#Weekly Column Series

[epicbuddieficrecs]

Weekly Recap | January 15th-21st 2024

My ao3 history is still fucked. Gonna have to figure out if there's something I can do about it :/

Complete

hot cocoa by evcndiaz/ @evcndiaz (Established Buddie | 3K | Teen): Buck is freaking out about proposing. He gets an assist from Athena, Bobby, and. Well. Eddie himself.

A Message To You by Mad_Lori/ @madlori (Media fic, Getting Together | 9K | Teen): Two firefighters both write to an advice column on the same day, with the same problem - they're each in love with their best friend. You won't believe what happens next!

🔥 Life Cycles of the Southern Coastal Husbro series by Mad_Lori/ @madlori (Post-Season 5, Queer Platonic Relationship to Lovers | 5 works | 92K)

🔥 Courtship Behaviors of the Southern Coastal Husbro (QPR, Getting Together | 49K | Explicit): “I want you in my family, I want us to be a family. Officially. A family can be a guy, his son, and his best friend, right?” Buck’s lower lip was trembling. “You’re really asking me to be your…what, now?” “Frank called it ‘platonic life partners.’” Observational Notes on the Southern Coastal Husbro (Fluff | 10K | Mature): A day in the life of two engaged firefighter husbros and their smartass son. Migratory Patterns of the Southern Coastal Husbro (Coming Out | 13K | Explicit): Buck and Eddie visit El Paso to tell the Diaz parents that they're engaged. Also, they go viral (again), eat King Ranch Casserole, pontificate on queer identities, get a visit from the Fire Chief, and the Hot Firefighter Calendar makes a reappearance. Ancestral Lineage of the Southern Coastal Husbro (Parental Reconciliations | 13K | Explicit): The Buckleys surprise Eddie at home when Buck's not there, hoping to work around Buck's no-contact edict and attempt a reconciliation. Later, Eddie surprises Buck with the news that hey, he has grandparents on his mom's side, too. Surprise number two: they suck. Eddie and Buck remain disgustingly in love with each other. Sexual Alignments of the Southern Coastal Husbro (5K | Teen): Eddie goes out for drinks with the dispatch center folks, gets hit on at the bar, and has personal epiphanies about his sexual orientation.

Kilty Pleasures by JamesPearce911/ @diazsdimples (PWP, Established Buddie | 8K | Explicit): Or, Buck and Eddie discover they have kilt kinks.

melt your headaches (call it home) by lecornergirl/ @clusterbuck (Pre-Relationship, Sharing a Bed | 2K | Teen): hypothetically, Buck types. if someone hit their head in the morning, they probably shouldn’t go to sleep alone, huh The phone vibrates in his hand before he can even put it down, Eddie’s face flashing on the screen. Buck sighs and picks it up. “What did you do?” Eddie asks immediately. “Hypothetically, the Scrub Daddy tried to kill me.”

Fractals from the Lightning Bolt by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels/ @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels (One Shots Collection | 41/54 | 78K | Not Rated): A collection of oneshots, some originally posted on tumblr. Each chapter is individually rated.

44. We Gotta Create Our Interludes: Rated E - some soft established relationship fluff and smut 45. My Application to Hell: Rated E - shameless smut of the "they could never get away with this in real life" variety.

what my heart just yearns to say (in ways that can't be said) by mimibegins/ @itiveseenthisfilmbefore (Post S06E15: Death and Taxes | 5K | General): “I didn’t know that,” Eddie replied, eyebrows furrowed. And then he added so quietly that Buck almost missed it: “I mean, how would I? As I don’t see you.” And Buck was struck through the core and taken back in time. From one moment to the next, he was back at the graveyard, looking at Eddie and saying “I feel like she sees me” and then he recalled the broken look behind Eddie’s eyes and oh. So that’s what was wrong.

Twice Struck by Tizniz / @tizniz (Post-Lightning | 3K | General): Buck finds out he wasn't the only one struck by lightning that night.

dusk until the dawn (you're where i wanna go) by mimibegins/ @itiveseenthisfilmbefore (Post S6E14: Performance Anxiety, Getting Together | 5K | Teen): “So, would you say that you’re worried about dating because you never really dated,“ Buck said as he shifted his weight, draping himself over the couch in a way that was almost obscene for a public space. “Is that a question, or– ?” Eddie wondered, slightly amused as he looked up at Buck, who looked so pensive, if not a bit stunned as he was seemingly still trying to wrap his head around the disastrous dating experiences of Eddie Diaz. “No, it’s– yeah, okay, I guess it’s a question but– have you?” Buck asked, almost bashful, with a faint blush sitting high on his cheeks as he met Eddie’s eyes. God, Eddie thought as he felt how the blood rushed into his cheeks as well. These feelings are definitely not platonic.

he's a big boy by oklahoma/ @malewifediaz (Married Buddie, PWP | 5K | Explicit): Eddie has a thing for Buck's big dick.

one is one too many, one more is never enough by 42hrb / @exhuastedpigeon (Drunk Confession | 2K | Teen): They say hangovers get worse as you get older. Buck never believed that until his first hangover in his thirties hit him like a fucking freight train. He had vowed to never get that drunk again. And he’d kept that promise to himself for over a year. That all changed at Maddie and Chimney’s wedding. He’d like it noted that it wasn’t his fault that he got so drunk. He hadn’t had any of the mimosas that were flowing while Maddie and her bridal party got ready because he didn’t want to risk anything going wrong when he walked Maddie down the aisle. In fact, he hadn’t had a drink until after he gave his speech. 

🔥 Don't Push Me So Far Away I Can't Reach You by giselleslash (Friends With Benefits | 12K | Mature): or the one where Buck thinks he and Eddie are just friends with benefits so he pushes Eddie to date other people because he’s an idiot

if you keep reachin' out (then I'll keep comin' back) by 42hrb / @exhuastedpigeon (Getting Together | 2K | Teen): It probably wasn’t the best idea to flirt with Buck before a rescue but Eddie couldn’t help himself. He’d been struggling with keeping his feelings for Buck locked down for months now, maybe even longer if he was honest with himself. 

i love you, ain't that the worst thing you've ever heard? by rarakiplin (gmontys)/ @hoediaz (Post-Shooting | 9K | Teen): or, in which eddie's will reveal is a love confession, and buck takes a second to catch up

🔥 maybe love won't let you down by sibylsleaves (Season 5B, Getting Together | 15K | Mature): Buck tells Eddie he’s in love with him. Eddie pines. or, five times eddie watches buck leave, and the one time he goes after him

Rope 'n Ride by rosebuddiekin/ @giddyupbuck (PWP | 2K | Explicit): Or: Eddie rides Buck wearing the cowboy hat.

WIP

search history by forgottenwords (Getting Together | 8/10 | 11K | Explicit): Eddie opened the Safari app to find a specific recipe Buck was looking for, but something was already typed in the search box. Beefy blonde twink gets railed by— Buck's voice calls out from the kitchen “Did you find it yet?” and Eddie hastily closes the tab, opening another with a surprising speed from someone considered technologically illiterate. As close as they were, he’d never had a thought about the type of ‘adult entertainment’ Buck was partial to. Now, it was all he could think about.

🔥 Things We're All Too Young to Know by @cal-daisies-and-briars (Canon, S1 through S6 | 107/? | 296K | Mature): This is a love story. Even if it doesn’t always look like it. Even if it doesn’t always feel like it. A look back on Eddie and Buck's lives up to now, and what led them to each other, interpreted from the current 9-1-1 canon.

🔥 and if i bleed (you'll be the last to know) by diazchristopher/ @captain-hen (Canon Divergent Season 6, Friends with Benefits | 5/18 | 23K | Explicit): or, an alternate look at season 6 where buck and eddie have been casually sleeping together since before the beginning of the season. somehow, this changes both everything and nothing at all.

Winter Prayer by Daisies_and_Briars/ @cal-daisies-and-briars (Road Trip, Buck&Bobby&May | 1/3 | 5K | General): When a work conflict prevents Athena from accompanying Bobby to Minnesota for the ten year anniversary of his family dying, Buck and May offer to go instead. Over the course of the trip, they all learn more about each other, and Bobby faces his grief.

(when i die) i'll die loving you by lecornergirl / @clusterbuck (The Good Place Fusion | 1/? | 2K | Teen): OR: buck and eddie are in the afterlife, and they're soulmates. but it's not quite that simple.

Kiss Me Once Cause You Know I Had A Long Night by I_still_dont_understand_13 / @sherlockcrossing (Prompt collection | 21/? | 14K | Teen): 100 kiss prompts.

22. 82. Whispering "I love you" in-between kisses  23. 1. Whispering "kiss me" to your lover  24. 18. Grabbing your lover by the collar 

#buddie #buddie fanfiction #buddie fic rec #buddie fanfic #buddie fic #epic buddie fic rec #911 fanfiction #911 fic #911 fanfic

[morrak]

Untitled Wednesday Library Series, Part 142

I’ve been thinking a lot about criticism lately. It’s a thing I — we all — do often, of course, which probably makes it important. Some, but not all, kinds of criticism have traditions and vocabularies; you can (thought hardly anyone does) make a living writing about film or architecture or food. There are, on the other hand, some things about which a weekly column would have to get inventive. Spreadsheets. Individual songbirds. Tactile sensations. Rust.

I try pretty hard not to do the first kind of thing in these posts. Although that’s mostly because I fear committing to judgments on the record, it’s also (I think) an expression of sympathy toward the second kind of thing — not everything needs a critical tradition, but why not spread the attentiveness around, y'know? Maybe.

To such an end, posting about books is a pretty bad choice. You could argue that what I’m really reviewing isn’t the works themselves, but rather the choice to dedicate pieces of mind to them. I'm not sure why you'd argue that, but you could. If I’d thought this exercise through properly I’d have chosen some other thing I have several of, like 5V wall adapters or grains of rice.

Anyway, let’s talk about an art book.

Ben P. Ward’s 2021 I Dream of Dust, one of the four things Temper Books published before changing everything on their website to the past tense.

The How

From some small bookseller whose name I’ve forgotten and wouldn’t tell you anyway. A few weeks back, @krieper and I visited a printing studio that hosted some stuff — zines and local prints, mostly — on a self-service rack up front. All cool stuff, but this especially caught my eye.

The (Sub)Text

So, the Eastern Plains, right? This is about those, sort of. I broadly agree with the thoughts of this reviewer about the voice it delivers differing from Temper’s promise — yes, this is what Eastern Colorado can look like if shot competently, and yes, the meditation works for me, but no, I’m not sure it’s especially subversive.

The Object

I cannot offer you a good feel for these photographs or their printing here. Ward is on other social media, I’m told; you can also find some of these on his website.

This is a quiet project, which the printing respects. Thoughtful margins, easy blacks and whites, satin finish, more blank space than photo. Large format shots at this scale just work. I’m used to seeing posthumous collections or coffee table send-ups of painters, which are too often too full; this can breathe. Sensitive and inviting but only sparingly intimate. Glad for all that.

This first (and presumably final) printing comprised 500 signed copies in sewn hardcover bindings. Not unusual for a collection like this, but still nice to see and handle.

The Why, Though?

Because it mostly works for me, because it reminds me of other stuff than mostly works for me, and because the outing this came from involved talk of Colorado and Kansas and the Texas Panhandle, none of which I miss, I swear.

