#x. ariana verses ; main

[xfctes]

She CATCHES that blush on his face, and at the feeling of his hand grazing hers, she finds that a dust of pink spreads across HER OWN face. "MHMM-- they have a LOT of options! That's why I love them so much." She had heard the chatter of their guildmates, and even some of the female members in the guild had tried to get her to ask him to go on jobs with her. But what was their ALTERIOR MOTIVE?

@foxborn

[pintsizemama]

Letter to Santa

Day 10

Heroes & Heartbreak ‘verse

Welcome to the 2022 Christmas Writing Challenge!

Summary: Isabel writes a letter to Santa.

Pairings: Javier Peña x OFC Ariana Morgan

Fandom: Narcos

Rating: Mature 18+ ONLY

Word Count: 740

Warnings: language, fluff…let me know if I missed anything!

A/N: Another little sneak peek at the possible future of Heroes & Heartbreak!

Day 9 Day 11 Christmas Masterlist Heroes & Heartbreak Main Masterlist AO3 Join my taglist

“That looks great!” Ari gushed. Isabel was sitting at the kitchen table working diligently on her letter to Santa. She was so excited. This was the first year she was writing it completely on her own. Ari’s heart warmed to see her precious daughter working so hard. Her tiny tongue was poking out the side of her lips in concentration.

“I think I should use green and red, mama!” Isabel declared in her sweet little voice.

“I think that’s a great idea,” Ari agreed immediately. Isabel was almost five. Where the hell had the time gone? Ari still couldn’t believe she was a mom. Even more shocking was the fact that Javi was a dad. And what a great fucking dad he turned out to be. She heard the front door open and close.

“Where are my girls?” Javi called out from the hall.

“Daddy!” Isabel screamed in joy. She was one thousand percent a daddy’s girl. Javi walked into the room.

“There’s my baby girl!” Javi said happily, scooping her up into his arms. He rained kisses all over her face and she squealed in delight. He settled her on his hip and leaned down to kiss Ari. He cupped the side of her face and kissed her softly.

“Hey, hermosa,” he whispered.

“Hey,” Ari whispered back. He sat in Isabel’s chair and settled their daughter in his lap. He picked up the letter she had been working on and looked it over.

“What do we have here?” Javi asked her.

“It’s my letter to Santa!” Isabel told him.

“Oh, is that right?” Javi replied. “Well, let me see what we’re asking Santa for this year.” He cleared his throat dramatically. “Dear Santa, I want a Furby or a Barbie or a Remington 870 12-gauge shotgun. Love, Isabel Peña.” Javi and Ari stared at each other in shock.

“A shotgun?” Ari asked at the same time Javi exclaimed, “A Furby?” They looked at each other again and burst into laughter.

“Let’s rewind here a minute, mija,” Javi said, putting the letter down on the table. “How the hell do you even know about shotguns? Let alone how to perfectly spell Remington.”

“Abuelo,” Isabel deadpanned.

“Of course,” Javi sighed.

“Well, she was born in Texas,” Ari told him. “Of course she knows about guns.”

“That’s enough sass from you, querida,” Javi growled playfully. He turned to Isabel. “Santa can’t bring you a shotgun, mija. You’re too young.”

“Oh, ok, daddy,” Isabel said immediately.

“And he’s not gonna bring you a Furby either,” Javi added.

“How come?” Isabel pouted.

“Because they’re not toys,” Javi explained. “They’re vessels for demons. Santa doesn’t deal in black magic shit.”

“Javier!” Ari scolded.

“What?” He asked innocently. “Those things are creepy as fuck. It’s not coming in my house.” Ari shook her head and suppressed a laugh.

“Can I ask for a Barbie still?” Isabel asked.

“Of course,” Javi said.

“Awesome!” Isabel cheered. “That’s what I really wanted anyway. I don’t have one with a pink dress yet…maybe I should tell Santa that.”

“I’m sure he knows,” Ari assured her.

“Can we send it now?” Isabel asked excitedly, bouncing up and down in Javi’s lap.

“Yes, sweetheart,” Ari replied. “Let me grab an envelope and we can mail it out first thing tomorrow.”

“Yay!” Isabel shouted and jumped off Javi’s lap to race out of the room.

“That child is one of a kind,” Ari said looking after her.

“I blame her mother for that,” Javi joked.

“Probably,” Ari laughed. Just then they heard cries from upstairs.

“The boys are up,” Ari groaned.

“I’ll grab them, hermosa,” Javi stood and placed a kiss on her temple. “You find that envelope and relax for a bit.”

“They’re going to need to eat,” Ari pouted.

“No problem,” Javi said. “Did you pump today?” Ari shook her head.

“No, I didn’t have time,” she told him. “As soon as they went down for their nap I had to give Isabel lunch, and then she wanted to write the letter.”

“It’s alright,” he assured her. “You get the envelope and meet me up in their room. I’ll keep Miguel happy while you feed Horacio…I know how impatient he gets to eat after a nap.” He disappeared up the stairs. Ari sat a minute in awe of what her life had become. Her husband and children were incredible, and she was so happy to have this amazing family.

Day 11

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[parkers-gal]

Ariana grande! reader performs in front of mcu cast & they’re shocked & tom is like “that’s my girl”

hey! combining this with another request! enjoy ! <3

request: can you do an ag!singer x marvel cast(and maybe x tom holland) and have them react to her performance at the grammys(2020)?

—

Through all your planning and time in the studio with your string conductor, you forgot to tell Tom about how many people he could invite. Granted, you’d talked to your manager, and Tom bringing the marvel cast would make for good publicity, and after some debating with the Recording Academy, they’d decided it was probably time to find another approach in attracting viewers. If that meant bringing in a group of superheroes, then so be it.

You’re well aware your dress is probably the biggest piece of clothing in the entire building, but as you’re seated beside Tom in an adorably sexy tuxedo, you don’t find it in you to care. You’re performing next, so while commercial break still airs, you kiss Tom’s cheek and head backstage with your manager.

Getting dressed is a lot easier when you only need lingerie and a dress that slips easily. You’re wary of the earrings, however. They’re an emerald green set from Lorraine Schwartz’s collection.

Before you know it, you’re heading on stage, standing on a platform in front of the several violinists you’d worked with in preparation for the night. It’s dark, as the lights aren’t shined on you purposely, but there’s a curtain blocking you from the crowd so nobody sees what’s being set up. You wave to the musicians just as a backup dancer hands you your pink microphone.

“You’ll be on in five. Good luck,” The stage director tells you, pencil behind his ear, clipboard in his hand, and a microphone attached to his mouth, earpiece listening in on directions from the main headquarters. You smile him off and wait until the curtains are drawn and your name is announced.

“Performing live, here’s Y/N L/N.”

The first beat of Imagine rings through the air, and your voice follows it soothingly. You know Tom is going to have a fit about this, and so are your fans; rarely have you ever performed Imagine. You can almost hear Tom gasp at this, and you will yourself not to laugh.

But after the chorus, the music dies down, and you can sense people are wondering where you’re going with this. But alas, you start singing My Favorite Things, and suddenly you’re giddy with excitement. You know Tom knows where this is leading up to, and you can just imagine him elbowing one of his co-stars in excitement.

As you finish up the intro, the music quiets and you’re adjusting and changing your outfit as smoothly and quickly as possible. Your backup dancers help you, and now you’re running across the stage to sit in a pink bed, giggling.

Tom’s wide eyed, and Robert laughs with a smirk at his open mouth.

“You’ll catch a fly.”

Tom is quick to shut his mouth, blushing profusely at being caught ogling you, by his mentor of all people.

“Leave the kid alone,” Scarlett eyes the boys. “His girlfriend is wearing lingerie.”

Tom laughs, but it’s seemingly cut short when your voice sings the first line of 7 rings. He’s watching you sing to the camera, dance with other people who are also wearing lingerie, and suddenly he realizes you planned this entire thing.

He can see most of the cast is wide eyed as you start moving your hips, no longer dancing but full on singing. He can’t help but comment on this, feeling prouder than ever to be yours.

“That’s my girl,” He grins, gesturing to the stage. Anthony rolls his eyes but nonetheless, is still impressed. “You see that?” He points at you, nudging Zendaya with his elbow. She rolls her eyes but smiles nonetheless.

You’ve just finished the second verse now, and you’re dancing with a large group of dancers in more lingerie. Before Tom even knows it, you’re wrapping the bridge, throwing money out into the camera and a bit of the audience. Your voice is loud and thrilling, and it sends shivers up Tom’s spine. As you finish up this song, thank u next starts off slowly, and one by one your backup dancers are exiting the stage. All at once, you throw in an extraordinary high note, and Tom’s is cheering you on as if you’re the only person in the world.

You smile while singing, skipping around the stage until the music calms down and the violinists take over. You make your way onto the bed, opening what Tom sees to be an engagement ring box. You remove the ring from your ring finger before collapsing onto the mattress, sitting elegantly as the final notes of your song ring out.

Tom’s first to cheer when the music stops, first to clap and first to stand up. You smile, sending him a kiss with your hand, waving as you grin to yourself. You shake your head in disbelief, and yet, it’s all too believable.

You can tell thank u, next has surely shocked Robert and Chris Evans. They’re wide eyed, mouths opened. It’s quite hard for people to understand that your high notes are entirely real, entirely authentic, and not purely fictional. It’s surreal, sure, to be on the listening end of someone like you.

But it’s even more surreal on your end, where your voice is yet another reason to be entirely in awe of you. Tom tells you it all the time, and as he’s whispering about you to the rest of the cast, you can’t help but smile a little harder.

When you finally make it backstage in just your lingerie and pink fluffy robe that accompanied your outfit, you spot Tom in his luxurious tuxedo, and suddenly you’re running into his arms, away from any manager or stage direction. Tom engulfs you, hugging you tightly, rough fingers gripping you softly.

He’s whispering things into your ear, praising you and complimenting you. You realize a few of his castmates have followed him backstage to give their praise, and though you want to, you can’t find it in you to be much bothered by all the compliments tonight.

[castelleve]

@snw-cnvs asked: 22, 30, 7

is there any ship you will likely never play? (apart from the obvious in/cest, pe/dophilia etc, i want to believe you guys are Good)

Hmmmm, i can’t really say there’s a lot of dynamics aside from the obvious that I wouldn’t want to explore. I guess one thing I wouldn’t be fond of writing is a ship with no plot to go around it. I guess that’s one reason I’m so fond of the Exp. plot I have going on because yes, there’s ships  but it’s also so much more than just a bunch of ships. It’s a story.

is there any “unconventional” relationship you play, or you would like to?

Off the top of my head- 

Damian’s relationship with @cxnfectioniism’s Ariana, in both verses, is pretty fascinating. They used to date, but Damian never had any feelings for her, so despite her own feelings for him she dumped him. Damian’s ego??? REAL fuckin fragile, and even though he wasn’t in love with her he did still care about her and did still feel abandoned. Even now that they’ve reconciled in their main verse, it’s not something he’s forgotten (even though it was completely justified). And in their interactions in the Exp. plot, he’s let it grow into some rather bitter feelings. 

Damian’s friendship with @batoushoujo’s Tem is probably the best friendship I’ve ever written on tumblr. Period. She pushes him to do better and even though he doesn’t know much about her, what he does know let’s him trust her entirely. 

