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#I kinda want to edit those massive flowers
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A/N ::: I don't know that I've ever written anything so quickly. I have a cavity from how gosh darn sweet this is.
C/W ::: Aged up Kirishima (20's dating 27 yr old, single mom, plus size reader), FLUFFYYYY, romantic, unprotected P->V (twice), lovey dovey schmuvvy. Sorry not sorry.
WC ::: Under 950
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Thinkin' about Kirishima in his early 20's, in college to become a child psychologist. He gets paired up with you, a 27 year old, cute and kinda chubby, single mom of one. You’re going for your PhD in addiction studies. You’re both in the same basic intro to psych, 3 times a week.
You've been working together on the project for a couple of weeks now and the sexual tension between you is so palpable you could strangle someone with the invisible string that spans the distance between your bodies.
You take your daughter to your mom's house and leave her there for the night. Kirishima is supposed to come over tonight, and you’re going to do the finishing touches on editing the paper and putting the report together.
You cook up something that he mentioned in passing that he loved eating and casually set the coffee table. Nothing fancy, a votive candle that smells like vanilla and some thrift store placemats. When it gets closer to the time he’s supposed to be there, you turn on the fireplace channel on YouTube and put on some music that you know he likes. One day, he dropped his earbuds, and you picked it up to see what he was listening to before returning it to him. He thought it was so cute how your face lit up when you recognized the song (The Beach, The Neighbourhood).
He comes over about 5 minutes to 5 with a small bouquet of mixed wildflowers in a pink crystal vase (he thinks - it's really just cheap glass. But you love it because it's just so damn cute how he thinks it's crystal).
Dinner is full of emphatic conversations about your childhoods. About your best friends. Your bad decisions. Your best decisions. How can you not have good conversation with Kirishima around. C'mon.
He helps you clear the table of the few dishes you used. Offering to help you wash and dry them, but you tell him just to sit them in the sink, you'll get to them tomorrow.
You both stand at the front door, averting your gaze from one another because the night is obviously coming to a close. And neither of you know how to say that you aren't ready to do the old 'See you in class Monday'. You both wanted to sit on the couch for hours just learning everything you can about the other. No matter if it took all night or not.
That awkward moment when you both start to say something at the same time happens. Neither of you know what the other said, neither of you are terribly interested in hearing it repeated.
"Well," he rubs his forearm with his gigantic hand, squeezing it a couple of times, like he was trying to ground himself. "I had a lo- hmph!!!"
You pull him down for a kiss because standing there, listening to his sweet, happy voice and watching him move his mouth - you absolutely cannot stand another second of not pressing yours against it.
"M-me too. Thank you for the flowers, Kirishima. They're beau- mmm!!!"
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This time, he pulls you into him and kisses you back with such force and passion that you feel your lungs empty and your legs go weak. He lifts you up and carries you over to the couch, gently perching you on his massive lap. He brushes the loose strands of hair from your neck and starts kissing you so deeply and slowly that you're sure you're going to die before the sun comes up.
"Kuh-eer-ee", you force what little oxygen is left in your body out to say those 3 syllables. You settle yourself over him, knees bent, sitting on your legs. You know they’re going to go numb if you keep sitting like this. But it’s just not as important as being in his arms.
Tangling your hands in his hair, you pull it loose from the bun it's in tonight. His hands explore your body, starting at your love handles. He's squeezing and pushing your hips around, caressing your sides and running his nails up and down your back.
The two of you make love on the couch, and then again in the bedroom. You both fall asleep in each other's arms, too exhausted to even move.
In the morning, Kirishima makes breakfast and does ALL of the dishes. He asks you questions about your daughter (what's she like, what's her favorite toy/color/animal/flower/ice cream/band/Disney character/Disney princess/has she been to Disneyland?/favorite kind of pizza/favorite & least favorite vegetable and fruit/does she like to drink water/all the right questions). You both get dressed, and you fix your hair for the day. He tells you to keep his t-shirt because it looks better on you right now than it ever did on him. Eventually, you said goodbye to each other. 
He leaves you with a long kiss on the cheek and a promise to meet you at the library - or your place?? - later that afternoon to work on the project (because oops, nothing got done last night. Maybe the library is best?).
You look out the window as he tosses his backpack over his beautiful, hoodie-clad, broad ass shoulder, and blows a kiss to you with one hand and waves with the other. You can't help but smile because you know that stuff like that takes coordination and you've seen him trip around campus a lot.
You're absolutely sure that you're going to fall in love with him, if you haven't already.
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Taglist ::: @thenamesmiz @darkstarlight82 @millennialmagicalgirl @arlerts-angel
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sansaorgana · 1 year
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modern au has me on a choke hold
i was thinking about their social media, take your time answering, just rumbling
aegon is a tiktoker, and kinda of famous and loves pranking everyone and they are all done with his bs💀also he definitely has a yt channel and its always in everyone's personal space with his camera doing vlogs and wtv. he also has a instagram for thirsty traps all day everyday (yes he posts them on ttk too)
i feel like helaena has a tumblr where she posts a lot of pictures of flowers and all her bugs and she is like, really famous there, also i agree with you, she loves cats and post a lot of pictures of dreamfyre, really cute shit and she posts the same thing on her insta along with pictures of her and reader bc i love their friendship and i want be friends with her so bad </3
aemond is just like ewan lets be honest 💀 boy has a instagram with no picture and like 3 followers who are consisted of: helaena, reader and alicent (its private and he blocked aegon for obvious reasons) and i feel like when he started dating reader he changed his profile pic to a pic of him and reader, just really cute shit
(also, sorry for the long ask)
oooooh social media 👀
Aegon is a fuckboy from Tik Tok and most of his followers are thirsty teenage girls. No, despite him being an asshole, he doesn't take advantage of that because he knows they're still kids. He rather seeks one-night stands on Instagram while flirting with women in the DMs. I also have a feeling he'd be into women older than him. He loves a good milf. Yes, he would be a prankster but he'd also make gaming videos. Everything teenage boys like, too. So, he's one of those content creators who are kinda trapped with a teenage audience lol However, I don't think he'd be massively popular because it requires time and patience, meanwhile Aegon is lazy as fuck. He would also lose a bunch of heartbroken teenage followers after posting his videos with you.
Helaena is a Tumblr girlie 100% but, once again, I don't think she'd be popular at all. Plenty of blogs posting cottagecore aesthetics + bugs are rarely anyone's cup of tea. She wouldn't care, though, because she's not doing it for the notes. And she would have some online friends from Tumblr who were her only friends for a long time (I can relate lol)
Aemond blocking Aegon on social media is so true, omg! And yeah, he totally wouldn't post anything or he'd have like three posts on a private Instagram account (of his dog Vhagar). All would have sweet comments from Alicent. On Facebook he would have a screenshot from some cartoon as a profile picture. He's secretive but he also doesn't want to gather even more attention than usual. But, yes, for his girl he would change a bit. He'd let you post a picture with him once in a while and maybe, eventually, he'd change his Facebook picture to the one of you and him. He's also the type to have his sweetheart's picture as a Facebook header. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Aemond had a Tumblr blog, too.
Alicent would have an Instagram only to follow her kids (and their girlfriends) and she always leaves cringe but sweet comments and she's posting things like her kids' pets, flowers in the garden etc. and the pics aren't edited and they're often out of focus. On Facebook she would share memes all the time because she's bored at home and she doesn't have much else to do. She would also spam her kids' messengers with links to some memes and scam articles from Facebook ("You're only wearing black? Find out what it means" @ Aemond for example). Oh, and she would think Aemond is super mean for blocking Aegon and keeps telling him to unblock his brother because she thinks this silly thing is a symptom of them hating each other for real or something like that (she's read somewhere that young people treat social media too seriously).
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charkyzombicorn · 10 months
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bartolomeo in any of your aus
(I want to see him simp for the straw hats)
Bartolomeo in All my aus - and quickly before I regret it
Edit: More
Edit: Even More
Son of the Fog AU - everything's the same except Barto heard rumors abt a haunted skeleton pirate and tried to find him to join his crew. He didn't, but he starts frothing at the mouth when he finds out that Premium Luffy Lore and Brook is his second favorite strawhat
Teach him a Lesson AU - In Loguetown Barto still gets his reverence for Luffy because Luffy acted the same when put in the same situation, but he also noticed how amused Luffy's captain looked, and so becomes a Luffy And No One Else stan
Yoinked AU - Barto never really meets Luffy, since Luffy doesn't have the freedom to be a pirate
Marine Dads AU (just dog dad tho) - Barto hears abt Luffy a lot later, post-marineford, but is very inspired by his story and once he finally meets him he starts crying and Luffy has no idea what to do because Barto hasn't even introduced himself yet
One Piece/Soul Eater crossover - Barto is one of Franky's peers and was a super tough bad boi but then Luffy and Usopp (accidentally) saved him from a witch that had magnetism powers that Barto was weak against in pitchfork-form and human-full-of-piercings form. Barto founded the Luffy cult and co-founded the Usopp cult, and joined in marineford-adjacent because he would follow Luffy and Usopp to the ends of the earth
Selkie Usopp AU - Bartolomeo is very passionate abt selkie and fishman rights, and somehow knows more abt selkies than Usopp and Buggy put together (he needed to know abt Luffy-senpai's beloved's culture lest he offend one of The Strawhats)
Myths & Gods AU - Barto was rejecting gods for his whole life when he got stabbed, his arms broken, kidnapped and thrown into a field to die after a gang fight. He couldn't exactly figure out where the hell he was, only that the place was full of flowers (that were god flowers but he didn't know that). He ended up chewing on a sunflower because the seeds are edible maybe and Luffy appeared like 'Hah! First time In a while I've seen someone do that' and then brought everyone over to see the hobo sleeping in their flowers, and tell Sanji to feed him. Barto will now tell everyone that asks that the gods are awesome and they saved him and he's still a pirate but hes borderline door-to-door Mormon because he just won't stop talking abt how the gods helped him in his lowest hour
One Piece/Fruit's Basket Crossover Au - Barto was a delinquent kid (and still kinda is) that, in middle school, ended up in a gang fight with high schoolers. He and his little gang was losing miserably but then they saw a crying "girl"(Barto wasn't sure at the time) with a broken nose that pointed at the towering highschoolers and Luffy, Zoro and Sanji all came out, Zoro with a baby strapped to his back, and they all proceeded to beat the shit out of those highschoolers. That cemented them as the coolest people Barto knows, but then Luffy went up to him and said he had really cool hair and he looked like Brook. Barto had no idea what that meant but it started his massive fanboy crush as well as his entire gang's matching massive fanboy crushes
Wing AU - pretty much same as canon except Barto's got some wings with a lot of dye in them, so much it's hard to tell what kind of wings they are. He can't control his wings flapping when he's excited and he's always tripping around Luffy because he keeps accidentally flying a centimeter and then falling
Roger's Ghost AU - Bartolomeo occasionally thinks abt killing himself so he can be part of Luffy's ghost posse but he never does, he also does a lot more research into the origins of the strawhat because he doesn't want Luffy to be cursed (he knows about the curse even if none of the crew does, it was by accident)
Sun's Personality AU - Bartolomeo is in denial that Luffy isn't entirely Him, tries his best not to wonder if it was Luffy that inspired him or Nika. He had a bit of a strained relationship with his devilfruit at first but learning that Strawhats liked cohabitation with their devilfruit meant Barto put some effort into actually knowing his devil, and they ended up having more in common even if his devil is very straight-laced and traditional while Barto is Barto
Halloween au - Bartolomeo is a cockatrice that is absolutely obsessed with Luffy and draws fanart that borders on furry art of him All The Time and if anyone says anything derogatory about any of the crew he turns them into stone. He has dog ears that he wears in private
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kalena-henden · 6 months
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Destined With You Final Thoughts
THE GOOD
Rowoon - Every new role I see him in (Extraordinary You and Tomorrow), I feel like he's grown leaps and bounds as an actor. Here he got to be literally be EVERYTHING. He was an arrogant emotionless jerk, a lovesick puppy who says the cutest most ridiculously things, a serious no-nonsense professional who's great at his job, a man struggling with his feelings and choices, a devoted protective lover, gutted and sobbing over life or death circumstances, respectful patient attentive boyfriend, an impulsive and passionate lover. I know we say ALL THE EMOTIONS sometimes but he literally when through them all.
