#in which the promo clips make you tear up

[endless-ineffabilities]

Aaaand, CUT! (a Chemical Override minishot)

Ewan Mitchell x actress!reader

a/n: I've been watching a ton of The Office bloopers, which inspired this random little thing. This is set waaay back in part 1. Oh, the good ol' days.

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Ewan and the reader film a promo spot for season 2. They try to, at least.

The press day in Paris had been going smoothly for the most part. At least, that was how it seemed. You hoped that you have been able to act smooth, so to speak, having to sit in close quarters with a guy who can make your heart race a mile a minute, and all he has to do is turn those blue eyes in your direction. 

You and Ewan were halfway through your schedule of interviews and promo. But by the time the crew set up for the next clip—a quick promotional spot—you both were running on caffeine and shared inside jokes. 

You couldn’t believe you were sharing private quips with Ewan (Aemond himself!) but you found it easy to get lost in your dynamic. These were the kind of jokes that only made sense after hours and hours of interviews, with lights glaring in your faces and scripted answers rolling off your tongues like a broken record. 

You stood next to him, the House of the Dragon logo projected on a screen behind you. The task was simple: introduce yourself and tell the audience to watch House of the Dragon Season 2 on Max. Fifteen seconds, tops.

But you two had already spiraled into a fit of laughter in the last three takes. 

Somehow, saying the line together, “Go and watch House of the Dragon Season 2, only on Max,” had become the hardest thing in the world.

“Alright, let’s try this again,” the director said, sounding more tired than frustrated. “From the top.”

Ewan turned to you, his lips twitching. “Bet you crack first, darling.”

Your mouth fell open in faux indignation. “Shush. I got this.”

“Let’s see, shall we?” His gaze dropped briefly to your lips before he straightened up, ready to go.

The red light on the camera flicked on, and the cameraman waved a hand as a signal for you to begin.

You barely had time to shoot Ewan a warning glance before you introduced yourself. 

He followed smoothly, “And I’m Ewan Mitchell.”

It was going fine. Smooth, even. So professional.

Until you reached the part where you had to say the final line in unison.

“Go and watch House of the Dragon Season 2, only on—” Ewan dropped his voice an octave, dragging out “Max” in an over-the-top baritone that sent you over the edge.

“Pffft—shit!” you snort uncontrollably. “What was that?” You pressed a hand to your mouth, trying desperately to keep it together, but it was too late.

Take, ruined.

“What?” Ewan crumbles into laughter, his low chuckle infectious.

The director sighed heavily. “Cut!”

“Oh my god,” you groaned, wiping at the tears forming in the corners of your eyes. “We’re never going to get through this.”

Ewan leaned in, ducking his head to whisper, “You’re adorable when you laugh.”

“Stop it,” you shot him a look. Act cool. “You’re distracting me on purpose.”

“Stop what?” he smirked. “I’m just trying to help.”

“Right. Some help you are,” you said sarcastically, though the warmth in his gaze made it impossible to stay serious for long.

“Come on, focus,” he teased, nudging your arm with his elbow. “We’ve got a job to do here.”

“Maybe you should focus,” you retorted, arching an eyebrow. “You’re the one who keeps messing up with that ridiculous voice.”

He laughed again. “What can I say? I thought we needed some extra charm.”

You gasp playfully. “Is that your subtle way of telling me I don’t possess enough charm?”

“Oh, darling,” he said, “I could never say that to you.”

You clear your throat. “Mhmm… okay, well—”

His smirk stayed right in place, as he leaned back coolly.

“Alright, guys, one more time,” the director called out. “Please, just this one. Action.”

You stood a little straighter, determined to get it right this time, then recited your line. 

“... and I’m Ewan Mitchell.”

Together, you spoke in unison. “Go and watch House of the Dragon Season 2, only on—”

But this time, Ewan leaned in just a fraction, whispering right at the end of the line, “Max... or maybe just come watch it with me?”

His breath was warm against your ear, sending a shiver down your spine. You lost it completely.

“Oh my god, stop,” you gasped between fits of laughter, swatting at his arm. “Ewan, you can’t say that!”

The director groaned from behind the camera, clearly on the verge of giving up. “Alright, five minutes, people. Just take a breather.”

You were still laughing as you walked off the set, shaking your head in disbelief. “We’re never going to get this done.”

Ewan followed you, his grin softening into something more intimate as he glanced your way. “Maybe we could be stuck here all day together. Would that really be so bad?”

Your breath hitched slightly. He wasn’t looking at you like he was joking anymore. You opened your mouth to respond, but the words got tangled up somewhere between your brain and your throat.

Thankfully, the crew called you both back for another take before things could get any more complicated.

Once again, you took your places under the lights. You made the mistake of catching Ewan’s eye, and the memory of his earlier teasing flooded back, making it impossible to keep a straight face.

Ewan raised his eyebrows at you, as if daring you to start laughing again.

“Don’t you dare,” you whispered through gritted teeth, fighting the urge to laugh.

“I didn’t say anything,” he said, his lips twitching.

“You’re thinking it.”

He chuckled under his breath, his voice low. “I was thinking of something else entirely.”

Your cheeks burned. Before you could even process what he meant, the camera started rolling again.

You took a deep breath and said your line without a hitch.

Ewan jumped in, his voice perfectly smooth and serious this time. “And I’m Ewan Mitchell.”

Together, you said, “Go and watch House of the Dragon Season 2, only on Max.”

You made it. You actually made it through the line.

The director hurriedly shouted a relieved, "Aaaand, CUT!" then added, "Holy shit, you two—with all that flirting, I'm amazed we made it this far today."

[kanmom51]

PJM2 is coming

MUSE

I literally cannot contain my excitiement.

Sitting her, at work may I say, putting these words on paper, so to speak, because f***ing hell, wtf JM?

Where to start?

The colour concepts? The choice of name? Choice of font (That JM popping to eye)? The flower? The links to TTU (notes sheet and flower)? The whole play with Closer than this? The dropped lyrics?

This man is a friggin genius (not that we didn't know this already)...

There is so much to talk about, and he hasn't even started with the promotions, and we haven't even seen the concept photos or the album and the songs. Name, colours, 2 lines of lyrics and we have our hands full already. They certainly know what they are doing.

Before I jump in, I want to, once again, state very loudly and clearly that everything written here are my opinions, which are based on what we've been handed so far, and could change the more we are shown.

So, let's get it...

JM fetching this from the purple locker (which we don't see are purple off the bat and only when the lights turn on). Notes for The Truth Untold.

His wittle thumb with his crescent moon.

The notes title : La lettra - The letter. Hmm... interesting.

And then this:

We have the flower:

and this that makes me believe that yes indeed, it is the silhouette of a Smeralso.

Some of this I am yet to see where is going. like the referencing of "the letter", The truth untold, the flower... (she says, all while thinking of the choice this Festa to stream LY Seoul final with said song and the changes that JM and JK chose to make to it)...

All that and more in one little short clip.

And then we have that little 'chat' opened up by BH, and those lyrics. Oh, those lyrics.

All references that indeed can be connected with army. I mean, that's what JM is king of.

All also a clear reference to a one Jeon Jungkook, if you are only willing to look and see.

Rain

Snow

Crying

We have this:

Which they have BOTH chose to bring up once again in 2023, JK happening to do so during JM's Face promos, not to mention the rain reference in SNTY (and of course, goes without saying Still with you, but that's back in 2020, while they have both managed to bring it up and reference it once again in 2023).

Remember this?

Oh, and what about this?

And then we have these:

Remember JM tearing up after winning MMA for BS&T ?

JM getting emotional and crying only followed by JK tearing up.

*If you haven't seen this one yet, go watch the full live.

And who can forget JK during MOTS ONE as well, seeing JM crying, distress clearly showing on his face, just waiting for the moment he can go and comfort JM.

If these are actual lyrics for a song to come or lyrics that were dropped, one thing we know, and that these words, these lines, they were written by JM, and he made a clear choice to share them with us.

And in doing so, sorry, I'm still not believing this all while sitting here gushing and knowing this was coming (no, I didn't know this specifically was coming, but the feeling that they were going big or going home, that I've had ever since July 2023... took some time and many tribulations, but we are getting there folks). Sidetracked as I always am, lol.

Back on track.... in doing so, JM is basically standing on a rooftop screaming at the top of his lungs:

Not 1, not 2, but 3 JK references in that little shared piece of lyrics clearly written by JM, for an album we are yet to see and hear.

Anyone, and I mean anyone that is a BTS army, that has seen original content, that has followed their Twitter account or seen older tweets, that are open and willing to see it, will KNOW that these lyrics are JAYKAY!!!!!

And let me backtrack a second here...

Cause I did mention that these references could be understood as if they are made for army, right?

So yeah. Army references or JK references? I am going to say both, leaning very much to the JK side of it. Cause that's how they do it. Time after time after time.

Let's mention the colour choices as well.

We have the background colours.

We have the yellow.

And then we have the album concepts.

2 concepts.

Blooming

and Serenade.

Which happens to be Yellow, same colour threaded through Serendipity.

And we even have purple thrown in there too.

Notice how all the lockers are painted purple. The colour of army you may say, but also JK's colour (so again, army and JK?).

And he's pulling out the music sheet from this purple locker.

Those lockers representing his inspiration for his music perhaps?

Giving us these lyrics, then telling us the album is called Muse (or telling us the name of the album and it's meaning and then dropping those lyrics, take your pick regarding the timing, cause basically, same same), showing us the music being extracted from those purple lockers... ya think his muse is that entity he's talking about in those lyrics perhaps (even more so if we see the references as both for army and JK)?

Rhetorical question, btw.

And then we have the mint green.

Perhaps this is what JM was talking about when he told us in his birthday live, if memory serves me right, about going to the starting point, or more so starting from the beginning trying to figure out himself as an artist?

Also, cannot help but think of this image here:

I cannot wait to see his concept photos, and where this is all going.

We talked about JK being so loud during 2023 (well, he's had his super loud moments before that, but 2023 and his lives were smoking). And JM, well it felt (and I say felt, cause it's not really true, and I'll explain why) was quieter, more subdued, especially during JK's Golden promotions.

But here's the thing.

JM and JK have their own special oh so different ways of being loud and showing us themselves (and it shows even more so seeing that JK, for whatever reasons he had for it, did not write his songs for Golden - not saying he did not have influence on the lyrics or choice of songs with lyrics he wanted). JK did it through his choices in his photo shoots and styling for his songs and album. He did it with his lives and his total fanboying over JM. And JM, he does it through his art, which includes also but not only his lyrics.

Those two are both loud as fuck. And JM, well if these sneak lyrics are a promo of more to come (which, they probably are seeing that we have Face to fall back on as an example), then he's as loud as a frigging foghorn.

And last but not least, before I go:

Lookie here...

D-31

[night-heron-writes]

Episode 10 Promo Video/Predictions

So, like a lot of y'all, I'm not thrilled to see Misaki again, but I'm not surprised. We've known she has a bigger part to play in the series than just in episode 3 for a while now, with the opener and the staff interviews. I'm hoping that she's returned for a good (plot-relevant and not contrived) reason. Ideally, the reason that makes the most sense is that Kyutaro masterminded the whole thing to keep Miri out of the conflict we all know is coming.

I'd be less than thrilled if Misaki simply had a "change of heart" and wants Miri back because of that. I had a decent amount of respect for her because she was able to admit she wasn't cut out to be a mother, and a lot of my respect for her would go away if she did a 180° turn in regards to motherhood. Even if she has a "change of heart" can she really give Miri a better, more loving home than she has with Rei and Kazuki?

The title of the episode is "Lost at Sea", which usually means "adrift", and it can apply to lots of our characters. Rei and Kazuki will almost certainly feel lost after their family with Miri is ripped away from them again. Misaki will likely feel adrift having to cope with parenting again, after having not had to for the better part of a year. Miri is drifting between her two families, and probably won't understand where her papas have gone or why she's back with Misaki.

In the PV we see a clip of our main trio back in their favorite store, shopping for Miri again, likely as a going away present or something similar. But if you look closely, you'll notice Kazuki is moving around exaggeratedly, like in episode 6 when he was trying to convince Miri not to hate him. He's probably trying to act normal about having to give Miri back and failing miserably.

We also see them approaching what's likely a fairground/amusement park, perhaps as part of Miri's big send-off. That might be where they're meeting Misaki to give Miri back to her? Probably safer for everyone involved than either Rei's apartment or the shady bar Misaki was working at in episode 3. Interestingly enough, we only see Kazuki and Rei's faces while they're on the Ferris Wheel, nothing to tell us if Miri is there or not. I also found the role reversal here interesting: Kazuki is the one with a closed off expression, while Rei is showing his feelings (of shock? surprise? anger?) more openly. Kazuki might be saying that Misaki will be able to give Miri a better life (whether he believes is is another thing entirely), and Rei might be realizing that wanting to protect his family doesn't just mean from his father boss, but also from other circumstances that try to tear them apart. It would be interesting to see him take a more active role in here in the last arc of the series, since the family was largely founded without his input.

Overall, this episode is likely going to be somber from start to finish. We've entered the final arc of the series, and the stakes are getting higher. What is Kyutaro going to do? The ball is still very much in his court, and I have a hunch that Misaki's reappearance is his doing. Though how tf did he manage to stall until Decemeber if he got the request for information in August? FOUR MONTHS? HOW????

I'm a little surprised at how many people are convinced the show will go to shit now that Misaki has showed up again. We knew she had more to do than just episode 3, and from what we know this seems logical. I have faith in the writing team, since thus far the writing has been amazing. I just hope they do Misaki's character justice. I think she's an interesting character who's been well handled so far and I hope they continue that. The writers have done a good job dealing with complicated issues and showing the nuances of things, so I'm fairly confident they'll continue to do that here.