#images #untitled wednesday library series

[cleolinda]

Varney the Vampire: A Preface

I want you to think back to what it’s like to reread your old work from years ago—your old stories or poetry, your old school papers, or even your old tumblr posts. Sometimes you’re actually kind of pleased, sure, but I want you to really go back and locate yourself in the heady cringe of that feeling.

In related news, I'm going to pick back up with the Varney the Vampire recaps I started in late 2010 CE. I got about nine chapters in, and then something, who knows what, derailed my life, as things tend to. Like, I'm used to this, it happens with the regularity of a lunar cycle. But I like writing about vampires (clearly), and since I feel like Dracula has been tread pretty thoroughly in recent times, I figured I might go back to something different; we had some lively discussions about Varney back then.

But 2010 was a time before A Lot of Things happened. I was in my early 30s at that point, so I won't say, "Oh, I was so young," but I had a very different energy as a blogger 12-13 years ago. So I've decided to rewrite the recaps a little—some more than others, some not much at all. I just feel like I have a really different perspective on the first chapter in particular, in 2023.

As before, I'm using the full, unabridged text. It is hideously long, something like 230+ chapters, but go big or go home, I figure. The thing is, I was using the files hosted at the University of Virginia, and now you can only get those through the Wayback Machine, but they are still usable for now. I have various backups saved, but I do want you to be able to see that I am, as ever, Not Making It Up.

I'm also not going to quibble anymore as to whether James Malcolm Rymer or Thomas Peckett Prest wrote this behemoth. Per Wikipedia sources, scholars seem to agree that it was all or mostly Rymer. When it's mentioned that they figured this out based on his dialogue style, I went... yeah, that checks out. Because it sure is A Style, and I'll be honest, the repetitive filler dialogue in chapter 10 was such a speedbump for me that I just threw up my hands and said, "I don't know how to recap this. Something I can't remember now is going on in my life and I Cannot. I no longer Can."

Well, it's the 2020s and we're gonna. Like I can't tell you how much stress I do not have about this. I've had covid three times and also spinal surgery. Varney the Vampire can no longer hurt me.

To start, this ordeal has a preface—apparently written upon the occasion of collecting the serial into book form—wherein The Author expresses his gratitude for "unprecedented success of the romance of Varney the Vampyre." First off, Rymer uses "vampire" and "vampyre" interchangeably, because fuck me for caring about consistency, I guess. Second, as Wikipedia notes,

It first appeared in 1845–1847 as a series of weekly cheap pamphlets of the kind then known as "penny dreadfuls." The author was paid by the typeset line [YEAH, I NOTICED], so when the story was published in book form in 1847, it was of epic length: the original edition ran to 876 double-columned pages and 232 chapters. Altogether it totals nearly 667,000 words.

For comparison, all of Lord of the Rings plus The Hobbit is 576,459 words. I sure do blanch every time I see those numbers! It's fine. We're gonna be fine. Back to the preface:

The following romance is collected from seemingly the most authentic sources, and the Author must leave the question of credibility entirely to his readers, not even thinking that he is peculiarly called upon to express his own opinion upon the subject.

"Seemingly" is doing a lot of work here.

Nothing has been omitted [for real, nothing down to the tiniest fly-swat has been omitted] in the life of the unhappy Varney, which could tend to throw a light upon his most extraordinary career, and the fact of his death just as it is here related, made a great noise at the time through Europe, and is to be found in the public prints for the year 1713.

I've seen more than one Dracula multimedia art project where people recreated the letters and diaries and recordings in the book (have you heard my whole thing about how Dracula actually was a cutting-edge techno-thriller back in 1897?), but I've never heard of anyone creating ARG-style media for the Totally for Actual-Fact Real tale of Sir Francis Varney the Vampire, and I think it would be hilarious if someone did.

I won't belabor the entire preface, but what I do want to touch on is Rymer's mention of "unprecedented success." Varney is actually standing on the shoulders of a vampire giant, and it's not the one we would think of. Nowadays, our big touchstone—the influence so great that most works either evoke it or take the trouble to say "Our vampires are different"—is Dracula, obviously. Which was published exactly 50 years after Varney, in 1897. But Varney's touchstone is Polidori's short story "The Vampyre" (1819). And for most of the 1800s, this was everyone's touchstone. Per Wikipedia (which I'm going to lean on for how concise it is, but I concur with this from my own research as well):

An adaptation appeared in 1820 with Cyprien Bérard's novel Lord Ruthwen ou les Vampires, falsely attributed to Charles Nodier, who himself then wrote his own dramatic version, Le Vampire, a play which had enormous success and sparked a "vampire craze" across Europe. This includes operatic adaptations by Heinrich Marschner (see Der Vampyr) and Peter Josef von Lindpaintner (see Der Vampyr), both published in the same year. Nikolai Gogol, Alexandre Dumas [note: I have the Ruthven play he wrote around here somewhere] and Aleksey Tolstoy all produced vampire tales, and themes in Polidori's tale would continue to influence Bram Stoker's Dracula and eventually the whole vampire genre. Dumas makes explicit reference to Lord Ruthven in The Count of Monte Cristo, going so far as to state that his character "The Comtesse G..." had been personally acquainted with Lord Ruthven. [...]

In England, James Planché's play The Vampire, or The Bride of the Isles was first performed in London in 1820 at the Lyceum Theatre based on Charles Nodier's Le Vampire, which in turn was based on Polidori. Such melodramas were satirised in Ruddigore, by Gilbert and Sullivan (1887); a character called Sir Ruthven must abduct a maiden, or he will die.

Back when no one gave a shit about copyright, Polidori's work was spun out into a cottage industry of knock-off stories and plays, an entire horror zeitgeist. Lord Ruthven was, for 78 years, who you copied, who you riffed on, who you parodied, what Count Dracula is to us now: the archetypal vampire. The Big Guy. And Varney is clearly cut from his cloth—the ostensible gentleman who worms his way into the lives of respectable, unwitting people. Unlike Dracula, there's no foreigner Othering, no "historical basis," no undercurrents of contagion and infection, no ambition to make the world his wine-press, none of that; Ruthven is a simpler figure, but the dominant one of this time no less. He is a stranger who shows up in the middle of London high society, icy and distant, his eyes “dead grey”—stern, yet somehow compelling when he cares to be. And when he cares to be, you're in trouble.

And this is the cultural consciousness when Francis Varney shows up.

[Chapter one will go up sometime this week, March 8-10 or so.]

#varney the vampire #vampires #vampire studies #honestly I am nervous about what I want to say about the first chapter #not sure it's gonna go over very well #long post #welcome to hell it's my blog #tv tropes warning. here is your rope to climb back out

[twopoppies]

Hopefully this is the beginning of the end for wootton www*theguardian*com/uk-news/2023/aug/03/mailonline-suspends-dan-wootton-as-allegations-investigated Also to your anon about denying larry, if Louis was being pressured about his mother’s cancer and Felicitie’s drug use and having to do trade offs, those players responsible for that are still very much present in the industry.

Very good point. And fingers and toes crossed that Dan Woottytoot goes down in flames.

Dan Wootton has been suspended by MailOnline after allegations emerged that he used a pseudonym to secretly offer his colleagues tens of thousands of pounds in return for sexual material.

The GB News presenter has had a lucrative job writing a twice-weekly column for MailOnline since 2021 but it has not appeared since the allegations were made public by his ex-boyfriend last month.

Wootton is also under investigation by his former employers at Rupert Murdoch’s News UK, where he worked for more than a decade as a celebrity journalist. The company has hired an external law firm to investigate claims Wootton targeted current and former Sun employees with offers of money in return for explicit images.

A spokesperson for DMG media, the parent company of MailOnline, confirmed Wootton would not be working for them for the foreseeable future. They said: “We are continuing to consider a series of allegations which Dan Wootton – who has written columns for MailOnline since 2021 as one of several outside freelance contributors – has strenuously denied.

“The allegations are obviously serious but also complex and historic and there is an independent investigation under way at the media group which employed him during the relevant period. In the meantime, his freelance column with MailOnline has been paused.”

The spokesperson did not immediately clarify whether Wootton would continue to be paid by MailOnline. The journalist is running a crowdfunder to pay for his legal fees.

Wootton continues to present a nightly primetime show on the rightwing GB News channel, rallying supporters against a supposed leftwing plot to have him cancelled. In a statement two weeks ago he accepted having made mistakes in his past but denied criminal wrongdoing.

Wootton’s lawyer has since told the Guardian Wootton denies many of the allegations that have been levelled against him by his ex-boyfriend and reporting in Byline Times.

Full article here

#Dan wootton #Dan Wattpad

[homomenhommes]

THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more … February 11

1873 – UK: Simeon Solomon was an English Pre-Raphaelite painter noted for his depictions of Jewish life and same-sex desire as well as a poet. Solomon and George Roberts, a stableman, are arrested on this day at a public urinal in London and charged with the Crime of Buggery.

John Wallowitch (L) and Bertram Ross

1926 – John Wallowitch (d.2007) was an American songwriter and cabaret performer. He wrote over 2,000 songs; his works include Bruce, I See the World through Your Eyes, Back on the Town and Mary's Bar.

For over 50 years, he played and sang a catalogue of original songs at nightspots around New York City with his longtime partner, Bertram Ross. Ross was the principal male dancer for Martha Graham for over twenty years. In 1953 he replaced Graham's former partner and husband , going on to create many great roles such as he created leading roles in many of her works.

Ross and Wallowitch sang in nightspots ranging from London's Pizza on the Park to the Ballroom in New York City. A CD of their performance cabaret, Wallowitch and Ross (Miranda Music) was released in 2003 to accompany the documentary film of the couple, Wallowitch & Ross: This Moment.

Wallowitch lived and performed in New York City with Ross, until Ross's death on April 20, 2003, at 82 years old. Wallowitch died on August 15, 2007 in New York City. They are buried together at Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, New York (Actors Fund Lot).

Justin Ryan (L) and Colin McAllister

1967 – Justin Ryan and Colin McAllister (born 10 January 1968) are Scottish interior decorators and television presenters. McAllister and Ryan have incorporated their trademark behaviour, which includes their frequent bickering, fussiness, tantrums, mild innuendo and light-hearted put-downs, as comic relief into most of their programmes.

As well as being co-hosts, McAllister and Ryan have also been in a relationship since April 1985 and are credited as introducing laminate flooring to British households. On 15 February 2008, they had a private civil partnership ceremony in London followed by a Caribbean honeymoon. After leaving 2009's edition of I'm A Celebrity contest on ITV, they announced that they were to renew their vows on their 25th anniversary, 28 April 2010.

Although their main residence is Glasgow, they divide their time between there and London in their own homes in both cities. The two also own a downtown loft in Toronto where they are currently devising new formats for 2013 North American broadcast. They have filmed 4 * 13 episode series of Colin and Justin's Home Heist for HGTV, which is broadcast in approximately 25 countries.

In 2011 Colin McAllister & Justin Ryan confirmed that after 22 years together, they are officially married. It was their experience in Canada that make the couple decide that they wanted to make their union official.

"I'm not sure if we would have decided to get married if we hadn't moved to, and fallen in love with Canada. After a year of living in Toronto, filming Home Heist, it became clear to us that it was time to tie the knot. Canada is such a progressive nation, so welcoming and open-mindedly liberal about gay marriage, that we felt thoroughly inspired," says Ryan.