And then there’s Damian’s relationship with @slaughtcrhaus’s Kanou which is.... man, where do i even start? This ask would go on for pages if I went into every layer and nuance there (at least on Damian’s end, cause his feelings for him are... very complicated). There’s hate, love, confusion, betrayal, desperation, fear, possessiveness, nostalgia... There is just so much that goes into it. Not even getting into how it affects Damian’s relationship with other people in the plot!

what do you think about OC x canon ships? would you play any?

I don’t mind them, but given i don’t actually partake in a lot of media, I don’t interact with a lot of canons. I would write an ocxcanon ship with chemistry, so long as it follows my rules (I don’t ship with aged up characters, whether that is a canon who is a child/teen in their respective medias or OCs who are children/teens with adult verses/have been aged up through their time on tumblr through birthdays and such).

[xfctes]

He had a point. The world of coffee was a wide one from what Ari knew, and she was interested in seeing exactly what it had to offer. "So then what's your favorite drink? To drink and to make?" She was curious, and she nods.

"You could say that. Though realistically I'm just visiting."

"That and plenty more. Why stop at just that?" Kengou moved to his espresso machine, though machine might be a bit of an overstatment. Even he in this magical world had a few tools at his disposal. And what better for a barista to use than a kettle that instantly heated the water for him for tea and a quick grind for coffee. "First time I've seen you around, you new to Magnolia?"

[kopikokun]

DAY NINETEEN: liu yangyang.

↳ if i hear one more christmas song, i’m going to shoot myself, but i’ll let it slide since you look so cute.

pairing: best friend’s brother!yangyang x reader

contain(s): fluff, college!au, best friend’s brother!au

word count: 512 words

← BACK TO NAVI.  | ← BACK TO CHRISTMAS PROMPT LIST.

— 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝.

Now this is what December is all about.

    You twirl on your sock-clad heel for the twelfth time in the last hour, gripping the whisk tighter in your hand. You are the main character, an artist gone international, one of mankind’s few wonders; you are a star on Earth, a gift bestowed by the Gods.

    You belt Santa Tell Me by Ariana Grande louder as the song hitches to a halt, capping it off with an excessive and poorly executed vibrato.

    “If I hear one more Christmas song, I’m going to shoot myself.”

    You nearly drop the whisk in your hand, fumbling to silence Bobby Helms as he begins the first iconic verse of Jingle Bell Rock. You subconsciously pat the unruly wisps of your hair down, pivoting to greet your best friend’s brother.

    “Oh, Yangyang! Hey!” you say breathlessly. He’s propped up against the doorframe of the kitchen, arms knitted and eyebrow raised in amusement. “I didn’t think you’d be back so soon. How long have you been home?”

    “I got here maybe...” he cocks his head to one side, lips pursed in deliberation, “half-an-hour ago?” Damn, he heard your entire jam out session.

    “Well, how’s college been? Are things okay all the way over there?”

    He huffs out a laugh. “You make it sound like I flew across the world.” He approaches you with an air of confidence you don’t remember him having. You don’t remember him being this tall either. “I’m only 30 minutes away. You could’ve visited.” Yangyang fakes a pout.

    You’re forced to stand on your tiptoes just to ruffle his hair. “Aww, you miss me, Yangyang?”

    “Yeah. I did.”

    The air feels condensed as Yangyang holds your gaze, eyes sheening with candour. His words are not merely of platonic affection; they possess an underlying motive you don’t wish to uncover. Not now. You’re quick to sever the tension, but God (and he may spite you for saying this) your best friend’s brother looks so irresistible right now. Your cheeks burn and you chide yourself for the thought.

    “What are you doing?” he asks indifferently. “I’m not bothering you, am I?”

    “Huh? Oh uhm, no, no, of course not!” Your head whips back-and-forth from his intrigued gaze to the heap of batter in the ceramic mixing bowl. “I was trying to make a cake. For Christmas. Just as a thanks since you guys are letting me stay here this year. Did your sister tell you? I hope you don’t mind.”

    Yangyang grins. “She did tell me. It’s part of the reason why I came back so early, actually.”

    “Getting very smooth now, huh? Is this what college’s been teaching you?”

    He shrugs. “I’m just being honest.”

    “Okay, settle down Casanova,” you smile. “Why don’t you use that vigour to help me bake this cake?”     “Only if you play that cheesy Christmas playlist again.”

    “Thought you said you’d shoot yourself?” The batter swirls as you start to beat it almost rhythmically.

    “I changed my mind after seeing how cute you look dancing about with flour all over you.”

[itsjustmyfantasyroom]

It’s time.

This was request from @theichabbieclub who asked for this

<🌨️ Characters 🌨️ ~ Sonny Carisi x reader

✨ Prompt ✨ ~ one shot if possible

☄️ Details ☄️ ~ Reader is apart of the SVU and is trying to heal from Mike's death ( They were dating ) The one year anniversary of his death is coming up. Reader goes to a bar and sings Off The Table by Ariana Grande while the whole team is there celebrating after a particularly difficult case. ( This song really fits the prompt btw ). They sing like amazingly and with so much emotion and they sing through tears. At the end, they kiss Carisi, signifying that they're ready to love again or something like that idk.

💕 Pronouns 💕 ~ female or gender neutral>

Hope this is what you were looking for xx thank you @detective-giggles for reading over it for me 😘

Warnings: does talk about Mike and grieving and fluff. 

WC: 909

Enjoy x

All you guys wanted to do was celebrate, the case had taken up all your time and it was finally over, the jury dropping a guilty verdict and Rafael was requesting the maximum. The bar you all decided to go to was new and little did you know that it was karaoke night, so you put your name down.

Your name was announced over the microphone of the bar, the squad cheered and Amanda and Fin wolf whistled as you shot down the rest of your drink, making your way up to the stage, stepping up onto it and taking the mic into your hand. You took a deep breath, tapping the mesh top to make sure it was on. You looked at the screen, and the first verse appeared and the music started up,

“Will I ever love the same way again?”

No sooner the words came out of your mouth, your voice cracked and tears started to run down your face when Mike popped in your head. The past 11 months had speed past in the blink of an eye. You had been outside the house as the incident had unfolded and you lived at the hospital from the moment Mike arrived in the ambulance until Sonny pretty much carried you out when they had to take him away. You missed him, so much. The apartment wasn’t the same without him. The bullpen wasn’t the same without him.

“Might not be quite yet healed or ready”

The squad sat at the table with their eyes glued on you. They had never heard you sing before and they were in awe of you, especially Sonny. His mind drifted back to the last few months and tears came to his eyes, rolling down his cheeks, watching you put your heart and soul into the song and listening to your angelic voice singing the words that hit home for you. It broke his heart how broken you were and he wanted nothing more than to be there for you during one the worse events of both your lives.

“Just wanna know is love completely off the table?”

You looked away from the screen out into the crowd and locked eyes with Sonny, who wiped a tear away with the back of his hand. Sonny had been your rock, the main person who had kept you together. He never asked questions when you called in the middle of the night sobbing and he rushed over, he knew how you were going to be just by walking in and looking at you in the morning and would act accordingly, he covered for you when something triggered you and you needed a minute and he spent most of his free time with you keeping you company, fed and hydrated.

You had felt numb since the night you lost Mike, expect when you were around Sonny, he genuinely cared and the past month you had been feeling something that you hadn’t felt since the day Mike walked into your life. You had spoken to Chief Dodd’s about it quite often, still being very close with him and he encouraged you to follow your heart and find new happiness.

You took a deep breath between the verses, the tears free flowing and eyes still locked with Sonny’s,

“I'll wait for you

Even though it always feels like I'll be number two

To someone you can't hold anymore

If you let me in, I'm ready to give you what I couldn't before

'Cause I got you, girl, let me help you through it

You're trying to fill the void with a couple boys

I can see right through it

I can you love you harder than I did before

Was in a dark place back then”

You brought the song home, finally breaking away from Sonny’s eye lock, tears blinding you making the screen blurry and your voice filling the room. The song stopped and the whole bar cheered and clapped as you stepped down off the stage making your way back to the table. As you weaved through the tables you dried your eyes with the backs of your hands. Liv, Fin, Amanda and Sonny were still standing clapping and cheering you. You gave them all a quick smile and walked around to Sonny.

You stopped as your body got flush to his, getting up on your tippy toes, your hands going straight to his cheeks and you pulled him down to you, your lips locking in a sweet subtle kiss. You felt Sonny’s hands come up to rest on your hips and he pulled you into his body, your arms going to wrap around his neck and he sighed into your mouth when your tongue slipped into his.

You pulled back breaking the kiss and looking into Sonny’s face, watching as his eyes fluttered open and a big grin pulled to his face, the crinkles appeared at his eyes and a small smile pulled to yours,

“I want to take this slow, but you are everything to me Sonny. You make me happy- you make me feel alive again and I never want to let you go”  

Sonny dipped his head slowly, his lips meeting yours peaking them quickly, a spark shooting through you,

“You’re everything to me Y/N. We can take it as slow as you like, I’ am not going anywhere. You make me the happiest I have ever been”

Tags: @detective-giggles @thatesqcrush @beccabarba @witches-unruly-heart @permanentlydizzy @averyhotchner @infiniteoddball @fandom-princess-forevermore @alwaysachorusgirl @teamsladsandgents

[dreamescapeswriting]

BTS Reaction || You’re  A Youtuber [Request]

A/N: Small warning, Hoseok’s is suggestive

Seokjin:

You'd been a Youtuber for years and nothing changed when you met Jin and began dating. You continued to make more content for fans but it just meant more were coming in because Army wanted to see Jin. It also meant that most of your comments were about him and him alone but you didn't mind, Youtube for you was about the fun behind making videos.

"Are you sure about this?" Jin asked as you set up the camera in the kitchen, he knew how unsure you were about putting him in videos before but you wanted to create content with him for you and your fans.

"Positive." You said as you climbed down from the side, you'd set up on a tripod in one of the cupboards to get a good view of what you and Jin were doing. Another one was set up to capture your faces and another at the back of the kitchen to capture everything else.

"Then let's do this." You smiled and nodded, turning to the cameras and then suddenly feeling nervous, you'd never filmed in front of Jin before. You'd always waited until he was gone for the day or when you did have to film in front of him, it was vlogging with no talking.

"You know you have to talk right?" You stared up at him with a blush on your cheeks and you nodded,

"You make me nervous." You told him, giggling as he playfully rolled his eyes at you.

"I'll do your intro," He pulled you out of the way of the main camera and smiled, you stood at the side arms folded across your chest as he spoke into the cameras.

"Hi! Welcome back to my channel! Today we're going to be doing something different to what we normally do, we're going to be cooking." You stared at him with an eyebrow raised as he continued, turning to you and smiling at you as you shook your head at home.

"She never cooks for me, ever!" He said dramatically as you pushed him out of the way of the camera and did your real intro.

"I have a special pain in the ass-Oop I mean I have a special guest." You joked pulling him back in front of the camera and letting him introduce himself while you got the ingredients ready.

(X)

"Jin! If you even think about throwing that over my head, you'll sleep on the sofa!" You warned him as he picked up a handful of flour, you could have sworn it was like dating the youngest member instead of the oldest, he continued walking towards you.

"Kim Seokjin!" You warned again but he smirked at you, holding his palm upwards and blowing the flour over you.

