#sept:24

[beyuji]

a starter for @bejiayi ( language 101 )

yuji figured a language workshop wouldn't be that much different than the usual classes offered. turns out, as she's learning, it's a lot more difficult. yuji's got the basics down, but it's a far cry from being anywhere close to fluent, much less able to hold a conversation.

she stares down at her notes, teeth worrying her lip before she glances over to her seatmate, jiayi. she doesn't know much about the girl at all, other than the fact she was a signee from next gen. studio delta, if she remembers correctly.

"do you wanna run through the examples with me?" yuji asks in a lull during the workshop, brief time to practice with their seatmates before they move into the next lesson. looking over the simple phrases they've learned and how they're broken down. "two heads are better than one." she jokes lightly, a ghost of a smile on her mouth.

[bexstevie]

nothing but,

< w. @bejaeyoung >

stevie understands the idea of networking-- but he's not sure what to expect by taking a workshop about it. it's just one big lecture, and all it stems down to is talking. making an impression. stevie's pretty good at that, but he's not sure if this workshop is really going to help.

he's trying though. more than he's ever tried in actual courses at school-- even if he feels like his eyes are a second away from glazing over. he exhales softly through his nose, leaning back a bit as he blinks his gaze back into focus.

"i think i'm going to retain like..." stevie mumbles to jaeyoung next to him. "...at most like a quarter of this." he rubs at his temple a bit, eyes moving around at the presentation they've been given. "didn't know there was basically a science to...talking to people and making it count." it's a little funny sounding, when stevie thinks about it-- but they're the professionals, he guesses.

[bexstevie]

"yeah, i get that." stevie says, nodding his head in understanding. he had been afraid of it a little bit-- at the beginning. maybe it was the added stress of having that sort of reputation already attached to his name that felt a bit rocky at first. after the first few performances and being called out at his nerves-- it felt easier to kind of just...be chill about it. "i think if i could do it, you could do it." stevie admits after a moment, shooting the other a smile.

"at least the chances of us being evil-edited are down now. they can't get the same effect twice on the same person. i don't think at least." it becomes boring that way, wouldn't it? the audience would be expecting it, he thinks. "and hey, don't sell yourself short! i think you're a great dancer. you got a contract the first time around, didn't you? they saw something in you!" stevie reassures, reaching out to give noel a supporting clap on the back.

stevie gives a nod. "yeah. creativity is big there." and stevie is dumb as rocks when it comes to musicality, but at least he knows how to make a dance match a bit. kind of. it's a work in progress. "what does lime have you do?" he asks out of curiosity.

"you're still pretty good for that time! i didn't start taking it actually seriously until i moved here." stevie rubs the back of his neck. at that point, he had to. it's the closest interest he had that his mom would be okay with him going to school for. at the time, surfing had been out of the question.

bexstevie

"yeah," stevie agrees. "just sucks getting the short-end of the stick." that's show business, stevie guesses. networks wil do whatever they want in order to obtain the most viewership. noel makes good points though, and stevie nods along. "you did! you were awesome. and look at us now." a grin crosses his face. he has come a long way, he guesses. and stevie did ask for it. he had been carefree about joining, not really caring if he went home or not until he actually did. in retrospect, he gets it-- especially with his time on the second season. he sees what they meant, and understands that stevie probably needed that reality check. he just wishes it wasn't broadcasted on live television. stevie hums, lips jutting out into a pout in thought. "i think ceo yoon charmed me, honestly." he says, partly joking. stevie stills remembers being told how not mature he was by him last season, only to have nothing but praise this time around. he had been asked by him are you scared of us? and yeah, maybe he was. now? he's not so much. it feels kind of like he beat the big boss of a video game. "and i like making choreography." stevie says after a moment, when he's fully gathered his thoughts better. "i like dancing, but i don't think i'm like...stellar at singing or rapping yet." he's improving, and know he has because he's been told so. but it's still not at anything spectacular or anything-- and stevie's not sure if he'll ever be. "i think studio delta is more...on par with me in that direction." and maybe joomi had a little bit to do with swaying his choice in favor of studio delta. just a little. "it's pretty fun! and if you like dancing, then i think you're already one foot in the door." stevie reassures, before pausing to consider the question. "since...middle school? high school?" stevie switches back to english in thought, brow furrowed as he tries to remember. "i didn't join any groups, but my friends and i would learn dances all the time. make stupid videos to songs and make our own dances." it hadn't been too serious at the time, but it had been the gateway for stevie. suddenly it was by himself filming videos or watching flash mobs in the street and wishing he was performing. "what about you?"

it still hurts how much evil-edited he was, even though he now knows it wasn’t personal. the treatment he was given made him refuse to watch the show, but his sister had seen the whole show. in the beginning she said it was a bit embarrassing how terrible he was doing, but with time she supported him more and more, she must’ve been able to tell how tired he was, how much effort he was putting into it.