McAllister added, "Previously every time someone asked us about getting married, I'd joke that even after such a long time I still wasn't sure if Justin was the right man! Let's just say that this year, I'm SURE."

The pair also write a weekly column in the Friday and Sunday editions of the Toronto Sun, offering up their suggestions for sprucing up homes. The column syndicates to 24 Hours Vancouver, 24 Hours Toronto and The London Free Press. The column is also available online. Colin and Justin contribute a weekly column to The Huffington Post and to Cottage Life Magazine as a companion to their current Cottage Life TV show.

1976 – Brice Beckham is an American actor most famous for his role as Wesley T. Owens in the television sitcom Mr. Belvedere and for his role as Corey in I Hate My 30's. He lives in Los Angeles and is a member of LA's Namaste theater group.

Born in Long Beach, California, Beckham attended Minnie Gant Elementary School, College Intermediate School, Walter B. Hill Junior High School, and Wilson High School, in Long Beach, California. While in high school, he came in first place in the California High School Speech State Finals in 1993. He attended the University of Southern California, majoring in theater.

Beckham began his acting career in school plays. He later went on to do an assortment of radio commercials, and would later appear on an episode of the TV sitcom Alice. He starred in Mr. Belvedere as Wesley T. Owens. The show aired from 1985 to 1990. He appeared in an episode of Win, Lose, or Draw in 1989, and in a guest role in American Dreamer in 1991. In 1992, he starred in an episode of CBS Schoolbreak Special, called "Two Teens and a Baby".

In 2007, he starred in the VH1 series I Hate My 30s.In 2012, Beckham was one of several former child actors who appeared in a Funny or Die video called "CCOKC", which stood for Child Celebrities Opposing Kirk Cameron. A counterpoint to Kirk Cameron's stance on homosexuality, the humorous video aimed to spread the message that gay individuals are not a threat to anyone. Keith Coogan, Josie Davis, Jeremy Licht, Kenn Michael, Christine Lakin, and Maureen Flannigan also appeared in the video.

1977 – Ari Gold (d.2021) was an the award-winning, openly gay, independent recording artist who fashioned himself a high-octane career. An Orthodox Jew who was a successful child vocalist, Gold struggled with his gay identity both within the Jewish community and in the music industry. He starred in an autobiographical theater production Ari Gold – Untitled: The Making of a Gay Pop Star.

Gold declared, "Labels don't have to define us. They simply describe us—they shouldn't confine us. I for one am proud to be known as a gay artist . . . . I am done with hiding and done with shame in any form."

Born and raised in the Bronx in New York City, Gold's teacher parents both loved show business. Gold calls his parents "show Jews." When Gold was born, his birth announcement read like a show bill:

METRO GOLD WINNING PRODUCTIONS Proudly Present "Another Smash Hit" OUR THREE SONS With the brilliant new star ARI GOLD

At seven, Gold sang back-up for Diana Ross when she needed a children's choir for her Swept Away album. The same year he sang in the "My Buddy" jingle for Jell-O Pudding Pops with Bill Cosby. As a child, he sang over 400 jingles.

When he was eight, Gold did girls' voices for a syndicated cartoon series. He also recorded a girl's voice for the talking Cabbage Patch Kids dolls. You could dial the Cabbage Patch Kids talking telephone and hear Gold say, "Hi, I'm Sybil Sadie. Want to come play with me?"

Gold attended Yeshiva High School in Manhattan where he tried to downplay his music career. He was afraid that boys might make fun of him, especially for voicing girls. He tried not to talk about his work at school, and when he went to work he hid his yarmulke. It seemed ironic to Gold even then that he was hiding two essential aspects of his identity in an effort to be as "all-American" as he could at work and in school.

One of the first songs he wrote, at 14, is called "Experienced Girl," about an ex-girlfriend, who recently asked Gold to sing another of his songs, "Bashert (Meant to Be)," from his 2004 album, Space Under Sun, at her traditional Jewish wedding to another woman. "That's right," Gold says. "My first girlfriend turned out to be a lesbian."

In high school, Gold had two girlfriends, which he thought kept him safe from being outed as a "homo." Gold says, "I can joke about it now, but at the time I felt quite tortured and felt that if anyone found out my secret of being gay I would be ex-communicated from my friends, my school, my community, and my family."

Gold came out to his best friend when he was sixteen. Two years later, he came out to his family in an 18-page letter. Gold says his family's reaction was "fairly accepting." "My Mom was proud of me because she thought it wasn't healthy to keep a secret like that," Gold says, "but when I stopped being religious, that was a lot more difficult for them."

His first album, Ari Gold included explicit gay love songs, such as "Write Me a Love Song" and "Home." In the former, Gold sings openly about his lover asking him to write him a song about love between men.

In 2004, Gold released Space Under Sun on his own label, Gold18 Records. It debuted as #1 on the Outvoice Charts, and Gold was featured on the covers of many gay magazines. The album solidified Gold as an emerging gay musical star. The album includes songs about such subjects as a man and woman fighting over the same man ("He's on My Team") and the trauma of getting caught by the cops having sex in public ("Caught"). It also includes the tender ballad "Bashert (Meant to Be)," which reflects Gold's Jewish identity.

In 2007, Gold released his third studio album Transport Systems. The songs on this album are about such topics as the down low, gay relationships, crystal meth addiction, gender identity, and spirituality.

As for being a gay artist, Gold said he saw his gayness as a gift. "As long as my friends are being beaten on the street, as long as there are still kids killing themselves because of shame, and as long as we are still fighting for our basic civil and human rights, I will continue to shout [my gayness] from the queer roof tops."

Gold died from leukemia on February 14, 2021, three days after his 47th birthday. RuPaul, whom Gold had described as a mentor, was among those to express condolences on social media.

1983 – Robert Sepúlveda Jr. is a former fashion model, interior designer, creative director, and LGBTQ activist.

He was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He grew up in Lake City, Florida where he attended Columbia High School. He received his degree in interior design from The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, graduating summa cum laude. During his college years Sepúlveda Jr. worked as an escort to pay his way through college and to pay his rent.

Sepúlveda began his career at Valley Forge Fabrics, a supplier of decorative upholstery fabrics for the hospitality industry. There, he created and executed interior design schemes for hoteliers. In 2008 Sepúlveda moved to New York City where he began working with fashion houses Polo Ralph Lauren, Rugby Ralph Lauren, Lacoste, and Kenneth Cole, eventually assuming the role of acting Global Visual Manager of the Calvin Klein Home Collection. Sepúlveda has since founded RSJdesign, LLC, his interior design firm specializing in luxury residential and commercial spaces.

In September 2016, Sepúlveda Jr. starred on the dating show Finding Prince Charming, which airs on the network Logo. The series depicted Sepúlveda Jr. getting to know thirteen gay men and each week he has to eliminate 1 in a ceremony. The show shares the similar format to The Bachelor, however it is the first all gay-cast dating show. Prior to the series airing, controversy arose surrounding Sepúlveda Jr with his past work as an escort being revealed and his personal videos were released by an ex-partner. Logo has spoken out on that matter claiming they were fully aware of his history and explained that the series is reality and consists of many discussions such as "first time love to coming to terms with one’s past, fear of commitment and even HIV."

[jeonqkooks]

fluff 7 + angst 18 obs (or any other jk story on your masterlist)

"My mom adores you." + "All you had to do was stay."

pairing: jungkook x f!reader

rating: PG

genre/warnings: established relationship, college au, fluff but to be fair this is obs so everything is angsty in hindsight 😭 but i tried, a couple of swear words here and there, one mention of childbirth lol

word count: 1.8k

vote for the revenge dick 😈 here!

series masterpost ⊹ playlist ; moodboards ; taglist

— as always, i��d appreciate any thoughts or comments you may have, and please drop a like and/or reblog if you enjoy reading ♡

Jungkook suddenly switches off the TV, interrupting your Goblin binge session. You turn to look at him quizzically, but he just swings a leg over both of yours and pulls you closer until your hips are flushed together. He holds your body down with his limbs, looking into your eyes with a sickeningly sweet glint in his.

“Hey, pretty,” he coos, so suspiciously sappy out of nowhere that you have to squint your eyes at him. What does he want now? What motive does he have for disrupting your weekly thirsting over Gong Yoo and Lee Dong Wook?

Jungkook presses a wet kiss to your cheek and squeezes your waist affectionately before he speaks. 

“As you know,” he begins, “my mom is coming to visit this weekend–”

“Absolutely not.”

He scooches back a little, mouth hanging open, flabbergasted at your swift shut down when he has barely gotten more than a few words out. “Wha– You don’t even know what I was going to say!”

“Yes, I do.” You give him a look and try to move away, but his meaty thighs are caging you in and he’s just clinging to you like a freaking koala that it’s hard to budge a single inch. “Stop trying to make me spend time with your mother. That woman terrifies me.”

At this, he frowns. “What has she ever done to you?”

“She hates me,” you deadpan, and watch his expression shift into one of confusion.

Although, in the name of completely unfiltered and unadulterated truth, you don’t actually think Jungkook’s mother hates you so that was probably a bit of a reach.

“What are you talking about? My mom adores you.”

“Remember the last time we visited your parents and I had to leave early because I forgot I had a paper due? You went back with me and she sent me a text saying “If you take my son away from me again, it’s on sight.””

“She what?” he asked with an eyebrow quirked, pink lips curling up steadily fast to display his pearly whites. “She said “it’s on sight”? She actually typed that in a text?”

You nod begrudgingly, and your boyfriend’s first reaction upon hearing that his mother would practically beat your ass, is to laugh. The gall he has to chuck a fucking Elmo laugh at you, eyes turning into slits as he throws his head back to cackle loudly like a child, clearly amused at the revelation. On top of you, his body shakes with utter glee, sending vibrations through you – who is not entertained at all. Nope. Not one bit. 

“Oh,” he says, actually wipes a tear from the corner of his eye, and muses. “So that’s why she asked me what it meant. You have to admit, that’s funny.”

Your hand sneaks down his back to pinch his ass so hard, you hope it leaves a bruise. “The hell it is! Your mom basically promised me violence!”

“Obviously she didn’t mean it. She just wants to know what lingo the kids are using these days. That’s her sense of humor!”

“It doesn’t translate through text!” you protest, but the lack of personal space prevents you from being as dramatic as you’d like. “Moms should not be using slang!”

“Well.” He shrugs and boops your nose sweetly, but you just scrunch it and frown like an angry cat. “Not my fault you had to leave. All you had to do was stay.”

“No, all you had to do was stay.” Jamming an accusing finger into that hollow spot beneath the column of his throat, you crack an evil smile when he chokes on air. “I told you I could’ve taken the train to the city by myself.”

“Um, excuse me for coming with my girlfriend to make sure she didn’t get murdered travelling alone.”

“Oh gosh. My hero,” you say sarcastically, placing a hand over your heart and rolling your eyes. “Don’t act so chivalrous. You know that was because you didn’t want to hear more grandchildren talk.”

“Oh, and you did?” he asked, voice full of sass even though he knows you’re right. The trip was only a few days, but it felt like much longer. His mother wasn’t dropping very subtle hints about wanting a mini Jungkook around the house. He was overtly annoyed, but she was nothing if not persistent and accustomed to his attitude.

It was kind of awkward, but you didn’t give it much thought. Every parent does that anyway.