[lesbenson]

set out to write something about dime sized pupils and ended up with a scene fic ? of the um.. diner scene.

tw for brief mentions of lewis and bx9 (non graphic) and semi graphic descriptions of violence (quite literally. just what we saw in the last three clips of the promo)

(pretty sure fin and ayanna are not with them in that diner scene in the promo. but ask me if i gaf)

Olivia is wholly convinced of two things, at the very least. God won’t let her just have things, and he won’t let her die until she stops wanting to. Two sides of the same dirty coin in her opinion. In dreams of a rusting beach house, she can still feel the moment her stomach fell out with the aching sincerity of a prayer for her old partner. At the time, she had wanted him to come kill for her more than she had ever remembered wanting to live to see such a thing. Simultaneously she had felt a lot less justified in killing someone out of self-defense than, say, employed partnership. She hadn’t felt whatever instinct to protect herself that Elliot had felt towards her. At least not physically. At least not then. 

Noah changed things. She knows this and she’s sure Elliot can see it. Rolling on cold gravel and clutching her belly she could really only see his big eyes in the doorway. Letting the nurse stroke the tender spot on her lower back, biting back another wave of tears, Liv had again wondered if protecting Noah over herself was only her short term goal. It’s not really protecting him if you die on the job. She still can’t really extend herself the sympathy she does everyone around her. She had been working on it with Lindstrom, before everything went down. Duarte had warned her that it was a weakness, before- right before he was killed. Which again makes her wonder how the fuck she can be expected to take everyone’s two cents into account, if they’re gonna keep getting struck down for telling her to chain her big heart to the nearest tree. Look where it got him.

Look where it’s gotten her. Thigh pressed against Elliot’s in a cushy little diner booth, smiling indulgently through Fin’s jokes to Ayanna, who literally cannot stop raising her eyebrows at Elliot. Liv finds it annoying on Elliot’s end — she can only imagine what Ayanna has sat through him bitching about and it makes her want to pinch him. When he laughs too hard at Fin, she does. To his credit he doesn’t startle much, but he does lightly knock her knee with his, glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes with a smirk that only makes her want to grab him harder. She knows she looks at him too long, then. She knows everyone in the entire restaurant can probably hear the breath she takes. 

She feels, just a little bit, like it’s fine. They still aren’t anything more than what they’ve always been, which is everything without a name. But lately, the air isn’t as thick. It’s been staying sunny longer. He’s wearing his ring again, and once she gets herself past the initial gut punch of it she thinks it might be a better development than it was when he said he loved her. They have also always operated in a very roundabout way. It is, of course, in the same instant that she feels a warm floating affection for him that she hears the hissing, the screams. Her eyes water- they burn, and then all hell breaks loose. A table on the opposite side of the room clatters with silverware and plates as he passes, a lanky guy with a big coat, big gas-mask, big gun.

Oh fucking Christ she thinks, launching up with her gun in the same second Elliot ducks down beneath the table and around the booths. Always so in sync. It all gets faster the longer it goes on, and by the time she can register the crack of the guy’s shotgun she’s already screamed on impact. 

She collapses out of the booth, barely breaking her fall with her arm before rolling breathlessly onto her back. Liv reaches for her gun when it clatters, small smears of blood on the checker tiles where her wrist rubs. 

Elliot falls somewhere next to her and he doesn’t look behind him once before he army crawls to Liv and scoops her recoiling body up close to him. 

Somewhere miles away she hears Ayanna yell “He’s down!” and Fin’s thudding footsteps catching up to her. She breathes out once, sinking into Elliot’s hands under her back, her neck. 

“Liv. Liv. Liv-“ His eyes are so big and again, all she can see is blue. 

“I’m hit.” she can feel tears on her face, rolling into her hair, breaths coming out short and harsh. It’s all she tries to say, a shaking hand reaching for the spreading blood, but Elliot shushes her loudly. The sound won’t stop, his big hand stroking the hair up off her forehead, out of her face, his breath matching hers. He moves her hand away to pull up the hem of her shirt, the soft stretchy fabric warm and red, his fingers working fast. She gags out a pitiful sound and he doesn’t even try to hide the sob he lets out behind it. 

“Shh- shh, stay with me baby, I’ve got you, I’ve gotcha, not going anywhere, it’s okay, it’s okay.” He’s pressing a pile of napkins into her stomach with all of his strength, fumbling for his radio with his other hand, soft reassurances falling from his lips as sweat rolls down his head, his neck. “It’s okay Liv, you’re okay- 1013 1013 we got an officer down,” he practically throws his radio on the floor when he finishes calling for help, his hand flying back to cup her cheek, his thumb stroking, his whispers frantic. “Please stay with me, please hang on for me, Liv. Just this, for me. You’re gonna be okay, it’s gonna be okay.”

“El…” She thinks she should tell him she loves him. It’s the last thing she remembers doing. 

——————————————————————————————

Ayanna is there when she wakes up, smiling warmly as Liv snorts herself back into consciousness. God, her fucking head hurts. Everything hurts, come to think of it. She groans, because she’s curled up in a big metal hospital bed and she thinks she is allowed the slightest bit of exasperation.

She wants him there, like she always does, always has. If Bell can’t already see it in her eyes, she knows who Liv’s head is whipping around for. 

“I made him go get some air, and when he finds out what he missed in those five minutes he’ll probably try to get my shield taken away.” 

Liv laughs, then winces. “Take his first, they’ll probably make you a police chief.” Ayanna sniffs out a laugh. “He’s okay, though?” She can’t even pretend to be indifferent right now. Ayanna nods quickly, tells her the team is fine, two civilian casualties. The guy is in custody. Liv tries to react before she hears the door creak open.

“Hey-“ He’s muttering to Ayanna when he gets close enough to see the way her soft eyes are open, trained on him. “Liv,” he rasps out, practically launching himself across the room, grabbing at a chair to the side of her bed and oh, he’s been by her side this whole time, hasn’t he. 

“Hey.” She says softly, weakly lifting a hand for him to- to what? She doesn’t really know, she wasn’t thinking about it, and she certainly wasn’t prepared for him to raise it up to his lips and press a firm kiss to the back of it, holding it close to his mouth for so so long. Before she can try to tell him not to cry she feels all of it caught in her throat, spilling out of her eyes, fizzing in her blood. She pulls her hand enough to grab at his, tugging him down to her and God they can’t do that right now. She just wants to melt into him. He hovers, bent at his waist with his face a foot away from hers and he looks like it is taking all of his strength to innocently tuck a piece of her hair behind her ears, letting his thumb rub over her earlobe, his fingertips dragging over her neck.

Ayanna’s phone goes off, and the start it gives all of them shakes Liv out of it, just for a second. “It’s Jet, I’m gonna get out of here. Glad you’re okay Liv. Stabler.” She nods at both of them, a knowing but gentle smile on her face, and they thank her in unison.

The door clicks closed and really she should be embarrassed by how suddenly she hears herself say it. “Hold me?” Her mouth in a sad little smile, her eyes darting over his face.

Elliot looks like he says yes before it even hits him, what she’s asking for. And then he’s scrambling to sit on the edge of the bed, lifting her up under her back like he had done before. This time, he scoots next to her enough to lower her back onto his sturdy chest, wrapping protective arms around her chest, trying to avoid where he knows her bandages are. She sucks in a breath, easing into him as she touches his arm where it holds her. He manages to get a hand to the side of her head, stroking her hair and planting kisses behind her ear, and she just can’t help herself, she wants to say it again. 

[godheadjones]

the new tvline sneak peek seems to me like they are gearing up V to be the footnote in the Jabitha love story/setting her up to be the second option. I just don’t trust think the writers would show that montage of jabitha growing old together at pops to not make them endgame. I think Jughead will remember Tabitha, want her to be with her again but I’m afraid Tabitha will tell him she’s going to sacrifice herself to save the town/she’s going to stay Angel tabitha :/ with Erinn’s limited screentime this season I don’t think we’ll get much of Tabitha after 7x19. Do you think the writers would make j/v in some semblance of endgame over jabitha?

yeah, the clip did seem very much like jughead would have to make a choice and i HATE that they’re doing that because 1. veronica is already in a popular love triangle with archie and betty and i really don’t think we need another one for the show with 2 eps lefts and 2. given how season 6 ended there’s no way jughead picks anyone but tabitha so jeronica endgame (unless they end up forgetting everything yet again) makes so sense to me at all. i feel like jeronica was played with because tabitha wasn’t in the season that much which feels like awful treatment to her character. after seeing the promo (and jughead literally in fucking tears remembering everything + hopefully jabitha memories) i have some hope that jabitha has a higher chance of being endgame ESPECIALLY because 7x20 is grandma betty + old memories and stuff like that. tabitha not being in the finale is very likely and given the things screeners have said without spoiling, a lot of tears have been shed over this ep so it’s looking a lot like this is a tabitha farewell + sacrifice for the town and i’m deathly terrified that tabitha is gonna be treated as the black disposable girlfriend and jughead will somehow end up with betty or veronica (after everything literally makes no sense to me that he’d just move on like that). as for jeronica endgame, knowing the writers are losers at times i can almost definitely see them doing jeronica endgame out of nowhere and knowing that the storyline has just been weak for ships (barchie for example: not a huge fan but i agree that they got screwed over after 7x11 as for their story, jabitha all of season 7, choni seasons 5-6) but against everything i have hope that jabitha will end up together somehow or just that jughead won’t turn to someone else after tabitha sacrifices (and doesn’t work bc ofc it wouldn’t)

[sleepy-achilles]

Nah wtf chill, try to ignore them both fighting the urge to break character and enjoy this indepth with me. Obviously read with caution as well, jbl does get aggressive with shawn during this and I will be talking about it. You obviously don't even have to read my post, you can just watch the video and see how that makes you feel.

Please remember this is all kayfabe and well, your allowed to have your own view on the storyline! This is mine :) in other words don't take my 12am rambles too seriously.

So jbl is clearly the abuser/abusive boss and shawns obviously the victim/worker right? I always try to figure out what's the true point of this storyline and I'm always like, that can't truly be it, why would wwe do something like this in a pg era? To show kids this behaviour isn't okay, what's the best way to show kids abuse isn't normal or okay? Have it thrown onto one of your biggest and fan favourite superstars. But I know the whole main subject is about money and how the banks and stuff had crashed and well, it also shows how people will become desperate and end up in these situations to survive and help their families.

So the start. Shawn is finally feeling confident and brave and finally stands up to jbl, and jbl, clearly sensing this, is quick to shut it down by reminding Shawn who has all the power in their situation. That Shawn cannot do anything about it because jbl will ruin his life in the blink of an eye.

I find this promo interesting because jbl has never actually laid a hand on shawn until this. Its all been verbal. Shawn has slapped him but jbl has never actually touched Shawn. Even when Shawn lost against cena. Well that's a point the only time prior this promo was when cena pushed jbl and jbl accidentally pushed Shawn. And well its not in the clip above but it is apart of this promo, jbl actually touches Shawn arm and shawn doesn't react well to it. His head snaps towards it, breaking eye contact with jbl, which most likely tells jbl that's how he can break shawns new found confidence.

So he starts prodding shawn, laughing at him, rubbing it in his face his obvious power and confidence over shawn. And well, it is a well known fact that shawn hates all the above, we've seen it with bret and Mike Tyson and Austin. Jbl makes sure Shawn knows he has more money and that's what makes him powerful. That he can buy Shawn and have Shawn reduced down to nothing but a product for jbl to make money off whilst Shawn has nothing. (coughs* vince *cough*)

I find it interesting that he lowers the mic and yells louder at shawn. Making it more personal between the two, I say this because someone sat nowhere near the ring is going to hear them. Especially with fans yelling and cheering. Hell, those sat by it might catch bits of it and that's all. Those arenas are loud as fuck.

One of the main points I want to get to is jbl blocking shawn. Shawn clearly senses he's in danger or atleast needs to get away and tries, but jbl won't let that. He follows shawn, keeping him trapped. Keeps attacking him. Yelling at me. Laughing at him and then finally slaps him. (Terrible slap compared to steph and shawns but oh well)

And then he goes back to what he's good at. Putting shawn down with words. He actually bounces off John cena. Cenas been telling shawn he still has it so jbl makes sure to tell him he doesn't, that he's past his prime, that he's old. (Jbl is 55 and shawn is 57. I find that funny btw) his attack of poking shawn turns to more pushes, more violent.

Wrestling God, making sure shawn remembers his place compared to jbl.

Sensing shawn getting upset, he mocks shawn desperation for money and stability and slaps him again.

This slap clearly breaks shawn as he backs himself into a corner and puts on the sad face and tears of the year. But jbl lowers his mic. He knows his work is done and from the fact that unlike everyone else, he doesn't even react when shawn turns to the side, he knows shawn isn't going to attack him. He knows shawn is too upset or scared to even try anything. He knows he's got into shawns head, that any confidence cena has built in shawn, its been burned down and destroyed.

I also notice shawn hesitates trying to walk past him. He can't read jbl and that probably scares him the most. Which is why jbl switches from laughing at shawn to a dead mean scowl. Shawn avoids eye contact with the outside world, cameras, fans. The only person he looks at is jbl. He keeps his head low as he walks away and out too the back. But before this, shawn avoids eye contact with jbl, and whilst jbl blocks him you can see him trying to force eye contact with shawn.

And well, jbl smiles/smirks cruelly as he watches this man, who he's broken, walk away in shame and fear. And walks away fast.

His plan is to have a fight with a scared and broken Shawn.

We see fear in shawns face multiple times during this storyline but we only see it this bad during this ending. We see it when jbl forces him to walk away from rey. When he's in the four man match for a title shot.