Jo Bo Ah - Hongjo was a hard character for me because she was so passive and let everyone walk all over her again and again. Her saving grace is she always stood up to Shinyu and eventually learned to stand up to those around her. I could easily be annoyed with this character if it was played by a less competent actress.
Ha Joon - I enjoyed his turn as a suave lawyer who's actually a total dork in his personal life so much so that I started watching his new 50-episode family drama, Live Your Own Life, where he's finally the male lead with his own romance. Jaekyung came as Hongjo's sage guide when she needed him and happily exited when she was settled. Honestly, not a bad arc for a SML.
Shinyu's mom, Shinyu's lawyer friend, Hongjo's Landlady, Uram and his grandfather, and Shinyu's assistant - These characters were alot of fun and added to the depth of the story. I wish we had actually gotten more development from them which would have filled out this story a bit better.
Symbolism & Magic - This show is rife with well thought out symbolism. Love all the flower/plant stuff around Hongjo (Bloom) and Shinyu (Groot) equating to a blossoming and thriving relationship. The magic is actually pretty well explained and is there if you're interested in it.
THE BAD
Dropping the Magic Halfway Through - I am EXTREMELY disappointed in a show billed as a FANTASY ROMANCE that went to painstaking care to introduce the spells and curses to be like oops! don't care if the spells worked or not but we kinda care if the big curse is real cause we want to keep Shinyu in perpetual danger. Like I have ZERO respect that the FANTASTY aspect was dropped (and no the reincarnation plotline doesn't count). I feel hoodwinked and things make even less sense now. It's basically a JJ Abrams Mystery Box level of non-sensical bulls*t which is one of the main reasons I stopped watching most Western shows. It also leaves MASSIVE holes about how and why the Gardener and Nayeon started working together as well how did they learn about and come to believe the curses would even work. It was just she's a backstabbing two-faced bully and he's an insane murderer but zilch on their motivations. I really wanted a mini-montage of the black magic curses that were so well foreshadowed. I'm unsure if this was a writing call or directing call because in Korea the directors have final edit rights, not the writers. What got left on the cutting room floor?
Hongjo's coworkers - Why were they so terrible and unfunny the entire time? They were also irrelevant to the plot. The only good thing was her boss stopping the others from bullying Hongjo. It wasted time that could have been given to the side characters l liked (see above).
Noble Idiocracy & Repetitive Danger - I'm not sure which is worse that they repeatedly put themselves in danger time after time (even when bad things kept happening to them) or they broke up or stayed apart for the other person's 'benefit'. *face palm* If it was a great story, I can forgive some of this but...
The Pacing/Editing - If they had done a big reveal of the magic and other stuff at the end that really brought things to a climax, I would be like yeah it was slow at points but look at the payoff! Instead, I'm looking back at this going, if this is the story you wanted to tell, it could use a serious overhaul in HOW it was told. Even though there was stuff I liked about this drama, I wasn't that emotionally invested.
VERDICT
I would only recommend watching this to see Rowoon act his heart out and be in a ridiculously cute and sexy romance. That's it.
I'm sad because I really loved deep diving into this show. It could have been so much more like Goblin, Doom At Your Service, or Alchemy of Souls.
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ugh-yoongi · 30 days
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favorite kpop group(s): tag game edition
tysm for tagging me @highvern, @cordiallyfuturedwight, & @hvseoks!
who is your favorite k-pop group?
bts, ateez, seventeen, the boyz
which member sparked your interest first?
bts: i'm pretty sure it was taegi? my best friend texted me this thesis-length primer and all i could remember later on were the ones named suga and v, lol.
ateez: mingi
seventeen: jeonghan
the boyz: kevin
who was your first bias?
bts: seokjin
ateez: mingi
seventeen: jeonghan
the boyz: kevin
who is your current bias?
bts: seokjin
ateez: seonghwa
seventeen: jeonghan
the boyz: younghoon
what makes them your current bias?
seokjin: just my number one boy. my comfort human. someone who is kind and takes care of others, who always tries his best and perseveres, who will be the first one to make a fool of himself to lighten the mood and make others more comfortable.
seonghwa: a lot??? like seokjin??? just a sweetheart. makes his little animal crossing sounds. isn't afraid to be himself. takes care of his members. insane duality.
jeonghan: chaotic. a schemer. makes his own rules and follows those instead. but also very sweet and subdued. takes care of his members.
younghoon: i honestly do not know how this happened. i went into watching content a staunch kevin bias and now i'm not. idk. maybe when i re-watched kingdom and he got in the water tank with sunwoo because he was scared. bee will say it's bc he's a leo.
who is your bias wrecker?
bts: yoongi; namjoon & hobi
ateez: hongjoong & mingi
seventeen: seungcheol, jun, & seungkwan
the boyz: kevin, chanhee, changmin, juhak
which members are you currently obsessing over that aren't your bias/bias wrecker?
bts: jungkook
ateez: yeosang
seventeen: mingyu
the boyz: sangyeon
when did you first discover this group?
bts: 2017. my best friend was into them first and sent me the mic drop mv. texted me the aforementioned primer. i kept up with them since then but didn't know kpop was... like this? like, the entire culture. was very unaware and thought it was just kinda like western groups.
ateez: 2019
seventeen: 2021
the boyz: 2021. it was either getting into them or seventeen and i went down the seventeen route first.
have you ever been to one of their concerts?
bts: twice as a group and d-day tour twice
ateez: three times
seventeen: twice
the boyz: no
what are some of your favorite songs by the group?
bts: best of me, blood sweat & tears, save me, ugh!, heartbeat, spine breaker, intro: never mind, intro: what am i to you, all of the cyphers, all of jin's solos, mikrokosmos, black swan, 2nd grade, the stars, spring day, autumn leaves, love maze, louder than bombs, 21st century girl, war of hormone. idk they have a massive discography how do you choose????
ateez: still here, twilight, say my name, hala hala, utopia, wave, wonderland, mist, answer, thanxx, fever, the leaders, take me home, dreamers, deja vu, turbulence, the real, don't stop, the king, cyberpunk, guerrilla, halazia, duna, matz, django
seventeen: fear, lie again, light a flame, super, i don't understand but i luv u, monster, lilili yabbay, trauma, highlight, march, ash, cheers, fallin' flower, don't wanna cry, my i, our dawn is hotter than day, good to me, getting closer, anyone, gam3 bo1, to you, run to you, 24h, a-teen
the boyz: ego, crying&laughter, no air, whiplash, b.o.y, bump & love, roar, breaking dawn, lip sync, eyes on me, d.d.d, drink it, echo, scar, 4ever, russian roulette, shine shine, tattoo, c.o.d.e, kiss me if you can, closer, levitating
no pressure tags: @the-boy-meets-evil @hot-soop @effortandmore @moni-logues @tbzhub & anyone else who wants to! do it and say i tagged ya :)
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always-andromeda · 11 months
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Meda!! i am in TEARS!!!!!!! your response to my last ask was so so so so so nice and I am giving you the biggest, warmest hug!!!!! we are definitely bunkmates at summer camp!!!!!!! I'll be the weird kid who's always sharing strange, niche, and macabre historical facts lol 😅 but I'll make up for it by making yummy treats bc I love baking ☺️
(putting a cut here bc this got long - sorry😅)
and you think about me sometimes???? 🥹🥹🥹🥹 I am so SOFT 🥹🥹🥹🥹 as you said, I know we're internet friends who have never met, but I think about you as well and send you good vibes always!! sometimes I'll see something I think you'd like - like a Pedro Pascal meme or something - and I'll think to myself, "oh, Meda would like this!" 💙
and huge congrats on finishing up the semester!! and my goodness I totally get you about feeling kinda worthless if there's nothing academic to validate my existence 😅 I wish I could give you some words of encouragement with that, but honestly it's something I'm still unpacking with my therapist and trying to work through myself. but I think I can offer this if it's of any help: since I don't know you in an academic context (I don't know what classes you take, what grades you get, etc.) I can tell you that you have so much value outside of academics. your writing is incredible, and you are such a kind, welcoming, warm person. I am so lucky to know you (even if only virtually) and you bring such light to everyone with whom you interact. while I know that academics/the grading system can really fuck with your sense of self and self-worth, just know that you are a whole and complete person outside of those things, and you are valued, appreciated, and loved for all the wonderful and unique things you bring just by being yourself. 🥰🥰🥰🥰
and I also brought stickers!! I didn't have all the animals you mentioned, so I threw in a few others that I thought were really cute (and a red panda bc they're my favorite ☺️). since you're already done with your semester, they can be celebration stickers!!
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and thank you so much for the well-wishes on my MA and for the summer! I'll be applying to phd programs in the fall so I'll be researching and reaching out to profs over the summer (pray for me 😬). but I do hope to have some time to just relax and make edits and write. oh and we're getting a new puppy in June!!! I will be sure to send photos!!
I also wish you rest when you need it and creative inspiration when you want it this summer!!
I'll be over here in my bunk at summer camp, so reach out absolutely any time! 🥰
sending you love, hugs, and all things good,
charlotte 🎨
Of course I think about ya!! It's little things that remind me so much of you. Like I have these vintage style flower stickers I use pretty often to decorate things and they remind me entirely of you. And almost every time I hear a Taylor Swift song it makes me think of you too!!
And oh gosh, you're talking to a person who, as a kid, was massively hyperfixated on learning everything I possibly could about the Titanic, the Kennedy assassinations, and like every true crime case I'd learn about on TV. So we would definitely be the weird summer camp kids together, just swapping our weird little fun facts and treats with each other (because I'm also a huge baker)!!
(I'm also adding a cut here because whOO so many paragraphs of things for me to say)
That entire paragraph you left...is so affirming and so lovely and I just– I have no words to express how wonderful it was to read that. Thank you. I also feel incredibly lucky to know a person like you with such a massively generous and kind heart and a vastly wonderful taste in the arts. And I can say that even just through my computer screen, you bring me so much joy, so I can assure you that to the people who get to interact with you in real life? You must absolutely radiate pure light.
Maybe you can relate a little bit to this? But growing up, the only thing that I was ever really taught to value about myself was how I was doing in school. I was taught to always prioritize productivity. So now as an adult, it's so hard to justify giving myself breaks and just letting myself find peace and happiness in the quiet. These are all things I'm working on in therapy, and the approach that my therapist has given me is just like...viewing myself as a stranger.
Because if I were looking at any other person who does the things I do and is the kind of person I try to be...I would love them. I would do everything in my power to support them and make them feel as loved and valued and cared for as possible. It's a little bit easier to give myself kindness with that level of removal there. Maybe that's helpful to you, maybe it isn't!! Either way, I thought I'd share it. 💞
AND OKAY MASSIVE TONE SHIFT BUT OH MY GOODNESS CHARLOTTE THOSE STICKERS ARE ALL THE ABSOLUTE CUTEST THINGS EVER. GOSH THOSE MADE ME SMILE SO BIG I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. Thank you so much for the celebration stickers and gosh, next time I find some adorable stickers, I'll have to send them to you as well!! Just to spread the sticker love around!! 🥰
Goodness gracious, wishing you the absolute best with your academic pursuits this summer!! And I'd just love to see pictures of your puppy when you get them!! Very much looking forward to what this summer brings for both of us, bunkmate. I'm sending all of your hugs and thoughts of love and support right back at ya!! 💞✨
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fizzycherrycola · 2 years
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What are some of your favourite ships and headcanons for those ships?
Favourite ship is FrUK, so I'm just gonna answer that. 💜
Quick Disclaimer: I am not a historian. If I get something wrong, I apologise. I wasn't taught very much of French-English history in school, therefore everything I've learned is mostly research I do on my own for fun or writing purposes.
Their relationship evolved over time, through many ups and downs before it arriving at the comparatively peaceful spot it's in today. Benign curiosity through their early years as Francia and Anglia, with too much in-fighting and identity-finding in the wake of the collapse of the Roman Empire to bother with animosity. They were too young and too... vague... to be enemies then, so I imagine that their interactions were fairly calm. Toddlers don't develop mortal enemies, they just have other children they like/dislike depending on how much sleep they got last night or if Francia has an extra bite of bread to share today.