“I did not,” you confirm, and stare at him blankly. “Your mother talking about me pushing a child the size of a watermelon out of my vagina was very weird. She said that in front of you, your dad and your brother at the dinner table. And now you want me to schedule a one-on-one session with her? Uh-uh, I’ll pass.”

“Come on. Please? You just have to keep her company for one day. I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t have that recording with one of the seniors. Hmm?” He pouts, and you have just a teeny tiny urge to kiss those slightly chapped lips. Then he whips out his stupid eyes, the huge ass Bambi eyes that always look like there’s an entire galaxy within them. But that isn’t even the thing that does you in. It’s the subsequent words he pulls out of his ass that you’re sure don’t hold much weight. “Besides, don’t you want to score points with your future mother-in-law?”

Your lips part slightly and your brain goes haywire. Despite your friends bringing up the topic of marriage from time to time, you haven’t taken a moment to consider family and kids yet. You’ve never imagined yourself walking down the aisle because it is a scary thought – to settle down with someone, to start a family, to grow old with them… To trust that a person wants you enough to vow to love you forever, and for you to want them enough to do the same.

Jungkook’s mother has always been just that to you – his mother. But the words “mother-in-law” imply that one day, she might become a member of your family too, connected by your bond with Jungkook. You know he probably doesn’t fully register what he’s saying. This isn’t something that you two have ever discussed, not seriously anyway.

You and him are both still in school, you’re both young; there’s plenty of time left. You aren’t planning that far ahead into the future relationship-wise, especially with the two of you being career-driven people. Both of whose careers are still so far away from blossoming.

You don’t reckon that that many people a few months into their 20s are prioritizing getting married and settling down anyway. Not unless you’re Kim Taehyung and sometimes you have weird existential musings about life, love, death, and every other thing in between.

Nevertheless, Jungkook’s words are putting thoughts into your head.

You picture Jungkook on his knees, proposing to you. You picture his face when he sees you in a wedding dress for the first time, in front of all your friends and family. You picture your honeymoon – maybe somewhere tropical like Hawaii or the Maldives – with him happy and relaxed, right by your side. You even picture a kid too, one that is the perfect combination of you and him, running around and babbling nonsense…

Your heart flutters and you blush. If you can do it with him, then maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. It’s tempting enough that you might consider marriage and the whole shebang. Not now, but some day. You reiterate those familiar words in your mind: What will be, will be.

Regardless, it’s like that feeling you get when you go apartment hunting and looking for the right home. With every place you step into, you start to imagine yourself as if you’re already living there. You see your frames and posters on the bare walls, your clothes hanging in the empty closet, your books and little trinkets littering the vacant shelves…

Your brain conjures up a whole life for you, one that’s so irresistible that it takes you approximately five seconds to get attached to. That’s usually how long it takes – a few seconds – for you to grow fond of a life you haven’t lived, a version of you that doesn’t exist yet.

The same thing happens now, as Jungkook’s words echo and your mind, unintentionally, presents you a glimpse of what life could be like with him. An entire future together. A flower-filled path and him, next to you, with a smile that you adore blooming on his face. It feels… attainable. It feels like it’s within your reach.

As the images in your head fade away, you know you’d acquiesce. It’s not his pout that convinces you, nor is it his eyes. It’s not even the cunning way that he saccharifies his voice to make your knees buckle even when you’re horizontal. Jungkook hasn’t persuaded you at all, but your little romanticized daydreams sure have.

“Ugh,” you groan, feigning annoyance, succumbing to his body weight on top of you like you’re boneless. “Fine. I’ll show her around the city. Maybe take her to that café by the waterfr–!”

Jungkook squeals, excitement pouring out of him, and leans down to kiss you deeply. You feel him smile against your lips and this makes you smile too, but he’s positively wrecking your lungs at this point. When the sudden lack of air combined with the added pressure on your chest gets too much, you make a muffled noise against his mouth and move to nudge him off of you.

“Sorry,” he murmurs, still smiling. “I’ll even give you two permission to talk shit about me.”

You scoff and politely decline, as one would a telemarketer. “No, thanks. I just got my hair done. I don’t want your mom to rip it out.”

Jungkook mimics your eye roll from earlier, but then quickly returns to looking at you appreciatively when you shoot him half a glare. When he leans in again, you let him kiss your cheek.

“I’ll give you something else then. What do you want, the moon?” He grins. He then taps his chin a few times and hums, pretending to be in thought. “The stars? How about Saturn?”

You glance sideways at him, and feel a smile pulling up the corners of your lips. You can’t help it. He plucks the strings of your heart like he’s playing the harp, and every sound it makes reverberates through you like a love song you could never perfect.

You snatch the TV remote from behind his back and return to your beloved drama, but not before giving him a final kiss.

“Okay, you can give me Saturn.”

— permanent taglist: @mi55delulu​ @fan-ati--c @highly-functioning-mitochondria​ @bruisedscrewedandtattooed​ @morauvmi​ @jeonjcngkook @shownusshoulders @jungkooksseuphoria @yoongukie-ff @curioughts @taegismochi @libra04​  @hrts4kook​ @royallyjjk @here4btsfics @mytearsriscochet @armys-dna @btsstan12​ @i-dont-give-a-fok @callmejimmeo @parkdatjimin​ @lookhere-2seok​ @rexana19​ @investedreader @betysotelo18

— series taglist: @bids97​ @ggukkieland​ @bloopkook​ @canarystwin​ @princehyun-jin​ @scoupsnotscoops​ @eridanuswave​ @thebluegoddess​ @pb89nv @ppeachyttae​ @xxxxxuixxxxx @bananamochidaisy​ @jungkook-er @acciofirewhiskey​ @bbtsficrecs​ @luv--you​ @jeonkoookiee​ @sweetonkookieandtae @mrcleanheichou​ @neverthefirstchoice​ @lllucere​ @parkethereal​ @tsundoku-world​ @starbtslove​ @satisfied18​ @wearenot7withu​ @hobipost​ @kookiesncum​ @jkkkkkay​ @apollukee @amackie1018 @holdmehyungs​ @hoseoksluv89​ @sakm95​ @belladaises​ @pb-n-juju​ @curryramyeon​ @n4mina​ @definetlythinkimanalien​ @soojin23​ @galaxyeyedjungkook​ @lovelytaes-blog​ @lpgirl2324​ @ellesalazar​ @geniejunn​ @yoongslast​ @moonchild1​ @bangtanlvrsworld @buurosy @ravensglory​ @yoongifiess​ @hyuckscore​ @kswr1d​ @scenanrios @bbl32​ @nadzzzblog

— all rights reserved © jeonqkooks. reposting, translating and/or modifying is not permitted by any means. [posted september 24, 2022]

#jungkook x reader #jungkook fluff #jungkook angst #jungkook fanfic #jungkook x you #bts x reader #bts fic #bts fluff #bts angst #bts scenarios #bts imagines #ficscafe #btswritingcafe #btscarnivalnet #btshoneyhive #bangtaninn #clubzerooclock #52hertz #fic: our beloved summer

[silvereyedowl]

What We Know About Series 15

This post will be updated with more information.

It will be coming in 2025, preceded by a Christmas special in 2024.

CAST

Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor. Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday. Russell T Davies described her as "crucial" to the season. Varada Sethu as TBA – her as-yet-unnamed companion will join the Doctor and Ruby in the TARDIS. (Sethu's casting was leaked weeks prior to the April 12 announcement as she was seen at location filming.)

Nicola Coughlan will be appearing in the Christmas special. Here's a video check-in from her.

Episode 2 is set to feature a guest actor who previously played a different character in the past.

EPISODES

Like Series 14, there will be 8 episodes and a preceding Christmas special. As of the publication of DWM 596, five scripts had been fully written.

RTD said that, besides himself, there will be four guest writers for the season.

Davies was working on the script for the 2024 Christmas special around Christmas 2022.

He also promised no further gap years, and hinted that the eight-episode length which Series 14 will hold to may change in the future.

When Davies wrote his "Letter from the Showrunner" column for Doctor Who Magazine 591, the Script and Legal departments were investigating whether the show was allowed to use a certain title for episode 6.

One episode contains the words garden, firmament, and diploma.

Another episode contains the words radiation, moth, and skiffle.

An Entertainment Weekly set visit saw an episode involving "space stations, holograms, and the Doctor using his brain to thwart an interstellar foe". They also had exclusive looks at two of the Doctor's costumes for the season.

PRODUCTION

Formal preparations for series 15 began in late July 2023.

Filming began on October 23, 2023.

RTD, writing about the final days of filming for series 14, said "Yasmin Finney wrapped a few days ago, big hugs, see you soon", raising a possibility that her character Rose Noble will appear in the season as well.

Block 1 will be directed by Alex Pillai, and block 2 will be directed by Peter Hoar, who previously directed "A Good Man Goes to War". Amanda Brotchie and Makalla McPherson will also be directing episodes. McPherson teased a maze sequence appearing in one of her episodes, through which the Doctor is fleeing enemies.

In DWM 600, Davies gave a production update for the season: the Christmas special was almost picture-locked before FX. Episode 1 had just one more scene to shoot, episodes 2 and 3 were to start filming soon, episode 4 had finished shooting, episode 5 was on its fifth draft, episode 6 was on its ninth draft, episode 7 sat waiting, and episode 8 would be written soon.

In DWM 601, Davies mentioned that the sets for the UNIT Ops Room and the Sundays' flat were about to "spring back into life", and also mentioned sets for a hospital, a set "so real, we could rent it out as its actual self", and another described as an "absolute labyrinth".

On a further note, Davies has indicated that series 16 is already planned out, and that a fourth season is being planned as well, for which he joked that he might write a dialogueless episode.

CREATOR RAMBLINGS

Davies said in an interview that he expects the season to air at least partially in May.

In DWM 597, Davies mentioned that sets for a hotel, a hospital, and a "chamber" were being built.

Davies said that the season will not include an anniversary celebration for the new series, due to possible "anniversary overload" after the centenary special and the 60th.

He also stated that a scene filmed on March 8, 2024 would "live forever in the show's history".

previous

SPOILERS below the cut!

All leaks and otherwise unofficial news will be here.

Rumours

Steven Moffat was briefly credited as the writer of the 2024 Christmas special on producer Alison Sterling's online CV, but it has since been removed. RTD previously said he was writing that special, so it's not clear yet what's going on.

Location Filming Reports

Filming for the 2024 Christmas special showing both a WWII setting and contemporary NYC.

More Christmas special filming with Joel Fry.

Filming for episode 4 (directed by Peter Hoar) with Millie Gibson, Jonah Hauer-King (whose character appears to be romantically involved with Ruby), Blake Patrick Anderson, and extras playing protestors and UNIT soldiers.

Lewis Comay was spotted in location filming, alongside the Doctor and Varada Sethu's character, in what appears to be 1950s Miami.

Filming in Cardiff Central on April 21, including the Doctor, Ruby, and Shirley Anne Bingham. Propaganda posters of Hauer-King's character, a crown logo, and strange changes in circumstances for several characters.

