed gently lifting the box from the shipping box. Picking up a note attached you took a picture and google translated it on your phone. “Congratulations as the first to purchase the chibi figures, you have been given the limited edition set as well as different clothes and accessories…. I am jungshook. Guys, what the hell do I do?”

With your hands trembling, you opened the box and covered a hand over your mouth. There in the box lay seven little eggs, each was a different color. “Look at how cute this is, I am freaking out” You gently picked up the first egg at the top left it was blue. The numbers on your live stream views were climbing very quickly. Comments and shares about the fam who got the limited edition figurines. You gently opened the front half of the egg and laying curled up inside was Kim Namjoon’s figure. He was absolutely adorable.

Gently lifting him you noticed he was soft, warm, and very moveable. “Guy’s look at how cute this RM is. His little dimple and round cheeks, I am in love. They are kind of floppy which is disappointing they were supposed to be like figurines that stood up on their own, not bean bags. But sleeping BTS is adorable. Next let’s open Kim Seokjin, the pink egg”

Opening the egg you saw the cute figure of Jin. He was handsome. Lifting him gently in your hand, you were so happy. Showing off his little handsome face to the camera. Out the corner of your eye you saw the Namjoon figure rollover. Almost dropping poor Seokjin. Staring you gently reached out and poked his cheek, to which he replied by swiping your finger away.

“What the faaaaaar out, I am… what” The comments were going off they had all seen the figure move and you were looking at the camera in shock. Putting Jin down in his egg and walking away, you paced in the background.

“It moved, the figure moved, I am so scared right now why make them move, it almost gave me a heart attack” it took a moment to recollect yourself.

But you came back sitting in front of your computer, watching the comments of excited fans. Deciding to move on by opening the next egg. It was a black egg, Min Yoongi was all curled up and you continued trying to move him and show the camera his face. “They look real but their heads are big. Their hair is individual strands too so it’s soft. None of this is how the regular figures were supposed to look, but I guess that’s why it’s a limited edition”

The next was a silver egg and upon opening it you saw Jung Hoseok sitting up rubbing his eyes. You both screamed, moving quickly to catch him before he fell out of the egg. The others seemed to wake and climb out of their open eggs, the closed eggs sitting in the box started to wiggle. “Holy hell, I am so scared,” you said Hoseok was crying and clutched onto the other four. Looking down at the three unopened eggs and ignoring the comments on the live stream.

Trembling hands opened the gold. Jimin was crying not wanting you to pick him up, kicking his legs whenever your hand came close. Jungkook had busted out of his violet egg and was wrenching the green egg open calling out to Taehyung.

The comments said this was a skit obviously made on the computer and was visual effects, but you were freaking out. Turning the live stream off after a quick goodbye,thinking this was for the best. You opened the green egg you looked at them. Gently scooping the three from the box kicking and screaming and placing them on the table beside their hyungs. You stared at the seven young and very tiny men, speaking to them carefully, thanking that you had learned Korean in school.

“Are you real? I am so confused. What is happening?” They were freaking out and hiding behind your small stack of books. You tried to follow them and they frowned hiding pushing Namjoon forward “Hey I can help you, is there a number I can call? How is this possible? how can you be real? and so small? How”

You fainted.

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[taehopekooks]

my bangtan experience in chicago

*i made this post on my old blog back in 2017, right after the concert. i’m reposting here to keep the memory!*

(that’s a shitty gif of my view during the rainbow army bomb encore)

the trip~

I won’t spend too long talking about the general trip since I know you all want to get to the concert details, so I’ll just take this paragraph to do it. first off, riding the train to chicago was honestly so amazing. my girlfriend and I posted bts content on tumblr while riding it, it really built the hype for the show. once in chicago we couldn’t get phone service anywhere and thus couldn’t map anything. that’s also why I couldn’t update on snapchat like I wanted. so we spent hours trying to get to our hotel (which involved talking to shady people, getting asked for money, missing our bus stop, jaywalking across busy af roads using medians, and trying our hardest to communicate to friendly foreign people). but we got there safe and sound and made it to the concert early enough to wait in the long, cold, windy line.

pre show~

waiting in line with other fans was great, they made the awful temperatures better. there were so many more hobi stans than I expected, as well as jin stans!! so many of us hobi lovers yelled out “J-HOOOOOOOOPE” while we waited, like a damn signal to each other. made my heart so warm. in line we all sang converse high, cypher 4, am I wrong, etc. together. outside the venue some very kind girls were handing out these beautiful yoongi photocards

in addition to the photocard of my lovely and beautiful cloud, I got these three small posters from the wonderful girls seated in front of us!

front: 21st century girls. back: spring day

not today (lyrics+chant on back)

wings theme with namjoon’s mama quote

I didn’t buy any merch sadly because the only thing I had in mind to buy was an army bomb but I didn’t have enough money :/ plus I just wanted to get to my seat. and once we were seated, I couldn’t believe how close the stage was!!

it wasn’t super close but it was pretty good, I think!! better than I expected it to be.

they had their music videos playing on the screens while we all got seated. it was great to hear the crowd singing together before the show even started. and it was hilarious to hear us all get quiet during most of the korean parts. I remember when no more dream was on the screen and jimin lifted his shirt, there was so much cheering/screaming you would have thought they saw the real jimin lmao

one of the coolest fans I saw there was this yoongi fan!!

honestly so amazing, I wanted to compliment them but I was clearly much too far away. so dear yoongi fan, if you happen to be reading this post, awesome outfit I love you.

I was disappointed when, just before the show began, they announced that no videos/pictures/live streams were allowed or else you may be kicked out. I tried to listen for the most part. (I managed some videos/pictures. my girlfriend got recordings of mama, awake, stigma, and dope).

the show~

hearing that first note of not today as the curtain dropped sent my heartbeat off the charts. I think I blacked out during that performance because all I remember is tae (wagging his rude ass finger and his rude ass eyebrow lift and his bandana and my girlfriend stumbling backwards because of him) and of course hobi. tbh I think I blacked out during most of the concert because I could not believe that I was in the same room as hobi and all of bangtan, I couldn’t believe they were real and so close to me. but here’s what I can remember:

yoongi made me cry. first love was such a powerful performance. I could really feel all of yoongi’s passion, and since it’s my favorite solo, one that I really connect with emotionally, I couldn’t contain my tears. especially thinking about how far yoongi has come. while he was performing I just kept remembering how he used to really struggle to be able eat, how he struggled through mental illness, how he had to work unbelievably hard to get to that stage in chicago. to me it looked like his eyes were a little watery at the end of the song, but maybe I saw wrong. all I know is he made me feel so much, and I love him more than I ever have.

seokjin made me cry. the way he looked during/after performing awake hit me hard. he questions whether or not he can ‘fly’ like the other members, but he was stood on that stage hearing us all cheer and scream for him. we were being so loud for him, and I saw him crying at the end. the fact that he couldn’t help but cry at the sight of all his fans, people who love him and believe in him and support him, there to see him perform, screaming all of that love right to him…it was so touching. just like yoongi, I love him more than I ever have. (plus the orchestra during that performance was damn beautiful).

namjoon made me cry. I didn’t think this would happen. I’ve always loved namjoon, but he’s never made me cry before. hobi, yoongi, and seokjin have, but not joonie. but as he performed reflection, when he said “I wish I could love myself” and we all chanted “we love you”…I had to cry. it was so incredibly beautiful. army spoke as one, and for once I felt like all the love I felt for him/bangtan was being communicated. not to mention the beautiful whale/space background. I will never forget that stage. (also he ran into the phone booth from the short film and actually answered the phone, transitioning into stigma which made me cry too). 