But life gets complicated. The flower crowns wilt as they form stronger identities, solid borders, kingdoms and kings untied under a single banner. And the Battle of Hastings secures them as rivals for a long, long time.
From 1000 AD to 1750ish, I admit I need to do more research on that massive stretch of history. But from my simple understanding, I'd characterize their relationship somewhere on a sliding scale of: Tolerant of Your Presence and Unyielding Distaste. Reaching a very high pinnacle of resentment during the American Revolutionary War, and culminating in the Napoleonic Wars.
From England’s perspective, France helped snatch his child away, and from France’s side, England shattered his revolutionary dreams and ambitions. They’re torn down and humbled by one another, stripped to the bone, and I wonder if maybe that was the final straw that helped them both realise this miserable cycle can’t continue. Or rather, that they actually don’t want it to continue.
So this strange quietude settles in during the 19th century, with neither one poking the other too hard beyond teasing and typical, familiar insults. And if it wasn’t for the rise of Germany, they might’ve stayed that way or returned to old habits. But the Great War comes knocking, their alliances are set in stone, and they’ve no choice but to WORK TOGETHER, in one of the shittiest, most horrid wars of their immortal lives.
If you read my fic Grey Havens, you can see where I think those trials might’ve ended. To be such titanic empires, nearly bested and crushed by a nation born not 50 years earlier; all their sprawling power making so little difference. Honestly, I think it put the fear of Final Death in them, something they’ve likely not been scared of for centuries. And people behave very differently after intense, prolonged distress. It’s very human to seek out another for comfort, one who understands their trauma exactly. So they sought each other, rationalising their actions and feelings however they could, building a delicate trust, and through the 1920s to 1950s. They. Fell. In. Love.
I am talking tender moments, sex that topples furniture, openly supporting each others’ international policies and schemes, thoughtful gift giving, and being the only person in the whole ass room that can talk them down from an extreme position. Not saying it’s a healthy relationship, but it is STRONG. And while things kinda cool down in the 1960s, and they have petty squabbles over this or that, (oh no you fished for fish in a place that you’re not supposed to) truthfully, a few potholes in the road are nothing compared to how far they’ve come.
~~~
Edit: I just realised this might not be what you were looking for, maybe you would’ve preferred cute, fluffy HCs. If that’s the case I apologise hhhhhhhhhhhhh I just always have historical FrUK on the brain.  ┐(´~`)┌
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keoni-chan · 3 years
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Hello. :) I wonder if you could help finding the mod where children can pick flowers, like I have seen in one of your posts. All links that I had found sent me to a deleted page. :( Wish you a nice day.
Hi!
I couldn't find it at first either, but luckily I had a stroke of inspiration this morning and I found it :D
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It's a mod by Chris Hatch and it has been reuploaded by smorbie when the site went down. There sadly is no documentation, but I use the UC and it works for me. The action is autonomous, but you can also direct kids to pick flowers. There is no animation for gifting the flowers. They hug and the flowers show up in the inventory. It should work with every EA flowerbed but I haven't tested that.
Download Chris Hatch Kids Pick Flowers Mod
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in-the-dollpalace · 3 years
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Rating Kirsten’s entire collection
That’s right folks, its time for another rating post! As you all know by now, I’m going in order of the year they take place, so it is Kirsten’s time to shine! 
I admit that I’ve been putting this one off because of how absolutely massive her collection is (for the bigger collections it takes me an hour or two to do the whole thing) But i finally decided to do it.
Once again, these are my own opinions. If you don’t agree, thats okay! Please dont leave hate for it.
alright lets get started!
 Doll and meet stuff
1: Kirsten and her meet outfit
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Doll: 9/10 a bit average looking and blends in to the background when with the rest of the many blonde dolls, BUT she was was the OG blonde and blue eyed doll before any of the others were even a thought, so I stan her anyway
Outfit: 10/10 I love the apron, I love the boots, and I love the braids!
2: Meet accessories
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10/10 I am aboslutely in love with the little necklace and the real wooden spoon!
School Collection
1: school dress
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10/10 I LOVE the shawl! The dress is so simple but it works so well!!!
2: School lunch
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10/10 I had the exact same food for lunch the other day funny enough. I wondered where my brain came up with the idea to put summer sausage, apple, bread, and cheese together, but now I remember. i can confirm it is delicious.
3: slate and school supplies
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11/10 very simple, yet cute. extra point because i heard the slate actually works
4: school bench
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10/10 idk if this is supposed to be her desk ( i havnt read her books yet) but it is so cute omg 
Holiday collection
1: Saint lucia gown
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8/10 great way to show the fact she is swedish, and swedish traditions! But there is the fact that it was only the gown, nothing else pictured. The wreath and doll were sold seperatly, making the whole outfit very pricey. You guys already know that i hate when they pull that.
2: st lucia wreath
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8/10 like I said above, it should have been sold with the gown. On a related note, idk how the hell people have the guts to walk around with lit candels on thier heads in real life.
3: St lucia tray
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10/10 I’ve always wanted  to try those types of buns
4: Kirsten’s doll
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11/10 Yep, you all have heard this before, but I. love. dolls. for. dolls. 
Birthday collection
1: Birthday dress
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100/10 .... I am speechless, I am going to have an asthma attack because its beauty is taking my breath away.
2: Friendship quilt
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10/10 It reminds me of the quilts my grandma used to make
3: Birthday treats
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10/10 omg so pretty
4: pottery
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8/10 its cute
5: Trestle table and chairs
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8/10 it is a very cute little set, but I like the second version with the flowers painted on it better (original version pictured here)
6: mama cat and kittens
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7/10 awww lil baby kitty!! I only put seven out of ten for this one because the first version was very... weird looking and i can see why they changed them (third version pictured here)
Summer collection
1: Summer dress and hat
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8/10 Aw I love the hat so much! But, as you all have probaby deduced by my other rating posts, I don’t really like dresses with vertical stripes. 
2: Red boots
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9/10 they are so, so, cute! But I think they kinda clash with the rest of the outfit
3: Fishing set
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10/10 this is the first time ive seen AG make fish so far. I really like the poles too.
4: fouth of july fun
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10/10 Love this historical flag, and the honeypots are so adorable!
Winter collection
1: winter skirt and blouse
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10/10 I love the floral belt and the matching ribbons, and I think the boots go much better with this outfit.
2: knit wollens
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10/10 looks so warm and cozy!
3: winter pastimes
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10/10 I like the paper dolls, but I would give this 10/10 just for the snow shoes alone tbh. (EDIT: apparently AG though the same because they eventually retired this set and replaced it with just the snow shoes lmfao)
4: Carpet bag
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10/10 I forgot how popular carpet bags were during kirsten’s time, since they have come back in style more than a few times after that. Mary Poppins anyone?
Nighttime collection
1: Nightgown
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10/10 I always love a good opportunity to see Kirsten’s hair down
2: Housecoat and sockor
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7/10 I’m not really a big fan of this idk why.
3: Bed
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7/10 where is her bedding? (EDIT: I just relized you are supposed to use her birthday quilt. They still should have sold them together)
4: Wash stand
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10/10 I like the rosemaling
5: Nighttime necessities
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10/10 I love the little book!
6: Trunk
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6/10 I usually really like trunks but this one is not doing it for me, I just dont like it.
Extra outfits
1: Ice skating outfit
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10/10 super cute, but I’ve been skating before and I know homegirl is gonna get hot AF in that.
2: Checked dress and apron
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10/10 This outfit is everything to me
3: plaid dress and shawl
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10/10 I love the type of ruffly neckline they used (idk what its called) they should have used shawls in her collection alot more.
4: Swedish dirmdl and  kerchief
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10/10 Great to see them show more traditional swedish dress, and what she would have worn back home before she came to america.
5: work dress
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10/10 I adore that peter pan collar! That is an... interesting way to style her hair, but i also kinda like it.
6: Midsommar dress
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10/10 another great showing of swedish traditions. I love, love, love the ruffles on the bottom!
7: Baking outfit
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8/10 I like it, but listen yall. I KNOW that clogs are traditional in nordic countries, but the pointy shoes with the striped socks make her look like santa’s elf 😭
One more thing i wrap things up, I am super ticked that they didn’t make her dog. I didn’t even know he existed until someone asked about them when I made my pet post.  #justice for whatever her dogs name is
All that saltieness aside, I hope you enjoyed this post! If you did, make sure to stick around until next time!
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demonprincezeldris · 2 years
Note
There really is a lot for them to love about Meliodas! I like to think back 3000 years ago it was more like a crush, a potential mate whine they’d like to get to know. They essentially just think he’s super fucking hot and like to see those small, rare moments where he acts kind. Zeldris and Estarossa are probably the only ones who have any sort of true feelings of love for Meliodas at that point, but the commandments are all attracted to him. Then, Meliodas leaves and it’s sorta a “the one who got away” situation where everyone is hurt and more than a little regretful even as they pretend to despise him when they see him fighting beside that goddess! At some point Meliodas and the goddess just outright disappears and their two friends join them and while the commandments area little reluctant to let Drole and Gloxinia in they quickly begin to bond over the one think all of them shared. Meliodas, and the massive crush they had on him. Learning about the goofier side of Meliodas is a surprise but Gloxinia is insistent he’d do all sorts of stupid things like getting his head stuck in a tree because he saw a pretty flower he wanted to pick or Elizabeth or the pranks he’d sometimes pull on Ludociel. How he’d enjoy arm wrestling with Drole and every time he got hurt Gloxinia would damn near have to tie his ass down before he’d let anyone tend to his wound. The commandments love the stories and while trapped in the seal they’d often pass stories about Meliodas to each other to pass the time. By the time they’re released they’re extremely happy to be free but also sad because if how long it’s been. There no way Meliodas could still be alive… right? But then Fraudrin tells them that Meliodas is still around, or at least that he was 10 years ago and likely still is, and it’s like a goddamn miracle because if they stretch their senses out as far as they could go they really can almost sense an echo of his energy from Liones and a small spot of darkness on the edges! They spent a month trailing that darkness that could only be Meliodas but every time they get within a certain range it’s disappear and appear even further away! It’s sad and more than a little frustrating for them but a lucky break hits them out of nowhere. Galand decided to go into some human town for a drink with Melascula and heard about some sort of moving bar in the back of a huge green pig that comes by once a year or so and how it’s a crying shame he just missed it because the young man who runs it may be a horrible cook, but he’s got some good booze and it’s very entertaining to see him and the talking pig mascot bickering! It’s one of the best and most popular places in the entire kingdom when it comes around! Galand decides he kinda wants to check this ‘legendary’ bar with bad food and great atmosphere out and asks a bit more and the moment he hears a detailed description of the proprietor his hearts stop! No way… it can’t be him… oh but it is, because the in keeper has a portrait of him, taken after he helped the village with some problem, and the moment he saw his former leader’s smiling face in the picture depicting him riding the pig like a kid riding their favorite pet like some sort of steed in front of a two story building with an sign saying ‘The Boar Hat’ hanging form the door, he knew he had to tell the others about this! He also asked if he could possibly have a copy or something of the picture because that’s actually a really cute picture.
There is a lot to love about Meliodas, both his serious side from 3000 years ago, but more so his attitude and everything about him after the commandments were released. They're finding all these new things about him, and they find that these new realizations make them love him even more!
(Quick edit to give you a reminder to send me that siren fic that you told me to remind you about. 😁)
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leahquark · 3 years
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How to escape from a time loop
How to escape from a time loop
Prevent the causing event
Alright, so you’re stuck in a time loop. But maybe you know what caused it. Hey, if the causing event keeps happening, it’s obvious. Let’s say at the end of every day, you die. Easy peasy, just don’t die one day and you’ll escape the loop. Easier said than done, sure. Especially if the loop is short, or the event is out of your control (yea, 10 minutes really feels unfair to convince your aunt Sally on the other side of the country not to knock over her Egyptian flower vase). But hey, you get unlimited tries at this. Plus, a time loop means your money and resources reset, so feel free to go nuts and waste them. Just, don’t do anything you might regret if the loop suddenly breaks. Of course, after enough repeats, I doubt there’ll be much left in this category. If the loop happens when you go to sleep, then don’t go to sleep. Heck, chase the sun around the world if you have to. Rage against the dying of the light.