We see numbness on shawns face during limo scenes. Anger, guilt and disappointment in himself during lockeroom scenes. But fear in the ring.

I also noticed you hear fans but when you actually look at the crowd you see nothing until jbl hits Shawn. They react when he slaps Shawn. They don't even react when he turns because they too know Shawn isn't going to do it. It's not out of the ordinary for wwe to use fake crowd sounds. I mean, this whole thing would probably be a lot more serious and ugly without fans making noise. I mean even commentary stays quiet, even when both men stop talking.

I'll probably reread this and then edit it later. It's late and well I just want to post my brain rambles because well it's my blog and I should be allowed to do that. If I don't post it now it'll sit forgotten in my drafts, atleast if I do this I can just edit it and make changes later. If I do make big changes I'll just make another post telling those who've already read it to just reread it.

[thoughts-on-bangtan]

a poem for small things

by Admin 1 & 2

The time has come, the first proper post for this segment we’ve settled on calling a poem for small things, a nod toward BWL and its Korean title. Like we said in our call for submission post, this is supposed to be something like a place full of positivity for vminnies (and perhaps the occasional namjinist) where you (and us) can share whatever we’d like in connection to vmin, both as vmin and as Jimin and Tae the individuals, and have something to raise our mood and also strengthen our vminnie confidence. We’ve gotten several wonderful submissions and quickly realized that for this first post the theme is mostly how I became a vminnie, even if three submissions talk more about vmin moments they enjoy instead.

I think it’s a really interesting theme, especially since everyone’s story is different, and everyone seems to find something else about vmin that captured their attention and hearts so sharing these memories and experiences is a great way to start off this segment. We’ve said it many times before, though I don’t think you can say it enough times, but this bond that Jimin and Tae share is truly special and so one of a kind, it’s wonderful to see how we all relate to and resonate with it in our own way and find something in it that makes us fall in love with their loves, regardless if we see it as platonic or romantic love. Love is love after all. 95z is love.

For the order of these submissions, we’ll simply go in the order in which we’ve received them. Most of them came from anons, which is more than okay. We’ve also opened the possibility of submitting posts for those who would like to submit wordier posts/asks, should we do another edition of this. It all depends on how much you’ll enjoy it and if you’ll come through with more submissions that could be gathered for future posts.

Anyway, enough talking from our side, let’s dive into these submissions below the cut, shall we? Like we said in the original post (and demonstrated in the preview post), we’ll add some of our commentary and observations along the way, too.

From anon: This is going to be long winded story but Vmin is like a Serendipity to me. I've heard of BTS mainly from my hubby when he complains that times sq is packed because of BTS (when they’re in town and doing their rounds of morning shows). I knew they were very popular but it was a great surprise that i discovered them after watching ILand during lockdown. Their songs were great and i started playing their classics like Fire, DNA Fake Love etc. Then they did an appearance in the show...

I love how you heard about BTS because of your husband and Time Square being packed, this is honestly the most original and unique version of how I’ve come across BTS I’ve read over the years. Amazing!

I was drawn to Taehyung's beauty during their appearance in Iland. And my first Vmin ? moment was when Tae commented about being handsome and attractive are 2 things and being attractive weighs more - along those lines... then JM made a comment that its unfair that he's both and Tae was like Im talking about you... I went like ok he thinks JM is attractive- theyre good friends.... then Jimin did the FakeLove choreo and the camera focused on Tae and he had this wide smile...The Iland Tae/Jimin clips made me do a double take but I dismissed it since it was just only a few seconds worth of screen time but still...

I-Land vmin was really something else in both episodes. 

Fun fact: I-Land was the first Korean survival show I’ve ever watched, mostly because it had something to do with BH and since it was streamed online with subs in real time. Unfortunately, my faves—Daniel and Taki—didn’t make it into ENHYPEN, though I’m happy that Taki will be in a future Japanese BH group.

But, going back to vmin, that moment with Jimin dancing FAKE LOVE and Tae looking at him with that boxy smile as though Jimin hung the stars in the sky? I melted, even if it was just one of those brief moments, yet still it’s so cute! And it was all over sns being shared by vminnies and non-vminnies alike. What a great time that was.

Then VMAs Dynamite perf happened- both Vmin looking good. I saw a lot of their promos especially the Jimmy Fallon interviews... and I noticed in hindsight how JF was so careful when referring to Jimin ... Since Tae was my first bias, I searched YT for Tae related content eventually saw in my YT feed Vmin moments. Theres a lot of Vmin content in YT or maybe the T*ek*ok ones didnt really register as extraordinary to me. But defo the Vmin moments were extraordinary to me,,,the BV4 sleeping together, kitchen role play & BV3 JM excited to see Tae and them holding hands and then Tae crying and then Tae's busking with Jimin cheering him on were all amazing to see. Up to this day this specific YT vid stood out to me first 

I actually went to check what video this is, and also looked at the comments where my favorite was this one: The staff member went straight to Jimin to tell him V was crying. That's all you need to know. They’re not wrong with that one, are they? That is pretty telling. BV3 vmin were a work of wonder, truly. Jimin watching Tae sing that Sam Smith song during the dinner in the sky looking all soft and endlessly fond?

Jimin encouraging Tae to busk and gently petting his hair was just such a pure moment and showed how much Jimin appreciates Tae and the talent he has, how in moments when Tae might brush aside wanting to do something, is a little hesitant and unsure, Jimin will stand up for him and give him strength/encouragement, which reminds me of Tae’s vlive in April 2020 and the fact that Jimin had told him that he wants to be his source of strength. Beautiful. And it shows that it wasn’t just pretty yet empty words, but something he truly meant. They both do.

Then i came across vid trans of Friends & cried first time hearing it especially when it got to the part "One day when the cheer dies down, stay hey.." It felt raw and honest to me. Then there's MOT:E concert and that part in Dynamite where they bumped their heads seemed bizaare to me - i was like were they fighting? because JM looked really fierce(or maybe emotional) then i saw the close up. i couldnt remember the exact moment I became a Vminie but it made quarantine easier...

This, I’ve noticed, seems to be a recurring theme among quarantine ARMY and vminnies, the fact that becoming ARMY and vminnies made it easier, and it fits with what we’ve been saying about BTS for years: they will find you when you’ll need them most. And in these trying and uncertain times, it’s certainly proven true once again.

Thank you of much for your submission and sharing your story with us, and I’m glad they could make quarantine a little easier for you.

From anon: I've been following BTS on and off since BST, but only really consider myself a true fan late 2019. I can't recall having a bias at first, but I was captivated by Jimin's everything when I binge-watched all their content. I must admit, my first OTP is T*e/k*ok, where I fell down the route of considering Jimin 'an interfering 3rd party' in their relationship, and it shamed me. Since then I've been cycling through Jimin ships, namely yo*n/m*n, j*n/m*n, m*ni/m*ni, and I even thought that j*/k*ok was real at some point. Strangely, Vmin never struck me as something extraordinary. I don't want to blame anyone, but Vmin caught my eye after I watched official BTS content without filter (presumed bias/judgement) all in their glory. I realized that while other ships may go up-and-down as in one day there's a frenzy and another day quiet af, Vmin has been and is still going constant. That's what makes me love Vmin, and for the first time in my fandom life, I have no qualms about whether they are real or not. Their bond, whatever it is, is already precious and something to be cherished forever. Thank you for providing us vminies a special corner to speak up about our experience 💜

You’re very welcome! I hope you’ll like how this turned out as well. Thank you for sharing your story with us and personally I find it fascinating how, despite Jimin being the one who captivated you most at first, you still fell into the “he’s an interference for my ship” trap that’s quite popular with that particular ship. I’m glad though that that never ruined your love for Jimin. It’s also really interesting for me how you went through different Jimin ships yet it took you the longest time to notice vmin. I feel like, because vmin and vminnies are more “low key” than the other bigger and louder ships, as well as Tae and Jimin simply being quieter in their interactions (not always but you get the point) as compared to, for example, Jimin’s interactions with Hobi, Jungkook, or even Namjoon, it takes people a while to really notice them.

This is my favorite part of what you wrote, and I think it’s a great way to describe vmin in general and what makes them different from other ships in the grand scheme of things: I realized that while other ships may go up-and-down as in one day there's a frenzy and another day quiet af, Vmin has been and is still going constant.

From vminot7: So i fell into BTS hole after watching blood sweat and tears mv casually on youtube. Jimin immediately stole my attention with his unique voice, graceful moves and handsome features even though i didn’t know their names at that time. I watched more MVs and jimin continued to hold my attention but i was also extremely drawn to taehyung's voice and facial expressions. So i started looking for more content such as RUN BTS and other compilations and realized my love for all 7 of them. I also noticed how jimin always had a soft spot for taehyung and was curious about their dynamics. I started looking at more of vmin content and i was really surprised to see how in the early days they were nowhere near as soft with each other as they are now. I think they have a unique bond and i have never come across anything quite similar. Now vmin are both my biases and my bias wrecker is hoseok.

I admire jimin for being a hardworking, passionate perfectionist but also a caring soul who is always ready to offer love and comfort to people in need. I love taehyung for how he looks at the world in his unique ways and how he has a childlike awe for things and how he is so passionate over the things he loves. The thing i love about vmin together is how they are so different yet work so hard on their relationship when it would be easier to just not try that hard.

Ah, another mention of the queen that is Blood, Sweat and Tears. The MV truly is such a masterpiece so I’m not surprised that it caught your attention, and especially Jimin since he was…something else in that MV, or like Tae said, his eyes were temptation (this boy, I swear). Since you mentioned how in the first years they were nowhere near as soft with each other as they are now, I think watching their dynamic and relationship change and evolve over time showcases the one thing I think a lot of people (as well as movies and TV shows) forget or gloss over, despite it being so incredibly important: in order to make a relationship of any kind work, especially in order for it to grow as deep and strong as the one between all members and especially vmin, you need to put in the emotional work to make that happen. You have to make an effort, have to learn to understand the other person and teach them to understand you as well, learn to appreciate and love their little quirks and how to accept others. And it’s so clear that that’s what vmin did, continue to do, and it more than paid off in the long run. I’m glad you highlighted that in general but also as something you love about them.

While the overall bond between the members is a class of its own, I think especially what vmin have achieved is a whole masterclass in relationships and fostering strong ones, in and of itself. There is a lot I think we can learn from them and I’m so happy that people recognize how special they are.

Thank you so much for your submission!

From anon: There’s this small moments in Dear Class of 2020 that i just adore! I’ve watched it at least 20 times this past month

It starts with “Spring Day”- tae and jimin laugh and look at each other and it’s just so sweet!

Also, maybe it’s my delusional mind but after tae’s and jin’s small and adorable moment- it seemed that jimin did the same with junkook right after maybe out of i duuno if jealousy but like “pay attention to me too” kinda way- dont know really and maybe it’s me being extra🤷🏻‍♀️

I agree partially, in that Jimin watched Tae’s and Seokjin’s adorable moment, obviously must’ve thought of it as cute just like we did, and thought he could do the same with JK. I don’t think it had anything to do with jealousy, especially if we work off of the idea that vmin are a thing, but also because it’s a performance and these things primarily serve the purpose of being cute and entertaining use, in other words, it’s fanservice (which isn’t the evil word some portray it as). Also, within that same performance, Tae and Jimin actually sang some of the lyrics toward each other, therefore they, too, had a cute moment they shared with big smiles and everything, just like you mentioned.

But we’ve gotten to see much more of Tae’s friendship with Seokjin in 2020, and especially the second half, so it was really sweet to see them interact during that song. Their friendship and dynamic is really a beautiful one, just like JKs bond with Seokjin, which I feel we’ve also gotten to see more of in recent months. Part of me (and that part can very well be wrong) feels that perhaps once the members caught on to Seokjin feeling the way he said he did/does, they decided to give him an extra dose of love and affection, off camera but also on where we can see it. That isn’t to say that they didn’t show him any of that before, but maybe they increased the intensity a little, a reminder that Seokjin truly is loved, that he deserves all of this, that it’s just his imposter syndrome (or at least what sounds like it) lying to him.

I’m still so touched and moved by the fact that he trusted us enough to share his feelings with us, to gift us Abyss and how it came to be, and that Bang PD was on his side and coaxed him into pouring his feelings into music, even if it would be “bad”, that the fear of it potentially being “bad” shouldn’t hold him back (and Namjoon helping in even if just a tiny bit with the lyrics). It was one of those times where I feel like we were all reminded that regardless of our opinions of BH and their doings, the members are surrounded by kind people who have their best interest in mind. After all what’s good for Bangtan is also good for the company, a win-win for everyone.

…wow, okay, I kind of went off on a tangent, I’m sorry…

Either way , then we have “Mikrokosmos” where we have a sweet moment at their part and towards the end where they switch mic and hear each other

I love this performance overall and especially “spring day”- jin’s and j-hope’s lovely voices and of course tae’s!! This song fits them so well and all the members of course

Well this is my rent , i love your blog and always wait for another post! Also i love the new idea and look forward to it!

Thank you so much for your submission and for bringing up their Dear Class 2020 performance. It was a truly magical one, and after reading this the first time, I did go and watch it again. To this day I’d still very much like to know how and when and why the mic switch between vmin happened, and I kind of hope that we might get a Bangtan B*mb or EPISODE about this eventually and it might shine some light on that question. Overall it was one of my favorite performances on 2020.