#doctor who #dw #series 15 #doctor who series 15 #information roundup #doctor who spoilers #spoilers #dw spoilers #russell t davies #ncuti gatwa #fifteenth doctor #millie gibson #varada sethu #nicola coughlan

[writingpei]

wicked games (l.m) - chapter eight

previous chapter series masterlist next chapter

pairing: lee minho x reader genre: academic rivals to lovers wc: 2.6k words

i'll be your mirror

minho could feel the smoke billowing out of his ears and the expensive marble floor of the house sinking in with each hard step he took against the it as if he were leveraging himself from one step to the next, throwing his body forward only to be supported by himself again, ready to perform the same movement over and over until he was safely in his room.

his room that wasn't even safe, but almost like a hiding spot in the middle of all the traps scattered around the gigantic house where light didn't fulfill its role and darkness reigned in every corner where the eyes could reach.

when he locked the entrance, he wasted no time in heading to the sliding door that led to the balcony of his room that faced the street. he'd done this more times than he could remember, furthermore, as casually as possible, he swung his legs over the outside of the security fence and slid down the column that went down to the ground and supported the structure. when he noticed, his feet had already made contact with the stones that led to the front door of the house, and he began to walk silently to the main street in front of it, which was completely empty.

as he made his way like a determined traveler, he was blinded by a beam of sickening white light in his face, and instinctively he covered it with his forearms and took a step back, his back hitting the stone wall that delimited the property.

"stand there" he heard a male voice he knew well.

"it's me, it's me, officer kim" had been his family's security guard since he'd taken his first clumsy steps and said his first words. as desired, the light stopped burning his skin and he was finally able to open his eyes again.

"what are you doing here, minho? it's almost midnight," he sighs, tucking the flashlight back into his large utility belt.

"you should be used to this by now, officer kim, i get into one of these about 4 times a week" he gives a goofy smirk to the older man, who just shakes his head no.

"you know i can get fired for this, don't you?" he runs a hand over his forehead.

"don't worry, you won't. my parents like you more than they like me" and it was true, there was no denying it. "now, cover for me as usual. tomorrow i'll be at school at the exact time. in case they ask, tell them i went there at 5 am to study and they didn't see it! see you next time!" and minho was already running down the street like a maniac on the run.

officer kim just takes another deep breath, incredulous at how different the boy can be from everyone else in his family. it was the opposite of reserved and serious. he could only feel sorry for someone like him being in an environment so different from himself, a situation so profusely overwhelming that it would shake anyone, but minho was never like that, he never hid from what was his. if his father's hatred was his, he would wait at his office door when he did something naughty and knew he would be scolded. if his mother's dislike was his, he put his face up to receive the lashes of her cruel glares and venomous silence.

and now he was going down the hill of his wealthy neighborhood towards the others who didn't fit in with him and he didn't belong. neighborhoods of people who needed to feed themselves every day on $1 portions of instant noodles, who owned a single pair of shoes, broken cellphones who clung to their last breaths of life and had to work until the day they died to survive. officer kim had no idea where minho was going at this time of evening on the several weekly nights he had his getaways, but he also preferred not to know. if it was up to him, he'd give the boy the freedom he was endlessly seeking and turn his face away, forgetting he'd seen him and carrying on with his night as if nothing had happened.

"ouch, ouch, and i should have put on another pair of shoes before i ran out..." he breathlessly spews, hands resting on his knees just 5 minutes away from his destination. he could feel the bruises forming on his heels in an uneasy burning, but then he remembered that he had another pair at yongbok's house and there must have been bandages there too.

he had 1/3 of yongbok's wardrobe to himself, which wasn't such an extreme invasion as the blond boy didn't even have enough stuff to take up all the space in the small piece of furniture. he had been going to his house since he was 10 years old. march 1st, 2014, was not a special day just because his rivalry with y/n started, but also because he met lee yongbok for the first time.

he noticed him the very first moment he stepped foot into the classroom. also, who wouldn't notice the big and messy blond hair that glistened in the room light, sitting at one of the last tables, oversized glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose and he was ready to push it back to its designated spot every time it happened, looking around visibly worried that others had noticed. he looked like chicken little, and the idea almost made 10-year-old minho laugh out loud, but he just sat at one of the few free desks, also at the back like his, but on the opposite side.

it didn't take long before the slight amusement minho felt at the sight of him became communal and others began to notice how vulnerable yongbok appeared to be. unlike him, the other people in the room took a much more direct and aggressive approach to the boy, and in a matter of time, he was already the mat for a group of boys who got into trouble every day.

they received satisfaction in being bigger, more confident, stronger, and more treacherous than yongbok, which minho didn't understand because yongbok was weak, and bragging about controlling weaker people was a cowardly thing for one to do that he couldn't even get close to accepting, no matter how hard he tried.

yongbok didn't buy lunch like everyone else but instead brought a small lunch box from home each day. it was clear he was a mama's boy as his sandwiches were cut in a star shape and the fruit was promptly peeled perfectly. once minho passed in front of the boy at lunch with his tray of overcooked ramen and soggy vegetables made in the cafeteria and his eyes touched the sight of the one piece lunch box open and the delicacy in every millimeter of the pot made him stop abruptly in his steps. yongbok got scared, thinking he was going to tease him, and soon put the lunch box on his lap, under the table. minho, however, was trapped in his unstoppable thoughts that flew from dimension to dimension in search of a reality where his mother would even bother to do something like that for him, a proof of love so simple yet so valuable.

after a few seconds, minho notices what he was doing and looks into the eyes of the boy who was still hiding his lunch box. that made the blonde even more terrified because the icy look minho gave him sent shivers down his spine and he feared that the list of his bullies would have an addition of one more person. the other one was just lost in the middle of his thoughts, but scaring lee yongbok or not was something he just couldn't bring himself to care for.

he wasted no time heading over to an empty table and starting to eat his meal as if nothing had happened. before long, his attention was rudely caught by a crash from another table. his curious eyes scanned the large cafeteria and, unsurprisingly, stopped at the table of the golden boy with the big glasses and cheeks covered in freckles where the three idiots who often bullied him sat on the bench on the other side of the table.

"well well, what do we have here guys?" their leader asked.

"he looks like a big baby eating the food his mommy made for him" the one on the right mocked.

yongbok looked mortified the second the words came out of the mouth of the idiot in front of him who looked like he hadn't brushed his teeth in months. the blonde's cheeks turned red with embarrassment and he immediately started doing the same thing he did when minho was in front of him, holding his lunch box to hide it in his lap. the one on the left, however, was faster and ripped it out of the boy's hands, turning it upside down and spilling all the food on the table, the stars raining and the fruits scattering as they hit the surface.

"wow, i'm even embarrassed for you, eating this garbage..." the middle one scoffed, placing his big hand over the rest of the sandwiches and crushing them hard, deforming the beauty of yongbok's mother's gesture that she must have donated a lot of her time to do.

if the blonde was ashamed, his face was soon dominated by the sadness of seeing that happening. now, his cheeks reddened from the tears gathering in his eyes, and minho felt sick to his stomach at the scene, putting down the chopsticks he used to eat the ramen on the tray but not taking his eyes off the lewd scene.

"yuck, that's disgusting, sticky as shit" the bully said, looking at his hand dirty from the sandwiches he crushed. "will you help me clean, yongbok?" he asked in feign sweetness, and the boy couldn't imagine what was coming for him. it wasn't until he felt the warm slap on the side of his face and the skin of his cheek smeared with the contents in his hand that the tears began to fall freely.

what made him tremble the most was that the boy in front of him slapped him again, and then another, and another, the force increasing more and more from each blow to the other.

"it's not coming off, i'll have to try harder to get it clean" he chuckled along with the other two friends, raising his hand to knock once more.

none of the other students moved, nobody reacted. the only noise that dominated the large room was the collision between the boy's hand and yongbok's left cheek.

minho couldn't understand. if it had been him in yongbok's place, he would never have let things get to this point. he'd fight back even if he took a beating, he'd scream like a maniac, he'd drown them in his bowl of soup that came with the cafeteria meal. he would do anything he could, moral or immoral, but he would never lower his head to people like that. what happens, is, yongbok looked around at the people out of the situation, eyes darting from face to face, mentally marking the spectators who didn't stand up to help him. it lasted until his eyes burned into minho's and he could see the tears running down his dirty face, the shame that stained his freckled skin, the humiliation he was being subjected to.

and that's when minho understood how much of a coward he was being, pointing the finger at yongbok but not having the decency to prove what filled his chest to talk about himself: stand up and fight. those who watch attitudes like that and do nothing are just as terrible as those who bully, and for a second, minho was also filled with shame at himself.

when the asshole's hand started moving to hit him once more, minho quickly rose from his seat and made his voice loud and clear.

"stop it now," he said, walking over to the table. yongbok looked at him in extreme surprise, a silent thanks in the midst of such hostility that dominated the environment. "that's enough, you've crossed the line."

"lee minho? what do you want here, playboy? go back to your mansion" the boy scoffed, raising his hand once more to resume what he was doing before being interrupted.

"i told you to stop" he says once more, fist gripping the boy's wrist. he lost his temper and got up from the bench without delay, advancing on minho, bringing his face close to his in order to intimidate him.

"hands off, playboy. i'll make you regret it" he said, threatening him.

"you're right, i'm a rich daddy's playboy son" he smirks. "then you must know that i can destroy your entire life with just a couple of phone calls, don't you?"

the bully fell silent and his expression, initially anger, was now closed and restrained, fear flashing through his eyes. it was true. with a few conversations and contacts, minho could get him to be accepted only by the worst schools in town, get him transferred, get him expelled, or even pull some strings to send him to reform school. yongbok was by no means the first person he must have tormented in his school career.

“now would you please get your hideous face away from me? i feel like throwing up,” minho says at last, and the three of them are gone as quickly as they arrived. now, his attention was directed to the crying boy across the table. "do you want to go to the bathroom and clean up?" he asked, a little awkwardly.

the blond boy who could only wipe away the tears with his hands nodded slightly, so minho offered to walk up to his side, putting a hand on his shoulder and guiding him to the nearest bathroom.

"then let's go."

the way to the bathroom is filled with soft sobs and uncomfortable silence. he had never exchanged a word with the boy before, and here he was, wiping sandwich off his face with toilet paper.

"thank you...for what you did back there" yongbok starts quietly, looking at the ground as minho rubs his face. "and for now too..."

"it's fine," minho replied, continuing to clean. "but i want to get something in return for my services..."

"i... i don't have any money if that's what you want" the blond boy jumped up in attention.

"what? i don't need money" he laughed out loud. "what i want…" he approached the boy, who approached slightly, waiting for minho to finish and the mystery of the question would dissipate. "it's being able to go to your house whenever i want."

yongbok's eyebrows arched in confusion and his head tilted slightly to the side.

"just that?"

"yep, pretty much" minho smirked, crossing his arms.

"fine, since that's all it is, no problem."

he was sure that his friend didn't expect that lost one to last for so long, and that now, eight years later, his home would still be minho's safe haven even after so long.

the asphalt was hard on his feet and his shoes hurt with every step, but minho just whistled songs until he got to his house, hands in his pockets nonchalantly, having made the journey so many times already. he never regretted staning up for him that day. he would do it all over again if he had to. the life that opened up from the moment he started hanging out with yongbok was one of the most beautiful consequences of his existence, and minho was never one to regret anything anyway.

stay tuned for chapter 9! new chapters every sunday ☆

taglist: @liphglos @kiyoomimybeloved @lilactangerine (starting a taglist, if you want to be a part of it, send me an ask <3)

#leeminho #lee minho x reader #lee minho x you #lee minho x y/n #hyunjin #hwanghyunjin #leeknow #lee know x reader #lee know x you #lee know x y/n #minho #minho x reader #minho x y/n #enemies to lovers #rivals to lovers #skz #stray kids #straykids imagines #straykids headcanons #skz headcanons #skz series #pei writes

[hyeahgaku]

JUMP GIGA Winter 2023 Special Interview with Yūto Suzuki-sensei!!