2. 
Make amends for the causing event
Okay, so maybe the event that caused the time loop only happened once. And maybe it happened on the day before the loop, or in the first iteration only. Well then, you can still make amends for it, hit the edit undo. Don’t believe me? The statistical probability that YOU would be the first person stuck in a time loop is so ridiculously close to zero. If you’re in a time loop now, that means others were probably in a time loop too, and maybe got in and got out the same way. And they kinda had to get out, in order for time to progress and trap you in your time loop today. So go track down that evil time witch and apologize to her, or find a scientist who can study the alien blood you’re covered in. Tell them to keep notes, then at the end of the time loop memorize them and regurgitate them back at the start of the next loop. Remember, you’re the only one who can retain information / make progress at the end of each loop. Only you can look out for yourself, but maybe medical science has an answer.
3.
Prevent and make amends for everything that could possibly be the causing event
Okay, so maybe you don’t know why you’re trapped in a time loop. Alright, then try this. Go through a list of everything you did the day before the loop, and during the first iteration of the loop. Focus on things you said, places you went, objects you saw, things you thought about. It’s important to do this before the time loops repeat so many times you forget what happened the first time around. One of those things, something as minor as not hanging out with a friend, could have been the causing factor… at least according to movies and TV. In reality, it’s probably as likely the time loop was caused by a passing black hole, or a scientist at the large hadron collider. But hey, if it’s something not related to your personal life and daily activities, then you’re kinda screwed. So just completely change your daily routine, do things you’d never think to do, break that habit that you do on every iteration of the timeline, and hope that the loop was just some catharsis for your morning coffee addiction. Now is the time to fix any regrets you may have, to make amends, to become a better person. 
4.
Binge watch time related tv
Also read some sci fi. Of course, if you’re reading this, you’re probably on track already, and getting into the more obscure sections. That’s good, a lot of those mainstream sci fi movies are more meant to make you feel good than actually discuss the repercussions of time loops. But hey, you never know, maybe you’ll get some inspiration for something. Heck, a lot of escaping from time loops is getting the right inspiration. So yea, take a break, and binge those bad tv shows. You’ve got all the time in the world to do what you love… assuming you love sci fi television as much as I do. Heck, I won’t judge if you just want to use the time loop to binge all day, enjoy yourself! (You are trapped in a serious science anomaly we don’t fully understand after all) Just, make sure you eventually take a television break if the time loop doesn’t show any sign of fixing. 
5.
Find a guide
Alright, so basic fact of logic, there’s only one person on the planet who knows the absolute most about time loops, and chances are it’s not you. At least, it wasn’t you when you got stuck. For all you know, that person walking down the street next to you knows more than you. Heck, maybe they were trapped in a time loop too. So go ahead and ask. What’s the worst that could happen? No seriously, what’s the worst that could happen? You’re trapped in a time loop, any social awkwardness you display will be forgotten by the next loop. Go up and talk to random people, find that person who knows a ton about sci fi. My DMs are always open, and I’m sure you can find some people in a sci fi discord server. Want a real kicker? Spend one loop learning all you can about a person, just talking to them friendly and nice. Then next time loop start the conversation with an announcement that you’re in a time loop, and prove it by reciting those same facts you learned about the person in the last loop. Get to know someone, make some new friends, or just reach out for help (its so hard to escape alone). 
6.
Convince the government
That trick I mentioned, in point 5… that’ll probably work for the government too. Imagine calling up the president of the United States on his personal cell phone, telling him you’re in a time loop, and backing it up with a whole host of personal facts. What they won’t see, is the hundred or so timelines you spend going from convincing the police, to the FBI, to the governor, to your local senators, etc, etc. At every step of the way, wasting one or two timelines to learn all their personal info, then regurgitating it to them in the third timeline as proof you really are looping. It’s exhausting. All to convince some bureaucrats and some scientists to look into it. Let’s hope they really do have aliens in area 51, or this will be a massive waste of time. But hey, time is something you’ve got too much of anyway. The effort may be exhausting, but you can’t give in, you need some professional backup on your team, and no matter how much you repeat yourself, its worth the effort.
7.
Number those timelines
Alright, so at this point, try anything. But you need a way to stop yourself from trying the same thing twice. And you need a way of prompting the people you are with to stop saying the same old ideas. If you wake up on the same day every morning, and ask the people around you to help you escape a time loop, then they’re going to be repeating a lot of their responses. But in my experience, people reply, think, and remember differently based on the prompts they’re given, and maybe those different prompts will jog your brain, and the brains of the people you’re around, into thinking of something new. One way to do it is get a dictionary, or some other book with a wide variety of words, and each day refer to the next word in the book as that day's prompt. Do something completely random, completely insane, but make sure it started with you and your time loop guides reading and thinking about the prompt. So you’re probably going out to go touch an aardvark then. Come back when you’ve ridden a Zambonni and I’ll know things are really desperate. Point is, keeping trying new things, and enjoy them while you’re at it. 
8.
Keep trying
Alright, it’s not really like you’ve got much of a choice here. Going about your day, or repeating the same day twice, or acting and pretending like you’re not really in a time loop, are all ways of experimenting with something new (though, frankly I think these will just lead to frustration). Heck, maybe instead of acting crazy, what you really needed was to act normal. Maybe it’s a sentient creature keeping you trapped in the loop, and it’ll sense when you’ve given up hope and then release you from the loop. Maybe. Really doubt that though. Technically, it’s impossible to give up. But hang in there. Keep yourself, and your joy. You get to live. You get to experience something no one else has felt. You can learn a hundred new skills, and master them all, and live frivolously every day. You get to meet every person on earth, and study them all in a single day. You are technically immortal. There is nothing you have to do, no responsibilities. There’s nothing new on television to keep you glued to the screen, and no point putting any of your dreams off until tomorrow. You’re trapped in time, but in a way free. Free of consequences except the ones you choose for yourself. So choose to be happy, choose to live. Choose to value this day with your friends and family, even if they won’t value or remember them. Maybe plan one million for escaping the time loop is to go down to a nice sunny beach and just relax. In a strange way, that’s got just as much chance of working as anything else. And it’ll make your eternity here a lot more bearable than moping around your house all depressed like.
9.
Don’t die
I have no idea what the religious implications are of being trapped in a time loop. And the thing with most time loops, at least the ones I’ve seen on tv, is that death doesn’t let you escape the loop. And frankly that’s a good thing, because death is something worse. I’m not going to go into this too much, though if you really are trapped in a time loop I’m sure these few words are tantalizingly short. (If you need more, there are plenty of resources out there) But no time loop has ever been solved by dying. Even if it did resolve, your eternal purgatory would probably end up taking the form of a time loop. But don’t worry, I can give you my personal assurances that you’re alive right now. And that’s good. Because life is a beautiful thing, even when the day repeats. You know, especially then. After all these dark and gritty escape the time loop stories, of tormented characters driven mad because nothing they do matters, can’t we have one where someone is happy to be in a time loop? We all die, eventually that is. Whether you’re trapped in a time loop or not. But not all of us live. Not all of us truly live. Maybe being trapped in a time loop will help you live truly. I mean, if you really think about it, in several thousand years, is anyone even going to remember you? Remember your accomplishments? You may as well have lived for a day. If you want to escape the time loop so what you do matters again, maybe it’s time to face the reality that what you do… may not have mattered. And that’s okay. Life is about the living. Living every day, day by day, and making the most of it. We don’t always get to control the hand that life gives us. Maybe we know someone with Alzheimer's, whose memories fade at the end of each day, and makes it seem like we’re living that moment over and over. Maybe they don’t even remember who you are. Maybe, to them, you’re a stranger, who met them today, and knows so many things about them. Is it happy when someone laughs, if they won’t remember it later? Did it really happen? Yes it did. Yes it is happy. 
10. 
You can’t escape / why did you listen to me, I’ve never been trapped in a time loop
Life is a beautiful thing, time is a beautiful thing. It’s beautiful because it doesn’t loop. I can understand the anger, that bitter rage people can have, trapped and unable to reach out, repeating the same day over and over. Unable to move on. Unable to break free. And sometimes they do break free. Sometimes, silly movies and tv shows, that avoidance of the causing incident, or the help of scientists and their research, are enough to fix even the most terrible of fates. But sometimes they can’t, and we can go on, suffering forever. I’ve never been trapped in a time loop (I thought I was once, in fact, all my friends thought I was too, and they all tried to help me out of it. But I wasn’t. I wasn’t, right?), and if any of the people around me have, they've been hiding it exceptionally well. They’ve worked today, for the hope of relaxing tomorrow. They’ve made progress, with the thought that their accomplishments matter, and their adventures can wait. That’s the mindset a lot of us go through life with. But maybe, just maybe, life can’t wait until tomorrow. Maybe it takes getting trapped in a time loop to realize. When your hard work doesn’t pay off, and you can’t think of what evil thing has landed you where you are, when the universe deals you a bad hand, maybe that’s when you realize what’s important. Waking up, every day, with people you care about, ready to live life for today. Maybe tomorrow won’t come. Maybe it never will. Maybe you have to live, live every moment of your life, today. Or, maybe, just maybe, tomorrow is right around the corner. And when you tell those people around you that you love them, maybe this time they’ll remember. But what the hell do I know? I’ve never been trapped in a time loop. I’m just a person, one of billions on planet Earth, living life. 
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linafication · 3 years
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HARICOT HERETIC BACKSTORY POST!!!
copy & pasting this from discord with some small edits so it might be a little tangential <3
ok so when they were yknow. still an Alive Human Person they lived in this secluded town built concerningly close to a nuclear power plant. that’s a very inadvisable place to build a town, but lotsa fucked up shit happens here in hhvcd-land so whatever <3 basically haricot was just some kid for a while. they were a lil wack tho & caused a *lot* of trouble, being *very* naturally curious & just. fuckign around & finding out. they were also pretty obsessed with plants & nature, but not in a “i grow pretty flowers & know the latin names of anything with leaves” kind of way. more in a “i will let these wild vines grow through my room. I may try to breed these two dangerous plants together into an even bigger more dangerous abomination plant.” basically. plant mad scientist who doesn't even really know the science. over the years, they start noticing some weird shit happening around town, specifically with the plant life around. they suspect it’s from the power plant & try to let everyone else know about it, but lich rally everyone insists that it’s all good & they’ll be protected. except a couple of their peers. they grow closest to a girl named alder kane, who’s also noticed the problems issues, but while alder really wants the rest of the town to get out of their heads & actually solve the problem, haricot really just wants to prove the townspeople wrong. (alder & haricot also may or may not be girlfriends <3 they r both branded heretics & do (minor because alder is a coward /j) crimes together thats pretty lesbians) they’re fascinated by the effect the radiation is having on the environment, & kinda just wants to fuck with it more. alder & haricot (joined by a few others) publicly try to convince the other citizens of their town to pay attention to the growing contamination & do something about it. but when they refuse to listen yet again, haricot gathers the group & proposes an idea: break into the power plant. let loose some real evidence. the rest of the group quickly shut this down. if they fuck around & trespass, they could potentially destroy the whole town. haricot doesn’t care. they want to prove the townspeople wrong, whatever the cost. the contamination is spreading no matter what, & if they’re gonna all die from the chemicleas, they want to decide when it happens. if they’re gonna go out, they wanna go out with the most dramatic bang the world has ever seen. ey tells the group that they’re going through with eir plan anyways. everyone else tries to talk them out of it, but this just results in a massive argument. the argument ends with haricot storming out & running off towards the power plant’s entrance a couple miles away. they break in & start sneaking around through the plant & into the vast tunnels that stretch back to under their town. after poking around for a little while though, they realize they’re not alone. alder had followed them there in hopes of stopping them. there’s a dramatic fight sort of thing which begins with alder doing one of those good guy speeches & haricot just being evil, but alder quickly (& dramatically) realizes haricot is too stubborn to change, & their argument escalates into a physical fight as haricot continues to dramatically explain eir plan while beginning the steps to initiate some kind of reactor overload. alder realizes that stopping haricot will make her a hero, & tells haricot this. they only respond with laughter & excitement. by saying that defeating them would make her a hero, she’s only cemented their place as a villain. haricot has never felt so alive.
near the end of this heated battle after lots of dramatic (yet pretty one-sided) banter (alder isn't that good at witty mid-battle banter, being a hero and all), alder finally has haricot at her mercy, dangling over a big ole reactor sort of thing. they expected haricot to try & save themselves. maybe even beg for their life. but haricot only reaches to pull the lever, activating the final step of the instant overload thing they’ve been initiating throughout the whole fight. they manage to activate it, which of course immediately starts causing everything to shake, & haricot’s grip is weakened, causing them to fall into the reactor right as it explodes. they later wake up face-down in a lower laboratory level with a strange feeling under their skin...
