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#and secondly with his acting performance which is just perfection ok

deep-hearts-core · 11 months

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2023 - Semifinal 1

yall. besties. yesterday was eurovision, and i watched it 45 minutes behind everybody else, and i VOTED, and it cost me a stupid amount of money and im probably never doing it again! n e ways here goes

Norway i've had mixed feelings about this entry since it was selected (largely because i was bitter about the mgp results lol). this wasn't... terrible, but i felt underwhelmed? i liked the opening in italian and i respect alessandra for how much FUN she's having onstage, but she seemed weak vocally in a lot of places, there were a couple spots where she strayed from the key, and the removal of her cape was so quick, i wish they'd lingered more on that? camera shots also weren't timed perfectly i think. and ofc i've said before that these lyrics bother me and that it goes just a little too hard in the chorus. i respect the sea shanty vibes however i disagree that it is actually a sea shanty. ok. puts down mic.

Malta sigh. this is such a delightfully fun song that i've been so pleased by since its selection but the staging fell so flat. i love dav jr's dancing, it's excellent, but we needed more camera time on the saxophone. we really could have had epic sax guy 2: malta edition on our hands. also there were too many graphics (to cover the set changes) (i liked the set changes but were they worth the graphics? no) and i wish we could have actually seen the costume change. i dunno. it's still a really fun number and they sounded great but the staging was messy and they also chose a bad bad recap clip lmao.

Serbia ok, so i used to hate this but it's grown on me a lot especially since this performance. this song knows what it is and it plays to its audience. luke suits this song to a t (naturally, he wrote it, yknow?) and the outfit, the dancers, the set, the lights, everything felt cohesive! except for the graphics, i didn't need the graphics. also can i just say im a wide shot hater yall know this but the slow zoom out after the first "samo mi se spava" was INCREDIBLE. the only good wide shot in the history of eurovision.

Latvia i have zero technical complaints about this. vocally, and in terms of staging, this was flawless. the song isn't really my style but i don't actively hate it, mostly i think the beginning flows a little weird? it's funny, watching this i was like, if they qualify they could win the whole thing because juries will love it. and then they didn't qualify. which, like, ok, this is a jury song, but huh? this was a technically perfect performance!

Portugal my preshow winner! the first act of the night i felt was dwarfed by the stage a little, and she didn't seem fully comfortable vocally, but the performance was still so much fun and i think i actually shouted "fuck yeah" to my empty apartment when she hit that last high note.

Ireland man, idk if the singer was sick or nervous or what but the mic was so far from his mouth at all times and he sounded so strained. it makes my voice hurt just to listen to. and i mean, the song is fine, ultimately generic but fine, and i liked the all gold staging. but i cant get over how nervous conor looked and sounded.

Croatia as one of my preschoolers used to say, "i didn't really like that". because first of all, not that im against politics in eurovision, but how was this not disqualified over political grounds? the ebu's hypocrisy is showing. secondly it's not cohesive, it's disjointed until right at the end. and i don't like the onstage aesthetic at all. makes me kind of uncomfortable. in the end i don't think it's an effective joke entry. i know people are hailing it as being thee anti war song of the season or whatever but i don't think it's that good and i think people like it because of the caricatures. which like. fine. but don't hold it up against, yknow, switzerland or whatever and say look see croatia is the good anti war song! because it's not... it's not good.

Switzerland now look i get the tone deaf accusations i really do. maybe its my perspective as a usian here, but i think this is allowed to be a commentary on like, masculinity and conscription and the glorification of war to young boys, i don't think it's telling ukrainians and russians to just sit down for some tea, you know? anyway i missed most of this performance yesterday bc i was busy voting (i was behind the stream but i checked tumblr at the right time and scrambled to give votes to portugal) so this was really my first time watching. i was surprised when it qualified but technically it was actually very good, pretty good staging and remo sounded basically like in the studio version, he's got a gorgeous voice. the song is generic, switzerland has sent basically the same song the past two years, yknow, theyve found their groove and theyre sticking to it thats fine. i dunno. i don't hate it.

Israel bro... why was this good. listen like i'm not huge on this kind of song i thought it was pretty annoying initially, like i didn't extremely hate it nor did i think there were subliminal antipalestinian messages in the lyrics or whatever i just didn't enjoy it. and while noa didn't sound great, she had good energy and the staging fucked?? that dance break?? i was expecting it to be messy but it blew me out of the water which i guess i should have expected from israel but shrug. also free palestine tho the ebu turns a blind eye to israel's atrocities while cutting off russia because the ukrainian perspective is more palatable and like, fuck that it's deeply hypocritical.

Moldova while vocally pasha isn't all that solid, the stage show and songwriting here are both phenomenal. this is pasha at his finest. i love all the jumps he does, i love the drumming, i love that the backing vocals are live!!!! this fucks so hard

Sweden i'll say it: this wouldn't be getting as much hype if it weren't loreen. it's not a bad song, even if her vocals aren't as spotless as they were in 2012 and even if that outfit is objectively just terrible, but the name recognition does a lot. great staging though. the close staging is what made euphoria work and it's doing the same thing here. i've said this since melfest: the only way i'll be truly happy with this is if loreen pulls a johnny logan and becomes the second person to win twice. like karmically that is the only thing that is allowed to happen here. if she gets like third or something i'll be deeply dissatisfied. (i'd also find it deeply funny if she placed like 20th but that's just because i like to be a hater.)

Azerbaijan that performance gave 1970s, 1990s, and 2011 all at once. truly atrocious outfits and vocals weren't outstanding but then again it isn't that kind of song. i think we always knew this one would get lost because it's so much more mellow than the other acts but it's just SO low energy. the outfits i think led people to believe this would be a more energetic number than it was. and there's a place in eurovision for numbers that are just vibes like this but it didn't work, yknow? staging was the best part of this though, not a standout by any means but it was good it didn't detract from the song at all.

Czechia underwhelming. this song goes hard in studio and i knew it wouldn't translate 1:1 live. i love the outfits and i don't hate the hair extensions, shockingly. i think it's a great opening and a great bridge but the mix between prerecorded and live backing is rough and the stage felt too big for them. still good tho. love those harmonies and the lead singer's voice is beautiful and delicate and just, mmm.

Netherlands i am going to say it again. you could have picked me, a somewhat trained singer who knew the song, up out of the us and dropped me in liverpool with 24 hours notice and i still would have done better than mia nicolai. listen, the staging was gorgeous and dion did great. i love the song, i think it's beautiful. the key change... better for the singers, even if the piano in the beginning sounded distorted and very obviously pitched down. but MIA. my god. she didn't sound good, didn't hit her high notes (the prerecorded backing vocals did it instead), and she had TOO MUCH ENERGY. mia stop bouncing around this is not the mia show this is not a pop banger mia please. it was distracting and it totally ruined the experience for me.

Finland it took me a while to understand why everyone loves this, but i get it now. like serbia's entry, it knows what it is and leans into it and does all of those things well. like, kaarija doesn't NEED to be a great singer, because the way the staging works with the music and the rap balances it out. again, it's cohesive! it's funny to watch it's fun to bop to i know it's a commentary on alcoholism even if i can't understand the lyrics and that staging. is really fucking cool with the dancers and the crate and the lights. and also i love how all of finland has rallied around the guy. helsinki 2024, if i had to place bets i think this is definitely a contender.

My personal qualifiers: finland, portugal, latvia, moldova, sweden, czechia, serbia, malta, israel, switzerland. i'm floored that this list includes serbia israel and switzerland u guys. but it does.

Miscellaneous thoughts: THIS YEARS HOSTS. hannah alesha and julia you will always be famous <3 they're fucking iconic they're so good and julia opening the semifinal was great, idk much hardkiss music but she's a great singer. alesha's rap was also super fun. and hannah's french. "see, we do bother to learn other languages!" lmao. i love alyosha but how do you get alyosha here and not have her sing sweet people. it would have been topical!!! like cmon!!! rita ora was good although i think i join every other esc fan in being slightly salty about it. like oh we're good enough for you now? my god the lines were open for what felt like forever. is it always that long? why was there no countdown timer? DUSTIN THE TURKEY! THEY GOT DUSTIN THE TURKEY!

#esc reviews

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sanstropfremir · 3 years

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Hello I've been meaning to ask if you ever saw the 2017 taemin and jimin (b//tee/ss) collab stage and what your thoughts are on it. People like to debate over who was the "better dancer " which I feel technically isn't to fair to the b&*ts member cause taemin had MANY years to perfect his craft plus had lik a few solo stuff under his belt. For me personally I prefer taemin dance style. Some think that jimin's dance style is more off beat or like emotionally raw? While taemin is more technical but doesn't lose his "face". I'm curious on your thoughts! 💖

hello!!! i have seen it, yes! i agree that i don't really think the comparison is fair, because taemin does have that much more experience but also because they have different style bases. taemin's popping base means that he tends towards sharper and more defined movements that have clear finish points and geometric shapes. and he's fast. jimin has a base much closer and more heavily influenced by contemporary, so he's less focused on stopping his lines in the same way. however i will say this is not necessarily good contemporary practice, but i'm gonna come back to that. jimin is also not very fast. this is not a fault of contemporary practice either, although it does usually tend to be a balladic style. i think there's become a bit of a false equivalency that has happened when a general audience engages with an 'emotional' performance, and that is that emotion and technique are somehow mutually exclusive. that to have a more 'emotional' performance the dancer has to 'break' technique in some way, because apparently if you're really feeling the feelings, technique doesn't matter. i think this has happened for two reasons. the first is reality/competition television and its manipulative editing, and the second is that the 'carelessness' or break makes the performer seem more relatable. we've all fucked something up in the heat of the moment. and although i don't think this line of thinking is totally invalid, i do think that it does kinda defeat the point of performance unless used in very specific circumstances. most of the time you aren't supposed to see the performer underneath the performance. kpop is one of the few forms where that is almost...encouraged? in a way?? it's an art form that's born from cult of personality, so audience engagement with any of the work supersedes the preface of storytelling and goes straight to the admiration of the performer themselves. it's not about how well they can tell a story, its about how well the audience perceives them performing. and i am specifically aiming this at fanbases, not at the idols themselves. a truly exceptional artist doesn't need to sacrifice technique to tell a good story.

and i think here is where we see the main crux of the difference between taemin and jimin as performers: taemin has both an artistic and an idol persona. we know and understand him to do solo work that has a separate artistic meaning to just him being an idol. even though this performance was pre-move, i would still say this applies, because he's hot off press your number, where he's acting in a story based mv. jimin on the other hand just has his idol persona. he's not known for creating the same kind of storytelling that taemin is. while i was drafting this response i got two different asks about bts so i'm gonna save the longer discussion about their brand for those, since this is already getting upwards in the wordcount.

now lets bring it back in to dance specifically; there's a couple things i want to elabourate on. first and foremost, jimin isn't fast enough to keep up with taemin in this choreo. it's much more in line with taemin's style and honestly most idol dancers would have trouble keeping up with taemin. secondly, i said previously that jimin's casual line finishes are not good contemporary practice, and that's true. contemporary does have more emphasis on fluidity and fluid shapes rather than strict geometric ones, but good contemporary has very pointed stops when they're there. and luckily, there's some neat examples that i can use to better illustrate what i'm talking about. byeongkwan from a.c.e has actually done a cover of lie, specifically of the section that jimin does here, AND he precedes it by doing a cover of want!! which hello!!! how much more perfect an example can i get!! byeongkwan has base in hiphop, he's a huge taemin fan, plus he has fantastic body isolation, and if a.c.e can do anything its dance really fucking fast. you can see in the way that he dances want he keeps all the transitions very very fluid, there's very little stop points between positions because that's how taemin dances it; its all about being as fluid as possible, but it still requires a rigidity of form that means that you cannot slack. there's no place here for an errant uncontrolled hand: breaking the technique is breaking the performance. and then watch how he changes that approach going into lie. he has very clear and very fast stops; when he's still, he's still: there's no overshoot on his movements, he's purposeful in his placement.

my other example is taemin has very kindly done a full contemporary routine, just me and you, as a vcr from the ngda beyond live. it's fucking incredible and i full on wept watching it for the first time during the concert. it's an excellent example of good contemporary that doesn't sacrifice technique and is still extremely emotional. also like, not to bring this routine up again for the nth time but ten and winwin's lovely is another great example (this link is a live performance this time). the both of them are have very strong shape creation and i've talked about ten briefly before as a contemporary based dancer but here let me quickly draw your attention to winwin's HANDS. look at them!!!! he has training in chinese traditional dance which has extremely specific hand positions and you can see it; his placements and positions are so specific!!! he's so nice to watch!!!

ok this got longer than i expected but i think i've covered most of my main points pertaining to this specific collab; when i finish the other asks about bts i'll edit a link in here: part two, and part three.

#875 #group analysis #kpop questions #kpop analysis #i gotta give winwin some love because i never talk about him and i think he has a lot of potential #also i LOVE traditional dance in like every form #i realize now that i throw a lot of dance terms around do people know what i mean when i say contemporary???#im pretty sure there's a few of you here who have dance experience but if i start saying some shit and dont provide examples #please ask me to clarify i will not be offended #jimin is a fine dancer but honestly he's kinda lazy in form #and i dont really like the lie choreo its honestly kinda ugly for a contemporary choreo #and not in a fun way. in a simplistic and uninteresting and very literal way #like yes you are telling a very clear story with the song and contemporary is balladic #but you could probably stand to hit the nail a few less times with the hammer #i think watching byeongkwan's cover kind of exposes how boring the choreo is and how its 'power' just hinges on jimin #which isnt like.....in the fun way that sunmi's choreos hinge on her or how taemin's choreos hinge on him #like idols can correctly cover those choreos theyre just really hard because they have tough concepts that require actual performance #but lie doesnt really have enough depth to put it on the same level as sunmi's heroine #(where dancing it badly is the point)#(but the choreo still looks good if done well)#idk its definitely my personal opinion but if your choreo looks bad if its danced well i think the choreo fails #i dont think he's a bad dancer he just doesn't impress me?#like if i had to pick a dancer from the group i'd 100% pick jhope/hoseok he's a little bit more interesting to watch #obviously its likely jimin has improved since 2017 but i havent really seen a lot that gives me any indication of that?#and tbh line finishes are pretty hard to fix esp this far into a career. kai's never managed to fix his #text #answers #anon thank u for sending me a sparkle heart emoji those are my favourite

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franciegummstarstruck · 3 years

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My new JG holiday fanfic, “Fun in Acapulco” 🌞🎅🌲🌶

It was mid-December in 1964- Judy Garland was taking her final bows at the prestigious London Palladium.

Judy and her eldest daughter, Liza were performing there in concert for a solid week. Miss Garland's English audience showered the mother and daughter team with love, admiration, and rousing applause. Let's face it, London adored Judy. And it was a mutual love affair. Miss Show Business beloved her British fans. And she developed many good, close friendships with a few devotees who were founders of Judy's biggest fan club based in England.

Christmas was just around the corner and Judy and Liza flew back to New York to relax for a few days. After the twosome settled into their suite at the Regency Hotel on 61st Street in Manhattan, Judy telephoned her younger children Lorna and Joey. They were staying with their dad, Sid Luft in California since her London concert tour. To Judy's shock, Sid's attorney answered the phone at her soon-to-be her ex-husband's Los Angeles residence. He callously told her that there was a court ruling stating that Sid had full custody rights of the children. And that he had taken Lorna and Joe to Palm Springs for the holidays. He added that the children wanted to be with their dad for Christmas. Judy briskly hung up the phone and informed Liza of the current situation.

"That louse has kidnapped the children."

"What's goin on Mama?" Liza sympathetically asked. She couldn't help but see Judy's peeved expression on her face.

"Sid. He got the damned Santa Monica court to rule in his favor about keeping Lorna and Joe away from me, that's what!" Judy exclaimed.

"Oh, no. How could he do this to you Mama...and right before Christmas!" Liza uttered.

"Because darling, Sid Luft is a devious, heartless human being. This is his way of getting back at me for divorcing him." Judy quipped, lighting a cigarette.

Liza shook her head.

"But, he's not going to get away with it. I'm calling my attorney."

Just then, as Judy reached for the phone..it started to ring. She abruptly answered the call, thinking it may be Sid on the other line.

"Hello, who's is this?"

"Hello Judy, it's Lana." a soft voice perkily replied.

"Lana...Oh my goodness.. it's lovely to hear from you. Darling, how are you?" Judy warmly spoke up.

"I'm doing well, thank you. My agent told me sweetie that you and Liza were in New York. And it just so happens that I'm in Manhattan too for a few days, so I thought I'd give you a ring to say hello and ask if you both would like to spend Christmas with me and Cheryl in Acapulco.. that is if you don't already have other plans?"

Judy’s luscious brown eyes widened.

“Acapulco? That sounds marvelous darling. I really didn’t have big plans for Christmas this year, Liza and I are so beat from our London concerts engagements. And my younger children are spending the holidays with their father...’’

“So, is that a yes? Oh, Judy you’ll love Mexico this time of year. You and I can relax on the beach and Cheryl and Liza can shop and boy-watch.” Lana giggled.

“That does sound like the kind of vacation Liza would enjoy." Judy replied with a chuckle.

“Wonderful!” Lana said.

“But, I’m not sure if I should go. My press agent may have some interviews lined up for me here in New York..’’ Judy expressed.

“Oh, Judy all work and no play isn’t healthy..” Lana quickly remarked.

Liza, over hearing the conversation in the room.. sprinted over to her mother and rambled in a whisper, “Say yes Mama! It’ll be fun! I've never been to Acapulco!"

Judy flashed a motherly eye roll.

"Letting Liza out in Mexico could be disastrous." Judy mused.

However, she never could say ‘No’ to her children, so Judy accepted Lana’s invitation.

“Alright, you’ve convinced me girlfriend. And my teenage daughter."

"Great! I'll pick you both up on my way to the airport a week from today!" Lana cheerfully replied.

"Ok, darling. Marvelous."

"Till then love. Bye."

"Bye-bye" Judy uttered before hanging up the phone.

By now, Liza was dancing around the room with a broad smile on her pretty face.

"Ok, darling we have lots to do before we take off for Mexico. I have to call my business manager, agents, and have my hair done." Judy declared.