kookie is self aware. cutting right to the chase, kookie had on some beautiful bunny ears at one point. he knows he’s a bunny, we all know it and he knows it too. before this show my mind battled with the fact that he’s a bunny but seems like he’s rude often enough to raise questions. but tbh, he didn’t act rude/sexy as much as I expected. he was more passionate vocally and in his zone, very smooth and pretty. even his voice is much cuter than I expected. that paired with his bunny ears has me convinced he’s mainly still cute/soft guy. (also his choreo for begin was amazing, I loved it so much). 

jimin+lie is my aesthetic. those red lights were honestly so gorgeous. jimin’s choreo, his blindfold (which is both my k*nk and aesthetic though it didn’t stay around long at all), and his voice had me so shook. he is truly a performer, and the lie stage really drew attention to that. aesthetic af. 

taehyung’s high notes could deliver my soul to heaven. stigma messed me right up, it made me remember just how great the song is and how great tae’s delivery is. it was obvious that he was feeling the performance. and honestly, his voice is more beautiful in person. when he hit those high notes I think I shed a tear. my girlfriend blacked out for a majority of stigma. (at one point I think she snapped back into reality because she suddenly screamed when no one else was screaming, probably trying to catch up all her excitement or something). 

their stage presence. I already mentioned that kook’s stage presence was different than expected, less sexy and more innocent/pretty. he’s cute and I honestly can’t remember a time when he did anything rude. same with jimin. jimin wasn’t overly sexy, I mean his jacket started to fall off again and he had the blindfold, and near the end he smirked and said, “did you like that?” but mostly he was so damn adorable. and small, too. jimin has a graceful presence, kind of calm at times. he flashed a lot of two handed hearts and even kissed into the mic at one point. I always knew he was small, but he seems smaller in person. that brings me to little yoongi. I honestly expected yoongi to be my soft and adorable cloud, but wow was he showing his aggressive side. “LOUDER.” excuse me min yoongi, no more growling ‘louder’ for you, I want to live, thanks. apart from first love, which had him calmer, yoongi was more energetic/aggressive than I was ready for. he’s kind of bold and I really enjoyed his performances. my favorite yoongi moment was when he took his lil earpiece out during introductions and did his signature hand-behind-ear/eyes-closed thing as he listened to our cheers. so cocky, so attractive, so iconic. namjoon didn’t surprise me too much really, I was just really proud of his communication to the fans. seokjin also didn’t surprise me, I just loved seeing him run around all happy and smiley and full of energy. (seokjin’s dangly earrings were so sexy I will never be over them). tae was a bit more serious during the concert, I expected more smiling but I think he was just really in the zone. he did a lot of eyebrow things and finger things and all around rude, sexy things. near the end he smiled and said, “I love you…I really love you!” that made me feel so very warm.

hobi. I know I know, you were all waiting for me to mention hoseok! honestly, I don’t even know where to start. first off, he is so damn gorgeous. his voice, his presence, him. the most gorgeous boy in the world. tbh hobi is the performer of bangtan. his mama stage was so energetic and bright and passionate. the choreo saved my soul, his voice enlightened me, his smile made my vision blur. when he slowed down and emphasized the “ttang wi geu mueosi nopda hario” part I think I felt my heart grow. he was meant to be on stage, and he loves every second of it. he was like that with every song really. boy in luv, when he jumped over them for his verse…wow. when he rapped his verse in dope !!!!!! bless. boy meets evil kind of murdered me because that is my k*nk and I saw it in the flesh. everything he did was incredible. and he is a rude man. the amount of smirks and rude body movements he did was unforgivable, and at the end of one of the performances he turned away from the camera and wiped his damn lips with his beautiful hand. I cried he is even more rude and unnecessarily sexy in person. but even when he was being pure I was dying. let me highlight my favorite hobi moments:

“I’m your hope…” okay listen. listen. “I’m your hope. you’re my hope. I’m j-hope!” why did he have to say that and be so damn cute that was literally the best moment of my entire life I screamed I cried I think I started imploding or something because holy hell that was amazing. wow I fell so in love with him in that moment. 

hobi’s new hat. I don’t remember what they were coming out on stage for, but suddenly hobi had on a black and white shark hat. immediately I screamed because it was so damn cute. then namjoon asked about it and hobi was like, “yeahhh. I bought this hat.” AND HE SAID IT IN THE CUTEST DAMN VOICE EVER. guys…he is the cutest boy, that hat was the cutest thing. he bought it at the aquarium and I suddenly imagined a cute lil hobi going to buy it with a huge smile on his face. there is nothing more pure in this entire world. he even let seokjin wear it and my heart melted.

I love hobi more now. “but desmond, you were 100% certified hoseok trash before the show.” yes, I was. and somehow I’m even more in love with my favorite boy. seeing him live (and sin in person help) was all I could have ever wished for, and I’m so happy I got to do it. (and I’m glad that my wedding was so beautiful and that I’m now married to jung hoseok my light. march 29). 

cypher 4. I forgot how much I loved cypher 4 until it started playing and those 3 lovely boys rose up from the floor of the stage. hoseok looked like a sugar daddy, yoongi growled the night away and looked great and cocky doing it, and joonie really slayed me. when they splashed the water and threw the bottles I not only died but died twice. cypher 4 saved my life and that was my favorite performance of the night. I jumped like a madman. 

bangtan jacked all the water and sprite from best western’s vending machine. after the show, my girlfriend and I got back to the hotel and immediately searched for a drink. upon trying to purchase water and sprite and finding those were the only two drinks sold out, we concluded that bangtan needed more water to throw during cypher and hobi needed his fix of sprite, so they jacked it from the best western. kinda rude, I was thirsty. 

random comments. the vcrs were gorgeous. seeing a mix of hyyh and the wings short films gave me such a nostalgic feeling. I remember when “one heart shared by seven boys, a boy that shares seven hearts” showed on the screen at the end, and I cried. there was a lot in that vcr but I really can only accurately recall that part. it really hit home, and from that point on the tears didn’t stop. hobi singing in spring day really got to me. I remember when the song first came out, how much I loved it but was heartbroken that my favorite boy didn’t have a moment in such a special song, so seeing him sing it live meant so so much to me. I couldn’t believe I got to be so lucky. 21st century girls was amazing. yoongi/tae singing “all my ladies, put your hands up/now scream” was a religious experience. (i may not be a lady but my hands were in the damn air). hobi saying “you’re mine” had me on my knees almost. such a great thing to witness. the medley of older songs was true art. it was great to have that little flashback. the rainbow army bombs during encore were enough to make me fall in love with being a bangtan fan. it was truly a beautiful sight and I loved that moment. 2! 3! was so touching. hearing the english speaking crowd try to sing those korean lyrics so passionately is something I’ll never forget. such an important moment during such an important song. and lastly, namjoon asking, “stay with us ‘til the end?” I can’t even describe how that made me feel. I’ll always be with bangtan.

all in all it was so very amazing. I wish I could live through it again because it was one of the best nights of my life. thank you bangtan for being such an amazing force in my life. thank you for putting on such an amazing show and working so hard doing what you love. and thank you hobi for being such a positive and beautiful person for me to know. 

march 29, 2017 was unforgettable~

[aion-rsa]

Cobra Kai and the Legacy of The Karate Kid

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Since Netflix picked up Cobra Kai it’s been sweeping up viewership like Johnny on Daniel-san’s leg. When The Karate Kid debuted in 1984, it was a smash hit, delivering returns of $100 million on a modest budget of $8 million. It also earned Best Supporting Actor nominations for the late Pat Morita (Mr Miyagi) from both the Oscars and the Golden Globes. Miyagi was a crowning achievement for Morita whose career spanned 175 roles beginning in 1964. 

The Karate Kid was embraced by pop culture, redefining the martial arts genre. It had a profound effect on the practice of martial arts in the United States. The Karate Kid stands alongside Enter the Dragon and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon as a film that reshaped the way Americans viewed martial arts. Martial arts made an amazing leap, one of the largest in U.S. history, boosting the whole economy. Everyone who ran a Dojo during the mid-80s remembers what a windfall it was. 