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mcwriting · 3 years
Text
The Marriage Project (6)
Heyyy guys! Sorry this has taken so long to get out. Even though I have a lot of chapters written, I’m in the process of overhauling some later chapters and I’m trying to make sure I don’t conflict anything in these earlier chaps. Also I’ve been sooooo busy :(
Also: if you haven’t seen my recent kim possible au, definitely check it out!
Story Masterlist
Word Count: 2307
Warnings: none that I can think of this chapter
% Approximately the 2nd week of October %
Monday you continued to shut down and deflect dumb rumors about you and Tom. The rumors had exploded over the weekend since some had noticed the way Tom pointed you out before his game and walked with you after.
But it was all innocent, right?
In home ec, you started a sewing project of making a pajama set. 
As always, Mrs. Flynn had tied it into the marriage project, requiring that couples sewed each others’ garments and made the fabrics compliment each other. If everything turned out right, the couples would have to wear them during their final presentations.
You laid on the floor over the fabric you’d chosen as Tom marked your hem length for the pants, the main part of the pattern already cut out.
“This Friday is your last home volleyball game, right?” Tom questioned as he rubbed chalk on the fabric.
“Yeah, I know. Crazy, right? It’s been half of my school life longer than I’ve known you. Just like that, it’ll be pretty much over.”
“Have any big plans for your senior night, then?”
You sat up and got off the fabric so Tom could cut it.
“Well, I’m probably gonna do my hair and makeup since they’ll take pictures before the game, and then after we win I’m going out to dinner with my family. My extended fam is coming to town. If they weren’t gonna be here I’d drive over to the football game.”
You laid out the fabric for Tom’s pants and waited for him to lay on it, preparing to do the same as him.
The football game was against the other public school in your town, which was essentially your biggest rival, and this year it was at their field.
“You won’t get to see me win, princess? That’s just sad. I’ll be at your game for at least the beginning. I just have to be over there an hour and a half before kickoff, but it’s not till 7:30. My mom wants to shoot pics so you’ll probably see her.”
Tom laid down.
“Oh yeah? Based on the football pictures I’ve seen, I’m excited for her volleyball shots. By the way, how did the pictures she took this weekend turn out? I haven’t had real pictures like that taken of me since I was probably 3.”
You leaned forward to mark the fabric, but first had to move Tom’s leg to the right position.
“Haven’t seen them. She never shows me pictures until she’s done editing. I also can’t relate to the other thing. She’s had a camera pointed at all of us since the day we were born. I get it, though, it is her career.”
Tom got up and you both went to sit by the sewing machine you’d set up, pinning the fabric cutouts into individual pant leg tubes.
“Tell her I’ll be her subject matter any time, champ. I actually had a lot of fun doing it.”
“WIll do. And you’re really gonna stick with champ?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Kinda rolls off the tongue.”
By the end of class you’d both finished and tried on the pants, and you were surprised at how well Tom had done on yours.
Wednesday, you made the shirts, which, since they were custom made, fit just about perfectly, too. As per usual, you got an A.
%
Friday morning, you dreaded and looked forward to the afternoon. Like, yeah, you were excited to be recognized for your years of hard work, but you didn’t want it to be over either. 
You looked in the mirror, butterflies in your stomach. 
Since it was chilly, you wore some ripped skinny jeans and a dressy long sleeved top with pink flowers. Your hair was straightened and glittery makeup adorned your face. 
You were interested to see how people would react to the more traditionally “girly” side of you at school.
Even your parents were surprised to see you all dressed up as you said your goodbyes and headed out the door.
In the halls, people pointed and stared, but it wasn’t accusatory like the prior week. Instead, people complimented the look and congratulated you on the upcoming evening.
You walked into calculus, flicking your hair over your shoulder as you sat down next to Tom.
“Wow. Finally decided to go for it, huh?”
“Yeah, well. I thought about our conversation a couple weeks ago and decided to dress for myself. It’s been pretty well received so far.”
“Princess, I’m pretty sure people are gonna like you no matter what you’re wearing.”
You smiled and rolled your eyes, preparing to reply when you were cut off by the bell and the start of announcements.
As your game got closer throughout the day, the pit in your stomach grew deeper. You spent the entire free period talking to coach in her classroom to get your mind off the upcoming game.
“Y/n, I know you’re nervous, but this is going to be the best night of your entire volleyball career. I know you and know that you’re gonna crush it. That whole team looks up to you and Anna. I haven’t seen a pair of such magnetic personalities leading my team in years. I’m proud to call myself your coach.”
You gave a watery smile.
“Thank you, coach. I’ve loved having you mentor me these last four years. I promise I won’t just forget about you after tonight.”
“Well you better not. We still have regionals and state the next two weeks,” she joked. “Now bring it in, kid. I don’t want anyone seeing me be a softie.”
You quickly hugged. Once separating, she took on a serious face.
“Now go run along, eat a snack or whatever it is you do before games,” she said seriously, before cracking one more smile and tossing you a wink.
%
You stood outside the gym nervously, flanked by your parents. 
They were about to walk you out and present you for the final time. 
Anna was walking through the gym now with her parents and siblings as people cheered in the stands, and there were nervous flutters in your stomach.
Finally, someone waved you along. You stepped into the large gym and saw the massive crowd cheering and clapping. All of your friends and family were in the stands.
You also noticed Tom in the crowd. He wasn’t overtly clapping and yelling like everyone else, but he did put up a thumb and shoot you a wink when you made eye contact.
As the announcer listed off things from the senior night sheet you had filled out, you found yourself holding back tears, thinking about all the memories you had of the sport.
A few slipped out and you quickly wiped them away so Nikki could come take a couple pictures of your family.
After the announcer finished up, your parents went to join your extended family in the stands as you warmed up on your home court one last time.
After winning the first two sets, you sat on the bench, ready to win one last one as you noticed Tom slip out the gym, giving one final wave.
You quickly pushed his absence out of your mind however, when you got behind the back line and put an ace down on the first serve.
%
Sam opened his front door for you the next day.
Of course, you had won the night before, shed a few tears, and enjoyed the time with your family, who you’d said bye to before going to the Hollands’.
“Hey, y/n. Good game last night. You and Anna crushed it.”
“Thanks, Sam. Julia was amazing, too. Without her, we’d never have good passes to set and hit.”
Sam agreed and talked to you for a little bit when you thought of something.
“Oh, hey. Where’s your mom? I wanted to talk to her.”
“Um, I think she’s in her office. Let’s go check.”
He led you to a part of the house you’d never been, and sure enough, Nikki was sat in front of a large desktop computer, a picture of you jump serving on the screen.
“That’s an incredible shot!”
She startled a bit and turned her chair to face you.
“Oh! Y/n, you scared me. Come on in! I was just going through the pictures I took at yours and Tom’s games last night. While you’re here, let me show you the ones I took last Saturday.”
She minimized the tab she was working on and pulled up a file, the first picture being a black and white shot of you looking down at a notebook, writing.
“Woah. That’s beautiful,” you breathed, looking at every little detail.
“Thank you, that means a lot. You can scroll through them all, if you like. I’m going to go find Tom, I think I heard him and Harry arguing not too long ago.”
You chuckled as she left, looking at each photo. Some she kept in color and others were in black and white. You stopped on the picture of you and Tom laughing at each other.
Your faces were lit up in genuine happiness, and you felt a pang in your chest as you burned the photo into your memory. You quickly changed it when you heard footsteps approaching.
“Hey, sorry. Harry was being an ass. You like the pictures?”
“Yeah, they’re incredible. I’d love to have some of them.” you said, scrolling through the last few.
“I’ll ask her to put some of those on the flashdrive she’s making you. She was planning on just putting all the pictures from last week to tomorrow on one if you’re good with it.”
“Oh, yeah. No rush. Ready to go upstairs?”
“Yeah, sure,” he replied as you picked up your backpack from the floor and followed him. He continued. “So I hear you guys won last night. Way to end on the best note possible.”
“Yeah, it was a bittersweet night. What about you? I never heard anything about the game.”
“Oh, we won. Not much to it, but it was a tough game.”
Tom closed the door behind him and immediately went to his desk. He pulled out a piece of chocolate and tossed it to you as you sat down.
You worked together for a while, then decided to take a break, just sprawled across the floor on your backs a couple feet apart.
You glanced over at Tom, who was messing around with his necklace.
“Can I ask you something?” you said quietly.
“Hmm?”
“What’s with your necklace? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you take it off.”
Tom was quiet for a few minutes, rolling his plastic ring in his fingers.
“My grandad, my dad’s dad, gave it to me a few years ago before he passed. It’s just a saint’s symbol for protection. It was basically his way of saying he’d always be there for me. He was one of the best people in my life, and I wear it to remember him. It also helps me stay grounded sometimes, when I’m anxious or sad.”
You listened intently and looked at Tom for a while, who was just staring straight at the ceiling. There were tons of questions racing through your head, but you narrowed them down to one.
“Why did you put your, uh, ‘wedding’ ring on there, then? I don’t feel like I deserve to be next to him.”
Tom smiled and let out a breath through his nose, then looked right at you.
“Well I definitely wasn’t going to wear it on my finger. At first, I did it just to piss you off, because I could tell that you didn’t like it. But… I don’t know, I just… kept it as a reminder of everything we’ve been through. We still call each other enemies but honestly, I’ve started to consider you one of my closest friends.”
You scanned his face, grinning slightly. Over the past week and a half his bruises had pretty much faded, a little bit of yellow lingering around his cheek and his lip pink with new skin. 
You noticed his hand close by and laid yours on top of it, stroking your thumb over the tops of his fingers.
“Yeah… yeah,” was all you could manage to whisper out loud. 
After a few moments, Tom flipped his hand, pressing your palms together and curling his fingers around yours. All you could manage to do was stare at each other in silence, unsure of what to think or how to act. 
You were startled out of it when there was a knock at the door. Your hands quickly pulled away from each others’ as the door creaked open and you sat up. It was Nikki.
“Sorry to bug you two, but I was just gonna come ask what time would be good for you tomorrow, y/n? We need enough time to get there and take the sports pictures during the day but I think golden hour would be perfect if you wanted to bring another outfit and take regular pictures.”
“Okay, yeah. Whatever time you think. I’m free all day.”
“Well I was thinking we leave here by two so we get there at three and have plenty of time before it gets fully dark around eight. My parents would love to have you for dinner, too.”
“Sounds good with me. I’ll make sure to pack a dress or something to change into.”
“Alright, well I’ll let you get back to it, just wanted to ask before I forgot again.”
Once she shut the door, you let out a breath you didn’t know you’d been holding. You looked to Tom, who seemed just as uncomfortable about everything as you were.
“Okay then, let’s finish up,” you suggested, waking your computer back up.
%
A/N: once again, so sorry it has taken this long to upload ch 6! I’m so excited for y’all to see ch 7 tho like I literally love it. Anyways, I really want to get on a more consistent upload schedule but I also want this story to be the best it can be and school is making that so hard rn
Don’t forget to check out my new work and hopefully I’ll have another one-shot out soon, too!
Send a message or ask if you’d like to be added to my permanent or series tag lists so I can verify you’ve been added!
Story Tag List: @jackiehollanderr, @one-big-fangirl, @l0lmk, @primadonnasdream, @bookworm06, @thenoddingbunny-blog, @agentnataliahofferson, @spider-babe, @stxfxniexreads 
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kingstylesdaily · 3 years
Text
Stevie Nicks Answers All Our Questions About Harry Styles
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Of all the disciples to worship at the altar of Stevie Nicks, none have managed to capture the attention of rock’s reigning priestess quite like Harry Styles.