"You said not to throw it." You stared at him and then looked at the side, deciding on your choice of weapon. The cake was in the oven so you were both cleaning up,

"Don't." He said as he saw you eyeing up the eggs, you smiled at him as innocent as you could manage and then picked up an egg.

"Jin, that's the difference between me and you, I'm too mature for that." You lied but he kept his eyes on you, watching as you threw the egg into the air and caught it with your other hand.

"I'm putting them away, move." You giggled moving to the fridge and putting the rest of the eggs away, he started loading the dishwasher and you cracked the egg over his recently dyed hair, giggling as it rolled off his head and hit the floor.

"Oh, it's on!" He yelled grabbing an egg and cracking it over your head, making you let out a squeal as you ran away to the other side of the kitchen to get away from him.

"Jin! The cakes are almost done, we should stop." You tried to make him stop but he smirked at you, picking up more flour and throwing it at you.

"I hate you!" You giggled moving over to him and rubbing your floured face on his shoulder.

"We have to cut the main cake in half," You told him, looking up at the camera and smiling. You knew it was going to be a mess to edit but you'd had fun with him all day.

"We've got to look sharp." You heard the kitchen drawer open and your back straightened, you stared at the camera with a blank expression.

"Jin. If I turn around and you're holding a knife I'm leaving you." He stayed silent and you slowly turned around to see him standing there and holding the kitchen knife.

"I'm done." You mumbled shaking your head at him and then going to leave the kitchen but he picked you up from behind, putting you on the floor to make sure you wouldn't leave.

"This is your channel, don't leave it with me." You groaned at him and he kissed the top of your head, coughing as he could taste the mixture of raw egg and flour.

"You're a mess." He told you as he patted the top of your head, you smirked.

"I'm your mess." He scoffed and kissed your lips, making you smile against his and then pull away.

"We have to decorate the cake, let's go."

Editing the video was a mess like you predicted but everyone adored it, your fans and Army all confirming that you and Jin were the cutest couple on Youtube and that you had to do more videos together, especially if it ended up with more food fights and puns.

Yoongi:

You weren't sure that Yoongi was going to want to be in a video with you at first, he knew you made Youtube videos and they were covers but he'd never expressed an interest in it. Sure he was proud of you, you were quite big on youtube but he never came out to collab with you until fans started asking for it. They knew you were dating and wanted to see more of you together, the only thing you could think of was singing/rapping together on your channel and you had no idea how you were going to ask Yoongi about it. That was until he asked you about it, he said he'd seen the comments on your videos asking for a collab and he had an idea. You both spent time in his studio, mashing up Ddaeng and 7 Rings by Ariana grande for you both to do together. Using the backtrack to have Hoseok and Namjoon's part there for it.

(X)

You smiled at him in awe as he started his rap, you were on the fifth attempt of filming because whenever you would start you'd get nervous in front of him. He'd heard you sing plenty of times but this was different, you'd never sung together or sang one of his songs. He smirked back at you as he continued rapping, looking from the camera to you as he did so.

"My new addiction." You harmonized as it got to your turn to sing, he couldn't help but stare as you did the small verse, then it was his time again. The rap for 7 rings was coming up and he'd sped it up when you were editing the songs together and he watched as you started rapping along to it, you began with Namjoon's rap and transitioned into the 7 rings one, smirking as he stared at you with his mouth hanging open, he didn't know you knew the whole rap to Ddaeng.

The video went live and it blew up almost instantly, hitting one million views in one day which was impressive for your channel and Yoongi couldn't be more proud. Fans were going insane for the way that he was looking at you in the video, Tumblr blowing up with Gif sets ''Get someone who looks at you like this.'' Every day was something different on your timeline, making you giggle and sent it to Yoongi who enjoyed them just as much. You both agreed it would be a good idea to do a video together once a month or whenever he felt like doing something with you, and he agreed. But in reality, he just wanted to see how much you could rap, and if you could do Agust D just like he could, and he was going to have to come up with some way to see without being obvious.

Hoseok:

The whole reason you met Hoseok was because you were a dancer on youtube, BigHit had come to you to talk about having you as a dancer in one of the videos and of course, you said yes because who in their right mind wouldn't? The moment Hoseok saw you he fell in love with you, he'd never believed in love at first sight until that moment and then when he saw you could dance it only made him fall harder for you. After shooting with you he asked you out, he didn't want to never see you again, he wanted you in his life even if it was just as friends but you accepted and you'd been dating ever since.

"I know the moves Hobi." You told him as you stood in the dance studio, the cameras set up to capture you both. You were doing a dance cover to 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello. Your fans had been wanting you to do something together for a while and this seemed like a good dance. You'd spent weeks coming up with a choreography together and it was finally perfect, for the cameras and now you were getting ready to cover it in the studio but he was convinced that it wasn't right.

"Hoseok, let's just do this." You told him but he was reviewing everything you'd filmed previously on his phone and you took it away from him.

"We've got this, we're both professionals." You told him as he looked up from his hand and stared at you.

"I could kill you right now." He joked watching as you walked over to the speakers and got the music ready,

"Kill me after I've uploaded then." You giggled turning on the music and staring at him, he nodded at you and you rushed over to him and got into your starting position.

(X)

"See I told you everything would be fine." You told him as you sat in his studio, reading through the comments on your video together. It had gone up yesterday and had reached 3 million views already, you were gaining more and more subscribers as Army's joined your fandom. People asking when the next dance cover would be and when Hoseok would be joining you again, you smiled as you read through the comments.

"HA!" You screamed making Hobi jump in his seat and you smirked even more at him,

"What?" He questioned moving away from his chair to join you on the sofa, looking at what you were giggling at.

"Hoseok messed up here." He clicked the timestamp and it was a part where he'd missed one step and you'd hit it.

"We're professionals, it was meant to be like that." He grumbled looking at you, you were still laughing only softer as you noticed how it was annoying him.

"Baby, they know how hard you work, it's a joke." But he got up from the sofa and sat back down on his chair, you locked your phone and walked over to him, rubbing his shoulders as he stared at the screen in front of him you knew this was going to play on his mind so you walked over to his door and locked it. His eyes didn't tear away from the screen as he worked, and you walked over to him again, pulling his chair out and dropping down in front of him.

"I'm going to take care of you, okay?" He smiled down at you and you giggled, kissing his hands.

Namjoon:

Namjoon knew you made Youtube videos and he supported you making them, whenever you would put out a new one he would share it on Weeverse for the fans to go and see which meant 75% of your comments were asking when he was going to be in a video and you'd been wanting to film with him for a while but it was hard. Your videos were mostly vlogs because you liked to show what you'd done that week, or when you went away on holiday so whenever you went away with Namjoon you didn't film. You wanted to spend every moment with him and not get caught up in worrying about camera angles or if you'd caught something for the footage. 

"You know you can shoot around me right?" Namjoon asked when you landed in Amsterdam together. He'd decided to take you and him on a small holiday together since he was on a break. You looked up from the camera in your hand to meet his eyes, he was looking at you. 

"I know...I just don't know if-"

"If I'm comfortable with you filming me?" You nodded as he read your mind. You never wanted to get him on film, you didn't want him or anyone else to think you were only together for the sake of views because it wasn't true. You'd love Namjoon from the moment you met him and there was nothing that would change that. 

"I love you, just film whatever you want." He said as he grabbed both of your bags, taking you through the airport. 

"Whatever I want?" You smirked at him and he bent down to whisper in your ear,

"That's just for us," He growled to you and you giggled shaking your head as you walked over to a taxi bay, going to catch a ride to the hotel.

(X)

The vlog was up and Namjoon was sat in his studio watching it, you'd gotten home a month ago but it had taken you a long time to edit it. You wanted it to be perfect since it was the first time he would be featured in a video of yours and there was a lot you'd managed to film. Mostly aesthetically pleasing shots of him in a museum, riding a bike or doing anything. Because Namjoon was one of the most aesthetically pleasing people you'd ever met. There was one clip that everyone was going insane for. 

The camera was sitting on the table on the balcony, you were trying to get a time-lapse of the view from your hotel room. 

"Namjoon, come look!" You yelled as you ran in front of the camera, looking at the couples all riding down by the river together,

"Have you seen my...Nevermind, it looks better on you anyway." He said as he came to the door, spotting you standing in his red sleeveless flannel shirt and some shorts, he slipped a random shirt on and he came out to you, his hand resting on your waist as you watched all of the couples together, planning to do it together when he had the time.

There was fanart of the clip already, people wanting more clips of you both and you made a promise to release some of the clips you'd cut over time but you wanted to give them what you had for now. Namjoon couldn't stop watching the scene, skipping back over it and thinking about how perfect you looked in his shirt and planning his next trip in his mind.

Jimin:

"I don't think Jimin will be home soon, but when he does I'll ask him." You said to your phone, you were sitting on Instagram live answering fan questions. You'd uploaded a video that morning and wanted to see what people were thinking of it. It was something different to what you would normally post on your channel but they seemed to have a positive view on it.

"I'm home!" Jimin screamed as he walked through the front door, eyes landing on you as you sat on the floor in front of your phone, he came over to your side and waved at the camera. You watched as the counter began to jump as more people came to view it now he was by your side.

"Ask him? Ask me what?" He questioned looking at the screen and then to your face, you kissed the tip of his nose.

"They want you to be in a video with me," You told him as the comments started flooding with messages for him and suggestions for what you could do together in a video and he chuckled.

"I don't want to take over her channel guys." He said to the camera and you poked his cheek, he'd always said that to you whenever you brought up the subject. He told you he didn't want people to expect it from your channel all of the time and for it to turn into a BTS-fest but it already was. No matter what you posted there were always comments about the boys or just Jimin and you understood why. They didn't get much content from the boys and they wanted more and as a fan, you understood it more.

"I'll just ask Jin to do an EatJin with me." You giggled turning to the phone and seeing all of the Yes's coming in and Jimin shook his head.

"I'm way more entertaining than him, what do you guys want to see?" He questioned turning to the phone and scrolling through everything, getting you to write some of the ideas down he had when he saw a comment that caught his eye.

"Q&A?" You looked up from the piece of paper and nodded,

"Could do one now if you really wanted?" You asked the fans which meant the chat was exploding with Yes's yet again. You looked through the internet for a quiz while Jimin run off to have a shower. He'd been at the studio all day and wanted to look fresh for the camera.

Taehyung:

"Tae it's not that big a deal." You said to him as he came out wearing a full aesthetically pleasing outfit for the camera. You told him you were going to film a video trying to do a Bob Ross painting and he insisted on being in the video as well.

"You have to look the part." He told you as he walked in front of the camera which was already recording. You made a mental note not to cut it out because he was walking around as though he was on a runway.

"You look like an idiot." You joked and he came over to you, wrapping his arms around your waist and kissing your cheek.

"I will make sure the Bob Ross theory is real, kill you and paint where I buried you." You giggled and pushed him away, he stood in front of his canvas and you introduced the video, explaining what was going to happen and why Taehyung was there. Though your fans had been asking for it a while and you knew they were going to be over the moon with your choice in the video, especially since Taehyung loved painting just like you did.

(X)

Tae finished and stepped back from his canvas, happy with his work and then you did the same.