“it makes the thought of joining a survival show again a bit more scary, y’know? what if i have to go through all that scolding and evil-editing again” he hums. “i know i’ve improved a great deal, but i’m still so far from being good, i’m not a very good singer nor rapper, and i think my dance is… mediocre. still not being the best makes joining a survival show again sound even scarier” he runs a hand through his hair. “knowing myself though, if there came a survival show where the prize was debut, i would attempt it, even though there was the chance of scolding and evil-editing”.

“i hope you’ll enjoy being in studio delta then, and that it fits you well” he smiles to the other. “as far as i know, studio delta seems to let their trainees be more creative, writing songs and choreographing” he shrugs “lime doesn’t seem to care as much about it, so it doesn’t seem like a must for me to learn, though i’d like to learn it someday”. “oh that’s a long time? it’s not been a long time for me… i started being interested in it… less than two years ago? and i’ve been dancing for less time”.

[bexstevie]

"oh, definitely!" stevie agrees easily, nodding his head. eunbin might even do better than he did when first learning out-- cheer probably helping a lot with balance. stevie definitely struggled more than most with that, learning that his water legs did not equal his actual legs.

stevie gives an impressed whistle, nodding his head as the information settles. damn, who would have thought? "that's crazy..." he trails off. "i've never done horseback riding. they're kinda intimidating..." stevie frowns, thinking back. he remembers a lot of warnings associated with horses and how strong their legs were. how easily injury could happen from standing too close to their back legs.

stevie gives his own snort at the description, snickering behind his hand. "well..." he trails off a bit, raising the hand to scratch at his head. "it's gonna be kinda like that? i was literally gonna have you just ride forward as a baby step."

moving so he's standing parallel to her, he mimics moving forward on the board, foot firmly in place on the deck and the other pushing him forward on the ground. "you don't have to give like, a big push. you can start with a gentle nudge if you feel iffy about falling." stevie assures. "i'll stay close in case you topple over. and if you wanna stop, just..." he stomps his foot down initiate the stop.

eunbin liked trying out new things. it's why she's tried surfing when she traveled to yang yang with her family and why she asked stevie for these skateboard lessons to begin with. of course, it might not be the smartest idea, trying out an activity with a high chance of injury considering she's on the cheer squad. however, she had been wanting to try skateboarding for so long, and she couldn't stop herself from asking stevie for help.

"all those balance exercises i have to do for cheer probably helps as well," she mentions before doing her best not to fall off the board. this was only the beginning, but she was determined to be able to go on her own by the end of this lesson. "yeah, i've done surfing, skateboarding, you name it. i've even tried horseback riding, but that never stuck. my butt hurt too much," she admitted with a snort.

eunbin quickly nods at stevie's suggestion. though she wasn't sure if she could go off on her own, there was no harm in trying. she could withstand a few scratches and bruises here and there as well. "have you ever watched those dramas where like the parents are watching their kids ride a bike for the first time? i feel like that child right now."

[disabledcharacters]

TV ANIMATION: Della Duck (Ducktales) - Amputee, Prosthetic Leg User

Della Duck made her animated debut in the television series DuckTales, first appearing at the end of the two-part season finale “The Shadow War!” on August 18, 2018.

She is a seasoned pilot and adventurer, having once accompanied Donald and their uncle, Scrooge McDuck, on globe-trotting expeditions. The mystery surrounding her disappearance serves as the emotional core of the show’s narrative.

Unique to the series, however, is the character’s depiction as an amputee. As revealed in the episode “What Ever Happened to Della Duck?!“, Della’s leg was injured in the crash, resulting in her amputating the limb and instilling a robotic prosthetic in its place.

The showrunners collaborated with the Amputee Coalition of America in portraying Della as an amputee. According to Youngberg and Angones, they did not want Della’s disability to define her character, as “she's dealing with a lot of other things,”.

They explicitly wanted to avoid portraying her as “the amputee hero”. Rather, the circumstances surrounding Della’s disability highlight the perseverance and overall spirit of her character, proving that “nothing would stop her." [wiki]

--------------------

Join me as I celebrate and post about different Disabled Characters throughout the month. Tracking #dcotm

[beyuji]

a starter for @behyeran ( something ain't right )

it's on the tip of her tongue. or the edge of her brain-- whatever the saying is. yuji's tapping a rhythm in her head, following the faint line of a melody that she's been working on. it's distracting her for the most part, a form of procrastination in an effort to avoid having to get up. half-focused on the melody, half wondering if she should leave for the rest of the day or go get another drink and work this melody out.

her eyes are motion around the room, glazing over the patrons mindlessly, eyes falling on one in particular. she's tall, pretty-- her features giving yuji a startling sense of familiarity. yuji blinks, attention from the melody momentarily distracting her as she tries to place the recognition to a face.

she's distracted. and now she has to know. yuji gives herself a little sigh, a small pep talk, before she's gathering up her things and moving seats. yuji's destination set on finding out how she knows this girl. she just has to-- there's just a feeling.