The Karate Kid spawned three sequels, a cartoon series, a reboot, as well as several homages outside of the franchise’s canon that starred original cast members. Just like Bill and Ted Face the Music and Star Trek: Picard, the new series updates a time-honored franchise as Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) grapple with the drag of growing old along with a coming of age soap opera of the next generation. Easter eggs sell it to its loyal fanbase with nods of nostalgia while new teen characters share the spotlight to lure fresh viewership. The original cast keeps it genuine, abetted with cameos from other peripheral characters. Daniel and Johnny were career defining roles for Macchio and Zabka, something they’ve long embraced with many non-canon cameos since their last official appearance in these roles in 1989.

The Mr. Miyagi Tetralogy

The success of The Karate Kid guaranteed a sequel, so the bulk of the cast reassembled for The Karate Kid Part II two years later. It picks up immediately following the first film, in the parking lot immediately after the All-Valley Karate Tournament where Kreese (Martin Kove) punishes Johnny for losing, causing Johnny and his squad to leave Cobra Kai. However, Daniel and Johnny’s love interest, Ali (Elizabeth Shue), did not return. Ali is written out with a dismissive comment by Daniel about how she dumped him for a football player. Fans are clamoring for Shue to appear in Cobra Kai and the show references Ali repeatedly. Towards the end of Season 1, Daniel shows Johnny Ali’s Facebook revealing that she’s married and a doctor. The Karate Kid Part II, quickly narrows down to Daniel and Miyagi as they journey to Okinawa, where Daniel finds a new love interest in Kumiko (Tamlyn Tomita). 

The Karate Kid Part II did better than the original, earning $115 million worldwide. While it didn’t garner any major award nominations, it was well received. Since it was set in Japan, it hasn’t been referenced much in Cobra Kai beyond when Johnny’s son Robby (Tanner Buchanan) discovers Daniel’s den-den daiko (rotating hand drum). As an interesting side note, the sequel subtly revealed Mr. Miyagi’s given name in Japanese. When Chozen (Yuji Okumoto) picks Miyagi up, his name is written in Japanese as Nariyoshi Miyagi, which is only one character different than Morita’s actual Japanese given name, Noriyuki (Nari and Nori are alternate spellings of the same character, which means ‘completed’). 

The Karate Kid Part III also picks up where Part II left off, but it drops the ball. It delivered a disappointing $38 million box office and was the final pairing of Daniel and Miyagi.  Nevertheless, it is referenced by Cobra Kai almost as much as the first film. Daniel and Miyagi return from Okinawa to find the LaRusso’s residence at South Seas complex being dismantled. The implication is that it is to be demolished, and yet it appears in “Different but the Same”, the 9th episode of Cobra Kai (why the new owners kept that painfully 80s South Seas logo is incomprehensible, but it made for a good Easter egg). Daniel’s mom, Lucille (Randee Heller) appears in Part III, who has cameos in both seasons of Cobra Kai, but she is quickly written out, sent away to take care of Daniel’s Uncle Louie (Joseph V. Perry). It’s a short scene to set up Daniel living with Miyagi, but Cobra Kai picks up on it with Louie LaRusso Jr. (Bret Ernst), a pivotal character in Season 1. 

Kreese is supplanted by his fellow Vietnam veteran, Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith) and Karate’s Bad Boy Mike Barnes (Sean Kanen). Both Silver and Kanan had authentic martial arts backgrounds so this installment had the best fight choreography. Ironically, The Karate Kid has had mediocre choreography throughout the series. After the initial film, Zabka continued to train under Pat Johnson, a genuine master of the Korean martial art of Tang Soo Do. Johnson was the choreographer and played the referee for the first three films. Fans complain that in Cobra Kai, Macchio still lacks convincing martial skills (he’s had 36 years to train). However, the Season 2 finale fight in Cobra Kai redeems the franchise with a brilliantly choreographed long take scene in the center of a massive brawl.

Part III flops on several levels. The over-the-top villainy of Silver was too caricatured, complete with the hackneyed ‘bwahahaha’. Furthermore, without Shue or Tomita, there’s no romance. Robin Lively played the new girl, Jessica Andrews, but she was only 16 at the time, and while Macchio’s babyface still allowed him to play a convincing teen, he was 27 so romance with a minor wasn’t an option. Nevertheless, Cobra Kai references Miyagi and Daniel’s Bonsai tree business from Part III with a chiding comment from Daniel’s wife Amanda (Courtney Henggeler) and the special Miyagi-do Kata that Daniel learns in the threequel is the one recited repeatedly throughout the series. 

The Next Karate Kid abandoned Daniel altogether to follow Miyagi’s new pupil, Julie Pierce (Hilary Swank). Despite being a total flop critically and financially, it’s Swank’s breakout role, and her budding talent shines, although not enough to redeem the film. What’s more, Miyagi’s given name is inexplicably changed to Keisuke. The new production crew apparently could not read Japanese.

The Saturday Morning Cartoon

Before Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, kids had to wait until Saturday morning to see cartoons. The Karate Kid was a 1989 Saturday morning cartoon series on NBC. It only ran for one season – thirteen 20+ minute long episodes – with none of the original actors voicing their characters. Daniel (Joey Dedio) and Miyagi (Robert Ho) were joined by a new character, kimono-wearing Taki Tamurai (Janice Kawaye), in a series-long quest to recover a small pagoda with magical powers. Their search took them around the world – London, Paris, Hong Kong, San Francisco, New York and more – a different location for each episode. The plots were all the same: the threesome almost recovers the pagoda, only to have it slip out of their hands again until next week’s installment. Again inexplicably, Mr. Miyagi’s given name was changed to Yakuga. In Cobra Kai, it is restored to Nariyoshi on his gravestone, meaning someone finally read the Japanese in Part II. 

The Karate Kid animated series was available on several streaming networks like Netflix, Hulu and iTunes, but all those services have abandoned it. It’s a weak show. The cheap cell animation is poor quality and horribly dated. Episodes can still be found on the web, but it’s not worth the search. It’s clearly outside of canon because there’s no magic in any of the live-action movies unless you count Mr. Miyagi’s magic healing hands, parodied in the first season finale of Cobra Kai. 

That Other Karate Kid

In 2010, a The Karate Kid remake starring Jaden Smith as Dre, the new Daniel, and Jackie Chan as Mr. Han, the new Mr. Miyagi. The project was met with intense internet backlash from the start. Even Macchio jumped on the critic bandwagon at first. In an MTV interview, as reported by Digital Spy, Macchio said “It feels pretty good that some people are pretty angry that they’re trying to remake The Karate Kid. It feels good that the public feels you don’t touch certain things. Sometimes you go back to that, and probably shouldn’t.” It’s ironic in the wake of Cobra Kai, but he changed his tune soon after Will Smith called him personally to ask him to advise Jaden. “He called and said, ‘Would you mind getting on the phone with my son?’ I felt like Yoda to young Skywalker.” Macchio confessed that his initial negative reaction was said too “candidly” and endorsed the project.  As the film’s premiere approached, more reporters reached out to Macchio to get his take. The Sun asked him if he might make a cameo to which Macchio replied (again ironically), “I have less of a desire to be in it or do a cameo because no one wants to see Daniel LaRusso in his forties. It would be like robbing the Karate Kid fans of their youth for me to be in it so I think it’s best to keep it separate.” Given the success of Cobra Kai, fans clearly want to see Daniel-san pushing sixty.

Another major issue was that all Asians are not alike. Karate is a Japanese martial art. Jackie Chan is Chinese and propounds Kung Fu. In Hollywood, the whole point of a reboot is to capitalize on the brand name, but naysayers complained that Karate was the wrong title for the reboot. Jackie wouldn’t be a sensei. He’d be a sifu. The title became so contentious that even the Wall Street Journal chimed in. 