"I want to throw it into the bin and burn it." You grumbled, Taehyung stood behind you as you both stared at your painting. While Tae's was pretty spot on, yours looked as though a child had gotten hold of paints and started trying to paint on a canvas.

"This video will never see the light of day." You groaned laying your head back against Tae's chest and he chuckled, trying to think of something to make you laugh,

"Let's paint a smile on that face." Before you registered what he'd said he took some of the paint and draw a smile across your face and you screamed.

"TAE!" He laughed as paint dropped onto the floor and you looked up to him.

"I'll do a Bob Ross and kill you then." You laughed taking some of the paint from your palette and flicking it in his direction missing and hitting the wall behind him and making him laugh.

"That was your fault." You giggled turning away from him thinking it was over but he came over to you after dipping his fingers into the paint.

"Let's call it even?" You nodded and stuck out your hand to shake his hand but he wiped it across your face and you stared at him in silence, turning to the camera and shaking your head.

"I will not rise to his childish antics." He was laughing in the corner of the room so while he was distracted you got up the rest of your white paint and silently made your way over to him, squirting it onto his hair and making a run for it, grabbing the camera to vlog the actions.

"TAE! I'LLL TELL YOUR MUM!" You screamed as he chased you into the bedroom holding a red and yellow tube of paint, you stared up at him.

"You wouldn't." You were sitting on the white sheets and he took the lids off the paints.

"We both know I will." You stared at him and shook your head,

"Tae it won't come out." You warned him but it didn't stop him because less than four seconds later he was squirting the tubes all over you and the bedsheets, jumping so he was above you and pouring it over you.

"Why am I in love with you again?!" You groaned as you stared up at him and he chuckled, sitting on your legs and kissing you.

"I hate you." You mumbled against his lips, turning off the camera and wrapping your arms around him.

Jungkook:

Jungkook had convinced you it would be a good idea to play video games on your channel. You only played when you were alone with him and it wasn't something competitive but somehow he'd managed to talk you into an Overwatch gaming match.

"I hate everything about this." You said to the camera before the game started, Jungkook telling you what to do and how to do it.

"Why am I dating someone who sucks at this game?" He questioned once the video was over.

"You love me." You pouted as he turned off the console and stared at you as if he was contemplating that he did or didn't love you.

"You're right, someone's got to right?" You threw a pillow at him and he ran away letting you end the video on your own. That was all it took, you decided you were going to get better at the game, practise as much as you could when he wasn't around and beat him at the camera, getting it all on camera as well.

(X)

"Jungkook please, just one more game and then I'll stop." You told him as you got into another match. The last video went up and everyone loved it, telling you exactly what you were thinking, to get better on your own and kick his ass. The night had come and you were bluffing him, you'd been failing at the game on purpose now and he was starting to get annoyed with you.

"Just one," He told you as he sat down next to you again and loaded up another game getting ready to help you, you turned to the camera and winked knowing it was time to kick his ass.

"You need to go over-" He stopped as you killed someone right in front of him and the moved on to keep doing what you had to do.

"Wait-" You killed another one and he stared at you, making him die in the process and you continued the game. Winning and getting the winning kill, turning to Jungkook and smile.

"Did I do good?" You giggled and he shook his head at you, pinning you down onto the sofa and attacking your face with kisses,

"I can't believe you were faking to be bad all night." You giggled and wriggled from his grasp, turning off the camera and coming back over to him.

"It was their idea." He grumbled something and took you onto his lap, kissing you and making you blush.  

tagline: 

@yoongisdumplingcheeks @snowy-meowl @lynnthevirgo @yourguessisasgoodasminemate @btsiguess-kpop @lyoongx​ @mitzwinchester​ @rjsmochii​ @kpopfanfictionhoes​

[bookbutterflies]

Books read in August 2020

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi - Nonfiction book detailing the history of slavery and racism in the USA. Ibram X. Kendi wrote Stamped from the Beginning and Jason Reynolds adapted it into this book to be more accessible for younger readers. This book takes up back to the first recorded racist in history to present times. Reynolds draws such a clear line between the past and present and it’s scary to think how easy people justify violence against people and how often they used the same reasoning for their racism.

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo - Contemporary verse novel taking place in Dominican Republic and New York. Yahaira and Camino have just lost their father in a plane crash,their father kept two separate families in two different countries and it’s not until his death his daughters find out about each other. I love the way Acevedo writes, it’s so easy to get lost in the pages of this book. One of the main characters is queer and the first time it is mentioned? 10/10,  A++, would definitely read again.

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine - Adult  space opera inspired by the Aztec Empire. It follows the intrepid Mahit, the new ambassador from the Liesll station to the Teixcaalani Empire and is quickly mired in politics when the secret her Station keeps begins to threaten her life just like it did her predecessor. It’s also about the awe and fear an empire causes on a foreigner, the yearning to belong to a hungry and beautiful place and knowing no matter how hard you try you will never completely fit in. Mahit is a quick witted and smart protagonist, the action is non stop even in quiet moments and I think the sequel is coming out sometime this month.

Vengeful by V. E. Schwab - Sequel to Vicious. The book follows closely in the aftermath of Vicious, with alternating POVs and different timelines, the cusp of the action takes place five years after Vicious when a new EO, Marcella, shows up. Eli is in prison while Victor and the gang are travelling around the world looking for a cure when they get called back to Merit. New characters show up with their own agendas and keep the action going. I mean, what can Eli do when he’s trapped? Ha ha ha, i’m terrible at being funny. I liked it, but I have some questions. Content warning: graphic human experimentation

Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins - YA set in the same timeline as Prince Charming where Scotland has its own monarchy in present time. But! This one features queer princess Flora and Millie, the Texan rock enthusiast (that’s why she moved to Scotland for school, the rocks). This book is chock-full of awkward teenage queer courtship and one big romantic gesture. It’s awesome. I wish the book was longer, I mean, the book is not even 300 pages long, so there was space for a more drawn out ending, it felt very abrupt, but still a good ending.

I’ll Be the One by Lyla Lee - YA contemporary set in LA taking place during a Korean talent show where the winners will be able to train at a top Korean entertainment company. Skye is a fat Korean American dancer and singer, throughout her audition and participation on You’re My SHining Star, she deals with people thinking her size is detrimental to her performance. Is every single one of these assholes wrong? Of course they are. The love interest, Henry, is a handsome model wanting to prove he’s more than a pretty face. Perseverance and queer talent are the best words to describe this book. The book is getting an adaptation, I can’t remember if it’s going to be a show or movie, but I just need them to give me the exact dance/song covers, ok? I want to see them dancing to BTS’s Idol and NCT127’s Cherry Bomb and singing Lee Hi’s 1 2 3 4 and of course, they better not change the characters’ ethnicities. Content warning: fatphobia, homophobia

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire - Adult speculative fiction. Dodger and Roger are twins separated at birth by the alchemist who made them. Dodger is an excellent mathematician and Roger is superb with language. The twins are embodied with the Doctrine of Ethos and once they manifest they will be able to access the impossible city. The twins grow in two different households and through their separations and all too short reunions they begin to understand what was done to them and what they are. It's a beautiful tale of siblings’ love and catastrophe. Content warning: suicide attempt, child experimentation

Spinning by Tillie Walden - Graphic YA biographical novel about a former singles figure skater and synchronized skater. In black and white panels Walden renders the world of a queer child growing in the skating world, the sacrifices, the early morning training sessions and late nights doing homework. Bullies, near-death accidents, sexual predators are only a few of the obstacles in her skating journey.

On A Sunbeam by Tille Walden - Graphic YA novel set in space! The novel follows a group of queer and nonbinary people travelling on a spaceship fixing old buildings in space! It’s also about first love and second chances and lots of adventure and danger and did I mention everyone is queer? Because everyone is queer. Truly beautiful book with incredible artwork.

The Rose & the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh & narrated by Ariana Delawari - Well, when I say I “read” this, I mean I listened to the audiobook. It’s the sequel to The Wrath and the Dawn, which is a retelling of One Thousand and One Arabian Nights. The sequel has a completely different mood than the first book, the ever seductive sense of danger disappears and becomes more of a stranger danger kinda thing.(I’m so sorry for that phrasing), Shahrzad comes into her own power in this book and while that was not what ended the war, it was pretty cool to see her fly on the magic carpet.

[consultingsister-aa]

@theasteriae​ said: ☎ / i love this meme, will always send it, pls choose whoever 😌

sebastian moran ( alt main ) NAME: booty call #3   RINGTONE: love story, taylor swift  PICTURE: mostdangerousmaninlondon.png LAST TEXT RECEIVED: no.  LAST TEXT SENT: i have THE BEST idea but i’m going to need ur life insurance details 

electra black ( groupies and gang wars ) NAME: black twin female  RINGTONE: woman, kesha  PICTURE: wifey.jpg  LAST TEXT RECEIVED: can we do paris then? x LAST TEXT SENT: UGH no i think i have to be in nyc on the 18th for a show :/ can you make it out to vegas for the boys show? we’re getting that stupid expensive suit for the lols again lololol cause obz we need two pools in the hotel we’re never fucking in lmaaooo

aidan fitzgerald ( groupies and gang wars ) NAME: mr electra black  RINGTONE: you need to calm down, taylor swift  PICTURE: babe.jpg LAST TEXT RECEIVED: i am exhausted so if i come home to you in my bed again, i am going to lose it, get out now or i’ll throw you out the window  LAST TEXT SENT: probs shouldn’t come home then xoxoxoxoxo

kate conway ( lawyer verse ) NAME: work wifey  RINGTONE: don’t call me angel, miley cyrus + ariana grande + lana del rey  PICTURE: diva.png LAST TEXT RECEIVED: they’ve offered forty million, we’re turning that down right?  LAST TEXT SENT: tell them to fuck off, but professionally ;) also did you order donuts to the office bc im going to eat them all if you don’t hurry up and crush this case whoooops 

[silverlightqueen]

and here is the final Roses playlist, Roses Mixtape Pt. IIII, enjoy x

tracklist

1. Intro: Karma - y/n = Alarm - Anne-Marie

Karma is about how angry y/n is at Jimin, but also at herself for ignoring her doubts about him. How she knew he was cold and detached and that should’ve alerted her to the fact that she shouldn’t have gotten with him. And for what they both did to each other, they’re both suffering from karma now. 

2. Love Me - y/n = And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going - Jennifer Hudson

Love Me is really sad and emotional, and the part of y/n that refuses to give up on her relationship with Jimin comes out in this song. When I watch Jennifer Hudson do this song in Dreamgirls (I recommend watching it), it makes me cry every time because of the raw emotion and heartbreak you can see, and those exact same feelings come through in Love Me. 

3. Shoes - y/n = If I Were A Boy - Beyonce

Shoes is y/n saying to Jimin that if she’d been in his shoes, she’d never have done what he did to her, and she’d also never be able to get away with the way he used to behave (the random girls every night and the drugs). Again, this is a very big song and so would be super emotional and upsetting because you’d just be able to hear the hurt in y/n’s voice.

4. Comfort - y/n, Chaeyoung & Jisoo = Teddy Bear - Melanie Martinez

I was kinda reluctant about this song at first but now, I feel like it works really well. y/n’s comfort zone, away from the pressures of her job, the tour, Vic and her past with Yoongi, was Jimin. He was her teddy bear in that she felt soothed and comfortable with him, just like kids do with their teddy bears, but then that thing that gave her the most comfort turned against her, and she has nothing to turn to anymore. Chaeyoung and Jisoo’s vocals would sound super pretty on this song, and also give it a haunting and creepy feeling.