Liza nodded, then in a burst of enthusiasm exclaimed, "And I have to pack my French bikini!"

The airline flight to Mexico was a glorious one for all three ladies. No turbulence and the stewardesses kept plying them with tasty desserts and asking for autographs. It helped Judy take her mind off the fact that Lorna and Joey wouldn’t be spending Christmas with her and Liza. And the minute the girls stepped off the jet, there was a sleek, black limousine waiting there for them on the tarmac.

“Thank Goodness, I brought my sunnies with me. It’s so bright and warm here!’’ Judy vocalized, slipping on a dark pair of cat eye shades.

Lana grinned. “Sunnies?’’

“You know, sunglasses.” Judy matter-of- factly replied.

“Oh, I see. Now, I recall that’s what the British call em don’t they? Well, you can’t live without them down here darling. It’s year around sunshine south of the border.” Lana said with a giggle, putting on her large tortoise print shades.

“I’m not used to it. I’ve been living in England for too long I guess. Mr. Sun doesn’t make an appearance there..”

Lana and Liza chuckled, following Judy into the town car.

Lana was the perfect hostess. The moment Judy and Liza entered the gorgeous beach villa in Acapulco they were showered with attention and shown a good time. The striking blonde actress gifted them with colorful sombreros, embroidered Mexican dresses, and beautiful Mexican opal necklaces. The coral and white stucco home was decked out with hanging Christmas lights and boasted an enormous, sparkling swimming pool with cabanas. And it was only a short walk to the pristine ocean.

Lana enjoyed showing the girls around town and took them to a quaint outside marketplace where they splurged on ice cream and taquitos And they browsed at a few street art vendors. Judy bought a colorful canvas for 1,000 pesos from a local artist because the children in the painting reminded her of Lorna and Joey.

Lana’s 21-year-old daughter Cheryl drove Liza around Acapulco and the two enjoyed taco bar lunches in town while Judy and Lana lounged on the quiet white sandy beach soaking up the plentiful sunshine.

The villa’s living room was filled with an array of bright festive flowers and there was a beautiful garland draped on top of the colorful Spanish tile fireplace. She ordered a gigantic white Christmas tree which almost touched the ceiling! Cheryl and Liza decorated the tree while listening to Elvis records on the stereo.

On Christmas Eve, Lana threw a small dinner party for a few close friends who were visiting the region. Noel Coward, Ava Gardner, and Ricardo Montalban were among the tight guest list, as was 28-year-old actor Robert Redford. Judy had met him and Elizabeth Ashley backstage after their performance in the Broadway hit play, Barefoot in the Park the year before in New York. The strawberry-blond actor wasn't very talkative nor overtly receptive to Judy but his eyes were fixed on her all evening. He didn’t seem to take notice of the other beautiful ladies, including the villa’s charming hostess. Which was especially odd, because Lana Turner made a spectacular entrance. Glamorously dressed in a tight-fitting, very chic Edith Head original frock along with several diamond bracelets adorning her wrists.

Lady charmer Noel complimented her fine taste in clothes and the spicy rum cocktails that were on hand. Ricardo asked Judy to dance while a little mariachi band played outside on the patio. And Liza sang a favorite Broadway show tune at the piano. Before long, everybody was singing Christmas carols and sipping eggnog. And Judy was asked to sing, 🎶Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas🎶 Then, Ms. Turner’s guests were served an elegant authentic Mexican dinner in the villa’s dining room by the best black-tie caterers in town. After dinner, everyone went back into the living room to talk and play records.

At one point, Judy excused herself and took off for the guest room to repair a nylon tear. Entering the room, she was utterly surprised to see Robert Redford reclining on top of the bed in the room with a wine glass in his hand.

“Hi. I’ve just been sitting here thinking of you.” he composedly voiced.

"Oh My Goodness..you startled me dear!" Judy replied with an uneasy giggle.

Robert slid off the bed like a stealth cougar and placed his glass on a nearby table.

"I want to make love to you." the handsome young man directly uttered.

“What?" Judy gasped.

Robert let out a haughty little laugh.

"You act like I’m the first guy that’s ever said that to you at a Hollywood party.”

‘‘Well, it’s been a-while.’‘ Judy quipped.

Robert burst out in laughter.

“First of all, we’re not in Hollywood and secondly, I don’t make it a habit to make love to strange men at dinner parties.” Judy saucily retorted.

Robert smirked and quickly maneuvered over to Judy, while unfastening his cuff links.

"But, we're not strangers. Don't you remember, we met in New York last year.. backstage after my performance in "Barefoot in the Park?"

"Yes, I remember. But, I still don't know you well enough to accept your hasty invitation. Not to say that I'm not flattered..."Judy said in a teasing manner.

"So, you're turning me down?"

"I'm sorry darling, but I do find you resistible." Judy said playfully fastening his necktie.

"Me? You've got to be kidding. Why I'm the hottest young star in show business." he exclaimed in a joking way.

Judy just grinned, seeing through Robert's star complex facade.

"Well, I guess I better go now. It's getting late and did you know there's still a party going on out there?" Robert bantered.

Judy chuckled watching the young man make his way out of her bedroom.

"Merry Christmas darling." she added.

"You know, you're a woman of high values." he stated looking back and then quietly walked out of the room.

Judy didn't say a word to anyone about the little episode between Robert and herself. She spent the rest of the evening yakking with Lana and Ava about clothes and ex-husbands. Young Mr. Redford left the swaray early and sped off in his little red sports car.

The next day, Christmas day ..Judy slept in till 1 p.m. Liza and Cheryl spent the day relaxing on the beach with Lana and later Judy joined them. That evening, the ladies feasted on a tamale pie that Judy baked out of leftovers in the fridge and watched an old Christmas movie on television.

The following day, Lana drove Judy and Liza back to the airport. The gals exchanged hugs and said their 'goodbyes' before Ms. Garland and Liza scooted off into the terminal to catch their flight. While they were hurrying over to the correct gate, Judy's suitcase buckle snapped open and everything inside spilled out on the floor. A good-looking kindhearted passerby went over to assist Judy in need.

“Here let me help you senora.” he politely said in a thick South American accent.

“Thank you so much. It’s the first time this has ever happened to me.” Judy anxiously replied.

The brown eyed man knelt down and helped Judy put her belongings back into her luggage. And then, the gentleman took off a luggage strap he had on his suitcase and wrapped it around her baggage.

‘’I’m sure that will hold everything together now.” he uttered.

Judy graciously thanked him and took some money out of her purse to repay him for his kindness.

“Please, there’s no need to repay me. It was my pleasure to help a pretty lady in distress.’’

“You’re very sweet. Thank you again.’’

The handsome stranger flashed a big, buoyant smile.

Judy and Liza brightly smiled back at him and then continued on their way to their flight’s boarding gate.

“What a lovely man..” Judy said looking back.

‘’Yes, and don’t you think he looks a little like Gene Kelly?’’ Liza bubbly interjected.

Judy chuckled.

“Yes, darling.. he does!"

Liza nodded, clutching her satchel. "Well, they say everyone has a double."

The End

©KristenRaeJohnson

#judy garland #jgfans #liza minnelli #lana turner #ava gardner #robert redford #gene kelly #jugenea #fanfiction #have yourself a merry little christmas

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whoops-im-obsessed · 4 years

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The Prince of Egypt West End Review! (Spoilers for the west end production and the movie)

So I was lucky enough to see this show in previews today, and I have a lot to say about it, so here I am, rambling about it. Here we go!

Ok so first up bc it was in previews and I saw the 4th ever performance I've gotta list the errors, but honestly there weren't that many.

There were a few mic problems, Moses' mic wasn't on for a second during some dialogue, and there was the same problem with Tzipporah later on but they were both fixed very quickly.

Secondly, one of the dancers fell off the staging. Oops.

And thirdly one of the dancers bailed out of his flip but recovered so well that my mum didn't even notice it.

Thats it.

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Ok next the STAGING

It was gorgeous, very simplistic but very beautiful,

There was a raised platform in the middle in a kind of raggedy shape that looked like a country (it wasn't Egypt) that took up most of the stage

There was a trap door and hydraulics in the middle and very back of the stage and there were 2 panels and some tassel things that were used for projections, which were very good might I add.

Any additional scenery was either set up or made up of the dancers

Like seriously these people would stand completely straight for entire scenes holding a block above their heads just,, being a wall

That takes strong arms, good on you.

It's in the Dominion theatre which is honestly perfect for it, not so small that it was cramped but because its not massive the stage never looked empty.

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Ok now I'm just gonna ramble about it start to finish

Act 1

The show started with just one man walking onto the stage whilst the overture played, then just as the trumpet stopped he cracked a whip and everyone came on for the start of 'Deliver Us'

There was a lot of whip work in this show and honestly I am here for it, it was cool even if it did make me jump pretty much everytime.

'Deliver Us' was honestly beautiful, I would have paid a full price ticket just to see this one song

The vocals were so incredibly powerful that if I were to go on stage while they were singing I probably would have been blown away

Yochved (Moses's mother), young Miriam and young Aaron ran around the stage trying to get Moses to the river and the dancers acted as walls and places to hide from the guards which was p cool

Yochved was played by Mercedesz Csampai who is a powerhouse

Idk what else to say about 'Deliver Us' other than it was frickin amazing

Young Miriam actually interacted with Tuya which was fun albeit a little weird when Tuya didn't question the presence of a random Hebrew girl in her palace.

THE DANCING WAS AMAZING

Honestly I have so much respect for these dancers, they absolutely carry the show

In multiple scenes they lie down and roll across the floor to transport things which is top-notch blocking if you ask me

The end was amazing and v powerful, again I would pay full price just to see it.

NEXT SONG

Since there are only 6 songs in the original film, Stephen Schwartz wrote 10 more for the stage - most of which were good

The next song was about Moses and Ramses' chariot race and it was called 'Faster'

The best part about this song was that the dancers acted as the chariots and did some very crazy things with their bodies, big respect

Other than that it was quite mediocre tbh

There was some fun dialogue afterwards

The dialogue was kind of stunted in the first act, but as they got into act 2 it was a lot better

Then there was another song sung by Seti (pharaoh) which became a recurring theme throughout but wasn't all that astounding

Then Moses sang about leaving footprints in the sand which was v emotional and beautiful

Also Luke Brady???? Fuckin angel in disguise?? This man has a very sweet voice

Then some other stuff happens

Moses talks to Seti, Ramses gives himself a hard time, there's a reprise, pretty routine

Then we meet Tzipporah and she does some cool song and dance

And THEN there was some noice angst bc Moses runs after Tzipporah and meets Miriam and Aaron and then gets told he's adopted and has a nice angsty sing about it

Hhhh the projections were sooooo good in this show, during this song there was a scene where Moses finds out that Seti killed all the Hebrews and they're in a room where the walls are made of dancers and there are hieroglyphics projected on to them, and then some of the dancers came to life and one of them turned into Yochved and one of them fully came out, re-inacted a scene from the beginning and then went back into the wall and appeared to turn to stone and it was v emotional and cool

And THEN there was 'All I Ever Wanted' where Moses sang a lot and it was v pretty

Ok this is getting long and we're not even halfway through act 1 so imma break and then do a part 2

#the prince of egypt #the prince of egypt west end #the prince of egypt musical #musicals #musical theatre #gary wilmot #stephen schwartz #london #the west end #west end #egypt #moses #review #dreamworks #dreamworks theatricals

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letterboxd · 5 years

Photo

Most Picture.

There are many ways to predict how the Oscars will go. How much money is the studio spending on the campaign? How highly rated are the nominated films? How much work have nominees put in during the awards season? Is it simply their time?

For this 2019 horse race, we thought it would be fun to go for a different metric. A fool-proof statistical analysis to find not what is the Best Picture, but what is the Most. And with that, we set about investigating the stats on rewatches of the eight films nominated for Best Picture.

It turns out that plenty in the Letterboxd community have logged the Best Picture nominees more than once, and in some obsessive cases, well into double figures. We had a feeling, based on anecdotal mood and general noise, that A Star Is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody would be right up there in the stanning stakes. And they are (read on for our Q&A with Letterboxd’s most obsessive A Star Is Born fan). But also: The Favourite made the top three, and the film you have rewatched the most left the other seven in the dust.

Without further ado, Letterboxd presents the 2019 “Most” Picture Awards, ranked by the number of members who’ve watched the 2019 Academy Award Best Picture nominees two or more times (total in brackets, as of today).

Each film features a review from its greatest fan, i.e. the Letterboxd member who has logged the film more than any other (at the time of writing).

And the 2019 “Most” Picture Awards go to…

1. Black Panther (13,268)

“Would I see this movie a personal record high of seven times in theaters? For Wakanda? Without question.” —Krys (12 watches, seven in cinemas)

2. A Star Is Born (5,943)

“TIRED: discourse about whether or not the film hates pop music, all think pieces about whether the film thinks Ally is a sell out and what that means for feminism, discourse on whether Why Did You Do That? is a bop or not.

WIRED: discourse about whether or not Jackson Maine even had an ass good enough to inspire such pop perfection.” —Juliette (16 watches)

3. The Favourite (5,378)

“I miss this so much I dreamt it. Instead of riding, Sarah was doing cartwheels.” —CBotty (15 watches)

4. Bohemian Rhapsody (4,928)

“The critics can go fuck themselves. THIS IS THE BEST MOVIE I HAVE SEEN! (for the fifth time).” —Iain (16 watches)

5. Roma (4,270)

“Yes I’ve seen this twice today, yes i cried like a bitch both times, yes this is the only movie.” —Eve (7 watches)

“My feelings regarding Roma are complicated to say the least. It’s like dating the girl of your dreams, only to realize that you are completely incompatible, which ends in desperate clinginess for an ideal that was never true to begin with. It’s been a strange journey of love, disappointment, and eventual acceptance, where I’ve come to terms with my feelings. I still admire the hell out of it, and I hope it wins all the awards in the world.” —Orrin (7 watches, admittedly more times than they have actually seen it)

6. BlacKkKlansman (3,669)

“This movie is so fucking powerful, and I loved every second of it.” —Kota (6 watches)

7. Green Book (1,370)

“OK what a way to start the new year. I love this movie so much. Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are for sure going to get nominated (and it’s well deserved).” —Anthony (5 watches)

8. Vice (1,164)

“8.4/10” —Harrison (4 watches)

Unpacking the re-watchability of A Star Is Born.

“I just expect it to be exactly what it is and to be there.”

Of the eight Best Picture finalists, Black Panther has been out the longest, had the largest budget, and has done the rounds of the streaming services. It was always gonna take the top spot in a rewatch match. But to figure out the rewatchability of second-place-getter A Star Is Born, we went to the film’s hardest stanner, Juliette, to help us understand why fans keep coming back even though it’s a complicated watch.

While Juliette’s multiple reviews are meme-tastic, quippy, punctuation-free gems of observation, when we asked her to explain herself, she went remarkably deep. Her replies may just make you want to take another look at Ally and Jack. [Note: this interview contains spoilers for the film’s plot.]

How many times do you think you have seen A Star Is Born? Juliette: I think I have seen the film sixteen times? I know for certain I have seen it fourteen times in theaters, but I’m not sure how many times I’ve watched it in the comfort of my own home since it’s been released on digital. There’s just something about the energy in a theater while this film is being screened. It gives me chills just thinking about it!

What keeps you coming back to it? It's so hard to pinpoint what exactly it is that draws me back to this film time and time again. I love a good love story when properly executed! I’m kind of obsessed with celebrity culture! I love a great musical! And like many people, the subjects of this film: alcoholism, mental illness, suicide, self-doubt, the cultivation of the self, love, mentorship, and reconciliation of one’s experiences with a flawed parental figure are all things that have permeated my life. Some of these things, I understand and have a firm grasp on, they feel definitive and their impacts are a tangible output. Some of these things, I still grapple with daily. There is little definition, largely just confusion and sporadic outbursts of pain.

When I return to this film, which I often do, the thing I don’t expect it to give me is answers. I don’t expect the film to be able to define for me what I must come to define for myself. I don’t expect it to clarify my confusion. I don’t expect it to eradicate the pain. I just expect it to be exactly what it is and to be there.

There’s a scene towards the end of this film where, while mourning the loss of his brother, Bobby explains how he heard one of Jackson’s songs performed at a bar. At first, it angers him. He feels like no one really knew Jackson. But then, something shifts and just hearing the song begins to soothe him. It reminds him that, in spite of their trauma and their turmoil, it isn’t all for nothing.

That’s what this film is for me. It soothes me. It reminds me that the facilitation of our healing can come through art. It reminds me that for people, who once felt broken and irreparable, it is possible to find love and happiness not just with another person, but within one’s self. It reminds me that our pain and our devastation can be met in equal measure with (and even maybe be overcome by) our brilliance, our triumph, and our devotion to one another.

What have you noticed with each rewatch? What I notice most with each subsequent rewatch of the film is what a massive undertaking the sound editing and mixing for this film must have been. I have such deep and profound respect and admiration for all the work that went into crafting the audio for this film! The film is such a visceral experience, one that truly engages all of the senses. I remember physically recoiling in the theater the first time I heard the sound of Jackson’s tinnitus. I remember feeling my entire seat shake in time with the music during the concert sequences.

I also have a sincere recommendation! Once you watch the film a few times, I really encourage you to watch the film just through the lens of watching Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real in the background of the pivotal scenes. It adds so much dimension to scenes you thought you already knew!

What is the single greatest scene in this version of A Star Is Born? As clichéd or “basic” as it may seem to say, there is no denying that the greatest scene in this film is when Ally joins Jackson on stage and the two perform Shallow together. It’s a cataclysmic and mesmerizing moment.

It’s the way Jackson physically steps back and acquiesces his spotlight to new talent. It’s the combination of awe and support in Jackson’s eyes as he watches Ally assume center-stage. It’s the way Ally assumes her place at the mic for the first time. It’s how Ally—all at once terrified, shocked, overwhelmed, empowered, and free—finds a version of herself she had long thought impossible to access under the stage lights. The arc of which is punctuated by Gaga’s impeccable performance in this scene, most noticeably by the shift in her physicality, from her hands covering her eyes, unable to make eye contact, to grabbing the mic and belting her now patented cathartic wail.