From Sky: While I enjoy cute, physical moments with VMIN, I really do value how emotionally attached they are to each other. For example (I don’t know if it fits as vmin moment but), I love how Jimin asked V to take the Promise cover photo, and how he ended up putting V’s name for credits on the cover. (Special Thanks to V, Best Photographer) This really shows a lot. Coz he can easily choose any Bighit photographer to take it. He could have chosen JK because we know how he takes good pics and vids too (and also apparently alot of people say that vmin had a falling out and that Jimin and JK were much more closer, lol). Or he could’ve asked Suga too bec he’s into cameras too. But he didn’t. He chose V, and chose to shout it out to the world how thankful he is for V’s help. RM co-wrote Promise, and maybe had offered more help in this project, but he didn’t put it in the cover. I’m not saying Jimin is ungrateful for not crediting RM in the cover. The difference is that he and RM had a vlive regarding the making of this song, a lot of people already know RM’s participation, he was officially credited as co-writer and Jimin really showed how thankful he is to RM. But no one knows of V’s participation (except for a snippet in that Run ep), so Jimin felt the need to tell it to everyone. I’m sure it’s not only the photos, I think he wanted to acknowledge how V helped him through the process, whether directly or indirectly. Also, remember this is Jimin’s first non-album solo single. By putting V’s name in it, he is sharing this very special song with his soulmate. How endearing it is! V also included Jimin in his first full English song. He used the two bears given by Jimin as Winter Bear’s cover photo and he included the photo Jimin took (sleeping V in the plane) in the MV. Like, seriously, they are trying to consciously imprint each other in their life’s milestones, openly or subtly. I’m crying. 😭

This was lovely, and yes, Jimin could’ve asked whoever to take those pictures, could’ve chosen any other ones, and yet he wanted Tae to be the one to take them, wanted those specific ones as covers. It’s very sweet and creates this subtle connection between Jimin, the song, and Tae. Sure, it isn’t the first time a picture Tae took is the cover for a SoundCloud song (the picture of JK on the 2U cover was also taken by Tae if I remember correctly), but it’s the fact that Promise is Jimin’s first non-BTS song, his first solo release, that makes it that much more special. Even more so when you think about how meaningful that song is to Jimin, and by having Tae as cover picture photographer, he’s in a way forever attached memory wise to that song as well, right?

The same also goes with Winter Bear and the two ceramic bears. Remember how excited Tae looked when I kinda spoiled that gift being a thing happening in an upcoming RUN episode during Jimin’s vlive during the summer 2019? Adorable. It’s also curious how though the title is singular—winter bear not winter bears—there’s two ceramic bears. One for Tae, one for Jimin? Maybe, or maybe I’m reading too much into it. Either way, it’s really cute, and it was a very thoughtful gift, even more when we think about just how much Jimin loves that song.

From anon: Love this idea it's super cute!! 1st thing that came to my mind is a rather simple moment, jimin bopping taehyung's nose and making a lil game out of it

Taehyung asking for more and that dazed smile 🥺 he had the same expression in that concert when jimin placed his face just above him, tae's smile afterward... it was so pure u could almost read "love" in his eyes lol

What a lovely note to end this post at, thank you for that. I don’t know what got into them during that photoshoot for Season’s Greetings 2020 but this was so disarmingly adorable. I remember when that moment appeared all over every sns and everyone just melted, myself included. Their smiles, the cute clothes, Tae’s head on Jimin’s chest, the softness and innocence of it, just all of it. It truly was so pure and like this sweet visualization of ‘love’.

And with that, we’ve reached the end. Did you like this? I had a great time reading your submissions and adding my little comments to them. If you’d like for us to continue this, same rules as last time, send in a submission marked with “VMC” and once we’ll have enough of them gathered, we’ll do this again, if you’re interested in more, that is. Send in whatever positive vmin you have, a thought, a moment, a memory, whatever you’d like.

Thank you once again to everyone who participated! :)

[snowbellewells]

Self-Promo Sunday: “A Cottage by the Sea”

Good news, shipmates!! There’s a reason I am promo-ing this fic this Sunday. I finally have a new (and rather lengthy) update for this long neglected fic ready to go tomorrow. It’s been such a while though that I felt like I should tease it a bit and put the story back in peoples’ memories - as well as post easy links to the previous chapters. To those who have been waiting, I am truly sorry. After this, there should only be one more part, more of an epilogue really, so you shouldn’t have too much more waiting in store...

(Also always, a HUGE thank you to @searchingwardrobes for the stunning fic cover art!  And to @kmomof4 and the @cssns20 for patience as this story stretched out so long, and for the reblogs and recognition.)

Summary: Princess Emma has always been drawn to the shores of Misthaven, where the sea meets the sand near her parents’ castle. When an unknown boy washes up on the beach, with eyes as fathomless and blue as the waters that brought him to her, he soon becomes Emma’s best friend, her partner in crime, and her other half.  But the tides give and the tides take away, and as her blue-eyed boy sails in her father’s navy and risks all in defense of those who made him family, unexpected danger and challenge will try to tear them apart, and might well show him just where he came from that day he first appeared to her from the sea…

Previous chapters here on Tumblr: Prologue  Part One  Part Two  Part Three  Part Four

Previous chapters on AO3: Prologue     Part One    Part Two    Part Three    Part Four

And, as promised, a bit of a teaser for the tomorrow’s update... ;)

“...No sooner had Emma been able to swallow hard in a throat suddenly parched with apprehension, her fingers clenched in the material of Killian’s sleeve, above all else determined she wouldn’t let him be taken from her again, when everything around them went horribly, unnaturally still. The waves, the wind, all their surroundings silently seeming to hold their breath before chaos broke loose. For one last moment, she and her lieutenant fixed their eyes on each other; wordlessly swearing to see each other on the other side, whether or not it was within their power to follow through on such a promise. Then he turned to face his sire - if one could truly be made to believe that the monstrous captain towering over them at the prow of the other ship could have had any connection to the true and honorable man Killian had become. Intending to remain at his back, to do whatever she could to help him fight and keep them afloat, Emma straightened her shoulders and stiffened her spine as they waited and watched.

Sound and fury returned to the world around them as the accursed captain reached the very helm of his ship, bringing him fully into view as his low, malevolent chuckle at their show of resolve seemed to set the waves crashing and churning once more. “Oh ho, Killian, you’ve brought your intended to our long-awaited reunion, have you? Not particularly well-advised, but she is a pretty wench. I supposed I can see why you’d be loath to leave her behind.”

Killian’s frown deepend, the muscle in his jaw working as he bit down on his anger. Those eyes that she usually likened to the brilliance of a summer sky or the blue of his beloved ocean were instead lit with the pale fire of the hottest of flames at Davy’s callous words. “Hardly,” he clipped in a low growl. “I had no intention of meeting you at all. And I’ll not have you getting anywhere near Emma.”

“Is that so?” Davy snarled, his own temper seeming to erupt at his offspring’s defiance. “We’ll just see about that!”

The waves their little boat floated upon suddenly seemed propelled forward, rising on a towering crest of water as if drawn to Davy’s hand. Skilled a sailor as Killian was, there was no steering them anywhere else when the very elements were turned against them. The air seemed to quiver just as Emma found herself doing, as they came face-to-face with the accursed being. The boards of the vessel beneath their feet groaned and creaked as the frothing sea bearing it seemed ready to dash it to kindling. The air whistled and howled, whipping her hair against her face until she was nearly blinded. And yet, she saw the horrifying shade who faced them, the dark cloud of obsession clouding eyes which might once have been clear and striking as the sons he claimed as his own. He stood taller than the average man, seeming even larger with the wild hair and wide-brimmed, ostentatiously old-fashioned hat atop his head. All his dress was from a more ornate and bygone age, and yet looked gone to ruin rather than impressive; almost mildewed, or perhaps it was a growth of some sort of moss or coral upon his apparel after so long within the sea. Beyond the visible appearance however, the aura of evil power practically radiated from his being, and Emma felt herself draw back before even realizing she had done so.

Pleased with the nightmare impression he never failed to make, Davy Jones chortled in maniacal glee. “Oh yes, I see you there, Princess. Try not to fret overmuch. No matter how brave, they always cower before me in the end.”

She wanted to contradict his words, to call back that Killian wasn’t afraid and that she believed in him, but Emma found her tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth, speechless and unable to react other than to stare, frozen, until with one last murderous crow, Davy cackled, “You’re both in my clutches, and no hope to escape. Look your last on the world above...”

Tagging a few who might be interested... @cssns @jennjenn615 @kmomof4 @searchingwardrobes @whimsicallyenchantedrose @laschatzi @teamhook @revanmeetra87 @spartanguard @therooksshiningknight @optomisticgirl @tiganasummertree @linda8084 @lfh1226-linda @jrob64 @stahlop @elizabeethan @donteattheappleshook @winterbaby89 @resident-of-storybrooke @darkcolinodonorgasm @thislassishooked @xsajx @drowned-dreamer @thisonesatellite @shireness-says @aloha-4-ever​ @ultraluckycatnd​

[sepublic]

Wing it like Witches!

           Let me tell you- I was WORRIED this episode would make me sad and angsty, but instead it just made me happy and all warm inside! I know that sounds super-corny but like…

           I LOVED this episode! I was worried from the promo pic that Boscha’s bullying would really get to Luz, Gus, and Willow, but… It didn’t! I mean, it still got to WILLOW hence the entire episode, but otherwise Luz and Gus were less “Wow I’m really being reminded of my insecurities from bullying” and more “I can’t believe she ACTUALLY did that. She wasted her entire school day doing that. This girl is NUTS, is she okay back home?”

           (The more I see of Boscha, the more I have to wonder if she IS okay back home… Obviously not crippled with self-loathing to the extent that Amity is, but never mind.)

           What’s really surprise to see though; LILITH IS A RED-HEAD!?!? I remember seeing that first pic of young Eda with two other classmates, one of whom was obscured and the other had glasses; And I thought, is THAT girl Lilith, could it be? Is the girl with the obscured face the one who stole Lilith’s lunch money, potentially that favorite character from Season 2 that Dana alluded to? My mind is racing, but either way young Eda and Lilith are utterly adorable! I do have to wonder if what Lilith had to say about Eda’s bad memory was just a jab, or something more… Given that the show has alluded to Eda possibly having amnesia with MORE than just her curse…!

           Speaking of which; LILITH AND EDA GETTING ALONG! Well, sort of- I mean they’re technically adversarial by the end of this episode, but only technically. Lilith knows where the Owl House is, finally; And we get to see in this episode just how capable Hooty really IS as a security system, surprisingly enough! He even manages to capture LILITH; Though to be fair, she may not have been super-invested in the mission given this was her sister we’re talking about, but still! Coupled with Hooty mercilessly tearing apart those toys in Adventures in the Elements, and I have to wonder if he’s ever, like… KILLED people before, y’know?

           …Maybe I don’t want that answer. Regardless, I love Luz’s little cheeky interference with Eda’s game, but Eda still manages to win by her last trick; Just pure, genuine skill and talent! That was a twist, I was expecting Eda to have another cheat or to be caught by Lilith, but as I said before… Eda isn’t humble, and for a GOOD reason! Lilith ain’t no slouch either, and I love that King willingly donned a cheerleader outfit just to offer support! I mean, maybe Eda MADE him, but otherwise he didn’t seem to have much of an issue so long as it was just at home!

           And… I LOVE the little small moments between Eda and Lilith, where… Lilith KNOWS she has to turn her sister in, she’s getting desperate, but it’s also low-key breaking her heart to do this! And when she loses the match and just… FALLS on her knees in despair, questioning herself, and Eda picking her up? Giving her that signature ring, just to make Lilith look better? I… I LOVE these sisters, why can’t they make up?! Lilith isn’t even aiming to imprison Eda, she just wants her to join the Emperor’s Coven and continue doing stuff alongside her, like old times!

           And Eda… Eda still needs her autonomy, but she knows that Lilith isn’t some cruel person. She knows that Lilith loves her sister and wants the best, that she’s in a terrible position; Eda knows how stifling the Coven System is, and while being beneath Belos provides a lot of power… It also provides a lot of PRESSURE as well! Sure, Lilith chose this… But Eda still believes that Lilith is deserving of kindness and compassion!

           (Let me tell you, considering I don’t think we’ve seen any Eda clips past this episode, I was LEGIT afraid she’d get captured by the end… thank goodness!)

           What’s also fascinating to note is that Emperor Belos was in charge since fiftyyears ago; Given the speculation that Eda isn’t as old as she looks, this indicates Belos is PRETTY old himself, by a large margin; Especially when one considers how long-lived Bump is! It’s a small moment telling us how he established the Coven Heads five decades ago, but I really appreciated it; And in general, this episode seems to be our final, light-hearted breather before we get into the REALLY heavy stuff… Keep in mind, our last two episodes were originally planned to air side-by-side, like a two-part season finale! On a lesser note, we see the Heximal System teacher giving a History lesson, confirming what I suspected earlier; That some subjects include students from all tracks, simply because the subject-matter applies across any and all covens, and History is one of them! Love the small world-building here!

           Given how we don’t see anything else of Willow and Gus past that scene in Belos’ treasury, I have to wonder… What if those two get captured, and only Luz can escape? Amidst King –and possibly Eda- being taken as well, Luz might be looking at a one-man operation here! Which just makes her all the more impressive… Like looking at her now, even if she DOES lose against Lilith; She’d still have been going toe-to-toe with the Head of the Emperor’s Coven, even if only briefly! Luz has come a far way away from where she started as just a powerless human, and has amassed FOUR glyphs; Light, Ice, Plant, and Fire!