5. Victory - y/n = The Winner Takes It All - ABBA

This is y/n’s admission to Jimin, her way of saying, ‘well done, you got what you wanted, you won, how does it feel now?’ It’s also slightly teasing, as if she’s asking him how his victory feels now he doesn’t have her anymore. It’s got quite bitter and angry undertone, but it’s mainly hopeless and completely sad. 

6. Wounds - y/n & Blackpink = Bad Blood - Taylor Swift & Kendrick Lamar

This is the stage where she starts to get over the initial sadness and heartbreak and gets a bit angry at him, saying she hates him and she can never move past what he did. She’s asking him why he did it, why he ruined everything they had, because now they can never go back to how they were. It's also quite a girl-power anthem which is why Blackpink are on the song too, Lisa and Jennie doing Kendrick’s raps, and Chae, Jisoo and y/n splitting up Taylor’s bits between themselves.

7. Broken - y/n & Jennie = Moving Along - 5 Seconds of Summer

This is the point where y/n’s trying to move on, but keeps looking back at Jimin, wondering how he’s doing and feeling now, whether or not he’s still broken too. It’s quite a chill and laidback song, and I think Jennie and y/n would sound really nice on this song together.

8. Dreaming - y/n & Blackpink = Love Me Like You - Little Mix

I always listen to this song when I’m in my feels because you can relate to it, but it also puts you in a good mood because it’s just like cute and upbeat. The girls would do this song really well and it reflects that relapse that everyone has when you’re trying get over someone, when you feel like no one else is as good for you as that person is. 

9. Hero - y/n (Mariah Carey cover)

This is the main turning point in the album, where y/n realises that she can’t mope anymore, and she has to become her own hero because no else is going to do it. This song is so emotional and beautiful, and y/n would pour her heart out into it, more than doing it justice.

10. Did Me Wrong - y/n ft. Blackpink = I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor

Here’s another girl-power anthem, y/n looking back and realising that she shouldn’t have been sad over him because he’s the idiot that did her wrong and she’s better off without him. It’s got the retro feel to it and I just think it’d sound really cute but also badass with all the girls on it.

11. Save - y/n & Lisa = Goodbyes - Post Malone & Young Thug

This song is a bit more mellow and laidback, showing y/n’s rationality when it comes to how she feels about Jimin. She’s accepted that their relationship couldn’t have worked because they both had personal shit that they needed to work through and fix before they even got together. y/n would have Post Malone’s bit and Lisa would have Young Thug’s bit to liven the song up a little bit.

12. Kill This Love - y/n & Blackpink (Remix)

Need I even say anything? Kill This Love perfectly sums up y/n and Jimin’s relationship and how it cannot continue whilst they are who they are now. y/n did Jennie and Lisa’s back and forth rap during the tour so she’d do that bit along with the outro section, as well as having a completely revamped backing track.

13. Burned Bridges - y/n & Jisoo = Cry Me A River - Justin Timberlake

This song came to y/n after seeing Jimin cry at the end of their first court visit, and it’s almost as if to say it’s too little too late. Jisoo and y/n would harmonise together to give the song a more complex and layered sound, and it’d be really pretty with all the extra sounds in the background.

14. Solo - y/n & Jennie (Remix)

This song also fits really well with y/n and Jimin’s relationship and basically says to Jimin that she is better off without him, and that he’d better start looking for a replacement because she’s going solo now. And of course Jennie had to be on this song too, so she’s still got her rap after the first verse, and they do the choruses together.

15. Ego - y/n & Chaeyoung = Obsessed - Maggie Lindemann

This song actually talks about how vain Jimin used to come across to y/n. She sings about the way he’d just sleep with all these random girls (because he could get whoever he wanted) and treat everybody coldly like he was above them (but implicitly, so she’s not exposing him), before admitting at the end that part of her loves his vanity, and it’s okay because she’s vain too. Chae’s voice would really suit this song because it’s really light and cute and so is Chae.

16. In My Blood - y/n (Shawn Mendes cover)

This song speaks a bit less about the relationship, and a bit more about y/n’s own personal battle with her mind over the years. First with her nightmares about her childhood friend, and now with the depressive state she’s been in since everything happened. It discusses how close she was to giving up, alluding to suicide, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it, because she knew she had to keep on fighting and stay strong. This song’s an empowering anthem and would fit really well with the theme of this album.

17. State of Mind - y/n ft. Chaeyoung & Jisoo = No Tears Left To Cry - Ariana Grande

State of Mind discusses how y/n’s moved past her sadness and now feels stronger and happier. It does mention that she still gets a bit sad, but that’s okay because her happiness outweighs that. Jisoo and Chae would do the harmonies throughout the song and all of their voices would layer over one another in that opening section in the music video. 

18. Outro: Bad Bitch - y/n ft. Blackpink = Sorry Not Sorry - Demi Lovato

This would be the perfect closing to the album, basically a final ‘fuck you’ to Jimin, a way of y/n saying to him that he better be regretting what he did because look at her now, she’s back and she’s better than ever, so he can hold that L. Again, this is another empowering anthem, and all of the girls would equally share out this song.

taglist💕: @khaoticamour @rjsmochii @minniestudies @oodlespadoodle @shay-the-turtle @yasbts705 @goldenchemistry @arvbellas @anothershorthuman @golden-pixie-dust-200 @onlinewhale @maknaeroni @sweetchocolategoblin @conslack @missbowkimjinju @pocketfullofsuga @booklover240 @dimple-jungkook @squishyshit @sakurauchiha2018 @keylowmonie @untainted-memories @babybluebisexual @dearbangtan07 @joyful-jimin @glossdust @mayumioutloud @needyvmin @the-real96 @brinnalaine @lovebuginlove @smolchild95

[blackpinkofficial]

On a modest stage inside a tent in downtown Los Angeles, the four members of the South Korean girl group Blackpink assume a diamond formation and aim their fingers like guns at the audience as they launch into the chorus of their breakout hit, “Ddu-du Ddu-du”: “Wait till I do what I ... Hit you with that ddu-du ddu-du du!”

It’s the afternoon before the Grammys at Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge’s annual showcase, where he presents the company’s prospective superstars to a crowd of record executives and industry types. (Past performers have included Ariana Grande, Halsey and Shawn Mendes.) With their intense choreography, dance-heavy beats and Clueless-esque high-fashion looks, the four women offer the kind of bells-and-whistles pop production that makes them an anomaly not just on today’s lineup, where rappers like 2 Chainz and Lil Baby abound, but also on the charts, where women like Grande serve up their divadom with an extra dose of realness.

The showcase marks Blackpink’s first stateside performance, though the band made history long before: “Ddu-du Ddu-du” became the highest-charting single by a Korean girl group on the Billboard Hot 100 when it peaked at No. 55 last June, and this April the act will be the first Korean girl group to play Coachella, before embarking on a North American arena tour. “Ddu-du Ddu-du,” sung mostly in Korean, is a boastful warning to those who underestimate Blackpink, with a hook (meant to imitate the sound of bullets flying) that’s also a canny invitation to non-Korean listeners -- anyone can sing the words. The buttoned-up UMG crowd seems a little unsure, but also intrigued: Just as Blackpink’s Jennie -- soft-spoken in person, but onstage a fierce singer and rapper -- slides into a rat-tat-tat flow in the second verse, more and more audience members whip out their phones to capture video.

There’s no longer any question that K-pop is happening in America. BTS, the seven-member South Korean boy band, scored two No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 in 2018 and became the first K-pop group to sell out an American stadium when it played New York’s Citi Field in October. Yet despite the group’s visibility here, K-pop remains somewhat detached from the mainstream: It receives relatively little top 40 airplay despite fan-army pressure on radio stations, its artists rarely tour with non-K-pop acts, and outside of its intensely passionate fan groups, K-pop stars hardly drive the wider “conversation” that someone like Grande can dominate with a single tweet.

Blackpink represents Korean music’s latest, greatest hope at breaking out of the American K-pop box. The group believes its multinational identity gives it global appeal: Sweet-voiced Jisoo, 24, is a South Korean native; buoyant rapper Lisa, 21, is from Thailand; guitar-playing Rosé, 22, grew up in Australia; and Jennie, 23, was born in South Korea but spent some formative years in New Zealand. “You don’t have to understand Korean to understand the music, the visuals, the vibe,” says Jisoo, through a translator. (Rosé and Jennie are fluent in English; Lisa alternates between English and Korean during our interview.) “We’ve got so much Korean culture and so much Western culture in us,” adds Rosé, her Australian accent still pronounced.

And though occasional English lyrics already pepper their tracks, Jennie notes that recording all-English songs is something they “definitely want to do” in the future. (They’re focused on making their debut album first.) Even their sound -- an omnivorous fusion of fist-pumping EDM and booming hip-hop beats with flashes of house, ’80s pop and harmonica-driven folk -- seems conceived for the widest possible audience. “I was immediately drawn to their fierce and empowering energy,” says Dua Lipa, who asked the group to guest on last year’s bilingual banger “Kiss and Make Up.” “They are not just giving you hit songs -- they are sending a message that resonates beyond the lyrics.”

Last fall, Blackpink signed to Interscope Records, which will serve as both a creative and business partner to YG Entertainment, the group’s Korean home and one of South Korea’s three main music companies along with SM Entertainment and JYP Entertainment. These companies serve as label, management firm and production studio, controlling almost every aspect of their artists’ careers. Interscope chairman/CEO John Janick says that YG’s leadership -- Hyunsuk “YG” Yang, its founder, and Teddy Park, Blackpink’s main producer and creative director -- “runs the show,” but the relationship is collaborative: Sam Riback, Interscope’s pop-rock A&R head, has made multiple trips to YG’s Seoul headquarters and “has been sending them lots of different ideas,” according to Janick. “Our goal,” he says, “is to amplify what YG has been doing globally.”

If Interscope can help turn Blackpink into a truly global superstar act, the partnership could become a model for other labels looking to invest in K-pop and even pave the way for joint imprints. “This deal could be a benchmark,” says YG’s Joojong “JJ” Joe, who heads the company’s U.S. operations from a small house near Los Angeles’ Echo Park. It will also confirm Interscope’s foresight about K-pop. In 2011, the label signed the group Girls’ Generation during one of the earlier waves of K-pop imports, when artists like BoA and Wonder Girls worked with Western producers and companies.

At the time, those artists barely made a dent on the mainstream charts, and their backers took a hit: Despite high-profile promotional appearances, Girls’ Generation’sThe Boys LP sold only 1,000 copies in the United States during its first week in 2012, according to Nielsen Music. Since then, however, streaming platforms have made it easier for fans to discover and support Korean music, while the growth of social media has also allowed them to forge deep connections with artists everywhere. “In this era, people find their music and their talented artists on the internet,” says Susan Rosenbluth, senior vp at AEG Presents/Goldenvoice, who helped book Blackpink’s North American tour and notes that K-pop’s stateside audience “does not follow along ethnic lines.”