The 26-year-old rocker (who this week received three Grammy nominations) is the Gucci-clad poster boy carrying the torch for a bygone era of music history that the Fleetwood Mac frontwoman helped crystallize. Styles recently cited the group’s 1977 (and still charting) classic “Dreams” as one of the first songs he learned the words to growing up. Their friendship began in 2015 after the former One Direction member presented his idol with a hand-piped birthday cake after a Fleetwood Mac gig in London. (“Glad she liked carrot cake,” he later said.) The years since have seen the duo’s mutual affection blossom into one of pop culture’s most cherished bondings.
Last year, when Styles inducted Nicks into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, he proclaimed the 72-year-old “everything you’ve ever wanted in a lady, a lover, in a friend.” Nicks has gushed about him in interviews as everything from “the son she never had” to her “love child” with bandmate Mick Fleetwood. Styles earned her official seal of approval after covering “The Chain” every night of his first solo tour in support of a record that sounds closer to Crosby, Stills & Nash than anything he released under his prior band.
“Harry could’ve lost a lot of fans, but he didn’t,” Nicks recently told Vogue over the phone. “I’m so proud of him because he took a risk and didn’t go the One Direction route. He loves One Direction, I love One Direction, and a gazillion other people do too, but Harry didn’t wanna go the pop route. He wanted straight-up rock and roll circa 1975.”  
Nicks has been embracing some of the busiest years of her dual careers as both Fleetwood Mac frontwoman and solo sorceress—and doing so amid a global pandemic. Since she last performed with Styles at the Forum for his Fine Line release show in December, she’s released a 24 Karat Gold concert film and “Show Them the Way,” her politically minded single and first piece of original music in six years. After Miley Cyrus asked for Nicks’s blessing before releasing her “Edge of Seventeen”–tinged “Midnight Sky,” the two joined forces for an exhilarating new mash-up titled “Edge of Midnight.”
In honor of Styles making history as the magazine’s first solo cover boy, Nicks caught up with Vogue to answer all our questions about their cosmic connection. Currently beachside with her quarantine bubble in Hawaii, she’s been doing what one would expect Stevie Nicks to be up to during a pandemic: writing new music, dancing around her house to “Watermelon Sugar,” and “casting little spells.” As befitting rock’s foremost storyteller, our intended 30-minute chat turned into a two-hour confessional about her love of Styles, working with Cyrus for the first time, joining Fleetwood Mac, the president-elect Joe Biden, the Met Gala, betta fish funerals, and much more.
ksd note: edited to only include Q&A about Stevie and Harry!
Did you get a chance to look through Harry’s cover story yet?  
Right before I called you, I sat here and looked at all the pictures on my new iPad. What can I say? That’s my Harry. I think the thing that’s most wonderful about him—and I’ve told him this, and sometimes I think he takes it the wrong way—is that he’s such a kooky guy. He’s the type of person you’d wanna live next door to. He’d look out the window, see you having a hard time planting flowers, and rush out asking, “Can I help you with those roses?” “Sure, but you are Harry Styles, right?” That’s who he is.
I really only know him to a certain extent, but I have gotten to experience some big moments in his life, like when he released his first solo record at the Troubadour. I always think of Tom Petty saying, “So, you wanna be a rock star or you wanna be a pop star?” It’s two completely different things, and he really could have gone pop like his friend Zayn [Malik]. I was sorry that Zayn didn’t keep going more because I thought he was really good. But he took the pop route, which I think was right for him. Harry could’ve lost a lot of fans doing rock and roll, but he didn’t. Harry did a long tour with that first record and said, “I’m a different person now. I have a full-on rock band, and this is what I’m gonna do.” With many of my records, I’ll stuff down peoples’ throats until they like it, and that’s exactly what he did. Then he went away and wrote Fine Line, one of my favorite records.
What were your immediate thoughts listening to Fine Line for the first time?
Me and four of my friends sat with Harry in his living room  in London and listened to it a few times before it came out. But it wasn’t really Fine Line yet. The first time we listened to it, nobody really said anything. The second time everyone started to go, “I think this song is great, but it should be second in the sequence.” By the third listen, it was five girls screaming, “Well, Harry really now, I think you need to take these four that are called Harry Songs and do this and that—” while he’s sinking in his reclining chair thinking, Are these women ever gonna leave? Thanks for your opinions, but oh, my God, stop already.  
What changed when you heard the record in it’s finished form?
This record means a lot to me. When it was all put together, I listened and said, “Oh, my god, the Beatles live.” A whole lot of people live in these songs. Fleetwood Mac lives there. I live there. When I listen to “Fine Line,” I hear melodies that would’ve worked on “A Day in the Life. “It has that same kind of complexity. I think the Beatles would’ve thought, Here we’ve influenced a young man who took some incredible things from us and made them his own years and years later.
Earlier this year you posted a message saying that Fine Line is Harry’s Rumours. Can you elaborate on what you meant by that?
When Harry asked me to do “Landslide” with him at the Forum, I asked why, and he said, “Because I want you to be there. You were there for my first night at the Troubadour for the first record.” That night I wrote him a letter that said, “This is your Rumours so you have to really respect it and adore it because these kinds of records sometimes don’t ever come again.” Fleetwood Mac went on to make many great records, but people would bet their life on the fact that Rumours was the one. And this might just be the one for Harry. We were all kind of the same age when we made Rumours. I was 28, and Lindsey [Buckingham] was 27. I actually don’t even know how old Harry is—he’s that timeless to me.
Do you have a personal favorite of his songs?
Every one represents a different thing to me. “Sunflower” is such a great little song. He loves to do crazy videos, and one time I called him and said, “I have an idea. You’re gonna be a bee, and the sunflower would be your girlfriend, and you guys would get married and live in a beehive with your little bee children. You’d sing the lyrics ‘kiss in the kitchen like it’s a dance floor duh duh duh’ and show this entire bee relationship.” 
What did he think of that pitch?
When I finished, the other end of the phone was silent. I said, “No, really, think about it. It’ll be fantastical like a Francis Ford Coppola movie.” He’s like, “Yeah, okay...” [laughs]. I also love the “Adore You” video with the little fish because I have my own special relationships with fish.
In what sense?
I always have two beta fish, but they have to be separated otherwise they’ll kill each other. I stick my finger into their aquarium, and the blue one will swim around my hand like a little dolphin. When my fish get old and suddenly die, I have funerals for them in my backyard where I play Celine Dion. I have them filmed, and everything [laughs]. It’s too much, but I thankfully haven’t had any recent fish deaths. I haven’t even been able to sit down and show Harry the videos of my little fish, so when I saw the “Adore You” video, I couldn’t believe it.
Why is it important for you to foster these relationships with younger artists like Harry who’ve been so openly influenced by you?
I’m inspired by them. I’m inspired that Miley wants to make music with me. I’m inspired that the Haim girls are my biggest fans—and I theirs. A lot of these kids are making the amazing records I’ve been waiting for them to make. I’m not like other 72-year-olds. I listen to current music because I want to be current. When people find out how old I am versus the music I’m listening to, they think it doesn’t gel at all. I’ve been collecting musical knowledge since I was in the fourth grade listening to the singles my grandfather used to bring home. I listened to Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers until the sixth grade when R&B radio became Top 40. I said goodbye country and hello R&B, so it’s not like I’m ever stuck on one thing. What I love about Harry is that he’s very old school but still modern. And that’s kinda like me.
You both also transitioned from massive groups to equally massive solo careers rather seamlessly.
When I decided I wanted to be a solo artist, I’d only been in Fleetwood Mac for a few years. I tried to figure out a way to do it gracefully because I didn’t wanna break up the band. I just wanted to sit at my piano and write poetry. After we did a record and a really long tour, the band scurried off to different parts of the world while I’d just be home writing songs for a year and a half. What did they care what I did while they were all on vacation? I’ve always said all the way through these two careers I’ve had: If you’re in a band first, never break it up.
Do you think One Direction would ever reunite?
I think it’s a good idea. For all we know, One Direction is completely broken up forever. But I think those guys are friends, and five or ten years down the road, they could all go, “You know what, wouldn’t it be really fun to do a One Direction tour?” Because that’s what people do. I wouldn’t be surprised if they did reunite at some point just because they can. And because it would just be fun. Harry is the kind of person who would never stomp on that idea. He would never say, [imitates posh English accent] “Never! I would never do that again!” Because why not just keep the door open?
Was there any particular detail or passage in Harry’s cover story that stuck out to you?
According to this article, he can get in a car with his friend to drive all over Europe then drive back by himself. I stopped driving in 1978 because my driver’s license expired and I’d already made a lot of money. I very smartly thought, “You know what, if someone even hits you and it’s not even your fault but you’re a little drunk, you are done. You’re finished, and the fortune that you’ve made is gone, so why should you drive anyway?” By then me and Christine were very cloistered, but Harry’s able to live a freer life because he’s a guy. He’s like Mick. He has a free life.
Would you say that you don’t?
I’m only comparing us in the way that Harry goes off to the Bahamas to work on songs, then flies back to L.A., then London, then Italy—I can’t do that. I can’t do that by myself. He’s able to do whatever he wants by himself, and it’s a whole different way of life. Being that Harry is a guy, he’s able to be a loner more than I am. As a woman, I’m not free to do all that. Even when I was his age, I couldn’t just get off anywhere I wanted. When we were on the road, Christine and I didn’t have a clue in the world what the boys did. We went to our rooms with security guys standing outside. It’s not like we ever escaped to go club-hopping in downtown Manhattan. We never got to live that life, so freedom as Harry knows it is very different than it’s been for me.
Did you ever have any figure in your life who provided some sense of mentorship the way you have to artists like Harry?
I didn’t really have anyone. If I had any guiding force at all, it probably would’ve been Christine McVie because she was five years older than me. And five years is five years, you know? Chris was friends with Eric Clapton and knew all the famous musicians in London. She’d married John [McVie] and done a bunch of records with Fleetwood Mac before I came along, so she’d been in the music business for a long time. I was breaking up with Lindsey when she was breaking up with John. She was my therapist and my go-to person for just about everything. We had each other to get through that really difficult situation where no one was gonna quit the band. Christine and I kept the whole thing together by telling the three men, “You quit because we’re not stopping” Thank God I had her, but on the other side of that, thank God she had me. We really were a force of nature.
** I’m curious to what extent fashion plays a role in your and Harry’s relationship. Have you** gifted him any accessories that were significant to you?
I actually gave him a ring at the Forum thing. It’s very masculine and has a pink stone in it. I told him it was a pink diamond, but it really isn’t. It would’ve cost $5 million. It was mine, and I really loved it, but I thought, This should be for Harry. You can see it on his hands in the “Falling” video where he’s playing the piano. If Harry and I were in a band together, we’d be trading all kinds of crazy stuff.
What are your thoughts on him being the first solo male cover in Vogue’s history?
It makes me feel so inspired. I’m extremely jealous he’s on the cover of Vogue because I’m 72 years old and have wanted to be on the cover my whole life. I’m such a magazine hag, so I’m incredibly jealous of Harry, but I’ll get over it. As far as all the crazy things he’s wearing, you do whatever you have to do to be on the cover of Vogue. I’m very proud of him, and I think it’s great that there’s a man on the cover…but I should’ve been in the corner off in the distance [laughs]. Did you know I’ve never been to the Met Gala?
We would be honored to have you at the next gala and every one after that. I’m putting this in the article to make sure it’s in the public record.
As Mick Jagger says, “We still have our freedom, but we don’t have much time.” I would like to be not much older than I am now so I can wear a fantastic outfit and entertain everybody. It’s a dream of mine, and most of my dreams have come true, but I need to not be 90 when it happens.
Harry and you could perform together.
We wouldn’t even have to rehearse. We’ve got a couple of duets that are really great. We do “Landslide” and “Two Ghosts” together really well. We actually have five or six terrific acoustic numbers that we could do at the drop of a hat.
You hinted earlier this year that there might be a role for Harry in the miniseries based on the stories of Rhiannon. Is there any update there?