It’s the way, two artists—no, two people—are separated physically on the stage singing into their individual microphones, but slowly find their way to meet in the middle and sing as one. In itself, this scene is the film in miniature. If this scene hadn’t worked, it’s very unlikely the rest of the film would have worked.

Not to mention, the scene is just absolutely stunning. Of course, the music is heavenly, that’s a given. In terms of the composition, I love how the camera moves around and captures each protagonist in different ways. And the color palette is gorgeous. The way that blue and red light dance around our protagonists throughout the sequence is just jaw-dropping. It’s the kind of high an artist, and in a turn a viewer, could spend their whole life chasing.

What do you wish haters understood about the film’s greatness? My first priority would be to tell the haters that Lady Gaga is not playing herself in A Star Is Born! Just because Gaga is a singer playing a singer, doesn’t mean she isn’t acting!

Furthermore, to me, it feels unfair that the power of her performance is sometimes diminished just because she sings in the film. Anyone can sing in a way that is technically proficient with enough training, but to tell a story through song? To act a song? To perform with every iota of your being musically? That’s a whole other skill and it is just as worthy of recognition and respect as any other leading performance this year.

Secondly, I would like to convey that just because something is a remake doesn’t mean that it lacks value or that it lacks something to say. I can’t pinpoint what exactly it is about this story that seems to capture the collective imagination every few decades, but I think it has something to do with how it presents ascension at the expense of descent, art as both artifice and freedom of authentic expression, and love in spite of sacrifice and self-destruction. There’s something about that cocktail that becomes the perfect receptacle for the expression and examination of our cultural anxieties.

Its malleable formula allows for questions to be asked about how we think about celebrity and fame, the self-identification process, and the value of art. In that sense, a remake of A Star Is Born is vital and refreshing, and certainly not tired and uninspired, and most importantly, it doesn’t lack something to say. It’s inherently reflective of the culture it was created in by its very nature. It allows us to ponder not just how Hollywood tells stories about itself, but also how we tell stories about ourselves. And if you ask me, there’s so much value in that.

What do you think should win Best Picture at this year’s Oscars? Well, I’m clearly biased towards A Star Is Born, but I would not be mad to see Roma or The Favourite walk off with the evening’s top prize!

What do you think will win Best Picture? My heart says Roma, my head says Green Book.

#oscars #oscars 2019 #academy awards #roma #best picture #the favourite #black panther #a star is born #film #movies #letterboxd

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wonderlustlucas · 6 years

Text

warmth - wong yukhei

⇢ prompt It’s like a breath of fresh air on the first day of spring, filling you to the brim with new life and you can't get enough. ⇢ pairing yukhei x female reader ⇢ word count 16k ⇢ genre fluff & slight smut ⇢ warnings oh my GOD the fluff in this killed me, resuscitated me, & then hit me with a car. if you squint really hard there is like a teaspoon of smut & implied s e x ⇢ summary Meeting NCT was definitely not something you or your best friend ever imagined would actually happen on your road to stardom, but Wong Yukhei falling for you never once crossed your mind. Lucky for you, a touch of jealousy, fifteen rounds of Fortnite, impromptu snuggling, and a splash of soju is the perfect recipe for falling in love. ⇢ a/n ok FIRST OF ALL since this is my first actual fic im posting i feel like i should warn u all & apologize for my use of italics, im a little obsessed cuz when i go over & read what ive typed i always put emphasis on specific words so ya just roll w that. secondly i tried sosososo hard to include every member but obviously some got more spotlight than others thats just how the cookie crumbled BUT I TRIED. and lastly the beginning to this is a little rough but i swear it gets better trust me on this, warmth is my bby rn & im proud cuz it gets real good as u keep reading. enjoy:)

“Kim Mina and ___ ___, welcome! Take a seat! How are you?”

Yuna’s greeting is welcoming but it barely calms your nerves. Your grip on Mina’s hand is like iron, but you finally have to let go and give your best smile before shimmying onto the high stool. Mina starts the small talk with the two anchors and you can’t help but silently thank her. Lord knows small talk was not your thing.

Meanwhile, you glance around the large room, taking it all in—from the brightness of all the screens to the professional video cameras facing in your direction and all the way to the small crowd of fans cheering outside. How did you end up here?

“So, tell me, what started this amazing journey the two of you have gotten yourselves into?” Seojun, the second anchor, asks with a beaming grin. You look to Mina and she nods to you in approval. Deep breathe. Don’t panic.

“Well, Mina and I have been best friends, if you’d like to put it that simply, since we were freshmen,” the three chuckle at your comment, “we both shared and bonded over our love for BTS, actually, and then Seventeen, NCT, Red Velvet, and so on.”

You pause to lick your lips and take a deep gulp of air.

“We both weren’t very active nor athletic. First, we played volleyball, then lacrosse, and we even tried golf but sports just wasn’t really our thing. So, we eventually settled for a gym membership and spent a lot of time there together, and over time we really got into shape,” you stop again to laugh when Yuna reaches out to poke at Mina’s very prominent bicep muscle.

“And so one-day junior year we were jamming to, uh, I don't know,” you laugh, glancing to Mina. “BBoom BBoom,” she says, “by MOMOLAND.”

You smile to yourself at the fond memory. “Anyway, Mina randomly suggested that we should learn the full choreography and not just random parts. At first, I laughed at her ‘cause I thought there was no way either of us was bright enough to remember the full thing. But she was so serious about it that I eventually just agreed to it to humor her, and we actually learned it by ourselves.”

“It wasn’t as easy as I thought, though,” Mina interrupts, “it took a really, really long time just to get the footwork and so many times I knew ___ wanted to shoot herself for agreeing to do this,” she laughs and the three of you join her. “But once we got it, we recorded it, and we were just amazed. Like, ‘Wow, we did that! That’s us!’ and we showed everyone we knew. The sense of pride motivated us to do it again. So we did Mic Drop by BTS, and when we uploaded it on YouTube it really blew up within our school,” Mina stops and looks at you to continue.

“Our friends and family really started spreading the word about us after the fourth or fifth video we uploaded. In the meantime, a lot of kids thought we were really weird for, you know, putting ourselves out there like that. But it was just so fun to dance that we really didn’t care about both the positive or negative feedback we were getting. After all, we were only seventeen, you know. But things really started getting serious about two months ago when we uploaded Baby Don’t Stop from NCT U and CLAP from Seventeen. Someone big must have stumbled upon our account because a week later we were in the newspaper. Something about ‘arising local stars,’ I think,” you pause when Yuna shuffles through her papers to pull out the exact article you were talking about.

“Yep,” she pauses to flip through the papers, “‘___ ___ and Kim Mina: Small-town Seniors to Stardom,’ wow, so you two really caught someone’s eye,” she comments as Seojun nods in agreement.

“So yeah, that’s basically it. We still plan to graduate high school and all, but right now we’re not sure if we want to go to college at this point. We have a steady income as of right now and hopefully, we can really make this into a career. It’s kind of our passion at this point, not just a hobby,” you finish, fixing the collar of the rather fitting romper you were wearing.

“Wow,” Seojun comments and brings his hands up to clap, “talk about an inspiring story.”

“Hopefully. We tell our followers that even if you may feel really lost in the world right now, you will find something that you’re passionate about, it’ll just take time and probably some stupid idea,” Mina concludes with a beaming smile and an arm around your neck, tugging you in close.

Yuna and Seojun coo in unison at the affectionate act and you can’t help but squeeze Mina back.

“So, we have a few more questions,” Yuna finally says after you pull away from your best friend. You sit up straighter in your seat and nod excitedly.

“This one’s easy. Who is your favorite group?” Seojun asks once he’s done flipping through the pile of note cards in his hands.

“NCT, for the both of us,” Mina replies easily, and you nod in agreement. “And do you have a bias, as I’ve heard you call it, in the group?” Yuna asks and you immediately feel the heat rush to your cheeks. It wasn’t that you’re embarrassed, you just don’t want to talk about it.

So, yeah, maybe you’re embarrassed.

“Uh-oh, ___ is red,” Seojun catches on and you squawk in embarrassment, having to hide your face from the cameras just so those watching wouldn’t be able to see you flush so badly. “Well, my bias is Taeyong,” Mina replies while soothingly patting your arm to get you to look back up.

“Yukhei,” you eventually squeak out after sitting up.

“Which choreography so far has been you’re favorite?” Yuna moves on instead of picking on your red-hot embarrassment anymore and you quietly thank the gods.

“Oh geez, I can’t choose one. CLAP, HIGHLIGHT, Burning Up, DNA, Cherry Bomb, 7th Sense, Baby Don’t Stop, Boss... all favorites. No way we could simplify it to one,” Mina laughs after naming off a few.

“Alright, last question before the surprise,” Yuna says, winking at the camera mischievously, “if you could go back in time, would you have started this journey earlier than you had?”

You glance at Mina and pause to think for a moment. Would you? Mina opens her mouth to say something but closes it again, clearly stumped by the question.

“No,” you speak up, “I think the way we did it worked out in the best way possible. It started as a joke for us, but the music we love turned it into something we’re passionate about. If we started this when we were any younger, we wouldn’t have been as mature and probably wouldn’t have gotten as much attention as we have. We would’ve looked like even more idiots to the public. It all happened for a reason, and I wouldn’t want to change it one bit, you know?” You rant, picking at your nails as you do so. Was that too much? Too little? Hopefully I didn't sound cocky.

“There you have it, folks! Wise words from eighteen-year olds ___ ___ and Kim Mina!” Seojun cheers and Yuna claps. Mina bows and you smile appreciatively. “Don’t leave just yet! After this commercial break, Mina and ___ will be performing live before the show ends! Stay tuned everybody!” Yuna finally announces and you can finally breathe again now that the cameras are off.

“Go on and get changed, kiddos. Don’t wanna miss your own performance,” Seojun smiles. “Thank you. And thank you for having us. This was amazing,” you reply, hopping off the seat and giving him and Yuna firm handshakes before storming backstage with Mina.

“You spoke so well! What the fuck? What happened to little ol’ ___ stuttering and dying when she has to present?” Mina exclaims excitedly, spinning you into a hug in the dressing room. “I don't know! I just—I have no idea! I felt so, so... proud, you know? Look how far we’ve gotten,” You speak hurriedly, peeling everything off your body.

“I know, this is crazy. I feel like I’m gonna shit myself,” Mina replies as you both unclasp each other’s bras to replace them with sports bras. “Me too. I don’t know why I’m so nervous to perform, we could do this choreo asleep, with our eyes closed, and our legs cut off,” you exaggerate, tugging up your ripped black skinny jeans and hopping around to get them up.

“With our legs cut off?” Mina laughs as she pulls up her denim shorts. “But no, I feel you. It’s because it’s live, we usually have the comfort of knowing that we can mess up without anyone knowing,” she explains as you push your arms through the sleeves of the cropped white tank you decided on.

The two of you finish getting dressed, quickly stretch, and hurry back out before you actually are late. “Good luck, don’t mess up,” Mina whispers, fixing your braids and giving your hands a gentle, reassuring squeeze. “Thanks, asshole. You too.”

Baby Don’t Stop starts from the speakers, extremely loud but too quiet and exhilarating but soothing all at the same time. It’s a natural habit now—the way your body moves to Ten’s absolutely panty-dropping voice and Taeyong’s aggressive rapping—arms twisting in ways that used to hurt and legs reaching new angles every second.

But it’s happening all too quickly—you want it to slow down so you can bask in the feeling of doing what you love for everyone to see.

You find yourself singing along like you usually do, and start to worry that it could be heard. What if you sound like a crow, squawking Ten and Taeyong’s beautiful lyrics? Focus. You mentally slap yourself when you lean over a minute and a half in to scratch Mina’s chin and head. So you keep going.

You always dance Ten’s role—it was something you begged Mina when you chose Baby Don’t Stop as the next choreography you two would learn. Mina had no problem with it, considering she wanted to dance her own bias’ moves.

Two minutes in and you were officially breathing heavier after the last few complicated moves you had to do. Then the transition to Cherry Bomb started and you took a couple much needs breathes before continuing.

These last two minutes of Cherry Bomb you performed were always the hardest, especially since it was mainly beats rather than actual singing or rapping. There were so many movements that needed perfecting, so many angles that needed to be reached, and so many changes that had to be done quickly all had your head spinning.

Your legs are burning. God, they hurt. You can feel the sweat dripping across your neck, down your spine, and into the waistline of your jeans like a waterfall. However, you receive an adrenaline rush sent by the heavens after the first time you have to fall back onto the floor only to quickly lean back up and do a few more grueling flips and tumbles.

After your very difficult part on the floor, you finally rejoin Mina for the last forty seconds to begin your descent to an almost-split before jumping back up and finishing the song.

The loud music is cut off and you are left with only you and Mina’s heavy breathing, blood rushing in your ears, and the loud applause coming from the crew, anchors, and friends and family off to the side.

Oh my God. We did it. You quickly turn to Mina and engulf her into the tightest hug of your life, not caring about the slick layer of perspiration between you. “I’m so proud of you,” you mumble into her neck, giving her one last squeeze. “Of us,” she quips as Seojun and Yuna stop next to her.

“Kim Mina and ___ ___, ladies and gentlemen! Thank you all for watching and have a wonderful night!”

You wave tiredly at the camera and give a weak smile, but all you can focus on is how heavy your breathing is and an annoying bead of sweat rolling down into your asscrack. Seojun and Yuna say something about relaxing for a while in the private lounge upstairs and as soon as you hear water and brownies you’re off, racing Mina up the stairs no matter how badly your legs scream at you not to.

“I can’t believe we did that!” Mina screams, spinning around and making a bee-line for the table full of beverages and food. You quickly yank your sweaty tank off your body, crumble it up in a ball, and toss it at her head. “Oh my God, you’re a disgusting, repulsive, ugly, sickening rat,” she hisses, swatting your outreaching hand away.

You chuckle to yourself as you grab a water bottle, pausing for a moment to grimace at the copious amount of sweat in your cleavage before cracking the cap off of the bottle and nearly inhaling the delightfully cold, refreshing liquid.

“You know, maybe we should just forget about this. I’m so tired of the way you treat me,” you start, finishing the bottle before cracking open another one without even glancing her way.

“___,” she starts to interrupt, but you don’t let her. “Like, the amount of disrespect I get is nauseating,” you continue while reaching for a brownie and basically shoving the whole thing in your mouth. “___,” she says again.

“I just don’t understand. I do nothing but love and support you, clean the house, nurse our children,” you pause to chew on a chocolate chip cookie, “pick up the dog’s shit, for crying out loud! And this is what I get back?” You finally end your sarcastic rant, popping pieces of cut fruit into your mouth before breaking into a fit of giggles.

“___!” she shouts this, and you finally look at her, wondering if you’ve somehow offended her. You follow her gaze once you realize she’s not even paying any mind to you or your shenanigans.

And there they are.

All eighteen of them.

Right across the room.

The water bottle doesn’t make it to your mouth this time but instead falls from your grip and onto the floor. You don’t even notice it, considering all eighteen fucking members of NCT are sitting only a few yards away, their mouths slightly agape and a shocked expression mirroring your own.

You don’t know how long it takes for one of you to finally say something. “Am I hallucinating or is NCT in our room?” Mina whispers.

You blink hard. Rub your eyes. Pinch your skin. “No. They’re there.”

And then you sob. You don’t know what happened, but something within you snaps and a choke sounds from your lips and tears swell from your eyes.

“Oh my God, don’t cry,” someone says and seconds later engulfs you in a hug.

They were here. In the same room as you. Had they watched you perform? Were they invited, or did they coincidentally have an interview here as well? You sob into the jacket of whoever is holding you, your knees buckling beneath you as they hold you.

“Why are you crying?” None other than Nakamoto Yuta asks quietly, his hand placed gently on your head rubbing soothing circles.

You finally pull away and wipe underneath your eyes. When you look up at him you nearly choke again. He’s so beautiful. “I—how? I just—where did you? What the fuck?” You cry again and nearly melt into a pathetic puddle when he wipes the tears from your eyes.

“Should we leave?” Yuta laughs, his hands resting on your bare shoulders. “No!” You shout, too loudly. You look down in embarrassment. “Okay, good. I was beginning to wonder you actually didn’t like us,” he chuckles again, and this time you look at his face and nearly faint when you see his gorgeous smile you’ve spent hours gawking over.

“No, never. I’m just... confused? How—who? How did you guys get here?” You stutter, shaking under his gaze.

“Well, we were kind of notified that you two would be performing our songs and thought it would be pretty cool to surprise you,” a new voice appears. You feel like throwing up when Mark Lee comes into view.

“I don’t—I literally don’t know how to talk anymore. How is this happening?” You whisper to yourself, hoping they don’t hear you but by their chuckles they apparently do. “Sorry we surprised you to the point you practically shit yourself,” another someone laughs.

Lee Je No has joined your little circle now too, and you reach out to the table next to you to stand properly. “Sorry, give me a moment,” you chuckle, not because you find it funny, but because you’re so entirely wound up you think death is quite possible.

After a moment or so of you controlling your breath and the three awkwardly standing there, you finally lean up and look over them again. Calm down, idiot. They’re people. People that you have read smut about way too many times and have cried your heart out over. But still people.

“Hi, I’m ___,” you eventually opt for, reaching out to whoever. Yuta takes your hand first, then Jeno, and finally Mark. They introduce themselves as if it was totally normal. Mina!

“One second,” you quip, shuffling over to see Mina in her own little circle of Park Ji Sung, Kim Jungwoo, Kim Dong Young, and Lee Tae Yong.

She was with Taeyong!

You scan over the rest of NCT some who are in their conversations or awkwardly standing there. After all, it was eighteen meeting two. Your eyes don’t stay on one person for too long, just because your excitement is so overwhelming and you need to see everyone.

Wong Yukhei. There he was. Six feet tall in all his glory, rocking on his heels as he laughed loudly with Qian Kun. “Lucas is here,” you say suddenly and to no one in particular.

Your statement comes off more as a question and the trio laugh. “Well, he is part of NCT, is he not?” Mark asks with a grin. “Shush, she’s going through a midlife crisis over here. You heard her earlier,” Yuta retorts with an elbow to Mark’s side.