Hollywood made a quick save for the title. When Dre’s mother Sherry (Taraji P. Henson) asks Dre about his ‘Karate,’ he replies, “It’s not Karate, mom.” The scene was strategically included in a Cinemark ‘First Look.’ And the title was changed for the Chinese market to Gongfu Meng (Kung Fu Dream). The Karate Kid was never released in theatrically China just like some 80+ Jackie Chan films were never released theatrically in the west so the brand name had no value. The Chinese version also added a finale fight where Han fights Li (Yu Rongguang), this version’s Kreese.

Jaden’s The Karate Kid is a complete reimagining of the story, like the Kelvin timeline in Star Trek or the Flashpoint timeline in DC comics. With a budget of $40 million, it earned $359 million worldwide making it the most financially successful installment yet. Naturally, talk of a sequel has been discussed, however last year, Jackie Chan said that any statements claiming that he would participate The Karate Kid 2 or Rush Hour 4 were “false”.

Beyond the Karate Kid Canon

Over the years, Macchio, Zabka and Kove have appeared in homages and parodies of the franchise. In 2003, Macchio and Zabka played themselves on How I Met Your Mother.  The episode ‘The Bro Mitzvah’ was about Barney’s (Neil Patrick Harris) bachelor party where he wanted to have the hero of The Karate Kid attend, so his friends arrange for Macchio to join the festivities. However, in Barney’s perspective, Johnny is the real hero. This ‘Barney wax on’ viewpoint is held by many fans, akin to the ‘Jar Jar Binks is a Sith Lord’ theory of Star Wars. In the Cobra Kai episode ‘Molting’ Johnny explains his take on the events in The Karate Kid. Technically speaking, Daniel’s winning crane kick should’ve disqualified him because strikes to the face are illegal. Daniel steals Ali and provokes Johnny, drenching him in the bathroom while he’s trying to roll a joint. 

For something completely different, an unauthorized musical spoof of The Karate Kid played at the off-Broadway Teatro la Tea in 2004. It’s Karate, Kid! The Musical featured Daniel-san, Johnny, Mr. Miyagi and Ali but Cobra Kai was replaced with the Bitchkicks. The show featured songs like “Damn You, Daniel-san”, “Wax On! Wax Off!”, and “The Way of Fisting”. 

In 2007, Macchio and Zabka reprised their iconic roles for the music video ‘Sweep the Leg’ by No More Kings. In the video, Zabka is a has-been living in a trailer watching The Karate Kid every day with his Cobra Kai buddies. Spliced with clips from the film, all the original Cobra Kai squad appears, Kreese, Jimmy (Tony O’Dell), Bobby (Ron Thomas) and Tommy (Rob Garrison). Even the South Seas condos are shown. Zabka wrote and directed the video. 

In another 2010 parody, Macchio plays himself in Funny or Die’s ‘Wax On, F*ck Off with Ralph Macchio’. Haunted by being typecast as squeaky-clean Daniel, Macchio struggles to sully his image to get more work in Hollywood. When Macchio tries to pick up a prostitute, she tells him to come back when he’s 18, to which he retorts ‘I’m 48!’ Molly Ringwald appears claiming that Macchio wanted to change the name of the Brat Pack to the Smile Bunch. There’s a reference to Jaden’s reboot too. 

Kove dove into replaying Kreese in 2011 with Comedy Central’s Tosh.0. In a segment called Web Redemption, host Daniel Tosh mocks a viral video by Josh Plotkin where he tries to break a board over his head. Kove and Ron Thomas appear in Cobra Kai gis in a breaking competition with a scoreboard that echoes the All-Valley Karate Tournament. And just last year, Kove donned Cobra Kai colors again for a QuickBooks ad in which he blames his aggressive teaching style on stress caused by not being able to manage his school’s finances. He drops comments like “Support the leg” and “More mercy” and goes so far to change the name of Cobra Kai to Koala Kai.

Cobra Kai is exactly where it needs to be on Netflix. The series is beautifully written and performed, coupling drama and comedy with bumps of action, all within bite-sized 20+ minute episodes. As its fan base continues to expand, so does anticipation for Season 3. And please, bring back Ali. Can’t Shue can take a break from The Boys? The final scene of Season 2 is such a tease, and after all that Johnny has been through in this series, he deserves a little mercy. 

Season 1 and 2 of Cobra Kai are now available on Netflix. Season 3 premieres on Netflix in 2021.

The post Cobra Kai and the Legacy of The Karate Kid appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3idbNrS

[onestowatch]

Why Virtual Reality May Be Our New Reality | Music and Its Digital Past, Present, and Future

Pre-quarantine predictions about the music industry painted a picture of one its best years yet. Such predictions were overflowing with promising new releases, sold out tours, and unique marriages of music and technology just beyond horizon. While coronavirus has shifted many a release schedule and left tours and festivals in a state of indefinite hiatus, alliances between music and technology remain increasingly vital, both in the name of technological progress, and, more recently, as a supplement to the live experience industry inhibited by the ongoing pandemic. 

Discussions of technology in relation to music range from video games to virtual reality. Travis Scott and Marshmello both held concerts in Fortnite, Paul McCartney had a hand in the Destiny soundtrack, and Ariana Grande had both a song and a playable character in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. Billie Eilish, Panic! At The Disco, Imagine Dragons and many others have also made their concerts available to stream in virtual reality. But there is another game changing intersection between the music and digital world that challenges not only how we experience music, but also how music is created. It’s called the vocaloid.

Early versions of software designed to synthesize human speech have existed since the late 1930s. Fast forward about two decades, the earliest form of synthesized singing had arrived. The IBM 7094, installed in 1962, was the first “computer to sing,” singing a song called “Daisy Bell” by Harry Dacre (the technological advancement would go on to inspire a similar scene in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 sci-fi epic, 2001: A Space Odyssey). Since then, vocal synthesis has come a long way, and has also been marked by a different name. 

The year was 2000. The place was Barcelona, Spain. Hideki Kenmochi developed the vocaloid, a voice synthesis software short for vocal android, which was designed to emulate singing. Commercially adapted by Yamaha and distributed by Crytpon Future Media in 2004, the company launched the first Vocaloid and initially called it “Daisy,” after IBM 7094, but due to copyright issues, settled on “Vocaloid 1.” This is where the game changing begins.

Using this first iteration of the software, Yamaha created Meiko, an animated persona designed to serve as the face to the sampled voice of singer Meiko Haigō, with both English and Japanese vocals. Meiko was followed by the release of Kaito, a male vocaloid, two years later. As time went on, the software became increasingly realistic. 

In 2007, Yamaha launched Vocaloid 2, which Crypton Future Media used to bring us Hatsune Miku, a vocaloid persona that quickly went from software to stardom. With long turquoise hair and a heavily anime-inspired look, Miku was sampled from voice actress Saki Fujita, and her Japanese name fittingly translates to “the first sound of the future.”

Hatsune Miku is the first vocaloid to top the charts, has been involved in countless advertisement campaigns, such as those with Google Chrome, Toyota and Louis Vuitton, and opened for Lady Gaga’s ArtPop Tour in 2014. And if it were not for COVID-19, 2020 would have seen her make her Coachella debut. Though other vocaloids have since been created, none have reached the full cultural immersion achieved by Hatsune Miku. Hatsune Miku is now not only the face of vocaloid but also one of Japan’s most recognizable pop stars. Though Miku’s virtual existence isn’t palpable, her real-life fandom and influence certainly are. So much so that in 2018, Akihiko Kondo formally “married” the vocaloid, making for the ultimate ultramodern love story.