           And BOY HOWDY is she good at them! Seriously, I bet she could’ve easily beaten Boscha in a Witch’s Duel if she wanted; Though it’s worth noting that according to Willow, Grudgby is apparently the only language she speaks… Given that shot of her room at the beginning, I have to wonder if that’s where her MAIN self-worth lies in! In the beginning Boscha acknowledges to herself that she’s hated, ‘so long as she is feared’; And her monologue low-key gives me, “Doesn’t know how to make friends so copes by putting herself above everybody else and overinflating her own self-importance under the impression that people are just secretly jealous!” vibes. (In some ways she’s like Grace from Infinity Train…)

That aside, I just get a sensation of pride from seeing how adept and adaptable Luz is, and the way she learned Fire from Boscha of all people –Which I called!- is both hilarious but goes to show what kind of a learner she is… I feel like Eda, like we’ve watched our kid grow and get stronger and I can’t WAIT to see what she pulls off next! Amidst her learning Magic and then defying the Coven System… you go Luz, YOU GO!

           And, it seems I’m not the only person who shares this sentiment! Even after Boscha’s bullying, we don’t see anybody beyond her gang make fun of Luz and co.! When Willow gets trashed poured on her, some students are watching, but… They seem kind of disturbed by it all? They’re not outright vouching on her behalf like Luz, possibly because Boscha is watching; But still! It is SO cathartic to see Willow being beloved by the entire school like that, even if she’s keeping her friend-circle to a select few; People LIKE her, and it’s what she deserves! Like Luz, I’m SO proud…!

           I’m still disappointed we didn’t get the names of Boscha’s other friends, but I really like their inclusion here! I liked how they all seemed rather uncomfortable with seeing Luz forfeit, only to be made Boscha’s target practice; And how Luz is so bright, bubbly, and infectiously-cheerful, spreading her good will to others! Like, this girl is TOO kind, and so loving… She has no bounds and I love how those other girls are even affected by Luz, genuinely enjoying her and wanting to be friends, alongside having Willow as a teammate! I have to wonder if they’ll ditch Boscha after this… Or at the very least, try to talk her down as friends of Boscha that she actually cares about and vice-versa (compared to Amity, who has always been cold towards Boscha, hence why her talking wouldn’t have made a difference)!

           Speaking of Amity… C’mon, girl. Your CRUSH is showing, the way you’re getting flustered, imagining seeing Luz in a ‘cute’ uniform and everything… Gus being utterly confused, but you can tell that the gears in Willow’s head are turning and honestly; She’s all for it, likely! I think this is the first time Amity has had an ACTUAL crush on someone she can talk to, instead of some distant figure or a fictional character! It’s so heartwarming seeing her navigate it, getting to actually deal with feelings like a kid is supposed to be allowed to do! And Luz being clueless… That, or she thinks Amity is into WILLOW, which makes a lot of sense too!

           (After all, Luz knows that her parents wouldn’t approve of her being Amity’s girlfriend… But Luz, you have NO idea how much she cares, she literally loves you more than she fears them! And Amity, knowing that her parents wouldn’t approve and struggling with this no doubt, but her love for Luz is really shining through over all of that!)

           To put it simply; Luz is FRIEND-shaped, she’s lovable, there’s no escaping liking her! Maybe Boscha will always be a bully, and I know one might call it ‘cliché’… But honestly I’d love to see Boscha eventually warm up to Luz and HER infectious positivity as well! Also, I saw that twist with the Rusty Smidge coming from a mile away, and I love how Luz low-key gets into a genuine rant over it! Although the loss doesn’t matter, as Luz’s team was clearly more adept and Boscha’s friends don’t seem interested in forcing Luz and her friends to do all of that other stuff…

           Anyhow, I love seeing Amity stand up for her friends, and when she says that her social life has improved because she’s with Luz, in spite of Boscha’s claims… I really CAN see her standing up to her parents, sometime later! I speculated a while back that depending on how her and Luz’s relationship in Enchanting Grom Fright goes, it’d really impact what Amity does later down the line, and I was right! But it IS worth noting that Amity may not yet know that Luz has to leave… King and Eda know, and the former mentioned this in front of Willow and Gus! It’s possible that Luz has laid out her plans to return every summer (and during winter break and whatnot), which would definitely lessen Amity’s angst by an infinite amount! And seeing as how she has instantaneous access to the Demon Realm, who’s to say she can’t pop in every day, after school! Sure she might not be actively living in the Owl House anymore, but otherwise…!

           On another note with Amity, I love her and Luz getting to geek out over The Good Witch Azura, and it’s funny to see the show confirm what I wondered about earlier; About Amity secretly making Azura references in public, under the knowledge that nobody would recognize them and realize she’s a nerd… But LUZ does now, and the two can bond! Also, Amity getting to have fun with Luz and co. at the end, being CARRIED by Luz, fully accepted into the home… I know you also have the library as a safe space Amity, but you’ve also got the Owl House as well! And it seems Hooty bears no grudges, either!

           Also, someone speculated recently that Amity has her goth-sense from Lilith… and given the implication that Lilith dyed her hair, I can REALLY SEE IT! I’m disappointed we didn’t get any interactions between the two… But the way it was set up, I feel like if Eda and Lilith were there they’d be too busy cheering on their kids respectively! Or not, we’ve seen them prioritize their feud in Covention… But back then Luz and Amity weren’t on the same team!

           Back to Amity, it’s interesting that she used to be on the Grudgby team, and was good at it, even being CAPTAIN when Boscha wasn’t; But then explicitly quit when she accidentally hurt some of her ‘friends’ merely once. Even if she never cared for them in the past, even if this was before she met Luz and learned to be kind and open again… She was ALWAYS someone who was self-conscious of her actions! And sure, the issue is that Amity is a LITTLE too self-conscious, constantly berating herself, holding herself accountable for every mistake… But regardless, it says a lot how guilty she feels to have hurt her teammates, even if it was an accident and a one-time incident that resulted in victory!

           I’ll probably do ANOTHER post about it later, but it says a lot; How Amity feels like she should step up as a Blight, and she DOES outshine the others… But because of that inherent guilt but also compassion, she actually quits Grudgby out of guilt! Which leads me to the idea that even if she tolerated Boscha and co., she wouldn’t have wanted to hurt them; Again, because she’s critical of herself, but also because Amity isn’t cruel and it may have reminded her of how she treated Willow! I have to respect and fear for Amity on quitting Grudgby after that…

           Again, I think she has the issue of being too overtly-critical of herself, and that it’s honestly THE issue that defines her problems; But on the other hand, I feel like Amity’s parents would’ve been displeased to see their star child quit the team, just for hurting some ‘lesser’ witches? I’m scared for what may have happened to Amity, but it also says a lot that she made a potentially defiant move simply because she didn’t want to hurt yet another friend…

           (That, or her parents wanted Amity to focus on Abominations and other studies, and coupled with Amity’s guilt, it was the perfect opportunity to get her off the team. Which would be sad, but not surprising.)

           Anyhow, I just think it’s interesting that Boscha and co. don’t ever seem to have any resentment towards Amity until recently. It’s possible Boscha DID dislike Amity up until she stepped down… But it makes me wonder if Boscha, like, looked up to Amity and wanted her approval and attention? Given how she’s always framed as following Amity… Perhaps Amity stepping down led to Boscha taking the spotlight, and so Boscha feels indebted towards Amity for her fame (and potential source of self-worth)?

           Last but DEFINITELY not least; Somebody else (I’m sorry I keep forgetting) alluded to how in Understanding Willow, there was the issue set up of Luz meaning the best for friends… But also sometimes invading their privacy, or overriding what they want, so she can live out her fantasies at the same time! And, like- A big part of her IS doing this for her friends, that much is clear… But Luz does have an issue sometimes with clearing fantasy from reality! It’s a more advanced lesson from the one she learned in Episode 2, continuing off of that, and I LOVE it!

           Like, I really do LOVE how Luz recognizes in this episode that even if a part of her is motivated in helping Willow, she’s also using this as a chance to live out her underdog Azura fantasies, and how Willow points this out to her… and Luz realizes that she’s right! She actively MAKES a change to her behavior, and makes up for it by fixing Willow’s hairclip and even forfeiting on Willow’s behalf and taking all the punishment… All because she doesn’t want her friend to be uncomfortable! Man, Luz is SO ridiculously kind, I keep saying she’s my favorite but she REALLY IS! What a lovable dork, no wonder Boscha and her friends are falling for her!

           (Also RIP Skara, you were the fourth one in a team of three. Although given how she helped carry Luz and Amity in the previous episode, amidst already having more screen time… I can see this as a way for the writers to give more of a spotlight to Boscha’s other friends, while subtly acknowledging that Skara likely has gotten over her bias towards Luz and the others. I wonder if Boscha also noticed and that’s why she was left out; That, or she’s the least-skilled? I dunno, but it was neat to see and I’ll overanalyze the moment regardless!)

           On a lesser note; Willow’s last name is Park, which is a Korean surname! Coupled with her VA’s ethnicity and Willow/Tati Gabrielle being listed amongst other Asian rep characters and VAs, and I think it’s safe to say that she’s the Boiling Isles equivalent to Asian; Which let me tell you, is VERY nice to see!

           Overall, this was an AMAZING episode! It was a heartwarming, feel-good episode that reaffirmed character relationships and love while still expanding on them, adding in more friends to the group… It was pretty much nothing but happy moments and revelations! Obviously things are setting up in the next two episodes to go REALLY crazy, especially with Luz potentially getting banned from Hexside for defying Lilith and Belos… But it’s clear to say that she’s left QUITE the good impression on the administration and students! And I can see some even vibing with Luz’s ideas even after she gets kicked out… Perhaps Luz will unknowingly start a rebellion of sorts?

[reallyhardy]

regent’s open air theatre LSOH (2018) breakdown

act one. herein, two years later, i try to remember as much as i can about this production with the help of gifs i took from the trailer and shutterstock images. let’s go!

THE BEGINNING. i went to see a matinee so it was daytime, but the stage set was all black-and-white very newspaper aesthetic. my sister and i were very close to the front, five rows back:

and here we are, excited for everything to begin. (note my giant tooth earrings. was really hoping they’d catch matt willis’ eye.) soon enough crystal, ronette and chiffon took the stage for the prologue, belted their faces off and got me hype from the first moment. their costumes were kind of punky, street style (my favourite look was on the girl with the green jacket and shiny leggings:)

skid row was great. the grey set really highlighted the colourful costumes, and for this first number the set stayed black-and-white so the only colour were the main characters and urchins, and the ensemble wore black-and-white costumes.

and i remember being so thrilled by the costumes - in this photo seymour is wearing yellow socks but by the time i went to see it they were pink (to match audrey’s hair!) and audrey is wearing fluffy slide slippers in the promo photos but when i saw it she wore a pair of blue open-toe kitten heels.

once the song ended we got to see some character personality: marc antolin as seymour was adorable. he was (for most of the first act at least) very goofy and beamed a lot, he had a very cute smile. his voice was quite high and nasal and silly and i honestly had a really big crush on him. jemima rooper as audrey was equally sweet and adorable - she had a cotton candy pink wig and started off in kind of a sexy-ish outfit, with a sheer off-shoulder top over a bra. her eye makeup was light blue (and the bruise bright purple) and she was really short compared to seymour. mushnik was super tiny and greasy looking.

every interaction seymour and audrey had was just! so cute. at the start where audrey and mushnik discuss orin (the ‘you don’t meet nice boys on skid row’ conversation,) seymour is stood behind them kind of goofing around and he flips his shirt collar up pretending to be orin and acting macho but at the end of the scene audrey goes quiet and carefully fixed his collar back down before she left and it was!!! emotions.

da doo i can’t remember anything about how things looked :( during grow for me it really highlighted how…cute seymour was. he beamed the whole time, and the plant puppet in its baby form was fantastic, (the pod head at the top opened up and had little human teeth lmao) and they used like… household objects painted green for plants. the roses were red toilet brushes:

with red ink on them so when seymour touched the bristles there was visible blood on his finger which was fun. lots of attention to detail in this production.

seymour on the radio i think happened off-stage? so we just hear him being interviewed while we watch mushnik and the urchins listen to the radio together. the choreography during you never know was really fun too, with seymour and the urchins dancing together, seymour did a lot of hip wiggles and kept trying to stop audrey ii from trying to bite at the urchins as he danced. one of the green ping-pong balls fell off the puppet but nobody slipped on it so it was fine. also GOD the voices of the urchins were just so good in this one.

somewhere that’s green is a song that makes me cry most of the times i listen to it or watch any versions of LSOH, but this is the first time i’d seen a version where audrey was also crying. during this number the actress climbed up onto the top of the mushnik’s store prop and she still had the bright purple black-eye makeup on as well as the cast on her arm so she looked so beat down and sad and it was just toward the end of the song at ‘i’m his december bride’ where her singing started to break down and she started crying, and covered her face by the time she got to ‘far from skid row’ with her voice breaking oh my god the tears were flowing VERY much from my eyes.

and as a note the actress did not have this beautiful wig on when i saw it, she wore one with much less volume - it could have been the same wig just styled differently, (tucked under/trimmed to be just sort of...round?) but it was just... so much less cute lmao, you can just about see it here in this cast mirror selfie:

anyway. then it was time for closed for renovation! this one was fun, audrey and seymour i think were just...arranging plants and other things? the ‘mushniks’ shop prop might have expanded a bit? they turned it around?

there were some cute little dancey bits with the three of them together:

then audrey & seymour talk a bit. audrey gives seymour the kind of advice that she also needs to be taking herself -- seymour asks audrey if she’d go shopping with him, and then orin arrives on the scene.

dentist was amazing. i’ve seen a lot of bootlegs of kind of lackluster orin scrivellos but… well, me and my sister decided we were absolutely going to see this production when we found out matt willis was playing the dentist. (we were big busted fans lol) he wore this insane painted leather jacket with this tooth-themed biker gang design (he and his backup dancers all had hell’s teeth on the backs of their jackets) and his dentist coat underneath had the sleeves ripped off to show his tattoos… they gave him white foundation to make him look i guess more ill/joker like? it totally worked. he honestly kinda stole the show and he totally exceeded my expectations (which is saying something because my expectations were that he’d be perfect for the role and that i’d enjoy his performance thoroughly!!!)

then he comes into the shop, comments on the plant, poses around, treats audrey terribly. and not only does he abuse audrey in front of seymour who iirc was watching horrified (as you would) but also poor seymour gets his junk grabbed twice by villains in this production too lmao, orin grabs and squeezes seymour’s junk while he’s yelling at audrey. it’s a theme i guess???