"hi," yuji calls out hesitantly, coming to a stop by the girl's seat at the coffee bar with a smile. "do you mind if i sit here?" she motions to the seat. "or is there someone else with you?"

[bexstevie]

post.

< w. @beseojun >

stevie gives a sleepy smile to the waiter as he takes their order, calling his thanks as him and seojun settle to wait for their meal. it's nice to have finally had a moment to catch up, training schedules hard to align with how different their schedules are. thankfully, they have time to get a meal after training together, and stevie-- despite being tired and ready to pass out, wouldn't pass up on it.

"thanks for coming with me," stevie says brightly, sipping his drink. "it's been a while, no?" he asks, straightening up a bit. they hadn't had much time on next gen to interact-- both of them far too focused on getting through the experience to really catch up. this is stevie taking the chance to make up for it.

"they've got us busy." stevie sighs, rubbing at the corner of his eye, getting rid of the sleepiness around the edges. studio delta surely keeps stevie busy, and stevie can only assume it's the same with lime. at least axis gives them some chances to cross paths, even if it's not as long as stevie would like. "everything been good with you lately?"

[bexstevie]

"you got it!" stevie yelps, nodding his head and moving closer to the counter to ensure he gets the order in as quickly as possible. the worker is thankfully on the same page as him, so stevie can comfortably listen to the girl ramble on as he gets everything in order.

what he isn't expecting, is the water works to start again. his mouth is open and ready to respond with something like damn that sucks in response to her allergy, only to fumble with shock as she begins to cry. "there's other delicious things out there too!" stevie hurries to respond with, passing his card over easily. "maybe it's just making way for you to be able to enjoy something almost everyone is allergic to! or uh. something like that..." stevie trails off, a nervous laugh leaving him.

"you're not a bother! seriously, i should have been paying attention." stevie waves it off, just happy to get her as far away as on the edge of tears as possible. it wouldn't make a sizeable dent in his pocket, so stevie doesn't care too much. "they're making it right now. you sure i can't get you anything else? i might have some actual tissues in my bag, now that i'm thinking about it..." he had restocked his first aid kit not too long ago, and stevie remembers grabbing a whole bunch of other random things to add to it.

bexstevie

stevie's never been good with tears. most times, he cries too-- the emotions too much for stevie, who's finding he has a lot more empathy than he realizes. on top of that, the guilt and the public humiliation at being the obvious reason for a girl's tears has him frazzled that he might start crying too. and that wouldn't be good, not at all! she mumbling stuff through her crying, and stevie strains his ears to hear as if she's regarding him. he can't really make out most of it, just a few words, but he hears the didn't even get to taste it part, and kicks into overdrive. "banana and pear? okay, okay." he says, head snapping towards the counter. he's not sure if the frazzled energy or the panicked expression on his face as he makes eye contact with the staff behind the counter, but they seem just as quick to try and replace the drink. at least they're on the same page. "i don't mind, really-- i haven't even ordered mine yet, i can just tack it on mine!" it takes him probably longer than he wants to clean up the mess, a pile of used napkins growing bigger and bigger. he probably should have just let the staff mop it up, but he's so pre-occupied with calming down the girl that he doesn't mind grinding through paper products. stevie's done as much as he can, so he'll leave the real scrub to the workers-- but he ushers the girl to the side carefully, sticking one hand into his pocket to dig out his wallet. "is that all you want? need? what about a uh, snack?" he shoots rapidfire question after question towards the girl, trying his best to rectify the tears as best as he can.

sometimes ria wishes she didn’t cry so easily, but she just can’t help it. it’s not on purpose, not at all, and she can’t even control it. most people can tell when they’re about to cry, attempt to distract themselves before they cry, with ria, she barely gets to realize she’s about to cry before she cries. her friends and family have gotten used to it, it doesn’t bother them anymore, they know crying is just a part of ria, and they know how to handle it. but every now and then it’s a stranger who suffers from ria’s crying, who doesn’t know how to get her quickly to stop like her friends and family does.

she gives a nod, wiping away her tears, “banana and pear”, “because i like strawberry, but i’m allergic to it”... wait…. wait… wait… “why am i allergic to something so delicious?” she says as the tears start once again, she was already emotional, so crying came even easier now. “are you sure you can pay for it? i don’t want to be a bother” she pouts, wipes away her tears once again, and hopefully this time she won’t say something to make herself cry again.

“a new smoothie is more than enough, thank you”.