“Oh God, did he hear me say that he’s my bias?” You hiss, slapping yourself on the forehead. “Well, we were all watching, so I’d say so by the way he blushed about a hundred shades red,” Jeno says, giving your shoulder a squeeze. He blushed?

“C’mon, you should meet everyone,” Marks luckily saves the day and changes the subject. He reaches for your hand and you take it gently, looking down in hot embarrassment. You aren’t wearing your shirt! You’re mouth forms an ‘o’ as recognition hits you like a train and you let go of his hand to pick up the crumpled shirt on the floor.

Even after you pull the damp tank back on you still feel incredibly embarrassed for having been so exposed to the boys and can’t seem to shake it from your mind until you start meeting everyone.

It’s awkward at first, but they’re all incredibly sweet—sweeter than they are online—and you fit right in. After thirty minutes or so, you’re finally led to the last few members.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Lucas. What do I say? Act normal? Pretend he isn’t my lock screen or the reason I’ve been up until four in the morning on so many nights? You have yet another midlife crisis and opt to just smile at him.

But you can’t look away. The tall, beautiful, genuine, hilarious, pure, wonderful boy you never in a million years thought would be so close. You can barely breath when his eyes lock with yours and every working brain cell disintegrates.

His lips. They were even plusher and poutier in person and you wanted nothing more than to touch them. His dark hair fell messily over his forehead while a few blonde strands brushed his long eyelashes and you nearly cried at how soft and fluffy it looked. Defined eyebrows, darkdarkdark brown eyes, sharp jaw, and the soft slope of his nose were the only things you were focused on and yet you couldn’t find yourself to care despite the incredibly long staring contest the two of you were having.

“I was just telling everyone that you’re my mini-me,” Ten giggles and it finally brings you back to reality. You look away from Lucas to quirk an eyebrow at Ten’s statement. Just how long were you staring? Long enough to not know what they’re talking about, clearly. “You know,” he elbows you, “you dance my part in Baby Don’t Stop.”

“Oh,” you laugh, curling into him when his arm drapes over your shoulder, “I wouldn’t say I’m a mini you. Nowhere’s close.”

“You’re lying,” Lucas interjects and it takes everything in you to look at him again. “I think you dance it even better than Ten,” he teases and when he laughs something deep within the confines of your heart sparks—it’s a loud, hearty laugh that you swear on your life is the best sound you have ever heard. Your mouth falls open at his compliment and can’t help the hotness that rushes up your neck and onto your cheeks.

“Ouch,” Ten fakes to cry, finally removing his arm to place his hand over his heart. What were you to say? You simply could not form a coherent reply and instead stood there like an idiot, completely starstruck.

Eventually, conversations start to slow down and everyone is sitting, either on their phone or piling junk food onto plants and chowing down. You find yourself gravitating to the empty seat next to Mina and as soon as you sit down, she grins at you.

“What have we gotten ourselves into?” You laugh, toying with rips in your jeans. “I don’t know. All I do know is that I don’t ever want them to leave,” she sighs, and the realization hits you.

They were going to have to go eventually, and no matter how close they lived to you or not, the chances of ever being able to see them were incredibly low. It was like a dagger to the heart, twisting and digging into you as the disappointment settled in. “At least we got to meet them,” you whisper, trying to be optimistic.

“I know, but now that I’ve had a taste, I want the full platter,” she mumbles and you feel like smacking her for having to sound so wise.

Before you can reply, Chenle appears next to Mina and leans on his elbows, wisps of blonde hair falling into his eyes. “Hey, so, would you guys want to come back to the dorms with us? We’re doing a vLive and thought it would be cool to have you guys in it. It’ll be a truth or dare kind of thing with all of us. You guys should come.”

You gape up at him. Go back to the dorms with them? “Could we take a shower?” Mina asks.

“Yeah, of course. vLive can wait,” he laughs, the high pitch of it makes you laugh as well. Mina looks at you, silently pleading to agree.

“I’ll have to ask my mom.”

It took a lot of pleading and begging and fake crying for both you and Mina’s parents to finally agree. After a whole lecture about boys only wanting to get into girls’ pants, arguing that they aren't like that, and making you promise to never leave each other’s sides, you were finally at the dorms.

After Jaehyun guided you both to the bathrooms, you finally got the shower you desperately needed. After shampoo and conditioner, you scrubbed the layer of dried sweat off your skin and simply stood under the warmth of the water. Your muscles were so damn sore, and you were so incredibly exhausted that you feared you would be knocked out and miss out on the fun.

When someone knocked on the door and teased you about taking forever, you started to feel bad and eventually turned the water off. You dried, brushed your damp hair, and swapped your towel for leggings and a black t-shirt that stopped mid-thigh all under fifteen minutes before finally exiting the bathroom.

You hear laughter coming from down the hall and aimlessly follow in that direction, hoping to find your newfound... friends and not walk into some important meeting. Although, who would be meeting at seven o'clock at night?

“___, we got pizza!” Johnny calls from across the room, being the first to notice your entrance. Wow. The dance practice room is even bigger in person? Your fingers trace the mirrors on every wall as you make your way over, completely entranced with the large room.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Win Win asks, clearly catching onto your awe. “Yeah, I can’t believe how... how big it is,” you gape, spinning on your heels to take it all in again. Imagine how awesome it would be to have all this space!

“That’s what she said,” someone comments, and you look over to see Jaehyun smirking and can't help but laugh at his stupid line. “How original,” you snort while the rest of the boys roar in laughter.

“How did you manage to finish before me?”

You’re surprised when Mina appears by your side but also relieved that she’s finally here. “’Dunno, a lot of weird things have happened today.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Are you guys going to eat or did we order four boxes for nothing?” Taeyong asks and you roll your eyes while Mina mumbles something along the lines of ‘so damn aggressive’ in your ear.

You skip over to the table and grab at a slice while discerning where to sit. Were you to just sit anywhere randomly? By yourself? With someone in particular? This is awkward. Jaemin must have read your mind since he calls you over and pats the open spot on the windowsill next to him.

“Thanks,” you smile, pulling your legs up and sitting crisscross. “So,” he starts, and you glance up at him.

Damn.

Jaemin always had a special place in your heart, so having him right here in front of you made concentrating on one part of his face rather difficult. “So.”

“I thought you and Mina’s whole story was really cool. Since it started as a joke and such,” he says, casually leaning back against the window. “Aw, thank you! As much as it would be super cool to be able to tell people dancing has been our passion our whole life, that’s just not the case. We just lucked out, I guess.”

“Heck yeah, you did. I mean, look at you! It’s a shame you don't sing too—you’d really be a knock-out,” he compliments rather smoothly, crisscrossing his own legs so that your knees were now touching. You couldn’t tell if he was flirting or not, not that you minded, but quickly brushed it off.

“Nana, are you flirting with a girl older than you?”

You look up and nearly shit yourself when Lucas leans against the wall next to you, his muscular thighs just barely pressing gently against your bent knee. “That’s exactly what I’m doing,” Jaemin replies, clearly not fazed by Lucas’ sudden bossy front.

“Anyway, I’m off. Catch me later, yeah?” Jaemin beams, playfully bumping into your shoulder before hopping off the sill and walking away. Leaving you by yourself. With Yukhei.

“Hello,” he greets, his voice deep and his grin wide, making his big eyes scrunch up in delight. “Hi,” you squeak, voice quiet and rather pathetic. “I’m starting to think you don’t like me, ___, and I’m really hurt,” he sighs from his position still next to the wall. Very intimidating for such a soft boy. You take a deep breath. Act normal.

You scoff. “Ah, yes, Yukhei, I’m sorry to break it to you, but I don’t like you.”

“You know you can call me Lucas.”

“I’m aware,” you laugh, suddenly hyper-aware of the sudden lack of space when he leans even closer. “Then why do you call me Yukhei?”

You swallow the thump in your throat and force yourself to look at the boy you have once claimed your undying love for. “’Dunno. I’ll start calling you Lucas if you really want me to.”

“No! No—I didn’t mean it like that. I just—never mind.” Bingo. Finally broke his little facade. “Gosh, Yukhei, you shouldn’t be flirting with a younger girl,” you use his words to Jaemin somewhat against him, and the sudden confidence has you grinning up at him. His mouth hangs open a bit.

Before he replies, Taeyong claps and everyone’s attention is on him. “We’re starting the vLive so if everyone could somehow come over here that would be fantastic.”

You shift off the windowsill after popping the last piece of pizza in your mouth and look up at Lucas, who’s still looking at you with his jaw slack. “Sorry, I’ll go back to being nervous around you,” you tease before bouncing back over to the two sofas.

Despite everyone’s pleas for you and Mina to sit on the couch, you opt for the floor and sit next to Jaehyun who greets you with a heartwarming smile. “Have you ever done a vLive before?” He asks once you’re comfortably settled next to him.

“Oh yeah, we’ve done a few. It’s kind of hard when you’re still a senior and have a shit ton of homework. Plus trying to learn new choreography takes a lot of free time,” you laugh. “I mean, you would know,” you add, hoping to not sound cocky.

“I feel that,” he smiles, moving his arm from between you to rest around your shoulders. You can’t help but smile at it.

“And... we’re on!” Jungwoo cheers, finally moving away from the phone set up on a tripod a few feet away. Everyone cheers and waves so you awkwardly join in, hoping to somewhat seem as if you aren’t freaking out internally.

Taeil, Mark, and Renjun go back and forth asking everyone watching to drop questions along with ‘good dares because we’re not pussies in this bitch,’ as Haechan whispered from behind you. It doesn’t take long for the comments to start flooding in, and you watch from Mina’s phone that a lot of them are mainly asking who you and she are.

“Guys, this is Kim Mina,” Taeyong finally announces, patting her head from his spot on the floor next to her.

“And this is my best friend ___ ___!” Jaehyun shouts, pulling you into his chest. “Woo!” You cheer, your heart ready to burst at his outburst of affection. “If you guys didn’t catch their performance today, definitely check out their YouTube channel. Super talented gals,” Taeyong finishes.

“Except they don’t sing!” Jaemin shouts and you glance back to give him a playful glare.

“Actually, I heard ___ singing my part in Baby Don’t Stop today,” Ten interjects and you want to die. The boys break into a chorus of ‘oooh’s, turning their attention to him. “She’s pretty good, not gonna lie. Not as good as me, of course,” he giggles.

You laugh, more thankful that you apparently don’t sound like a toad from Hell itself when you absentmindedly sing along during performances.

“I found a question!” Yuta hoots. “Mina and ___, are you dating anybody?”

You glance at Mina and break into a fit of laughter. “If we were dating anybody we definitely would not be here right now. Plus no one in our school wants to date us, we’re losers. So no, we’re not dating anyone,” Mina laughs.

“Way to lighten the mood,” Chenle cackles like a dolphin somewhere behind you.

“Oh, I got a dare. Jungwoo, you have been dared to slap Doyoung’s booty,” Jaehyun calls from next to you. Ah, yes. You’d finally get to see Dowoo in action.

After a few moments the two get up and stand right in front of you, and Jungwoo gives the most aggressive slap he could have done that has the whole room roaring in laughter while Doyoung basically cries.

“Mina, someone asked you to marry them, what do you say?” Ten shouts. “Sure! I’ll marry you!” The pretty girl next to you says to the phone, adding a charming wink that has them laughing again.

“Wow, I feel left out on this one. But someone asked that Mina, ___, and everyone from the Firetruck music video perform the first minute of the choreo,” Jeno reads and your eyes nearly bug out of your head. More dancing? “I don't think my legs can take any more moving,” Mina sighs.

“I’m with you on that one.”

“Do you know this?” Mark asks, walking with you to push the tripod back so everyone could fit within the frame.

“Yeah, might be a little dusty though,” you laugh. “That’s okay, so are we,” Yuta reassures before getting into his position. The song begins and luckily it only takes you a few moments for it to come back to you, but the song is paused after at the minute mark even before you can really get into it or break a sweat.

“That was fun,” you comment, sitting back down next to Mina and Jaehyun. His arm goes back around your shoulders and you’re left thinking way too far into it, your heart beating wildly at the older boy’s sudden attachment.

“Truth for Mina again: how are you so gorgeous?” Chenle reads and you watch as her face turns a deep shade of red that has you all cooing at her. “I’m not. But thank you,” she rushes and you smack the back of her head.

“I got a dare! Ha. Jisung, you have to eat a raw egg,” Jungwoo giggles and everyone cries ‘eww’ in unison. “I hate you all,” he grumbles, getting up and jogging out of the room. Moments later the blue-headed boy returns, glass in hand.

“You’re all going to burn in Hell for this,” he says before bringing the glass to his lips and chugging the egg down like a shot.

“Ehhhhhhh, ew, oh gosh, ewww,” he whines second later, his tongue wiggling out of his mouth and his face contorting into a disgusted grimace.

“Dare for ___ and Mina! You guys have to do splits,” Johnny reads, glancing up from his phone to wiggle his eyebrows at you.

“I can’t do a split,” you grumble, stumbling up to your feet. You move away a little and suddenly feel incredibly self-conscious when Mina goes down once and gets it perfectly. Your mouth hangs open. “Yeah, I don’t do that.”

“Try!” Someone hoots and you opt for a straddle since you almost have that during Cherry Bomb. You start to spread your legs, going lower and lower until the muscles in your thighs are screaming. “You got it!” Mina cheers you on, “helping” you by pushing your back lightly.

Instead, you lose your balance and stumble over, groaning when your chin hits the hard floor. “Thanks, stupidhead,” you mumble, your face red in embarrassment because you just face planted in front of NCT and their fan base.

You stand back up and brush yourself off with a smile, trying to seem unbothered, especially when Jaehyun shoots you a sympathetic smile from the floor. You make your way to the table and pour yourself a cup of soda despite the fact that Lucas was right there, ignoring him altogether to avoid another awkward encounter.

But, unfortunately yet somewhat, fortunately, he has a different idea. Before you can manage to walk away, his large hands reach out, attach to your waist, and pull you down until your sitting rigidly on his lap, perfectly set within the space of his chest and the arm of the sofa.

You attempt to not think too far into it, reminding yourself of all the times members randomly pull one another into each other’s laps. But this was Lucas, pulling you onto his lap. Your heart is beating sporadically now, all the blood rushing to your head and goosebumps rising along your skin.

He clearly notices it, too, since his one hand still on your waist squeezes while the fingers on his other trace the bumps on your forearm. You twist your head to look at him. “What are you doing?” You hiss after it finally hits you—people were watching.

“Am I still you’re favorite?” He grins, obviously mocking the question posed by Yuta. “Not right now you aren’t,” you retort, eyes wide when he laughs loud and incredibly obnoxious. Now everyone was really looking.

“Sorry! ___ is just super funny!” He laughs again and your eyes go wide as everyone takes in the scene before them. After they all get over it and go back to the vLive, you look at him again.

“Are you on drugs? What’s up with you? You’re even crazier in person,” you whisper, your voice clearly shrinking when his hands go back to wrap snugly across your stomach. “Not crazy.” Is all he says.

“What, then? Are you suddenly super clingy or something? Or just drunk out of your mind?” You keep egging him on—you need to know what’s going through his damn head. “First Jaemin, then Jaehyun, and then everyone’s whispering about you,” he replies, his voice deep and raspy in your ear.

“Excuse me?”

“Gotta make sure I’m still you’re favorite,” he whispers, smiling innocently against your shoulder. Your mouth falls agape. What the fuck was going on? Since when? How? When did this all happen?

As the vLive dragged on, there wasn’t many dares or questions posed anymore, and everyone was just joking around and talking. At times when both you and Lucas were laughing, you thought you could make an escape but his long fingers became an iron grip on your ribs if you even tried moving. And he was acting so normal; still cracking jokes and making faces and acting like an idiot as if you weren’t even there.

So, you eventually give up and decide you might as well get comfortable, moving around so his hip bone wasn’t uncomfortably digging into you or that you weren’t awkwardly just plopped on his lap. After all, it’s not like your making out with him or doing anything bad. Sitting on laps was a fairly normal thing, right?

And oh God, did he smell like heaven. It was as if sandalwood and peppermint were clouding your brain, and every time you glanced up you got a little peek at his gentle features you had found yourself so in love with when he first debuted. How did you find yourself so close to someone that nearly fills up half of your camera roll?

“Anyway, guys, I think we’re gonna log out for tonight.”

You turn your attention back to the original reason you were even here, heart thumping against your chest and whole body on fire. You cannot concentrate with Yukhei’s body heat warming you head to toe and his breathing against your neck or his occasional laugh, let alone his long fingers spread across the dips of your waist and his thighs beneath your own. You blink until you refocus, quickly realizing everyone was waving and shouting goodbye. With an apprehensive and rather awkward wave, you watch in relief as Taeyong finally ends the live.

You hold your breath—what now? As soon as his grip loosens you’re up, moving a few feet away to stretch and simply breath. Lucas follows after a few seconds, raising his long arms over his head and stretching them with a yawn.

“That was fun,” he says with a smile plastered on his face. You glare at him, not entirely too sure what to say. What was there to even say? ‘Hey man, what the fuck was that?’ or were you to just act normal about it? And what were the NCTzens going to say or do, and how many questions were going to be asked? Hopefully, people wouldn't delve that far into it.

“You guys should always come over when we go live,” he says, rocking on his heels. Oh, was this what we were going to do? Act normal? “I don’t think your fans would like that very much,” you laugh awkwardly.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“I mean, or we could always use more members for NCT. Make it twenty,” he jokes and you truly laugh this time. “Yeah, no. I’m holding out until NCT Antarctica.”

“That would be exciting, you could impress everyone with your almost-there-but-not-really split,” he teases, laughing loudly again. There you go being embarrassed again, face burning red. “Shut up.”

“I’m kidding, I certainly can’t do that,” he says. “Gee, that makes me feel better,” you scoff playfully, rolling your eyes. He gasps. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Hey, I hate to say this, but are you ready to go? I’m so knocked.”

Before you can reply Mina is next to you, pressing her body weight onto your side. “Uh, yeah, I’m ready if you are,” you smile to her sympathetically. “Thank the heavens, I could sleep for a year.”

“Mina and ___ are leaving, guys!” Lucas suddenly shouts and everyone breaks into a chorus of ‘aww’s. Ignoring the painfully obvious disappointment, you and Mina say goodbye to each member, offering a hug and quick exchange of appreciative pleasantries.