(hell of a promotion image, that one.) then orin and audrey leave and it’s time for mushnik and son. they did a lot of the usual ‘awkward-tango’ choreo and it was just excellent really. there’s nothing i didn’t enjoy about the number, plus mush was quite a short guy but had a real big voice.

you get a good view of all the fun things they used to represent plants here too: cleaning brushes, feather dusters, hairbrushes, a small fishing net, a bubble wand...

so feed me was great because it starts off of course with the plant puppet prop:

but then by the second verse (when it comes to ‘does this look inanimate to you’) they opened up the puppet’s leaves like a mouth and audrey ii in drag queen form emerged (to thunderous applause). [i found a short clip someone got on instagram a while back, you can watch it here!] she was holding a microphone in her hands so when it came to seymour’s responses she held out the mic to his mouth and it was :’) really funny. and seymour gets his junk grabbed again:

because he can’t catch a break. staging wise i think i remember this was very bisexual - it’s important to note that the first wig audrey ii wears strongly resembles the wig that OG audrey wears - and at times during this number audrey ii acts quite flirtatious with seymour and he seems receptive to it and has to visibly shake himself out of it.

audrey comes back for her sweater (iirc it was a VERY jazzy 1990s looking one in aqua green and pink) and seymour and audrey ii make up their minds about what to do with orin.

so seymour heads out - the dentists chair was just a beat-up shopping trolley with various things stuck on (see there’s what looks like a plunger, wrist restraints too lmao) and orin had a bunch of bloodied weapons such as a power drill instead of a dentist drill:

anyway i usually don’t enjoy now(it’s just the gas) as a number when i’ve seen it in bootlegs but again matt willis had tremendous feral energy and he pulled it off. plus the gear was quite retro-futuristic very cool looking:

it was also especially funny just after ‘now’ because after seymour runs off with orin’s body in the trolley he comes back in with it all chopped up and he was pushing dismembered limbs (the arm was even painted with matt willis’ tattoos and nail polish which was a GREAT detail) into the windows of the prop mushnik’s building that audrey ii was inside of, and he even threw up into the audience which was :’) gross but funny. it was yellow. i didn’t see if it splashed anyone.

then... intermission. will continue this in [part 2, which is here!]

[itsadamcole]

talk to me

fem!reader x kyle o’reilly

Kyle is upset after he loses his Takeover 31 match against Finn Balor. He refuses to talk to anyone, including the reader ... “please kyle, talk to me”

word count: 1.5k+

warnings: sad!kyle, fluff, implied sex, kind of NSWF (little touches here and there)

— kyle looked so sad in the promo the ue did the wednesday after takeover 31 and it made me sad. i wanted to write something with sad!kyle since he lost at takeover 31. i was gonna write something if he won too —

masterlist

***

You, Bobby, and Roddy all stand backstage watching the monitor while Kyle is in the ring with Finn Balor. Adam went off to the bathroom.

Kyle is in the most important match of his career, and he looks like he’s struggling.

He’s been struggling since Finn kicked his liver earlier in the match. He knees Finn in the jaw and Finn grabs at his mouth. Both him and Kyle are now bleeding from the mouth.

Finn hits his finisher, the Coup de Grace. He goes in for the pin and Kyle doesn’t move. His eyes are closed and he’s not moving. Your eyes widen a bit.

As soon as the ref gets the three count and Finn retains his title, you take off to the ring. Bobby and Roddy right behind you. You have no idea where Adam is but you assume he’ll be running out behind you three soon.

Kyle lays in the ring as Finn’s music blares. His eyes are open now but he looks really out of it. You kneel beside him and your hand is on his arm. “Kyle,” you say. “Kyle, are you okay?”

He doesn’t talk to you. He barely even looks at you.

“Adam!” Roderick shouts. You look over to see Ridge Holland holding Adam over his shoulder. Kyle sits up as Ridge throws Adam over the barricade. Roddy and Bobby run over to Adam.

Bobby asks Finn if he saw anything and he shakes his head. Roddy and Bobby help Adam to the back and you help Kyle. Bobby and Roderick ask Adam what happened but he still seems kind of out of it. He’s holding his ribs.

Kyle looks so upset that he lost. He looks like he’s about to start crying. It breaks your heart. You use part of your shirt to wipe away some blood that’s rolling down his chin.

Adam and Kyle are both assessed by the medical team. Adam has broken ribs and Kyle’s lip is all cut up, plus a bruised liver. Besides that, they’re both okay. No major injuries that will keep them out of the ring for an extended period of time.

Bobby, Adam, and Bobby are all talking about what happened after the match since he’s come to a little bit. You walk beside Kyle. He’s not talking, or looking at anyone.

The boys walk into their shared locker room. Kyle gets changed quickly and quietly.

“Kyle, you good bro?” Roderick asks.

He nods, not talking. You look at Roddy, concerned. Kyle’s not talking, not to you and not to the boys. He’s always so chatty, even after a loss.

This one must be hitting him kind of hard. Of course it is, he lost one of the most important matches in his career. He’s probably devestated.

Once Kyle’s changed, you say, “I think I’m going to get him home so he can rest.”

Bobby says, “Alright, sounds good.”

You hug all the boys. When you hug Adam goodbye, he says in your ear, “Make sure he’s okay and take good care of him. He’s hurting, physically and mentally. I know he’s probably being extremely critical of himself right now.”

You nod and say quietly, “I’ll call you if I need anything.”

Adam nods his head in response, letting you go.

You walk over to Kyle, who looks deep in thought. “Hey,” you say, grabbing his attention. “Let’s head home.” He looks down at you and nods. You lace your fingers with his and head out to your car.

Kyle is quiet the entire ride home. You occasionally glance over at him to see his face lit up by his phone light.

At a red light, you finally see what he’s looking at. He’s looking at clips from his match, he reading reactions.

“It was a very good match,” you say, trying to make him feel better. “Finn killed it, you killed it. I’m especially proud of you for winning the gauntlet match to make it to Takeover.”

Kyle just sighs softly and you pull up to your house that you live in with Kyle. Both of you get out. Kyle walks inside. You peddle right behind him, closing the front door. You hear footsteps up the stairs and a door shut upstairs as you kick off your sneakers by the front door.

You pout. You hate seeing Kyle like this. It breaks your heart seeing him upset about a loss. You almost wish you could go back in time and maybe even help Kyle get the win.

An idea pops into your head and you go into the kitchen. You grab a tub of Kyle’s favorite ice cream, which is vanilla and chocolate swirl, and two spoons. You walk up the stairs and down the little hallway to yours and Kyle’s shared room.

You walk in, opening the door quietly. Kyle is laying on the bed on his side, facing away from you. You notice that he’s breathing a little heavily and your heart falls into your stomach as you realize he’s crying.

After you put the tub of ice cream on your bedside table, you crawl into bed behind Kyle.

Soft sobs come from Kyle and you wrap your arm around his waist.

“Please Kyle, talk to me,” you say. “I hate seeing you like this.”

Kyle cries, “I feel like I failed you and that I failed the guys. I injured Finn on accident in the process. Tonight was supposed to be my night, Y/N.”

Your heart breaks even more as Kyle cries to you. You hold Kyle in your arms.

You say, “You didn’t fail anyone, Kyle. If anything, you made me and the boys proud tonight. You main evented Takeover for the first time in your career. That’s such an incredible achievement. As for injuring Finn, he’ll be okay. He’ll recover and be back in no time. Injuries in this line of work happen all the time.”

Kyle turns in your arms and looks at you. Tears run down his face and you wipe them away.

He says, “I’m sorry I couldn’t win the title. That was supposed to be for you.”

You hug Kyle as the two of you lay in bed as you say, “Title or no title, you’re my champion.” You smile at Kyle. “You’re NXT Champion Kyle O’Reilly to me.”

He gives you a breathy laugh and hold him in your arms.

You keep talking as you say, “I love you, Kyle. I’ll forever love you. No matter if you hold a title or not. That’s not why I fell in love with you. I didn’t fall in love with you because of the gold around your waist. I fell in love with you because you’re the funniest, coolest, and overall most amazing person I know.”

Kyle sniffs and smiles at you as you talk to him, trying to make him smile and feel better.

When you’re done talking, Kyle says, “I’m sorry I acted like this after the match. I was just upset that I lost. It was my first opportunity at a singles title in NXT and everything that went wrong did.”

You rest your hands on Kyle’s face when you see the tears falling down his cheeks again. You wipe the tears away as you say, “You did so well for your first singles title opportunity in NXT. I’m so proud of you, and I know the guys are proud of you too. Especially Adam. You’re allowed to be bummed after losing an important match. You’re allowed to act like this, but know that I’m right here to make you feel better.”

Kyle puts a hand on your waist and pulls you close to him, kissing you softly. His hand dips down to your butt, squeezing it softly. That’s when you know exactly what he wants.

“You can make me feel better by distracting me,” he mumbles against your lips. You were waiting for that statement before you did anything.

You giggle against his lips and move so you’re straddling his waist so he’s laying on his back on the bed.

You sit up and say, “You lay back and relax. I was told to take very good care of you so that is exactly what I’m going to do.” Your hands run gently up and down his chest, eventually slipping up the button of his shirt, pushing the black fabric up.

As soon as you’re done speaking, you and Kyle spend all night in bed. Once the clothes come off, which they do almost immediately after the conversation, you and Kyle are always either tangled up in each other or making love to each other.

You haven’t seen this side of Kyle since the two of you got married. He hasn’t made love to you in a while. He also wants to make sure that he doesn’t move too rough because of his liver injury.

Kyle made sure to take little breaks, especially for ice cream to keep his blood sugar at a level where he can keep going and to make sure that you’re okay.

The morning brings nothing but smiles and little kisses. You make Kyle breakfast in bed so he can rest. Of course, he’s interested in eating something else for breakfast. So you let it happen, leading to spending all day in bed.

[multimetaverse]

Jamie Johnson 5x07 Review

Tonight was a historic ep which saw Dillon Simmonds come out as gay and marks a major step forward for Jamie Johnson and the CBBC. For those of you who are trying to fill the Love Victor shaped hole in your hearts, Jamie Johnson is well worth watching and still has 6 eps left this season with a 6th season already confirmed. Let’s dig in!

After 43 eps of amazing character growth, Dillon Simmonds leads Phoenix to victory as they take the Cup and afterwards scores a personal triumph as he gathers the courage to come out as gay to Elliot. It’s hard to understate what a bold move this is for the show, to have a main character who’s been there right from the pilot, who was hated by the audience and is now a fan favourite, to now have him come out as gay. For a show that is targeted towards young boys this is an especially important move as it tears down stereotypes about gay people and it confronts the audience with the question of whether they’ll stop watching Dillon’s story now just because he’s gay. And kudos for the writers for not saving this for the final season, with at least one more season left they’ll have no choice but to develop this story line further

The reception on social media seems mostly positive and the CBBC to its credit has been promoting Dillon coming out with gay abandon. There are quite a few heartbroken Duby shippers but they really should have jumped ship after Ruby point blank said that she was over Dillon in 5x01. To be fair, I do get why Dillon being gay would come as a surprise; there really were no hints that Dillon was gay until S4; I don’t it’s a coincidence that S4 sees Dillon’s mom replaced with his homophobic dad and little brother. Which in all likelihood is because the writers never planned for Dillon to be gay until then. And S4 does end with Ruby still clearly crushing on Dillon and Sienna suggesting to her that Dillon likes her back which is then promptly dropped in S5. Most likely the writers didn’t have permission when writing S4 to go the route they’ve gone now and were planning to use Ruby to be the catalyst in Dillon’s coming out story by asking him out or something

Luckily we get to see this much more interesting story line. I have to blindly hope that the promo for next week is misleading and that Elliot isn’t going to out Dillon to Ruby. Fwiw someone commented on the CBBC insta post about Dillon coming out and said that they really hope Elliot wouldn’t out Dillon because that would go against the message the CBBC and the show is pushing about respecting people’s coming out journeys and the CBBC liked the comment. And even if Ruby found out Dillon was gay it’s not like she’d go and tell his dad that Dillon was hanging out with Elliot

I’m agnostic on the future of Delliot. I can’t ignore the built in escape hatch the show has with Elliot just being in town until his mom recovers; it’s not like a kid getting to go back home with his mom isn’t a happy ending. On the other hand it does seem somewhat pointless to have given Elliot a fleshed out personality and hobbies and to have given him and Dillon a connection if Elliot is just supposed to be Dillon’s gay Sherpa. The show has also really not done much in the way of ships but then again they had no problem having Dillon briefly date Indira and also be somewhat romantically linked to Sienna. As it looks like Dillon will end up at Foxborough it seems likely that S6 will delve into homophobia in sports and unless Dillon gets publicly outed there would have to be something that spurs him coming out; it’s not like his dad would spread that news around. Dillon wanting to date Elliot and not wanting to keep that part of his life a secret would be a good reason for him to come out. In conclusion, the future of Delliot is a land of contrasts

Jamie was really living up to Dillon’s old description of him as a sullen kid with a rubbish haircut. I’d say that he was treating Boggy like a dog but I don’t think Jamie would yell at a dog like that #justiceforboggy. Idk Jamie I think your deadbeat dad might be the one to blame for the accident. He really needs a wake up call and hopefully Boggy’s anxiety story line will see Jamie realizing what a great mate Boggy has been and will see him trying to make amends