To Janick, the success of Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s chart-topping Latin hit, “Despacito,” aided by a Justin Bieber remix, made English-speaking listeners more open-minded in general to music in other languages. “We’re going to have hits from all different territories -- more of them, and more often than we’ve seen in the past,” he says.

But the onus isn’t just on listeners to embrace Korean music -- it’s on industry gatekeepers too. At the UMG showcase, the reaction to Blackpink is enthusiastic, but it feels muted compared with the rousing ovation the crowd gives classic-rock revivalists Greta Van Fleet, whose 2018 debut album was notoriously panned by some critics as derivative. The response to Blackpink’s Interscope deal, however, suggests that attitude could change.

“So many artists on our roster started calling, saying, ‘I want to work with these girls.’ Radio stations were asking when new music was going to be out,” says Interscope executive vp business development Jeremy Erlich, who facilitated early conversations between the label and YG (he and Joe attended business school together). “The industry’s ready. When the music comes out, I don’t think there’s going to be many people saying, ‘This is just a fad.’”

The day before the showcase, the ladies of Blackpink are ensconced in a hotel suite high above downtown L.A. Lisa, dressed in a gray fleece and a checkered coat, spies the Hollywood sign through a corner window and bounds off a couch for a closer look. Her bandmates, cozied up in brightly colored sweatshirts and cardigans, admit they weren’t expecting Los Angeles in February to be so chilly. During some rare downtime the previous day, they went shopping in Santa Monica. “It was supposed to be for fashion,” says Jennie, “but we ended up just grabbing anything that was warm.”

This is Blackpink’s first trip to L.A., but it has been almost a decade in the making. The group’s members came to Seoul from all over the world starting in 2010 to take part in YG’s rigorous recruitment and training process. The company and its competitors hold tryouts both within and far beyond Korea (Rosé traveled to Sydney from her home in Melbourne), seeking recruits who are typically preteens or teens, ethnically Korean and fluent in the language, though these qualities are not mandatory. Lisa, who auditioned in her native Thailand in 2010, didn’t speak any Korean when she began training in Seoul in 2011.

For all four women, joining YG meant enrolling in a kind of full-time pop-star academy that Jennie calls “more strict than school” and that Rosé likens to The X Factor with dorm rooms. For 12 hours a day, seven days a week, the future members of Blackpink -- along with, by Jennie’s estimate, 10-20 other aspiring singers who cycled through the project -- studied singing, dancing and rapping, taking part in monthly tests designed to identify their strengths and weed out subpar trainees. “Somebody would come in with a piece of paper and stick it on a wall, and it would say who did best, who did worst, who’s going home,” recalls Jennie, whom YG initially steered toward rapping because she spoke fluent English. “You get a score -- A, B, C,” Lisa explains. “Lisa would always get A’s for everything,” adds Jennie with a laugh.

The process was lengthy. Before Blackpink debuted in 2016, Jennie spent six years in training, Lisa and Jisoo five and Rosé four. For the members who had left behind life outside South Korea, the pace of training on top of the culture shock was sometimes tough. “I’d call my parents crying,” recalls Rosé. “But as much as it was hard for me to cope with all of that, it made me more hungry. I remember my mom would be like, ‘If it’s so hard for you, just come back home.’ But I’d be like” -- she mimics a surly teen’s glare, much to the others’ amusement -- “‘That’s not what I’m talking about!’” Lisa credits her future bandmates with easing her transition. “Jennie would speak English to me, and Jisoo helped me out with my Korean,” she says. Rosé was the last of the bunch to enter training, but she remembers the four of them bonding during an all-night jam session when she arrived. “We just clicked,” she says.

That’s clearly still the case: Rosé sometimes puts her hand on Lisa’s knee when translating for her, and at one point Jennie and Jisoo huddle close together to silently adjust one of their necklaces, displaying the intimacy of close friends. “We don’t really have a day off,” says Lisa. (Once every two weeks, Rosé clarifies.) And because their families are so far-flung, they often spend their time off with each other anyway. “We’re stuck together,” says Rosé, laughing.

While K-pop companies have a reputation for packaging groups assembly line-style, Blackpink’s members insist they have plenty of creative input, despite having no official writing credits on their tracks. Park plays them music he’s working on and “really tries to put our thoughts into our songs,” says Jennie. “He really gets his inspirations from us.”

“It’s important as recording artists that they actually truly own their songs,” says Park. The women all make suggestions about who should sing what, and if a part doesn’t feel right to someone, he will make adjustments. “He doesn’t just bring us a song, like, ‘Go practice,’” says Rosé.

Besides, the members of Blackpink have another creative outlet: Last fall, YG announced that they would all release solo material, starting with Jennie, whose debut single, “Solo,” topped Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales chart in December. Though the music is still created and put out by YG, the idea that group longevity and solo success aren’t mutually exclusive is a radical development in girl-group history -- one that Janick says only “makes the brand stronger.”

Stars who come through companies like YG are called “idols” in Korea and have historically been expected to maintain a squeaky-clean image. When Blackpink debuted, Jennie says YG was very selective about its promotional appearances: “We were trained to be a little more...” “Closed in?” Rosé suggests.

“Closed in” is exactly what the outspoken women ruling the U.S. charts now, from Grande to Halsey, are not -- they make deeply personal, even raw, music. But while Blackpink may well find success catering to an audience craving its kind of TRL-era pop spectacle -- Interscope’s Erlich calls the group “the modern Spice Girls” -- lately the band has been less concerned with appearing perfect, both onstage and off. “We always wanted to be out there, to be more true to ourselves and a little more free,” says Jennie. “Even we can get things wrong sometimes. We want to just show them the real us.”

Jennie and Lisa do just that when I ask how they expect to be received as rappers in America. Lisa lets out an embarrassed groan, withdrawing into her fleece. She has loved hip-hop since childhood and is obsessed with Tyga (“I love his swag,” she says, blushing). But she and Jennie seem well aware that a group of Asian women adopting a style pioneered by black American artists might be a hard sell for some stateside listeners who are keenly attuned to debates about cultural appropriation.

“Me and Lisa don’t talk about it out loud, but I know we have this big pressure,” says Jennie, who adds that she studied artists like Lauryn Hill and TLC when she first started rapping. She looks across the room at Lisa: “She’s going to kill it.” Lisa just scrunches up her face.

That kind of vulnerability may be what ultimately endears Blackpink to an American pop audience. “The artists that are the most successful in these situations are really authentic with how they can relate to a coming-of-age experience” in their music, says Goldenvoice’s Rosenbluth. “There’s a certain amount of authenticity to Blackpink that I really love. The dedication is heartfelt.” 

Back at the showcase, the band finishes its set with the reggaetón-tinged “Forever Young,” featuring an intricately choreographed, hair-flipping dance break. As the beat reaches its booming climax, the bandmembers whip toward each other and strike a statuesque pose with their hands on their hips, just in time for the music to stop. They hold still for a moment as the lights dim, then drop their arms and turn toward each other, catching their breath and grinning like four young women who can’t quite believe they’re here.  

[pintsizemama]

Baby’s First Christmas

Day 22

Heroes & Heartbreak ‘verse

Welcome to the 2022 Christmas Writing Challenge!

Summary: Ari and Javi bring the twins to Texas for their first Christmas.

Pairings: Javier Peña x OFC Ariana Morgan

Fandom: Narcos

Rating: Mature 18+ ONLY

Word Count: 1,827

Warnings: language, grief, mention of death, reference to sex…let me know if I missed anything!

A/N: So if you stick with the original story as canon, read this as is…if your canon is the alternate Chapter 19 of Heroes & Heartbreak, then Carrillo is alive and well in Spain with his wife. He retired after the ambush and keeps in regular contact with Ari and Javi.—And he’s Horacio’s godfather!

Day 21 Day 23 Christmas Masterlist Series Masterlist Main Masterlist AO3 Join my taglist

“Never again,” Javi murmured as they made their way through the airport.

“What?” Ari asked him.

“We are not traveling this close to Christmas ever again,” he replied. “This is fucking chaos.”

“It’s fine, Javi,” she assured him. “We’re here now, it’s over.”

“We should have come last week,” Javi continued to argue. “Or the week before that. There won’t be enough time to get the outside of the house decorated.”

“Javi—” Ari tried to cut in.

“I decorated for Isabel’s first Christmas, it’s only fair the boys get the same,” Javi ranted on.

“You were the one that insisted we come to Texas for Christmas,” Ari reminded him.

“Well, it seemed like the right move,” Javi sighed. “Pop enjoyed having Isabel here for her first.”

“Javi, take a deep breath,” Ari told him. “It’ll all work out. Just trust me.”

“But—”

“Do you trust me?” Ari asked him.

“With my life, querida,” he replied immediately.

“Then just relax,” she said.

“Fine,” Javi groaned. “Let’s get the fuck out of this madhouse.” They grabbed their luggage and walked towards the pickup area. The twins were sound asleep in their stroller and Javi carried Isabel in one arm, and half the luggage in his other. They stepped outside to see Chucho waiting by his truck.

“There’s my favorite girl!” Chucho exclaimed and immediately reached for Isabel.

“Abuelo!” She screeched and leapt into his arms.

“I missed you,” Chucho whispered as he hugged her tight.

“I missed you too,” Isabel replied.

“Let me see those handsome boys,” Chucho said once Isabel let him go. Ari turned the stroller around so he could see the twins. “Oh, my…they look just like Javier when he was a baby.” Ari smiled.

“Told you,” she said to Javi. Javi claimed all the kids looked like her, but the boys definitely took after their dad.

“They look exactly like you, mijo,” Chucho said. “Though they do have your nose, Ariana.”

“Thank God for that,” Javi mumbled.

“Stop it!” Ari scolded him gently. “I love your nose, Javi.” She stood on her tip toes to kiss him on the tip of his nose. “It’s my favorite feature of yours.”

“Is that so?” Javi said with a quirk of his brow. “I thought you liked another one of my…features a lot more.” Ari blushed and slapped him on the bicep.

“Behave, you animal,” Ari whispered.

“Mommy, don’t hit Daddy,” Isabel scolded.

“Yeah, don’t hit Daddy,” Javi pouted. Ari just shook her head and smiled.

“Let’s get this all loaded up and head back to the ranch,” Chucho said. A half hour later they were pulling up to the Peña ranch. The adults got out of the truck.

“What’s all this?” Javi asked, staring at the house. “You decorated, Pop?”

“Nope,” Chucho said with a big grin. The front door opened and Steve walked out.

“Surprise!” Steve shouted.

“What the fuck?” Javi said loudly, a huge smile on his face. Connie and Olivia followed Steve out onto the porch.

“Oh my God!” Ari cried out. Her and Connie rushed forward to hug. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Well, we didn’t want to miss the twins’ first Christmas,” Connie said. “When we heard you were coming to Texas, Steve called Chucho, and the three of us schemed.”

“Fuck, this is incredible,” Javi said.

“Daddy, don’t say ‘fuck’,” Isabel scolded from the open window of the car.

“Isabel Marie Peña,” Ari said in a stern voice.

“Daddy said it first,” Isabel deadpanned. Javi shook his head.

“You have your hands full with that one,” Steve smirked.

“You have no idea,” Javi groaned. “Did you put up all the decorations?”

“Yeah,” Steve nodded.

“This is awesome,” Javi replied. “I can’t believe you guys are here.”