First JUMP GIGA 2023 cover to commemorate SAKAMOTO DAYS reaching its 100th chapter milestone since its serialization!!

In-depth discussion with Suzuki-sensei about his life and work, so on and so forth!!

Please tell us the things that you paid particular attention to when drawing the cover illustration of this GIGA issue.

Suzuki-sensei: The chosen pose is stationary, but I also wanted it to look intricate so I made the silhouette not too thin! I wanted to draw attention to his eyes, so I placed the gun next to his face and chose a strong colour (to create contrast)! I drew the texture more firmly than usual to give off a more powerful effect! I wanted to highlight his skin complexion so I deliberately chose cold colours for his shirt, hair, etc. but later I thought it looked a bit dull so I added the red light for the barcode scanner as an accent colour.

—

A must-see exclusive interview for readers of SAKAMOTO DAYS, and aspiring manga artists!

Suzuki-sensei Profile

Birthday: July 6

Hobbies: Basketball

Special skill: Handicraft

Favourite manga: Hunter x Hunter (Note: This is additional, known info from the one-shot.)

First debuted in April 2019: Published Garaku (骸区) on Jump Plus.

September 2019: Published Locker Room (ロッカールーム) on Jump Plus. In November of the following year, it received a live-action drama.

December 2019: SAKAMOTO •坂本• (SAKAMOTO -サカモト-) was published on Jump GIGA 2020 Winter. (Note: FYI, this was kinda a prototype of SAKAMOTO DAYS.)

SAKAMOTO DAYS serialization commenced in Weekly Shonen Jump 2020, Issue No. 51. It has become a popular serialization today!!!

Suzuki-sensei, you were once featured in GIGA. Please tell us if you have any memories from that time.

Suzuki-sensei: There was that one time when I tried using Clip Studio Paint, I realized that there were many missing tones when I pasted the image. [Turns out that] I did not display the tone area. I remember the person-in-charge told me, “Full analog is better.”

—

Top Column: Suzuki-sensei published SAKAMOTO•坂本• (above photos) in Jump GIGA 2020 Winter after being published in Jump+ twice!! The main character Sakamoto, his family, Shin and other characters have appeared in the series since then. The concept of the story is the same as the serialization version, but there are several differences such as Sakamoto being a supermarket store clerk, and he [and Shin] even killed robbers, so it’s interesting to see the difference!!

*Shin’s comment: This version of Sakamoto-san is so cool~*

Please tell us what’s the biggest growth or change you’ve experienced between when you were drawing one-shots and now.

Suzuki-sensei: When I was drawing one-shots, my stance was that I would just draw whatever I thought was interesting, so the readers could see what I wanted them to see. But now, I always think about how I could entertain the readers, and how I could make everyone find [the story] interesting. As for [my] growth, I’ve been able to use Clip Studio Paint much better now.

Do you have any advice for the new and upcoming aspiring manga artists on how to create a good one-shot?

Suzuki-sensei: I think that “attention-grabbing” and “page-turning” are key elements in a one-shot! It is important to have this thought in mind while you’re drawing - “This one’s interesting!” - and whether you can really draw that or not. It’s also very important that the reader is able to get on board with the story just because it interests them. Readers will tend to notice if you are focused only on making everything nice and neat or if you’re just summarizing things up. After all, these elements are intended to reduce the “stress of reading.” It might sound weird to make [your story] more exciting just for the sake of attracting people to read, but I think that is one good tactic for competing in a one-shot contest!

*On the next page, we will learn more about Suzuki-sensei!*

Top Column: You can tell from reading Suzuki-sensei’s debut work Garaku, that he’s a mangaka who loves manga and movies! The carefully-drawn backgrounds and elaborate camera work are one of Suzuki-sensei’s strong points!

Please tell us how you became interested in drawing manga and how you chose to pursue this career.

Suzuki-sensei: I was worried about my future career path when I was graduating from my graduate school. But then I came across Katsuhiro Ōtomo-sensei’s manga, Dōmu, which helped develop my interest to become a manga artist.

Are there any other creators or works that you feel have influenced you as a writer?

Suzuki-sensei: I really like the manga written by Katsuhiro Ōtomo-sensei, Takehiko Inoue-sensei and Hiroya Oku-sensei. As for movies, I love the director Christopher Nolan.

I heard that you studied Japanese painting. Does the knowledge you acquired turn out to be of use when drawing your manga?

Suzuki-sensei: I think that it is mainly useful when it comes to composition and form. Japanese painting focuses on the concept of creating a beautiful arrangement of shapes within beautiful compositions, and I always keep that in mind with my work. In the near future, I wish to draw more Japanese-style illustrations.

Please tell us about your manga work process and the tools you use.

Suzuki-sensei: I use an analog pen for drawing the characters. The solid colours, sound effects, effect lines, and backgrounds are digitally drawn by my assistants. I use a Zebra hard G Pen for pen work and inking, and also a digital software, Clip Studio Paint!

Bottom Column: The Ferris wheel scene [Sakamoto vs Boiled], which ranked 3rd in the “Spread Campaign” poll, and the coloured single-page illustrations also portray the balance of the margins, cool silhouettes and compositions!

—

Top Column: The world of SAKAMOTO DAYS features characters with many gaps! From the strongest old man, Takamura, to the handsome but merciless Nagumo… The intense gaps are important to highlight the character’s individuality!

(T/n: “Gap” -also known as gap moe- refers to the contrast between one’s appearance and personality, or the difference between someone's actual personality and from first impression you had of them.)

How did you come up with the idea of a “retired assassin”?

Suzuki-sensei: First of all, I thought the idea of fat people being insanely strong is fascinating. So I asked myself, why are they fat? → Because they retired. Why? → Perhaps they got married or something? And that’s how I ended up making it.

Retired Sakamoto’s plump figure is cute, but it is an unusual character design for the protagonist of a shōnen manga. Please tell us the story behind this “fat assassin.”

Suzuki-sensei: I like characters with strong gaps, so I combined some elements from the two extreme opposites, such as the strongest old man and the strongest fat guy. And the result is that I found it more exciting to draw the strongest fat guy. Back then, I wanted to do a one-shot anyway, so I was focused on the story to make an impact. I truly never expected for it to get a serialization. I never modeled my character after anyone but later on when I learned about the movie “Enter the Fat Dragon”, I thought to myself that they are rather similar.

In SAKAMOTO DAYS, there seems to be many unique action ideas, such as Sakamoto repelled with a cough drop and fights inside the trains. How do you come up with such ideas?

Suzuki-sensei: Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always dreamed of absurd action [sequences]. Even in movies, one could wonder how they'd never think about doing this kind of action sequence or direction, and they may even ask themselves, “Do battles even occur in a situation like that?!” I like the kind of direction which would take the audience by surprise!

Bottom Column: One of the major attractions of this work is the depiction of powerful battles! It’s because the locations are familiar to the readers, and the battles are realistic and powerful beyond one’s imagination. It’s important to narrow down the situation in order to bring out the intensity of the battles!

—

Many attractive side characters appear in your series, such as Shin and Lu. How did you come up with such characters?

Suzuki-sensei: Sakamoto is fat and a man of little words, so I figured he needed a handsome sidekick. During a conversation between the two of them, there was this stuff, “killing in [your] imagination.” I wished to portray that and that’s the reason why I made Shin a clairvoyant. He gets along well with the quiet Sakamoto and they surprisingly made a good team. As for Lu, I initially wanted to draw a battle with a Chinese assassin, and in the course of that, she would show up as a pitiable heroine. [I guess] in my case, I often have a “I want to draw this kind of development!” or “This is how I want the story to unfold!” goal in mind, so the characters are born in the process due to that.

*Lu’s comment: So that’s how I was born, huh~*

Among the characters in your work, is there any character that is particularly easy or the most difficult to draw?

Suzuki-sensei: I don’t have many characters that I find difficult to draw but there are times where they do look alike. So I tend to be careful with that. Gaku is a character that I can draw easily among all the characters. He is someone who doesn’t depend on others and pushes forward on his own path, and I admire people like that, so I enjoy drawing him.

*Gaku’s comment: Ahhh, I see.*

Please tell us your favourite scene from Volume 1 of the manga.

Suzuki-sensei: I like the scene where Shin jumps off the roller coaster in Volume 1. I drew it in such a way so that the readers would be able feel the floating feeling during that scene whilst they're reading. When I drew that scene, I thought to myself that I might be good with drawing action scenes! I remember getting a positive feeling [from it].

Bottom Column: A scene that captures the moment Shin jumped off from the roller coaster – from various camera [angles]! It is important to capture the cool moments in powerful action scenes, such as when Sakamoto tried to punch while disassembling a gun, or when Sakamoto approached the enemy from behind!!

—

Top Column: One of the charms of the work is that it will always make you laugh!! In order to make the reader want to meet the characters and experience their world, it is important to make the story “easy” to read! Despite being a world where assassins are rampant, it still seems like a fun world [to be in] and that’s the charm of this work!

Your one-shots Garaku and Locker Room both have a darker worldview, whereas your serialized SAKAMOTO DAYS is a shōnen manga with comedy and action elements. Is there a reason why you decided to go with this genre?

Suzuki-sensei: It’s easier to make a dark story if it’s a one-shot. But with serialization, I thought it might become potentially harder, so I decided to make the most stress-free manga that I could draw and read, and that’s how this kind of setting came about.

Do you already have the ending of the story in mind, or have you not decided it yet?

Suzuki-sensei: Yes, I have already planned a definite conclusion in mind.

Finally, SAKAMOTO DAYS has reached its 100th chapter. Could you give a final message to our readers who are reading the story?

Suzuki-sensei: The series is only able to continue into a serialization all thanks to the readers! I cannot thank you enough. Thank you very much! I’m also very happy with the fan letters that I’ve received. Please keep sending them. Please continue to support SAKAMOTO DAYS!

*Sakamoto’s comment: Thanks for reading this far. I appreciate it.*

*Over 2.3 million copies sold!! Volumes 1 to 9 are on sale now!!*

fin.

#SAKAMOTO DAYS #Jump GIGA 2023 Winter #サカモトデイズ #interview #official media #yūto suzuki #yūto suzuki exclusive interview #jaen

[rebeccathenaturalist]

Happy 2024, y'all! It's a sunny day here on the SW Washington coast, and I'm off to a slow, sleepy start after managing to stay up until midnight in spite of myself. I hope you all are having a good start to the shiny new year.

I thought this would a good moment to reflect on the accomplishments of 2023, and look forward to what 2024 might hold.

Last year was, well, a lot of good stuff! Here are a few highlights:

--In addition to keeping my regular roster of online and in-person classes for various community colleges and libraries, I added a few new teaching venues. By far my favorite was the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, where I had a marvelous time teaching my two-day Nature Identification for the Everyday Naturalist class amid an incredible coastal forest (they're bringing me back this year, too!). I also got to teach in my hometown in Missouri, with a mushroom foraging class at Rolla Public Library and a lichen walk at the Ozark Rivers Audubon Nature Center, both of whom I hope to work with again in the future. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the series of classes I taught for Wildcraft Studio School in Portland--I'm looking forward to my next round of classes with them for 2024!