Zoe made strides in being a better teammate with Kat but the longer she puts off returning the pendant the more it’s gonna blow up in her face when she does

Liam cheering for Foxborough over Phoenix was ruthless but very funny

It really is fascinating how little Jamie we saw this ep and how he’s not even shown in the promo for next week. There must be some difference in how tv contracts are structured in Britain compared to America because this would never happen on an American show. It’s great though and allows Jamie Johnson to be a true ensemble show, which will help greatly in S6 and hopefully beyond as the older kids will no longer all be playing on the same team

I’m not shocked that the show introduced a straight ship to balance out the gay story line but I am shocked that it was with Eric of all people. I’m not sure what the long term plan with it is but we’ll see what happens

Looking Ahead:

Mr. Simmonds telling Liam that he has the perfect role model in Dillon is pretty funny considering what we as the audience know about Dillon and about his father. Of course, Dillon and his journey to being a better person really is the perfect role model for Liam on his own redemption arc. It seems like Liam tells his dad that Dillon was hanging with Elliot instead of training but I’m not sure if Liam overhears their conversation and outs Dillon to their dad or if the dad somehow figures it out some other way or if Dillon comes out for whatever reason or if their dad doesn’t find out yet. It’s almost impossible to imagine him being supportive when he does find out and I wonder what that arc towards acceptance looks like for Mr. Simmonds

It’s going to be great to see two gay kids discussing their sexualities, it’s something that has still yet to happen on Disney since Love Victor was moved to Hulu. After next week all of Dillon’s scenes from the S5 trailer will have been shown with the exception of some clips of him playing a soccer game in a blue uniform at night against a team in red. You’d think the red team would be Foxborough but so I wonder who the blue team is (could be a dream sequence)

Looks like Liam also ends up with Eric for a bit. I’m sure that Liam will play an important role in Dillon’s coming out story and likely ends up defending Dillon to their dad but who knows how it all plays out, we’re in uncharted waters now

Until next week Jamie Johnsoners

[hellohellohellobingmetropcs]

Sum lite 🤨

Zion was ordered by management to apologize to the beanz on your behalf for your breakdown on live.

His jealous fans finally got under your skin after 4 months of officially dating. This being the reason Zion kept his relationship offline. You were no secret to his friends and fam.

Of course he’d subtweet you on the timeline so fans were under the impression there was a lady in his life, but who?

In a state of pure bliss and love you posted a pic of you and Zion from your camera roll, tagging him in the picture on your public Instagram.

The next morning fans poured in with the screenshot, summing up his subtweets and little hints with your picture to confirm the relationship.

Zion being the fan favorite member, making you the most hated girlfriend out the gang. The other guys’ girlfriends got hate but also received much more love from fans than you.

Out of boredom you decided to go live on Instagram, just seeing what was up in the world. You rolled your eyes at some comments, making a mental note to block the accounts later.

“None of you know me. Shit, you don’t even know Zion!”

You sighed in frustration, pulling your hair up in my messy bun. Now they were calling you rude and telling you that you didn’t deserve Zion.

“Everytime he posts a pic of us here comes 50 of you calling me a gold digger— on my life everything I have is because of me. Nobody gave me shit. I don’t ask Zion for shit. Anything he gives me is a gift”

Zion nodded to himself in agreeance as he watched the video with his headphones on.

PrettyMuch were flying back to California from Florida for some promo for their new album. First thing on his mind was to get back to you and shower you with his love which he knew you needed right now.

“Then there’s the ones who think I wanna steal clout. Bro fuck y’all. Honestly”

You reached down to Simba, setting him on your lap. You cuddled him, watching more and more hate comments fill your screen. As easy as it is to just turn off the screen, everyone knew you and Zion to be the outspoken couple. A thing never got past you two without being addressed.

“Y’all are delusional as fuck. You’re like 15 behind a fanpage and only spread hate? Go do your homework”

Zion grew a little angry with his supporters as the tears in your eyes welled up. He couldn’t wrap his head around why people that support him want to make his significant other feel bad. You’ve been nothing but quiet when fans disrespect you online because you understood what it was like to be boy crazy over a boy band in your teen years and not like the idea of your idol dating.

Today was where you’ve had enough because in person you’d never let the disrespect slide like that.

“I don’t even know why I’m upset. I don’t care about what y’all think. That’s my husband .. yes we’re married, don’t ask. I’m not going anywhere”

After the complied clips of the livestream came an old video of you two kissing. In the background Zion could hear himself say he loves you.

The video splattered a hint of blush across his yellow cheeks, making him eager to get home.

Time had crept up on you when Zion’s appearance startled you from your book. It was 11pm already and you knew he had a late flight so you stayed up.

“Are you mad?”

He chuckled, already knowing what you were referring to. “Baby you can’t just go off on fans like that”

“Z I’m sorry. They just ..” you let a harsh sigh, circling the room as the anger re-entered your veins.

“Don’t cry mamas. Talk to me”

You hadn’t noticed the hot tears falling from your eyes until Zion mentioned it, pulling you into a warm hug.

“they make me so mad” you muttered out.

“They’re kids babe. Calm down love” his thumb wiped away your tears, pressing his lips over your swollen pair.

“You’re smart, funny, sexy, crazy .. everything I want in a woman. Fuck them kids! I’m in love with you, not who they think you are on the internet”

“You’re quite the looker yourself kuwonu. I love you too”

“I’m gonna shower I’m tired”

“Tired?” His hands slid down your back, thumbs drawing circles over your back dimples “Baby let me put you to sleep”

You laughed at his devastation to come, spinning out of his grip and making your way towards the bathroom for a hot shower before bed. “My cycle is on you hornball”

He mentally cursed himself knowing he was waiting for this day since the day he left. His favorite hello and goodbye present is always sex. He’d be broke if he was paid to keep his hands off you.

You did as you said, falling right asleep instantly after the wash. Zion was in awe of how you’d mindlessly for for one of his shirts instead of actual pajamas at night.

Before the night was over he wanted to get the whole live situation out the way and under wraps.

He set up his laptop in his desk, heading straight to Instagram for a live session. Fans poured in with their thoughts and opinions on your from earlier, he read a few just to see where their heads were at before going in.

“Hey guys I just wanted to hop on here and say wassup” he waved to the camera, watching as greetings poured in from his devoted fans.

One question about you caught his attention. He stayed quiet as he pondered on how to address the situation.

Looking into the camera he could still see you sound asleep in his bed with his T-shirt on.

“Most of you know this .. (Y/N) is my girlfriend and she’s been around for a while now. Like she said she’s not going anywhere any time soon so get used to her. Also, be nice. The name-calling is childish and if you were a true fan of mine you’d understand she makes me really happy. I’d hate to lose her over something like my own fans bullying her. It makes me sad that I even have to address this .. bullying isn’t ever ok. I’ve talked to her about what she said and she’s really sorry if she offended anyone and if that’s not great enough, I am too. I love you all so much and I love (y/n) too. Okay now that that’s out the way I’m about to shower and hop in bed with my lady. I’m really tired. So much new shit coming to you guys so stay tuned! Bye guys”

On that note he ended the live, doing exactly as he planned. The cool night air whipping around your body as he lifted the covers to slide into bed with you after his shower. The bed sank in on his side making you roll into him, wrapping your arms around him. He smiled to himself, dropping a hand on your ass per usual as his own tiredness took over him.

Masterlist

[haus-of-wu]

in celebration of zhoumi’s starry night being released,

buckle in kids, here’s the crash course to super junior M (cue airhorns)

SJM (M standing for Mandarin) was formed in 2008, and was SM’s first group to directly target the Chinese(-speaking) market. Similar to the way other Korean artists had made debuts in Japan and released Japanese content, SM wanted to do the same but in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other Chinese-speaking markets. (yum capitalism)

If Super Junior’s original rotating/graduation concept was the predecessor to NCT, Super Junior M was the precursor to SM’s younger Chinese-facing groups, EXO-M and WayV. The key difference I’d point out is that SJM is perhaps the most intentionally multilingual in terms of their track releases; they always record a Korean version of their mini album title track, and Perfection also had a Japanese version. Meanwhile, EXO-M was separate from EXO-K at the beginning because they had two distinct groups of 6 promoting the same song in two different languages, while WayV only (so far) releases in Mandarin (barring the English version of Love Talk).

The original lineup consisted of Hangeng, Zhoumi, Siwon, Donghae, Ryeowook, Kyuhyun, and Henry. After Hangeng left SJ/SM, they added in Eunhyuk and Sungmin to round the group out to 8 members.

There was a ton of controversy surrounding the addition of Zhoumi and Henry, because they were not part of the original 12-13 members (RIP kyuhyun for not being part of Twins/Knockout LMAO) that made up Super Junior. K-ELFs were worried that adding new members would take the spotlight away from current members and hurt the group as a whole. This “conflict” was handled very poorly, which lead to SM drawing a line between Super Junior and Super Junior M membership. Zhoumi and Henry were officially confirmed to be SJM-only members, and would never promote with SJ proper.

Video/track list for the uninitiated, and for those looking for a trip down memory lane (I’ve mostly picked live performances bc the MVs and lyric vids are fairly easy to find) below the cut!

SJM’s discography mostly falls into two easily distinguishable buckets: the SJ funky sound (think Sorry Sorry, Bonamana, Mr. Simple, Sexy Free & Single), and (Chinese) ballads.

I was also noticing while compiling their signature songs that SJM’s lyric content is generally heavily centered around love and relationships

Super Girl

You’re my super girl, I’m your super man

He can’t see your beauty, the magic hidden behind your ordinary appearance

I’d do anything for you

If he says he likes you, he would wait on you even if he’s busy

(TLDR SJM said dump your subpar man who doesn’t give you the time of day)

Their OG title track that made me fall in love with them go feral in 2008 - it’s a bop. This video also gives us leader/center Hangeng.

(this is also the song Donghae was singing during that one clip where suju pretends to forget how super clap goes)

If you watch the MV, you get SNSD’s Jessica making a cameo appearance in the house party scenes.

Perfection

It won’t do to be too rushed, love with shatter under (brute) force It won’t do to go too slow, so I’ll move at your speed

Just for you, I constantly give and I give Is it right for me to love you like this?

My heart keeps pounding, I want to see you My heart keeps pounding, I like you My heart keeps pounding, it’s all you My heart keeps pounding, I love you

Tell me you miss me Tell me you love me

I really have to thank Perfection for giving us the longest all-English rap in Super Junior history...even if the SM English is quite c r i n g e (it didn’t hit me till recently that Suju’s love for singing “boom” and “clap” started with Perfection)

something about this title track also makes me go feral (is it minor key? is it the ending verse/breakdown?)

Breakdown

My cold front breaks down for you All of my (facial) expressions reveal the way I worship you

Even if I’m covered in scars, I won’t mind if it’s for you

Maybe you think I’m too crazy (yeah you can call me crazy) In fact, I also agree with this (but I can’t stop loving you)

I specifically picked this performance because it’s the only one where they switched it up and sung the Korean verses with the Chinese chorus (VALID! because honestly...if you look up any of the Korean versions of their songs...they are very obviously subpar because the flow of the phonemes is clunky)

Swing

The general gist of the lyrics is a “cheer up, you can power through” message that’s fairly similar to Mr. Simple

The latest hit from SJM, all the way back from 2014, because SJM literally has not had a comeback since before Label SJ was an entity.

Even though it’s not my favorite track, Swing is important bc it was the first comeback they had a slew of Korean promos for (music shows, radio slots, variety show appearances), and they also placed first in China’s first ever music show broadcast.

Blue Tomorrow

By tomorrow, you will have left my side By tomorrow, I’ll be wishing on shooting stars alone Just like the ending of a movie

SJM also released a decent number of very on-brand love ballads. Blue Tomorrow is that lovely bittersweet breakup ballad you didn’t know you needed.

My Love for You

It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter, baby I’d give you whatever you’d want Wipe away your tears, the sky would never be dark I’d be by your side everyday

An A+ sappy ballad, 10/10 would listen to again (i’ve run out of video embeds so i’ll leave it to you to find)

[sheglitter]

📌   pinned.

          hi  friends!!  i’m  flutter  ( 20,  she/her )  and  listen,  y’all .....  i  was  so  excited  when  i  first  saw  a  promo  for  this  rp  DFGKHJ  i  love  this  genre  so  much.  i’m  looking  forward  to  meeting  and  writing  with  you  all!!

also,  my d.scord is where is the lamb SAUCE#0085 if anyone prefers plotting / chatting over there!!

wanted connections page

༉‧₊ ( kiana lede , she/her , cis woman ) ˚✧ holy shit , is that heather price coming out of body - ody ? yikes , i’ve heard a lot about the sophomore . apparently they’re twenty-three and are pretty ( + charismatic & - nosy ) which totally screams aries . ugh , i hate those ! i heard that they’re studying performing arts and are really involved in ( cheerleading and tutoring ) . i don’t know if you remember , but they’re the one who streaked through the college campus in junior year as a dare  ! i’d watch out for them though because rumor has it they REDACTED … hopefully that info doesn’t get into the wrong hands .

file,

full name.   heather jennifer-anne price

age.   23 years old

gender & pronouns.   cis woman & she/her

sexuality.   bisexual

occupation.   waitress at body - ody

traits.   charismatic, nosy, humorous, sarcastic

aesthetic.   red heart-shaped sunglasses, singing in the shower, plaid skirts, messy space buns, butterfly hair clips, glossy lips, winking at strangers, fruity perfume

random facts.   is the type of person to look effortlessly beautiful no matter what, hates sour candy, loves using pet names for her friends, is allergic to cats

important backstory notes,

warnings:   implied  eating  disorder  ( mid adolescence )  +  brief  mention  of  sex  @  the  end

♡   ›  born  to  a  failing  actress  and  a  doctor.  her  mother  was  raised  by  strict  parents  and  she  made  a  promise  to  herself  that  she  would  never  be  that  parent  to  her  child(ren).  unfortunately,  this  went  a  little  too  far.  with  also  being  daddy’s  little  girl,  she  was  never  told  no  and  got  whatever  she  wanted,  when  she  wanted  it..