“Where are those boys?” Connie asked. “I have to kiss them and squeeze them for at least half an hour.” Ari laughed and the two of them walked over to get the twins out of the car. A little while later everyone was seated around the kitchen table catching up. Olivia and Isabel were playing quietly, Connie was holding Miguel and Ari had Horacio.

“They’re gorgeous,” Connie told them, looking at the boys.

“Thank you,” Ari said with a smile. Steve reached out and Horacio grabbed his finger.

“Hey, little man,” he said gently. “You got some big shoes to fill. You’re named after one of the bravest men I’ve ever known.” Javi watched Ari carefully. They talked about Carrillo often throughout the years—Ari didn’t want to hide away the memory of her friend, even though it was painful at times—but the grief was still a lot for her some days. She smiled sadly, and her eyes were glossy, but she held it together.

“If he turns out to be half the man Carrillo was, we’ll be the luckiest parents in the world,” Javi said quietly. Ari nodded in agreement and kissed little Horacio on the top of his head.

“Your namesake was my best friend,” she whispered to their son. “He was brave and loyal and kind. Determined to a fault. And he was funny. Not many people knew that side of him, but I did. He was so damn funny.” She paused, swallowed audibly, and lay her cheek on top of the baby’s head. “He died doing what was right…fighting to make the world a better place. I wish you could have met him. But one day, when you’re big enough, we’ll go to Madrid so you can meet his son. He’s so much like his father sometimes…”

Javi smiled. They had kept in touch with Juliana and their son over the years. They talked regularly on the phone, and he and Ari had traveled to Spain to see them a few times. Juliana couldn’t bring herself to move back to Colombia after his death. Javi noticed Steve turn away and swipe at his eyes. The loss of Carrillo had hit them all hard. Even all these years later, it was tough.

“On a lighter note,” Connie cut in after a few moments of silence, “I have something for the boys. She nodded to Steve who left the room for a moment. He returned with two fuzzy footie pajamas. One was green with reindeer on it, and the other was red with Christmas trees. They both had Baby’s First Christmas embroidered on the front.

“I saw them at the mall and couldn’t resist!” Connie said as Steve handed them to Ari.

“Oh these are adorable!” Ari gushed. Javi was glad to see the sadness in her eyes replaced with joy. “I can’t wait to see them in these!”

“I figure they’re perfect for Christmas Eve,” Connie explained. “I also got matching nightgowns for the girls. Olivia insisted.”

“Isabel is going to love that,” Javi said. “She tells us all the time that Olivia is her best friend.”

“Well,” Steve began and looked at Connie, who nodded. “We have some news to share.” Steve paused a moment. “We’re moving.”

“Oh?” Javi asked. Years ago Javi and Ari had moved to Miami to be closer to them. Steve was still with the DEA, but Javi had taken up teaching Criminal Justice at the University of Miami. Within a couple years Steve was offered a position in the DEA he couldn’t refuse, and the Murphy’s moved to DC. A few months later Javi was offered a teaching position at Northeastern University. Tired of heat—first Colombia, then Texas, then Florida—they jumped at the opportunity and moved. They loved Boston, but they missed Chucho and the Murphy’s.

“Yeah,” Steve explained. “I’m done with the DEA…getting too old for that shit. I got a call from a friend of yours—Bill Stevens.”

“Bill?” Javi said with raised eyebrows. Bill Stevens was the head of Javi’s department.

“Yeah,” Steve continued. “Seems they have an opening at Northwestern for a Criminal Justice professor. Bill said he’d love to have both the DEA agents who took down Escobar. Something about making the school look good.” Javi sat up in his chair. “So, I took it.”

“Seriously?” Javi exclaimed. “You’re coming to Boston?”

“Yep, we’re coming to Boston,” Steve confirmed.

“I can’t believe it!” Ari said, tears streaming down her face. “This is wonderful.”

“Well, I may as well share my news,” Chucho chimed in.

“What’s up, Pop?” Javi asked.

“Your cousin has agreed to take over the ranch for me,” Chucho explained. “It’s getting to be a bit too much for me, and I want it to stay in the family. Now, I don’t know if the New England winters will agree with me, so I might come back down here for a couple months each winter, but…”

“You’re moving to Boston too?’ Javi asked, his jaw dropping in shock.

“I hate being away from my grand babies,” Chucho said with a shrug. “I want to watch them grow.”

“We’re renovating the loft over the garage, hermosa,” Javi said immediately to Ari. “We can turn it into an apartment for Pop.”

“That’s a great idea!” Ari agreed. She turned to Chucho. “It’s a huge space! That would put you so close to the kids, and you wouldn’t have to worry about finding a place…do you think that would work for you?”

“As long as you two don’t mind me being so close, I’d love it,” Chucho agreed.

“Just knock before you come in,” Javier warned.

“I’m not going to walk into your bedroom, mijo,” Chucho assured him.

“I can’t guarantee it’s always contained to the bedroom, Pop…just always knock unless you wanna risk seeing something you can’t unsee.”

“Javier!” Ari gasped, her face turning bright red.

“Connie and I used to hear you two going at it all the time in Colombia, Ari,” Steve said with a grin. “No need to get shy now.”

“Oh my God!” Ari groaned and covered her face with one hand. Horacio bounced up and down in her lap and squealed excitedly.

“You two are terrible,” Ari said. “Keep your dirty talk away from my angelic baby boys.”

“If they’re anything like their dad, they’re not gonna be angels for long,” Steve said with a laugh. Ari scowled at him.

“He’s right, cariño,” Javi said with a shrug.

“Ugh, you are both on my list,” Ari pouted. “Connie, let’s take the kids outside to play…away from these dirty old men.”

“Who you calling old?” Steve called out after them. Javi laughed. Steve looked at him a smiled. “I never thought I’d see this day.”

“What day is that?” Javi asked.

“Sitting here with Javier Peña—professor, husband, father of three…it’s mind boggling sometimes.”

“I agree,” Javi said. “Hell, I’m living this life, and it still feels surreal sometimes.” he sighed. “I never thought I could do this, but I cannot imagine my life any other way now. Those kids…Ari…they’re everything to me.”

“It’s great, isn’t it?” Steve asked.

“The best,” Javi agreed.

Day 23

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Taglist:

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[shoheiakagi]

21 QUESTIONS

tagged by @beckyshtar, ty!

RULES: Answer 21 questions and then tag 21 people you want to get to know better.

i don’t actually know 21 people to tag so i’m just gonna tag the few people i talk to over here: @yumidarkheart,  @aka-no-o,  @cat-the-spade, @redloveashes, and @anewmourning

1. HEIGHT: somewhere between 5′3-5′4 (im short, i know)

2. ZODIAC: taurus

3. LAST MOVIE I SAW: a rewatch of mor and two prince of tennis movies

4. FAVORITE MUSICIAN: uhh ariana grande, i guess? i mean i dont like all of her songs and sometimes she annoys me but she really is talented. i also like bts even tho i haven’t listened to all of their songs (i’m basic, i know) OH AND GORILLAZ

5. FAVORITE AUTHOR: n/a

6. FAVORITE FANFICTION:  i don’t have a fave but:

i really like shouhei’s chapter in this one reader x character fic since this is how i envision my favorite part time thug to act when he’s trying to woo someone

this is a really lovely homra centric one shot that manages to give a good enough screentime to all members. also, the characterization here is really good

idk about you guys, but i love the idea of dark!homra, in which they’re just as bad, if not worse, than the gangs they target. even tho its not complete and it features a ship im not fond of, this fic is definitely my fave k fic. i love how detailed the characters (even the minor ones) were, how certain characters (eric) are actually pretty terrifying and sadistic, how the members pretty much lead a double life to keep their identities hidden, how even the least violent members (totsuka and anna) are just as dark, and how unlike canon, they’re def not a found family trope or a group of friends. the members only interact with each other during meetings and missions. really, if dark!homra (and saru/mi) is your jam, then read this fic!! it’s totally worth it.

another saru/mi one shot that features some drunk homra members. the humor and dialogues here are a+, and who wouldn’t want to read a fic where some dumbass homra members spend their saturday nights drunk af in their local mcdonalds?

a saru/mi fic thats set in an idol verse. im pretty sure unlike idol k, this fic is set up in an au where it’s similar to the kpop/jpop industry. so we have solo artists yata & fushimi plus boy groups consisting of homra & s4 abc boys + kamamoto. a really fun fic and i mentioned before how even tho hes not the main character here, this fic has the best characterization for shouhei imo.

7. FAVORITE MOVIE: i really enjoyed moonlight

8. FAVORITE ANIME: mm i don’t think i have any fave. i mean i guess prince of tennis would’ve qualified at one point but idrc about it anymore. if there was an anime just based on homra and ALL of its core members, then that def would be my fave

9. PLAY ANY INSTRUMENTS?:  nope

10. RANDOM FACT: i have three exams this tuesday but i haven’t studied yet even tho its sunday and i have work on monday im so screwed

11. LUCKY NUMBER: uhh 3? or maybe 5

12. DO YOU GET ASKS?:  sometimes. usually w/e i reblog an ask meme

13. FAVORITE FANDOM(S): don’t have any but i’ll admit that the k fandom is the only fandom i actually make shitposts, incorrect posts, and a few headcanons for along with edits

14. FAVORITE SONG:  don’t have one. if i really like a song, i have a bad habit of replaying it over and over again to the point where i get tired of the song

15. WHAT ARE YOU WEARING: pjs

16. HAIR COLOR: black

17. EYE COLOR: black

18. FAVORITE FOOD: you can never go wrong with a good burger

19. HOBBIES: daydreaming, listening to music, wasting time online

20. FAVORITE WEATHER: when its warm and sunny w/o being super hot (spring) or if its cloudy and slightly chilly (fall)

21. FAVORITE SUPERHERO(S): donna troy/wondergirl/troia, starfire, nightwing, wonder woman, batman, stephanie brown/spoiler/batgirl, etc. im pretty much a dc girl.

[constantlyirksome]

“Super Girl Groups, Henny” Review (Spoilers.)