“What’s your numbers? We’re adding you to a group chat,” Ten says after releasing you from a hug. “What?”

He beams at you and you stutter your number out, Mina doing the same, and watch in complete astonishment as Ten types them into his phone. “Thanks,” he grins again, bringing you into another quick hug. He and Lucas walk the two of you to the door, and when Lucas wraps his arms around your waist after hugging Mina you feel as if you’re literally flying—physically and emotionally—as he lifts your feet up off the ground.

“Bye, ___,” he mumbles after setting you back down. “’Night, Yukhei.”

“Am I still your favorite?”

“Yeah, don’t you worry.”

Forty-eight hours later when you’re in the middle of studying AP Chemistry vocabulary, you receive a text from a number not saved. When you swipe it open, it’s a group chat full of exactly twenty people, and the only name in there is Mina.

Seventy-two hours later you have plans for Saturday night.

Forty-four hours later, you are sitting on the same sofas from last week, watching NCT U practice Boss while the backup dancers give you and Mina the rundown.

You’re nervous. You’ve done this choreography before, basically have it memorized like the back road you take on the way home, but you never did it as a group. The version with just two people was significantly different; plus having to do it with NCT? You would’ve never dreamt of this in a million—trillion—years.

You spent way too much time watching the dance practice on their channel and practicing it with Mina. Both Jaehyun and Win Win were feeling ill, and although the live could have just been pushed back, Taeyong insisted the two of you came and joined in for ‘shits and giggles,’ as Mark texted.

Thankfully it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing and it wouldn't be uploaded anywhere. But it would be live, which meant absolutely zero mistakes.

Mina squeezes your hand when the two of you finally move to the boys and get in your respective positions, the live already started a few minutes ago. “You ready?” Lucas turns around from in front of you, offering a reassuring smile. You nod quickly, swallowing the lump in the back of your throat and focusing on the positives.

Hey, maybe this would help your future career. Being with NCT for the second time may shine some light on you and Mina and could possibly give you major popularity. Nothing but good could come out of this, you tell yourself.

The song starts and your mind completely goes into business mode, your brain remembering twists and turns correctly until you’re following each part spotlessly, especially Jaehyun’s solo part, no matter how awkward it is looking into the phone all to yourself.

And you can’t help but feel as if your pushing yourself harder simply because Lucas is there with you. Sure, you’re scared shitless of messing up, but knowing he might be watching most definitely gives you a push, even if you don't want to admit it.

But you mess up.

It’s minor—incredibly minuscule that no one besides you probably notices it. Your ankle twists in an awkward angle and a searing pain shoots up your Achilles tendon that has you breathless for a moment. You dance through it though, and the song ends before you even know it.

The only sound throughout the large room is the heavy breathing from everyone followed by a joyous cheer. “That was so fun, holy shit. Dancing with a group is so... so empowering,” Mina stammers with her hands on her hips, breath heavy. You simply nod in agreement, your mind too caught up in how much your foot burns. Fuck.

“Showers and pizza, yeah?” Doyoung asks, running a hand through his dampened hair. Everyone nods in silent agreement before splitting up in different directions in search of a free bathroom.

You wobble behind Mina and it doesn't take her long to realize something’s up.

“You're hurt,” she notes, watching the way you limp. “Yeah. It’s fine. I’ll be okay,” you mumble, shooting her a smile and ignoring the rise of her perfectly sculpted right eyebrow.

But it still hurts, even after your shower.

Simply trying to pull your cotton shorts up your leg is an ordeal and you’re left out of breath once you have them on. Instead of heading back to where everyone else is, you wander through the corridors for the kitchen and once you’re there, you open the freezer in search for an icepack.

“Whatcha looking for?” You practically jump out of your skin at Lucas’ sudden appearance, leaning on the counter. “An ice pack,” you grumble, shoving an ice-cream carton out of the way.

“Yo, yo, yo, no need to get aggressive with the Rocky Road, man. What do you need an icepack for?”

“Foot. Ankle. Tendon. That area,” you reply, lifting your foot and pointing to the now swollen area. “Foot-ankle-tendon, that’s new.”

“Shut up,” you laugh, lightly smacking his hand. “Sorry, sorry,” he laughs freely now, the loud, angelic sound filling the room. He scoots you out of the way and continues digging through the freezer until moments later, he comes up with a beloved icepack. You beam at him in appreciation.

“C’mon, follow me,” he says, linking his arm through yours and leading you down a different hallway. Once he opens the door and flicks the light switch on, you realize it’s his and Kun’s room and your mouth slightly falls open. “Sit.”

You do so quietly, watching from his bed as the tall boy rummages through a dresser and seconds later whips out an ace bandage. “I can do that, you know,” you laugh awkwardly, ogling at how his beautiful face scrunches up in concentration as he kneels down and begins to snugly wrap the whole area.

“You can also call me Lucas,” he retorts, pinning the bandage in place and kicking his door closed. Your heart beats faster now. “Oh my God, what’s wrong with calling you Yukhei? Unless you truly don’t like being called that,” you laugh as he plops down beside you and turns the television on. Your heart settles.

“No, I don’t mind. I’m just not used to people I’m not super close with calling me Yukhei,” he admits while flipping through channels. “Oh. I’m being honest, I’ll call you Lucas from now on if you want.”

“I’m teasing, you can call me anytime,” he looks over with a wink, but then his face falls, “wait.”

You genuinely laugh at him this time, watching as he frowns. “How did you forget the whole beginning to that pun?”

“I don’t know. Shut up,” he snickers, then tosses the remote down next to your leg with a huff. He quickly turns to you and you look expectedly at him. “Have you ever played Fortnite?”

You laugh again. “I’ve played mobile but never Xbox or PlayStation,” you admit, watching joyfully as his eyes light up. “Can I show you how to play? We can do duos. We have two TVs, Kun and I usually play together. I mean, only if you want, you don’t have to, but—”

“Yes, I’ll play!” You interrupt, your mouth truly hurting from laughing as the beautiful boy in front of you rambled on. “Really?” He beams.

“Really.”

“Oh my gosh, this is probably the best day ever. I’ve never been able to teach anyone how to play, it’s really so fun, well you said you’ve played before so you know, but still. I feel so bad for all the girlfriends in the world who don’t play and just get annoyed ‘cause they're really missing out, you know? I’m so happy you’re somewhat experienced though, that kind of makes this a little easier. But, ah! This will really be fun,” the tall boy goes on and on, and you simply listen with a smile on your face as he sets up the two screens.

“Oh, gosh, I’m sorry, I got super excited. I promise I’m not that weird,” he chuckles uncomfortably, looking at his feet while the Fortnite screen loads. “Pfft, don’t be sorry. And that wasn’t weird at all; super cute, actually,” you smile, surprising even yourself with your blunt honesty. The pink hue of his cheeks darken and your stomach leaps—you did that!

“Okay, this is just the lobby so I can show you some stuff before it actually starts,” Lucas says, sitting back on his bed and scooting to lay back against the wall. He passes you a PlayStation controller and cups your hands in his. “Okay, this is to move,” he demonstrates and you look up to your screen and back to his fingers.

He goes on and on from explaining the simple goal of the game to shooting, jumping, crouching, and so on, but in all honesty, all you can focus on is his soft hands on yours. Luckily once the game starts you sit in comfortable silence aside from random comments about finding a chest or ‘there’s a shield over here,’ until, alas, there are only twenty people left and you encounter another duo.

The two of you break into a chorus of shouts, warning each other and groaning when you mess up. Your aim isn’t horrific, but definitely not amazing, and you’re wasting ammo terribly. When you have to reload, the opponent shoots you dead and you drop your controller with an annoyed sigh. Seconds later, he dies as well.

“Sorry, that was my fault,” you grumble, wiping your now sweaty hands on your t-shirt. “Don’t worry, eighteenth place isn’t too shabby for your first duo,” he reassures you and sets his controller down.

“Are we going to play another?” You inquire and he raises a thick brow in response. “Do you want to?”

“Um, yeah!”

You play fourteen more rounds, ranging from fiftieth, seventeenth, sixth, and sometimes even fourth place. On your last round, however, Lucas dies and leaves you to battle the last duo.

With a clever jump while reloading, you’re able to quickly kill one player and when the last player hides behind a tree, you find the perfect angle and come in first place.

“Oh my God, we won! You won!” Lucas hoots, shaking you by your shoulders until you’re cheering with him. “Yes, yes, yes!” You shout, grinning ear to ear. “I’m so proud, now you can tell everyone I’m the best Fortnite tutor ever,” he brags, running his hand through his hair and you have to keep yourself from drooling.

You check your phone. 9:47 PM. You’ve been in here for two hours. “I think we’ve played enough for tonight,” he chuckles, turning one television off and switching the other to cable. Now what? Should I leave?

“Holy shit, Zootopia is on,” he suddenly gasps and you look over to see him wide-eyed. “I thought guys weren’t supposed to like stuff like this?”

“We’re not supposed to,” he shrugs, looking over at you with a wide grin, “but I can’t help myself.” You don’t reply and instead sink lower into the mattress, fixing the pillow behind your head in order to get comfier. You keep going back and forth from watching the movie and sneaking glances at Yukhei in his red sweatshirt, hood up and hiding most of his face. Regardless, you can still see strands of his soft hair falling into his eyes and the outline of his lips and begin to feel dizzy by something so incredibly simple but still so breathtaking.

Your eyes begin to grow heavy and burn from the brightness of the television compared to the darkness of the rest of his room and you force yourself to blink hard a few times to keep them from fluttering closed. Don't fall asleep now, he's so close. He was leaning his weight on you, slightly slumping on his side with his arm and thigh pressing against yours and you could feel him breathing.

You blink again, but you don’t open them right away this time just to give them a rest. A few minutes won’t hurt, right?

You quickly fall asleep to Nick Wilde telling Officer Judy Hopps that she needs to give him that pen.

Warmth.

That’s exactly what you wake up to—you can feel warm sunlight dancing on your bare arm and face as it shines shamelessly through the curtains, the white duvet tucked up to your neck engulfs you like a hug, and overall warmth surrounds you on this lovely morning.

Never getting up, you think to yourself, or maybe you even grumble it, you don’t know. You sigh softly and curl your arms and legs tighter around your body pillow, pressing your face against it and breathing in the familiar scent—

Wait.

You inhale deeply again. Sandalwood and peppermint.

Sandalwood and peppermint?

Your eyes are open in a millisecond, but you quickly squeeze them shut in fear of that what you think you saw isn't what’s actually there. You force yourself to peel an eye open again and nearly vomit at how breathtaking the view before you is.

“Yukhei,” you finally breath, barely audible, testing to see if he was up. He doesn’t budge or flinch or sigh—nothing. He stays asleep, his breath softly fanning over your chest from where he lies. The same soothing sunlight warming your skin makes his honey skin gold, and his eyelashes cast soft shadows across his cheekbones while his lips are just so pouty you aren't even thinking when your hand leaves his side to trace his Cupid’s bow.

If your phone was in reach you’d take a picture right then and there and selfishly keep it to yourself, something no one else could have because it’s your memory to keep. But you can’t seem to move. Instead, you stay still, memorizing every plane and curve of his face because you know nothing will ever be as ethereal as what you see right now.

One, five, ten minutes later, you have no idea nor do you care, you realize you should leave. This wasn't right, as much as you hated to admit it. Your heart was completely on the line here and you weren't prepared to be utterly heartbroken in the long run.

You start to shift, slowly, barely an inch at a time, further from the comforting warmth radiating off his body. You’re closer to the window now, and once you detach his remaining hand, you can easily lean up and make your escape.

You shakily reach for his long fingers spread across the small of your back and gently slide it off and lay it on his pillow.

Yukhei groans into his soft pillow and you freeze, hoping he’ll just turn away but no—both hands come back this time, reaching for your body. And once they find your waist you’re being pulled back even closer now.

He sighs against your collarbone and you start to melt. “Don't go. You’re so warm,” he breathes, turning his face so that his cheek lies flat on the center of your chest. “I think I should.”

“No, shut up,” he mumbles back, completely locking his muscular arms around your back.

You huff in defeat and rest your hands around his shoulders. He seems to already be back asleep, so you absentmindedly run your fingers through his hair you've been dying to touch and practically cry when he hums in response. So you continue to, gently scratching his scalp and untangling the ends until he's softly snoring against your collarbone once more.

Your heart genuinely aches—you can feel it in your chest, months and weeks and days and hours of adoration for the boy clinging to you swelling from inside and out and you cannot comprehend that you're even here with him. What did this mean? Friends who have only met twice and randomly texted throughout a single week did not share a bed, let alone spend the morning like this.

You sigh, mainly out of guilt but also sadness—you wanted to wake up like this every morning, stay up every day the way you had, fall asleep with him beside you every night. But would it happen? It was incredibly unlikely and you wanted to sob.

You huff again, pushing your thoughts into another corner of your brain and deciding to just relish in the moment now. You wiggle further down until finally, you’re face to face with perfection himself, his nose just barely brushing your own.

You close your eyes again, hoping maybe you’d fall back asleep and when you wake up again he wouldn’t be there anymore.

“I knew you wouldn’t leave.”

Your eyes are open in a flash, widening at his words and at the fact his own were staring at you intently. “Only because you asked. And you’re very comfy,” you admit, hoping he wouldn’t see right through you. “So I’ve been told.”

“Oh, yeah? By who?” You can't help but ask, not only were you curious but you genuinely wanted to hear his raspy morning voice again. “Oh, you know...” He trails off, and you’re not aware of his hands on your waist until they start tapping against your skin.

“Jungwoo?”

“Yeah, Jungwoo,” he breathes, nuzzling his face back into the crook of your neck and you can’t help but notice that he inhales deeply. “You alright?” You ask gingerly, placing your free hand back on his head and playing with an oddly darker strand of hair.

“Mhm,” he hums against your skin, “comfy. And you smell good.”

Your heart jumps over hurdles at his words and you’re so entirely grateful that he can't see the way your cheeks burn. You stare at the wall for the next few minutes in silence, your mind blank until he starts to breathe heavily and you can only assume he’s fallen asleep once more.

You must have fallen back asleep as well because when you open your eyes again the tall boy isn’t next to you, but sitting on the edge of the bed and prodding you awake. And by prodding, you mean attacking your sides and tickling you until your mind registers the dull pain.

“Stop, stop, stop!” You cry, leaning up and tearing his hands away. “I’m up, I’m up. Jesus,” you hiss, leaning against the wall and smoothing your hair.

He’s grinning so big you fear his face might break. “Sorry, you wouldn’t wake up so I had to do it the hard way,” he laughs.

“Did you try saying my name?”

“Yeah.”

“Poking me?”

“Yep.”

“Oh,” you sigh, “sorry. I guess I was really knocked.” He laughs. “Don’t worry about it. I would’ve let you just stay there all day but your phone was blowing up,” he explains, standing up and stretching. He’s already dressed, so when you check the time you aren't surprised to see that it’s noon.

Mina has texted you nineteen times. Some are from last night simply asking where you were, then calling you out for leaving her alone with Jeno, followed by texts from this morning calling you ‘such a thot and you know why’ and ending with something along the lines of ‘Taeyong isn’t my bias anymore;)’ and you’re laughing.

“What?” Lucas asks and you just show him, watching his expression grow until he’s laughing too. “I feel bad, I stole you from her,” he chuckles, running a hand through his hair. How were you supposed to reply to that? “That’s okay, she’s left me all by myself at parties plenty of times, this isn’t a big deal.” You notice the way his face falls but brush it off when he smiles softly and sits down beside you. “Good. How’s the foot feel?”

“Uh, better, I think. I haven’t walked it yet so I’m not sure.”

Goosebumps rise along your limbs the second he reaches for the white blanket and his knuckles brush your skin and you just pray he doesn’t notice. You watch silently as he unwraps the bandage and presses the skin around your ankle. “Well, it’s not nearly as swollen so that should be a good sign, right?”

“I suppose so,” you laugh, twisting your ankle in his gentle hold. Luckily there’s no major pain so you shimmy off the bed (as much as you don’t want to) and stand up, testing your weight as he watches on. “I think it’ll be okay.”

“Phew, thank Jesus,” he smiles, getting up as well and swinging the door open. “There’s still some leftovers from breakfast if you want some,” Lucas says as you walk down the corridor to the kitchen. Jisung and Haechan pass you on the way and when they wiggle their eyebrows, all you do is smile and look down at your feet.

“Breakfast sounds amazing.”

When you enter the kitchen only Mina and Jeno are in there, sitting on high top chairs at the counter. Mina sees you first and her eyes light up. “___! Look who decided to wake up!”

“Sorry,” you laugh, “I was super tired I suppose.”

“Mhm, I wonder why,” Jeno smirks and your mouth falls open. “NO!” You and Lucas shout at the same time and Mina and Jeno break into a fit of giggles. “We played Fortnite all night. And watched Zootopia,” you grumble, smiling appreciatively when Lucas passes you a plate.

“Is Fortnite a new code for f—”

Lucas glares at Jeno angrily and he quickly shuts up, turning to Mina with a grin. “When did that happen?” You scoff, pointing between them. If they were going to play like that, so would you.

“Well, when you two disappeared she was all alone so we hung out and even practiced Go,” Jeno retorts back. You roll your eyes in defeat and hold your plate out as Lucas spoons what’s left of scrambled eggs and toast on your plate. “Thank you,” you beam at him.

You eat in relative silence except for the occasional snicker when Lucas leans over to show you a meme on his phone. After helping to clean up, you and Mina finally deem that it’s time to leave and say goodbye to whoever is out and about in the dorms.

You find yourself wrapped in Lucas’ muscular arms once again and you can't help but feel at home in his warm embrace. Discreetly as possible, you scrunch his sweatshirt in your palms and breath in his alluring scent, praying, hoping that this won't be the last time you’ll ever be so close. “Text me, okay?” He mumbles in your hair.

“Yeah, sounds good,” you smile, finally pulling away from his hold.

And so you do. You’re lying in bed, fresh out of the shower on Tuesday night with all homework complete and Mina on FaceTime.