♡   ›  childhood  is  nothing  out  of  the  ordinary.  she  plays  with  the  other  kids,  she  gets  along  with  them  very  well.  she’s  told  constantly  about  how  academically  gifted  she  is.  she  passes  schooling  with  flying  colours.  learning  comes  effortlessly  to  her.  this  is  also  where  she  finds  her  joy  for  performing  arts.  it  starts  with  playing  pretend  and  slowly  grows..

♡   ›  early  adolescence  is  where  things  start  to  change.  the  “bad”  group  starts  paying  extra  attention  to  her  and  as  someone  who  loves  attention,  she  joined  their  little  clique. she  was  introduced  to  parties  and  everything  that  happens  at  senior  parties  when  she  was  15  years  old.  she  felt  grown  up  and  didn’t  mind  getting  into  trouble  to  get  that  feeling..

♡   ›  mid  adolescence  is  where  she  falls  victim  to  social  norms.  she  feels  pressure  to  be  the  prettiest,  to  be  the  smartest,  to  be  the  best.  her  grades  start  to  slip  as  she  follows  the  popular  clique’s  schedule. she  starts  becoming  mean  and  overbearing:  bullying  others  in  order  to  feel  higher  up  in  the  fake  social  rank.  she  becomes  so  brainwashed  that  she  completely  loses  herself..

♡   ›  late  adolescence  is  where  things  start  to  fall  back  into  place.  REDACTED  happens  and  it  shakes  her  to  her  core.   it  causes  her  to  take  a  step  back  and  really  look  at  where  she  is  in  her  life  at  the  moment:  and  truthfully,  she  becomes  very  disappointed  with  herself.  she  couldn’t  believe  how  far  off  the  path  she  had  gone  in  order  for  popularity  and  attention.  slowly  but  surely,  she  starts  going  back  to  her  roots.  her  grades  rise  and  for  the  last  year  of  high  school, she decides  to  join  her  school’s  drama  class  and  re-found  her  love  for  performing.  her  parents  were  in  tears  from  how  happy  they  were  that  they  had  their  daughter back..

♡   ›  junior year  comes  and  goes.  as  a  “hEY, WElcomE To COLLeGE!!”  someone  dares  her  to  streak  around.  she  does.  not  many  people  know  her  from  her  hometown  ( maybe  just  1  or  2 )  which  means  she  can  make  a  completely  different  name  for  herself.  her  dream  is  to  be  the  "lovable  alpha  bitch”  trope———  she  wants  to  be  popular  and  to  have  all  eyes  on  her  but  at  the  same  time,  not  lose  herself  again.  she  took  up  cheerleading  ( because  you  never  see  a  popular  girl  in  media  who  isn’t  on  the  cheer  squad )  and  it  turns  out,  she  actually  really  enjoys  it:  she  adores  her  squad  members.  she  also  decides  to  take  up  tutoring  for  something  to  do  and  also  because  she  likes  to  help  others..

♡   ›  present day  is  when  she’s  slowly  starting  to  slip  back  into  her  “i  need  to  be  the  best”  mindset.  it  isn’t  too  bad  right  now  but  she  finds  herself  in  other  people’s  business  and  gossiping  and  flirting  around  with  people  in  order  to  feel  loved:  some  tutoring  sessions  have  turned  into  dick  appointments..

hopefully  she’ll  be  able  to  catch  it  before  it’s  too  late  and  irreversible  damage  happens.

[allie1804-fan]

The Middle of the Road (Chapter 16)

Chapter 1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8 , 9, 10, 11 , 12,  13  14 , 15

Warnings: None

September 2024 – Toronto Emily and Keanu flopped down on the bed in their room at the apartment they were renting in Toronto for the week of The Toronto International Film Festival. They had just arrived from LA and were travel weary. He had just had his 60th birthday and would be receiving a Tribute award at the festival, a great honour for any film maker but an especially treasured one for Keanu who had grown up in the city. He remembered when the festival used to take place in his neighbourhood of Yorkville in the late 70s so the whole event was very close to his heart.

The whole family had decamped from LA including their Nanny Maria which would enable them to attend the evening events as well as do some promotion.  Keanu had done voice work in a film being premiered there which had a U certificate so they would all attend the afternoon screening. They were taking a bit of a risk with Hannah but Emily or the nanny would be able to take her or Johnny out if either of them got unsettled.

 After they had rested up a bit, they all went out to a local Italian restaurant around the corner from the apartment and enjoyed a simple relatively quick meal before getting the babies back home to bed.  The next morning found Keanu and Emily enjoying some free time looking around his old haunts – he’d shown her his home in Yorkville, his elementary  school, ice hockey stadium, the Leah Poslun Theatre and the location of his first kiss!

 “Right there?”? Emily was pointing with an aghast expression on her face at a dingy alley behind a bike rack at the back of an old Walgreens store.

 “Yup – I know. I’ve got a bit classier in my old age I hope you agree.”

 “And what was her name?”

 “Angela”

 “Now THAT is a 70s name if ever I heard one. I guess at least your name is just totally unique and not linked to an era like some”

 “She was sweet – but not long lasting!”  Anyway, I think that is the complete high, and low, lights for you. We better get back and get  some lunch before this afternoon’s shenanigans”  He was referring to the premiere of his film which was an afternoon affair so kids could attend. Some local children would attend as well as press and the stars and their families. Johnny and Hannah would be there – with the exit strategy of mum or nanny if it was too much. They had watched films at home and had quite good attention spans but Hannah had only been in a movie theatre once and so was a bit if an unknown quantity behaviour wise.

It was also to be their first red carpet as a family. They had kept the children well shielded so far but, accepting that  complete privacy wasn’t realistic, they had decided to attend this premiere all together. They all dressed in smart casual clothes rather than the suits and ballgown style of Oscars and that was needed given they would have the kids next to them snacking on ice cream! The press and fans were enthralled with the kids, both dark haired and with big brown eyes strongly favouring Keanu but with the delicacy of Emily’s features. After letting her walk on wobbly legs for a little while, Keanu scooped Hannah up and carried her while Emily walked with Jonathan and Marie brought the buggy and a change bag just in case. Hannah loved waving at everyone and fans called her name which made her laugh. Johnny joined in with waving too, sensing that this was something special but not really at all clear what. It was going to be a while before they understood that their Dad wasn’t just special to them!

The kids enjoyed the film and made it through the whole hour and half without a melt down to everyone’s relief.

That evening Emily and Keanu appeared on a panel about a project they were working on together. There were inevitable questions about how husband and wife could work together which they fended off deftly  - working together was after-all how they met and it felt easy compared to parenting and they were glad to keep the topic work focussed.  In the next couple of days they each took part in other promo for their work and had a meal out, just the two of them.  There they talked about the award show that would be the following night.

                                                            “You nervous?” Emily asked as she sipped her coffee.

“Am I ever!” He groaned. “All that intention is intense – I’m used to parts of it – the red carpet, the photos, being filmed in the audience, even being on stage handing out awards or receiving a less significant gong but such focus, and a speech – phew, it’s crazy”

“It’s what you deserve honey, you know that inside don’t you”

 He shook his head,

 “It’s an honour, such an honour but, no,  I don’t know it – it just feels surreal”

 “Well just try to enjoy it if you can, hun – OK?, Want to run through the speech back at the apartment?”

 “Sure, that would be great to have a writer’s input”

 The award day came and they passed as much of it as they could focussing on the kids, taking them to one of the lakeside beaches for playtime and a picnic but eventually time came for the ‘dressing up game’  as Keanu called it. Both of them would spend a few hours being “made beautiful” for the cameras with stylists primping and polishing their hair, clothes and make up to within an inch of their lives. They left the children with Maria and they would tune in later to see Mommy and Daddy on the TV walking the red carpet.

Emily was wearing a stunning sleeveless, full length taffeta gown in red and her birthday necklace to match her ruby engagement ring and Keanu was in the tux he’d worn to the 2020 Oscars.  Emily’s palms were sweaty even before they left to go to the theatre. She’d attended public occasions before where there were paparazzi but only one awards show about 4 years ago so she was nervous of the attention, especially as the news of their marriage was still quite fresh.

As they climbed out of the car, Keanu whispered in her ear  “Just imagine everyone naked”  before they started to make their way up the red carpet, making her giggle and relax just a little.

“I feel like the wives in Apollo 13, if they ask me anything. I’ll just say “I’m proud, happy and thrilled”

“Are you likening me getting an award to going to the moon or a life-threatening mission?!”

“the former for you and maybe the latter for me!”

At first she held Keanu’s arm in a death grip but gradually she relaxed especially as she saw the smiling faces in the crowd and she saw Keanu relax too, signing photos, DVDs and books and posing for photos. Several fans encouraged her to pose alongside him, surprising her.  It seemed some people were happy to see him happy with his marriage and kids and thus welcomed her with open arms.

There were a few reporters on the red carpet who stopped them for a few words. Keanu made her laugh, though she tried to hold it in, when he responded to the question of how he was feeling to be receiving the Tribute Award.

“Well I’m proud, happy and thrilled” he said, giving Emily a wink which made the laughter bubble to the surface. They moved on and at last made it into the auditorium and were shown to their seats.

There were several other awards before his but at last it was time for his big moment.

The presentation started with a show reel with clips from his most famous movies as well as some of his lesser known early ones which made him blush. He leaned over and whispered to Emily

“At least they’re not showing the Coke and cornflakes ads!”

After the reel, there were some video clips from some of his directors and co-stars praising – his work, his character and his work ethic. There was Chad Stahelski, Sandy Bullock, Carrie-Ann Moss and Lilly Wachowski. Then it was time for the award  itself which Lana Wachowski presented. As he walked up to the stage, the whole auditorium stood, clapping and cheering. He was right, Emily thought, this was really overwhelming! She dabbed a tear away as he took his place at the podium and took a moment to let the applause fade.

“Firstly let me say a huge thank you for this great, great honour  - to receive this in the city where I spent my formative years is really very special so thank you.”

More applause erupted then quickly subsided allowing him to continue.

“I owe this award to many other people  - first and foremost,  I’d like to pay tribute to my mom for believing in me all those years ago when I asked her one day, would it be ok if I was an actor and  she simply said ‘whatever you want son’.

And thanks must also go of course to the teachers and directors at the schools where I did plays and at the Leah Posluns Theatre where I really began to learn my craft-  thank you for lighting the fire.

Looking back, the reel you showed just now only served to remind me how much I love movies. And a key reason over the years for that love and indeed for much of my success has been the joy of collaboration when making them. Collaboration with many wonderful directors, actors, cinematographers, stunt coordinators, make-up artists, caterers, runners to name but a few is what I thrive on. And they have all made me look good.  And I know sometimes I’ve made my fellow actors look good too by how bad I was! Special thanks to Winona and Gary in that regard!

And I can’t forget the writers, for one thing my wife would never forgive me if I didn’t give them a mention.”

Keanu looked over and caught Emily’s eye as she sat in the front row beaning with pride.

“Writers have gifted me some amazing, memorable characters, some of them coming back time and again  like Ted, Neo and John Wick.  And I think special thanks are due for all the Johns, Johnny’s and Jacks and the quarterback punks that have been a recurring theme for me and such fun to play.

So I love movies and I love the opportunity they give me to tell stories.

But this year, as I hit a big milestone birthday,  I am in a new phase in my life and I’m planning on being focussed less on the stories in films and more on my own story.  Over the years, my fellow actors and the crews have been like family to me, a band of brothers and sisters if you will.  But 5 years ago I met and fell in love with a wonderful woman and she became my family.  Then 2 years ago we became parents - and now there are 4 of us. And this year  I also became a husband - in all these things as you can probably tell I was a late starter!

So whilst I’m not retiring,  going forward I can’t and I don’t want to be the man who  is all work and no play.  I want to be with my beautiful  wife and my kids as they grow and play my part in guiding them in their lives, in their story.

And hopefully, I’ll bring the riches of that experience of being a parent and a husband to my future roles.

Thank you”

There was rapturous applause at this end to his speech and Emily found herself crying once again at his very public commitment to a more balanced life for them all going forward.

Keanu took his leave, heading back stage where there would be a few interviews to do before he could re-join Emily and head onto the after-party.  There was a brief break in proceedings and Emily made her way back stage to meet up with him.

Keanu was just taking his leave from one of the news teams  when he glimpsed Emily weaving her way between the throngs of stage hands, actors and publicists.

He headed in her direction and indicated a small alcove to the side to aim for. She reached it first and waited for him to join her, his progress being slowed by people stopping to congratulate him on his award and speech. When he finally got there, she threw he arms around his neck.

“That was, just, just”

“Wow  have I actually rendered you speechless?” he laughed.

“You didn’t share THAT part of the speech!”

“You mean the bit about marrying a wonderful woman and sharing my story with her?”

“yes that part, you sneaky devil, you made me cry”

“Happy tears I hope?”

“Yes!” she smiled planting a kiss on his smiling lips.

@penwieldingdreamer @fortheloveoffanfic @kindainlovewithkeanu @ladyreapermc @witty-wallflower @gatsbynouvel @bitchyslut99 @keanureevesisbae @omg-imagine @iworshipkeanureeves @fics-not-tragedies @ficsnroses @kindainlovewithkeanu @paperplanesandwallflowers