But it doesn’t stop there. In 2016, a transmedia startup co-founded by Trevor McFedries called Brud created Miquela Sousa, the first computer-generated social media influencer, programmed as a half-Brazilian, half-Spanish bisexual 19-year-old from LA. With 2.4 million Instagram followers, the mysteriously charming avatar is an ideal fit for advertisers. Miquela did an Instagram takeover for Prada and a Calvin Klein ad with Bella Hadid, in which Hadid, too, was animated, prompting a fascinating elusiveness. 

Miquela is also openly progressive, showing support for Black Lives Matter and other movements. Her creators have noted their intention to help promote social justice through their pioneering of virtual personalities–and talented ones, at that. Miquela is not only an influencer with multiple brand partnerships but also a musician who has collaborated with Lauv and Baauer and is now signed to CAA.

McFedries, Miquela’s manager and one of her creators, is not new to the music industry, having been a DJ, radio show host, director and manager himself. He also created two other virtual personas, Blawko and Bermuda, who are friends with Miquela and whose frequent dramas are created and conveyed through their social media and Youtube vlogs, like a relatable, sympathy-inducing reality show. The three unique virtual influencers portray an obvious self-awareness that they are not human, addressing themselves as robots. Despite not having a true pulse, the self-awareness of these bots certainly shows they have a pulse for the culture, for humor and for connection. So much so that Miquela was listed as one of Time Magazine’s “Most Influential People on the Internet” in 2018, alongside Rihanna and, unfortunately, President Trump.

The creation of both Hatsune Miku and Miquela sparked a paradigm shift in the role of technology in music, an intersection that will lay the foundation for the potential digital future. But this article taps only the tip of the iceberg. From self-driving cars to self-writing songs, the potentially unpredictable nature of innovation sparks anxiety in some and optimism in others.  

Unlocking new worlds of music technology can equip new levels of human creativity. But some may wonder, where the line is drawn when humans are not the only ones making art? Technology is meant to be a resource for the artist, not a replacement. On the other hand, who is to say an artificial collaborator is not a tool? Who is to say the creators and drivers of these vocaloids or virtual artists are not artists themselves? 

Perhaps the increased role of technology will bring a heightened appreciation for the human elements. Perhaps all this live streaming via social media will create a heightened appreciation for the physically live experience while also giving us new tools to reach people around the world. Similarly, while vocaloid hologram performances allow us to experience music in a new way, perhaps this will reinforce an appreciation for the live, human performer.

Fear is an inevitable part of progress, as people before us feared the advent of trains, television, and the internet. Technological progress does not exist in a vacuum, as we have witnessed its challenges but also its immense rewards. Ultimately, we are veterans in experiencing the result of groundbreaking technologies sewing their way into our everyday lives, and adapting accordingly. As technology expands exponentially, we are still only at the cusp. (If you don’t believe me, just google the quantum computer IBM has sitting in their refrigerated basement).

Though the future can be daunting, it is also exciting. Having Miquela in a Calvin Klein ad in which Bella Hadid, a familiar face, was also animated is like opening a portal between the virtual and real world (like the princess in Enchanted jumping out of the sewer, morphing from cartoon to human). Bonding with artificial characters is not new. But this portal allows virtual influencers to become a notable real part of our reality as they themselves claim to be part of it, whether via music, fashion or fandom (or marriage, in the case of Miku’s now supposed husband, Akihiko Kondo).

The newest Miku update is Vocaloid 5, launched in 2018 and now more adaptable across formats and also available in Chinese, Spanish and Korean. As she shared on her instagram, Miquela dropped two singles this year and is still seeing her friends Blawko and Bermuda.

With coronavirus still very much a reality, the longing for a return to normal is absolutely understandable; however, with so much of our world changing, our world may never return to its pre-pandemic state. Instead, it is likely to return to a new normal, in which live streaming and virtual reality are not supplements for the live experience but directly part of it. Whether virtual musicians like Hatsune Miku or Miquela are a momentary fascination of our present or a glimpse into a very real future, one thing remains certain. Our potential digital future is much closer than we think. 

[willowcarlyle]

QUICK FACTS.

Name: Willow Carlyle 

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Sexuality: Bisexual

Hometown: Edens Town

Occupation: Twitch Streamer Odd Jobs 

District: Downtown

DOB: January 11, 1985 (35) // Capricorn  

Fun Fact: She had a closet dedicated to costumes. 

tw; drug mentions

@edtintros

PAST.

Willow Carlyle had always been beautiful – beautiful in the sense that her mother always signed her up for beauty pageants. Unfortunately, she had one many competition as a child and her mother made her follow through until her teen years. Willow hated every moment of it, but had no idea how to tell her mother to fuck off because she still had respect for her mother – the woman who birthed her. Who gave her what she wanted when she wanted it… like the newest gaming system, the best games, and allowed her to do what she wanted as long as she kept up the image that her mom wanted her to be. This meant intense workout sessions, her meals being approved by her mother, and learning how to do makeup from artists. It was all a job, anyways. Willow was the way that her mother made money, time after time, and it never occurred to her that not a cent went to her.

Until she started venting on one of the other pageant contests who was in it for the money – for herself. It was strange for Willow to think that all the money she was making was going towards her mother, but she had just assumed that they were all going towards her college fund – whatever that may have been. At the age of fourteen, she approached her mother about the ordeal and her mother wafted the idea away, as if it were some bug in the air. It’s none of your concern what I do with that money. Which made Willow think – she was making that money, so why wasn’t she getting any of it? And so, she rebelled.

It happened at the first pageant where she didn’t show up and her mom found her holed up at home playing on the gaming console. Then it happened when she was actually on stage and deliberately gave a nip slip which caused the audience to gasp and a cackle of laughter from her own lips (it probably helped that she was high and drunk as hell). Willow fell in with the wrong crowd, yes, but she felt like it was all due to the fact that she had to show her mother that she couldn’t make it without her. The only way they could afford their little apartment was that Willow was working while her mother did nothing. It never occurred to her that her mother didn’t know how because her father was the one who had worked, he was the breadwinner, and that all went to shit once he walked out and left for another woman.

She was young, upset that her dad left, pissed that her mother was using her, and she felt as if she weren’t looked after from anyone at all. So, she didn’t give a shit if her mother was yelling her brains out once they got home. She didn’t care that her mom was crying her eyes out and that her life was ruined because Willow decided not to wear panties during a contest and spread her legs wide open as she sat down. She didn’t care. And her mother noticed. So she kicked her out at the age of 15 after dealing with Willow’s rebellion for an entire year. She was emancipated, told to figure out how the hell to work her life on her own.

And so, she did. Being an emancipated minor meant that she still had to go to school, which she was looking forward to dropping out of. Most of the friends she had were the influences of drugs and alcohol and while it was fun when she was getting back at her mother, it was another thing when she was trying to figure out how the hell to get a roof over her head. With the help of government aid, she was able to afford to rent out a room and pushed herself to get her grades higher within the next year. Who would have thought that all she needed was to get away from her crazy mother in order for her life to start to pave its way for her?

High school, after that, was easy. She found herself a part-time job for the weekdays and a weekend job for the weekend. If she wasn’t working, she was studying and/or in class. Willow seemed to have thrived in this type of constrained environment, but she missed the freeing feeling of playing video games – but that was for children and for her, she was alone. She couldn’t do that. At least, not until she reached college. Going to the community college a city over (so she could avoid the locals at Edens Town), she found herself thriving in computer design and animation. Being commission a few times, she made enough money to buy herself her very own gaming computer and spent the rest of her free time playing games. She was good. Really good.

Blizzard had released Star Craft a few years ago, but Willow quickly made her way up to the top of the game as a player. She joined competitions and won cash money – she realized that she could actually make a living out of this. And so, for the next few years she constantly joined gaming competitions, spent time learning how to sew, use a 3-d printer, among other things in community college, and traveled to gaming conventions. It took a few years for her to gather up a following of people who not only wanted to watch her play games, but wanted constant updates about her, who she would cosplay as, and how she was doing.