[zoeflake]

Cape Breton, Nova Scotia ©Lunaladee

[askarsjustsoswedish]

Alexander Skarsgård – Mackage Ad Campaign, Fall/Winter 2024. Mackage Instastory, 25 September 2024.  Thanks Skarsjoy (x)

[newyorkthegoldenage]

A steel worker rests on a girder at the 86th floor of the new Empire State Building during its construction, September 24, 1930. The tower of the Chrysler Building can be seen in background, left.

Photo: Associated Press

[bexstevie]

hands shoved into his pockets, stevie lets out a few interested oohs and aaahs as they peruse the dessert shop. stevie wasn't sure what to expect when coming out to meet up with hyejin-- something new! she had stressed, but he's been pleasantly surprised. stevie won't ever turn down a treat for his sweet tooth.

"a challenge. okay." a giggle leaves him, eyes roaming over his options sporadically; he isn't at sure at all what he wants. everything looks so good-- and he has to try something new. "i'll limit myself to a few then." he's got an eye on a few things, now's a matter of narrowing it all down.

one hand leaving his pocket to scratch at his head, stevie's eyes leave the displays to look upwards in thought. "uhhhh..." he starts. "it's been okay! i think i'm...getting into the habit of training. bit by bit." he lets out a sigh, dropping head dropping back down as he rubs his neck. "but other than that, pretty swell! things have been good." he's felt a lot better-- things have been on the up for him. it's hard for stevie not to feel pretty great, all things considered. "i feel like time's flying by, though. can't believe it's already fall, basically." he heaves a sigh. "what about you?"

ꜱᴡᴇᴇᴛᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴡᴇᴇᴛᴇʀ

for @bexstevie

with all the training that they had been doing, hyejin knows it's time to catch up with some of her friends instead of practicing alone. the last time she saw stevie was when they did the acting camp together. she had a good time doing their scene together and knew it was time to talk about whatever possible with him. besides, she wanted to do something else besides be in the same practice rooms and taking the same classes. a little change of scenery wouldn't hurt.

taking the chance, she guides stevie to a little shop that sold all kinds of desserts. maybe she was having a sweet tooth moment and having someone to eat some treats with her was better than if she did so alone. "alright, let's try not to pick everything on the menu." she laughs a bit, a smile spreading across her lips. "how have things been with you? feel like i need to catch up lately with how busy things have felt."

[classycoffeecat]

HELP

[lemongogo]

do we know if the dark horse reprint is still on sched for a sept release orrr

[beyuji]

she's been branching out lately, accepting invites to go out despite the fatigue in her bones. feeling tired isn't as bad as feeling bored and stagnant, and yuji will happily take anything to get her out of the slump she's been finding herself in.

she swirls her glass around, the liquid sloshing around evenly as she hums, shooting jae a smile as she nods her head. "thanks for inviting me." she sips at her own drink, pleased that it tastes much more sweet and digestible than full of liquor. "it's been a while since i've been out for drinks." the last few times she has, it hasn't turned out quite too well for her. tonight, she's hoping-- will just be chill.

she taps a fingernail around the rim of her glass, smile dipping at the corners as she thinks. that's the unfortunate thing-- yuji feels as if nothing interesting has been hapening lately. she's so bored, waiting with baited breath for something from sr media. it's just a couple of months before her contract date. will something happen before then?

"dull." she answers with a sigh, shoulders slumping a bit. "i've been bored lately. routine is nice-- i like it, usually. but i'm itching for something to happen." yuji confesses. "i've been trying to go out more often, but the summer was too much for me." the heat was too overbearing. the few times she did were enough for her. "fall will be nice. i'm looking forward to the weather at least."

yuji eyes jae from her peripheral. "what about you? please tell me you have done something more exciting than me."

ʀɪᴅᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴍᴇ

for @beyuji

jae couldn't remember the last time he went out for drinks with a friend. usually he was club hopping on the weekends and ended up having them bought for him by strangers. he didn't always accept them but it didn't stop him from indulging a bit in some way.

yuji is someone he likes being around. she's shown him more of the kpop world so he's not still stuck on the few songs he knows. maybe inviting her out was a way to say thanks but also to spend more time together.

"i appreciate that you came to hang out with me again." he smiles at her, lazily stirring his drink with his straw. he knows they both are busy even if he doesn't know exactly what yuji is doing. seems their schedules lined up which he was grateful for. "how have things been for you? give me any details you can." he laughs some but makes sure to be as attentive as possible. they were both here to relax and unwind so keeping it light was helpful surely.

[linnaealyn]

Imagine living a lonely 500 yrs unaging and then two of your friends suddenly show up again & dont recognize you. One who sacrificed herself to save people & the other who turned traitor, releasing a PoW, & caused immense destruction, killing millions before disappearing forever.

Poor Elly was probably worried and nervous the whole time she was in Shevat. If she's in your party when you talk to Yui, when Fei & Yui start talking about Lahan, she hides from her, runs to the other side of the room and faces the wall 🥺