“Jesus Christ ___, just send it. You slept in the same bed for crying out loud,” she hisses and your face flushes at the recent memory. “Okay, okay. I’m sending it.”

9:53 PM - To Lucas: hey yukhei!!

“Oh gosh, I sent it,” you gasp, tossing your phone onto the floor and smacking your face. Mina looks at you with a raised eyebrow from the screen of your laptop. “I have to tell you something.”

Now, this makes you look up, completely forgetting about the text. “I hate that sentence,” you say, but luckily she doesn't seem too fazed. “No, it’s not bad. Well, kind of. I don’t know,” she sighs, worrying you, “remember when I texted you saying Taeyong isn’t my bias anymore?”

“I’m guessing you weren't just joking around?” You ask slowly.

“I wish. Well, when me and Jeno were hanging out all night I hadn't really realized until he was talking all philosophical to me just how cute he was. And once I did, I noticed how hardcore he was flirting,” she rambles, never looking directly at the camera, “so while you were sleeping in the same bed as Lucas I was, you know, flirting back, and we uh—we kissed. And then he apologized for rushing and I said that I was sorry too and, well, now we’re going on a date tomorrow!”

Your mouth falls open. Mina and Jeno? “I—wow. I don't know what to say,” you laugh, “that’s amazing!”

“You think so?” She’s beaming like a little girl on Christmas morning now. “Yes! While Taeyong is a god, he’s way too old for you while Jeno is our age. Plus, he’s a sweetie so I support.”

“Oh, gosh. He’s such an angel. He’s so adorable and so funny but if he thinks a joke is rude he always apologizes and God, he’s so sweet,” she goes on and you can't help but smile for her. Your phone dings from the floor and Mina stops to smirk at you. “That might be him!”

You squeal, leaning off your bed and picking up your phone.

9:57 PM - To You: Hello ___ !!!

“Oh my God, he replied,” you squeak excitedly, bouncing excitedly. “Yes!” Mina shouts and you can’t help but laugh. “Ask him how he is.”

9:58 PM - To Lucas: how are youuuu

“So yeah, I guess we’re going to have to double date now,” she giggles and if she was next to you, you would have smacked her. “I don’t want to mess this up, you know? It’s still so unreal to me,” you sigh.

“I mean, you’re already pretty good friends with him and you had a major snuggle session, plus I think you’re both whipped and should just marry now,” Mina says and you laugh at her honesty. “Ah, yes. Marriage is always the answer.

10:01 PM - To You: Im doing better now, how are u?:))

You can’t help but squeal again. “Anyway, I’m going to go. I still have to do these god-forsaken note cards,” she sighs, waving her blank cards dramatically, “have fun talking to your boyfriend. Text me if anything juicy happens.”

“Okay, I will. Goodnight sweaty, love you.”

“Love you too shithead,” she giggles before hanging up and you close your laptop to finally head to bed. Or, lie in bed while on your phone.

10:03 PM - To Lucas: im swell. school SUX tho

10:03 PM - To You: Aww I’m sorry, is something wrong?

10:04 PM - To Lucas: no, i just want to be out of there and live my life u kno?

10:04 PM- To You: Yeah, I understand:(

10:04 PM - To You: I have a question

10:05 PM - To Lucas: sure

10:05 PM - To You: Is my bed comfier than urs

The butterflies in your stomach are becoming painful now, stirring such emotions within you that you feel as if you might just explode. You’re grinning like an idiot, too, typing back quickly just so the conversation doesn’t die.

10:06 PM - To Lucas: it depends. theres a few factors that could change my answer

10:06 PM - To You: Such as?

10:06 PM - To Lucas: whether you would be there or not

You have to bite your lip to hold back another squeal of excitement. Where did this confidence come from and how did you just say that? You can’t believe you actually texted it and hope it’s as smooth as it sounded in your head. You could only pray he would flirt back.

10:07 PM - To You: Idk how to reply back smoothly but I hope u know Im smiling like a dork rn and Kun is making fun of me

10:07 PM - To You: How do you do that???

10:08 PM - To Lucas: <33

10:08 PM - To Lucas: do what?

10:09 PM - To You: Everything you say or do makes me smile. And idk why like even when u told me to shut up I couldn't stop grinning. Or when you pretend to be disinterested and lie so I can't see how u actually feel. It makes me smile and I feel weird when Im around u

You can't breathe at his text. Your head is spinning and you have to read it three times to actually comprehend that Wong Yukhei sent that to you.

10:10 PM - To Lucas: i could say the same ab you. you make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside

10:10 PM - To Lucas: gosh, was that too much? sorry

10:11 PM - To Lucas: sorry for always being a mess around u. u still make me nervous

10:11 PM - To You: Yeah. Me too

10:11 PM - To Lucas: really?? u hide it really well

10:12 PM - To You: Yeah man. U make me really anxious. In a good way. I know you won't but I always get scared you'll think im a weirdo

10:12 PM - To Lucas: i could never

10:13 PM - To You: I don't know how to end this conversation now Im too happy but Im super tired and I have practice tmrw

10:13 PM - To Lucas: hm. well. how bout one of us says goodnight and then the other says it back ?

10:14 PM - To You: Clever

10:14 PM - To You: Goodnight ___💗💗

10:14 PM - To Lucas: gnight lucas❤️

You don't fall asleep for another half an hour, your mind buzzing with excitement and affection for the boy who still is your lock screen.

Saturday evening Ten calls you. “___!” He shouts, nearly deafening you.

“Hello!” You shout back.

“I know it’s last minute but I have an invitation for you and Mina,” he’s still talking excessively loud but you find yourself not minding but just grinning at his clear excitement. “Ooh, an invitation for what?”

“If I’m being honest, an invitation for a terrible hangover and quite possibly things you’ll regret. But no, seriously, a friend of Johnny’s friend is having a big ol’ party in his disgustingly large frat house for the end of the semester and it’s open invite. So,” Ten explains, “some of us are going and thought, ‘Hey! Let’s invite our bestest pals Mina and ___!’”

A frat house? A party in a frat house? This would be a precursor to every party ahead of you if you do in fact go to college.

“We’ll be there.”

You should have mentally prepared yourself for this kind of party. You aren’t a very big high school party-goer to begin with, so when you entered the large house with Mina at your side you couldn't get over the sheer magnitude of it all.

Everything was extra—from the extravagant chandeliers and metal railing along the marble stairs to the large rooms seemingly bigger than your own home, to the swarm of sweaty students bouncing to the incredibly loud music, and even to the amount of liquor on counters and tables and the intense smell of hormones.

It was quite suffocating at first and you found yourself clinging to Mina, the extrovert between the two of you, and followed her around like a puppy. Eventually, you warm up after two drinks she passes to you, starting to feel more relaxed in Mina’s navy bodycon dress she forced upon you.

“I think I see Jaehyun!” She shouts in your ear even though you can hear completely fine. You watch against the counter as she jumps up and down like an idiot, waving her arm to catch his attention.

You’re even more surprised when it works. You can tell the gears are short-circuiting in his brain until recognition finally lights up his features and he smiles brightly. He turns for a moment, but then looks back and waves you over.

“Oh, sweet Jesus,” you sigh, downing your fourth shot in a weak attempt to wash all your insecurities away. You slowly follow behind Mina, hopping along to take your heels off so you don't end up embarrassing yourself.

“I didn’t know you guys were here yet!” Is the first thing you hear and it’s Yuta, standing up and grinning beautifully before enveloping you in a hug.

“Surprise?” You draw out once he pulls away.

“C’mon, everyone’s downstairs,” he continues, intertwining his fingers with yours and leading you through the crowd. “Who’s everyone?” You ask on your descent down the steps. “Ugh, well. Me, of course. Taeil, Johnny, Tae, uh...” he trails off, “everyone but Dream members.”

You want to ask if Lucas was there, of course, but you also don’t want to seem clingy and instead kept your mouth shut. After all, you had been texting quite a lot and he never mentioned if he was going tonight. Poor Mina, you think, Jeno won’t be here and their date went well.

“God, he’s already staring and we just got down here,” Yuta mutters, and it takes you way too long to process what he means. “Who?”

“Yukhei. He hasn't stopped talking about you since last week, and now you’re here when he’s been drinking? You’re in for a ride,” Yuta explains as you near the group, but you already feel the anxiety blooming inside your gut. “What does that mean? What do I do?” You hiss, walking slower now.

“I dunno. That’s something you gotta figure out,” he says with a shrug, tapping your forehead with his free hand. You swallow the lump in your throat and just nod, your head suddenly throbbing and you’re not sure if it’s from the soju or what Yuta just told you. Or the fact that Yukhei looks like a whole meal and he’s staring at you just the same way.

Your stomach flips as he scans you head to toe and back again, from your bare legs, up to where the navy lace stops at the expanse of your thighs, to the way the dark material hugs deliciously at your waist and dips sinfully to reveal cleavage that could give a nun a heart attack.

And you can't take your eyes off him. Why did he always have to look so... so good? He could wear a trash bag and still look like a model.

He’s in regular denim skinny jeans that, although he’s sitting, show off his thick thighs and leave absolutely nothing to the imagination. The white, long sleeve tee he’s wearing has a low collar and you can see his collarbones and the way his Adam’s apple bobs. His fluffy hair is messily parted down the middle to show off his forehead and his eyes are so dark you feel as if you suddenly can't breathe oxygen and can only survive off him.

You don’t know how long you’re staring at him until Mina accidentally bumps into you on her way to sit down on the carpet, shaking you from your thoughts. “You good?” You ask each other at the same time. She laughs obnoxiously, the alcohol in her system already in effect.

“I’m good, but are you good?” She asks knowingly, twitching her head in the direction you were just entranced by. “Yeah, just peachy.”

You don't know if you really are good, but what you do know is that that was the hottest checking out experience you had ever shared and can't shake the feeling of excitement setting fire to your nerves.

“C’mon, sit. I’ll get you a drink?” Yuta speaks up again, finally letting go of your hand and moving it to your back to walk you over to an open spot on the couch. “Um, yeah. Sure,” you smile, trying to brush away the feeling that Lucas is still staring, “thank you.”

He only beams back in return before he’s off, and you’re left sitting between Taeil and Kun. “How’s the party so far?” Taeil shouts from beside you and you’re fairly surprised that he initiates small talk, considering you haven’t spoken with him much. “I don’t know, to be honest,” you answer, realizing your throat is going to be dead by the end of the night with how you have to shout, “I’ve only been here like, fifteen minutes. And I’ve never been to a place so big!”

“Really?” He asks, clearly surprised.

“Yeah, not really a party person. High school parties are always in smelly basements and all there is is cringey rounds of truth or dare, spin the bottle, or seven minutes of heaven.”

“Still happens in grown-up parties, sorry to tell you,” he laughs, pausing to take a sip of whatever’s in his cup, “it’s okay though, it’s always fun no matter what we do.”

“I can tell. Except I feel like I’m going to go deaf,” you exaggerate, spinning to look at the monstrous speaker on the wall. “At least they play good music,” Taeil replies and you shrug, “I guess. It’s probably better when your dancing, though,” you say, turning back to him.

Yuta returns moments after that, holding out a cup and you take it and smile appreciatively. When you take a sip, you practically choke on how strong it is but swallow it anyway with a grimace. Once the burn goes away you take another sip and deem it’s not as bad as you initially thought.

“Jesus, slow down before you give him a heart attack,” Kun hisses in your ear, and you glance at him with widened eyes. “Who? And what about me? What if I have a heart attack?” You joke.

“I swear you’re clueless, but I’m hoping that it’s just alcohol shutting down your brain,” he sighs in defeat, “Lucas, of course. He looks away for one second and then when he turns back you’re doing something that surprises him.”

You roll your eyes. “What, am I not allowed to drink?”

“Well, you are underage. But no, seriously. I can tell he thinks it’s hot. Plus, I can practically smell his jealousness from here,” Kun replies, side glancing for barely a second before looking back at you. “You should have seen him when you walked down holding Yuta’s hand.”

You swallow, suddenly feeling guilty.

“Don’t worry about it, he’s not one to stay pissed. He’s obsessed with you already,” Kun smiles, but hides it by taking a sip from his cup, “but hey, next time you sleepover, warn me? Please? I walked into our bedroom the other night and nearly shit myself when I saw you wrapped around him.”

“Sorry, I probably would’ve shit myself too,” you giggle and when something moves out of the corner of your eye, you frown to see Lucas walking away. “He’s getting away,” Kun sings and you look back to him in a panic. “If I follow him I don’t know what could happen,” you sigh honestly.

Of course, you want to go after him just to talk to him privately, but Lord knows what could happen when you have liquor in your system.

“Bullshit! Don’t let that stop you,” Kun smiles, slipping his hands to your back and shoving you to your feet. You sigh, finally standing up and chugging the rest of your drink. “Do I look alright?”

“You look stunning, stop worrying. He went upstairs, probably to piss. Go get ‘em, tiger,” he replies, and you smile and lean back down to squeeze him in a hug. “Thank you,” you whisper, and then you’re off.

You don’t know if it’s the sudden buzz in your brain or not, but going up two flights of stairs leaves you way too winded and dizzy then it normally does. You lean against the wall to catch some air while scanning over the crowd from a higher view. C’mon, where are you?

“___?”

You practically jump out of your skin when he says your name and slides his hands around your waist, tugging you around to face him. “Ha. Hi Yukhei. I was just looking for you,” you gulp, suddenly losing brain cells with him being so close again.

“You were?”

“Yeah, I thought we could, um, catch up. Or something,” you chuckle awkwardly, mentally slapping yourself for being so nervous again.

“Actually, I have something to tell you,” he suddenly says, standing taller and you feel so small when he does that. “You do?” You squeak, afraid it would be something terribly disappointing or terribly heartwarming.

“Yeah, c’mon,” he says, reaching for your hand and guiding you to an open door. Luckily it’s not a spare bedroom but just the bathroom and you can’t help but sigh in relief once he’s locked the door and flicked the light switch up.

“So, we recently had a meeting with our managers and stuff,” he starts, and you can’t help the quiet ‘oh’ that slips from your lips. That was not what you thought he would be talking about.

“What?” He stops, a look of worry crossing his face.

“Oh, oh. It’s nothing. I was just, ugh,” you pause, racking your brain to say the right thing, “expecting you to say something else.”

“I’ll get there in a bit, don’t worry,” he smiles softly, bumping into you until you’re pressed against the sink and straining to look directly up at him now, “just listen to this first, yeah?”

You nod quickly, your throat completely dry and brain on fire with his body so flush against your own. “Anyway, we were talking about backup dancers, for the most part. And it occurred to me that we don’t have any female backup dancers. So I asked why and they kind of just... ‘I don’t know’ed it, you know?” He explains, and you genuinely have zero clue where this is going. You nod anyway.

“So Taeyong asked what they thought about hiring some female backup dancers. Like, long-term jobs, not just a one-song-and-done. And they kind of did a little manager huddle and said why not and to let them know of anyone we know so they can do auditions and stuff,” he goes on, and by now you can’t think straight. He hasn’t said it yet, but what if?

“We all thought the same thing, but I said it first and, so, I told them about these two girls I know and how talented they are and how, well, sweet and smart and genuinely amazing they are. And pretty, but that’s beside the point. So I showed them some videos and stuff. Anyway, that’s not important,” he pauses to lick his plump lips, looking at you directly now, “and so they said that if you and Mina came in and auditioned it would be a delight to have you on the team. If you want, of course.”

You don’t know what to say, do, or think. You’re hyper-aware of his large hands cupping your face, index fingers rubbing soft circles beneath your ears but also still have the weight of what he just said sinking into your brain. You don’t know whether it’s the alcohol or simply shock but no words come out, your lips staying parted in complete and utter surprise at such a bombshell.

“I don't—I can’t,” you stammer, shaking hands gripping his shirt to steady yourself, “thank you. Fuck. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Holy shit. Oh my God. I don’t know what to say, holy fucking shit.”

You’re breathless, slumped against the granite and nearly pulling the lanky boy down with you. “I have more to say,” he says, quieter this time. You gulp, eyes searching his face. Still, you can’t comprehend anything besides you and Mina may have just fallen into one of the best opportunities of your life.

“Okay,” he sighs softly, his large hands still cradling your face. “My first thought last weekend when I woke up with you beside me was ‘Fuck, what did I just get myself into?’ but when you said something about never getting up and whispered my name in that scared little voice I nearly lost it,” he goes on, eventually looking away from your face and fiddling with the lace material on the neckline of your dress. He suddenly looked incredibly innocent and you wanted nothing more than to hold him once more.

“And then you didn’t leave, even though I know you wanted to. But it suddenly felt so right, you know? Like everything that had happened that night ended with such a perfect morning,” he sighs, glancing up for a second to check how you were taking it all so far. When you offer him a warm smile, heart beating wildly against your chest, he returns it with pink blush adorning his cheeks.

“I thought you felt it too, but then later when I woke you up you had said it wasn’t a big deal, and I was so sad because I thought it was. I mean, how often do you play fifteen rounds of Fortnite, share the same bed, and wake up cuddling with someone you don’t have feelings for? And then I got even more confused when you texted me during the week, and fuck, everything you said had me smiling at my phone and Kun was making fun of me,” Lucas goes on, never stopping to breath until now.

“So, my question is, what are you thinking? Because I know I was your bias, or whatever the heck you guys call it before we met, and you still act nervous around me. And those texts and even this is not something just friends do. And you look so damn kissable right now, and while I want nothing more than to kiss you, I won’t in case that’s not what you want,” he finishes, his voice noticeably lowering as he tentatively leaned closer, his face and nose and lips only mere centimeters away.

You swallow once more, finally letting the reality of his words hit you. You swipe your tongue over your lips once, just in case, and he glances down just in time to catch it.

And that’s it.

He quickly surges forward, and the cord holding you together suddenly snaps when his lips are finally on yours. It’s like a breath of fresh air on the first day of spring, filling you to the brim with new life and you can't get enough. You both are doing nothing but everything at the same time, hands not knowing where to go but stinging skin in their wake. His lips make it impeccably wet and messy, teeth and tongue, but you don’t care, and your hands finally find the collar of his shirt and yank him to come closer, allowing his tongue to finally swirl with yours and you feel as if you’re drowning in him and the way he tastes and feels. It’s like sunlight in the morning, washing over your skin until it’s warmed all the way to your very being.