PRESENT.

Willow is a slightly famous Twitch Streamer for playing a different variety of games. A lot of people online claim that it’s her good looks that get her so many viewers, but she does pretty well in playing those games. Her online persona is very bubbly – one that laughs at the lame jokes that people may say and is nice to everyone that comes to her stream. Even her Instagram and Twitter seem show off a genuinely sweet girl. However, that’s not who she truly is. Most of the time she has to remind herself to not curse while streaming and misses the days when her following was a lot smaller. Willow is paranoid of people thinking the worst of her and losing her following – it’s the only way for her to make money at this point.

Although, she does do odd jobs here and there. She sometimes picks up random waitressing jobs for a few months, she was a delivery girl for quite some time, a receptionist for about a month (she hated it), a dog walker (which she still does), babysitter… among many other things. Even though she gets money sent to her from her viewers for both her streams and her cosplay, she still finds it hard to live up to a lifestyle that is more comfortable for her. Because she has to buy the latest gaming console, has to have good equipment to record, and spends money on her cosplays… she often finds herself running a bit short when it comes to rent. It’s the reason why she had odd jobs and she’s often seen doing something different around town. However, it doesn’t discourage her. Willow does like doing what she does, though she wishes she could be her true self.

FUTURE PLOTS/PLANS.

Willow constantly bounces between the idea of showing her audience who she really is and keeping it all secret. It’s hard when there are so many other people watching your every move and comment when you do something utterly stupid and fucked up. She once made a jaded joke about a player and people jumped on her about it – she so learned to keep it all to herself. In order for Willow to feel comfortable during her streams, she sometimes cosplays as another more ‘firm’ woman from a game so that her viewers doing talk about her harshly. It’s strange – when she dresses up it’s as if they would let her be a whole different type of persona. Still, she really is hoping to come clean with her audience and let them know how much of a potty mouth sailor she is, and how this “cute girl” image is nothing like who she really is.

Eventually, Willow would like to reapply to community college. She only finished a year and a half and was very close to getting her AA degree in education. She only needs a few classes, so it’s something that is totally feasible for her to do. Because much of her life is online, though, she’s thinking of applying to an online course for a BA in education – eventually. Her end goal is to be a high school teacher because she knows there’s a lot of kids out there that may have gone through stuff similar to her and they need help. Just like she needed, but never had the chance to find it in another. She found it in the internet, that’s why she spends so much time doing it. For now, though, she’s fine doing her streams and taking odd jobs in order to keep afloat.

OTHER/INSPIRATION.

Most of her viewers believe that she lives in New York City and uses a VPN from there so that people can’t try to track her back to Edens Town. It’s because she has such a difference in her personality and the way she dresses on camera versus off camera that there would be a TON of shit thrown her way if they found out.

Her online persona is the “kawaii, nice girl” who blushes whenever someone compliments her. In real life, she doesn’t give a shit if she’s hurting someone’s feelings – sometimes people need a blunt person in their lives.

Willow speaks Japanese, Korean, and is learning Mandarin at the moment (though she’s pretty shit at it). She also knows how to sign pretty well because one of her jobs had a deaf woman on staff and she hated that people wouldn’t converse with her. So, she learned in order to have a conversation.

There has been no contact between her parents and her since she was younger, and she doesn’t plan on trying to reform that connection. Willow believes that people who leave her are gone for good. The ones that stay are the ones that stay.

Willow has no filter and truly says what’s on her mind when she’s not online. However, she does never really speak about what she does as her actual “job” because she is a little bit embarrassed by it. She also doesn’t want people to find out that she’s GhostPhoenyx.

She has a lot of casual sex – she’s actually never had a relationship in her life. Because of her parents and their messy divorce, she never really believed in love. She thinks of relationships as more of something of a transaction – she wants something, sex, and they want something, sex. If it’s anything more than sex, she bounces right away and peace’s the hell out.

She curses as if it’s essential to her life like breathing is. It isn’t. She sometimes curses when streaming but her viewers deem it “cute” because it happens rarely. In person, she’s swearing left and right.

Willow loves to party, dance, get drunk, and hook up. At least one of her weekend days are spent partying and getting drunk – she loves the atmosphere of people who have given up their restraints and are just free.

[foolproofidea]

The Best Gadgets for 2020

Pelican Go G40 Charge Case

Pelican has consolidated its rough waterproof Go case with a 10,000mAh rechargeable battery. The brand structured the arrangement for simple remote charging of your cellphone. You can likewise go through it to charge different gadgets through a USB charge port while in a hurry.

The Pelican Go G40 Charge Case will hamper you $100. It estimates 10.63 inches long, 5.39 inches wide, and 2.42 inches down, and it weighs about 1.8 pounds.

NAD M10 BluOS Streaming Amplifier

In spite of its minimized plan, this remote speaker has the force and execution of an encompass sound framework. Perfect for laying everything out for on-board gatherings and meals, the M10 can stream and play music in remarkably high caliber from various administrations including Amazon, Spotify and Tidal and is additionally ready to help Alexa or Google voice-controls.

Self-Sealing and Self-Changing Trash Can-TOWNEW

This creative trash can will make taking out the trash considerably less of a task. It may resemble your run of the mill movement sensor container, yet it's quite considerably more. At the point when it's full, you should simply press a catch for it to naturally seal the trash pack and line the receptacle with another one.

Regardless of whether the canister is flooding, the top compartment will lift up so it can even now seal the sack shut with no wrecks. Our Cleaning Lab aces state it's the ideal size for restrooms, workplaces, and little kitchens.

Samsung Ballie

Samsung's Ballie is an intriguing mix between keen home gadget and automated partner. The ball-molded device, furnished with cameras and sensors used to chase after you, can control different shrewd home highlights, take photographs, send you refreshes about your home when you're away, and even capacity as a wellness right hand. Intended to be an "inside and out life partner," Ballie may be adorable enough give your puppy a run for its cash.

A 20-PIN USB-C MAGNETIC BREAKAWAY CONNECTOR

Goodness, how this has altered my life. Thus did the MacBook MagSafe connectors from the times of old. They spared me hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in fixes and new MacBooks by keeping me from hauling my costly yet delicate workstation to the ground careful my occasional chimp-like clumsiness. Be that as it may, my MagSafe MacBooks became old and I in the long run needed to move up to a more up to date model highlighting USB-C connectors.

Delicate USB-C connectors. USB-C connectors that cling on enough to permit my MacBook to be pulled off a table and placed into Isaac Newton's cold, detached hands.

At that point a peruser pointed me in the direction of the 20-pin USB-C magnetic breakaway connector. I was skeptical, not just because they were sold under no-name marking, yet additionally because of the price. $25 appeared to be cheap.

However, they are incredible. Fantastic. I have accumulated a serious collection, and they are perfect for MacBooks as well as any contraption with a USB-C port. The magnet is sufficiently able to keep the two pieces of the connector cozily attached, yet will give way if the cable is pulled hard enough to jeopardize the attached device.

I recently discovered that there is additionally a form with a USB-C cable attached in the event that you need a progressively compact arrangement.

The connector underpins 100W (20V/5A) charging, which makes it perfect for all MacBooks and different PCs and USB-C devices, and even backings up to 10Gbps information move and 4K@60Hz video yield.

Samsung Sero TV

CES is always big on TV announcements, and especially worth noting is Samsung's new Sero TV, because its defining feature goes beyond LED and 4K and what have you. It seems so obvious: a TV that transitions from the horizontal plane to the, gasp, vertical plane. That's what Samsung is doing with The Sero, which means "vertical" in Korean. This QLED TV, already available in South Korea and going global this year, flips so that longways it resembles a 43-inch phone screen. That means it's ideal for mirroring an Instagram or TikTok feed from your Galaxy phone, should you have one. What a trick. And here you hoped you’d be looking at your phone screen less in 2020.