This is probably the third-biggest thing I’ve ever done in my life after Fleetwood Mac and my solo career. There’s a lot to be done in the movie business before I can start riding my horses across the mountains of Wales. I’ve signed with a movie company—I’m not gonna tell you who—and we just signed a writer. I’m not gonna tell you who that is either, but there’s an amazing part for Harry. My favorite character in the series is the only man who goes through all four books. He’s a magician who doesn’t wanna be king, and I think Harry would just be so perfect.
Have you and Harry discussed collaborating on any future music together?
We’re open to making music together because we’ve been very successful when we go onstage just to do one song. I would love to be in a band with Harry, but even if I never saw him in person again, he’s made a record that breaks my heart in a million places like Fine Line. As far as music goes, there’s plenty of fun things that he and I could do. We can just reach out to each other and do it. I’m always ready to slip back into those high-heel black suede boots and become my alter ego.
via Vogue.com
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qvid-pro-qvo · 3 years
Text
it’s your day (and i’m here for it)
happy valentine’s day, everyone. penelope garcia x emily prentiss. 
word count: 2345
rating: e for everyone! based on this tweet that i found that made me want to write something about halloween and valentine’s day falling in love. hope it makes somewhat sense, and of course i hope you all enjoy a foray into something a little different than a reader fic (tw: food mentions and food eating at the end). 
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She sits with her legs crossed, the files spread out before her. Her eyes scan each file, and when she presses her fingers to one she can't help her little sigh.
Jason Gideon. Aaron Hotchner. Derek Morgan. Spencer Reid. Jennifer Jareau.
She feels it. The connection. The "red strings of fate." The analogy makes her smile, a little twist of her lips. They're connected, so intertwined that it's difficult to sparse apart the individuals.
She thought long and hard before even opening these files. There was another there, wrapped around each one of them, her protection... brilliant. Bold. And bright.
Her rules were pretty simple. Her loner status was well known, just because she liked the ability to roam, go where she pleased. Her reach wasn't too wide after all, but where it did span she had a  tight grip.
But this. This was different. There was an attraction here, a draw. She presses her fingers to Spencer again, feels his devotion like a drug, one that allows her to sink into that feeling for a second before pulling herself back out.
She likes roaming. She does. But the temptation of settling... it overwhelms her all at once.
She pushes the other files aside. Her eyes scan the manila folder before pushing it open carefully. She has to lean back, almost, but once it falls open the smiling face that looks up at her seems to settle her soul.
Penelope Garcia.
When she presses her fingers to the file, she can't help but laugh. The pink resume. Bold, but, the humans tended to overlook the obvious when they could. Even profilers.
She sits back on her haunches. Looks once more into the eyes of every face open to her, and nods. She'll be safe here. Comfortable here.
After all... if one can settle among the drabble for the long haul... what's the harm in another?  
-
She doesn't recall the last time she crossed paths with Garcia, when the last time their realms overlapped. She tries to think, dredges up what memories she can, but as always, when she limits herself in a strictly physical form, it exhausts her.
Garcia. It's what she has to take to calling her, because Penelope feels too... human. Of course, Garcia takes to calling her "Emily" right off. Gives her a glowing smile, tilts her head, pushes her chin forward.
"It's a pleasure!" she chirps. Offers her hand, and the world goes a bit hazy at the edges when she takes it, shakes, once, twice.
"Emily" watches her earrings dangle for a moment before she pulls her fingers back.
Garcia doesn't seem to notice the shift. Just keeps smiling, though there's a light in her eyes that can't be missed. "Emily" is a little lost in it, but lets it play as a new person in a new unit in the Bureau, not as the collision of two beings who have no business being in the same room, let alone shaking hands.
"Of course," she offers, instead of something more traditional. "I'm happy to be here."
"What you did in there, it was pretty, uh, massively mindblowing," Garcia says. The light has faded, just a little, as her hands once again wrap around files and she cocks her hip. "Do you always stun the socks off of everyone you come across or -"
"Only the ones I like."
It comes out of nowhere, out of "Emily." The little joke. But Garcia loves it, giggles, and bids her a farewell before going back to her office, leaving "Emily" there to watch her go. Feeling a little lighter as she does.
-
She radiates joy.
She watches Garcia with interest, as she settles into settling. Into going into work every day, a 9-5 that works like on-call. Watches her walk with confidence, lift her chin, let her hair down and then put it up again.
October is long gone, and February apporaches with blinding speed. It seems to hurtle toward all of them, like Garcia is willing the days forward, like she's the reason that the sun sets. And as each day passes, Emily gets those blinding smiles, gets little stops by her desk, moments here and there where she gives her love so freely.
She bakes. She laughs. She jokes. She flirts with Morgan and blows kisses to Reid and Emily gets to sit there and take some, too. 
The drabble. Emily supposes they’re her friends, now. It’s an odd feeling, after being masked for so long. After pretending friendship, romance, love for so long, feeling it so keenly. From all of them, not just Penelope. 
Penelope. 
At some point she stops becoming Garcia. Emily knows her real name is still out of reach, but Penelope works just fine. Penelope gets her a smile. 
-
The problem with the Halloween is that there's light and dark. So... much... dark.
Penelope brings out the photo as a joke, as a tease first and foremost and only, and Emily looks at it with a smile and a laugh and the embarassment she should. But she sees the style, and can't help but wince.
“You edited this,” she accuses immediately, but Penelope just shakes her head, laughs.
“Nope,” she says, with a pop of her lips. “That hair is alllll you.” 
So much dark.
It’s come and gone this year, Halloween, and the winter is in full swing. January sends Virginia into a bitter cold, but when Emily sees that picture it feels like it’s soaked into her, settled in her bones, and she’s reminded of the worst of October. There was a reason that year was particularly brutal for her, why her exterior showed so much of what she encompasses. 
Some Halloweens are just worst than other Halloweens, and she finds herself lost in that thought as the day wears on, as a case comes and throughout. 
She supposes Penelope must catch it. Why else would she come by after they land and the BAU is back with an apology, a small smile, a new cup of coffee in a mug that has to be her own? It makes Emily smile, too, when she takes it. The bullpen is empty, it’s just the two of them and Hotch up the stairs, and she can’t help but cherish the way Pen leans on her desk, sits on it like she belongs. 
“I didn’t think about what it must feel like, October 31st,” the analyst offers, kicking the ground a little. “I kinda lose myself a little this time of year, I should’ve thought -”
“It’s okay, Garcia,” Emily says, but immediately rights herself with a small smile and tilt of her head. “Penelope. Really. Some years are just different. I’m sure you understand that.” 
Penelope nods, but she still seems uncertain, biting her lip. “I know, but, still. I should’ve known that it was something more than -” 
“A hilarious yearbook photo?” Emily counters, and holds up the picture again, still on her desk from when before they left. Immediately she twists her smile to match the photo, and Penelope takes one look and snorts. It’s such a vibrant sound that Emily laughs, too, and the two of them giggle the rest of the night, Penelope sticking around to walk Emily out, their hands grazing on an elevator that feels warmer than any chill. 
“If it makes you feel any better, you rocked that look,” Penelope says, and her eyes, bright even in the dim of the parking garage, make Emily’s cheeks feel red. “I mean, you’re always stunning, but... I don’t know. I like that little peek into what’s really in you, Emily Prentiss.” 
Emily thinks about that a lot. About the way her instinct is to reach out for Penelope’s hand and squeeze it, wonder if this year she’ll have a valentine.
“I’m an open book for you, Penelope.” 
-
There's a lot of love when Valentine's goes down, but the lonely hearts are out there, too. And Penelope feels all of them as the day approaches, that home stretch before the new Valentine. Emily sees her feel first hand, watches her hands tremble as the evening comes and her follows unload on her. There's unending love on Valentine's, but not all of it is requited, and Emily is there to hold Pen close as she takes it all and feels it so she can spread the love all year long.
"It makes me h-happy," she says with a sniffle, looking at Emily as she wipes her face under her glasses, appropriately heart-shaped. "The day. Of course. And tomorrow w-will be better, that first day of recharge, but - but the few nights before you taste the heartbreak as much as all the love."
"What does it taste like?" Emily can't help but ask. Heartbreak. She knows the concept, but... the thought of that in her mouth... lingering... Penelope swallows, shrugging her cardigan back on her shoulders.
"Well, uh, not good, if that's the question," Pen starts, and says it with enough bite and verve that it startles a laugh out of Emily. Earns her a little smile, one still so lovely even with the tears down her face.
Emily takes a moment to brush one off of a blush-stained cheek. Uses her thumb to push it aside, and Pen leans into the touch, sighs a little at the affection. Before smiling
"It smells like rotten flowers, and it - it tastes like too dark chocolate," she murmurs. "Sour grapes. And... salt. Lots and lots of salt."  
"Tears," Emily realizes, and when Penelope nods that's enough to make the next move easy. To pull her close, tight against her, holding her close as she lets out another shaky sob.
The heartbreak will fade. And Emily knows what she'll see. Penelope Garcia will come into work the next day with a spring in her step, bouncing on her toes, hair in perfect ringlets. She'll smile with a bright lip and wave to all with delight. Derek will tease her about having a good night, and she'll say how much she doesn't kiss and tell. But Emily sees what she sees tonight, and holds Pen close, and wishes for a moment that she tasted the salt, too. If only so she could say she understood, and give that as the comfort that Penelope needed.
But she's there. And that must count for something. Because Penelope doesn't ask her to go, and Emily is all too happy to stay. To offer her drink after drink after drink of water, to get the bitter taste off of her lips as best she can.
She knows it's useless, ultimately. It's part of the penance. After all, asking that taste to fade is like asking the chill of Halloween night to be fixed with a blanket and something hot to eat, for the shivers to stop with a well-placed heating pad and a prayer.
But she knows if Penelope offered any and all of that on the evening of October 31st... well.
She wouldn't say no.
So she offers herself to Pen, those days leading up to Valentine’s. Offers to spend the night and give what she can, sweet things she can make with well-worded instructions and a toaster oven or a microwave rather than an oven. Anything to attempt to wash away the taste of lovers’ quarrels and heartache and the salty sting of tears on cheeks. Comes over every night, holding hands and holding her and pressing a kiss or two to her temple on the particular bad waves. 
“Thank you for being here,” Penelope tells her. 
“Thank you for letting me be,” Emily says back. One more kiss, on the cheek for good measure. 
And then the day comes. 
That morning, Emily wakes up on Penelope’s couch to the most brilliant smell in the world. Fresh coffee on the table in front of her, cinnamon rolls on a wire rack. The icing is perfectly melted on the outside, dripping down it, and Penelope looks absolutely radiant. There are strawberries and raspberries and chocolate for dipping them in, and the perfect amount of oat milk in a latte that Emily could only dream of tasting for the first time again.
“Good morning, my valentine!” she calls, and her cheeks are flushed a brilliant red from the heat of the oven. “I hope you’re hungry because I made... well, way too much.” 
“You did not have to do this,” Emily immediately says. Feels like an intrusion, her own energy, dark and dreary and all Hallow’s eve, when this home is so obviously warm and close to bursting with love. But then she’s wrapped up in arms that hold her tight, and she’s blinking at the feeling of all of Penelope against all of her, energy against energy, mixing and melding. 
“No talk like that today, Em, I forbid it,” she teases. She’s pulled back now, and her glasses are red hearts and her dress is so many shades of pink. In her heels their heights are equal, and Emily hasn’t even showered yet. “I believe on my day I can do whatever I please. So get ready to eat up, and the rest we can take in to the team.” 
So much love in one look. In one smile. In one brilliant, incredible woman. 
“I’m your valentine?” she asks, a little breathless, and Pen’s smile goes shy. “You want that?” 
“I - I mean, yes. If you’d like.” Her voice is gentle, and her arms are still around Emily’s neck, where she had gripped her for the hug. They loosen the slighest bit, and Emily realizes that the bright shine of the apartment has weakened a bit, that Pen looks a little panicked. “Is that - is that okay? Because I can absolutely backtrack, the train does not have to leave any station that it is not ready for -” 
Emily is Penelope’s Valentine. Emily dares to lean in and kiss her Valentine, her brilliant, bright, and absolutely mind-blowing Valentine. 
And Penelope tastes no tears on the 14th, only bright red apples and something sweet like Halloween candy. 