--I launched my guided nature tours business, offering ecologically-focused walks and hikes throughout the Pacific Northwest. This was very much a year of "throw things at the wall and see what sticks." Both scheduled hikes and private bookings were successful, though sometimes people thought I only did one or the other, so it was a bit of a challenge getting the word out that nope--I offer both! I'm hoping to expand the scheduled hikes to more locations, since I primarily offered them in the Long Beach, WA area, and I'm hoping to get some private bookings in places I haven't had a chance to explore yet. I do have to say I had a lot of fun taking people out onto some of my favorite trails, as well as some new places, exploring all the amazing flora, fauna, and fungi we met along the way. Here's to more excuses to get outside in 2024!

--With the help of my amazing agent, Jane Dystel of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC, I landed a contract with Ten Speed Press (a division of Penguin Random House) for my book The Everyday Naturalist: How to Identify Animals, Plants, and Fungi Wherever You Go. This is an opportunity well beyond anything I had imagined, and I am super excited for the book to be released in Summer 2025. I've already gotten some excellent editorial feedback to help me make this book the best it can be, and I'm looking forward to this continued journey as I kick off the new year with a big writing session.

--I kept up on my quarterly chapbook schedule, producing four new chapbooks in 2023. It's a lot of work, but people really seem to enjoy them, and I relish the opportunity to dive deeper into topics than I can do in a single article. Speaking of articles, I didn't quite keep up with writing one weekly on my website, but I did alright. And I also kept up a good roster of articles in my Rainy Rambles column for the Coast Weekend paper.

And that's really what I'd love to see in 2024:

--More opportunities to teach and reach new audiences who are interested in learning more about nature identification, foraging, and other natural history topics. Since I do a lot of online teaching, I have plenty of options outside of my local area. And as I make my twice-a-year peregrinations to Missouri, I'm planning to do some teaching along the way.

--More tours, please! 2023 was a really great start, and I had such a great time that I just want to increase the number of days I'm out on the trails with folks. I need to do more promotion, especially outside the Columbia-Pacific region, and really work on getting the word out. Some of that will be online, but there will also be some time spent out in the world, too. It can be a very time-consuming thing, but here's to those efforts paying off.

--I already need to have the manuscript for The Everyday Naturalist turned in this April (I'm going to aim for getting it done early, but we'll see.) A lot of the process beyond that will be out of my hands, other than edits and feedback. Still, this will be another thing that I want to make more people aware of, so you can expect me to keep chatting about book stuff all year. And, of course, I'll keep those article sand chapbooks coming for those of you who can't wait for 2025 to read my work.

--I have some other projects behind the scenes that I'm planning--keep your eyes peeled here for updates! (Or you can join my monthly email newsletter here.)

Wishing you all an excellent 2024!

#The Everyday Naturalist #nature writing #nature #writing #2024 #happy new year

[mangatxt]

20 questions for fic writers

tagged by @creativenicocorner; thanks nico!!

tagging @kreauxlighe @tomezeme @mosshook @carriecmoney and anyone else who wants to do this. no pressure!

answers under the cut

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

23

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

489k. i want that half-million by year's end.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

currently, i only write mp100 fics. my ao3 has some older fics from hq!! and a couple other fandoms I used to write for.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

i'm not gonna list them out because they're all older stuff i'm less enthusiastic about recommending now. the top four are daisuga (hq!!) fics I wrote in college, and the fifth is an inukoko fic I wrote before tokrev ended.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to keep up with them. It means a lot to me when people take time out of their day to send me their thoughts, and I've made a lot of friends from it! But I get overwhelmed and behind on it sometimes, and then I'm like... I probably shouldn't respond to this until I post a new chapter. oops.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

hands down, weekly consultation (mp100, gen, mcd).

second place goes to the one for the road (tr, kokoinu), which ends in a breakup.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

most of my fics have happy endings.

the parachute candidate (mp100, serirei) has a pretty happy ending. so do halo effect (mp100, serirei) and phototropic (mp100, gen).

but i think the happiest ending is probably the twelfth annual rising sun spiritual union holiday decoration contest (mp100, serirei), because reigen wins money instead of more time with roshuuto.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

i've been super lucky to have overwhelmingly positive reception to my fics. i didn't love all the foot commentary on that one tokrev fic, but it is what it is.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i do. very serious smut only, like dick hanahaki and schrödinger's office smut and slow-motion trainwreck sex column

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

i wrote a short haikyuu!! x fullmetal alchemist fic for daisuga week a long time ago. that's probably the craziest one.

in medias res (mp100, gen) is the little match girl isekai, so that probably counts too. reigen literally crosses over.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not to my knowledge

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

a few offers, but i'm not sure if they were completed

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

i have been responsible for the prose output of all of my fics, but i've had a lot of help for various plots. for example, i feel that half the blame credit for bringing flora obscura into being should go to @crownorclover

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

serirei (mp100). it has two characters i adore individually, a setting with so much canonical room for shenanigans, and a lot of open-endedness to the development of the relationship that makes it fun to speculate over.

i'm still partial to kokoinu (tokrev) too. both kokoinu and serirei have that bodyguard/loyalty trope to them and are often written within a greater found family. it's good stuff.

i also like the inherent appalling messiness of reishuuto but it's not that serious

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

that novelist!hawks fic i started once. rip.

16. What are your writing strengths?

i like an off-the-wall premise, and i am incredibly committed to the bit.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

i tend to overwrite things. need to work on brevity.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

for the manga series i write for, i try to write in scanlation/fansub language for the most part. that's how i interacted with them originally, so that's how the character voices sound in my head. not everything in one language has a 1:1 translation into another.

mp100 has a lot of cultural/wordplay jokes that don't translate well into english. i have a lot of wordplay in my fics to match the tone, but i've only managed to make a wordplay joke that translates both ways once. so much respect for translators who figure out how to make that work on a regular basis.

i try to do as much research as possible to get things right, but i know i'll make mistakes. for that reason, i really appreciate people who beta read for me, who put together writing resources and other research materials, or who are kind enough to leave constructive feedback.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

pokémon.

i can't find it anymore but at one point, my 12-year-old ass wrote a fic where gym leader chuck's wife is like "chuck you spend all your time with the waterfall. i want a divorce." laksjdlkasj

i'd totally write it again.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

the parachute candidate.

(i think i'll like sage advice a lot more when i finish it)

#ani.txt #fic updates #tag game #writing #thanks again for the tag nico - i am also definitely not procrastinating on nano

[animepopheart]

Are you able to say where/how you read your manga?? :o

Sure! I have a subscription to Shonen Jump, which is fantastic! It's only $3 a month for access to a lot of great series. But mostly, I receive copies for review on our site, where I help out with our weekly Reader's Corner column and sometimes do long-form reviews (we have one upcoming for the next volume of PMMM Magia Record: Another Story!).

I've had relationships with different production companies in the past, but right now, we get most of our review copies from Yen Press and VIZ Media.

But even if you haven't worked your way into being a partner that receives copies from those companies in a more direct way, you can download digital copies online. They both offer many volumes through Edelweiss and NetGalley, where Kodansha and a few other companies also make digital copies available.

And I do also order some that I'm keeping up with on my own dime, which primarily right now are A Galaxy Next Door, Wandance, Silver Spoon, Spice and Wolf, and Frieren: Beyond Journey's End.

#manga #magia record #shonen jump #netgalley #yen press

[mostlysignssomeportents]

A Year in Illustration

Creating visuals for abstract ideas with the public domain, fair use, Creative Commons and zero artistic talent.

Process notes on Medium.

Image descriptions:

A club-wielding thug whose off-hand is making a ‘give me’ gesture; he is wearing a green eyeshade and standing alongside a desk with a green-shaded lamp on it; in the background is the tri-color Italian flag.

A late 19th century illustration of Gulliver unconscious and bound by the Lillputians; his eyes have been replaced with Turbotax’s checkmark logos and an Intuit logo is stitched on a patch over his breast. Another embroidered patch bearing the Federalist Society logo is stitched over the shoulder of his jacket.

A ransom note that  says “Pay Up Or Else” and is pinned down by a bloody hunting knife. A troll holds up a club in triumph.

A ‘thin blue line’ flag but instead of a blue line, you can see the top of a greasy pepperoni pizza.

The state flag of California; the bear is wearing a scrub cap and procedure mask.

A late 19th century illustration of Gulliver unconscious and bound by the Lillputians; his eyes have been replaced with Turbotax’s checkmark logos and an Intuit logo is stitched on a patch over his breast. Another embroidered patch bearing the Federalist Society logo is stitched over the shoulder of his jacket.

Jean-Leon Gerome’s painting Pollice Verso, 1872, depicting gladiators in an arena with noble onlookers giving a thumbs-down gesture. The tapestry before the nobles has been replaced with a US $100 bill in which Ben Franklin’s mouth has been replaced by an Amazon smile logo.

A ‘big brain’ Talosian alien from ‘The Cage,’ the 1965 pilot for Star Trek: the original series; the alien’s face has been replaced with Mark Zuckerberg’s.

A vintage rec-room with hobby equipment. Its floor is animated gold glitter. Posed within it is a male human figure whose head has been replaced with a money-bag.

A still of Michael Meyers as 'Dr Evil' from the Austin Powers movies. He is holding one pinky finger to his lips. His face has been replaced by Peter Thiel's.

A Chinese revolutionary poster depicting a marching army of peasant soldiers. It has been altered so that a man at the front of the column is carrying an Ipad. The image is surmounted by Apple’s ‘Think Different’ wordmark.

A vintage trustbuster cartoon depicting John D Rockefeller holding the Treasury building in the palm of his hand, peering at it through a watchmaker's loupe. Rockefeller's head has been replaced with Sam Bankman-Fried's. His collar bears the Alameda Research wordmark.

Two business-suited male figures seen side on; each has a bomb for a head, and each is holding a lit lighter that has ignited the other's fuse. Each bomb is wearing a green accountant's eyeshade. In the background is a fiery mushroom cloud.

An altered version of J.C. Leyendecker's Labor Day 1946 cover illustration for Hearst's 'American Weekly' magazine. The original features a muscular worker in dungarees sitting atop a banner-draped globe, holding a sledgehammer. In this version, his head has been replaced with a faceless hacker-in-a-hoodie, and his sledgehammer has been filled with Matrix code-waterfall characters. Leyendecker's signature has been replaced with an IWW graphic depicting workers with upraised fists.

A wood-paneled living room with a large flat screen TV on a stand. Before the TV sit two small boys with their arms around each others' shoulders, sitting crosslegged on the carpet in front of the set. The screen of the set displays a giant arcade machine '25¢ Push to Reject' coin-slot. Above the set, the glaring red eye of HAL9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey oversees the scene, ringed with a burned circle.

A statue of Plato with a Greek temple behind him. Plato has been tinted blue and out of his eyes glare the hostile red eyes of HAL9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The temple behind him has been tinted dark red. Part of the temple's facade has been replaced with the Matrix 'Code Waterfall' graphic.