Cleer Flow II Headphones

Cleer sound have increased their game with the most recent model of remote, sound-dropping headphones. Close by a google-voice helped control framework the Flow II headphones currently highlight a discussion mode, permitting volume and sound-dropping to be incidentally diminished by squeezing the left earcup. Perfect for plunging all through discussions or tuning in to declarations.

Dell XPS 13

CPU: eighth era Intel Core i5 – i7 | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620 | RAM: 8GB – 16GB | Screen: 13.3-inch FHD (1,920 x 1,080) – 4k (3840 x 2160) | Storage: 256GB – 1TB SSD

Focused webcamBattery life superior to ever2019 update isn't hugeExpensive

The Dell XPS 13 has been a customary of our best laptops list for a considerable length of time, and – despite the fact that the Huawei Notebook X Pro knocked it off this rundown for a brief timeframe – the 2019 model is a genuine come back to frame. It holds all that we've come to cherish from Dell's lead 13-incher, from the perfect and light plan, to the incredible present day segments that force it.

The Dell XPS 13 shakes an eighth era Intel Core i5 or i7 processor and a bezel-less 'Limitlessness Edge' show, this Dell XPS 13 keeps on being the most well known Windows laptop on the planet.

Likewise, there's a wide scope of customization choices, so you can truly make the Dell XPS 13 the best laptop for your needs. The 2019 model doesn't bring a tremendous measure of enhancements, yet then not so much about the Dell XPS 13 needs improving. Its webcam has been put at the top focus of the screen, rather than at the base, which a great deal of clients have been requesting. You additionally get a more drawn out battery life in the current year's model.

Mophie Powerstation GO Phone Charger and Car Jump Starter

You know Mophie for its phone chargers and force banks, yet the brand's most recent item makes it a stride further: It can jump start your car and charge your workstation, as well. Keep the lightweight Powerstation in your car if there should be an occurrence of crises, such as awakening on a virus winter morning to a car with a dead battery.

It additionally incorporates small scale jumper links that won't start. It likewise has USB spaces, a divider charger opening, and a remote charging cushion — and it can charge numerous things simultaneously. It's excessively conservative, so you never must be without power.

Canon EOS-1D X Mark III

Rumors of the DSLR’s demise have been greatly exaggerated based on Canon’s update to its beloved — and expensive — EOS-1D X lineup. The Canon EOS-1D X Mark III boasts improvements like the faster Digic X processor, burst shooting at 16 frames per second, and face and head-tracking thanks to improved computer vision tech. It also shoots 5.5K RAW video and 4K video at 60 frames per second.

Altec Lansing EVP Speakers

Altec Lansing has refreshed its whole line of Everything-Proof (EVP) speakers. These speakers glide, are IP67-evaluated for waterproofness, and have a remote scope of 100 feet, fun-shaded LED lighting, and a carabineer clasp or convey lash so you can undoubtedly take them anyplace. Most even have Qi remote charging to effectively charge your cellphone from the speaker's battery.

There will be five sizes of the EVP speakers on offer in spring 2020. The two new bigger units offer Play Your Way innovation, taking into consideration vertical-direction, 360-degree omnidirectional sound or even direction, forward looking stereo sound. Estimating ranges from $40 to $200.

Bose Audio Sunglasses

The new audio sunglasses from Bose signal that the future really is here. While providing UV protection, these wearable devices can be used to play music, make and answer calls and connect to bluetooth. They can be pared with your other devices and are capable of accessing apps including Spotify, Skype or Google Maps. Eventually Bose hopes to offer sunglasses that can be connected to fitness and gaming apps too. There are currently two frame shapes to chose from; Alto (pictured) and Rondo

Fitbit Charge 3

Assume responsibility for your wellness with the best tracker

Screen: Yes | Heart rate tracker: Yes | Waterproof: Yes | Activity following: Yes | GPS: No | Battery life: Six days | Compatibility: Android/iOS

Light designBig screenNo installed GPSNot a shading screen

More refined than the Fitbit Charge 2, the Charge 3 is one of the organization's most cultivated gadgets. It has a more lightweight plan than the last-gen, and it looks better on your wrist. It's our main all-round wellness tracker since the cost has dropped somewhat as of late, and it offers a great deal of knowledge into your general wellbeing.

There's no locally available GPS, and it doesn't have the more test plan of this present guide's past victor, the Moov Now – which doesn't have a screen! the Charge 3 does, in any case, offer a full wellness suite including a pulse tracker. It's even waterproof as well.

[savvysass]

Self Sacrafice is A Bitch: Chapter 3

Ao3

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Comments are greatly appreciated! Give me advice on what to do and I might give you a sneak peak at the story!

Rating:Not Rated

Category:Gen

Chapter: 3/?

Chapter Summary: There was blood on their scrubs, on their shoes, in a puddle on the floor. People were shouting, running around the table, machines and tubes twisting in his vision.There were people using cuffs to restrain Peter’s other arm, a tube down his kid’s throat that he looked to be choking on. He was thrashing around, blood pouring from his wounds as tears were streaming down his face. For a brief moment, he met his eyes, and the panic that filled them, the fact that Peter was begging him for help, consumed him.

Then he saw it.

A mutilated arm was on a table to the side. He wouldn’t have known what it was if it wasn’t for the stones still attached to it.

His kid’s arm.

Amputated .

Additional Tags: endgame fix it fic, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Whump, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Near Death Experiences, Recovery, Amputation, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, probably more than i remember

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“Stark, you better have a good explanation.” Ross said darkly, venom on his tongue.

“Not now, Ross.” Tony growled, his hand clenching around the phone. He didn’t have time for this.

“Then when would you like to do this, Stark?” Ross growled. “There is an unregistered enhance on the news with a bunch of rogue avengers fighting without any accountability? I-”

“Just shut up, Ross! I have more important things to deal with than you and your damn obsession with the accords!” He screamed into the phone. His vision blurred with rage as he stared down at the linoleum floor, his teeth clenching so hard it was almost painful. Rhodey put his hand on Tony’s shoulder.

“Give it to me, Tones. I’ll handle-”

“No! Who does he think he is?!” Tony seethed. He turned away, his shoes squeaking on the tile.

“We’ve got actual issues to deal with here, Ross! A kid- a fucking child is dying so he could save your ass. I don’t want to hear a damn peep about the fucking accords right now. They are DONE. They’ve been DONE. You wanna know what happened, ask someone else. I have better things to do than-”

Rhodey grabbed the phone from him, Tony’s eyes filling with rage.

“We have to be careful with him, Tony. He has more power than he should. I’ll deal with this.”

Tony pulled on his hair. He needed to blow up at someone- anyone- and Ross deserved it.

How could he think about the damn accords- something that is practically null and void- while his kid was in there dying?

He wanted to break something. He wanted to punch Ross in his power-obsessed face for even daring to bring up such a trivial matter. He wanted to yell- scream- roar-

He grabbed the phone back, Rhodey looking at him incredulously.

“You keep the hell away from my kid and my team, Ross. A child is dying!” He screamed, spit flying from his mouth. “You take your whole authority obsession and figure out who’s going to be accountable for that! And don’t call me again!”

“Stark-”

Tony clicked the end call button. God, did it feel good to hang up on that jerk. Rhodey put his hand on his shoulder tentatively, and he could feel himself shaking.

“I’ll deal with Ross, Tony. I’ll send updates to Steve. Don’t worry about it.”

Tony clenched his teeth. Rage consumed him- Why did no one understand his kid was dying? That he was breaking into a million pieces? That the sound of a flatline was still ringing in his ears, and he couldn’t think of anything else but that horrible noise?

He kicked a chair away from the white wall, a guttural scream tearing at his throat.

Pepper pulled him back, setting him in his chair.

“Easy, Tony. Breathe.”