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sanstropfremir · 3 years
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it’s the episode 8 review!!! how many episodes is this show supposed to even be?
the stages from the episode feel like such a grab bag.... i still don’t understand why they didn’t put all the skill stages together, and then did the normal two episodes of the third round. i guess it makes sense that they didn’t want to have six stages in one episode and then three in the other two, but eh. 
feeling kinda average on these as a whole, there’s a lot of good elements going on here but probably because of my own preferences (i don’t listen to ballads or blackpink) none of them really hit all the buttons. hopefully this will be a shorter review because i'm only going to do a quick rundown of the vocal stages; i dont really have that much to say about them because they are (intentionally) not very stage picture focused. i'll do the normal stage breakdowns for the other two though, even though i won’t rank them because we still need to see the other four!
vocal stages
sf9 + tbz + ikon
not much to say here other than wow, that’s RED. glad to see some more specific use of spotlighting and i always love when they light things on fire. i do wish they had fill lit with a brighter amber so we could actually get a bit more detail on their faces, especially because there’s six of them. i appreciated the simple blocking and only using one of the ‘stages,’ this stage didn’t need to be anything complicated and it wasn’t. i don’t love spinning camera shots because they make me a bit ill, and i'll forgive the constant cutting because it's a vocal stage and there isn’t any other real movement that we should be paying attention to. not my favourite of the two, i found it visually a bit too repetitive and complex at the same time. always love a crushed velvet suit though, so bonus points for that.
atz + skz + btob
i was braced for the worst and i dont know what kind of miracle happened but it was listenable! like i said, not a ballad fan but i could listen to eunkwang all day. i love a good plinth for a ballad stage, they’re one of my favourite devices in kpop design and i especially love it with a good groundlevel fog. glad they kept it black and white for the first half of the stage, it was in line with the blooming flower projections, and it made a very clear colour arc. they kept the visuals clean and simple with very little blocking at all, a very smart choice for this stage. not sure why they decided it would be the chanel time stage, which i disapprove of because i don’t like chanel, but i do love eunkwang’s shirt with the cameo buttons and the massive turnback cuffs, very 17th and also 19th century. i know they never do it because they dont read on stage normally but yes absolutely more thin chain pendant chokers on men, thank you! i also liked that there was emphasis on a more traditional lighting scheme, there weren't any crazy concert effects, just some good directional beam spotlights and the rear stacks in the climax. 
third round stages
ikon
costume
the first look for them is definitely my fabourite of theirs so far. there’s enough variation in the jackets that the base layer of tshirt and jeans don’t look too repetitive. and i do love a good statement jacket. my favourite is probably donghyuk’s because i'm a sucker for fringe always.
i don’t like the backup dancers costumes, but given the way i’ve reacted to every other all black outfit for this entire show i don’t think anyone was surprised about that. these ones particularly irk me because they’re very matte; there's pretty much no texture or pattern differentials to define the shape of the limb, which makes them disappear when theyre all grouped together (mostly on the women). i think they probably were intending to make a statement/emphasis on the hands because of the sleeve cutoff point, but there were so many arm movements that were just totally missed because the costumes were just black voids. most egregious parts are here, with the female dancers up center. i can barely tell what the movements are unless i’m paying specific attention to them because there's so many black shapes. maybe it was the point for it to be an indiscernable writhing mass, but it wasn’t my vibe.
don’t love this styling on lisa. i hate peeptoe shoes in general but peeptoe boots are the worst offenders. they make you look like you have duck feet, no matter who you are. especially with a flat cutout like that. a universally unflattering shoe, and i would know, i worked in a shoe store for two years. this whole look is just pg-13 rihanna cfda awards 2014 and really nobody should try to run up against rihanna.
also i have to mention this because it’s actually really bothering me, but lisa’s backup dancers are serving very allgemeine ss looks and i do not like it. generally when we see ‘military’ uniforms in kpop theyre usually modelled off older styles (pre wwii) of western uniforms that usually aren’t in circulation, and they’re usually non-matching and embellished in ways that are deliberately not military. i know logically that it's a budget constraint+they’re backup dancers+current trend thing but the clean lines with only button detailing and the all black and that specific harness shape? it hit my brain the wrong way. i mean, technically those uniforms are designer because hugo boss did them, but the uh..... girlboss move didn’t land for me.
this is my PERSONAL OPINION please for the love of all that is holy do not come yelling at me about this. it’s all under a cut, you chose to read the post.
set
very glad to see some busy kitschy sets! this is a massive build, since there’s essentially three full sets here: the temple, the jungle, and the first tiny room. and all of them are very heavily decorated. 
the starting room is just five walls on casters (wheels), that have been set into place with the cameraman and ikon inside at the start, and then once they exit the walls can be easily struck and rolled off set. simple, smart, and convenient!
i missed it the first couple times around but glitching out the projections in the temple for a split second was a neat little trick.
the silver and polygonal nature of the tiger/panther/cat(?) head is a bit disconnected from the gold and the aesthetic of the rest of the stage for me. the difference between the original room set and the jungle tracks, but the cat head isnt able to make the same leap for me. i'm also not a fan of mixing metals so maybe that’s why.
the tiger/panther/cat(?) head is a fun physical transitional device; i'm a big fan of tunnels and small transitory spaces like that and if they’re well dressed like this one they do so much for establishing place and mood.
i'm very sure i’ve seen this style of polygonal animal head with laser eyes before....i cannot for the life of me remember where or for what. i know wang yibo did a panther stage for sdc3 that had a human formation panther with green laser eyes, i wonder if i'm just crossing wires.
OH nevermind it’s because it looks like the witcher medallion. wires were definitely crossed.
lighting
using purple/teal lighting for the jungle was a smart choice because purple is the direct compliment to the gold and also is much more flattering on humans than green. green is one of the colours that humans can see the most variations in, so when something is green when it's not supposed to be (like human skin), we register that very quickly and associate it with unease and sickness. you know how old fluorescent lights have that greenish tinge that kinda makes you feel ill? it's your cone cells and your brain recognizing that you’re looking at things that are not supposed to be green.
very clean colour arc, i love to see it.
sound
it’s.....fine? i don’t listen to blackpink and have no opinions on their music other than it's not my type. i dont really know what the thematic connection to the visuals is, which is not strictly necessary in a lot of cases, but i don’t particularly care for the conflation of ‘savage’ and a (presumably) precolonial religion that’s assembled from stereotypes of real colonized cultures. you can come at me about how ‘it's not that deep’ all you want but i am here specifically doing an in depth analysis, and i gotta point it out. i'm not here to pass judgement on you if you didn’t realize or don’t care or whatever, i'm just saying that it's important to consume content with a critical eye. what you do with that information is your own personal choice, but you should be aware of it at least. 
staging
they took a big risk eating popcorn right before singing, and we definitely got some residual mouth noises of them trying to clean out their teeth. eating on stage is difficult in general because you have to make sure it's not going to dry out the performers mouths, because they dont have access to water and it takes WAY longer to chew and swallow something than you would expect. there’s a LOT of testing that goes into making stage food and guaranteed it’s not made out of what it looks like or what its supposed to be; i worked on a production of amadeus were we did literal weeks of testing amalgams of different desserts to make sure that salieri could actually eat the ones onstage without totally drying him out, because fun fact about that show, salieri doesnt leave stage like, at all, so there was no way to get him water. poor bloke.
i thought the blocking of this was really smart. the long take from the ‘normal’ room and transition into the jungle was super slick, even if that weird circle the camera did while pointed up at the ceiling was unnecessary and pointless.
bobby’s ‘acting’ was extremely funny and that’s the only way people are allowed to act surprised now. edvard munsch scream style only.
the pacing is a bit off and this time it wasn’t mnet’s editing that fucked it up. as fun as it is to have a feature, clearly she wasn’t allowed within proximity of the rest of them for covid or other yg related reasons, but it made for some extremely long transitions, especially the one out of her verse. it kills the momentum of the stage in that beat, even though they manage to pick it up after.
this is a very simple little narrative arc that’s easy to follow and doesn’t require any extra explaining. which is exactly the kind of arc that groups should be doing at this stage in the game. this is a good formic step up for ikon!
i thought the turning off of the monitor at the end was fun and a good callback to them watching the videos at the beginning of the stage. a nice clean way to make it circular.
skz
costume
FINALLY something different on the skz boys! these were mostly fun eboy looks for them, and i like it on the basis that it's not the same as the last set of costumes.
bang chan out there with his thigh OUT and a (fake) bridge piercing? LOVE to see it. great work.
(copy-paste every thing i’ve said about backup dancers wearing all black)
the backup dancers that were dressed as bystanders/extras were great! they should have kept that with all of them because it would have given a little more shape to the choreography and establishing what function the backup dancers were supposed to have.
set
that is meant to be a giant rice cooker on stage, right? i think so because it's a god’s menu mashup? if that's not a rice cooker i have NO idea what its supposed to be
there’s only two large setpieces here, which was a smart way to go. i LOVE the subway car doubling as the truck, even if the truck itself makes no narrative sense. what a fun way to double the use of a single big piece. you’ll be able to see the way it moves in the full cam but it splits down the centre and there entrance doors at the back with attached stairs that bang chan and the dancers use to climb up.
lighting
not a whole lot happening here. i like the cool white leds in the subway car and the contrast with the more warm tones of the outside, which is good atmospheric establishment, but i can't discern a visible arc. 
not a fan of these projections; they’re in line with what we’ve seen from skz so far, which is: extremely literal. i dont think they’re that distracting, but they’re not to my personal taste. they really should have kept the comic panel theme that they did for changbin’s first verse, because that was inventive and fun to watch! and a great atmospheric indicator! i would love to see a bit more experimental projection use but it's hard when they don’t have a lot of time to build these stages and the lighting team is definitely working remotely.
sound
i love that they made the choice to do some actual talking, it’s a good gimmick and it works for the deadpool/comic book/fourth wall break theme, but australian accents take me the fuck out i am so sorry i cannot listen to either felix or bang chan speak english without laughing uncontrollably. 
i don’t like this arrangement but i'm not surprised about that, given my predilections. i'm also tired of skz shouting STRAY KIDS in every performance they do. i know on music shows it's probably more relevant and yea producers tags are a thing but we’ve been watching this show for nearly two months at this point. we know who you are, you can stop yelling. be more creative with it!
staging
my biggest issue with this stage is that it doesn’t have a payoff. there is an arc here: they’re stealing the truck, but why are they stealing the truck? who are they stealing it from? who are they fighting against? it's kind of important in a stage where the theme is stealing and fighting someone that you tell us who that is. in both of ateez’s previous stages were they were both stealing (rhythm ta) and fighting (wonderland), they made sure to show us who the villain was. there needs to be tension for a big blowup climax to actually pay off. whether it be against a a balloon arm kraken or a fascist government. this stage could have reached that next step if they’d just done a little bit more exposition. 
there were a lot of fun choreo moments here, and this is probably my favourite choreo of theirs so far. i thought the whole first bit in the subway car was excellent and a very fun play on those viral videos that we used to see roll around every so often of dancers doing routines in subway cars.
did it need the guns? not in the slightest. more on this point later. i could talk more about weapons and weight here, but i’ve done that several times already.
like with the tbz game of thrones stages, theyre relying a little too much on the audience's preconceptions of the source material in order to carry the theme. the guns are there because deadpool likes guns, but they don’t actually use the guns for anything? the most we get of the stealing segment is felix and the safe, which admittedly is a great bit with him leaping over and under the ‘laser’ lines (theyre likely led strips). because comic books are by nature procedural and deeply tied to narrative, it's unsatisfying when there’s no tension and no payoff.
HOW did we manage to get two stages that are blackpink covers with remote/tv static gimmick and durags? i know the slot machine of kpop tropes is not very big but surely the probability of hitting triple sevens on this one was pretty low. i’m pretty meh on both of these stages overall. skz was unsatisfying but i loved the choreo in the subway bit so that bumped it up a little ahead of ikon’s in my personal preferences, but i'm reserving my actual rankings for next week. assuming we get the other four stages next week and they dont do something stupid and only show two. which they very well might. i’ve stopped trying to understand why mnet does things the way that they do. 
as always the ask box is open, drop your comments/questions/personal opinions, i love to hear ‘em! but don’t be rude just because some of this is touchier subject material.
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