After what feels like an eternity you pull away, your head swimming with the fact he just kissed you. He leans back, breathless but seemingly more alert now, blunt fingernails digging into your bare thighs. His eyes scan your face again, searching for any trace of regret and when he finds none he comes back for more, kissing you softer this time. It’s so raw that it hurts, adoration and admiration flowing from the depths of your heart and you can’t fight it anymore.

You’re practically limp against him when his warm lips move from your lips to your jaw, down the column of your throat and to your bare chest. “God,” he breathes, moving back up to suck the delicate skin on the side of your neck between his teeth before going back with his tongue to sooth the pleasant pain, “I didn’t know if I’d be able to wait any longer to kiss you.”

Your head lolls to side as he continues his ministrations against your throat, completely lost in his touch. Your grip on his shirt finally slackens and you finally find the confidence to slide your hands under the fabric, leaning into him so you can further trace the expanse of his torso.

“Stop,” he suddenly hisses, pulling away to grab your wrist, “you’re going to give me a terrible boner and I’m not fucking you in this dingy house.”

His words made your stomach squirm even at the possibility and he clearly notices, lips quickly finding yours and hands holding your waist once more. You’re almost too busy trying to slip your tongue within the confines of his mouth to notice his right hand slowly descend until it’s resting between your thighs, pushing them apart and you gasp into his mouth.

You feel his mouth quirk into a sly smirk and can’t help but smile too, that is until his fingers slip past the hem of your dress and brush against the cotton of your underwear.

He breaks away and laughs at you when you whimper at the loss of contact. “Don’t frown,” he mumbles, keeping eye contact even as his fingers drag agonizingly slow along your clothed folds and it’s the most sensual thing you might ever experience.

A loud knock on the door quickly interrupts your faintest of moans and you suddenly feel incredibly exposed. “I swear to God, if you two don’t get out of there soon, we’re leaving without you. We’re going home, they ran out of Malibu and that’s apparently the only thing Jaehyun likes!”

You swallow, looking away from the door and back to the panting boy leaning on you, irises blown out and lips pink and plump.

“Do you want to have another sleepover?” He asks quietly and you can’t fight the smile that tugs at your lips.

"Oh my God,” you wake up with a low groan escaping your lips, a headache throbbing painfully in the refines of your skull as soon as you gain consciousness. Is this what a hangover felt like? You sigh, squeezing your eyes to shut out the sunlight. You turn away from that direction only to not-so-gracefully bump into something.

By the entanglement of limbs and bare skin pressed flush against yours, you can only assume something is actually someone and everything from last night crashes back, your headache increasing tenfold. Your eyes are open in a flash, not because you're scared or regretful, but just to make sure you were correct. And safe, not in some stranger’s bed.

Just like last week, Wong Yukhei is beside you, cheeks flushed pink against his warm honey skin and lips pouty as always. Except, this time, he’s awake, lying on his side and staring at you with wide eyes full of something you could only pinpoint as adoration.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” he replies, and not until now do you notice his hand on your very, very bare hip. “Do you want something for your headache?” He asks, voice low before leaning inches closer and pressing a chaste kiss to your forehead. “Yeah, but I can wait—”

You don’t get to finish because he’s already rolling out of bed, taking most of the sheets off of you and you’re left completely naked, forcing you to grasp for the white duvet crumpled at your feet to cover your body.

Except, not that it matters, because he’s incredibly naked too, and you’re amazed at how tall he is when he’s like this, no matter the circumstances. You quickly look away in fear he’d catch you staring, a blush working its way up your cheeks as you suddenly become aware of the pleasantly dull ache throbbing in your abdomen.

He’s back at your side moments later, this time with pineapple print boxers on, holding out a half-full water bottle and two Advil’s. “Thanks,” you sigh, swallowing them quickly.

“This wasn’t just a one and done thing, right?” He asks suddenly, and you look up at him where he’s leaned against his dresser, fingers tapping the edge. You could quite literally cut the tension between the two of you and suddenly want nothing more than going back to sleeping in his arms.

“No! No, I hope not. I mean, unless you want it to, in that case, I’ll go n—”

“No, please don’t go! I just wanted to make sure, in case... in case I completely misread this whole situation,” he sighs in relief, finally moving away from his dresser and rolling back into bed beside you. “Did you mean everything you said last night?” You say quietly once he’s settled and pulled you back against him.

“Of course.”

“Okay,” you let out a sigh of relief, reaching up to play with a strand of his caramel hair. “I’m sorry, too. For when I said this wasn’t a big deal. I didn’t realize that you—you felt something. For me. Which is dumb, because it was kind of obvious. But it’s kind of scary assuming things when it comes to someone who didn't know who you were when you’ve been in love with them for months,” you talk absentmindedly now, not realizing the words are spilling out of your mouth until they’re already out. After all, you were a NCTzen before any of this and there was no way to avoid that when it came to your love for not only him, but the rest of the group.

“I knew who you were,” he laughs above you and you glance up in confusion, quirking an eyebrow. “One of your videos came up on my recommended one day and I was kind of obsessed with you guys since,” he admits and it’s by far the cutest thing you have ever seen.

“No way.”

“I swear on my life,” he grins brightly, wrapping his muscular arms around your back and pulling you up beside him so you were face-to-face. It’s quiet again, and you find yourself once again tracing the outline of his face; his defined eyebrows, big doe eyes, his cheekbones, his chin, his lips—everything.

“What now?”

“Well, we probably should have gone on a few dates first and fallen in love, even though I’m already full of adoration for you already, and then I would’ve asked you to be my girlfriend and then we would’ve had mind-blowing sex. But we kind of went backward and already had the mind-blowing sex, so how about grabbing lunch as our first date? I mean, even though you’re a younger girl.”

You’re grinning like an idiot now and can’t help but kiss him. It’s soft and gentle and sweet and makes everything inside of you warm and fuzzy only because it’s him.

“Okay, I like the sound of that,” you whisper against him, kissing his cheeks, his nose, his forehead and finally his velvety lips again, “only because I’m full of adoration for you too.”

After all, Wong Yukhei was the warmth you so desperately craved for and needed in your life.

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oguild · 3 years

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Scrum Master Interview Questions

The role of Scrum Master in the IT industry is often hard to understand. There is also a lack of clarity in the responsibilities and set of tasks that a Scrum master must perform. Below is an excerpt from an interaction where Saket talks to one of the Scrum professionals and clears few core concepts regarding the role of Scrum masters and how the Scrum masters should present themselves during an interview.

Scrum Professional: I got through many interviews lately, and there are some of the critical questions asked to every person applying for this role. Since facilitation is considered the crucial role of Scrum master, people are willing to know: What is your daily routine? Now, most of the time as a scrum master goes in communicating with the team, reviewing various dashboards, attending ceremonies, etc. What do you suggest can be the best way of answering such a question?

Saket: That sounds interesting. What do you think the interviewers might be trying to find by asking such a question?

Scrum Professional: I think there can be two reasons for asking such a question:

• The interviewers might want to know: How, as a Scrum master, we fill our eight hours of work at the job. What is our contribution in these eight hours?

• Second, the interviewers might want to test the waters of Scum master. They might be interested in knowing whether the person is just operational and only resolves the issues posted to him, or he is a proactive person and takes self-initiatives in a forward-going manner. It may be a second perspective to it.

Saket: Perfect! So, I think the first point you mentioned automatically gets taken care of if we focus on the second one. My understanding is more aligned with your second point. See, the title and designations are organization-specific. So when somebody tells me that I am working as a Scrum master, I get about 30-40% of clarity of what this guy might be doing at his job. Only when I get a view of his daily routine will I come to know about all his roles and responsibilities. The interviewer is trying to extract what you do to facilitate your team to become an effective team. How do you make them high-performing? How are you helping them grow and deliver something that they are supposed to provide? Also, a critical perspective here is that the interviewer is indirectly trying to find out your efficiency in managing the team. The kind of activities that you perform as a Scrum master also reveals the health of your team. For example, if you say I remind my team of filling their JIRA activities, it tells a lot about your team. To me, it is an indicator that the team is at an elementary level. They have not yet crossed the first boundary, and they are still struggling with the basics of Scrum. They are still struggling in communication and collaboration, and you, as a Scrum Master, are working on a very superficial level to manage the basics of Scrum get done. Another example: If you say there are many conflicts in the team and resolve them regularly, it shows what might be happening in your group. Again, to me, it shows that there is a lack of transparency. The team is struggling in communication, and you, as a Scrum Master, are working as a bridge between various members to help resolve the issue and get the delivery done. Take another instance; if you say I keep myself busy discussing with the Product owner, it might pass on an impression that the team is talking less to the product owner. You, as a Scrum Master, are not responsible for discussing requirements alone. It is the responsibility of your team. So it again put a question on your role, efficiency, and above all on your understanding of the SCRUM.

Scrum Professional: Ok. I think I get it now! The interviewer is trying to get the perspective about the team to understand my role in a better way. So what do you suggest? How should we frame our answer to this question?

Saket: While it is essential to talk about your role in the scrum ceremonies and daily routine activities, I suggest emphasizing forward-looking things. As you mentioned earlier, the interviewer might be interested in the kind of self-initiated activities that you might be taking up apart from the bookish definition of a Scrum master. You can try to reflect more on the team development and product development activities. For example, You conduct a one-to-one discussion with each team member in every iteration. The purpose of such a discussion is to understand the clarity that every person has at any moment.

Another thing that you can reflect upon is the discussion that you have with the product owner, not regarding the current sprint tasks or upcoming requirements but as a holistic approach to design and shape the product in a better position than it currently is. So, a forward-looking approach is a way to present yourself in answer to such a question. Another important thing while answering such a question, your response should reflect on your aspirations and the kind of work that you want to do in the future, even if you are not performing those tasks entirely in your current position. The job should meet your aspirations if you are going to perform well.

Scrum Professional: Great insights. That was detailed and made perfect sense. The next question that I have is around the client expectations. In a country like India, where most industries are service-based, the client is regularly pushing for deadlines. Sometimes, the scope is changed even after the sprint planning. So, the question, "how do you manage the client expectations in such cases" is asked?

Saket: We need to balance our answer so that we do not look too idealistic as well as it does not look that we will just get carried away in the situation and unable to take care of our team. We need to find a balancing act. We all face such problems many times when there is a conflict between the client's expectations and the project timelines. In my understanding, two key points can help:

• Empathy

• Transparency

You relate to the person, make him understand the pain of the other person. It is more about you empathizing with the customer, product owner and making the product owner empathize with you and your team. It would help if you created a sense that only by empathizing with each other can we achieve something. You need to make the client understand that pushing will not alone bring the results. It is creative work to think, design, code, test, and execute many other processes. Quality is also an important aspect. You cannot just afford the delivery at the cost of quality. A healthy environment for the team is also essential. A healthy environment is a must for delivering a healthy product. Once you have empathized with your client about these things, things get easier to tackle. Secondly, transparency is of paramount importance. It would help if you were transparent with the client regarding all your processes and challenges. Clarity brings mutual trust, and that is the key to a long and healthy customer relationship. Make things transparent and have confidence because, without these, two shows cannot run.

Scrum Professional: I agree with you. I recently faced a similar situation where negotiations and teams indeed came up with the best possible solution. I have also seen examples where the team recommends the items those need to be picked from the backlog, which can be delivered effectively based on the team's current situation.

Saket: Yeah, that is a perfect example. We can always share insights into internal development with the product owner or client. It will increase the team's confidence and reduce any conflicts with the customer's expectations.

Scrum Professional: Right. So that is that. Another point that I want to discuss is regarding the Job description of a Scrum master. I have worked as a Scrum Master in 3 different domains, and I found that I could manage each one of them well. However, most of the time, the Job description is so domain-specific that it becomes to get even shortlisted. Even if you land at an interview, it is hard to convince the interviewer of your capabilities due to cross-domain concerns. What do you think of such a situation?

Saket: I understand that. Often, the organizations can be looking to sort out a specific problem, and therefore the team is framed with particular skill sets in mind and might also want a Scrum master from the same background. However, this problem...

Read the full blog click here "Scrum Master Interview Question"

#Scrum #Interview #Question

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justfilmsandthat · 4 years

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Self Film-solation. Film 5. 28 Days Later

**SPOILER WARNING**

When I decided to do this to keep myself sane, I wanted to make sure I covered as many different genres as possible. When it came to finding a horror to add to the rostra this was the obvious choice all things considered.

I should also make some things clear. Firstly, I am writing this pretty much immediately after watching the film so my god I’m tense (but at least its fresh!). Secondly, I am not a massive horror guy. I can fully appreciate it as one of the purer genres and have seen most of the classics. However, I find a lot of the classics have aged poorly and the modern ones just don’t… well they…… ok fine! I don’t like it when they make me jump. There! I said it! Happy now?

Sorry, like I said, I’m tense.

Going in I knew this was both a British film and a Danny Boyle film as these were some of the reasons that I picked it. I also knew a lot of the cast and the basic plot.

Right from the get-go the film sinks its claws into you and will not let go. I was riveted. The film moves at a breakneck pace as we follow our protagonist Jim (Cillian Murphy) through his journey on the deserted streets of London. Part of the films genius is that we are Jim and Jim is us. We find out everything as he does and so the exposition never feels randomly placed.

The music of the film is where the real tension lies. So much so that the score has now become famous enough in its own right and one of the benchmarks of tension building music. Scenes such as the one set in the tunnel as the cast change a tyre are made all the more nail biting by the relentless building of the music.

I loved the darkly comic moments in which the cast find fresh supplies in empty shops or bicker over which whiskey to steal. These moments of levity really make you like the characters, a likeability which only adds to the tension when it inevitably returns moments later.

Something I did notice was that this is probably one of the few films I have seen where product placement actually improves the film. The fact that the characters discuss specific brands and survive off well known junk food adds to the realism of the film but more importantly adds to the horror as we see a relatability in their actions.

I did once hear that a complaint about the film was that the zombies depicted in it go against tradition somewhat by being able to run quickly rather than moving at a slow plod towards their victim. For me this just wasn’t an issue but the film counteracts this by setting out the rules of its world clearly enough that it added to the tension in that way. By telling us that a person can turn in 10-20 seconds we set our own hearts racing by counting down and this only added to the overall experience for me.

I’m honestly struggling to try and find something negative to say. In the interest of balance, I’ll make some points.

Of the 4 main characters, Hannah (Frank’s daughter) is not given a great deal to do. When she does the performance of Megan Burns is a little weak at times. For someone living in London with a cockney cab driver dad, she has a lack of a distinctive accent as well as being a little wooden at points. Whether this is the fact that she is so much younger than the other actors or that they are all so much stronger than her I don’t know. But outside of this film she hasn’t done much more acting.

I could also make a point that Cillian Murphy’s emaciated Jim manages to overpower several trained soldiers at the end as if he himself is some sort of superhero. But that would just be another example of someone searching for realism where it’s not relevant. It is a zombie film after all.

Overall though the film is a superb example of a simple horror formula done to perfection. The cast are excellent, and the direction is terrific, but the real star is John Murphy’s score.

I honestly can’t help thinking that the current climate added to the film’s effectiveness. Whilst nobody expects society to descend into the madness shown in the film, it did add a little spicy kick to an already delicious dish.

#28 days later #cillian murphy #brendan gleeson #naomie harris #zombie #horror #film #podcast #blog

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jessika7979 · 6 years

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Justice league Review (Finally)

So yeah ok I know it’s been a week and I literally have seen this film 4 times, so it is understandable that you may be asking, “Jessika, why?” – basically, a few reasons. Firstly, I wanted to see it more than once, understandably. Secondly, I wanted to see other people’s reviews because I wanted to respond to the critics and positives and finally I was just busy.

So first off, if you want a review that is negative, this is not the post for you.

Seriously, I really loved this film.

Over the week I have been trying to see the criticisms, and although I can defiantly see a few, I just can’t see the majority. The good drastically outweigh the bad by 10 to 1, and seriously it’s shocking me the critics reviews are so low. I am convinced they didn’t want to say it was good in case the audience didn’t like it. I also feel like they saw Snyder’s name and ran with that, completely ignoring whedon and Nolan (!!!! who was a producer).

I’ve been thinking maybe I am biased, because I just love DC so much, but I know that’s not it, because I really hated BVS. I also thought maybe I just liked it the first time and after that I would dislike it and see everything wrong with it, but I didn’t. It got better and better.

Anyway, spoilers ahead (although if you haven’t seen it yet and you are reading a review…… why?)

So firstly, things I disliked:

- Yeah ok CGI was the worst thing I have ever seen, but I can 100% forgive that. They had literally, 3 months MAX to do that and I understand the immense pressure that everyone was under. (Also, when people say, “Oh it defiantly should have been pushed back”, yes, I agree, but I understand why they felt like they couldn’t. Star Wars is out next month, January is an awful time to release a movie and the rest of the year is almost full to the brink with blockbusters coming out, from Han solo to Black Panther.) The whole mustache thing, honestly, I didn’t think it was too bad until I saw stills of it, but during the movie it didn’t distract me or anything. However, the rest of it was pretty bad.

- Steppenwolf was weak AF.

- Nearly all of the trailer wasn’t in the movie.

- That random Russian Family. Why?

- Some of the dialogue was cringy as hell, but yet not as bad as BVS (which isn’t hard)

- No black suit. (Biggest disappointment)

- Superman’s resurrection – it was unrealistic and just generally shit. The fact they actually killed him annoyed me. Yeah, I really didn’t like BVS, but don’t completely ignore it.

Things I liked:

- Superman – EVERY. BLOODY. SCENE. – Jesus lord what a character FINALLY!!! Superman has been such a crap character for the passed two movies and in this one he is finally just allowed be himself. WOOP.

- Especially Superman vs the Justice league. Oh, holy lord. They eye move – give me strength. Best scene of all time in a superhero movie, seriously.

- Ben Affleck’s batman was brilliant. I hated him in BVS, thought his acting was mediocre and his storyline was unbelievable. Before I saw the film and I heard he wanted out, I honestly thought that might be a good idea, but now, I really hope he stays on for as long as possible.

- Ezra miller’s flash is brilliant. Yeah, it’s definitely different to what I’m used to in the comics, but I thought it worked brilliantly.