As a Drag Race fan writing his first episode review I wonder if it’s possible at all to remain entirely impartial when it comes to the storylines and judgings each week. Like the many twinks before me I tend to think of myself as the expert when really I’m just enamoured by the glamour and the drama. So going forward every episode writing reviews I want to keep a level head, and not make my biases too obvious. That said Gia Gunn is a legend. This brings us to this weeks episode, “Super Girl Groups, Henny,” Where the cast are split in to teams of two, and perform a number featuring meemee queen Stacey Lane Matthews from season three. (I can’t be the only person who wonders why they just featured her in a challenge but didn’t cast her right?) We start with the typical scene of the girls walking into the workroom, lamenting the loss of their first sister Jasmine, who they laud for her confidence and sense of self. Personally being a Jasmine fan, and knowing the results of episode two have me thinking “what a waste, “that Jasmine could have given us hours more entertainment. The usually stone-cold Trinity comments on how difficult it was to send a sister home last week, that it’s made her a little emotional which is valid. Who knows really if you’ve cut someone’s time short, you’ve wasted their shot, it’s a lot to carry. But the other girls aren’t having any of it, after not having eliminated anyone themselves they think Trinity should suck it up. Watch this space to see if Monet x Change cries if she get’s the chance to send a girl home. Farrah is excited, she’s ready to fuck shit up she says, which is where the first glimmer of drama rears it’s head. Gia saying it takes more than being pretty to win, leading into the already heavy implication that miss Boom Boom Gun is the editor’s choice as villain for the season. I have a hard time believing there aren’t archives of the other girls being catty that get left on the cutting room. So for Ru to pick out even the tiniest bit of shade to villainise the first openly trans all star feels wrong. But hey, to her credit, she’s been doing it all year on and off the show, why stop now? The Farrah/Gia storyline drags on through the episode in spots, as Gia informs her team of some drama that happened between the two of them at a gig. None of the other girls care, nor should they, because not only is it not relevant to the challenge, as Farrah is on the other team, it’s boring. So when Gia, pure intentions or not, tries to talk things out with the younger girl it just feels like she’s forcing something that’s got no traction. Farrah’s just trying to do her makeup sis, she’s very unbothered and holds her own. Props to miss Monique Heart for refereeing, and being the loud voice of reason. In the wise words of Manila: “When you go to prison you don’t shank the weakest one, that just makes you a bully.” Back to the challenge, the teams are split Trinity, Valentina, Latrice, Manila, and Gia, face off against Monet, Monique Naomi and Farrah, both teams of course assisted by the Muthafuckin Henny, Stacey Lane Mathews. Choreography and recording sessions are personally for me always cringe, so I won’t read the manuscripts on those scenes. But highlights include: Farrah reprising her roll as phone sex operator, Gia calling her teammates hags then rhyming be with be five times, Monique reprising her season 10 roll as director to the stars. Now to the main stage, the performances begin! Team Don’t Funk it Up is first. Costumes color coded and cute. Latrice and Valentina come through with the biggest commitment and freshest lyrics. Their choreography is clean and simple, but we see very little of Mizz Matthews. Team Everybody Say Love come through with more distinct, individual styles, Naomi and Monet CARVE up the stage with their verses, personally I believe Naomi came a very close third or should have even lip synced over Valentina. Their choreography reads more like they’re pee pee dancing. Again however, where was Stacey? What was the point of her in the episode other than to give Naomi her life? I wanna take a moment before discussing judging and workroom antics to appreciate the camp, telenovela performance Valentina is constantly portraying with herself this season. Every comment, outfit description or eyebrowless confession is a riot. I wasn’t a stan in season 10 but I am now. The GOWNS honey the GOWNS this episode are just stunning. It would be easier to name who DIDN’T carve it up, but I won’t because I’m not that kind of girl. These girls a serving harder than any red carpet looks from any recent awards in memory. Monet and Valentina win, and Monique and Farrah lose. Monique fights tooth and press on claw; if they wanted to send her home she would cut their wigs. (“Those pants didn’t fit,” says Valentina, “That is so disrespectful to Aliyah.) Farrah just Moans. As a Gia stan, #TeamGia and all that, even I want her to shut up after another poorly timed “apology. Pick your moments darl. Valentina gives another Oscar winning performance picking a lipstick and then. wouldn’t you know it, get’s an Ariana Grande song to redeem her past transgressions. And boy does she. She fucks the stage upwards downwards forwards and backwards. She’s captivating. Monet just sort of prowls, tries to interact with Val a bit but it’s lacklustre. Valentina sends her soul to heaven, and sends home Farrah, who she just made amends with. Another devastating chapter from her award winning telenovela I am sure we will hear next week.

[metalshea]

Guys and gals, let’s talk about nü metal.

Are you still reading?

Great! Because I’m about to take a very unpopular position: I think nü metal has some value as a genre and is surprisingly influential.

Are you STILL reading?

Nü metal is probably the most maligned sub genre in all of metal. So much so that I would hazard to say that more people dislike it than hair metal. There are still people walking around that appreciate bands like Poison, Ratt, or Mötley Crüe, after all. I don’t know of anyone that still says: “Limp Bizkit, that’s my jam”.

But there was a time when people did say that. Limp Bizkit are multi-platinum selling artists, after all. They were one of the top draws in all of music, headlined Woodstock ‘99, and even toured with Metallica. People loved Limp Bizkit.

I’ll let that sink in a moment.

It wasn’t just Durst et. al. that filled arenas around the world: Korn, Linkin Park, Mudvayne, POD, Godsmack, Static-X, System of a Down, Disturbed, all were, and in some cases still are, huge concert draws. Just look up some of the pictures of System of Down’s show in Yerevan, Armenia, back in 2015. Something, something, a joke about crowd sizes, amiright?! Does anyone have any doubt that if SOAD announced a tour tomorrow that it wouldn’t sell out? (Before we get too far away from Limp Bizkit, I should probably mention that Wes Borland is actually pretty popular in Indonesia)

I’d even go so far as to argue that most metalheads that lived through the nü metal years actually like at least one band from those times. Sound crazy? How do you feel about, say, Mudvayne (Dig)? Static-X (Push It, I’m With Stupid), Slipknot (Wait and Bleed), System of a Down (any song)? Maybe nü metal isn’t so bad.

Obligatory disclaimer: that all being said there’s a ton of Nü Metal that is just awful. Back to Limp Bizkit: Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water hasn’t aged well at all. POD. Papa Roach. Freaking Crazy Town.

There’s a lot of bad nü metal out there.

But we’ve gotten off topic. The whole point of this article is to talk about nü metal as still remaining valid and influential to modern metal, after all, so let’s explore that. Let’s start with definitions.

Quick: if I asked you “what is it that musically differentiates nü metal from other types of metal,” what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Probably rapping, right? But not all nü metal acts rap. Korn doesn’t. Orgy doesn’t. So what else?

I think there are 4 major descriptors—aside from rapping—that we can use to define the genre: heavily syncopated riffs, song structure/length borrowed from pop, angsty or self-reflective song lyrics, vocal centric while musically riff- and beat-driven.

Let’s break this down a bit starting with syncopation.

Syncopation is a musical term that refers to emphasizing the off beats in a piece of music. Most music emphasizes what are known as downbeats. When you hear a song and start tapping along, your usually counting out groups 4 taps and hitting a little bit harder on the first beat. That first beat is a downbeat. The groups of 4 tell us the song is written in 4/4 time. Sometimes in addition to the hard beat on the 1, you’ll also do a hard beat on the 3. This is still considered a “normal” or conventional beat.

In a syncopated song, the downbeats are played on the 2nd and 4th beats instead of the 1st and 3rd. This gives the song a bit of a bouncy feel. And syncopation is all over nü metal. Check out Linkin Park’s “Crawling” and Static-X’s “I Want to Break It” in the linked playlist to really hear this at work.

Let’s talk song structure: nü metal typically borrows a really basic song structure that comes straight out of pop that is known as AABABCBB. If you break a typical pop song down into different parts and assign those parts a letter, you get this formula. Essentially “A” are the verses, “B” the chorus, and “C” the bridge or breakdown. Many pop songs will set their songs up to have do an extra long first verse, a quick and catchy chorus, a shorter second verse, a quick and catchy chorus, a bridge, and then back to the chorus (sometime played twice) to close out the song. It’s an easy formula that makes songs pretty memorable. Especially if you have a catchy chorus.

Let’s take Korn’s “Freak on a Leash” as an example. We have the intro riff which rolls right into the first verse (8 lines). After a short prechorus (“sometimes...”), it rolls into the chorus (something takes a part of me), right into a short second verse (4 lines), prechorus, chorus, a two-part bridge with Jonathan Davis scatting, followed by a variation on a double long chorus to close out the song. Formulaically, the song goes: AAABCABCDECF, which is really, really close to the pop song formula.

Most other nü metal acts tend to follow the same basic song pattern with some variations. Mudvayne’s “Determined” front loads the chorus at the very beginning of the song. So does Slipknot’s “Wait and Bleed”. But they all tend to at least superficially follow the same pattern that artists from The Beatles to Ariana Grande have utilized for decades.

Next are the lyrics. Nü metal borrows it’s angst directly from grunge. Lyrically, the genre is very inwardly focused, often touching on depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress, and in the moment emotions. Now this is certainly not unique to nü metal compared to other genres of metal, but let’s be honest: nü metal takes it to a whole different level of superficiality. While there are countless songs about being angry, Linkin Park will often dive into the underlying emotions driving that anger. It’s an extremely self-reflective genre that was perfect for the postmodernist late-90’s.

Finally, nü metal is vocal centric and riff and beat driven. We already talked beats so let’s leave that aside. As for riffs, the songs are constructed usually around 1 distinctive riff. While a lot of metal will try to use multiple riffs in a song (ahem, Between the Buried and Me). Nü metal keeps it simple, using 1 riff and several variations to drive the music. We’ll use Sevendust’s “Praise” as the example here. We’re hit with the main riff right at the very beginning of the song. From there we hear constant variations pop up throughout the rest of the tune. It’s under the verses. It is the riff the makes up first prechorus. A third variation is under the second prechorus. Over and over: variations on a theme. I should say that Sevendust are really good at squeezing everything they can out of riff to pull off a catchy song. But it underscores the point, the songs are constructed around 1 catchy riff.

As for the vocals: they’re front and center. In Death metal, the vocals often compliment the instrumentation. The growled vocals mimic the distortion of the guitars. In nü metal, the vocals are brought up in the mix. You hear every word.

All these thing combine to make nü metal. Compared to other parts of metal one thing is really, really clear: nü metal borrows a TON from pop, grunge, and hip hop. In fact, it borrows the best parts of all 3. It is a genre that is distinctly ripe for commercialization. And woooo boy was it commercialized. Which, let’s be honest, is probably why most metalheads hate it: it pays lip service to “heaviness” while throwing in with pop sensibilities. It feels artificial and at times frankly juvenile. And sometimes, the bands themselves are just awful and untalented: looking at you again, Crazy Town.

But! Nü metal has a legacy, and it’s not all bad. There are still acts that are selling out arenas and inspiring the next generation of musicians. Slipknot is probably THE gateway band for heavy music today, and their music still sells. Their 2014 release, “.5: The Gray Chapter” was rock solid. System of a Down are in limbo pending the return of Serj Tankian, but let’s be honest, they are one of the most beloved and respected bands in heavy music in the world, even though they haven’t released a record in 13 years. Linkin Park we’re past their heyday when Chester Bennington sadly took his own life, but they were still actively writing new music and regularly touring (and say what you want about LP, they put on a great live show). Finally, most metalheads like to forget Machine Head’s foray into nü metal, but no one can argue their importance to metal today, especially following 2007’s “The Blackening”.

We like to think of all these bands as somehow being separated from the utter nonsense of other nü metal acts—a friend used the term nü metal-adjacent. But they built their fan bases from among the angsty kids of the late 90’s early 00’s. They drove record sales in the days before Napster and file sharing. They kept MTV musically-relevant for years longer than it probably otherwise would have been. And they introduced a new generation to heavy music. I’ll put it out here: I listened to Korn and Slipknot well before I listened to In Flames, let alone any black metal. I’ve covered System of Down songs in my own bands and I still jam out to Static-X.

Nü metal is a lot of things to a lot of different people. It’s divisive, juvenile, self-absorbed, and often superficial in its song writing and lyrics. It reeks of consumerism. But it also birthed some of the most influential artists in heavy music and left an important mark on the history of metal. Maybe we can redirect the hate that we would normally throw at the genre as a whole back to where it belongs: at Fred Durst.