A statue of Plato with a Greek temple behind him. Plato has been tinted blue and out of his eyes glare the hostile red eyes of HAL9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The temple behind him has been tinted dark red. Part of the temple's facade has been replaced with the Matrix 'Code Waterfall' graphic.

Moses confronting the Pharaoh, demanding that he release the Hebrews. Pharaoh's face has been replaced with Elon Musk's. Moses holds a Twitter logo in his outstretched hand. Moses's head has been replaced with the head of Tusky, the Mastodon mascot. The faces embossed in the columns of Pharaoh's audience hall have been replaced with the menacing red eye of HAL9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The wall over Pharaoh's head has been replaced with a Matrix 'code waterfall' effect.

License information and credits:

Tobias Bomm (modified)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tobias_bomm/31182687746/in/photolist-NkjzuR-PvvqFm-PozUDp-LnDNQ1-wrWcMy-vaXcuQ-vbLykc

CC BY 2.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Zack Middleton (modified)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ztm/5665782941/

CC BY-SA 2.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Cointelegraph (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sam_Bankman-Fried.png

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

Vectorportal.com (modified) https://vectorportal.com/vector/business-deal-illustration/23215

CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

Mosiac36 (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/mosaic36/14231376315

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#pluralistic #gimp #creative commons #social media

[denimbex1986]

'Andrew Scott is an incredible actor with some serious credits in his career, but in all of his performances, he put in an enormous effort to create convincing and emotionally rich characters. Scott was born in Dublin, Ireland, and developed a passion for acting from an early age. At 6 years old, he appeared in a TV commercial for a popular porridge brand in Ireland. He then pursued his passion for acting by joining a theater group where he continued to perform in increasingly larger productions before working in Ireland's most famous playhouse, the Abbey Theater.

After that, Scott moved to London to pursue his career onscreen and in theater. Having been an actor for decades already, Scott's big break came when he landed the role of Moriarty in the BBC drama series, Sherlock. This role changed the trajectory of Scott's career and saw him playing in bigger and more prominent roles, as a seasoned actor with a wealth of talent who had finally earned the recognition he deserved. Since then, he has been cast in more than 50 credited roles, as opposed to less than 20 in the first 15 years of his career.

10. Catherine Called Birdy

Lord Rollo

Starting strong, Scott's role in the medieval comedy film, Catherine Called Birdy, highlights a side of his acting that he is profoundly talented at; comedy. The film stars Bella Ramsey as young Birdy, who seeks to be free from her father's control in her life, as he intends to marry her off to the wealthiest suitor to improve his finances. Scott plays Lord Rollo, Birdy's father, and he is well-suited to the role. His comic timing and ability to portray an awkward and struggling father is entertaining and a side of Scott that is not seen enough.

9. Black Mirror

Chris Gillhaney

Black Mirror is an anthology series by Charlie Brooker that explores the harmful and dangerous spread of technology and its rapid advancement, which has received widespread praise. Each episode features a new cast and a brand new story highlighting another disturbing side of possible future technologies, and Scott appeared as the lead in Black Mirror season 5, episode 2, "Smithereens." Scott plays a grieving rideshare driver who lost his child in an accident caused by his social media addiction, which everyone using the platform similarly experiences. It's dark and emotional, and perfectly done by the talented Andrew Scott.

8. 1917

Lieutenant Leslie

Scott appears in the groundbreaking war film that is presented as a single continuous moment on the frontlines of war. His role is limited, with him appearing for a total of about five minutes, but in that small time, he makes an impression. He serves to help the young soldiers, Schofield and Blake by directing them onward on their important mission. Scott is convincing as a wearied Lieutenant who has been beaten down by terrible war and suffering and stands out in a film full of perfectly executed moments.

7. Handsome Devil

Dan Sherry

Handsome Devil is an Irish movie that explores themes of private school snobbery, sports fanaticism, and how homosexuality fits into that world. Considering Scott is himself a gay Irish man, this movie likely holds some personal significance for him. Scott plays a homosexual teacher who helps the boys at the center of the story to accept themselves without shame, as he grows confident enough to make his sexuality publicly known to the headmaster of the school as well. The film is emotional and heartwarming, and Scott delivers an incredible performance which was certainly made better by his experiences.

6. Modern Love

Tobin

Modern Love is an Amazon Original series based on a New York Times weekly column of the same name. Each episode explores a different side of love in all of its many forms, from familial and platonic, to romantic and intimate. Scott appears in episodes 7 and 8 of season 1 as Tobin, a gay man, who, with his partner, is hoping to adopt a baby. Olivia Cooke plays a young pregnant woman who appears to be the answer to the couple's prayers and the episode explores the relationships that follow.

5. Pride

Gethin Roberts

While many of Scott's roles see him adopt a bravado and confidence that he exudes throughout, the role of Gethin Roberts in 2014's Pride was a very different case. Gethin, along with his partner, Jonathan, are among the first to support the miners during a political strike. Gethin is very quiet but maintains strong beliefs about right and wrong, but unfortunately, the community he lives in is strongly opposed to him and his lifestyle. Gethin is beaten up and hospitalized, but throughout, Scott delivers a moving performance through quiet confidence.

4. His Dark Materials

Colonel John (Jopari) Parry

The TV adaptation of the books, His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, was a runaway success for HBO. In the series, Scott had a fairly prominent role as a recurring cast member, John Parry. Parry served in the military before accidentally traveling to Lyra's world and developing his skills as a talented Shaman. Scott brilliantly conveys real grit and importance to a role that is likely the most unrealistic thing he has appeared in to date. The role may be supernatural, but it is also one of the most captivating performances of Scott's on TV.

3. Fleabag

The Priest

Scott features prominently in the second season of the hit Amazon Original comedy series Fleabag as the Priest. Unlike regular priests around the UK, Scott's character is prone to swearing and making inappropriate jokes. He is a charismatic and charming character who often enjoys his own company and declares that he has no real friends of his own. Once again, featuring Scott as a comedy actor, he has a clear talent and disposition for delivering these lines and performing in a more lighthearted role. While his character is a figure of authority, much of that is disarmed by Scott's performance.

2. Sherlock

Jim Moriarty

The role that skyrocketed Scott's career remains one of his very best roles and performances today. As the incredibly intelligent villain, Jim Moriarty in Sherlock, Scott provided the perfect contrast to the tortured genius that is Sherlock Holmes. Not only do Scott's Moriarty and Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock have a wonderful chemistry and rhythm whenever they appear together, but Scott also puts everything into this role. From his uniquely high voice to his physical acting, and his line delivery and facial expressions, Scott was perfectly cast and completely owned the role.

1. All Of Us Strangers

Adam

One of Scott's most recent projects, All of Us Strangers, was nominated for six BAFTAs and has received incredible praise from many film critics. The movie explores themes of loss and love, as Adam struggles to resolve memories of his youth and his parents who passed away when he was young, and build a life for himself. However, that all changes when Adam forms a relationship with his neighbor, Harry. Andrew Scott is magnificent, expertly creating a layered character who is putting the pieces of his life together in an incredible and unique film, and proving his incredible talents.'

#The Priest #Fleabag #Tobin #Modern Love #1917 #Adam #All of Us Strangers #BAFTAs #Jim Moriarty #Sherlock #Black Mirror #Pride #Catherine Called Birdy #Lord Rollo #Bella Ramsay #Chris Gillhaney #Handsome Devil #Dan Sherry #Charlie Brooker #Smithereens #Lieutenant Leslie #Gethin Roberts #Benedict Cumberbatch #Abbey Theater #Amazon #His Dark Materials #Phillip Pullman #Colonel John (Jopari) Parry

[snarp]

There existed an era in which a mangaka could @ yukiomishima in his new weekly series, and KNOW that the guy would definitely be reading every chapter from then on - because he was well-known to be addicted both to manga and to reading about himself - and then he and his friends would comment on it in their newsletters and columns and shit, and this would get you more readers due to the generated controversy.

Which mainstream mangaka would do this today...? I could see Black Butler being cynical enough to give it a try.

#gegege no kitaro #mishima yukio #yukio mishima

[x5red]

Superheroine detective work: Super Klenk broadcast details uncovered

Ah yes, Super Klenk! The Filipino tv series that is possibly the most well hidden show in the history of superhero television..!

Despite running in primetime on a major network, Super Klenk has left behind precious little evidence of its existence: scant details lifted from a press release, a tiny handful of low-resolution photos, and a few seconds of video footage in a promo. We're not even entirely certain how many episodes of the show were broadcast.

Until, perhaps, now...

Many many years ago Google Books began to collect scans of thousands of old newspapers. The site is somewhat neglected these days (the design has an early 2010s vibe), but the archive is still accessible and -- importantly! -- has indexes of a handful of Filipino papers.

Would there be any details of Super Klenk hiding amidst these column inches, perhaps..?

Time to turn detective...

The Philippine National Enquirer published weekly tv listings in its Saturday editions. Sure enough there's an entry for Super Klenk in its Saturday 1st January 2000 edition, showing that the show was scheduled for broadcast on Sunday 2nd at 8:00pm on Channel 7 (aka GMA-7.) Subsequent Saturday editions also have listings scheduling Super Klenk for January 9th, 16th, 23rd; February 6th, 13th; March 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th; and April 2nd, 9th, 16th. (No listings were available for February 20th and 27th, nor April 23rd -- those editions are absent from the archive.)

A short article about Super Klenk's star Ara Mina, published on April 15th, claims the series had folded, suggesting that April 16th was likely the show's last broadcast. Presumably the next Enquirer Saturday edition (23rd April, missing from the archive) would have shown a replacement series. All archived editions after this date have Super Klenk absent from tv listings.

Common internet wisdom is that 13 episodes were broadcast before the show was cancelled. But (assuming broadcasts on 20th and 27th February) the tv listings show 4 episodes each in January, February, and March, plus 3 in April, making a grand total of 15 episodes.

Unfortunately the Google archive for the Philippine National Enquirer only goes back as far as 1st January 2000. However, the one brief video clip we have of Super Klenk is from a promo that suggests its debut was set for December 12th. This might indicate 3 episodes in 1999: December 12th, 19th, and 26th. That ups the potential episode count from 15 to 18 episodes!

But we should be careful...

Tv listings can be unreliable. Guide magazines are often prepared six weeks ahead of broadcast, so don't reflect sudden cancellations or late reschedulings. Daily newspapers have a shorter lead time, but they typically only print the show title, making it impossible to know whether a repeat or original episode is being shown.

Indeed the Enquirer exhibits some contradictions within its own pages: the listings consistently show Super Klenk being broadcast at 8:00pm, yet there's a couple of brief mentions in articles that suggest the show was switched to 7:30pm during January.

The tv listings may be unreliable, but at least they give us something to work from, rather than a vacuum.

But aside from these air dates, are there any other snippets of information lurking amidst the newspaper archive?

Sadly, not many. (Although it is possible they've yet to be surfaced by the right search query.) The 11th March edition gives a brief synopsis of the next episode, mentioning a plot that sees the heroine putting up with a house guest and fighting a villain known as Bingo Man. There's some profile pieces on actors who appeared in the series, but they only mention Super Klenk as a line item on a list of credits.

It is entirely possible that there are other archives, with magazines and newspapers that give further details on this series, but for now we'll have to make do with a list of potential broadcast dates and a brief plot synopsis of one episode.

The detective work continues...

#super klenk #ara mina #superhero #superheroine #pinoy #gma-7 #gma network #lost media