- Gal Gadot continuing to prove she was born for that role.

- Aqua man was perfect – Honestly, I thought he might be the one who gets left behind and was pleasantly surprised when he was involved as everyone.

- Ray fisher, Jesus Christ what a man. He was a stage actor and to seamlessly transfer onto the screen and bring a character that is nearly 98% CGI to life with humour, seriousness and just pure respect for it, was amazing to watch. I can’t wait to see him in other things.

- TEAM DYNAMIC – they worked together, individually and even one or two together. Bruce and Diana, Flash and Cyborg, Aqua man and Bruce, Flash and Aqua man, and then later Bruce and Clark. Something DC do extremely better than Marvel.

- When they said “Darkseid”. I nearly died.

- They all wore amazing clothes, like not their suits, their average clothes. Especially their jackets. Their jacket games was very very strong.

- The Amazonian battle I thought would break up the flow of the movie, but it was just epic.

- When superman came back and whipped Steppenwolf’s ass because it would be that easy in reality.

- Christopher Reeves vibes when Clark walked down the alley and took his shirt off. (*cries*)

- Flash/ Superman race. (We all know who won)

- THE 2ND END CREDIT SCENE. Jesse Eisenberg who gave the worst performance of the 21st century in BVS, actually made me excited. Also, legion of doom – enough said.

I think that is everything, but at the end of the day, I loved it.

I pray they continue with this universe because they aren’t going to get a better cast then this.

People have been saying “X, stole the movie” and honestly I can see how every single one stole the movie, but it has to be superman for me, but I might be biased.

Rating: 8.5/10

#justice league #dc #Superman #Batman #Wonder woman #The flash #aquaman #Cyborg #Review

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engaxmedsalan · 4 years

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Towards Yourself

Perfecting our character

Publish date:11/09/2016

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Having good morals and manners is an essential requisite of our faith—and that takes much thought and effort.

The Beloved Messenger of Allah (may Allah exalt his mention), said: “The best amongst you are the best in character and manners.” (Al-Bukhari)

Improving our character, however, is not at all an easy task. One must go through rigorous self-discipline, monitoring and education in order to reform our entire way of thinking and acting.

What is good character? How can we do good things? The simplest way to answer these questions is to look at the Messenger of Allah as a role model. He is the perfect example of good character. Allah says about him in the Quran (what means):“You have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for any one whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day, and who engages much in the Praise of Allah.” [Quran 33:21]

One salient attribute of the Prophet’s character was perfection—and that he sought perfection in everything he did. He was the best father, the best husband, the best leader, the best teacher, and the best friend. According to his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, he was known to be the most honest, patient, trustworthy, gracious, and compassionate person of their time. His wonderful character gave him a magnetic personality that everyone around him loved dearly. The lesson for us is to perfect everything we do, however small it is, even in mundane daily actions such as slaughtering animals for food.

Although he was the leader of all the Muslims, he was humble. He never belittled his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them. When someone would speak to him, he would turn around fully to talk. He did not answer carelessly while walking away nor did he merely turn his head towards them. When he shook hands with someone, he gripped with his whole hand and never was the first to release his grip. When speaking with him, he never was the first to look away. When he walked into a congregation, he never demanded to sit at the center or near the front. He just sat wherever he found space.

He encouraged his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, to be the best they could be. He brought out the best in all of his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them. He took people who used to bury their own babies alive and transformed them into compassionate, caring human beings. He did not accomplish this by sitting around and telling people what to do. The Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, emulated his actions, thus caused a domino effect.

There is a story of a disbeliever who used to place fecal matter in the path that the Prophet walked every morning. The Prophet would see it in his path until one day he did not. He though this was strange so he asked about this man. It turned out that he was ill so the Prophet went to visit him. Genuinely touched by the Prophet’s visit and sincere thought, the man declared his belief in the Message of Muhammad .

This teaches us that we should insist on being kindhearted to people, as much as we can, and do it with sincerity, sometimes even for those who are not nice to us. This is good character.

The way to establish a good moral code is to clear our heads of bad ideas and interpretations. We have to teach ourselves different and better ways to analyze ideas and events that we may come across. This may sound easy, but for most of us it requires intense training and effort.

Let us look at some scenarios as examples. Let us say we are going out for a walk. We are walking along and we get stopped by a homeless person who asks us for money for food. Some of us will completely ignore this person and include him in a stereotype we might have of homeless people. We might think that this person will use the money for cigarettes or alcohol. We might even wonder why this person does not have a job like the rest of us. Enter our new and improved moral code—we can either give this person money for the sake of Allah and ask him to buy food with it or run over to the nearest fast food restaurant and buy this person a meal.

The lesson here is to never turn away a person who asks you for help. This was the character of our beloved Prophet .

Scenario number two: A friend of yours trusts you with a secret that he/she thinks is important. You promise him/her not to tell anyone. Shortly after, you are speaking with a mutual friend and you think his/her secret would make a nice conversation topic. After all, you do not know why your friend is making such a big deal out of his/her little secret. Besides, you are going to make the person you are telling promise not to tell anyone, just like you did. Enter moral code and you stop, reminding yourself that a promise is a promise.

The lesson here is to be trustworthy, whether it is with feelings, thoughts, and emotions or with material possessions. This also was one of the Prophet’s great characteristics.

The last scenario takes place at a coffee shop. You are happily sipping your mocha latte and reading the newspaper when you look at the time and realize you are late for work. As you are scurrying to get your stuff together, you spill what is left of your latte. You tell yourself that it’s OK, one of the employees will eventually realize that there is a spill and clean it up. Enter your moral code that reminds you that someone can slip and fall on that. Further, cleanliness is a part of Islamic belief. So you take a minute or two to clean it up.

There are a couple of lessons here. First, you prevented a possibly harmful slip and fall accident. The Prophet was reported as saying: “Eeman (belief) consists of more than sixty branches. The highest of which is the declaration of the Shahaadah (i.e. the testimony that there is None worthy of worship except Allah) and the lowest of which is the removal of harm out of the way.” (Ahmad)

Secondly, you portrayed a positive image of Islam and Muslims.

Before we act or react to anything, we should ask ourselves: “What would the Prophet have done?” The prayer and fasting alone will not guarantee us Paradise. Righteous, positive character is Islamic character. Once we develop a more positive, Islamic approach on the events that occur, we will perfect our character.

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poppedmusic · 5 years

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SXSW 2019

8 – 17 March 2019

Words and Photos: Elena Katrina

I didn’t think that I would ever go to SXSW. It seemed far away and I’m not just talking about geography. I have the bug though – in both ways – the way in which I don’t want to ever miss it ever again and also the actual SXSW Flu. I’m so sick I’m not allowed to fly and I’m on some crazy American drugs from the doctors. So, I’m reflective and impassioned and delirious. It all seems a good combination to get going on the review for 2019… at least a start…

I’m not really sure where to start with this one, to be honest. I had some idea of the crazy time that was going to hit me when I arrived in Austin but not the exact pull I was going to feel toward some bands over others.

There was one clear winner who was going to dominate my efforts and I’m going to be open about this from the get-go. When you do something like this…. the blog thing…. you do it because you are passionate, passionate and have taken leave of your senses. When you take unpaid leave and spend every penny of your very small savings to go to a festival an 11-hour flight away, you can be damn sure you are entitled to spend some of your time doing what the hell you want. As long as it’s legal anyway! And for me that would be going to see the same act play more than once.

Step forward Sam Fender. Knowing that he was back, I was back and that it had to be done. I couldn’t choose between one showcase and another. I did set off with a list of 3 and decided on one. I did go to another showcase so that I wouldn’t see him twice in one day but as I sat on the floor between bands editing photos I had this overwhelming urge to leave. I’d made sure the showcase I was at was a good distance away but it didn’t matter… turns out I might not even run for a bus but run for an artist… yup, you guessed it. I didn’t go to see him alone… oh no, everywhere I went I encouraged other people to pick that show over another. I don’t think I’ve ever done this before either. Vevo House. My main base for the first 3 days was host to Sam’s first live show and one I allowed Island to see me in “fan mode” – I couldn’t hold back the squeal of delight at the opening chords of Hypersonic Missiles. The British Music Embassy the next on the list several hours later – where Sam himself declared he was beyond exhausted “we’ve been up since 6am. Thanks for coming to watch us die” he said, arms stretched as if expecting a hug to be forthcoming. He may have looked tired but that man keeps surplus energy in his little fingers because he sounded on fire. I just feel utterly exhilarated whenever I see him. I almost had to get someone to carry me out of there…. turns out running really isn’t for me. Anyway, to not spend the whole review on him, I saw Sam four times, including at Fender House “I’ve come to get my share of the family business”… the guy just cracks me up. But anyway, OK. Judge if you will but my time, my money, my blog….my faves.

Now that that is out the way time to give love to everyone else. And there really is loads of that left to go around. I had a list of 26 bands I wanted to see – more than double from last year. I managed to see 13 of them plus another 8 acts I hadn’t planned on, which is always a good thing! From the non-listed, I have to admit that I don’t know how Orchards have not been higher on my radar. They’re exactly the kind of thing I love – and my god their energy live is something else. I forgot that it was the middle of the day, the venue was hot and sticky with sweat and excitement and the band were nothing short of hypnotic.

It wasn’t just unexpected Brits that I saw, oh no. What would an international festival be without seeing some … well… at least one international act. Signed to Heavenly Records, Netherlands’ band Pip Blom were a band I didn’t think I liked. That was until I rocked up at Abbie McCarthey’s Good Karma Club showcase to see them and happily delved right in. Their set was tight but not overly polished. It felt organic and the connection between band members was shown in open smiles and those looks across the stage where only those two people understand. Shimmering shoegaze grunge that caught the affections of the crowd. I even overheard Annabel Allum exclaim they were the best thing she’d seen all SXSW. Now that’s something. It was also on this same line up where I got to catch up with Popped faves Bad Sounds. If you’ve not seen these guys yet, you really want to get a wriggle on. They’re great no matter where you see them but the closer you get the more involved in the craziness you can be. And that really is something you want to be up in the face of as the pair bounce around the stage- loving and living life to the fullest. Me? Oh I danced like I’d been drinking all day (I’m a sober person).

It became evident when I picked up my pass that the best way forward with getting to see bands was going to be to pick some showcases and stay there ….. that and to let other people take me off and away. It’s almost impossible to make a schedule. Especially when there are unofficial showcases as well as the packed official schedule. I love to see the unofficial shows – ones where the general public come out to play and spend hours in line to catch bands.

Glasgow’s Fatherson, were one of the bands I managed to see play a few times. Firstly their official showcase for our pals at Killing Moon and then secondly a free show at a rooftop bar in glorious sunshine to a roar of applause. It was something else to see them play outside in the middle of the afternoon. Their chilled out alternative sounds brought both the calm and chaos. An absolute treat. Boy Azooga and Thyla also played open shows. Both of whom I saw play out at Lazarus Brewing for our new US friends Music For Listeners. Bringing his own personal ray of sunshine Boy Azooga was an act I’ve listened to at home but never seen live. I wasn’t prepared for the joy that was going to hit me. He delighted everyone around him with the upbeat tunes and quirky lyrics. In contrast, Thyla were cool calm and collected with a subtle rock goddess as their front person, it was hard not to feel somewhat intimidated as I watched on in awe. Now I’ve seen Thyla play before and I am always blown away by them. They manage to do this in a way that always leaves me feeling a little confused. They’re not in my face yet they capture my attention and every single time leave me wanting more.

Another band who leave me feeling exactly the same are Lucia. I saw them last year for the first time and thought Lucia herself was going to jump off the stage and rip my head off. That right there is one intense performer. I was so scared of her that when I was told she was just across the crowd from me I said “ok!” And tentatively waved across the room. The next thing I knew this Glaswegian Glamazon was stood next to me wanting to say hi. “Uh…ok”. Turns out, it’s all an act. PHEW! She means what she says though, don’t be getting me wrong, but I enjoyed every moment in Lucia’s company over the festival, it just so happens I turn into jelly when they’re on stage. Not to be messed with this lot. So enthralled by their performance I made a point to see them twice.

There was a great box of Brits out en mass for this year’s SXSW. Some bands such as Island, Fatherson and The Amazons who have all got albums under their belts and a solid touring schedule, and then there are the super newbies; the likes of Cassia, Larkins, Lucia and The Ninth Wave. All still relatively new to the UK crowds and without a debut album under their belt, but bringing their A-Game to SXSW. I’ll tell you something for nothing too, it didn’t matter newer to the game or not, not a single band gave a bad performance. Not a single band played like they’d never played here before. The Amazons delivered their first ever SXSW show as if it was just something they’d thought they’d do that day when they woke up, as did The Ninth Wave – who, incidentally terrified me so much with their performance that I ran straight to their booking agent (figuratively anyway). Their single Sometimes The Silence Is Sweeter definitely isn’t a sentiment I’ll agree with when it comes to seeing them, but live it’s a punchy

The Distiller and Scruff Of The Neck teams were out to play every day too, with shows all over the place as well as their own showcase – smartly advertised by way of the bags (I’m still repping mine today, eager to continue to spread the good word despite the party being very much over). Lit up like the batman sign in the night sky, on a rooftop somewhere in downtown Austin, I watched Larkins. A band I’d never seen before and a band I’m entirely convinced I’ll see again. Nothing to do with how they threw down the challenge to Cassia in our bean bag tournament – nope, just on the standard of show. Energetic and assured, these guys enjoyed the show as much as the crowd that gathered to witness. I count myself amounts the new fans they made. I’m hoping they’ll think that’s a good thing.

Anteros were rightfully excited to be at this year’s SXSW – with just shy of two weeks to go until their debut album dropped, it was the perfect opportunity to show the world just what they were made of and why the likes of us have been shouting about them for years. Their live set is polished to perfection, it shines just as much as any glittery outfit Laura can find. And she can find them. Their set at The British Music Embassy was packed with music fans and industry (sometimes we are even the same thing) and you could see there were nerves but by the time Laura was grabbing at the hands of the female audience members to get them up on stage, you just knew there was more to this than just doing a good show.

An unexpected highlight of my week was an incredibly emotional set from Grace Carter. Not only does she command the stage like she was born to be on it but she has a tone of vocal that really hits me. She has some range on her too, I tell you that for nothing. While she might be more on the urban side of new music for us I will wholeheartedly tell you to check her out. Her single Why Her Not Me came with an explanation that you could see was hard and I caught her eye during a moment and all of a sudden tears just streamed down her face but she carried on, pausing for a big breath to control and control she did – delivering what was one of the single most emotional performances I’ve seen, ever.. not just at SXSW, but in over twenty years of going to shows.

Now I want to talk to you about a serious hidden gem that really is worth uncovering and in my opinion one of the UK’s most underrated talents; Eliza Shaddad. Watching her live is always a pleasurable experience. It had been a long time since I saw her play solo but bringing a band along to international showcases is an expensive business so for some shows she played solo and others she borrowed label brother’s Island. This tiny and unassuming person steps onto the stage and somehow just grows. Like a small bud, she nurtures the song and before your eyes and ears, everything just blooms. I can’t for the life of me understand why more people aren’t shouting about Eliza.

Island are a band I’ve been somewhat passionate about for a good few years; their music makes me sooo incredibly happy so you can imagine the grin on my face when they boarded my flight to Austin. It was a pretty stupid grin again as I watched their gear go round and round at the airport. I did let them travel in peace though – I waited until they were drunk on free margaritas before deciding I should interview them. With a host of shows to chose from it was a midnight show for Killing Moon that I plumped for, knowing the venue was reasonably intimate and moody. I get the distinct feeling that seeing this band in smaller venues is very soon to be a thing of the past. They certainly have the talent and the set to bring in much larger crowds. For a band who make pretty melodic laid-back vibes, to watch them is something else. The energy is that of a much heavier band – they bounce around the stage feeling every beat. Newer songs like She sit happily alongside older tracks and although before they went on I felt like I needed toothpicks to keep my eyes open (jet lag), I felt entirely (if only momentarily) rejuvenated.

The craziest night I had was all thanks to End Of The Trail who amongst their lineup had managed to bag both Avalanche Party and The Blinders. Nestled in the back of a dark and dank dive bar was where I found myself surrounded by people hidden in the shadows, it really was a throng of people but it was so dark you could struggle to see the whites of peoples eyes unless they were stood right by you. I was kindly taken side of the stage so I could try and shoot but as any gig photog knows; red light and nothing but red light is never going to turn out well. It can be forgiven though because really the show was so electric it was hard to want to take photos. For those of you who like Your music to have a garage-punk rock out then, you need to get onto Avalanche Party. They do not stop, it’s fast, furious and sweaty as hell. Their lead singer has a presence that belies any kind of self-confidence issues and he roams the stage, he’s up, he’s down, he’s on the stage, off the stage. My camera could hardly get a focus on him. It was a sweaty ride and seemed to be over in a flash. The crowd wanted to get closer and I was glad I was safe at the side not being battered like everyone else.

After just enough time for me to catch my breath, The Blinders took to the stage. There was a whole other feel to this show than the last time I saw them (Kendal Calling’s NYE party – Victoria Warehouse) – there’s always going to be a slightly different presentation of music in a smaller venue and for me The Blinders are lucky in that they work both ways. Here there was a real tension in the air, it was thick and heavy and as their set went on the crowd and band felt as though they were one. I can’t say I know what happened toward the end of the set but as Tom climbed a speaker stack all of a sudden things started to go a little bit wrong – the lights went, the mic went… all hell let loose. The thing is, for some bands this would be a problem (don’t get me wrong there was some slight panic going on) but here it felt like it made the show – the darkness, the chaos all fed into the rawness of their set. The music never stopped by the way – the drums kept a pounding, the bass kept a thudding. It wasn’t until I stepped out into the street that I realised that The Blinders‘ weren’t even the headline act. They were mine that’s for sure – they delivered as though they were.

All in all it was an incredible year for the Brits at this year’s SXSW and one I’ll never forget – as I’m sure neither will everyone else who went. I went feeling sure I wasn’t going to go again next year and so make the most of it…. and now I’m already thinking… hmmm SXSW 2020 has a certain ring to it… so watch this space!

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This review is dedicated to HER’S. RIP.