Tony shook his head. He didn’t want to breathe. He wanted Peter to get better. He wanted answers. He wanted the grief that was consuming him to disappear. His eyes stared at the white tiles, a gray dot in the middle of each one. He tried to focus on it, to catch his breath. He felt more exhausted than ever. He thought blowing up at someone would help, but it only made him feel more empty.

May wandered back in after that, her eyes puffy and swollen. She looked to Tony with a lifeless look in her eyes that made him want to puke.

“That Ted?” He whispers.

She nods loosely, collapsing back into her chair.

“Ned. He saw the news reports. He’s in hysterics, demanding to be brought up here. He never demands anything, Tony, but he says he needs to be here. I told him I’d come get him when he’s awake if I could, but-”

“I’ll get him here.” Tony says softly. “That kid is important to Peter. He would want to know he was okay after being snapped back.”

Relief poured over her, even if it was just a little. The tension was still there, as expected for having a child in surgery. Tony wanted to comfort her, but he was clueless as to what to do. Hell, he didn’t even know what he needed for himself. Pepper took her hand, and Tony was grateful his wife was more apt to give physical comfort.

For a moment, all was still.

Suddenly, the doors to the OR flew open, Helen Cho frantically storming out. May stood up and looked to her in desperation.

“Who the hell is this kid, Stark?!” she all but screamed. “Where are his records- his pain killers? His blood bank?!”

Tony floundered for words, his mind racing.

“I don’t- he doesn’t have any-”

Cho threw her hands up in exasperation, a string of Korean falling from her lips. His heart dropped to his stomach.

“That child will not stay under, Stark. We have given him all we can think of, the max amount of every drug that we usually use, and 3 hours into the surgery he just starts waking up! Nothing will put him back under- He is in agony! We can’t tell if his metabolism has burned through the meds that fast or if his liver is still processing- I refuse to let my staff operate on a conscious child, Stark!”

Tony felt himself shaking, trying to wrap his head around the situation. He had been so focused on keeping Peter away from anyone in authority so he could keep up the neighborhood spiderman routine, he had never gotten around to actually getting him set up with a medical record. Banner was MIA, and it kept getting pushed to the backburner. He knew it had to be done, but it was out of his wheelhouse. The kid didn’t seem stoked about being poked and prodded either, so he swept it under the rug. 

God, what had he done?

His thoughts were jumbling into a panic when Steve spoke up.

“Cho, use my stuff. If anything will knock him out, its my meds.” He said urgently. How did he stay calm in a time like this?

“Wait- we can’t just put random medicine into the kid” Bruce interrupted, Tony vaguely wondering when he got there. “Your medicine has Propofol, Succinylcholine, Fentanyl, and tons of other extremely strong medicine mixed together. An elephant could overdose on that stuff!”

“We don’t have a choice, Dr. Banner.” Helen said firmly, the weight of her decision coating the room in tension. “We are going to flush what we have out of him and give him a small dose of Roger’s anaesthetics. Hopefully it will put him under.”

“Okay- Okay, but I am going to come in and try and make him his own medicine in the meantime. I’ll need samples.” Bruce said as he stood, his large form towering over everyone.

“Come on then! I’m not waiting.” Cho said curtly. She turned on her heels and opened the doors, Tony hearing the chaotic rushing of the medical team as they tried to contain Peter.

“Wait- Cho!” Tony said frantically, trying to catch a glimpse of his kid. She looked at him with a ferocity he had never seen. “What can I do, Helen? Let me come in there- Let me calm him down-”

“No Stark.” She said forcefully. He looked to her, his panic and desperation raw in his eyes. Her eyes turned dark and sorrowful.

“You don’t want to see this.”

With that, she turned into the OR, and in possibly the worst lapse of judgement he ever had, he rushed forward to try and see what was happening. 

What he saw will haunt him forever.

There was blood on their scrubs, on their shoes, in a puddle on the floor. People were shouting, running around the table, machines and tubes twisting in his vision. 

There were people using cuffs to restrain Peter’s other arm, a tube down his kid’s throat that he looked to be choking on. He was thrashing around, blood pouring from his wounds as tears were streaming down his face. For a brief moment, he met his eyes, and the panic that filled them, the fact that Peter was begging him for help, consumed him.

Then he saw it.

A mutilated arm was on a table to the side. He wouldn’t have known what it was if it wasn’t for the stones still attached to it.

His kid’s arm.

Amputated.

He stood in shock as Helen pushed him back out, stumbling over his own two feet as Rhodey steadied him. She looked at him with pity as she closed the door.

Agony. His kid was in agony.

He can feel his heart in his throat, each pulse tearing through him like a bolt of lightning. His hands went numb, shaking as they started to pull at his hair. His breathing came in short gasps, and he rushed towards the bathroom. He heard people talking to him, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t lose his composure in front of everyone.

He entered the bathroom and emptied the content of his stomach into the sink, not even making it to the toilets. He didn’t have much in him, and soon bile was dribbling down his chin with every heave. When he looked into the mirror, he didn’t recognize himself. He fell to the floor, bringing his knees to his chest as he pushed his back against the wall. His ears were ringing, visions of blood, blood, blood flashing before his eyes.

A soft hand on his shoulder pulled him from his flashback.

“Pep…” He said, his voice raspy after the assault on his throat.

“Shh… just breath, Tony.”

He let out a sob.

“Pepper- I can’t- I can’t do this, Pep.” He choked out. “He- He has to get better. He has to- I can’t-” His words caught in his throat. He wouldn’t allow himself to think of other possibilities. He couldn’t. There was too much darkness there, threatening to swallow him whole. They simply couldn’t happen. Not after all he had done to get Peter back. Not this soon.

“You won’t, Tony. He is alive. He is fighting-”

“He’s hurting Pep! He’s hurting so bad!” He sobs. A pain comes up his arm as he imagines what it must feel like to lose it.

“I know… Honey I know…” Pepper says softly.

She simply holds him in her arms after that, running her hand through his hair as she tries to get him to breathe. Splashes of blood and manled arms are dispersed throughout the memories of the bright-eyed boy looking up to him lovingly. The emotional whiplash it gives him sends him into a trance where time has no meaning. 

He needs to fix this. He needs to have something in his hands- something he can work between his fingers and physically bind him to this situation. The kid is going to need an arm- he needs to make him an arm. Because he will pull through. He will wake up, and he is going to need an arm that makes Barnes look like a toy. He tries to think about it- about designing a prosthetic, but the longer he thinks about it, the more he visualizes the mangled arm on the metal table, dripping blood onto the tiles below.

He sobs, his brain refusing to be logical for even a second. If he was logical, he’d have to admit how bad this looks.

And right now it looks like he’s going to die.

And who’s fault is that he asks himself bitterly. The kid did this to save him- because he tried to be the hero. He was willing to die for Peter, but he wasn’t ready for Peter to die for him. He would never be ready for that.

He never should have taken that kid away from his life in Queens. He never should have let him take a step out of that apartment. He would be happy and safe with is aunt right now, reuniting after the snap, not dying in on an OR table with his arm ripped off.

Peter shouldn't even be here. It should be him on that damn table about to flatline, not the kid who bought an umbrella on patrol just to walk an old woman home in the rain. He slammed his fist against the side of the sink, making Pepper jump at the noise. He had been spared countless deaths over the years and it had been leading up to that moment with the stones. And now what? What did it matter that he was still alive while his kid was losing an arm?

This is his fault. The guilt consumes him.

He feels like they sit there for an eternity, his back aching from being on the floor. He looks at his watch. 4 hours have passed. God, he’s awful for keeping Pepper on the floor that long, but he can’t seem to get himself to pull back onto his feet. He’s about to tell her to get up, to go somewhere comfortable, when May rushes into the bathroom. They look up at her with their hearts in their throats.

“It’s over,” She says with a sob. “He’s stable.”